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.
We Resist: Day 620
One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.
So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.
Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.
* * *
Earlier today by me: The Sham Investigation to Give Republicans Cover and Devastating Disasters in Indonesia and Joe Biden Is Not the Man for This Moment.
Here are some more things in the news today...
[Content Note: Sexual assault; rape culture. Covers entire section.]
Kate Riga at TPM: Outrage Grows as Omissions from Kavanaugh Probe Become Apparent. "The limit on the list of people the FBI plans to talk to about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's past, as well as the difficulty many would-be witnesses are facing in their attempts to contribute their information, is raising Democratic hackles. According to a Sunday New Yorker article, multiple people have tried to go to the FBI with pertinent information about Kavanaugh, only to be stymied by seemingly unorganized and uninterested agents."
Meanwhile...
Sen. Lindsey Graham calls for an investigation into how the allegations of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford became public https://t.co/ZE126m7OTM
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 30, 2018
Of course.
Andy Towle at Towleroad: Three Yale Classmates of Brett Kavanaugh Say He Lied Under Oath About His Drinking and Behavior. "At least three college classmates of Brett Kavanaugh have come forward to say that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath about his drinking habits and behavior at Yale. ...Kavanaugh lied under oath, said Ludington: 'I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking, and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth.' Ludington also said he would be sharing this information with the FBI." Hope they care! Sounds like they won't!
Olivia Messer at the Daily Beast: Donald Trump Jr.: #MeToo Makes Me Fear More for My Sons Than My Daughters. "The past week — in which Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser were questioned in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee over allegations that he committed sexual assault in the 1980s — has made the president's oldest [son] fear more for his sons than his daughters, the father of five said in an interview with DailyMail TV. ...'I've got boys, and I've got girls,' Trump Jr. said during a trip to Bozeman, Montana, to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale last week. 'When I see what's going on right now, it's scary.' When asked which of his children he's most concerned for, he replied: 'Right now, I'd say my sons.'" The wormy apple doesn't fall far from the rotten tree.
In related news...
"Meanwhile, the rate of one-on-one killings of women by men is on the uptick. While overall, the rate is down from two decades ago, it started creeping up after hitting a low in 2014, according to the Violence Policy Center." https://t.co/qcl8Yp6lvn
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) September 30, 2018
So everything is going great for women. *jumps into Christmas tree*
* * *
Donald Trump gave another appalling press conference today, where he lied a whole bunch about the NAFTA deal that was just struck, and said a whole bunch of expectedly contemptible stuff, including saying that Kavanaugh has been "treated horribly," calling the press "loco" for the third time in as many days and saying it's in honor of the U.S. having struck a deal with Mexico, and saying that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "only problem" is that "he loves his people, and he's fighting hard for his people." A terrible trait in a national leader, by Trump's reckoning.
If you need a good recap, the Toronto Star's Daniel Dale was doing the work of the angels by live-tweeting it. His thread begins here:
Trump calls this "the most important trade deal that we've ever made, by far." Since it is mostly NAFTA and TPP, that is interesting.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 1, 2018
* * *
[CN: Nativism; racism; abuse of immigrant children. Covers entire section.]
Caitlin Dickerson at the New York Times: Migrant Children Moved Under Cover of Darkness to a Texas Tent City.
In shelters from Kansas to New York, hundreds of migrant children have been roused in the middle of the night in recent weeks and loaded onto buses with backpacks and snacks for a cross-country journey to their new home: a barren tent city on a sprawling patch of desert in West Texas.This, among other stories, prompted the New York Times editors to publish this editorial: Hundreds of Children Rot in the Desert. End Trump's Draconian Policies. "How to best handle the cases of unaccompanied minors has perplexed immigration authorities since the Obama administration. But the current crowding is not the result of some dramatic increase in the number of children stealing across the southern border. In fact the influx is no greater now than it has been for the past two years. Instead, the Trump administration's own draconian policies are to blame." But her emails, amirite, editors?
Until now, most undocumented children being held by federal immigration authorities had been housed in private foster homes or shelters, sleeping two or three to a room. They received formal schooling and regular visits with legal representatives assigned to their immigration cases.
