Afternoon Tea 10.13.2020 - Antagonist Tango

Umbridge Hearings, Facebook News Two-Step, cursed ceramic and ICE impersonating cops.

October 13, 2020

Judicial pantomime, ICE in the Bronx & Brooklyn pretending to be NYPD, Facebook skates ahead of YouTube on QAnon, a woman taking the bar gave birth and then went back to finish her exam, and a tourist returned cursed objects they stole from Pompeii 15 years ago. It’s Tuesday, October 13th 2020, and this is the Tea.

Judge Barrett’s Record: Siding With Businesses Over Workers (Prospect) & Amy Coney Barrett Is Also Horrible on Racial Justice (Discourse) This won’t change anyone’s mind, but in case you needed ammunition. My favorite was her view that someone being called the n-word at work wasn’t enough to qualify as racial discrimination or a hostile work environment. This while having 7 kids.

ICE Agents Allegedly Called Themselves "Local Police" During Detention Of Inwood Man (Gothamist) & Brooklyn residents encounter alleged ICE agents dressed in NYPD gear Nothing to see here, just ICE agents illegally posing as NYPD to trick people into giving up their civil liberties.

Cuomo Unveils Statue of Mother Cabrini in New York City (Wall Street Journal) Cuomo read the Tea yesterday, though this does clearly line up with his book being released today and his little “Not Trump” victory lap. Contrast that with this spectacular, insanely long piece in The New Yorker about Cuomo as the King of NYC. To put the piece in perspective, the audible of it is an hour. But it’s the best way to describe the grimace on my face whenever a Cuomo-sexual asks me about his chances at higher office.

Woman Takes Bar Exam While in Labor, Gives Birth, Then Finishes Test (NBC News 5 Chicago) A neat little metaphor about the challenges women have to deal with.

Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women (New York Times) While the Times can go screw for the article both being paywalled and having auto-play sound on it, Megan Thee Stallion’s words should be shared widely:

I choose my own clothing. Let me repeat: I choose what I wear, not because I am trying to appeal to men, but because I am showing pride in my appearance, and a positive body image is central to who I am as a woman and a performer. I value compliments from women far more than from men. But the remarks about how I choose to present myself have often been judgmental and cruel, with many assuming that I’m dressing and performing for the male gaze. When women choose to capitalize on our sexuality, to reclaim our own power, like I have, we are vilified and disrespected.

Adam Smith warned us about sympathizing with the elites (Psyche) He did! He knew that just because the rich didn’t have a better life, doesn’t mean we couldn’t walk a superior path.

Tourist returns stolen artefacts from Pompeii 'after suffering curse' (The Guardian) I love this, the objects were sent back after being stolen 15 years ago. Pro-Tip: Don’t steal things from a city sized mass grave.

Facebook News Tango! Good & Bad related to FB’s attempts to stay ahead of misinformation recently, so I wanted to give it all an equal shake:

Song of the Tea: Warner Case creates this compact turtleneck sweater of a remix from this adorable song by singer duo mai.la. Wrap yourself in it if you get a chill today.

Still time to plug those leaks before the cold wind blows in.

Yours,T