Words of the Day

In reading an article on the Clinton syncophant Doug Band, I came across a word I didn't know, and one I was pretty sure about.  So exciting, because I love words.

Do you know the meaning of "uxorial"?

I sure didn't.

And how about "dyspeptic"?

I love it.

This is Courage

I wouldn't normally pay much attention to what a sports star did or said, and I have never heard of this brave young before, but I applaud Colin Kaepernick  for his courage in sitting out the national anthem in the NFL preseason game.  (I remember sitting out the anthem in the bleachers in high school, and kudos to Grady High in Atlanta, GA no one gave me trouble about it).

Oh, and don't be fooled by the MSM narrative.  He said A LOT more than they're reporting.  I'll just quote some of the juicier bits that'll make you want to click on that link above :

"Does the election year have anything to do with timing?

CK: It wasn’t a timing thing, it wasn’t something that was planned. But I think the two presidential candidates that we currently have also represent the issues that we have in this country right now.

Do you want to expand on that?

CK: You have Hillary who has called black teens or black kids super predators, you have Donald Trump who’s openly racist. We have a presidential candidate who has deleted emails and done things illegally and is a presidential candidate. That doesn’t make sense to me because if that was any other person you’d be in prison. So, what is this country really standing for?"

Bravo, young man, bravo.

Finally Some Media Speaking Out

I feel compelled to share the first and last paragraph of yesterday's incredibly damning WSJ article on the recent pay-for-play revelations surrounding Former Secretary of State Clinton and the Clinton Foundation:

"This is the week that the steady drip, drip, drip of details about Hillary Clinton’s server turned into a waterfall. This is the week that we finally learned why Mrs. Clinton used a private communications setup, and what it hid. This is the week, in short, that we found out that the infamous server was designed to hide that Mrs. Clinton for three years served as the U.S. Secretary of the Clinton Foundation."

and the last paragraph:

"What we discovered this week is that one of the nation’s top officials created a private server that housed proof that she continued a secret, ongoing entwinement with her family foundation—despite ethics agreements—and that she destroyed public records. If that alone doesn’t disqualify her for the presidency, it’s hard to know what would."

How refreshing to not have to read apologist nonsense.

For the full article, go here:


Oh, and just for the fun of it, here is Joe Scarborough's ruthless putdown of a Clinton spokesperson trying to guilt-defend the supposed good works of the Foundation.

That must have felt so good to say.  It was certainly so good to hear.

Portia Boulger - Interview by In The Real News

My New Heroine

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Portia Boulger, Sanders delegate and all-around truth-telling badass:

On Truth and Reconciliation

Verbatim from Kossacks for Sanders user Mass_Southpaw because I have no words of my own right now :

"The process known as "truth and reconciliation" has two parts to it, because one must proceed the other. Reconciliation requires truth-telling, always.

Sarah Silverman can stare daggers all she wants, but that will not help defeat Donald Trump. Rachel Maddow can affect bafflement that we are not mollified by a progressive platform, but that will not help defeat Donald Trump.

Given the real and legitimate anger among voters about the rigging of our election, it will not work to simply tell Sanders supporters to STFU and get in line for Hillary.

With the DNC email leak, we now know for sure what had already been clear: that the process was rigged. This is no small thing, no politics as usual. It is a heartbreaking and frightening and infuriating thing for Americans who still believe in the idea of fair elections. It is a very real trauma to our national psyche, on top of other traumas we've suffered in recent years. If we fail to see it and acknowledge it, we make ourselves weaker against the fascist on the other side.

Saying “It’s over, get over it” is dangerous. That is an arrogant, tone-deaf posture, a way of going into deep denial and projecting blame onto the victims of the corruption we’ve witnessed simply for having witnessed and spoken about it.

Clinton, of course, has not helped by immediately giving Wasserman Schultz another position in her campaign. That is a petty move that indicates her utter lack of respect for the process and the voters. We see it for what it is: another "fuck you" from the establishment, another punch in the face to the progressive movement, another political hack rewarded for loyalty to the party, when what was needed was loyalty to the country and to the democratic process.

