• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This really is a full service blog.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

Shelter in place is one thing. Shelter in pants is quite another.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We have all the best words.

Too inconsequential to be sued

We can agree to disagree, but i’m right.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

All your base are belong to Tunch.

I don’t care how fun he is after a few whiskies. fuck that guy.

Everybody saw this coming.

It was down to kool-aid drinkers and next of kin at the trump White House

I really should read my own blog.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

This is how realignments happen…

This is a big f—–g deal.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

This fight is for everything.

Reality always wins in the end.

I’m going back to the respite thread.

The math demands it!

Mobile Menu

  • Look Forward & Back
  • Balloon Juice 2021 Pet Calendar
  • Site Feedback
  • All 2020 Fundraising
  • I Voted!
  • Take Action: Things We Can Do
  • Team Claire, and Family
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • BJ PayPal Donations
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Nature & Respite
  • Information As Power
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • On The Road
  • Garden Chats
  • Nature & Respite
  • Look Forward & Back
You are here: Home / Archives for Civil Rights / Women's Rights / Vagina Outrage

Vagina Outrage

Friday Evening Semi-Respite Open Thread: Just Another Jeebus-Humpin’ Repub…

by Anne Laurie|  July 12, 20195:49 pm| 78 Comments

This post is in: I'm With Her, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Vagina Outrage, All Too Normal, Assholes

A cabbage, a fox, a male legislator who refuses to be alone with a woman at any time, and a woman just trying to do her job are trying to cross a river. In what order should you move them across?

— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) July 11, 2019

no one wins!!!

— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) July 11, 2019

some words from the cabbage https://t.co/rMTi87bbQm

— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) July 11, 2019

… You understand, I have this horrible condition. I have had it for years. I am incapable of seeing women as people. It used to be possible to get by in political life in this country with this condition. You would just move around a smoky room, speaking only to men, and you could have a nice career. But now, oh, these things, these things are everywhere. Holding elected office, performing jobs, playing soccer! You must understand my agony when I behold this. So much good meat, delicious meat, wonderful meat —

It is with difficulty that I shamble into the company of people every day. It is with difficulty that I convince people that I am, after all, a human being, not a wild animal, the mad, helpless victim of an uncontrollable lust. I cannot, I dare not — oh, it is with difficulty that I write these words now, knowing a woman may read them. The mere thought of my words moving before her unprotected eyes sends me into a frenzy. Ffffffft rrrrrrrrr graaarrrfll rrrrrr…

Do not let me out of the house! Or if I am so honored to be elected by you the people, the governor’s mansion!

But. Seriously. Petri’s Washington Post colleague, Alyssa Rosenberg:

… Foster’s quickness to condemn the discussion of his decision as a communist plot to bring down America lends the merest hint that his intentions here were less about preserving the sanctity of his marriage and more about ginning up the sort of culture war controversy that could be a boon to his campaign fundraising…

Part of what made Foster’s request to Campbell seem disingenuous is that it would be somewhat unusual for any candidate to be alone with any reporter under any circumstances, much less a whole day that includes a long ride… Fortunately for Foster, he has a male campaign director, Colton Robison, who would presumably be going on this day-long trip anyway to keep an eye on things…

And yet I’ll bet there are internet mischief-lovers already scouring Foster’s browser history for… clues. Two wetsuits and a dildo? Farm animal abuse? Murphy the Trickster God is the patron of Rule 34…

I feel pretty good odds some future arrest story will definitely have the phrase “previously best known for his refusal to be interviewed by a female journalist unchaparoned.” pic.twitter.com/WbJdpGjQjX

— Schooley (@Rschooley) July 11, 2019

Friday Evening Semi-Respite Open Thread: Just Another Jeebus-Humpin’ Repub…Post + Comments (78)

Holiday Saturday Evening Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  May 25, 20198:34 pm| 71 Comments

This post is in: Faunasphere, Open Threads, Vagina Outrage

everyone: that otter is adorable
evolution: thanks, it has pockets https://t.co/Q3GjwZL4Ky

— Ashley Hamer (@smashleyhamer) May 23, 2019

I love the way otter dude whips out his clam, like a man in a suit jacket pulling out his cigarette case. (Doesn’t offer to share his clams, you’ll notice.)

Also, the tweet text is a sneaky snarky feminist riff… as anyone who’s tried to find a dress that’ll let you carry your wallet & phone already knows.

