Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire: A Third Woman Comes Forward

In the latest news regarding the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, a third woman has come forward.

Julie Swetnick stated that when Judge Kavanaugh was in high school, he and several others boys purposefully spiked the drinks of girls attending local parties to ensure that they would be sexually compliant.

With the previous two accusers, one could have argued that this was the act of an underage boy who drank too much and acted stupidly because he drank too much.

The argument is out the window, especially with the new turn of events.

If the accusations are true and Judge Kavanaugh acted maliciously with the intent of gang rape, he should not be confirmed. If the Republicans still push Judge Kavanaugh through, in spite of the new allegations, then they had better pray that they can keep their majority come November. There are too many women in this country who have been raped or sexually assaulted who have the power to vote and have the power to send a men to those in Washington who think that they hold the cards.

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

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New Amsterdam Review

Anyone who has ever been in a management position can attest that a good part of their daily workload includes putting out figurative fires.

In the new NBC show, New Amsterdam, Dr. Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) is the new medical director of the fictional New Amsterdam hospital in New York City. New Amsterdam hospital is one of the oldest public hospitals in the country. He believes that treatment of patients comes before billing, which might not sit well with upper management. While he is juggling his new job, Max is dealing with his own health issues and the upcoming birth of his first child.

I really enjoyed the first episode. The writing, acting and pacing of the episode was just right. The show, for me, at least also highlighted that the medical industry has partially lost its way.  Patients come second, billing comes first.

I recommend it.

New Amsterdam airs 10pm on Tuesday night on NBC.

The Governess Game: Girl Meets Duke Book Review

Sometimes, when we are desperate, we take a chance that we would not have taken if we were not desperate.

Tessa Dare’s new novel, The Governess Game: Girl Meets Duke, was published this year.

Alexandra Mountbatten is desperate. She needs an income, fast. Enter Chase Reynaud, the heir to a dukedom who is saddled with the care of two rebellious young girls. Chase’s reputation in society is less than stellar, especially when it comes to his romantic life.

He offers her a job as a governess, hoping that she will have the magic touch.

It’s nearly love at first sight for Alexandra, but she has to keep her emotions in check as she tries to deny her attraction to Chase.

From Chase’s perspective, his love life has been strictly physical. Then Alexandra comes into his life. She tries to reform him, but he responds by teaching her the art of love. He thinks that trying to deny the attraction on his end will be just as easy. But Alexandra is one tough cookie and Chase will discover that pushing her away will not be so easy.

I’m not usually a fan of this genre, but Tessa Dare is an excellent writer. Her characters are alive, human, flawed and kept me asking if Chase and Alexandra would have their happy ending.  I especially appreciated that Alexandra had a brain, a will of iron and had interests beyond marriage.

I recommend it.

 

Thoughts On The 20th Season Of Law & Order: SVU

On September 20th, 1999, a new crime drama was added to the NBC lineup. It’s name was Law & Order SVU.

It was an offshoot of Law & Order. But instead of focusing on crime in general, the focus of the show are victims of sexual crimes.

On Thursday, SVU will start off its 20th season, making it the longest running drama in television history.

I’ve been a fan of SVU from nearly the beginning of the run of the show. Most shows, if they are lucky, run out of steam perhaps five or six years after their premiere. The fact that SVU is still going strong 19 years later says something. Not only is the writing and acting absolutely still fantastic after all of these years, but it still speaks to audiences. The show has broken barriers, created conversations and allowed us as a culture to talk about topics that must be discussed, but are often avoided.

After all of these years, nothing gives me a high like the opening theme song.

Here is the 20th season and many more seasons to come.

The new season of Law & Order: SVU premieres this Thursday, September 27th and 9PM. 

Bill Cosby Has Been Found Guilty

For multiple generations of television viewers, Bill Cosby is like an old friend. Whether you watched The Cosby Show, eat Jello because of him or adored the Fat Albert cartoon, there is no doubt that he is a giant of American culture.

As of today, he is now a convicted felon and will potentially spend the next three to ten years in jail after drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.

This is a victory not just for the women who were brave enough to speak up against Dr. Cosby. This is a victory for all women who have been raped, sexually assaulted or spoken to in an unwanted sexual manner by a male. If you do this, you will be punished in one form or another. No one is above the law and neither money or fame can hide the truth forever.

While the guilty verdict cannot take away what Dr. Cosby did to these women, at least they have peace of mind that he will never do this again.

Manifest Review

The hope is that when we go on vacation, getting to and from our destination will be painless. But like many things, hope often springs eternal

In the new television series, Manifest, the Stone family are an average American family on their way home from a Caribbean vacation. While waiting to board their flight, the airport staff announce that the flight is overbooked and asks if some passengers would be willing to change their flight.

Ben (Josh Dallas), his son Cal (Josh Messina) and his sister Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) agree to go on the later flight. Ben’s wife, Grace (Athena (Karkanis), their daughter Olive (Luna Blaise) return home on the scheduled flight with his parents. On the rescheduled flight, that carries Ben, Cal and Michaela, there is some unexpected turbulence.  When the plane lands, the passengers discover that their flight has been missing for five and half years and they have been presumed to be dead. What starts out as a simple question as to what happened to the passengers and why opens the door to a mystery that no one can solve.

