J.K. Rowling: Defending Abusers.

When Johnny Depp was cast as Grindelwald, I thought he’d be wonderful in the role. However, around the time of filming his cameo in the first movie, stories had appeared in the press that deeply concerned me and everyone most closely involved in the franchise.

Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role. As David Yates, long-time Potter director, has already said, we naturally considered the possibility of recasting. I understand why some have been confused and angry about why that didn’t happen.

The huge, mutually supportive community that has grown up around Harry Potter is one of the greatest joys of my life. For me personally, the inability to speak openly to fans about this issue has been difficult, frustrating and at times painful. However, the agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives, must be respected. Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.

I’ve loved writing the first two screenplays and I can’t wait for fans to see ‘The Crimes of Grindelwald’. I accept that there will be those who are not satisfied with our choice of actor in the title role. However, conscience isn’t governable by committee. Within the fictional world and outside it, we all have to do what we believe to be the right thing.

Given Rowling’s love of colonialism and her staunch embrace of bigotry, this comes as no surprise to me. I walked away from her some time back, when she made it clear that her bigotry was more important to her than respecting indigenous peoples and portraying their traditions and stories correctly.

People everywhere are demanding that senators, congress critters and various public personalities to resign over harassment and abuse. But not Ms. Rowling, no. She makes it more than clear that she does not believe Ms. Heard, given her understanding of the circumstances. Uh huh. Rowling & Co: “Did you do that, Johnny?” Johnny Depp: “No! Bitches lie!”

Fantastic Beasts director David Yates previously defended casting Depp, calling Heard’s domestic abuse allegations “a dead issue.”

There’s a sweet sentiment for you. There has been, of course, quite a reaction, but I doubt it will be enough of one to put a dent in Ms. Rowling’s pockets.

There’s more at Raw Story.

Yer Not Trad!

(Composite Image/Screenshots/YouTube.com).

A few days ago, we had a bunch of drunk nazis singing about trad [traditional] women. Today, we have two white supremacist women who sing praises to trad women being taken down by the audience they cater to, because it turns out, they aren’t trad.

Lauren Southern, a conservative activist and media personality who is frequently praised by the alt-right sympathizers on YouTube and 4chan, thought it was necessary to explain to her viewers earlier this month why she was not married and did not have children despite being one of the most prominent new media voices promoting “traditionalist” lifestyles where women marry early and are relegated to housekeeping and child-rearing.

[…]

“I don’t usually respond to comments because in my opinion comments don’t represent what I say, however I have gotten so many comments lately that have misinterpreted the message  I’m trying to put out there that it’s gotten to a point where unfortunately I think I do need to address it,” Southern said, going on to explain that she is not married at 22 years old for many of the same reasons other women do not get married in their early 20s and that it would actually be “degenerate” of her to get married right now.

Southern described the attacks against her as “shocking” and “insane,” which is a bit odd given that she has conditioned her audience with video after video promoting traditionalism among women, mocking women who are happy being single, attempting to embarrass protesters marching for women’s rights, among other generally anti-social-justice messages. When her most ideologically devoted fans tested her commitment to the views she espouses, Southern conceded that she speaks in “generalities.”

Shocking! Insane! It’s very difficult for me to believe any of this could actually come as a shock. I suppose a person could put themselves in an intentional bubble, parroting evil shit to make money, without paying attention to their audience. I seriously doubt this is the case, though. These women had to know the sort of views their audience had and supported, and that their audience is highly misogynistic.

As for the hypocrisy, well, that’s nothing new. “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Tara McCarthy, a YouTube pundit who describes herself as an ethno-nationalist and a member of the alt-right, has been facing similar attacks. McCarthy received so many comments attacking her for not having children that she locked her Twitter account right after posting that she was going to “take a break from Twitter because I need to think without being inundated by notifications.”

Tara McCarthy: I had no idea that the Alt Right was a designated ‘male space’ but at this rate I’ll happily leave the Alt Right. I have no desire to stick around in a place where I am unwanted.

She was responding to #DSA Melancholia: Oh look, another slit trying to police male spaces.

Slit. There’s lovely language for you.

