Soraya Chemaly has the best comment on the whole thing.
… Read the restKeeper for the American Patriarchy Photo Collection
Matt Gaetz says he’s about to lead this phalanx of House Republicans into the SCIF to check out what’s going on with the whole impeachment thing
Republicans: Law and order! National security! America First!
Also Republicans: Storm the classified hearing, cell phones in hand!
House Republicans took their impeachment grievances to a more confrontational level on Wednesday, barging in to a secure facility during a closed-door witness deposition and refusing to leave until Democrats held open hearings.
The gambit—cooked up by the pro-Trump brawler Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and endorsed by House GOP leadership—derailed the closed-door deposition of Laura Cooper, a Pentagon official with jurisdiction over Ukraine policy, before it even started. And it left Democrats indignant that their colleagues had violated long standing rules about interviewing witnesses in classified settings.
Long standing rules long standing shmules, this is a fight. You don’t bring rules … Read the rest
Heather Cox Richardson underlines some things, starting with Bill Taylor’s public statement to the impeachment inquiry:
… Read the restHe confirmed that while the official American policy was to encourage democracy in Ukraine to help it fight off Russia, the Trump administration had a shadow foreign policy team, headed by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Guiliani, and including special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, the Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Trump did not want “to provide any assistance at all” to Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. The president personally withheld money that Congress had appropriated for that struggle until Ukraine leaders promised to state publicly that they were opening an investigation into the
Word is that Taylor’s statement and testimony are very damaging to Dirty Donnie. The Guardian has some summaries:
In the 15-page statement, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine and longtime civil servant describes how he became “increasingly concerned” that the US-Ukraine relationship was being “fundamentally undermined” by withholding military aid for “domestic political reasons.”
Taylor added that he stood by his Sept. 9 text message to Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker, in which he said it would be “crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
He also said he was worried about taking the job as acting ambassador to Ukraine because Giuliani was gumming up the works.
… Read the restThe longtime diplomat said: “I worried about what
A tweet from Teacher2Teacher, an account where teachers apparently share ideas and advice and the like:
⛄️ Using this “gender snowperson,” Ss learn about identity and language! (📸 via educator
@LexingtonDEI) #EdEquity #ChampForKids #SchoolCulture
From the graphic style it appears to be aimed at very young children. Is it really teaching?
Do very young children really need to be taught about “gender expression”? I’m not sure I think anyone does, but the older the children the more able they are to question what they’re told by teachers. Do they need to be taught about “gender identity”? Are they taught what “identity” is first, and then how that can be made to fit with “gender”? I don’t think it can, … Read the rest
McKinnon shared this extraordinary tweet last night:
Missgendering is a HUGE trigger for suicidal ideation. Every time u MISGENDER a trans person YOU become responsible for their suicide attempts. If u have ever misgendered someone and as a result they committed, then YOU are to blame for said person losing their life. #transrights
Seriously? Is that true even if the “misgendered” person is not present when you “misgender” zem? And how does anyone know the person who “committed” did it because YOU “misgendered” zem?
If both of those claims are true then talking to or about people at all becomes a terrible hazard. Maybe we’d better all just stop doing it?
Don’t forget, McKinnon is an academic, whose field is … Read the rest
Trump claims he’s being lynched – yes, lynched.
So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!
But it’s not a lynching. It’s not a witch hunt, and it’s not a lynching. Trump is not a woman, and he is not a black man. He is not being burned alive, and he is not being hanged.
Even Republicans don’t like the “lynching” claim…except for Lindsey Graham.
… Read the restPresident Donald Trump’s shocking comparison of the ongoing impeachment inquiry against
BREAKING: Jessica Yaniv has just been ordered to pay legal costs to the business owners Yaniv harassed at the Human Rights Tribunal. The estheticians do not have to handle Yaniv’s male genitalia now or ever again. Finally. Some good news.
This is HUGE: via @JCCFCanada
I wish he had to give money to all of them, and a larger sum of it (to pay for their wasted time, just for one thing), but still.… Read the rest
Dirty Donnie retweeted one Jessica Ditto linking to a National Review piece a couple of hours ago:
“Empowering half the world’s population to flourish in the market economy is the best way to boost growth.”
What the hell is that creepy photo and what possessed them to use it? Why is Princess Ivanka rising from a sea of lesser women, bathed in golden light? Why does she tower over them with a serene madonna smile? Why do they all look roughly similar to her? Why are they all young or youngish? Why are they all white or near-white? Why are they all coiffed and heavily made up? Where are the farmers, workers, cops, teachers? Where are the immigrants, African-Americans, peasants, … Read the rest
Here he is saying it (go to 2:20). He says a lot of other stupid shit too.
There are no words, just the photo of the cheater’s two stolen medals and his “rainbow” jersey.… Read the rest
A tiny yet significant item – Trump gives the finger to the woman astronaut who had the audacity to correct (in a tactful way) his assertion that she and her colleague were the first women ever to work outside the space station.
