Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey on That’s showbiz.

Maroon @2: “And then four years later, Lester Holt sandbagged Dukakis by asking him if he would support the death penalty if someone raped his wife.”

It was Bernard Shaw, by the way.

It was perhaps in poor taste, but it was the easiest question in the world to answer politically. Dukakis could have said something like this:

“[optional: Bernard, that’s a disgusting and offensive question.] Would I support the death penalty for my wife’s killer? I’d want to do it myself with my own bare hands, slowly and painfully. I would be blinded by my rage and grief, and not interested in hearing any reasons why his life should … Read the rest

Trump’s “press secretary” tried to con journalists into thinking Amy Barrett was a Rhodes scholar.

If you watch it you see that she says “my bad” in a brushoff sort of way when she’s exposed as having lied to the reporters. We don’t refer to people who went to, say, Wharton as “Wharton scholars.” We say they graduated from Wharton or attended Wharton or got a BA at Wharton. (In Trump’s case we note that they did it by paying a less stupid kid to take the SATs for him.) The “press secretary” and former Fox News sleaze got caught telling a flattering lie about the religious fanatic Trump nominated for RBG’s seat.… Read the rest

Danger? What danger? I don’t see any danger, do you? Oh you mean danger to the female prisoners – oh well who cares about them.

She’s not just some random shouter, she’s a Councillor. And a woman.… Read the rest

Texas governor goes for more voter suppression.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order Thursday requiring counties to close multiple locations where voters can drop off completed mail-in ballots.

As an election security measure, counties will be limited to one dropoff site where poll watchers — designated by political parties and candidates — must be allowed to observe ballot deliveries by voters, Abbott said.

“Election security” my ass – it’s voter suppression.

Travis County has four dropoff locations, including three downtown, while Harris County has opened 12 locations as election officials strove to meet unprecedented demand for mail-in voting during the pandemic — particularly amid questions about the efficiency of the U.S. Postal Service.

“As we work to preserve Texans’

How that nightmare looked from farther away:

Over the years, the presidential debates have become as much about entertainment as elucidation. As journalists we hype them like Vegas world heavyweight boxing bouts beforehand and score them like TV critics afterwards.

Indeed, and it’s maddening. There’s so much palaver about the stupid debates, as if they mattered, when in fact there are much better ways to evaluate the candidates and what they plan to do.

Ever since Ronald Reagan mastered the genre, the debates have tended to reward star power over expertise.

Well there you go. If it works for a Reagan and doesn’t work for a Mondale then it’s not a good instrument.

Presidential debates increasingly have come

He’s still finding ways to get worse.

"Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp" — Speaking in a state with one of the largest Somali populations in the country, Trump goads his fans into booing refugees, prompting "lock her up!" chants directed at Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/dT2yuHxFDZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2020

… Read the rest

About Trump and the Proud Boys…

The president was asked repeatedly by the moderator, Chris Wallace, to condemn violence by white supremacists and rightwing groups, such as armed militias, as well as criticizing leftwing protesters.

Instead, Trump addressed the Proud Boys, a far-right group whose members have been sentenced to prison for attacking leftwing protesters in political street fights, and said: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”

The Proud Boys, whose uniform is a black polo shirt, immediately celebrated the president’s comment in posts on social media platform Telegram. One Proud Boys group added the phrase “Stand Back, Stand By” to their

Good one.

Not so good.… Read the rest

Damn. There I was thinking no one would be rushing forward to say “Barbie Kardashian” is no threat to anyone and that it’s transphobic and evil to say he is. DINGDING wrong again.

Our response to the recent piece by the @Limerick_Leader pic.twitter.com/MfdDQ6btPv

— Limerick Feminist Network (@LmkFeminist) October 1, 2020

They also posted the statement on Facebook.

We are profoundly disappointed with the recent piece shared by the Limerick Leader. The Limerick Feminist Network have been active in Limerick and working on the ground with the feminist community for several years and we are disappointed that we were not contacted for comment. Never the less, here are our views on the matter.

Trans women are not a

The people of Twitter are disputing and/or reproaching John Cleese for signing the letter, but they’re not shouting or threatening or hurling sexual insults and fantasies about violence. Funny, that.

He had to try VERY hard for that. Some of us just say one thing once…

— Julie Bindel (@bindelj) September 30, 2020

Ah, yes, this specific and complicated example makes the definitive case that trans women shouldn't be treated as women. We've always known how passionate you are about…fairness in weightlifting competition.

— Underdoug (@containseggs) September 30, 2020

Sarcasm. Oh no not sarcasm!… Read the rest

So there.

Dear Twits, I have added my name to the signatories of the letter in solidarity with JKRowling

Proud to be in the distinguished company of Ian McEwan, Andrew Davies, Frances Welch, Lionel Shriver, Ben Miller, Tom Stoppard, Frances Barber, Griff Rhys-Jones and Matthew d'Ancona

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 30, 2020

Of course the nonsense follows swiftly.

