Open Thread Dec. 10: Feminists Dance on Franken’s Grave
The Democratic Party civil war is in full swing, with the feminist contingent dancing on Al Franken’s grave because — well, let’s face it, because they’re ruled by their emotions (I’m not talking about just the women; this includes their male enablers as well). They have no argument at all about why this should not have gone through the ethics committee other than “the ethics committee is rigged.” I offer this perspective so you don’t slam shut your laptop as often as I have over the past week: They are reacting against autocratic male dominance. An equal and opposite reaction produces autocratic female dominance. They must be fought for the same reason conservatism must be fought: Autocratic rule sucks.
Penn State prof Sophia McClennen takes a deeper look at the fracturing party and arrives at the same conclusion most of us at this site have: There is neither enthusiasm nor public support for the corporate-money-loving Democratic Party in this country. The party polls lower in public approval that Donald Trump, so how is their approach going to dethrone him?
Lucien Truscott IV takes an even dimmer view of the Franken incident, taking to his military training to describe Democrats as marching into their favorite formation, the circular firing squad.
On the killer cops front, we’ve got another one in Delaware, as a Dover 16-year-old was shot to death at a traffic stop in the wee hours Friday. Who was killed? Don’t know yet. Who shot him? Don’t know yet. What were the circumstances? According to the police, who have every reason to tell the truth (insert eye-roll here), claim that when the cop approached the car, the teenager “displayed” the gun. When will we get the actual details? Quite possibly never, by Delaware law. How long did it take to get the full story on Jeremy McDole, the wheelchair-bound man shot to death by Wilmington police? Arguably we still don’t, but it took the state 9 months to determine that the police did nothing wrong. We never got anything but a whitewash and lies in the Derek Hale shooting. And this has been the situation for years, Trump or no Trump.
Speaking of skanks, the Hollywood big shot riding for the biggest fall is director Bryan Singer of “Usual Suspects” and “X-Men” fame. For years people have known about his predilection for young boys; now one of them has come forward to say on the record what’s been talked about for at least a decade: This skank’s Molly-and-twink parties are the biggest unaddressed scandal in Hollywood. Easy prediction: He’s going to get a chance to see how he enjoys sex with the rougher trade in the California prison system.
In case you’re curious about why Bears Ears national monument was the target of Trump’s vindictiveness, wonder no more: A Canadian firm that mines uranium there wanted him to. The grand total the company spent in lobbying to get this done: $30,000. And I used to think that only Delaware politicians sold out for pennies.
The picture of Al Franken grabbing at a sleeping woman’s breasts makes an Ethic Committee’s decision pro forma. Due process for Senators is fine when the evidence is dubious. It’s a waste of time when it’s not.
Same reasoning behind lynch mobs.
There’s a reason Gillibrand didn’t want an investigation. See if you can figure out what it might be.
Just BTW, it’s obviously a gag photo. it’s the weakest of the allegations against him. Interesting that you think it constitutes solid evidence.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said on Press the Meat that if he wins, Roy Moore will be immediately investigated by the Senate ethics committee. Not Trump, though, because “the voters knew about Trump.”
Talk about your situational ethics.
You know who was also accused of sexual harassment?
Emmett Till.
https://theintercept.com/2017/12/09/stone-mountain-confederate-monument-georgia-graven-image/
I wouldn’t call the Franken grave-dancers feminists. Self-professed feminists, perhaps. Held up against actual feminists, they are just another kind of zealot. We have dealt with RWNJs, now we are dealing with FWNJs.
Actual activists for women fight for issues that help empower lots of actual women. Like $15 minimum wage, free college, and labor reforms, to start with.
Instead, we get well-off white women who claim to be for empowering women, but won’t fight for $15 because it might make prices go up in Trader Joe’s or their favorite restaurant.
Like the alt-right, FWNJs have their own vocabulary. Instead of “libtard” and “deep state,” FWNJs say “misogynist” and “patriarchy.”
They even have their own set of alternative facts (“1 out of 5 women are raped in college,” “women are paid 80% of what a man makes for the same job.”)
That said, the War on Sexual Harassment is on – and like any war, there will be undeserving casualties.
