#MeToo (delayed)

When the #MeToo movement started in October I was in the hospital where I spent the better part of a month. When I got home and heard about it I knew I had something to write. But dealing with the collapse of so many of the remaining pieces of my life, I was distracted and not sure I even wanted to allow my brain to go there. To be honest, I've been writing the piece for over a year now in my head; trying to find the words and the strength. As we painfully crawl into 2018, I want to get it out and seek the closure I deserve.

As is common, I blamed myself for a lot of what happened. As is also common, I had blocked a lot of it, as well. Last year when the Trump video was released, allowing us to all hear him proudly proclaim himself as a sexual assailant, I was physically ill. As the media felt it necessary to play the video ad nauseam, I started having flashbacks. I feel confident hundreds of thousands of women and men had similar experiences of being retraumatized.

I was 16 when I was assaulted. I came home drunk from what my parents expected to have been a night out with one of my friends. They were not shocked that I was drunk, all of their kids partied to the extreme. The were certainly surprised, however, to find that my underwear had been left on the gate going into our back yard. I wasn't even going to tell them what happened until my dad brought them in. I was always shy about sex and my parents weren't the type of people you could talk to about important things. For fucks sake, when I got my first period I came home from school to find a box of pads and a book about my body on my bed. That was as much as either of them could try to talk about my period. How could I possibly tell them I was raped? I wasn't even sure that I was raped. I had chosen to drink so it was probably my fault. I'm pretty good at taking the responsibility for others' actions. It feels safer to do that in my mind. Then I can be responsible for fixing it. Of course, rape isn't something you can fix.

I was wrecked when my dad showed me my underwear. I snotty face cried before I could even get the words out to explain the evening. I HAD gone out with one of my girlfriends. Her boyfriend was driving and we ended up at a bonfire where this other dude came out with us. He rode in the back seat with me and was hitting on me. I was not remotely interested in him. I had a type and preppie jock was the exact opposite of the kind of man I would've wanted to hang out with. I remember finally realizing he was hitting on me (it always takes me a ridiculous amount of time to piece that together). I chose just to ignore him and carry on a conversation with my friend and her boyfriend in the front seat. We continued to get drunk and he continued to hit on me. He became more aggressive and I gave him the traditional Angie-style response to bullshit. I shut him down with plenty of profanity and was quite proud of myself for using words he obviously didn't understand. Yeah. I'm a snob. I'm okay with that. At least I'm not a rapist.

As the evening progressed and we both got more drunk, he randomly tried different approaches. He said he was sorry for being a dick (great you're a creep and still not my type). He tried inching closer to me in the back seat as if I was too stupid to realize he was doing it. He eventually just made his move. I was stunned and horrified. I was still a virgin. The year prior I broke up with my boyfriend for going up my shirt. I didn't even let him just be sorry and promise not to do it again or until I was ready. I just broke up with him.

I pushed him away and called him names for a while, but in my horror and feeling powerless because he was stronger than I was, I caved. I didn't actually participate. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even have known how to. But I didn't end up stopping him anyway. When you're a 16 year old virgin in a society that doesn't educate young women and men about rape, its your fault.

Of course I didn't go to the police. I didn't know it was illegal, exactly. I didn't even know what happened or how to put it into words. It was awful. I knew that. I felt gross. I felt shame. I felt ruined. My inability to even get a look of acknowledgement from my parents left me in a place where I wasn't even able to feel what I should  have - anger. The following Monday I finally graduated to anger. When we got to school the rumors were all over that he had fucked me. I didn't know what rape was but I knew that wasn't "sex." Whatever that was wasn't what happens in the movies. That wasn't sweet. That wasn't romantic. That was aggressive and mildly violent. For the next 2 years I didn't pass him at a party or in the hallway without saying, loudly enough for anyone to hear, that he did not have sex with me. He always countered by saying we did. Asshole.

I finally felt vindicated when he showed up at my graduation party (right?) and I screamed at him for even showing up and demanding he tell people the truth. He said we didn't have sex in that tone that basically says "here - let me say words to appease you and shut you up." That was enough for me, sadly. I had spent the last 2 years trying to get him to admit we hadn't had sex because the truth of what happened, which I should've been compelling him to admit, was too much for me to even admit to myself.

I googled him last year when the Access Hollywood video was released. He is a judge now. A fucking judge. The statute of limitations is far exceeded or I would want to sue him and force the jurisdiction he presides in to review every case he has ever heard about rape, domestic violence, etc.

Had I not had to witness the video of that grotesque monster repeatedly bragging about being a sexual assailant last year, I might still not have ever put it into context. Its easier to not think about it. Its easier not to deal with it. Besides, what good does it do me to dredge up even more pain from my childhood when I haven't been able to find a way to deal with any of the rest of it? Answer: Every good. It does good to add my voice to the countless women and men who have come forward to demand better of our society. It does good to allow myself to be a victim/survivor rather than mired in guilt and blame. It does good because I am now able to say, "fuck my parents and their complacent, willful ignorance of the human being I was." And THAT helps me to embrace the human being I was and love her, and myself today, a little more.

Donald Trump Wire Tapped My Phones

During the 2016 election season I wrote a lot of pieces outlining the ridiculousness of the Donald Trump candidacy. I pointed out that he is a rapist, a child molester, and a fucking clown. I addressed the fact that his supporters are fucking idiots, that his entire platform was based on a series of pinkie promises no one could ever keep in a democracy, and that his stump speeches sounded eerily like Hitler's.

I have heard from very credible sources that Donald Trump was very angry about my accusations and he determined to have my phones tapped. I will not cite those sources because, as our 'president' makes clear, that is not necessary.

I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic fake billionaire was tapping my phones last year prior to the election.

Of course, I might just be a big fat liar who makes up nonsense to stir up my base and distract them from my Russian connections. (I used to work with a guy named Igor and we flirted sometimes).

