As you no doubt have read by now, a gunman opened fire on Tuesday afternoon at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
According to the latest reports, 19 kids and two teachers were killed in the massacre.
While the public grapples with this lat…
The rollback of human rights for millions of Americans may be only weeks away.
Earlier this month, alarm bells went off when a leaked draft from the United States Supreme Court revealed an upcoming decision to overturn the landmark case, Roe v. Wade.
Tens of millions of Americans are in states where strict laws will go into effect immediately when such a ruling is handed down.
Everyone is doing whatever they can to help — in some cases, that just means arming people with what could be life-saving information.
Shonda Rhimes has shared a video, starring the, well, stars of Grey’s Anatomy.
The PSA features appearances by Ellen Pompeop, Chandra Wilson, Kevin McKidd, Kim Raver, Kelly McCreary, Caterina Scorsone, and Kate Burton.
The video is short and affirming, and seeks to arm Americans who may be about to lose some of their fundamental human rights — depending upon which states they live in.
In some cases, the knowledge that people need is as basic as sex ed — something too few people received adequately.
“Knowledge is power. It’s time for you to be in the know,” Ellen Pompeo explains.
“Remember, you can get pregnant the first time you have sex,” she notes. “You can get pregnant if you don’t consent.”
“Get on birth control, now,” Chandra recommends to viewers.
“Any form that is reliable,” Ellen adds.
The video and Shonda Rhimes’ link direct people to the Bedsider Birth Control Support Network, which aims to help young women, ages 18 to 29, get access to birth control.
Pregnancy tests are widely available for sale, but simply knowing that they are in a nearby store is not enough if you do not have access to your full human rights.
Regardless of birth control, the video urges taking pregnancy tests every four to five weeks — no matter how careful you have been.
“Every four to five weeks may seem like a lot, but time is of the essence with the law,” Chandra cautions.
“If you find out you are pregnant and do not want to be, you have very little time,” Kevin warns.
“This is a terrible time and everyone is afraid,” he acknowledges.
Ellen chimes in: “But options keep a woman powerful. You are powerful.”
The stars of Grey’s Anatomy are far from the only ones to use their platforms to raise the alarm and spread helpful information.
Everyone from talk show hosts to models to singers to actors to activists to journalists has been speaking out.
Unfortunately, given the nature of the United States Supreme Court and the unwillingness of the other branches of government to do what is necessary to correct this looming horror, what can be done?
Well, the PSA is a start — arming people with preventative information, including tips on how to avoid upcoming hyper-strict laws.
It is important to remember that not everyone has the time or resources to travel out of state.
In some states with “trigger laws” that will go into effect after SCOTUS vacates 50 years of human rights precedent, returning home after an abortion could still lead to criminal or civil consequences.
Information can only take people so far, and only on an individual basis.
What matters is power — empowering leaders in sufficient numbers and in the right positions, leaders who will have the strength of character to fight just as hard for human rights as political malefactors fight against them.
But every little bit helps, and if even one person sees this video and uses this essential advice to access the resources that stop their life from being derailed, it is well worth it.
Most of us have probably heard of Melissa Lucio’s case, even though many may not immediately recognize her name.
Sentenced to death in Texas for what many say was the accidental death of her toddler after a coerced confession, her case has captivated many.
Kim Kardashian’s interest in justice reform and the legal system is especially well-known.
After Lucio was granted a stay of execution, Kim took to social media to celebrate the small victory.
“Best news ever!” Kim Kardashian tweeted, linking to an article covering the news.
“Melissa Lucio has been on death row for over 14 years,” Kim explained, “for her daughter’s death that was a tragic accident.”
Kim continued: “She is getting a hearing on her claims for her case & has been granted a stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.”
If you want to understand Melissa’s story, there’s more to it than the unenviable title of being the first Latine woman sentenced to death in Texas.
Her family background is such that official sources and relatives disagree over what year she was born — the former saying 1968, the latter saying 1969.
What no one disputes is the hardships of her life, beginning with years of childhood sexual abuse followed by becoming a child bride as a teen to an abusive husband.
Obviously, none of that — in fact, nothing whatsoever — could excuse someone going on to abuse a child as an adult, let alone fatally.
But advocates bring up Melissa’s horrific backstory because abuse can and does make people more likely to try to give interrogators what they want — a confession.
Combined with the scientifically unsound and ethically dubious tactics employed during police interrogations that make false confessions an epidemic, and people believe that Melissa was coerced.
In 2007, Melissa’s 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, did not wake up one morning. She was unresponsive and not breathing.
Paramedics were called to the house, who reported signs of possible abuse on Mariah — including a broken arm and multiple bruises.
Melissa stated that Mariah had fallen down the stairs two days earier, accounting for her injuries. One of her sons later confirmed having witnessed the fall.
Sometimes, even in the case of adults, what appears to be merely a painful injury can result in brain trauma, organ damage, and even death some time later.
Advocates for Melissa Lucio believe that this explains Mariah’s passing.
However, investigators, including the initial medical examiner — whose findings have been debunked by other pathologists — seemed to immediately identify Melissa as the culprit.
With this in mind, she was subjected to hours of interrogation, with investigators assuring her that they “already” knew what had happened.
Melissa denied having killed or abused her daughter more than 100 times during her questioning.
Eventually, however, she told investigators “I guess I did it” in what criminal justice reform advocates say is a classic example of a coerced confession from someone traumatized and exhausted.
We can’t say with certainty whether Melissa is innocent, culpable, or somewhere in between when it comes to her daughter’s death.
Numerous experts from virtually every relevant field — legal, medical, and behavioral — have weighed in, however, condemning the investigation, prosecution, and sentencing.
Texas politicians on both sides of the aisle have called the imminent execution of Melissa a “miscarriage of justice.”
Kim is calling on Texas Governor Abbott to grant clemency to Melissa Lucio.
