In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Good grief this guy: Donald Trump claimed that he'd seen a "top secret" Iran video, which he described in detail at a campaign event, but: "A Trump campaign spokeswoman told The Washington Post late Wednesday that the businessman was, in fact, talking about the months-old video from Geneva. She did not explain why Trump claimed it was a top secret video from Iran." What is even happening.

[Content Note: Racism; misogyny; xenophobia; classism] Clint Eastwood and his son gave a joint interview to Esquire, in which Clint said all kinds of deeply heinous things. I'm not going to link directly to the interview, because fuck that, but A.V. Club has a good basic summary, and the Guardian has an even more detailed summary. He should have stuck to talking to an empty chair.

[CN: Misogyny; anti-choicery; Christian Supremacy] Rage seethe boil: "The patient learned she had brain cancer in her first trimester of pregnancy. She needed chemotherapy and abortion care. 'I've got a woman whose life is threatened by brain cancer,' her doctor, an OB-GYN at a Catholic hospital, told authorities there. 'I need to do a termination.' ...The hospital refused the treatment, telling the OB-GYN to refer his patient elsewhere. ...The case is among many contained in a new paper, 'Referrals for Services Prohibited in Catholic Health Care Facilities,' which will be published in the September issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. The study explores whether Catholic hospitals make timely referrals, provide complete and accurate health-care information, and supply emergency treatment when needed. ...'Until now, there hasn't been a study asking about referral patterns in Catholic hospitals,' lead author, Dr. Debra B. Stulberg, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Chicago, said in a phone interview with Rewire." I seem to recall a similar study a few years ago, but, in any case, this is really important, as Catholic facilities now comprise "one in six hospital beds nationwide."

[CN: Transphobia] Grrrrr: "The supreme court on Wednesday blocked a court order giving a transgender student access to the boys' bathroom at his Virginia high school, in what is the high court's first ruling on an increasingly contentious topic. The ruling permits the Gloucester county school board to continue barring Gavin Grimm, a trans boy, from using the boys' restroom until the supreme court decides whether or not to hear Grimm's challenge to the school board. The decision is a major setback for the teenager and will bar him from using the bathroom consistent with his gender identity when he begins his senior year of high school. ...The court's four conservative justices and Justice Stephen Breyer voted for Wednesday's ruling on the basis that it 'will preserve the status quo' as Grimm's court fight continues. Breyer joined the majority 'as a courtesy.' Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan indicated that they would have allowed Grimm to have access to the boy's restroom while the case is on appeal. 'We are disappointed that the court has issued a stay and that Gavin will have to begin another school year isolated from his peers and stigmatized by the Gloucester County school board just because he's a boy who is transgender,' said Joshua Block, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who is representing Grimm. 'We remain hopeful that Gavin will ultimately prevail.'"

[CN: Violent imagery] Just perfectly normal campaigning: "Two tweets from the official Twitter account for the Riverside County Republican Party featured illustrations of a hangman holding a noose with the words, 'I'm Ready for Hillary.' The portrait of the masked hangman features gallows with two other empty nooses in the background. The hangman wears an axe at this side and blood is visible on his shirt and apron." Goddammit.

[CN: Anti-immigrationism] As you know, I am not inclined to go after spouses of political candidates, but this story about Melania Trump's possibly breach of immigration law is relevant by virtue of her husband's hardline on undocumented immigrants. Knowing quite a bit about the immigration and visa process, by virtue of having gone through it with Iain, I have to say, everything suggests to me that she broke the law. And you know what? The only consequence of that I want is for Donald Trump to develop some fucking compassion for other people in a similar situation.

Oof, Sarah Jessica Parker, oof. I pretty much second all of Kaiser's commentary. Including that SJP's new show looks like pants.

"Billionaire Entrepreneur to Send World's First Private Landing Craft to the Moon." Sure.

And finally! "These Cats Outgrew Their Bed, But They'll Never Outgrow Each Other." Awwwwwwww. Oh cats. ♥