Suggested by Shaker particolored: "Which embarrassing fashion trend of yesteryear do you secretly wish would come back into vogue?"
The roll-tucked cuff is coming back. I CAN FEEL IT! You've had your day, skinny jeans!
Question of the Day
The roll-tucked cuff is coming back. I CAN FEEL IT! You've had your day, skinny jeans!
Don Jr. Sought Info on Clinton Foundation in Russia Meeting
Ken Dilanian and Natasha Lebedeva at NBC News: Donald Trump Jr. Asked Russian Lawyer for Info on Clinton Foundation.
Donald Trump Jr. asked a Russian lawyer at the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting whether she had evidence of illegal donations to the Clinton Foundation, the lawyer told the Senate Judiciary Committee in answers to written questions obtained exclusively by NBC News.Yeah, that sounds about right.
The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, told the committee that she didn't have any such evidence, and that she believes Trump misunderstood the nature of the meeting after receiving emails from a music promoter promising incriminating information on Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's Democratic opponent.
Once it became apparent that she did not have meaningful information about Clinton, Trump seemed to lose interest, Veselnitskaya said, and the meeting petered out.
Just to be abundantly clear: This could be accurate, or Veselnitskaya could be lying through her teeth and setting up Don Jr., because Putin remains unhappy about sanctions.
Either way, Don Jr. got himself into this mess by actively trying to collude with a foreign adversary to harm Hillary Clinton during the election.
Trump Is Going to Provoke a War over Jerusalem
And provoking a war, of course, seems entirely to be the point — because it has been made abundantly clear to Donald Trump what the likely consequences of this decision are:
Donald Trump is expected to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday, while also signing a waiver that delays moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, two U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News.So Trump has just spent the day making calls to Muslim leaders, letting them know he's going to do something that they warn him will have disastrous fallout. Cool.
...Ahead of the announcement, Trump held a series of phone calls on Tuesday with leaders in the Middle East.
The president spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, King Abdullah of Jordan, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the White House said.
...Abbas warned Trump about "the dangerous implications for such a decision on the peace process, the security and stability in the region and the world" and called the possible move "an unacceptable step," Rudeineh said.
...[King Abdullah] affirmed that the decision will have serious implications that will undermine efforts to resume the peace process and will provoke Muslims and Christians alike.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan, meanwhile, called Jerusalem "the red line for Muslims."
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi condemned the possible embassy announcement, saying that it would be seen a hostile move against Arabs and Muslims.
Lots of people have wondered why, precisely, Venezuela was included on Trump's latest iteration of the "travel ban," aside from its usefulness in attempting to conceal the ban's inherent Islamophobia.
As I noted back in August, the administration seemed to be war-shopping, with Vice President Mike Pence dispatched to do the heavy lifting on Venezuela.
Given that Trump's latest maneuver — no doubt rigorously supported by Pence, for whose conservative white evangelical pals Jerusalem plays a special role in their rapture fantasies — could cause a conflagration that cuts off the United States from major oil resources, suddenly oil-rich Venezuela makes a lot of sense as a target for an invented war.
I don't know exactly what the endgame is here, but I know it ain't good.
"Wives, Daughters, Mothers"
The limitation of the "Men, treat your female coworkers like you treat your wives, daughters, mothers" appeal is that a lot of men treat their wives, daughters, and mothers like shit.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 5, 2017
Another limitation to that argument is that I don't want men to use my proximation to them as a guideline for how they treat me. Respect me as a human being with agency whether we know each other or not, how about that?
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 5, 2017
Longtime readers will undoubtedly recall that I loathe the "wives, daughters, mothers" construction. So much so that I started a White House petition asking President Obama to stop using it. Really.
And, as much as I hate it within the general political framework of appealing to men to care about equal pay or whatever, because they benefit when "their women" succeed, I hate it even more when it's used in an anti-abuse context.
"What if it was your wife who was sexually harassed? Your mother? What if it was your daughter who was a victim of sexual assault? Your sister?"
I hate it because a woman shouldn't have to be a relative of a man for him to give a shit about her being harmed.
I hate it because of the dehumanizing tacit suggestion that men should care about harm to women in the same way they care about damage to their property.
I hate it because it implies that all men definitely care when their female relatives are harmed.
(Which is not true. And frankly every time I hear this rhetorical flourish used in this context, it makes me recall painful familial indifference. I suspect I'm not alone in that.)
I hate it because it implies that husbands, sons, fathers, brothers don't themselves ever harm their wives, mothers, daughters, sisters.
And that is a very dangerous implication. It's not neutral. It actively works to disappear interfamilial abuse, while exhorting men to treat all women the way they treat women in their families.
The "wives, daughters, mothers" construction is a dodge to avoid speaking to men directly about not harming women themselves. It creates a hierarchy of women worth caring about. It is potentially triggering to female survivors, whose male relatives were their victimizers or who caused secondary trauma via disbelief or indifference or shaming. It elides the prevalence of interfamilial violence.
This is not just an insufficient framework. It's an actively problematic one.
It's also a very revealing one. Note that even people determined to use a relational argument for how men should treat women at work never, ever, use this construction: Treat your female coworker like she's your boss.
There are limitations to that construction, too, as female bosses are frequently sexually harassed and/or assaulted by male underlings. But it's a more obvious framework for a workplace guideline. Still, it's not used.
Which is further evidence that there's a sinister purpose to invoke "wives, daughters, mothers," even in the context of a workplace: Because it subtly empowers the narrative of womanhood as something that gallant men protect, gross men exploit, and no man regards at all without agenda.
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.
We Resist: Day 320
One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures 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.
* * *
Here are some things in the news today:
Earlier today by Fannie: Dispatches From the Queer Resistance (No. 5). And by me: Mueller Pursues Trump's Relationship with Deutsche Bank and Powerful Man Confronts Powerful Man.
[Content Note: Islamophobia] Tom McCarthy and Oliver Laughland at the Guardian: Trump Travel Ban: Supreme Court Allows Enforcement as Appeals Proceed. "The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a ban ordered by Donald Trump on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries and two other countries could be immediately imposed while multiple court cases challenging the ban are resolved. The ultimate disposition of the ban was expected to take months to resolve. But the 7-2 ruling by the high court was a blow to anti-discrimination advocates, who vowed to protest against the decision. The ban means that the United States would categorically refuse entry visas to prospective travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, plus North Korea and Venezuela." Goddammit.