Yes, Donald Trump is dangerous as hell. But so is election fraud by one of the two major parties — the manipulation of debates, the changing of rules to favor one candidate, the laundering of campaign money to evade legal limits, the lies fed to the complicit media about Sanders and his supporters, the miscounting of votes by party officials in Iowa and elsewhere, and the fraudulent removal of hundreds of thousands of registered voters from the rolls.

This corruption needs to be acknowledged, admitted to, and accounted for before there can be any hope of a united front against Trump. It is equally dangerous to dismiss and mischaracterize the concerns of Sanders supporters as it is to dismiss and mischaracterize the very real concerns of disaffected Americans who are flocking to Trump out of fear and frustration. Either one sets us up for our own version of Brexit — a massive vote of nullification that denounces a system that has been purchased by and for the 1%.

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party sees right into the corrupt core of the party and is disgusted by what it sees. But even if, despite that, we were all to fall in line for Clinton, even if we were all to acknowledge that Trump is worse, that does nothing to win over the independents who will decide the election in November.

Sanders polls extraordinarily well among independents. Clinton is largely despised by them.

The party has known this all along, but insisted on manipulating the outcome to ensure her nomination at all costs. Now progressives are being insulted and intimidated, told to STFU and get in line. Many will, for one reason only: fear of what a Trump presidency might do.

But millions of independents will not. And rather than allow the more popular candidate, the candidate of change in a year of change, a fair chance to win, the Democrats are recklessly, brazenly playing chicken with our country, propping up an establishment candidate despised and mistrusted by independents and large numbers of Democrats.

Toward what end? Two things only. The aspirations of a political dynasty. And fear of the change Sanders (and, more importantly, his millions of followers) would force on our system in order to make it accountable to the people.

In recent days I have had my motives questioned when I’ve called out the Democrats for making this reckless gamble. I’ve been effectively trolled into silence and have now logged off Facebook. My crime is speaking the truth, which is that both parties have abandoned real Americans and that both candidates are deeply dishonest and untrustworthy, and that we are in a position now in which a dangerous demagogue might well become the president.

My comfortable friends, who will be okay no matter who wins, are angered when I speak the truth. They don’t want to hear it. And that refusal puts us in a very dangerous place. We needed them, needed all Americans, to denounce the corruption and insist that the super delegates do their one job, which is to ensure that we don’t run the only candidate capable of losing to Donald Trump.

I am frightened by the very real prospect of a Trump presidency, which ought to be unthinkable. But it’s no longer unthinkable, because the party that used to be for and of the people has turned its backs on us and supported the oligarchy.

When this is over, when the historically unpopular candidate loses, those of us on the left will be blamed, even as the party has effectively shown the door to millions of voters who felt real hope for the first time in years.

No matter what, we must leave the party behind and create one that will speak the truth."

Jill Not Hill!

Q&A from Bernie Delegate Conference Call

This puts yesterday into better perspective for me.  I found it on the addictive Sanders for President Reddit sub.



From a delegate call earlier tonight.

Copied from Laura Weaver, wife of Jeff Weaver Bernie's campaign manager.

FAQ time:

Q. Why did Bernie endorse Hillary now?

A. They threatened to completey shut him out of the convention if he didn't.

Q. Couldn't he have said screw them and go and fight at the convention anyway?

A. No. Hillary has more delegates, Superdelegates, and supporters on the DNC rules committee. They would have voted down every one of our platforms, denied Bernie the opportunity to speak, and basically shut him out of the entire process. All the leverage he has gained up to this point would be gone.

Q. So wait, Bernie DIDN'T quit today?

A. No. He had to say she won the primary, he endorses her and will help the party defeat Trump, yadda yadda but he DID NOT concede. There is a very big and important difference. Had he conceded, all of his delegates would go to Hillary and he would no longer be an option for nominee.

Q. So Bernie can actually still win??

A. YES. And if he wasn't still TRYING to win, he would have conceded. The ONLY option he had to get to the convention with his delegates behind him and have a chance to still win was to do what he did today. He is not a traitor. He didn't sell us out. He did the only possible thing he could have done to keep fighting for the nomination.

