To all the girls, everywhere:
I dream of futures formidable and vast.
I dream of them when I am sleeping, and when I am wide awake. Behind each blink of my eyes is an audacious vision, urging me.
My dreams are vivid with abstract images of times and spaces where equality is not a promise but a fact.
In my dreams, we look each other in the eyes and hold each other's gazes without swallowing down fear. We want to know one another and want to be known. Because it is safe.
It turns out there is enough humanity for us all. Plenty to go around.
In my dreams, I do not fly. I float. I float in a cool sea of collective fulfillment. Here, cradled in the embrace of these sparkling, reverberant waves, I realize this true thing: Contentment is better than joy.
In my dreams, the world is full of girls who are more than the incandescently happy we're meant to regard as a finite goal. In my dreams, they are safe. In my dreams, they are valued. Because being safe and valued makes unhappiness survivable and real happiness possible. Because both are parts of the complex humanity denied by defining a rigidly policed happiness the exclusive objective.
In my dreams, the haunting feeling doesn't exist — I don't feel like I will never be enough of any of the things I am expected to be.
In my dreams, there are no more terrible bargains. Even in my dreams, I expect more. Because I don't know how to expect anything else.
In my dreams, every day is a day of and for every girl.
Happy Day of the Girl
A SERIOUS AFFRAY
I know virtually nothing about my family history beyond my great-grandparents — and even that generation is mostly just names and a few photos to me, with the exception of John Noble, the Vaudevillian. I grew up knowing I was a mutt, mostly Scottish and German, with an Irish great-grandmother, and knowing nothing about the ancestors whose origins laid the features upon my face and the nature in my bones.
Recently, Shaker Westsidebecca generously offered to explore my ancestry with her wicked genealogy skillz. I gave her everything I knew — names, locations, occupations, dates of birth, dates of death. I had more information than I thought, but there were gaping holes, waiting to be filled by someone with the requisite talents for this very particular research.
For the past few weeks, she's been unearthing all kinds of fascinating stuff, some of it very surprising indeed. So far, she's discovered I am in fact very German, and a little Irish, but also Hungarian, French, Spanish, and English!
And no Scottish — yet! That's probably because the (presumably, based on the name) Scottish part of my paternal lineage has been in the States so long that Becca is many generations back and still in the U.S., and the (supposedly) Scottish part of my maternal lineage goes straight through the aforementioned John Noble, who may have invented his entire identity!
Or maybe I've got no Scottish ancestry at all! I sure never knew I was significantly Hungarian and English, nor a little French and Spanish, so apparently anything is possible!
(And fortunately I have zero investment in any particular history.)
Suffice it to say, we've encountered some fun mysteries and lots of intriguing information. Becca told me, "I am blown away by how much family history you have." So am I.
I'll be sharing more information in the future, so long as folks find it entertaining, and today I'll start with this amazing article Becca found about a bar fight in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC in April of 1866. Jacob Thomas was my great-great-great-grandfather, and he was a barber.
[Content Note: Description of violence. Note: "The 20th inst" means the 20th of the current month.]
SERIOUS AFFRAY AT GREENPOINT — A MAN DANGEROUSLY STABBED. — This morning, about half past twelve o'clock, an affray occurred in a drinking saloon at Greenpoint, which resulted seriously for one of the parties engaged, who was twice stabbed with a dirk knife. It appears that at the above time a barber named Jacob Thomas, doing business on Franklin, between H and I streets, accompanied with an employee named Jacob Schale, went into the saloon of one McNally, corner of Franklin and G streets.Was this written by Benjamin H. Grumbles?! I expected it to end with an account of the heroic immigrant Jacob Schale, who saved my grandfather, breaking out of jail: "...And then the rascal attempted to abscond the scene on his pennyfarthing!"
While there he began skylarking with the proprietor, who had been indulging rather freely in liquor, and struck him over the face. McNally became angry, and attacked Thomas, beating him over the body with his fists. The latter defended himself as well as he was able, when a number of drunken ruffians, who were in the place at the time, also began to assault him. With this combined force, he was overpowered and dragged about the bar-room.
Schale seeing how his employer was being used, ran to his assistance, when he likewise was assailed, and in defence, he states, drew a dirk knife. During the melee he stabbed one of his assailants in the right side, the blade coming in contact with the ribs, and in the right leg, the blade this time entering just beneath the knee pan.
The injured man, who is named Luke Fagan, aged about thirty years, and employed as a driver on the Greenpoint cars, was conveyed to his apartments, in the same house, and Dr. Peer summoned. Officer Reed of the 47th precinct, was notified of the affair, and succeeded in arresting Schale, who had fled to the shop of his employer, and was about escaping out of a rear window when taken. He is about twenty years of age, and but recently arrived in this country.
This morning the prisoner was arraigned before Justice Dailey, and committed to jail until the 20th inst. Fagan's injuries are of a serious but not necessarily fatal nature.
Trust that there is more skylarking and plenty of affrays where this came from. My family history is some wacky shit, not that anyone who knows me at all would have expected any different, lol.
