If you made a screwball comedy (or a surreal farce) about an inept mafia don who accidentally starts a race war, nonaccidentally rapes women, and fails all the way up to the presidency, it would still not be as far-fetched as the country we are living in today.
Tag: Trump
Less faith, more action
I will say it again: please stop thinking everything will work out in the end. The only way that happens is if massive numbers of Americans rise up and do not allow business as usual to continue. It’s on US. The institutions that got us to this moment are not going to suddenly fix it.
No one is going to save us, not Mueller, not the Democratic Party, and certainly not Congressional Republicans. Nothing will make them voluntarily let go of power.
This and also this delusional American sense that everything works out ok in the end — a delusion fueled by a deliberate misreading of their own history. Because horror has been excised from their vision of the past they have a false sense of the benevolence of the present. https://t.co/PLIshuCdVo
— jelani cobb (@jelani9) November 26, 2017
Did I do that?
A funny thing happened yesterday. I decided to block the president on Twitter because I’m sick of his toxic idiocy and narcissism. When you block someone, they ask you the reason. Are they harassing you or someone else, are they spamming, is the account hacked, etc. Since All of the above was not an option, I chose to report him as hacked since I’ve been reading a lot about Russia’s hacking of our democracy and what an effective tool he is for Putin.
About 30 minutes later, his account was actually deactivated!
Earlier today @realdonaldtrump’s account was inadvertently deactivated due to human error by a Twitter employee. The account was down for 11 minutes, and has since been restored. We are continuing to investigate and are taking steps to prevent this from happening again.
— Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) November 3, 2017
Maybe someone over at TwitterCorp was listening (since it was apparently his or her last day).
Through our investigation we have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee’s last day. We are conducting a full internal review. https://t.co/mlarOgiaRF
— Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) November 3, 2017
Trump’s use of Twitter in particular is a cancer on our nation and is literally bringing harm, financial ruin, and even death to many Americans. We all deserve a much longer break.
GUILTY
The TrumPutin timeline
This is all public information, fully sourced. Can we please stop acting like we don’t know what’s up? https://www.sutori.com/story/trumputin
No more innocent liberal surprise.
Friends, please don’t make the mistake of thinking that Trump’s seemingly random and ill-informed actions are not part of President Bannon’s strategy.
They’ll bleed the public of money, culture, education, health, and community. They’ll sow chaos and violence. And they’ll beef up institutions that can enforce their coup: police & military.
This is truly disturbing to contemplate but do not look away! Turn toward the fear (as Pema Chodron would say), open your eyes and your heart. Batten down your hatches however you can and prepare for the worst. Then mobilize, speak out, tuck your body into places so the wheels of fascism don’t turn.
Stop being surprised that Trump is doing everything he said he would. He may well be the greediest man alive. History will remember how we responded.
Trump’s Lies Pave the Way for an Assault on Voting Rights
If the legitimacy of the government derives from the consent of the majority, then at some point, we will have to address this disjuncture between the popular will and our elected bodies. We should start with nonpartisan redistricting reforms, and a fresh look at the Electoral College. But Mr. Trump’s comments make the adoption of democratic reforms that much harder.
Second, there’s a more insidious longer-term purpose here as well. Propaganda about illegal voting has been used — throughout history and in modern times — to justify unnecessary restrictions on voting. Unpopular incumbents like Mr. Trump can help their odds of re-election with measures that make it harder for people to vote.
Source: Trump’s Lies Pave the Way for an Assault on Voting Rights – The New York Times
Welcome to 1984. Trump is more dystopian than Orwell.
Three different Orwell experts find massive and unmistakable parallels between the Trump administration and the dystopian nightmare of 1984.
This part quoted below struck me the most because so many of us cried out about lies, fake morality, and deception during the Bush administration, but there were never any social or political consequences. So of course the post-truth war on the reality-based community has continued and intensified.
But this new world has been a while coming. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts” were foreshadowed by the George W Bush adviser who said in 2002 that the new American empire was “creating [its] own reality”. As in the 1930s, war has been at the heart of the corrosion of trust in politicians. The lies over Iraq and the quagmire of Afghanistan were followed by the financial crash of 2008, and bankers’ bonuses – making people far more willing to disbelieve the remote metropolitan media and be drawn to the false dawn promised by Trump.
Read more in The Guardian today: Welcome to dystopia – George Orwell experts on Donald Trump.
Same as it ever was
16 years ago today I was wearing warm sturdy shoes I had bought the night before with a friend just for the occasion, and was being harassed in the streets of DC confused, scared, and angry with my fellow young-ish people in hoodies. Today I appreciated being able to watch these live videos from Black Lives Matter of the movement continuing. (Embedded below.)
Although I think everything about Trumpism is more dangerous to humanity and to the planet than the craven, corrupt, cynically ideological, and illegal Bush administration was, this is definitely a continuation of the many strategies popularized then, especially by Karl Rove who knew he didn’t even have to bother trying to listen to or govern the “reality-based community.”
I am truly happy to see how many millions of people are now mobilized against Republicans’ agenda of ignorance and fear. But I am also feeling really melancholy about how much it takes to get people to WAKE UP. If this many people had been marching with us 16 years ago, we might have limited their disastrous policies and maybe never even been attacked on 9/11. We would not have been sending troops to protect US oil interests, destabilize governments, destroy infrastructure, and give people reasons to hate us. We might not be dealing with ISIS today.
Once again those of us that are dismissed as “hippies” when we try to prevent violence and militarism were right. Will anyone ever listen to reason? Will our country ever get it right? Is it even possible?
Earlier:
Putting our hearts and bodies where our mouths are
Best wishes to everyone putting your hearts and bodies on the line at women’s marches and other demonstrations in your towns, states, and country because we believe a better America is still possible.
Blessing for the Women’s March
By Erika A. Hewitt (Unitarian Universalist minister)
May you be safe.
May you be free from all harm.As the road or skies carry you toward your fellow pilgrims,
may you sense the presence of those who travel with you in spirit,
whose hopes and hearts are tucked into your pockets,
who name your journey’s purpose as sacred.May you encounter strangers-as-kindred,
and may that recognition of kinship bring joy to your journey.Whether the faces in the crowd number in the dozens, hundreds, or thousands,
may you not only recognize yourself,
but may you also witness a dazzling tapestry of colors, languages, genders, ages, and bodies:
proud testament to and humbling display of our human family.May the crowds be gentle, friendly, and patient.
If not, may the Spirit of Playfulness appoint you its momentary agent.
May you offer quiet praise for gestures of kindness.May all bodies — vessels of spirit and soul — be treated as the gift that they are.
May the sturdiest of marchers make space for those who need more time,
more help, or a different means of moving.May those bearing snacks share generously with others.
May you fuel yourself wisely, and hydrate.
In your hour of need, may you easily find a restroom,
and may it accommodate your body’s gender, size, and abilities.
May the line for the restroom be short.
If not, may you delight in the impulse to connect in ways mundane and profound.Amid the heady flurry of selfies and hashtags,
may you remember the commitment that led you there,
and what will be required for the road ahead.Gather it all up, blessed one; let it feed you.
Allow the crowds’ electric thrum to seep into you,
knitting itself into courage;
into holy boldness;
into fuel for the journey back, and for the journey forward.http://www.uua.org/worship/words/blessing/blessing-womens-march