All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[PaulBullion]

Avenatti won't run.

[Tami]

Avenatti won't run.

Not surprised. The final roster of candidates is not going to be so predictable.

[ZombieHavoc]

Avenatti won't run.

I just looked at his Twitter and he has an actual statement about not running. That dude was really gonna run for real?

I mean, obviously he'd be better than Trump, but he actually was gonna run? He seems like a similar kind of person to Trump, just on the side of the political spectrum.

[Rob Allen]

I was going to write something like this myself, but thanks to Google I don't have to - A feminist defense of "Baby It's Cold Outside"

And another by a comics fan and former CBR member

[BeastieRunner]

Team Mueller Update:

Stone took the Fifth.

But of course, he says that means he's not guilty.

Mueller’s Russia probe, by the numbers.

--------

18 months (or 567 days) has elapsed since Mueller took on the job.

33 people who have been charged with crimes since the probe began. 13 Russian nationals, 12 Russian intelligence officers, and 3 companies.

5 of Trump’s former business and campaign staffers have pleaded guilty in the probe and/or agreed to cooperation deals.

14 attorneys on Team Mueller.

16.7 million dollars has been spent on staff salaries, equipment, travel, rent and other expenses through March 31, 2018.

67 tweets in which Trump has referred to Robert Mueller by name.

60 tweets that use the phrase “witch hunt.”

54 tweets using the phrase “no collusion.”

[Tazirai]

Markos Moulitas is a s-stain to liberalism. If Greenwald is bad Moulitas and the DailyKos is terrible

[Mecegirl]

I was going to write something like this myself, but thanks to Google I don't have to - A feminist defense of "Baby It's Cold Outside"

And another by a comics fan and former CBR member

Why the hell are people still going on and on over this song? It ain't even that good.

Rape or no she is the one who has to deal with her reputation taking a hit. So yeah she takes the time to consider if one night of fun is worth days of judgement and harassment later. Since he would know that you'd think he'd be more understanding. But knowing something and knowing something are two different things. No one's gonna judge or question him the next morning. He can continue life unbothered, even move on to another woman if he wished. So he most likely is underestimating the level of mess she has to deal with. Which is a bit of a dick move really.

I also find it funny that in all the face to face conversations I've had about this song the most ardent supporters of this song as a Christmas staple are Christian. And virulently so. They would be the type to nag on any woman in their life about not coming back home that night. Premarital sex is a sin in their eyes. So I guess they are getting a thrill in singing/listening to a song about something they consider taboo.

[Kirby101]

Markos Moulitas is a s-stain to liberalism. If Greenwald is bad Moulitas and the DailyKos is terrible

How so? nt

[worstblogever]

Trump referred to himself as "Tariff Man" today.

The Dow Jones promptly plummeted 800 points.

[JCAll]

Trump referred to himself as "Tariff Man" today.

The Dow Jones promptly plummeted 800 points.

That's an awful super power you have Tariff Man, you're not getting into the Legion of Super Heroes with that.

[JCAll]

I was going to write something like this myself, but thanks to Google I don't have to - A feminist defense of "Baby It's Cold Outside"

And another by a comics fan and former CBR member

...I'd forgotten there was a line in that song implying he slipped something in her drink.
...I now like the song even less.

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

I always assumed the two characters in that song were just teasing each other. I'm all for bashing Christmas songs, but the two leads in Baby it's cold outside are clearly DTF.

[Tendrin]

...I'd forgotten there was a line in that song implying he slipped something in her drink.
...I now like the song even less.

That's not what the song is intended to be implying at all. It's just what modern ears jump to.

But the reality is that if you understand the song as its intended audience would have, the 'hey, what's in this drink?' line isn't implying that at all.

[Tami]

...I'd forgotten there was a line in that song implying he slipped something in her drink.
...I now like the song even less.

If you read the defenses of the song, that line, at the time it was written, was never intended to mean anything more than the fact that the drink was alcoholic. I don't think there even was such a thing as Date Rape Drugs and spiking drinks back in the 1930's or 1940's. Not as far as I can tell.

It may be, as the authors of those articles suggest, that people are applying 21st century expectations to an early 20th century song. I don't hear anything in it about the women being forced or coerced.

[KOSLOX]

If you read the defenses of the song, that line, at the time it was written, was never intended to mean anything more than the fact that the drink was alcoholic. I don't think there even was such a thing as Date Rape Drugs and spiking drinks back in the 1930's or 1940's. Not as far as I can tell.

It may be, as the authors of those articles suggest, that people are applying 21st century expectations to an early 20th century song. I don't hear anything in it about the women being forced or coerced.

Say what? Of course there was. You've never heard of someone slipping a mickey or mickey finn?