#1900

I have a lot less time to keep up with the 24/7/365 news cycle now that I’m holding down a FT job while also attending grad school FT but here are two stories that I felt were important enough to take the time to read and feel important to pass along.

The bombshell from the UN showing that without immediate, consequential expansions of environmental protections, climate change will very likely make Mad Max: Fury Road appear prophetic by predicting the look of the world in 2040.

Also: this article points out that the cruelty of the current US administration and it’s supporters is actually the only point of its egregious insistence on itself.

I do know what happened with Kavanaugh’s confirmation but I am still too livid to even begin to know how to talk about that.. so I’m going to let that lay and keep this post brief (for once).

Be safe out there, please.

#1850

No matter it’s accidental and/or intentional pretenses, this project is at it’s most basic level a sex blog. Yes, I deploy smut as the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine of commentary go down; but, arriving at the point of embarking on such an undertaking requires an obscene amount of privilege, i.e. gainful employment to pay for food, shelter and clothing, enough to pay for a reliable devices that have access to high speed Internet broadband–not to mention enough free time to dedicate approximately 25 hours a week to a project that provides little if any income.

With all these advantages in mind, I make a point of dedicating every 50th post here to contextualizing the proceedings within the context of the sad state of affairs that is this present nightmare in the desert of the real.

I’ve been inexcusably remiss in keeping up with the news, over the last month or so. It’s less that I’m suffering 24/7 news on-demand fatigue or progressive pessimism and more that I’ve been preparing to move ¼ of the way around the world. (I arrived last week and while I’m nowhere near settled in, things have at least stabilized enough where I think I can probably keep things here running smoothly for the next month or so. After that, we’ll see. I’m not sure working FT and going to school FT are going to leave much time for blogging. But we’ll see…)

The stories that have commanded my attention since the last current events post are as follows:

At least two prominent trans activists have reported rejections, threats and stonewalling from the US State Department regarding the issuance of gender affirming documentation. For the specifics: head over to TeenVOGUE (which continues to have some of the most on point coverage of any resistance outlet).

Last weekend saw the 2nd Anniversary of far-right white supremacists gathering in Charlottesville, VA. Protestors outnumbered racists by exponential numbers. However, bear in mind that there are numerous reports of the police giving preferential treatment to white supremacists. Also, several weeks back there was a big story about how Berkeley, California’s Police Department essentially doxxed Antifa members.

And in an overlooked bit of news: the US Senate voted unanimously to pass a resolution proclaiming that: “the press is not the enemy of the people”–as Dump continues to scream loudly and often about how any media critical of him, his administration or his policies is ‘fake news’.

I’d like to say I am hopeful that perhaps the winds are shifting. However, despite the thick, choking black smoke ensuing from the Dump White House, I think there’s likely been too many people on Faux News screaming NO FIRE, NO FIRE for any of the current or upcoming trials or even the eventual culmination of Mueller’s investigation are going to substantively change things.

#1800

No matter it’s frequent pretensions, Acetylene Eyes is a Tumblr sex blog. A good amount of privilege allows it to exist: I am gainfully employed and have the time and resources to dedicate anywhere from 25 to 30 hours per week.

This is not something I take lightly. Also: being that sex transpires in the world of the real against an endlessly shifting backdrop of people and politics, I feel I have a responsibility to ground what I do here in the desert of the real. Thus, every 50th post is dedicated to drawing attention to current events.

This entry is going to be pretty damn dire, I’m afraid. And given how much horrifying news their is day in and day out, I can’t possibly deal with all of it. Instead, I am going to give you a glimpse at the perspective with which I consume news media.

First, I need to establish a caveat–namely: I was raised in a Xtian doomsday cult. Upon extricating myself from that situation, I continue to have friends from different spiritual traditions. I have friends that are Muslim, friends that are Buddhists and even one friend who is Hindu.

In other words, I’ve seen both the good and the bad of religiosity. No one tradition has either a corner on goodness or is fundamentally evil. I say this because increasingly there is a tendency in public discourse to generalize and generalizations tend to provide a little too easy of adaption to foment prejudicial ideas and/or bigotry.

I’m qualifying all of this because I am preparing to really take Evangelical Xtians to task. But I don’t want what I am saying to ever be seen as stoking anti-Christian sentiments. I am of a mind that folks can believe whatever the fuck they want. The issues I have with personal faith relate entirely to the public face of that belief–i.e. what you believe is wrong and given that it is wrong my belief is only as valid as the efforts I make to correct your wrongness, hypocritic inconsistencies, etc.

Also: I have had an influx of new followers lately and several have had insidiously hateful memes posted about Islam. If I see stuff like that on a blog, I will block you. There is good and bad in every religion. However, as a thought experiment consider how Daesh–whose ideology is in point of fact anti-Islam and vociferously condemned by the vast majority of the Islamic diaspora–are referred to in the western media as ‘militant Islamists’. Compare this to half-baked West Coast flavor Buddhism and the notion that Buddhism is a peaceful, non-violent religion, the little bit I know about the situation with the Rohingya in Myanmar relates to Buddhist violence against an Islamic minority. Hinduism has the caste system and the whole mess with Kashmir.