I suspect that the signatories I am proud to be associated are far more balanced and intelligent than the people whose slogans you chant

Sad https://t.co/CrD46Tyf9Q

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 30, 2020

People who feel themselves specially 'good' often achieve this feeling of purity by using the denial and projection defence, seeing their own hatred in others

I see no

What Trump refused to say is significant.

Fox News’s Chris Wallace — who had spent most of the debate with the demeanor of someone unexpectedly pulled from the audience to ride a bronco at a rodeo — pushed Trump on his recent reluctance to say that he would ensure a smooth transition should he lose.

“Will you urge your supporters to stay calm during this extended period, not to engage in any civil unrest?” Wallace asked. “And will you pledge tonight that you will not declare victory until the election has been independently certified?”

Oh hell no. Of course he won’t.

“I’m urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that’s what has to

The reviews are harsh.

"That was a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck,” says @JakeTapper about the first presidential debate between Pres. Trump and Joe Biden. “We’ll talk about who won the debate, who lost the debate … One thing for sure, the American people lost.” #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/wjMnUmt2WS

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 30, 2020

Then Dana Bash says that was polite, she’s just gonna say it like it is: that was a shitshow.

Chris Wallace is embarrassing, and trying to pretend that the problem isn’t 100% Trump.

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) September 30, 2020

Oh my God.
Chris Wallace has totally lost control of this thing.
He’s allowing Trump to behave like schoolyard bully,

I hate presidential debates. I think it’s a bad thing that they’re taken so seriously and given so much attention. Debating isn’t a key part of what a president does – presidents aren’t legislators, they’re executives.

Add to that a debate where Trump is one of the debaters…and just no.

I did watch a few minutes, just to see, and was disgusted, and stopped.

Our shame can be seen from space.

Only one man looked remotely presidential on the debate stage in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was not the incumbent. He interrupted, ranted, raged, spewed lies and interrupted some more. Oh, and he passed on an opportunity to condemn white supremacists, instead telling them to “stand back and stand

Well anyway they’ve written a letter too so ha. They’ve written their own Big Important letter that repeats The Dogma so there. Take that, Bad People.

Days after a host of prominent literary names signed a letter defending JK Rowling “against hate”, more than 200 writers, publishers and journalists including Jeanette Winterson, Malorie Blackman and Joanne Harris have put their names to another stating their support for transgender and non-binary people.

In order to imply that The Enemy is undermining transgender and non-binary people.

The letter, which is described as “a message of love and solidarity for the trans and non-binary community”, was pulled together by acclaimed writers Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Daisy Johnson. With

The Bookseller reports on Mslexia’s shunning of Amanda Craig:

Amanda Craig has been dropped as a competition judge by women’s writing magazine Mslexia over her signing of a letter to the Times in defence of J K Rowling.

…Craig has said she is “very disappointed” by the decision taken after her involvement protesting “relentless bullying and death threats to a fellow author”. She also called on professional bodies, including the Society of Authors and English PEN, to defend authors from such bullying.

…

Craig had been appointed a judge for the Mslexia Fiction & Memoir Competition 2020 alongside novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave and literary agent Joanna Moult. Hargrave said on Twitter that she “wasn’t comfortable to sit on a

Mslexia has issued a statement – a bad, stupid, smarmy, chickenshit statement.

pic.twitter.com/bWTKkWnWWT

— Mslexia ✨ (@Mslexia) September 30, 2020

All that plus difficult to read – but hey, tiny white print on a lavender background is so Feminine, amirite?

Mslexia exists to support all writers who identify as women, regardless of their prior background or current circumstances, including issues relating to their age, race, class, income, disability, sexual preference, location, health status, fertility, caring responsibilities and gender assignment. We stand against all forms of abuse and harassment.

Mslexia aims to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment that encourages women to express themselves across a wide range of literary genres in the knowledge that they, and their writing, will always

I don’t understand.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the suggestion that Amy Coney Barrett would vote to scrap the Affordable Care Act.

“This mother of seven, including multiple children who were born or adopted facing preexisting condition medical challenges, is just itching to block families like hers from accessing medical care. What a joke,” McConnell said, per an NBC News reporter.

I’m not being sarcastic, I really don’t understand. If Evil Mitch said that, it means that he gets why universal health care is necessary, and is willing to let us know that he gets it. But they hate universal health care. They want it to be health care for those who can afford it. He’s admitting that … Read the rest

They’ve made the letter a petition now, so the whole world can sign. Signatures are flooding in.

If you sign a letter or say a thing in support of JK Rowling you must be punished.

2. Retribution is instant. Mslexia magazine, which says it champions women's writing, tells her she is dropped as a judge on one of its competitions.

— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) September 29, 2020

4. Every honest person who reads the book knows it isn't true. Yet it's easier for cultural bureaucrats to go along with the lie than risk their careers by stating the truth. (If you want chapter and verse, I reviewed the novel here https://t.co/X21FXyl4Wk)

— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) September 29, 2020

Punish her. Never mind that she didn’t do anything wrong, punish her, just to be safe.… Read the rest