By David Futrelle
Three, three indictments in one! Three former Trump campaign officials are in the hot seat today. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is the big name on the list (along with his pal Rick Gates), for such fun things as conspiracy against the U.S. and money laundering. But even more intriguing is the GUILTY PLEA of relatively unknown Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, whom Mueller has presumably flipped, who seems to have been doing some active COLLUDING WITH THE RUSSIANS.
So here’s an open thread to discuss the news and any other indictment fun that transpires today.
NOTE: Sorry to have gone missing for so long. I’m still dealing with a combo of health issues that have made it very difficult to work. Thanks again for your patience and support.
Plus, most societies I’ve heard of* where the majority believe “a woman’s place is in the home,” that turns out to mean “the wife makes all decisions regarding the household, and that includes the banking.”
Pretty sure these guys wouldn’t go for that.
* Well, Japan, at least until recently.
Just to double-down on my Gor joke, have any Mammotheers interacted with those self-described “Gorean” types? I only ask because I remember back when Gamergate was in full swing there was this odious turd named James “Grimchu” Desborough making the rounds on any tangentially GG-related Disqus. I read up on him and learned from Wunderkind at GoMakeMeASandwich (I think it was her) that Desborough tried to get a Gor-themed RPG created. So I started trolling him with that failure and just guess what his reply was.
Say it with me now: “Why do you demonize male sexuality?”
A bit of a tangent, but I’m just curious how other interactions might have gone….
@Gussie Jives:
I’ve run into a few of them, mostly online.
I also remember hearing a comment from Lorna Toolis, who used to be the head librarian at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy library in Toronto. She said that one of the most annoying features about being in charge of an SF research library was that not only was she pretty much required to have copies of the Gor books on hand because of the stated purpose of the collection, but she had to keep re-ordering the ones that got stolen.
There’s a disturbing number of people who seem to think Gor represents an ideal society. They don’t tend to play well with others.
Bannon is getting in on the act, so look for Breitbart (can’t use my preferred name for that place here – it’s not comment policy appropriate) to be rolling smoke in a more focused fashion 24/7 soon.
Can someone trained in psychology tell me how people like Roosh come to be? He seems profoundly disturbed and I feel more and more men are becoming like him.
@ Shadowplay
I use “Brainfart.com” for Mr Bannon’s e-shitwipe
You can use it in (most) polite company, and everyone knows what you’re referring to… and the igno-right just seeths….
@Croosters
Asshole isn’t a mental illness. He came to be the way he is because men are taught that they’re entitled to women’s bodies.
I hope Mueller has a great security detail. :/
@Weird Eddie – I shall borrow that, if I may 😀
I had such a peak fall moment today. I walked past a neighbor’s house. They have two pumpkins, one on each side of their walk. There was a squirrel perched on each pumpkin happily snacking away. They were so engrossed in their find that I got pretty close before they noticed me and ran away. From the large gouges in the pumpkins, they seem to have been a popular snacking location for a couple of days now.
Then I saw a pileated woodpecker in a large tree on the other side of the street. I don’t think I’ve seen one of those since I was a kid. I was pretty excited. Because I’m a dork and I get all happy if I see birds other than the standard sparrows/crows/robins/cardinals that I see all the time.
Pileated woodpeckers are this kind
@kupo
But the overwhelming majority of men do not wind up being reactionary assholes that pander to white supremacists even though said white supremacists actively despise him.
Even your typical fratboy misogynist doesn’t approve thinkpieces like this. I feel there’s much more to it than just male entitlement.
VP and Moggie – Ha! Awesome!
So today is Halloween where I am. I was planning to go to Rocky Horror with my friends, but my mom reminded me I have a surgery very early tomorrow morning, so I can’t. And I actually put effort into a Heather McNamara outfit I am no longer going to get to show off 🙁
So I’m feeling kind of shitty right now.
Mooncustafer – my mother always handled the household finances, from the grocery budget to the mortgage. I’m following in my father’s footsteps: my husband has access to my account and uses it to pay the mortgage and other bills. I trust him like my dad trusted my mom.
Jenora Feuer – a SF/fantasy bookstore in Berkeley had a sign explaining that they did not stock and would not order “Gor” books. Attached was a single page from one, with the comment “This is why”.
WWTH – our neighborhood is plentifully supplied with ravens. Anything more colorful really stands out.
Does anybody want to get more strategically focused about this? I was thinking that we could make a list of quick responses to current fallacious attempts to redirect attention, dog-whistles, and other in-group language that Trump supporters are going to try to use. The reasoning follows.
We are essentially dealing with gossip rules with Trump supporters. They count on being able to set the tone on the Internet because they are used to getting what they want. As a result it’s become formulaic and there is a lot that they consider terms that unpack into nothing.
The Hillary thing has lots of angles. It’s an attention redirect that shields Trump. Quick shutdowns are important.
“It’s no longer the election coward, your irrational political obsessions are irrelevant and your business, now where were we?”
Emphasizing the irrational fearful need to shield Trump with Hillary can be fun.
An example of a dog-whistle is that “cultural marxism”. It translates into “cultural thing I don’t like” because they can’t unpack it into anything that’s relavant to their assertions and the situation. It’s fun to repeatedly press them to back their shit up. Pointing out that it’s effectively an insult is also fun. (Insulting characterizations that can’t be unpacked are effectively insults).
Demands for the wording of documents related to assertions regarding the investigation can be fun. It’s a good time to toss “incompetant” in their direction.
So anyone want to make tools?
@Jenora
A) Now I must look this place up, because I have never heard of it!
B) Jeeeeez, that is sad. It’s a perfect encapsulation of toxic masculinity; there’s really no shortage of erotic fiction with far less problematic elements to cater to all genders and tastes (including sword and sorcery stuff), yet the go-to for enough guys to create an entire subculture around it is the one that is breathtakingly misogynistic.
I also get the sense that it’s a corruption of BDSM culture as well. Not being a practitioner, I’m only going off what I know from popular culture, but I’ve always been under the impression that consent is paramount in any kind of domination play and the Gor novels kinda toss consent in the trash and then kick the trash can off a cliff.
Truck attack in Tribeca, 6 dead and 15 injured so far.
@Gussie Jives:
It’s at the Lillian H. Smith branch of the Toronto Public Library, down on College just a block or so west of St. George/Beverly. You can easily recognize the building by the griffons at the front door. First floor is the Osborne Collection of early children’s books; third floor is the Merril Collection.
Note that it’s a reference library, so most of the books aren’t actually in circulation, and you’re expected to do your work on site. But they always have displays up and themed collections to look at.
Oh, and yes, it’s named after SF author Judith Merril, who lived in Toronto for years after leaving the U.S. due to suppression of protest during the Vietnam War. She ended up being one of the people teaching at Rochdale College.
The library was originally called the ‘Spaced Out Library’, named that by Merril herself. The name was later changed in her honour, at least in part because it was difficult to get taken seriously on grant applications with the original name.
It is*, and it is**.
*A corruption
**On the whole, consent is paramount, yes.
Not a practitioner either but I researched the hell out of it when I was younger and desperate to affirm my (non-existent) masculinity.
And for a rather embarrassing revelation:
I owned the Gor books (digital copies), and read them, and I’m still looking for a refund of the time I spent doing that.
Main reason being that while I was researching the BDSM thing I found a (D/s) sub-group that referred to themselves as Gorean, and based on said books. So I acquired and read said books. What a waste of time and money.
Please do not troll conservatives. They’ll just get mad and take it out on someone else – probably a woman and/or PoC and/or LGBTQ person. There are other, more constructive ways to fight their evil agenda.
And of course you can still laugh at conservatives’ attempts to “trigger” us ‘cause it’s HILARIOUS.
There are ways to troll dating sites right though
http://okcebooks.tumblr.com/
BDSM culture has a big consent problem. They talk a great talk but rape is depressingly common.
From what I understand, there are still new Gor books being written by Norman, but they’re all digital / self-published, I believe. Supposedly because the guy refuses to use an editor, and said books are mostly filler now instead of plot.
I did stumble across a forward written by Norman wherin he claims that he’s the victim of censorship by the evil PC culture, and that’s why his books aren’t being published anymore by any major publishing house.
If someone wants, I can see if I can track it down again and reprint it here for all of you to read.
ETA: The so-called Goreans aren’t the only fiction-based problems in BDSM culture, as I understand things. The 50 Shades of Grey fans are also major problems there.
Of topic, but Milo is talking at UC Fullerton today, where my sister goes to school. They shut the whole school down. Luckily my sister’s professors gave their students the day off, and she’s staying far away, but it’s still nerve wracking.