October 8, 2018

A graphic depiction of the inane gender politics of The Washington Post.

Here's a screen selection of the upper right corner of the WaPo front page right now:



It looks as though they're hot and desperate to show the importance of women, but they've got next to nothing. This, after a week of centralizing women. These are the crumbs of regard we get on Monday morning? Another story about Melania's hat, and a dopey attempt to disqualify her because of what the hat means. Checking in with the #MeToo movement, going back to the same minor actress for accusations that the supporters aren't supportive enough. And above all...

"Can Taylor Swift, revered by young Americans, help lead Democrats out of the woods?"

The photo Swift is from 2016, so WaPo went out of its way to choose the platinum blonde, black-red lipstick look. Does it inspire "reverence" or hope that this is the person to "lead Democrats out of the woods"? Are the Democrats lost in the woods? I guess we've gone from presuming it's a big blue wave election to finding ourselves far from the beach and up in the woods.

The news is just that Swift put up an Instagram post that told her fans they should vote and endorsed 2 Democrats — Tennesseans Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper. Here's the post, with a photograph of Swift in much darker, longer hair. WaPo:
A black-and-white Polaroid was swapped in for a standard headshot.... By early Monday, more than a million Instagram users had registered their approval.
A million? That's not impressive when you consider that Swift has 112 million followers on Instagram.
By characterizing the midterms as “an overall struggle for protecting human rights and dignity” rather than a partisan grudge match, Swift is speaking effectively to young people who have less fealty to the party structure, said William Fotter, the vice president of the University of Arizona Democrats. “Young people are less party-oriented and more issue-oriented,” said the 21-year-old political science and international relations major. “If Taylor Swift is able to convince millennials that their votes matter, that could make a huge difference,” he said....
What if the young people are inspired by Swift to vote but not for Democrats? This danger is squirreled away deep in the article (which is so insanely padded that it would be weird if normal readers got this far, but it's the most interesting part):
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union scolded her for threatening to sue a California blogger who accused the singer of being associated with white supremacy. And in an editorial, the Guardian called her an “envoy for Trump’s values.”...
Here's what the Guardian wrote last November:
[Swift and Trump both have] their adept use of social media to foster a diehard support base; their solipsism; their laser focus on the bottom line; their support among the “alt-right”.

Swift’s songs echo Mr Trump’s obsession with petty score-settling in their repeated references to her celebrity feuds, or report in painstaking detail on her failed romantic relationships.... The message is quintessentially Trumpian: everyone is out to get me – but I win anyway....

[N]otably her much-publicised “squad” of female models, actors and musicians is largely thin, white and wealthy. In a well-publicised Twitter exchange with rapper Nicki Minaj, she treated the discussion of structural racism as not only incomprehensible, but a way to disempower white people such as herself....
As for those other 2 WaPo articles, what Rose McGowan said about entertainment industry #MeToo supporters was:
“I just think they’re douchebags.... They’re not champions. I just think they’re losers. I don’t like them.... I know these people, I know they’re lily-livered, and as long as it looks good on the surface, to them, that’s enough.”
As for Melania and the pith helmet — despite the headline, the actual article has some depth and nuance. I'll highlight the details that really ruin the hat-based attack on Melania:
In 1994, The Washington Post’s Phil McCombs reported that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton “appeared in a pith helmet, looking vaguely like a North Vietnamese Army officer” on a visit to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park....

[P]ith helmets are worn by motorcycle taxi drivers in Hanoi, as well as police officers in Cameroon and Peru. In the U.S., postal workers wear pith helmets as part of their uniforms on exceptionally rainy or sunny days, and the U.S. Marine Corps’ marksmanship coaches wear them at shooting ranges....

In 1966, the civil rights activist James Meredith marched through Mississippi wearing a pith helmet while encouraging African Americans to vote. Charles W. “Hoppy” Adams, the legendary black DJ at WANN in Annapolis, Md., wore a pith helmet during live appearances in the 1950s and 1960s... And the rapper Andre 3000 of OutKast wore a straw pith helmet with a bow tie and overalls on MTV’s Total Request Live in 2006.
So are pith helmets properly called — as in the WaPo headline — "a symbol of colonialism"? If you want to say yes, you'll have to attack James Meredith!