Her current stay of execution is a temporary situation, which means putting the ball in his court.
Counting on Greg Abbott to do the right thing is a difficult prospect, but that is how the system works.
No matter where you fall on the ideological spectrum, you probably have some very strong feelings about Bernie Sanders.
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that the Vermont senator has been massively influential in American politics, especiall…
Thursday, March 31 was International Transgender Day of Visibility.
It’s a day for the trans community to be celebrated, where past celebrations focused upon remembering those lost to transphobic violence.
Fox News found a unique way to marr — sorry, “mark” — the occasion.
The network has hired Caitlyn Jenner as a commentator.
On Thursday, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced that Caitlyn Jenner has been signed as a contributor.
“Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all,” Scott claimed.
“She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community and her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience,” the statement alleged.
Caitlyn will provide her version of analysis across Fox News platforms, and got her start on Thursday’s Hannity.
“I am humbled by this unique opportunity to speak directly to FOX News Media’s millions of viewers about a range of issues that are important to the American people,” Cait said.
In many ways, this feels like an insult to the transgender community, as the timing is hardly a coincidence.
Generally, if one is making a sincere effort to celebrate a community, one cites a person who is working for that community.
Caitlyn Jenner has made tremendous strides in representing herself as a trans woman, for which she has been applauded.
When it comes to the vast majority of the trans community, however, many have accused her of doing more to impede progress than to help.
Fox News did not hire Jazz Jennings or Nicole Maines or Laverne Cox.
Instead, they sought out Caitlyn, handpicking perhaps the only famous trans person who has spoken out against trans inclusion in sports and schools.
This was not an accident, of course.
Calling Caitlyn a “trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community” is also a bit odd.
One might say that she has ignited a trail behind her, in an effort to prevent others — particularly trans youths, from following in her footsteps.
Cait spent many decades closeted before coming out as her authentic self. Judging from her public statements, she wants to impose that upon others.
Cait was chosen precisely because she has a history of throwing the rest of the LGBTQ+ community under the proverbial bus.
We don’t just mean how, shortly after coming out as trans, she admitted that she opposed marriage equality.
We also mean that she has expressed support for segregated sports — one set of sports for trans students, another for cisgender students.
That’s not just cruel, it’s hypocritical — coming from a woman who has herself participated (appropriately!) in a women’s golf tournament.
The former Olympian should know better than most that the “all trans people are superhuman athletes” hysteria is a cruel lie.
Puberty blockers and estrogen, in particular, kind of do the opposite … which is to say nothing of the fact that discrimination based upon perceived “advantages” is screwed up no matter what.
So why, aside from the general spite and vitriol that embodies Fox News so deeply that it might as well be the network’s slogan, was Cait hired?
We of course cannot speak to actual discussions held in private within the sinister network.
However, we are reminded of Stacey Dash’s short lived but widely shamed career in a similar role.
Stacey Dash is a beautiful former actress, once known for her role on Clueless.
At some point following the 2008 election, she became radicalized and began espousing extreme conservative viewpoints.
From bigoted comments about the trans community to condemning the Obama Administration at every opportunity, she was outspoken in the worst ways.
In 2015, Fox News hired her as a commentator.
There, she was too often used as almost as a prop — a Black woman with a Hollywood career who could provide scathing commentary.
While Fox News advanced a white nationalist agenda while building up to the 2016 election, she helped to give the network a facade of inclusion and diversity.
Obviously, cherrypicking the few members of a minority group who are happy to condemn the rest is not a good faith effort at representation.
But then, it’s hard to imagine if any part of her employment at the network was “good faith.”
When the work was done, Stacey was dismissed … a dismissal that coincided with the inauguration of now-disgraced former president Donald Trump.
Fox News hasn’t exactly moved on from white nationalism — look no further than Laura Ingraham or Tucker Carlson for that content.
However, the network has been aggressively hyping up anti-trans bigotry for over a year now.
In the months after President Biden’s inauguration and the mob of Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol, the right wing propaganda outlet knew that they needed a new angle.
The new narrative, in state legislatures and on Fox News, has been an artificial “panic” over the existence of trans people, particularly trans children.
This took a back seat to white nationalism during the Trump years, in part because the racism angle was working so well to galvanize conservatives.
Another reason was that Trump himself, for all of his innumerable flaws, does not seem to actually dislike trans people, even if he did empower those who do.
This is a tactic aimed at creating a wedge issue during the midterms and, ultimately, during the 2024 Presidential election.
If the network stokes enough fear, it can motivate conservative voters. The latest scapegoat is the trans community.
Clearly, there is a hope that Caitlyn can serve as one of many tools in the GOP arsenal to make trans folks’ lives more difficult and any defense of their rights seem “unreasonable.”
Does Caitlyn realize that this is why she was hired?
We can hardly begin to speculate as to what is going on in her mind.
Maybe she doesn’t care which vulnerable trans people get hurt. Maybe she craves conservative acceptance that she’ll never get. Who knows?
What we do know is that any political pawn is only kept around as long as they are useful.
Stacey Dash was useful until Trump was elected. Then she wasn’t. She alienated many former friends and colleagues, and then the network discarded her.
How long will it be before Caitlyn is no longer a useful mouthpiece? How many friends will she have left by the time that Fox News doesn’t need her anymore?
Big Ed Brown is one of the most polarizing figures in 90 Day Fiance history.
Appearing everywhere as a meme, he very quickly set about alienating fans with his gross behavior on and off-screen.
Even his own castmates think that he’s gross and desperate to be married, which is saying a lot coming from this crowd.
Now, Big Ed has set his sights on public office … starting with the governorship of California.
This sounds bizarre … because it is.
In a video where Ed’s face is flushed, he is wearing a name tag, and holding a glass of red wine, Ed spoke to the camera.
