Trump DNC Tweets Parallel Wikileaks Messaging

At this point, I'd say Donald is flaunting his Wikileaks and Russia ties.

1/3 Donald's messaging about DNCChair parallels that of Wikileaks, which references emails hacked by Russia. pic.twitter.com/yNVVIrtu8J

— Fannie Wolfe (@fanniesroom) February 26, 2017

We have a sitting President who openly encouraged Russian hackers to steal information from his opponent, who celebrated Wikileaks' publication of information stolen from his opponent's campaign by Russian hackers, and who now appears to be coordinating his messaging with Wikileaks.

Trump's ties to Russia both before Election 2016, and ongoing, must be fully investigated.

Also, just as Trump, Wikileaks, and Russia divided the left before Election 2016, they continue to do so. They know that the left is stronger together and can defeat their regressive authoritarian agenda.

Resist.

Dispatches From the Queer Resistance (No. 2)

As I've written previously, with exit polls showing LGBT voters overhwhelmingly casting votes for Hillary Clinton (77%) in Election 2016, it is no surprise that LGBT people across all identity groups are both under attack from and resisting the Trump regime in various ways.

Over at Shakesville, I've written another semi-regular update on that front.

Lost: Imagine Me and You

In the constellation of femslash fan videos, one of my favorite categories is "fake trailers of the movie Imagine Me & You, with other fandom pairings envisioned as the lead romance."

I think Imagine Me & You was a decent queer women's film. (Lena Heady!! *sigh*)

My main critique is that it seems to cater a bit too much to the heterosexual eye. I believe there are maybe two Luce/Rachel kissing scenes, while it feels like a full third of the movie is spent developing the storyline in which we learn what a great guy the heterosexual man, Hector, is for letting his wife go follow her heart to be with a woman.

Which, good for him. But, I'd rather the women's romance be central. In my fake version of Imagine Me & You, it pends about 10 seconds on Hector and we have about 13 more lady make-out scenes. Would that be too much to ask? I think not.

Today's fan vid is the Imagine Me & You trailer: paring Kate/Claire from Lost.

Happy Femslash February by the way. Is anyone celebrating? And, if so, how and what are you reading?

Quote of the Day: bell hooks

Bust recently ran an interview with bell hooks, discussing the 2016 Election and where we go from here. I'd recommend all of it, but would like to highlight a well-made critique of progressive institutions:

"Bernie Sanders isn’t saying anything about feminist politics. He’s not integrating any kind of feminist politics into his vision. I think the important thing is that we see this as the continuum of patriarchal power reasserting itself, and not as though Trump invented it or makes it possible—because it has been there. It’s been there, in Hillary Clinton’s husband and all of these men—except that Hillary Clinton’s husband and Barack Obama became the benevolent patriarchs. They’re the patriarchal men we can love."

I think this is what some Bernie fans don't get. Bernie is pro-choice and supports equal pay for women, but a deeper feminist, intersectional analysis seems to be largely missing as he focuses much of his discourse on railing against Wall Street and money in politics.

But.

Reproductive rights are an economic issue, in that both being pregnant and having a child have significant economic consequences for the person who is pregnant.

Running as an anti-establishment candidate and yet visiting the Pope in the midst of one's campaign, is an action with potential economic consequences for the women and LGBT people who are harmed by the validation of the Catholic Church's teachings on female subordination, leadership, and anti-LGBT bigotry.

Failing to connect with black voters while claiming to be starting a revolution, is an economic issue if if the revolution's leader does not consider that black voters might experience "revolution" differently than white voters.

Banking on unexamined white male privilege against a woman who was held to much higher standards than any man is an economic issue that many women experience in having to be vastly more qualified than male competitors in the job market.

Progressives celebrating the Barack/Joe "bromance" memes while refusing to see Hillary Clinton as anything other than History's Greatest Monster also represents an economic issue in that women seeking power are so rarely seen as likeable, which thus becomes a reason to deny us the position of power we seek.

Issues like these represent a fundamental divide on the left that won't go away just because people order other people to stop re-litigating the Democratic Primary.  It is a divide among those who understand that people with different identities often live under different conditions in society versus those who think there might be a universal solution to society's ills regardless of identity.

