Editing Louis C.K.

A few days ago, PZ had a post about Louis C.K.’s apology. Like a lot of people, I wasn’t impressed at all. I commented to the effect that there’s a simple test when it comes to the quality of an apology: who is it about? In Louis C.K.’s case, his apology is all about him. That was bad enough, but as it was going to be all about him, he missed some pertinent bits, like all the denials over the years, and the cover-ups. Basically, it amounted to a “poor, pitiful me” in my eyes.

It is actually possible to sincerely apologize and do it well, and Leah Fessler, Annalisa Merelli, and Sari Zeidler show Louis C.K. just how that’s done.

…However, Louis C.K.’s “apology” devolves into an attempt to paint himself as suffering and worthy of sympathy. He says that until the Times report, he did not realize the full extent of the harm he caused women by taking out his penis and masturbating in front of them. He also tries to reduce his culpability by noting that, at the time of his actions, he thought simply asking if it was OK to masturbate in front of women was enough to guarantee consent.

What’s more, Louis C.K. does not mention his attempts to cover up his actions, nor his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the accusations that have been made several times before.

He does, however, make sure to note how “admired” he was, and is, both by the women he harassed, and the comedy industry at large. In fact, he repeats it four times in his statement.

We took it upon ourselves to edit Louis C.K.’s “apology” in order to make it a real apology. This is how we believe it should read:

The edited version is a fine apology, it’s a pity it didn’t come from Louis C.K. You can read the whole thing here.

Contagious America: The Anti-Equality Tour.

Kim Davis, the county clerk from Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision, spent nine days in October on a tour of Romania to boost religious conservatives’ push for a referendum to put a ban on same-sex couples marrying into the country’s constitution. Davis traveled with Liberty Counsel Vice President Harry Mihet, who was born in Romania. Mihet discussed the trip last week with Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver on Faith and Freedom, the group’s weekly radio show.

Staver said that Mihet and Davis met with “four out of the six top archbishops of the Orthodox Church” as well as evangelical leaders and heads of “pro-family” organizations. Mihet said they spoke to “several hundred people” in six of the country’s largest cities, with “thousands” more watching online.

Staver said that Davis made the trip to tell her story as a warning about “the implications” of a country going “the wrong way on marriage.” Mihet said Davis gave a “powerful” message about the need to define marriage in the constitution to prevent the kind of “devastating” impact on people of faith experienced in the United States because of “judicial activism and judicial overreach.”

The monstrous contagion that is America. People everywhere, don’t let your countries grow up to be Amerikka. Please. Be better than us, it’s not like it’s a high bar. RWW has the full story.

“It’s all just girls, girls, girls playing politics,”

The conservatears of rage and bewilderment are flowing over recent election results. Naturally, it’s all us evil female types who are to blame, and the wimpy excuses for men who allow us to vote. It’s the ruination of Amerikka! Really truly.

CRTV commentator Gavin McInnes, who also leads the bizarre, misogynistic “Proud Boys”* fraternity, said that the historic electionof several openly transgender people to state and local offices earlier this week can be blamed on men allowing women to vote.

More on this absurd Proud Boy nonsense later.

On yesterday’s episode of “Get Off My Lawn,” McInnes was joined by Gateway Pundit’s White House reporter Lucian Wintrich, who joined him in attributing major Republican losses to Democrats campaigning on “identity politics” by putting forward diverse candidates. They went on to attribute the election of transgender people, including Virginia state assembly candidate Danica Roem, to women’s ability to vote.

“The liberals say, ‘Maybe we should give up on identity politics,’ but you look at all the Sikhs and black people and trans who won in this election and all these unprecedented cases. It had nothing to do with policy. It was all identity politics,” McInnes said.

No, it’s not liberals who are all tangled up in “identity politics”. You’re confusing us inclusive types with the white nationalist nazis. Very different groups, so try to get it right. Sikhs, black people, transgender people, oh my! Why the sky will fall any moment, I’m sure. This would be known as having representatives on all levels who actually reflect the make up of our society. Old white men don’t represent most of us, and if they are going to faint at having to work with people of colour and women, perhaps they should retire. Go fishin’ or something.