Q. So how can Bernie still win if he's losing the delegate count and he just said he will help Hillary win the election?

A. By far the most important thing to the DNC, even more important than making sure Hillary beats Bernie, is making sure the Democratic nominee beats the Republicans in November. They scrutinize every poll, every opinion of the public, every event to judge whether a candidate is strong enough to win in November. There are A LOT of things going on right now that show how weak of a general election candidate Hillary Clinton is:

-66% of the country sees her as untrustworthy

-60% thinks she should have been indicted for the email scandal

-A lot of Bernie supporters won't vote for her

-Congress has requested the Department of Justice investigate her for lying under oath about the email scandal

-There's a possibility more emails will be leaked by wikileaks or hackers further proving her guilt

-Many believe the FBI is secretly investigating the Clinton Foundation

-Her "wins" during the primary havr been tainted with accusations of fraud, suppression, lawsuits, and investigations

And then there's Bernie. An honest candidate people trust and whose approval rating and trustworthy rating crushes Clinton's. This is the argument Bernie will make at the convention. With all his 1,900 delegates inside arguing this case and 100,000 supporters outside arguing this case, we hope the DNC realizes he's the only choice. He CAN win the convention, but he has to get there first. That's why he endorsed her today.

Q. So it's still important that all of his delegates go to the convention and we all still March on it like we planned?

A. It's more important now than it ever was before.

Q. What if the DNC still refuses to nominate him at the convention? Can he still run third party now that he endorsed her?

A. Yes. In fact, running third party has never been an option until AFTER the convention. We need to stick with Bernie and see this through to the convention. He's led us this far. Do not abandon him now

I Couldn't Agree More

From Caucus99percent's recent caption contest.  Hee!!

First time I've been able to laugh about the whole thing since yesterday's begrudging endorsement.

Bernie has NOT conceded.  But he has managed to radically shift the Democratic platform.

On to Philly!

And hey, Comey, wanna step on it with that Clinton Foundation investigation, please?  And the one about perjury before Congress would be great,too.  

Thanks.

Comey's Statements vs. The Crook's

July 5th, 2016 : the day Justice officially died in America.

Never Hillary.

Never in a million years.

I'm either writing in Bernie or voting Jill Stein.

Because fuck this shit.

Toast - Comey style

Uncounted - Stolen Democracy

Everybody should see this.

Holy shit.

How do we combat this?

Not Over Til It's Over

No So Fast

The corporate media want to call the election before all the voters have voted?  Not so fast, my friends.

Shit is gonna hit the fan.

A lawsuit to expose the election fraud in 22 precints is officially filed, and it's going to blow this whole thing up.  It will compel the corporate media to report the exit poll data that shows the fraud, and calls them complicit in the crime.   Fan?  Prepare for shit :

Now That's Meta

I took a day off last week giving me a really lovely 4-day weekend, wherein I applied to at least 7 acting jobs.  Rarely are there that many ads that fit my profile, but I certainly was glad to have the time off to fire off the applications.

Today, at work, I got a call from one of the casting agents.

'Hi,' he said, "this is so-and-so and I'm calling you because you applied for the corporate film for X company."  

The name of my company.

I thought he might have just made a mistake because he had my resumé in his hands and saw that I also lead the acting workshop there.

We found a date and time for me to do the audition, but I just couldn't shake how clearly he had stated my company's name.

"So just to be clear, did you in fact say this was for a corporate video for  X company?"

"Yes," he said.

"That is so ironic," I replied, "I work for them!"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the most méta moment I have ever had.

I work at X company and act on the side, and I just got called to audition for a corporate film for my day job.

I love it!!

We Will Not Yield

Sanders all the way to the convention!!  Power to the people!!

Because this:

I will not stand for.

Exciting (and hilarious) News! HRC is Still a Crook

I probably, in a good year, get about 100 page views if I am lucky.  The point of this little neglected blog is uniquely personal, to occasionally capture and share thoughts and anecdotes I want to keep a record of.

I have only extremely rarely heard from anyone I didn't actually know.  Once I got some good advice about getting a French driver's license and once I got some addresses for decent bagels in Paris.  That is the grand total of comments from strangers I have received.

Until yesterday.

People!!  In response to my "HRC is a Crook" post from a few days ago, I actually received an email from what I can only conclude is a paid Hillbot.  I have learned about their existence and activities from Reddit and TOP and Caucus 99 percent and I find it both hilarious and pitiful that one of them seriously took the time to write me, to essentially order me to "change my tone" in regards to HRC.  This person/bot tried to admonish - nay shame - me into stopping my "vitriol" against a candidate who is the epitome of what is wrong with American politics today.