To Muslims in the United States, those kept apart from loved ones by the ban, and everyone who cherishes religious equality, we stand with you. We continue to fight for freedom and equality and for those who are unfairly being separated from their loved ones. #NoMuslimBanEver
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 4, 2017
Selina Wang at Bloomberg: How the Kremlin Tried to Pose as American News Sites on Twitter.
The Kremlin-backed Russian Internet Research Agency operated dozens of Twitter accounts masquerading as local American news sources that collectively garnered more than half-a-million followers. More than 100 news outlets also published stories containing those handles in the run-up to the election, and some of them were even tweeted by a top presidential aide. These news imposter accounts, which are part of the 2,752 now-suspended accounts that Twitter Inc. has publicly disclosed to be tied to the IRA, show how the Russian group sought to build local communities of followers to disseminate messages.Damn. Damn.
Many of the news imposter accounts amassed their following by tweeting headlines from real news sites, while others sought to represent certain communities. They targeted a diverse set of regions across the political spectrum, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston. Several of the accounts were impersonating local news outlets in swing states, like @TodayPittsburgh, @TodayMiami, and @TodayCincinnati.
...Researchers have concluded that many of the IRA-linked accounts were created to sow social discord, by trying to "put left-wing people further to the left and right-wing people further to the right," said Ben Nimmo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab. "It's that attempt to amplify the differences in society."
Researchers say another purpose of the accounts was to establish them as trusted news sources, and then activate them later to spread propaganda and disinformation.
Colin Kahl at Foreign Policy: The Evidence Is Damning: What Team Trump Knew and When. "The circumstantial evidence suggesting that the Trump campaign collaborated with the Kremlin to get [Donald] Trump elected continues to mount. But even if it turns out that there was no direct 'collusion' to shape the 2016 election, what we have learned so far — including most recently from retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn's guilty plea this past week — is incredibly troubling. The evidence is now irrefutable that Trump, his associates, and Republican leadership more broadly conspired to give Moscow a pass despite (or perhaps because of) Russia's attack on our democracy. While much remains unknown about the full extent and nature of the relationship between Team Trump and Russia's 2016 election activities, we actually know a great deal already." A must-read. Excellent summary.
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Sahil Kapur at Bloomberg: 'Death to Democrats': How the GOP Tax Bill Whacks Liberal Tenets.
Trump and GOP leaders have promised that the two main goals of a tax code revamp are to benefit middle-class families and to slash the corporate tax rate. But paying for those changes has come in large part at the expense of breaks that are important to residents of high-tax states, which tend to be Democratic.
Benefits used by universities and graduate students are also on the chopping block. And the repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate to buy insurance — a centerpiece of Democrats' biggest achievement in a generation — is estimated to generate some $300 billion to pay for tax cuts.
"It's death to Democrats," said conservative economist Stephen Moore, who advised Trump's campaign on tax policy.
"They go after state and local taxes, which weakens public employee unions. They go after university endowments, and universities have become play pens of the left. And getting rid of the mandate is to eventually dismantle Obamacare," Moore said in an interview, arguing that it would accelerate "a death spiral" in the health-care law's marketplaces.
The fact that Republicans aren't even bothering to be circumspect AT ALL anymore — the complete abandonment of dog whistles — is a further indication of how they don't expect to have to face voters in free and fair elections anymore.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 5, 2017
[CN: White supremacy] Tasneem Nashrulla at BuzzFeed: Masked White Supremacists Gave the Nazi Salute at a Texas School. "Masked members of a white supremacist group hung racist banners and signs and gave the Nazi salute at the Southern Methodist University in Texas on Sunday. The signs — one of which said, 'White men! Save your people. Reject the opioid beast!' — were posted by the Texas Vanguard, a part of Vanguard America which is a white supremacist group that frequently targets campuses across the country in an attempt to recruit students." Fucking hell.
Travis Gettys at Raw Story: Oliver North Urging White House to Build Private Spy Army Overseen by Betsy DeVos' Brother. "The Trump administration is considering a scheme by a cast of shady characters to build a private network of spies to bypass U.S. intelligence services. Blackwater founder Erik Prince and retired CIA officer John Maguire developed the plan, which was pitched to the administration by Iran-Contra figure Oliver North, reported The Intercept. Sources told the website the plan would give the White House a way to counter 'deep state' political enemies in the intelligence community and give the CIA director an army of spies with no official cover in countries such as North Korea and Iran, which are considered 'denied areas' for American covert operations."
This is the fulfillment of a threat I noted almost exactly one year ago: Kellyanne Conway Says Trump is "Going to Put His Own People" in the Intelligence Community. Welp.
* * *
[CN: Sexual harassment and assault. Covers entire section.]
Stephanie McCrummen at the Washington Post: Woman Shares New Evidence of Relationship with Roy Moore When She Was 17. "'He called me a liar,' said Gibson, who says she not only openly dated Moore when she was 17 but later joined him in passing out fliers during his campaign for circuit court judge in 1982 and exchanged Christmas cards with him over the years. 'Roy Moore made an egregious mistake to attack that one thing — my integrity.'"
Also at the Washington Post today, this piece by Sean Sullivan, Michael Scherer, and David Weigel: RNC to Support Roy Moore in Senate Race in Alabama, Weeks After Cutting Ties with His Campaign. "Trump led an aggressive charge Monday on behalf of embattled Senate nominee Roy Moore, with the Republican National Committee rejoining Moore's side in Alabama weeks after cutting ties with him following allegations of sexual misconduct. Before dawn, Trump took to Twitter to declare his strongest support yet for Moore. By day's end, the RNC was back in his corner and America First Action, a pro-Trump group, said it would spend $1.1 million to try to push Moore across the finish line."
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Todd Spangler at the Detroit Free Press: Another John Conyers Accuser Comes Forward, Saying He Groped Her in Church. "Another former staff employee of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, came forward late Monday to publicly accuse the congressman of sexual harassment, saying he once slid his hand up her skirt in church. Attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing Marion Brown, the former staffer who first accused Conyers, 88, of sexual harassment, on Monday night made public on Twitter an affidavit from Elisa Grubbs making many of the same accusations."
Caitlin MacNeal at TPM: Rep. Conyers Announces Retirement Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations. "Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) announced Tuesday morning that he will retire from Congress more than a week after allegations of sexual misconduct against the congressman started surfacing. 'I'm retiring today,' he announced on the Detroit radio show 'The Mildred Gaddis Show.' He endorsed his son, John Conyers, III, to replace him in Congress."