Holiday Saturday Evening Open ThreadPost + Comments (71)

Election 2020 Open Thread: Biden’s Women Problem

by Anne Laurie|  April 29, 20194:09 pm| 104 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Post-racial America, Vagina Outrage, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

The women of @TheView are practically begging @JoeBiden to make a more direct apology to Anita Hill. And it appears he continues to be unwilling to do so

— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) April 26, 2019

Silver lining argument: It’s a good thing we’ve advanced enough that — for Democratic politicians, at least — it’s a problem when someone’s been ‘merely’ disrespectful / dismissive of women, without being actual rapists or pathological horndogs. Kinda like it was a problem for a certain long-term politician who praised then-candidate Barack Obama as “clean and articulate” back in 2007. Obama forgave Biden then; will voters (especially women voters, and voters of color) be as understanding today?

Jane Mayer, who was there for the hearings, at the New Yorker:

… Predictably, Biden was asked if he should have given Hill a fuller and more personal apology. Biden again stopped short of blaming himself, saying, “I did everything in my power to do what I thought was within the rules.” He then added, “I don’t think I treated her badly.”

Biden failed to acknowledge that, as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991, he set many of “the rules” that damaged Hill and determined the over-all fairness of the process. As Jill Abramson and I reported in our 1994 book about the Thomas confirmation fight, “Strange Justice,” several of Biden’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate later acknowledged that, in his eagerness to be impeccably fair to all sides, Biden got outmaneuvered by the Republicans. That left Hill and, ultimately, the truth undefended. As Howard Metzenbaum, a crusty Democrat from Ohio, later admitted, “Joe bent over too far backwards to accommodate the Republicans, who were going to get Thomas on the Court come hell or high water.” An adviser to Ted Kennedy, the Massachusetts liberal whose own womanizing eroded his credibility, was more critical still, saying, “Biden agreed to the terms of the people who were out to disembowel Hill.”

show full post on front page

Even one of the top lawyers on Biden’s Senate staff at the time, Cynthia Hogan, now faults their handling of the hearings. As she admitted this week to the Washington Post, “What happened is we got really politically outplayed by the Republicans.” Hogan, now the vice-president for public policy for the Americas at Apple, explained that Biden had wanted to be seen as a neutral arbiter, while the Republicans instead wanted to win. “They came with a purpose, and that purpose was to destroy Anita Hill. Democrats did not coordinate and they did not prepare for battle. I think he would say that that’s what should be done differently.”…

The staffers working for Metzenbaum and Kennedy, however, took Hill’s allegations more seriously and were the first to reach out to her. They urged Biden’s staff to talk to Hill as well. But the effort languished in Biden’s office, where his staff followed his personal rules, which went beyond those of the Senate. The aide who investigated the claim, for instance, declined to call Hill, requiring that Hill instead initiate contact. Once they spoke, the aide declined to act on Hill’s allegation unless Hill consented to Biden’s office confronting Thomas directly and disclosing Hill’s name to him. Hill, who hadn’t asked for any of this, demurred. Biden’s aide concluded that Hill had merely wanted to “get it off her chest.” The public, meanwhile, heard nothing about it…

Biden said in a later interview that he believed Hill from the start, but Thomas and his wife have said that Biden called them after reading the F.B.I. reports and assured them that there was “no merit” to Hill’s accusations. Further, Senator John Danforth, a Republican from Missouri who was Thomas’s primary sponsor, later said that Biden promised Thomas and his wife that, if Hill’s allegations leaked, he would be Thomas’s “most adamant and vigorous defender.”…

This is, it will be pointed out, very much in character for Collegial Joe, Champion of Working Across the Aisle. And sexual harassment was, at the time, a new-ish and still very much debated concept. But Biden absolutely does have to come up with a better response.

There is a sense among some within the Biden orbit that if he starts apologizing — for Anita Hill, for the women who felt uncomfortable with how he touched them, for anything else — that it will open up the floodgates and he'll never be able to stop apologizing

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) April 26, 2019

Joe Biden knew Anita Hill was going to be an issue for him. So a few weeks ago, as he prepared for his presidential announcement, he reached out to her through an intermediary and arranged a telephone call, hoping to assuage her.

It did not go how he had hoped.