He identified the person recording the TikTok video (which he then shared to Instagram) as Liz Woods, his fiancee.
“I officially declare myself as a write-in candidate for the governorship for the state of California,” Ed announces.
“I want to stand on several different platforms,” he says.
“But one,” Ed says, “I want to stand up for the little guy.”
It’s hard to tell if that part was a joke about his height or not.
Ed also speaks about his desire to support “local businesses” and “anyone that rides a vespa.”
He then speaks about wanting to “stand up for trade schools.”
This is where it sounds more like a political platform and less like a joke.
Ed says that he wants to encourage people to attend trade schools, since college isn’t for everyone — which is true.
He then declares that he wants universities “to pay for it,” which is bizarre and sounds like it would be punishing one group of students to reward another.
Ed was clearly drinking during the video, hanging out with friends with plenty of alcohol appearing during the short clip.
Perhaps this was simply a friendly gathering and Ed was acting upon a tasteless dare.
However, Ed seems to be committing to the bit by sharing another post encouraging people to write in his name in 2023.
Write-in campaigns succeed under extraordinary circumstances in extremely small towns and in Hallmark movies (and there’s a lot of overlap there).
In real life, they make a mockery of the voting process and may serve to make tight races even more grueling and easily contested than they otherwise need to be.
Outside of extremely unlikely circumstances, these write-ins feel like a waste of time and paper — while insulting people for whom elections can have dire consequences.
That is, of course, not the only problem with Ed running.
Unlike Harambe or Deez Nuts, Ed could theoretically take political office.
While many people (not Ed) could do wonderfully if they ran for office, governorship over America’s most populous state is not an entry-level position.
California includes 13% of all United States citizens.
The state of California is one of the largest economies in the world — the equivalent in economic might to France.
Even if Ed were not characterized by many as a detestable pervert or nicknamed “Big Pred” by a lot of viewers, he’s still woefully unqualified.
If someone wants to enter politics for the first time, city councils are a great place to do that.
Another excellent option is the state legislature, especially if the hopeful candidate has specific policies and projects in mind.
Frankly, Ed has too many scandals and too few qualifications to be a traffic guard, but these are more realistic goals than governorship.
If Ed is serious, he would not be the first reality TV buffoon or the first alleged sexual predator to seek public office.
That doesn’t mean that someone fitting either description needs to be governor, however.
Hopefully, this is all just a bad joke.
And just like that, all is alright, alright, alright with the world.
After years of tone deaf statements by Matthew McConaughey, the actor threatened to run for office.
It was a controversial idea, since the actor has no political resume to speak of and his candidacy could alter a race, even if he loses.
To the relief of countless political journalists who can postpone learning to spell “McConaughey,” he will not be running.
On Sunday, November 28, Matthew McConaughey took to Twitter to post a 3-minute video.
There, the actor explained that he was no longer planning to throw his hat into the ring.
When Governor Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke go head to head in 2022, he won’t be a wild card.
In the video, McConaughey speaks about his belief in service and responsibility.
He notes that he had “been considering a run for the Governor of Texas.”
During that time, he had been “listening and learning, been measuring and studying Texas politics and American politics.”
The goal behind all of that was to ascertain exactly what the best way for him to serve to make the world better would be.
“As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership,” McConaughey admitted.
He expressed: “It’s a humbling and inspiring path to ponder.”
“It is also a path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment,” McConaughey confirmed.
However, he vowed to “continue to work and invest the bounty I have.”
He hopes to do so “by supporting entrepreneurs, businesses, and foundations that I believe are leaders.”
McConaughey hopes to support “establishments that I believe are creating pathways for people to succeed in life.”
He will also throw in his lot with “organizations that have a mission to serve and build trust while also generating prosperity.”
He noted: “That’s the American dream.”
This announcement was not premature.
In just two weeks, McConaughey would have had to file by the state-mandated deadline of December 13.
Clearly, he thought long and hard about this topic, wrestling with the idea before deciding against the run for office.
What is really interesting is that McConaughey’s announcement comes just days after an eye-opening Dallas Morning News poll.
According to that poll, McConaughey would best Greg Abbott by eight points if they ran against each other one-on-one.
He would net 44 percent of Texan votes, per the poll, with Abbott getting only 35.
With a majority of Texans in the same poll — that’s 54 percent — saying that the state is “on the wrong track,” that sounds hopeful.
But Beto O’Rourke’s candidacy should not be discounted.
There were concerns that O’Rourke and McConaughey could end up splitting a “majority” of votes, leaving Abbott to win despite his unpopularity.
What’s more, and one hopes that McConaughey considered this, is that he has no tangible political experience.
That does not mean that he has not done good things, does not have good ideas, and does not have political potential.
It simply means that he is not a politician. Celebrities deciding to wade into political races for higher offices is, with some exceptions, seldom a good thing.
If McConaughey believes that public service is his calling, he may want to consider running for office at a lower level.
City councils, from small towns to major cities, are a fine office to seek. State legislatures could always use more honest candidates.
These positions don’t get the glory or prestige of big-name offices, but they’re a much better place to start and learn the ropes.
Don’t call it a comeback.
No, seriously, please do not allow Jim Bob Duggar’s run for Senate be a success story.
He’s hoping that everyone will ignore that the son whose past crimes he covered up is headed to trial for the unspeakable.
Jim Bob is also clearly hoping for donations … without listing any actual policies or concrete platforms.
When a millionaire is asking for donations — not for a cause, but for his own political glorification — people are often uneasy.
With big, national races, people understand — tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars can go into those.
But is Arkansas District 7 so hotly contested that a millionaire and his fundamentalist church full of fellow cultists needs to crowdsource campaign funds?
Jim Bob apparently thinks so.
Or perhaps he is so focused on continuing to use his wealth to control his children that he can’t be bothered to foot the bill.