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Yashar Ali at the Huffington Post: Netflix Ousts Actor Danny Masterson Amid Rape Allegations. "Actor Danny Masterson has been ousted from the Netflix show 'The Ranch' amid multiple rape allegations, the streaming service announced in a statement sent to HuffPost on Tuesday. His last day of filming on the program took place on Monday. Four women have accused Masterson of violently raping them in the early 2000s. Masterson has been under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for just under a year. 'As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of 'The Ranch.' Yesterday was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him,' a Netflix spokesman said. The news comes a day after HuffPost reported that a Netflix executive told one of Masterson's accusers on Sunday that higher-ups at the company don't think the allegations are credible. The company says the executive was unaware at the time that the woman was one of the alleged victims."
[CN: White supremacy] Rachel Leah at Salon: "Alt-Right" Women Are Upset That "Alt-Right" Men Are Treating Them Terribly. "There's trouble brewing in the MAGA world, as prominent women in the 'alt-right' are upset that white nationalists are being misogynistic towards them. Women in the 'alt-right' 'are constantly harassed by low level anonymous trolls trying to put us in our place,' self-described 'Ethno Nationalist' Tara McCarthy wrote on Twitter Sunday, in a moment of revelation that was well-known to basically anyone else. 'The ultimate goal seems to be to bully us off the internet.'" Uh, yeah. That's because the patriarchy and white supremacy exist in a constantly reinforcing loop. Did these women seriously imagine that white men who hate people of color and religious minorities et. al. were really going to make an exception for women?! LOL whoooooooops.
John Rogers at the AP: In Wake of Weinstein, Men Wonder If Hugging Women Still Okay. NO, UNWANTED HUGGING IS NOT OKAY AND IT NEVER HAS BEEN. "Steve Wyard thought he knew what sexual harassment looked like: a put-out-or-lose-your-job overture. Now he's not so sure. 'Have we gotten to the point now where men can't say, 'That's a nice dress' or 'Did you do something with your hair?'' says the veteran sales associate for a Los Angeles company. 'The potential problem is you can't even feel safe saying, 'Good morning' anymore.'" STFU.
I was so enraged by this horseshit that I did a Twitter thread about it and created a moment of it: On the Poor Men Whining That Sexual Harassment Isn't Allowed Anymore.
* * *
[CN: Wildfires; climate change] AP/Guardian: Rapidly Spreading California Wildfire Forces Thousands from Homes. "Nearly 8,000 homes have been evacuated in southern California after ferocious winds whipped up an explosive wildfire that could soon threaten a city of more than 100,000. ...Evacuation orders were expanded to include homes in Ventura, a city 12 miles south-west of Santa Paula, with more than 100,000 residents. 'The fire growth is just absolutely exponential,' the Ventura county fire chief, Mark Lorenzen, said. 'All that firefighters can do when we have winds like this is get out ahead, evacuate people, and protect structures.'"
I'm thinking about the people and animals who are affected by this wildfire, hoping that everyone can evacuate safely and that the devastation is not vast, and wishing desperately that we had leadership who would make better choices across the board, from funding firefighting to addressing the climate change that exacerbates wildfires.
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Dispatches From the Queer Resistance (No. 5)
Here's my regular reminder that 77% of LGBT voters chose Hillary Clinton over any other contender in the 2016 general election.
Many reasons exist for this disproportionate level of support for Clinton. I suspect that a big one was the accurate prediction that, as signaled by his selection of Mike Pence as his VP candidate, Donald Trump would become a hypocritical Christian Cultural Warrior for the far-right. And also, the President makes important appointments and nominations to the judiciary, which has historically played an important role in recognizing LGBT rights when populist majorities have refused to do so.
Here's a roundup of queer-related news:
1) World AIDS Day
December 1st was World AIDS Day, which was founded in 1988 to "unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness."
As we mark this day, I cannot help but think of the generation of queer men and trans individuals we have lost to HIV/AIDS in the early days of the crisis, largely due to fear, ignorance, hatred, and government inaction. What does this loss of humanity mean for our resistance efforts now, not just in addressing the ongoing HIV epidemic, but also with respect to the LGBT/queer rights movement and resisting the hostility of the current Republican Administration?
"Unfinished Painting", Keith Haring, 1989— leeway (@radio_format) December 2, 2017
One of Keith's last works before dying of AIDS at age 31 in 1990. It was left purposely unfinished to represent his life cut short by the gross negligence of the gov't (specifically the Reagan admin).#WorldAidsDay pic.twitter.com/MabkEjPRdl
2. Trump's World AIDS Day Message
Donald Trump issued a proclamation for World AIDS Day. This acknowledgement contained multiple references to "public-private partnerships" in addressing HIV/AIDS, while making no reference to the populations in the United States that are disproportionately impacted by the disease.
In response, the LGBTQ Task Force issued a press release,:
"Looking at President Donald Trump’s proclamation for World AIDS Day one might think HIV was not an issue for people of color or the LGBTQ community, since the president’s statement did not mention either."The press release also noted that gay and bisexual men, people of color, and trans people are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. In addition, Trump's proposed budget would cut $59 million from the Ryan White Health Care Act, which provides medical treatment and social services to those living with HIV/AIDS.
3. LGBT Rights Advocate Advice on Resistance
Cleve Jones, longtime LGBT and HIV/AIDS advocate, gave a recent interview at a historic gay bar in Chicago while promoting his memoir, When We Rise: My Life in the Movement. Via The Windy City Times, he discusses how his activism was shaped by meeting, and losing, Harvey Milk. And:
Jones also recounted his despair over the election of President Donald Trump in November 2016, but added that it was ultimately a moment like many others, where it initially seemed like there was no hope.4. A Modest Question
"Many times, I thought, 'It's over,'" he recalled. Among similar times were his realization that he was gay, Milk's assassination in 1978 and the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. But with each of those experiences, he said, others helped him overcome his despair.
"I am thinking about the future. The past is with me," Jones said. "…But I'm not done. We're not done. The struggles aren't over."
He added, "Every one of you should look inside yourselves and figure out what it is that you bring to this fight."
Hey, has anyone determined yet if the current Vice President of the United States actually wants to hang queers, or whether the President was "just joking"? And, isn't it remarkable how quickly that story fell off the radar?
5. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument Today In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States is hearing oral arguments in the case of the Christian man who runs a bakery in which he refuses to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples, in violation of state law. Or, as I like to frame the issue at hand: Do Christian businessowners opposed to same-sex marriage have a special right to violate their state's anti-discrimination laws during the course of operating their businesses?
Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog provides a rundown of the arguments. Per Howe, the baker, or "cake artist" per his attorneys, argues that the First Amendment bars the state from requiring him to design cakes that violate his religious beliefs. As a cake artist, he argues, designing cakes is a form of expression "even if they are made with 'mostly edible materials like icing and fondant rather than ink and clay,' because they convey messages about marriage and the couple being married."
Collect your smelling salts and gather round your fainting couches because I'm sure this will shock you, but the Trump Administration has filed a brief supporting the bakery.
Colorado and the couple, on the other hand, argue that, "[t]he law makes clear that when businesses sell products or services to the public, they cannot discriminate against some members of that public based on, for example, their sexual orientation." The more general concern here is that this case could set a precedent for anti-gay Christians to chip away at the power of anti-discrimination laws to protect gay people and, potentially, other minority groups.
For context, the "cake artist" is being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified ADF as an extremist group founded by members of the Christian Right that "has supported the recriminalization of homosexuality in the US and criminalization abroad" as well as "state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad."
I have a working theory about anti-LGBT strategy here. With Trump continuing to be historically unpopular, how beneficial might it be for the Christian Right to wage a revived, full-on culture war, in which leaders of the Christian Right convince their followers that the forces of Political Correctness are oppressing them? What vigorous anti-LGBT counter-measures and messaging might the Trump/Pence Administration deliver to their loyal, white conservative Christian base, in response to a win or, perhaps worse, a loss in this case? It's hard for me to see any outcome of this case as a win, at least in the short-term, for LGBT people.
6. FIFA Issues Warning to Gay Soccer Fans
Via The Washington Post:
"FIFA’s anti-discrimination advisers are warning gay soccer fans going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia that displays of affection could be met with an aggressive response from intolerant locals.What neat leadership the Trump Team has befriended!
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment remains strong and intensified after a law was introduced in 2013 prohibiting dissemination to minors of 'propaganda' legitimizing homosexuality.
As fans prepare their trips after Friday’s World Cup draw, the FARE network said it will produce a guide spelling out the threats to be prepared for in Russia."
7. I Don't Even Know
Via LGBTQ Nation:
When I saw this article, I immediately showed it to Melissa because I was at a loss for words. She replied (which I'm sharing with her permission), with a simple, but pertinent, question as to whether the image was "Alex Jones jizzing in his pants at the thought of a lesbian eating brains."
That sounds about right.
On that note, what other queer/LGBTQ stuff is going on in the world?
Powerful Man Confronts Powerful Man
[Content Note: Sexual harassment and assault.]
During a panel last night in New York, accompanying a 20th anniversary screening of the film Wag the Dog, moderator John Oliver asked Dustin Hoffman about recent allegations of sexual harassment and assault. And Hoffman was not happy about it.
There is video of part of the exchange at the Washington Post, where Steven Zeitchik also provides a detailed summary.
The whole thing is fascinating, but, as I noted on Twitter, the most compelling part to me is Hoffman asking if he's a powerful man. Such a remarkable moment of a man diminishing himself to play the victim in response to accountability for victimizing others.
Oliver said that he considered not addressing the subject at what was intended as a genial chat but then decided he bore an obligation.Wow. WOW.
"I can't leave certain things unaddressed," the host said. "The easy way is not to bring anything up. Unfortunately that leaves me at home later at night hating myself. 'Why the…didn't I say something? No one stands up to powerful men.'"
"Am I the powerful man?" Hoffman asked.
Anyone who sees me interact with men on here has seen it. As soon as I object to how a man treats me, as soon as he feels confronted, he turns on me, and if I stand my ground, he turns himself into the victim. Now it's not about how he was a jerk, but about how I'm a bitch.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 5, 2017
Imagine being a man of Hoffman's privilege, of his wealth and visibility, who has spent decades at the top of his highly influential career, and asking "Am I the powerful man?"
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 5, 2017
"Am I the powerful man?" Yes, Dustin. Yes, you are.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 5, 2017
This is a dynamic that men must begin to understand — particularly because it doesn't work nearly as well when the confrontation is between two men, which should urgently move men to be challengers in precisely the way Oliver is here, instead of leaving the work to women.
Let me observe once again that a man who is truly in alliance with women doesn't treat the dismantling of the patriarchy as "women's work."
Not just because it's shitty and lazy, but because he knows that men have leverage to address abusive men in ways that women don't, because of the patriarchy.
John Oliver will be called a hero today. If I had done precisely the same thing, even if to a man who had harmed me personally, I'd be called a bitch.
That isn't incidental. And neither is the fact that Hoffman's victim-playing wasn't effective, because we aren't entrained to view men who hold other men accountable as unfair, uncharitable, mean.
More of this, please. I'm sure I'm not the only woman who would like to rest while men who assert to be allies step the fuck up for awhile.
Mueller Pursues Trump's Relationship with Deutsche Bank
First, a brief history of Donald Trump and Deutsche Bank: After a series of bankruptcies and other bad financial decisions made the Trump Organization toxic to lenders, Deutsche Bank, who inexplicably continued to do business with Trump, became his biggest financer.
In February, a report in the Guardian, about Deutsche Bank doing an "internal investigation" for any potential ties between Trump's accounts in Russia, noted that Trump owed Deutsche Bank around $300 million in loan repayments.
He has a long history and a lot of debt with Deutsche Bank, who themselves have a history of shady dealings in the U.S., which has prompted a number of federal investigations. In January, they were fined $630 million by the U.S. Department of Justice for helping Russian oligarchs launder their money.
Trump isn't the only member of his administration with deep ties to Deutsche Bank. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also has a complex and troubling relationship to the bank. And Jared Kushner's real estate company had finalized a $285 million loan with Deutsche Bank right before the election, which he subsequently failed to disclose. Caroline O. has even more in a Twitter thread beginning here.
In May, House Democrats asked Deutsche Bank "to hand over its findings on two politically charged matters — its banking on behalf of [Donald] Trump and trades from the bank's Moscow operation that helped move some $10 billion out of Russia." They refused, citing client confidentiality.
