August 23, 2022

Trump, golf and Saudi Arabia: A filthy cycle of "sportswashing"

Trump, golf and Saudi Arabia: A filthy cycle of "sportswashing"
New golf tour sponsored by the brutal Saudi monarchy is, of course, aligned with Donald Trump. It won't end well

By ROBERT LIPSYTE
PUBLISHED AUGUST 23, 2022 6:30AM


Here's the big question in Jock Culture these days: Is the Kingdom of Golf being used to sportswash the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Or is it the other way around? After all, what other major sport could use a sandstorm of Middle Eastern murder and human-rights abuses to obscure its own history of bigotry and greed? In fact, not since the 1936 Berlin Olympics was used to cosmeticize Nazi Germany's atrocities and promote Aryan superiority have sports and an otherwise despised government collaborated so blatantly to enhance their joint international standings.

Will it work this time?

The jury has been out since the new Saudi-funded LIV Tour made an early August stop at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey. (That LIV comes from the roman numeral for 54, the number of holes in one of its tourneys.) And I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that it was hosted by a former president so well known for flouting golf's rules that he earned the title Commander-in-Cheat for what, in the grand scheme of things, may be the least of his sins.

That tournament featured 10 of the top 50 players in the world. They were poached by the Saudis from the reigning century-old Professional Golfers Association (PGA), reportedly for hundreds of millions of dollars in signing bonuses and prize money. It was a shocking display for a pastime that has traded on its image of honesty and sportsmanship, not to mention an honor system that demands players turn themselves in for any infractions of the rules, rare in other athletic events where gamesmanship is less admired.

No wonder our former president hailed the tour as "a great thing for Saudi Arabia, for the image of Saudi Arabia. I think it's going to be an incredible investment from that standpoint, and that's more valuable than lots of other things because you can't buy that — even with billions of dollars."

....(snip)....

Over the years, golfers have indeed complained about that, but except for Greg Norman, a 67-year-old Australian former champion, not too loudly. Now a highly successful clothing and golf-course design entrepreneur, Norman is called the Great White Shark for his looks and aggressive style. No wonder he's now the CEO of LIV Golf and the ringleader of the campaign to recruit the top pros to play in the breakaway tour. ..........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/23/golf-and-saudi-arabia-a-filthy-cycle-of-sportswashing_partner/

August 22, 2022

The Michigan GOP gubernatorial circus sideshow

(Detroit News) Lansing — A challenge to Republican Tudor Dixon's running mate selection took shape Monday when former gubernatorial candidate Ralph Rebandt, a pastor from Farmington Hills, said he'll seek the job at the upcoming GOP convention, which could test party unity.

The Saturday gathering in Lansing takes place 73 days before the Nov. 8 election, when Dixon is hoping to unseat Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and could demonstrate the influence of grassroots activists who've criticized so-called "establishment" power over Michigan's GOP.

In a press release, Rebandt revealed his decision to oppose former state Rep. Shane Hernandez of Port Huron, whom Dixon named as her lieutenant governor selection on Friday.

"In my 35 years of parliamentary experience, I have learned that when everyone has a voice in the process, there is greater unity and acceptance in the outcome," Rebandt said. "It is the will of many of the citizens of Michigan to offer their legitimate voice and by procedure, elect a lieutenant governor who will work with Tudor Dixon to protect the rights and interests of all the citizens of Michigan by exemplifying truth, respect, dignity and love." ..........(more)

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/08/22/garrett-soldano-wont-seek-gop-nomination-lieutenant-governor/7868304001/

August 22, 2022

'The world flipped upside down': will end of Roe galvanize Democrats' base in midterms?

(Guardian UK) For years, Democrats warned that abortion rights were under grave threat. Across the US, anti-abortion activists in red states chipped away at access and pushed for conservative judges to secure their gains. Yet for many Americans, the prospect of losing the constitutional right to abortion that had existed since 1973 remained worrying but remote.

That all changed in June, when in Dobbs v Jackson, the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, the 49-year-old ruling which had established the right.

Since then, bans have taken effect in at least 10 states. Republicans are rushing ahead with new restrictions and stirring fears that other rights, including same-sex marriage and access to contraception, could be vulnerable too.