What I'm Listening To
A thread for sharing what we're currently listening to: Music, podcasts, audiobooks, whatever.
Once-frequent guest blogger and sharer of election terrors BrianWS, who still may or may not become a full-time contributor someday because you just never know I mean this world is getting wackier by the day and stranger things happen all the time, texted me a couple of months ago and asked if I would be up for a hang-out day that culminated in seeing his current superfave Amy Shark in concert, to which I obviously screamed yes.
So, yesterday, BrianWS flew in to Philly, and I met him for an afternoon of talking about ALL THE THINGS, and then Iain joined us for dinner and drinks and the show, which was amazing.
And now I'm listening to Amy Shark. Who, by the way, was just nominated for 9 ARIA Awards yesterday! Woot!
[Lyrics here.]
What are you listening to these days?
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 630
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: Well, This Is Very Troubling and Today in Rampaging Authoritarianism and Happy National Coming Out Day!
Here are some more things in the news today...
[Content Note: Hurricane damage; death and displacement; climate change. Covers entire section.]
Jonathan Erdman at the Weather Channel: Hurricane Michael Was the Third Most Intense Continental U.S. Landfall on Record, an Unprecedented Location for a Category 4 Landfall. "With an estimated minimum central pressure of 919 millibars, Michael was the third most intense hurricane landfall in the continental United States, according to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. Only a pair of Category 5 landfalls, Hurricane Camille in 1969 and the Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, had lower central pressure at continental U.S. landfall than Michael. ...Michael was by far the most intense hurricane to landfall in the Florida Panhandle, according to NOAA's 167-year best-track hurricane database."
Mark Berman, Antonia Noori Farzan, Eli Rosenberg, and J. Freedom du Lac at the Washington Post: Violent Storm Claims Second Life, a Child in Mobile Home, on Its Way to Carolinas. "The Gadsden County Sheriff's office said that a man was found dead in his home in a small town outside of Tallahassee after a tree crashed through the roof. Sgt. Angela Hightower did not identify the man but said he had been found at the home in Greensboro around 6 p.m. ...High winds from Hurricane Michael lead to the death of an 11-year-old girl in Seminole County, Ga., EMA Director Travis Brooks told The Washington Post early Thursday morning. The girl had been inside a trailer home in an unincorporated area of the county near Lake Seminole, close to the Florida-Georgia border. ...'It looked like a war zone,' Brooks said, adding that it had taken deputies from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office practically all day to get to the mobile home due to the road conditions in the area."
Elisha Fieldstadt at NBC News: Officials Worry Hurricane Michael Death Toll Could Rise as Crews Struggle to Access Hard-Hit Areas. "With two people killed in the most powerful storm to hit the Florida Panhandle in recorded history, officials warned the number was likely to rise as search crews struggled to gain access to ravaged areas and sift through the piles of debris. ...And Michael isn't finished yet. The Carolinas, still cleaning up from Hurricane Florence, could see 50 mph winds, flooding, tornadoes, and up to 7 inches of rain on Thursday. ...About 400,000 customers were without power in Florida about 450,000 in Georgia, officials in those states said."
I have previously noted that I include extreme weather items in the We Resist thread because they are worsened by climate change, which, unfortunately, remains a political issue urgently in dire of our continued attention. To wit: Miranda Green and Timothy Cama at the Hill: [CN: Video may autoplay at link] GOP Shrugs Off Dire Study Warning of Global Warming. "Few GOP lawmakers on Wednesday said they had read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) report, which warned that the planet would be unlivable if leaders failed to cut carbon emissions. ...Even fewer said they were heeding the warnings that action needed to be taken to cut emissions by 2030. 'That's the UN. That's the group that was formed to sell this in the first place,' said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the former chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee and one of the best-known skeptics of climate change in the Senate. 'They come from that prejudiced perspective,' Inhofe said of the report's author."
Malice is the agenda.
* * *
Shane Harris at the Washington Post: Crown Prince Sought to Lure Khashoggi Back to Saudi Arabia and Detain Him, U.S. Intercepts Show.
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered an operation to lure Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia from his home in Virginia and then detain him, according to U.S. intelligence intercepts of Saudi officials discussing the plan.That last bit is important. Especially since Donald Trump is banging on about how Khashoggi wasn't a citizen.
The intelligence, described by U.S. officials familiar with it, is another piece of evidence implicating the Saudi regime in Khashoggi's disappearance last week after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials say that a Saudi security team lay in wait for the journalist and killed him.
...The intelligence pointing to a plan to detain Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia has fueled speculation by officials and analysts in multiple countries that what transpired at the consulate was a backup plan to capture Khashoggi that may have gone wrong.
A former U.S. intelligence official — who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter — noted that the details of the operation, which involved sending two teams totaling 15 men, in two private aircraft arriving and departing Turkey at different times, bore the hallmarks of a "rendition," in which someone is extralegally removed from one country and deposited for interrogation in another.
But Turkish officials have concluded that whatever the intent of the operation, Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate. Investigators have not found his body, but Turkish officials have released video surveillance footage of Khashoggi entering the consulate on the afternoon of Oct. 2. There is no footage that shows him leaving, they said.
