The Nature of Things

"...it will go the way it always goes in the press when it all comes out: it will have been my fault, all of it because men's crimes are always ours in the final analysis, aren't they, Mr. Strike? Ultimate responsibility always lies with the woman, who should have stopped it, who should have acted, who must have known .                                         - A female client speaking to detective Cormoran Strike in Lethal White by Robert Galbraith I had actually intended to use that quote from Lethal White in my review of the book last week, but then I forgot. However, it sure seems to fit here . Our current president is very, very concerned about young men at this time in America; it is a very scary time for them, he says. His words have inspired all kinds of responses on social media as well as in the real world. Here is just one of those responses. A young woman called Lynzy Lab S...

Courtesy of Slate.com , here is some of the merchandise that was on sale outside the Republican national convention this week. Reportedly, the vendors were doing a brisk business. (Click on the photo to enlarge it for easier reading.)

The headline in Slate read "Is Hillary Clinton likable enough to beat Trump?"   I read it and felt my blood begin to boil! Does any media type ever ask the question "Is Trump likable enough to beat Hillary Clinton?" Indeed, does any media type ever ask such an insulting, demeaning question of any male politician? Admittedly, I haven't seen everything written or heard every broadcast political interview or pundit's analysis but I am not aware of any such question being asked of them. If you ever begin to think that our society has made progress in effecting equality of treatment between the sexes, all you have to do is watch and listen to the coverage of this presidential election season to see how very wrong you are. Sexism and outright misogyny still dominate. There is one rule for covering Hillary Clinton and another rule (or no rules) for covering any of the male candidates. She is always held to the stricter standard. As just one example, she is called...

What is the most dangerous group, the one most likely to commit acts of terrorism in America? One guess. Hat tip to Daily Kos for the cartoon.

On the last day of the Supreme Court's session, a poll was released which reflects the American people's trust and confidence in the institution .  That confidence rate stands at 30% - or at least it did before the court announced decisions on its last two cases yesterday. I suspect that rate may be even lower today. This is sad. I can remember when the court was held in high esteem, but it is now at its lowest ebb since polls started being taken on the issue in 1973. If it continues on its present path of rewriting the Constitution as a strictly right-wing instrument, confidence in the court is most likely destined to fall into the single digits. That is not good for the country, but that's what you get when the court is peopled by mediocrities like Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Anthony Kennedy,  intolerant religious warriors like Antonin Scalia, and arch conservatives bent on furthering their political philosophy like John Roberts. It is perhaps telling that all of t...

Did you watch the Academy Awards show last night? We recorded it and I watched it later and zoomed right through all the commercials and the often interminable acceptance speeches that I didn't care to hear. I actually watched the "entertainment" portion of the show. I should have zoomed through most of that also. I did not know who Seth MacFarlane was and I'm willing to bet that a significant portion of the audience was in the same quandary as me. I read later that he created "Family Guy," another show which I've never watched and never will. Apparently, he is considered young and hip and edgy, none of which describes the demographic to which I belong, so perhaps it was not surprising that I found him rude, repellent, and unfunny in equal measures. Joan Walsh says I shouldn't blame him . I should blame the producers of the show who knew what they were getting when they hired him and who approved his execrable script in advance. Well, there's ple...