An interesting week of politics has occurred in a former British colony
January 27, 2017 9:00 AM Subscribe
Exactly a week after attaining power, the 45th and popular vote-losing President of the 240 year old United States of America continues novaturient actions and promises such as a wall, to rescind other things, and to investigate things which may not exist. While allegedly refractory, he also allegedly has size "issues", fulminating at the numbers involved in the global and extremely well attended Women's March in comparison to his less impressive inauguration, while his initial approval rating craters. His press secretary, in between struggling with a basic 140 character service, angrily amplified his bosses grievances. Yesterday T(h)eresa May, the Prime Minister of Her Majesty's realm on an unbipartisan trip, addressed Republicans; today, she meets the current POTUS. Meanwhile, vote suppression and electability continue, with less than 22 months to the crucial midterm elections.
@seanspicer: 1000s gathered in DC to stand up for life & adoption and @CNN refers to them as "demonstrators" #MarchForLife
March for Life webpage: The March for Life is thrilled to announce its official list of guest speakers, set to address the world’s largest annual pro-life demonstration in Washington, D.C. on January 27th, 2017.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
March for Life webpage: The March for Life is thrilled to announce its official list of guest speakers, set to address the world’s largest annual pro-life demonstration in Washington, D.C. on January 27th, 2017.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
The Women's March makes another cover.
@coverjunkie
Wow! Next mondays cover @NewYorker . Artwork #abigailgrayswartz ✊🏻 [cover]
posted by chris24 at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
@coverjunkie
Wow! Next mondays cover @NewYorker . Artwork #abigailgrayswartz ✊🏻 [cover]
posted by chris24 at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
God save the King!
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
Long to reign over us
God save the King!
posted by Talez at 9:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Sweet land of liberty,
God save the King!
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
Long to reign over us
God save the King!
posted by Talez at 9:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
This week is a lesson to all those who say "How can this get any worse?"
posted by azpenguin at 9:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [70 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 9:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [70 favorites]
I just wanted to say thank you for these threads and everyone that is posting in them. This is one of the primary ways I am receiving and digesting news because I feel it is one of the few safe and reliable places. You've inspired me to start taking action... I have my list of people to start calling at lunch and the talking points to oppose the selloff of federal lands.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
I dreamed last night that I was reading on Facebook that something had finally forced him to resign and the news had exploded and it was amazing and then I'm like: no, I'm not actually holding the phone am I, I'm in bed and I'm going to roll over and pick it up and look and this is still going to be happening
posted by Countess Elena at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
I've been mulling the themes of dominance/humiliation which seem so central to Trump's ethos (insofar as he has one), as explicitly articulated by Bannon in his ravings to the NYT yesterday, and implicitly at the heart of the resurgence of "cuck" as an insult, and it occurred to me: What if the solution would be to crowdfund a phalanx of dominatrices to go to D.C. and give all these insecure manchildren the sexual degradation with which their obsession belies a deep craving?
posted by Aubergine at 9:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
posted by Aubergine at 9:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
Thanks Wordshore, definitely better then mine would of been. I liked my working title though. 'Black Mirror - USA, Episode One.
posted by Jalliah at 9:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [23 favorites]
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what I personally need from the PVL's (Popular Vote Loser) supporters to feel like I can forgive and reconcile with them. Some folks on here have noted that the left isn't always the best about having a system in place to forgive transgressions. Here's the list I have come up with. I need at a minimum:
* An admission that they have done something extremely dangerous and hurtful, preferably with some thoughtful analysis of why this action was super not okay.
* A commitment to and demonstrations of resistance, including being willing to take on some of the more dangerous roles in said activities.
* Acknowledgment of the roles white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-queer bias played in this election.
* A willing to pipe down and listen to those of us most negatively affected by their actions.
* Processing of negative feelings and shame on their own time and not looking immediately to marginalized people for absolution.
* Demonstrations of commitment to centering the most marginalized groups in our society.
* Demonstration of the understanding that they are kinda at the back of the line when it comes to whose ideas about resistance need to be acted on.
* Actively using their privilege for the benefit of those most affected.
* Understanding that their specific governmental and legislative priorities (especially about taxation, education, religion) are likely not going to be the focus of activities.
* Time enough to see and believe their demonstrations of solidarity and resistance are genuine.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person, but I do think it's useful to consider conditions under which I would. The preservation of a civil society may depend on it. What do you need in this respect?
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [41 favorites]
* An admission that they have done something extremely dangerous and hurtful, preferably with some thoughtful analysis of why this action was super not okay.
* A commitment to and demonstrations of resistance, including being willing to take on some of the more dangerous roles in said activities.
* Acknowledgment of the roles white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-queer bias played in this election.
* A willing to pipe down and listen to those of us most negatively affected by their actions.
* Processing of negative feelings and shame on their own time and not looking immediately to marginalized people for absolution.
* Demonstrations of commitment to centering the most marginalized groups in our society.
* Demonstration of the understanding that they are kinda at the back of the line when it comes to whose ideas about resistance need to be acted on.
* Actively using their privilege for the benefit of those most affected.
* Understanding that their specific governmental and legislative priorities (especially about taxation, education, religion) are likely not going to be the focus of activities.
* Time enough to see and believe their demonstrations of solidarity and resistance are genuine.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person, but I do think it's useful to consider conditions under which I would. The preservation of a civil society may depend on it. What do you need in this respect?
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [41 favorites]
don't much care for this trump fellow
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [121 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [121 favorites]
Vulture [thread] Trump's statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day never mentions Jews, says lesson is that we need more "tolerance."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
Like it or not, I think everyone's now an accelerationist.
posted by klarck at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by klarck at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
'Black Mirror - USA, Episode One.'