The intelligence about Saudi Arabia’s earlier plans to detain Khashoggi have raised questions about whether the Trump administration should have warned the journalist that he might be in danger.
Intelligence agencies have a "duty to warn" people who might be kidnapped, seriously injured, or killed, according to a directive signed in 2015. The obligation applies regardless of whether the person is a U.S. citizen. Khashoggi was a U.S. resident.
TRUMP: "Again, this took place in Turkey, and to the best of our knowledge Khashoggi is not a US citizen, is that right? He's a permanent resident, okay... as to whether we should stop $110b from being spent in this country, that would not be acceptable to me." pic.twitter.com/6tlkJ5shbt
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 11, 2018
That Khashoggi was not a citizen doesn't matter in terms of the Trump administration's responsibility to warn him that he was in danger, nor should it matter in terms of the actions the Trump administration should take in response to his murder.
But this is Donald Trump we're talking about, so.
Nahal Toosi at Politico: 'Sweep It Under the Rug': Fears Grow Trump Won't Confront Saudis over Journalist's Disappearance. "Calls are mounting for the Trump administration to find out what happened to Jamal Khashoggi. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have taken steps to force a government investigation. Khashoggi's fiancée has pleaded for Trump to 'help shed light on Jamal's disappearance.' The fury has grown after a Washington Post report that U.S. intelligence knew of Saudi plans to abduct Khashoggi, raising questions about whether the administration failed to warn the journalist. The White House insists it's taking the case seriously, with Trump vowing Wednesday to 'get to the bottom of it.' But former officials and analysts, including some friendly with Khashoggi, are dismayed by what they say is a milquetoast response so far by the Trump team."
The essence of milquetoast: "Trump on Thursday morning addressed the report that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered an operation to lure Washington Post contributor and vocal critic Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia and 'detain' him, telling Fox & Friends that it would be a 'sad thing' if that report turned out to be true. ...When asked specifically what he would do if the report about Mohammed bin Salman — a close ally of Trump adviser/son-in-law Jared Kushner — was true, Trump responded that 'I have to find out what happened. And we're probably getting closer than you might think,' later adding that 'I don't like it. No good.'"
Krishnadev Calamur at the Atlantic: The Disappearance of a Saudi Critic Signals a Broader Danger for Journalists.
Khashoggi's fate reflects a larger pattern of violence inflicted on journalists around the world this year. Year after year, reporters are detained, abducted, and, with some frequency, killed. As Margaux Ewen, the North America director at RSF, told me, "We're seeing targeted killings even outside war zones."Trump's war on the press not only consists of intimidating and targeting members of the free press, but also by corrupting friendly conservative media into straight-up propaganda machines: "The White House has vowed to 'look into' a decision taken by Fox News to stop broadcasting Donald Trump's rallies live and in full because they're no longer bringing in high ratings. ...The report states White House figures are concerned Trump is losing control of a key platform ahead of the midterms. One senior White House official told Politico they were unsure why the network is cutting away from the rallies, saying officials planned 'to look into that' and that they expect White House Communications Director Bill Shine, a former Fox News executive, to be in touch with his former colleagues about the move."
Since January 2018, RSF points out, 57 journalists have been killed, along with 10 citizen journalists and four media assistants. The numbers are already higher than the figures at the same time last year. Additionally, 155 journalists have been imprisoned, along with 142 citizen journalists and 19 media assistants.
"We're ultimately seeing that the press is no longer viewed as a key component of democracy but are more and more viewed as the opposition, the enemy, those that only want to criticize," Ewen said. She added, "It doesn't really help when the president of the country of the First Amendment, the United States, repeatedly refers to journalists as enemies of the people and denigrates their work, compares their negative coverage to fake news. It really sends the wrong signal … in a way that can really embolden other countries who haven't been repressive in the past to start being repressive."
What this does, she said, is embolden already authoritarian regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, to believe there won't be true consequences for their actions.
When an authoritarian gets his own propaganda outlet, it puts members of the free press in ever graver danger.
* * *
If it seems like Trump's authoritarianism is becoming more brazen and accelerating very quickly now, that's because it is:
Aaron Rupar at ThinkProgress: Trump Hints That He Plans to Seriously Obstruct Justice After the Midterms. "During a lengthy interview on Fox & Friends on Thursday morning, [Donald] Trump hinted he might make serious moves to end the FBI investigation into his own campaign after next month's midterm elections. Asked about a Washington Post report that he's in active talks to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump said, 'I'm not doing anything — I want to get the elections over with, we'll see what happens. I'm very disappointed that we go through this witch hunt, this ridiculous witch hunt… There's no collusion.'"
Matthew Choi at Politico: Trump Pledges to 'Weed Out' Administration Officials He Does Not Trust. "Donald Trump said Thursday that he will 'weed out' individuals inside his administration who he does not like, echoing remarks from his wife, who told ABC News that there are people working for her husband who she does not trust. ...Trump said he would do away with those he does not like. 'Are there some I'm not in love with? Yes. We'll weed them out slowly,' the president said. ...Melania Trump was more direct in her negative opinions about some in the administration. [ABC's Tom Llamas] asked her whether there are people in the administration she doesn't trust. She responded flatly: 'Yes.'"
