Shakesville

The Olympics Thread

Look at the photo Google uses for "100m final" in their Olympics coverage: pic.twitter.com/FrP5G5Khji
— Jessica Luther (@scATX) August 15, 2016

[The image is of Usain Bolt running ahead of everyone else and smiling.]
I (still) haven't had time to watch much of the Olympics, although I did get to see Usain Bolt win again last night, which was AMAZING. Here's an open thread for discussion, and both excited celebration of the athletes and criticism of the corporate games are on topic for this thread.

This Guy

A lot of strong women have helped me in my career. I'm honored to serve as a strong woman's running mate.https://t.co/3oz1z8Fi2H
— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) August 14, 2016

Transcript: Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine sits at a table speaking with a Black woman and a Black man.

The woman says: "And I really respect the fact that you accepted the candidacy. Kaine says: "I'm so honored." The woman says: "And I tell you: It is going to be a historic day." Kaine says: "I said one of the reasons that I was so honored—obviously, she's super qualified and she's going to be a great president—but when she asked me, what flashed through my head is: When I think about all the strong women who have helped me, from my wife to campaign managers to volunteers to my financing, all these strong women leaders who enabled me to do what I do— If I can be a supportive VP candidate to help Hillary Clinton win—and then, you know, I've got a lot of experience, so I think I can help her govern, too—and I'll feel like, you know what? Strong men ought to support strong women, just like throughout our, you know, history—strong women supported strong men.

To insert the requisite caveat: I do not think Tim Kaine is a perfect candidate. For instance: I want him to move left on Hyde (and I believe that Hillary Clinton will persuade him, not just because she is persuasive, but because he has shown himself to be persuadable). But I like him a lot. And I trust him. I trust him most of all to listen, even and especially to women, which gives me a lot of optimism that he will become an even better candidate, the more voices he hears.

Chilling

[Content Note: White nationalism; bigotry.]

My BNR colleague Peter Daou has written a series of three pieces lying out a compelling—and chilling—theory about why Donald Trump's presidential run is so bizarre and often inexplicable: Because he's not running for president. At least not as the primary goal. He's running to be the leader of a resurgent white nationalist movement in the United States—utilizing the unique visibility that a presidential campaign provides, and that actually winning the presidency is incidental.

Part One: Trump's Strategy Makes Perfect Sense—And It's Diabolical.

Part Two: Trump Is Seeking a White Nationalist Awakening—NOT the White House.

Part Three: Elephant in the Room—Donald Trump Isn't Running a Presidential Campaign.

The long and the short of it is this: Trump will certainly use the US presidency to advance his white nationalist agenda if he wins, but winning isn't the entire point. The point is to build and empower a long-term movement and position himself as its leader.

Nearly everything he does that seems incomprehensible when viewed through the lens of a presidential campaign suddenly makes a whole lot of terrible, terrifying sense when viewed instead through the prism of "awakening" white nationalism.

We continue to regard Trump as an ignoramus who simply refuses to (or can't) run a competent presidential campaign at our own peril. He's not ignorant. He may indeed be compulsive and reactionary and reckless, but it's all in service to an objective. Which is bigger than winning in November.

Deadly Flooding in Louisiana

[Content Note: Flooding; death; displacement; video may autoplay at link.]

Torrential rains have devastated parts of Louisiana over the past couple of days:

The federal government declared a major disaster in Louisiana Sunday after torrential rain inundated the state killing at least four people, flooding thousands of homes and prompting thousands of water rescues.

...Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday that more than 20,000 people had been rescued by all participating agencies and volunteers since the flooding outbreak began.

"This is a serious event," Edwards said. "It is ongoing. It is not over."

The governor said in a press conference Sunday that as many as 10,000 people were in shelters as a result of the widespread flooding.

The downpours have sent at least six river gauges to record levels in Louisiana. This includes the Amite River, which exceeded its previous record by over 6 feet in Magnolia, and by over 4 feet in Denham Springs.

Mike Steele, communications director for the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told weather.com on Sunday that there was a huge spike in flood rescues Saturday into Sunday, mostly in the eastern half of Baton Rouge into Denham Springs.

"It's kind of an all hands on deck," he said in a phone interview. "We still have a situation where motorists are stranded on I-12, and it remains closed between here and St. Tammany Parish, so the whole interstate system from Baton Rouge to that location is still closed."