In the UK version, the pig was the receiver. But when Soviet Russia is in charge...
posted by delfin at 9:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
In the UK version, the pig was the receiver. But when Soviet Russia is in charge...
posted by delfin at 9:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'm not sure if this will be helpful to people but the following is part of an email I sent to a family member who does not necessarily agree with me about the threats we are currently facing. I know responding can be exhausting and many of us are probably spending a lot of time and energy composing similar emails so if it's helpful please feel free to copy/paste this (modified as you see fit):
Thank you so much for sharing your thinking with me; I agree it's important to have empathy and understand as many different perspectives as possible. Something that might be worth doing is deciding, right now, what would be "too far" for you; what is it that would need to happen for you to decide that things are not okay?posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [313 favorites]
Explicitly racist statements?
Restrictions of the rights of citizens?
Voter suppression?
Criminalizing protest?
Making it illegal to criticize the government?
Defunding the FDA so that people routinely get sick?
Mass deportations?
Outlawing birth control?
Singling out one religion or ethnicity for legal restrictions?
Bombing a country and then telling its citizens that they can't seek asylum here?
Nepotism and corruption?
An increase in maternal and infant mortality rates?
Internment camps?
Making it illegal to be gay?
Martial law in one or more cities?
Cancelling elections?
What thing, however unlikely, would make you say "this is unacceptable"? Everyone has to make their own determination about what they feel is "not okay" and it's worth thinking about it early because, unfortunately, as worse and worse things happen it becomes easier and easier to accept them, especially if we are told that we are operating under "emergency circumstances". For me, that line has already been crossed on a number of fronts, but I understand that other people might not feel that way and I just encourage you to think about what conditions would cross that line so, if it happens, you can stand firm and not let your brain convince you that everything is normal. Just something to consider; I think in scary and uncertain times it's especially important to know what your convictions are so you can remain firm. Have a wonderful week!
@Countess, Trump's replacement scares me almost even more than the orange-haired-one himself. If you look at Pence's record, he is anti-gay, anti-choice, and would probably be more effective at getting stuff done because he doesn't distract himself with Twitter wars. The only comfort I would take in a Pence presidency is that I think he would be less likely to use nuclear weapons. Third in line, IIRC, is Paul Ryan.
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
posted by elmay at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
posted by elmay at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
@seanspicer: 1000s gathered in DC to stand up for life & adoption and @CNN refers to them as "demonstrators" #MarchForLife
It's telling that he thinks being a demonstrator is a bad thing. Fuck him.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [75 favorites]
It's telling that he thinks being a demonstrator is a bad thing. Fuck him.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [75 favorites]
... What do you need in this respect?
I'm thinking a lot about Martin Niemoller these days. That famous quote of his, "First they came..." was not just poetry. It was a literal statement of how things went for him. He supported Hitler, until the day he said, hey, wait a minute here, and the next thing he knew he was in a camp. But he lived to get out of it, and spent the rest of his life trying to make amends.
It's not the job of POC or other vulnerable populations to feel forgiveness here, to try and reach out to Trump voters and make them understand what they've done, or to keep working on the compassion that will be necessary to try to pry them out of their shell. It's on white people, and we need to try and draw out our old uncles and stubborn cousins as best we can.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
I'm thinking a lot about Martin Niemoller these days. That famous quote of his, "First they came..." was not just poetry. It was a literal statement of how things went for him. He supported Hitler, until the day he said, hey, wait a minute here, and the next thing he knew he was in a camp. But he lived to get out of it, and spent the rest of his life trying to make amends.
It's not the job of POC or other vulnerable populations to feel forgiveness here, to try and reach out to Trump voters and make them understand what they've done, or to keep working on the compassion that will be necessary to try to pry them out of their shell. It's on white people, and we need to try and draw out our old uncles and stubborn cousins as best we can.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
I really love the framing of this post. Thanks Wordshore!
posted by corb at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
Every stupid and irresponsible thing Trump announced during the campaign, everything we told ourselves couldn't actually happen – it's all happening. It helps that a lot of this was already happening – there's already a wall along much of the Mexican border, there are already visa restrictions on people from some majority-Muslim countries, there is already massive voter suppression – but for Theresa May, who's mostly threatened future evils through laconic ambiguity ("Brexit means Brexit"), the example of Trump might give her some confidence. You can say that you intend to blow up the world, and soon you'll find that there's nobody to stop you.Sam Kriss, Donald Trump Will Show Theresa May How Insignificant She Really Is, Vice (27 January 2017).
posted by Sonny Jim at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
What if the solution would be to crowdfund a phalanx of dominatrices to go to D.C. and give all these insecure manchildren the sexual degradation with which their obsession belies a deep craving?
Jewish dominatrix Tara Indiana is rarely on the bottom—but she was in her presidential race against Donald Trump
posted by XMLicious at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm going to miss western democracy.
posted by Artw at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
In your social media efforts today, the march for "life" is an excellent excuse to link this article by OB/GYN Jen Gunter about the various lies of the antichoice movement when it comes to women's health. This one struck me particularly:
The risk of death in pregnancy is greater than the risk of death from an abortion. If 100,000 women decide to keep their pregnancy 8.8 will die. If 100,000 women have an abortion 0.6 will die.
posted by emjaybee at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [116 favorites]
The risk of death in pregnancy is greater than the risk of death from an abortion. If 100,000 women decide to keep their pregnancy 8.8 will die. If 100,000 women have an abortion 0.6 will die.
posted by emjaybee at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [116 favorites]
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what I personally need from the PVL's (Popular Vote Loser) supporters to feel like I can forgive and reconcile with them.
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
The likelihood of a country called the USA existing in 10 years, with borders resembling the current ones, is growing smaller each hour.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Thanks Wordshore, definitely better then mine would of been. I liked my working title though. 'Black Mirror - USA, Episode One.
