Stonewall UK is having its annual Workplace Conference.
https://twitter.com/stonewalluk/status/1121655162953580546
So far so good.
https://twitter.com/AimeeEvelyn202/status/1121725524353658880
Uhhhh…wait.
It’s not easy to read, so I’ll transcribe.
Trans Status Wealth
Nationality Class
Gender Identity ME Race
Disability Faith
Sexual Orientation
Notice anything?
Anything missing?
Yes.
Sex.
Of course.
Women have ALL the privilege and power.
This again.
Trump tries to defend his Charlottesville response by praising Robert E. Lee.
He claims the 'very fine people' remark was about people who "felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee. A great general, whether you like it or not."
Via Politico pic.twitter.com/01W4IwGx8y— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 26, 2019
Oh I’ve answered that question, and if you look at what I said you will see that that question was answered perfectly.
He said, with his usual air of ineffable conceit.
… Read the rest
And I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general – whether you like it or not, he was one
But Trump is getting his state visit to the UK at last.
Mrs May said June’s state visit was an “opportunity to strengthen our already close relationship in areas such as trade, investment, security and defence, and to discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead”.
But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry voiced concerns about the visit, saying: “It beggars belief that on the very same day Donald Trump is threatening to veto a United Nations resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Theresa May is pressing ahead with her plans to honour him with a state visit to the UK.”
It’s possible he won’t have a very good time.
… Read the restA spokeswoman
… Read the restThe UN has backed a resolution on combatting rape in conflict but excluded references in the text to sexual and reproductive health, after vehement opposition from the US.
…
The UK backed the resolution, but expressed regret about the omission on reproductive healthcare. Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK prime minister’s special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, said: “We emphasise the need for a survivor-centred approach. Survivor services should cater to all survivors – with no exception.”
But he added: “We deeply regret the language on services for survivors of sexual violence, recognising the acute need for those services to include comprehensive reproductive and separate sexual healthcare.”
The UK, he said, would continue to
Oh, gee, how very thoughtful.
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called Anita Hill earlier this month to express his regret over “what she endured” testifying against Justice Clarence Thomas at the 1991 Supreme Court hearings that put a spotlight on sexual harassment of women, according to a spokeswoman for Mr. Biden.
Earlier this month…i.e. just before he announced he’s running for president. Notice anything about that? 1991 was twenty eight years ago. He’s had 28 years to talk to Anita Hill and he does it now, a few minutes before he announces he’s running for president.
… Read the restMs. Hill, in an interview Wednesday, said she left the conversation feeling deeply unsatisfied and declined to characterize his words
Brian Leiter is keeping track of the specialized but all too lively subtopic of Philosophy Grad Students And Even Faculty Hurling Abuse At Colleagues In Public over trans issues.
April 19 for instance:
A propos this earlier abusive outburst directed at feminist philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith (Melbourne), we now have this from Keyvan Shafiei:
As Leiter points out, the issue of course was not mere “profane language” – it was sweary name-calling, to be specific, piece of shit and fucking vile. People do this all the time: talk about mild generalities like “profanity” when the issue is misogynist or harshly sweary insults directed at specific people. Telling a particular person she’s “fucking vile” is not mere “profane language.” Keyvan Shafiei … Read the rest
It turns out that retaliating against witnesses is a crime.
The lawyer who represented Richard Nixon after he left the White House, William Jeffress, says Trump retaliatory action against Don McGahn could land him in prison for ten years. https://t.co/5E2V15mojp pic.twitter.com/1QpKKb77mX
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) April 25, 2019
Trump fired McGahn’s firm. If it can be established that he did it to retaliate, that could be ten years in the slammer.… Read the rest
More childish “No no no I won’t and you can’t make me!!” from the Trump House.
… Read the restThe White House will refuse to allow senior adviser Stephen Miller to testify before the House Oversight Committee, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post.
Oversight panel Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) received a letter from the White House counsel Wednesday denying his request that Miller come before the committee to testify on the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
…
Few expected Miller to comply, given precedent that White House staff traditionally do not testify.
But Miller, Democrats worry, has had more power than a traditional White House staffer, particularly over immigration.
Miller was behind a controversial proposal to bus undocumented
Greta Thunberg is getting some attention.
So now it’s time for the right-wing adults to unload on her – Brendan O’Neill out in front as usual.
… Read the restAnyone who doubts that the green movement is morphing into a millenarian cult should take a close look at Greta Thunberg. This poor young woman increasingly looks and sounds like a cult member. The monotone voice. The look of apocalyptic dread in her eyes. The explicit talk of the coming great ‘fire’ that will punish us for our eco-sins. There is something chilling and positively pre-modern about Ms Thunberg. One can imagine her in a sparse wooden church in the Plymouth Colony in the 1600s warning parishioners of the hellfire that will rain
Trump admits he told McGahn to fire Mueller.
As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, even though I had the legal right to do so. If I wanted to fire Mueller, I didn’t need McGahn to do it, I could have done it myself. Nevertheless,….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2019
It’s not clear if he meant to admit it, but admit it he did. He says the Fake New incorrectly reported that never told McGahn to fire Muller, so he’s saying he did tell McGahn to fire Mueller.
Not that we ever doubted it.… Read the rest
Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey on In Congress where it’s very partisan — obviously very partisan.
On a broader note: I’m getting really really tired of this constant use of “partisan” as a dismissive sneer. Not by people here, I mean in the discourse generally. Centrist political pundits are the worst for this.
