Software developer Eric Raymond claims he has heard from a Reliable Source that there’s a conspiracy among women in tech to cry rape whenever they get alone with a prominent man in the industry, to either destroy the man or render him “politically pliable.” Evidence? Well the source is reliable, so there you are. And because women are always willing to believe men are guilty of rape, Raymond says it’s perfectly appropriate to believe all women who make rape charges are guilty of lying. Given the attitude so many men have to rape accusations, I don’t believe for a minute that Raymond would have believed the women anyway
(Updated to add this excellent analysis)
•The Senate is considering a bill banning contract clauses that penalize customers for writing honest reviews. If the review is defamatory, the law already allows the company to take action, so the only point in the clauses is to silence disgruntled customers. As in this case, in which a fertility service is threatening to sue the couple that filed a Better Business Bureau complaint.
•Obama has also done some good work reigning in patent trolls, people who (for example) threaten to sue small businesses using some piece of technology on the grounds “We have the patent! If you use it you have to pay us!” The House has also acted against patent trolls, to make it harder for trolls to sue; similar legislation is in the Senate. The goal of course is to make it cheaper to settle out of court than actually fight the trolls. For some examples, click here.
•The Senate is investigating companies that jack up the price of medical drugs sky-high.
•Cutting taxes does not automatically boost the economy or bring in more revenues. Both Reagan and W, for instance, ended their terms with a record deficit. But Republicans keep lying about it.
•LGM has frequently discussed how upper-management heavy universities are getting, and how much money is steered to upper management. Here’s an example.
•Trump’s pitch that he’ll restore America’s greatness resonates with his supporters. A lot of them (in the article Digby links to) are upset about mobility and the economy but apparently prefer to blame the government and immigrants rather than 1 percenters like Trump. And of course, for some “greatness” refers to the days when people didn’t bring up racial problems, “when there wasn’t as much animosity toward each other, when everything wasn’t about race and people just got along.” You know, when all those non-white, non-real Americans knew their place.
•Contrary to claims made in the recent Houston fight over LGBT rights, allowing transgender individuals to use the restroom they prefer will not lead to an epidemic of restroom assault.
•In addition to cops who shoot innocent people, we have cops who rape.
