Dipshit lets us know what his priorities are.

I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues – and combatting recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2020

As if.

He can’t just write new laws – he can’t write new laws at all. Congress is the legislative branch; he is not.

He’s so eager to see other people executed or given “long prison terms” for crimes they didn’t commit or for actions that are political acts as opposed to crimes. If it’s a crime to push down a statue of a Confederate (aka treasonous) general, what … Read the rest

Interesting…

In a new bombshell report, the New York Times says the US intelligence community has concluded Russia offered Afghan militants bounties to kill US troops.

What? Trump’s darling sweetheart Putin did that?

From the Times:

American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan — including targeting American troops — amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter.

The United States concluded months ago that the Russian unit, which has been linked to assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe intended to destabilize the West or take revenge on turncoats, had covertly

The bosses still being irresponsible and reckless with the health of the population. “Do what seems best to you, it’s your choice, we wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do, freedom freedom freedom, we couldn’t possibly comment.”

Vice President Mike Pence was asked what message he wanted to offer on wearing masks, as evidence suggests face coverings can limit the spread of coronavirus.

“Well, we think that the first principle is that people ought to listen to their state and local authorities,” the vice president said, declining to offer a federal endorsement on wearing masks.

What kind of stupid “first principle” is that? It’s geographic, it’s not a principle. The virus is the virus, it doesn’t care about state … Read the rest

I’ve just seen a 5-word tweet that makes my blood run cold.

“Work is introducing pronoun pins.”

I think “is introducing” here means “wearing them is not optional.”

Why stop at pronouns? Why not pins to point out all the obvious? How about species? Nationality? Height and weight? Age? Address? Politics? Voting record? Grades? Tax history? Religion? Favorite foods?

Grown up people don’t want to walk around wearing labels telling the world what brand we are. I wouldn’t want to wear a pin saying “woman,” either, because duh. Plus…it’s work. It’s not home, it’s not the coffee shop, it’s not a clubhouse. It’s work. It’s already a place where people get to tell you what to do (unless … Read the rest

What’s Trump doing while Pence tells us everything is awesome on the pandemic front? Trump is raging about white supremacist statues again.

Moments ago, Trump sent a tweet sharing an FBI notice seeking information about those suspected of defacing the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Square near the White House.

MANY people in custody, with many others being sought for Vandalization of Federal Property in Lafayette Park. 10 year prison sentences! @FBIWFO pic.twitter.com/mrLyxbWNvq

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2020

It’s interesting that the FBI thinks vandalization of a statue is a matter for the Violent Crimes Task Force. Don’t we consider violent crimes to be crimes against sentient beings? As opposed to statues?

But of course it’s … Read the rest

Pence is holding the first coronavirus briefing in two months.

The vice president opened the briefing by heralding the progress made in hard-hit states like New York and New Jersey.

“We have made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward,” Pence said.

However, Pence then shifted to noting the high level of new cases in many parts of the country, which the president has sought to downplay in recent days.

…

Echoing the president, Mike Pence blamed the rising number of new coronavirus cases on increased testing.

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However, public health experts have said the rising number of cases is more attributable to states reopening and Americans relaxing social distancing practices.

It’s also important to note that coronavirus hospitalizations

So, Trump says to himself, there’s a novel virus cutting a swathe through the country, what should I do? Take away people’s health insurance, that’s what.

In a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration has reaffirmed its position that the Affordable Care Act in its entirety is illegal because Congress eliminated the individual tax penalty for failing to purchase medical insurance.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco, the government’s chief advocate before the Supreme Court, said in a brief that the other provisions of Obamacare are impossible to separate from the individual mandate and that “it necessarily follows that the rest of the ACA must also fall.”

Shortly after the brief appeared on the court’s docket late Thursday,

Yes but how do they know? How do they ever know? It’s never ever explained. If we don’t know how we know, and we can’t figure out how we can know because the rules don’t add up, then…how do we know what we’re supposed to do, and not do? If the rules contradict each other, how do we avoid thoughtcrime? Where is the island we can stand on, safe from sharks and strong currents?

The WI is a place which welcomes and celebrates all women. As we near toward the end of #PrideMonth, we would like to wish a Happy Pride to all our transgender members.

This brilliant trans pride flag was made by @SocialLitesWI #Pride pic.twitter.com/vfJWHiSwJQ

— Women's

Excuse me?

They deserve more recognition, do they? Ok here’s step one: don’t call them not-men, as if they were a weird mutant failure.

Updating to add:

As the person who manages this account I am always trying to encourage conversation & I personally apologize for not getting it right on this occasion.

Bethany

— Routledge Philosophy and Religion (@Routledge_Phil) June 26, 2020

Not a very philosophical response.… Read the rest

From an interview yesterday with Nikole Hannah-Jones on Fresh Air, on the subject of reparations for slavery:

HANNAH-JONES: Reparations to me – and if you notice in the piece, which is quite long, we don’t even use the word reparations until the very end section of the piece because it’s such a charged word. But what it means to me is, it is restitution. It is when a country or a community or a corporation that has done something egregious to a person or a group of people tries to restore or repair the damage that was done. And that is what reparations is to me.

Which is not an eccentric or personal understanding; that is what it means. Reparations … Read the rest

The niece’s book hasn’t been stopped, so far.

An attempt to block publication of a book by Donald Trump’s niece has been dismissed by a court in New York.

Ted Boutros, an attorney for Mary Trump, tweeted that a court in Queens dismissed a lawsuit brought by the president’s brother, Robert Trump.

“The court has promptly and correctly held that it lacks jurisdiction to grant the Trump family’s baseless request to suppress a book of utmost public importance and concern,” Boutros said.

