Month: June 2017

Trump’s twitter tantrum


by digby

I wrote about Trump’s stupid tweets for Salon this morning:

Has there ever been a more infantile American president than Donald Trump? I don’t think so. We’ve had profane presidents and clumsy presidents and corrupt presidents but the lack of discipline, grace and poise in the face of tragedy shown by our current leader is unique. No president in history has ever engaged in a stream of shallow, immature statements the way Trump did on Sunday morning after the latest terrorist attack in London.

He used his Twitter account to boorishly assail the mayor of London for saying that people shouldn’t be alarmed, but Mayor Sadiq Khan never said that. Moreover, even if he did, it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to say. Britain is, after all, the country that famously deployed public service announcements saying “Keep Calm and Carry On” when its major cities were being bombed nightly during the Blitz in World War II.

Trump also used the occasion to inappropriately flog his travel ban and said “we must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don’t get smart it will only get worse.” During the campaign “getting smart” was defined as torture “worse than waterboarding,” “taking out the families” of terrorist suspects, “bombing the shit out of them,” spying on mosques and beheading if necessary.

But the most fatuous of Trump’s early morning statements had to be this one:

Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That’s because they used knives and a truck!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

It’s hard to know where to start. The “gun debate” has nothing to do with terrorist attacks, per se. Yes, some terrorist attacks are carried out using guns. And when they are, people rightly point out that the attack would have been far less lethal had guns not been used. If the London Bridge attackers had used semiautomatic weapons of the kind easily obtained in the U.S., they might have killed dozens of people rather than seven. This is simply a fact.

But the argument set forth by Trump and his gun proliferation zealots when guns are used, is that the victims should have been armed themselves. They believe that people should carry loaded weapons at all times so they can fire into the crowd and try not to hit too many bystanders as they engage in a firefight with the shooters.

That was certainly Trump’s view after the Bataclan attack in Paris in 2015:

When you look at Paris — you know the toughest gun laws in the world, Paris — nobody had guns but the bad guys. Nobody had guns. Nobody. They were just shooting them one by one and then they (security forces) broke in and had a big shootout and ultimately killed the terrorists.You can say what you want, but if they had guns, if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry — it would’ve been a much, much different situation.

After the Charlie Hebdo attack he tweeted, “isn’t it interesting that the tragedy in Paris took place in one of the toughest gun control countries in the world?”

He was just a gadfly candidate then, so we had no reason to expect him to behave like a decent human being. Today he is president and his inappropriate taunting about gun control in the wake of another terrorist attack is outrageous, particularly since he was noticeably reticent even to mention the stabbing attack a few days ago by a self-described “patriot” who killed two men in Portland, Oregon. (Indeed, since his only acknowledgement of the attack came from his seldom-used official @POTUS Twitter account, it was probably sent by a staff member.)

In fairness, Trump doesn’t only blame the victims of terrorist gun violence. He blames all victims of gun violence. For instance, while he had little to say about the stabbings in Portland, two years ago he had a lot to say about the campus shooting in Roseburg, Oregon, where 10 people were killed and seven were injured. On the stump in Tennessee he read the Second Amendment aloud to his rapt audience and then said, “If you had teachers with guns you would’ve been a hell of a lot better off. I have a license to carry in New York, can you believe that? Somebody attacks me, they’re gonna be shocked.” Then he pantomimed a quick draw and added, “Can you imagine? Somebody says, ‘Oh, there’s Trump, he’s easy pickins … ‘”

Then he “drew” again. After that he led the crowd in a chant of “Death Wish,” in honor of the Charles Bronson vigilante movie by that name.

We have gun control “debates” in the wake of terrorist attacks where guns are used for the same reason we have gun control “debates” after disturbed young men go into an elementary school and kill 20 first-graders and their teachers with an assault weapon. Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords put it plainly in her response to Trump’s inane comment:

Mr. President, every day we are having a gun debate because every day 90 people in our country die from gun violence. Many of them are kids. https://t.co/Pv6z2ILKl1

— Gabrielle Giffords (@GabbyGiffords) June 4, 2017

Trump’s trolling of gun safety advocates in the wake of the London attack is particularly vacuous, in light of the fact that the U.K.’s strict gun control laws forced the terrorists to use knives and a vehicle to kill people. But armed police arrived quickly and shot the perpetrators within 10 minutes of the event. One would think that the “law and order” president would be impressed by that. But when it comes to guns, Trump is pro-criminal and vigilante all the way.