[CN: Nativism] Rebekah Entralgo at ThinkProgress: U.S. Is Violating Human Rights, Lying About How Asylum Seekers Are Treated at Border, Per New Report. "Under orders by the Trump administration, thousands of asylum seekers fleeing dangerous living situations are being arbitrarily detained, forced to return to their country of origin, and separated from their children. According to a scathing new report from Amnesty International, these actions by the U.S. government violate human rights. The U.S. is prohibited from sending asylum seekers back to countries or territories where their lives or freedom would be threatened, either directly or indirectly, yet that is exactly the policy of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Seeking asylum is not a crime, yet the Trump administration continues to treat those who arrive at ports of entry in search of a better life as if they were criminals."
And, of course, members of Trump's party are escalating in their rhetoric as they consolidate power behind him, too. On both the federal level:
Nicole Lafond at TPM: Graham: 'Going Low Is a Step Up' for Dems, They're 'in the Gutter'. "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Wednesday responded to Hillary Clinton's claims that civility will return to Congress if Democrats win in November by invoking former First Lady Michelle Obama. 'So, Michelle Obama said, 'when they go low, we go high.' Here's my view of the Democratic Party regarding Kavanaugh,' he told Fox News' Martha MacCallum. 'Going low is a step up for you. You are in the gutter in terms of the Democratic Party's approach.'"
And the state level:
"Aronowitz told them Siegel was a Democrat. A couple minutes later the phone went dead and Aronowitz was placed under arrest for what he was told was '48 hour investigative detention.' ...His court date, ironically, is Nov 7th, the day after election day." https://t.co/ixSOTkGtAD
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 11, 2018
We are in very scary times, my friends. Resist with all your might.
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Happy National Coming Out Day!
Today is the 31st annual National Coming Out Day! Thirty-one years ago today, half a million people marched on Washington for LGBTQ equality and Coming Out Day was born.
A lot has changed since then. And a lot hasn't. And a lot of what has changed is now under threat of being reversed again. But what has changed, and what will change, and what will be preserved is due to the brave women, men, and genderqueer folks who come out because they expect more than a closet.
As long as we live in a deeply hetero- and ciscentrist culture that privileges straightness and cisgenderedness, coming out will remain a radical act — and anyone who comes out is an activist and an advocate, sheerly by virtue of their public existence, because straight/cis people who know out members of the queer community are exponentially more likely to be political allies.
The privileging of straightness also means that coming out is not a fixed event on a single day in a life, but a never-ending process of assessing one's safety and balancing it against the need for disclosure. Coming out to family, coming out to old friends, coming out to new friends, coming out at school, coming out at every new job... A series of comings out necessitated by a culture that reflexively assigns straightness until an individual demands to be recognized otherwise, a culture that arbitrarily and unnecessarily attaches meaning, and difference, to sexual orientation.
There yet remain many places in the world, including many parts of the U.S., in which queer people do not feel safe coming out. As we mark Coming Out Day in this space, let us remember those people who have not come out for reasons of personal safety, or religious oppression, or out of a profound fear of familial or community rejection.
And let us celebrate coming out, and the people who build spaces where coming out and being out is safe.
I invite you to share your coming out stories here, as a road-map to the people who are beginning that journey, and an invitation to the party that awaits them when they arrive.
Today in Rampaging Authoritarianism
Last night, at yet another Make America Clap for Me Again rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of colluding with Russia, following more chants of "Lock her up! Lock her up!" from his crowd of cultists. Lauren Egan and Jonathan Allen at NBC News report:
"There was collusion between Hillary, the Democrats and Russia," Trump said, just after his supporters had chanted "lock her up" about Clinton. "There was a lot of collusion with them and Russia and lots of other people."Then, this morning, during an extended interview on Fox & Friends, Trump praised members of his own party as great patriots. Kathryn Watson at CBS News reports:
...Trump has discussed that theory publicly and on Twitter, but his remarks Wednesday night amounted to an unusually direct allegation that Clinton herself conspired with the Russian government to influence the election. He offered no evidence of his claim.
He declared that Rep. Devin Nunes, the controversial chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who has vigorously defended the president, should receive the "Medal of Honor." That award is the highest military honor reserved for those who display selfless acts of valor. Maybe, the president added it should be called the "Medal of Freedom."Trump is praising members of his own party as folk heroes and accusing political opponents of treason. The treason his party actually committed.
The president lauded other House Republicans who have defended him amid the Russia probe and put pressure in the Justice Department, including House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
"I think they're becoming folk heroes," Mr. Trump said.
These are techniques right from the authoritarian's playbook. He's not stumbling into this rhetoric by accident. This is a strategy.
Specifically, it is the strategy of a tyrant whose political party is consolidating power and working overtime to discredit their critics and intimidate the resistance into silence and retreat.