Last year, McCarthy and her husband were outed by the YouTube vegan community as insane racists, spurring a backlash that forced McCarthy to delete her channel. Since then, McCarthy has created a newer YouTube presence to provide a platform for white supremacist activists who openly identify as neo-Nazis, such as Greg Johnson and Andrew Anglin, to advocate that women produce as many white children as possible, and to decry feminism and encourage women to get married early.

It’s easier for me to believe McCarthy is in a self-made bubble, doing whatever she can to gain a following and monetize whatever she goes on about. Even so, it can’t be any sort of surprise that the ‘alt-right’ takes a dim view of women in general, relegating them to background, doing all those trad things: poppin’ out babies, and hanging out in the kitchen, cooking for those hard working nazis.

RWW has video and a tonne of links.

Yer So Trad…

Prairie Dress. Jumpinbloomers.com

I’m not entirely sure how to introduce this one. Okay, a bunch of Nazis were hanging out in a garage, drinking and smoking cigars, listening to Tom Petty, when they decided to write their own song, set to Petty’s Yer So Bad.

Before you click play, you might want to read the lyrics:

My girlfriend Stacy wants lots of babies
Maybe in five years or so
While I’m in the basement she larps as a peasant
Soon we’ll go live in the woods

In Fashy Dating she pretends she’s a lady
Yer so trad, liftin yer skirt for chad
In a world gone mad, yer so trad

She reads Evola, a lesbian chola
What kind of wheat fields are these?
A culture or fetish? A THOT with a purpose
Fishnets under the prairie dress

Oh Nazi Lady, oben bobs and vagene
Yer so trad, best lay I ever had
In a world gone chad, yer so trad

Incels and autists, virgins and kissless,
Too good to wed single moms

Oh Nazi Lady, oben bobs and vagene
In Fashy Dating (in fashy dating!), She pretends she’s a lady
Yer so trad, givin it up for a chad
In a world gone mad, yer so trad

Yer so trad, best lay I ever had
In a world gone mad, yer so trad

They described the song as “funnier than the original” and “about the scene of trad thoughts that are out there.”

Could just be me, but I don’t find that to be funny at all. Then again, I’m not a Nazi. You can read more at RWW.

Celebrating Natural Hair.

It’s truly rotten that so many places are determined to restrict and hate on a person’s natural hair, and to especially make girls feel ugly. This is not a matter of conformity as a social good, this is just plain old hateful bigotry, and it stinks, as bigotry always does. Enter CreativeSoul Photo:

Atlanta-based CreativeSoul Photo brought an inspiring artistic vision to life that highlights the beauty of black girls and their natural hair. Regis and Kahran are the husband and wife duo behind the photography studio, and their series Afro Art represents their expertise in capturing portraits as well as visual storytelling. The striking images feature young girls in elaborate costuming and hairstyles, from a Baroque-era aesthetic to steampunk clothing to fierce high-fashion ensembles.

The portraits of girls featured in Afro Art are stylish and carry themselves with confidence and grace. The feelings evoked from the series speak to the larger idea surrounding it. “We feel that it is so important for kids of color to be able to see positive images that look like them in the media,” Kahran told My Modern Met in an email. “Unfortunately the lack of diversity often plays into the stereotypes that they are not ‘good enough’ and often forces kids to have low self-esteem.”

To help combat these negative feelings, the couple showcases kids who love how they look. “We hope that viewers will see the beauty and versatility of afro hair,” Kahran explains, “and we hope that girls around the world will be inspired to love their unique differences and beauty within.”

The portraits and subjects are stunningly beautiful all. You can see some of them here.

A Solid Christian.

Roy Moore speaks at Voters Value Summit 2017. (Photo: Jared Holt for Right Wing Watch).

