Or maybe that wasn’t his “speech on race” (which god knows nobody wants to hear), maybe it was his “ban on chokeholds except when the cops really want to use it” speech. It can be hard to be sure with him.

Trump has taken the podium in the Rose Garden, and he said he had just privately met with several families who lost loved ones to police brutality. “All Americans mourn by your side,” Trump said to the families, who were not present for the Rose Garden event. “Your loved ones will not have died in vain.”

What, because he’s now signed an order saying no chokeholds except when you really want to? That makes all those deaths not … Read the rest

Trump has apparently given his “speech on race.” Many are confused.

I guess this is the part where he actually talked about it, sort of.

…as we strive to deliver safe [here he stops reading and ad libs] byootifull elegant [returns to reading] justice (and liberty) for all.

What the everloving fuck is elegant justice? What’s he talking about? Why does he think he needs to add interior decoration adjective to the word “justice”? And I suspect he also added that “and liberty,” because it doesn’t make sense there. I suspect “the Pledge of Allegiance” has trained him to think “libertyandjustice” is all one word.

Then he calls a bunch of law enforcement people to come up and stand next … Read the rest

For some reason Laurie Penny thought we needed to hear the formulas from her too, in case we hadn’t already heard them enough times from enough other fools and cowards.

What happened to sisterhood?

Good question. What happened to yours?

Last week, beloved children’s author J.K. Rowling became the world’s most famous transphobe.

Second sentence, and already in the ditch. Calling her a “transphobe” assumes what needs to be argued, aka poisons the well. Who says she’s a “transphobe”? On what basis do they say it? Is it true? Is it true even in the terms of people who go along with most of the dogma?

After the Harry Potter writer spent days defending transphobia on Twitter and in

Rowling is back, composing tweet after tweet after tweet to make a child artist’s day week year. Bonus: some of the child art is gorgeous.

I want that one on a wall.… Read the rest

Ermergerd. There’s such a thing as “hydrofeminism.” Who knew??

Well not a “thing” so much, but a word, with at least one person using it as a word and saying words about it.

The mind reels. Mermaids? Transmermaids? Bints in ponds? Synchronized swimmers?

Hydrowhatnow?

Here you go:

Among those who are cognisant of our watery links to the wider world we find the small Copenhagen publishing house and curatorial platform Laboratory for Aesthetics and Ecology. The five curators behind the laboratory see water as ‘transnational, trans-species and trans-corporeal’.

The laboratory has just published a Danish translation of Astrida Neimani’s text “Hydrofeminism: Or, On Becoming a Body of Water” while also launching the exhibition project Hydra, which will

This is hilarious.

Listen Hellboy. You talk good game when you’ve got Hollywood makeup & stuntmen. But I’ll bet $10k—to the nonpolitical charity of your choice—that you couldn’t last 5 min in the wrestling ring w/ @Jim_Jordan w/o getting pinned. You up for it? Or does your publicist say too risky? https://t.co/eRerYVe5kj

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 15, 2020

Yes that’s Ted Cruz, THE Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz, saying “Betcha can’t beat this other guy ya big sissy!”

It’s always been my understanding that when you’re taunting someone for being weak & scrawny & feeble you’re supposed to say “I could beat you up,” not “This other guy could beat you up.”

The second just doesn’t have the … Read the rest

They’re just lying to Oklahoma to trick everyone into going.

During a White House roundtable meeting called “Fighting for America’s Seniors” on Monday afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence blatantly lied to reporters about the trajectory of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, where President Trump is scheduled to hold a large campaign rally on Saturday.

“In a very real sense, they’ve flattened the curve,” Pence claimed of that state. “And today their hospital capacity is abundant, the number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously and we feel very confident going forward with the rally this coming weekend.”

In fact, Oklahoma reported 225 new cases of COVID-19 this past Saturday, its highest one-day total since the pandemic began. On Sunday, Tulsa

Trump is determined to hide what he’s doing with all that money.

The Trump administration’s intensifying efforts to block oversight of its coronavirus-related rescue programs are raising new alarms with government watchdogs and lawmakers from both parties amid concerns about the anonymity of companies receiving unprecedented levels of taxpayer funds.

Government watchdogs warned members of Congress last week that previously unknown Trump administration legal decisions could substantially block their ability to oversee more than $1 trillion in spending related to the coronavirus pandemic.

A TRILLION.

In a letter to four congressional committee chairs Thursday, two officials in charge of a new government watchdog entity revealed that the Trump administration had issued legal rulings curtailing independent oversight of Cares

Oh really?

Trans activists write to Sun condemning JK Rowling abuse story https://t.co/0oMFq2w6g2

— The Guardian (@guardian) June 15, 2020

But what about all the abuse from trans activists and their “allies”?

The Graun:

The group of campaigners said that while they strongly opposed the Harry Potter author’s stance on trans rights, they stood in solidarity with her against the newspaper’s “abhorrent” approach to a domestic violence story.

“Misogyny is a pervasive force and one that treats survivors and victims of sexual and domestic violence as bylines to their abuser’s story,” the trans and non-binary activists said in the letter to the Sun’s editor, Victoria Newton.

But what about those activists n allies?

Needs a slap, slap that … Read the rest

Trump points out that if we stopped looking for the coronavirus we wouldn’t find so much of it so then the stats would look better. Can’t argue with him there.