And yes, terrorists use bombs too. In fact, it’s their favorite method of mass killing all over the world. If a suicide bomber decides to blow himself up in your vicinity, a loaded gun isn’t going to help you.

For perspective, here are some statistics to keep in mind as our President tries to gin up hysteria about terrorist attacks. These numbers are from the gun safety advocacy group Everytown:

• On an average day 93 Americans are killed with guns.
• On average there are 12,000 gun homicides a year in the U.S.
• For every one person killed with guns, two more are injured.
• In an average month 50 women are shot to death by their intimate partners.
• America’s gun homicide rate is more than 25 times the rate of other countries.

The problem of terrorism is real and it’s, well … terrifying. Considering the death toll we face every day in America, the question is why so many people fail to see that the epidemic of gun violence in America is even more pressing.

Patriot-plus
By Tom Sullivan

Photo by Beth Nakamura via Twitter.

The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence. – from A Clockwork Orange

On the heels of the London Bridge attacks Saturday night came the “free speech” rally in Portland Sunday afternoon organized by Joey Gibson, 33, of Patriot Prayer. The rally comes two weeks after a white supremacist stabbed three men on a light rail train when they intervened in his tirade against a young black woman and another woman wearing a hijab. Two of the men died.

As tragic as the recent murders were, writes Keegan Staphan in the Washington Post, “they should shock no one. In a state that sought to exclude black people entirely, and that openly discriminated as long as the Jim Crow South, no one should be surprised that violent, white-supremacist ideologies still flourish.”

The suspect, Jeremy Joseph Christian, shouted at his arraignment, “Get out if you don’t like free speech!” and “You call it terrorism; I call it patriotism. You hear me? Die.”

Heather “Digby” Parton commented, “Evidently the stabbing of three men who were standing up against a right wing fanatic is seen as a threat to right wing fanatics.” Thus the need to hold a rally to defend white men’s right to scream anti-black and anti-Muslim slurs.

Gibson cautioned on his Facebook page that “NAZI, KKK, IDENTITY europa, or ANY OTHER White Nationalists” would not be allowed at his rally held “under the banner of American nationalism.” His post drew pushback from supporters for “attacking people in the Alt right.” Gibson nonetheless invited Kyle “Based Stick Man” Chapman to speak, as well as other alt-right celebrities:

Baked Alaska
Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet, 29, is proof that it’s possible to be too offensive even to remain in certain circles of the “alt-right”.

His disinvitation last December from the movement’s “deploraball” celebrating Trump’s inauguration was a sure sign that the movement had split. His antisemitic remarks and Nazi salutes brought too much bad PR for the movement’s “alt-light” faction, and they cut him loose. He now claims he “misspoke” when he sent out repeated antisemitic tweets, and even disavows the “alt-right” label

However, his presence at the rally indicates that organizers have no serious objection to public antisemitism.

Based Stick Man
Kyle “Based Stick Man” Chapman, 41, became an “alt-right” icon after he attacked anti-fascists at a Berkeley protest in March. He was armed with a gas mask, a shield made from a table top, and a stick. Not long after the Richard Spencer filmed being punched during a live interview, the “alt-right” had found their own meme-worthy hero. He says his political views are those of an average Trump supporter, but he has been elevated within the movement because of acts of public violence. That’s a sign of its growing militancy.

Based Spartan
Pat “Based Trojan” Washington appeared at a rally in Berkeley on 15 April. His get-up – bare-chested and wearing a Trojan helmet – made for some dramatic photos, which were more than enough to tickle the “alt-right’s” Larp-y sensibilities.

Video he has made since suggest that he may not be the most cunning adversary that the left has encountered. Watch a few minutes of this one and you’ll see that he struggles to hold up his end of a basic conversation.