Oh, so many evangelicals of the religious reich are propping up Roy Moore with absolute zeal, and a gigantic raft of lies. I’m not going to address all of them; I have a busy day ahead, but some of this, ugh, toxic morality is so damn disgusting. I will make the point that it’s hardly uncommon for men in their late 20s/early 30s to pursue people in their early teens; it happened to me often enough, and yes, that was in the 1970s. That sort of age gap wasn’t as frowned upon then, a man of 32 with a solid career was considered to be a good match for someone 17 to 19 years old, a steady hand, so to speak. Yeah, I know. I am thankful attitudes have changed in that regard. All that said, it does not make that behaviour any less skeevy or questionable. There’s a massive power imbalance there, and that was particularly true in Moore’s case, as he was a district attorney, and most teenagers aren’t completely clear on just how much power is or isn’t contained within that position. Moore was in a position to make an effective threat.

The fact that Moore was so very careful to not engage in intercourse tells me he knew damn well what he was doing was wrong, and he didn’t want to be caught. He certainly didn’t want to be punished in any respect, so he was very cautious. Does the fact he’s been married the last 32 years make it okay? No. I’ve been married for 38 years, together with my partner for 40 years. What does that tell you about the state of my marriage? Nothing. What does that tell you about my character and actions for the last 40 years? Nothing.

I expect many of the evangelicals supporting Moore wouldn’t be upset if a 32 year old wanted to date their teenage daughter, and that really does not make anything better. It makes it much worse.

The American Family Association stood by its endorsement of Moore, writing in a statement, “AFA Action believes Justice Roy Moore to be a truthful man and a solid Christian.” Bryan Fischer, a radio host for AFA’s American Family Radio, wrote that establishment Republicans were turning against Moore because they “despise ordinary Americans like us who believe in the Ten Commandments, natural marriage, normative sexuality, right and wrong, the Constitution as written by the Founders, the rule of law, and the Judeo-Christian tradition of truth claims and moral values.”

I’m an ‘ordinary’ American. I’m mixed race, childfree, bisexual, and identify as female. I’m an atheist who is committed to inclusion and acceptance. I live rural, with one partner and too many animals. I do not believe in the ten commandments, natural marriage, or missionary position only and don’t fuckin’ enjoy it. I don’t believe in the constitution; I think it’s high time for a rewrite. I believe in marriage equality. I do have a strong sense of right and wrong. I somewhat respect law. A lot of it is damn stupid, and needs serious reworking too, and the police system needs to be torn down and redone completely. WTF is the “Judeo-Christian tradition of truth claims and moral values”? Truth claims? Jesus Christ. How about the truth? I’m not allergic to that. I am allergic to the twisted, abusive bullshit you asses present as ‘moral values’. Your ‘moral values’ say Moore is a stand up guy, not a skeevy man who used his position to impose on teenagers. Why in the hell should I pay attention to such a version of “right and wrong” ? No. Just no.

AFA president Tim Wildmon told Religion News Service, “I don’t think this kind of story will change support for him among Christians since he has categorically denied it. Most will see it as dirty politics.”

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. That little sentiment should be familiar to you all.

Jerry Falwell Jr., one of President Trump’s strongest allies in the Religious Right, told RNS, “It comes down to a question who is more credible in the eyes of the voters — the candidate or the accuser.” He later clarified that he believed the candidate.

Ah, the christian version of bitches be lying. How lovely.

Anti-choice activist Janet Porter wrote in WorldNetDaily that she trusts Moore in part because he doesn’t think her “heartbeat bill,” which would ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, goes far enough. Porter laid out her theory that Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos encouraged the paper to manufacture accusations against Moore in order to bring him profits. “Not sure who to vote for?” she wrote. “Just look at who the enemy is firing at the hardest. He’s the guy you want.”

Don’t be dragging Lucifer into this mess. Your imaginary archvillain hasn’t done anything. If Moore was such an amazingly upstanding christian, why didn’t he fight off the temptation to impose himself all over one teenager after another? Why, when the urge came over him to accost a teenager or go hunting them at the local mall, was this solid christian not on his knees in prayer? The only enemy here are Moore’s own actions. “Hey, it was a long time ago” does not excuse it. Look at Moore’s attitude towards bodily autonomy rights. Is this a man who views women as full human beings? No.

Ugh, ugh, ugh, so damn disgusting. RWW watch has the full rundown, replete with links.

Further reading from Mano Singham.

Editing Louis C.K.

