All entries by this author

Sitting next to a visibly uncomfortable taoiseach

Jun 5th, 2019 4:18 pm | By

Oh dear god. At the end he just starts explaining what an election is and what will happen with Brexit and how excellent it will all be, as if anyone had asked him to explain all the things. He is so BIZARRE.

He also explains to Leo Varadkar what a border is and what kind of border there is between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The taoiseach makes a brief attempt to set him straight but Trump just plunges on, talking nonsense as if reading it from The Big Book of Nonsense.

Trump, sitting next to a visibly uncomfortable taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, waded into the Brexit debate minutes after Air Force One touched down at Shannon airport on Wednesday afternoon.

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 8 comments
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They’re still thinking about it

Jun 5th, 2019 3:00 pm | By

Trump’s off to Ireland now, to visit his impecunious (aka stone cold loser) golf course.

Trump’s visit to Ireland is not an official one, although he will meet with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar briefly at Shannon Airport. The visit is primarily for the president to stop off at his own golf resort at Doonbeg, in County Clare, where his ideological war on the environment takes something of a physical form.

A sprawling, luxury property, Doonbeg sits on the west coast of Ireland, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Trump opposed the construction of a wind farm near the site in 2014, and sent a celebratory tweet when the local council denied planning permission. There was a mild controversy in 2018 when it

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 3 comments


Future generations yadda yadda

Jun 5th, 2019 10:40 am | By

We can watch him saying the unbelievably stupid and ignorant things.

At .40 Morgan asks what Choss said to him about climate change. There’s a pause while Trump struggles to engage his brain, and then he manages to think of the word “future.” Ah yes, that will help – future. It’s about the future. “What he really wants,” Don says ponderously, “and what he really feels warmly about, is…the future.” Pause for deep thought … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 12 comments
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Who wouldn’t?

Jun 5th, 2019 9:10 am | By

Din-dins at the pally was the first time Donald “The Pig” Trump and Kate Middleton met, but he had a history. What kind of history? The usual kind, of course: his history of insulting her on Twitter.

Back in 2012, French magazine Closer published photos of Middleton sunbathing topless.

That is, she and William were staying at a private house owned by relatives, and a photographer took stealth photos of her, which is an absolute shit thing to do. She wasn’t walking down Oxford Street with her tits out.

But Trump saw fit to scold her on Twitter – Trump, the guy who brags about grabbing women by the pussy, and does in fact grab women by the pussy. … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 6 comments


First, Chuck, what is “climate change”?

Jun 5th, 2019 8:15 am | By

He doesn’t even know what climate change is.

He doesn’t even know that he doesn’t know what climate change is.

He doesn’t know what’s being talked about when he engages in discussions with other people.

He’s lost. He’s in the middle of the ocean on a plastic raft.

He doesn’t even know what climate change is.

Prince Charles spent 75 minutes longer than scheduled trying to convince Donald Trump of the dangers of global heating, but the president still insisted the US was “clean” and blamed other nations for the crisis.

Trump told ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday he had been due to meet the Prince of Wales for 15 minutes during his state visit, but the

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 9 comments
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Guest post: Many people even find these ideas “hateful”

Jun 4th, 2019 5:17 pm | By

Originally a comment by iknklast on They would do well to repudiate this embarrassment from the UK chapter.

The right to promote hateful ideas is not covered under the right to free speech.

Actually, it is. Otherwise, speech is anything but free. When Eugene Debs was jailed for speaking against the war, he was promoting “hateful” ideas. When Baruch Spinoza was excommunicated, he was promoting “hateful” ideas. When Giordano Bruno was burned, he was promoting “hateful” ideas. When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they were promoting “hateful” ideas. When the abolitionists spoke out against slavery, they were promoting “hateful” ideas. When the NAACP spoke out in favor of civil rights, they were promoting “hateful” ideas. When women … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 10 comments


Who invited them?

Jun 4th, 2019 4:24 pm | By

The NY Times notes that Trump for some reason brought his whole damn family with him for what should have been an official visit but instead was more like “Let’s everybody go to Disneyland three decades late.” They were everywhere – on the balcony, mugging for the camera at the dinner, stuffing their faces while chatting with various odds and ends of the royal household.

They were also present on Tuesday at Mr. Trump’s news conference with the British prime minister, Theresa May, seated in the second row, in front of some of the president’s senior government advisers. The president has also said that his children would join him on a tour on Tuesday of the Churchill War Rooms, and

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 4 comments
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Further illumination

Jun 4th, 2019 11:59 am | By

Trump expands on his low opinion of Sadiq Khan. “He should be positive, not negative; he’s a negative force, not a positive force.” Trump’s calling Khan a stone cold loser is of course very positive and not negative at all.

https://twitter.com/jchaltiwanger/status/1135906361773056000… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog


People don’t realize

Jun 4th, 2019 11:26 am | By

One of Trump’s top annoying habits is attributing his own ignorance to everyone else.

When Donald Trump says, “A lot of people don’t know that” – or its rhetorical cousin, “People don’t realize” – he’s generally referring to things many people already know, but which he only recently learned.

They also tend to be things anyone in his job ought to have learned fifty years ago at least. His lifelong ignorance of just about everything is not a good qualification for that job.

There are, however, occasional exceptions. For example, Trump used the phrasing a couple of years ago to reflect philosophically. “People don’t realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why?” the

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 4 comments
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Y U there?

Jun 4th, 2019 10:44 am | By

Yes, why are they there? It’s not a trip to Disneyland.

https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/1135890748010835968

Why did Trump bring his whole damn family apart from Barron along? That’s not normal. If it’s not normal it’s not appropriate. Were they even invited?

Are we paying for it? Of course we are.

