Sex scandals, the tax cuts, and destruction of the Blue states
The airwaves are FULL of stories of sex scandals, and some think this is going to be a cultural turning point whereby victims will start to be believed and empowered, and perpetrators will learn their lessons and fear taking advantage of their positions.
Maybe. But I doubt it.
In the book "Reading Lolita in Tehran", the author describes being a feminist participating in the early days of protests against the Shah, wanting to rid the government of corruption. But the fundamentalists took over the revolution instead.
We are a hair's breadth away from fundamentalism rising up and turning these stories on their head. Can't picture it? Can you picture Mike Pence praising women and saying that God gave them their highest calling, to be mothers in the home? Saying that virtue and prayer and modest dress would heal our society? Conveniently the plutocrats have Pence lined up to be the very next President, no election required.
Humans are not rational. The behavior of John Conyers or Charlie Rose or Louis CK or Kevin Spacek did not come from rational places in their brains. The behavior level of Roy Moore or Harvey Weinstein MUST be stopped. BUT trying to disinfect the workplace completely, and rid humanity of its irrational nature, simply isn't going to work. Channel it, refine and educate, yes. Demand the head of every public figure with lesser lapses in judgment and excesses in selfish sexual behavior? Very bad idea.
We will end up arming a faceless committee of plutocrats with blackmail material. I suspect that is happening right now, with the GOP. How many GOP congressman from blue states are willing to go along with the Trump tax cuts even though their own states will be hurt? The GOP congressmen in California are staying quiet about the denial of disaster funds for the California fires.
Managing or controlling a "democracy" is clever work for plutocrats. Keeping the bottom 65% down is done by keeping them very busy and very broke. But the educated professionals in the big cities are getting noisy -- the ones who already managed to get a president in office for eight years and somehow managed to set up a whole new "entitlement" program -- particularly about wealth inequality, because they see the suffering of those around them. Meanwhile the plutocrats have some giant, heretofore-largely-untaxed estates that are about to pass on as their legacy to their heirs.
Enter the tax cuts. Blue state professionals are going to be decimated, underwater on their mortgages and struggling with the sudden lack of deductions. Guess what a lot of them will be? Busy, and broke. The plutocrats that own stuff will do fine, because the cut in the corporate tax rates will keep their portfolios afloat. Maybe some even have a scheme about pumping up stock, then using the proceeds to buy up real estate in big cities when blue state real estate hits bottom.
What's on the news? Two stalwart blue state senators weakened? Are there more on the way?
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And it bothers me because not only does it derail the discussion, it undermines the victims and almost makes them a moot point. There's no doubt in my mind that they're doing this to distract from Roy Moore. We can't let them get away with this. 
