Caption Saturday.

I need a caption for this pic:

Example: Melania trump, in an effort to reach out to young urban voters, tries to recreate Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal video.

Pic from theguardian.com

Grumpy old (white) men.

There are a lot of angry women in America these days. (Mrs. Field is one of them.) They have watched these old white men in the republican party impose their will on them, and they are not happy.

Imagine being a woman and having to listen to the president of the United States (a man who himself has been accused of sexually assaulting women) tell you that it is more dangerous to be a man in modern day America than it is to be a woman. I don't know about you, but I am not aware of rampant acts of sexual assault being perpetrated on men by women. Or, for that matter, women just going around and randomly accusing men of sexual assault. The truth is that only about 5% of these types of cases end up being a situation where a woman lied about her accuser or fabricated a sexual assault claim. You know who will never have to worry about being accused of sexually assaulting a woman? Men who don't sexually assault women.

Anyway, the GOP and the old white men who control that party would have you believe that they are under siege. They want you to believe that the Dr. Fords of the world are a part of some globalist left- wing plot to weaken their masculinity and give super natural powers to the vagina.

Watching Hatch, Corn, Graham, and the rest of the usual suspects give a middle finger to the American women, was just another low point in American history. They had to put Kavanaugh on the court at all costs, and they made fools of themselves while doing it. They could have put another conservative Judge on the bench who would have also been the deciding vote in overturning Roe v. Wade. But, incredibly, they decided to stick with Kavanaugh, a man with more baggage than the bottom of a Greyhound bus. Clearly there had to be better conservative Judges waiting in the wings. Judges who do not have the cloud of sexual assault hanging over their heads. Neil Gorsuch is probably more conservative with his judicial philosophy than Brett Kavanaugh, and yet he didn't go through this.There is a reason for that.

But it's not only the men in the republican party who are complicit in this war on American women. Today, in a rambling, hypocritical, politically calculating speech, Susan Collins declared her support for the "alleged" sexual assaulter,  Brett Kavanaugh, while also declaring her support for the "alleged" victim,  Dr. Ford. She declared that Dr. Ford was sincere, and that she believed her one hundred percent. (How can she believe Dr. Ford, and Brett Kavanaugh at the same time? One of them is lying.) And yet, she read the political tea leaves, and she decided to side with trump and the boys.
 
I have always known that Susan Collins and the rest of the republicans in Washington are no different than trump. It's just a matter of style. They all have the same vision for America: An older, whiter, patriarchal society, where old white men rule, and women and people of color are relegated to second class citizenship status.

*Pic from crainsnewyork.com

Open thread.

It's open thread day field hands. Tell me what's on your mind.

I am wondering why Sarah Sanders lies so openly and blatantly to the American people.

I am wondering how Senator Collins and Flake are going to justify voting for preppy Brett this week.

I am also thinking about Megyn Kelly showing her true colors again.

I want to know if trump's tax returns will finally be released after this latest New York Times article..

I want to know what you all think about the presidential alerts today. Lot's of folks didn't want trump being able to text them on their phones, but some say it's necessary for emergency situations in the country.

Finally, I am thinking that Kanye West needs help, and if his wife cares about him she would have him committed.

"Scary time"?

Did you know that "It's a scary time for young men in America?" So says Donald trump  What he really meant, of course, was that this is a scary time for white men in America. Because let's face it, it has always been a scary time for black men in America. Just ask Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner. Oh wait, you can't; they are DEAD.

trump, of course, is just parroting what he heard from his friends over at FOX. They have, in typical FOX manner, declared that it's open season on white men in America.   Go figure.

It's funny, Mr. trump wasn't worried about due process for men when he condemned the men of the  Central Park Five to death.  His fear is saved for the Brett Kavanaughs of the world. Men like him, who have a history of degrading and "allegedly" sexually assaulting women.  Think of all the black men who have died under questionable circumstances at the hands of the police. And yet you will never hear this clown say that this is a scary time for men of color in America.  So now it's a scary time, because women are finally speaking out against sexual assault and acts of violence against them by men.

I guess it would have been better for Mr. trump if they all just kept quiet. 

Speaking of Mr. trump, remember how he liked to brag that his father only gave him a million dollars to get him started? Well, as it turns out, he was off by about 412 million dollars. Talk about being born on third base. What's worse, is that his daddy might have actually broken all kinds of tax laws while slipping his fortune to baby trump. No wonder he (trump) didn't want to release his tax returns.

