“A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.” 
― Edward R. Murrow

Happy weekend, ducklings! It’s a gray weekend and I had to bring some work home with me, so the intro is short but the links list is extra long this week to make up for it. Tell me what you’re up to this weekend in the comments.

There is an old an abiding stigma against female anger and a pressure to swallow it down and stay silent. In the current cultural moment, for whatever reasons you want to attribute to, it feels like women are getting angry again, in a way that I haven’t yet seen in my own lifetime but I imagine many of you might remember from past decades. We’re angry. Out loud. In public. And it is glorious. 

“Like every other feminist with a public platform, I am perpetually cast as a disapproving scold. But what’s the alternative? To approve? I do not approve.”

The Paradise Papers story summarized thus far. I’ve seen the world of the ultra-wealthy from my work in property, but where that money ends up and how it moves is still endlessly fascinating to me.

Have you been following the news out of Saudi Arabia? It’s complicated. The Atlantic had a later piece that analyzes what might be happening and what the risks are for a regime ostensibly trying to modernize through might.

Greeeaaatttt.

There was another mass shooting this week and to all those sending “thoughts and prayers,” these victims were In. A. Church. Save the platitudes, send sensible and consistent policies. Because the president calling this shooting the product of mental unwellness, months after signing a bill that lifts restrictions on those with dangerous mental health backgrounds from buying guys while simultaneous trying rolling back health coverage for mental conditions seems the height of hideousness.

For the record this has been by far the most deadly and violent months in years.

I am beyond excited for the Black Panther movie. It’s going to look gorgeous.

This was a strange and disturbing read about how algorithms and content creation are intermeshing in weird ways.

Public broadcasting is doing the important work.

A number of allegations came out against Roy Moore this week. Some people then came to his defense. This is by far the worst version of that. Any justification of sexual conduct between an adult and a child is hideous and I am disgusted to see how many people are doing mental gymnastics to justify their political preferences. If you would rather vote for an alleged child abuser over a person of a different political party (as if there isn’t a VAST spectrum of options between the two), you never get to call yourself a “values voter” again.

Speaking of, here is an interesting take on religion and politics from a talk given at my alma mater that I think religious people and secularists alike should read.

Editor’s note: I would be remiss not to say that a single accusation brought down Kevin Spacey but there are at least four accounts in this case. Spare me the hand wringing and take women at their word.

The Baroness was always kind of a badass to me. This make me spit-take with laughter.

We had a fascinating discussion in the Small Dog house this week where my (feminist, ally and decently woke husband) demanded of me, “Men randomly masturbating or whipping their dick out in front of women–is this a thing?!” And I had the dubious honor of counting the number of incidents I can remember.

Abuse and sexual coercion is NOT NEW.

Album of the week: Weightless EP, by Adam French

Another week flown past, another batch of links to read! This week I said goodbye to one of the junior team members I’ve been working with on a contract. She’s off to new challenges and while I’m professionally horrified (she will be difficult to replace), I’m personally thrilled for her new opportunities–I love to see my chicks soar! Meanwhile I’m waiting to hear back on a freelance proposal, and working on a few other projects.

This weekend I’m planning on doing very little, and looking forward to it immensely. Binge watching Stranger Things is on the list, as finishing at least one audiobook, doing laundry, and catching up on some reading. Jeff is already well immersed into his Saturday video games. Let the middle age wild rumpus start!

Bill O’Reilly: trash. There is a much shorter word for “non consensual sexual relationship.”

But I repeat myself, with this horrifying story.

Credit to the creator, always.

I ran into one of these ads for the first time this week.

First of all, confirmed! Second…Iowa?

Marie Claire gets blunt about where the desire to restrict or legislate birth control comes from, particularly among social conservatives. The only way to legislate women’s sex organs is to legislate the whole body attached to them, until science gets better. They are not pulling their punches, but I don’t think they are wrong. In fact, having grown up in a conservative religious culture with very strict gender expectations, I think they nailed it.

Senator Flake announced he’s retiring because there is no place for “a republican like [him]” in Trump’s America. He’s probably right, but I’d not he didn’t do much to try and stop his own party for going off the rails in the first place. And don’t throw his recent book at me as a rebuttal, that was after his party was hijacked by nationalistic nativism–which most Congressional Republicans were thrilled to capitalize on until suddenly they had to live with the consequence of stoking grievance for a decade straight. I’m sorry that another principled person feels run out of their political party, however. It bodes ill for the rest of us. I would have preferred to see him run again, even thinking he might have lost. Instead of the Charge of the Light Brigade, this feels more like a surrender.

Who wants to write for the Times?

This piece from The Cut is hard to read but I think is on to something about the stalled progress of female empowerment, and the dangers of putting all ones emotional eggs in one basket–work as much as relationships. One of my great personal revelations of the past couple of years has been my tendency to do this very thing (particularly with work) and neglect other aspects of my emotional and creative life. We women (speaking broadly and acknowledging privilege) need to diversify both happiness and our sense of accomplishment, in my opinion.

Where my witches at?!

Album of the week: Glasshouse, by Jessie Ware