Fuck You BLOTUS

Kiss Kiss...
Mean Progressive

Dear Media: Think Of Your Mothers

This election season has been more detrimental to the American psyche than any in history. The women, especially, have had to suffer in ways that should be unimaginable in 2016. We have had to endure repeated reminders that one of the candidates running for the top office in the land feels entitled to sexually assault women because of his status. We have, of course, then had to witness the media allow his surrogates to repeatedly tell us that it was just 'locker room banter.' #GrabEmByThePussy is now a thing. It's become a joke. The women in America who have been sexually assaulted now live in a country where our discourse has embraced the mentality of 50 years ago. You did that.

American women have endured a media acceptance of a candidate who rates us from 1 to 10 and dismisses our accomplishments. He has told us that breastfeeding is gross. And said if we are sexually harassed we should find another career. He has said sexual assault against women in the military is the fault of the women who wanted to serve. He said women who seek abortions should be punished.

We have heard him call us dogs, fat pigs and disgusting animals. We have waited patiently for you to bother to tell America about his rape accusations (still waiting ...). We have waited for you to report on his fantastically inappropriate comments about many young girls, 10-17, and how he wanted to date them. We have had to contend with the idea that pedophilia is being discussed, but not discussed, when an aside is offered about his various comments about his own daughters, back to the time when Tiffany was a baby. American women have suffered this election season in countless ways from this 'man' and the coverage you've afforded him. Your mothers endured this normalization, thanks to you.

We have heard you tell America that we, the millions of women so excitedly cheering on, volunteering for and celebrating our candidate, don't exist. It made for a more sensational story, I suppose, to ignore us and have hours of discussion about why Hillary Clinton didn't have much support with women. But our absence on your news coverage didn't negate our existence. I'll bet many of your mothers were with us on this journey and have told you privately everything I am telling you today.

So I implore all members of our failing media to consider your mothers if Hillary Clinton wins the election tomorrow. I understand that you have executives in your ears telling you about ratings. I understand that you believe those ratings are contingent upon tabloidesque conversations. I understand that you have conditioned yourselves to not have meaningful dialogue. But tomorrow night, think of your mothers sitting at home watching your coverage of the election of the first woman president. Think about whether or not they would like to be asked to consider all of the disenfranchised white men who will exist after a Clinton win. Think of your mother who will be sitting at home crying, both in celebration of this monumental achievement for women, and for the fact that she raised you and your focus on her night is on the white men who have run our country since its inception.

A Hillary Clinton win is not about ratings. A Hillary Clinton win is not about the people who supported the other candidate. You will have 4-8 years to report on their supposed lots in life. A Hillary Clinton win is about the accomplishments of a woman who never stopped fighting to do the right thing. A Hillary Clinton win is about a woman who pushed forward while you participated in degrading her by spreading rumors like teenagers about scandals that always turned out to be baseless. A Hillary Clinton win is about a woman with a history of civil service that you haven't managed to highlight over the last year and a half because supposition about emails was more likely to get you ad buys. And, most importantly, a Hillary Clinton win is about every woman who is sitting at home watching your coverage waiting for a beautiful embrace of this moment in our grueling history where, after enduring universal abuse by our media who allowed misogyny to permeate our airwaves for the last year and a half, our hard work has merited this moment.

Give us our night. If you can't do it for ratings, if you can't do it for your audience, if you can't do it because it is newsworthy, if you can't do it because it's the right thing to do ...

DO IT FOR YOUR MOTHERS!

Kiss Kiss ... Mean Progressive

One Question For Trump Supporters

I've been 'Libtard!'ed more times in the last year or so than I could ever count. The condemnation always comes from someone wholly invested in their own intellectual superiority, who is convinced that I know nothing about what is going on. Today I bow to all of those accusations and humbly ask them all for an answer to one, simple question. Because those who demand their knowledge (and, more often than not, their morality) is so much greater than mine, I will take for granted that we are all starting with the same set of easily verifiable of facts (I added links to each in bold print, just as a reminder for you):

You have read all of Hillary Clinton's proposals on issues from national security to Social Security to taxes. And you have read Donald Trump's. After having compared and contrasted the two, you are confident that the Trump proposals, which don't actually offer plans for improvement or explain how they will be paid for, are the best options for American progress.

You believe that Hillary Clinton calling half of Trump supporters a 'Basket of Deplorables' makes her unqualified to lead the country. You believe this, even though you have been on Twitter and researched the supporters who've proudly changed their names to 'Deplorable' and you feel comfortable with their sending pictures of nooses to black people or ovens to Jews and harassing people for their religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin. Where most decent human beings think Clinton's phraseology was off because it was too generous, as that basket is certainly overflowing, you find it insulting.

You know the reason that presidential candidates disclose their tax returns and embrace that Trump refuses to do so, even while refusing to even give evidence of his supposed audit by the IRS (an easy feat ... they just send a letter). You understand that Trump's entire premise of creating jobs is based on his contention that he is a good businessman, even though he disproves that theory by losing $916M in a single year during an economic boom in America. You know that this business 'genius' filed corporate bankruptcy four times. You know that when his father was alive, the senior Trump bailed junior out every time he ran a business into the ground. You know that in 1978 his father got him a $35M line of credit that he managed to squander in the same year and had to get it raised another $3M. You know that Trump has been sued many hundreds of times because he refuses to pay small business owners/contractors once their work for him is complete.

You've seen the video of him mocking a disabled reporter.  You know all about Trump University. And that Trump doesn't read books. (Except he did keep a book of Hitler's speeches at his bedside ... I'm not sure that's comforting, however). You're well aware that Trump made a 'joke' about killing Hillary Clinton and her judicial appointees. You know that he lied about donating money to veterans charities to get out of a GOP primary debate.

You're comfortable with the idea that Trump named himself his top adviser on foreign policy, even though he didn't know what Brexit was, he thinks we should disavow the Geneva Conventions, and he didn't know what the nuclear triad was. You are well aware of his idea to make our commitments to NATO contingent on payment. But maybe you were comforted by his promise to Kasich that, if he would take the VP spot, he would let him take charge of foreign policy. And domestic policy. (Leaving the making of America great solely up to Trump).

