Harvey and the Nuclear Option

View from the Bay View Hotel

So Saturday night, I'm in a lovely hotel room in Haifa, thinking I would catch some news before I go to sleep. 

Ha.

The channel that's supposed to be the BBC is a 24-hour fundraising thing for Christian fundamentalists. The other choice is FOX-News International. There was no news on FOX, only non-stop hate speech directed at Harvey Weinstein who probably deserves to be pilloried, but the level of screech-and-hate speech bordered on the antisemitic. I was riveted...for a while, anyway...and then my brain kicked in. I remembered what Feckless Leader said:

I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch...I’m automatically attracted to beautiful ... I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet ... I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.

If you were not outraged by Feckless Leader's pussy-grabbing comments caught on tape in 2005, then sit down and shut up now. You do NOT get to have an opinion because YOU are making this a political vendetta. It is not. Sexual predators come from all segments of the population, all races, all political positions, all religions, all occupations: 

• Rep. Mark Foley (R. Florida)
• Rep. Anthony Weiner (D. NY)
• Rep. Jim Kolbe (R. Arizona)
• Sen. Larry Craig (R. Idaho)
• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
• Woody Allen
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Bill Cosby
• Roman Polanski
• Kobe Bryant
• Roger Ailes
• Bill O'Reilly
• Jerry Sandusky
• James Woods

I could keep going but I won't. 

When I was a young director, being hit on was part of some weird rite of passage. Early in that process, I decided I was not going to sleep with anyone for the sake of my career, although I was propositioned multiple times. That was my choice; I knew other women who made other choices, and even thought knowing what they did pissed me off, it was their choice, not mine. I cannot imagine very many of my rather strong-willed directorial compatriots prostituted themselves outta fear; I think they used sex as a means to an end. 

And no, I still do not think that is okay. I didn't then and I don't now.

Actors, however, are a different story. Casting couches, as they have been called, are as old as theater itself. Best to try to figure out who isn't using a casting couch. Guys like Harvey Weinstein have been around for years. This is nothing new. And there isn't an actress alive who is not fully aware that this exists. And that there are choices. Being young and/or stupid and/or hungry just doesn't wash these days. Sorry. This is the age of instant media. You know better. 

That does not in any way excuse Harvey Weinstein who is not known to be a congenital idiot and should know better. He used dick as a weapon and should probably have it lopped off at the base for that. As should any other guy who uses his dick as a weapon in any circumstance. If you cannot be responsible for your own dick, you lose it. 

There. I said it. 

At the same time, you cannot start going around dredging up ancient history, declaring ME, TOO, and expect to have standing in a court of law. I'm not talking about the current Face Book movement for women to admit to having be victims of sexual predatory behavior. That is different so please do not confuse the two. 

I'm talking about the law. There is a statute of limitations on this stuff, so little that's now coming to surface is useful. What would be useful is every time someone attempts to use sex as a weapon, you stand up and scream NO to the rafters. Whether it's casting couch, or a pussy-grab, or dress-my-way-for-success issue, refuse. Whatever price you pay for saying NO is much cheaper than the price you will pay for giving in. 

And now that this is all coming out into the sunlight...there is support if you need it. 

Meanwhile, back at the White House, this is nothing more than a very convenient smoke screen. 

While Faux News is screeching endlessly about a <gasp> Hollywood liberal who no one thinks is right on an level, the guy in the Oval Office just signed an executive order that undercuts the availability of birth control while complicating the enrollment process for ACA and masking affordable plans. The only ones who benefit from the changes are the insurance charlatans who sell plans that do not meet the basic standards previously set when sold through "associations."

The same Moron-in-Chief de-certified the Iran deal immediately after telling North Korea to expect to be blown up any minute. In other words, the West Wing Cadre has managed to set up potential nuclear war on not one, but TWO fronts. Pushing Iran away from the deal only reinvests them with the power to start up their nuclear weapons program all over again. At the same time, threatening North Korea with annihilation only encourages them to increase their own stock-pile of nuclear weapons. These countries are not stupid. Iran and Korea know there is an seriously unstable guy behind the desk. And they are not going to sit around waiting for something to happen. 

Faux News, ever so helpful to the pussy-grabbing contingent, gave the West Wing Wackos the distraction they needed to push through more dangerous crap. 

And We, the People, too busy yelling "ME, TOO!"  failed to fully grok the notion that the warlock-hunt has taken precedence over very real, very important, and very dangerous news. 

Sitting in Herzliya right now, I can tell you an Iran with nuclear weapons is not an abstract idea. It is real, it is close, and it is part of daily existence. Under the umbrella of the deal, Iran was at the table, there was communication, and progress continued. Cancel the deal, and you're back to having a rogue nation armed to the teeth....pointed right where I'm sitting. 

Now, do you still want to talk about Harvey Weinstein?

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Vote for vermin, wake up dead.