The Oregonian’s Eder Campuzano provided live–streams of the event and some of the counter-protests. I claim no intimate knowledge of this culture, but there were an awful lot of helmets at the free speech rally: football helmets, baseball helmets, army and aviator helmets, hard hats, and one replica Trojan helmet. Plus fatigues and flak jackets. As Jeremy Joseph Christian’s shouting suggests, free speech is a rough business in this crowd.

Oh, and lots and lots of Trump 2016 gear.

The Merced Sun-Star reports that police arrested 14 people confiscated some knives, bricks, sticks and improvised weapons. A couple of those arrests at Terry Schrunk Plaza were captured on video by Campuzano.

There was a pro-labor rally reported outside a nearby federal building, “antifa” activists at nearby Chapman Square, and counter-protesters from Portland United Against Hate at city hall, just across the street from the Patriot Prayer event. To Gibson’s credit, his rally-goers appeared more peaceful than their counterparts. Police in riot gear had to push the black-clad and masked “antifa” activists (anti-fascist) from the park after reports they were hurling objects at police. Campuzano estimated there were four to five times more counter-protesters than attended Gibson’s rally.

The Guardian’s reports:

Another focus of anger was Brian Fife, an “alt-right” activist who walked up to Chapman Square in an attempt to speak. He was surrounded and drowned out with air horns. Earlier, on the grass at Schrunk Plaza, Fife, who said he ran a small business in Salem, Oregon, said Jeremy Christian “did everything right up until the point he started killing people”.

“I do not support killing people,” he said, “I don’t think anyone does. But calling out the changing elements of our culture, I think that’s something I wish more of us would do.” (emphasis mine)

While one speaker claimed the assembled group represented all of America, it was a pretty white crowd except perhaps for Marco Gutierrez, wearing a red USA hat and a Trump tee shirt. Gutierrez made headlines during the election campaign as founder of Latinos for Trump. He warned that without Donald Trump in the White House to address Mexican immigration, “you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner.”

To his credit, Gibson urged his supporters to to be peaceful, but in a tone that belied that message. His voice and manner was that of a professional wrestler taunting a packed arena. In fact, the rally drew only a couple of hundred.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“I am here for freedom, and I am here for God,” said Gibson, who lives across the state line in Washington. He said his goal was to show conservatives that there was “hope to take back these states.”

“To accept the West Coast is blue is to accept defeat,” he said.

Some of those who assembled in and around a federal plaza for the rally wore clothing or carried posters with racist and militia-related insignia. They included a pair of men holding signs saying, “Diversity is a code word for white genocide.” Rally organizers tried to persuade them to leave.

Willamette Weekly came in for criticism for spreading “fake news.” The phrase may not have been uttered from the stage, but it’s tattooed across Baked Alaska’s knuckles. In March, Willamette Weekly carried news from Pro Publica and BuzzFeed that Oregon leads the nation in reports of hate crimes, many no more serious than graffiti, but disturbing nonetheless. Nazi stickers appeared on a federal courthouse wall during a protest of Trump’s proposed travel ban; a large swastika drawn in the snow of a house with a mezuzah on its doorpost; white supremacy flyers at a school board meeting in Beaverton; “Anne Frank’s oven” on a utility box near an Ashland synagogue.

Police kept the groups separated until the rally ended. As Gibson and Chapman returned to their cars, yellow-shirted Oath Keepers and other private “security” members urged them to keep moving and stay on the sidewalks as counter-protesters followed behind, some cursing and chanting “Go Home, Nazi scum!”

Tensions ran high. One counter-protester from Rose City Antifa told the Guardian, “These guys are mostly not interested in free speech, they’re interested in fighting us. If they come over here, we’re going to respond in self-defense, but our plan is not to take that path. Our main goal is the defense of the community, and to reveal their actions for what they are: fascist street violence.” Uh-huh.

These affairs have a predictable script. Fringe right and fringe left talk about peace but come dressed like extras from a Mad Max film. They are essentially gang turf battles with few actual combatants. It is male display. Each side claims the moral high ground mostly because high ground is defensible.

But groups become mobs too easily. The inflamed, unbalanced, and armed too easily behave like cornered animals. When challenged they lash out as is alleged Jeremy Christian did. It may seem looney that these helmeted he-men with pretensions of chivalry are so easily threatened by changing demographics, by black teenage girls, and by women in hijabs, but here we are. The lynchings of Jim Crow have not yet faded into history. All the role playing and male display set the stage for the real thing. Two Samaritans died in Portland defending the right of two young women to be left alone. Ironically, that is just what white nationalists want for themselves in a country that is a melting pot.