...Steele said more than 1,000 homes have been flooded in Baton Rouge, and that number that is expected to climb. In Livingston, more than 1,000 homes have been flooding, along with 200 in St. Helena Parish, and 500 or more in Tangipahoa Parish. Apart from residential damage, Steele said they are also monitoring nursing homes and hospitals in the area that could be impacted by rising water.

Steele said the Louisiana Air National Guard has about 200 full-time employees working, plus about 750 guardsmen that have been deployed, a number that could climb to 1,000 soon. Additionally, he said 160 high water vehicles were in use as of last night, along with 35 watercraft, which brought the LANG rescue total to more than 3,500 people and 166 pets as of Sunday morning.

Absolutely devastating.

My thoughts are with everyone in the affected area, which includes one of my colleagues at BNR, who has asked that people keep the people in the affected area in their thoughts and prayers, if you're a praying person.

Please feel welcome and encouraged, as always, to recommend ways to help in comments. And let's keep this an image-free thread.

Open Thread

image of red cherries

Hosted by cherries.

The Virtual Pub Is Open

image of a pub Photoshopped to be named 'The I'm With Her Pub'

[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]

TFIF, Shakers!

Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
I've got a friend coming to visit for a long weekend, so I will be taking tomorrow off, and I will see you back here on Monday!

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

[Content Note: There are some flickery lights in this video.]

Lionel Richie: "Dancing on the Ceiling"

This is a real headline in the world.

[Content Note: Racism; terrorism.]

The Guardian isn't even bothering to mask its disbelief at what is happening in the United States presidential election: "Trump reiterates he literally believes Barack Obama is the 'founder of Isis'."

Donald Trump has turned us into an international embarrassment. And he's further obliged the national media to report that the President of the United States of America is not, in fact, the founder of a terrorist organization.

We find ourselves in an extraordinary time. A time in which the Republican nominee has not merely moved the Overton Window, but has thrown all of us out of it — and we've landed on the pavement below, dazed and wondering what alternate reality it is in which we've awoken that the media think it's acceptable or necessary to inform us that the President isn't the founder of ISIS.

What is even happening?

Where are we? And how do we get back?

Shaker Gourmet

Whatcha been cooking up in your kitchen lately, Shakers?

Share your favorite recipes, solicit good recipes, share recipes you've recently tried, want to try, are trying to perfect, whatever! Whether they're your own creation, or something you found elsewhere, share away.

Also welcome: Recipes you've seen recently that you'd love to try, but haven't yet!

"When they go low, we go high."

[Content Note: Incitement; misogyny.]

I've got a new piece at BNR about the stark difference in Donald Trump's attacks on Hillary (and others) and her response:

At the Democratic convention, Michelle Obama delivered a terrific address, which contained this extraordinary line on dealing with bullies and bigots: "When they go low, we go high."

That is such a beautiful sentiment – but it's not always easy to live up to, especially in politics. Especially when dealing with someone like Donald, whose low seemingly knows no bounds.

And yet, no matter how low he goes, Hillary goes high.

Head on over to read the rest.

I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to watch a man, whose crowds now increasingly chant the refrains "Hang the bitch" and "Kill the bitch," recklessly incite violence against you in front of those seething throngs.

But she never lets him drag her down to his level. She just keeps her chin up, and carries on, without ever losing sight of who she is and where the high ground lies.

In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Sexual assault; rape culture] Rage. Seethe. Boil. "Another college sex offender has avoided prison after a Colorado judge decided time behind bars wouldn't be good for the convicted rapist's rehabilitation. At a St. Patrick's Day party in 2014, Austin James Wilkerson, then a 20-year-old University of Colorado student, told an intoxicated woman's friends he would escort her home safely. Instead, Wilkerson raped the incapacitated woman, and was convicted of the crime in May. The victim pleaded with Boulder District Judge Patrick Butler to consider a prison sentence for her rapist. 'Have as much mercy for the rapist as he did for me that night,' the victim told Butler during her tearful testimony, according to the Daily Camera. But the judge spared Wilkerson prison time... 'I've struggled, to be quite frank, with the idea of, 'Do I put him in prison?'' Butler wondered aloud during sentencing, the Daily Camera reported. 'I don't know that there is any great result for anybody. Mr. Wilkerson deserves to be punished, but I think we all need to find out whether he truly can or cannot be rehabilitated,' he added." So definitely leave him free to just keep raping women, then, because that is what will happen. Rapists are virtually always repeat offenders. Period. I am so angry about this I can barely breathe.

[CN: War on agency; Christian Supremacy] Jessica Mason Pieklo: The Supreme Court Could Give Religiously Affiliated Employers Even More Room to Discriminate: A series of cases working their way through the courts could expand which businesses get a pass for offering employees discriminatory health and retirement benefits." Goddammit.