Anyway, given this preamble you’ll likely realize I am going to be focusing primarily on the announcement that US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring after a rash of conservative activist rulings. This has many people rightly worried. Kennedy, a flagrant racist (demonstrated by his record of supporting not only Dump’s Muslim ban but also voting rabidly to disenfranchise PoCs and minorities), has historically voted with the more liberal justices on decisions relating to marriage equality and Roe v. Wade. (Also, never forget Kennedy’s hand in Citizens United, one of the worst decisions in the history of the court.

Dump has been conducting a flattery campaign in an effort to get Kennedy to step down since before he took office. He has also promised his base that he will install a conservative, anti-abortion zealot. In practice, this means the long litigated challenges to Roe v. Wade will likely only last for another year (although SCOTUS hears cases earlier in the year, decisions are not published until mid-to-late June). Whereas the previous split was 5-4 in crucial cases, that is likely to know be 5 conservative votes to 4 centrist votes. (The terrifying thing is that if Dump were to get a 2nd term, he will almost certainly replace to more justices–making the count 7-2.)

But–I hear you interject–surely Bitch McConnell changed the Senate rules when Obama nominated Merrick Garland for a seat on the bench. With fevered conviction, he maintained that it was too close to an election and that the choice should be offered to the American people in November.

We are now closer to an election than we were when Garland was nominated but what does the constipated turdle (turtle + turd, two things McConnell could easily be mistaken for upon unconsidered first glance) have to say now: we will vote on and confirm the nominee before the mid-term elections.

A good number of folks have pointed out that the constipated turdle knows he’s being a hypocrite and that instead the focus should be on how there is an on-going investigation into the president that might end up in front of the Supreme Court–in front of a judge that Dump appointed. Given his demands from former FBI Director James “But Her Emails” Comey of a loyalty oath, it’s not difficult to see how any appointment right now would be deeply problematic.

That is, unless you watch only Fox News and believe that Mueller’s investigation is nothing more than a boondoggle that has accomplished nothing (oh, nevermind those 5 guilty pleas and 17 indictments: fake news!).

I think there’s arguably another lesson here: the GOP are a craven bunch of power drunk shitstains. They know they are being hypocritical. They want the focus to be on their hypocrisy because as long as that’s the focus the can continue to push through their agenda. (It’s when the focus is on the consequences of their ideological legislation is the topic that they have more trouble.)

Also: engaging on principle assumes your opponent is arguing in good faith. The GOP have shown very clearly that they are not. Arguing with them on principle means that they can whatabout instead of engaging with the argument, ignore you or instead paint you as an intractable activist. This leads to frustration with the discourse that leads to incivility.

As you’ll likely have heard by now Sarah Fuckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Northern Virginia restaurant because of her affiliation with the Dump administration. Conservatives actually have the audacity to decry this as un-American and a symptom of the decay of civility in our society. Again, you can engage on principle and point out Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Sean Hannity, Joe Wilson, not to mention the endless crassness of Dump. Or, instead of arguing in good faith, you can realize their bad faith and attempt to hold them to account by demonstrating to them that their ideas have real world consequences for everyone but themselves. Thus, publicly confronting them is a means of causing their actions to have consequences that directly effect them. They want civility because with civility they can continue to do whatever the hell they want without any sort of checks or balance.

And what do they want to do without checks or balances? Consider this proposed bill in Ohio as a model of what a good number of folks I grew up surrounded by would consider to be a centrist, mainstream piece of legislation: a bill that gives parents the right to abuse transgender kids.

The reason the GOP generally feels that they shouldn’t have to pay for welfare or other social programs is because they view that as the church’s sociological purpose. In practice that’s probably not such a bad notion–except that the Church can require concessions from the supplicant, i.e. conform or be cast out. Further: the anti-abortion movement is a direct off shoot of white supremacy. Abortion will never be completely illegal in this country–it will just only be available to those who are rich enough and white enough. The cost of raising a child makes people dependent upon work and the more dependent you are upon your employment, the less you can counter unreasonable demands placed upon you by your employer. In a vaccuum, capitalism dictates that business will always favor getting more for less.

But if you really want to see the degree to which white supremacy is backed in to the evangelical mindset, google you’re local planned parenthood and cruise by it. Note the anti-abortion protestors. Find someone with a sign that proclaims life is sacred and ask them if that’s true why the aren’t at the southern border advocating for children who are being kept in cages, some of whom have been separated from their parents for weeks. Focusing on the handful of people who might choose to end a pregnancy over children that very much could use support and advocacy…

From where I’m sitting, it appears that Dump will nominate an extremist judges. Senate Dems only need two votes to nix the nomination. However, at this point, I don’t think it’s going to matter. I’m not an expert but based on the polling I’ve seen, I see no indication of any so-called ‘blue wave’ in November. And make no mistake, short of Democrats re-taking both chambers, Dump will win a second term and install 4 justices on the court. The effects of this will be disastrous as that formulation will work to ensure that a consistently right leaning slant and we’ll never see a centrist, let alone progressive or leftist majority ever again.