Make those birds stop laughing at me

by digby

Paul Waldman’s got Trump’s number:

Send President Trump abroad to rub shoulders with a bunch of foreigners, and chances are somewhere around 100 percent that he’ll come back thinking about whether anyone is laughing at us. “Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News,” the president tweeted on Tuesday morning.

If you’ve been paying any attention at all over the last couple of years, you know this is a topic he returns to again and again. Search Trump’s Twitter feed and you’ll find that who’s laughing at whom is an obsession for him, with the United States usually the target of the laughter. “The world is laughing at us.” China is “laughing at USA!” Iran is “laughing at Kerry & Obama!” “ISIS & all others laughing!” “Mexican leadership has been laughing at us for many years.” “Everybody is laughing at Jeb Bush.” “Putin is laughing at Obama.” “OPEC is laughing at how stupid we are.” “Dopey, nobody is laughing at me!” I could go on (and on, and on), but I’ll spare you.

This is nothing new for Trump; he’s been talking about us being laughed at for his entire career in public life. In his first major foray into politics in 1987, he spent nearly $100,000 to buy full-page ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, lamenting the fact that America helped defend countries like Japan without getting enough in return (sound familiar?). The last line of the ad was, “Let’s not let our great country be laughed at anymore.”

It is Trump’s gift to future biographers that he makes so little attempt to hide his psychological issues, but the desire to avoid being laughed at truly stands out. Perhaps there was some childhood trauma that led to this obsession, a schoolyard incident in which a bully pulled down Donny’s short pants to the guffaws of the other tots (particularly the girls!). It would be only fitting if Trump, the world’s foremost avatar of anxious masculinity, lived in terror of women’s laughter, but he seems concerned with everyone’s laughter, whether it comes from people or governments. As much as he cares about winning and getting the better of someone, defeat is marked by the ultimate humiliation of being laughed at.

Yet ironically, no president in history has ever been laughed at as much as Trump. Long before he ran for the White House he was considered a cretinous buffoon, one of the world’s least serious people trying to convince everyone how serious he is. Even Trump’s cartoonish hair, which looks like what you’d get if you put three separate comb-overs into the Large Hadron Collider and smashed them together at the speed of light, seems to be in large part an effort to avoid being laughed at for being bald.

More at the link.

He is the most unself-aware person on the planet. But then he’s a psychological freak show in so many ways.

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Just cuz

by digby

H/T C&L

Via National Memo:

When Al Franken first ran for the Senate — and until his overwhelming reelection victory in November 2014 — the famed comic, actor, and writer tried to avoid what came most naturally, at least in public. Being funny seemed incompatible with being the smart, sober, diligent Senator that his home state deserved. So Franken suppressed his urge to make people laugh, at least in public (and except on a few occasions when the antics of his Senate colleagues or a committee witness provoked that innate snark).
Today Franken releases a new book, Giant of the Senate, whose very title indicates that he no longer feels quite so comedically constrained. It’s funny as hell — and includes a full chapter on that most unpopular of senators, up for reelection next year, the appalling Ted Cruz. In this video from All In With Chris Hayes, Franken tells the story of a very special personalized joke he wrote just for the Texas Republican.

Welcome back Al.

The White House hiring process

by digby

The report says three associates of three contenders for the position have participated in 10 to 20-minute conversations with Trump, Vice President Pence, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as well as longer initial interview with the Justice Department.

One source said there is no “clear framework or logic for who was interviewed and why,” while another described the process as “chaotic.”

According to those sources, conversations were reportedly not completely substantive and Trump talked a lot about himself.

That’s a shocker. He’s usually so humble and self-effacing.

I think we can see why most people have said no. The question we have to ask ourselves is “what kind of person would say yes?”

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Mr Popular

by digby

This was before pulling out of the Paris Accords fully hit.

For all I know he’ll get a bump. But I doubt it.

Update: It’s going in the wrong direction:

Donald Trump: Prophet
by Tom Sullivan

The man is a seer. In case you missed it:

“We don’t want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore, and they won’t be.”