You know that he said the world would be better off if Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi (who he tried to set up a partnership with) were still in power. He now denies saying it. But he totally did. You know that he encouraged Russia to commit cyber espionage for his benefit. And that he proposed having US citizens tried in Guantanamo Bay. You know that Trump has praised Kim Jong-un. And Vladimir Putin. And Saddam Hussein. But that seems presidential. And patriotic, I'm sure.

You know that Donald Trump has been accused of rape three times (that we know of). You know that he is getting ready to go to court for the rape of a 13 year old who has 2 written witness affidavits, one of them from the person who was hired to find underage girls for the 'parties' where Trump repeatedly raped the person filing charges.

You are aware that Trump's new policy for offering child care credits only works for the wealthy. You know that Trump's leave plan only works for women and does not guarantee leave for a sick family member. This, of course, does not upset you because you know that he is the kind of person who thinks men who change diapers 'act like the wife,' and that breast-feeding is 'disgusting.' But none of this is surprising, because you know that he said maybe his employees should feel they have to return quickly from maternity leave or risk being replaced.

You watched his announcement when he entered the presidential campaign. You know that he said Mexicans are 'bringing drugs, bringing crime, they're rapists and some, I assume, are good people.' That sweeping generalization and conspiratorial language was not offensive to you. You know that he promised to violate the 14th Amendment and deport U.S. Citizens, in a mass deportation of all families where only the parents immigrated illegally. You watched when Trump managed to get into a Twitter war with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto while trying to show how diplomatic and presidential he can be.

You've heard all of Trump's conspiracy theories from Ted Cruz' father being involved in the JFK assassination (Cruz, who Trump called a pussy), to the time (only) he saw footage of money being airlifted to Iran, that vaccines cause autism, and Scalia was murdered. And, of course, he is the father of the birther movement and the idea that President Obama didn't go to Columbia University. But it's all good.

There are young women in your life: children, grandchildren, nieces, friends. But the idea of having a president who clearly objectifies women doesn't give you pause. And neither does this commercial.

You're down with having a president of America who hates the female half. Its not even a question. You know he said in 1992, "Women, you have to treat them like shit." He hates women who have more power than he does. He hates women who report the truth about his misogyny. He hates women who stand up to him when he bullies them. He hates women who can literally kick his ass. He hates women who ask him questions he'd really rather not answer. He hates women who report on his business failures. He hates women who are unafraid of him. He hates women who are compassionate, well respected world leaders. He just hates women. But that's okay. No worries.

It doesn't give you pause to reflect on his immediate answer that women who have abortions should be punished. Or that if women face sexual harassment at work they should, 'find another career.' You are completely comfortable with his having said, "I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." You've seen the video where he said, "That must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees," and that's okay.

You know that Trump is a racist. He might not understand how racist he is, but he's totally a racist. He's a racist from way back in the day. He is a racist when it suits his business dealings. He is a racist when he thinks it can make him money. He is a racist when he thinks young men of color raped a woman. And he remains a racist when it turns out they didn't. He is definitely a racist. He is unquestionably a racist.  There really is no doubt that Trump is a racist. Just a fucking racist. But that's okay with you. Fine.

You are fully aware of the fact that on the morning of 9/11, after the towers of the World Trade Center fell, he called a radio station and bragged that his building was now the tallest in downtown Manhattan. And you know that the building he was so proud of, Trump Tower, was literally built on the backs of undocumented immigrants. You know all about how Donald Trump violated immigration laws to run his modeling agency so that he could avoid paying the models if they didn't end up making him money.

You know that he said that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese. And then he said he didn't. But he totally did. You know that he tried to spread a conspiracy theory saying that President Obama was supporting al-Qaeda in Iraq. And that he started another conspiracy theory that President Obama and Secretary Clinton were the founders of ISIS. He later took it back. And then went back to it. And then took it back again.

You know that during (inter)national tragedies he has repeatedly congratulated himself for knowing such things would happen: The Pulse nightclub in Orlando, when Dwyane Wade's cousin was killed in Chicago, the Brussels bombings, the Paris Bataclan nightclub attacks, and the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris.

You know that Trump vowed to force our service men and women to commit war crimes. And that he said the families of terrorists should be assassinated. And that we need a national database to track Muslims. And that he advocated for shutting down all Mosques in America.

You're a patriotic American, but also cool with Trump saying that John McCain isn't a war hero because he was caught, even though you know that McCain was held for 5 1/2 years and tortured unimaginably and never betrayed America. You also know, of course, that Donald Trump dodged the draft and later jokingly accepted a Purple Heart from a veteran by saying, "I've always wanted to get the real Purple Heart. This was much easier." You also know that Trump thinks that women who enter the military and are raped were asking for it, because the military shouldn't be integrated.

I submit that you are working from the same set of facts as I am. I assume that you have found justifications for all of the issues most Americans (who are aware) consider disqualifying. I accept that we just disagree and you are totally way smarter than I am about this and all other subjects. So I leave you with my question:

If Donald Trump shot you in the middle of 5th Avenue and he got away with it, but you survived, would he lose your vote?

Who Love's Ya, Baby?

I live in a small Ohio suburb. We get a monthly Money Saver magazine in the mail with advertisements and coupons for local businesses. I got mine today. Imagine my profound surprise when I found a two page ad from the Trump campaign. I've marveled at the commercials they have been putting up here. It is Ohio, after all. You would expect them to be creating some thoughtful, persuasive ads. Instead we get urgent requests to call an 800 number and press 1 to show our support. I completely expect to hear "At The Airport Marriot! - Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" every time the commercial ends. They're garbage. Honestly. This 'master businessman' only proves his penchant for tacky wordplay and conman ploys.