I am of the opinion that it’s time for those of us who hold statuses the Evangelical right sees as abhorrent to very seriously begin to start laying the ground work to leave the country for our own safety. Yes, it is actually that bad already.

#1750

Exploring the intersections of art and sexuality sounds–on paper–like a worthwhile undertaking; however, there’s an awful lot of privilege facilitating this project, e.g. a working computer, internet access, food, clothing and shelter–as well as gainful employment which allows me to pay my bills (more or less) and also allows enough scheduling flexibility that I am able to arrange my week in such a fashion where I can treat this blog as if it were a second part-time job.

The advantages that allow this work to be are not lost on me. And that’s why every fiftieth post I make a point to contextualize the relative frivolity of what I do here in the context of the desert of the real.

For this installment, I don’t even really know where to start. If you were at all familiar with Occupy Wall Street, you probably saw that kid with the SHIT IS FUCKED UP AND BULLSHIT sign. (Spoiler alert: that kid was and probably remains a colossal fucking asshat.)

I guess let’s start macro and head in the direction of micro.

Geopolitical Shit Show–

There seems to be tentative positive movements in the on-going morass of tension between North Korea.

The reality of this situation has little–if fuck all–to do with Dump’s ‘diplomacy: N. Korea’s subterranean nuclear test facility collapsed after the last detonation conducted there in September of 2017. At the time conservative estimates maintained that it would take 18 months minimum before any further testing could resume. A new report claims that the extent of the damage is far more extensive than originally suspected.

As with anything else, facts and context mattered little to U.S. Republicans in the House of Representatives, who–looking for a desperately needed hash in the win column for their embattled commander and chief nominated Dump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This is grossly ironic on something not unlike a quantum level. From Dump’s comments about Mexicans, his continued insistence that white supremacists and neo-Nazis include some ‘good people’ to a seemingly endless litany of concrete ways his rule has made the world a much more uncertain and less safe place, the fact that less than a week after this nomination, Dump announced that the U.S. will pull out of the Iran deal.

It’s literally impossible to sum up the complexities of this situation as well as why this decision will have lasting and vast consequences for the world in any format short of an extensively footnoted thesis. Last Week Tonight put together a none too shabby survey of the history of the situation that is actually worth the 21 minute run time.

Additional points that need greater attention than they are getting presently are as follows: Remember back in 2017 when reporting on Russian election meddling was heating up and Dump met with Russian officials in the White House? At the time: it was reported that Dump shared sensitive intelligence with these officials. Kevin Drum over at Mother Jones–whose politics infuriate me, but who does have a tendency of low key scooping inside information–was informed by a reader (who it must be noted shows no signs of being credible source) claiming that it was actually much worse than reported. According to the letter writer Dump gave up Israeli intelligence involving a listening device that was installed at great risk in a Daesh safehouse in Syria, this device was silenced within hours of this breach.

Which is not to champion Israeli intelligence, remember that Netanyahu (remember that this is the man that Israeli police have recommended be arrested in connection with corruption charges), asserted that Iran is cheating on the deal. These claims were justifiable treated with skepticism in western media. It doesn’t matter so much whether they are true or not; or whether they influenced Dump’s decision because the reality of the situation is that no sooner did the U.S. jettison the Iran Deal than Israel allege that Iran fired missiles at them and retaliated.

Point is that the U.S. is signalling war with Iran. So buckle up for some bullshit, folks.

Oh, did you catch Dump’s suggestion about closing the U.S. borders? It was presented in the context of immigration–but that’s a boldly disconcerting way to phrase things.

I’m going to completely skip over the ongoing Dump corruption-Russian election meddling clusterfuck. The one thing that I am noticing is that conservative media is burying anything to do with Michael Cohen and is reporting on the Mueller probe as a ‘witch hunt’ and/or a deep state coup attempt. This is deeply disturbing.

As more mainstream, fact based media is edging towards referring to this as the ‘constitutional crisis’ this administration represents, I have to point out that although ‘constitutional crisis’ is the correct term–given where things are with the ongoing debate on gun violence in this country, there are those on the right who are going to term ‘constitutional crisis’ as they are going to take away all my guns.