In practically every other country on earth, it’s understood, accepted, and even appreciated that (1) voters have differing ideologies and policy preferences; and (2) political parties are a logical, sensible, and inevitable way to organize along ideological and policy lines and get things done. Of course, it’s generally acknowledged that there are times to set aside partisanship and come together in a crisis, or to … Read the rest
Self-pity reaches an apotheosis.
Rep. Steve King said Tuesday that his recent ostracism by House colleagues for defending white supremacy has made him identify with the tribulations a more famous leader experienced some 2,000 years ago: Jesus Christ.
Right? Remember Fred 11:13, where the disciples all tell Jesus he’s a racist and Jesus cries? It’s like that.
The exchange took place at a town hall event in Iowa during which an attendee stood up to tell the nine-term Republican that in her view, “Christianity is really being persecuted, and it’s starting right here in the United States.”
“Persecuted”=not being allowed to execute atheists and mouthy women and homoseckshuals.
… Read the restIn his response, King told her that after being formally rebuked
Trump tried to get Sessions to Lock Her Up.
… Read the restAttorney General Jeff Sessions had a tenuous hold on his job when President Trump called him at home in the middle of 2017. The president had already blamed him for recusing himself from investigations related to the 2016 election, sought his resignation and belittled him in private and on Twitter.
Now, Mr. Trump had another demand: He wanted Mr. Sessions to reverse his recusal and order the prosecution of Hillary Clinton.
…
Mr. Mueller’s report released last week brimmed with examples of Mr. Trump seeking to protect himself from the investigation. But his request of Mr. Sessions — and two similar ones detailed in the report — stands apart because
Josephine Livingstone at the New Republic apparently thinks that people are simply not allowed to discuss or write about what is meant by “trans” and how we know any of it is true and subjects of that nefarious kind.
Jesse Singal, who has gained notoriety on the left for his frequent tweeting and writing on trans issues, says he just wants to talk. When readers get angry with him, which happens often, he sees them as curtailing a productive conversation that he has prompted in the spirit of a free and vigorous exchange of ideas.
How dare he. No, what we’re supposed to do is find the Correct trans people on Twitter, find out what they say, memorize it, and … Read the rest
Trump is justifying his defiance of Congress by saying it’s “partisan.”
… Read the restIn an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said that complying with congressional requests was unnecessary after the White House cooperated with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of Russian interference and the president’s own conduct in office.
“There is no reason to go any further, and especially in Congress where it’s very partisan — obviously very partisan,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments came as the White House made it clear that it plans to broadly defy requests for information from Capitol Hill, moving the two branches of government closer to a constitutional collision.
…
In his interview with The Post, Trump maintained that the White House Counsel’s Office
Trump teetering on the ledge.
“Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson accuses United Kingdom Intelligence of helping Obama Administration Spy on the 2016 Trump Presidential Campaign.” @OANN WOW! It is now just a question of time before the truth comes out, and when it does, it will be a beauty!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019
The American people deserve to know who is in this Country. Yesterday, the Supreme Court took up the Census Citizenship question, a really big deal. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019
… Read the restA very big Caravan of over 20,000 people started up through Mexico. It has been reduced in size by Mexico but is still coming. Mexico must
Tennessee is going all out on the open, shameless voter-suppression thing.
After enormous black turnout in the 2018 midterms, Republicans are advancing a bill that would penalize voter registration drives.
Gotta suppress that black turnout so that we can elect more proudly racist white people who will support Trump in all his crimes.
… Read the restThe Tennessee Legislature will soon vote on a bill that is deliberately intended to suppress black turnout, even though Tennessee is among the five states with the lowest voter participation.
The bill in the senate would create some of the most aggressive regulations on large-scale voter registration in the nation — like civil penalties for groups that unintentionally file incomplete voter registration forms. It would impose
Amnesty International reports Saudi Arabia executed 37 people today.
… Read the restThe execution of 37 people convicted on “terrorism” charges marks an alarming escalation in Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty, said Amnesty International today. Among those put to death was a young man who was convicted of a crime that took place while he was under the age of 18.
“Today’s mass execution is a chilling demonstration of the Saudi Arabian authorities callous disregard for human life. It is also yet another gruesome indication of how the death penalty is being used as a political tool to crush dissent from within the country’s Shi’a minority,” said Lynn Maalouf Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International.
The majority of those
The White House plans to fight a subpoena issued by the House Judiciary Committee for former White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify, according to people familiar with the matter, setting up another showdown in the aftermath of the special counsel report.
The Trump administration also plans to oppose other requests from House committees for the testimony of current and former aides about actions in the White House described in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report, according to two people familiar with internal thinking.
Planning, or plotting. It can’t be called thinking.
… Read the restMcGahn was mentioned more than 150 times in Mueller’s report and provided damaging accounts to investigators about how the president pressured
… Read the restThe House Oversight Committee moved Tuesday to hold a former White House personnel security director in contempt of Congress for failing to appear at a hearing investigating alleged lapses in White House security clearance procedures.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he would consult with the House counsel and members of the panel about scheduling a vote on contempt for former White House personnel security director Carl Kline. At the instruction of the White House, Kline failed to show up for scheduled testimony on security clearances.
The move marks a dramatic escalation of tensions between Congress and the Trump White House, which is increasingly resisting requests for information from Capitol Hill.
“The