I suppose I wasn't completely surprised by the first page of the ad. The entire thing was full of verifiable lies about Hillary Clinton's record countered by a laughable list of Trump's 'accomplishments' and a vision for America that would actually fit on a bumper sticker. 

Then I got to page 2 showing some of the 'millions' who support Trump. Just Jesus Christ! The first thing I noticed was that his wife's name was misspelled. Yeah. I'm sure Melanie supports him. That was important, I suppose. Americans need to know that your wife (whatever her name is) supports you. His VP pick Mike Pence supports him, too. Go figure. And the kids - they all got prominent spots in this ad. 

And then you have the rest. Take time with the list of people the Official Trump Campaign told us support him.

1. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto
2. Rosie O'Donnell
3. Rev Run
4. Russell Simmons
5. Eva Longoria
6. Muslims (generally, I suppose)

So sure, this entire 2 page ad is bullshit. Its a nonsensical bit of nothing put together at the last minute by someone who didn't even try. They couldn't find prominent, respectful Americans who supported his candidacy so they gave us people that should support him by default and people who refuse to come out and actually endorse him, regardless of their friendship, like Tom Brady. But it's pretty disgusting that, in attempts to find credibility in the black community or with immigrants or with decent human beings, he would peddle endorsements that have never come and WILL NEVER COME. If I were Rosie O'Donnell, I'd sue. Just sayin' ...

Kiss Kiss ... Mean Progressive

Dear Media: Rape Is Still A Thing

Indeed

Last summer we were forced to suffer Mika Brzezinski feigning disgust over a Trump rape allegation and that was about the extent to which our network media wanted to cover the story. Of course, Brzezinski's disgust was over the idea of an allegation having been made at all, not at the rape, itself. She pretty much told the whole wide world that Trump was above it and refused to cover it beyond her outrage.

As we roll into the final months of a campaign that has lowered the discourse of our society, maybe forever, we have watched our media spend the last few weeks trying desperately to convince themselves and their audience that Trump isn't a racist. The definition has been rehashed more times than the theory of evolution. Here. Let me help you. TRUMP IS A FUCKING RACIST.

While trying to redefine the word 'racist' you have not informed your audience about the Central Park Five case and his part in it. Most Americans would be absolutely horrified to know that anyone would spend money to put full page ads in 4 New York newspapers calling for the death penalty for five black and Latino teenagers (age 14-16) who, as it turned out, were completely innocent.

But if that isn't recent enough for you - This was actually reported in the 7am hour yesterday, when he was getting ready to pander to a black church and no mention was made of it, thereafter. K? There. Racist defined. Move on.

You have wasted an entire year not exploring the Republican nominee. You have spent MONTHS on supposition about what very well might be a scandal (which has, to date, still failed to be) in emails of Secretary Clinton (heads up - thats her goddamned title - no need to address her with Mrs). You have completely neglected the stories about Trump that are reported and Americans have a right to know before we go to the polls in November. 

You have yet to find the time to go over thousands (THOUSANDS!) of lawsuits filed against Trump and explain to the American people exactly what he has been sued for and what he has been found guilty of in his business dealings while he is on the stump trying to convince America that he gives a single shit about working people. 

You have completely let him get away with not giving us his tax returns but congratulate yourselves for asking his surrogates the question every now and again. It is a tenet of American politics that any nominee give their returns and he gets by with absolutely nonsensical retorts and you just let them go. No candidate would get away with that. If this were Secretary Clinton, every channel would cover that and nothing else 24/7. That's just a fact. And you would have explained ad nauseum exactly WHY it is so important for the voters to see what is in their tax returns. No one has even bothered to ask him, 'Hey ... If you are really being audited, how about you show us a copy of the letter you received from the IRS informing you of the audit?' 

Of the countless things you refuse to cover, the most offensive to me are his rape allegations. Let us not pretend that decorum has kept anyone from talking about such topics, because decorum hasn't been an issue in our media ever since the Clinton #42 years. Trump's divorce papers identified him as a rapist. He was sued in 1997 for sexual harassment and attempted rape. But no one wants to touch it. 

And now, RIGHT NOW Trump is getting ready to go to court for rape of a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD and no one in the media is informing American voters of this fact. I will acknowledge that this case is hard to discuss. After having read the complaint, I am, quite literally, a changed woman. I will never unsee the visual images depicted therein. Because of the detail, however, and the corroborating witness affidavit, the story is one that voters must hear. 

Any thinking person can tell that Donald Trump holds nothing but contempt for women. Likewise, any thinking person would attest that he is, quite obviously, a bully. You need only show his performance in previous debates or one of several hundred tweets that a teenager would be above sending. He has the personality traits of a rapist. But he gets a pass. I sincerely believe his lawsuit-happy ass is getting away with everything because the media is afraid of being sued. Do your jobs or you will end up in a country where freedom of the press really will be in question.

You allowed the term 'legitimate rape' to become part of our lexicon. How about taking a little time exploring 'legitimate rape allegations' so the progress American women have made isn't countered by sending a fucking rapist to the White House. 

Kiss Kiss ... Mean Progressive 

Dear Media: It's Time For Extreme Vetting

BREAKING NEWS >>> This isn't breaking news.

Media, you have failed us. Again. You have spent 16 months trying to normalize a campaign that is toxic, at best. You have asked yourselves, your pundits and the American people to explore the Trump candidacy to the depths of a puddle after a 5 minute rain. You have made it clear that your only objective is to report on that which creates the best spin and ignore all else. In the case of CNN, you have literally hired Corey Lewandowski, Trumps 'former' campaign manager, and then ask him daily to tell us just what Trump would like us to hear. Is America being punked right now? Is Ashton Kutcher going to pop out one of these mornings from behind Steve Kornacki's big board and tell us all of this was a complete joke? That would be more settling than the place we presently find ourselves.