And yet, from rural Minnesota to ruby red Kansas and a conservative corner of Nebraska, there are signs of a brewing backlash that Democrats believe will reshape the battle for control of Congress and statehouses this fall. ............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/22/democrats-abortion-rights-midterms-november

August 22, 2022

Trump launches Truth Social attack on Mitch McConnell's wife over criticism of his losing candidates

(Salon) Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's, R-Ky., wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, over the GOP leader's criticism of Trump's Senate picks.

With Trump-endorsed candidates struggling in key contested races, McConnell last week admitted that the Republicans may fail to recapture the Senate even as they are widely expected to win a majority of House seats. McConnell, who has often backed candidates opposing Trump's picks, cited "candidate quality" as a reason for the underperformance.

"I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they're statewide, [and] candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome," McConnell told supporters in Kentucky on Thursday, in a not-so-veiled shot at the former president's endorsees.

Trump lashed out over the comments on his Twitter knockoff Truth Social.

....(snip)...

The former president also took aim at Chao, who served as his Transportation secretary until she resigned over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

"He should spend more time (and money!) getting them elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!" Trump wrote. .......(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/22/launches-truth-social-on-mitch-mcconnells-wife-over-criticism-of-his-losing-candidates/

August 19, 2022

Can complicit Republicans' change of heart on Donald Trump be trusted?

Can complicit Republicans' change of heart on Donald Trump be trusted?
Democrats don't need Liz Cheney's offer of assistance — but should they take it anyway?

By HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
PUBLISHED AUGUST 19, 2022 9:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) Back in 2019, I saw Liz Cheney as the most dangerous woman in America. I was referring at the time to her grotesque insistence that Democrats supported "infanticide" and the absurd threat to shut down the government unless Congress paid for Trump's stupid wall. And she was more than happy to be a Trumpish attack dog, going after Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with undisguised glee. Cheney wasn't just the daughter of one of the primary architects of the Iraq war debacle, she worked in the State Department and helped with its execution. As a member of GOP House leadership, she was a rising star in GOP politics and a likely presidential candidate who had a good shot at becoming the first woman president as the successor to Donald Trump. I sounded the alarm again in 2021.

A lot has certainly changed since then, hasn't it?

Cheney may have been a good little Trumper for most of his tenure, demeaning Democrats and voting in lockstep but she decided that staging a coup was a bridge too far and we all know where she has landed since then. She was stripped of her leadership post, censured by her state party and lost her re-election bid this week by nearly 40 points. She is, however, now one of the most famous politicians in the country and will no doubt be mentioned in the history books for her bold stand against the undisputed leader of her own party. And, as I predicted years ago, she is being actively discussed as a presidential candidate and appears to be seriously considering it. The reasons for her ascent may be different than I thought they would be but there was always something about Liz that suggested she was aiming for the top job.

Cheney knew she was going to lose her congressional seat and I would guess that she knew that from the moment she spoke out about Trump after the 2020 election. There may have been a moment or two that the GOP leadership thought they were finally finished with him but Cheney is a savvy operator and almost certainly understood that being a strong critic of the man who won her state by 44 points would cost her politically. Once she made the decision to go all-in and join the January 6 committee the die was cast and it was clear her political future was not going to be in the House of Representatives.

....(snip)....

The American Prospect's Robert Kuttner did make the point that if she runs as an Independent in the general election there is an inherent risk. "Cheney is a widely admired figure at a time when voters are hostile to both parties. In a true three-way, almost anything could happen. Cheney might even win." But his real concern is one that I share: Cheney could split the anti-Trump vote with the Democrat and inadvertently hand the White House back to Trump.

I wish I believed that no Democrats would ever vote for a hardcore rightwinger like Cheney, but I don't. She is being deified by the mainstream media as a patriotic hero and I'm sure there are some Biden voters who see her as the savior of the Republic. Looking back at the 2000 and 2016 elections should remind us that it only takes a small number of third party defectors to give the White House to the GOP. ..........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/19/can-complicit-republicans-change-of-heart-on-donald-be-trusted/

August 16, 2022

Understanding the Southern Baptist scandal: For evangelicals, women can't say no

Understanding the Southern Baptist scandal: For evangelicals, women can't say no
Yes, the Bible tells women to "submit" to their husbands — in one verse. For some believers, that's plenty

By NATHANIEL MANDERSON
Contributing writer
PUBLISHED AUGUST 16, 2022 5:45AM (EDT)


The Southern Baptist Conference is under investigation by the Department of Justice due to numerous claims of egregious sexual abuse and sexual harassment within the denomination. Perhaps people wonder why there is such an overabundance of sexual misconduct of various kinds within evangelical circles. The truth is that many believers in Christ have struggled with what was right and wrong in regardsto their genitalia. Is the creator of the universe worried about our private areas? For most conservative evangelical Christians, it is apparently all God thinks about. As an ordained and evangelically trained minister, I tend to disagree.

