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Trump’s affinity for Columbus

Oh good, we’re making Columbus great again.

Trump is taking steps toward installing near the White House a replica of a statue of famed explorer Christopher Columbus that had been tossed into Baltimore’s harbor during his first term amid protests against institutional racism.

It’s all this political correctness, you see, paying attention to the fact that Columbus was not an unmixed blessing to all the inhabitants of the landmass he bumped into on his way to China.

The White House declined to comment to the AP on plans for the statue but reaffirmed Trump’s affinity for Columbus, whose legacy has shifted as historians and educators amplify how white European figures and their descendants treated Native Americans and enslaved Africans

… Read the rest

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Trump’s affinity for Columbus
By Ophelia Benson, February 5, 2026

Oh good, we’re making Columbus great again.

Trump is taking steps toward installing near the White House a replica of a statue of famed explorer Christopher Columbus that had been tossed into Baltimore’s harbor during his first term amid protests against institutional racism.

It’s all this political correctness, you see, paying attention to the fact that Columbus was not an unmixed blessing to all the inhabitants of the landmass he bumped into on his way to China.

The White House declined to comment to the AP on plans for the statue but reaffirmed Trump’s affinity for Columbus, whose legacy has shifted as historians and educators amplify how white European figures and their descendants treated Native Americans and enslaved Africans

… Read the rest

Archives
Bad Moves
Articles
Flashback
In Focus
Latest News
Letters
Notes and Comment Blog

Trump’s affinity for Columbus 

Oh good, we’re making Columbus great again.

Trump is taking steps toward installing near the White House a replica of a statue of famed explorer Christopher Columbus that had been tossed into Baltimore’s harbor during his first term amid protests against institutional racism.

It’s all this political correctness, you see, paying attention to the fact that Columbus was not an unmixed blessing to all the inhabitants of the landmass he bumped into on his way to China.

The White House declined to comment to the AP on plans for the statue but reaffirmed Trump’s affinity for Columbus, whose legacy has shifted as historians and educators amplify how white European figures and their descendants treated Native Americans and enslaved Africans

… Read the rest
Toast 

It seems that Trump has blown past some major milestone or barrier – whatever it is that inhibits people from jabbering nonsense in public.

The bit of transcript sounds coherentish. Trump talking does not. He’s fallen off a cognitive cliff.… Read the rest

The ballad of the courteous cashier The ballad of the courteous cashier 

People don’t believe me when I say Joyce Carol Oates is stupid. No, really: she is stupid. Dense. Thick as two short planks. She does not thinkk good.

Like so:

Yes she is that stupid. She doesn’t even get that “random men” and “transgender persons” can be one and the same. She doesn’t even get that “random men” can idennify as women and proceed to commit violent acts against girls and women.… Read the rest

Widespread non-compliance 

The UN’s Reem Alsalem speaks up:

GENEVA – A UN expert today expressed serious concern over the United Kingdom’s failure to ensure the effective implementation of a landmark Supreme Court judgment clarifying that the term “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.

“The continued absence of clear, updated guidance and effective enforcement measures has resulted in widespread non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling,” said Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. “This situation undermines legal certainty with particularly serious consequences for women and girls.”

The Special Rapporteur welcomed the ruling in her report following her recent visit to the United Kingdom. She recommended that the UK Government ensure that all public and

… Read the rest
He’s toast 

Welp it seems the genie is out of the bottle.

… Read the rest
Fewer but better 

The twelve of us

… Read the rest

Mild punching 

They haven’t thought this through.

Sermon says men can ‘physically discipline’ rebellious wives “as a last resort”

Last month, Birmingham mosque Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre (GLMCC) live streamed a sermon in which Aqeel Mahmood (pictured) said “discipline in the case of rebellion” is one of the “rights of the husband over the wife”.

He said: “The husband is a leader. He has his responsibilities. Physical discipline is a last resort on the condition that it doesn’t cause pain, injury, fear or humiliation”.

Quick question: if physical discipline doesn’t cause pain, injury, fear or humiliation then what does it cause? What’s it for? What’s the point of it?

It’s a ridiculous claim. The whole point of “physical discipline” is … Read the rest

Celebrate oppression of women day 

Oh you celebrate, do you? What next? Celebrating bound feet? Girls married off at age ten, eight, six? FGM? Slavery? Rape? Sati?

All of that, plus it implies that women are slutty hoors who lure men to their doom, as opposed to being subordinated by men who think women are slutty hoors.… Read the rest

The most glaring symptom 

Gut punch.

… Read the rest

Guest post: Accusations from a groupuscule 

Guest post by Jonathan Gallant

Below: an excerpt from an article  in the Democratic Socialists of America website:

We should support an immediate cease fire, large-scale humanitarian aid, global support for rebuilding Ukraine, and negotiations to  achieve a compromise settlement of what is an underlying conflict between the United States and Russian  imperialist interests.   In a future socialist world there should be no role for spheres of interest for large  countries. However, in the capitalist world we live in,  a viable settlement of this conflict  would have to accept Russia’s right to have security guarantees in its neighborhood. A Ukraine  settlement that includes neutrality for Ukraine along with U.S. and Russian guarantees of  Ukraine’s independence and security could avert further

… Read the rest
Why her fellow journalists 

The big question:

… Read the rest

Back to the mudsill 

Heather Cox Richardson January 31:

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller posted on social media this morning:

“Plenty of countries in history have experimented with importing a foreign labor class. The West is the first and only civilization to import a foreign labor class that is granted full political rights, including welfare & the right to vote. All visas are a bridge to citizenship. In America, for generations now, the policy has been that anyone who would economically benefit from moving to the US can do so, exercise the franchise in the US and their children, the moment they are born, will be full American citizens with all the rights and benefits therein.”

