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.
Donald Trump: Failed Businessman
On Friday night, the Shareblue team debuted a new video, highlighting Donald Trump's ginormous failure as a businessman, despite his claims to the contrary. It has already been viewed more than 2 million times (and counting):
Video Description: Video clip of Donald Trump saying: "I'm really a good businessman. I'm so good at business."As I noted at Shareblue, Trump's "only asserted qualification for the U.S. presidency is that he's a successful businessman who will make 'the best deals.' But Trump's self-proclaimed business acumen is just another lie. The exposure of his grand fallacy leaves us with this: The Republican candidate has literally zero qualifications for the office he seeks."
Text onscreen over old footage of Trump: "FALSE. Over four decades, Donald Trump dramatically underperformed the market. Thanks to his family's wealth and connections, Trump was reportedly worth $100 million in 1978. Had he simply placed his money in a mutual fund and reinvested the dividends, he'd be worth billions more than he is today."
Text onscreen over footage of Trump making ridiculous expressions: "How bad is Trump at business?"
Text onscreen over footage of the Trump Taj Mahal: "Six of his hotels and casinos have filed for bankruptcy. BANKRUPT."
Video clip of Donald Trump saying: "It's a great time to start a mortgage company." Text onscreen: "Trump Mortgage FAILED. Closed in 18 months."
Video clip of Mitt Romney asking: "And whatever happened to Trump Airlines?" Text onscreen: "Trump Airlines FAILED. Trump defaulted on a $245 million loan and surrendered ownership."
Video clip of a TV ad for a Trump board game, featuring Trump saying, "My new game is Trump: The Game." Text onscreen: "Trump: The Game FAILED. Discontinued after sales were 60% lower than expected."
Video clip of Trump in a pitch for Trump Steaks saying: "I've just raised the stakes." Text onscreen: Trump Steaks FAILED. Pulled from shelves after two months."
Text onscreen over an image of Trump holding a bottle of Trump Vodka: "Trump Vodka FAILED. Production stopped after it failed to meet distribution requirements." Clip of a black man and a white woman trying Trump Vodka and gagging.
Video clip of Trump saying: "I've had many magazines." Text onscreen: "Trump Magazine FAILED. Publication stopped in its second year."
Text onscreen over image of Trump's travel website GoTrump.com: "Travel Website FAILED. Shut down within a year."
Video clip of a news story about Tour de Trump; in voiceover, a man says: "So while some of us think about buying a bike, Donald Trump has bought a bike race." Clip of Trump saying: "It can very much rival the Tour de France." Text onscreen: "Tour de Trump FAILED. Renamed after two years."
Video clip of Trump being interviewed about the USFL's New Jersey Generals: "It's gonna stay strong; gonna stay strong for a long time." Text onscreen: "USFL's New Jersey Generals FAILED. The league collapsed after taking Trump's business advice."
Video clip of Trump being interviewed about The Trump Network: "The Trump Network wants to give millions of people renewed hope, and with an exciting plan to opt out of the recession." Text onscreen: "Trump Network FAILED. This "multi-level marketing" project closed down in two years.
Text onscreen over image of Trump bottled water: "Trump Ice FAILED. Only available now on Trump properties."
Text onscreen: "It's no wonder he refuses to release his tax returns."
The Editors of the New York Times Give Clinton the Endorsement She Deserves
From the New York Times editors: "Hillary Clinton for President."
It's not surprising that the New York Times would endorse Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. What is surprising, however, is the quality of their endorsement.
It is, as I wrote at Shareblue, the endorsement of her career—and the endorsement she deserves.
This is the Clinton her supporters know, a woman who has taken risks where she assessed they could be taken and who has followed the path of pragmatism when required. A person and a politician who dares to be bold and refuses to be anything less than indomitable.There is more at the link.
The Times focuses solidly on Clinton's accomplishments, while not concealing that she has made mistakes. But crucially, they make note of how she has addressed and learned from these mistakes. It is not practical to expect a politician with a 40-year career to have been flawless, and the wholly unreasonable standards of perfection to which Clinton is frequently held are, refreshingly, not present here.
To acknowledge the complexity of her career, and her ability to come back from both error and defeat, does Clinton the great service of subverting the dehumanization facilitated by imposed perfectionism—and underscoring that she possesses one of the key qualities progressives do and should expect of their leaders: The capacity to progress.