When threats and chants don't wholly quell dissidents, the tactics will escalate.
This is what is happening. Trump is not just a terrible president who will be constrained and eventually replaced by a functional democratic system. He is a rank authoritarian leading an irredeemably corrupt party supported by a toxic base of increasingly violent extremists — who have aligned to conspire to permanently subvert the nation's democratic institutions in service to their corruption and malice.
Anyone who tells you different is a fool who isn't paying attention, a complicit coward, or a gaslighter who wants to silence or corrupt you, too.
And as I have said many times now: We can't even begin to solve this problem if we collectively refuse to be honest about what the problem truly is.
Well, This Is Very Troubling
And by that, I mean: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE!!!
David E. Sanger and William J. Broad at the New York Times: New U.S. Weapons Systems Are a Hackers' Bonanza, Investigators Find.
Authorized hackers were quickly able to seize control of weapons systems being acquired by the American military in a test of the Pentagon's digital vulnerabilities, according to a new and blistering government review.And again in June of 2017.
The report by the Government Accountability Office concluded that many of the weapons, or the systems that control them, could be neutralized within hours. In many cases, the military teams developing or testing the systems were oblivious to the hacking.
A public version of the study, published on Tuesday, deleted all names and descriptions of which systems were attacked so the report could be published without tipping off American adversaries about the vulnerabilities. Congress is receiving the classified version of the report, which specifies which among the $1.6 trillion in weapons systems that the Pentagon is acquiring from defense contractors were affected.
But even the declassified review painted a terrifying picture of weaknesses in a range of emerging weapons, from new generations of missiles and aircraft to prototypes of new delivery systems for nuclear weapons.
"In one case, the test team took control of the operators' terminals," the report said. "They could see, in real time, what the operators were seeing on their screens and could manipulate the system" — a technique reminiscent of what Russian hackers did to a Ukrainian power grid two years ago.
Once again, I am reminded of that December 2016 article at the New Yorker by Eric Schlosser: "World War Three, by Mistake." And this paragraph, in particular:
Strict precautions have been taken to thwart a cyberattack on the U.S. nuclear command-and-control system. Every line of nuclear code has been scrutinized for errors and bugs. The system is "air-gapped," meaning that its networks are closed: someone can't just go onto the Internet and tap into a computer at a Minuteman III control center. At least, that's the theory. Russia, China, and North Korea have sophisticated cyber-warfare programs and techniques. General James Cartwright — the former head of the U.S. Strategic Command who recently pleaded guilty to leaking information about Stuxnet — thinks that it's reasonable to believe the system has already been penetrated. "You've either been hacked, and you're not admitting it, or you're being hacked and don't know it," Cartwright said last year.Everything is not fine.
I don't even know what else to say about this subject.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker FloraFlora: "What's something you've done recently (or ever) that made you feel unusually competent or perceived-as-competent?"
Often the fact that I have a very good memory is perceived as competence, when it's really just a genetic gift.
The flipside of that is, because I have a reputation for having a very good memory, it's frequently perceived as gross incompetence when I forget something!
Wednesday Links!
This list o' links brought to you by music.
Recommended Reading:
Lily Rothman with Donna Drucker at Time: [Content Note: Fight for bodily autonomy; video may autoplay at link] What to Know About the Surprising Modern History of Contraception
Sue Kerr at the Pittsburgh Current: [CN: Homophobia; harassment and threats; misogyny; fat hatred; disablism] Run Over by a Chick-Fil-A Controversy
Ragen Chastain at Dances with Fat: [CN: Body policing] I'm Not Fingernails, But I Am Fat
Dave Gershgorn at Quartz: [CN: Misogyny] Amazon's "Holy Grail" Recruiting Tool Was Actually Just Biased Against Women
Lisa Butterworth at Bust: Busy Philipps Discusses Her #MeToo Experience and Her Mission to Take Down the Patriarchy
Jason Sperber at the Nerds of Color: Andi Mack, Children's Television, and a Future in Full Color
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Shaker Gourmet
Whatcha been cooking up in your kitchen lately, Shakers?
Share your favorite recipes, solicit good recipes, share recipes you've recently tried, want to try, are trying to perfect, whatever! Whether they're your own creation, or something you found elsewhere, share away.
Also welcome: Recipes you've seen recently that you'd love to try, but haven't yet!
* * *
I forgot to post the recipe for last week's stew, which turned out to be super tasty! Y'all know I'm awful at recipes, but here goes...
Ingredients:
Cubed veal
One half white onion, large cut
Two diced stalks of celery
Chopped potatoes (I used a bunch of small purples, reds, and yellows)
8 oz unsalted chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons of low sodium crumbled bacon
Olive oil
Flour
Herbs de Provence
Parsley
Salt
Black pepper
Directions:
Heat about two tablespoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Coat the veal in flour. (I put about a quarter cup of flour into a ziploc bag, along with a very little salt and a hefty dose of pepper, then added in the veal, sealed it, and shook it.) Dump the coated veal into the pan and lightly saute. Remove from heat and put into crockpot. Saute onions in same pan until they're just turning brown. Remove from heat and put into crockpot.
