Leavitt: Look, they asked for files, we released a few files, but you're not allowed to read anything that's in them, okay? So that's why they're all redacted.
I was not abused by powerful men. I didn’t skate free from consequences. I don’t think many women can say they haven’t been abused in some way. But when I’m reading about Epstein and the sex trafficking ring he built - and come on, we ALL know that his friends saw very young girls in his orbit and circulating at parties he hosted - they knew. They just didn’t see it as wrong. This is the world we have always lived in. The uber wealthy can influence people, pay others to continue looking away, and hire a team of attorneys when they (rarely) face consequences.
I keep thinking about my mom. She wasn’t underage when she met my biological father, but she was not fully formed, either. She was 19. He was in his mid-40s and already married with a whole family. She didn’t know it wasn’t love. She was his plaything - and when she got pregnant with me, he skated away. I don’t know the whole story; I was born in 1967 and until I was in my late 30s the story I heard was that they were married in Mexico and he divorced her when he found out she was pregnant. She took a job babysitting for another man who was 47 and had 5 kids of his own that he had custody of. He married her when I was 3 months old and became my father. That wasn’t a happy marriage for her either - who could have guessed, with the profound age difference and power differential. I know that she was desperate to give me a name. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s when she was in her early 60s and lost her filter. I only learned that she wasn’t married to my biological father because it tumbled out in one of her moments of lucidity. I felt so sad for her. I cannot imagine why she thought I would have judged her for having an affair (and I don’t know if she even knew he was married). My son is 19 now. I think about her sometimes when I’m dealing with one of his (thankfully rare) young adult meltdowns of immaturity.
I am not comparing her sad life to Epstein’s teen victims. Just the byproduct of entitled men who treat young women like toys to be played with and discarded when they get bored.
And I think of what was taken from me, not offered. The trauma that caused, which resonates even today, although thankfully muted with the passage of time. And then I read stories from his very young victims, and I have to look away. I haven’t fully read through any of them. I was 14 when I was victimized for the first time. It wasn’t a powerful man, it was a boy 3 years older than me, but he robbed me of trust and introduced me to shame. My dad said, “boys will be boys”. Yeah. He married a woman barely out of her teens when he was nearly 50. I don’t even have to imagine the damage he did when he was young. He told those ribald tales to my brothers, ignoring his daughters’ presence, and they all shared hearty laughs about it.
The women who ran the empire for Epstein - booked the travel, recruited the girls, scheduled the “massages” - deserve a special place in hell. They KNOW how vulnerable we can be, most especially when we are young. And the middle-aged woman at the DOJ, shielding them now - I fervently hope to see her face trials for her many crimes, when this regime is taken down.
"I was 14 when I was victimized for the first time."
`
I was chatting with a woman friend and asked, "How old were you the first time you had consenting sex?"
Years later, it sank in on me that I just assumed as a given that we had both had non-consenting sex as teenagers, and she answered as if it were a normal question.
I was vague with details out of caution and because the details seemed less relevant than the overall messaging. And I am realizing, perhaps I still try to minimize it. It was my stepbrother - my dad’s son from his prior marriage. Thing is, I grew up with him. My dad was my DAD in my mind, and I didn’t want to think anything else. I thought of him as my brother, full stop. And NO consent was involved on my part. I was in fact asleep in my own bed, in my own home, and woke up to him assaulting me. The worse thing was my dad’s casual dismissal of it. Boys, being horny around developing girls. He wasn’t raping me, he scoffed, it was just some unwanted touching. Unsaid, but very much present: he’s not your real brother. I took that to also mean, I’m not your real father. I’m not interested in protecting you. That took a long time to climb out from under. I loved my dad, and after that experience, I hated that I loved him. I wanted to hate him. My mom was not going to allow him to stay in our home, there was just no fucking way. I know she saw how afraid I was. My dad’s older son still lived with us, and showed no proclivity, and I was still afraid to fall asleep under the same roof with him in the house. I just keep hearing my dad say “boys will be boys” and thinking, how do I know that they aren’t all like this?
It was so long ago. It feels like another lifetime. I don’t even recognize who I was then. The one thing I managed to do for myself, more than getting a college education and developing skills that meant I could always take care of myself … I chose a man who was the absolute opposite of my father in every way. A good man who loves me, even the broken parts. I escaped my mother’s fate. I don’t think it is a coincidence that she was drawn to older men. I think she was looking for what she didn’t have in her own sad childhood. I think a lot of us never manage to escape the trauma of what was done to us. I didn’t escape it, either - not fully, but I didn’t replicate it. And I didn’t pass it along to my own child. That’s a happy thing to hold on to, for whatever time I have left ☺️ I hope that we are able to pass something else along to the next generation - something more hopeful than what we are all living with right now. I am willing to fight for that.
