Roundtable

Jim: Roundtable time. Participating our roundtable are  The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava, and me, Jim; Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude; Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man; C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review; Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills); Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix; Mike of Mikey Likes It!; Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz); Ruth of Ruth's Report; Trina of Trina's Kitchen; Wally of The Daily Jot; Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ; Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends; Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub. Betty's kids did the illustration. You are reading a rush transcript.

 

 

 

Jim (Con't): Why not more roundtables?  Because they take forever to do.  We're doing this Monday evening.  Among the topics in the news are Harrison Butker Jr.  Marcia covered him in "Harrison Butker is a hate merchant" and Mike covered him in "A kicker thinks he's accomplished something and has wisdom," "Hate merchant Harrison Butker"  and "Idiot of the week."   Do you two have any comments you want to add.

Marcia:  Ava and C.I. wrote a piece yesterday that will go up in this edition.  I applaud them for it.  I think more people should have made the connection they did but, in fairness to others, I didn't make the connection either.  Historically, Black women have not had the opportunity to pick and choose whether or not they worked -- especially true if they are women.  His remarks were uninformed and ignorant and Whoopi Goldberg does him no favors pretending it's just a difference of opinion.  No, it is not.  For Black women, it is a reality that he refuses to acknowledge. Also,   Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Harrison Loves Josh"  tackled Boy Junior as well.

 

Jim: Thank you, Marcia.  Mike?

Mike: I'd just like to read this in, it's from VARIETY:

Pearl Jam played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 18, and frontman Eddie Vedder couldn’t resist eviscerating Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College.

Butker has received enormous backlash for the speech, in which he attacked Pride Month and shared his belief that women belong in the kitchen. He said “one of the most important titles” a woman could have is homemaker.

Vedder took a quick pause in between songs at Pearl Jam’s Vegas show to encourage the audience to cheer for the band’s opening act, the indie rock band Deep See Diver, via BroBible. Vedder noted that two of the band members, including its lead singer, are women.

“The singer, Jessica, and the keyboard player, Patti, they must not have believed that ‘diabolical lie’ that women should take pride in taking a back seat to their man,” Vedder said in a dig at Butker’s ideology.

“There should be pride in homemaking if you’re a man or a woman … it’s one of the hardest jobs and you should definitely take pride in it, but you’re going to benefit by giving up your dreams?” the frontman asked. “I couldn’t understand the logic, so I’m questioning it in public right now … It’s not a graduation speech.”

Jim: Anyone else want to weigh in?

Trina: I will.  Harrison Jr is an idiot and a fool.  And when people want to speak up and they don't have their facts, you call them out.  Marcia is exactly right that the country didn't need Whoopi's nonsense of 'difference of opinion.'  He didn't have the fact and he shouldn't be speaking to begin with.

Jim: Ava, there was something you and C.I. pulled out because you couldn't make it fit.

Ava: It wasn't flowing.  Maybe we'll get an idea how to put it back in before it goes up; however, we note that celebrities aren't that well educated in most cases.  We note that's especially true of sports stars.  However, we had a section in there about actors where we were noting that their training should teach them empathy which would put them a step ahead of other celebrities.  And there are celebrities who have an education -- a great one in college or self-taught.

Jim: Ty, you had an e-mail.

Ty: Conrad e-mailed asking if anyone here is opposed to home schooling?  Anybody?

Ruth: No one is speaking, so I will.  I am not necessarily opposed to it.  But I am opposed to people not learning what they are supposed to.  Part of education in the US is socialization and there are some skills there that I see missing in a lot of conservatives who were homeschooled as well as the ditsy Felicia Day who thinks she is of the left but has a collapsible mind that leaves her stranded on the side of the road.  A real education could have addressed that.  I realize some children have behavioral issues, for example, and do better at home school.  I am fine with independent study if it covers reality.  Live and let live but do not cut your child out of this century because you are teaching them garbage.  You hurt the whole country at a time when we need science skills more than ever.

Betty: Amen.

Dona: I've got an e-mail I'm going to note.  Rachel LeFevre e-mailed to ask what we thought was the biggest domestic story of the year?

Cedric:  This year?  Without a doubt the student activism to end the assault on Gaza.  The students have risked everything.  They've been brave.  They've been lied about and attacked and they were on the right side.  I'd say that they were on the side of God.  And that's what my church believes as well, by the way.  The same corporate media that repeatedly lies about the students has tried to lie about Black churches as well.  My church and every other Black church in my city are firmly on the side of the Palestinians and strongly believe that there is no excuse in the world for killing children.  None.  