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. — Ephesians 5

I can barely get through one week of evangelical radio where this scripture is not discussed. It is one of the evangelical community's favorites, and one believers often refer to when they discuss the downfall of American society. They contend that it all went to hell (almost literally) when women decided to be equal to men in the home. Then came Gloria Steinem, Geraldine Ferraro and eventually the ultimate devil herself, Hillary Clinton. These women represented the end of the American family and then the end of God's influence upon American society.

Submission to your husband is not simply a suggestion in the evangelical church, but a command put upon every married woman. This is no more clearly on display than in the sex life of an evangelical married couple. Simply put, a wife cannot refuse their husband when he wants to have sex. She is a sinner for refusing her husband and then can be held responsible for any sexual sin her husband may commit afterward. Naturally, with this being the basic mindset, accusations by women regarding sexual abuse or harassment seem ridiculous to the majority of conservative evangelical men.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. — I Timothy 2

In the evangelical worldview, a woman must never appear to be in a place where she leads or holds authority over a man. Certainly women may teach children because that work is beneath men anyway. Somehow Biblical theology (in this reading) allows women to teach young boys but not older teenage boys or young adult men. A neat evangelical trick that allows men to neglect their children. Anyway, many evangelical churches enforce an actual age when it becomes inappropriate for a woman to teach a young man. I have heard the age prescribed as young as 13. Certainly by that age boys are taught that as men they are superior to all women. I would venture to guess that this becomes a problem in future relationships with women at work and school, at church and in romantic relationships and marriages. .........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/16/understanding-the-southern-baptist-scandal-for-evangelicals-women-cant-say-no/

August 13, 2022

How Merrick Garland turned the tables on Trump -- and made Trump's allies look foolish

How Merrick Garland turned the tables on Trump — and made Trump's allies look foolish
After Garland's press conference — and reports that Trump may have taken nuclear documents — will the GOP shut up?

By DENNIS AFTERGUT
PUBLISHED AUGUST 12, 2022 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) After Monday's FBI search of Donald Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago, Trump blasted out the news of the unprecedented intrusion on a former president's residence. He asserted that it was politically motivated.

But late on Thursday, the Washington Post reported that "sources familiar with the investigation" say that "classified documents relating to nuclear weapons" were among the materials the FBI search was seeking. The Post's sources did not say whether the agents found such materials.

One source, however, told the Post that among the 15 boxes of materials recovered from Mar-a-Lago in January was material that included "signal intelligence," that is, "intercepted electronic communications like emails and phone calls of foreign leaders."

The Post report surely caught Trump's allies off guard, after many had amplified his claims earlier this week. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted, for instance, that Garland should preserve all documents relating to the search and clear his calendar for hearings after the midterms if Republicans, as expected, take control of the House.

Sen. Marco Rubio described the warrant-based search as sponsored by "Marxists." After the Post story, it may be awkward watching him wipe that egg off his face. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/12/how-merrick-garland-turned-the-tables-on--and-made-allies-look-foolish/

August 13, 2022

Far-right platform Gab veers into overt antisemitism -- and only some Republicans back away

(Salon) On Friday morning, Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social media platform Gab, issued a seeming ultimatum to the Republican Party: "Gab is becoming the litmus test for candidates. Many have passed the test and doubled down. Some have lied and disavowed to gain points with the enemy. A truly great service to the American people to see who has a spine and who does not."

The occasion for the post was the fact that, over the last month, Torba and his platform, a hotbed of Christian nationalism and overt bigotry of various kinds, have become the center of numerous political controversies. After Torba endorsed a series of Republican candidates from the party's MAGA wing, one after another has been pressed to explain their relationship with a figure long associated with racist and antisemitic speech, including, just this Thursday, his calling Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, the state's Jewish attorney general, "this antichrist."

Much of the controversy began last month when Media Matters revealed that Shapiro's Republican opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, an outspoken Christian nationalist who was at the U.S. Capitol amid the Jan. 6 riots, had paid $5,000 to Gab for "consulting services." The money, Mastriano later said, was a one-time payment for advertising services, which, as HuffPost later reported, may have been an agreement to help Mastriano gain new followers by automatically signing all new Gab accounts up to follow the candidate.