“If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, actually,” the president said during a roundtable event for seniors.

Well no that’s not quite right. He was so close. We wouldn’t have very few cases – we would know about very few cases. Different thing.

I wonder if he knows that. I wonder if he knows that’s a different thing. Does he think he disappears when he closes his eyes?

The president expressed a similar sentiment in March, telling Fox News that he didn’t want infected patients

SUCK MY DICK JK ROWLING!!!!

— Shakina (@Shakeenz) June 15, 2020

Shakina is a trans woman.… Read the rest

Hey look who’s a star –

Hey guys, here's the chat I just had with @artymortyarty and GNC Centric for YouTube. We spoke about cults, JK Rowling, and the havoc gender ideology is wreaking on the gay community! Join us again next week! https://t.co/D1OIcIB8CA

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 15, 2020

Artymorty that’s who.… Read the rest

There will be no problem with holding a campaign rally during a pandemic. Here, sign this waiver.

Republican lawmakers are downplaying concerns that a Donald Trump indoor rally planned for Tulsa, Oklahoma, for next weekend could contribute to the spread Covid-19, amid an increase in cases in the city.

The Tulsa city-county health department director, Bruce Dart, said he worried the rally could be dangerous for attendees as well as the president.

“I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today,” Dart told Tulsa World.

That is, he wishes Trump were not forcing it on them.

James Lankford, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, said on Sunday

Stumbling Don wants to put the kibosh on Bolton’s “I refuse to testify” book.

Donald Trump is set to sue to stop the publication of a tell-all book by John Bolton, his third national security adviser, ABC News reported on Monday.

They’ve already delayed publication by saying it has seekrits.

Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations, was national security adviser between April 2018 and September 2019. Controversially, Bolton did not testify in impeachment proceedings against Trump which focused on Ukraine and Trump’s attempts to bully the government there to investigate his political rival Joe Biden.

“Controversially” is putting it mildly. He’s a rat bastard and traitor.

“What Bolton saw astonished him,” his publisher said. “A president for

Again.

How people choose to define themselves is no one's business.

Thanks for speaking up, @EmmaWatson.

Happy #Pride! pic.twitter.com/wDy0pBpDGq

— UN Women (@UN_Women) June 14, 2020

First – why is UN Women, or the social media officer of UN Women, talking about this at all? What’s it got to do with women? What’s it got to do with women’s issues? What’s it got to do with the reasons women need a UN branch?

Second – for the billionth time – none of that is true.

It’s not a simple truth that “trans people are who they say they are.” It depends on what they say. Some trans people describe being trans accurately, and some insist that they literally … Read the rest

Since June 7th (5 days), Pink News has written 40 articles about JK Rowling, 37 with her name in the headline.

This is harassment, plain and simple, and a warning to other women not to speak. pic.twitter.com/CF1GeSF2nx

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 12, 2020

Some examples:

Harry Potter star Rupert Grint says ‘trans women are women’ as cast continue to distance themselves from JK Rowling

As JK Rowling faces a continuing backlash, Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the hit film series, expressed his solidarity with the trans community in a statement released to The Times.

A continuing backlash which we are contributing to with all our might.

Warner Bros, the billion dollar studio behind Harry Potter, pledges ‘inclusivity … Read the rest

Accurate.

Just Be Kind pic.twitter.com/HSzNHpR85W

— Tatsuya Ishida (@TatsuyaIshida9) June 14, 2020

… Read the rest

Actual fake news:

Fox News published digitally altered and misleading images on its website’s homepage Friday that made a demonstration in Seattle, in which a group of largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters have occupied six city blocks, appear violent and dangerous.

The deceitful tactic was called out by The Seattle Times. The local newspaper reported that when it asked Fox News about the images, the network removed them.

“Oh, you noticed that? Well fine, we’ll take them down then. Excuuuuuse us.”

Fox News’ depiction of the demonstration mirrors much of right-wing media’s attempt to portray it as menacing. Protesters have declared a small slice of Seattle an “autonomous zone” after clashes with authorities led police to evacuate a

Furthermore, his difficulty walking and holding a glass is in fact suggestive of a medical issue.

Trump, who turned 74 on Sunday, was the oldest person ever to assume the presidency, after an election in which he questioned the health of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, notably mockingly imitating her stumble at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York. Speculation about Trump’s health has duly dogged his time in office.

Parenthetically – how old is Biden? 77. He turns 78 in November. Trump was the oldest at 70 so Biden if elected will beat that by eight years. He should never have run. It pisses me off.

But back to Trump.

Such speculation continued on Saturday with regard to 

Oh Donald. You’re such a putz.

While it is common for politicians to boast about their accomplishments, “successfully walked down ramp” is not usually the kind of achievement a president of the United States would emphasize in his messaging. But Donald Trump’s campaign is predicated on depicting his opponent, Joe Biden, as a helpless invalid, and himself as a virile and improbably healthy male who sleeps with models, or at least in the same building as them, in return for compensation commensurate with the task.

See also: the 2016 campaign, when he relentlessly mocked Hillary Clinton for having pneumonia.

But yesterday, Trump was recorded walking gingerly down a very shallow ramp, staring intently at his feet the entire way,