Archive for 2018
March 1, 2018
CATHY YOUNG: Monica Lewinsky Is No #MeToo Heroine.
The #MeToo revolution against sexual abuse has a new unlikely heroine: Monica Lewinsky. The former White House intern, now a 44-year-old activist, has a new essay in Vanity Fair reexamining her past in light of the post-Harvey Weinstein reckoning.
The piece has been widely praised as a smart, necessary contribution to our national conversation about sex, power and consent. It is indeed a fascinating essay. But its main takeaway should be to raise more questions about whether #MeToo in its current version represents progress.
Until now, Lewinsky has always insisted that her relationship with President Bill Clinton was fully consensual and mutual, despite the vast gap in their position and age — and despite efforts by Clinton foes to portray his actions toward her as predatory.
“To Lewinsky’s credit, she never portrayed herself as any kind of victim of Clinton’s advances,” Jeffrey Toobin wrote in his 2000 book, “A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.”
In her first confessional piece for Vanity Fair in 2014, Lewinsky stuck to that position. She asserted that she felt abused in the aftermath of the affair, when special prosecutor Kenneth Starr strong-armed her into testifying while Clinton minions tried to smear her to protect the President. But the affair itself? “Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: It was a consensual relationship.”
Well, “always” didn’t last long — only another four years. . . . Lewinsky also asserts that her earlier denials of victimhood were a self-deluded way of dealing with trauma and reclaiming her dignity.
So it was consensual until she changed her mind. I swear, someone’s going to write a book calling for a return to patriarchy, using nothing but the words of #MeToo advocates as evidence that women can’t make good decisions on their own.
YOUR DAILY TREACHER: ‘Crisis Actors’ Don’t Exist, and You’re Probably Just Helping That Nonsense Spread.
IT’S A PARODY. OR IS IT? “We Honestly Have No Fucking Idea What We’re Doing”, Admits Leading Quantum Physicist.
YET ANOTHER DNC-MSM DOG THAT REFUSES TO BARK: Why Doesn’t Mainstream Media Demand Democrats Denounce Farrakhan?
Probably for the same reason that CNN declared Rev. Wright’s 2008 speech to the NAACP “a home run,” one week before following the Obama camp’s order and permanently memory holing him into “the Wright-Free Zone” during an interview. As John Norte of Big Hollywood likes to say, “Democrats sure got it good.”
Related: ADL: Say, Louis Farrakhan Seems Pretty Popular With Women’s March Founders.
YOU KNOW THE ANSWER: Why Are Senate Dems Torpedoing Their Own Gun Bill? “Because it might pass — and this tells you everything you need to know about Washington DC.”
What a shame that George Washington’s name is still attached to the city our capital has become.
REVIEW: Ruger Security-9 Pistol.
DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS: Texas private school arming administrators with guns.
WORDS OF WONDER: Keith Richards on reuniting the Rolling Stones and going sober: ‘The drugs are so bland these days.’
Keith Richards hasn’t had a drink since Christmas. The legendarily hard-living rock and roll icon sounds almost reluctant to admit to sobriety. “I’m not saying I’m definitely off all of this stuff,” he protests. “In six months’ time, I might be on it again. But at the moment, for a couple of months, I haven’t touched it.” When I ask how he is finding abstinence, he chuckles ruefully. “It’s novel.”
The 74-year-old Rolling Stone still smokes incessantly and speaks as if his vocal cords are coated in thick layers of fur, but he insists that cigarettes and coffee are the only real vices he has left. He is impressively disdainful of the prescription drugs rife among a younger generation, such as Xanax and Percocet. “Drugs are not interesting these days. They are very institutionalised and bland. And, anyway, I’ve done ’em all.”
This is a nice… no, that’s not the word… solid… no, that’s not it either…
It’s everything you want out of an interview with Keith Richards. Highly recommended.
CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Michigan Gov. Snyder Signs Legislation Expanding Access To Craft Beer.
JAMES AGRESTI: Defensive Gun Use Is More Than Shooting Bad Guys.
MICHAEL LEDEEN: Indicted Russians. That’s It?
HERE’S WHY YOU’RE LIKELY READING TRUMP’S SESSIONS TWEET THE WRONG WAY: David Blackmon, a very sharp energy guy from Texas, explains the right way in LifeZette. The right way comes to a completely, totally, absolutely opposite conclusion than the MSM’s talking head legion about the meaning of it all.
JUST WHAT KIND OF MAGIC WAND DO YOU HAVE? Manufacturing in U.S. Expands at Fastest Pace Since May 2004. “The report showed factories are having some difficulty keeping up with demand.”
Flashback:
During a PBS town hall that aired Wednesday, Obama referenced Trump’s promise to bring back jobs to the United States when talking about manufacturing.
“Well, how exactly are you going to do that? What exactly are you going to do? There’s no answer to it,” Obama said.
“He just says, ‘Well, I’m going to negotiate a better deal.’ Well, what, how exactly are you going to negotiate that? What magic wand do you have? And usually the answer is, he doesn’t have an answer.”
Obama has slammed Trump in the past.
And now it’s Obama who’s in the past.
YES. BETTER TO KNOW NOW THAN FIND OUT LATER: Should the US Navy ‘Shock Test’ Its Latest Carrier? “Shock testing involves setting off explosive charges in the water near a warship to see if anything breaks. The charges are set off close enough to buffet the ship with shockwaves from the explosion, but not to cause any permanent damage. Afterwards, the Navy conducts a thorough inspection of the ship to determine what, if anything, broke and conduct repairs.”
I’LL TAKE MY CHANCES: Yes, bacon really is killing us.
ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE, NOW THERE’S THIS TO WORRY ABOUT: KFC faces gravy shortage in United Kingdom after rebounding from chicken panic.
HONESTLY, MOST PEOPLE I KNOW WHO’VE HAD THIS HAD POOR RESULTS: Researchers at Johns Hopkins say arthroscopic partial meniscectomy — a removal of the worn ends of cartilage in knee joints — has been shown to have limited to no benefit for seniors with degenerative conditions.