Recap: Supergirl 1.19 "Myriad"

Uh-oh. Something serious is going down in National City. Last week, it looked like humans were put under a mysterious trance. Now, we see that the trance extends to the DEO and that Non is responsible. Specifically, he orders Lucy and Agent "Alex's Ex" Vasquez to release all of the aliens from the Bad Alien Jail.

Evil Agents

Luckily, Supergirl shows up to stop them, but with all the humans in a trance and Alex and Hank still on the lam, it seems she's on on her own.

Desperate for help, she flies to Antarctica (or wherever) to the Fortress of Solitude to see if the robot-thingy that lives there will tell her where Superman is so he can come help straighten this shit out. Apparently, Superman is taking care of business elsewhere in the galaxy. However, she does learn that the trance is called Myriad, and Astra created it as a form of mind control. It harvests people's brainpower to solve global problems like environmental destruction. So, the ends justify the means. Or not.

Howdy Minion!

Supergirl then flies to CatCo where she sees that James and Winn are also under the trance. (It's creepy). HOWEVER, Cat obliviously walks into the office talking about how she won't date Harrison Ford because he's an older, married man (he he) and, more importantly, she's apparently not under the trance. It's just Supergirl and Cat. All alone in the world. *sigh*

On the Non front, we see that Indigo is back in action. Her first order of business is to convince Non to kill Supergirl. So, she's still awful. And so is Non, of course.

Non's gonna Non.

Speaking of awful, Max Lord also shows up at CatCo unaffected by the trance. He apparently created "ion blockers" because he had Myriad all figured out, because of course he did. Max had learned that Non was using his satellites to transmit the mind control waves, but he didn't share this info with anyone because he doesn't trust the government. We also learn that Max sent Cat a pair of "ion blocker" earrings so she wouldn't be affected by Myriad, and there is *deep breath, deep breath* a brief moment of subtext between them that shall never be mentioned again (blerrrrrgh).

Max has a plan to defeat Myriad, which involves detonating a bomb that would kill Non and about 300,000 innocent humans, which he justifies by saying it's better than having Myriad spread to Earth's entire population. The President okays Max's plan, but Supergirl doesn't. And, she needs to come up with a better plan ASAP.

Speaking of which, Cat and Supergirl have one of their Iconic Balcony Moments. Cat gives Supergirl an inspiring speech about how she shouldn't let fear be her guide right now, because hope is stronger than fear. She then says she believes that Supergirl can change the people of National City, not with violence, but by "being Supergirl." I know that sounds really vague in an "it is what it is" kinda way, but the speech must have worked because by the end of it, Supergirl is like, "Thanks Cat, that gives me an idea."

"Since the world is ending, we better be honest with each other."

Alex and Hank then pay Alex's mom a visit. She tells them what's going on in National City and they vow to go and fight it. Hank uses his mind-reading powers to shield Alex from going into a trance and they fly there, I guess. Once they get to National City, Indigo immediately attacks them and is able to capture Alex.

Non and Indigo then put Alex is a kryptonite suit thingy, put her under mind control, and make her go after Supergirl. Alex and Supergirl then begin fighting and it's awful, simply awful, in the same way it would be if Buffy and Willow started fighting.

Brainwashed Evil Alex

Alex Danvers and Supergirl in peril? What about Supergirl's big plan? How will it end? And is there really only one more episode left in Season 1?


Deep Thought of the Week: When I was a kid, I used to have a recurring dream that I would wake up and be the only person left on Earth. I remember it feeling really lonely and horrifying. In retrospect, it was probably my subconscious mind telling me that I was gay. After all, this was the 1980s. Things actually were quite different then. I was exposed to zero representations of gay people in the media, let alone to actual out gay people in my daily life. Plots "where everyone is in a trance except for one person" always remind me of this dream.

Secondly, it's hard for me to separate "the masses are brainwashed" plots from current political events. How do we reach people who believe that established news organizations are "fake" and who only believe the many false statements that their god-emperor Trump utters?  With a president who lies as frequently and unapologetically as the current one does, we are living during a time that feels more dangerous to me than ever before in my life. To write a man with Trump's temperament as a villain would likely be rejected on many TV shows as being unbelievable. Yet here we are.