112 comments:

ALP said...

Dramatic writing style that is really over the top. Taylor Swift is "Revered"? I guess I don't get out much.

Sally327 said...

Taylor Swift has Althouse hair in that first pic. That's who I thought it was at first, some glammed up photo of Althouse.

Who wore it first? I think Althouse did.

tim in vermont said...

I think that feminism has involved from the Annie Oakley version of "Anything you can do, I can do better" to an assertion of the raw power of the female mind, which depends more on "intuition" In other words, women are far more guided by their subconscious mind than men are. No amount of "consciousness raising" is going to change that. The problem is that one's subconscious is easily manipulated by things like imagery, and one is often defenseless against the manipulations that are aimed at it, unless one heavily taxes one's cerebral cortex to identify them,

Women say that feelings are what make us human, but animals have feelings. What makes us uniquely human is our highly developed cerebral cortex, which no other animal has, and it's capacity for logic, long term planning, appreciation of consequences, etc. A cat can "plan" how to catch a mouse over a shote time, but only a human can plan how to farm mice so that he could have one whenever the desire struck.

If there were such a thing as "Felinism," at first it would start with demands for equality, but at the end, it would just be movies about mice and birds and a society that is more centered on killing small animals.

Hagar said...

Endorsing Phil Bredesen is a call for a return to sanity rather than support for the present management of the Democratic Party.

tim in vermont said...

Shorter TiV: rhharden is right.

Psota said...

What's the deal with the pith helmets? Are they exceptionally well suited for tropical climates?

stevew said...

Thank goodness for the WaPo, I've been having a terrible time keeping up with all this important stuff.

-sw

tim in vermont said...

Endorsing Phil Bredesen is a call for a return to sanity rather than support for the present management of the Democratic Party.

Yeah, like Manchin, Chuck Schumer will allow him to be there for us when we don't need him, but whenever Schumer needs him, like Angus King in Maine, you can bet that he will be there for Chuck.

Michael K said...

Pith helmets were a return to sanity for mad dogs and Englishmen who were out in the midday sun.

tim in vermont said...

The voters punished Republicans for impeaching Clinton. I am thinking that is a pattern that might be repeated.

Shouting Thomas said...

Feminism should lead to more freedom...

But in practice it leads to censorship, the end of the presumption of innocence and rejection of due process.

The Soviet constitution was a humdinger when it came to human rights, too.

I think I can see, prof, where you went wrong.

rhhardin said...

You can't beat Australian cork hats for style
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0795Q1N21/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mr. Majestyk said...

Pith helmets are a sign of colonialism, but only when someone on the right wears one. It's not complicated.

gilbar said...

TiV said : "like Manchin, Chuck Schumer will allow him to be there for us when we don't need him"

Hey! that's Totally Not True! Manchin told me He's his Own Man, and can do whatever he wants; And that Chuck said it was okay for him to say that! So There!

The Crack Emcee said...

She also got compared to the villain in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal".

The Crack Emcee said...

I meant that comment about Melania, BTW.

rhhardin said...

It looks as though they're hot and desperate to show the importance of women, but they've got next to nothing. This, after a week of centralizing women.

Women aren't important in the way women think they should be important. They're thinking of men.

Henry said...

By characterizing the midterms as “an overall struggle for protecting human rights and dignity” rather than a partisan grudge match, Swift is speaking effectively to young people who have less fealty to the party structure, said William Fotter, the vice president of the University of Arizona Democrats.

Absent the celebrity callout, that's a sane statement. It is ironic, but unsurprising that it gets enlisted into a partisan grudge match. Give that statement a pith helmet.

Shouting Thomas said...

Fascinating to watch the professor make the same mistake with Marxist feminism that intellectuals have always made with Marxism.