I recognize the time has come for a cultural awakening about sexual harassment. I had always assumed the respect and regard I naturally have for women was universal in our culture, but it turns out it is not. The moral panic we are currently experiencing is probably the only force that could drive such a rapid change in mindset. A wave of any less amplitude would simply be brushed off, and then it would then go back to business as usual.
“and like any war, there will be undeserving casualties. ”
True. But we should not be blasé about it whether it is a real ware or a cultural war. The court of public opinion isn’t a real court. It’s more like mob rule and when the frenzied masses need a target they will find one. After all, it is a target-rich environment.
But as with real war, often important targets receive little fire (Moore, Trump) in favor of lesser targets (Franken). Of course I suppose one shoots at what they can hit as opposed to what they should be shooting at. For Democrats it usually means shooting themselves in the foot.
This cultural shift is necessary and overdue. But we are a country in crisis on many fronts and a staged photo of Franken becomes the Red Queen’s focus? The lack of crux sensitivity on her part is a disqualifier in my opinion. Fortunately as an independent I can at least avoid the embarrassment of being a member. As far as the country goes, well I think we’re f******. The Yucatan peninsula looks pretty inviting comparatively.
This Franken thing seems like a good example of the flaws of identity politics.
The simple fact is that Franken was singled out because the allegation was fresh.
If actual treatment of women were the standard, Tom Carper would be facing time in the barrel. He’s not.
This is another misdirection play designed to keep it OK for Democrats to take corporate and union money, neither of which will make the party accountable to the people.
No. Corporate. Democrats. Period.
@Dave: The Yucatan peninsula has been overrun by the kind of Americans you wouldn’t want to live with.
This Franken stuff seems like a good example of the flaws of identity politics.
If anything is interesting Alby, it’s that you think the photo is a gag. Please do enlighten me what shred of humor exists in depicting a sexual assault on a sleeping woman. What do you find funny about that?
What, no praise for RE Vanella’s front page op-ed against the Republican tax bill in the Sunday News Journal? Well done, REV!
The humor in the photo is in the the LACK of sexual assault. It’s not comedy for the ages, but neither is it sexual assault. Franken is mugging for the camera, in the broadest sense of visual comedy. Performers in a troupe expect each other to alternately play the fool, the straight man, or the butt of the joke, without imputing any professional disrespect. Franken’s mistake was in assuming his partner was a professional.
I would LOVE to see Franken release a photo of himself with a pen poised over a letter, and claim it was proof of him resigning.
“The humor in the photo is in the the LACK of sexual assault.” That’s pure sophistry. On that account he could have made rabbit ears over her head and the joke would be the lack of sexual assault.
“Franken’s mistake was in assuming his partner was a professional.” That’s blaming the victim. So by your account unless she thinks mimicking sexual assault is funny, she’s not a professional.
Oh yea… women free to do what they want and causing offense? Shocking!
Why don’t they know their place yet???
The above is rank sarcasm, but that’s what the whining here sounds like to me.
Let them dance. Why should we care?
Would you prefer that we somehow prevented them from dancing???
Forme FOX News infobabe Juliet Huddy did something very brave and authentically feminist today. She came forward and reported that circa 2005 or 2006, Donald Trump kissed her on the lips without her permission:
Huddy bravely resisted the opportunity to claim:
– He mashed his lips against mine
– He stuck his tongue down my throat
– I was paralyzed and unable to move or speak
– I felt threatened
Juliet, your phone is ringing, it’s Gloria Allred.
Later Huddy tweeted:
That’s my kind of empowered, non-victim, no bullshit feminist.
Thanks, Paula.
Dave, you say as far as the Country goes we are (paraphrasing,) in bad shape. Can you be more specific? Are you talking economically, or socially, or culturally?
I didn’t say I found it funny. I said it was obviously a gag photo. They were on a USO tour. They’re playing to mostly male audiences. As someone pointed out, the woman who was being “groped” through ceramic plates in a flak jacket played grab-ass on stage with some of the musicians.
He posed for the photo, dude. Or hadn’t you noticed?
Get off your high horse. You’re a lousy jockey.