Ta, Marcie. I read the reports in Miami Herald, and was horrified and sickened, but not as sickened as I am by my fellow Americans choosing him for a second term. We the People say:
we always knew they were gonna fuck this up in the most incompetent, obvious and partisan way possible - the party whose base was deliberately cultivated to be massively pig headed, mean and stupid were always gonna misunderstand that their fear of their own base is what is leading them to ruination (and hopefully despair, angst and ingrown toenails) (what? those mother fuckers hurt!)
Yeah, see the thing is if it turns out that my once academic crush Noem Chomsky was implicated in something punishable (other than having poor taste and judgement) I’d want him punished.
Interestingly, fell out of love for Noam around the time he stated carrying water for Putin’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine. Now I know he was hanging with Steve fucking Bannon and an (alledged) producer of Russian Kompromat it makes more sense.
Same with Bill Clinton although I never much cared for him. As a Brit, finding fucking Peter Mandelson was like discovering the Sun rising in the East, he’s a fly attracted to sleaze, and I’d be more than willing for him to finally face judgement.
I’d go so far as to say if Zohran Mamdani was in the files I’d want him outed, shamed and punished.
Zohran Mamdani is not old enough to be a client in the files, and his protective mother would have kept him from being trafficked. And yes, if he were in there, I'd want to see him go down for it.
A coverup of a coverup that’s been covered up for more than 2 decades. I couldn’t care less if it’s a Democrat, a Repiblican or a Martian. If there is proof of wrong doing, prosecute.
That gal in the "Even MAGA" Tik-Tok is the one that did some good reporting on the Chrarleston Nazis, she even embedded with them, Elle Reeves with Vice News at the time.
thats because he knows that while he hung out with the wrong person, he didn't commit an actual crime (cos Hillary might overlook a bj, that's their bidness i aint in it, but not child rape)
A victim says, "This powerful person raped me," arrest that person, put them into the legal system, and then treat them like they don't have any money.
Mango will pardon her before she gets damaged
OT, but I've always felt like "Twilight Zone" would be a great soundtrack for a cyberpunk/Shadowrun game.
It's just 150 pages of black construction paper, isn't it?
Court: Release the files.
Bondi: No.
Leavitt: We are complying with the court.
Leavitt: Look, they asked for files, we released a few files, but you're not allowed to read anything that's in them, okay? So that's why they're all redacted.
I was not abused by powerful men. I didn’t skate free from consequences. I don’t think many women can say they haven’t been abused in some way. But when I’m reading about Epstein and the sex trafficking ring he built - and come on, we ALL know that his friends saw very young girls in his orbit and circulating at parties he hosted - they knew. They just didn’t see it as wrong. This is the world we have always lived in. The uber wealthy can influence people, pay others to continue looking away, and hire a team of attorneys when they (rarely) face consequences.
I keep thinking about my mom. She wasn’t underage when she met my biological father, but she was not fully formed, either. She was 19. He was in his mid-40s and already married with a whole family. She didn’t know it wasn’t love. She was his plaything - and when she got pregnant with me, he skated away. I don’t know the whole story; I was born in 1967 and until I was in my late 30s the story I heard was that they were married in Mexico and he divorced her when he found out she was pregnant. She took a job babysitting for another man who was 47 and had 5 kids of his own that he had custody of. He married her when I was 3 months old and became my father. That wasn’t a happy marriage for her either - who could have guessed, with the profound age difference and power differential. I know that she was desperate to give me a name. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s when she was in her early 60s and lost her filter. I only learned that she wasn’t married to my biological father because it tumbled out in one of her moments of lucidity. I felt so sad for her. I cannot imagine why she thought I would have judged her for having an affair (and I don’t know if she even knew he was married). My son is 19 now. I think about her sometimes when I’m dealing with one of his (thankfully rare) young adult meltdowns of immaturity.
I am not comparing her sad life to Epstein’s teen victims. Just the byproduct of entitled men who treat young women like toys to be played with and discarded when they get bored.
And I think of what was taken from me, not offered. The trauma that caused, which resonates even today, although thankfully muted with the passage of time. And then I read stories from his very young victims, and I have to look away. I haven’t fully read through any of them. I was 14 when I was victimized for the first time. It wasn’t a powerful man, it was a boy 3 years older than me, but he robbed me of trust and introduced me to shame. My dad said, “boys will be boys”. Yeah. He married a woman barely out of her teens when he was nearly 50. I don’t even have to imagine the damage he did when he was young. He told those ribald tales to my brothers, ignoring his daughters’ presence, and they all shared hearty laughs about it.
The women who ran the empire for Epstein - booked the travel, recruited the girls, scheduled the “massages” - deserve a special place in hell. They KNOW how vulnerable we can be, most especially when we are young. And the middle-aged woman at the DOJ, shielding them now - I fervently hope to see her face trials for her many crimes, when this regime is taken down.
"I was 14 when I was victimized for the first time."