If I hadn’t outgrown conspiracy theories, I’d be reasonably convinced that Russia is actually using the way things played out in Syria as a template to foment multi-faction civil war in the U.S. But I have noticed a splintering of the usual left-right dichotomy in this country. It’s my feeling that the old notion of socially progressive/economically liberal vs classically conservative is being scrambled. It feels as if increasingly the spectrum revolves around an emphasis on First Amendment (1A) vs Second Amendment (2A) freedoms. I’m noting a lot of folks who are pro-choice and LGBTQ allies adopting the modality of there’s no 1A without 2A. I am unsettled by this shift.

Personally, I loathe guns. And despite some of the utterly garbage aspects of the U.S. constitution (i.e. the 3/5ths compromise, women not being able to vote, prohibition, etc.), I’m inclined to think that it’s really not the best idea to go mucking around there. However, originalist interpretations of the constitution are increasingly cropping up do the the rapid advancement of technology in combination with culture lag. The meme about muskets vs assault rifles is valid. (And the people who argue on the terms of a well-regulated militia as a defense against tyranny are full of shit unless they are also actively trying to be able to purchase and own tanks and predator drones… those folks are out there but that they aren’t exactly mainstream shows that there are places that are too batshit for even the NRA to go). I’m of a mind that until purchasing a gun requires licensing on par with obtaining/maintaining a CDL, then I think our gun control laws are entirely too lax. An addenda to that is the caveat that I also really want some additional research on how procuring a personal arsenal seems to be something disproportionately pursued by bigoted white supremacists. And ultimately that’s how I see this issue as a an effort to make the sword mightier than the pen.

On a slightly different subject: this recent video featuring Reza Aslan discussing the reality that most white Evangelicals support Dump and how that squares with their alleged beliefs is must see TV.

Also, speaking of Xtians: there’s been a spate of anti-abortion legislation that I can’t even begin to summarize. We are very much headed in the direction of The Handmaid’s Tale. (I’m not the only one who thinks so. Consider Michelle Wolf’s White House Corresponent’s Dinner set where she compared Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Aunt Lydia. Additionally: the fact that there was any sort of backlash to Wolf’s performance is galling. That it was so widespread is utterly terrifying and speaks to exactly how bad things have gotten quickly.)

Oh and did you here about the white girl who called the Yale police on another black grad student napping in a dorm common area? Or how about Rakem Balogun, who has spent 5 months in jail held without bail or trail under the FBI’s new efforts to make Black Identity Extremism a thing?

Lastly, consider the Republican Governor of Missouri Eric Grietens’ response to being accused of non-consensual rough sex (”FAKE NEWS!!”) vs Eric Schneiderman’s resignation (after which he claimed that the activities were consensual–but that doesn’t seem to be hold up to any sort of scrutiny; also, I’m really disturbed about how this is being reported with regards to context with regard to the nature of negotiation and consent in BDSM scenes).

#1700

Whether or not President Shithole is guilty of colluding with Russian remains to be seen. Regardless, his tenure continues to be sullied by scandal and corruption.

In other words: fire remains hot; water wet.

There are some rather unsettling developments at the margins, however. For example: there is a new executive order banning trans gender folx from serving in the armed force. It’s the same ban as before only reworded to exploit the fact that cisgender people know next to nothing about gender dysphoria and medical interventions related to it. (To be clear: I do not support the U.S. military one whit, however: anyone dumb enough to want to join should be allowed in.)

Also: the Department of Health and Human Services removed resources from its site pertaining to issues effecting lesbian and bisexuals.

At a hearing two weeks ago, the Secretary of the Interior was questioned by a congresswoman from Hawaii (whose parents were held in American interment camps during WWII) about the discontinuation of a funding for a program related to Japanese American history. The secretary responded konichiwa (japanese for “good day”). When chided about the offensive nature of the comment he played the typical bigot card and implied that things are too PC when you can’t even wish someone good morning.

Then there’s the entrance of John Bolton as National Security Advisor. Bolton is an ultra hawk and an Islamophobic bigot. Who has openly rallied for war against both Iran and N. Korea. Effing cute.

On that note and before moving onto the main topic of this post: I’d like to note that contemporary conservatism is nothing more and nothing less than full-throated white supremacy apologia. Full stop.

With that thought in mind let’s shift to gun violence. I’ll get to the mass shooting at Marjory Stonerman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL in a bit. First, you really should be aware of two related but grossly under-reported stories.

First, Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man in Sacramento, CA was shot 20 times by police in his backyard because they thought he was holding a gun. He wasn’t. He was talking on his cell phone. (Compare this with the fate of the MSD shooter.) The protests that have resulted are being overshadowed by this weekends March For Our Lives action organized by Parkland students–but part of what’s at issue here is that there is a disparity between the way numerous cohorts along the political spectrum view and process this issue.

I’ll admit my bias up front. I don’t like guns. And unlike most folks, that’s not because I’ve not been around them/used them. The constitution is pretty clear when it comes to gun ownership–it should be allowed. The difficulty is that “well-regulated militia” part.