I would prefer that they were smart enough not to dig the grave in the first place.
The country is literally being taken over by a criminal force. Foxes guarding every henhouse, everything from elections to the environment being compromised, unqualified judges ascending to benches everywhere, the Census to be headed by a guy who has said that competitive elections are not good for the country.
And THIS is what brings the bleeping D’s unity: Get rid of Franken, who indeed may have been set up, so that they don’t APPEAR to be hypocrites.
Our democracy is circling the bowl, but Delaware’s #1 wife-beater at least won’t appear to be hypocritical. Sounds like a fair exchange to me.
Franken along with Warren are the only 2 in the US senate who make the robber barons and right wing pigs squirm with tough questions in senate hearings.
“They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.” –FDR
@Rusty,
Here is a short list. You can pick just a couple. There is more, but this is off the top of my head. You can categorize them however you wish.
Nazis freely roaming the streets
300 Million guns but apparently not enough good guys with guns to prevent continual mass murders
A nation who leader is essentially a low class clown
The loss of respect for the US among the rest of the world
Drug prices that only the very wealthy can afford
A significant trade deficit with our biggest competitor (China)
Lack of affordable medical care for ordinary families
Ordinary income masquerading as carried interest charge being taxed at rates lower than the general publics wages
A military that is approaching exhaustion
Pedophiles being elected to Congress
Justices and law enforcement ignoring the rule of law
Christians who have eliminated the Christ and are now just “ians” whatever that is
@Alby,
“@Dave: The Yucatan peninsula has been overrun by the kind of Americans you wouldn’t want to live with.”
LOL. No. The Yucatan and Quintana Roo are pretty large places. You might be thinking about Cancun. There are plenty of places hippie paradises there as well and many, many Canadians. There are some that I wouldn’t want to live with, but less than we have here.
Did you know that the city of Merida in Yucatan was designed the American Capital of Culture for 2017? Of course the alt right probably thinks that the word “America” only applies to the U.S. but among their many challenges, they are geographically challenged as well.
@Dave: The only thing I ever did in Cancun is land at the airport. First Playa del Carmen was gentrified, then Tulum. I’ve been inland, too, which is unbearable several months of the year. Once Tulum was overrun, I stopped going. I considered Holbox, but decided that visiting ecologically fragile places was wrong (I watched the degradation year by year of Akumal). And as an American, and therefore a target, I’m really not crazy about Mexico in general.
I now use a sparsely populated island in the Bahamas for getaways. Except for a few bonefish enthusiasts, there are almost no tourists, and most of those are European.
Andros
Nope. Too many skeeters. If I wanted to be an insect feast I’d rent on Rehoboth Bay.
“the feminist contingent dancing on Al Franken’s grave because — well, let’s face it, because they’re ruled by their emotions ”
This, on a website designated “Delaware Liberal” would be a good place to start looking for clues as to why some women feel the Democratic Party isn’t entirely interested in their issues.
If women were as ruled by their emotions as this implies, Valerie Solanas would have a federal holiday.
@Brooke You think it should not have been posted on Delaware Liberal? Only things you approve of should be there? This is what they mean when they say people (on both sides) live in a bubble.
“If women were as ruled by their emotions as this implies, Valerie Solanas would have a federal holiday.”
Once they take control she probably will.
“This, on a website designated “Delaware Liberal”
A tired song, played on a tired organ. Nothing is more important to liberals than labels, right?
So… You post something horribly offensive to women (and untrue), you’re called on it… and THIS is your response??? Labels??? You’re the one with a tired organ. Go pull it somewhere else.
Boo hoo. You can always go fuck yourself if you don’t like it.
Welcome to the backlash, sweetie.
Dave, sounds pretty bleak. For the life of me I don’t see why we are not seeing a mass exodus of our population to other countries, but instead are seeing an uncontrolable influx of population from many other countries around the world. Logic would say that maybe, even with all our problems, we are still the best country on the planet to live in.
Most countries don’t have open immigration policies, Rusty, so there’s no way to tell how many would leave if they could. I’m laying the groundwork for leaving despite that. Time to leave this shitpile to you dung beetles.