 [Note: In November 2017, CW/Supergirl Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg was suspended after allegations of sexual harassment.]

Trump Media Survey: Democrats Are Not Americans

You might have seen reports of a "Media Accountability Survey" released by Donald Trump.

Over at Shakesville, I take a look at the Trump team's communications surrounding the survey and the disturbing way they define who is and isn't American.

Parks and Recreation Friday

I just remembered Li'l Sebastian!

Thinking about this tiny horse made me happy for 23 seconds. I hope it makes you happy too.

Talk about this, or other stuff!

Not This Shit Again

Meanwhile, the anti-LGBT National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is urging its supporters to pressure Trump into signing the recently-leaked anti-LGBT, anti-choice, anti-sex Executive Order.

I have a brief observation, over at Shakesville.

Tired of Winning Yet?

That's what Internet neo-nazis say to each other, you know, about their god-emperor, Trump.

And yet, are they winning as much as they think they are? In some ways, yes, I suppose. In others, not so much.

Via Michael Shear at The New York Times:

"In record time, the 45th president has set off global outrage with a ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries, fired his acting attorney general for refusing to defend the ban and watched as federal courts moved to block the policy, calling it an unconstitutional use of executive power.

The president angrily provoked the cancellation of a summit meeting with the Mexican president, hung up on Australia's prime minister, authorized a commando raid that resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL member, repeatedly lied about  the existence of millions of fraudulent votes cast in the 2016 election and engaged in Twitter wars with senators, a sports team owner, a Hollywood actor and a major department store chain. His words and actions have generated almost daily protests around the country."

Shear goes on to note that Trump's loyal base, of course, is unperturbed by any of these issues. Many, in fact, think Donald has accomplished a great deal, more than President Obama ever did!

Outside of that pro-Trump-bubble wherein The New York Times is "fake news," we continue to see signs that many believe the executive branch of the government now lacks legitimacy.

He lost the popular vote, of course. He's reached high unpopularity levels in record time. He seems confused about how being the head of a state might be different than being the head of a company. For instance, in our political system, he can't make a law come into being with the wave of a hand and the bark of a CEO-like command. With more evidence that Russian interfered with the election, and Trump aides might have known about it or have been complicit in it, it's clear what "winning" looks like for Team Trump: ignorance, incompetence, authoritarian, juvenile, unfair, illegitimate, and proud of it.

We must continue to resist. It is effective. And, because it's effective, we must also be wary of the Trump administration taking actions or spreading propaganda to manufacture legitimacy. For instance, this Tweet. He might be hoping to get the chance to use again one day, in the event of a terror attack on US soil:

The judiciary checked his power as unconstitutional, so now the judiciary is added to the ongoing tally of Trump enemies.

So now, Trump has a ready-made excuse in the event a terror attack does occur. The attack wasn't his fault, he'll say. After all, he's the tough guy who tried to stop it until the judiciary meddled. Thus, a future attack becomes not something he mourns as a tragedy or is in any way responsible for, but a "win," especially if the person who committed were from one of the above 7 countries.

That is what "winning" looks like in the Trump era.

A Glimpse Into Something Far Worse

Do Team Trump's connections to Russia rise to a Watergate-level scandal?  Is the full scope of this ongoing saga much, much worse and more than what we currently know?

I briefly explore the connections today, over at Shakesville.

Supergirl Recap: 1.18 "World's Finest"

So, last episode, we found out that Siobhan is an alien or something. She had fallen from a tall building, but then right before making impact with the ground, she was able to stop herself in mid-air. In today's episode, the DEO runs tests on her. Apparently, she's a human. She had just emitted a high-frequency screech that cushioned her fall. As one does.

But that is a distraction from the following Very Important Subtext Moment (VISM?).

At CatCo, Cat and Kara have a talk about cupcakes. I won't add my own commentary. Just.... just observe:

Cat: [opens box of cupcakes] Aren't they exquisite?
Kara: [nods] Yes, they look very yummy.
Cat: I can see it in your eyes, Kara, that you want one. But, you're too scared. So instead you gaze longingly from a safe distance wishing that you had one all of your own. Well, let me tell you, cupcakes like these. They don't last.