What should happen as a result of Marxism is so intellectually compelling.

What actually happens is altogether different.

This time it will be different, because...

The Drill SGT said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob Boyd said...

I believe it was press about her wardrobe that Melania was referring to when she wrote "I don't care, do you?" on the back of her coat.
I wouldn't be surprised if next time Trump comes out of the White House he's wearing a red MAGA pith helmet.

The Drill SGT said...

In the famous Hanoi Jane photo, they put Jane in a steel pot, but the NVA offiers are wearing Pith Helmets albeit, green ones

And the NVA was anti-colonial to its core

Fernandinande said...

A white anti-white racist and male anti-male sexist at WaPo claims to be concerned about "The pervasive, distorting power of white-male privilege" while he's not busy revering Taylor Swift.

There are so many of these important people nowadays, doing important things and thinking smart, important ideas, that I can't seem to keep track of them all: is Taylor Swift an example of "rule by actresses" or would it be "rule by singers"?

Phil 314 said...

Suddenly the Kanye West invasion of the stage as Taylor Swift accepts her award takes on new meaning.

rhhardin said...

I think of the airplane when I hear Taylor Swift. Actually it was a Globe Swift but Taylor was an airplane maker at the same time.

It was known for sudden tailspins. Not a problem if you're good at them.

Phil 314 said...

With the Dems losing this SCOTUS fight and if the midterms don’t go as they hope we’ll begin to hear the recriminations and infighting that has been put off for two years.

That would be good for both Dems and Republicans.

AllenS said...

They're not that expensive --

PITH HELMETS

My name goes here. said...

They are less than 30 days out from an election that everyone thought would be a huge blue wave two years ago, one year ago, six months ago, two months ago, and a month ago.

Now, I think sober heads on the left side of the political spectrum are looking around and saying "I thought we would be in a stronger position than we are right now."

There might be a blue wave. It might be big.

But I think that the pollsters were always more in tune with what the left, who they are, how to find them, and how to include them in polling. I think one of the take aways from 2016 is how the pollsters did not have a clue on how to capture the opinion of the non-left.

And, I think that part of the hysterics of the left over Kavanaugh are that the tried and true tactic of bringing out a last minute salacious claim failed, and they learned (perhaps for the first time) that Trump is willing (unlike Bush/McCain/Romney) to fight. And sometimes (frequently?) when he fights he wins.

So, I believe a whole lot of left-types licking their wounds after the SCOTUS fight are thinking to themselves, what if Trump wins again in these midterms. And from that thought, they truly do not know what to do. So we get stories like this in the WaPo.

Everything I have said here is my opinion. I will say that history favors gains for the party out of power, and a pick up of 21 is not out of reach. But I will also point out that history is also based on the party in power not keeping promises and not keeping their base engaged. I think Trump, better than any president I know of, has done a far better job keeping his base engaged. I even think that his base is even bigger. That the anti-Kavanaugh forces have made the GOP base ready to get out an vote. If that enthusiasm lasts for 30 more days is anyone's guess.

Rick.T. said...

Phony Phil can't fool us. The latest polls have him falling behind well outside any margin of error. Go Marsha!

Cooper has little chance of losing in Nashville.

Bob Boyd said...

Psota said...
"What's the deal with the pith helmets?"

I athume Pith helmeth are tho your head dothn't get pithed on. Nobody wanth pith on their head.

Fritz said...

Taylor Swift has great legs, but her songs are exceptionally trite.

Unknown said...

why aren't I 50 points ahead?

Yancey Ward said...

Swift's endorsement won't help Bredensen, neither will Bredensen's claim that the would have supported the nomination of Kavanaugh- both will actually hurt him a bit.