What is most remarkable about the Times' endorsement is that it captures, in a way few major media endorsements have, who Clinton really is. From the spaces in between every word and line emerges a picture of the Hillary Clinton her millions of supporters know and admire.
...Finally, this is not an endorsement of Clinton despite, but an endorsement of Clinton because.
The NYT editors followed that up a day later with their anti-endorsement of Donald Trump: "Why Donald Trump Should Not Be President." There's a lot of information there, and still not a smidgen of the vast argument that can be made, and it ends bluntly: "Voters attracted by the force of the Trump personality should pause and take note of the precise qualities he exudes as an audaciously different politician: bluster, savage mockery of those who challenge him, degrading comments about women, mendacity, crude generalizations about nations and religions. Our presidents are role models for generations of our children. Is this the example we want for them?"
The truth is, that is precisely the role model many people want for their children. We must fervently hope they are fewer in number than those who prefer instead a history-making candidate who is also the most qualified person ever to run for the office.
"I, too, am America."
In February, I mentioned that the Smithsonian Institution would be opening the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. on September 24.
At the opening ceremony this weekend, President Obama gave a stunning address, the complete transcript of which is available at the Washington Post. Here are just a few excerpts:
As Americans we rightfully passed on the tales of the giants who built this country, who led armies into battle, who raged seminal debates in the halls of Congress and the corridors of power. But too often we ignored or forgot the stories of millions upon millions of others, who built this nation just as surely; whose humble elegance, whose callused hands, whose steady drive helped to create cities, erect industries, build the arsenals of democracy.There were a lot of great photos taken at the event. Perhaps the most talked-about was this image of First Lady Michelle Obama hugging former President George W. Bush.
And so this national museum helps to tell a richer and fuller story of who we are. It helps us better understand the lives, yes of the president, but also the slave; the industrialist but also the porter; the keeper of the status quo but also the activist seeking to overthrow that status quo; the teacher or the cook alongside the statesmen. And by knowing this other story, we better understand ourselves and each other. It binds us together. It reaffirms that all of us are American. That African American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story; it’s not the underside of the American story. It is central to the American story. That our glory derives not just from our most obvious triumphs but how we’ve rested triumph from tragedy and how we’ve been able to remake ourselves again and again and again, in accordance with our highest ideals.
I, too, am America.
The great historian John Hope Franklin, who helped to get this museum started once said “Good history is a good foundation for a better present and future.” He understood the best history doesn’t just sit behind a glass case. It helps us to understand what’s outside the case. The best history helps us recognize the mistakes that we’ve made in the dark corners of the human spirit that we need to guard against. And, yes, a clear-eyed view of history can make us uncomfortable. It’ll shake us out of familiar narratives, but it is precisely because of that discomfort that we learn and grow and harness our collective power to make this nation more perfect.
...This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don’t merely coexist, but inform each other.
...We are large, Walt Whitman told us, containing multitudes. We are large containing multitudes, full of contradictions. That’s America. That’s what makes us go.That’s what makes us extraordinary. And as is true for America, so is true for the African American experience. We’re not a burden on America or a stain on America, or an object of pity or charity for America. We’re America. And that’s what this museum explains.The fact that our stories have shaped every corner of our culture.
...The very fact of this day does not prove that America is perfect, but it does validate the ideas of our founders. That this country born of change, this country born of revolution, this country of we the people, this country can get better. And that’s why we celebrate it, mindful that our story is not yet done, mindful that we are just but on a weigh station on this common journey towards freedom. And how glorious it is that we enshrine it here on some of our nation’s most hallowed ground.
The same place where lives were once traded, but where hundreds and thousands of Americans of all colors and creeds once marched. How joyful it is that this story takes its rightful place alongside Jefferson who declared our independence; and Washington who made it real; alongside Lincoln, who saved our Union. The GIs who defended it. Alongside a new monument, to a king, gazing out toward, summoning us towards that mountain top. How righteous it is that we tell this story here.