The truth is, I want to be your cupcake.

Allegedly, Cat was referring to Kara's crush on James, but thank you Team Supergirl for the sapphic catnip anyway. I will take it.

Shortly thereafter, Siobhan begins having weird headache visions. As if possessed, she storms into CatCo, lets out a screech, and sends Kara shooting through the window. Before Kara hits the ground she's saved by..... The Flash? Oh yeah, this is the Season 1 Supergirl/Flash crossover. Okay, I can roll with this. Apparently, The Flash (aka, Barry) is from another universe, he accidentally ended up in Supergirl's version of Earth, and he needs help getting back home.

Wanna race?

Kara brings Barry back to her superhero den and introduces him to James and Winn. There's some interesting dynamics. Winn geek fanboys out and it's funny, but James is jealous of the new guy. Meanwhile, when Kara introduces him to Cat, Cat names him "The Blur." LOL.

In Siobhan news, she is next seen visiting her aunt, who runs what seems to be a Wiccan store. The aunt explains that their family was cursed by a banshee in Ireland many years ago and to make the curse go away, she'll have to kill whoever the object of her anger is. In Siobhan's case, that would be Kara.

Siobhan realizes she needs help in this endeavor, so she frees previous villain Livewire from the DEO Bad Alien Jail. They quickly become BFFs and Livewire helps Siobhan come up with a villain name and costume. Apparently, she now goes by Silver Banshee and looks like this:

Together, they kidnap Cat and beckon Supergirl to a park for a Hero/Villain showdown. (I miss Alex and Hank, by the way). During the fight, Supergirl flies in front of a bolt of electricity intended for a helicopter. When the good citizens of National City see that she was willing to risk her life to save them, she re-earns their trust (which she had lost during her Red Kryptonite Extravaganza). The citizens then pitch in to take down Livewire and Silver Banshee, and it's just like Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. Except with 99.9% less racism, sexism, and accidental walking-into-gay-bars. So, not at all alike, if you think about it.

Supergirl then helps The Flash get home by running alongside him and giving him a little boost. Or something. *shrug* I don't really get how he makes it home, but I'm not sure if it matters. After all, there were cupcakes. #NeverForget

Later that night, Kara invites James over and tells him that she wants him to be her cupcake. They kiss. And immediately afterwards, all humans in National City are put under some sort of trance and he walks out of the room.

Well hell, they may not be my preferred 'ship, but those two really can't catch a break.


Deep Thought of the Week: Do you like crossovers? I do. It's fun to see how characters from different fandoms might interact with each other. Like Alex Danvers and Scully, for instance. Or, Supergirl and Bo Dennis. Hmmmm.

 [Note: In November 2017, CW/Supergirl Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg was suspended after allegations of sexual harassment.]

Resistance Quotes of the Day

From Traitors or Patriots?: A Story of the German Anti-Nazi Resistance, Louis Eltscher notes Hitler took power "after suffering a significant electoral defeat":

"Just how did Hitler and the Nazis secure power? The answer is as simple as it is tragic. The tipping point of 30 January 1933 came when these three men and their supporters, thinking they could control Hitler, named him chancellor."

The "three men" referred to were the president of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenberg, Minister of Defense General Kurt von Schleicher, and former military officer Franz von Papen. Author Eltscher describes these three men as conservatives who saw Hitler as a means to the end of restoring Germany to its traditional values.

Eltscher further describes resistance movements that existed throughout Hitler's reign. However, it lacked both organization and leadership:

"Germany never had a political leader capable of challenging Hitler's almost magical - one might say it was black magic - ability to dominate public life."

As I've alluded before, I struggle with being simultaneously wary of making gratuitous comparisons between Trump and Hitler, and with the masses potentially not making these comparisons soon enough.

What continues to give me hope, for now, is that we can dissent, still, and not be killed or censored. Although, when Trump labels critique "fake news," polls showing he's unpopular "rigged," and protestors as "paid," and have his followers believe him, he doesn't have to censor or kill us in order to be effective. He can claim that we still live in a free society as long as he is the god who defines reality.