Anyway, thanks the New York Times and the great reporting they did on the subject, we might be learning more about trump's shady dealings when it comes to his daddy's money very soon. 

A "single white male from South Carolina" shows his true colors.

The following essay from Robyn Swirling tells you all you need to know about the GOP and the old angry white men who control that party.

'The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony Thursday from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh regarding Dr. Ford’s assertion that he sexually assaulted her while they were both in high school. For weeks, I heard Republican senators and pundits assail her character and memory, as well as object to the process by which her story came to light.

I felt that it was important to go down to the Senate to bear witness, to the best of my ability, to this momentous day. I was, and am, in awe of Dr. Ford’s bravery.

Standing in the basement of a Senate office building on my lunch break, I hoped to be able to speak with a senator or two about whether they believed the research psychologist’s story and whether, even if they did, it would affect their vote. As I was about to leave to get back to my office for a meeting, Sen. Lindsey Graham entered the hallway and stopped to speak with the press.

I heard every disgusting word that Sen. Graham said then ― that Dr. Ford wasn’t credible because she had waited so long to come forward. That he wouldn’t consider the merits of the claim because he disagreed with the process by which her story had not been shared earlier with the committee. But what hit me hardest was his assertion that we shouldn’t believe Dr. Ford because she couldn’t recall the exact date or location of the assault.

I couldn’t keep quiet on that. When Sen. Graham broke free from the press gaggle, I told him that I had been raped 13 years ago and that I didn’t know the exact date. Would he believe me despite that?Graham’s callous response was to say that he was sorry but that I needed to go to the police. 

I don’t believe his apology was sincere, but, more important, this exchange, along with his treatment of Dr. Ford and countless other women in his tenure in elected office, demonstrated his lack of concern for sexual assault survivors and his complete lack of understanding of the dynamics that keep us from reporting to the police.

Our stories are real. What happens to us is real. And that is true even if we do not ever disclose it to our families or friends, or report it to law enforcement. The response we’ve seen to Dr. Ford telling her story, and to the other women who have come forward about Brett Kavanaugh, is as clear an illustration as any about why people don’t report being assaulted.

Further, senators like Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake, who was confronted in an elevator Friday morning by Ana Maria Archila and Maria Gallagher, are telling the millions of women with stories just like mine that they do not consider possibly having sexually assaulted someone(s) to be disqualifying. It is a clear message that they do not believe that we matter.

Graham told me I should have gone to the police. When I was raped, as a sophomore in college, I did consider it. I’ve also considered it in the years since, though the statute of limitations has since expired. But Sen. Graham knew none of that. He only knew that, to his mind, the only way you could possibly be telling the truth was if you reported it to the police.

Survivors of sexual violence don’t report to the police for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which are that we see every day how police and our nation’s courts ― including the one on which Kavanaugh currently sits and the one to which he will likely soon be confirmed ― fail to achieve justice for us.

We don’t report because overwhelmingly the people assaulting us are our boyfriend, or friend, or family member, or coach, or clergy ― people we’ve loved and have trusted.

We don’t report because people of color and LGBTQ people are at risk of surviving violence only to face further victimization through state violence.

We don’t report because studies show that police officers commit sexual assault and domestic abuse themselves at disproportionately high rate... ...The police can’t do anything about my rape now, but Graham and his colleagues can choose to believe Dr. Ford and to give the FBI sufficient time to fully investigate her story, and Deborah Ramirez’s story, and Julie Swetnik’s story. They can choose not to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court to rule over our lives and bodies for decades to come.

The justice we can achieve now could look like withdrawing Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination or declining to confirm him, and finding a new nominee who doesn’t have a mounting tally of credible sexual misconduct accusations to their name. Justice could look like nominating a new associate justice of the Supreme Court who understands that just because a survivor doesn’t remember every single detail does not mean she’s lying or is a pawn of his political opposition.

But I’m not counting on Lindsey Graham to support any of that. After all, he’s already shown us that he’s willing to cavalierly dismiss the anguished pleas of any sexual assault survivor who didn’t pursue his very narrow perception of justice.

And besides, if Dr. Ford or I had recalled the dates we were assaulted, he would surely find any other reason to ignore our voices." [Source]

As long as they can get away with it they will continue to ignore the voices of the abused and the downtrodden in society.

Don't let them get away with it. Remember to vote this November.  

