Can you believe: this week we talk Baby Hitler, strikes and shutdowns, plus dude comedians just don’t get why CK is terrible.
Tens of thousands of teachers in Los Angeles are on strike, demanding more resources, small class sizes, and a pay raise to keep up with the insane cost of living in the area. The sight of the protest in DTLA is quite astonishing, and I support the teachers union in their quest to make schools better for all.
Negotations are continuing as I type this up, which is more than I can say for the government tantrum shutdown. If I were a betting woman, I’d say the teacher’s union will approve a new contract before Trump gives up on his racist iconography.
I never got into Pete Holmes as a comedian, even as You Made It Weird ran in the same circles as many of my favorites in the podcast/standup worlds. This interview with him in Gothamist is a great summation of everything that’s put me off about the dude for years. Pete’s views on the Louis CK fallout shows that he’s got issues with women at his core that he isn’t even thinking about. His concern is that if CK offends people, they shouldn’t go see him! And that Louis hasn’t/won’t be able to come out with an hour about the experience to process. His perspective is only about the famous comedy man and his feelings, and not any of the women he forced to watch him masturbate, or the careers he completely derailed. Pete toes the same tired line that does nothing to reflect on how shitty the status quo is. All that, plus promo for the new season of his show!
It’s that time of year again where hypocrites who only care about unborn children gather in DC to get as much attention as they can. Naturally, Ben Shapiro was there to speak. A solid portion of his time was devoted to ads better suited for his podcast (ZipRecruiter, Quip toothbrushes) when it uploads to the internet. I’m sure the live crowd was riveted though!
The best (?) part of Shapiro’s speech was him evoking Hitler, because of course. His point was that no pro-life person would kill baby Hitler, because he’s a baby! K. Now takes on Baby Hitler are having another moment, which I wasn’t really expecting this week but that’s what so magical about the time we live in! Also, Shapiro Skyped with VP Pence and they both fellated the president a little bit.
This past weekend was a big one for marches. The aforementioned Right to Life happened along with Women’s Marches as well as the Indigenous People’s March. Media attention zoomed in on one particular incident at the DC Indigenous People’s March that seems like the most distilled microcosm of our society right now. Boys in MAGA hats harassing a Native American. Take in this still frame for a moment. That smug taunting grin, we’ve seen it before. It’s how we got here. The fact that these children believe so strongly they have the right to gatekeep land that is not theirs is a societal failure. White supremacy continues to steamroll its way through the latest generation. This image will surely be in history books as emblematic of race tensions boiling over while a bigot is in the White House.
video from KC Noland on YouTube
While we are on the topic of having stolen this land from Native Americans, it, keep in mind that our government tantrum shutdown is affecting Indian Country much more than you or I. For a tripe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan, they are losing essentially $100,000 a day. That money goes to healthcare clinics, food pantry supplies, and employees. These crucial services will have to be cut soon. What kind of impact will this shutdown have on these communities? How many lives will end up destroyed because their funds to survive have been cut off, services furloughed out of existence? Even when the government does reopen and some services are revived, it will be too late for some families.
The great Ashley Feinberg interviewed Jack Dorsey and it’s real strong evidence that Twitter does need to be deleted. His answers are very typical tech CEO vapor, and of course I latch on to his inability to talk about much else besides making the reporting button bigger, but I especially admire Ashley for pushing Jack on a) why he unfollowed her and b) deleting the site. Ashley holds him to the fire, refuses to play like Jack is some genius we need to placate, and digs into the nothing answers he provides. What true value has Twitter brought the world that isn’t cancelled out by the awful harassment that is heaped on so many of its users?
Jack claims the report button stuff was a joke, but there’s no actual discussion of a system where getting rid of harassment isn’t a further burden on victims. So you’ll have to excuse me if I still remain skeptical that twitter will ever be more than a garbage fire birdsite. One that I continue to use obsessively until the paradigm shifts to a different application, but at least my feelings are clear!
Another example America totes has its priorities in order: four women have been convicted of misdemeanors after leaving food and water for migrants in the Arizona desert. Each of these women faces up to six months in prison for caring about other human beings and wanting them to live.
Remember when Mark Zuckerberg was constantly in the news (before the Cambridge Analytica thing) and people speculated he was gonna pursue a Presidential run? What innocent times! Zuck is just the latest wealthy white guy to buy up property in Hawaii, and it has many native Hawaiians worried for the future of their culture and community. He started a shell company to file lawsuits related to land that surround his compound. Basically he was forcing people to sell their shares in the land or try to outbid the Facebook Dude in a public auction, and also pay his legal fees. What a swell guy!
Thew newly-elected LA County sheriff has reinstated a former officer fired for domestic abuse and stalking allegations. The idea that the sheriff has the authority to reverse disciplinary action from previous administrations is especially troubling considering the corruption scandal in the dept’s recent past.
Shaun King is getting a taste of the Streisand Effect as he goes after a young queer organizer for questioning his activism. He is threatening to sue a number of activists who have questioned the legitimacy of his efforts (nothing new, really) and it’s blowing up in his face. I used to be one of his million followers and discovering his history was distressing yet unsurprising. Grifters posing as activists are the worst of the worst.
“I love you, dad!”
“Nice.”