Either way, his campaign site is an all-too-real thing that exists, and he has a lot to say.
“I’m running for State Senate because these are unprecedented times in our nation,” Jim Bob declares.
He whines: “Out-of-control bureaucrats have put politics over common-sense policy.”
Jim Bob says that they’ve done this “with government mandates that force people to choose between earning a paycheck and violating their personal rights and beliefs.”
In other words, he thinks that people have a fundamental right to spread whatever plagues upon their neighbors that they wish to.
“The foundational principles that have made our nation great are under threat like never before,” Jim Bob claims.
“Now more than ever, we need a bold voice that is pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun and pro-life,” he writes.
“It’s time for conservatives to demand courageous leadership that puts Arkansas families, jobs, and our constitutional liberties first,” Jim Bob declares.
Prematurely, he added: “I look forward to being your voice in the Arkansas State Senate.”
Well, that’s all very gross.
Years ago, internet trolls who wanted to silence and shame good, decent people came up with a term.
That term is “virtue signaling,” as if people would only do and say good things for attention.
Something that seems much realer is what I like to call malice signaling — loudly letting the world know how bad you are.
That is precisely what Jim Bob is doing here.
Just look at the term “pro family.” What does it mean? Who is “anti-family” exactly?
The term doesn’t really mean anything … and yet it always serves to signal that the speaker has malevolent intentions.
As for the rest — Jim Bob is against vaccine mandates, he’s a gun nut, and he thinks that anyone who gets pregnant should be forced to give birth.
Is any of that surprising? No.
All of that is very consistent with the Jim Bob that the world has come to know and detest over the years.
But … is he listing any actual policies or actual platforms?
Nowhere that we, or any others looking into his loathsome candidacy, can find.
What laws or policies is he proposing to proliferate firearms or criminalize reproductive healthcare or whatever sinister things “pro-family” means?
Nothing.
It’s not just that Jim Bob’s ideas are unpopular and well outside of mainstream views, let alone what’s actually right and wrong.
It’s also that he’s not proposing any “solutions” to these non-problems. He just wants cash.
Like other con men before him, Jim Bob is probably going to get that cash, too.
In fact, he could be looking at a win-win scenario.
Even if Jim Bob (hopefully) loses his political run, we all know that there are ways to funnel political donations into one’s own businesses and turn a profit.
But perhaps the most unnerving part of all of this isn’t Jim Bob’s sinister views.
As we noted, they are not surprising, and unfortunately, the political arena has no shortage of malevolence, bigotry, greed, or dishonesty.
The most twisted part might be that Jim Bob is trying to make this comeback as Josh’s trial looms.
There will be a hearing on November 18. The trial begins in earnest on November 30.
Josh is on trial for receiving and possessing photos and video of the sexual abuse of children.
Little girls’ lives were ruined by adult men, and authorities traced one of the downloads of that content to Josh’s computer.
Jim Bob’s candidacy at such an awkward time could mean that he believes Josh’s claims.
He would have to believe two absurd things: that Josh is innocent, and that the justice system works flawlessly.
If Jim Bob believed both of those things, he would fully expect Josh to be acquitted and publicly vindicated.
More realistically, Jim Bob could be planning to either ignore Josh’s trial or use it to his advantage.
The first would mean saying that Josh is a “grown man” and he can’t control what his son does.
The second could mean claiming that his family is being attacked by “leftists” or “antifa” or “the devil.”
Jim Bob is not a good person or a good father. He has not been and would not be a good politician.
But with his family’s reality career once again sabotaged by yet another Josh scandal, he’s obviously looking for a new way to make the world worse.
And clearly, lining his own pockets seems to be a bigger priority than convincing people that he has even one actual good idea.
For years, viewers have seen Leah Messer as a conduit of Teen Mom drama, and for good reason.
She is a reality star. She’s had her ups and downs over the years. It goes with the territory.
All of those experiences have helped her grow, however.
Now, Leah is using her lived experiences and that hard-earned wisdom to push for a better future for all Americans.
West Virginian Leah Messer posted a full op-ed in the Gazette-Mail to voice her support for national paid leave.
“With the news that paid leave might be cut from the Build Back Better plan,” Leah began.
She emphasized: “I must share my story and its importance to West Virginians like me.”
“Although many of you might know me as a cast member of MTV’s Teen Mom,” Leah allowed.
She continued: “you might not know that I’ve grown that experience.”
Leah wrote that she has grown “into a small, thriving marketing and promotion business.”
“And,” Leah continued, into someone who now has “three beautiful daughters over a decade later.”
She advised: “In moments like these, a robust, universal paid family and medical leave policy would come in handy.”
Leah warned: “More than 100 million hardworking Americans have to make the impossible choice.”
Leah noted that one third of the country risks having to choose “between a paycheck and critical medical interventions.”
This is, among other things, “including treatment for substance use disorders.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Leah affirmed.
“The national paid leave program initially proposed by President Joe Biden in his Build Back Better package,” Leah wrote.
This proposed package “would have supported many of the reasons we need to take time off.”
“The plan supported paid leave, parental leave, time to heal from medical surgery, and caregiving,” Leah listed.
“Caregiving leave also would greatly support my family,” Leah pointed out, “as my daughter Ali has muscular dystrophy.”
“It also would have provided up to 12 weeks of paid leave for those seeking addiction treatment,” she added.
“Paid leave would be a game-changer for West Virginia families,” Leah informed readers.
Leah addressed West Virginians, “too many of whom are currently facing the challenges of substance use disorder.”
“West Virginia has the highest rate of opioid deaths in the country,” she lamented.
“I am imploring Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to put his support behind this critical program,” Leah announced.
“Now might be the only time we can get it done,” Leah stated with concern.
“And,” she sagely added, “any delay is more lives lost.”
Leah added that “this program would support small-business owners like me.”