Caption Saturday.

I need a caption for this pic.


  *[Photo: Saul Loeb/Getty Images]

Methinks doth protest too much.

• 
  

Many of you watched some or all of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings today, and I must say, that just as I expected, it was a train wreck for preppy Brett.

He was belligerent, combative,  and acted in a bellicose manner that probably made the trump crowd proud, but just confirmed to the sane folks in America that there is another side to the carefully crafted choir boy image.

He would not let the democratic senators finish their questions, and he acted as if he was putting them on trial and not the other way around.

The victim, on the other hand, came across as credible and sincere. And her testimony just drove home the point that she was an average citizen who was traumatized by a powerful man, and ultimately she courageously stepped forward to tell her story.

A few other things stuck out to me as well.

Lindsey Graham auditioning for the AG job when Sessions gets fired made an absolute fool of himself. Whatever shred of dignity he had left was wiped away today by his sickening grandstanding display of faux outrage to impress Mr. trump.

John Kennedy of Louisiana invoking the religious test ("Do you believe in God?") was the icing in the cake for me. Kavanaugh of course, looked him in the eye and said that he did, and that he swore before God that he did not do what he was being accused of. 

And then there was preppy Brett crying and breaking down as he whined that the democrats and the vast left wing Clinton conspiracy was out to destroy his life.

Anyway, give me your thoughts on what went down today.

My guess is that republicans will have the votes to confirm preppy Brett, and that it will be close.

 I suspect, though, that if it goes down like I suspect that it will, Alaska and Maine will be sending new senators to Washington very soon.     


*Pic from nbcbayarea.com

One big joke.

    Donald trump must be feeling like Teddy Pendegrass when he sang the Whole Town's Laughing At Me. The only difference is that this was the entire world laughing and not just a town.

The man went in front of a body of diplomats and statesmen---- who, by their very nature, think of their country first and themselves last--- and declared to all who would listen that his administration was the greatest of all time. I can still hear the laughter from the people in the room, as the leader of the free world made a fool of himself and embarrassed his country in the process. Then, incredibly, he tried to play it off and say that the line was meant to get a few laughs, even though he clearly said that he didn't expect it. 

I get that trump is possibly insane and suffers from all types of mental and possibly physical issues. But what I don't understand is why people like Nikki Haley would stick their necks out for this man knowing that what they are saying is believable to only the most rabid and clueless of his supporters. Everyone else with even half of a brain knows that trump is lying and that those world leaders were laughing at him not with him. 

Today he held a press conference and it was as bad as his UN speech. Now we know why they don't do these things that often at the White House. It was a sad spectacle to behold. Watching the president of the United States defend an "alleged" serial sexual predator while declaring that he himself has been accused of being one.   

trump's confusing and awkward answers to the questions about the Kavanaugh accusers and women who have been victims of sexual assault, was a perfect 17-61318-A-35example of where the GOP is now when it comes to women in this country, and just how tone-deaf they are. It was the usual victim blaming from the bully pulpit. And all those old white men masquerading as republican US senators are going right along with the trump party line.

They have all decided that Brett Kavanaugh was nothing but a little virgin choir boy thirty plus years ago, and that all those female accusers (three and counting thus far ) are all liars. They have made up their minds, and the vote on Friday is just a formality.  Brett Kavanaugh, with all these dark clouds and accusations hanging over him, will be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Just ask Mitch.

Pic from ynetnews.com



                                                                                                                       

Brett's PR push.

While his accusers remain quiet, Brett Kavanaugh went on trump state television (AKA FOX) to plead his case to the older white males who make up the bulk of that  network's viewing audience.

Ironically, the person interviewing him was one of the females who stood by and watched as Roger Ailes and company created a culture where sexually harassing your co-worker was cool , and she did nothing about it.

There he was with his wife, who dutifully sat still and did her best Tammy Wynette impression. Anything to protect the franchise, huh Mrs Kavanaugh? Folks, you can go ahead and  compare her to Melania now.

Anywhoo, watching Brett Kavanaugh go on and on about what a friend he has been to women his entire life, and how much he loves and respects the fairer sex was almost laughable. The evidence that has been coming in over the past few days says otherwise. By his own admission he used to like to play the frat boy and get his drink on back in the day. So why should we believe him when he says that what these women accusing him of did not take place?  His self-serving social calendar of events he prepared at 17 for this very day? I need a break!