He continued, “I was looking at those two trannies who won. There’s no substance there at all. And I think it’s because we let women vote. Women have been voting now based on their ‘feels’ for many years. They brought us Obama, no substance.”

Just have to be disrespectful, don’t you? Transgender people. Or y’know, just people. Or women. Or, and this is really radical – the descriptor of their choice. This woman votes on issues, and emotion is not dirty word, you fucking idiot. Perhaps you wouldn’t be so hung up if you allowed your self to feel something other than anger and aggrieved entitlement, Mr. McInnes. No substance? Hahahahahahahahaha. Oh, I think we know where all the substanceless hot air is residing.

“It’s all just girls, girls, girls playing politics,” McInnes said.

And loving it. You’re just going to have to suck it up, Mr. McInnes, we aren’t leaving the playing field now.  So you know though, it’s women. We aren’t children.

Wintrich said he wanted to know when liberals would realize that “playing the intersectionality game to elect people” results in “terrible people that are ruining the country.”

We aren’t playing a game. It’s a hell of a lot of work, getting people woke, and using their vote to accomplish progress and positive change. Intersectionality is not a game, it’s vital to having a healthy society. So is inclusion. Granted, this ‘1950s ideal’ you morons clutch might be finally staked into its grave, and that’s a good thing. A very good thing.

“I’m excited to see how badly this tranny actually fucks up Virginia,” Wintrich said.

We don’t need to know what gives you a boner, Mr. Wintrich. Truly. I have no doubt Ms. Roem will not fuck up Virginia in the least, and will probably help Virginia a great deal. As I recall, she was focused on traffic issues, which the citizens of Virginia are also concerned with, so let her get on with her job, you nasty little doucheweasel.

The full mess, with video, is at RWW. Now, about that Proud Boy nonsense…

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FEEEMALE!

Country singer Keith Urban (image via Shutterstock).

I don’t listen to country music, that would be obvious to anyone paying attention to my musical choices every day. Bluegrass, sometimes. Rockabilly, yeah. Keith Urban’s choice of a song to perform just added yet another reason onto my pile of reasons for not listening to country music. The song was not written by him, it was written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, and Nicolle Galyon. Yes, it took three whole people to write this…song.

When you hear somebody say somebody hits like a girl
How does that hit you?
Is that such a bad thing?
When you hear a song that they play saying you run the world*
Do you believe it?
Will you live to see it?

*A reference to a Beyoncé song.

[Chorus]
Sister, shoulder
Daughter, lover
Healer, broken halo
Mother nature
Fire, suit of armor
Soul survivor, Holy Water
Secret keeper, fortune teller
Virgin Mary, scarlet letter
Technicolor river wild
Baby girl, women shine
Female

Ummm, some of those words don’t belong together. A whole lot of those words just don’t belong, period. ‘Baby girl’? Really? Hmmm. Oh look, it’s the madonna/whore thing again. Gee, that’s all kind of old and tired. I can’t imagine these people patting themselves on the back for this dreck. How was this written? Mad Lib Songwriting?

When somebody laughs and implies that she asked for it
Just cause she was wearing a skirt
Now is that how it works?
When somebody talks about how it was Adam first
Does that make you second best?
Or did he save the best for last?

Sigh. I think I’ll go pound my head into a concrete block.

Repeat the awful chorus here.

[Refrain]
Yeah
Female

[Bridge]
She’s the heart of life
She’s the dreamer’s dream
She’s the hands of time
She’s the queen of kings

Yeah, no. No, no, no. Just a different version of making women less than real, mystical, and up on another weird-ass pedestal. We’re people. Regular, typical people. We even fart and burp, oh my! And if I’m the hands of bloody time, why can’t I turn the clock back? I’m staring at 60 here.

Repeat the awful chorus again.

