As IF Times

Source: Woman accuses Al Franken of kissing, groping her without consent

Under the heading of “it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy” comes the most recent allegation du jour of harassment/molestation and general sexually inappropriate behavior, this time directed towards the charming Al Franken.  As if we need one more reason to dislike him.  Since the floodgates literally burst open last month with the “shocking” revelations of the real life Jabba the Hut, Harvey Weinstein, men (and those that resemble men), from virtually all corners and echelons of society have been outed like cockroaches in a kitchen when the lights come on.

From Entertainment, to Politics, to Industry, to Media, the roster of alleged scoundrels and worse is expanding so quickly that it may be easier to count those that didn’t rather than tabulate those that did.  The really shocking revelations are not the Weinsteins, Spaceys and Frankens of the world, those hardly raise an eyebrow.   But apparently even George Bush senior is a cad! George Bush!  While certainly his transgressions aren’t anywhere close to  the d-baggery exhibited by the other characters, the net of shame will likely go on to ensnare many others who may have had even a hint of impropriety expressed during their lives…even if it was 40 years ago.  However, to characterize this avalanche of bad behavior as sudden would be wrong.  It’s only the revelations that are sudden.  We can bet that opportunists will jump to portray that there are two kinds of men; those that have been outed and those that will be outed.

Oddly, while the activities of the ever increasing cast of miscreants are exposed and helping the cause of heretofore silent victims, they also create a new class of victims…. those being the vast majority of men who behave as civilized people.  Now they too will be on eggshells wondering if any or every one of their actions will be construed as some kind of assault.  Suddenly, like gun owners, all men will be cast collectively as villains because of the actions of a few.

We will see instances of even innocent interactions with vastly different contexts labelled as examples of ‘abuse’.  As an example, the vague claim of “unwanted attention”.   Most women will be the subject of attention at some point.  Whether it’s wanted or not may depend on whether it’s Brad Pitt or Al Franken.  Since there are many more Al Frankens in the world than Brad Pitts, it’s likely that most attention will be unwanted.   So, while the exposing of d-bag behavior is good, we expect that lots of innocents will be tarred as well.

The common denominator in all the cases of improper conduct is that instances of abuse are linked with disparities of power.  Someone in a position of influence by way of  station or fame feels empowered to exceed the bounds of acceptable  social behavior.  Why? Because they get away with it.  Many of the worst recently exposed miscreants are entertainers.  They have always escaped responsibility for their crassness by virtue of being ‘artists’ and have been placed on pedestals by their adoring fans.  Some may notice that no janitors or window washers have been outed for abusing co workers.  But if you live at the top of the power pyramid, you are allowed to believe that rules are for lesser folk.  That’s not a phenomenon peculiar to American society; it’s a social dynamic that  exists in all of nature.  The point of having an evolved and civilized society is that its members are expected to behave as civilized people.  Those that choose to not behave accordingly deserve to be outed.

Now that women have been empowered to speak out, maybe the best solution to keep this behavior at bay is the classic one; a good punch in the nose.

Source: Anti-Trump hotel set to open in Washington, D.C. – UPI.com

It’s been over a year since the earth shattering election in the US which ushered Donald J. Trump into the national presidency.  During the course of the election, all manner of hysteria was on full display from all quarters of the rabid opposition; from other politicos, the entertainment industry and of course from the national news outlets.  After a year of digging into the dry hole which is Russia Russia Russia, they are still poring over any scintilla of a hint of evidence that the Trump presidency was the result of an elaborate Russian plot.

While there is no time limit on the terms of an investigation, any rational person would conclude that given the monies and effort spent on finding any kind of link to Russian collusion and finding none after a year, that it’s a waste of time and more likely an exercise driven by partisan opponents still incredulous on the election result.  Does Monty Python’s black knight in the forest skit ring true for anyone? The phenomenon of slightly unhinged partisan opposition is given more and more credence by the news of the soon to be opened anti Trump hotel in Washington DC. The Eaton Workshop hotel, scheduled to open in the spring, bills itself as a haven for political activists who long for the days when President Barack Obama resided in the White House.  As the link shows, i am not making this up.

For those of us seated with a big tub of popcorn watching the left eating themselves through revelations of corrupt Hollywood practices or exposes by a former DNC officer on the workings of their candidate processes, it’s been a joy to watch as the left gets consumed by their own sanctimony.  Looking for any ring to grasp as their ideology sinks, the most recent idea is to corral Joe Biden back to run in the next election.  Sure he’s likeable enough, but he’s as close to being a cardboard cutout of a person as you can get. However his main shortcoming is, just like the past President, he’s done nothing his entire life but work in government.  The left are so bereft of ideas other than “not Trump” that they’d reach for an anchor if it was offered to them.

The great political divide revealed by the results of the last election has only become wider.  However the events that have transpired over the past year indicates that it is not the superior arguments of one side that will sway the other.  We can see that there is a deeply seated intransigence on the left that is immune from any rational tonic.  Which means that going forward, it won’t be favorable policies that will sway the public, it will be partisan victories regardless of their consequences.