There's something oddly affecting about this. Like a glimpse into a kinder, gentler country we aren't lucky enough to live in. pic.twitter.com/n1549DJxvl
— Elliott Lusztig (@ezlusztig) September 25, 2016
Many people will have many different reactions to that photo. What I feel when I look at it is the hope that our former president has learned something in the time he has known the Obamas. Has softened, in some way. Has seen a need his particular life never obliged him to see before.
What I know for certain about it is that it captured First Lady Michelle Obama's warmth and decency.
And then there is this image of President Obama hugging Congressman John Lewis.
this is a hell of a photo pic.twitter.com/w4MHW1f4XB
— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) September 25, 2016
I don't even know how to put into words what I feel when I look at that image. It is a visiblized story of history, so profoundly intimate. I feel overwhelmed by its import, and called urgently by its promise.
What a day for this nation.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
The Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by poetry.
Recommended Reading:
Chauncey: [Content Note: Racism; police brutality] The Hard Truth About Terence Crutcher and Tulsa: What Kind of White Person Do You Want to Be?
Tressie: [CN: Racism; police brutality] A Homegirl Reflecting on Charlotte Uprising
Maddy: [CN: White nationalism; harassment] Oculus Rift's Founder Funded a Group that Powers Pro-Trump Memes
Shena and Erin: [CN: Misogyny] Money, Power, and Respect: Challenges for Women's Groups in Complicated Times
Keith: [CN: Racism] U.S. Court Says It's Legal to Ban Dreadlocks in the Workplace
Maddie: The Sound of Fish Talking Is Weird as Hell
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Racism] I don't have a link for this, BECAUSE ALL OF THEM ARE SO TERRIBLE, but I've seen a number of public admonishments recently to professional athletes who are protesting police shootings of Black people to "stick to sports." And I just really need to say: STOP IT. That is just rank, dehumanizing trash. Essentially telling people "your humanity only matters to me so much as it is used to serve entertaining me" is absolutely vile. Enough.
[CN: Police brutality; racism] "Congressional Black Caucus: Use 'Full Weight of the Federal Government' in Investigations of Police Shootings: 'The killing of unarmed Black men and women by police is a crisis,' Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said. 'It is an emergency. And it has not just affected those victims and families of those who were killed, it has affected every Black man and woman who wonders when they or someone they know will be killed next.'"
[CN: Carcerality; self-harm; transphobia] "Chelsea Manning sentenced to 14 days of solitary confinement for suicide attempt." Rage seethe boil. In a statement, Manning wrote, in part: "I am feeling hurt. I am feeling lonely. I am embarrassed by the decision. I don't know how to explain it. I am touched by your warm messages of love and support. This comforts me in my time of need."
[CN: Racism] "Yesterday, more than 50 First Nations from Canada and the United States signed a treaty to unify their fight against new pipelines that would increase dependence on oil sands from Alberta, Canada." The treaty states: "As sovereign Indigenous Nations, we enter this treaty pursuant to our inherent legal authority and responsibility to protect our respective territories from threats to our lands, waters, air and climate, but we do so knowing full well that it is in the best interest of all peoples, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to put a stop to the threat of Tar Sands expansion."
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] The Cincinnati Enquirer has endorsed Hillary Clinton, which is a pretty big deal: "The Enquirer has supported Republicans for president for almost a century—a tradition this editorial board doesn't take lightly. But this is not a traditional race, and these are not traditional times. Our country needs calm, thoughtful leadership to deal with the challenges we face at home and abroad. We need a leader who will bring out the best in all Americans, not the worst. That's why there is only one choice when we elect a president in November: Hillary Clinton." They haven't endorsed a Democrat in more than 90 years.
The LA Times has also endorsed Hillary Clinton, under the super subtle headline: "Hillary Clinton would make a sober, smart and pragmatic president. Donald Trump would be a catastrophe." But tell us how you REALLY feel!
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] The Clinton campaign gave one of its prime seats at the debate to Mark Cuban. LOL OMG that is going to get under Donald Trump's skin sooooo hard.
Speaking of the debates, this New York Times piece contrasting the debate prep styles of the two candidates is quite a read! Honestly, if I knew nothing about either one of them, I could make a decision about for whom to vote on this article alone.
Uhhhh lol. "Donald Rumsfeld, 84, Says George HW Bush, 92, is Voting for Clinton Because 'He's Up in Years.'"