Rowan Atkinson needs to come back with "Blackladder". Rowan Atkinson as Eduardo del la Sumador Negro and Tony Robinson as his sidekick Calvopolla plan to use a ladder to get over Donald Trump's (Stephen Fry's) wall with his bumbling press secretary Sean Spicer (Hugh Laurie) acting as the foil and Kellyanne Conway (Miranda Richardson) as the woman who can never speak a truth. Tim McInnerny would obviously be John McCain, the incompetent legislator who claims to hate everything Trump stands for but meekly complies when challenged.
posted by Talez at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
Rowan Atkinson needs to come back with "Blackladder". Rowan Atkinson as Eduardo del la Sumador Negro and Tony Robinson as his sidekick Calvopolla plan to use a ladder to get over Donald Trump's (Stephen Fry's) wall with his bumbling press secretary Sean Spicer (Hugh Laurie) acting as the foil and Kellyanne Conway (Miranda Richardson) as the woman who can never speak a truth. Tim McInnerny would obviously be John McCain, the incompetent legislator who claims to hate everything Trump stands for but meekly complies when challenged.
posted by Talez at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
To inform those who were asking, the tea consumed during the construction of this post was a most splendid Earl Grey with a slight citrus edge, obtained from the excellent store of provisions in a village a few miles east of here. The proprietors of said store, according to local "news", also provide the goldfish bowl into which attendees at the swingers parties their neighbors host (the house with the pampas grass growing outside) throw in their car keys.
posted by Wordshore at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [64 favorites]
Today, this account is tweeting out the passenger manifest of the St. Louis, which was turned away from several countries, including the U.S. and, finally, Canada.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [83 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [83 favorites]
I accidentally watched this a few minutes ago. It's too much. (SYTL, trigger warning: emotionally honest POTUS reminder)
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 9:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 9:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what I personally need from the PVL's (Popular Vote Loser) supporters to feel like I can forgive and reconcile with them.
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person
You don't say.
posted by loquax at 9:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person
You don't say.
posted by loquax at 9:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
I'm not sure if this will be helpful to people but the following is part of an email I sent to a family member who does not necessarily agree with me about the threats we are currently facing. I know responding can be exhausting and many of us are probably spending a lot of time and energy composing similar emails so if it's helpful please feel free to copy/paste this (modified as you see fit):
Incidentally if stuff like this isn't helpful I am absolutely happy not to post it as it's not like these threads need more clutter, I just think it can be easier to have these many, exhausting conversations if you've got a template of some sort and duplicating all of our efforts seems wasteful when there's so much to do.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Incidentally if stuff like this isn't helpful I am absolutely happy not to post it as it's not like these threads need more clutter, I just think it can be easier to have these many, exhausting conversations if you've got a template of some sort and duplicating all of our efforts seems wasteful when there's so much to do.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
If you're referring to the voters, then no, today they don't. But those numbers are falling off as they realize that the bad things are not just going to happen to brown people and women who don't shave their legs.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
If you're referring to the voters, then no, today they don't. But those numbers are falling off as they realize that the bad things are not just going to happen to brown people and women who don't shave their legs.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
One baffling line coming out from May at the moment is:
“The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are decisively over.”
Guess she missed the 'we're going back for the oil' stuff coming from Trump?
Anyway - like a lot of you, these threads are fast becoming the only kind of news I can stomach. Thank you for everyone involved in them, epecially Wordshore. I don't know how you're still doing this, but I'm glad you are.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
“The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are decisively over.”
Guess she missed the 'we're going back for the oil' stuff coming from Trump?
Anyway - like a lot of you, these threads are fast becoming the only kind of news I can stomach. Thank you for everyone involved in them, epecially Wordshore. I don't know how you're still doing this, but I'm glad you are.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
Wordshore, that's like some sexy Wes Anderson movie set
posted by angrycat at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Oh man. I hope my grandma's New Yorker subscription is still active, she hands them off to me when she's done and I want that cover.
posted by palomar at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by palomar at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Make America
Great Britain Again
posted by standardasparagus at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Great Britain Again
posted by standardasparagus at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Make America
Great Britain Again
Honestly, we wouldn't be in this mess if we had stayed colonists and gotten our independence the Canadian/Australian way.
posted by dis_integration at 9:30 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Great Britain Again
Honestly, we wouldn't be in this mess if we had stayed colonists and gotten our independence the Canadian/Australian way.
posted by dis_integration at 9:30 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Government by immature 12 year olds.
@BraddJaffy
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names” [video]
posted by chris24 at 9:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
@BraddJaffy
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names” [video]
posted by chris24 at 9:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
It's not the job of POC or other vulnerable populations to feel forgiveness here, to try and reach out to Trump voters and make them understand what they've done, or to keep working on the compassion that will be necessary to try to pry them out of their shell. It's on white people, and we need to try and draw out our old uncles and stubborn cousins as best we can.
I completely agree. I hope my framing didn't suggest that it was anything other than the responsibility of that man's voters to get with the program.
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
There are cracks, though. That Trump_Regrets Twitter account suggests that at least a few folks who voted for him are already becoming disillusioned. I'd rather have those folks work resisting in some fashion rather than throwing up their hands and going along with whatever horrible shit comes down the pipeline because they have no ways to back out of the terrible thing they've done..
I am emphatically not saying that any marginalized person should be pressured to forgive/reconcile with anyone if said person is not ready. I'm trans--I'm scared; I'm angry; I'm hurt. I'm going to need all the genuine resistance this country can muster.
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
Excuse me? I'm operationalizing the conditions I personally need to form a coalition of resistance to save my fucking life, even with those who hurt me grievously. I am part of a very marginalized community, so the condescension is really unnecessary.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I completely agree. I hope my framing didn't suggest that it was anything other than the responsibility of that man's voters to get with the program.
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
There are cracks, though. That Trump_Regrets Twitter account suggests that at least a few folks who voted for him are already becoming disillusioned. I'd rather have those folks work resisting in some fashion rather than throwing up their hands and going along with whatever horrible shit comes down the pipeline because they have no ways to back out of the terrible thing they've done..
I am emphatically not saying that any marginalized person should be pressured to forgive/reconcile with anyone if said person is not ready. I'm trans--I'm scared; I'm angry; I'm hurt. I'm going to need all the genuine resistance this country can muster.