`
I was chatting with a woman friend and asked, "How old were you the first time you had consenting sex?"
Years later, it sank in on me that I just assumed as a given that we had both had non-consenting sex as teenagers, and she answered as if it were a normal question.
I was vague with details out of caution and because the details seemed less relevant than the overall messaging. And I am realizing, perhaps I still try to minimize it. It was my stepbrother - my dad’s son from his prior marriage. Thing is, I grew up with him. My dad was my DAD in my mind, and I didn’t want to think anything else. I thought of him as my brother, full stop. And NO consent was involved on my part. I was in fact asleep in my own bed, in my own home, and woke up to him assaulting me. The worse thing was my dad’s casual dismissal of it. Boys, being horny around developing girls. He wasn’t raping me, he scoffed, it was just some unwanted touching. Unsaid, but very much present: he’s not your real brother. I took that to also mean, I’m not your real father. I’m not interested in protecting you. That took a long time to climb out from under. I loved my dad, and after that experience, I hated that I loved him. I wanted to hate him. My mom was not going to allow him to stay in our home, there was just no fucking way. I know she saw how afraid I was. My dad’s older son still lived with us, and showed no proclivity, and I was still afraid to fall asleep under the same roof with him in the house. I just keep hearing my dad say “boys will be boys” and thinking, how do I know that they aren’t all like this?
I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
It was so long ago. It feels like another lifetime. I don’t even recognize who I was then. The one thing I managed to do for myself, more than getting a college education and developing skills that meant I could always take care of myself … I chose a man who was the absolute opposite of my father in every way. A good man who loves me, even the broken parts. I escaped my mother’s fate. I don’t think it is a coincidence that she was drawn to older men. I think she was looking for what she didn’t have in her own sad childhood. I think a lot of us never manage to escape the trauma of what was done to us. I didn’t escape it, either - not fully, but I didn’t replicate it. And I didn’t pass it along to my own child. That’s a happy thing to hold on to, for whatever time I have left ☺️ I hope that we are able to pass something else along to the next generation - something more hopeful than what we are all living with right now. I am willing to fight for that.
Ta, Marcie. I read the reports in Miami Herald, and was horrified and sickened, but not as sickened as I am by my fellow Americans choosing him for a second term. We the People say:
epstein! Epstein!! EPstein!!! EPSTEIN!!!! E-P-S-T-E-I-N!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we always knew they were gonna fuck this up in the most incompetent, obvious and partisan way possible - the party whose base was deliberately cultivated to be massively pig headed, mean and stupid were always gonna misunderstand that their fear of their own base is what is leading them to ruination (and hopefully despair, angst and ingrown toenails) (what? those mother fuckers hurt!)
The only way this will even have legs is if the Democrats capture Congress in 2026 and can initiate hearings about it.
Yeah, see the thing is if it turns out that my once academic crush Noem Chomsky was implicated in something punishable (other than having poor taste and judgement) I’d want him punished.
Interestingly, fell out of love for Noam around the time he stated carrying water for Putin’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine. Now I know he was hanging with Steve fucking Bannon and an (alledged) producer of Russian Kompromat it makes more sense.
Same with Bill Clinton although I never much cared for him. As a Brit, finding fucking Peter Mandelson was like discovering the Sun rising in the East, he’s a fly attracted to sleaze, and I’d be more than willing for him to finally face judgement.
I’d go so far as to say if Zohran Mamdani was in the files I’d want him outed, shamed and punished.
Zohran Mamdani is not old enough to be a client in the files, and his protective mother would have kept him from being trafficked. And yes, if he were in there, I'd want to see him go down for it.
A coverup of a coverup that’s been covered up for more than 2 decades. I couldn’t care less if it’s a Democrat, a Repiblican or a Martian. If there is proof of wrong doing, prosecute.
That gal in the "Even MAGA" Tik-Tok is the one that did some good reporting on the Chrarleston Nazis, she even embedded with them, Elle Reeves with Vice News at the time.
When you've lost Bill Clinton...
MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com
NEWS: Bill Clinton is demanding full transparency from the Trump DOJ on the Epstein files.
https://bsky.app/profile/meidastouch.com/post/3malxbwvx2c2k
thats because he knows that while he hung out with the wrong person, he didn't commit an actual crime (cos Hillary might overlook a bj, that's their bidness i aint in it, but not child rape)
Ha, Dear ol' dad sure is a dick to Jr.:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-threatens-fire-don-jr_n_6949848ee4b099a75cbda82e?origin=home-latest-news-unit
That's a bum fight I might pay money to see!
"I'm Looking Through You" leaps to mind.
Release the Epstein victims.
A victim says, "This powerful person raped me," arrest that person, put them into the legal system, and then treat them like they don't have any money.
"I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a Hamberder today"
sadly we'll probably get another comity milquetoast AG in the next administration. AOC 2028!
We'd better not!
Yikes!