The spin is the only thing that matters. Why, then, aren't Trumps rape charges tabloidesque enough for you? Are you afraid of him filing a lawsuit? You opened the week telling us about a sexting scandal of the husband of a Clinton staffer but have yet to find the time to tell Americans that the 'man' on the top of the Republican ticket has been accused of rape. Repeatedly.

You keep bringing up the fact that he is polling miserably with college educated voters. Wanna know why? We saw last night's speech in college. In the original German. (see here) We are able to see his campaign for what it is. Is the whole of our media too naive to see what is coming or are you too interested in ad buys to educate those Americans who can't see it coming?

It is (well beyond) time that you do some extreme vetting of your own. Go find footage of Hitlers old speeches. I found them myself but was only able to find them in Neo Nazi youtube channels and I don't want to give them more clicks. Why not do some pieces and explore what history has shown us about demagogues who rise to power. Trump is known to have kept a book of Hitler's speeches at his bedside. Maybe explore that a bit. The comparisions are terrifying. Here are a few hints of the things to look up:

* Promised 'Peace through strength' (Trump said TODAY)
* Condemnation of entire religion.
* Proposal of mass deportation of 'undesirables.'
* Promise to break treaties with foreign nations.
* Assertion that all government is corrupt and only he could be trusted to fix it.
* Promise to rebuild the military to the greatest force in history.
* Use of quick catch phrases to outline policies with little/no detail (read Mein Kampf).
* Called for IDs to distinguish all of a single religion he deemed 'dangerous.'
* Teach nationalism in schools (he said this today - you ALL missed it).
* Condemn the media for lying about the candidate (heads up - some of them were killed).
* His supporters like him because he was 'telling it like it is.'
* Demanded that all of the problems of the country were caused by the outsiders.
* Encouraged beatings of protesters (later murder) who spoke out against him.


This is a quick list off the top of my head. I know many learned people would be able to add to it with ease.

Yes. There is a good reason we shouldn't blindly just toss Hitler/Nazis into a discussion. It distills the conversation for the next time it would be relevant. Thanks to assholes like Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Ben Carson and others on the right, we have had to suffer ridiculous correlations to President Obama and Hitler. Of course, those were exciting to cover SO YOU DID.

It is your job to chronicle what we will leave to history. After having studied the journalists who witnessed and documented the 20th century, take your responsibility more seriously. Read and watch what they left you about the rise of the monstrous leaders who tried to annihilate all that was good in the world. Offer the American people the important comparisons they need to make educated decisions in November.

 Kiss Kiss ... Mean Progressive



For any who missed the Arizona 'immigration' speech last night (8/31/16) where many of the comparisons are drawn:

Dismissing Godwin

Trump supporters have a new rallying cry when he goes on his rambling tirades: "Lock Them Up!" Them who? The media. It's not funny. It's absolutely fucking ridiculous. But it is not funny. The reason they want to lock up the media isn't for some profound universal infraction. Their ire is drawn by repeated condemnations from Donald Trump demanding that the media is out to get him. And the initial response, instead of asking for retractions or correcting any records, is to forfeit journalists' Constitutional rights and toss them in jail. Again, this isn't funny. And this is not an issue to be taken lightly.

I preface to all who automatically cry "Godwin's Law" when someone mentions Hitler - Shut Up. It could be argued that Godwin's Law has become a victim of that which the rule, itself, was meant to address: hyperbolic comparisons (to Hitler/Nazis). Now, of course, it is used hyperbolically to dismiss meaningful conversations where those comparisons are drawn.

In December 2015 Mike Godwin wrote in an Op-Ed for the Washington Post, "If you're thoughtful about it, and show some real awareness of history, go ahead and refer to Hitler or Nazis when you talk about Trump." Ok. Thanks.


Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf:

Propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of the people. (...) All propaganda must be presented in a popular form and must fix its intellectual level so as not to be above the heads of the least intellectual of those to whom it is directed. (...) The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in finding the appropriate psychological form that will arrest the attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses. The broad masses of the people are not made up of diplomats or professors of public jurisprudence nor simply of persons who are able to form reasoned judgment in given cases, but a vacillating crowd of human children who are constantly wavering between one idea and another. (...) The great majority of a nation is so feminine in its character and outlook that its thought and conduct are ruled by sentiment rather than by sober reasoning. This sentiment, however, is not complex, but simple and consistent. It is not highly differentiated, but has only the negative and positive notions of love and hatred, right and wrong, truth and falsehood.

Trump seems to understand the value of crowds of 'human children,' as well. He offers constant reminders of building his wall, banning Muslims, and demanding our leaders use terminology to dismiss billions of 'others' when talking about terrorism. He even insists that our current president is one of those 'others,' and implies that President Obama is in league with the terrorists we are all supposed to fear - that only Trump can save us from. This is all rounded out by telling us, "I love the poorly educated." Yeah. No shit.

Hitler had a very powerful propaganda machine. It was built and perfected over a decade. Trump had little to do with the machine he is using today, but he is exploiting its existence nonetheless.

In Hitler's time, radio and print journalism were the dominant media used to inform the masses. Hitler said of his message, "I will provide a propagandistic casus belli. Its credibility doesn't matter. The victor will not be asked whether he told the truth." As with Trump's messages of blaming immigrants for rapes and murders, and blaming Muslims for all terrorist acts in America, Hitler used his propaganda to elevate the Aryans by correlating all evil acts in society to having been perpetrated by the Jews. And Communists (the left).

The first objective of propaganda is to dismiss those who the public is used to getting their information from. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote of his propaganda, "It must not investigate the truth objectively and, in so far as it is favorable to the other side, present it according to the theoretical rules of justice; it must present only that aspect of the truth which is favorable to its own side." Donald Trump has certainly made the same assessment. So consider that every time you hear him whining about his media coverage or see him tweeting about his supposed vilification. These were just from today:

He has defined his victimhood-by-the-press for over a year now. His rallies have a penned area where the media are kept, and he regularly points them out to the crazed audience for their condemnations. The hysteria has even bled over into the pen where MSNBCs Katy Tur was once afforded a Secret Service escort for her own safety after a particulary nasty tirade against her by Trump.

