We want Trump to lose, right? So this is good news:

Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris for president

In a joint statement announcing the endorsement, the Obamas praised Harris and listed her accomplishments.

“But Kamala has more than a resume,” the statement said. “She has the vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands. There is no doubt in our mind that Kamala Harris has exactly what it takes to win this election and deliver for the American people.”

…

Obama and Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, have been in touch regularly, and he has been serving as a sounding board for her as he has over the 20 years they’ve known each other, a source

Originally a comment by Tim Harris on Where’s the mud?

Lady Mondegreen is absolutely right — idealising Nature (with a captal ’N’) as something greater than human beings was very much part of Romanticism in all its forms (Wordsworth, for example), though Constable – unlike Turner – tends to prefer more ‘human’ landscapes. Before Romanticism, there were the 17th & 18th century landscapes that harked back very obviously and nostalgically to the pastoral tradition in poetry – ‘Nymphs & shepherds dance no more/ By sandy Ladon’s lilied banks…’), or the landscapes that seemed to be painted from the point of view of a landowner, high up and fondly contemplating his domain.

And it is also the case that Chinese & … Read the rest

Ew.

Anne Frank was a living, breathing human being.

Anne Frank is not your prop to be used to promote your political movements.

Anne Frank is not your weapon to attack Jews with antisemitic tropes.

Anne Frank is not yours to use — she was a child who was murdered for being Jewish. pic.twitter.com/ra9zN1RLcZ

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) July 25, 2024

It’s a mural on a wall in Bergen – my city’s sister city, as it happens.

It’s revolting.… Read the rest

More of the same, or no?

The National Gallery will display John Constable’s famous painting ‘The Hay Wain’ as a “contested landscape” at an upcoming exhibition.

The 1821 painting is a British classic, depicting a rural landscape near Constable’s native Suffolk. The idyllic scene shows a cart and horse travelling through the tranquil River Stour.

But some critics say the painting conceals a dark secret. Not present in the scene are the poorer workers of the time, many of whom were suffering from hunger and poverty.

…

The new exhibition will attempt to explain the full social context of the painting. It will be displayed alongside satirical images from the period which give another perspective on the politics of the

19th century monument reflects 19th century views, exclaims pack of fools. Well duh, what would you expect it to reflect? Your views?

Prince Albert’s memorial in Kensington is “problematic” and “highly offensive”, drawing on “racial stereotypes” that reflect a “Victorian view of the world that differs from mainstream views held today”, its presentist custodians at The Royal Parks charity say (Evening Standard, GB News, Telegraph).

That’s because it was created by people who had the views that people had then as opposed to the views that people have now. I think you’ll find that’s a general pattern. It’s difficult to adopt the views of people a century or two in the future because you don’t … Read the rest

News media continue to lie about men who commit crimes of violence. Brighton and Hove News for example:

Brighton woman, 70, appears before court charged with murdering husband

Brighton woman, 70, is of course not a woman.

A 70-year-old Brighton woman has appeared in court by video link charged with murdering her husband in their Kemp Town flat. Joanna Rowland-Stuart was aided by a British Sign Language interpreter at Lewes Crown Court this morning (Wednesday 24 July).

Rowland-Stuart, formerly known as John Stuart, appeared by video link from Downview prison, in Surrey, but did not enter a plea over the death of her husband Andrew Rowland-Stuart.

Mr Rowland-Stuart was a former lorry driver previously known as Angie or Angela Rowland,

Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey on It’s not a gold star.

I think you’re all being really harsh here.

First, Biden just did an incredibly hard thing. Yes, it was the right thing to do, for his party and the country. Yes, you could say that he was morally obligated to do it. But there are a lot of things that people should do that are really hard to do on a personal level, and a lot of people fail that test. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for one.

Joe Biden spent decades of his life dreaming of being president one day. He gets there, and does a good job, and now he’s being asked to do something that no … Read the rest

Sigh. This is just dense. Thick. Dumb. Uncomprehending. Point-missing. Reality-ignoring.

Biden says:

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said abandoning his reelection campaign and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic candidate was the best way to unite the country and save democracy, despite his ambition to win a second term.

Biden’s announcement to end his presidential bid on Sunday followed a disastrous June debate with Donald Trump, which exacerbated questions about his ability to defeat the Republican candidate, or to serve another four years if he succeeded.

In his address to the nation from the Oval Office, the 81-year-old president said he believed he deserved to be reelected based on his record during his first term.

!!!… Read the rest

A drag queen and another man do the Olympics torch thing, and now this.

In elections, clothes matter. Kamala Harris needs to ditch the forgettable fashion and seize the spotlight.

Women in politics can’t win, fashionwise. But Harris’s boring esthetic isn’t right for these unprecedented times. #Opinion https://t.co/FB45uc3d7c

— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) July 24, 2024

Women don’t exist or if they do exist they don’t matter, and by the way, if they’re running for high office be sure to tell them how to dress.… Read the rest

A piece of advice. Don’t go for a hike in extremely hot weather. If you do, take as much water as you can carry and don’t go far. If you don’t take much water and you do go far…well, you won’t come back.

A 56-year-old woman died while hiking near a state park in southwestern Utah over the weekend after running out of water on a sweltering day, police said.

Emergency crews responded near Quail Creek State Park on Sunday to a report of a hiker “in distress due to not having enough water and the temperature being 106 degrees,” the Hurricane City Police Department said in a statement.