Rebecca: I would agree with Cedric -- on everything he just said.  And I'd add that the corporate media originally reported what took place at UCLA as a clash on both sides when, in fact, it was not.  It was the counter-protesters attacking the students.  And these 'counter-protesters' were not students.  They were outside agitators.  And you knew that the morning after if you read the gina & krista round-robin because C.I. connected the dots for you with four of the counter-protesters and how these four had tried their tactics early on back in 2022 when they worked overtime with astroturf to appear to be this massive group of the public as they repeatedly attacked and lied about the film BROS.  Shame on those who did not defend the film.  This same group was then emboldened in 2023 to go after Target -- among others.  They are the same ones attacking students.

Elaine: I'm just not in the f**king mood, sorry.  I'm tired of the left that stays silent and pretends like these issues aren't connected.  The fake left like Aaron Matte and Max Blumenthal and his ugly trash wife.  This is an attack on all and they better grasp that.  'Oh, I don't want to defend trans people!' or 'Oh, gays are identity politics!'  Shut your damn mouths.  Reality, they go after the ones they know they can get away with attacking.  They attack those groups and learn from those attacks what tactics to use on larger groups.  I don't even see this, honestly, as a left or right issue.  I see this as: It's 2024.  We should all be involved in fighting this discrimination -- left, right, everyone.

Wally: But the problem there is that the Blumenthals and Aaron elected to stand wit Proud Boys and Nick Fuentes.  They're happy to trash the left while insisting we need to big tent with racists like the Proud Boys.  And Max's idiot wife mocking trans people at the top of her feed for months should not ever be forgotten or ever forgiven.

Isaiah: I have no sympathy for her.  I don't get it.  As an African-American male, I've had to struggle in this society.  I have no interest whatsoever in making life harder for anyone else.  I just don't get it.  

Dona: Is anyone threatened by trans girls and women competing with other females in sports?

Betty: Not one damn bit.   And as Ava and C.I. have repeatedly pointed out, there is no concern for protecting all women by these trolls.  It's birth males that are a threat and a focus.  No one's screaming that someone born female can't compete in male boxing.  It's just garbage and bad faith arguments.  And Riley Gains looks like a man so if we're not going to let trans females participate, let's also start doing DNA testing to make sure mannish females like Riley Gaines don't get to compete because that's just not fair to the females with typical female bodies.

Cedric: Tell me why Katie Halper remains rooted to transphobes Aaron Matte and Matt -- What's Uncle Fester's last name?

Jim: Taibbi.

Cedric: Thank you.  She should have walked away from them.

Kat: But she didn't which means she's one with them and that she's on board with Tucker Carlson as well.  

Betty: That mother Tucker!

Kat: Exactly.  But she's an adult, Katie --

Jess: And then some!

Kat: Yeah, and then some.  She'll be 44 in July.  She made her bed.  It's on her.  You're judged by the company you keep.

Dona: Agreed but I also agree with Cedric's point and with the disappointment he has in her.

Jess: Matt Taibbi is the garbage you scrape off your shoes.  Related, nut job Oliver Stone.  The pro-nuke Stoney wants everyone to know that poor Donald Trump is facing "lawfare" and it's so unfair.  All these court cases and blah blah blah.  Oliver Stone is a well known sexist and that should have made him sus to all.  But here's some reality: You break the law, you have to pay.  Sorry, Stoney, that your boyfriend Donald Trump broke the law.  He's not above the law.  Seems like Ollie Stone's been in bed enjoying Putin's morning breath for too many years and it's obliterated his common sense.

Jim: Reader Jonas e-mailed asking if anyone plans on not voting for Joe Biden?

Ann: He's lost my vote.  I'm a Green who always votes Green.  His blaming of the students and his attacks on them?  Sorry.  I was already ticked about the assault on the Palestinians.  The verbal attacks on the students meant I walked away completely. 

Rebecca: And I may do that yet.  I'm not trying to tell anyone who else how to vote -- that's your own business -- I mean readers -- but I'm close to the edge on not voting for Joe, sorry.  For the same reasons that Ann cited.

Jim: Anyone else?  No one's speaking.  Jess?  You're a Green.  What about you?

Jess: I want to be able to vote for Joe but won't if he continues to look the other way as Muslims and Arabs are the victims of genocide.  I am a Green.  I will not be voting for Jill Stein.  She's a fake ass and we didn't need her to run for a third time.  At 74, she's also too old just like Joe and Donald. 

 

Jim: And that's the note we're going to end on.