Alby”most countries don’t have open immigration policies”. That hardly seems fair.
If life were fair, Rusty, you’d be in jail.
Canada is easy. Either bring $800,000 to invest there or get an advanced degree (MD, PhD, …) in a useful subject area.
Hey Rusty you moron (see I made you equal to your turd leader; your welcome), most countries are not as great as the USA. That’s right most, but some are far better!
Canada is too cold for me. France.
For France, all you need to be is a climate researcher.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/12/11/promising-to-make-our-planet-great-again-macron-lures-13-u-s-climate-scientists-to-france/
It’s really great how they pick up the science tab for what Trump wants to discard.
Most countries don’t have open immigration policies, Rusty, so there’s no way to tell how many would leave if they could. I’m laying the groundwork for leaving despite that. Time to leave this shitpile to you dung beetles.
Alby, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. Oh wait…. you’re not going anywhere. Know why? Because even you realize you will never have it better than you have it in the greatest country in the world. A pity, though. We would all be better here if you actually moved your fat ass to France. Please do.
Yeah, Making America Gowd Awful! Thanks for your contribution asshole
Good one, Delaware Lefty! Way to make an argument. Do you have any You Tube videos? Probably not. Takes too much imagination. But keep up it up with crayons!
Youtube videos? Really? Pathetic.
The usual drivel from the usual Trump cowards.
The greatest country in the world is not in this hemisphere. This one ranks 36th. And when I leave, you’ll never know anyway. What a pitiful soul you must be to even have to make a comment. Sad. But you all are, you Trumpsters. You know you are life’s losers, just like your big man — a dumb, aggressive kid who grew into a dumb, aggressive adult who appeals to dumb, aggressive racists, rednecks and other assorted stains on humanity.
Guys like you make me glad humanity will be extinct in 150 years.
@A “The greatest country in the world is not in this hemisphere. This one ranks 36th.”
I don’t think he gets far from his insect infested corner of Texas.
MAGA, you posed no argument to refute. Two thumbs up to you and the party of Gross Old Perverts. Like the tea party, you make this too easy.
So Alby- Are you leaving or not?
@LE: I had that one lined up for tomorrow’s Open Thread.
Back in the ’50s and ’60s, waves of scientists and engineers left England and Eastern Europe for the U.S. They follow the money, so if the U.S. won’t fund this research, the rest of the developed world will.
Because it is a functional theocracy, the U.S. has fallen behind in several areas of genetic and medical research. Now we can add climate science to the list.
@MAGA: What’s it to you? Do you really think I’m going to lay out my life plans just because a dickhead like you wants me to? Laughing, but to myself.
That said, anyone who follows my wife’s Facebook feed knows we’re buying property there.
“What is it to me? Not much in the whole scheme of life. But, I’m not the one complaining about how awful life is in the USA.”
You write these sentences as if they followed each other logically. They don’t. Your satisfaction with the U.S. and my complaining have no logical connection to your curiosity. Just admit it — you’re nosy.
“You also mentioned we are 36th on the list of preferred countries”
It’s not my list. It’s a list of countries ranked by quality of life. Here’s one such list; I couldn’t find the one I”m referring to in a quick search. You could probably find it if you wanted to waste the time. You seem to have nothing better to do.
“and appear to lust for life in France.”
Wow. Nice conclusion jump, fella. I said I was buying property there. Where does “lust” come into it, or are you Trumpsters just that horny?
“A logical conclusion would be you would be happier there.”
Logic is not your strong suit.
“As I said before….are you leaving or not?”
As I said before, I’m under no obligation to explain my plans to you just because you’re some rando redneck.
“My guess is still no,”
Are you applying for a job as a psychic? Explain to me why I should give a fuck what you guess.
“as your purpose of chronic complaining might be jeopardized if you actually were happy.”
Happy? What’s that? I have neither the expectation nor goal of being happy. That doesn’t mean I should settle for the shitpile that is this country — beautiful place marred by its foundation on genocide and forced labor and its population of smug, self-satisfied shits, of which you are a fine example.
Productive thread. Good work.
You got to take it as it comes.