But in the rows of sand-colored tents in Tornillo, Tex., children in groups of 20, separated by gender, sleep lined up in bunks. There is no school: The children are given workbooks that they have no obligation to complete. Access to legal services is limited.
These midnight voyages are playing out across the country, as the federal government struggles to find room for more than 13,000 detained migrant children — the largest population ever — whose numbers have increased more than fivefold since last year.
The average length of time that migrant children spend in custody has nearly doubled over the same period, from 34 days to 59, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees their care.
To deal with the surging shelter populations, which have hovered near 90 percent of capacity since May, a mass reshuffling is underway and shows no signs of slowing. Hundreds of children are being shipped from shelters to West Texas each week, totaling more than 1,600 so far.
Rebekah Entralgo at ThinkProgress: ICE Detains Man During Marriage Interview. "Oscar Hernández and his wife María Eugenia Hernández waited three years for their marriage interview last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). But by mid-interview, the Hernándezes were separated and Oscar was on his way to an immigration detention facility, according to the Miami Herald. ...The Hernándezes brought with them to the interview a small album of wedding and family photos, their marriage certificate, and a statement from their joint bank account. Oscar is the primary wage-earner in the household. The couple has been together for four years and married for three." Rage seethe boil.
* * *
Tony Romm and Brian Fung at the Washington Post: The Trump Administration Is Suing California to Quash Its New Net Neutrality Law. "California on Sunday became the largest state to adopt its own rules requiring Internet providers like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon to treat all web traffic equally. Golden State legislators took the step of writing their law after the Federal Communications Commission scrapped nationwide protections last year, citing the regulatory burdens they had caused for the telecom industry. Mere hours after California's proposal became law, however, senior Justice Department officials told The Washington Post they would take the state to court on grounds that the federal government, not state leaders, has the exclusive power to regulate net neutrality." Shit.
Also in California... [CN: War on agency] Melody Gutierrez at the San Francisco Chronicle: Abortion Pills at UC, California State University Clinics Vetoed by Brown. "Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Sunday that would have required public universities in California to offer abortion pills on campus. ...In a veto message, Brown said such services are 'widely available' to students at off-campus clinics. 'This bill is not necessary,' the governor wrote." Fuck you, Jerry Brown. If this is the shit we can expect from Democratic governors who profess to be allies, then we are well and truly doomed.
E.A. Crunden at ThinkProgress: In a Boon to the Coal Industry and Blow to Human Health, EPA to Roll Back Mercury Rule. "The Trump administration is preparing to weaken a major environmental regulation targeting the toxic chemical mercury. The proposed change will heavily weigh costs to the industries the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is meant to regulate while largely ignoring dangers to human health. A proposal from the EPA expected to head to the White House in coming days would greatly reduce current mercury regulations in a boon to coal-burning power plants. Two senior officials told The Washington Post that the new proposed rule would target the Obama administration's 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which limits mercury emissions from power plants." Goddammit.
Alison Kodjak at NPR: Buyer Beware: New Cheaper Insurance Policies May Have Big Coverage Gaps.
If you're looking for cheaper health insurance, a whole host of new options will hit the market starting Tuesday.Justin Rohrlich at Quartz: That Sign Telling You How Fast You're Driving May Be Spying on You. "According to recently released U.S. federal contracting data, the Drug Enforcement Administration will be expanding the footprint of its nationwide surveillance network with the purchase of 'multiple' trailer-mounted speed displays 'to be retrofitted as mobile LPR [License Plate Reader] platforms.' The DEA is buying them from RU2 Systems Inc., a private Mesa, Arizona company. ...Two other, apparently related contracts, show that the DEA has hired a small machine shop in California, and another in Virginia, to conceal the readers within the signs. ...What is a game-changing crime-fighting tool to some, is a privacy overreach of near-existential proportion to others. License plate readers, which can capture somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 plates a minute, cast an astonishingly wide net that has made it far easier for cops to catch serious criminals. On the other hand, the indiscriminate nature of the real-time collection, along with the fact that it is then stored by authorities for later data mining is highly alarming to privacy advocates." Yikes.