Bredensen's best campaign "tactic" was his perceived outsider status to D.C., and the fact that he cleverly hides all evidence of which party he belongs to. Swift's endorsement will identify Bredesen's party affiliation regardless of Ms. Swift's so-called alt-Right fans, a thing of which almost no one in Tennessee is aware- all that will be noticed is that Bredesen was endorsed by a big music star, and with that will come the assumption that Bredesen must be a Democrat. In addition, the meaningless claim that he would have supported Kavanaugh won't be convincing to anyone here in the state that wasn't already going to vote for him, and will actually cause him some problems in turning out the base of the Democrat party.

Bredesen has run ahead of Blackburn for months in the polls, but that was largely because he had a better name recognition (he was governor for two terms). That ended with the Trump rally last week, and I think she will win handily next month since Trump is sure to return to the state at some point in the last week of the campaign.

rehajm said...

I was going to write that I was surprised the media didn't jump on her other outfit: Melania as René Belloq, the archeologist working for Hitler in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I see however that Vogue stepped up...

Luke Lea said...

Living in Chattanooga, I would ordinarily vote for Bredesen, who is by far the better qualified candidate, but this year it is all about control of Congress and Trump's agenda, especially reform of our immigration laws.

Koot Katmandu said...

WTF. Fox has Swift supporting a candidate as the headliner. It is hear to. Who give a Schiff about who Swift votes for. That is what is wrong with the america. It is all name recognition and spin. I guess Swift is worried about getting BKed.

Unknown said...

celebrity endorsements should work every bit as well as they did for

Hillary and Kerry

Roughcoat said...

The Viet Minh wore pith helmets in the battle of Dienbienphu.

P.S., the Viet Minh won.

LordSomber said...

Journalists never seem to realize that the average person cares about musicians' political opinions about as much as they care about politicians' musical opinions.

William said...

I don't follow pop music. Taylor Swift always struck me as markedly less depraved than her fellow stars and received criticism from the left for just that reason. I think there was a suspicion that she might be a closet Republican. This endorsement might serve to put her back in their good graces, and we'll no longer see negative articles such as Althouse quoted.......In any event, none of this, neither her music nor her politics, will have any impact on my life......Fair minded people have to admit that she's nowhere near as annoying as Katy Perry, although unfortunately not as sexy. I'm glad Brittney Spears has seemingly regained her mental equilibrium. I hope by next election, she will be sufficiently recovered to campaign for Democrats........When do you think Democrats will get an inkling that these celebrity endorsements don't work and may actually serve to antagonize voters?

MadisonMan said...

Unknown: Exactly!

Democratic Party to all women, white and black: You belong to me.

"Tired of Drama"

Qwinn said...

Phil: There will be no infighting or recrimination other than "the problem is we weren't left enough" and "we haven't been vicious enough".

We're hearing that now. The funny thing is, there's never a rebuttal from the non-insane left. Ever. EVER. Anyone on the Left who calls someone out for being too vicious or Left won't be considered on the Left anymore by morning. No enemies to the Left is the inviolable rule.

bonkti said...

Both phrases in the Melania headline are chronological in nature: "from...to" and "became". What is craven is the implied parallel in the direction of time: while pith helmets are rooted in 19th century colonialism, the helmets and colonialism have "become" something more powerful. Symbols. Melania.

TrespassersW said...

"We need to encourage more people to vote!"

You mean like, the sort of people who think Taylor Swift's opinion on political issues is important?

Hard pass.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Bob Boyd said...
Psota said...
"What's the deal with the pith helmets?"

I athume Pith helmeth are tho your head dothn't get pithed on. Nobody wanth pith on their head.

I slept like crap last night and am so tired that I laughed like a hyena at this.

Thanks Bob!

buwaya said...

I hope for a fashionable return of pith helmets.

I always thought they were cool, but they have been unfashionable my entire life, having been gradually superceded in both military and civilian use through the 1930s and especially in the course of WWII.

Its about time for them to be back.

Not Sure said...

Hillary Clinton “appeared in a pith helmet ... on a visit to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park...".

Wait, what? In San Diego?

I hope she never wears a wetsuit to Sea World. Might be harpooned by mistake.

Yancey Ward said...