After his call for

… Read the rest
So disgusted 

Helen Rumbelow on what it’s like to read the Epstein files:

As the hours of my time on the site turned into days I started to see these files themselves as a Rosetta Stone through which women might understand male power.

Powerful men often have their identities, in the email and messages chains, redacted. Powerless girls have their faces, in photos, blacked out. Yes, there are the publicised emails, such as Epstein’s draft alleging that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, acquired an STD from “having sex with Russian girls”, or Richard Branson advising Epstein on how to recover from his little sex-offending public relations problem. Branson requests Epstein visit his Caribbean island again “as long as you bring your

… Read the rest
As more have sought gender transition 

The mountain begins to stir?

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has issued a broad recommendation against gender transition surgeries for youths, becoming the first major medical association in the United States to narrow its guidance on pediatric gender care amid a crackdown by the Trump administration.

Yessssss!

Never mind the Trump admin. It’s the only thing they’re right about.

A statement sent Tuesday to the group’s 11,000 members and obtained by The Washington Post recommends surgeons delay gender-related chest, genital and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old. Fewer than 1,000 minors in the United States receive such surgeries every year, according to research published in JAMA, the American Medical Association’s journal, and the vast

… Read the rest
Deepity du jour 

I dropped into PCC Market this afternoon to get a loaf of bread and saw they had some sort of motto board in the little cafe area. I was curious to see what the current deepity was so I looked. It goes like this:

The future is coming this way.

Let us go out to meet it.

And then the author’s name, which I didn’t write down and don’t remember.

But: what??? That’s such wisdom it’s worth finding the alphabet blocks and pinning them on the board?

The future is the future; you don’t say!

Let’s go out to meet it??? I don’t want to be harsh but there’s no need to summon or advise us to meet it, because … Read the rest

Perfectly normal 

There it is – there’s that giveaway. He tells Kaitlan Collins to go ahead then interrupts himself to shout insults at her.

“You are the worst reporter – no wonder CN – CNN has no ratings because of people like you – [looks to his left] you know she’s a young woman – [looks to his right] I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile, I’ve known you for [grimaces] ten years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face.” [Collins tries to speak, he shouts over her.] You know why yerr not smiling? Coz ya know yer not tellin the trueth.”

He can launch the nukes.

… Read the rest
Purge 

I somehow missed this at the time, but Trump got very busy erasing women from all the things too. I knew about the big picture “get rid of all DEI blah blah blah” but I’m not sure I knew women were included in the purge.

As President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI agenda comes to bear on NASA, we’re getting a revealing look at what his administration considers to be too woke: women.

In a directive sent out just days after Trump’s inauguration, NASA personnel were commanded to excise all mentions of anything “specifically targeting” women on the space agency’s public websites, 404 Media reports.

And by “targeting” they don’t mean harassing or mocking, they mean mentioning.

“Per NASA HQ

… Read the rest
Whitewash in every sense 

Take down that information!

A week after taking down signs at Independence National Historical Park referencing George Washington’s ownership of slaves, the National Park Service has been ordered to remove signs and displays pertaining to climate change and Native Americans at a handful of national parks in the West.

“The moves are the latest actions by the Trump administration to whitewash and sanitize history at National Park Service sites by removing or changing signage about slavery, climate change, Native Americans, transgender rights, and other issues,” the Sierra Club said Tuesday in a statement.

[How did “transgender rights” get in there? What can such undefined rights have to do with national parks?]

“The Trump administration continues to politicize our national parks

… Read the rest
Likely to raise new worries 

In Rush Toward Dictatorship news, Trump is pushing the Steal All the Elections effort as hard as he can.

Trump called in a new interview for the Republican Party to “nationalize” voting in the United States, an aggressive rhetorical step that was likely to raise new worries about his administration’s efforts to involve itself in election matters.

During an extended monologue about immigration on a podcast released on Monday by Dan Bongino, his former deputy F.B.I. director, Mr. Trump called for Republican officials to “take over” voting procedures in 15 states, though he did not name them.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” he said. “We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many

… Read the rest
Ok then itemize them 

She does say that.

https://twitter.com/OkayBiology/status/2018434359292756071

She helps herself to take that passionate stand by not saying what she means by “the rights of trans people.” Her passionate stand sounds generous and righteous if you have no idea what purported “rights of trans people” actually are.

If she spelled them out, it would be obvious what a joke it is for her to claim to be a feminist. Trans activists claim the right to be in women’s spaces, steal women’s prizes, compete in women’s sports, take women’s jobs, demolish real feminism.

She sounds as if she’s talking about human rights for trans people, but she’s not, she’s talking about special new creative “rights” to take everything women have and punish women … Read the rest