There’s also the fact that the historical context has changed rather substantively. When the Bill of Rights was written and ratified, this country was still using freaking muskets–which fired one projectile ever two minutes or something like that. (Given Emma Gonzalez’s 6:20 speech–which is genius on about seven different levels–that would mean you could kill three people if you had really good aim and nerves of steel.)

There’s a fuck tonne of different information out there but it seems that an AR-15 can fire between 100 and 300 bullets per minute. In other words, the founding fathers never could’ve anticipated our current reality. (Also, gun enthusiasts are being intellectually dishonest when they toss around the defense against tyranny argument. The stand off at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX in 1993 was ostensibly over the stock-piling of weapons and anti-government rhetoric. And in that case the government just rolled a tank up to the front door. So if people arguing that their right to own assault weapons is a defense against tyranny–why aren’t they also trying to get access to predator drones, tanks and nuclear launch codes as well? (But more on that in a minute…)

The recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was pretty good at taking the NRA to task. But I’d like to present that as a chaser for this Vice report where a Republican strategist talks with current and former NRA members about the current issues with gun violence in the U.S.

The Vice video is important because I actually mostly agree with the only guy who identifies as a former member. And the rest of the folks seem to at least share common ground. It’s interesting that the two men who are the most rabid in their pro-gun rhetoric are representative of the actual NRA organizational platform.

I just don’t get where we’ve arrived at the point where any time someone mentions the need for increased regulations pertaining to gun ownership, the NRA and it’s crisis actors start spewing about how the government is going to come to take your guns. Really what’s being suggested is a ban on assault rifles–which the majority of highly trained military folks feel civilians should not be able to procure. It would also be great if you know it was harder to get a semi-automatic rifle than it was to get a driver’s license or an abortion. (AJE points out that the lax gun laws in the US are fueling violence in Mexico.)

Specifically with the MSD massacre it’s been interesting to see the visceral fury the right directs at these kids. There was the guy running for state congress in Maine who referred to Emma Gonzalez as a “skinhead lesbian’. Yet, most of the commentary among conservatives focused laser-like along the trajectory of this meme. A couple of things about this: first, I actually confronted several folks who posted this asking them politely if the support Gay Straight Alliances in H.S. Most won’t answer because they don’t and the fact that they don’t disproves their objections on their stated grounds.

However, this meme is also extremely pernicious because it’s victim blaming in that it suggests the problem of gun violence is a problem that only kids can fix themselves and that only by preventing bullying will any changes to gun violence happen. (This is why conservatives are such godawful artists, their message is more important than the medium or any sort of consistency in application of conceptual underpinnings.) Basically, this meme is suggesting that the threat of a white man buying a gun legally and walking into a school and killing a bunch of people is what’s at stake if kid’s don’t stop straight white kids from being bullied. (Make no mistake that they fully support bullying of non-white kids as well as immigrants and LGBTQ folk.)

And to put the kibosh on this BS about arming teacher–let’s not forget Philando Castille, who worked at a school and was licensed to carry a gun and was killed by a cop while complying with his instructions during a routine traffic stop. When you hear anyway upon but especially including the president calling for arming teachers… you should hear it as white male teachers. (As a corollary: consider how the Austin bombing was originally reported. It’s interesting that the culprit is still not being widely termed a terrorist and that any suggestion that this was a result of bigotry is being de-emphasized.)

The lack of coverage over the impact of gun violence on communities of color up to and including Stephon Clark is especially disturbing. But I was chilled by this CNN town hall where survivors of MSD confront craven NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch. I applaud the kids but it’s upsetting the way that both sides keep inviting law enforcement mediation. (On a related note: it’s upsetting to me that even folks that are more liberal seem to be adopting the you can’t take guns away mentality. For example, RtJ’s Killer Mike appeared on NRAtv saying he disagrees with taking away guns. But that’s again and for the thousandth time what is not being suggested here. Banning further sale of assault weapons is not taking away the ones that already exist–even though I personally would support that sort of movement. And I do think that he has a point with regard to folks in places where the police aren’t going to show up in time, if at all. But I lose any respect for someone who dictates that his political ideology on one issue intimately linked to white supremacy overrides filial duty. EDIT: Killer Mike has wisely distanced himself from the interview.)

The problem is that we need to take a good hard look at this nation’s infatuation with guns and then something needs to change.

To close this out, just bear in mind that Ani DiFranco wrote To The Teeth just shy of 20 years ago now. It’s reads as disturbingly prophetic now.

#1650

A lot of extravagant privilege allows for the possibility of this project. I try not to take that for granted and dedicate every 50th post to contextualizing the considerations of this blog within the current sociopolitical milieu.

I have to confess I’ve been doing a really godawful job keeping up with the news. As I have been essentially what I guess is termed a digital nomad for the last month and will remain so for the next 1.5 months or so: I find that I spend a lot less time consuming news media. (It makes me feel like a bad activist but it’s also been a boon to my mental health–as has been being in a locale where it’s chilly overnight but reaches into the low 70s during the day.)