A few days ago, PZ had a post about Louis C.K.’s apology. Like a lot of people, I wasn’t impressed at all. I commented to the effect that there’s a simple test when it comes to the quality of an apology: who is it about? In Louis C.K.’s case, his apology is all about him. That was bad enough, but as it was going to be all about him, he missed some pertinent bits, like all the denials over the years, and the cover-ups. Basically, it amounted to a “poor, pitiful me” in my eyes.

It is actually possible to sincerely apologize and do it well, and Leah Fessler, Annalisa Merelli, and Sari Zeidler show Louis C.K. just how that’s done.

…However, Louis C.K.’s “apology” devolves into an attempt to paint himself as suffering and worthy of sympathy. He says that until the Times report, he did not realize the full extent of the harm he caused women by taking out his penis and masturbating in front of them. He also tries to reduce his culpability by noting that, at the time of his actions, he thought simply asking if it was OK to masturbate in front of women was enough to guarantee consent.

What’s more, Louis C.K. does not mention his attempts to cover up his actions, nor his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the accusations that have been made several times before.

He does, however, make sure to note how “admired” he was, and is, both by the women he harassed, and the comedy industry at large. In fact, he repeats it four times in his statement.

We took it upon ourselves to edit Louis C.K.’s “apology” in order to make it a real apology. This is how we believe it should read:

The edited version is a fine apology, it’s a pity it didn’t come from Louis C.K. You can read the whole thing here.

“It’s all just girls, girls, girls playing politics,”

The conservatears of rage and bewilderment are flowing over recent election results. Naturally, it’s all us evil female types who are to blame, and the wimpy excuses for men who allow us to vote. It’s the ruination of Amerikka! Really truly.

CRTV commentator Gavin McInnes, who also leads the bizarre, misogynistic “Proud Boys”* fraternity, said that the historic electionof several openly transgender people to state and local offices earlier this week can be blamed on men allowing women to vote.

More on this absurd Proud Boy nonsense later.

On yesterday’s episode of “Get Off My Lawn,” McInnes was joined by Gateway Pundit’s White House reporter Lucian Wintrich, who joined him in attributing major Republican losses to Democrats campaigning on “identity politics” by putting forward diverse candidates. They went on to attribute the election of transgender people, including Virginia state assembly candidate Danica Roem, to women’s ability to vote.

“The liberals say, ‘Maybe we should give up on identity politics,’ but you look at all the Sikhs and black people and trans who won in this election and all these unprecedented cases. It had nothing to do with policy. It was all identity politics,” McInnes said.

No, it’s not liberals who are all tangled up in “identity politics”. You’re confusing us inclusive types with the white nationalist nazis. Very different groups, so try to get it right. Sikhs, black people, transgender people, oh my! Why the sky will fall any moment, I’m sure. This would be known as having representatives on all levels who actually reflect the make up of our society. Old white men don’t represent most of us, and if they are going to faint at having to work with people of colour and women, perhaps they should retire. Go fishin’ or something.

He continued, “I was looking at those two trannies who won. There’s no substance there at all. And I think it’s because we let women vote. Women have been voting now based on their ‘feels’ for many years. They brought us Obama, no substance.”

Just have to be disrespectful, don’t you? Transgender people. Or y’know, just people. Or women. Or, and this is really radical – the descriptor of their choice. This woman votes on issues, and emotion is not dirty word, you fucking idiot. Perhaps you wouldn’t be so hung up if you allowed your self to feel something other than anger and aggrieved entitlement, Mr. McInnes. No substance? Hahahahahahahahaha. Oh, I think we know where all the substanceless hot air is residing.

“It’s all just girls, girls, girls playing politics,” McInnes said.

And loving it. You’re just going to have to suck it up, Mr. McInnes, we aren’t leaving the playing field now.  So you know though, it’s women. We aren’t children.

Wintrich said he wanted to know when liberals would realize that “playing the intersectionality game to elect people” results in “terrible people that are ruining the country.”

We aren’t playing a game. It’s a hell of a lot of work, getting people woke, and using their vote to accomplish progress and positive change. Intersectionality is not a game, it’s vital to having a healthy society. So is inclusion. Granted, this ‘1950s ideal’ you morons clutch might be finally staked into its grave, and that’s a good thing. A very good thing.

“I’m excited to see how badly this tranny actually fucks up Virginia,” Wintrich said.

We don’t need to know what gives you a boner, Mr. Wintrich. Truly. I have no doubt Ms. Roem will not fuck up Virginia in the least, and will probably help Virginia a great deal. As I recall, she was focused on traffic issues, which the citizens of Virginia are also concerned with, so let her get on with her job, you nasty little doucheweasel.

The full mess, with video, is at RWW. Now, about that Proud Boy nonsense…

[Read more…]

FEEEMALE!

Country singer Keith Urban (image via Shutterstock).

I don’t listen to country music, that would be obvious to anyone paying attention to my musical choices every day. Bluegrass, sometimes. Rockabilly, yeah. Keith Urban’s choice of a song to perform just added yet another reason onto my pile of reasons for not listening to country music. The song was not written by him, it was written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, and Nicolle Galyon. Yes, it took three whole people to write this…song.

When you hear somebody say somebody hits like a girl
How does that hit you?
Is that such a bad thing?
When you hear a song that they play saying you run the world*
Do you believe it?
Will you live to see it?

*A reference to a Beyoncé song.

[Chorus]
Sister, shoulder
Daughter, lover
Healer, broken halo
Mother nature
Fire, suit of armor
Soul survivor, Holy Water
Secret keeper, fortune teller
Virgin Mary, scarlet letter
Technicolor river wild
Baby girl, women shine
Female

Ummm, some of those words don’t belong together. A whole lot of those words just don’t belong, period. ‘Baby girl’? Really? Hmmm. Oh look, it’s the madonna/whore thing again. Gee, that’s all kind of old and tired. I can’t imagine these people patting themselves on the back for this dreck. How was this written? Mad Lib Songwriting?

When somebody laughs and implies that she asked for it
Just cause she was wearing a skirt
Now is that how it works?
When somebody talks about how it was Adam first
Does that make you second best?
Or did he save the best for last?

Sigh. I think I’ll go pound my head into a concrete block.

Repeat the awful chorus here.

[Refrain]
Yeah
Female

[Bridge]
She’s the heart of life
She’s the dreamer’s dream
She’s the hands of time
She’s the queen of kings

Yeah, no. No, no, no. Just a different version of making women less than real, mystical, and up on another weird-ass pedestal. We’re people. Regular, typical people. We even fart and burp, oh my! And if I’m the hands of bloody time, why can’t I turn the clock back? I’m staring at 60 here.

Repeat the awful chorus again.

[Outro]
Mhm
Female

This um, song, was supposedly written in response to the Weinstein allegations. I, uh, I can’t even. Just can’t. As for Mr. Urban, who I had never heard of until today:

I think it’s just time for a recalibrating of the past, you know? Things have been a certain way for a long, long time, and I think you’re seeing a turning of the tide for that. This song just spoke to me. I just wanted to get in and record it right away. I am surrounded by females in my life. I grew up in a house with boys, no sisters. Now I am in a house that’s all girls. So this song speaks to me on a lot of levels.

Oh gods. No. No, you’re not helping. That ‘song’ is not helping. Not at all.

From all over the internet. Lyrics from here.

The Christian Contagion: Globalizing Hate.

Good old American style Christian hate, it’s never enough, it must be contagious, on a pestilential level.

In the latest sign that the U.S. Religious Right increasingly views its anti-LGBTQ and anti-choice activism as part of a global culture war, American activists will be part of the training team at next month’s European Advocacy Academy, which is designed to make European advocates for “traditional” views on sex, gender and family more effective—and to make them “part of an international network that transcends country borders.” U.S.-based Religious Right groups have actively promoted anti-LGBTQ equality measures in Europe under the banner of protecting the family.

