You Know They Knew About Mark Robinson

 

Trump: We have to cherish Mark Robinson. You have to cherish him. He’s like a fine wine. He's an outstanding person. I've gotten to know him so well pic.twitter.com/ffkjfi56X8

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 19, 2024

This man's public comments were already a damn disaster: let's take us to before women were voting? Some people need killing?  His household has been sued by Girl Scouts and massively screwed up daycare . He said heinous things about civil rights. And we knew he was on the downlow and sleazy but we didn't know how downlow and sleazy. 

And now we have a very good idea what this man was about, and it was calling himself a "Black Nazi" and being down with golden showers and porn regarding the trans people he would oppress or even persecute right now. I don't know much, but I know one thing, Mark Robinson isn't too diverse to the NC GOP. They are, as a popular song once had it, standing by their man. 

An Alibi, A Shovel-Buddy and a Surveillance System Walked into a Bar

 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson admitted that he and his son monitored each other’s porn intake in a resurfaced clip from 2022 https://t.co/THNyCkttcw

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) November 5, 2023

I'm just a normal basic human, and I don't care to know anything about my parents' porn habits. I did learn that adult humans had down-there hair because my dad used to hide his skin mags under the bathroom sink when I was like, five, but he corrected that.  And I never really had to think about that again. Much. 

But anyway, this news is freaky to me: that's some serious boundary issues they've got there, in my humble estimation. But why is the father in this situation entrusting his browser history to his son? I can appreciate a parent having some level of curiosity about what their kids are up to online, that they aren't becoming white supremacists or bullying other kids for being gay or joining a cult, but the screwed-up thing for me this is like co-opting your kid to be able to vouch for your own version of No-Nut-November-October. They are an alibi. You can say your kid is not viewing porn. And as far as they know, your kid can say the same about you, for some reason? 

Josh Hawley Tries So Durn Hard

Josh Hawley says more men today are watching porn and playing video games because their masculinity has been criticized. pic.twitter.com/R0eXdRSYNT

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) November 1, 2021

More women are also watching porn and playing video games because these things are increasingly available due to technological advancements like getting wifi on your phone. It isn't deep. Porn is literally ancient. People play games for fun. It's the point. People do things they find fun. It's not a male thing. It's not a retreat from the cold cruel world. It's not the sturm und drang of opprobrium from the eternal and infernal female. It's just extremely convenient. And kind of fun.

Now, what manly men are supposed to do is become successful and find a good wife to occupy their definitely not porn and video game lifestyles. I guess. As if husbands time out of mind haven't fucked off to play pool or bowl or hang out at titty bars or catch a skin flick or whatever.  It passes the time. It's not some new obsession. It's really pretty trad--just the delivery medium has changed. Not all men are into these things, some always are. But that isn't a male-exclusive thing. (And it can be empowering, to women, but also sometimes doesn't feel that way.) Surprise--we're people. 

A Celebrity Apprentice TrumpWorld Grab-Bag

This week was rife with tales of TrumpWorld government departures and speculation about who was next. The firing of Rex Tillerson left some speculating whether the "suicide pact" resignations would be enacted. There was some fluttering rumor 24 hours or so ago that H.R. McMaster was due to leave and the General Kelly was likely to resign. So far, McMaster is safe (or as safe as one can be in that milieu) and as this anecdote supports, Kelly is still fitting in quite nicely as Trump's CoS with all the dignity that position entails:

According to those sources, Kelly recounted a very awkward conversation with Tillerson during which he informed the secretary that President Donald Trump would very likely soon fire him. The awkwardness was less a result of the contents of the conversation than its setting.

Tillerson, Kelly told the room, was suffering from a stomach bug during a diplomatic swing through Africa, and was using a toilet when Kelly broke the news to him.

Sources were stunned that, even in an off-record setting, Kelly would say this—to a room filled with White House officials and political reporters—about Tillerson, who does not officially leave the State Department until the end of the month.

Classy!

Someone certainly had to go. It couldn't be McMaster (and I think this is because the firing got leaked before Trump could pettishly do it by Tweet which just killed the drama) but Trump was planning on fucking with Deputy FBI Director McCabe anyway. And with a couple days to go before he was safe to get his pension and retire--Boom! Time of career death 10 PM EST on a Friday. As one does. If one is AG Jeff Sessions, and supposedly recused from things having to do with the Russian election interference investigation, of which the Comey firing which McCabe has important details about is a part, and which now folds into the Mueller investigation that also includes obstruction of justice because (taking a deep bloggy breath) Trump didn't fire Comey because of his tenderness over how Hillary Clinton was treated by the FBI during the 2016 election, and that surely has nothing to do with his direction to Sessions regarding McCabe in this instance. (I don't really think the recommendation of the OIG matters that much here because we have Twitter-proof that Trump was always fixing to have McCabe fired. Trump couldn't help but let us all know via Twitter because, I think, he doesn't really have much of an internal life.)

In other words--Trump was feeling bitchy and needed to holler "Off with their heads" like the little Queen of Hearts he is. But I don't think it will be without repercussions. If the result from media coverage isn't the pick-me-up the White House Celebrity Apprentice Boss was looking for, Trump has a little list (or a big one) of people he can go to remove (Shulkin, McMaster, really, why isn't he thinking of getting rid of Ryan Zinke? That guy is awful!) to try and give his mood a boost. But some personnel decisions can come back to bite him. McCabe's might, in part because he telegraphed via Twitter his feelings. And also because it ties in to whether McCabe is a witness regarding the obstruction of justice charge(s).  And because he screwed over a guy with 21 years of honorable service to the FBI as a demonstration to other law enforcement professionals who might not actually receive the takeaway perception Trump hoped they did.

Santorum Vows To Fight Porn, But Won't Beat It

All right, who e-mailed "Two Girls and a Cup" to Rick Santorum?

His campaign website talks about his commitment to "vigorously enforcing" obscenity laws:

America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography.  A wealth of research is now available demonstrating that pornography causes profound brain changes in both children and adults, resulting in widespread negative consequences. Addiction to pornography is now common for adults and even for some children. The average age of first exposure to hard-core, Internet pornography is now 11. Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women.  It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking. 

Every family must now be concerned about the harm from pornography. As a parent, I am concerned about the widespread distribution of illegal obscene pornography and its profound effects on our culture.  

For many decades, the American public has actively petitioned the United States Congress for laws prohibiting distribution of hard-core adult pornography.

I dunno. I'm part of the American public that has never gotten especially riled up over porn. I have real problems with some of the business end of porn and the exploitative nature of it on one hand, but the actual product usually strikes me as more quaint, occasionally fantastic (in the "that shit doesn't happen" sense) and tacky than actively harmful. I've always had an issue with with obscenity laws per se because of the kind of abstract, nebulous, "know it when I see it"  nature of the "community standards" basis of what constitutes obscenity. Even within a community, standards can vary. I remember the full-scale freak-out some people experienced in this country over about five seconds of naked aureole during a sports entertainment intermission, whereas my first husband and I made up our minds to never buy porn videos if the jacket was in a language neither of us was especially proficient in only after one of our selections turned out a bit too involved. Reading subtitles--it just gets in the way.

Not everyone watches for the plots.  I get that.

Anyhow, I just get the impression that Santorum's version of "obscenity" involves folks talking about separation of church and state too passionately, if you know what I mean. It plays well among the social conservatives, to an extent, but a lot of people like porn. My former senator, he is so awkward.

(Oh, the video--that's just cute.  Also, I only bring the porn issue up because it irritates conservatives, apparently. Also, I couldn't let the title go to waste. And reading about Santorum decrying misogyny is fascinating.)