Didn't they often attach wrap-around nets to the helmets to keep insects away from the face?

William said...

Melania Trump must be sheer torture for the writers at Vogue and WaPo to cover. She's strikingly beautiful and has an innate fashion sense. She's got the kind of presence that dramatizes the clothes she wears. The writers are reduced to criticizing her pith helmet. They're really straining, and it shows......At the other end of the spectrum is Sarah Sanders. They want so much to criticize her appearance it hurts, but this is no longer permissible under the imperatives of feminism. All this conflict and suppressed emotion is taking a toll on them.

Ralph L said...

It's time for Republican shoplifters to go to the store and take a pith.

buwaya said...

They really are good for sun protection, and if properly constructed also quite effective in heavy tropical rain. Functionally the same as the traditional Asian woven hats.

JAORE said...

The funny thing is, there's never a rebuttal from the non-insane left. Ever. EVER. Anyone on the Left who calls someone out for being too vicious or Left won't be considered on the Left anymore by morning. No enemies to the Left is the inviolable rule.

Bingo. Not a single Democrat of note has said, "Maybe, just maybe, we went a bit too far with the attacks on Justice K with unsupported allegations". Not one. And now they say they should ratchet UP the venom?

Hence my first ever plan to vote a straight R this November.

Anonymous said...

I remember my grandad in his immaculate cream-white china silk suit and pith helmet walking everyday in the tropical sun from his home to his law office.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The elite rich white celebrity culture will help the corruptocrats.

Dave Begley said...

Althouse shoots and scores! With a nice assist from the late James Meredith.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

White Swift is for the white male.

there you go!

Swift is anti-woman.

Michael K said...

Hence my first ever plan to vote a straight R this November.

I've been calling voters as a volunteer for the GOP in AZ CD 2. Most say they are voting the straight ticket.

Bob Boyd said...

You're welcome Annie Thee.

I've be accuthed of being prithy and reprethed, but be that ath it may, thereth no denying I have a thophithticted thenth of humor.

tcrosse said...

Call me Bwana.

Howard said...

Yes, Sahib... ah er Bwana

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Oh Effendi

FIDO said...

And here I was thinking of buying another Taylor Swift song.

Well, missy! That is a cool $1.29 that you cheated yourself out of!

Take THAT!

Ralph L said...

IIRC, the cloth covering of the helmet was designed to be soak up water which would then evaporate and cool the helmet.

Danno said...

So Taylor Swift wants TN voters to vote for the "white man" rather than the female candidate? She should be Swift-boated back to her apartment in NYC where she belongs!

Static Ping said...

The Taylor Swift picture is not very flattering. She's a beautiful woman and it takes some effort to make her look less attractive.

Taylor has been very careful in cultivating a non-partisan image and I do not see this particular endorsement to be helpful at all. Phil Bredesen supported Kavanaugh, though perhaps reluctantly. The same folks that blasted Taylor as an alt-right symbol are not going to be the least bit moved from that position by this endorsement. However, it will do wonders for alienating her right leaning fans, of which there are many. It's a half measure that will please no one.

Rose McGowan is nuts. That does not mean she is wrong in this case - I tend to agree that Hollywood is being phony in this case, which is not surprisingly since Hollywood is phony in general - but that does not change the fact that Rose is crazy. She's not on my list of persons to pay attention except in a train wreck sort of way.

Pith helmets were used by the British Empire as a "good enough" sort of armor. It's main purpose was practical to protect the soldier from the sun and rain. It was not going to do much of anything to stop a bullet, but then again nothing available was going to do that anyway. It provided minimal protection against melee weapons though. Better than nothing.

Bill Peschel said...

I thought I was alone in voting the straight ticket in November. Seems like the best way to punish the Dems.

All down the line. And where I can't vote for an R, I'll write in Donald Trump's name.

Jupiter said...

"This, after a week of centralizing women."

Oh, good. Centralized women.

Balfegor said...