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
Excuse me? I'm operationalizing the conditions I personally need to form a coalition of resistance to save my fucking life, even with those who hurt me grievously. I am part of a very marginalized community, so the condescension is really unnecessary.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
I know many upon many in this thread are already engaged in so many ways, but I feel like it bears repeating: God helps those that help themselves, or so I was taught. So, organize and pray and vote and protest and write and call. Pray while doing all of the above. Regardless of where I've been at with religious beliefs (or lack thereof), I've found that doing something concrete aids prayer.
posted by nubs at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
I know many upon many in this thread are already engaged in so many ways, but I feel like it bears repeating: God helps those that help themselves, or so I was taught. So, organize and pray and vote and protest and write and call. Pray while doing all of the above. Regardless of where I've been at with religious beliefs (or lack thereof), I've found that doing something concrete aids prayer.
posted by nubs at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names” [video]
"I'm here to take names and destroy the UN and I'm all done taking names!" [fake]
posted by Talez at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
"I'm here to take names and destroy the UN and I'm all done taking names!" [fake]
posted by Talez at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
The Republican President is going to sign the executive order for "extreme vetting" on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Fuck me.
posted by avalonian at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [106 favorites]
posted by avalonian at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [106 favorites]
I Was Trained for the Culture Wars in Home School, Awaiting Someone Like Mike Pence as a Messiah
I grew up in the far-right evangelical conservative (Christofascist) movement; specifically, I was homeschooled and my parents were part of a subculture called Quiverfull, whose aim is to outbreed everyone for Jesus. I spent my teen years being a political activist. I was taught by every pastor I encountered that it was our job as Christians to outbreed the secularists (anyone not a far-right evangelical Protestant) and take over the government through sheer numbers. I was part of TeenPact, Generation Joshua and my local Teenage Republicans (TARS).posted by zachlipton at 9:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [112 favorites]
When the Tea Party rose in 2009, that was my culture. The Tea Party was step one. I was laying the groundwork for those elections in 2006. These people didn’t come out of the blue like it seemed. This plan, this Christofascist takeover of the US government, has been in the works for decades. When evangelical conservatism started becoming popular and more mainstream around the 1970s, the foundation was being laid for the tragedy playing out right now.
remember, when you hand-hold a Nazi, that's one less hand they can block your punches with
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [64 favorites]
“For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
remember, when you hand-hold a Nazi, that's one less hand they can block your punches with
I remember some commie hippie saying the words "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love."
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, can we stop it with the violent memes?
posted by Talez at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I remember some commie hippie saying the words "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love."
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, can we stop it with the violent memes?
posted by Talez at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I believe during the recent unpleasantness some USG subject, in despair of the imminent rule of Trump or Clinton, wrote Her Majesty requesting she resume her imperium. The plea was sadly rebuffed.
The likelihood of a country called the USA existing in 10 years, with borders resembling the current ones, is growing smaller each hour.
One can only hope. I'm kinda tempted to go troll Shia LaBeouf info punching me with a sign "DIVISION IS THE ANSWER / PEACEFUL PARTITION NOW".
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
The likelihood of a country called the USA existing in 10 years, with borders resembling the current ones, is growing smaller each hour.
One can only hope. I'm kinda tempted to go troll Shia LaBeouf info punching me with a sign "DIVISION IS THE ANSWER / PEACEFUL PARTITION NOW".
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
“For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
ohpleaseohplease
posted by azpenguin at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
ohpleaseohplease
posted by azpenguin at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017
can we stop it with the violent memes?
Angela Davis on violence (1972).
posted by melissasaurus at 9:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Angela Davis on violence (1972).
posted by melissasaurus at 9:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
And "Germany now in one piece" should be changed to "Germany for now in one piece".
posted by Talez at 9:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
And "Germany now in one piece" should be changed to "Germany for now in one piece".
posted by Talez at 9:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
posted by bonehead at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
If you're referring to the voters, then no, today they don't. But those numbers are falling off as they realize that the bad things are not just going to happen to brown people and women who don't shave their legs.
The message of the day from the Trumpoids is "Everyone but us is lying to you." So direct confrontation right now can backfire because it validates what they're saying. "Steve Bannon said you would say 'Trump is a fascist' and you did, so he's telling the truth!"
Some of them will drink the Kool-Aid forever. Some of them will get screwed by bad things and go "Wait a minute...", and at THAT point they will be more receptive to what you have to say. Don't scream; persuade. Let them grow suspicious of where they are, show them a viable alternative, and let them think it was their idea to go there.
posted by delfin at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
The message of the day from the Trumpoids is "Everyone but us is lying to you." So direct confrontation right now can backfire because it validates what they're saying. "Steve Bannon said you would say 'Trump is a fascist' and you did, so he's telling the truth!"
Some of them will drink the Kool-Aid forever. Some of them will get screwed by bad things and go "Wait a minute...", and at THAT point they will be more receptive to what you have to say. Don't scream; persuade. Let them grow suspicious of where they are, show them a viable alternative, and let them think it was their idea to go there.
posted by delfin at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
I participated in the protests here in Philadelphia last night and want to share my experience of them as well as some general thoughts. CW: some descriptions include potentially triggering words.
- I arrived at the what turned into the main barricades on the east side of City Hall at 13th and Market around 5:40 PM. At that time, it was mostly the BLM activists there with maybe ~250 people or so. Mostly POC, seemed to be about a 50/50 gender split. The line was metal barricade fences, 3 rows of cops about 40 cops long (so 120 cops), and 2 big garbage trucks parked end to end behind them. So highly unlikely to be surmounted.
- About 15 minutes after I arrived, a significantly larger group of protesters from several different orgs (I was plugged into the Philly Socialists group, and they were a part of it) arrived. This group was much larger, maybe 1k people? I'm not great at estimating crowd size. But it was shoulder to shoulder for 1.5 city blocks. So maybe 2-3k people. This group had more signs, drums, megaphones. They were much whiter, but with some POC as well.
