Kit's Friday Thoughts

By Kit

I had a long thing on free trade planned but it got scrapped due to travel, so instead it is, again, an open thread, with some last minute thoughts.

Enjoy!


So, let's start with…



Estonia

Estonia is worried that the Russians might pull a stunt in eastern Estonia similar to what they pulled in Ukraine. Sending special ops men to take the area by supporting local Russians. So they've announced that they will just shoot them.

Rolling Stone sued

Sabrina Erdely and Rolling Stone are being sued by a UVA Dean for portraying her in a way that even Jackie said was incorrect.

I hope the dean wins.


Are you a feminist?

The Guardian's resident feminist Jessica Valenti, who has previously complained about having to wrap presents for Christmas and said it was Rolling Stone's job, not Jackie's to get the facts of the alleged sexual assault correct, recently tweeted this: "The guy next to me on the subway was checking Twitter; he followed almost all the same people I did but NO WOMEN. Passive sexism is for real".

First, is it possible that since she just didn't see the women he was following as he was scrolling them, and second, why was she peeping on a random dude's phone?

Iowahawk put it well: "Reminder to vulnerable young men who ride public transportation: it's important to carry pepper spray"

She followed up this stupidity with, "It's like when you meet someone whose favorite authors, musicians, artists, etc are all RANDOMLY male. Suspect."

Now, I don't know about what kind of misogyny occurs in progressive but let's see if I pass her "sexist" test. From my iTunes library:
—Johnny Cash. Male
—The Beatles. 4 males.
—The Civil Wars. Man and Woman (a moment of silence in memory of their break-up)
—Charlie XCX's "Boom Clap". Female.
—A slew of songs by largely unknown violinist Taryn Habridge. Woman.
—Boston. A group of men.
—Idina Menzel's "Defying Gravity." Female.
—The awesome and beautiful Lindsey Stirling. Female. (Really, check her out!)
—Corb Lund's "Horse Soldier" and "I Wanna Be in the Cavalry." Male.
—2 Sinatra albums. Male
—2 Runaways albums. All-female rock band.
—Muddy Waters. Male.
—"Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. Males. (Don't believe me? LINK
—A few Taylor Swift songs (so sue me). Female.

Now, I have some musicals and Disney movies which feature a mix of male and female singers and some movie scores which, alas, were mostly conducted by men. Also, I have no Bieber, who I am told counts as two, maybe three, women.

I have a few female authors I like, but given previous comments by feminists of her ilk, I'm not sure if Ms. Valenti would count them as "women": Camille Paglia and Claire Berlinski, and I read columns and essays by women such as Katherine Timpf, Christina Hoff Sommers, and Cathy Young. I also read Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson.

So I'm afraid I would not be considered a "male feminist" by her. That saddens me.


C. H. Sommers takes on Haters

A professor attacked dissident feminist Christina Hoff Sommers a "rape apologist." Her response on Facebook was, in modern lingo, epic.


Dad Bod

Hear about the Dad Bod? Yeah, its a slightly chubby look some guys have. Not overweight but not lean. Apparently, some women like the look, some are meh, many don't care. But a few women got their panties in a twist and are mad about it, tweeting photos of themselves.

Me? Eh, I react to twitter/instagram selfie fads like a hungover drunk who's just rolled out of bed, "Huh? What? Oh, Ok. I don't care and I don't want to see them. I don't like seeing anyone's half naked selfies. Now where's some damn advil?"


There is no God (Maybe)

The Hillary Clinton propaganda-piece Madame Secretary was renewed but Forever was not. I am beginning to seriously doubt the existence of God. Wars, famines, plagues, I can comprehend. But this might be too much.

On the other hand, Once Upon a Time, Agents of SHIELD, and Agent Carter are getting renewed. The latter two I plan to review later this summer, the former I have yet to watch all the way through this season.

Oh, and Obama is being attacked as sexist for his response to Elizabeth Warren's attack on the free trade deal. Pass the popcorn.

Have a nice weekend!