The left, however, does need a charismatic leader who can effectively challenge Trump. Relatedly, we need factions on the left to not tear down whoever this person is going to be when that person turns out to be imperfect. I am no "Berniecrat" lover but I would support one over Trump a million times over.  Republicans in Congress, as they confirm Trump's Cabinet of Incompetence, have demonstrated that as deplorable as Donald is, he is a means to achieving their conservative ends - restricting immigration, banning abortion, passing anti-LGBT laws, and de-regulating.

They tolerate imperfection, rarely denounce their neo-nazis and extremists, and they win. The left demands purity, gazes into its navel about the propriety of giving white supremacists speaking platforms, and we lose.

And, importantly, as the Democratic Primary* continues to be re-litigated, we need a leader who can appeal broadly to people who supported both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.


(*Spoiler alert: I'm not going to be that person who orders people on any side to "get over it," because that's not helpful either. All I will say on this point, for now, is that I don't think calling someone "an ass" in an email constitutes an event that tipped the primary to Clinton, let alone rises to the level of "rigging." The vote tallies were not close.)

Femslash Friday: My Totino

I've watched the Saturday Night Live "Totinos" Super Bowl sketch approximately eleventymillion times since it aired last weekend.



What I find impressive is that it begins with the bro-iest setup ever but then crescendos through a series of over-the-top tropes from queer women's cinema, totally redeeming itself.

First, there's the guys sitting around watching the big game. It's clear that the only woman present is in attendance in a mommy-wife capacity only, and not as a peer or true sports fan. She asks, "Is everyone enjoying the big game?" And the husband responds, "Come on babe, don't act like you know sports." She agrees, saying, the only thing she knows about is feeding her "hungry guys."

More of the husband's friends arrive, then, one of them bringing his sister (played by Kristen Stewart, who is looking very Shane, I might add). And then, the Sapphic plot thickens, as the tropes are employed:

• First, the sister's name is Sabine, because of course it is. Her brother is an American super-frat bro, but she's apparently a sexy French queer woman. Meaningful, prolonged eye contact between the protagonist and Sabine is made, because Sabine is apparently a sexy French queer woman.
• We then see extreme close-ups of Sabine's various body parts: lips, an eye, a strand of hair.
• As they spread the pizza rolls on the tray, their hands graze. Is there anything sexier than spreading Totinos for hungry guys, with Sabine? Probably not.
• The women are then suddenly holding each other, and what I can only describe as the Sapphic camera filter is employed (there may be a technical term for this but it's, like, the background is suddenly smoky and candlelit. Sensual!)
• The protagonist is then drawing Sabine. There is a brief water fight, and then they are suddenly actually speaking French.
• (This is all happening while the bro-dudes are in the same room, 100% oblivious)

LOL Forever.

Kristen Stewart and Vanessa Bayer both did an excellent job, in my opinion. And, I bet it was intentional not to include KStew and Kate McKinnon together, as that would have resulted in queer women everywhere spontaneously combusting.

But seriously, may you all find your Totino(s).

McConnell Fuels the Resistance

You might be super surprised to learn that I had some thoughts about Republican Mitch McConnell silencing Senator Elizabeth Warren two days ago, as she attempted to read the words of Coretta Scott King in opposition to racist Jeff Sessions' nomination as US Attorney General.

I wrote about it Shakesville today.

Recap: Supergirl 1.17 "Manhunter"

"Manhunter" begins with Supergirl majorly down in the dumps. Her Red Kryptonite Extraganza from last week has led to the people of National City losing trust in her. So, she's pouting by eating donuts while half-wearing her hero outfit. As one does.

*sad trombone*

We also get a flashback of little Kara. There is one awful moment where, when she had first arrived on Earth as a young girl, Kara saved a family from a burning car. Jeremiah (Alex's dad) had told her that the world already has Superman and that she needed to hide her powers. And, my heart breaks for every little girl who has had her ambition and potential stifled.

BUT anyway.

Things aren't so great with Hank, either, as he's been put in the DEO Bad Alien Jail for having revealed himself as an alien. The military has taken over the DEO and is conducting an investigation into Hank's alien identity. Also, Lucy is back in the military. Apparently you can be in the military, go AWOL/corporate for a few weeks, and then just be back in the military again with minimal hassle. 

Dressed like a woman.