This collection of photos of mama bears with their cubs is breathtakingly adorable.
What have you been reading?
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.
The Choice Is So Clear
[Content Note: Misogyny; body policing.]
I've got a new piece at Shareblue about Hillary Clinton's new ad and how Donald Trump's words about women's bodies and appearances don't exist in a vacuum, but in a world where girls (and women) hear them and are affected by them. And also about how any dude who think women aren't his equal can't be trusted to protect our rights.
"Is this the president we want for our daughters?" asks the ad.Head on over to read the whole thing.
Trump does not respect women. (Nor does his running mate.) His vile comments about women's appearance and their primary value as property are legendary. His policies regarding women's healthcare and earnings are grim.
...A person who doesn't view women as equal cannot be entrusted to lead the nation in a way that ensures our legal equality is respected and enforced. We cannot be assured that even our most basic rights will be upheld by a man who believes we are inferior; who uses us to insult other men.
I can't even begin to convey how deeply upsetting it will be if this guy is elected instead of a woman who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of women and children.
First female feminist president, or dude who uses "little girl" to insult other men? Maude help us. How is this even a choice?
(That, of course, is rhetorical.)
President Obama's Debate Advice for Hillary Clinton
President Obama is going to appear on Good Morning America this morning (or maybe already has) (I have no idea what time that show is on) (I literally don't think I've ever seen it) (this is irrelevant) (anyway) and here is a clip of him talking about his friend Hillary with GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts:
EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Obama offers his advice for Hillary Clinton as she prepares to debate Donald Trump: 'Be yourself.' https://t.co/XABC9X1hHK pic.twitter.com/dJT2nrlnTH
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 22, 2016
Roberts, referring to next Monday's first presidential debate: It's Monday night. It's game time. Secretary Clinton's about to take the stage [at] the debate. What would you want to say to her before walking out for that first debate?He also said, though it is not in this clip, that she would make an "outstanding president" and that she "is motivated by a deep desire to make things better for people."
Obama: Be yourself and explain what motivates you. Because, I will tell you, I've gotten to know Hillary, and seen her work, and seen her in tough times and in good times. She's in this for the right reasons. I think there's a reason why we haven't had a woman president before, and so she's having to break down some barriers. There is a level of mistrust and a caricature of her that just doesn't jibe with who I know, this person that cares deeply about kids.
He also gave her this piece of advice for the debate: "To the degree to which she can talk not just about policy, but talk about why she has been able to despite all the slings and arrows that have been cast at her, just keep on going. It would be good for the American people to see that and be reminded of that."
Yes, yes it would.
It's funny, isn't it, how President Obama's advice sounds a lot less like advice for Hillary Clinton than it does advice to us about listening to Hillary when she tries to tell us who she is.
Officer Charged in Terence Crutcher's Killing
[Content Note: Police brutality; racism; death.]
On Tuesday, I wrote about Terence Crutcher, who was fatally shot by a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Crutcher, a 40-year-old Black man, was killed by Officer Betty Shelby who approached him after his vehicle stalled in the middle of a road.
Yesterday:
The Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced he charged Officer Betty Shelby with first-degree manslaughter in the death of Terence Crutcher.The Department of Justice is also investigating.
On the formal charge filed with the county, it says Officer Betty Shelby's actions last Friday, which resulted from her fear of Terence Crutcher, were unreasonable.
...If convicted, the first-degree manslaughter charge carries a minimum punishment of four years in prison.
The charge and its accompanying minimum sentence seem insufficient to me, but I'm guessing the prosecutor brought the charge he thought his office would best be able to successfully prosecute. Normally I wouldn't be inclined to give the D.A. the benefit of the doubt, but the fact that charges were brought so quickly is a pretty good sign.
Still. Goddamn. None of this looks like justice. Justice will look like no more Black people being killed by police.
In related news: Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence says "there is too much talk of 'institutional racism and institutional bias' in the wake of unrest following police shootings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina." He is a horrible person.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Brenda A.: "What book would you like to see adapted to film?"
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
[Content Note: There are some flashing lights in this video.]
Suzanne Vega: "Tom's Diner"
Outrage Machine
So, there's an article today in the New York Times by Jason Horowitz about Shareblue. Huzzah! Thanks to the NYT and Horowitz for taking notice of the mark we're making with progressive voters!