The world is aging. And that is going to put a lot of pressure on a lot of economies: "By 2030, 56 countries will have more people aged 65 and over than children under 15."

LOL Nancy Pelosi: "It's reminiscent of demagogues who want to be in the press no matter what they have to say. They make their verbal poo-poo any place to get attention. And this is a tactic." That is an excellent point and what a terrific way to work the media and ensure that point gets reported everywhere through the strategic deployment of "poo-poo."

[CN: Sexual harassment; terrorism] Whooooooooooooops: "Donald Trump on Wednesday night admonished Hillary Clinton for having [note from Liss: She didn't "have" him there; it was open seating] the father of the Orlando shooter seated behind her at a recent campaign rally. 'Wasn't it terrible?' Trump asked, that Seddique Mateen was 'sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton ... When you get those seats, you sort of know the campaign.' But as he said those words, disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley smiled up at him from behind the stage. Foley, a Republican who represented southern Florida, was forced to resign his seat in September 2006 in the wake of allegations that he sent sent suggestive emails and instant messages to congressional pages. The former congressman shared Trump's camera shot, with a smile, for the entirety of the hour-long rally."

[CN: Guns] NYT: "Donald J. Trump's candidacy has driven away throngs of Republican elected officials, donors, and policy experts. But not the National Rifle Association." Of course not the NRA. Of course. P.S. "Driving away throngs" is what low enthusiasm really looks like. Ahem.

This probably won't amount to a big deal in the States, but it's a big deal nonetheless: "Donald Trump's golf resort in Scotland has admitted it failed to comply with strict data protection laws after not registering with the UK's privacy watchdog, the Guardian can reveal. ...The resort insisted the failure was a 'clerical error' [but] MSP Liam McArthur, justice spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: 'There is a strong case for the ICO to look into how the Trump organisation stored and used the data that it holds. This is an organisation which has been accused of bullying local people who disagree with it, and these substantive concerns cannot be brushed under the carpet. The Trump organisation failed to meet its data obligations for years. We need to know how data was collected, stored and used during this period.'" Don't fuck with Scotland.

Ooh! "We finally know who forged Piltdown Man, one of science's most notorious hoaxes." Spoiler Alert: It was Bigfoot! Just kidding. It was the Loch Ness Monster.

[CN: Video autoplays at link] And finally! If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be a squirrel running around in a tree with acrobatic abandon, check out this video of a squirrel who stole a GoPro! I LOVED IT SO MUCH! I DON'T EVEN CARE IF IT'S SOME KIND OF GUERILLA ADVERTISING! YOU GOT ME WITH YOUR CUTE SQUIRREL VIDEO!

Daily Dose of Cute

image of Matilda the Fuzzy Sealpoint Cat lying on the floor, looking up at me

Little fuzzy darling.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.

Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Bigotry; violent incitement.]

"I'm more excited to vote for Trump than I was to vote for Romney-Ryan. I think you're more likely to get change. I don't know if it's gonna be a good change, but you gotta break eggs to make an omelette."—Republican Representative from Kentucky Thomas Massie, explaining his support for Donald Trump.

The unfathomable, breathtaking privilege to be so cavalier about supporting Trump because he'll change things up, even if it's not "good change." The lack of empathy is astounding.

Trump is an inveterate bigot who has tacitly called for the assassination of Hillary Clinton and has called President Obama the founder of IS, and this guy is all glib chuckles about how excited he is to vote for Trump because he'll "change" things. Yes. Like changing our democracy into a fascist regime. For fuck's sake.

No. No No No No No. No.

[Content Note: Incitement; terrorism.]

Donald Trump, at a campaign event last night, called President Obama the founder of the Islamic State:

Trump: "ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. He is the founder of ISIS. He’s the founder! He founded ISIS!"
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 11, 2016

This morning, when conservative Hugh Hewitt tried to give Trump an out, he just doubled down:

Hewitt: Last night, you said the President was the founder of ISIS. I know what you meant. You meant that he created the vacuum; he lost the peace.

Trump: No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton.

Hewitt: But he's not sympathetic to them. He hates them. He's trying to kill them.

Trump: I don't care. He was the founder. His— The way he got out of Iraq was that that was the founding of ISIS, okay?

He added: "No, it's not a mistake. Everyone's liking it. I think they're liking it." Just bragging about this trash.

