At that time, there was a lot of justifiable outrage over the way Ms. Hill's testimony had been so blithely dismissed by senators on Capitol Hill. incremental changes were initially gained in 1992 as six women won seats in the Senate to raise their numbers at the time to seven. Two years later, we saw our hopes swamped as the "Year of the Woman" quickly gave way to the right-wing blowback of the 1994 midterm elections.

Sad to say, but cultural attitudes in society only rarely if ever endure sudden, dramatic and mercurial shifts in opinions and behaviors. That's because by its nature, culture involves ingrained and pervasive social patterns, behaviors and norms. From the sheer number and range of recent revelations, it is readily apparent that male sexual misconduct is not really a cultural anomaly. Rather, it is exactly the sort of behavior that changes very slowly over time -- that is, if it even changes at all.

Recent surveys indicate that at least half of all women in the United States have been sexually harassed in the workplace. This is an indication that the problem is at once widespread, entrenched and habitual. I therefore believe that it's naïve on our part to either think or assume that the recent cavalcade of male behavioral exposure is going to lead to more change in the immediate short-term. Rather, all these recent examples of deplorable conduct by well-connected, rich and powerful men are evidence of just how pervasive and deep-rooted sexual harassment actually is in our culture.

Stephen Marche argues that the reason such behavior is common is because it involves "the masculine libido and accompanying forces and pathologies" -- that is, machismo --which underscores so much of our social culture, yet receives so little actual examination. So, before we start talking about "changing the culture," we really ought to first recognize just how impervious and resistant this culture of machismo can be to actual change. The change we seek can be accomplished only if we acknowledge that it's going to be a herculean lift.

If we can do that, then we can perhaps mitigate the risks of irrational exuberance in the prevailing moment, so as not to delude ourselves regarding the likely difficulty of the task at hand. On that note, I'd offer that recent grandiose proclamations from some quarters of the media and elsewhere that "the Day of the Neanderthal is over" are at best premature. We've only just begun, and we've a long way to go. Right-wing blowback will happen. In fact, it's already begun.

China is the place to be. They have more influence and respect around the globe...

this evening PBS Newshour featured a report of a twenty-something woman meeting her birth-mother for the first time. the woman was forced to give up her daughter for international adoption because of china's one-child rule.

china is a one-party totalitarian state with no independant judiciary and extensive and ongoing human rights violations. that anyone would champion china over the united states is astounding in its lack of sense and judgement.

So, I find the speech pattern and excellent acting not only authentic but also as charming on the screen as it is in life here.

JUSTICE KENNEDY: Did the Commission ever disavow or disapprove of that statement?

MR. YARGER: There were no further proceedings in which the Commission disavowed or disapproved of that statement.

JUSTICE KENNEDY: Do you disavow or disapprove of that statement?

MR. YARGER: I would not have counseled my client to make that statement.

Click on the icon in the top right corner to turn on/off smoke, topography, etc.

I'm still waiting to hear from the people who benefited from Weinstein's (and others like him) casting couch.

A few days later she went to the head of the firm and told him what had happened, and the lawyer was fired.

When my best friend in Catholic HS was 17 he was strongly hit on several times by one of the school's priests. He did not report the incidents to anyone in authority, and that priest continued to molest minors for years.

My buddy feels very badly to this day about not reporting the priest, as perhaps if he had come forward there would not been the subsequent additional victims.

Donald Trump is telling leaders from across the Middle East that he intends to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel, an explosive move that will break from 50 years of US foreign policy, potentially derail his administration's hopes of restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and threaten to spark violence across the region.

[...]

Both the Palestinians and the Israelis claim Jerusalem as their capital. Though Israel's Parliament and the prime minister's home are in Jerusalem, they sit in West Jerusalem, on the side of the city Israel has controlled since 1949. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed that half of the city.

[...]

There have been no recent negotiations over the city for a simple and grim reason: Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been largely on hold for years, with no indications that they'll be resuming anytime soon.

In the meantime, Jerusalem has retained the uniquely strange status of a city without a country. Americans born in the city must put "Jerusalem" rather than "Israel" on their passports. That's because the nationality of the entire city remains contested, a source of deep fury for many Israelis and American Jews.

And his announcement was swiftly followed by a State Department travel alert to federal employees, their families, and others to stay out of the Old City and the West Bank, and for all to personally be on alert for trouble.

U.S. District Judge David Norton will announce later today the amount of time Slager will serve, which is expected to be within that range. The former officer could have faced life in prison. Norton ruled that Slager committed second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.

This guy is beyond lucky that he got a corrupt judge and got off with a slap on the wrist. He doesn't need to metaphorically spike the ball in the end zone by complaining about it.

With certain exceptions, such men are eventually welcomed back into the fold and generally allowed to recoup their lives rebuild their careers, while women who behaved similarly are branded as wh*res and sluts and compelled to wear the proverbial scarlet letter.

Ms. Keeler had a tough time throughout her life, almost entirely as a result of her questionable judgment in 1961 when she was only 19 years old, and had engaged in simultaneous sexual affairs with both a Soviet diplomatic attaché and British War Minister John Profumo.

The resultant Cold War-era scandal rocked British politics to its core and eventually brought down the Tory government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. But that downfall was precipitated entirely by Profumo's initial denial of his affair with Keeler, who was 27 years his junior.

While Profumo was forced to resign his post as Minister of War once the truth came to light, Keeler was unfairly targeted and scapegoated by British media for having potentially compromised national security with her behavior. She was really nothing more than a young woman who made no pretense about loving a good time, but who was also naïve of the ways of the lofty world she chose to inhabit. That naiveté cost her dearly.

"Jerusalem was the capital of Israel for a thousand years until it fell to the Romans"

Those are some "best friends."

Seriously, are you a fu@king idiot?

Is it not CLEAR they are doing this because they know what's coming?

Or maybe he's waiting to see the outcome of the Moore/Jones election.

I don't know.  

What I do know is that for the most part, Dems keep trying to play by the rules, and have nothing other than that to show for it.

Dahlia Lithwick in Slate:

This isn't a call to become tolerant of awful behavior. It is a call for understanding that Democrats honored the blue slip, and Republicans didn't. Democrats had hearings over the Affordable Care Act; Republicans had none over the tax bill. Democrats decry predators in the media; Republicans give them their own networks. And what do Democrats have to show for it? There is something almost eerily self-regarding in the notion that the only thing that matters is what Democrats do, without considering what the systemic consequences are for everyone.

Angry that his fellow democrats did not give the Ethics Investigation a chance.

Angry that the #MeToo movement is headed in this direction.

She loves Franken, so I asked to get a picture with him. We posed for the shot. He immediately put his hand on my waist, grabbing a handful of flesh. I froze. Then he squeezed. At least twice.

Who knew there was such a thing as 'waist groping'! The woman has her arm around Franken's shoulders in the picture and that is apparently okay.

Why don't Democrats put up a fight? It should be Al resigns only if Moore is not seated and Tr*mp steps down.

[Send me the bill for the keyboard you just threw up on...]

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has no interest in running for Rep. Trent Franks' (R-AZ) soon-to-be vacated seat, he said on Thursday. Instead, the controversial lawman, who was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump, has his sights on a higher office.

"I am seriously, seriously, seriously considering running for the U.S. Senate," Arpaio told The Daily Beast, "not the congressman's seat."