“The current paid leave proposal would be a direct worker benefit funded by the government,” Leah laid out.
This would be “so employers who want to do right by their employees, or need to access this time to care or heal themselves.”
These employers “would finally be able to afford this critical benefit.”
“Paid leave is an earned benefit,” Leah described, “that increases workforce retention and promotes more income equity.”
“When people are able to return to jobs rather than quit when crises occur, it leads to higher earnings over time,” she explained.
Leah added that this is true “especially for the women of color who are, so often, primary caregivers.”
“And a federal paid leave program would be critical to the ongoing labor shortage facing small businesses,” Leah affirmed.
“Roughly 10.6 million workers left their jobs in the past year,” she cited, “because of caregiving responsibilities.”
“Paid family leave could help 37% of unemployed Americans return to work sooner,” Leah projected.
“We must treat addiction,” Leah stressed, “because failure to do so can affect our families, communities, and the overall small-business economies.”
“We failed to support marginalized communities during the crack epidemic, and it had a lasting impact on the economies of those communities,” she acknowledged.
“And,” Leah correctly expressed, “that’s just plain wrong.”
“While nearly 20 million Americans suffer from addiction, only 10% of them seek treatment,” Leah noted.
“We must remove the roadblocks to recovery,” she emphasized, drawing upon her own experiences.
“And,” Leah explained, “paid leave is a critical step.”
“Lawmakers who have called for action to address the opioid and addiction crises should step up to support national paid leave,” Leah wrote.
This is a huge step for “making it easier for people to access treatment.”
“We must get paid leave back in the Build Back Better plan,” Leah emphasized, “and Manchin can do it.”
Todd Chrisley is opening up about his daughter, Lindsie, for the first time since recent developments have changed things, with a major sit-down interview. The Chrisley Knows Best star and his wife, Julie, settled in with ET, telling them to “ask us whatever you want to ask us” in a frank discussion about the reality […]
The post Todd Chrisley Says A LOT About ‘Sad’ & ‘Emotional’ Family Situation With Estranged Daughter Lindsie appeared first on Perez Hilton.
From the moment that Caitlyn Jenner announced her gubernatorial run, trans Americans braced themselves.
This is a vanity run – she cannot win. But she can do a lot of harm to the transgender community in the process.
The world already saw Cait throw trans athletes under the bus.
Now, she is letting the worst people alive use her as a prop to attack other trans women.
It’s never a good thing when a member of the Trump crime family is on social media.
Donald Trump Jr. shared a malicious comparison between two different trans women.
One was Caitlyn Jenner. The other was Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Rachel Levine.
One was a glamorous photo of Cait being professionally photographed while fully dressed up.
The other was a grainy photo of Rachel Levine at work.
Cait was labeled “conservative girls,” while Rachel was labeled “liberal girls.”
“It seems to hold true no matter what!!!!” Don Jr gleefully commented.
He claimed: “Conservative girls are just better looking.”
The son of the disgraced former president commented: “maybe that’s why the libs are always outraged for no reason.”
That by itself was bad enough.
The meme would have been despicable if it had featured cis women.
Featuring trans women made it especially vicious — and thus on-brand for the Trumps.
Caitlyn then shared the despicable meme, featuring Don Jr.’s commentary.
Clearly, she felt flattered by the comparison.
Worse, she also added some laughing emojis — as if it were funny.
What Cait’s aim here was is as transparent as it is predictable.
First, she wants to show that she’s “not like a regular trans woman, she’s a cool trans woman” among vicious bigots.
She did this before, when she suggested that trans girls should not compete alongside cis girls in school.
This was vile and hypocritical of her.
Notably, Cait herself has competed in women’s golf tournaments.
She was simply malice signaling in desperate hope for approval from the worst people in the world.
But giving this cruel meme her blessing is more than just shallow and all-around crappy.
Because, as we said, this would be bad even if it were a malicious comparison between cisgender women.
People of any gender, be they cis or trans, are more than their looks.
It’s super weird when politicians are judged by their sex appeal or whatever just because they’re women.
This is worse, however, because Caitlyn has to know how vicious the pressures are on trans women.
The number of trans women who have balked at coming out because they worry that they’ll be “ugly” if they transition … it’s a huge deal.
Sincerely, there are trans women who have only come out after their epiphanies that they don’t have to be “hot trans girls” to be themselves.
Additionally, a number of factors can make it extremely difficult for trans folks, especially older trans folks, to meet traditional beauty standards.
Caitlyn herself should know this.
First, though some trans kids are lucky enough to get access to affirming healthcare, not all are.
This means that some trans folks do not get puberty blockers and are forced to go through the wrong puberty.
And that’s not even counting trans people who didn’t realize that they were trans until adulthood, when that ship had sailed.
In some cases, it requires tremendous amounts of money for a trans person to sculpt their adult body to match cis-centric beauty standards.
Caitlyn, of course, has a tremendous amount of money.
She should know that almost no other trans women on the planet have the kind of financial privilege that she experiences.
So, let’s see, by endorsing this meme, Cait:
-Reinforced the idea that women, including trans women, can and should be judged for their appearances.
-Rubbed it in the faces of every other trans person on the planet that her wealth helps her to better conform to gender expectations.
Based upon that alone, you’d almost think that she’s a clueless POS with no qualifications to run a McDonalds, let alone the country’s largest state.
And, of course, you would be right.
Caitlyn just seems to be measuring how much harm she can do to the greater trans community during this farcical vanity run.
It’s important to note that even members of marginalized groups can be bigoted.
A trans person cannot be “cisphobic” — that’s not a thing — but they can harbor internalized bigotry.
In this case, Caitlyn promoted transmisogyny (that very special blend of transphobia and misogyny experienced by trans women), and that will never be okay.
With Caitlyn Jenner’s hefty net worth, she can afford this vanity run for Governor of California.
