Thursday Reads: Rude, Repulsive Males Edition

Good Morning!!

Is it the pandemic? Lately there have been so many reports of bad behavior by people in public places like airplanes and restaurants. The latest shocking airline incident happened on a Frontier Airlines flight on July 31.

Frontier now says they support the flight attendants, who will be paid during the investigation. 

10 WBNS: Ohio man taped to seat on flight after allegedly groping, fighting flight attendants.

According to Conan.com, Max’s father Christopher Berry is a “computer tech” who is “affiliated with the Republican Party,” and

He was 51 years old when his son Max went viral in August 2021. Max was caught on camera being intoxicated and unruly while on a Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA to Miami, Florida, USA on July 31, 2021. Max screamed “My parents are worth more than f—–g $2 million goddamn dollars” and “My grandpa is worth more than your f—–g life.”

Conan.com also checked out Max’s Twitter page. His tweets are about as childish as you would expect.

What happens when a rude, “unruly” male with a powerful father gets into a position of power? You get Andrew Cuomo.

Here’s a very good article by Danielle Tcholakian at The Daily Beast: Andrew Cuomo Remains a Fucking Creep to the Bitter End.

This fucking guy. This empty shirt, this morally bankrupt sack of hot air, this corrupt scion of unearned entitlement and utter fucking bullshit.

I’m speaking, of course, about New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, a man who couldn’t tell the truth, or do the right thing or even just pantomime anything remotely resembling humility if his life depended on it—and indeed, for once, it seems like his political life might.

New York Attorney General Tish James’ report investigating Cuomo’s misconduct against female employees and women he encountered because of his powerful position became public Tuesday morning, 168 pages plus three appendixes cataloguing interviews with nearly 200 people, many of whom wisely preserved documentation of their experiences, knowing full well that the notoriously manipulative and threatening governor would not go gently into any sort of good night.

Some of the report’s details were known already, of course; the investigation itself was triggered by women bravely going public with their experiences, a necessity born of the toxic culture of machine politics in Albany, and New York more broadly, that has long protected Andrew Cuomo from any kind of comeuppance for his undeniable pattern of abusive, power-hungry and predatory behavior.

But there were new complaints, like that of a state trooper to whom Cuomo apparently took such a fancy, he literally changed the state’s laws to put her on his security detail despite her inexperience—or, as he told investigators, because he “was on constant alert to recruit more women, Blacks, and Asians to the state police detail.” After getting her on his security detail, the trooper had to deal with the governor commenting on her appearance, her sex drive and telling her that he was looking for a romantic partner who “can handle pain.” Some champion of diversity in the workplace.

The report is damning, horrifying and thorough. In response, the governor released a pre-recorded video, bravely fielding exactly zero questions from the press. He talked about how he’d learned to hug and kiss from his mom and dad, as though that was license to hug and kiss any staffer—or any New Yorker he came across, apparently—any time, before playing a slideshow of photos showing him kissing famous people over the years, which was apparently meant to serve as exculpatory evidence pardoning him from a wealth of allegations of groping and unwanted kissing in the workplace. He described himself as a champion of women, without really explaining why all these different women, many of them working for him, testified that he was creeping on them, making them feel small and intimidated and uncomfortable as they tried simply to do their jobs.

There is much more well worth reading at the the link.

Also be sure to check this piece by Erin Gloria Ryan:  Andrew Cuomo Is Every Horny Male ‘Mentor’ and Creepy Office ‘Dad,’ 

And what about Andrew’s younger brother Chris, who works at CNN? 

Earlier this year, CNN executives floated an idea to their star anchor Chris Cuomo. If he wanted to formally advise his brother, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, on responding to the sexual harassment accusations that had engulfed his administration, he could take a temporary leave from CNN and return to the network later.

The idea was informal and strictly optional — not a request — and intended as an acknowledgment of Mr. Cuomo’s unique position as both a prime-time network anchor and the brother of a prominent politician facing a scandal, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations.

The exchange, which has not been previously reported, underlines the conundrum for a news network whose top-rated anchor belongs to one of the country’s most powerful Democratic families — and the lengths that CNN’s president, Jeff Zucker, and his team have gone to accommodate Chris Cuomo, even as the anchor has had to apologize for participating in strategy sessions with Andrew Cuomo’s aides.