On Thursday, the first day of his presidential campaign, the Biden camp disclosed the call, saying the former vice president had shared with Ms. Hill “his regret for what she endured” 28 years ago, when, as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he presided over the confirmation hearings in which she accused Clarence Thomas, President George Bush’s nominee to the Supreme Court, of sexual harassment.

But Ms. Hill says the call from Mr. Biden left her feeling deeply unsatisfied.

In a lengthy telephone interview on Wednesday, she declined to characterize Mr. Biden’s words to her as an apology and said she was not convinced that he has taken full responsibility for his conduct at the hearings — or for the harm he caused other victims of sexual harassment and gender violence.

She said she views Mr. Biden as having “set the stage” for last year’s confirmation of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who, like Justice Thomas, was elevated to the court despite accusations against him that he had acted inappropriately toward women. And, she added, she was troubled by the recent accounts of women who say Mr. Biden touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable…

Ms. Hill, a deeply private woman who does not often speak publicly about her experience, said she does not find Mr. Biden’s conduct disqualifying. “I’m really open to people changing,” she said.

But, she added, she cannot support Mr. Biden for president until he takes full responsibility for his conduct, including his failure to call as corroborating witnesses other women who were willing to testify before the Judiciary Committee. By leaving them out, she said, he created a “he said, she said” situation that did not have to exist.

“The focus on apology, to me, is one thing,” Ms. Hill said. “But he needs to give an apology to the other women and to the American public because we know now how deeply disappointed Americans around the country were about what they saw. And not just women. There are women and men now who have just really lost confidence in our government to respond to the problem of gender violence.”…

Mr. Biden’s disclosure, and Ms. Hill’s interview, underscore the former vice president’s potential vulnerability from an event that is nearly three decades old, but that has new resonance in the #MeToo era and the aftermath of last year’s Kavanaugh hearings. That it erupted so quickly, with his campaign only hours old, suggests that Mr. Biden’s treatment of Ms. Hill will echo throughout his campaign unless he can find a way to convincingly put it to rest….

With Mr. Biden almost an instant front-runner in a very crowded Democratic field, the subject of Anita Hill is a delicate one among Democrats — even those who believe Mr. Biden bungled the hearings. Many former Judiciary Committee aides and other people who participated did not want to talk on the record because they feared that scrutiny of Mr. Biden’s past conduct would undermine the campaign of the candidate some think could be best positioned to defeat President Trump, whose treatment of women is a huge issue for Democrats…

And Professor Hill is not the only woman to whom Joe Biden has been… less than respectful:

Daily Beast reports Biden campaign didn't tell Heather Heyer's mother that he'd be invoking his daughter's murder in his campaign launch video.

"Most people do that sort of thing. They capitalize on whatever situation is handy" https://t.co/KJhwUBDHk9

— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) April 25, 2019

This is exactly what Joe would NEED to do, *IF* Senator Harris isn't the nominee, herself.

That said, it's been like 7 hours since Biden released this video, and we are already creating tickets for him. Meanwhile, the women with policy are relegated to the undercard… https://t.co/aAsB0YUwOs

— Bärí A. Williams (@BariAWilliams) April 25, 2019

Election 2020 Open Thread: Biden’s Women ProblemPost + Comments (104)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: “Frolicking”

by Anne Laurie|  April 10, 20195:00 am| 133 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Dog Blogging, Open Threads, Vagina Outrage, Warren for President 2020, DC Press Corpse

Chewbacca frolicking among the cherry blossoms @darth pic.twitter.com/HrT6PuyY0P

— Ashley Durkin-Rixey (@ashleydrixey) April 8, 2019

Looks to me like Chewbacca is pondering the evanescence of beauty… and the perky cluenessness of the human animal. (Also, as the Spousal Unit pointed out, those are magnolia petals… )
 
Speaking of the deliberately obtuse:

Great @CNN coverage of an Important new @NUjournalism study that shows women running for president are being covered more negatively than men: https://t.co/tMe37Gv8az Here’s the study: https://t.co/G5nrbHY1Ro pic.twitter.com/BwjxUBFOrq

— Dan Kennedy (@dankennedy_nu) April 9, 2019

why don’t the female candidates do more things that are fun and relatable like *squints at writing on hand* reading Ulysses?
this can’t be right hang on

— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) April 9, 2019

Warning: the media seem determined to make the next Democratic nominee for president an old white man. Almost any old white man will do.

— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) April 9, 2019

I can see past Warren practically being ignored right now to two years into the future when we are inundated with think pieces retroactively appreciating all her thoughtful policy proposals and wondering why the hell she wasn’t on the ticket.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) April 9, 2019

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: “Frolicking”Post + Comments (133)

Sci/Tech Open Thread: “Make Another Suit”

by Anne Laurie|  March 27, 20196:22 pm| 102 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Science & Technology, Vagina Outrage, All Too Normal

Nasa cancels all-female spacewalk, citing lack of suit in woman's size https://t.co/gv6qZl1oDp

— The Guardian (@guardian) March 26, 2019

“Make another suit,” said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. https://t.co/wrrj6byCIt

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) March 26, 2019

At the same time, in another sterling example of the GOP ‘Billions for bullshit, but not one cent for science’ offensive…

Trump wants NASA to get US astronauts to the moon in five years “by any means necessary," Pence said. @VP was pretty critical of NASA. He said if NASA can't achieve this goal, need to change the organization, "not the mission."https://t.co/HcKCjzCevt

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 26, 2019

send mike pence https://t.co/J7hmUmRyDT

— darth™ (@darth) March 27, 2019


 
Serious explanation, from someone who’s not a moron:

Let's talk about spacesuits, specifically Extravehicular Mobility Units, and being a #ladyastronaut.

The EMUs on the ISS were designed more than 40 years ago, with a 15-year shelf life.

11 of the original 18 are still in use.

Only 4 are on the ISS.

Those are the only EMUs. https://t.co/hZPLD7PV99

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

show full post on front page

When NASA says that there's not one readily available, it's sort of like…yeah. There's one up there, but we aren't sure it won't leak.

There have been 27 "significant" suit failures. None have been fatal, although 5 had the potential to be.

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

So, I'm really okay with the astronauts deciding that they would rather not take a task that is already INCREDIBLY RISKY and make it more so by rushing a refurbishing job.

But…

BUT… we should also talk about being a woman in space.

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

The hard-upper torso is a fiberglass shell. For best movement, you need to wear the snuggest suit possible.

If you're too small for your suit, you have problems reaching the dials on the front of the EMU, which means you can't do things like control suit temperature.

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

All of which is to say that I'm very okay with the astronauts deciding to be safe.

I'm less okay with the causal chain that forced that decision.

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

I'm glad that there are changes in the works for the future.

However, this problem was noticed as far back as the 1980s, but the people noticing it were women.

When one complained, she was told that no one else had had a problem, so maybe it was just her.

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) March 26, 2019

(In one of my favorite anime, TWIN SPICA, the aspiring lead is told she’ll never be an astronaut because she’s too small for the standard spacesuits. Eventually, she gets a suit that fits! )

Sci/Tech Open Thread: “Make Another Suit”Post + Comments (102)

Popular Culture Open Thread: Onward, Social Justice Warriors!

by Anne Laurie|  March 10, 201910:27 pm| 151 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Popular Culture, Vagina Outrage

What people actually mean when they say they want “non-political” comics like when they were kids is that they’re devastated to have woken up one day as an adult, read a comic book, and realized they’d grown up to become the kind of person their childhood hero punches in the face

— Andy Khouri (@andykhouri) March 6, 2019

Whoever decided Captain Marvel's release date should coincide with #IWD deserves a bonus for top tier trolling of the misogynist manbabies.

— Danielle Blake (@abradacabla) March 8, 2019

We are SJWs and we leave the house. https://t.co/bcVK8YhgUJ

— Schooley (@Rschooley) March 10, 2019

Director of FANTASTIC FOUR ?? pic.twitter.com/hKea0bQjK5

— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) March 10, 2019


 
Elsewhere: Engage, Magic Lasso of Truth:

On Instagram @GalGadot rebukes @netanyahu: "Love your neighbor like yourself. It's not about right or left, Jew or Arab.. It's about dialogue, talking peace, equality and patience for each other. The responsibility to sow hope and light for a better future for our kids is on us." pic.twitter.com/kRbKsukji8

— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) March 10, 2019


Per the Washington Post:

… With less than a month to go before Israelis head to the polls on April 9, the long-serving leader [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], who is hoping for reelection in a tight race, publicly challenged on Sunday one of the country’s most popular celebrities — model and TV presenter Rotem Sela.