It’s bad enough that the Religious Reich has the amount of power they do in uStates, without it spreading the message of its diseased thinking elsewhere. All societies have their problems, but most of the ones in Europe are light years ahead of uStates, progressively speaking. These Americans are very bad news, and should be considered to be a contagion in the proper sense, and turned away.  The worst dregs of societies everywhere embrace this poisonous hate, drinking down the toxic kool-aid with nary a thought. Fascists of all stripes grab onto such venomous thinking like it was a lifeline, and it does provide them with even more excuses for their particular brand of hatred.

The European Advocacy Academy is organized by European Dignity Watch, a Brussels-based nonprofit group founded in 2010 that says it “defends the most vital foundations of a free society: fundamental freedoms and responsibility, marriage and the family, and the protection of life from conception to natural death.”

Oy. Short form: we don’t give a damn about you, or what you believe, you must live your life the way we say!” RWW has the full story, along with details on some of the speakers.

“Chemical Sexual Assault: The science supports us in it.”

Mariano Di Vaio, zimbio.com. So…men can’t be sexy in work clothes? Really?

Carl Gallups, christian pastor and Trumphole had a little chat session with Mike Shoesmith, who wrote a blog post about the sexual assault cases coming to light in Hollywood recently. It seems Mr. Shoesmith is yet another christian mouthpiece. There’s no end of them. Well, this might take a while, so let’s get started:

If a woman wears sexually suggestive clothing around a man is that not also sexual assault? Men are visually stimulated and unwanted stimulation should meet the basic definition of assault. I am not condoning bad behavior by men but women need to understand that by walking around in their little sister’s skirt they are guilty of indecent visual assault on a man’s imagination which does cause mental anguish and torment especially on men who really are trying to live in harmony and respect toward women; something made more difficult when every ripple and curve are exposed to the men around you. Something to think about.

I have some very bad news for you, Mr. Shoesmith – women are also visually stimulated. Most people are, you know. How women dress varies greatly, from one individual to the next, and of course, the context matters. If you suffer terribly from being overstimulated, then pursuing a job as a Hollywood event planner or photographer might not be the job for you. For the most part, people tend to dress appropriately for their particular job. As for women simply going about their business, perhaps you should nudge your tongue back in your mouth, and point your eyeballs somewhere else. Look at the men for a change. Look at cars in the street. Look in storefront windows. Lots of options. Become a major shoe fan, and look at everyone’s feet. This idea that men simply have little to no control is an incredibly toxic lie, which causes a great deal of damage. It should not be enabled in any way. You’re the type of person who would condemn the wearing of burkas, but the way you want women to dress isn’t all that far off. Personally, I think men’s suits are a fantastic look on women, so let’s have a look at women being completely non-sexy, given that they are completely covered up:

Ms. Marlene Dietrich. Looks right sexy to me!

Popsugar.com. Verrrry sexy.

Ralph Lauren. Oooh, hot! I want all three. Quick, someone throw a mass amount of money at me!

The point being, Mr. Shoesmith, it doesn’t fucking matter what women wear, men will find a way to get all unglued about it. What you really want is for women to be dressed as baggy, ugly, and frumpy as possible; just short of the full burka. As for mental torment and anguish, you should have learned a very long time ago that your boner, or lack of one, is your problem alone. You sound like an adolescent trying to convince someone blue balls is real thing, and they’ll just drop off if you don’t let them…

If all women wore suits like the above, you’d complain about all the time you spent being chemically assaulted and mentally stripping them of those clothes.

“When a man sees a naked or partially dressed woman, a chemical reaction happens in his brain,” he continued. “Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin are released, giving him an involuntary surge of pleasure. Notice the word ‘involuntary’ … Men are in a state of constant sexual assault by women who either don’t understand the severity of what they are doing, because it’s cute and they like the attention, or worse, they do know the feelings it stirs and like the control they have over men.”

So, this involuntary surge of pleasure, it doesn’t happen to people of other genders? Just you manly men. Right. Amazingly enough, millions of people manage to control themselves every single day, regardless of all the lovely surges of pleasure walking around. Most people just enjoy the surge of pleasure and get on with their day. Now, I have more bad news – most people dress to please themselves. It’s a little much to demand that everyone think about your tender sensitivities, especially when most people don’t have the slightest idea of who you are, or where you are located in the world. It’s a big place, so deal with it.