Too hot. If you don’t have enough water, turn back … Read the rest

Prosecutor v felon:

Vice President Harris vowed to reprise her role as a prosecutor on the campaign trail while running against former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee and a convicted felon.

Those are all one person. Clumsy writing makes it look as if Harris is running against three people, but no, Trump is the nominee and the convicted felon.

Harris, too, quickly pivoted to the kind of rhetoric she said to expect from her on the campaign trail — that of a seasoned attorney, who before she was elected as vice president and a United States senator from California served as that state’s elected attorney general and before that, a courtroom prosecutor.

“In those roles, I took

Goddy terrorism in the news:

The Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been found guilty of directing the terrorist group al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and drumming up cross-border support for the banned organisation online.

After a trial at Woolwich crown court in south London, Choudary was convicted of having a “caretaker role” in directing ALM.

Choudary came as close to becoming a household name as an extremist can get in the UK through his media appearances and controversial actions such as protesting at UK soldiers’ funerals. Security experts have claimed Choudary influenced dozens of British jihadists.

But the trained solicitor’s apparent ability to act just within the bounds of the law ended in 2016 when he was convicted of supporting Islamic State

Two men.

Zero women.

Women erased again.

Women barely exist. Women are at home mopping the floor. Women are passive blobs who don’t do anything. Men are the people who matter; women are the machines for making more men.

Two men arriving with the Olympic flame. The erasure of women in all spheres of public life continues. pic.twitter.com/LYyM3YaPEG

— Kate Barker-Mawjee (@KateBMwriting) July 24, 2024

… Read the rest

Oh good, the struggling royals get to have more money. That’s a relief.

The monarchy is to get an extra £45m due to soaring profits from the Crown Estate. The income boost comes from a surge in profits from the estate, due to six new offshore wind farms.

Profits from the Crown Estate have increased to £1.1bn, which in turn will lead to a rise in the Sovereign Grant, which pays for the Royal Family’s running costs. The grant will rise from £86.3m in 2024/25 to to £132m in 2025/2026 – which will help pay for the last stages of renovating Buckingham Palace, officials said.

How lovely for them. Might be able to afford an occasional night out, as … Read the rest

Drat.

Firstly, the judgment gives permission for organisations like Stonewall to procure the withdrawal of employment from people whose protected characteristics they disagree with, if this can be framed as a “protest”. This seems to go directly against the terms of the Equality Act.…

— Allison Bailey (@BluskyeAllison) July 24, 2024

Thirdly, the judgment relies on the concept of “fair or reasonable or just”. This is surprising because the judge heard no submissions on this from either party in the 2-day Appeal, and it didn’t feature at all in the 117-page employment appeal judgment or the 23-day employment…

— Allison Bailey (@BluskyeAllison) July 24, 2024

Fifthly, my case is about direct discrimination, but the judgment also considers indirect discrimination. There,

Use your damn brain, will you?

Biologically male competitors should be allowed to take part alongside women, says Labour’s Lisa Nandy

Of course they shouldn’t, because they have physical advantages. It’s not fair to women to let men invade their sports. Don’t be unfair to women. Don’t be stupid. Don’t fall for the manipulation and bullying. Act like a grownup.

Lisa Nandy said it should be up to individual sports to decide whether to let biological males compete against women in their respective fields, arguing “most” sports had got the balance right.

Balance shmalance! What balance?! Never mind balance, just don’t let men ruin women’s sports. It’s not that complicated.

… Read the rest

I don’t know who made this, but good job whoever you are.

Via Gnu Atheism… Read the rest

Dude longs to punish women for not wanting him in their sports.

His vindictiveness is very telling…

Keep MEN out of Women's Sports and Women Only places… pic.twitter.com/i9bFj2TPLy

— Jonny Bell (@Jonnywsbell) July 23, 2024

The [male] transgender athlete said “My dreams were taken away from me once again, so I plan on going back to New England, hitting up all the indoor competitions, and taking all the names, all the records, and everything.”

Taking them from women, he means. Punishing women for not wanting him to trash their sport, by trashing their sport. What a nice reasonable not at all misogynist man.… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Rev David Brindley on A national emergency.

Remind me again of the number of abusers and murderers of UK women who were/are UK Police.

Unfortunately, here in the Great Land Downunder, we don’t fare much better. Male violence against women and girls is rising and too much leniency is still shown.

Narsen Moffat, 31, was jailed for three years for several brutal attacks on unsuspecting people, including one where he told a female employee he wasn’t afraid to hit a woman.

During sentencing on Thursday, the Adelaide Magistrates Court heard Moffat collected Irene McHugh from her home in April 2023.

Moffat then punched her multiple times to the head before locking the car doors.

“She

Men take top three prizes in women’s race:

Transgender athletes swept the board in a 1-2-3 at a prestigious women’s cycle race over the weekend, infuriating fans and leaving female competitors in the shade.

Male transgender athletes that is. I wish journalism would learn to be clear about this, because confusion is one of the ways trans ideology has managed to steal so much from women already.

Every medalist in the elite women’s Madison at Washington’s Marymore Grand Prix on Friday had a trans athlete on the two–person team, marking the first time trans women are known to have had a place on every podium spot in a race.

Race venue the Jerry Baker Memorial Velodrome in Redmond warns