A pith helmet looks a lot more costumey than a Panama hat . . . but the bit about postal workers reminds me of the principal advantage of the pith helmet over the Panama hat, namely that rain will ruin a Panama hat, but do nothing to a pith helmet. The French-style helmet (not the British) is actually a pretty good option for rainy summer seasons.

If it weren't so costumey, I would totally wear one myself.

Big Mike said...

Taylor Swift is endorsing Marsha Blackburn’s male opponent in the Tennessee senatorial election. Poor thing. Doesn’t she know that there’d a special place in Hell for women who do not support women?

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, do you think there’s a Millennial in ten thousand who knows — or cares — who James Meredith was or what he did to end Kim Crow segregation. Of course black Gen-X and Millennials are self-segregating, so Meredith and King died in vain.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Paglia called her the "NAZI BARBIE"

Pith Helmet sold separately

Wilbur said...

Roughcoat said...
"The Viet Minh wore pith helmets in the battle of Dienbienphu.

P.S., the Viet Minh won."


A spoiler alert would've been nice.

Big Mike said...

Oops. James Meredith is still alive. I had him confused in my mind with Medgar Evers, who was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith. Apologies to all.

Wilbur said...

A.A. said: A million? That's not impressive when you consider that Swift has 112 million followers on Instagram.

I wonder how many of that 112 mil are from the USA? I know less than most about such things, but it would surprise me if more than half were Amurican.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

"Out of Africa," Meryl Streep in a white pith helmet. http://highlifemagazine.net/event/friday-flicks-africa/
Paraphrasing on behalf of Streep/Sydney Pollack: we are showing a woman who, despite her unenlightened surroundings in some colonial past, could pass for a forerunner of today's feminists. Except for cases like this, we have no real interest in adults who lived before 1960. (To be honest, we have little interest in adults who lack an education in the modern West, unless they agree to repeat our cliches). Of course, she was unable to be, or to appear, entirely enlightened in her time and place. She would dress in the way that was expected, but still in a way that would show her inner rage etc. etc.

Big Mike said...

I can picture Hillary Clinton in a pith helmet, with writers from Vogue and the Post gushing over her.

Just sayin'

Wilbur said...

Rose McGowan? A stopped clock.

rcocean said...

The brims on pith helmets are bigger than they look. I was thinking of getting one, but a slouched hat that's good enough.

And you can tell the First lady was a model. She could wear a sack of potatoes, and you'd go "Hey, that sack of potatoes looks good on her".

Dr Weevil said...

YW (9:01am):
I doubt it was government issue, but I once saw a USPS employee marching down the sidewalk in downtown Catonsville, Maryland wearing a pith helmet with all-around netting (like a beekeeper's), pushing a cartload of mail with his left hand and brandishing a fly-swatter with his right. (I could calculate the year if I weren't too lazy, since it was during the last invasion of 17-year locusts in the Baltimore area - they appear in different areas in different years.) I assume he had a bit of a bug phobia. He looked confident and well-prepared.

mezzrow said...

I grew up a couple of blocks away from a high school. As a kid, I was always somewhere on campus, usually around back with the band or football team. Coach Bates always wore a pith helmet to practice, and he was the offensive line coach. When I was about eight, I overheard something like this - "you've heard this stuff about how it doesn't matter who wins or loses, it's how you play the game. That's a pile of crap if you play offensive line. Don't get caught, and win every game you can."

rcocean said...

British in North Africa 1940-1942 and middle east were still wearing Pith helmets.

Of course they were Khaki or sand colored - not white. You find pictures of Churchill wearing one while he was in Eygpt.

Seems to have been a British thing, I can't find an American General or Diplomat in WW 2 wearing a pith helmet. Although TR was wearing one in Panama.

gahrie said...

The funny thing is, there's never a rebuttal from the non-insane left. Ever. EVER.

Are there any left? Feinstein used to be the adult in the Democratic Party, but she's gotten hysterical too. Could you imagine Joe Lieberman as a Democrat today? Me neither.

Dr Weevil said...

