The Republicans are restless.

A member of Republican leadership in the US Senate has likened his relationship with Donald Trump to a marriage, and said that he was “maybe like a lot of women who get married and think they’re going to change their spouse, and that doesn’t usually work out very well”.

Not very flattering to men…

Trump spent some of the weekend in a public fight with Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Sasse criticised Trump in a call with constituents, lamenting among other things his treatment of women and the way he “kisses dictators’ butts” and “flirts with white supremacists”.

You know, little things like that.

Trump fired back with insults, forcing Republican National Committee chair, Ronna

Trump is in Las Vegas, where he should stay until he is imprisoned.

Trump joined a campaign staff call from his hotel in Las Vegas, where he is staying before his two campaign rallies in Arizona later today.

The president tried to instill confidence in his campaign staff, insisting he would win the election, despite the recent disappointing polls.

He insists a lot of things. Insistence doesn’t make it true.

He relieved his frustrations by trashing Fauci.

“People are tired of coronavirus,” the president said, according to reporters who listened in on the call. “People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots.”

We’re tired of coronavirus – you don’t say! Here I thought we were loving … Read the rest

Allons enfants:

Thousands have attended rallies across France in support of Samuel Paty, the teacher beheaded after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.

People in the Place de la République in Paris carried the slogan “Je suis enseignant” (I am a teacher), with PM Jean Castex saying: “We are France!”

The Place de la République in Paris filled with people rallying in support of Mr Paty, 47. Mr Castex and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo joined them.

The square was the scene of a huge demonstration in which 1.5 million people showed solidarity with Charlie Hebdo following the deadly attack of January 2015.

Vous ne nous faites pas peur.
Nous n’avons pas peur.
Vous ne nous diviserez

Originally a comment by Bruce Gorton on Blaming the beheaded.

Remember a few years ago when the in meme was the paradox of tolerance?

The paradox of tolerance is that pure tolerance doesn’t produce a tolerant society because there comes a point at which tolerating the intolerant means that the intolerant dominate the more reasonable people.

The solution to the paradox is that tolerance isn’t an absolute virtue. There is a line beyond which you don’t tolerate any longer. That line, according to the original argument, was drawn at the use of violence for political ends. You don’t tolerate terrorism.

Unfortunately, this same argument was used to endorse violence against bigots.

The problem is that violence is habit forming, … Read the rest

This is not a joke, repeat, not a joke.

The White House issued a proclamation a couple of days ago because it’s “National Character Counts Week.” Thank fuck we have the president to remind us and inspire us.

Personal responsibility, integrity, and the other values which define our unique American spirit underpin our system of self-government…In looking to these examples of honor and virtue…From small acts of kindness to supreme selfless sacrifice…Individuals of integrity and principle lift us all to greater heights…selfless giving of time and assistance to people in need…social and cultural awareness, intellectual curiosity, and a sense of responsibility…how far decency and compassion can go in helping others…we recommit to being more kind, loving, understanding, and virtuous.

Signed, … Read the rest

Lara Trump mocks Biden for stuttering and then claims to be very concerned that it’s an indication of “cognitive decline.”

Jake Tapper calls out Lara Trump for openly mocking Joe Biden's stutter.

Lara says, "First and foremost I had no idea that Joe Biden ever suffered from a stutter. I think what we see on Joe Biden on stage is very clearly a cognitive decline."

Tapper isn't having it. pic.twitter.com/qGlfOLzd3k

— The Recount (@therecount) October 18, 2020

Lara TRUMP says that. Lara Trump says that in an effort to boost the campaign of the stupidest most ignorant sack of wind who has ever held that job.… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Papito on Blaming the beheaded.

Freedom of speech isn’t worth civil war.

I simply cannot get past the way in which this statement holds an implicit threat. Another, ruder way to say the same thing is:

You better shut up, or we’ll keep killing you.

Isn’t it already a war? One could say that Samuel Paty was killed as a defender of the French nation and its values. This is the country where the first universal declaration of the rights of man was written, and among those rights the following:

Article XI – The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man: any citizen thus may speak,

Robert Reich compares different ideas of freedom:

Trump and many Republicans insist that whether to wear a mask or to go to work during a pandemic should be personal choices. Yet what a woman does with her own body, or whether same-sex couples can marry, should be decided by government.

Trump and most Republicans are not very good at thinking about (or noticing) the ways individual acts can affect other people and/or the world we have to live in. In the abstract, absolute freedom sounds appealing, but in the reality, we live among people and most of what we do affects others. It’s about degrees and kinds as opposed to freedom v not-freedom. Flouting public health measures during a … Read the rest

Ooh ooh I know this one.

Lara Trump tells @jaketapper people are frustrated over #covid restrictions.

Those restriction are in place because the US STILL can’t control the virus.

And yet Trump holds largely maskless rallies that feed the spread.

— Cristina Alesci (@CristinaAlesci) October 18, 2020

I know this one! Yes of course people are frustrated over the restrictions but you know what’s even more restricting and frustrating? A bad case of the virus! Even more so? Being dead! Also frustrating is accidentally infecting your beloved friend or spouse or parent or sibling or child. It’s all terribly frustrating! Spreading the virus won’t help. Trump is spreading the virus like crazy, and it’s not helping.… Read the rest

Bex Stinson is “Head of trans inclusion, Stonewall.” The meaning of “trans inclusion” of course is not the ordinary, commonly understood meaning of inclusion, but a new and paradoxical meaning: the “inclusion” of men with women and women with men, when the included identify as the other sex.

Nicola Adams is

a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 2019.