During the investigation, we get a flashback of (the real) Hank Henshaw and Jeremiah Danvers (Alex's dad). They apparently hunted J'onn J'onnz, thinking he was a dangerous alien. However, we learn that J'onn had actually saved Jeremiah's life. And, Jeremiah, in turn, had learned that J'onn wasn't actually dangerous, but was a refugee from Mars. Jeremiah then killed (the real) Hank, when defending J'onn. From then on, J'onn shape-shifted into Hank, stole his identity, and ran the DEO. I hope that made sense. Stolen identity/body switch plots are hard to describe, it turns out.

Overall, Lucy seems to become more sympathetic to Hank/J'onn's story than the authoritarian anti-alien military dude who's leading the interrogation. (I don't know his name, so let's just call him Colonel Bannon.) The Colonel thinks J'onn should be locked away forever for being an enemy of the state. Supergirl and Alex, however, are not having it. So, good luck, Bub.

#Resistance

Alex is then hooked up to a lie detector machine and interrogated about whether she knew Hank/J'onn was an alien. The first question asked is, "Is your name Alexandra Danvers." Alex clarifies that it's just "Alex." Because of course it is, honey.

Alex then free-form narrates the tale of how she first met Hank/J'onn. And, I just don't think that's how polygraph tests work, but then again, everything I know about the topic comes from Homeland so whaddoIknow.  We're also treated to clips of a femmed-out Alex downing shots and dancing in a club, just before Hank recruits her into the DEO. With last week's Dark Supergirl Red Kryptonite Extravaganza, I'm realizing that drinking + sexy dancing is like the obligatory way that TV Shows Featuring a Strong Female Lead show that a "good girl has gone bad." (See also, Buffy 4x16).

ANYway, during her interrogation, Alex tries to lie, saying she didn't know Hank was an alien, but Lucy knows she's lying. The DEO transports Alex and Hank to something called Project Cadmus. In response, Kara outs herself as Supergirl to Lucy, hoping to sway her to release Hank. I guess Kara's speech works because like 10 seconds later they're on motorcycles together wearing matching black outfits, on a covert mission to free Hank and Alex. That is some serious U-hauling ladies. I mean, hauling ass. And, it works. They free Hank and Alex.

El mayarah

Hank and Alex then flee, since they're fugitives now. Nooooooo! When Supergirl and Lucy return to the DEO, the "Alex's Ex" agent tells them that Lucy has been named the new Head of the DEO.

In Siobhan news, she's back to hating Kara, since Kara got her fired from CatCo. At a certain point, she sneaks into CatCo when no one else is there (whu? how?), gets on Kara's computer (which apparently is not password-protected), and sends a mean email to Cat, "from Kara." However, Cat doesn't fall for it, and she tells Siobhan to scram.

Also, PS: Siobhan is an alien or something. BYEEEEE!

Deep Thought of the Week: What's Carter been up to? Why are all the kids different in each National Lampoon movie? Did Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch turn out okay? When is there going to be a re-boot of My So-Called Life, except where they're all adults?

I'm here to ask the important questions, friends.

 [Note: In November 2017, CW/Supergirl Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg was suspended after allegations of sexual harassment.]

Why Women Are (and Should Be) Leading the Resistance

I struck a nerve with this tweet last night.

Literally no woman familiar with watching incompetent men consistently rise to the top is stunned by this. https://t.co/AR5jA0d6Od

— Fannie Wolfe (@fanniesroom) February 6, 2017

For some context regarding the number of likes and re-tweets, I usually get less than 10 per any given tweet.

To me, this Tweet elicited the reaction it did because Trump's win reinforced the fact that women exist in a state of subordination to men.

The misogyny, and widescale gaslighting regarding its existence, is a key reason why the Women's March, held the day after Trump's inauguration, was the largest protest in US history.

A resistance is rising from the ashes of Election 2016 and it is (and should be) led by women.

Many women are seeing their experiences validated, some perhaps for the first time.

To those liberal and progressive men who seem largely unaware of the conditions under which many women live in the US and still possess the capacity to be "stunned" by the fact that an incompetent authoritarian predator man-child can "win" over a highly-qualified woman, I can only suggest that you get out of whatever male-discourse-dominated bubble you're living in, and listen more, to women.

