But is she likeable?

Happy New Year! My wish for 2019 is that it be better – less oppressive – than 2018.

I’m not going to hold my breath.

I had a quiet and pleasant Christmas with my sisters and their families. A couple days later I drove to Louisville to visit my brother and his family. I only have sustained visits with young children (three aged 5 and under in this case) when I visit grandchildren of my brothers. I had a good time. I took image files that I had scanned from my dad’s boxes of slides. My brother’s daughters exclaimed over how much he as a toddler looks like his one-year-old granddaughter.

There was rain during the trip down and lots of rain during the trip home. Thankfully, it wasn’t snow. There were traffic backups in Cincinnati that delayed my trip for more than half an hour. I began to consider alternate routes home. On the return trip I breezed right on through the city.

As for the snow… Detroit almost set a record for the least amount of snow in December.



On to some of the things I read today or that have been accumulating in browser tabs.

Elizabeth Warren announced just yesterday she is considering a run for president. Already there are articles talking about whether she is “likeable” and that she needs to overcome being “cool” and “aloof.” These are the same things said about Hillary Clinton.

Ashton Pittman of the Jackson Free Press in Mississippi searched for tweets that used the word “likeable.” No surprise in what he found – being likeable was seen as important for a female candidate and of no consequence for a male candidate.

Adam Jentleson, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Harry Reid, challenges the “cold” and “aloof” claims by linking to one of Warren’s speeches. He adds:

These gendered terms are being regurgitated by a media that has totally failed to subject itself to any kind of sustained or meaningful self-criticism after 2016.

The nasty guy has shut down part of the government demanding funding for a wall along the border with Mexico. He’s also described it as a barrier made of slats. That prompted Nancy Pelosi to accuse him of scare tactics. Then she joked that the wall has been reduced from a cement structure to “a beaded curtain.”



As for my wish that the new year have less oppression, Sarah Kendzior tackles the cavalier attitude from some people that says, what’s the worst he can do?

What will they do next? Think of the worst thing they can do. Doesn't matter if it's legal. Doesn't matter if it's moral. Doesn't matter if there's no precedent. Doesn't matter if they get caught, so long they don't get punished. Why will they do it? Because they can.

With Trump & co, stop asking "Why?" and start asking "Why not?"

There are logical answers to why -- money, power, immunity to prosecution, debt -- but it often comes down to sadism. Stop turning away from it and confront it.

Because the worst thing he can do is what he will do.