For some international perspective on the Paris Accord, this is from Australia's @theage. pic.twitter.com/lAnaxWKT1T— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 2, 2017

Paul Waldman:

It is Trump’s gift to future biographers that he makes so little attempt to hide his psychological issues, but the desire to avoid being laughed at truly stands out. Perhaps there was some childhood trauma that led to this obsession, a schoolyard incident in which a bully pulled down Donny’s short pants to the guffaws of the other tots (particularly the girls!). It would be only fitting if Trump, the world’s foremost avatar of anxious masculinity, lived in terror of women’s laughter, but he seems concerned with everyone’s laughter, whether it comes from people or governments. As much as he cares about winning and getting the better of someone, defeat is marked by the ultimate humiliation of being laughed at.

Congratulations, Donald. Can we get a prediction on what James Comey will reveal on Thursday?

Rampage in London
by Tom Sullivan

Photo by The Independent via Twitter.

Seven people have been killed and 48 sent to the hospital, some injured critically, in what British Prime Minister Theresa May described as a terrorist incident near London Bridge Saturday night. The attack began with a rented white van careening into pedestrians on the bridge, similar to the attack at London’s Westminster Palace in March. It was the second terrorist attack in two weeks.

The attacks began just after 10 p.m. BST Saturday night (5 p.m. EDT).

Three suspects were shot dead by police within 8 minutes of the first reports. The knife-wielding men wore hoax explosive vests, the Independent reports:

Police said the suspects then made their way to Borough Market and started attacking people with people with knives. There were reports of Londoners out for a Saturday night, fending off the attackers with chairs and glasses.

[…]

A taxi driver, speaking the BBC, described the moment when it became clear that terrorists were attacking the city.

“A van came from London Bridge itself, went between the traffic light system and rammed it towards the steps,” he said.

“It knocked loads of people down. Then three men got out with long blades, 12 inches long and went randomly along Borough High Street, stabbing people at random.”

In a statement this morning outside 10 Downing Street, May praised the “great courage and great speed” with which police and emergency workers responded. The Guardian reports:

Theresa May has warned there has been “far too much tolerance of extremism” in the UK and promised to step up the fight against Islamist terrorism in the wake of the London Bridge attack, saying “enough is enough”.

The prime minister struck a sombre and serious tone as she spoke outside No 10 on Sunday morning after chairing a meeting of the Cobra committee following the attack in the centre of the capital that left seven dead.

She said internet companies must not allow extremism a place to exist, but that there was also a need to tackle “safe spaces in real world”, which would require “difficult” conversations.

May also suggested the idea of increased prison terms for terrorism offences, even relatively minor ones.

But May specifically calling out social media firms for criticism suggested authorities may have information that the attackers were homegrown terrorists. (One eyewitness reported one attacker spoke in a British accent.)

The president of the United States, being a terrorism authority, last night tweeted a renewed call for what he explicitly now calls a “Travel Ban.” This morning he responded as presidentially as we’ve come to expect:

We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

And taking a shot at London’s mayor:

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

Minutes ago, Reuters reported that London Metropolitan police have arrested 12 people today in Barking outside London in connection with at least one of the attackers. Neighbors report that one of the men police shot last night lived in the apartment block.

Saturday Night at the Movies

SIFF 2017: Wrap party!

By Dennis Hartley

The Seattle International Film Festival is now entering its final week. With 400 films showing over 25 days, I’ve been getting to as many as possible, but I believe I’ve now bagged my limit! Hopefully, some of these will be coming soon to a theater near you…

Boundaries– Have you ever heard of the tiny island-nation of Besco, which is located “50 km off the coast of Labrador”? Me neither. I sheepishly asked Mr. Google, and found out that it is from the mind of writer-director Chloe Robichaud (next thing you’ll tell me is that movies are totally make-believe). I admit, she really had me going for 98 minutes (oh, those Quebecois film makers!). The film is a feminist parable about an emergency summit called for by the newly-elected female president of “Besco” to negotiate possible foreign investment in the island’s iron ore. At its best, it reminded me of Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero; at its weakest, it’s uneven and ultimately too “inside” for anyone unfamiliar with Canadian politics. So, I am going to go with a guarded recommendation on this one.