But now Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued a subpoena requesting "information on certain money and credit transactions" regarding "accounts held by [Trump] and his family."
And, at this point, Deutsche Bank may be more inclined to comply: "Handing over the records now could actually help Deutsche Bank emerge from the shadows cast by its problematic clients. While banks are normally proud to cater to heads of state...the Trumps have proven to be more of a liability than an asset. As one manager told Handelsblatt this summer, Deutsche Bank's ties to Trump pose an 'enormous reputational risk.' Executives in Frankfurt have been bracing for difficult times ahead in Washington, with the bank being 'led round the political arena by the nose.'"
So, the basic gist of today's news is that Mueller continues to investigate and Deutsche Bank may comply, or may not!
And another general reminder that Donald Trump and everyone with whom he surrounds himself are corrupt as fuck.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker ivyceltress: "What gets you out of bed?"
I realize this question is supposed to elicit a more existential response, but, the truth is, what usually gets me out of bed is the dogs wanting their breakfast and my own need to pee.
That isn't grand, but it's very reliable.
The Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by morning frost.
Recommended Reading:
Adi Robertson: FCC Commissioner, 28 Senators, and New York's Attorney General Call to Delay Net Neutrality Vote
Marykate Jasper: [Content Note: Sexual violence] Brock Turner Is Now Complaining That the Justice System Was "Fundamentally Unfair" to Him
Tiffany J. Huang: [CN: Sexual harassment and assault] Yes, All Women: Asian-American Women, Too
LaLa Drew: [CN: White supremacy; anti-Blackness; misogynoir; bullying] Stop Shrinking Us
Liz Kruesi: A Hidden Supercluster Could Solve the Mystery of the Milky Way
Jason Weisberger: [CN: Moving GIF at link] Some People Can Hear This GIF (Like Jason, I can't hear it, but I can definitely feel it!)
Tom Hardy and Blu: A Man and His Dog
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
A Brief Update on What Trump Knew About Flynn When
CNN confirms that WH lawyer Don McGann told Trump that NSA Michael Flynn lied to the FBI. Trump refused to fire Flynn until the WaPo article came out nearly two weeks later.
— Mr. Smith (@GuardianRover) December 4, 2017
So, Trump was essentially going to reward Flynn with continued employment in the highest levels of government for lying to the FBI, and felt obliged to shit-can him only when that lie became public. https://t.co/aapmdTDPsI
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
👇Additionally: It sounds to me as though the President of the United States made lying to the FBI (which is a crime) a condition of the National Security Advisor keeping his job. https://t.co/QkVl8GFLOb
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
I wish I could say I felt confident that, at some point, all of this would matter. I do not feel confident about that. I hope I am wrong.
And Now for Some Good News
One of the most amazing parts of the uterus transplant birth (besides the baby, of course), is the fact that a woman signed up to have her uterus removed and transplanted into a complete stranger to give another woman a shot at motherhood https://t.co/YwNzDfaz89
— Alexandra Sifferlin (@acsifferlin) December 1, 2017
Goddamn this is amazing. I'm probably just too old to be a donor now, which makes me so sad, because I've long hoped for the option to donate the healthy uterus I don't want to use to a woman who needed one. https://t.co/XJd6D3aXxZ
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 2, 2017
Anyway. It makes me really happy that the science has advanced to a point where there could soon be a generation of women (and men, and genderqueer folks) who can support each other's reproductive decisions in such a profound and intimate way.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 2, 2017
The reason I thought I might be too old is because these sorts of studies tend to prioritize younger participants, but it turns out donors in the study can range in age from 30-60, so I'm not too old after all.
The science right now is limited to donations from and to cis (and possibly some intersex) women, but certainly uterine transplants for trans women aren't far away.
There's something very precious and exciting to me about this particular piece of progress, in this moment. This woman-centered scientific advancement, enabling such deeply loving gifts between women.
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.
We Resist: Day 319
One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures 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.
* * *
Here are some things in the news today:
Earlier today by me: The Tax Bill Passes the Senate: MAKE YOUR CALLS and Trump Thinks He's Above the Law — and His Lawyer Agrees.
I’m on my back but please don’t forget Dec 7th protests for #NetNeutraility are everywhere : https://t.co/2D6A5yVDLM
— Sydette (@Blackamazon) December 4, 2017
⬆️ MAKE YOUR CALLS: DEMAND THE FCC MAINTAIN NET NEUTRALITY. This is not a drill. This is it. If we lose Net Neutrality, it is going to become much harder to organize and much more difficult to preserve voting rights. Be your own best advocate, because we can't depend on anyone but ourselves to save us.
* * *
[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link.] Billy House at Bloomberg: House Republicans Prepare Contempt Action Against FBI, DOJ. "U.S. House Republicans are drafting a contempt of Congress resolution against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray, claiming stonewalling in producing material related to the Russia-Trump probes and other matters. Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and other committee Republicans, after considering such action for several weeks, decided to move after media including the New York Times reported Saturday on why a top FBI official assigned to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russia-Trump election collusion had been removed from the investigation. Republicans, including the president, pointed to the reports as evidence that the entire probe into Russian meddling has been politically motivated."
By way of reminder: Nunes was forced to "temporarily" recuse himself the Russia investigation after he was exposed for running interference for the White House. I guess that temporary recusal is over, because he is back to running interference. Make no mistake that this is laying the groundwork for Trump to get rid of Bob Mueller.
Carol D. Leonnig, John Wagner, and Ellen Nakashima at the Washington Post: Trump Lawyer Says President Knew Flynn Had Given FBI the Same Account He Gave to Vice President.
Trump's personal lawyer said Sunday that the president knew in late January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with the Russian ambassador.What a collection of traitorous scoundrels. Fucking hell.
Trump lawyer John Dowd said the information was passed to Trump by White House counsel Donald McGahn, who had been warned about Flynn's statement to the vice president by a senior Justice Department official.
...Dowd said Sunday that Trump knew only what acting attorney general Sally Yates had told the White House counsel: that Flynn's accounts to the agents interviewing him were the same as those Flynn gave Pence, and "that the [Justice] Department was not accusing him of lying."
People familiar with Yates's account say she never discussed any part of the FBI investigation with the White House.