But buyer beware!
If you get sick, the new plans — known as short-term, limited duration insurance — may not pay for the medical care you need.
...Short-term health insurance isn't entirely new. But the Obama Administration issued regulations that limited them to just three months, and they couldn't be renewed.
The Trump Administration has changed that. Now people in some states will be able to buy policies that last a year, and consumers can renew them twice, for a total of three years' coverage.
The administration says that Affordable Care Act insurance is too expensive for some people and this provides people a way to buy a less expensive health insurance policy.
...But if you're considering one of these plans, there's a few things to keep in mind. Short-term policies are regulated by the states, so they don't have to comply with the consumer protections laid out in the Affordable Care Act. This means insurers can refuse to offer these policies to people with pre-existing health problems, or charge people more who are likely to need medications and health care.
They also don't have to cover all the of the 10 essential health benefits that must be included in Affordable Care Act policies. Those benefits include maternity coverage and mental health care.
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Joe Biden Is Not the Man for This Moment
[Content Note: Sexual harassment; rape culture.]
Joe Biden was never my favorite politician, to put it politely.
Apart from his history of plagiarism, his fondness for misogynist and racist "jokes" and propensity for "gaffes" that sound a lot like bigotry, his record of well-representing Delaware as a sanctuary for credit card companies, and the last year of "I woulda won" bullshit, he's got a permanent stain from his disgraceful performance during the Clarence Thomas nomination, when he was shitty to Anita Hill and refused to call three other witnesses who were prepared to make their own allegations against Thomas.
Today, Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin at the New York Times ask: "Biden Is Preparing for 2020. Can He Overcome the Hill-Thomas Hearings?"
"Can he?" The real question is should he (no), and perhaps an even bigger question is why the media is already so inclined to help him "overcome" that dreadful history, only so they can tank him with it in the general election, if he gets there.
I wish I thought Biden were smart enough to know that's exactly what would happen, but I don't think he is. Or rather, I think his ego overwhelms whatever smarts he's got.
Which, among a number of other reasons, makes him categorically not the man for this moment.
Devastating Disasters in Indonesia
[Content Note: Natural disasters; injury, death, and displacement.]
On Friday night, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, followed by an unexpected tsunami. The regional capital Palu and its surrounding areas were devastated, as soil liquefaction sunk entire communities into the earth.
Over 800 people are confirmed dead, though many more deaths are expected as emergency crews reach the most badly affected areas.
Cath Levett, Paul Scruton, Glenn Swann, and Lydia Smears at the Guardian have a full report, and the Guardian's ongoing live coverage is here.
There is still much anxiety as people with family and friends in the devastated areas wait to hear how their loved ones fared. Electricity is out widely and many roads are impassable, so the waiting feels endless at this point, for many people.
My profound sympathies to everyone on Sulawesi, and the people awaiting news.
Right now, it's still early in the rescue and relief efforts, so I'm waiting to hear what the emergency teams and survivors need, before I recommend ways to help. As and when you see suggestions, please feel welcome and encouraged to share them in comments.
The Sham Investigation to Give Republicans Cover
[Content Note: Rape culture.]
On Friday, after Republican Senator Jeff Flake stood in front of cameras and made an expression that vaguely resembled human compassion and then called for an FBI investigation into the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, I tweeted: Please let us not pretend that Jeff Flake was motivated by anything but the optics, which are marginally improved by calling for a sham investigation of a man whose alleged abuse is but one of many reasons that he is unqualified to serve on the Supreme Court.
Naturally, I was accused of being ungrateful, uncharitable, a bitch. And, just as predictably, I was also right.
The investigation is not designed to uncover truth or seek justice; it is designed to give cover to Republicans who want to be able to cast a vote for Kavanaugh and justify it by saying that no credible allegations were corroborated by a federal investigation.
They want to be able to say that there's no "proof" that Kavanaugh ever harmed any women, and they're banking on the fact that most people are eminently willing to discount the eyewitness testimony of victims in sexual assault cases, in a way they would never discount eyewitness testimony provided by victims in other crimes, because of the pernicious narrative that lying women routinely invent rape allegations.
So, the investigation is a sham.
Mike DeBonis and Josh Dawsey at the Washington Post report: Fight over Kavanaugh Intensifies Amid Confusion over Limits of FBI Sexual Assault Investigation.
The FBI investigation meant to defuse the explosive conflict over Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh sparked a new round of partisan combat Sunday, as the White House appeared to retain sharp limits on the probe even as [Donald] Trump and Republican officials publicly suggested otherwise.On Saturday, Trump tweeted: "NBC News incorrectly reported (as usual) that I was limiting the FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh, and witnesses, only to certain people. Actually, I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion. Please correct your reporting!"
Two Trump administration officials said Sunday that the White House had not placed any limits on the FBI investigation into claims of sexual assault leveled against Kavanaugh but was also opposed to a "fishing expedition" that could take a broader look at Kavanaugh's credibility and behavior.
...Amid the confusion, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee, wrote to McGahn and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Sunday asking for a copy of any "written directive" sent to investigators.
Other Democrats warned over the weekend against too many limits on the purview of the investigation.
"They ought to be doing multiple investigations at the same time," Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), a Judiciary Committee member, said in an MSNBC interview Saturday. "There are multiple allegations currently in front of the committee, and I think it is not hard to figure out the universe of witnesses. It is not 500. It may not be 50. But it has to be more than five."
...The squabbling added to the swirl of public confusion over the parameters of the FBI inquiry and who is setting them. The order to the FBI was signed by Trump but has not been made public. White House officials have sought to lay responsibility for the details on either the Senate or the FBI.
But that contradicted the directive the FBI had actually received: "The president's Saturday tweet also sparked confusion in the FBI, which had previously been told to conduct only a limited investigation of particular allegations, a person familiar with the matter said. It was unclear Sunday whether there had been more communications between the White House and the FBI clarifying what agents should look into."
In typical fashion, Trump is publicly tweeting one thing, while something else entirely different (and far more sinister) is going on behind the scenes.
And Jeff Flake was called a hero for days, for orchestrating this horseshit.
This has been another terrible edition of Cassandras Who Aren't Inclined to Extend Good Faith to Known Liars Being Shouted at by Very Important Media People Who Remain Dangerously Credulous, Only for the Cassandras to Be Proven Right Again.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
Belly up to the bar,
and be in this space together.
Friday Links!
This list o' links brought to you by bread.
Recommended Reading:
Dianna Anderson at Dame: [Content Note: Sexual assault; purity culture] This Is Why Evangelicals Don't Believe in Sexual Assault
Kristen C. French at Nautilus: [CN: Violence] The Curious Case of the Bog Bodies
Maxwell King at LongReads: Mr. Rogers vs. the Superheroes
David Armstrong at ProPublica: [CN: Child abuse] The Child Abuse Contrarian
Maddie Stone at Earther: [CN: Animal harm] That Viral Elephant Poaching Story Has Gotten a Lot More Complicated
Matthew Cantor at the Guardian: Gritty: Why the Philadelphia Flyers' New Acid Trip of a Mascot Must Be Stopped
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Discussion Thread: Good Things
One of the ways we resist the demoralization and despair in which exploiters of fear like Trump thrive is to keep talking about the good things in our lives.
Because, even though it feels very much (and rightly so) like we are losing so many things we value, there are still daily moments of joy or achievement or love or empowering ferocity or other kinds of fulfillment.
Maybe you've experienced something big worth celebrating; maybe you've just had a precious moment of contentment; maybe getting out of bed this morning was a success worthy of mention.
News items worth celebrating are also welcome.
So, whatever you have to share that's good, here's a place to do it.
* * *
I'm going to meet a new friend for good conversation over good food, and I am really looking forward to it.
Daily Dose of Cute
Dudley is getting even more snuggly in his old age. The other night, he just hopped up on the sofa beside me, let me know how to arrange my leg with some strategic nose nudging, then curled up with his head in my lap. I'm no Matilda, but I'll do. ♥
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 617
One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.
So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.
Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.
* * *
Earlier today by Fannie: Gilead of Republicans Stand by Their Man, Kavanaugh. And by me: Kavanaugh Is Republicans' Revenge on Uppity Women.
The news is just wall-to-wall Kavanaugh today, but there are a few other important items that deserve our attention today. Although I'm not including any Kavanaugh news here, please feel welcome to share items related to his confirmation in comments.
Griffin Connolly at Roll Call: Rosenstein Called to Testify in Private House Hearing, Meadows Says.
Republican leadership has struck a deal with Rep. Mark Meadows and other House conservatives to call Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein before Congress to testify behind closed doors about his alleged proposal that the Justice Department secretly record [Donald] Trump and invoke the 25th Amendment to oust him from the Oval Office.Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis, and Chris Mooney at the Washington Post: Trump Administration Sees a 7-Degree Rise in Global Temperatures by 2100. "Last month, deep in a 500-page environmental impact statement, the Trump administration made a startling assumption: On its current course, the planet will warm a disastrous 7 degrees by the end of this century. ...But the administration did not offer this dire forecast as part of an argument to combat climate change. Just the opposite: The analysis assumes the planet's fate is already sealed. The draft statement, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), was written to justify [Donald] Trump's decision to freeze federal fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks built after 2020. While the proposal would increase greenhouse gas emissions, the impact statement says, that policy would add just a very small drop to a very big, hot bucket."
"Leadership has agreed to call Rod Rosenstein before Congress, for a closed door hearing with our panel investigating, so he can explain his alleged comments on 'wiring' POTUS," Meadows, the chairman of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, tweeted Friday.
Republicans will want to probe Rosenstein on "other inconsistent statements" as well, Meadows indicated in his tweet.
If Rosenstein fails to appear before the joint Judiciary and Oversight panel, Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia will subpoena him, Meadows wrote.
...Goodlatte issued a subpoena Thursday ordering the DOJ to hand over memorandums drafted by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe about the meetings in which Rosenstein allegedly made the comments about bugging Trump.
Coral Davenport at the New York Times: E.P.A. to Eliminate Office That Advises Agency Chief on Science. "The Environmental Protection Agency plans to dissolve its Office of the Science Advisor, a senior post that was created to counsel the E.P.A. administrator on the scientific research underpinning health and environmental regulations, according to a person familiar with the agency's plans. The person spoke anonymously because the decision had not yet been made public. The science adviser works across the agency to ensure that the highest quality science is integrated into the agency's policies and decisions, according to the E.P.A.'s website. The move is the latest among several steps taken by the Trump administration that appear to have diminished the role of scientific research in policymaking while the administration pursues an agenda of rolling back regulations."
Spencer Ackerman at the Daily Beast: House Intel GOP Withholds Rohrabacher and Wasserman Schultz's Russia Probe Transcripts.
House Intelligence Committee Republicans voted on Friday against releasing interview transcripts of one of their House GOP colleagues that Democrats consider significant for the panel's now-shuttered Russia probe.Luke Harding at the Guardian: Russian-U.S. Tycoon Boasted of 'Active' Involvement in Trump Election Campaign. "A Russian-American businessman who donated a substantial sum to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election effort boasted to a senior figure in Moscow that he was 'actively involved' in the Republican candidate's campaign, the Guardian can reveal. Simon Kukes said he was helping Trump with 'strategy development' and shared photos of his 29-year-old Russian girlfriend posing with the future president. ...The disclosure raises questions about the role played by Kukes in the run-up to the election and what information, if anything, was being relayed by him to his associates in Russia."
Two sources told The Daily Beast on Friday morning that Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee wanted their GOP colleagues to disclose an account given to the panel by Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who is considered the Republican legislator closest to the Kremlin.
"The Republicans are trying to conceal from the voters their colleague Dana Rohrabacher's Russia investigation testimony," said a committee source familiar with the issue. "There were highly concerning contacts between Rohrabacher and Russians during the campaign that the public should hear about."
...The Republicans also voted against releasing interviews from the Russia probe with several pivotal former intelligence officials. They include James Comey, the FBI director [Donald] Trump fired; John Brennan, the ex-CIA director whose security clearance Trump stripped; and Michael Rogers, who this year stepped down as the head of the National Intelligence Agency. The three men presided over the January 2017 intelligence assessment that stated Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Discussion Thread: How Are You?
I am tired and I am grieving and I am angry.
Very fucking angry.
I remain incredibly anxious about a future I have expended enormous amounts of energy to do my part to prevent, which now feels inexorable.
I am nurturing a fragile vestige of lingering optimism that our collective rage will fuel change, urgently.
I am preparing myself for what will come if that change doesn't materialize.
And I am, as always, glad for this community, in this moment. Anyone who wants to join me in another enormous virtual group hug is welcome.
How are you?
Gilead of Republicans Stand by Their Man, Kavanaugh
[Content Note: Sexual assault.]
The first thing to do is eradicate from our collective sense of right and wrong the notion that if Republicans only knew some men were rapists they would actually care.
Republicans control 2.5, and soon to be 3, out of 3 branches of the U.S. government. They can do what they want. And so, they will. Yes, we — women in particular — are angry and will instigate a backlash. Republicans and their president curiously do not seem concerned about this.
The second thing to understand is that Brett Kavanaugh's spittle-flecked, sobbing testimony looked a lot like tears of frustrated, entitled rage — a rage that many people who aren't men and/or who aren't white know quite well.
 |
| Credible default human is very credible. |
That "misconception" alone, in a society that didn't hate women and in which actual competence mattered, would disqualify him from sitting on our nation's highest court. Yet, here we are. The people who hold power in our nation do hate women, and it's looking more and more like the number one question asked of their job applicants is "How much?"
(And if you're still saying Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election because she didn't visit Wisconsin, you've lost the fucking plot).
Much of Kavanaugh's display was familiar precisely because it fits the pattern of fragile conservative white man, much like the white men who run the Republican party and who consistently rig systems in their own favor, who simply cannot fathom having his birthright questioned. As he continued to toot his own horn, it were as though he simultaneously kept being reminded that, no, many people don't see him as a good man, not at all, and it kept making him more and more vehemently angry. So angry, in fact, that he could at times barely form words, as he poked his tongue into his cheek instead, furrowed his brow, condescended to Democratic female senators, and fought back rage-tears instead.
And that was his behavior ostensibly sober, during a job interview, in public.
For those who are purportedly, admittedly ignorant of rape culture, such as conservative elite David French, they would do well to look at Kavanaugh's obvious anger to begin to understand why survivors of rape and assault often react the way they do and in ways that don't seem "logical" to other white men.
Finally, understand that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony was heroic, regardless of outcome. And, so is our continued resistance.
Dr. Ford went into all of this in spite of the multitudes of rape culture, misogynistic narratives pervading our society. That women lie and men are automatically credible, for instance. That an elite white Christian family man could not possibly be a predator, for another. That conservative men protect, or even give a single fuck about, women.
I will never not be in awe of women and all that we endure.
Kavanaugh Is Republicans' Revenge on Uppity Women
Today, despite the fact that even the American Bar Association is now urging a delay, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee will reportedly press forward with their scheduled vote on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation, which, presuming they vote him out of committee, will be followed by procedural votes Saturday and Monday, then by a final vote on Tuesday in the full Senate.
It's vanishingly unlikely that Kavanaugh's nomination won't pass out of committee for a full Senate vote, since there isn't a single Republican woman on the Senate Judiciary Committee who might be moved to decency by some residual humanity awakened by the primal fear of violent men.
And Kavanaugh's nomination "could still be considered by the full Senate with an unfavorable recommendation by the committee," if Republican Senate leadership decides to ignore that recommendation.
There is, of course, still a miniscule chance that Kavanaugh won't get the votes during the full Senate vote, since Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are mildly squirming at the optics of voting for an accused sex predator who flipped his shit when asked to address the allegations against him.
I have seen it posited, however, that Democratic Senator and colossal turd Joe Manchin will vote with the Republicans to give cover to Collins and Murkowski, leaving Mike Pence to cast the tiebreaking vote, which he'll no doubt do while jizzing in his pants.
It is revoltingly appropriate that the Republican Senate majority is fixing to ram through Kavanaugh's confirmation in contravention of the will of a majority of the people, given that they've stood in firm opposition to consent in every sense, every step of the way.