Gallups agreed, saying that if a man were to parade around the workplace “in a very sexually suggestive outfit,” women would immediately file sexual harassment claims. He demanded to know, therefore, “why wouldn’t it be sexual assault” when a woman does it.

Let’s define very sexually suggestive outfit first. When it comes to women, a short skirt qualifies as very sexually suggestive. Any hint of breasts, very sexually suggestive. Now, if a man shows up at the office in g-string, yeah, that’s not appropriate. However…

Nitrolicious.com

if I worked in an office, and a colleague dressed like that ^ I would get a serious surge of pleasure. And be impressed. There isn’t anything remotely inappropriate about that outfit, but it’s damn sexy. I would love to see men in kilts all over the place. See, that’s the thing – sexy isn’t defined solely by clothing. There are many factors, and even more factors when it comes to attractiveness. You’re acting as though eye candy is the worst thing ever in the world. It isn’t, and most of us grown ups are adult enough to easily cope with it.

“We are just discussing what should be obvious,” Gallups insisted. “The science supports us in it.”

No, the “science” does not fucking support you! Not in any way. You’re both fucking idiots who don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re attempting to talk about.

“Men are responsible for fighting off this chemical sexual assault in their brains,” Shoesmith agreed. “Men are responsible for fighting that off every day.”

Oooh, chemical assault! I have more news for you – we all share the same damn chemicals, gender doesn’t have anything to do with it. We all have to deal with visual and olfactory stimulation every day. This would be in the water is wet category.

“Yes they are, absolutely,” Gallups responded. “And women need to help the men.”

No, we do not need to help you. Not in any fashion. You need to help yourselves. This is yet more moronic moaning brought to you by christian idiocy. Everyone needs to be so terribly helpless, especially men, even though you’re styled as the leaders and all, because you just can’t manage to think straight if you realize that women have actual bodies. Fuck that noise. With bells on.

Via RWW and PNN.

Sunday Facepalm.

Buffalo State Hospital, New York. Image courtesy of Christopher Payne via NPR.

Once again, we visit Jim Bakker, who just doesn’t understand. He’s not alone in that one. First though, all of us on the anti-regime side of life are…insane. Yep.

“Unsaved people are going insane,” he said. “They can’t take it. They can’t believe that a person was elected to the presidency that honored God, that wants to keep the cross on top of your church and Jesus in your heart.”

Oh ffs. The Tiny Tyrant doesn’t give a shit about that psychogod of yours, and you all know it, too. You turned a blind eye to what an amazingly immoral, shitty person he is, because he promised you all the shiny things you want so much, if only you’d elect his arse. If you want some serious reading on this subject, see George Barna. It won’t drive you insane, but it will most likely make you headdesk more than a few times. And scare you.

Bakker said that while Trump “wants to stop killing the babies,” his opponents are fighting to keep abortion legal despite the fact that “this is one of the main reasons … judgment finally came to America.”

Uh huh. That god of yours certainly is slow. D’ya suppose things might have gone faster if it did something, oh, godlike, and took care of the problem itself? Interesting how that never happens. The only people bringing judgment to America are you fanatical assholes, and your thirst for power has led us to fascism. Congrats and all that.

“Everybody is for abortion that is still alive,” Bakker said, before quietly admitting, “I don’t know what that means.”

Welcome to the club, Jim. I don’t know what the fuck that means, either. Perhaps you should be quiet a spell. Give all us Bakker mockers a break for a bit, yeah?

There’s video at RWW.

“Feminism is dead. It is dead as a doornail, it is dead. Feminism is dead.”

Something you hear a lot is that feminism is dead. But if feminism is dead, why do people try so hard to kill it? - Jessica Valenti.

Dana Loesch, spokesmouth for the NRA, was at the Values Voter Summit, declaring the death of feminism. Just in case people didn’t quite get that, she reiterated.

“We are in a post-feminist era,” she said. “Feminism is dead. It is dead as a doornail*, it is dead. Feminism is dead.”

Saying that “third-wave feminism has betrayed” women, men, children and “our culture,” Loesch claimed, “Third-wave feminism exists to subjugate men, period. They have replaced the patriarchy with the matriarchy, and they are not a good master.”