Caitlin MacNeal at TPM: Trump: 'I Feel Very Badly for Flynn' That the FBI 'Destroyed His Life'. "Donald Trump on Monday morning claimed that the FBI 'destroyed' former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's life but did not go after Hillary Clinton, telling reporters outside the White House that he feels 'very badly' for Flynn. 'I feel badly for Gen. Flynn. I feel very badly. He's led a very strong life. And I feel very badly,' Trump told reporters. 'I will say this, Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI, nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and they destroyed his life.'" OMFG my head is truly going to explode with rage.
Josh Gerstein at Politico: George Papadopoulos' Late Night with the FBI. "While his late-night arrival at the jail may lead some to suspect a prolonged interrogation by the FBI, legal experts said it was highly unlikely agents would have attempted that. One reason: Papadopoulos already had Breen and Stanley on board as his lawyer by the time of the February interview, so any attempt to interview him without his lawyers could have violated legal ethics rules. ...With that option appearing to be off the table, the FBI and Mueller's team appear to have decided to shock Papadopoulos about the seriousness of his predicament by making the arrest. 'Law enforcement likes to get somebody's attention as much as they can in a lawful way,' Breen observed."
Nicholas Fandos at the New York Times: Operative Offered Trump Campaign 'Kremlin Connection' Using N.R.A. Ties. "A conservative operative trumpeting his close ties to the National Rifle Association and Russia told a Trump campaign adviser last year that he could arrange a back-channel meeting between Donald J. Trump and Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, according to an email sent to the Trump campaign. A May 2016 email to the campaign adviser, Rick Dearborn, bore the subject line 'Kremlin Connection.' In it, the N.R.A. member said he wanted the advice of Mr. Dearborn and Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, then a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Trump and Mr. Dearborn's longtime boss, about how to proceed in connecting the two leaders."
As Josh Marshall noted on Twitter: "Possibility that NRA became a direction and cash conduit from Russia to Trump has been hanging in the background for months. Now maybe it comes into the open."
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Chris Riotta at Newsweek: Jared Kushner Failed to Disclose He Led a Foundation Funding Illegal Israeli Settlements Before U.N. Vote.
Jared Kushner failed to disclose his role as a co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015, a time when the group funded an Israeli settlement considered to be illegal under international law, on financial records he filed with the Office of Government Ethics earlier this year.Every one of these stories would be a major scandal in any other administration. In the Trump administration, there is so much corruption, collusion, and sundry other fuckery that none of them will register as more than a blip in the onslaught of daily news.
The latest development follows reports on Friday indicating the White House senior adviser attempted to sway a United Nations Security Council vote against an anti-settlement resolution passed just before Donald Trump took office, which condemned the structure of West Bank settlements. The failure to disclose his role in the foundation—at a time when he was being tasked with serving as the president’s Middle East peace envoy—follows a pattern of egregious omissions that would bar any other official from continuing to serve in the West Wing, experts and officials told Newsweek.
* * *
[CN: Sexual assault.] So Billy Bush is back to let us know that the Access Hollywood tape — in which Donald Trump said on a hot mic that he grabs women by our genitals — is not "fake," as Trump has recently been implying, and also that he (Bush) is a changed man after the fallout from the release of the tape and the ensuing year that has included many survivors coming forward about powerful abusers.
I'm guessing you can imagine my response to this crapola, but just in case it's somehow a mystery:
I didn't need Billy Bush to tell me what I already knew, and I don't need to hear about how he wasn't the only one laughing or the only one behaving unethically in pursuit of fame and fortune. This isn't "woke." It's apologia. https://t.co/poGh94zmal
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
One of my most uncharitable attributes is my stubborn refusal to participate in men's redemption arcs.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
I'm sure you'll also be positively shocked to hear that there were plenty of men (and some women) lining up to tell me what a mean bitch I am for not baking Billy Bush all the cookies and to mansplain at me that I'm the real problem. (So I keep hearing!)
"In fairness to Billy Bush..." Nah.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
One of my favorite (ahem) arguments was that Bush was only doing something "we've all done" — failed to challenge a powerful man. Which is a deeply mendacious mischaracterization of what Bush did.
Your characterization of Bush as "just nodding his head or playing along" is deeply dishonest. That is not what he did. He laughed and validated what Trump was saying. And then he got off the bus and encouraged a woman to hug Trump, having just heard Trump assaults women.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
You know what's *not* complicated? If you want to forgive Billy Bush b/c it helps absolve you of your own past cowardly behavior, you do you. But you have no right telling me, a survivor of rape whose rape has been publicly mocked by men, how I need to feel about Billy Bush.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 4, 2017
This exchange began after Kent came into my mentions to admonish me: "It's time to forgive this dude."
General advice: Don't tell survivors of sexual assault how they should feel about men who commit or abet or laugh at or joke about or defend sexual assault.
Things I can't believe I need to say in the year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and seventeen. But here we are.
* * *
[CN: Sexual harassment and/or assault. Covers this whole section.]
In the latest round of allegations against prominent men...
Suki Kim at the Cut: Public Radio Icon John Hockenberry Accused of Harassing Female Colleagues. "This story starts differently than most sexual-harassment accounts out there. It begins with the accused harasser honorably 'retiring' after a successful career, which sets off an investigation — my own — into whether there were other women who worked with this man who'd felt as, well, violated as I did."
Michael Cooper at the New York Times: Met Opera Suspends James Levine After New Sexual Abuse Accusations. "The Metropolitan Opera suspended James Levine, its revered conductor and former music director, on Sunday after three men came forward with accusations that Mr. Levine sexually abused them decades ago, when the men were teenagers."
Rachael Bade at Politico: Lawmaker Behind Secret $84K Sexual Harassment Settlement Unmasked. "Rep. Blake Farenthold used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by his former spokesman — the only known sitting member of Congress to have used a little-known congressional account to pay an accuser, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. Lauren Greene, the Texas Republican's former communications director, sued her boss in December 2014 over allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and creating a hostile work environment."
Kate Nocera and Tarini Parti at BuzzFeed: She Says She Quit Her Campaign Job After He Harassed Her; Now He's in Congress. "Samantha, whose last name BuzzFeed News is withholding at her request, began working for [Democratic] Rep. Ruben Kihuen early in his campaign to unseat Republican Rep. Cresent Hardy in December 2015 and quit by April 2016. Starting in February of that year, Samantha, who was 25 at the time, said Kihuen, who was then 35 and still competing in the primary race, propositioned her for dates and sex despite her repeated rejections. On two occasions, she says he touched her thighs without consent."