As such, the stories I’ve noticed have been a little less all over the place than usual.

There was a solid opinion piece over at al-Jazeera about how while Obama would’ve never used such a term as ‘shithole’ to refer to other countries–he certainly treated them as if they were exactly that.

Then there’s the focus on immigration:

Currently, the US government is trying to hash out another short term stop gap to fund the government several more weeks so that some sort of consensus can be reached over the status of the so-called Dreamers, i.e. people who were brought her without the requisite legal documentation as children and who have participated in the system in good faith for a decade if not longer.

Numerous sources have reported that there is bipartisan support for dreamers and that if a vote was called for the decoupled Dreamers from being held hostage by budget negotiations–then it has the votes necessary to pass. However, Ryan is determined to carry water for President Shithole and refuses to allow such a vote.

There’s also the matter of President Shithole trying to insist that his wall be funded as part of the budget process–despite the fact that it’s a colossal boondoggle that has no bearing on the way undocumented crossing of borders most often happens.

Also: there’s been a lot of news about ICE recently–with the end of record keeping for the previous year, ICE arrests went up 30% over the previous non-President Shithole year.

They keep on exhibiting themselves as reprehensible shit licking scum fucks on the regular. (ACAB but there is a special place in hell for ICE agents.)

Oh and by the way: ICE is trying to muscle in on the intelligence community. If that doesn’t scare the fuck out of you then I’m betting your only marginally literate.

#1600

This blog has artistic pretenses aplenty; however, when it comes right down to it, it is a Tumblr sex blog–the degree of privilege (having the time and resources enough to keep this project going) is not something that is lost on me; as such: I take a break every 50 posts to contextualize the proceedings here within the scope of what’s happening in the larger world.

I can’t possibly hope to cover everything that’s happened in the 1.5 months since our last post. That’s a simple statement of fact but it’s also well worth identifying as an anti-resistance tactic–it’s physically not possible to keep up with everything but leftist guilt is a powerful sentiment to co-opt and I feel that this is one way in which the current US government is truly succeeding.

Sadly, there have been other successes. Shorn troll doll with a permanently smug, shitstained grin–Ajit Pai, led the FCC in revoking Net Neutrality protections and the House and Senate voted to pass a sweeping tax code that creates a $1 trillion+ deficit and offers graduated tax cuts that will mean (in practice) that the more you make the less you pay in taxes.

These two ‘victories’ for the GOP are both unpopular from a bipartisan standpoint. Both are guided by a strict conservative orthodoxy which maintains that the world functions in a fashion that is not anything like the way the world actually works.

Conservatives believe that regulation stifles innovation. They trust that corporations know best and that we should trust them to do what they do best. Climate change should be enough to categorically disprove this. Ah, yes–but there’s the rub. (Also, I believe that conservatives are aware that while strong title II protections likely also serve their interests, they do realize that capital being what it is they trust the unregulated system to be attuned to profiteering and as such feel that non-regulation likely serves their interests more than anyone elses–I mean even with regulation Russia was able to effectively manipulate opinion via social media.)

Short term, there isn’t likely to be a great deal of fallout over the Net Neutrality repeal. It’ll be litigated ad nauseum–it may or may not shake out in favor of those who favor regulation or those who oppose it. At this point there is no way to tell.

However, the tax cuts for the wealthiest of the wealthy will have immediate ramifications. If you recall those anti-austerity riots in Italy and Greece several years back, that is the future these craven shits are steering us towards. It doesn’t matter if you view the end game as the creation of a neo-plantation system or whether you see this as a long game on ridding the state of minorities, LGBTQ+ folk, atheists and Muslims–I personally believe that when those idiots who voted for this president start having to watch their children starve, they are going to accuse (righteously) those they voted for of abandoning them. And which point it will be easy for leaders to embrace their favorite distraction technique–screaming fake news before deploying the time honored tradition of blaming the other for social turmoil.

It’s gotten so bad that the US ambassador to The Netherlands, was asked about disturbing afactual, Islamophobic comments he is on video spewing. He responded that it was fake news and when pressed about his lie he referred to it as fake news again as his comments were clearly taken out of context. (They were not.)

What worries me is with it looking more and more likely that at the very least the Predator-in-Chief’s campaign colluded with non-American groups and governments in an effort to manipulate the 2016 election. The thought I keep having is that even at this point when collusion is proven (and that’s an assumption but it seems fairly clear where this is headed)–will anything be done about it? Or, will the rallying cry be more fake news and then other outrages will mount and we’ll lose track of it?

#1550

A great amount of privilege goes into enabling a project like this–which despite frequent artsy aspirations, is effectively a sex/porn Tumblr. Bearing this in mind, I pause things every 50 posts to touch on the reality of the broader context in which this blog–for better or worse–exists.