It might seem like a stretch to suggest that he would round up the press who reported unfavorably about him if he were elected. There really is no telling what he would do, to be honest. He has given us some hints about his own opinions on killing journalists, however.

So there's that.

In 1933, when the Nazi's were rising to power, one of the first acts was to create concentration camps for Hitler's political opposition. Many of those who opposed him were the journalists who had written about him and warned of his rise.

Fritz Gerlich was a German who wrote against the Hitler regime. Early in his career, he was a conservative nationalist until the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. He saw the Nazi movement for what it was, and reported accordingly. In 1929, he started a newspaper to expose the lies the propagandists were beginning to feed the public. By 1932, the paper had a circulation of 40,000 and was renamed Der Gerade Weg (The Straight Path), where he wrote "National Socialism means: Enmity with neighboring nations, tyranny internally, civil war, world war, lies, hatred, fratricide and boundless want." After taking power in 1933, Gerlich was one of the first arrests made. He was transported to Dachau and died a year later during the Night of the Long Knives.

Otto Felix Kanitz, who was prominent in the Austrian anti-authoritarianism movement, wrote a pamphlet, Kämpfer der Zukunft, which was banned by the Nazis and included in the first book burnings in 1933. In 1934, he went into exile but returned to Austria in 1938. He was then captured and sent to Buchenwald where he was executed.

Henry Wilhelm Kristiansen was a Norwegian newspaper editor for a Communist newspaper. In 1940, Norway was occupied by Germany and the newspaper was shut down by the Nazis. Kristiansen was arrested, and later released. He continued his work underground and was arrested again in 1941 when he and his wife, Mirjam, were deported. She died in Auschwitz and he in Neuengamme.

Arne Jostein Ingebrethsen was a Norwegian newspaper writer who was determined to write against the German occupation of Norway. He was imprisoned for an article in 1940 and, upon release, continued his work to denounce the occupation. In 1943, he was arrested again and moved to different concentration camps until he died in Melk, just months before the camps were liberated.

I don't spend any of my time imagining that Donald Trump has the intellectual curiosity required to research Hitler's rise to make use of his successess. I believe Trump's methodology comes from having learned through his own career, and secondarily from subconsciously witnessing the rise of the Tea Party, about how to manipulate facts and appeal to the least among us.

Books will certainly be written in the future to chronicle, and compare, Hitler and the Nazis to the rise of the Tea Party and Trump's capacity to hijack their very limited message of nationalism and hating the 'others' to rise to the point where he has. They will compare their prominent egos, questionable sanity and demagoguery. They will note Trump's taking dog whistles to the next level at a time when those who needed to hear them most were at their apex. One of Hitler's greatest draws was his promise to disavow the Treaty of Versailles and rebuild the nations military. Trump has a similar message. Of course, he manages to twist-turn it into a dismissal of our own military greatness and paints his patriotism as dubious, at best.

Historians will show how neither Trump nor Hitler were remotely religious, but espoused Christian 'values' in attempts to build up the simple-minded and define their superiority. Trump's bullshit nationalistic dialogue depicting a country very few can identify will be covered. Trump's nonsensical rhetoric about caring for the nation's poor mirrors a lot of what Hitler said. Of course, to be honest, Hitler actually did see to social welfare of the working class. Trump's tax plan, and long history of only looking out for himself, would surely offer more than a little supposition about who would benefit from any policies he might want to enact.

The good news? The myriad commonalities between Hitler and Trump can be countered with numerous differences. Hitler was an amazing orator and used his skills to rally many people beyond his base. Trump can either stand in front of a teleprompTer and mangle the very words in front of him, or ad-lib an entire speech and leave any thoughtful audience to seriously question his mental stability, but be certain: he thinks of little more than inflating his own ego.

Hitler worked very hard for many years to build his movement. He was passionate in his attempt. Trump is lazy and expects to just hijack a fading movement and take it to the White House. As utterly disgusting and inhuman as Hitler's entire rule was, he completely believed in it. He was a genuine zealot of his own movement. Donald Trump could obviously care less about nearly every issue in the GOP (or any other) platform. Hitler had a large team of people who understood his mission and worked tirelessly for him (many out of fear). Trump doesn't know what he's doing from one minute to the next, and his own 'team' are wholly confused about his end game. Those in the GOP who would gladly kiss his ass and embrace his platform of hate are even being dismissed by the candidate. Hitler had the foresight to make use of the willing parasites around him.

Let me be plain ... Just because he is a goddamned clown, it doesn't mean that, if given the opportunity, he wouldn't absolutely destroy our country. Evidence is found in countless answers he's offered from quickly determining that women who seek abortions should be punished, to his absolute dismissal of the killings of journalists shown above where he says of Putin, "At least he's running his country."

Because we are a democracy, the likelihood of his ascension can be diminished by our own passion and drive to continue moving America forward. Of course, that means all of us have to continue to speak out. Even to those who would really rather not talk about it. And, as hard as the media often makes it for us, we must rally behind their attempts to communicate the truths about the vile self-serving creature who is trying to follow MY President into the White House.


Kiss Kiss.... Mean Progressive

Dear Media: Patriarchy Is Not A Necessity

You know what? When I started my Dear Media: series last year I never thought it would be a series. I just figured I would write that one piece to shine the light on the missteps of you, our media, and you would have a revelation. I'm adorable, it's true. I can hardly help it - I came this way.

Over the last two days all media have covered, to one extent or another, Donald Trumps assault on Secretary Clinton because her husband cheated on her. It wasn't enough, apparently, to cover the story. You all needed to harry Clinton to try to get a response from her. After having realized she is above such nonsense, you just determined to discuss it among yourselves. Fucking INCREDIBLE.