In the process, he seems to have sparked the ire of Israeli actress Gal Gadot — better known as Wonder Woman.

Sela, [whose] face adorns billboards across the country and who appears on Israeli television in one reality show or another almost every night, had aired concerns about the way Israel’s Arab population is being used in a derogatory manner during the campaign…

In his weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated his message to Sela, stating: “I want to respond to a few people who are confused. The state of Israel is not a nation-state of all its citizens; other minorities have a national representation in other countries.”…

Writing to her 28.2 million followers on Instagram, the “Wonder Woman” actress made clear her support for Sela:

“Loving your neighbor as yourself is not a matter of right-left, Jewish-Arab, secular or religious, it is a matter of dialogue, of dialogue for peace, equality and tolerance for each other,” Gadot wrote in Hebrew. “The responsibility for such hope is on us to create a brighter future for our children. Rotem, my sister, you’re an inspiration for us all.”…

Popular Culture Open Thread: Onward, Social Justice Warriors!Post + Comments (151)

Late Night SJW Open Thread: Women Aren’t *Supposed* to Be the Heroes

by Anne Laurie|  March 5, 20191:55 am| 30 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Excellent Links, I'm With Her, Open Threads, Vagina Outrage, Our Failed Media Experiment

No one has situated Klobuchar's perfectionism within the well-documented construct of being the child of an alcoholic fighting chaos.

Harris and Klobuchar both had to work harder than their male counterparts to get on their college & career paths, due to their backgrounds.
3/

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) March 3, 2019

As always, click on any of these tweets to follow the whole thread…

Klobuchar got into politics to fight for a 48hr law for women giving birth. Forced out of the hospital too soon, Klobuchar had to deal with complications of her daughter being unable to swallow. She took her fight to the Minnesota State legislature and got a 48hr law passed.
5/

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) March 3, 2019

Certainly many Americans–especially those of Sanders WWII generation–will relate to his tales of working class life raised by immigrant parents.
Harris, too, was raised by immigrant parents, and her immigration story is just as common. And as a WOC, more reflective of now.
7/

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) March 3, 2019

show full post on front page

Klobuchar's perfectionism may have real-world results: she has passed more legislation than any of the 6 other senators running.
America loves origin stories.Yet while Sanders was granted the mantle of working class hero in 2016, Hillary's mother was a domestic servant.
10/

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) March 3, 2019

In 2016, it turned out many of the harshest critics of #HillaryClinton were sexual harassers & abusers of women and co-workers. Viewing their bias through that #MeToo scrim raises real questions about whether women can even get fair coverage when they run for president.
17/

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) March 3, 2019

Few disagree that the most critical point to the 2020 race is getting Trump out of office. The person most likely to unify voters is not the oldest person in the race, but one of the younger, fresher, more exciting candidates. How we get there is with full and fair coverage.
21/

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) March 3, 2019

Late Night SJW Open Thread: Women Aren’t *Supposed* to Be the HeroesPost + Comments (30)

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 53
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Do Something!

Call Your Senators & Representatives
Directory of US Senators
Directory of US Representatives

Vaccine Venting Here!
I Got the Shot!  (Month 2)
I Got the Shot!

 

🎈Ways to Support Our Site

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal
Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice ⬇  

Recent Comments

  • Martin on Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act! (Mar 6, 2021 @ 5:59pm)
  • J R in WV on Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act! (Mar 6, 2021 @ 5:59pm)
  • Ken on Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act! (Mar 6, 2021 @ 5:58pm)
  • opiejeanne on Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act! (Mar 6, 2021 @ 5:55pm)
  • Martin on Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act! (Mar 6, 2021 @ 5:55pm)

Team Claire, and Family

Claire Updates
Claire is Home!

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year

Featuring

John Cole
Silverman on Security
COVID-19 Coronavirus
Medium Cool with BGinCHI
Furry Friends

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Submit Photos to On the Road
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Meetups: Proof of Life
2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar

Culture: Books, Film, TV, Music, Games, Podcasts

Noir: Favorites in Film, Books, TV
Book Recommendations & Indy Recs
Mystery Recommendations
Netflix Favorites
Amazon Prime Favorites
Netflix Suggestions in July
Longmire & Netflix Suggestions

Twitter

John Cole’s Twitter

[custom-twitter-feeds]

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc