#Republican sex obsession

[republicansexscandals]

[mysdrymmumbles]

Periods aren't even sexual, like why the fuck wouldn't you teach little kids about them?

“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in 5th grade or 4th grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?” asked state Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Democrat who taught in public schools and noted that girls as young as 10 can begin having periods.

“It would,” McClain responded.

Unbelievable. Link to article.

[lenbryant]

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is OBSESSED with gay people, bashing them and taking away their rights. If there's one thing we've learned in recent decades, it's usually the most vocal homophobes who have something to hide in their own closets. Some might even say he's a self-loathing closet case who is compensating by being as anti-gay in public as he can be. Someone please check his browser history.

[liberalsarecool]

Republican voters do not have serious thoughts about the issues. It's all moving goal posts.

Case in point: the Tea Party was established because the deficit was their obsession. Obama was their target. The racism was obvious.

But when Trump added over $8 trillion to the deficit, that same deficit-obsessed Tea Party did not care anymore. This issue vanished.

Same with sex trafficking. Thousands of priests/youth minsters/cops are indicted/arrested all the time for rape/possession of child porn/molestation, yet the RW echo chamber will distract with drag queens and transphobia groomer messaging.

Look at Matt Gaetz! He has to resign for sex trafficking the day after Trump picked him for Attorney General. !!!. It's obscenely perverse.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Conservatives are fringe outliers - and leftists could learn from them

The Republican Party, a coalition between Big Business farmers and turkeys who’ll vote for Christmas (Red Scare obsessed cowards, apocalyptic white nationalists, religious fanatics, etc) has fallen to its bizarre, violent, noisy radical wing, who are obsessed with policies that are completely irrelevant to the majority of Americans.

As Oliver Willis writes, the views of the radical right — which are also the policies of the GOP — are wildly out of step with the US political view:

https://www.oliverexplains.com/p/conservatives-arent-like-normal-americans

The press likes to frame American politics as “narrowly divided,” but the reality is that Republicans’ electoral victories are due to voter suppression and antimajoritarian institutions (the Senate and Electoral College, etc), not popularity. Democrats consistently outperform the GOP in national races. Dems won majorities in 1992/6, and beat the GOP in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020. The only presidential race the GOP won on popular votes since 1988 was 2004, when GW Bush eked out a plurality (not a majority).

But, as Willis says, Dems “act like it is 1984 and that they are outliers in a nation of Reagan voters,” echoing a stilted media narrative. The GOP’s platform just isn’t popular. Take the groomer panic: 71% of Americans approve of same-sex marriage. The people losing their shit about queer people are a strange, tiny minority.

Every one of the GOP’s tentpole issues is wildly unpopular: expanding access to assault rifles, banning immigration, lowering taxes on the rich, cutting social programs, forcing pregnant people to bear unwanted children, etc. This is true all the way up to the GOP’s coalescing support for Trump as their 2024 candidate. Trump has lost every popular vote he’s ever stood for, and owes his term in the Oval Office to the antimajoritarian Electoral College system, gerrymandering, and massive voter suppression.

Willis correctly points out that Dem leaders are basically “normal” center-right politicians, not radicals. And, unlike their GOP counterparts, politicians like Clinton, Obama and Biden don’t hide their disdain for the radical wing of their party. Even never-Trumper Republicans are afraid of their base. Romney declared himself “severely conservative” and McCain “put scare quotes around ‘health of the mother’ provisions for abortion rights.”

The GOP fringe imposes incredible discipline on their leaders. Take all the nonsense about “woke capitalism”: on the one hand, it’s absurd to call union-busting, tax-dodging, worker-screwing companies “woke” (even if they sell Pride flags for a couple of weeks every year).

But on the other hand? The GOP leadership have actually declared war on the biggest corporations in America, to the point that the WSJ says that “Republicans and Big Business broke up”:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-corporations-donations-pacs-9b5b202b

But America is a two-party system and there are plenty of people who’ll pull the lever for any Republican. This means that when the GOP comes under the control of its swivel-eyed loon wing, the swivel-eyed loons wield power far beyond the number of people who agree with them.

There’s an important lesson there for Dems, whose establishment is volubly proud of its independence from its voters. The Biden administration is a weirdly perfect illustration of this “independence.” The Biden admin is a kind of referee, doling out policies and appointments to its competing wings, without any coherence or consistency.

That’s how you get incredible appointments like Lina Khan at the FTC and Jonathan Kanter at the DoJ Antitrust Division and Rohit Chopra at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureat — the progressive wing of the party bargained for these key appointments and then played their cards very well, getting incredible, hard-charging, hyper-competent fighters in those roles.

Likewise, Jared Bernstein, finally confirmed as Council of Economic Advisers chair after an interminable wrangle:

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-06-16-team-biden/

And Julie Su, acting labor secretary, who just delivered a six-year contract to west coast dockworkers with 8–10% raises in the first year, paid retroactively for the year they worked without a contract:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/14/statement-from-president-biden-on-labor-agreement-at-west-coast-ports/

But the Biden admin’s unwillingness to side with one wing of the party also produces catastrophic failures, like the martyrdom of Gigi Sohn, who was subjected to years of vicious personal attacks while awaiting confirmation to the FCC, undefended by the Biden admin, left to twist in the wind until she gave it up as a bad job:

https://doctorow.medium.com/culture-war-bullshit-stole-your-broadband-4ce1ffb16dc5

It’s how we get key roles filled by do-nothing seatwarmers like Pete Buttigieg, who has the same sweeping powers that Lina Khan is wielding so deftly at the FTC, but who lacks either the will or the skill to wield those same powers at the Department of Transport:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/11/dinah-wont-you-blow/#ecp

By refusing to stand for anything except a fair division of powers among different Democratic Party blocs, the Biden admin ends up undercutting itself. Take right to repair, a centerpiece of the administration’s agenda, subject of a historic executive order and FTC regulation:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

Right to Repair fights have been carried out at the state level for years, with the biggest victory coming in Massachusetts, where an automotive R2R ballot initiative won overwhelming support in 2020:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/13/said-no-one-ever/#r2r

But despite the massive support for automotive right to repair in the Bay State, Big Car has managed to delay the implementation of the new law for years, tying up the state in expensive, time-consuming litigation:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/26/nixing-the-fix/#r2r

But eventually, even the most expensive delaying tactic fails. Car manufacturers were set to come under the state right to repair rule this month, but they got a last minute reprieve, from Biden’s own National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who sent urgent letters to every major car manufacturer, telling them to ignore the Massachusetts repair law:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7bbkv/biden-administration-tells-car-companies-to-ignore-right-to-repair-law-people-overwhelmingly-voted-for

The NHTSA repeats the car lobby’s own scare stories about “cybersecurity” that they blitzed to Massachusetts voters in the runup to the ballot initiative:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

The idea that cybersecurity is best maintained by letting powerful corporations gouge you on service and parts is belied by independent experts, like SecuRepairs, who do important work countering the FUD thrown off by the industry (and parroted by Biden’s NHTSA):

https://securepairs.org/

Independent security experts are clear that letting owners of high-tech devices decide who fixes them, what software they run, etc, makes us safer:

https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2022/01/letter-to-the-us-senate-judiciary-committee-on-app-stores.html

But here we are: the Biden admin is sabotaging the Biden admin, because the Biden admin isn’t an administration, it’s a system for ensuring proportional representation of different parts of the Democratic Party coalition.

This isn’t just bad for policy, it’s bad politics, too. It presumes that if some Democratic voters want pizza, and others want hamburgers, that you can please everyone by serving up pizzaburgers. No one wants a pizzaburger:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/23/narrative-warfare/#giridharadas

The failure to deliver a coherent, muscular vision for a climate-ready, anti-Gilded Age America has left the Democrats vulnerable. Because while the radical proposals of the GOP fringe may not enjoy much support, there are large majorities of Americans who have lost faith in the status quo and are totally uninterested in the Pizzaburger Party.

Nowhere is this better explained than in Naomi Klein’s superb long-form article on RFK Jr’s presidential bid in The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/14/ignoring-robert-f-kennedy-jr-not-an-option

Don’t get me wrong, RFK Jr is a Very Bad Politician, for all the reasons that Klein lays out. He’s an anti-vaxxer, a conspiracist, and his support for ending American military aggression, defending human rights, and addressing the climate emergency is laughably thin.

But as Klein points out, RFK Jr is not peddling pizzaburgers. He is tapping into a legitimate rage:

a great many voters are hurting and rightfully angry: about powerful corporations controlling their democracy and profiting off disease and poverty. About endless wars draining national coffers and maiming their kids. About stagnating wages and soaring costs. This is the world — inflamed on every level — that the two-party duopoly has knowingly created.

RFK Jr is campaigning against “the corrupt merger between state and corporate power,” against drug monopolies setting our national health agenda, and polluters capturing environmental regulators.

As Klein says, despite RFK Jr’s willing to say the unsayable, and tap into the yearning among the majority of American voters for something different, he’s not running a campaign rooted in finally telling the American public “the truth.” Rather, “public discourse filled with unsayable and unspeakable subjects is fertile territory for all manner of hucksters positioning themselves as uniquely courageous truth tellers.”

We’ve been here before. Remember Trump campaigning against a “rigged system” and promising to “make America great again?” Remember Clinton’s rejoinder that “America was already great?” It’s hard to imagine a worse response to legitimate outrage — over corporate capture, declining wages and living conditions; and spiraling health, education and shelter costs.

Sure, it was obvious that Trump was a beneficiary of the rigged system, and that he would rig it further, but at least he admitted it was rigged, not “already great.”

The Democratic Party is not in thrall to labor unions, or racial equality activists, or people who care about gender justice or the climate emergency. Unlike the GOP, the Dem establishment has figured out how to keep a grip on power within their own party — at the expense of exercising power in America, even when they hold office.

But unlike culture war nonsense, shared prosperity, fairness, care, and sound environmental policies are very popular in America. Some people have been poisoned against politics altogether and sunk into nihilism, while others have been duped into thinking that America can’t afford to look after its people.

In this regard, winning the American electorate is a macrocosm for the way labor activists win union majorities in the workplaces they organize. In her memoir A Collective Bargain, Jane McAlevey describes how union organizers contend with everything that progressive politicians must overcome. A union drive takes place in the teeth of unfair laws, on a tilted playing field that allows bosses to gerrymander some workers’ votes and suppress others’ altogether. These bosses have far more resources than the workers, and they spend millions on disinformation campaigns, forcing workers to attend long propaganda sessions on pain of dismissal.

https://doctorow.medium.com/a-collective-bargain-a48925f944fe

But despite all this, labor organizers win union elections and strike votes, and they do so with stupendous majorities — 95% or higher. This is how the most important labor victories of our day were won: the 2019 LA teachers’ strike won everything. Not just higher wages, but consellors in schools, mandatory greenspace for every school in LA, an end to ICE shakedowns of immigrant parents at the school-gate, and immigration law help for students and their families. What’s more, the teachers used their unity, their connection to the community, and their numbers to get out the vote in the next election, winning the marginal seats that delivered 2020’s Democratic Congressional majority.

As I wrote in my review of MacAlevey’s book:

For McAlevey, saving America is just a scaled up version of the union organizer’s day-job. First, we fix the corrupt union, firing its sellout leaders and replacing them with fighters. Then, we organize supermajorities, person-to-person, in a methodical, organized fashion. Then we win votes, using those supermajorities to overpower the dirty tricks that rig the elections against us. Then we stay activated, because winning the vote is just the start of the fight.

It’s a far cry from the Democratic Party consultant’s “data-driven” microtargeting strategy based on eking out tiny, fragile majorities with Facebook ads. That’s a strategy that fails in the face of even a small and disorganized voter-suppression campaign — it it’s doomed in today’s all-out assault on fair elections.

What’s more, the consultants’ microtargeting strategy treats people as if the only thing they have to contribute is casting a ballot every couple years. A sleeping electorate will never win the fights that matter — the fight to save our planet, and to abolish billionaires.

If only the Democratic Party was as scared of its base as the Republicans are of their own.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/16/that-boy-aint-right/#dinos-rinos-and-dunnos

[Image ID: The title page of Richard Hofstadter's 'Paranoid Style in American Politics' from the November, 1964 issue of Harper's Magazine. A John Birch Society pin reading 'This is REPUBLIC not a DEMOCRACY: let's keep it that way' sits atop the page, obscuring the introductory paragraph.]

[fandom-oracle]

you people are insane. having dyed hair has not been a Weird Thing since 2009

[cottoncandyswisherz]

birthday gyal

dom!matt x fwb!reader

warnings: unprotected sex, swearing, choking, love confession

-

the only thing worse than having your 21st birthday during the spring semester, was having your 21st birthday be on a wednesday during the spring semester.

as of may 8th 2024, y/n was officially of legal drinking age and she couldn't even go get shit-faced because she had a lecture the next morning. so instead of partying with her besties, she was at home in her robe, reading 'the mastery of love', while drinking her first legal acholic beverage, twisted tea. 

obviously it wasn't what she wanted to be doing, but she knew that waiting until friday to go out was her best option because she knew she would need 2 days to recover from all the debauchery she intended to partake in. 

so there she was, sulking, reading, sipping. whichever one you prefer honestly. 

that didn't last long though. 

matt <3

happy birthday sweetheart

thanks matt

come get your gifts

HOL AWWNNN YOU GOT ME A GIFT FR??

what kind of friend would i be if i didnt get you a birthday gift?

IM FINNA GET THAT GDAY DICKKKKK

youre insane.

and this is why y/n loved matt. he gave her girlfriend treatment without forcing her to be his girlfriend. 

they were basically dating. they took each other out, they only fucked each each other, the slept at the others house often. 

but the title. the title of girlfriend and boyfriend is what fucked them up. it came with so much pressure. and these two fools hated pressure as much as republicans hate the BLM movement. so they did things the way they wanted. 

according to y/n and matt, they were friends. who fucked on a consistent basis.

it's not weird unless you make it weird. 

slipping on her black bralette, sweats, shoes and jewelry y/n made her way out of her apartment and into her car. on her way to the triplets house, she wondered what matt had in store for her. 

she got her answer as soon as she opened the door to his house.

in no way, shape, or form was matt a grand gestures type of guy. but when he did do something extensive, he believed the glory was in the little things so he made it a point to remember y/n current song obsessions, forming a playlist that played lightly through the house. there was purple rose petals sprinkled in a trail from the front door to matts bedroom door.

when she opened said door, her eyes fluttered shut at the sight before her. matt stood with in front of his bed with a bottle of tequila blanco. (AND THAT DAMN DON JULIO MAKE ME A FOOL FOR YEEEWWW) behind him, on his bed was an assortment of gift bags and amazon packages. 

"happy birthday y/n." matt said, walking up to her and wrapping her in a comforting hug. 

y/n shed a few thug tears as she hugged him back and planted a fat smooch on his lips. "thank you so much MWAH" she planted another kiss on his lips and began to open her gifts. 

jewelry with her sun, moon and rising signs. a melanie tee and a lana poster for her room

by the time y/n was done opening her gifts, she was just one giant smile. all her toofs were on display and she wasn't even embarrassed because she was utterly happy.

she pounced on matt and gave him a hug with all the strength her body could muster. she kissed all over his face and thanked him like he'd just bought her dream car rather than a few birthday gifts.

"okay okay okay! i love you too but i need air to breathe!" he said in attempt to get her to calm down.

y/n reluctantly released the boy and hopped off the bed to grab the bottle and pour the two of them a shot. they toasted to her birthday and downed the shot.

sitting back down, y/n leaned her head on the headboard and placed her feet on matts lap because he was across from her on the mattress.

"do i get a birthday lap dance now?" y/n asked, cackling at the look on matts face.

after letting out a few dry laughs, matt answered her question. "no, but i do have one more gift for you." he pulled her closer to him by her ankles, causing her head to hit the pillows.

y/n's pant magically disappear along with her panties.

matt moves one to beside her head and leans down to trap her mouth with his. as she leans forward, the tip of his cock pushes against he entrance.

with his other hand, he circles the front of her neck. "i'll never hurt you, y/n." he kisses her cheek. "but i'll choke you a little. if that's what you want."

y/n's eyes widen and her lips part. matt feels her not before she does. and then he squeezes, knowing exactly where to press. y/n's eyes flutter shut.

her body shifts under him. her hips try to lift to take him inside him. but he doesn't let her. he just squeezes a little harder. her eyes open and her hands reach up to grab at his arm, not to push him away but to cling to him.

she looks up at him with those beautiful eyes and her body twitches. once.

matts leaking all over her slit. so fucking ready to bust. but he needs her with him. he needs her to feel as feral as he does.

but when her fingers dig into his arm and she twitches a second time, he releases his hold on her neck and slams his entire length inside her.

y/n's orgasm is instant. an implosion. her arms wrap around matt, clutching him.

and he's lost. he's surrounded by her heat, and he's fucking lost in it. he ruts her into the mattress, slamming his hips into hers as she whines and whimpers beneath him. feeling her pussy grip to keep him inside her each time he moves. feeling her breath on his neck with each thrust forward.

to him, she's everything.

he pulls free from her body, grabbing her by her hips. he flips her into her stomach.

he doesn't give her time to catch her breath. he rips her bralette, yanks her hips up, and shoves into her from behind.

her orgasm is still trembling through her body, but it's not enough.

reaching forward, he grips the front of her neck again and pulls her until she's upright on he knees before him.

her tits bounce every time his hips slam against her ass and its the best fucking thing he's ever seen.

he tightens his hold on her neck again, a little tighter than last time. because this time, he's closer.

he's so much closer to filling her with his seed, and he needs her to milk it out of him.

he places his mouth at her ear and slides his other hand down to belly to her slick clit.

"i'n gonna cum inside you, y/n. i'm gonna cum so deep inside you it'll be dripping out of you for fucking days." he rubs his fingers in circles around her bundle of nerves. "but i need you to cum first. so grab those titties for me. show me that you love it."

y/n doesn't even hesitate. her hands fly up to her chest and her fingers pinch and pull at her nipples.

her pussy starts to clench around matt, who tries to control his movements.

in. out. in. out.

but then her eyes start to roll back and he presses harder against her clit. and she cums.

he releases her throat and the sound of her ragged inhale is the last push he needs before his balls squeeze and he's unloading inside her.

he groans her name as he fills her with his release. "i love you. so fucking much. i fucking love you."

for the final pulse of his cock, he shoves himself as deep as he can get, the thrust tipping them forward.

he rolls off her and they lie there, silent. the only sounds heard, were the sounds of their heavy breathing.

he said he loves her. he knows he did. she knows he did.

did he mean it? or was that a post nut confession that he didn't mean to say?

but y/n came to the conclusion that whether he meant it or not, she loved him. and she wasn't scared to say it.

so she reaches over to where matt was laying with his hand behind his head and grabbed his face so he was looking at her.

"i love you."

and just like that, matt's world stopped.

he grabbed her hand and held it in his. "be my girlfriend." he spoke out. "i wanna tell everyone that breathes in my direction that y/n y/l/n is my girlfriend. i want everyone to know i'm yours. because i am. yours. so be mine."

she let out a laugh and leaned over, kissing his jaw. "matt. i was yours the first time we kissed."

niyah speaks this is for lilly bae.

remember that if no one loves you, mommy loves you (and by mommy i mean me)

taglist: @mattslolita @muwapsturniolo @mattssluttygf @zniyadgaf

[robotlyra]

I refuse to correlate Republican sex scandals with the false idea of an inherent wrongness of sex or porn. Being a terrible person who inflicts harm on others is completely independent from how much sex you have, who you have it with, or how much porn you look at.

Fascist obsession with sexuality is part of their attempts to control people, and their own personal complexes about desiring things that they hate or humiliate them, but it is not sexuality itself that is the source of their cruelty. It is merely the arena in which they perpetrate their ills. For example: the joke about masculine homoeroticism of fascism is not because fascists are necessarily always gay, but because fascism views women as tools for goals rather than people. And if women aren't people, they're not worth having relationships with, thus the focus on interaction only between men. While there are doubtlessly at least some examples of fascist/alt right men who are gay and in a spiral of self-hate about it, there are many more of them who just hate they sexually desire women, because they consider women lesser. They would actually much rather have no sexual desire at all.

Ultimately, the fascist/rightwing obsession with sex is because in order to have consensual sex with another person, you have to interact with that person as an equal. To admit desire for someone is to admit their power to accept or deny your request. And fascism cannot abide that exchange of power. The real shame for republicans having their sex scandals revealed is not the "moral degeneracy" of their acts, but rather, the fact that they cannot deny that they had to negotiate with a partner as an equal, and not merely take sex from them as dictated by their systems of hierarchy.

To put it bluntly, republicans are not ashamed of their infidelities because they think it's wrong. They're ashamed because it shows the world that they had negotiate for sex with someone they think is beneath them, and they couldn't just take it by force or by the imperatives of marriage law.

[just-ray]

It's funny how trump has numerous sex offence allegations against him, has openly talked about grabbing someone by their genitals, is strangely obsessed with making laws in regards to people's bedroom activities, and yet.....kamala is the "prostitute that sleeps her way to the top"..... okay....keep talking. My earphones are in anyway. Tearing down democrats by using misogyny and prejudice really goes to show that you have no real material. This goes for misogyny and prejudice towards anyone, not just a democrat. I just find it strange that it only seems to be the republican party that can't find any better claims. I will 100% listen and learn from engaging criticism of Kamala Harris and the democratic party in general.....that is of course...when you come up with engaging criticism. On that topic, "Do women really sleep their way to the top, or do men withold advancement from women until they receive sexual favours?"

[lazyscience]

There's two things here:

One, the bill Walz signed had the products stocked in ALL public school bathrooms for ages that might need them - including gender neutral and boys' bathrooms in case trans boys needed them. Of course, this makes transphobes mad.

Some Minnesota Republicans initially tried to limit the initiative to female-assigned and gender-neutral bathrooms, but were unsuccessful. Even the author of that amendment ultimately voted for the final version of the bill, saying his family members “felt like it was an important issue I should support.”

Two, religious conservatives have A Deal about tampons because something something anything that goes in a vagina is a sign of sinfulness, women touching it for any reason could lead to Sexual Pleasure and subsequent Immoral Behavior. (as any vagina owner knows, tampons are the opposite of pleasurable, but anyway) So if you're providing tampons to teenage kids you're the next thing to a pedophile (This one is REAL fringe even among conservatives but if you google "tampons virginity" there are still a number of people out there who don't think girls should use tampons, only adult women.)

So it's a dogwhistle about Walz being a pervert. You know, as opposed to the Pussygrabber in Chief who rhapsodized about the sexiness of his own daughter and hung out on the regular with Jeffrey Epstein, and the dolphin porn google-ing, white-nationalist-ego-stroking couchfucker.

It seems that Tim Walz signed a bill requiring Minnesota public schools to stock tampons and pads in their bathrooms in case any of the girls needed them.

At the rate their going, Kamala Harris and the Democrats won't need to sell this man to me as a good vice-president. Conservatives are doing that job for them!

Seriously, who the fuck thinks that bill was a bad thing? Do they imagine that teenage girls are stealing bundles of the things every day to sell on some kind of menstrual product black market?

Are they going to complain about the toilet paper being free too?

[jerzwriter]

Welcome Brooke Vivian Carrick!

In my headcanon for Tobias & Casey, little Brooke joins the family on August 30, 2025. But I'm delivering this incredible artwork to you one year earlier! This lovely commission is from none other than the incomparable @/artbyainna on Instagram. I've run out of amazing things to say about her, but she never, ever disappoints.

I had hoped to write more about Brooke's birth story—and maybe one day I will—but I really wanted to share this before the end of August. Some HCs about Casey's pregnancy and Brooke's birth can be found below. Maybe I'll write a little more about them one day. I sure do love this little family!

You can find some stories about this time in Round Two and more about Tobas x Casey on Tobias x Casey's Masterlist.

Caption Pietro (the cat): To me, he's saying "Not impressed!" 😂

Pregnancy/Birth Headcanons:

As with her first pregnancy with Sammy, poor Casey was pretty much nauseous for the first three months. That was even more challenging with a toddler underfoot. Fortunately, Tobias was always quick to tell her to rest, and grandmas Vivian and Rose were all too happy to step in when needed.

The minute morning sickness ends - Casey is famished and has tons of cravings. Tobias was better prepared for that this time. This time around, she wanted Greek salads and French fries most of all. See a little Insta edit about that below.

Tobias made it clear he wanted a big family; Casey made it clear she was the one who had the babies, and he agreed; it was her call. They never said definitively that this was their last, but they both believed it was. They really took time to cherish every moment of this special time.

Casey and Tobias were happy to see her sex drive was insane during this pregnancy, their friends asked how they noticed a difference? lol

Tobias arranged a 'babymoon' vacation when Casey was seven months pregnant. He wanted to go to one of their favorite islands in the Pacific, but he wasn't keen on Casey traveling so far from home while pregnant. He also wasn't about to take her to any states that could jeopardize her life if she were to have complications, so that limited his choices. They ended up at a luxury hotel in Cape May, New Jersey. He got a suite on a separate floor for Vivian and Rose, too. This way they got some relaxation and they could all spend time with Sammy - but Mom & Dad got plenty of alone time, too.

Once again, Tobias insisted they were having a daughter, so he never even looked at boy's names. Girl's names were also a challenge; neither could come up with anything they loved. Finally, his Aunt Cher suggested Eden or Brooke for Edenbrook. They loved the idea and decided to wait until the baby was born to see if she looked more like an Eden or a Brooke. Obviously, Brooke won! She was given Tobias's mother's name, Vivian, as a middle name.

For most of Casey's pregnancy, Sammy was unimpressed about the idea of a new baby, but toward the end, she decided it would be fun. So she was eager to meet her little sister, and when they brought Brooke home, Sammy really thought it was a present just for her.

Pietro, their cat, was obsessed with her baby bump throughout her pregnancy but had no interest in Brooke once she was born. Casey and Tobias joked it was an odd way to learn their cat was a Republican.

Like her sister, Brooke was anxious to enter the world and came a little earlier than expected. Her due date of September 20th became a birthdate of August 30th. Casey was in labor for 5 1/2 hours, but there were complications, and it was decided it would be best to have a C-section. Tobias was at her side through it all (and she was telling him to get a vasectomy most of that time....)

They were overjoyed when little Brooke was safely delivered, and they spent the next few days in the hospital suite marveling over her and trying to wrap their heads around the fact that they now had two little girls. Tobias was outnumbered, and he loved it.

Here's a little edit about Casey's cravings - well, at least the food cravings - this pregnancy lol

[sgiandubh]

The case against 'sharenting'

Yesterday, an Anon @bat-cat-reader got made me think. Long and hard, far and wide - research included.

Here is the Anon: https://www.tumblr.com/bat-cat-reader/750859423333908480/lo-bueno-de-estar-revisando-redes-constantemente?source=share . I wanted to piggyback first, then I realized the issue was way more important than the person in question. And decided to post everything separately.

Loved this very matter of fact, calm Anon and I totally agree with what was said about overexposing a child online.

This sudden surge of completely inappropriate information about that child raised an eyebrow, and then some more. It begs, as always when dealing with minors, the question of privacy, as opposed to using their image for what obviously is self-promotion. And more generally, what is called 'sharenting', a portmanteau combining 'sharing' (info) and 'parenting' that was quite recently invented by The Wall Street Journal to describe a more and more widespread phenomenon.

That some parents would just love to have and even share digital mementoes of their child(ren) is apparently ok. Others, however, choose to monetize their kids, turning them into a sales argument. I am still floored at such disingenuous choices, that might have serious consequences for their future. And I am not the only one, mind you: a 2018 report by England's Children Commissioner, the leading government official competent for protecting and promoting children's rights, found out that parental digital oversharing is a high risk behavior for the child.

Short term, as in identity theft ...

... to long term, as in lost academic or professional opportunities - the 2018 warning made only more compelling by the recent AI craze:

[Source: England's Children Commissioner Report 'Who Knows What About Me?', 2018 - online: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2018/11/cco-who-knows-what-about-me.pdf]

You'll find this very recent article from The Guardian absolutely enlightening, too. I certainly did: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/26/son-social-media-parents-children

Particularly this - I am not a mom, so Mordor bitches will certainly point this salient detail out, you see. But maybe this journalist mom's POV could give them (and maybe even other people) pause:

Pedophile. Quite chilling, right? Pedophile rings actively searching for children photos inadvertently being shared online, to feed sick obsessions worldwide (do not be parochial and think those pics must be of an ambiguous nature!). Instagram being currently in very hot water for its strange content promoting algorithm, allowing pedophiles to easily access children photos and personal data, based on exif. Digital kidnapping, as in criminals pretending to be the child's parents, for various financial or pathological reasons.

Think I am a stupid, stupid shipper with an agenda? Then so is the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Commission. Last year, a joint statement has been released by two if its members (and before Mordor starts screeching about 'the MAGA mommies obsession for pedophilia', let it be said it is a bipartisan, Democrat and Republican initiative), about the fact that 'Instagram hosts a vast network of pedophilic content and that its algorithms are actively driving users to this content':

[Source: https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/pallone-rodgers-demand-answers-from-instagram-after-reports-the-platform-is-driving-users-to-child-sex-abuse-material]

It followed a long report on Instagram's less than responsible practices in the matter, published by The Wall Street Journal, not your next door digital gossip rag (subscribers only, but you'll have an idea: https://www.wsj.com/articles/instagram-vast-pedophile-network-4ab7189?st=mbga8lpdddfm5dh&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)

Mark this statement: 'It is clear these companies cannot be trusted to protect children on their platforms'. I, not even a mom (but an aunt, a friend and a godmother, too), cannot even start to express my disgust at the hypocrisy of barely hiding children's faces on a certain blog, but at the same time allowing rabid speculation about a child's whereabouts, based on what is clearly a case of sharenting. All the mothers, grandmothers and aunts commenting under that post would have to take a long, hard look at themselves in a mirror. And also ask themselves why they allowed their personal fantasy to get an upper hand on common sense?

That is a terrible, terrible shame. And then people wonder why is C not sharing anything? Would you share your kid(s) to that mob? I wouldn't and it is my strong belief no mother in her right mind would.

Last but not least, reckless digital behavior comes with risks, costs and consequences. Including legal ones, taking into account what very probably is some loose, rather informal agreement of co-parenting (as opposed to a stricter, 50/50 shared custody system), as per Scottish family law. Something I shall briefly try to explain, for context purposes only:

Unlike many other legal systems in the world, the 1995 Scottish Children Act has a slightly different approach to custody (or what they call 'residence'), in which the child's best interest, as well as the parents' own agreement (called a Parenting Plan) are paramount. By the same token, it does not matter if the parents were married or just common law partners, for example. This allows for less cumbersome living and financial arrangements, provided the two parties agree, and also for quicker procedures, as the law does not encourage parents to go to Court, if an agreement has been reached ('no-order principle'). Mediation and legal assistance services are readily available to make every particular case fit in the local Parenting Plan framework. On the other hand, because in legal matters all things are (must be, really) symmetrical, it is relatively easy to have parental rights and responsibilities enforced (example: issue an order stipulating to cease and desist from posting on Instagram), or even removed, in Court. While removal is a bit of a hassle (supporting statements are required, either from an independent witness/not a relative or Social Welfare Services), the enforcement is way easier and just requires a basic contradictory procedure in Court.

For example, a child's proven overexposure on the Internet can very well be successfully contended in Court, if things go South. Especially in an emotionally loaded local context:

[Source: https://news.sky.com/story/seven-members-of-paedophile-gang-guilty-of-running-monstrous-child-sex-abuse-ring-13008082 - you read the article if you want, it's brutal]

I am not saying this will happen. What I am trying to say is simply that nobody (and I repeat: nobody) should play with fire, like this. Neither the parent, nor the public. This is a plea for decency across the dashboard I strongly felt I should make, if others won't.

No shitshow, no fantasy, no obsession should ever put a child's life at potential risk like that. You see, children are rarely asked if they would like to be shown off as circus monkeys.

[mariacallous]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youths Friday, rejecting pleas from parents that it violates their right to decide on and seek medical care for their children.

The 8-1 ruling from the all-Republican court leaves in place a law that has been in effect since Sept. 1, 2023. Texas is the largest of at least 25 states that have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

The Texas law prevents transgender people under 18 from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and transition surgeries, though surgical procedures are rarely performed on children. Children who had already started the medications had to taper off their use.

“We conclude the Legislature made a permissible, rational policy choice to limit the types of available medical procedures for children, particularly in light of the relative nascency of both gender dysphoria and its various modes of treatment and the Legislature’s express constitutional authority to regulate the practice of medicine,” Justice Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle wrote in the court’s decision.

The lawsuit that challenged the Texas law argued it devastates transgender teens who are unable to obtain critical treatment recommended by their physicians and parents. The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates about 29,800 people ages 13-17 in Texas identify as transgender.

The only justice dissenting with Friday’s ruling said the Texas Supreme Court was allowing the state to “legislate away fundamental parental rights.”

“The State’s categorical statutory prohibition prevents these parents, and many others, from developing individualized treatment plans for their children in consultation with their physicians, even the children for whom treatment could be lifesaving,” Justice Debra Lehrmann wrote in a dissenting opinion. “The law is not only cruel — it is unconstitutional.”

A lower court had ruled the law unconstitutional, but it was allowed to take effect while the state Supreme Court considered the case.

Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, vowed in a post on the social platform X after the ruling that his office “will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that doctors and medical institutions follow the law.”

Advocates criticized the ruling.

“It is impossible to overstate the devastating impact of this ruling on Texas transgender youth and the families that love and support them,” said Karen Loewy, senior counsel and director of Constitutional Law Practice at Lambda Legal, which was among the groups that sued the state on behalf of doctors and families.

“Our government shouldn’t deprive trans youth of the health care that they need to survive and thrive,” said Ash Hall, policy and advocacy strategist for LGBTQIA+ rights at ACLU of Texas. “Texas politicians’ obsession with attacking trans kids and their families is needlessly cruel.”

The law includes exemptions for children experiencing early puberty or who have “a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development.”

Such exemptions underscore the law’s discriminatory nature, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University who edited the section about gender dysphoria in the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual. Gender dysphoria is the psychological distress experienced by those whose gender expression does not match their gender identity and is a required diagnosis before treatments can begin.

“They’re saying if you’re not a transgender child and you need these drugs, you can have them, but if you’re a transgender child who might benefit from these drugs, then sorry, you have to move to another state,” Drescher said.

The restrictions on health care are part of a larger backlash against transgender rights, touching on everything from bathroom access to participation in sports. Former President Donald Trump has vowed to pursue other measures that would restrict the rights of transgender people if he wins the November election, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors at the federal level.

As more states move to enforce health care restrictions, families of transgender youths are increasingly forced to travel out of state for the care they need at clinics with growing waiting lists. At least 13 states have laws protecting care for transgender minors.

Most of the states that have passed restrictions face lawsuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal from the Biden administration attempting to block state bans on gender-affirming care. The case before the high court involves a Tennessee law that restricts puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors, similar to the Texas law.

Gender-affirming care for transgender youths is supported by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association and the Endocrine Society.

In a concurring opinion, one justice dismissed the position of the medical groups.

“The fact that expert witnesses or influential interest groups like the American Psychiatric Association disagree with the Legislature’s judgment is entirely irrelevant to the constitutional question,” Justice James Blacklock wrote. “The Texas Constitution authorizes the Legislature to regulate ‘practitioners of medicine.’”

Texas officials defended the law as necessary to protect children and noted a myriad of other restrictions for minors on tattoos, alcohol, tobacco and certain over-the-counter drugs.

Several doctors who treat transgender children testified in a lower court hearing that patients risk deteriorating mental health, which could possibly lead to suicide, if they are denied safe and effective treatment.

The ban was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the first governor to order the investigation of families of transgender minors who receive gender-affirming care.

[radioactivewisdom]

I noticed, in spiritual groups specifically, that women don't mind being called breeding mules as long as glittery words like "sacred," "divine", "goddess" are used. "Mother goddess" this and "sacred life-giving queen" that. Same ideology, different language. If a Republican said that reproducing was a woman's sole purpose they would be offended (it's too blunt.) But let them be told the same message in a way that gasses them up they're okay with it. Vanity and validation seeking has been one of women's biggest issues.

Yes! You’re smart to see through that. Everything truly is the same behind the scenes. Both groups seek a similar end game, but their strategy varies. They become obsessed with the supposed differences instead of realizing that they’re all headed down the same path. Trad’s and Rad’s share many similar beliefs, but “liberated” women can’t face their true selves. Most women love patriarchy and only have a problem with the fact that men don’t appreciate them enough. Both women are still doing all of the laundry and asking their man to “babysit” his own kids. They’re more focused on words instead of actions, and that’s why there’s no real meaningful difference between men of differing political classes. Liberal men are just as lazy and misogynistic but they’ll call you a girl boss while you suck them off. As long as women’s feelings are catered to, they don’t care about partaking in degradation. That’s why choice feminism is so popular, it’s always about doing what FEELS good. A man being honest and admitting he expects you to be a bang maid isn’t so nice to hear. Instead, find one who fully expects you to behave as one, but says sex is liberating and motherhood is a superpower. Just as you said, vanity and validation seeking is all that it is.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Ms. "Rape is sexy" and her dog named "vagina."

A liar the 1st jury found not to be credible for the R act and the 2nd jury awards $83 million in damages because Trump called her a "liar."

Interesting how Epstein Islands Reid Hoffman funded this fake case and he's funding Nikki Haley's campaign.

The jury in the second E. Jean Carroll case against President Donald J. Trump has returned a verdict awarding the sex-obsessed writer $83 million.

The clerk read the verdict, which included $7.1 million for compensatory damages, $11 million more, and a $65 million punitive cost. Carroll’s lawyers had initially asked for between $7 million and $12 million.

The money is supposed to be used for a “reputational damage repair” program for Ms. Carroll, whose publicity and income have risen since her bizarre story about being raped by Trump in a department store in the 1990s first came to light.

By comparison, the multi-billion-dollar Bud Light is spending $7m on a Supercame to light.

By comparison, the multi-billion-dollar Bud Light is spending $7m on a Super Bowl ad to repair its reputation since its Dylan Mulvaney fiasco.

Ashlee Humphreys, the reputation repair “expert” who testified on behalf of E. Jean Carroll, admitted under cross-examination that she has no “real world” experience in the field. She is a Democratic Party donor.

The trial has been marred with bias from the judge, as well as having a tainted New York pool of evidently far-left jurors seeking to punish President Trump for his politics.

Nikki Haley donor and Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Reid Hoffman funded the case.

UPDATE – President Trump responded on Truth Social shortly after the verdict: “Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

[liberalsarecool]

Conservative Republicans are obsessed with the sex lives and bodies of young girls [and boys].