- As the second group arrived, the bike cops that had been moving with them also arrived. So the lines of cops became 6 deep x 40 cops long. A lot of cops.
- The smaller BLM group I was a part of stayed at the barricade and swapped from chants to giving individual people, all POC, the megaphone to make speeches and share their truth with the group at the barricades. The larger group continued group chanting / singing.
- The speakers at the barricade were very, very angry. There was a palpable sense of fury and anger. At Trump, yes, and also with local issues, specifically police brutality. Also a lot of anger directed at white people generally, and at white allies. There was a lot of anger directed at the Women's March. The feeling was very much "we are glad you are here now, white allies, but what the fuck? We've been being brutalized for so long, and NOW you're finally mad?" and more bitingly "It wasn't until white pussy became endangered that you white women show up, but they've been raping black pussy forever". This resonated with me deeply. It was clear that many whites in the crowd became uncomfortable at having black anger directed at them instead of trump / the police. But they clapped and cheered and supported the speakers anyway.
- Protesters climbed on top of the subway shelter thingies. Many young white women with shirts off, electrical tape over nipples. Many young white men with megaphones.
- Most chanting was what you would expect, things like "Show me what democracy looks like / this is what democracy looks like", "we don't want your tiny hands / anywhere near our underpants", etc. Near the barricades the BLM chants were more incisive, things like "No good cops in a racist system" and "We don't get no justice / They don't get no peace".
My personal interactions with cops / protesters / counter-protesters:
- I spoke briefly to one of the cops on the line. Young white male. I said "You should be on our side". He said "I'm on the right side". The only way I could think of to try and make a point that might resonate was to respond with "You're enforcing for people that voted against cops in the 9/11 first responders bill. Guiliani prevented cops from getting the walkie talkies that would work in commercial buildings. A lot of cops died for that. The firefighters got them - they didn't have the same tragedy. Why would you support people that don't protect you?" He did not respond after that.
- At around 7:15 PM the bulk began to move northbound on 13th toward Chinatown. Many disbanded.
- I began to walk westbound on Market toward city hall. There were several young white men with bandanas on faces with flares and burning American flags. One man walked over from the sidewalk and put out the smoldering flags with his foot, saying "don't give them what they want". A white woman who was a counter-protester walked over and called the young men with flares cowards, and yelled at the protesters to "leave America if you don't like it here".
-This was the point at which my adrenaline kicked in and things got blurry and weird. It's important to note I think that I am an introvert - large crowds make me uncomfortable, I do not like to be a focus of attention, I do not have skills in fighting or managing surges of adrenaline. I was shaking like a leaf.
- The counter-protester woman went back to the sidewalk to join a man and a couple other counter-protester men. They continued to scream at everyone to get out of America. At that point I mic-checked a group of protesters and led a call and response chant of "No Trump. No Nazis. No Fascists. Go Home" directly at the counter-protesters. They became enraged and tried to shout back but there were few of them and many of us.
- A couple of the men that had been burning flags put down their flares and came over with a very wide and large sign that took a few people to hold that said essentially "No fascists. World war for open borders".
- I led a couple more call and response mic checks with a fairly intense "America kills Nazis. No negotiation. No normalization. America kills Nazis."
General Thoughts
I am a 33 year old queer white male introvert. This is very out of character for me. I feel strongly about politics and strongly about progressive values but always in a quiet way, preferably out of meatspace. I am cognizant of the fact that I am very late to be this vocal in the cause, and that my POC brothers and sisters have been fighting this forever. I feel as if I am being gradually "radicalized" but that's not the right word really. The thing is, while "conservative"administrations in my lifetime have ALL been actively evil, this new shit is actual neo-nazis having power. And my countrypeople have voted for neo-nazis. I've never had fully rose colored glasses about the USA but this has broken something inside my brain. This goes beyond the banality of evil "conservatism" and into me feeling like my countrypeople are traitors. This feels like a betrayal of even the flawed America I thought I knew. I would never have thought I would be screaming in the streets to kill Nazis. But here we are.
I am tired and hoarse and my body hurts today but I'm at work and trying to focus [when not typing a stupidly long comment] but I feel like my options are being narrowed. There are now neo-nazis in power. Our options are being restricted. It is time to ACTIVELY resist by hurting Nazis. Or it's time for me and my family to leave this country. Both are heartbreaking to contemplate.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [283 favorites]
- I arrived at the what turned into the main barricades on the east side of City Hall at 13th and Market around 5:40 PM. At that time, it was mostly the BLM activists there with maybe ~250 people or so. Mostly POC, seemed to be about a 50/50 gender split. The line was metal barricade fences, 3 rows of cops about 40 cops long (so 120 cops), and 2 big garbage trucks parked end to end behind them. So highly unlikely to be surmounted.
- About 15 minutes after I arrived, a significantly larger group of protesters from several different orgs (I was plugged into the Philly Socialists group, and they were a part of it) arrived. This group was much larger, maybe 1k people? I'm not great at estimating crowd size. But it was shoulder to shoulder for 1.5 city blocks. So maybe 2-3k people. This group had more signs, drums, megaphones. They were much whiter, but with some POC as well.
- As the second group arrived, the bike cops that had been moving with them also arrived. So the lines of cops became 6 deep x 40 cops long. A lot of cops.
- The smaller BLM group I was a part of stayed at the barricade and swapped from chants to giving individual people, all POC, the megaphone to make speeches and share their truth with the group at the barricades. The larger group continued group chanting / singing.
- The speakers at the barricade were very, very angry. There was a palpable sense of fury and anger. At Trump, yes, and also with local issues, specifically police brutality. Also a lot of anger directed at white people generally, and at white allies. There was a lot of anger directed at the Women's March. The feeling was very much "we are glad you are here now, white allies, but what the fuck? We've been being brutalized for so long, and NOW you're finally mad?" and more bitingly "It wasn't until white pussy became endangered that you white women show up, but they've been raping black pussy forever". This resonated with me deeply. It was clear that many whites in the crowd became uncomfortable at having black anger directed at them instead of trump / the police. But they clapped and cheered and supported the speakers anyway.