Listen especially to black women, 94% of whom voted for Hillary Clinton over the disastrous Donald Trump.

Dispatches From the Queer Resistance

Exit polls suggest that 77% of LGBT people voted for Hillary Clinton in Election 2016. As you might imagine, many of us have some opinions about Trump.

Over at Shakesville, I have started a series documenting acts of queer resistance. 

Feel free to send me tips and news items as you encounter them!

Femslash Friday: SVU Edition

This one's an oldie, but I will always believe that Olivia Benson's "One That Got Away" is Alex Cabot.

Can you believe that somebody made an Olivia/Alex fan video to Kelly Clarkson's, "A Moment Like This"? Of course you can!

Bonus A+ Fan Vid Kudos for the 44 second mark for using a clip of Stephanie March's 30 Rock guest star appearance, in which she played a lesbian character, to make it look like Alex Cabot says, "I am a lesbian."

Throwback Thursday: ALT-POTUS 45

Somewhere, in a parallel universe so very far, far away, Day 9 happened for Madam President, and for the other, luckier versions of ourselves:

DAY 9: STILL NO NAZIS ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OR IN MY MOTHERFUCKING WHITE HOUSE.

— ALT-POTUS 45 (@IfHillaryHad) January 30, 2017

Also in this parallel universe, Susan Sarandon and Jill Stein didn't Thelma & Louise certain segments of the left off a motherfucking cliff by acting like Trump and Clinton were both just as bad as one another. FUN TIMES!

And yes, one of my coping strategies is dark humor, ha ha HA, why do you ask?

Recap: Supergirl 1.16 "Falling"

Oh, this one was good (but fair warning, I do like me a good upstanding-character-gone-dark plot twist).

"Falling" begins with Cat making an appearance The Talk. I only mention this part because (a) I love Cat, and (b) a smidge of subtext occurs when one of the hosts asks Cat if the rumors are true about Cat and Supergirl being "friends." But, the question is asked in a suggestive tone. Cat elaborates, saying that, in her experience, Supergirl is just a genuinely good person. Because she knows these things. she reallllly knows.

What is Supergirl like? Let me count the ways.

In other romance news, Winn and Siobhan are apparently hooking up at the office now. (What is this, Grey's Anatomy??). And, James tells Kara that Lucy broke up with him (and that Lucy no longer works at CatCo, booo). Kara, being Kara, does the thing where she is genuinely sad for them but also a little bit happy because this is her big chance to be with James.

Later, Supergirl is called to the scene of a fire. While there, she is exposed to red kryptonite, dun dun dun, and that's when things get hot. I mean, interesting. No, I mean bad.

Seeing Red

But first, to backtrack. Circa 1983, we learned in Superman III that exposure to red kryptonite corrupted Superman's fine, honorable personality. For instance, instead of saving people, he turned into a guy who drank booze and played pranks on humanity. Like that time he straighened the Leaning Tower of Pisa and blew out the Olympic flame? What a gas! Christopher Reeve Superman, don't ever change. I mean, how charming that the evil, dark version of his version of Superman was 99% less evil and dark than the current leader of the (still) free world.

But, I digress.

In "Falling," we find out the answer to our (n=1?) burning question: whatever does red kryptonite do to our heroic, good-natured puppy, Kara/Supergirl?

Well, for starters, Dark Kara wears a very tight dress to work, garnering the attention of James, Winn, and Cat (natch), because apparently she looks very different than she does in her regular dowdy* outfits (*which she usually looks cute in SO BACK OFF). Then, at the DEO, she acts aloof when Hank is talking about the latest bad alien villain, which, oddly enough, is called a K'hund (don't say it out loud). We know she's aloof because her feet are propped up on a desk and she's inspecting her nails, which is the universal signal for giving zero fucks at work:

Ho-hum

Supergirl later gets in a fight with the K'hund, but she lets him get away, just 'cuz. Apparently, she's not interested in capturing the Bad Aliens anymore. But then, then, the next morning, she takes Cat's private elevator and, when confronted by Cat, mouths off to her. Cat is surprised and.... also, seems to approve, saying, "Brazen. That's a new color on you. I don't mind it. Yet." LOLOLOL. (Same).

