“Above all, I would teach him to tell the truth. Truth-telling, I have found, is the key to responsible citizenship. The thousands of criminals I have seen in 40 years of law enforcement have had one thing in common: Every single one was a liar.”
– J. Edgar Hoover
The news is shifting hourly at this point but at time of typing, the President of the United States fired the head of the FBI this week–ostensibly for his poor handling of the Clinton email saga but more probably because he refused to pledge personal loyalty to the president and was seeking to continue the investigation into the connections of then-candidate Trump’s election campaign to foreign nationals with an agenda of disrupting/influencing the election.
Cool.
People were hiding in–excuse me, among–bushes, Ms. Conway reappeared after being lost to the world for several weeks, the memes are writing themselves at this point.
Most recently, the president has tweeted (a phrase I am sick to the teeth of reading much less typing) veiled threats towards the now-former FBI head, sort-of-threatening to to reveal supposed recordings of conversations…that are unlikely to have taken place in the first instance–though watch this space. It it 2017, after all. Meanwhile his own statements of the timeline which lead to his decision to fire Mr. Comey have blatantly contradicted that of his supporting team. Meaning that he’s an idiot or a liar. Again.
Super cool.
Time for independent review and investigation. Like, now.
Here are you links, kittens. Let’s have a robust conversation in the comments, and share anything worth spreading below.
First and foremost, Melissa MacCarthy is hosting SNL tonight. She is READY and I am THRILLED.
I have never seen an episode of this show or any of its spinoffs, I buy none of their hawked products, I do not engage. But this piece on the Kardashians was an interesting read nonetheless.
The dissection of J. Crew’s slide continues, but I’m guilty of still reading the think pieces.
Hold the damn phone, Glossier is making sunscreen now! Behold!
PSA: there is a podcast called Medieval History for Fun and Profit, and its first episode is all about medieval sex. Go forth and enjoy, kittens!
Beloved childhood book characters, narrated by P.G. Wodehouse. They did everything but slap a “SDS Clickbait” banner across this thing.
This week in Mormon news, the LDS church announced it was ending a century-long partnership with Boy Scouts of America. A very interesting development since the scouting program has effectively functioned as the learning and development organization for boys in the church for years. Girls have their own achievement and goal-based organizations, which don’t have an equivalent level of parity or recognition outside of the church structure. It will be interesting to see what the Church puts in place for young men, another outside organization or an internally created one.
Album of the week: Blond, by Frank Ocean
Small Dog Syndrome 
With Trump firing anyone he wants to, the NHS cyber-attack (terrifying!) and all the other crazy stuff that’s going on, it feels like the world is starting to implode.
What can we do but keep calm and carry on, in true British tradition? Mind you, I feel more closely aligned to European values than British patriotism. Brexit…ahem.
Love the artworks made from the dust on people’s cars. So clever!
I hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂
Good lord, these days all I want is to not have a mild panic attack whenever I see a “Breaking News” banner flashing. Surely that’s not too much to ask.
The British have an absolutely MARVELOUS “just get on with it” attitude that I think much of the world could benefit from, I’ve been trying to pick up a bit more of that matter-of-fact-ness rather than a typically American reactionism and it’s been doing me a world of good. But like you…ahem…Brexit opinions.
Interesting think piece on J. Crew….I recently visited their Madison Ave at 44th St store, which I like because the space is huge and you can actually sit down. But…oy. I was very ready to buy, in need of clothes and shoes. The only purse I liked, a sort of fun, boho hippie thingy, was $120, which at $80 would have felt like too much $$$. They have also really dropped the quality on some of their products so you just don’t trust them anymore.
To make up for it (!), I was offered 2 types of water at checkout; a plate of macarons sat at the front door and the sales staff, never warm, were effusive. All I bought was a $14 pr of socks for Jose and a $15 bandana for myself.
Female friendship is a lifelong essential, esp. for those who come out of loveless or difficult families of origin, where emotional openness, trust and intimacy are frightening prospects often most wisely avoided. Sometimes only with female friends can one feel safest; funnily enough, this very morning after spin class, talking w a woman my age who goes there, I used the words “You’re someone I can tell this to.” With so many divisions between people now, politically and economically, a “safe space” with a trusted friend is more valuable than ever.