How that nightmare looked from farther away:

Over the years, the presidential debates have become as much about entertainment as elucidation. As journalists we hype them like Vegas world heavyweight boxing bouts beforehand and score them like TV critics afterwards.

Indeed, and it’s maddening. There’s so much palaver about the stupid debates, as if they mattered, when in fact there are much better ways to evaluate the candidates and what they plan to do.

Ever since Ronald Reagan mastered the genre, the debates have tended to reward star power over expertise.

Well there you go. If it works for a Reagan and doesn’t work for a Mondale then it’s not a good instrument.

Presidential debates increasingly have come

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He’s still finding ways to get worse.

"Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp" — Speaking in a state with one of the largest Somali populations in the country, Trump goads his fans into booing refugees, prompting "lock her up!" chants directed at Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/dT2yuHxFDZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2020

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About Trump and the Proud Boys…

The president was asked repeatedly by the moderator, Chris Wallace, to condemn violence by white supremacists and rightwing groups, such as armed militias, as well as criticizing leftwing protesters.

Instead, Trump addressed the Proud Boys, a far-right group whose members have been sentenced to prison for attacking leftwing protesters in political street fights, and said: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”

The Proud Boys, whose uniform is a black polo shirt, immediately celebrated the president’s comment in posts on social media platform Telegram. One Proud Boys group added the phrase “Stand Back, Stand By” to their

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Good one.

https://twitter.com/HJoyceGender/status/1311287969706377218

Not so good.… Read the rest

Damn. There I was thinking no one would be rushing forward to say “Barbie Kardashian” is no threat to anyone and that it’s transphobic and evil to say he is. DINGDING wrong again.

Our response to the recent piece by the @Limerick_Leader pic.twitter.com/MfdDQ6btPv

— Limerick Feminist Network (@LmkFeminist) October 1, 2020

They also posted the statement on Facebook.

We are profoundly disappointed with the recent piece shared by the Limerick Leader. The Limerick Feminist Network have been active in Limerick and working on the ground with the feminist community for several years and we are disappointed that we were not contacted for comment. Never the less, here are our views on the matter.

Trans women are not a

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The people of Twitter are disputing and/or reproaching John Cleese for signing the letter, but they’re not shouting or threatening or hurling sexual insults and fantasies about violence. Funny, that.

https://twitter.com/VictoriaPeckham/status/1311397542685544449

He had to try VERY hard for that. Some of us just say one thing once…

— Julie Bindel (@bindelj) September 30, 2020

Ah, yes, this specific and complicated example makes the definitive case that trans women shouldn't be treated as women. We've always known how passionate you are about…fairness in weightlifting competition.

— Underdoug (@containseggs) September 30, 2020

Sarcasm. Oh no not sarcasm!… Read the rest

So there.

Dear Twits, I have added my name to the signatories of the letter in solidarity with JKRowling

Proud to be in the distinguished company of Ian McEwan, Andrew Davies, Frances Welch, Lionel Shriver, Ben Miller, Tom Stoppard, Frances Barber, Griff Rhys-Jones and Matthew d'Ancona

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 30, 2020

Of course the nonsense follows swiftly.

I suspect that the signatories I am proud to be associated are far more balanced and intelligent than the people whose slogans you chant

Sad https://t.co/CrD46Tyf9Q

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 30, 2020

People who feel themselves specially 'good' often achieve this feeling of purity by using the denial and projection defence, seeing their own hatred in others

I see no

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What Trump refused to say is significant.

Fox News’s Chris Wallace — who had spent most of the debate with the demeanor of someone unexpectedly pulled from the audience to ride a bronco at a rodeo — pushed Trump on his recent reluctance to say that he would ensure a smooth transition should he lose.

“Will you urge your supporters to stay calm during this extended period, not to engage in any civil unrest?” Wallace asked. “And will you pledge tonight that you will not declare victory until the election has been independently certified?”

Oh hell no. Of course he won’t.

“I’m urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that’s what has to

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The reviews are harsh.

"That was a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck,” says @JakeTapper about the first presidential debate between Pres. Trump and Joe Biden. “We’ll talk about who won the debate, who lost the debate … One thing for sure, the American people lost.” #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/wjMnUmt2WS

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 30, 2020

Then Dana Bash says that was polite, she’s just gonna say it like it is: that was a shitshow.

Chris Wallace is embarrassing, and trying to pretend that the problem isn’t 100% Trump.

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) September 30, 2020

Oh my God.
Chris Wallace has totally lost control of this thing.
He’s allowing Trump to behave like schoolyard bully,

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I hate presidential debates. I think it’s a bad thing that they’re taken so seriously and given so much attention. Debating isn’t a key part of what a president does – presidents aren’t legislators, they’re executives.

Add to that a debate where Trump is one of the debaters…and just no.

I did watch a few minutes, just to see, and was disgusted, and stopped.

Our shame can be seen from space.

Only one man looked remotely presidential on the debate stage in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was not the incumbent. He interrupted, ranted, raged, spewed lies and interrupted some more. Oh, and he passed on an opportunity to condemn white supremacists, instead telling them to “stand back and stand

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Well anyway they’ve written a letter too so ha. They’ve written their own Big Important letter that repeats The Dogma so there. Take that, Bad People.