- Protesters climbed on top of the subway shelter thingies. Many young white women with shirts off, electrical tape over nipples. Many young white men with megaphones.
- Most chanting was what you would expect, things like "Show me what democracy looks like / this is what democracy looks like", "we don't want your tiny hands / anywhere near our underpants", etc. Near the barricades the BLM chants were more incisive, things like "No good cops in a racist system" and "We don't get no justice / They don't get no peace".
My personal interactions with cops / protesters / counter-protesters:
- I spoke briefly to one of the cops on the line. Young white male. I said "You should be on our side". He said "I'm on the right side". The only way I could think of to try and make a point that might resonate was to respond with "You're enforcing for people that voted against cops in the 9/11 first responders bill. Guiliani prevented cops from getting the walkie talkies that would work in commercial buildings. A lot of cops died for that. The firefighters got them - they didn't have the same tragedy. Why would you support people that don't protect you?" He did not respond after that.
- At around 7:15 PM the bulk began to move northbound on 13th toward Chinatown. Many disbanded.
- I began to walk westbound on Market toward city hall. There were several young white men with bandanas on faces with flares and burning American flags. One man walked over from the sidewalk and put out the smoldering flags with his foot, saying "don't give them what they want". A white woman who was a counter-protester walked over and called the young men with flares cowards, and yelled at the protesters to "leave America if you don't like it here".
-This was the point at which my adrenaline kicked in and things got blurry and weird. It's important to note I think that I am an introvert - large crowds make me uncomfortable, I do not like to be a focus of attention, I do not have skills in fighting or managing surges of adrenaline. I was shaking like a leaf.
- The counter-protester woman went back to the sidewalk to join a man and a couple other counter-protester men. They continued to scream at everyone to get out of America. At that point I mic-checked a group of protesters and led a call and response chant of "No Trump. No Nazis. No Fascists. Go Home" directly at the counter-protesters. They became enraged and tried to shout back but there were few of them and many of us.
- A couple of the men that had been burning flags put down their flares and came over with a very wide and large sign that took a few people to hold that said essentially "No fascists. World war for open borders".
- I led a couple more call and response mic checks with a fairly intense "America kills Nazis. No negotiation. No normalization. America kills Nazis."
General Thoughts
I am a 33 year old queer white male introvert. This is very out of character for me. I feel strongly about politics and strongly about progressive values but always in a quiet way, preferably out of meatspace. I am cognizant of the fact that I am very late to be this vocal in the cause, and that my POC brothers and sisters have been fighting this forever. I feel as if I am being gradually "radicalized" but that's not the right word really. The thing is, while "conservative"administrations in my lifetime have ALL been actively evil, this new shit is actual neo-nazis having power. And my countrypeople have voted for neo-nazis. I've never had fully rose colored glasses about the USA but this has broken something inside my brain. This goes beyond the banality of evil "conservatism" and into me feeling like my countrypeople are traitors. This feels like a betrayal of even the flawed America I thought I knew. I would never have thought I would be screaming in the streets to kill Nazis. But here we are.
I am tired and hoarse and my body hurts today but I'm at work and trying to focus [when not typing a stupidly long comment] but I feel like my options are being narrowed. There are now neo-nazis in power. Our options are being restricted. It is time to ACTIVELY resist by hurting Nazis. Or it's time for me and my family to leave this country. Both are heartbreaking to contemplate.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [283 favorites]
Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together
The pattern that emerges is clear: Members of the White House are concerned enough about Trump’s capacity to do the job that they’ll leak to prominent reporters, but they’re not concerned enough to muster the courage to tell Trump the truth, or to resign. Congressional Republicans are concerned enough about the things Trump is doing that they’ll signal independence from or displeasure with Trump, but not concerned enough to use real power to stop him, or to keep him honestposted by zachlipton at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [56 favorites]
Awesome cover! I just subscribed to the New Yorker last week because my wife mentioned it and I thought it would be a nice surprise. This will be the first issue to arrive and I'll have to remember to keep my mouth shut so I don't ruin it.
posted by cmfletcher at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I guess what I'm trying to say is, can we stop it with the violent memes?
No. If I see a fucking nazi, I will punch a fucking nazi.
posted by brand-gnu at 9:48 AM on January 27, 2017 [99 favorites]
No. If I see a fucking nazi, I will punch a fucking nazi.
posted by brand-gnu at 9:48 AM on January 27, 2017 [99 favorites]
This is one of the primary ways I am receiving and digesting news
Me too, to the point of feeling like a leech for basically parroting all the links in the threads on my Facebook page. But (as per usual) the quality's so kick ass here I have to pass it on.
Anyhow, thanks!
posted by Rykey at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Me too, to the point of feeling like a leech for basically parroting all the links in the threads on my Facebook page. But (as per usual) the quality's so kick ass here I have to pass it on.
Anyhow, thanks!
posted by Rykey at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
For someone who always feels free to comment on the appearance of others, Mr. Trump is a slob.
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Trump 100% photoshopped his hand bigger for this picture hanging in the white house, which is the most embarassing thing I've ever seen
posted by rewil at 9:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [85 favorites]
posted by rewil at 9:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [85 favorites]
It's amazing how much he looks like Nixon in that GQ video when his hair is slicked back.
Also punch Nazis forever.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also punch Nazis forever.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control you. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger. - No, wait, hold on. - Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side. - Hold on, no. Ahm... First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... - OK, can we forget that?
posted by thivaia at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control you. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger. - No, wait, hold on. - Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side. - Hold on, no. Ahm... First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... - OK, can we forget that?
posted by thivaia at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
"It's a great honor to have Winston Churchill back," Pres Trump said of the bust. "It's a great honor to be here," PM May said in response.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:53 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:53 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump's replacement scares me almost even more than the orange-haired-one himself.