To clarify, I doubt the netting or the fly-swatter was government issue. Someone has already mentioned that pith helmets are part of the official USPS uniform for bad weather.

rcocean said...

Why are 112 million people following Taylor Swift on instagram?

What's in it for them?

Comanche Voter said...

Ah Taylor Swift. She has a nose. Everybody has one. She has an opinion--and good for her if it's her own. But then, everybody has one of those as well. So what?

The Crack Emcee said...

I can't name a single Taylor Swift song. That's strange for a Pop Star. I haven't tried to avoid her, just don't know her work and it's made no impression in my world (that I know of).

For that, alone, I'm glad Kanye snatched her award.

Sam L. said...

I had a pith helmet when I was roughly 11-14. Kept off the sun; kept off the rain.

Rae said...

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union scolded her for threatening to sue a California blogger who accused the singer of being associated with white supremacy.

In my mind's eye, I'm picturing Neo-Nazis having a Taylor Swift dance party and it's hilarious and perfect.

mccullough said...

Crack,

I had forgotten about that Kanye-Taylor Swift kerfuffle. Lol.

Since 12 year old white girls can’t vote, I’m not sure how this Taylor Swift endorsement helps.

Roughcoat said...

Photo of Rommel wearing a pith helmet ... AND SHORTS!

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/german-general-erwin-rommel-dressed-in-shorts-and-a-pith-news-photo/92930882

So there you have it: pith helmets (and shorts?) = Nazi.

Although Rommel wasn't a Nazi. But, close enough.

Ralph L said...

She could wear a sack of potatoes

I hope you mean a potato sack.

n.n said...

Swift, a sack of potatoes, and a New York steak. It's a date.

walter said...

Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
Hey, hey, hey
Just think while you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats in the world
You could have been getting down to this sick beat

Michael K said...

More on the paid mobs in the Kavanaugh thing.

MoveOn.org announced that its call the night after Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation would feature Ana Maria Archila, the Colombia-born sexual-assault victim who cornered Sen. Jeff Flake in a Senate elevator last month and screamed "Look at me!" She is co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy. Her salary was listed as $156,333, with a bonus of $21,378, in a recent Internal Revenue Service 990 form.

Nancy Reyes said...

how does one get 112 million Instagram followers?

daily users of instagram are 500 million according to their numbers, and they claim one billion active users.

the entire population of the USA is only 325 million 73 million of them are age 18 to 34.

Brazil was ranked third with 63 million Instagram MAU, behind India with 67 million monthly active users.

and Instagram is blocked in China.


hombre said...

‘“Young people are less party-oriented and more issue-oriented,” said the 21-year-old political science and international relations major. “If Taylor Swift is able to convince millennials that their votes matter, that could make a huge difference,” he said....’

Seriously? Issues? Which Democrat platform, Taylor? Higher taxes? Open borders? High unemployment? Suppressed economy? Dithering foreign policy? Nuclear Iran? Slandering judges? Abortion on demand? Confiscating guns?

Millennials have no clue what Democrats will do to their futures. Taylor Swift, worth $300 million and climbing, doesn’t care.

hombre said...

“Human rights?” Oh. I get it! Taylor calls for millennials to vote with their genitals as she apparently does.

Was it RHHardin who mentioned something about women’s suffrage?

Kirk Parker said...

What a ghastly unattractive picture.

Big Mike said...

Maria Archila, the Colombia-born self-proclaimed sexual-assault victim who cornered Sen. Jeff Flake in a Senate elevator...

FIFY Dr. Michael K. (I am unaware of anything other than her word that she is the survivor of anything at all.)

Bay Area Guy said...

If you need prompting by Taylor Swift to vote Democrat, well, you might face a few more pressings needs in your life.

Not bagging on young, stupid folks. We were once young and stupid, too. But hopefully you grow out of it

n.n said...

The debate between left and right normal (i.e. other than special and peculiar interests), focuses largely on the value of private vs public smoothing functions.

Gramof3 said...