Obviously, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, so I realize that headlining the piece "Inside Hillary Clinton's Outrage Machine, Allies Push the Buttons" isn't intended to be flattering.
But irrespective of its intent, I wear the moniker of outrage machinist like a badge of honor. I mean, of course I'm outraged about the election.
We have a choice between electing a white nationalist nightmare who's catastrophically unfit for the presidency and electing the first female president who's running on the most progressive platform ever and is the most qualified candidate in history, and the media continually endeavor to draw false equivalencies between them. There's a lot about which to be outraged!
And, as I've said before: Progress ain't fueled by rainbows and gumdrops.
Anyway! I've done a bunch of tweeting about this today, and here are those tweets Storified (plus one from Aphra, included with her permission) in case you'd like to see them.
Oh, McCain.
I've got a new piece over at Shareblue about John McCain and his desperate, cynical, shameful maneuvering as he's locked in a tight battle for reelection to the Senate:
John McCain has some Trump Trouble.Whooooooops!
Trump is not the sort of candidate a war hero like McCain wants to support, given Trump's willingness to refer to the U.S. military as "the gang that couldn't shoot straight" and attack a Gold Star family. Trump even attacked McCain himself, saying, in reference to McCain having been a prisoner of war, that he prefers "people who weren't captured."
Still, McCain knew he risked alienating the Republican base if he didn't support the nominee, so he endorsed Trump. But that decision is hurting him, too: Because of Trump's relentless bigotry against undocumented immigrants, a recent poll shows more than 70 percent of Arizona Latinx are less likely to vote for McCain as a result of his endorsement.
What's a 'maverick' to do?
First, he tried walking the tightrope between Trump's appeal to white nationalism and his own need to appeal to Latinx voters by publishing two different versions of his immigration position. The version on his new Spanish-language site emphasizes his record supporting a pathway to citizenship, which is noticeably absent from his English-language campaign site, where he instead positions himself as an advocate for tougher border security.
There is a whole lot more (unfortunately) at the link, including his latest gambit, which is pretending that he's pro-choice. (No, really.) So, if you've long missed my concentrated fury being aimed in John McCain's direction, head on over and luxuriate in my pools of scorn!
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
Hillary Clinton appeared on "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Galifianakis, and it is pretty great! Warning for sardonic misogyny.
Holy shit: "Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign paid more than $500,000 in August to companies the brash businessman owns, according to campaign finance reports released late Tuesday." Which brings the grand total to "more than $8.2 million." More than eight million dollars to his own companies. By way of reminder: In 2000, Trump told Fortune magazine: "It's very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it." Welp.
[Content Note: Racism] OMFG: "Donald Trump's campaign chair in a prominent Ohio county has claimed there was 'no racism' during the 1960s and said black people who have not succeeded over the past half-century only have themselves to blame." This campaign is a sickness.
[CN: Police brutality; racism; violence] In Charlotte, protests over the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott stretched into a third day, with Governor Pat McCrory issuing "a state of emergency, activating the National Guard to 'assist local law enforcement' in silencing protests." Fuck.
Heads-up if you're a Yahoo user: "Yahoo launched an investigation into a possible breach in early August after someone offered to sell a data dump of more than 200 million Yahoo accounts on an underground market, including usernames, easy-to-crack password hashes, dates of birth, and backup email addresses. The company has since determined that the breach is real and that it's worse than initially believed."
John Lewis, everyone: "On Tuesday night, Lewis, who was the young chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was asked a question about whether the current civil rights movement—which emphasizes fighting police brutality and racial discrimination, and is often led by women—needs central leadership. Lewis said the civil rights movement of the last century was 'dominated' by men... But his comments on the movement reflected a long observed but rarely addressed part of the movement's treatment of women. 'They did all of the work, they did the heavy lifting,' Lewis said. 'They were kept back.' Dr. King and others, he said, had credit bestowed on them for the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. 'But it was a woman, a teacher at Alabama State College, Jo Ann Robinson that said we should boycott the buses. [She said] you should organize your students. So we made leaflets and people spread them all over the city of Montgomery. Then people started staying off the buses.'"
What have you been reading?
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.
