The 1977 skit gently mocked the women’s movement and less gently mocked the patriarchy with a TV talk show called “You’ve Come a Long Way, Buddy†that promoted the work of male painters like Vincent Van Gogh (who “influenced many artists. And he was a man.â€) while music written by men, like Beethoven, played in the background, The skit reached its absurdist crescendo when a cigar-smoking John Belushi appears as a character who’s launched a 24-hour rape hotline … for men who’ve committed a rape. Belushi’s “Sam Montgomery†says the hotline gives rapists “an opportunity to talk to someone who understands what he’s gone through†— and it’s completely anonymous.
“Very often, to be known as a rapist is a social stigma, and it can ruin a man’s life.â€
That’s a quote from SNL and what was supposed to be biting social satire, in a time when the future absurdity of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, was beyond the ability of comedy writers to imagine. But when Trump addressed reporters on Friday who asked about Porter — who’d funneled America’s most important secrets onto the president’s desks for months while top aides knew his sordid past had blocked him from a security clearance — his words could have been ripped directly from that farcical skit four decades ago.
“We wish him well, he worked very hard. We found out about it recently and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well and it’s a tough time for him,†said Trump, showing his not-satirical concern for how the social stigma of wife-beating can ruin a man’s life. “He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career and he will have a great career ahead of him. But it was very sad when we heard about it and certainly he’s also very sad now.â€
(snip)
That’s an unconscionable message, not just to “our wives and daughters†(which is what male writers always say) but to the more than 160 million human beings who live in America and who are not men. There are many ways that Trump has blown up the contract to be a president of all of the American people, but this mindset that leads the president to offer his well-wishes to a credibly accused wife-beater is particular abhorrent. November’s midterm election will be a chance to prove that a would-be autocrat can’t succeed by suppressing a majority group, but I’m also sick and tired of well-meaning men waiting for women to save America at the ballot box. It’s time for men to acknowledge we haven’t come a long way, buddy. Let’s all work together to topple Trump’s United States of Men.
Watch Live: @BarackObama and @MichelleObama's portraits will be unveiled at the Smithsonian’s @NPG today at 10am ET: https://t.co/uO4778J31z https://t.co/MijBV53Tpa
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) February 12, 2018
Quote by BobR:
on a brighter note, the Google Doodles have been fun for the Olympics
A source close to the White House tells me that with an eye to getting Republicans excited about voting for Republicans in midterms, the president this year will be looking for "unexpected cultural flashpoints" — like the NFL and kneeling — that he can latch onto in person and on Twitter.
The source said Trump "is going to be looking for opportunities to stir up the base, more than focusing on any particular legislation or issue."
Quote by Raine:
Holy hell. I’ve been saying as a satirical dark comedic Joke that his racism is a feature not a bug, and then I read this:A source close to the White House tells me that with an eye to getting Republicans excited about voting for Republicans in midterms, the president this year will be looking for "unexpected cultural flashpoints" — like the NFL and kneeling — that he can latch onto in person and on Twitter.
The source said Trump "is going to be looking for opportunities to stir up the base, more than focusing on any particular legislation or issue."
Quote by wickedpam:
So if you're by Centreville, VA when the farms and stuff reopen, head over to Cox Farm They seem like good people.
Quote by Raine:Watch Live: @BarackObama and @MichelleObama's portraits will be unveiled at the Smithsonian’s @NPG today at 10am ET: https://t.co/uO4778J31z https://t.co/MijBV53Tpa
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) February 12, 2018
Quote by wickedpam:
So if you're by Centreville, VA when the farms and stuff reopen, head over to Cox Farm They seem like good people.
Quote by Raine:Quote by wickedpam:
So if you're by Centreville, VA when the farms and stuff reopen, head over to Cox Farm They seem like good people.
Nice!
We tried to go there one fall and it was REALLY packed.
Quote by Scoopster:Quote by wickedpam:
So if you're by Centreville, VA when the farms and stuff reopen, head over to Cox Farm They seem like good people.
I just tweeted 'em & asked if they have an online store.
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all..
This isn't an infrastructure plan. This is the Federal Government telling the states to go screw themselves.
It also makes you wonder - if the plan is to only have $200B available for federal grants to the states, then where is the other $1.3T going?
Speaking of portraits...
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) February 12, 2018
Left: My official portrait as Governor.
Right: My official “Pancake Portrait,†which one of my staffers ordered off @Etsy.
I’m certainly partial to one of these over the other... pic.twitter.com/1j9yf3j1BG
Quote by livingonli:
It sounds like the infrastructure plan is going to be another pile of corruption that will redistribute more wealth to the very rich. Donald Trump and the Koch Brothers make an increasing argument for communism at this rate.
Quote by Raine:Quote by livingonli:
It sounds like the infrastructure plan is going to be another pile of corruption that will redistribute more wealth to the very rich. Donald Trump and the Koch Brothers make an increasing argument for communism at this rate.
There is no longer a curtain of even pretending to give a shit.
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Raine:Quote by livingonli:
It sounds like the infrastructure plan is going to be another pile of corruption that will redistribute more wealth to the very rich. Donald Trump and the Koch Brothers make an increasing argument for communism at this rate.
There is no longer a curtain of even pretending to give a shit.
I chucked it in when I heard privatized roads. This is why we now have $40 peak tolls on 66.
"The office of Sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement. We must never erode this historic office" : Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaking at the National Sheriff's Association winter conference in DC. @vicenews pic.twitter.com/gPS6AbkS30
— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) February 12, 2018
Quote by Raine:
His white robe slipped:"The office of Sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement. We must never erode this historic office" : Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaking at the National Sheriff's Association winter conference in DC. @vicenews pic.twitter.com/gPS6AbkS30
— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) February 12, 2018
Quote by Raine:
His white robe slipped:"The office of Sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement. We must never erode this historic office" : Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaking at the National Sheriff's Association winter conference in DC. @vicenews pic.twitter.com/gPS6AbkS30
— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) February 12, 2018
Quote by Scoopster:
Nominee to head the Census Bureau withdraws his name from consideration.