Tennessee values = white men, yes, female, no. Too bad for the aborted fetuses. They lost once again.

n.n said...

Diversity (i.e. color judgment), Jew Privilege (self-explanatory), selective-child (i.e. wicked solution), political congruence ("=") - selective exclusion, female chauvinism (e.g. warlock hunts),... She's developed a wicked hook.

Michael K said...

It looks like Taylor Swift got the DNC memo and went right out with it.

Attacking Marsha Blackburn who is way ahead after the Kavanaugh fiasco.

Michael K said...

FIFY Dr. Michael K. (I am unaware of anything other than her word that she is the survivor of anything at all.)

Thanks. Isn't that the case with most of them?

Blasey Ford did a lot for the false allegations side in the dispute.

Francisco D said...

I can't name a single Taylor Swift song. That's strange for a Pop Star. I haven't tried to avoid her, just don't know her work and it's made no impression in my world (that I know of).

Exactly the same here.

Ken B said...

Bredesen seems like the sane wing of the Democrats. Not like part of the sane wing, the whole sane wing. I'd normally like to see same Democrats elected, but not this time. Too important to increase GOP control of the senate.

Static Ping said...

I actually own Taylor Swift's first five albums (out of six). She is quite the talent. I'm under the impression that she writes most of her own songs and she really is a very good songwriter. I basically like everything she releases. The fact that she is beautiful certainly does not hurt anything.

That said, she appears to be a relationship nightmare.

n.n said...

[Taylor Swift] is quite the talent. I'm under the impression that she writes most of her own songs and she really is a very good songwriter

Her art and feminine aesthetics are separable from her opinion in the general case. So, enjoy her music. Enjoy her good looks. Scrutinize her principles and politics.

Brad said...

It would be wonderful if we'd treat people as individuals, rather than "gender representatives," but the current political climate won't allow that.

Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift. She's a celebrity - which gives her no particular qualification or insight on matters political, only more access to media to pontificate. Absent evidence to support a belief that she has insight worthy of respect, her opinion deserves no more, or less, respect than anyone else's.

But, of course, it'll be trumpeted to the extent it supports the preferred narrative, and suppressed if it doesn't ... because that's how the media works.

I've long thought entertainers wander into political issues because, deep down, they know what they do is not "essential" to life. Oh, they make life better, no doubt.

But they don't save lives, or build homes, or grow the food which sustains us, or educate children, or do anything which anyone absolutely could not live without. In fact, in most cases, they make their money by pretending to be someone else - actors pretend to be someone else, musicians sing songs about someone else, etc. . . . . and they wander into politics because they want to be seen as valuable for WHO THEY ARE, not just for their "play acting."

And so, of course, they adopt the "politics of applause" - whatever they believe will garner the applause of the "right people" ... meaning "their peers," not "their audiences" . . . . they don't give a hoot about their audiences. They don't know who they are, wouldn't understand them if they met them (and would think they're "icky" if they did).

So, now Taylor wants applause from "the right people" - of course, she'll look to them to educate her about what she should think.

And it'll be more of the same ... the usual leftist drivel.

Static Ping said...

I suppose I must note that Taylor Swift was at the AMAs yesterday. Previously I noted it was difficult to make her look unattractive. She dressed up as a disco ball, more or less, and, yes, she managed to make herself look unattractive in a staged picture.

I am amazed.

CH Haskell said...

To clear up some misinformation in your original post, James Meredith deliberately wore a pith helmet as a symbolic choice. He was consciously invoking the symbolism of white supremacy - the pith helmet that the british army had worn when conquering parts of so called ‘darkest Africa’ - James Meredith was consciously invoking the imagery in order to deliberately undermine it. He was conquering white supremacy in Mississippi by coopting the white supremacists’ symbols - like Ole Miss.

It is naive to assume that Meredith was endorsing white supremacy or somehow was unaware of the white supremacist/colonialist imagery when wearing the pith helmet.

To this day, he sometimes dresses as Colonel Reb, the former Ole Miss mascot.