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to dieAlso: America 2017 re-imagined as The Watchmen. Bigly.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
Of all the horrifying things that have happened this week, this one really stands out. This is our representitive in the UN, standing in the UN, issuing threats to our allies.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
Of all the horrifying things that have happened this week, this one really stands out. This is our representitive in the UN, standing in the UN, issuing threats to our allies.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
I remember some commie hippie saying the words "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love."
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
Yup. And he got murdered.
Come to think of it, there was another commie hippie with a recent birthday who said "But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other."
And guess what? He got murdered, too!
So maybe non-violent rhetoric really might not be the way to go for people whose primary goal is to avoid being murdered.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [95 favorites]
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
Yup. And he got murdered.
Come to think of it, there was another commie hippie with a recent birthday who said "But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other."
And guess what? He got murdered, too!
So maybe non-violent rhetoric really might not be the way to go for people whose primary goal is to avoid being murdered.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [95 favorites]
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
These were Yoda's words to a troubled young lad in danger of falling in with the Star Wars equivalent of the alt-right
Note that when the shit went down, Yoda did not hesitate to lightsaber off some clonetrooper heads and try to physically overpower the leadership of the nascent Galactic Empire
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [130 favorites]
These were Yoda's words to a troubled young lad in danger of falling in with the Star Wars equivalent of the alt-right
Note that when the shit went down, Yoda did not hesitate to lightsaber off some clonetrooper heads and try to physically overpower the leadership of the nascent Galactic Empire
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [130 favorites]
Honestly, we wouldn't be in this mess if we had stayed colonists and gotten our independence the Canadian/Australian way.
Canada got self rule with a sternly worded letter because of the catastrophe of the American revolt.
posted by ocschwar at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Canada got self rule with a sternly worded letter because of the catastrophe of the American revolt.
posted by ocschwar at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to die
President *Kif sigh* Trump, new spokesmodel for Oops I Crapped My Pants.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
President *Kif sigh* Trump, new spokesmodel for Oops I Crapped My Pants.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump is promoting a conspiracy theorist on Twitter who says Israel hacked the DNC. Guess that's one way to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Gregg Phillips is also apparently an expert at using a governmental position to line his own pockets, expertise the Trump Administration is surely looking to tap.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Gregg Phillips is also apparently an expert at using a governmental position to line his own pockets, expertise the Trump Administration is surely looking to tap.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
> Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
“For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
They might want to watch that. In my experience, some of the people moving to "have your back" are doing so in order to stab it.
posted by nubs at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
They might want to watch that. In my experience, some of the people moving to "have your back" are doing so in order to stab it.
posted by nubs at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
I will, with all of my shriveled black heart, protest the fuck out of a Pence presidency, every day of the week and twice on Sundays, but I will not go to bed every night wondering whether or not the next day a nuclear war is going to get started over China tweeting about our president's hand size.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [115 favorites]
I will, with all of my shriveled black heart, protest the fuck out of a Pence presidency, every day of the week and twice on Sundays, but I will not go to bed every night wondering whether or not the next day a nuclear war is going to get started over China tweeting about our president's hand size.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [115 favorites]
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice ... we're taking names
Nimrata Randhawa Haley is delusional if she thinks that the white men she works for don't already have her name.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Nimrata Randhawa Haley is delusional if she thinks that the white men she works for don't already have her name.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
does this ass make my hands look small?
You win Deb Collins of twitter.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
You win Deb Collins of twitter.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
The risk of death in pregnancy is greater than the risk of death from an abortion. If 100,000 women decide to keep their pregnancy 8.8 will die. If 100,000 women have an abortion 0.6 will die.
Also with the attack on reproductive health treatment maternal mortality will increase for both of these decisions.
posted by srboisvert at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Also with the attack on reproductive health treatment maternal mortality will increase for both of these decisions.
posted by srboisvert at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Up here we're just sitting a waiting to see what the hell he is going to do with Canada. My expectation is he is going release a wave of Canadian Righteous Politeness the likes of which haven't been seen for some time. Canadians tend to get mad with style but boyah can we get mad when it's warranted.
posted by Jalliah at 10:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
does this ass make my hands look small?
It really does. I've never though his hands looked particularly small, but they are definitely not proportional to his ass.
posted by diogenes at 10:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It really does. I've never though his hands looked particularly small, but they are definitely not proportional to his ass.
posted by diogenes at 10:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
A reminder, Nikki Haley was confirmed 96-4.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
I honestly can't tell the difference in the pictures at all. And I think it's a distraction. I don't care if he photoshops the size of his wanker.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I am tired and hoarse and my body hurts today but I'm at work and trying to focus [when not typing a stupidly long comment] but I feel like my options are being narrowed. There are now neo-nazis in power. Our options are being restricted. It is time to ACTIVELY resist by hurting Nazis. Or it's time for me and my family to leave this country. Both are heartbreaking to contemplate.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:47 AM on January 28 [28 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Thank you for what you did. I couldn't be there, and it breaks my heart every time to read these things and not be there, but you were, doing exactly the things that need to be done. Thank you.
posted by saysthis at 10:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 1:47 AM on January 28 [28 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Thank you for what you did. I couldn't be there, and it breaks my heart every time to read these things and not be there, but you were, doing exactly the things that need to be done. Thank you.
posted by saysthis at 10:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I can't decide if @RoguePOTUSstaff is about to get realer or is jumping the shark. (To be clear I am taking this and the dearly departed Whitehouse Leaker twitters with a grain of salt so large as to be on display at the Smithsonian and possibly seen from space, but it's also true that even through "normal" journalist-mediated channels the West Wing is currently leaking like a bottomless bucket so it's not entirely unpossible.) If we hear in a couple days that voting rolls show that some Trump family members voted twice, I guess we'll know.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
A reminder, Nikki Haley was confirmed 96-4.
