Dr. X's Free Associations

Have you ever seen Wolf Blitzer do this? Brian Williams? pic.twitter.com/qqBxg3EDir

— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) October 29, 2017

That's Joy-Ann Reid questioning Jen Kerns of the Washington Examiner.

Tweet of the Day

Car in front of me at red light has a bumper sticker says 'honk if you love Jesus.' So I honk. Then he gives me the finger.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) October 26, 2017

An Open Secret: Another ONe

Writer/director James Tobak.

An Open Secret ctd

In today's news:

“Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard dumped his agent Friday after he was accused of sexual assaulting young men more than a decade ago.

The 14-year-old Netflix star, who was represented by APA agent Tyler Grasham, cut ties with the agency after the allegations became public this week, the Los Angeles Times reported. Wolfhard also cut ties with the agency.

Grasham was fired from APA on Friday following the string of accusations against him.

Grasham was not mentioned in the documentary, An Open Secret.

Fox's $32 Million O'Reilly Settlement

Business Insdier:

Former Fox News headliner Bill O'Reilly settled a new sexual harassment claim for a record $32 million in January, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Longtime network analyst Lis Wiehl accused the prime time host of repeated harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship, and sending gay pornography and other sexually explicit material to her, sources briefed on the matter told the Times.

One month after O'Reilly settled the claim — which was at least the sixth agreement that had been reached relating to O'Reilly's sexual misconduct — Fox News' parent company, 21st Century Fox, renewed the host's contract with the network and agreed to a four-year deal with a $25 million annual salary.

Neo-Nazi quits movement, opens up about Jewish heritage and comes out as gay

No, The Law Does Not Require Civilians To stand For The National Anthem

Twice removed from the bench for failing to follow lawful court orders, senate candidate Roy Moore says that we're all required by law to stand for the National Anthem. Given his history, it's probably a good idea to take any legal counsel from Roy Moore with a hefty boulder of salt.

Former federal prosecutor Ken White explains why Moore is wrong.

Here, very briefly, is why Roy Moore is wrong -- almost certainly dishonestly wrong -- in saying taking the knee is "against the law" /1

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/2 Moore said this as part of a deeply disingenuous paean to the rule of law https://t.co/5mvAMDIimH

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/3 The law he's talking about is 36 USC 3001, which sets forth anthem etiquette https://t.co/ulBpxj6Fj8

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/4 Two points. First, the statute uses "should" throughout. Under common rules of statutory construction, that makes it permissive.

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/5 Mandatory statutes use words like "must." No factors here suggest that "should" is to be read, unusually, as mandatory.

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/6 Second, it's been black-letter constitutional law for 74 years that the state cannot compel patriotic displays. https://t.co/fVL7T0Am1L

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/7 In other words, even if the statute purported to be mandatory, it would be unconstitutional as applied to civilians.

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/8 (The conduct of uniformed military officers is a different question, naturally.)

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/9 Moore is many things, but ignorant isn't one of them. He's dishonest, and a traitor to the most central concepts of American liberty.

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

/9 Moore is many things, but ignorant isn't one of them. He's dishonest, and a traitor to the most central concepts of American liberty.

— Popehat (@Popehat) October 19, 2017

A Secretive Self-Help Group That Brands Women

NY Times:

ALBANY — Last March, five women gathered in a home near here to enter a secret sisterhood they were told was created to empower women.

To gain admission, they were required to give their recruiter — or “master,” as she was called — naked photographs or other compromising material and were warned that such “collateral” might be publicly released if the group’s existence were disclosed.

The women, in their 30s and 40s, belonged to a self-help organization called Nxivm, which is based in Albany and has chapters across the country, Canada and Mexico.

Sarah Edmondson, one of the participants, said she had been told she would get a small tattoo as part of the initiation. But she was not prepared for what came next.

Each woman was told to undress and lie on a massage table, while three others restrained her legs and shoulders. According to one of them, their “master,” a top Nxivm official named Lauren Salzman, instructed them to say: “Master, please brand me, it would be an honor.”

A female doctor proceeded to use a cauterizing device to sear a two-inch-square symbol below each woman’s hip, a procedure that took 20 to 30 minutes. For hours, muffled screams and the smell of burning tissue filled the room.

If I were asked to identify one lesson that everyone in the world should learn for their own good, it would be that the end is in the beginning. And so it is with Nxivm that needlessly-inflicted pain and the threat of humiliation at the beginning, lead to an animating motif of needless pain and humiliation.

Nxivm does not violate that principle:

Both Nxivm and Mr. Raniere, 57 (the leader of the group), have long attracted controversy. Former members have depicted him as a man who manipulated his adherents, had sex with them and urged women to follow near-starvation diets to achieve the type of physique he found appealing.

Now, as talk about the secret sisterhood and branding has circulated within Nxivm, scores of members are leaving. Interviews with a dozen of them portray a group spinning more deeply into disturbing practices. Many members said they feared that confessions about indiscretions would be used to blackmail them.

Kellyanne: "Put me on TV"

Kellyanne could be lurking anywhere. pic.twitter.com/LWYMJJW8lz

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 15, 2017

An Open Secret

I recently watched Amy Berg's 2015 documentary exposé of child sexual abuse in the film and TV industry, An Open Secret.  It's a profoundly unsettling film, even for me as a clinician who has worked extensively with both perpetrators and victims. Yet I think it's important for people to see how perpetrators operate, and how they rationalize and equivocate to justify their actions.  Listen to former child actor Joey Coleman confront talent agent Michael Harrah over the phone, followed by Harrah's response when confronted on camera (confrontation begins here).

If you do some follow up reading on your own, you'll learn that several of those who were exposed in this documentary got off with relative slaps on the wrist, with some of the most egregious offenders walking away unscathed, either continuing in the film industry or moving on to other successful enterprises.

I applaud Berg for not turning on parents of the victims, who are themselves victims of these predators. It's all too easy to attack parents who love their children and find themselves seduced into trusting individuals who have been recommended by friends, family members and other industry professionals.

An Open Secret scored 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, but distribution has been a challenge. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the producer has made it available free for the next 7 days.