The question remains whether vulnerable young trans kids can “afford” the damage that she is causing.
On the campaign trail, the former reality star threw countless transgender students under the bus.
She’s getting raked across the coals for it as everyone remembers that she’s just not a great person.
One of TMZ‘s reporters approached Caitlyn Jenner in a parking lot.
The report asked what was, in fairness to Cait, an ill-phrased question referring to trans girls as “biological boys who are trans.”
That’s an inherently nonsensical thing to say, but the context was a question about an alarming legal trend.
More and more state legsilatures, the reporter noted, have been passing or attempting to pass trans sports segregation laws.
These laws would require schools to forbid trans athletes from competing under normal gender-divided school sports.
The question was poorly phrased. The answer was appalling.
Caitlyn paused for a moment before saying that she sees the matter as “a question of fairness.”
“That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school,” she replied.
“It just isn’t fair,” Cait claimed. “And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”
That might sound like an odd answer coming from one of the most famous trans women on the planet.
It is certainly a despicable answer, but not necessarily surprising when you look at who Caitlyn is as a person.
Let’s break this down, in order, talking with why the language of the question, then repeated by Cait, was so bad.
What in the world is a “biological boy?”
This is a nonsensical phrase that would only be useful in a world where some boys were inorganic robots.
But for now, all people are “biological.” Gender, on the other hand, is not biological at all.
Gender is a complicated social construct that varies between cultures.
It is not comprised of chromosomes or genitals.
Though trans or cis people may experience various forms of body dysphoria, gender is not anatomical.
A trans girl who whose birth certificate assigned her as “male” when she was born is a girl.
She is made of flesh and blood and proteins and whatnot, so she is a biological girl.
A boy, either cisgender or transgender, who is made of flesh and blood and proteins, is a biological boy.
Now that we’ve covered the s–tty question, it’s time for Caitlyn’s truly deplorable answer.
She says that, for reasons of “fairness,” trans girls should not compete against cis girls in school athletics.
Is that an unfair situation? And is the solution really to segregate trans kids and cis kids?
So these anti-trans bills that are cropping up aren’t really based upon any real problems that exist.
But the alleged logic behind them is that trans girls will have physical advantages over cis girls.
The psuedoscientific reasons for this vary, with “testosterone” coming up pretty regularly.
Many trans kids go on pubertly blockers if their parents are supportive.
Puberty blockers, also sometimes used for cis girls who start their periods at very young ages, are safe and reversible.
They are vital for many trans children, stopping trans kids from going through an undesired and potentially life-ruining wrong puberty.
Not all trans folks get surgery (for that matter, not all seek hormonal treatments, particularly among nonbinary folks).
In general, though, many trans teens will go on to get actual hormones as they get older, often in their late teens.
Those lucky enough to have been able to go on puberty blockers may not need any kind of surgery when they are adults.
What does this have to do with sports and the dreaded superdrug of “testosterone,” a hormone in men and women anyway?
Well, trans kids who are on puberty blockers don’t have any “hormonal advantages” either way … because those changes have not taken place in their bodies.
If anything, a cis girl going through puberty might have advantages over a trans girl whose puberty has been postponed, but that’s about it.
And the reality of course is that all people have advantages in some areas over each other.
Some have longer legs, or weigh less, or are simply better runners or sprinters or jumpers, or have more endurance or are more coordinated.
Also? Even among a group of all-cis people, you’re going to find varying levels of testosterone. Human bodies are just like that.
So there’s no inherent unfairness issue there.
And no, women’s sports aren’t under attack or in need of special protections … not like that, at least.
Many women’s leagues perform better than men’s leagues but receive less funding and less respect, but that’s not the doing of the trans community.
So if this isn’t a problem that exists in real life and if only a handful of trans kids are student athletes anyway, why are these bills cropping up?
They’re appearing for the same reason that any kinds of cruel, discriminatory laws are proposed or passed.
The motive is malice. The purpose is cruelty. The aim is to galvanize voters with frothing, irrational hatred.
And that of course is why Caitlyn is willing to throw the most vulnerable members of the trans community under the bus.
She’s not a good person and she never has been.
Coming out as trans has not changed that.
Caitlyn wants other young trans girls to go through the same miserable charade that she did.
Or at least, she’s willing to say so to get votes and respect from the worst political scum in our society.
She’s not going to be Governor of California, but she’s willing to do a lot of damage while trying.
Despite any number of reasons why it’s a bad idea, Caitlyn Jenner is running to be Governor of California.
No one is particularly happy about this, no matter their political leanings.
But that could potentially change if the Kardashian public relations engine gets to work as they have in the past.
Is Cait going to call on her extended family to help her campaign?
TMZ reports that Caitlyn Jenner spoke to her family before announcing her campaign last week.
She was giving them a head’s up.
And no, she does not expect that they will be using their powerful brand to promote her on the campaign trail.
There are two main reasons for this.
The first is because of Caitlyn’s political leanings.
The second is that, well, she and Kris are divorced. It’s awkward.
For the first, remember, shortly after coming out, Cait mentioned that she was against marriage equality.
Though she later changed her mind, this very much set the tone of how people saw her.
She was trans, but still held to so many conservative, even bigoted, views unless they directly impacted her.
And then of course was Caitlyn’s vocal support for disgraced former president Donald Trump.
She was mentioned during the Republican debates, and Cait used her show to vocally support him as he ran.
Cait did later disavow Trump after his anti-trans agenda was full swing, but … by then it was too late, wasn’t it?
Meanwhile, despite their own monumental, nauseating wealth, the Kardashians are politically to the left.
This has meant everything from endorsements of Democratic candidates to personal causes.
Kim, in particular, has been vocal and politically active about the topic of prison reform.
TMZ does note that Kim and Caitlyn have a good relationship and feel a lot of mutual admiration.