“We hope this decision will end the matter. Democracy thrives on the free exchange of ideas, and neither this court nor any other has authority to violate the constitution by imposing a prior restraint on core political

Again. Again the Trump monstrosities refuse to wear masks during a raging lethal pandemic because they’re just that shitty.

Vice President Mike Pence tours Lordstown Motors, in Lordstown, OH. No one, including the VP, wears a mask. pic.twitter.com/WmAmxQ0leS

— The Hill (@thehill) June 25, 2020

Members of the Trump administration, including Donald Trump himself, have frequently declined to wear masks throughout the coronavirus pandemic despite CDC recommendations to do so.

It’s as if they strolled around the White House and Congress firing guns every few minutes. Sometimes people are injured, sometimes they’re killed, just part of the game when you’re in Trump World.… Read the rest

People are nuts.

A major incident was declared after tens of thousands of people defied pleas to stay away and descended in their droves on beaches in Bournemouth and other stretches of the Dorset coast.

The local authority, BCP council – covering Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole – said it was forced to instigate a multi-agency emergency response to tackle issues ranging from overcrowding on the beaches, traffic gridlock and violence. Security guards had to be used to protect refuse collection teams.

The Bournemouth East MP, Tobias Ellwood, said half a million people had flocked to the beaches and said the situation was so overwhelming that the UK government should step in to help the council deal with the crisis.

Contagion is freedom! Masks are tyranny!

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell encouraged Americans to wear masks to limit the spread of coronavirus, as more than half of US states report increases in new cases.

“I think that’s what people ought to do,” the Kentucky Republican told an ABC News reporter. “That’s what we’re doing in the Senate, and that’s what I’m counseling other people to do.”

Some other Republicans have said similar things, Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio among them.

However, other congressional Republicans have taken a much more laissez-faire approach to encouraging mask usage.

Because that’s how contagion works – it’s all a matter of choice. You choose to let the virus infect you, or you choose not to. … Read the rest

Oops.

All of President Donald Trump’s campaign staffers who attended his rally in Tulsa on Saturday are quarantining this week after interacting with several colleagues later tested positive for coronavirus, CNN has learned.

Now about all those people in the audience…

After eight staffers tested positive, several of the campaign’s top officials decided to quarantine for the week instead of going into the office, two sources familiar with the situation told CNN. Staff had only recently returned to the office after months of working from home because of coronavirus restrictions.

They’re working to re-elect the guy who put them in harm’s way for his own selfish purposes.

The fallout from Trump’s push to hold a rally with thousands

Trump plans to have a fireworks & sojers party at “Mount Rushmore” next month. What a disgusting idea in every way.

Trump’s plans to kick off Independence Day with a showy display at Mount Rushmore are drawing sharp criticism from Native Americans who view the monument as a desecration of land violently stolen from them and used to pay homage to leaders hostile to native people.

Desecration and uglification. That thing is a monstrosity.

The event is slated to include fighter jets thundering over the 79-year-old stone monument in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the first fireworks display at the site since 2009.

Loud noises! Bangs! Roars! He can understand those.

Trump has long shown a fascination with Mount

Oh what do you know look at that – the Independent in 2018 doing a whole piece on the need for girls’ toilets in schools.

Unesco is urging governments around the world to prioritise providing single-sex toilets in schools, warning as many as 1 in 10 girls in some countries are missing out on lessons because of their period.

The UN’s education body surveyed 189 countries as part of its sixth annual gender review, obtained exclusively by The Independent ahead of International Women’s Day.

While the report found some progress had been made in gender equality in education, it said one in three countries still failed to allow equal numbers of boys and girls into primary school.

…

One

M. K. Fain on that election in Queens:

Emilia Decaudin, a man, has won the Female District Leader position for New York City’s 37-A district, which resides in Queens. Last year, Decaudin successfully petitioned to eliminate the sex parity rule in New York Democratic Leadership Council roles—a rule which was put in place by feminists to ensure women’s fair and equal participation in the democratic process.

And along came a man to say no, let’s not ensure women’s fair and equal participation in the democratic process. Let’s keep women out, instead.

Decaudin, who identifies as transgender and non-binary, defeated Deirdre Feerick, a woman, for the female position by a margin of about 5.5 points. Feerick was an experienced politician

They have another scalp.

Damian Barr is leading a charge of writers, including one former Booker prize winner, who are calling on the Booker Foundation to remove the allegedly “homophobic” peer Emma Nicholson from her position as vice-president.

Lady Nicholson of Winterbourne, who voted against the same-sex marriage bill in 2013, is the widow of the late former chairman of Booker, Sir Michael Caine, who helped establish the prize. She is currently a vice-president of the Booker Foundation, and a former trustee of the prize.

Barr, a novelist, memoirist and host of the Literary Salon, learned of her association with the prize earlier this week, after Munroe Bergdorf, the model and transgender activist, said she was referring

Another ignorant twerp jumps, very belatedly, on the Let’s All Monster JK Rowling train.

Since J.K. Rowling published “Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues” to JKRowling.com, Harry Potter fans, Wizarding Worldfilm stars and LGBTQ+ organizations have been speaking out against Rowling’s statement. Fans of Rowling’s work are questioning how to move forward, whilst LGBTQ+ organizations are publishing responses aiming to combat misinformation within the author’s essay.

No, the responses aren’t aiming to combat misinformation, they’re aiming to enforce a novel and stupid orthodoxy and to destroy yet another woman who doesn’t adhere to it.

Whilst some have defended Rowling’s right to an opinion, others, including Forbes.com Diversity & Inclusion Contributor Dawn Ennis, have illustrated