OK, fuck it, I'm gonna come right out and say it:

I am completely agnostic about whether Joe Biden assaulted Tara Reade.

I think it is EMINENTLY possible that he did. Men in positions of power do these things. And they lie like motherfuckers about it.

But you know who else lies? Foreign propagandists. And here's the thing: I don't believe that there's anything at all so sacred about our--extremely laudable--ethic of trusting every woman's assault story that the Russians would not exploit the ever-living fuck out of it.

In fact, I think it's a huge gaping psychological security hole. It's practically got a sign hanging on it saying "PLEASE EXPLOIT THE GOOD FAITH OF LEFT-LEANING FEMINISTS FOR AMORAL POLITICAL GAIN."

And I am REAL willing to listen to evidence against Biden. I would not be one bit surprised to discover the accusations are 100% true.

But I've also read the evidence about Tara Reade, and her background is Sketchy. As. All. Fuck. Like, it would read like a shitty "24" plot even if you took out all the anti-Biden intrigue.

People have tried to tell me she's being discredited for "saying some nice things about Russia." That's bullshit. As far as I can tell, she went from vocal opposition to Putin's regime to writing op-eds about how oppressed and misunderstood he is and what a wonderful place Russia is under him.

I'm sorry, I have my limits, and if there's a reason I should not be EXCEPTIONALLY suspicious of such a person given the current historical context, it is extremely important to me that I be shown it.

'Cause what I've seen so far sure as hell looks bad. I'm entirely willing to believe the other accusers, and it's a fine reason to hate Biden.

I don't know if I can even really blame people who can't vote for him because of it, even if I think it's a TERRIBLE tactical idea that will probably sacrifice Roe v Wade at a MINIMUM.

But Tara Reade? Hell, maybe she was assaulted AND is a Russian agent. Reality is complicated. But if she's not a Russian agent, man, she is the victim of some real, real weird circumstance. Like, Repo Man did not have that thick of a coincidence web...