But that doesn’t mean that she necessarily wants Cait to be Governor.
She didn’t even endorse Kanye’s farcical run for the presidency, so why would she do that for Caitlyn?
Caitlyn is running for a special recall election against incumbent Governor Gavin Newsom.
While there are many legitimate issues with Newsom’s governing, one of the major issues has been the pandemic.
Angry, entitled people who resent that there were ever any lockdowns, mandates, or business closures want him out.
This is on top of other issues, of course, that are more legitimate.
For example, there was a massive fraud scandal in the state government.
Newsom was also spotted dining out with friends, something that many of us have not done since early March 2020, while telling Californians to stay home.
Some have been suggesting that Caitlyn’s run is counterintuitively progressive.
After all, she is a trans woman who could be a Republican frontrunner to be Governor to 13% of all Americans.
That certainly is a milestone in terms of trans representation. It would be an even bigger milestone if she won.
But just as with women, Black, and gay candidates who have crossed similar barriers in the past on GOP platforms … that’s not the case.
When members of marginalized groups run for office, the celebration is about more than just breaking barriers.
They need to actually make life better for the marginalized people whom they represent.
Caitlyn’s politics are, what’s the word … bad. Being trans doesn’t magically change that.
She has lived with extreme wealth for so many decades that it’s hard for her to imagine a better world.
After all, if this world has worked for her, she’s not looking to make any drastic changes.
Cait has already scandalized Kim with ignorant but unsurprising tweets about the release of prisoners.
She has gone after Newsom on Twitter for releasing prisoners in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kim, an advocate for prison reform, knows that this kind of punitive mindset makes communities worse, not safer.
So no, Caitlyn should not be Governor. She’s not qualified in terms of platform or experience.
That does not mean that people cannot be patient with Cait as a celebrity.
She has evolved on some issues after coming out. Over time, perhaps she will evolve on others.
Many believe that Caitlyn does not expect to win.
After all, Trump-loyalists hate her for disavowing their orange savior, and transphobes hate her because they’re bigots.
It is speculated that she’s doing this run because she feels like it, and in the hopes that it will boost her brand.
I have to confess that even non-Californians are clearly unhappy with her run as a publicly visible trans conservative.
Personally, I had a dream Sunday night that she had acquired a suit that gave her superpowers, and was using them for evil.
I don’t buy into psychoanalysis because I’m not a hack, but clearly this was how my mind processed the news.
Meanwhile, if anyone in the extended Kardashian family were to run and actually win, our guess is Kim.
Studying the law, distancing herself from Kanye … these seem like moves that someone would make to prepare for eventual candidacy.
Our advice? Start on a city council or in the state legislature. Get some experience before running to govern 40 million Americans.
Since the beginning of this 13-year nightmare of a conservatorship, Jamie has insisted that it’s for Britney’s own good.
As time has gone by, the world has had a harder and harder time believing that.
Scrutiny of Britney Spears’ plight has shed light on the broader injustice of conservatorship laws.
Congress is signaling their intention to get involved — but Jamie is predictably objecting.
They say that a stopped clock is right twice a day.
That’s pretty much only true with analog clocks (when was the last time that you saw one of those).
But that saying seems to be at work as two high-ranking Republicans in the House of Representatives sign their names to a good cause.
Matt Gaetz is well known for all of the worst reasons, including unwavering support for disgraced former president Donald Trump.
Jim Jordan’s politics are equally abysmal, but he is most infamous for ignoring a litany of sexual misconduct allegations at Ohio State.
Somehow, two wrongs make a right, as this tweet from the House Judiciary GOP illustrates:
In this letter, signed by both Gaetz and Jordan, the House GOP Judiciary Committee discusses conservatorship laws.
They acknowledge that there has been a “growing public concern” on the topic, even referring to the ACLU’s statements.
A lot of alarms have gone off about people being stripped of their fundamental human rights by “manipulation of the court.”
“The most striking example is perhaps the case of multi-platinum performing artist Britney Spears,” the letter acknowledges.
“Since 2008, Ms. Spears has been under a court-ordered conservatorship,” the letter notes.
This conservatorship gives her father control over her finances, her movements, her relationships, and even her reproductive rights.
“The facts and circumstances giving rise to this arrangement remain in dispute,” the letter correctly observes.
The letter continues: “But involve questionable motives and legal tactics by her father and now-conservator, Jamie Spears.”
Belief that Britney resents her father’s control is not a #FreeBritney conspiracy theory. It comes from her own attorney.
“In court appearances in August and November of 2020,” the letter recalls.
The letter notes: “Ms. Spears’ attorney represented to the court that Ms. Spears ‘strongly opposed’ having her father as a conservator.”
“That she was afraid of her father,” the letter lists, “and that she would not again perform publicly so long as this arrangement persisted.”
“Despite these pleas, Mr. Spears remains a conservator of her estate,” the letter notes.
“Despite Mr. Spears’s claiming to want nothing more than to see Ms. Spears ‘not need a conservatorship,’” the letter points out.
The letter continues: “His attorney admitted in a recent documentary, ‘I have not seen a conservatee who has successfully terminated a conservatorship.'”
“Ms. Spears is not alone,” the letter grimly notes.
The letter also observes: “There are countless other Americans unjustly stripped of their freedoms by others with little recourse.”
If a young, world-famous celebrity can have this happen to them, what hope does a 70-something widow have when her adult children decide to control her life?
“Given the constitutional freedoms at stake and opaqueness of these arrangements,” the letter notes.
The letter affirms: “it is incumbent upon our Committee to convene a hearing to examine whether Americans are trapped unjustly in conservatorships.”
“We look forward to hearing from you on this important issue,” the letter concludes, with both Reps signing.
While it’s always heartbreaking when the worst people you can think of make a great point … perhaps this means that there is hope.
As advocates for disabled Americans have pointed out for many years, these laws must change.
Yes, some people may need help — but at present, these conservatorships are nigh unbreakable and are vulnerable to abuse.
Of course, Jamie has seen the letter and, just as every other time that his stranglehold on his daughter’s fortune is challenged, is pitching a fit.
The widely reviled man and his legal team reached out to TMZ to insist that his conservatorship is above board and always has been.
Additionally, his attorney points out that a private fiduciary is responsible for some portions of the conservatorship.
Burying fans in the legal structure and history of the conservatorship is a sound tactic.
Attorney Vivian Thoreen does her job well, as she is paid to.
Additionally, she notes that Britney’s team has never taken the (likely futile) step of filing to dissolve the conservatorship.
But no amount of distraction can erase Britney’s legal plea for independence from her father.
Also, no amount of distraction about Britney’s case changes that this is a plight faced by many disabled folks.
Free Britney, yes. But she’s just one of many victims of these unjust laws.
On January 6, a day that will live in infamy, violent forces loyal to Donald Trump stormed Capitol Hill.
The deadly insurrection was a watershed moment for the United States … and it could happen again.
The House has canceled its day session for Thursday, March 4 as police warn of a new plot.
Why March 4?
Conspiracy theorists of a QAnon offshoot believe that this particular date is when Trump can return to power.
The coup attempt on January 6 failed, thanks to the quick action of heroes and the general disorganization of the insurgents.
But, at the time, people warned that without real, serious consequences for all involved, it was just a practice run.
March 4 is the date that some of his most obsessed, paranoid fanatics believe that he can return to power — and they want to make it happen.
“We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol,” Capitol Police announced in a grim statement.
The statement said that this possible breach was to be made “by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4.”
The force affirmed: “We are taking the intelligence seriously.”
The perimeter of the Capitol rotunda has been ringed with new fencing, all topped with razor wire.
That should serve much better than the bike racks that were turned against police on January 6.
Capitol Police report that they are reaching out to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for further preparation.
The FBI has additionally issued an intelligence bulletin, warning about “extremists discussing March 4 and March 6.”
Threats against lawmakers are said to be “through the roof” among these groups.
They are said to be particularly angry at those legislators who opposed or voted to impeach disgraced former president Donald Trump.
Capitol Police received intelligence of at least one militia group hatching this plot — just two months after the last attack.
With this in mind, House leaders on Wednesday abruptly shuffled voting plans, allowing lawmakers to leave town before Thursday.
On January 6, some lawmakers were seconds away from direct run-ins with the violent mob. They are taking no chances this time.
“Our leader will return to power on the appointed day and destroy his enemies” sounds like the belief of cultists in a sword-and-sorcery movie from the ’80s.
However, this is a sincerely held belief by an alarming number of QAnon supporters, particularly those of an offshoot.
And why March 4? It’s complicated … but basically, it was the original inauguration date that was established in the Constitution.
To start with the basics, QAnon is a fringe group of people with extreme beliefs that are not rooted in reality.
Generally speaking, they believe in massive conspiracies involving the ultra-wealthy, tech companies, Democrats, and celebrities.
The theory tends to focus upon child-exploitation, though the details can vary widely among believers.
To prominent Q-believers like Liz Crokin, this “cabal” of elites employs sorcery, worships demons, and extracts drugs from tortured children.
Some believe in a sort of science fiction version of things, featuring aliens.
And to others, the whole “Q” thing is just a political spy thriller without any sorcery, demons, or trans-dimensional beings.
At its root are anonymous messages by someone claiming to have “Q-level” security clearance.
All of the versions of the conspiracy theory, from adrenochrome-huffing Tom Hanks to Chrissy Teigen in illuminati rituals, are absurd.
But that doesn’t stop people from believing them … and their beliefs have driven them to dangerous, violent actions.
Now, clearly, this is going to sound unhinged, but a QAnon offshoot believes that March 4 is the day that Trump returns to office.
This belief stems from extremists like those in the sovereign citizen movement.
Many of whom believe that the United States government has been illegitimate since 1871.
The 20th Amendment of the US Constitution moved inauguration day from March to February.
It was adopted in 1933 — and thus, after 1871 when those with these fringe beliefs believed that the US government ceased to be valid.
As such, they have decided to imagine that Trump will have his big comeback on that day … and some may use deadly force to make it happen.
Does it make sense? No! And it doesn’t have to.
At its core, QAnon beliefs are largely rooted in insecurity, fear, and a desire to make sense out of the world.
Someone who voted for Trump was free to imagine that he was doing secret good things instead of, you know, golfing and blundering.
Obviously, there’s more to Q beliefs than that, from weird numeralogy stuff to the human instinct to impose order upon to the world to a heavy dose of antisemitism.
But it remains unclear who specifically is planning an attack, as law enforcement has released few details.
People planned the January 6 attack very openly, broadcasting it and their attendance on social media. Perhaps they’ve been more circumspect this time.
Some officials have characterized the threats for March 4 and March 6 as “aspirational” rather than concrete, doable plans.
Meanwhile, some QAnon followers believe that chatter about a March 4 attack is a “deep state” plot to catch adherents.
Despite numerous high-profile, easily recognizable QAnon believers being involved in the January 6 insurrection, some have said the same about that event.
We of course hope that the measures in place this week will be more than enough to discourage anyone from taking any criminal or dangerous actions.
The January 6 attack was only as successful as it was because security was deliberately made lax by Trump and those loyal to him.
We do not ever again wish to see any violence or attacks on our government at the Capitol — not even if things would go very differently for attackers this time around.
So far, 2021 is shaping up just as tens of millions of Americans hoped it would:
A new president has been sworn in; the Covid-19 vaccine is gradually making its way across America, and a second Donald Trump impeachment trial is currently underway.
…