Add the celery, potatoes, bacon, and herbs. Stir. Cover with stock. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Best consumed with crusty bread and butter!
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 be seeing an old friend tonight whom I haven't seen in a very long time, and I'm very excited about it! Yay!
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 629
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: Trump Lies About Women; His Crowds Chant for Revenge and Hurricane Michael to Make Landfall in Florida Today and Trump Trauma.
Here are some more things in the news today...
[Content Note: Death; descriptions of violence] Betsy Woodruff at the Daily Beast: Jamal Khashoggi Wanted to Launch a Pro-Democracy Group; Then the Saudis Disappeared Him. "Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist and legal United States resident who wrote for The Washington Post opinion section, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Sept. 28. Then he disappeared. Turkish government sources have told numerous outlets, including the New York Times, that they believe Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, dismembered, and smuggled out piece by piece. The Saudi government, meanwhile, has maintained that Khashoggi left unharmed. Khashoggi frequently criticized the Saudi government in his newspaper columns. And before his disappearance, he planned to turn his arguments into action. Sources familiar with his plans told The Daily Beast that he was working to launch a non-governmental organization whose stated purpose was to boost democracy and human rights in the Arab world."
Wait, what? "Before Khashoggi's disappearance, U.S. intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture him, according to a person familiar with the information." https://t.co/IXbA9JaJya
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 10, 2018
I'd really like to know if U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was aware, when she resigned yesterday, that U.S. intelligence reportedly knew about the plan to capture Khashoggi before it happened.
* * *
Zoe Tillman at BuzzFeed: A Man Charged in Connection with Mueller's Russian Troll Farm Case Was Sentenced to Six Months in Prison. "A California man who pleaded guilty to selling fraudulent bank account numbers — information that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office says was used to finance Russian election interference efforts — was sentenced on Wednesday to six months of prison followed by six months of home detention. Richard Pinedo, 28, wasn't accused of knowingly helping Russian companies and individuals accused of orchestrating campaigns to influence the 2016 presidential election. But his fraud scheme nevertheless landed him in the middle of the special counsel investigation."
I have repeatedly expressed my grave concerns for nearly a year now that the objective of Mueller's investigation is not to deliver meaningful accountability to a treasonous president and his accomplices, but instead to create the illusion that our institutions still work, long enough to give Republicans time to consolidate power behind this presidency, ensuring that the findings will never matter, anyway.
Fourteen days for Papadopoulos and a sweet deal for Manafort. Now six months for this guy. I don't know, y'all.
There is no urgency in response to this crisis. Too much time has passed for defenses of his allegedly methodical approach to matter.
We're two years into Donald Trump's presidency and less than a month out from midterms, and the Republican Party has consolidated power behind Trump, including a staunchly conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
If Mueller's investigation wasn't explicitly designed to keep us complacent and trusting that our democratic institutions will save us even as the GOP obliterates them, it's effectively working that way all the same.
Suffice it to say, I don't find it reassuring that we're being asked to put our faith in an investigation that hasn't even come close to curtailing the abuses of this administration — and in an election that is indubitably compromised by gerrymandering and voter suppression, and will probably be compromised by election interference both foreign and domestic.
Speaking of which:
Given what happened in the 2016 election, Kellyanne Conway saying this now is ominous: "Let's not forget the same geniuses that predicted a huge romp by that woman who lost in 2016 are the same people predicting a huge win by the Democrats this time." https://t.co/aUGYxpb4eU
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 10, 2018
Like I keep saying: I am going to vote. I hope it still matters.
* * *
Kate Riga at TPM: FBI Director Wray Confirms That White House Limited Kavanaugh Probe. "During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) asked FBI Director Christopher Wray if the investigation into sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh was curtailed by the White House. Wray confirmed that it was. 'I think I would say that our investigation here, our supplemental update to the previous background investigation, was limited in scope and that that is consistent with the standard process for such investigations going back quite a long ways,' he said." We all knew it, but there's confirmation under oath, at least. For all it matters.
Staff and agencies at the Guardian: Trump Attacks Democrats as 'Radical Socialists' and Scorns Universal Healthcare Plan. "Donald Trump put his name to an opinion article in USA Today published on Wednesday, in a rallying cry to voters ahead of the midterm elections and warning that a big Democratic win would bring America closer to socialism and 'suffering, misery, and decay.' ...Trump's article warned: 'If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America. Government-run healthcare is just the beginning. Democrats are also pushing massive government control of education, private-sector businesses, and other major sectors of the US economy.' He urged that this is a fight the Republicans “must win” and issued further dire predictions about a 'radical' agenda. 'Every single citizen will be harmed by such a radical shift in American culture and life. Virtually everywhere it has been tried, socialism has brought suffering, misery, and decay,' he wrote." Projection.