Trump’s four adult children and their spouses have joined him on his state visit to the United Kingdom this week. And US taxpayers are picking up the hefty bills for their hotels, transportation, and security.

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, Eric Trump and his wife Lara, Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany Trump were all among the 171 dinner guests at Buckingham Palace today, according to the White House press pool.

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 4 comments


They would do well to repudiate this embarrassment from the UK chapter

Jun 4th, 2019 10:00 am | By

Yet another lying bullying “statement,” this one from Minorities and Philosophy UK. Brian Leiter flags it up:

I don’t want to make more of this disgraceful statement than it deserves; many MAP chapters are doing constructive work, and they would do well to repudiate this embarrassment from the UK chapter.  One can support equal opportunity for and dignified treatment of trans philosophers, as Professor Stock explicitly does, and still disagree with how some trans philosophers understand gender.

Note that this statement is the work of a handful of individuals, including the already notorious Keyvan Shafei and the equally benighted spouse of Nathan Oseroff, among others.  It was apparently prompted by the fact that the Aristotelian Society, much to

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 25 comments


He never did

Jun 4th, 2019 7:56 am | By

Dana Milbank says he believes all Trump’s lies, because the alternative is…what it is.

I believe all this and more because the alternative is unthinkable: that our great nation inflicted on the world a president who is, well, a stone cold loser, boorish and ignorant.

Therefore I plan to do as Trump does: live today as if yesterday never happened. But it’s not enough to imagine away this week’s name-calling. To preserve national dignity, Americans must accept that none of the following ever happened:

Trump did not shove the prime minister of Montenegro and he didn’t declare that he “fell in love” with the dictator of North Korea. He didn’t hang up on the Australian prime minister, nor attack

… Read the rest

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Humanism and Significance of Secular Medical Services in Nigeria

Jun 3rd, 2019 | By Leo Igwe

As part of the activities marking this year’s world humanist day, humanists are organizing a free medical outreach at the national stadium in Surulere in Lagos. The program is open to the public especially those who are unable to access basic medical care. A doctor and other health officials will be on hand for consultation, to conduct basic medical tests and provide evidence based medical counseling. This article takes a look at the significance of this medical program and its potential to transform the landscape of medical services in the country.

Religion and medical practices have always mixed. Both in its traditional and modern formations, medical care has been linked to some form of religious or supernatural belief. Medicine is … Read the rest

Posted in Articles


Historians struggled to cite an equivalent threat

Jun 3rd, 2019 5:17 pm | By

Meanwhile Trump is still trying to put the muscle on CNN, as is totally normal for presidents to do.

President Trump took his long-running attacks against CNN to a new level on Monday by suggesting in a series of tweets that a consumer boycott of its parent company, AT&T, could force “big changes” at the news organization.

“I believe that if people stoped [sic] using or subscribing to AT&T, they would be forced to make big changes at CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway,” Trump tweeted. “It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News!”

The comment, which Trump tweeted in response to seeing CNN coverage while traveling in London during a European tour, fueled criticisms that

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 3 comments
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Donnie dresses up

Jun 3rd, 2019 4:31 pm | By

https://twitter.com/FrancisWheen/status/1135651436082192386

Updating to add: I had to hit the Google to see if I was wrong to think Trump wasn’t supposed to be showing several inches of waistcoat below his jacket. GQ says nope I wasn’t wrong:

You will need a low

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 16 comments


Trust me, it’s very funny

Jun 3rd, 2019 3:52 pm | By

Oh this is glorious.

I’m sure it’s the pouring rain keeping them away.

I want to invite that police officer over for brandy and chocolate.

Look at the crowd roaring … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 6 comments
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If that’s the hand of friendship…

Jun 3rd, 2019 11:38 am | By

No, he’s not offering America’s hand of friendship. Don’t be silly. For one thing the two countries were already friends, before he was elected, before he ran, before he was even born. The relationship has deteriorated since and because he became president. And for another he comes offering nothing, he’s there for his own glory and nothing else.

For another thing … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 4 comments
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Thoughts in the air

Jun 3rd, 2019 10:28 am | By

A few hours ago, the plane is over London, Trump is getting restless, so he decides this is the time to broadcasts some insults directed at the mayor of London. Perfectly normal behavior, yes? When you’re in the car on your way to a party, you call the hosts to insult them, right? Doesn’t everyone? “Hello, Inglund, I’m on my way! You’re stupid and ugly, I look forward to our frenndship!”

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 5 comments
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Some men came over to try to get us to leave

Jun 3rd, 2019 9:56 am | By

Saturday in Bradford:

Yesterday a group of lesbians went to Bradford Pride to celebrate their sexuality and challenge the erasure of lesbians by transactivists.

They had a banner saying “lesbians don’t have penises” so you can guess what happened next.

We had decided to meet in a coffee shop before going into the square. Whilst sat drinking coffee we were approached by two police officers from West Yorkshire Police. They explained that someone had come to them and said that they’d seen some placards and so they wanted to make sure that there was nothing derogatory and that we were not a hate group. We assured them that we were just lesbians going to Pride. That WYP felt it

… Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 5 comments


Meet the vacuum

Jun 3rd, 2019 9:38 am | By

I haven’t seen Jared Soninlaw Kushner in action before. It’s not an edifying spectacle.

Have you seen Trump do or say anything racist, Mister Soninlaw?

Absolutely not. You can’t not be a racist for 69 years n then run for president and be a racist –

Let me stop you right there, Mister Soninlaw. Trump was not not a racist for 69 years. He very much was a racist during that time frame. He was raised racist by a racist landlord father who excluded black people from his rental properties. He … Read the rest

Posted in Notes and Comment Blog | 5 comments
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