I really liked this show. It almost reminds me of Lost in terms of an ordinary even that leads to extraordinary questions. It was well written, well acted and I am looking forward to the next episode.

I recommend it.

Manifest airs at 10pm Monday night on NBC. 

New Randy Rainbow Video-KAVANAUGH! – Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Satire is often the only way to release stress and anxiety.

Speaking of satire, Randy Rainbow has released his new video.

Entitled “KAVANAUGH! – Randy Rainbow Song Parody”, the song is a parody of the song Camelot from the musical of the same name.

The latest news in regards to Judge Kavanaugh is that a second accuser has come forward. Deborah Ramirez has stated that he exposed himself to her at a party when they were in college.

Granted, one could again say that at the time, Judge Kavanaugh was young, drunk and stupid. We all do stupid sh*t when we are young and drunk. However, this is the second woman to come forward. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if more women came out of the wood work, accusing the Judge of similar acts.

The Judge has two young daughters. I wonder what he and the other male Senator who are trying to push his confirmation through would say if their teenage daughters came to them and admitted that they were sexually assaulted by an underage male classmate who was clearly very far into his drink. If I was a betting woman, I would say that they would react differently than how they are reacting now.

The Children Act Book Review

Sometimes, the simplest interaction can change our lives in ways that are completely unexpected.

In the 2014 Ian McEwan novel, The Children Act, Fiona Maye is a family court judge who has not one, but two major conflicts in her life.

At home, her long time marriage to her American husband Jack is on thin ice mostly due to Fiona working constantly. At work, the newest case on Fiona’s docket is the case of Adam Henry. Adam is a 17-year-old boy who is only a few short months away from his 18th birthday. He is also suffering from Leukemia. Because he is a Jehovah’s Witness, his religion prevents him from receiving a life saving blood transfusion.

The hospital takes Adam’s parents to court to force them to accept a blood transfusion to save their son’s life. It is up to Fiona to determine what is the best course of action. She visits Adam in the hospital to help her make her decision.  What neither Adam or Fiona know is that this brief encounter will change both of their lives.

I saw the movie last weekend, so then, I could only judge the narrative and the characters based on the film. Now that I have read the book, I still have the same feeling. I was left with the same questions that I still don’t have an answer to.

I recommend it.

Reasons Why Christine Blasey Ford Should Be Believed

Throughout much of human history, women have been second class. Seen only as submissive help meets to the men in their lives, they had no rights and were often viewed as property. Part of being viewed as property or second class was being forced into an unwanted sexual act that very often left the woman in an emotionally and physically traumatized state.

Thankfully, things are starting to change. One of the women who is helping with this change is Christine Blasey Ford, a high school acquaintance of Judge Brett Kavanaugh who accused him of forcing himself on her when they were teenagers.

Below are the reasons why Dr. Ford should be believed:

1. Her testimony will have a way in determining if Judge Kavanaugh is ultimately confirmed to join SCOTUS and possibly change the course of American history for the better.
2. Her testimony will undo the damage that was done to Anita Hill testified about her own sexual assault experience at the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing 27 years ago.
3. Her testimony will prove once and for all that the time doesn’t matter. Those who force themselves sexually on another person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of whether it is 36 hours or 36 years since the attack.
4. It will encourage past and future victims of rape, sexual violence and sexual assault to come forward and be public in their accusations.
5. It will make those who are thinking of committing such acts think twice, knowing the repercussions of this kind of offense.

As of today, Dr. Ford is scheduled to testify on Thursday. Until then, we can only wait and maybe speculate as to what Dr. Ford may or may not say.

I believe her.

 

Fahrenheit 11/9 Movie Review

The ideal of the American democracy has been alive and well for 242 years. The question is, does the reality match the ideal?

Filmmaker Michael Moore asks this question in the new documentary, Fahrenheit 11/9. The film starts off recounting the 2016 Presidential election and takes a hard-hitting look at the current state of American politics. Referencing Nazi Germany, the water crisis in Flint and the school shooting at Parkland earlier this year, Mr. Moore shows how broken the system truly is.

Above all, Mr. Moore points out two important facts that hover throughout the narrative of the film. The first is that despite the spotlight being on you know who, he does solely place the blame on the Republicans. Democrats also have used the political system for their own needs as opposed to the needs of the voting public.

The second (and more important point) that Mr. Moore makes is to vote. Far too many Americans did not vote for either candidate during the 2016 Presidential Election, feeling put off, angry or frustrated. We can only ask in hindsight what the results of the election might have been if every American had voted in November of 2016.

The overall message that I got from the film is clear: we can fix this broken system. We can live up to the Democratic ideals put forth by our Founding Fathers. But that requires stepping up the political plate and there are far too many in this country who are not doing that.

I absolutely recommend it.

Fahrenheit 11/9 is presently in theaters.