Days after a host of prominent literary names signed a letter defending JK Rowling “against hate”, more than 200 writers, publishers and journalists including Jeanette Winterson, Malorie Blackman and Joanne Harris have put their names to another stating their support for transgender and non-binary people.

In order to imply that The Enemy is undermining transgender and non-binary people.

The letter, which is described as “a message of love and solidarity for the trans and non-binary community”, was pulled together by acclaimed writers Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Daisy Johnson. With

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The Bookseller reports on Mslexia’s shunning of Amanda Craig:

Amanda Craig has been dropped as a competition judge by women’s writing magazine Mslexia over her signing of a letter to the Times in defence of J K Rowling.

…Craig has said she is “very disappointed” by the decision taken after her involvement protesting “relentless bullying and death threats to a fellow author”. She also called on professional bodies, including the Society of Authors and English PEN, to defend authors from such bullying.

…

Craig had been appointed a judge for the Mslexia Fiction & Memoir Competition 2020 alongside novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave and literary agent Joanna Moult. Hargrave said on Twitter that she “wasn’t comfortable to sit on a

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Mslexia has issued a statement – a bad, stupid, smarmy, chickenshit statement.

pic.twitter.com/bWTKkWnWWT

— Mslexia ✨ (@Mslexia) September 30, 2020

All that plus difficult to read – but hey, tiny white print on a lavender background is so Feminine, amirite?

Mslexia exists to support all writers who identify as women, regardless of their prior background or current circumstances, including issues relating to their age, race, class, income, disability, sexual preference, location, health status, fertility, caring responsibilities and gender assignment. We stand against all forms of abuse and harassment.

Mslexia aims to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment that encourages women to express themselves across a wide range of literary genres in the knowledge that they, and their writing, will always

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I don’t understand.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the suggestion that Amy Coney Barrett would vote to scrap the Affordable Care Act.

“This mother of seven, including multiple children who were born or adopted facing preexisting condition medical challenges, is just itching to block families like hers from accessing medical care. What a joke,” McConnell said, per an NBC News reporter.

I’m not being sarcastic, I really don’t understand. If Evil Mitch said that, it means that he gets why universal health care is necessary, and is willing to let us know that he gets it. But they hate universal health care. They want it to be health care for those who can afford it. He’s admitting that … Read the rest

They’ve made the letter a petition now, so the whole world can sign. Signatures are flooding in.

https://twitter.com/blablafishcakes/status/1311040711475765254… Read the rest

If you sign a letter or say a thing in support of JK Rowling you must be punished.

2. Retribution is instant. Mslexia magazine, which says it champions women's writing, tells her she is dropped as a judge on one of its competitions.

— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) September 29, 2020

4. Every honest person who reads the book knows it isn't true. Yet it's easier for cultural bureaucrats to go along with the lie than risk their careers by stating the truth. (If you want chapter and verse, I reviewed the novel here https://t.co/X21FXyl4Wk)

— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) September 29, 2020

Punish her. Never mind that she didn’t do anything wrong, punish her, just to be safe.… Read the rest

https://twitter.com/AlessandraAster/status/1311003013369208835 https://twitter.com/HJoyceGender/status/1311013827790725121

This is just plain wrong. A young trans identified male who wants to rape & assault women is placed in a women’s prison in Ireland. The needs of a male rape fantasist are given priority over women’s safety. The evidence is clear: Sex self ID is incompatible with women’s rights. https://t.co/LLpcf5rXnK

— Allison Bailey (@BluskyeAllison) September 29, 2020

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I started seeing stories on this about a week ago, and it was so…horror-movie like and gruesome I wasn’t sure what to do with it so decided to wait and see. New developments mean that waiting is over. Meet “Barbie Kardashian”:

Limerick, Munster. A teenager who was “born a male but identifies as a female” is facing four counts of making threats to kill or cause serious harm. The accused, who has demonstrated a pattern of criminal and extreme physical and sexual violence towards women, is eager to be held in female custody while awaiting trial.

So that he can have an abundance of new female victims. Well surely no one will go along with that plan.

Gardaí, the

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Gee, who could have guessed – it turns out that Trump is not a devout Christian after all. It was all an act!!! Are you amazed?

The president’s alliance with religious conservatives has long been premised on the contention that he takes them seriously, while Democrats hold them in disdain. In speeches and interviews, Trump routinely lavishes praise on conservative Christians, casting himself as their champion. “My administration will never stop fighting for Americans of faith,” he declared at a rally for evangelicals earlier this year.

But it’s transparently a ploy, given that Trump had never given the slightest hint of religiosity until he decided to become king of Murka.

But in private, many of Trump’s comments about religion are

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Look at this stupid chain of “accused of”s and “previously criticized”s and “branded as”s all linked up to make a hearsay accusation of Wrongthink against…you’ll never guess…a woman. Funny how reliably it’s a woman these days.

A HISTORY professor accused of being transphobic will head a new women’s rights initiative at Oxford University.

Oh accused of; well what more do you need to know. It could be some random crackpot in the pub just before closing, but do let’s make it the basis for a story in the Oxford Mail because hey, it’s only a woman. Also why does she get to be a history professor when the inquisitors on Twitter don’t? What’s so great about her besides brains and … Read the rest