"We’re looking for a fair process where I can be heard and defend my integrity my lifelong record,..... My lifelong record of promoting dignity and equality for women starting with the women who knew me when I was 14 years old. I’m not going anywhere.

I want a fair process where I can defend my integrity, and I know I’m telling the truth. I know my lifelong record, and I’m not going to let false accusations drive me out of this process. I have faith in God and I have faith in the fairness of the American people.” 

I believe that those survivors want a "fair process" as well Mr. Kavanaugh. 

The right wing says that this is a "vast left wing conspiracy" against a good man. But ask yourself this right-wingnuts: Why didn't you hear these accusations from the left about Neil Gorsuch or any of the other conservative federal Judges trump appointed to the bench? I have a theory. Maybe it's because there was nothing there to report about them. Unlike our friend Mr. Kavanugh, where we have not one, but two women who are willing to stick their necks out and come forward and relive a horrible experience from their past.

*Pic from foxnews.com

 

Tyranny affects us all.

Some of you black people in America have this twisted notion that what happens to poor immigrant and brown people do not affect you. You believe that because you were born here you somehow have currency with the racists who make our laws to strengthen institutionalized racism and white supremacy. "Yeah the president and his administration are xenophobic and racist, but I have a job now and I make $11 an hour." 

The president and his administration continues to pass law after law to marginalized immigrants, poor people, the most vulnerable among us,  and still there is no national outrage. We were outraged, and rightfully so, when we saw children  being put in cages and being separated from their families, but that too has cooled. It's as if there is just too much to be outraged about for one atrocity to hold our attention past the next news cycle.

This must be how it felt in Germany between 1933 to 1939. They all saw it coming, but they were too numb and comfortable to do anything about it. I am not a Jew, so I'm good. I still have a job. The government is still looking out for ME.

Stephen Miller and the rest of the white nationalist in the trump administration are trying to slip through a policy that would deny green card to anyone who would have had to use food stamps or some other form of public assistance. This plays well with their base (A base that relies on food stamps and public assistance more than the average American), because, to them, if you are not an American you don't deserve our handout. This shortsighted view forgets the fact that these green card holders would work and pay taxes like everyone else. And by all objective studies the average immigrant is just as hard working as the average American, and like most Americans that rely on assistance, would only be using government assistance on a short- term basis.

These are the types of policies being set by people in the most un-American way possible.
Consider the following article:

"The Department of Health and Human Services is diverting millions of dollars in funding from a number of programs, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, to pay for housing for the growing population of detained immigrant children.

In a letter sent to Sen. Patty Murray, D.-Wash., and obtained by Yahoo News, HHS Secretary Alex Azar outlined his pslan to reallocate up to $266 million in funding for the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, to the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program in the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

Nearly $80 million of that money will come from other refugee support programs within ORR, which have seen their needs significantly diminished as the Trump administration makes drastic cuts to the annual refugee numbers. The rest is being taken from other programs, including $16.7 million from Head Start, $5.7 million from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program and $13.3 million from the National Cancer Institute. Money is also being diverted from programs dedicated to mental and maternal health, women’s shelters and substance abuse. 

According to data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement obtained by Yahoo News, there were 13,312 immigrant children in federal custody as of Wednesday, Sept. 19, with ORR’s existing facilities at 92 percent capacity.

The latest figures demonstrate the continued growth of this population just one week after the New York Times reported that the number of detained immigrant children in the U.S. has soared to record highs over the last year, from 2,400 children in May of 2017 to 12,800 earlier this month. Last week, HHS confirmed its plan to extend use of an emergency shelter in Tornillo, Texas, for the third time since it opened in June, and expand capacity at the “tent city” from 400 to 3,800 beds. The estimated cost of operating such emergency facilities is $750 per child per day — approximately three times the cost of a regular ORR shelter." [Source]

See how that works? In order to pay for detaining children illegally and separating them from their parents, they cut funding to programs like Head Start, and cancer research. And still there is no outrage, because someone we believe that this is about those immigrant children and not us. "Not my problem, Uncle Sam will take care of me, I was born here." I am not disappointed with the slaves who worship at the altar of trump. I expect that from them. It's the rest of you (especially the people of color) who disappoint me. You should know better. And if it's one thing that our history should have taught you, it is that people like Donald trump---- and the folks who work for him, do not have our best interests at heart.     

Caption Saturday.

I need a caption for this pic.

*Pic fom nydailynews.com