In better news, the wonderful Malcolm Nance just straight-up called Julian Assange "Rapey McRapeface."
Wow @JulianAssange. After 13 months you finally decide to tweet at me? Flattered but I’m too busy traveling worldwide-a free man. 😉 Meantime Rapey McRapeface, Keep hiding in your broom cupboard till Trump renditions you to USA for espionage! FYI #SnowdenHasaBroomCloset https://t.co/SJULAtC0hS
— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) December 3, 2017
Obviously that made me laugh for ten million years, but, additionally, I am legit grateful to Nance for neither ignoring nor soft-pedaling the accusations against Assange. It's depressingly rare.
* * *
Jared Bernstein at the Washington Post: Two Top Republican Tax Writers Reveal Their Prejudice and Their Strategy.
On Saturday, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and member of the Senate's tax writing committee, said this about repealing the estate tax:I hate them so much.
"I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it's on booze or women or movies."
A few days before that, the chair of the committee, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), said the following regarding Congress's failure to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides Medicaid coverage to 9 million kids in low-income families.
"The reason CHIP's having trouble is because we don't have money anymore, and to just add more and more spending and more and more spending, and you can look at the rest of the bill for the more and more spending," Hatch said.
Alex Isenstadt at Politico: Trump Moves to Block Romney from the Senate. "Donald Trump is going all out to persuade seven-term Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch to seek reelection — a push aimed in no small part at keeping the president's longtime nemesis, Mitt Romney, out of the Senate." Look, I have no love, none, for Mitt Romney, but it is truly remarkable for a sitting president to try to block the election of a member of his own party who was himself a nominee for the presidency. This is rank authoritarian behavior.
A reminder that as Donald Trump tweets out one crisis after another, thousands of #DACA recipients have fallen out of status. Call your member of Congress and demand a clean vote on the #DreamActNow: https://t.co/JlvYqsgf4I #HereToStay
— #DreamActNow (@TUSK81) December 4, 2017
[CN: Racism; colonialism] Andrea Smardon at the Guardian: 'We'll See the Battle Lines': Trump Faced by Native American Alliance over Bears Ears. "On Monday, Donald Trump will visit Salt Lake City. He is expected to formally announce plans to substantially shrink two Utah national monuments: Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears. ...Orrin Hatch, the senator who invited Trump to Utah, said in a video statement the 'outcome' the president will announce 'strikes an excellent balance where everybody wins.' Thousands of demonstrators, however, gathered at the state capitol on Saturday in a show of solidarity with Native American tribes that say the move against Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante is nothing less than a 'monumental mistake.' A coalition of five Utah tribes with ties to the land — the Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe, Hopi, and the Pueblo of Zuni — has vowed to oppose any shrinkage of the national monument."
US quits UN global compact on migration @CNNPolitics https://t.co/eCB5mHz8BI
— Jorge Rivas (@thisisjorge) December 4, 2017
[CN: Homophobia] Andy Towle at Towleroad: SCOTUS Lets Troubling Ruling by Texas Supreme Court Stand, Undercutting Rights of Married Gay Couples. "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up the appeal of a Texas Supreme Court ruling against the rights of married same-sex couples. The Texas high court had ruled that 'the right to a marriage license did not entitle same-sex couples to spousal benefits under employee insurance plans.' Denying the city of Houston's request, the U.S. Supreme Court will not review a June decision by the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled that the landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage does not fully address the right to marriage benefits."
The Trump administration is saying that it can secretly lock up a U.S. citizen and bar us from trying to help him. https://t.co/cBnRenBE7P
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 3, 2017
[CN: White supremacy] Jackson Landers at Rewire: How Police Botched Response to Charlottesville Hate Rally: 'Let Them Fight for a While'. "The first formal investigation into the deadly August 12 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, indicates poor decision making by government officials followed by efforts to disguise or cover up mistakes. The report, released Friday, was compiled by a legal team led by former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy of the Hunton & Williams law firm. The 220-page document outlines how a lack of communication and coordination between law enforcement agencies led to an inability to effectively work together as violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups rioted in the Virginia town."
[CN: White supremacy] Ali Breland at the Guardian: How White Engineers Built Racist Code — and Why It's Dangerous for Black People. "'If you're black, you're more likely to be subjected to this technology and the technology is more likely to be wrong,' House oversight committee ranking member Elijah Cummings said in a congressional hearing on law enforcement's use of facial recognition software in March 2017. 'That's a hell of a combination.' Cummings was referring to studies such as Garvie's. This report found that black individuals, as with so many aspects of the justice system, were the most likely to be scrutinized by facial recognition software in cases. It also suggested that software was most likely to be incorrect when used on black individuals — a finding corroborated by the FBI's own research. This combination...is born from another race issue that has become a subject of national discourse: the lack of diversity in the technology sector."
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Welcome to Hell!
[Content Note: Rape culture. Videos may autoplay at first two links.]
For many seasons now, basically the only reason to watch Saturday Night Live anymore is the female cast members — and specifically the digital shorts they are making. Classics like Dyke & Fats and (Do It on My) Twin Bed.
This weekend proved no different, as the ladies of SNL gave us a brilliant commentary on men's awakening to women's realities in the rape culture: "Welcome to Hell."
Video Description: A parody of a bubble-gum pop girl group video, with the women dressed in cartoony pastel clothing and performing on a pastel set decorated with images like lollipops and ice cream cones and iridescent clouds. Some of the lyrics are sung (which will be in italics) and some of the lyrics are spoken (which will be left unitalicized).
Cecily Strong: Hey there, boys. [giggle] We know the last couple months have been frickin' insane.
Aidy Bryant: All these big, cool, powerful guys are turning out to be — what's the word? Habitual predators?
Kate McKinnon: Cat's outta the bag! Women get harassed all the time.
Bryant: And it's like: Dang — is this the world now?
Guest Host Saoirse Ronan: But here's a little secret that every girl knows...
McKinnon: [puts finger to lips] Shhhhhh.
Strong: Oh this been the damn world.
Group: It's freaky / It's narsty / It's button-under-the-desk bad / But this is our hometown / We'll show you around / Welcome to Hell / Now we're all in here / Look around / Isn't it nice? / It's a full nightmare / Ain't it so coo-coo? / Playin' this guess-who / Yeah, it's a lot / But it's what we got / Welcome to Hell! / Hey!
