All those perfectly good babies going to waste in a Kyiv hotel because the borders are closed.

In a cash-strapped economy however, where the average wage is £300 a month and the war with Russia and its proxies continues, many impoverished women, especially in small towns and rural areas, are still lining up to carry babies for money, even if they are paying a heavy health and psychological price, as campaigners believe.

And people who want babies are lining up to pay those impoverished women to do it.

There are no official statistics, but it is estimated that several thousand children are born to surrogate mothers in Ukraine each year. Eighty per cent of these babies are for foreign couples,

… Read the rest

Them that’s got shall get, them that’s not shall lose.

…Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2020

… Read the rest

Sometimes it can seem as if Trump almost gets it…is sort of kind of paying attention…is managing to look as if he’s doing his job for a few minutes – but then he always talks to someone else and it all falls apart again.

Midday [on Monday], Fauci and others gathered in the Oval Office to update Trump on the 30,000-person Phase 3 trial launched by Moderna. Trump later told reporters it was a “great meeting” and participants walked away believing the President was sincere in his efforts to convey more leadership on the outbreak.

“We had a lot of our wonderful doctors and researchers with me,” Trump said. “I think the meeting went really well.”

While the meeting focused

… Read the rest

An item in the latest Week in the War on Women made my hair stand on end:

Twitter user, Sarah Stuart, shared her experience of an online gender workshop she attended.

A workshop on gender identity and expression for kids aged 6-12.

The supposed object of the workshop was to discuss JKR’s recent statement, but it turned out to be grooming session, this time for actual children, rather adult professionals. pic.twitter.com/zmNiwfxig7

— The Lies They Tell (@sarahstuartxx) July 22, 2020

Wait what? A workshop on “gender identity” for KIDS 6 TO 12???

That’s not a “workshop,” that’s indoctrination. That’s brainwashing. That’s grooming.

Participants received a Zoom meeting link, without password, and an email warning that adults must ‘remain silent observers’.

… Read the rest

All bluster and no mask.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, has tested positive for coronavirus, a person familiar with the situation told CNN on Wednesday.

Gohmert has frequently refused to wear a mask while at the Capitol amid the pandemic. He has spent ample time on the House floor during votes speaking to aides and lawmakers — without a mask or social distancing.

Well he’s a Republican you see. Republicans are for statues of pro-slavery generals and federal agents beating up non-violent protesters, and against environmental protections and masks during a pandemic. Principle first!

Gohmert had been scheduled to fly aboard Air Force One on Wednesday with President Donald Trump to Midland, Texas, where the President is fundraising

… Read the rest

It’s time to beeeeeeeeeeeee

INSPIRED

New Painting Release – “Legacy of Hope”
As Americans, we share a LEGACY that should never be forgotten!
More information at https://t.co/okJHkQX0bd@realDonaldTrump @DonaldDTrumpJr @EricTrump @TuckerCarlson @Dbongino @lauraingram @seanhannity pic.twitter.com/x5vGb6rmv4

— Jon McNaughton (@McNaughtonArt) July 23, 2020

Then you can return to earth.

How to person woman man camera tv pic.twitter.com/rcQC4sxmLX

— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) July 24, 2020

… Read the rest

Trump did a press conference of sorts.

"And yet, they're very highly thought of but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality, that's all." #TrumpPressConference

Cruelty, dishonesty, hubris and evil are rarely respected, but sure-let's call it his "personality." pic.twitter.com/9UzbyVAhLI

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) July 28, 2020

That’s just what I thought when he said it. It’s such typical minimization. “They just don’t like my hair.” No no no Don it’s not your “personality” – repellent though that is. It’s you. It’s your hideous emptiness, your smallness, your self-obsession, your bluster, your lies, your lust for revenge, your brutality, your contempt for the law, your contempt for everyone who isn’t you – any one of us could … Read the rest

The lions don’t care

.

Wales’ first gay rugby team has criticised plans to ban trans women from playing women’s rugby.

That is, plans to ban men from playing women’s rugby. Men can have whatever fantasies about their own identities they like, but that doesn’t mean they can impose their fantasies on everyone else no matter what, and it especially doesn’t mean that when it’s a matter of the relative safety of women rugby players.

The sport’s governing body World Rugby is considering the move over “safety concerns” – claiming a female player is at a higher risk of being injured by a player that has gone through male puberty.

Because she is. Obviously. It’s not a mere “claim” and … Read the rest

Trump in 1993. He was a horrible shit then too.

Forget what Trump and @IvankaTrump tried to do today with Tribal Communities and instead just watch Donald Trump in his own words on the subject: pic.twitter.com/9prvjMmOlM

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) July 28, 2020

Indian Country Today wrote about it in 2016:

In 1993, Donald Trump appeared before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources to offer testimony on Indian gaming. 1993 Donald Trump bears a striking resemblance to Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, in terms of demeanor and language – Trump’s oral testimony is consistent with the language he has used throughout his campaign for President.

He really does. He’s rude and confident and belligerent, just as … Read the rest

The Daily Beast has more on Stella Immanuel.

Immanuel, a pediatrician and a religious minister, has a history of making bizarre claims about medical topics and other issues. She has often claimed that gynecological problems like cysts and endometriosis are in fact caused by people having sex in their dreams with demons and witches. 

She alleges alien DNA is currently used in medical treatments, and that scientists are cooking up a vaccine to prevent people from being religious. And, despite appearing in Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress on Monday, she has said that the government is run in part not by humans but by “reptilians” and other aliens.

Immanuel gave her viral speech on the steps of the Supreme

… Read the rest

Guess who’s back!

