As I write this, the internet is aflame with attacks on Jemele Hill – a reporter at ESPN who dared to call the president what he is: a racist and a white supremacist. In response, an incredible amount of hate and harassment has been directed at Hill, and the White House has called for her firing. (Where are those conservative ‘free speech’ absolutists when you need them?)
It’s a chilling time for this country for many reasons. But when the government attempts to stifle the speech of a private citizen and journalist because she criticized the president … this is a new level of horror.
We did not see Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling for the firing of white supremacists who marched on Charlottesville and left one woman dead. It’s only those who anger Trump who are in danger of being censured. Thankfully, other journalists and citizens and coming to Hill’s defense – but it’s an important lesson for us all to remember. And it’s a warning that things can get much, much worse.
Glass half full
As the world crumbles down around us, at least we can still laugh at Ted Cruz – caught in a scandal this week when his Twitter account “liked” a porn video. (Reminder: This is a man who argued that that people don’t have the right to masturbate.)
What I’m RTing
Can't wait for some tech bro to discover makeup, rename it "face hacking" and claim he invented it.
— JenAshleyWright (@JenAshleyWright) September 13, 2017
A cartoon by Will McPhail. pic.twitter.com/8OnVLVNsy9
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) September 15, 2017
Ted Nugent told Obama to suck his machine gun & said that Hillary should be hanged for treason, and was invited to the White House by Trump. https://t.co/QAIyo4E2S5
— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) September 14, 2017
What the 2 deadliest mass shootings this year have in common --> they both involve men targeting their ex-wives https://t.co/eO6a8n0qM4
— Melissa Jeltsen (@quasimado) September 12, 2017
this left wing political correctness is out of control https://t.co/7BK71gzZOw
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) September 13, 2017
Who I’m reading
Amanda Hess on the business of “anti-ageing” and making sure women hate themselves; Bryan Curtis with a fantastic piece on Jemele Hill; and Ezra Klein on his interview this week with Hillary Clinton.
What I’m writing
At Marie Claire, on Hillary Clinton’s book and why she’s more of a president now that the president himself.
How outraged I am
A couple of ex-Google employees thought they could replace city’s beloved bodegas with what looks to be little more than a gussied-up vending machine. The internet delivered its wrath, so I’m at a satisfied six out of 10 on the rage scale.
How I’m making it through this week
I know I usually share pics and videos of adorable things to get your mind off the world; but this week what’s giving me hope is the full and incredible life of Edie Windsor, who passed away this week. Rest in power, Edie.