Like so many of us, I’m completely overwhelmed when it comes to keeping up with current events. It was a Herculean undertaking before this year but the present regime in my country–it is virtually impossible to keep all the whirring chainsaws of day-to-day news in the air without dropping a baker’s dozen in the process. It’s goddamn fucking exhausting.

Here are some stories that I feel were either under-reporter or deserve to be borne in mind going forward.

Next, the president gave the key note address to the Value Voters Summit last month. For those that do not know, the Value Voters Summit is organized by the Family Research Council, an anti-LGBTQ hate group. During his statement he once again concept-checked his intention to “stop cold” (non-existent) attacks on Judeo-Xtian values.

Shortly after that the story about Harvey Weinstein’s predatory history dropped; this, in turn, spurred the #MeToo movement. I’m pretty sure if you’re reading this you are aware of this story but I did want to take a point to remind everyone that when accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault: you should always believe women. Additionally, I think that the conservative backlash over this is endemic of everything I loathe most about that particular prism, they completely overlook the fact that a number of women have accused the Predator-in-Chief of sexual assault–most publicly.

The White House has taken the official position that all these women are lying–despite the fact that much like Weinstein there is a clear pattern of overlap between the accusations.

Also, while we are on the subject it’s probably a good time to revisit the episode of Last Week Tonight that aired immediately after the 2016 election–where Oliver points out that essentially the conservative ideology increasingly demands acknowledging of “alternative facts”, or: opinion are more factual than actual facts. (Consider these two Vice stories on a right-wing militia and Antifa in Philadelphia. Vice is certainly not unbiased. But they do give the former group the benefit of the doubt that they are ‘intelligent’ despite their counter-factual interpretation of history and complete detachment from present day social reality; whereas, the Antifa group are depicted as pretentious and a bit histrionic.)

Another big story has been how the Predator-in-Chief botched a call to the widow of La David Johnson. (Keep in mind that this is the same man who somehow managed to co-opt sports stars kneeling during the national anthem and transform it from a campaign to promote awareness about police brutality toward PoC into an anti-military, anti-American protest that it never was.) A lot of the public wrestling over this is to cover for the fact that by all accounts what happened in Niger is actually far, far more fucked up than Benghazi.

As everyone knows, the first indictments from Mueller’s special prosecution into collusion between the Predator-in-Chief’s campaign and Russia have emerged. I’m not going to get into that. But there have been some interesting developments with the how Russia meddled with the election. If you read between the lines in this article, the implications are fucking chilling.

In two local bits of news, there was an attack in NYC. A guy in a truck entered a bike path and killed 8. The NYTimes did something I found remarkably astute–acknowledging the current climate of fomented Islamophobia but reporting the assailant screamed “God is great” in Arabic. I’m increasingly disappointed with the NYTimes’ centrism, but that was a good call on the part of the editorial board.

Also, independent media here in NYC took a big hit on Thursday. Gothamist and DNAinfo were shuttered on November 2nd. As of this writing, the archive of stories they’ve published still remains unavailable. It’s widely scene that this move was made more in retaliation for the staff voting to unionize and less for the PR reasons of the businesses not being profitable.

There’s a draconian abortion bill that’s been introduced to the US House or Representatives (on top of the reverse Robin Hood tax plan that’s seemingly DOA, like all the rest of the Predator-in-Chief’s legislative efforts thus far–thankfully); it would outlaw abortions after 6 weeks. In practice, this would mean–assuming the person is especially conscientious–they would have two to three weeks to seek an abortion after learning they were pregnant; in most cases, you would find out you were pregnant and have days to make a decision–in certain states without reliable access to abortion, this would mean you would be required to carry the fetus to term.

And, with the hundreds upon hundreds of reasons to justifiably criticism Sarah Huckabee Sanders, fat shaming her should never be one of them. (I’m 0% surprised that it was a man who thought it was a good idea to attack Sanders for being ‘fat’.)

Enough with this shit sandwich on turd bread, I have actually saved too feel good stories to help ameliorate this gloom and doom.

Califonia voted to recognize a non-binary third gender!! :::blowing kisses to my future home state:::

And, in a down ballot race I’m watching closing, trans person and metal band front woman Danica Roem is running for the Virginia state House of Delegates. Noisey did a profile on her and she sounds like someone I’d adore. I’m super rooting for her. EDIT: FUCK YEAH!!!! SHE WON!!!

#1500

Since we last checked in with the world beyond the art-porn-iverse, a lot of super shitty shit has shit everywhere in the bed.

There have been not one (Harvey), not two (Irma), but three (Maria) catastrophic hurricanes. (Nothing at at all to do with climate change. That’s just a dumb librull conspiracy theory.)

Mexico has suffered two major earthquakes. (EDIT: A third–6.1 magnitude–hit while I was composing this.)

The U.S. ‘President’ and Kim Jong-Un, the dictator of N. Korea–continue an idiotic battle of insults which could very well end up having very real and potentially nuclear consequences. (John Oliver scooped every other media source by delivering one of the most clear-eyed and thoughtful analyses of the state of things inside N. Korea.)