This is quite a juxtaposition from Mike Pence as he's talking about China during an interview with Hugh Hewitt. pic.twitter.com/AJ0VAvWafF
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 10, 2018
If you can't see the image in the embedded tweet, the highlighted passage from Pence's interview on China reads: "[Donald] Trump and I, and our administration, are committed to taking the kind of action that will change the trajectory of this relationship. The president's imposed $250 billion dollars in tariffs with the possibility of more. We're rebuilding our military, making historic investments in our military. And make no mistake about it, we will continue to stand by all of our interests across the Asia Pacific." Shiver.
[CN: Racism] Zack Ford at ThinkProgress: Kansas Republican Says Democratic Native American Candidate Should Be Sent Back 'to the Reservation'. "A Republican official in Kansas is under fire for a Facebook message he sent Sunday lashing out at Sharice Davids, the Native American, lesbian, MMA fighter, and lawyer who appears poised to win her race for Congress. Michael Kalny, an elected Republican precinct committeeman, sent the nasty note to Anne Pritchett, president of the north chapter of the Johnson County Democratic Women. She took a screenshot of the message, which subsequently went viral. 'Little Ms. Pritchett – you and your comrades['] stealth attack on Yoder is going to blow up in your leftist face[s],' Kalny wrote, referring to incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder (R). 'The REAL REPUBLICANS will remember what the scum DEMONRATS tried to do to Kavanaugh in November. Your radical socialist kick boxing lesbian Indian will be sent back packing to the reservation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'" JFC.
[CN: Child abuse; hostility to tribal sovereignty]
"They fear it may not only jeopardize Native American children, who are far more susceptible to being removed from their families than nonnative children, [but] may also jeopardize decades of legal precedent affecting tribal sovereignty." https://t.co/1qpnLnYqkr
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 10, 2018
[CN: Trans hatred; gun violence] Andy Towle at Towleroad: Transgender Student Barred from Taking Shelter in Male and Female Locker Rooms During Active Shooter Drill. "A student at a middle school lockdown in Stafford, Virginia, was barred from taking shelter in the male or female locker rooms with other students during an active shooter drill while the student watched teachers debate where she should go. Equality Stafford's Lesley Woods reported the incident on Facebook... 'Let me be clear. During an event that prepares children to survive an attack by actual assailants, she was treated as if she was so much of a danger to peers that she was left exposed and vulnerable.'" Rage seethe boil.
[CN: War on agency; misogyny; Holocaust reference; video may autoplay at link] Alanna Vagianos at the Huffington Post: Pope Francis Says Getting an Abortion Is Like 'Hiring a Hitman'.
Pope Francis likened getting an abortion to "hiring a hitman" during an address at the Vatican on Wednesday.I have been saying for many years that this Pope is hardly the "progressive" that people inexplicably like to imagine he is, and I've taken a lot of abuse for saying that. Surely, by now, his rank illiberalism is apparent.
"I ask you: Is it right to 'take out' a human life to solve a problem? What do you think? Is it right? Is it right or not?" Francis asked the thousands of people in attendance, according to Reuters.
When the crowd responded "No," the pope continued: "Is it right to hire a hitman to solve a problem? It is not right to kill a human being, regardless of how small it is to solve a problem."
Some outlets, including Reuters and The Guardian, translated Francis' comments as likening abortion to hiring "a hitman." Other outlets, such as Al Jazeera and Politico, translated Francis' quote as saying "a contract killer." Either way, his meaning is clear.
...Francis' comments are in line with his last remarks on abortion, which he made in June. He denounced abortion at the time, and likened it to the "white glove" equivalent to Nazi-era eugenics practices.
"Last century, the whole world was scandalized by what the Nazis did to purify the race. Today, we do the same thing but with white gloves," Francis said.
Again, another issue in which people could have listened to women instead of shouting at us about what fucking ingrates we are for not "appreciating" men who are supposedly "on our side."
What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
Trump Trauma
[Content Note: Rape culture; misogyny.]
This is a very validating, if profoundly troubling piece by Mandy Velez at the Daily Beast: The Traumatizing Effect of the Trump Era on Women: 'It's Like a Form of Torture'.
According to mental health professionals, the last month has been a trying one for women's mental health.That is exactly what life feels like for me every day.
"Almost all the women are showing up [to sessions] during this time as much more disorganized, much more symptomatic," Christine Horner, a counselor based in Brooklyn, told The Daily Beast. "If they suffer from depression, or if they suffer from anxiety, [they're] struggling more with debilitating symptoms...signs that [they're] tapped psychologically."
...These reactions fall in line with an emotional roller coaster of a cycle that Horner and other mental health professionals have seen play out over the last two years.
...Patricia M. Raskin, a psychologist at Columbia University, chronicled the impact of Trump's appointment on a woman who had been sexually abused as a child. "As a victim of abuse, [one of my clients] had had a visceral reaction to Trump's candidacy, aware that he reminded her of inappropriate men she knew," she said.
And that was not unusual in her practice. "There was no female client who did not discuss," Raskin told The Daily Beast. "[And] it was not just Trump's election. It was Hillary's defeat and the misogyny around her campaign."