:Looks around: Nope, this is not the republic of New Amazonia.

“Third-wave feminism says it empowers women—empowers them by convincing women to commit genocide against the female sex in utero,” she said.

Umm, no. You have that ever so backwards, Ms. Loesch. The power is the ability to make our own medical decisions and having full autonomy. Y’know, like men get to do already.

She added that “men are wonderful and they are unappreciated, and you know, you can mansplain all you want to because we womansplain enough.”

Well, if being mansplained is your thing, Ms. Loesch, have at it, but don’t be making that a blanket to cover all. As you think women talk too much, perhaps you shouldn’t be taking up space where a proper person could be talking, y’know, a man.

There’s video at RWW.

*This made me curious about the origins of said phrase, and the answer is interesting, having to do with clinching.

Also at the Values Voter Summit was Todd Starnes, who opined over the ‘war on masculinity’:

Starnes said that Mark Hancock, who runs the Christianity based scouting organization Trail Life USA, told him that the Boy Scouts’ decision was “nothing less than a war on boys.” Starnes elaborated on Hancock’s remarks to him, claiming that “the mainstream media” spread the notion of “toxic masculinity.”

“It’s not just a war on boys. It’s a war on men. And there are those in this country that want to feminize men. They want to criminalize masculinity,” Starnes said.

I guess Mr. Starnes didn’t get the message that feminism is dead.

The full story is at RWW.

Sunday Facepalm.

A pregnancy, at six weeks and two days. No perfect little mini-infant anywhere.

Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas appeared on Breitbart to discuss recent efforts to restrict abortion rights and to advocate for the anti-choice “heartbeat bill,” which according to its creator, Janet Porter, is designed to eventually outlaw abortions “before the mother even knows she’s pregnant.”

[…]

After updating Marlow on the House’s passage of the bill, Gohmert advocated for Porter’s “heartbeat bill,” which would criminalize abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

“Even though it doesn’t have an exception for rape or incest, the thing is you’ve got about six weeks and you know when you’re pregnant within six weeks,” Gohmert said, “so even for them, there’s a way out.”

No, no there isn’t. What with the constant erosion of medical rights, there’s no window there. Once travel time is calculated, then the mandatory wait times, then the mandatory test times, and so on, no. Then there’s always the issue of whether or not a pregnant person has the money to secure a timely termination. A lot of women don’t know they are pregnant at six weeks. When I was pregnant, I certainly had reason to suspect that condition, and was tested. My test came up negative, twice. By the time I had a test come up positive, I was smack on eight weeks, and had a termination scheduled inside of two days later. That was as quick as possible, and with the new draconian age, it wouldn’t be fast enough.

Life is seldom simple, and there are so many bars to obtaining a termination now that a pregnant person can count themselves lucky if they make a termination by eight weeks or earlier.

Later in the interview, Gohmert compared abortion to child sacrifice.

“I remember reading in the Bible, early on, about sacrificing kids for idols,” Gohmert recalled. “And I thought, ‘Gosh, thank goodness we live in a day where that never happens,’ that people would never be that callous.”

Right. You christian assholes are more than callous enough to see women stripped of rights, with no bodily autonomy whatsoever. You don’t want them to be able to access birth control. You don’t care about pregnant people at all, you concern yourself solely with the power to force birth. You don’t care about their mental and emotional health. You’re callous enough to not give one teensy shit about actual children. You don’t care if they are neglected. You don’t care if they starve. You don’t care if they are beaten. You don’t care if they are raped. You don’t care if they end up on the street. You don’t care if they are killed. You certainly don’t care about pregnant people dying, that’s just fine with you, after all, sluts should be punished, shouldn’t they? :spits:

“And then you realize, ‘Wait, that’s what we’re doing with abortions.’ We’re sacrificing kids for the idol of self-centeredness,” Gohmert said.

It’s the opposite of self-centeredness, you vile doucheweasel. People who obtain a termination have their reasons, which are none of your business, but you can consider such decisions to be for the best, in all regards.

RWW has the full story.