Kavanaugh's Male Privilege

Of the many things that were notable and disturbing at the same time was the temper tantrum that was pitched by Brett Kavanaugh during th Senate earing last Thursday. Kavanaugh yelled, berated his opponents and, a time or two, openly weeps over how cruel it was that he couldn't just step into the job that he felt that we was entitled to have.

If a woman had sat there and yelled and cried, she would have been dismissed out of hand as being emotional, hysterical and certainly not of a temperament fit for even a trial court, let alone the Supremes. She likely would be laughed out of the hearing room.

So it's OK for a male Republican to yell and cry in a pubic setting.

Another thing of note was the speed at which the Republicans got rid of the prosecutor who they hired to question Dr. Ford once it became clear that the prosecutor was going to seriously question Kavanaugh about the allegations. Which was a pretty despicable move.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

A Falcon 50:

One of these puppies crashed in South Carolina last week.

Caturday

A rescued kitten:

What Most Men Don't Get

Via Balloon Juice:

I wish every man in the entire world would read this. Men, walk in our shoes for just 30 seconds by reading this post. Guys ask why women are so pissed off. Even guys with wives and daughters.

Jackson Katz, a prominent social researcher, illustrates why. He’s done it with hundreds of audiences:

“I draw a line down the middle of a chalkboard, sketching a male symbol on one side and a female symbol on the other.

Then I ask just the men: What steps do you guys take, on a daily basis, to prevent yourselves from being sexually assaulted? At first there is a kind of awkward silence as the men try to figure out if they’ve been asked a trick question. The silence gives way to a smattering of nervous laughter. Occasionally, a young a guy will raise his hand and say, ‘I stay out of prison.’ This is typically followed by another moment of laughter, before someone finally raises his hand and soberly states, ‘Nothing. I don’t think about it.’

Then I ask the women the same question. What steps do you take on a daily basis to prevent yourselves from being sexually assaulted? Women throughout the audience immediately start raising their hands. As the men sit in stunned silence, the women recount safety precautions they take as part of their daily routine.

• Hold my keys as a potential weapon.
• Look in the back seat of the car before getting in.
• Carry a cell phone.Don’t go jogging at night.
• Lock all the windows when I sleep, even on hot summer nights.
• Be careful not to drink too much.
• Don’t put my drink down and come back to it; make sure I see it being poured.
• Own a big dog.
• Carry Mace or pepper spray.
• Have an unlisted phone number.
• Have a man’s voice on my answering machine.
• Park in well-lit areas.
• Don’t use parking garages.
• Don’t get on elevators with only one man, or with a group of men.
• Vary my route home from work.
• Watch what I wear.
• Don’t use highway rest areas.
• Use a home alarm system.
• Don’t wear headphones when jogging.
• Avoid forests or wooded areas, even in the daytime.
• Don’t take a first-floor apartment.
• Go out in groups.
• Own a firearm.
• Meet men on first dates in public places.
• Make sure to have a car or cab fare.
• Don’t make eye contact with men on the street.
• Make assertive eye contact with men on the street.”

― Jackson Katz, The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help

One example of this in action: Decades ago, the State of Vermont tore down its unattended highway rest areas after a couple of women were kidnapped from them.

I've not heard of a man needing to have his big brother come by and stare down a workplace harasser. I know women who have done that.

But hell, elect a clown to the presidency who has had a long track record of sexually harassing women and it should not have surprised anyone that he would pick one of his peeps for the Supreme Court.

Because It's Friday

UP 844:

There is a lot in this video that shows why, a long time ago, I stopped photographing steam excursions. You can set up in a good spot with a camera on a heavy tripod and clueless people would stand right in your shot.

You'll also see people violating a cardinal rule of rail safety: Don't stand on the other tracks.

That'll Be "Justice Pervert" to You, Bucko

That is all.

F-35 Turkey News

The United States used an F-35 jet against a Taliban target in Afghanistan earlier on Thursday, marking the first U.S. combat use of the stealthy plane, a U.S. official said.

Since it was a Navy jet, here are some signals:

Bravo Foxtrot Delta

Dropping bombs on a defenseless target is as much a combat mission as going deer hunting is being in a gunfight.

The Bush-Obama-Trump Forever War goes on...

Trump Thinks George Washington Was a Total Loser

It hardly bears snarking that Presidente Bone Spurs thinks he's better than George Washington.

Eighty Thousand Dead

An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications last winter, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If 80,000 Americans died in terrorist attacks last year, we'd be under martial law, there would be concentration camps holding everyone who ever said anything bad about El Presidente Cheeto.

First and foremost, get a fucking flu shot, people. Even if it's only 20% effective, if you do get the flu, it'll be of less intensity. 20% protection isn't anything to sneeze at. Wash your hands after being in public places (or take George W. Bush's advice and use Purell).

When it comes to the butcher's bill, context matters. 80,000 dead from the flu, 37,000 in car crashes merit a big "meh". Less than 3,000 dead in 9-11 merits years and years of clothes-rendering and sacrificing civil liberties (not to mention being afflicted with Rudy Giluliani).

Trump's Dain Bramage Reasserts Itself

Speaking in triumphal terms, Trump approached his address to the world body as something of an annual report to the world on his country’s progress since his inauguration. He showcased strong economic numbers, declared that the U.S. military is “more powerful than it has ever been before” and crowed that in “less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.”

That statement is so laughable as to be an indication of brain damage. It does not even bear refuting, for that would give credence to his puffery.

Now Trump says that was intentional. Even though, at the time, he was clearly taken aback by the response. But that's OK, for Trump lies as effortlessly as a dog licking his balls.

Meanwhile, Kavanaugh claimed that he was too busy going to church each Sunday to sexually assault girls. Right. All those priests who molested kids were also going to church every Sunday and probably on other days, as well.