THIS, TOO, IS INCITEMENT. This reckless, indecent, profoundly dishonest accusation is unfathomably gross. President Obama is not a founder of the Islamic State, and the suggestion—any suggestion—that the President (or anyone else) is a terrorist is absolutely inciting fearful, angry, reactionary people to violence. To stop "the terrorist."

The bitter irony is that, if there is a terrorist in our political midst, it is Donald Trump, who has now engaged in stochastic terrorism for the second time in as many days.

And, as I write this, CNN is on in the background, endlessly discussing on a loop the latest non-story about "Clinton emails," despite the fact that none of the emails generating this latest round of OUTRAGE!!1!eleventy! were either sent or received by Hillary Clinton.

They are literally in a high dudgeon over emails that are essentially people networking with other people they know about employment options, while the Republican nominee is calling the President a terrorist, one day after he also suggested someone assassinate his opponent.

What is even happening?!

We are through the Overton lookingglass, or whatever. Donald Trump is engaging in increasingly alarming rhetoric against a sitting President and a presidential nominee, and the media—and, let's face it, lots of average people—are greeting it with an indifferent shrug. Oh, that's just Trump. You know how he is.

Yes! I do! And that is precisely the problem. He is a cynical opportunist who will ruthlessly exploit our apathy by upping the ante every time he opens his toxic maw, slowly but surely inuring us to ever more noxious and dangerous language.

And we collectively just keep moving the goalposts for this fascist fuckdragon, as if there are no consequences to ceding ever more ground to his odious brand of nightmare nationalism.

At this point, we've moved the goalposts so far they're not even in the stadium anymore. They're on Neptune.

That is not okay. None of this is okay.

She Amazes Me

[Content Note: Threat of harm; violent incitement.]

One day after Donald Trump suggested that maybe someone should assassinate Hillary Clinton, Secret Service tackled an animal rights protester during a Clinton campaign event. The protester almost certainly posed no threat to Clinton, but there is no assurance of that—especially one day after Trump's dogshit comments.

While Secret Service agents contained and removed the protester, Clinton kept speaking, never losing her place, and even offering an ab-libbed "And some people get a little carried away, have you noticed that?"

Secret Service agents tackle protester at @HillaryClinton rally in Iowa: https://t.co/1OtoaDKK6T https://t.co/YyNHbvZyzK
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 11, 2016

Godddddd and she just keeps going. A spine of steel. https://t.co/nl4etDEfLd
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 11, 2016

I don't know how she does it. I don't know how she continues to maintain the wherewithal, day after day, to keep doing this work, under such enormous pressures and escalating threats to her safety, with an abundance of grace and fortitude.

She genuinely amazes me.

I know I've said this countless times now, but I am just so consistently and deeply moved by a person working so hard to earn the presidency of a country whose people, in large measure, are persistently unkind to her.

She loves this country. I don't know how that could ever be in doubt.

She is a patriot, and she is indomitable.

Open Thread

image of baby nutria

Hosted by baby nutria. So many whiskers!

Question of the Day

Suggested by Shaker Eccaba: "Which person in a position of leadership do you most like/admire and why?"

Any kind of leadership, from any arena, counts.

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

[Content Note: There are some flashing lights in this video.]

Billy Idol: "Dancing with Myself"

The Wednesday Blogaround

This blogaround brought to you by Ghostbusters.

Recommended Reading:

Fannie: [Content Note: Incitement to violence; misogyny] Another Day

Collier: [CN: Racism; police brutality] Black People Already Know Police Departments Are Racist; Now They Need Things to Change

Flavia: [CN: Harassment; abuse; appropriation] My Feminism Will Be Capitalist, Appropriative, and Bullshit Merchandise

Reina: [CN: Sexual assault; rape culture] How Reporting on Rape Can Actually Perpetrate Rape Culture

TaLynn: [CN: Child abuse; racism; emotional auditing] Demanding Black Forgiveness Is Just Another Way to Control Us

Jess: [CN: Exploitation; displacement; misogyny; transphobia] Rio 2016 Celebrates Women, But at What Cost?

Jordan: [CN: Moving GIFs at link] Gymnast Laurie Hernandez Winking Before a Routine Is the Best

Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!

Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Incitement of violence.]

Hillary Clinton: "Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president" https://t.co/UYpqI3w42L https://t.co/4v6OjICsUL
— CNN (@CNN) August 10, 2016

"Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that cross the line. His casual cruelty to a gold star family. His casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons. And now his casual inciting of violence. Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander-in-chief of the United States."—Hillary Clinton, at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, today.

Casual cruelty. Yep.