No way, José.

You don't like my tone?  Too bad.  You think I am being hyperbolic?  So be it.

You call out criticism of your candidate from a blog that has maybe 2 page views a day?

Speaks volumes of your confidence.

Oh, and just for fun :

Remember this?

Also, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust awarded HRC with a very special honor :  The Most Corrupt Policitian of 2015.

Click on that.

Ouch.

And here is some more condemnation from an ex-CIA analyst :

Is Hillary Clinton Above the Law?

She sure seems to think so.

A Crook

My mom used to jokingly say that she decided to have children just so she could teach them that Nixon was a crook.

I plan on continuing that tradition.  Just substitute Nixon for Kissinger's protégé, Hillary Clinton.

Please see:

27 Reasons HRC is a Crook (my title)

We Can Be

Expats and All

Papa Bear

Sad news :  Handsome's father passed away Monday morning after a battle with liver cancer.  I called him Papa Bear because he was a larger than life character, gruff like Jean Gabin on the outside but a total softie on the inside.

I wrote a eulogy for him yesterday, and maybe I'll translate it into English, but here it is in raw French.

Papa Bear.  C’est comme ça que je l’appelais en privé car il avait l’extérieur bourru d’un ours et le cœur tendre d’un papa poule dont la plus grande fierté était sa famille.  Il cachait bien son jeu derrière une façade grognonne.  Il aimait bien envoyer des provocations à table, mais c’était sa façon à lui de nous tester, de voir si on l’aimait toujours.   Malgré ses tentatives de nous faire croire autrement, sa générosité et tendresse prenaient trop souvent le dessus pour qu’il soit le dur qu’il voulait qu’on voit.  Il était le premier à parler avec des inconnus, le premier à faire la bonne blague au bon moment, il pouvait être plus charmant que le prince des contes des fées, toujours parfaitement coiffé et parfumé.  Il se faisait des amis partout où il allait.  Il appelait les animaux et les enfants ses ‘potes’ et nombreux d’entre eux ont fait la sieste sur son ventre rond et chaud.  Quand il chantait, il vous transportait, dans le temps, et parfois au plus profond de son âme.   Sa porte était toujours ouverte- les invités étaient nombreux - mais si vous faisiez un pas à l’intérieur, vous étiez sûr de ne pas repartir tout de suite.  L’heure de l’apéro était réglée comme une horloge et les repas planifiés avec grand soin – jusqu’à compter le nombre de frites par personne – le tout noté rigoureusement dans son carnet noir.  Il adorait raconter des blagues – surtout avec des jeux de mots pour mieux perturber les enfants ou les étrangères – et il trinquait toujours avec la même phrase, prononcée avec un grand sourire malin: « moi, je fais le trin… »   

Papy, Papa Bear, je suis sûre que dans l’au-delà, les frites sont déjà comptées, l’apéro est déjà prêt, la musique est à fond, et c’est toi qui fais le con.

I miss him so much already.

2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I've said it before, but that's not going to stop me this time : I have a verrry good feeling about 2016.  I think it's really going to be a fantastic year.  With ups and downs of course, but I have a feeling the ups are going to be up into outer space territory.  I'm hoping that doesn't mean that the downs are going to be hellish, but even if they are, I feel like I've got some pretty good tools in my box o' tricks now.

The goals I'm working on feel like they are within reach, and that's a very nice feeling indeed.

The soviet-sounding civil solidarity pact that Handsome and I signed in September has made us even happier to be together, so here's to paperwork being romantic sometimes.

I got to spend nearly a month with my mom and sister in the US, and that bonding time, that parenthesis of time where I got to give back a tiny portion of the love and support I have received, was priceless.

I co-wrote and co-directed (and acted in) a play for my company's theatre workshop, and it was hard and arduous and many times I thought it sucked ass and no one would get it, but it was a huge success and people want us to write our own productions from now on. Not bad, eh?

I'm meeting new people and making new connections in the English-speaking theatre world and I've finally understood that what makes me different makes me special.  (Duh, right?)

I've made my first forays into film and it is both fun and terrifying.

So 2016, bring it on!!