Once again, you are asking Trump to drive your narrative. How embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is a rapist. When that was added to the public discourse last summer, no one wanted to touch it. I wrote about your complete dismissal of the topic here but I'm not anyone the general public is going to find and read. It was your responsibility to tell the American voters about how he treats women. If he won the election, he would be in quite a unique position to steer the rights of women. Wouldn't that be an important element of the vetting expected of our media?

And today, instead of taking the opportunity to question the motives of an obvious misogynist and inform about his own treatment of women, you further victimize a woman by asking her to comment on her husbands infidelity. Repeatedly. Are you comfortable with the patriarchy you perpetuate? It is your choice, after all. You could aspire to better. I'm sure your mothers would appreciate it if you tried harder. Right now they're probably all pretty disgusted. I sure as hell would be.


Shame on YOU!  ... Mean Progressive

An Open Letter to Bill and Melinda Gates

Self-image is, indeed, a profound component in one's ability to learn. This revelation can create an entire narrative about our American identity and the means by which so many of our children are afforded an education. I ask you to reflect on the fact that a justice of our Supreme Court posed the narrowest and most unimaginable questions this week. And once the transcripts were made available, our media lauded him for not having made any assumptions, but merely posing questions about what had been deemed a thoughtful academic critique of affirmative action. I ask any white parent to spend time reflecting on having to explain that critique to their children and attributing it to them for their whiteness. I then ask those same parents to have a moment where they can explain to their children (after having found a way to explain it to themselves) why this argument is considered thoughtful and where, in 2015, this would have a place in a Supreme Court proceeding to determine if we are giving an equal chance at education to all of our children.

I could write a book about America's history and only focus on the myriad failings of 'reconstruction' after the Civil War, but its been done. And those who are intelligent can see that it has failed repeatedly and the very least among us with the loudest voices have been those to keep us from ever having found success. Those who take a reasoned look at our history realize that the failings were deliberate and targeted. No one with the capacity for critical thought would accept the stereotypes our society has allowed to permeate our collective psyche. But they are there. As a collective. And their maintenance are an imperative for those who use them to wield power, to the destruction of us all.

I applaud and genuinely respect your global initiative and I ask you to consider the role of America in that initiative. Regardless of whether or not it is warranted, America is seen as a world leader. Possibly the world leader. As such, what progress do you expect to see in the world when its chosen (or at least self-appointed) leader negates the histories and rights of its own citizens? If we cannot bring ourselves to finally offer a sincere Reconstruction 150 years after its initial attempt, what hope does the rest of the world have? One needs only look at the present GOP Presidential campaign field to realize we are regressing. We find the media and the citizens who are given leadership roles are celebrating condemnations of those with no means of defending themselves. We are witnessing expressions of hate with an acceptance of violence and terrorism against people of a specific religion and women who visit health clinics. We are allowing all conversations to end with an insistence that we should be building personal arsenals to defend against those monsters our own society has created. I, too, believe in global citizenship. But I am living in the country that you are compelling toward that understanding which lacks civility, while demanding its exceptionalism.

As you wrote this month regarding the fixed mindset and questioning your own, I ask you to expand that question to that of our nation. What have we accepted as truths about our capacity to move ourselves forward and, thus, determined unattainable? At present, we have inner cities that are falling apart. The children growing in those cities have few opportunities for education, much less advancement. If we allow a fixed mindset to embrace that as a truth, we disavow our own capacity for growth. We have a Supreme Court Justice who does not find it remotely outlandish to question the lesser capacity of those children. If society can accept that as truth, what hope do those children have? If society will dismiss and ridicule those children who march to demand that their lives matter when they come of age, what chance does our society have? I compel you to finance the movement forward that America must have before a global initiative can ever find success. I ask you to fund and expand on the grants you have been given to build our inner cities and make them a priority. I ask you to consider how the rest of your initiative will be successful if, once they find meaningful progress, the world is still led by a backward nation celebrating those who mean to denounce its own citizens and fray the very bootstraps they're meant to be pulling themselves up by.

I have no position in this or any community. I have no agenda beyond that of offering thoughtful discussion to those who hear too many irrational conversations. I have no platform or grant for you to fund. I do, however, have a voice. And I hope that my voice will reach enough people as to raise this idea to you:

(I ask that you allow my own acknowledged naivete and the simplicity in which I offer this plea to be part of my charm and spend no more time on them. Instead, I ask you to spend quiet reflection on the truth I am offering and your own capacity to grant our nation the only chance it will ever have at reparations and genuine progress).

The only way that a society, finding itself content with ignoring its own atrocities and blaming the victims of its arrogance and ignorance, can move forward is for a profound action outside of its own will. No community is going to vote to raise taxes to an extreme so as to correct the failings of a nation blind to its own hypocrisy since its inception. Your foundation can afford to get schools built in neighborhoods with little opportunity. Your foundation can have them peopled with incredible educators and give them otherwise unattainable resources. Your foundation has the voice to compel those surrounding communities to contribute time, wealth and energy to these efforts. You have the voice to remind the country that our only chance for true exceptionalism begins with embracing and lifting up our own children. All of our children. 

Also, if you could fund an initiative to get the word out to the country about the fact that the Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, it'd be great. I feel confident that if women understood this simple truth, we could take it from there.

Thank you. Most sincerely.

It's Hard Out There For a Trump

As with everything in his world, I suppose, Donald Trump is very adamant about his right to demand the terms of the next debate. He and Dr. Ben Carson have decided that they are going to boycott the CNBC event on October 28th if it is not condensed to 2 hours, including commercials.

The last debate was three hours long and it was a tortured event, I have to admit that. But the torture was for the audience, not the candidates as they would have you understand it. Directly following that event when Trump was interviewed, he repeatedly complained about how long it had been and that he was impressed with himself for having been able to stand the entire three hours. Take pause and imagine ANYONE you know having a proud revelation that they were able to stand up for three hours in a row. While talking. Its not even like he was doing manual labor. He was talking. Jesus Christ.

That evening he also said that he was proud of his daughter, Ivanka, for having endured the long evening. I went to bed that night focused on what kind of a life that woman was afforded when her father gives her accolades for having sat in an audience for three hours. You know that show Wife Swap? I'd like to see a show called Life Swap where she has to switch places with any average American do a week in the life of maybe a single mother who works full time and tries to juggle all responsibilities of the work and home life without losing her mind. And more than that, I'd love to see that single mother get the vacation Ivanka's life surely must be where hardships come from having to sit still for three hours in a row.

The last debates were, absolutely, too long. I cannot come up with a reasonable alternative, though. If CNBC is meant to take their responsibility seriously (as FOX and CNN refused to do), they should have a lot of questions for a lot of candidates, right? With ten or more attention-grabbing, rhetoric spewing, subject changing jackasses to wrangle, it seems nearly impossible to get it done in less time. But on the other hand, none of the candidates have anything of substance to say anyway, so maybe just let them have their two hours. After the record-breaking audience numbers of the Democratic debates the other night which far exceeded any expectations going into it, I would say America has finally realized the difference between the two parties is profound and the defined platforms of 'Hate & Fear' coming from the right are not conducive to the progress any single American is looking for from a leader.

Maybe the media could even start to report on those proposals coming from the left by those who are taking the idea of leading our country seriously. A girl can dream ...

Trumps Big Endorsement: MSNBC

The hardest part of my having determined to give up on watching MSNBC is my sincere love of Rachel Maddow. I have loved her since she started her show on Air America with Chuck D and followed her right into MSNBC. Although she is a Rhodes Scholar, Rachel never talks down to her audience. She opens every show with a good ten minute story about whatever her main topic of the day will be and I always end up having learned something contextual about the issue that was either foreign or, at least, much more in depth than I had understood it before. If I had to give up one thing in my daily life that would hurt more than Rachel, it would probably be air. But I meant what I said the other day. I have to give up MNSBC. The formula of an approachable smarty pants with unparalleled wit and sensibility was one MSNBC should have been proud of. Her ratings have traditionally been the highest on the network and one would think that would merit her some respect from the brass. I have a feeling even her strength and viewership are irrelevant to the Comcast/MSNBC executives who seem intent on alienating their audience and promoting the narrow conservatism of Fox and the mindless punditry of CNN.

I woke up this morning to find I had received several messages from readers telling me that I had to go online and see what happened on Rachel's show last night. Fortunately I'd forgotten to turn off the notifications for the shows I always record and it was still on my DVR. The part of me that felt like I was going through a painful breakup was kind of relieved to get to see her this morning. But the part of me who knew the break up was for a good reason was soon rekindled, as well.

The historical preface to the story was just as compelling as ever. She told us about a very shady character, Joel Arends, who had been alleged to have deliberately condemned the candidacy of Annette Bosworth, a Republican candidate for US Senate in South Dakota in 2014 by, as her attorney, creating a scenario where she signed documents which would end up finding her being tried for 12 felonies. Initially the idea of this plot sounded far-fetched, but by the end it seemed completely plausible. This man who had been the attorney is now running a SuperPac with $30 (not a misprint) in its account called Veterans for a Strong America. This SuperPac was having a fund-raiser last night where the Trump speech was to have been given. It turns out there are no veterans remotely associated with this Pac and he is smart enough to know that if you put that one word in anything, one can easily convince the least among us to excitedly support them and ask absolutely no questions about their creditworthiness or their intentions.

To no (intelligent) person's surprise, although this was supposed to have been a foreign policy speech by Trump, he had nothing to say about policy or anything else. He passed out his stupid ball caps in camouflage to the audience and rambled for 20 minutes but he told the press he would be doing foreign policy so it was covered and now America knows that some bullshit Pac having nothing to do with actual veterans (aside from publicly condemning John McCain for having been to blame for Trumps recent comments dismissing his service and having been a POW) is endorsing Trump. Glorious.

Sadly, what was to follow might as well have been the MSNBC endorsement of Trump, as well. The Rachel Maddow Show, after playing the Trump rally in its entirety, invited Steve Schmidt (yes, that Steve Schmidt) on to offer Regressive talking points and validity of Trumps candidacy. I was so depressed to see that Rachel had gone on to devote the show to free Trump rally coverage which is what Chris Hayes had done the night before and ended my devotion to MSNBC.

Upon reflection, it looks as if Rachel did her very best to give her audience what they expect. I am sure she did not get to choose who would come on to offer the counter-narrative to the intelligent conversation she was offering America. Schmidt, after admitting that there was no mention of foreign policy, applauded his efforts to remind the Republican voters that President Obama has failed the country. He told us that the morons who love Trump do so because they are sick of the promises the regular candidates from the right make but never fulfill about their plans to ruin the country and celebrate him because he is not taking lobbyist dollars. He, of course, made no mention of the fact that he has just squirmed in bed with this veteranless Pac and given a speech at a fundraiser which will, undoubtedly, go to his campaign.

Not only did Schmidt absolve Trump for having never given any cohesive policy information in his policy speech by telling us, "There is precedent for a Presidential campaign running on a secret plan. Richard Nixon, of course, in 1968." (Nixon/secrets - brilliant analogy we did not get to delve further into), but he then went on to compare Trump's followers to Bernie Sanders'. Because. Yeah.

Schmidt told Rachel that even though Trump really had nothing important to say, it doesn't take away from the fact that it was compelling television. I'm sorry. Is that the objective of a news organization? Apparently. And the executives at MSNBC were smart enough to invite Schmidt on to explain that to us. They have been offering us mind-numbing punditry from both he and Nicolle Wallace for years now. When they finally manage to get rid of the handful of wonderful hosts left on MSNBC, I fully expect to hear that they have a new show called "We Tried to Feed You Palin - Now Eat This Shit."

If you, like me, will hold on to a dream that our voices can actually be heard, please PLEASE click [HERE] go sign this petition and forward to everyone you know demanding Comcast/MSNBC be thoughtful about their choice to bastardize a once loved network.