Bex Stinson is of course lying when he says Nicola Adams “is trying to prevent trans people from playing sports.” Saying men should not compete against women is not saying they should not play sports. It’s pretty simple.

Did you miss the

Does it even matter that Trump goes to Michigan and incites violence against its governor? Yes, it does.

After Donald Trump attacked Gretchen Whitmer at a rally in Michigan on Saturday, prompting chants of “Lock her up!”, an aide to the governor said: “Every single time the president does this at a rally, the violent rhetoric towards her immediately escalates on social media. It has to stop. It just has to.”

…

At his rally in Muskegon, Trump targeted Whitmer several times, criticising state rules to stop the spread of coronavirus, calling her “dishonest” and making light of a rightwing plot to kidnap her – and possibly to kill her – that was foiled by the FBI.

He’s behind … Read the rest

"There's something about that, when you watched everybody getting pushed around, there's some very beautiful about it. I don't care what anyone says. Not politically correct." — Trump describes the National Guard getting into physical altercations with protesters as "beautiful" pic.twitter.com/04ax2wWKra

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2020

Make.him.go.away.… Read the rest

How the pro-murder for “blasphemy” side sees things:

France is heading down a v dark path. The oppression & brutalisation of Muslims is completely out of control. And the terrible violence seems set to continue. This latest murder will only lead to more repraisals against Muslims. Perhaps French Muslims should make hijra.

— Roshan M Salih (@RmSalih) October 16, 2020

Salih is the editor of 5 Pillars. It’s fascinating to see his anxiety about oppression and brutalization of Muslims in France as a response to the murder of a teacher by an engraged Muslim. Obviously Muslims in France should not be oppressed or brutalized, because no one should, but if we’re going to talk about “terrible violence” what about that … Read the rest

Remember – some vigilantes were just arrested by the feds for plotting to abduct this same governor and “put her on trial.”

The President mentions the Governor of Michigan, the crowd chants lock her up, and the President says lock them all up pic.twitter.com/9wuB7blnoP

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 17, 2020

… Read the rest

There is no amount of fair or friendly criticism extremists are willing to accept, if they have the power to shut it down.#JeSuisProf #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/RRq1r04NNh

— Ex-Muslims of North America (@ExmuslimsOrg) October 17, 2020

Atterré, choqué et consterné par l’assassinat de #SamuelPaty. La liberté de pensée inscrite au fronton de notre république et notre sens critique reposent sur la transmission et l’acquisition des savoirs.

Mes pensées à ses proches et mon soutien au corps enseignant #JeSuisProf pic.twitter.com/SBlluiwKDL

— Jamy Gourmaud (@gourmaud_jamy) October 17, 2020

https://twitter.com/karimbitar/status/1317252972951277574

Ce matin je pense à #Samuel. À sa famille, à ses proches, à ses collègues, à ses élèves… #tristesse #jesuisprof pic.twitter.com/KdRKbc4C2u

— Fidel Navamuel (@outilstice) October 17, 2020

… Read the rest

More on the Paris nightmare:

Samuel Paty, 47, who taught history and geography at the school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine , north-west of the French capital, was attacked on Friday evening by an 18-year-old man who was shot dead by police shortly afterwards.

Because of a cartoon.

Earlier this month, Paty had shown a class of teenage pupils a caricature from the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo during a moral and civic education class discussion about freedom of speech, sparking a furious response from a number of parents who had demanded his resignation. Before presenting the caricature, the teacher reportedly invited Muslim students to leave the classroom if they wished.

Afterwards, the father of a 13-year-old girl who did not leave the

Brilliant. Well done us.

More than 68,000 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the US on Friday, the highest number in a single day since July, further confirmation the country is in the midst of a coronavirus resurgence.

That’s the worst it’s been since the end of July. Wrong direction, folks.

Cases dipped from August to mid-September. But public health experts have long feared a rise in cases as the weather starts to cool, leading people indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread. Cases are increasing in a majority of states, particularly in the northern midwest, including the Dakotas, Montana and Wisconsin – where Donald Trump was due to stage a rally on Saturday night.

Originally a comment by iknklast on Zero more years.

In 2016, his bitter account of the nation’s ailments struck a chord with many voters

This is one of the things that annoys me. Always saying this, without noting that the ailments he described were not in many cases ailments, but signs of a country that has people that are diverse and many of them have sentiments more in line with the modern world than with the one Trump voters long for. It’s time to quit playing this game of saying things in a way that sounds like he was describing legitimate bad things, things most of us could agree are bad, but which Trump didn’t solve.

The things that … Read the rest

The NY Times editorial board says get Trump out of there.

Donald Trump’s re-election campaign poses the greatest threat to American democracy since World War II.

Mr. Trump’s ruinous tenure already has gravely damaged the United States at home and around the world. He has abused the power of his office and denied the legitimacy of his political opponents, shattering the norms that have bound the nation together for generations. He has subsumed the public interest to the profitability of his business and political interests. He has shown a breathtaking disregard for the lives and liberties of Americans. He is a man unworthy of the office he holds.

The editorial board does not lightly indict a duly elected president.

Dictators should not make jokes about doing dictatorial things.

President Trump on Friday said he would blame Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if he lost the potentially pivotal battleground state in the presidential election and quipped about firing him – a statement that raised eyebrows due to Trump’s history of accusing Democratic governors of working to tilt the election against him.

Yeah quip shmip – it’s not a “quip” when it’s exactly the kind of thing you do in fact do whenever you feel like it and have the ability. He doesn’t have the ability to fire Santis, of course, but if he did? He would if he decided he wanted to.

“Hey Ron, are we gonna win the state