Bryant: Oh, and this ain't a girl group. We just travel in a pack for safety.
McKinnon: [holding up her car keys in a fist with keys poking out from between her knuckles] This is how I walk home at night. Rowr.
Ronan: My dad gave me a pink gun, so, there's a lot there.
Strong: My little trick? If someone's following me, I put my arm up like this [wraps one arm half-around her head] and I go [starts spinning wildly] AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 'Cuz then he'll be like: "She's not worth the trouble."
Group: Welcome to Hell / Now you're in our boat / Look at that guy / What is he up to in that trenchcoat? / It's like a maze here / All full of boners / Hey what was that? / Phew, just a cat / Wait, who owns the cat? / It could be a trap / Welcome to Hell! / Hey!
McKinnon: I guess it b-b-begs the question: Whoa! Why didn't you say something, baby girl?
Ronan: Well, dang, Double-Daddy! We definitely did! For hundreds of years.
Melissa Villaseñor: [dressed as puritan woman lashed to tree being burned in a fire] Oh man!
Bryant: But I guess no one, like, cared. [licks lollipop]
Ronan: Because it kept happening. Again...
Villaseñor: [dressed as Suffragette holding sign reading "Votes for Women"] Whaaaaat?
Ronan: ...and again...
Villaseñor: [dressed as Rosie the Riveter] Really?!
Ronan: ...and again! [giggles]
Villaseñor: [dressed as '60s secretary] Oh come on!
Leslie Jones: Hey, uh, just wanted to say: I think what you guys are doing is really cool; I get it. Um, but you do know that it's like a million times worse for a woman of color, right?
Group: [answers affirmatively and thanks Jones for saying that]
Jones: Well, let's get back into this!
Ronan: Now House of Cards is ruined — and that really sucks! Well, here's a list of stuff that's ruined for us!
Group: Parking and walking and Uber and ponytails / Bathrobes and nighttime and drinking and hotels and vans!
Villaseñor: Nothing good happens in a van!
Group: Welcome to Hell!
Villaseñor: Welcome to Hell!
Group: This isn't news.
Villaseñor: [as Puritan] No no no not news!
Group: Our situation's been a deuce since we got boobs.
Villaseñor: [as Suffragette] I got two boobs!
Group: That's why your mom was...
Villaseñor: [as Rosie] A maid!
Group: ...always so tired.
Villaseñor: [as secretary] Always so tired!
Group: Grab all your friends / Mace in our hands / Welcome to Hell! / Yeah, it ain't fair / But pull up a chair / Welcome to Hell! / Hey!
Trump Thinks He's Above the Law — and His Lawyer Agrees
On Saturday, Donald Trump tweeted what was an extraordinary tweet among a weekend of remarkable tweeting:
It was an incredible admission: Trump had never before said that he knew Michael Flynn lied at the time of his firing. As Daniel Dale noted on Twitter: "So...this tweet is the president saying he knew Flynn had committed a federal crime, and therefore faced big legal exposure, at the time the president tried to get the FBI director to drop the Flynn investigation."
Right away, I thought it was a suspect admission: "There's a pretty good chance Trump tweeted about Flynn lying to the FBI because he wanted to look like he's known that all along and didn't just find out with all the rest of us schlubs. And if that's the case: Whooooooooops. Wouldn't be the first time Trump's pathological insecurity and need to appear smarter than everyone else got him into trouble. Won't be the last. Or, you know, he knew and just admitted it because he has rank hostility for the rule of law and fears no consequences."
Hold that thought.
Yesterday, Trump's attorney, John Dowd, claimed that he had authored the tweet. "Dowd told ABC News that he wrote the tweet and that it was 'sloppy.' Trump's claim about knowing Flynn had lied to the FBI in particular set off alarm bells, as it could be used as evidence in an obstruction of justice case against Trump."
Indeed. And Dowd's claim to have authored the tweet was a clear attempt to do an end-run around potential obstruction charges. But it simultaneously raises serious questions about what it means for presidential records keeping requirements if Trump can say at any time: "Oh, someone else wrote/tweeted that."
Or it would raise serious questions, if we weren't living through a looking glass where nothing even matters.
Now, Dowd is going one step further than taking credit for the tweet, by arguing that the contention the tweet admitted obstruction "is an ignorant and arrogant assertion" and, further, that a president can't be guilty of obstruction of justice, anyway.
The "President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case," Dowd claims.Let us be blunt: This is a legal strategy which essentially argues that Donald Trump cannot be held accountable by the laws of a democracy because he is an authoritarian dictator.
Dowd says he drafted this weekend's Trump tweet that many thought strengthened the case for obstruction: The tweet suggested Trump knew Flynn had lied to the FBI when he was fired, raising new questions about the later firing of FBI Director James Comey.
Dowd: "The tweet did not admit obstruction. That is an ignorant and arrogant assertion."
Why it matters: Trump's legal team is clearly setting the stage to say the president cannot be charged with any of the core crimes discussed in the Russia probe: collusion and obstruction.
Chilling.
The Tax Bill Passes the Senate: MAKE YOUR CALLS
On Friday night, the Republicans' vile tax bill passed the Senate, without a single Democratic vote. It happened in the middle of the night, with Democrats being voted down by the Republican majority after asking to shelve the bill just until today to give them a chance to read the 500+-page document, which was being marked up by hand until the final moments before its passage.
That is not even close to what a functional democracy looks like.
The bill is utterly obscene. Many of its provisions are just unfathomably cruel, which is entirely the point: Maximum harm to non-wealthy people engineered to give maximum reward to already-wealthy people.
Perhaps nothing exposes more pointedly that malice is the governing principle of the Republicans' #TaxScamBill than killing the student loan interest deduction.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 2, 2017
This is a party that tells people to lift themselves up by their bootstraps, then punishes people who try to do it.
Now this disgusting wreck of a bill goes back to the House for reconciliation. That's where the differences in the House and Senate versions have to be worked out ("reconciled") before final passage. If the House just adopts the Senate version, it will sail through and onto Donald Trump's desk for signature. If the House wants changes to the Senate bill, it will go back to the Senate.
This is our last chance to make noise in resistance to the bill. We must take this final opportunity to call our reps and tell them to vote against this horrendous piece of legislation.
Visit STOP FINAL PASSAGE OF THE GOP TAX SCAM BILL for additional information and a script you can use to call your representative.
MAKE YOUR CALLS.