45 promised to rescind protection for so-called Dreamers–children of parents who entered the country illegally but who have grown up in the country more or less as citizens. (Honestly, there’s been so much back and forth on this that I don’t know where it stands now. However, unconscionable deportation efforts continue apace.)

Speaking of Dreamers, one of the activist networks I’m engaged with sent a document around advising folks how to react/respond. It was interesting because it included a reminder that while marijuana may be legal in certain jurisdictions, it is still very much illegal at the Federal level. This was–once more–a potent reminder that decriminalization/legalization efforts haven’t really achieved their goals if folks of color and other minorities are still being penalized for possession and use.

That being said: if you are a fellow Weedian, remain vigilante. @tanyadakin posted about her experience with a massive undercover sting in Philadelphia. Rumblings I’m hearing are that this is going to be become the new normal under Sessions DoJ watch. Please be careful out there.

But let’s end with something I don’t usually do–accentuate the positive.

A nazi got knocked the fuck out in Seattle. There’s video. It’s delightful.

Also–on a more personal note: I’ve seen the aurora borealis once, five years back. It was stunning the first time. But September is early in the season so you don’t expect more than a few swirls and curlicues. I noticed–almost by accident–that the Aurora forecast for the evening of Sept. 7th was a 5 (the scale runs from 0 to 8). I’ve never been in Iceland when there was a 5. My BFF and I decided to go on a tour and well, OMFG!!! It started as soon as we got of the bus… just streaks here and there and then for 25 minutes the entire sky was alight with shimmeringly undulating waves of dancing light. The guides were stunned and kept saying they get way brighter than this but they are NEVER this active. I stood turning in circles (you had to, there was too much to take in from a stationary vantage) in a lava field for the better part of an hour.

How wonderful was the experience? Put it this way, I was one of the the fifteen hundred some folks who sat with Marina Abramovic when she did her The Artist is Present performance. It was 100x better than that. (I also learned that in extremely desolate and uninhabited climes, you can hear the northern lights. Needless to say hearing this has become a new item on my bucket list.)

#1450

Okay, so straight up here: if you think that the fractious realpolitik under Obama was motivated by anything other than racism–you’re a racist.

What were the prevailing faux scandals during that administration? Obama being a Muslim/not an American Citizen? (I.e. notions that were categorically repudiated throughout his tenure?) HRC’s response to Benghazi–in which how many hours of Senate testimony were heard and which the FBI investigated only to determine that nothing criminal occurred?

Basically, all they’ve got is that time Michelle Obama invited the rapper Common to the White House for a poetry event? The current administration colludes with Russia and invites Russians to the White House and conservatives a like–whatevs, at least this one isn’t black?

We have the House which conducted something in excess of 50 procedural votes to express their displeasure with the Affordable Care Act. (These votes did nothing but waste tax payers time and funds and creating gridlock.)

Oh and remember how Paul Ryan and his ilk were everywhere pissing about how the ACA was being ramrodded through after months of testimony and public debate? And then the House with an iron fisted GOP majority passes a repeal bill that’s DOA in the Senate and the Senate then decides to write one bill in secret–which fails spectacularly and another bill that they essentially wrote over a lunch break which also fails spectacularly.

So conservatives are not only racists, they are hypocrites–because they are fine with what the expressed objection to when it was against their stated interest but fine when it’s for it. Dems aren’t exactly pristine at this but there is more of a respect for precedent and the rule of law on the left. No one with a fraction of a brain can argue any differently at this point.

So what else… 45 tweeted that trans folk can no longer serve in the military because medical treatment for transition is too expensive–of course, overlooking the fact that the military spends 10x more on Viagra than it does on medical care for trans service people. (Also fuck the military, I’m not a fan. But for a president to say that trans people don’t belong is an effort to normalize hatred and bigotry against trans folk. It’s why I’m afraid to wear a dress outside and when I do dress as femme as I dare, I still get menaced by muscled cismen on subway platforms.)

The DoJ–in the same week–noted that LGBTQ folks are not protected by federal workplace discrimination protections. (Thus if you are openly gay and work for the federal government, you can be fired.) They also want to make it harder for students attending colleges to report rape/sexual assault. And with a complete straight face, Jeff Beauregard Racist Fuckface Sessions opened an investigation on whether or not affirmative action represents reverse racism. (Reverse racism which is not a real thing and never has been a real thing, ever.)

Oh yeah, and North Korea can now launch tactical nuclear strikes that could reach every major US city except Washington D.C. Yes, granted: they do not currently have a small enough warhead to fit those missiles. And yes, they probably haven’t figured out how to get their missile to navigate atmospheric re-entry; but those are all things that they’ll have ironed out within a year.

This is our world now. And I’m completely overlooking the fact of how things are rapidly degenerating in Venezuela.