Somewhat annoyingly, the Kara/Siobhan rivalry rears its head again. Siobhan has video showing that Supergirl let the K'hund go, but Cat doesn't want to run a story on it until more information is known. When Siobhan pitches it to CatCo's competitor, Kara tattles on her and Cat fires Siobhan.

*sigh*

Imagine for a moment a world in which Dark Kara, Siobhan, and Cat Grant combined their powers for good. Nasty Women unite!

The Dark Kara Extravaganza continues later that night, when dancing at a club occurs. Kara is really forward with James, flirting with him overtly, which James isn't into at all (because ummmm?). His reason is that Kara's not acting like herself, but like I just said ummmmmmm? Totes realistic.

But, actually it is realistic the more I think about it, because I've found the Kara/James romantic plot a bit forced. If they had better chemistry, it would be less realistic for James to turn down this gorgeous woman he's supposedly been pining after for months. As it stands, it actually does ring true to James' character that he would reject Dark Kara because of his principles. It's almost like the maintext of this romantic storyline is that James and Kara should be into each other, while the subtext is that them "being into each other" is actually pretty superficial (ie - they're both attractive, both kind, they work together, might as well, *shrug*). Your mileage may vary, but I'm just not sure what the deeper connection is with that romance.

Anyway, Kara then turns into Supergirl and goes to see Cat. Yessssss. (FYI- I 100% admit my biases).

Stronger Together

The tension here is that Cat wants Supergirl to be a good person - a hero - but also understands that maybe she's experiencing a breakdown. Meanwhile, Supergirl continues to struggle with her central conflict: her powers make her duty-bound to being a hero, but she also longs for a normal life. Dark Supergirl, however, gives zero fucks about being a hero anymore. She tells Cat she quits. But,  Cat stands up to her, saying, "Now, you listen to me. I made you." And, okay, in an ideal world, SuperCat would be an item at this point.

But we're not in that world. So instead, shortly after that point, Supergirl hurls Cat over the balcony, and then saves her at the last second, to make a point that Cat's not the most powerful person in National City after all. Well, shitballs. That's that.

Meanwhile, the super-perceptive Scoobies finally figure out that something's up with Supergirl. Max Lord swoops into the DEO right in the nick of time and confesses that he was the one who made the red kryptonite. He had intended to hurt Non and wasn't anticipating Supergirl encountering it. Whoooops! He then creates an antidote. How tidy. What a relief! (Seriously, though, *shrug* I'm 90% here for the flying, Alex Danvers, and subtext).

Meanwhile, Cat is so shaken up by being thrown off a building that she goes on live TV and denounces Supergirl, calling her unstable and dangerous.

In Danvers Sisters news, Alex goes to Kara's apartment. It seems Kara has made herself a new black spandex-y Supergirl outfit. She also uses her laser vision to set her old dowdy clothes on fire (LOL).  She's then really mean to Alex, saying they aren't really sisters, and it's awful. Okay, Dark Supergirl, you had me until you made Alex cry!

Supergirl then starts going on a rampage in the city, so the DEO goes after her. There's a moment where it looks like Supergirl is going to kill Alex. So, Hank turns into J'onn in order to save her, which publicly outs him as an alien.

Alex is able to shoot Supergirl with the antidote, and so she turns back to normal. Then, instead of escaping, Hank lets himself get arrested and is taken to the bad alien jail. Blub.

Kara then tries to make amends with Alex, James, and Cat. They all sort of realize there were kernels of truth to what she said to all of them when she was Dark Supergirl. On the upside, Cat ends by giving Supergirl one of her tough love inspiring monologues (which should be an app, for all of us), saying:

"If you came here for me to tell you everything's going to be okay, I can't do that. It's not that easy. Now, I said that it's not going to be easy, but I didn't say it would be impossible. Now personally, I don't believe in failure, not if you get back up and face the music. It takes time. But, if anyone can win this city back, it's you."

*sigh*

Deep Thought of the Week: Watching this comedic SuperCat fan vid's all I got, folks. (Note, in particular, moment 1:37).

 [Note: In November 2017, CW/Supergirl Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg was suspended after allegations of sexual harassment.]