Rating: **½ (Plays June 4)

Ears – This entry from Italian writer-director Alessandro Aronadio is a deadpan dramedy in the Jim Jarmusch vein. Filmed in stark B&W, it follows the travails of a sad sack protagonist who awakens in his girlfriend’s apartment to a ringing in his ears and a cryptic, scribbled note on the fridge. This kick-starts an increasingly bizarre and surreal day in the life. At times, it recalls Richard Linklater’s Waking Life, but unfortunately, it’s not as compelling. A few good chuckles here and there…but this film goes nowhere, fast.

Rating: ** (Plays June 4 & June 6)

God of War – Hong Kong action maestro Gordon Chan’s war epic stars Sammo Hung as a general with an under-trained “people’s army” desperately trying to get the upper hand on a sizable coterie of seasoned Japanese pirates who have been wreaking havoc up and down the coast. Chan has his Japanese cast members speak in-language; it’s unique for a Chinese film, and enhances the verisimilitude. Sections of the storyline get murky and confusing, but colorful, rousing (and frequent) battle scenes make up for occasional lulls.

Rating: *** (SIFF’s North American Premiere was May 26; now in theaters)

Infinity Baby – Merely posing as a “near-future” dystopia tale, Austin-based director Bob Byington’s film is really an examination of modern romance. In other words, it’s only “sci-fi” in the sense that Woody Allen’s Sleeper was “sci-fi” (if you catch my drift). A douchey hipster (Kieran Culkin) with a fear of commitment works for a company that holds a patent on a genetic modification that creates “infinity babies”…human infants forever frozen at 3 months old who never cry and require only weekly feedings and diaper changes (which makes it a fantasy for a lot of first-time parents, I’m guessing?). Onur Tukel’s fitful screenplay works best whenever it steers away from the sci-fi elements and focuses instead on wry observation and passive-aggressive verbal jousting.

Rating: **½ (Plays June 4)

Revolting Rhymes – Based on Roald Dahl’s imaginatively reinvented mashups of classic fairy tales, this film combines two 35-minute BBC 1 shorts into a feature-length. German co-directors Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer obviously had a good time making this animated network narrative that cleverly cross-pollinates Little Red Riding Hood with Snow White and Cinderella with Jack and the Beanstalk. None other than the Big Bad Wolf is on hand to play the Cryptkeeper who ties the threads together. Great voice work by Dominic West, Rob Brydon, Gemma Chan, and others. BTW, it is not for young kids!

Rating: *** (Plays June 10)

This is Our Land – This French film might be a little too close for comfort…while ostensibly based on the rise of far-right populist candidate Marine Le Pen, it could just as well be the cautionary tale America desperately needed about, oh, two years ago. Emilie Dequenne is quite good as a single-mom homecare nurse with no previous political experience who gets sweet-talked by a local right-wing power-broker into running for mayor on a populist ticket. Her campaign is compromised once she becomes romantically re-involved with her old high-school boyfriend, who claims to have put his dubious past involving a xenophobic extremist group behind him. Belgian director Lucas Belvaux’s film (reminiscent of Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate) is a sobering reminder that that old axiom about “the road to hell” being “paved with good intentions” is truer than ever.

Rating: *** (Plays June 6 & June 11)

Zoology – This oddity from Russian writer-director Ivan Tverdosky answers the question: What would happen if David Cronenberg directed a film with a script by Lena Dunham? A middle-aged, socially phobic woman who lives with her mother and works in a zoo administration office, appears to be at her happiest when she’s hanging out with the animals who are housed there. That’s because her supervisor and co-workers cruelly belittle her, on a daily basis. But when a doctor’s exam reveals a tail growing from the base of her spine, she is overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of empowerment and begins to gain confidence, perhaps even a sense of defiance about her “otherness”. This does not go unnoticed by a strapping young x-ray tech, who becomes hopelessly smitten as this ugly duckling turns into a beautiful swan…a beautiful swan with a freakishly long tensile tail.

Rating: ** (Plays June 6 & June 10)

Check out my full SIFF coverage at Den of Cinema
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–Dennis Hartley

QOTD: A Trump adviser