President Donald Trump’s attempt to project a more serious tone about the coronavirus lasted for about a week.

On Tuesday, he resumed spreading misinformation about how to fight the virus and amplifying criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who said he’d keep his head down and do his job.

Social media platforms worked to remove multiple versions of a video promoted by Trump that included unproven claims about treating people who test positive for the virus, but only after more than 17 million people had seen one version of it.

What’s the point of being president if you can’t con millions of people into poisoning themselves with an off-label medication?

Trump retweeted

… Read the rest

Joy Reid is live-tweeting the Barr hearing. It’s as sinister as you’d expect.

Jerry Nadler came out swinging in his opening statement, slamming William Barr for protecting Trump above all else, for the federalized violence against protesters, and more. #BarrHearing

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 28, 2020

Then Jim Jordan is yelling something, and she wonders why he’s always yelling.

Weirdly, the Republican video horror montage did not include any of the police and federal agent violence and tear gassing of protesters … huh… #BarrHearing

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 28, 2020

Well you see when they do it it’s Law Norder.

It is the height of irony for Bill Barr to even breathe out the name of John Lewis.

… Read the rest

Awwww, ‘doreable indeed.

Fuck you bitch, Trans people are valid #TransPeopleAreRealPeople #FuckJKRowling #TransRights @jk_rowling pic.twitter.com/XStuEs2Q5F

— Georgedorable (@JArtist_15) July 6, 2020

… Read the rest

The Daily Mail (sorry) reviews Abigail Shrier’s book on the fad for girls to decide they are boys:

The picture that emerges is something much more complex than the familiar narrative of ‘born in the wrong body’. None of these girls appeared to be trans until their teenage years. Some are lesbians – but as one young woman explains to Shrier, being a lesbian is ‘just not very cool… it’s a porn category’, whereas being trans is celebrated. Others have eating disorders or issues with self-harm: for them, taking male hormones and having surgery to remove their breasts seems like another way to attack the body.

Lesbian is a porn category? Says it all, doesn’t it.

Shrier argues that this

… Read the rest

There was no clip when I first posted this, only the statement of fact. I wanted to see and hear how he said it – whether with a pretense of regret and mention of a full schedule, or not. Now I know. Look at how this evil pig said it.

Trump says he will not be paying his respects to Rep. John Lewis at the U.S. Capitol, where his body lies in state. pic.twitter.com/oaD2cF36DL

— The Recount (@therecount) July 27, 2020

… Read the rest

Of course he won’t.

Departing for North Carolina, President Trump says he will not be visiting Rep John Lewis who is laying in state at the US Capitol pic.twitter.com/0WonBGBckm

— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 27, 2020

Right now:

Congressman John Lewis was the conscience of the Congress. Today, we say goodbye to our friend and colleague, honoring his legacy of advancing freedom and justice for all. https://t.co/pf697CGr5o

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 27, 2020

"Amazing Grace" plays as John Lewis' motorcade passes through Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House in Washington, DC, the site of the late congressman's last public appearance https://t.co/Iswn1bpl5Y pic.twitter.com/uYHjvQf13I

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 27, 2020

… Read the rest

Oh goody, another private “militia” is born.

The Utah Citizens’ Alarm is only a month old, and yet it already boasts 15,000-plus members.

The citizen militia’s recruits wear military fatigues and carry assault rifles. Their short-term goal, they say, is to act as a physical presence of intimidation to deter protesters from becoming violent and destroying the state of Utah. Their long-term goal: to arm and prepare the state of Utah against underground movements they believe will incite civil war.

But the physical presence of a “militia” wearing military fatigues and carrying assault rifles would not merely deter protesters from becoming violent and destroying Utah, it would deter them/us/me from protesting at all. If I saw a bunch … Read the rest

Dan Froomkin points out that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems to make the people at the NY Times very nervous.

So rather than report on how Ocasio-Cortez’s riveting, viral speech on the House floor on Thursday was a signal moment in the fight against abusive sexism, Times congressional reporters Luke Broadwater and Catie Edmondson filed a story full of sexist double standards and embraced the framing of her critics by casting her as a rule-breaker trying to “amplify her brand.”

Here’s her speech in case you need a refresher.

Here is my full response regarding Mr. Yoho and the culture of misogyny that inspired his actions.

I am deeply appreciative of my colleagues and everyone speaking up and out against the rampant

… Read the rest

You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, ya know?

The Arkansas Republican senator Tom Cotton has called the enslavement of millions of African people “the necessary evil upon which the union was built”.

Cotton, widely seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2024, made the comment in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published on Sunday.

He was speaking in support of legislation he introduced on Thursday that aims to prohibit use of federal funds to teach the 1619 Project, an initiative from the New York Times that reframes US history around August 1619 and the arrival of slave ships on American shores for the first time.

Well that’s certainly urgent at this time of a pandemic, … Read the rest

What we now say when we mean “shut up, bitch.”

https://twitter.com/gorskon/status/1287158532299784194

Updating: Oh look there’s more.

https://twitter.com/gorskon/status/1287392306828640256

Very adult, very thoughtful, very progressive and feminist and reasonable and fair-minded.

Also the other David.

I think that you should treat serious and difficult medical questions a bit more seriously :-(

— David Colquhoun (@david_colquhoun) July 25, 2020

Than “Ok Karen” and an eyeroll. Yes, I think so too.

Updating 2:

Thanks for being an example of skepticism done well. The gripers in your mentions are aggressively anti-science, anti-human jerks.

— Kavin Senapathy (@ksenapathy) July 26, 2020

Skepticism done well, yes indeed – you can’t get much better skepticism than “Ok, Karen” and an eyeroll emoji.… Read the rest