The Guardian says Trump told lie after lie after lie in that Cabinet meeting.
Trump bounced from one falsehood to another while speaking to reporters during his cabinet meeting at the White House.
Here are just a few fact-checks from reporters about the president’s 70-minute meeting:
Trump’s remarks in the Cabinet room are a stream of exaggerations, boasts and falsehoods….
For example, in his remarks about Doral: “Miami International, one of the biggest airports in the world. Some people say it’s the biggest.”
(MIA is not even in the top 20)
That stupid “some people say” thing, as if simple facts like comparative airport size can be decided by “some people saying.”
… Read the restPresident Trump
Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey on Is Taco Bell available?
I know normally the game is “what if Obama had done this,” but I think in this instance it’s more fun to play “what if Hillary had done something even vaguely approaching this?”
Like, let’s say the G-7 summit host contract was awarded to some resort after a thorough bid process pursuant to applicable government procurement regulations. Then some enterprising right wing news site “uncovers” that President Hillary Clinton’s former college roommate’s cousin’s dentist sits on the board of that resort. Scandal! The right wing erupts in fury and outrage! Fox News runs wall to wall coverage. Every conservative legal analyst soberly opines that this is EXACTLY the sort … Read the rest
Trump is currently busy pissing on the Constitution in public.
Even after reversing his decision to hold the June G7 summit at his Florida resort, Trump is still insisting that the property would have been the best place for the multi-nation event.
Reuters White House reporter tweets:
.@realDonaldTrump says during White House cabinet meeting that the G7 at his Doral resort would have been the greatest G7 ever, Democrats went crazy about that plan even though he would have done it for free. (Trump announced Saturday he would no longer hold the G7 at Doral.)
The Guardian continues:
… Read the restThe president is blaming Democrats for forcing his hand on the issue, but a number of reports have surfaced that Trump
Peter Tatchell again nudges us to applaud his hostility to women:
Preventing trans women from competing in sport is denying their human rights. Most athletes have some form of advantage, such as fast-twitch muscle fibres, large hearts & lungs or extra long legs. Why single out trans competitors? https://cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/preventing-trans-women-competing-denying-human-rights-transgender-athlete-rachel-mckinnon-returns-defend-track-world-title-440713#YcXIv2c8K4qvKXlm.99
FOLLOW @MunroeBergdorf
As a professor of human rights, I say you are talking bollocks.
247 other people commented in a similar vein (I’m one of them); I scrolled and scrolled and scrolled and didn’t find one in the opposite vein.… Read the rest
Rachel McKinnon has some deep thoughts for people who aren’t respectful of sport and fair play.
Masters women’s track cycling is a rare and special thing. It allows us to extend our competitive careers and not think so much about contracts or going to the Olympics. We’re a small community, and we should take GOOD CARE of each other.
Like, by not competing against each other if we’re not actually women? That kind of GOOD CARE of each other?
… Read the restThink about the optics of your behaviors. My new friend, multi time Danish elite national champion is now a friend. We bonded. And she chose to wear one of my #sportisahumanright stickers on her jersey on the podium!! That’s a
I have yet to meet a real champion who has a problem with trans women.
Real champions want stronger competition.
If you win because bigotry got your competition banned… you’re a loser.
Real champions may want stronger competition but that doesn’t mean they want unfair competition. Champion footballers age 12 no doubt want to play against the best age 12s, that doesn’t mean they want to play against the best adult players.
What a truly gruesomely self-serving self-flattering dishonest thing to say – that conceited selfish narcissistic piece of shit telling the women he’s doing them a favor by upping the competition when in fact he’s stealing their chances.
It’s not being a loser for women … Read the rest
DOCTOR Rachel won his race against the women:
I’ll just let this photo to stand for itself. Two new friends, and a serious supporter of my racing, sharing the joy of achieving hard-won goals. Can’t wait to see Kirsten next year.
…and then somewhat less… https://www.instagram.com/p/B31KuybliJC/?igshid=6bg9xqlm7maw …
Louise Moody has a better photo:
Third place, Kirsten wore my
#sportisahumanright sticker as a sign of solidarity. We hugged, and are embracing here in celebration. Second place kept her distance and put her hand behind her back as her own sign… signifying something like poor sportsmanship.
Except that “second place” was actually first place, but Rachel stole her medal by cheating. Rachel has some nerve accusing … Read the rest
What’s DOCTOR Rachel up to? Accusing other people of “poor sportsmanship.” Yes really.
But first there was the rallying call to the troops, excuse me I mean the “babes.”
Babes, just ignore the random transphobes. Block and let them scream into the void.
Please?
The void. He thinks that if he blocks us what we’re left with is the void. Now that’s narcissism.
Many people claim to support trans women
But often they only support us until our lives impact them in any meaningful way
In my case, people literally say they support trans women…but not in sport
There can be no ‘but’
We are either full and equal women, or not
We are.
How? Why? … Read the rest