The idea for a possible leave was floated after Chris Cuomo’s involvement in those sessions was first reported in May. CNN called the anchor’s actions “inappropriate,” though Chris Cuomo faced no discipline.

Chris Cuomo has told CNN leadership that he planned to continue on his program and abide by rules preventing him from commenting on his brother’s scandal, the people said. He also promised not to discuss Andrew Cuomo’s strategic response to the scandal with any government officials besides the governor himself.

On Tuesday, hours after Ms. James’s report was released, Chris Cuomo was in the anchor chair for his 9 p.m. show, “Cuomo Prime Time.” He opened with a segment on the coronavirus, airing a clip of President Biden asking governors to help stop the spread of the Delta variant.

The clip omitted Mr. Biden’s other notable statement: calling on Governor Cuomo to resign.

Chris Cuomo should be fired.

Another rude male in a powerful position is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is refusing to help save lives in his state as the Cornavirus spreads out of control.

Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at President Joe Biden a day after Biden told the Republican governor to “get out of the way” of mask mandates.

During a stop in Panama City on Wednesday, DeSantis accused Biden of “helping facilitate” COVID-19 by not securing the border with Mexico. He said immigrants crossing the border are spreading variants of the virus.

“You have hundreds of thousands of people pouring across every month,” DeSantis said. “Not only are they letting them through, they’re farming them out all across the country, putting them on planes, putting them on buses. Do you think they’re worrying about COVID for that? Of course not.”

“Why don’t you get this border secure?” DeSantis added. “Until you do that, I don’t want to hear a blip about COVID from you.”

DeSantis’ comments came after Biden on Tuesday criticized the governor’s opposition to mask mandates.

“Look, we need leadership from everyone. If some governors aren’t willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it,” Biden said in remarks about the pandemic. “I say to these governors, please help. But if you are not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”

The Herald/Times asked the DeSantis administration for COVID-19 data on immigrants crossing the border but did not receive a response.

Of course not. This man is a murderer.

This is from The Guardian: ‘The Pied Piper leading us off a cliff’: Florida governor condemned as Covid surges.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis earned a new moniker this week as the resurgent coronavirus continued to wreak havoc on his state: the “Pied Piper of Covid-19, leading everybody off a cliff.”

The stark assessment of the Republican politician from Dan Gelber, the mayor of Miami Beach, came as Florida continued to set records for new cases and hospitalizations, saw worrying surges in both deaths and rates of positivity, and led the nation in pediatric Covid admissions.

With the highly contagious Delta variant swirling, a state comprising little more than 6% of the US population was accounting for one in five of the country’s new cases, recording 50,997 in the three days to Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Meanwhile, DeSantis, who says the spike is “seasonal” and opposes lockdowns or new restrictions, was following up his signing of an executive order banning children from having to wear masks in schools by 

dismissing the burgeoning crisis in Florida’s hospitals as “media hysteria”.

“You try to fearmonger, you try to do this stuff,” DeSantis snapped at a reporter who asked him at a press conference in Miami on Tuesday about the state setting a new high for Covid hospitalizations of 11,863.

“Our hospitals are open for business. We’re not shutting down. We’re gonna have schools open. We’re protecting every Floridian’s job in this state, we are protecting people’s small businesses. These interventions have failed time and time again throughout this pandemic,” he said, referring to mask mandates.

I haven’t gotten to the ultimate rude, misogynistic, bullying, powerful male: Donald Trump. Here are a few stories to check out on the latest news about his attempt to stage a coup after losing the election:

Philip Bump at The Washington Post: A newly released letter tells us more about Trump’s last-ditch push to steal the election.

ABC News: DOJ officials rejected colleague’s request to intervene in Georgia’s election certification: Emails.

Aaron Blake at The Washington Post: A key witness emerges in probe of Trump’s DOJ election scheme.

Raw Story: Top DOJ official had resignation letter ready to go as Trump threatened to fire his acting AG.

Just Security: Mark Meadows Timeline: The Chief of Staff and Schemes to Overturn 2020 Election.

That’s all I have for you today, but this is an open thread so let us know what you’re reading and thinking about. Have a nice Thursday!!