While Mastriano had previously interacted with Torba — including a May interview for Gab News in which Mastriano thanked God for the platform — news of the payment brought renewed attention to Gab's long history of extremism.

Most notoriously, the platform was the preferred outlet of Robert Bowers, the man who killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 in the deadliest act of antisemitic violence in U.S. history. Bowers was motivated by the "great replacement" conspiracy theory, and in particular the version of it that claims Jews are orchestrating a deliberate effort to replace white majorities in Europe and North America with nonwhite immigrants. ........................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/13/far-right-platform-gab-veers-into-overt-antisemitism--and-only-some-back-away/

August 12, 2022

Michigan officials want you to kill this polka-dotted insect

(Detroit Metro Times) If you see this beautiful red, white, and black polka-dotted insect — kill it, Michigan officials say.

It’s a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), an invasive species from Asia that has been spreading across the U.S. since 2014. The first Michigan sighting of the insect occured in Pontiac last week and was confirmed Thursday by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The lanternfly is a type of insect known as a planthopper. Officials believe it hitched a ride on nursery stock brought from an infested state and could have been in Michigan for several months at this point.

Officials say if it spreads in the state, it could be devastating to Michigan’s grape industry. In addition to grapes, spotted lanternfly feed on the invasive tree of heaven, aka the “ghetto palm” (Ailanthus altissima), as well as black walnut, river birch, willow, sumac, and red maple trees.

When feeding, it produces a sticky liquid called honeydew that can collect on the ground and can discolor and kill nearby plants. ............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/news/michigan-officials-want-you-to-kill-this-polka-dotted-insect-30796790

August 12, 2022

Republican war on books: They don't just want to control your body -- next up, your mind

Republican war on books: They don't just want to control your body — next up, your mind
Gutting public schools, targeting booksellers, shutting down libraries: Every censorship tactic is on the table

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED AUGUST 11, 2022 1:00PM


(Salon) Once Republicans started to falsely accuse educators and librarians of "grooming" children for sexual abuse, it was just a matter of time before the talk of imprisoning them began. Sure enough, in a clip collected by Tennessee Holler, a recently-elected district attorney in Hamilton County, Tennessee, did just that during a meet-and-greet between her, the pro-censorship group Moms for Liberty (whose name would do George Orwell proud) and the local sheriff. In the video, recorded in May, you can hear an anti-liberty "Mom" ask, "Do you feel like there should be some kind of prosecution for these librarians?"

Coty Wamp, the county's new DA, offers a throat-clearing "tough one," before affirming that prosecution is on the table: "There's going to come a time, in some of these books, where it crosses a criminal line. It's called contributing to the delinquency of a minor."

Now that the video has gone viral, Wamp is denying that she intended to say what she said. When contacted by Jezebel, she unleashed a confusing disawowal, claiming she never meant to say she would "prosecute librarians or teachers for the books that are in our schools," but was only talking about some imaginary scenario in which "an adult was standing on a street corner handing out pamphlets to young children that depict sexual acts." As the video shows, of course, she was responding to a question about librarians, at an event held by a group whose main political activity is harassing librarians and schoolteachers over books with "woke" content they don't like.

....(snip)....

Clearly, the Republican war on reading in just beginning. Ever since GOP hedge-fund zillionaire Glenn Youngkin won the 2021 race for Virginia's governor with a campaign that celebrated attempts to censor Nobel-winning novelist Toni Morrison, Republicans across the country have been swept up in a book-banning frenzy. Using fake concerns about "the children" as cover, Republicans have waged all-out war on not just books but any form of speech deemed "woke," usually because it advocates antiracism or humanizes LGBTQ people. Red states have been banning books and terrorizing teachers for anything they deem "critical race theory," now a shapeless umbrella term used to demonizes everything from teaching Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington to telling kids that the Holocaust was bad. Hoary myths that gay people "recruit" children have been revived by simply updating the terminology — these days, LGBTQ people are accused of "grooming" children, with no evidence required — and used to justify legislation such as Florida's "don't say gay" law, effectively forcing queer teachers and students into the closet. The circle of censorship is expanding, as conservatives have started to target drag shows and Pride parades, trying to shut down any public expression of queerness or gender diversity. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/11/on-books-on-schools-libraries-and-even-bookstores-is-just-beginning/