This was always going to be bad. And it is.
That Kavanaugh remains on the precipice of being confirmed — even after being accused of multiple sexual assaults and using the time he was given to rebut the charges to put on a shocking performance making it abundantly clear that he is comprehensively incapable of being an impartial jurist — bodes poorly for the future of the Supreme Court and the nation's troubling trajectory.
Every day of Trump's presidency brings another gust of ominous wind, and, if Kavanaugh is indeed confirmed as we have every reason to expect that he will be, the thundering storm of which those winds whispered will be upon us. And there won't be an umbrella in sight.
The 2016 election was a referendum on how this nation values women. Every day of Trump's presidency has given sadists opportunity to cheer for abject cruelty. And the Kavanaugh nomination was an unbearable intersection of that misogyny and public malice — a spectacle designed to force women to demonstrate raw vulnerability, so that fetid ghouls whose organizing principle is denying agency to marginalized people could feverishly thrash in the theater of our pain.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said: "Any senator who votes to confirm Judge Kavanaugh after Dr. Ford's testimony is telling our country exactly this: The experiences of women don't matter. Their trauma doesn't matter. Their stories and their voices don't matter."
That is correct. And that is not incidental. It is entirely the point.
The Republicans could have cut Kavanaugh loose at any point. There is no shortage of conservative judges with an equal willingness to be the Trump Regime's lackey on the Supreme Court. But this is a display of dominance — the threatening act of a party consolidating its power behind a confessed abuser; who feel distressingly free to ignore voters' will; who are behaving as though they won't have to be beholden to voters ever again.
Who want to make it perfectly clear to women, even as women abandon their party, that we have no value to them. That men who have harmed us will be richly rewarded, empowered to cast the deciding vote on our autonomy.
Brett Kavanaugh is Republicans' revenge on uppity women, who have dared to resist them, dared to march, dared to run for office, dared to speak, dared to shout, dared to be angry, dared to demand equality, dared to report, dared to testify, dared to survive.
But we will keep surviving. Even now.
#resist
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker catvoncat: "Generally speaking, do you prefer to operate on a set schedule, or a more spontaneous lifestyle?"
Professionally, I like to operate on a set schedule — especially in this space, where I feel like routine and reliability go hand-in-hand.
Personally, I'm more spontaneous. I like some bit of notice for things, but I also like some flexibility, in case my mood doesn't suit the suggested activity. I'd rather be able to say no to last-minute plans when I'm turtling than have to cancel plans made when I was feeling more inclined to be social.
What I'm Listening To
A thread for sharing what we're currently listening to: Music, podcasts, audiobooks, whatever.
"Hope," by Mario Viñuela.
When I'm feeling very emotional, the music I want most is piano music. Piano music played by someone who plays like their life, and mine, depends on it.
I Feel Sick
I feel sick at the thought of Brett Kavanaugh being a Supreme Court justice.
I feel sick knowing it will mean all the more to the fetid ghouls comprising the Republican Party if they confirm Kavanaugh after millions of women publicly gutted ourselves for all to see in the hopes of deterring that outcome.
I feel sick knowing there are countless abusers who are getting off on women publicly airing our pain.
I feel sick thinking about how we could have — and should have — had Hillary Clinton as our president, making history and improving the lives of millions of people, but instead we have a bunch of pucker-faced rapists conspiring to destroy everything we value.
I feel sick knowing how many people are hurting.
I feel sick at the thought of how much worse this could get, before it gets better. If it gets better.
If you feel sick, too, at least know that you are not alone.
World of Shakescraft
As you know, I am not a crafty person. I am terrible at crafts! And I'm only slightly better with DIY home projects, with the occasional modest success.
But lots of Shakers are very talented crafters and DIY-ers, and I am happy to read about all of your terrific projects! So here is a thread to talk about your current crafting and/or DIY project(s), completed projects, or future projects; to share ideas; to brag about your successes or lament your setbacks; and to solicit advice from fellow creators!
(As always, make sure you don't offer advice unless it's solicited.)
Have at it 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.