According to Margaret Edwards, program director of counseling and wellness services at the Women's Center at the University of Virginia, these responses are indeed part of a re-traumatization process. The victim-shaming that came with Kavanaugh's appointment has likely had a serious psychological impact.
"Lack of understanding, when exacerbated by general lack of respect and empathy for others, reignites the worst aspects of trauma for anyone who has ever experienced it," Edwards told The Daily Beast via email. "The physical suffering of a sexual assault pales in comparison to the feelings of being socially alone and rendered worthless and defective."
...[Horner said:] "The notion that, I think, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you cry, how loud you scream, nothing works — it's like a form of torture."
And there is no alternative — because giving up on urgently resisting this despicable regime and doing whatever I can to help other people, especially my fellow survivors, navigate and process this living nightmare would be a torture all its own.
Persisting is torture. It is also the only thing keeping me from complete collapse.
And I know as well as anyone and better than most that publicly talking about how much this hurts provides endless wank fodder for drooling sadists, because malice is the agenda. They want to hurt us, and they delight when their cruelty hits the mark.
But I'm not going to be silent about the effects of being a female survivor of sexual assault under an aggressively abusive, patriarchal regime. Silence is what they want, and I won't fucking give it to them.
Hurricane Michael to Make Landfall in Florida Today
Hurricane Michael will make landfall in Florida today, and it's anticipated to be the strongest storm ever to hit the Florida panhandle, with major storm surges, winds of more than 140mph, and tornadoes embedded in the hurricane.
We are closely monitoring couplets in #HurricaneMichael that may contain embedded tornadoes. Please pay attention to the latest warnings from our office and be ready to take action. #Michael #FLwx pic.twitter.com/lesYuxKux7
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) October 10, 2018
Georgia is also expected to be seriously affected by the storm, and both states are likely to suffer wind damage, flooding, and loss of electricity. There are, of course, a number of flight disruptions in the region.
The Guardian has ongoing live coverage here.
Officials are now telling folks in the affected areas to stay put if they haven't already evacuated. Travel will now be unsafe, so it's time to hunker down.
Be safe, everyone. ♥
Trump Lies About Women; His Crowds Chant for Revenge
[Content Note: Misogyny; authoritarianism.]
This is becoming a pattern: Donald Trump uses his Make America Clap for Me Again rallies to tell straight-up lies about women who challenge him and/or members of his regime (i.e. female dissidents) and his audience responds by chanting "Lock her up! Lock her up!" despite the woman — whether it's Hillary Clinton, Maxine Waters, or Nancy Pelosi — having committed no crime.
Last night, it was Senator Dianne Feinstein's turn.
Chants of "Lock her up!" rang once again throughout an Iowa arena as [Donald] Trump rallied supporters Tuesday night.The descriptions of these eruptions are always so anodyne. The video is chilling: Trump provokes the crowd, who launch into the chant, and he grins and chuckles like a proud papa who just watched his hellspawn spew toxic venom for the first time.
...Trump, who was in the state boosting Republican candidates ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections, claimed that Feinstein, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had leaked a letter written by California professor Christine Blasey Ford alleging Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.
..."Can you believe that?" Trump said, as his supporters turned the chant once deployed against the former secretary of state on another Democratic woman.
"Did she leak that? 100 percent," Trump said, adding: "I don't want to get sued, so 99 percent."
In a statement, Feinstein called Trump's remarks "ridiculous and an embarrassment."
..."Dr. Blasey Ford knows I kept her confidence, she and her lawyers said so repeatedly," Feinstein said. "Republican senators admit it. Even the reporter who broke the story said it wasn't me or my staff."
Donald Trump’s Iowa crowd chants “lock her up!” at his mention of Senator Dianne Feinstein.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 10, 2018
The president laughs playfully. pic.twitter.com/a6KLrf8kzS
Trump, standing at a podium in front of a crowd: How 'bout — how 'bout Senator Feinstein? That's another beauty. [crowd boos and grumbles loudly] That's a beauty! "Did you leak the documents?" [puts on voice and demeanor of nervous woman] "Wha? Wha? No, I didn't!" [crowd jeers and laughs] 'Did we leak? Did we leak?" [he turns to crowd behind him and points; they are laughing] "No, no! No we didn't!" Do you ever see— [gestures to someone in crowd] No. He just said, "No, we didn't leak." [crowd begins chanting "Lock her up! Lock her up!" Trump laughs and shakes his head with a grin as the entire place chants]He basks in their malice; in the malice he invited.
This is terrifying to watch — the President of the United States leading seething misogynist crowds in round after round of "Lock her up!" chants.
And it's extremely scary to me to see how many people still greet it with jokes. This isn't funny. Every woman who resists this regime under her real name every day is at increasing risk. We are watching with horror.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Carpe Librarium: "What is your favourite tongue-twister (in any language)?"
I gotta go with that familiar old chestnut: "She sells seashells by the seashore."
This was an epically difficult tongue-twister for me as a kid, given that there was a time when I couldn't make a "sh" sound; still have a sibilant lisp; and am a stutterer.
I'm still not great at it, to be honest, lol — but being able to conquer it even a bit feels pretty great!