[Outro]
Mhm
Female

This um, song, was supposedly written in response to the Weinstein allegations. I, uh, I can’t even. Just can’t. As for Mr. Urban, who I had never heard of until today:

I think it’s just time for a recalibrating of the past, you know? Things have been a certain way for a long, long time, and I think you’re seeing a turning of the tide for that. This song just spoke to me. I just wanted to get in and record it right away. I am surrounded by females in my life. I grew up in a house with boys, no sisters. Now I am in a house that’s all girls. So this song speaks to me on a lot of levels.

Oh gods. No. No, you’re not helping. That ‘song’ is not helping. Not at all.

From all over the internet. Lyrics from here.

Facepalms Abound.

Oh, all the Religious Reich is getting het up, over this, that, and everything. One hissy fit after another. I’ve chosen two for now, Bryan Fischer and Jim Bakker. Bryan Fischer is one nasty piece of work, a tremendously poisonous and hate filled person. Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall attracted Fischer and those like him, as Marshall was running against Danica Roem, a transgender woman. [Danica Roem won, YES!] Marshall took the time on election day to call into Fischer’s program.

“I’m asking your listeners to pray the prayer that King David did when his son Absalom was in rebellion,” Marshall said. “He prayed that his counselor would not give solid advice. We need to, one, proceed first with prayer, then thought, then action. You can’t be a sideline Christian and think you’re going to keep your rights in a society that’s becoming ever more secular every day.”

Aww, guess the prayin’ didn’t work. How, exactly, does a person who happens to be transgender interfere with your rights? How, exactly, does that interfere with you being a christian of any flavour? I can’t stand you self-righteous, hateful assholes with your hypocritical piety, but I’m not going around announcing my rights are being taken away because you exist. Anymore, I find myself thinking that the monastic system is ripe for a big comeback – let us fund monasteries, a monastery for everyone! You can have family monasteries, monasteries for men, for women, for all the different flavours of fanaticism christianity. Then we would see if you’d put your money where your mouth is, and you would all retire from this evil world and concentrate on the next life, which is what is supposed to matter more to christians. I’d be happy to help fund monasteries, if it would get you immoral idiots where you belong, on your knees and out of the way. No more television. No more internet. No more newspapers. No more politics. Nope, just concentrating on how well you’ll do in the next life. (You’ll have to pardon me, I’m doing a great deal of monastic reading right now.)

I’d be willing to bet not one of you, not a single one, would take up a monastic life. You’re addicted to your wealth and you crave power so much, it consumes you. The mere fact that other people exist does not infringe on your rights in any way. If you feel that other people existing does infringe on your rights as a person, then really, a monastery is where you need to be, because you are not capable of being a good member of society.

The full mess is at RWW.

On to Jim Bakker, who is throwing yet another fit:

“Trump is not crazy,” Bakker bellowed. “They want him to be crazy because they want to impeach him. There is nothing they can impeach him over because this thing with the collusion with Russia they can’t prove, but they want to say this man is crazy. They’re trying to get doctors to say the president is crazy.”

No, Trump isn’t crazy. He is a malignant narcissist, which is not a good thing. As for the collusion with Russia, well that is being proved, Jim, every day. More and more proof is just piling up. There are a lot of people concerned about the Tiny Tyrant’s mental state, beyond his being a fucking moron, many of those concerned are those who make up his staff, and work with him every day. The Tiny Tyrant is bad enough, we don’t need a repeat of Reagan’s Alzheimer years.

“I’ll tell you what,” he continued. “If they go through with that, there will be a riot in the United States of America and you’re going to find little old ladies rioting, you’re going to find the church people out rioting because they’re not going to take it any more. This is stupid and insanity what is going on in our country right now.”

Really? Who cares? Just so I have this right, protesting, if done by anyone interested in social justice, is wrong and immoral, but rioting is wonderful and moral if done by christians. Just be sure to conduct your riot on the sidewalks, because blocking the streets is really, really wrong and terrible. Oh right, unless it’s done by christians. Are you going to set fire to your churches? That might be entertaining. I do agree there’s much stupid going on these days, most of it is sitting like a lump in the white house, and the rest of it are all the sitting lumps of his base, including you, Mr. Bakker.

RWW has video of the tantrum.