Yeah, but if you think she wrote that speech herself you're vastly overestimating the freedom a UN ambassador has to act. Any Trump administration envoy would have said the same thing, because it'd be the same person telling them what to say.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, but if you think she wrote that speech herself you're vastly overestimating the freedom a UN ambassador has to act. Any Trump administration envoy would have said the same thing, because it'd be the same person telling them what to say.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I don't care if he photoshops the size of his wanker.
He should make Nigel Farage look very small in every picture.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
He should make Nigel Farage look very small in every picture.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
The decision of the prime minister to make her first address in the US to the GOP retreat, where she elided her role as head of government and that of Tory leader in pledging allegiance to their ideology, was even more shameful than this meeting today. She's betting recklessly, because she's a fundamentally weak leader who is still a Home Secretary in spirit.
posted by holgate at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
'Teresa May': White House Spells Theresa May's Name Wrong Three Times in Memo Ahead of Visit
Whether this is an example of incompetence or a deliberate slight - or maybe, as with so many Trumpian things, both - I genuinely do not know what to make of the fact that Teresa May (IMDB link, potentially NSFW) is a glamour model who has appeared in softcore porn videos, including one for a Playboy (just like Trump) and the Prodigy's music video for its hit "Smack My Bitch Up".
If this were a spec script for a sequel to In the Loop, it would get rejected as too hyperbolic and too grotesque.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Whether this is an example of incompetence or a deliberate slight - or maybe, as with so many Trumpian things, both - I genuinely do not know what to make of the fact that Teresa May (IMDB link, potentially NSFW) is a glamour model who has appeared in softcore porn videos, including one for a Playboy (just like Trump) and the Prodigy's music video for its hit "Smack My Bitch Up".
If this were a spec script for a sequel to In the Loop, it would get rejected as too hyperbolic and too grotesque.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
I can say that a lot of us white ladies protesting last weekend (was it just last weekend? Jesus) talked a lot about the 53% of white women voting Trump. We're all a bunch of weirdos, though, so we're not exactly sure we have any pull with your typical white lady Trump voter who will, in fact, care that we don't (consistently) shave our legs and dismiss us.
HOWEVER, we look Standard White Lady enough that we can help at BLM or other protests, if that truly will keep the cops calmer. Put us in the front, in our little pink hats and white faces, maybe they'll hold back more on the pepper spray. We've got some social justice/protest training coming up at our church, so I'm definitely going to get that discussion going. The cops were remarkably calm for us Saturday and I've heard a lot of women of color remark on that.
Of course, plenty of white women have been attacked by cops too when things get heated enough, so it's not any kind of magic armor. But maybe they'll wait longer to escalate. We will do what we can. And try to reach out to white lady friends who might be on the fence.
posted by emjaybee at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [77 favorites]
HOWEVER, we look Standard White Lady enough that we can help at BLM or other protests, if that truly will keep the cops calmer. Put us in the front, in our little pink hats and white faces, maybe they'll hold back more on the pepper spray. We've got some social justice/protest training coming up at our church, so I'm definitely going to get that discussion going. The cops were remarkably calm for us Saturday and I've heard a lot of women of color remark on that.
Of course, plenty of white women have been attacked by cops too when things get heated enough, so it's not any kind of magic armor. But maybe they'll wait longer to escalate. We will do what we can. And try to reach out to white lady friends who might be on the fence.
posted by emjaybee at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [77 favorites]
Up here we're just sitting a waiting to see what the hell he is going to do with Canada. My expectation is he is going release a wave of Canadian Righteous Politeness the likes of which haven't been seen for some time. Canadians tend to get mad with style but boyah can we get mad when it's warranted.
I am hoping desperately--and it was going to be the question I was going to ask the PM had I been able to get into the Town Hall meeting here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago--that Trudeau has the guts to stand up to Bully-in-Chief. Because if he doesn't and rolls over like a lapdog, then I will be bitterly disappointed. (Not like any other non-Conservative candidate might have done any better, mind you.)
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
posted by Kitteh at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I am hoping desperately--and it was going to be the question I was going to ask the PM had I been able to get into the Town Hall meeting here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago--that Trudeau has the guts to stand up to Bully-in-Chief. Because if he doesn't and rolls over like a lapdog, then I will be bitterly disappointed. (Not like any other non-Conservative candidate might have done any better, mind you.)
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
posted by Kitteh at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Calexit organizers have received permission to start collecting signatures to put a path to secession on the 2018 ballot. This would remove language in CA's state constitution declaring California a part of the United States, and would put the actual question of secession on a future ballot in 2019.
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
"I'm delighted to be able to congratulate you on what was a stunning electoral victory," May tells Trump
posted by slipthought at 10:15 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by slipthought at 10:15 AM on January 27, 2017
If this were a spec script for a sequel to In the Loop, it would get rejected as too hyperbolic and too grotesque.
It would, however, be perfect for Veep, The Thick of It/In the Loop's more hyperbolic and grotesque American cousin, which has already had to cut a joke because of Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017
It would, however, be perfect for Veep, The Thick of It/In the Loop's more hyperbolic and grotesque American cousin, which has already had to cut a joke because of Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017
LOL when Theresa May passed on the Queen's congratulations to Trump in the presser, Trump made this big happy impressed with himself face for a second like *can u believe it queen love Trump*
posted by angrycat at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
The 1980 Republican Debate: Should illegal immigrants get access to free public schools?
posted by Talez at 10:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Talez at 10:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Donnie clearly wasn't briefed about the Minsk Agreement. Tsk tsk.
posted by birdheist at 10:19 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by birdheist at 10:19 AM on January 27, 2017
We need John Cleese to do a sketch of Basil Fawlty running the desk at the Torquay branch of Trump Hotel.
"Listen, don't mention the size of his hands. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
"Listen, don't mention the size of his hands. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
"I'm delighted to be able to congratulate you on what was a stunning electoral victory," May tells Trump
British humor is just too dry for most American audiences.
posted by contraption at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [138 favorites]
British humor is just too dry for most American audiences.
posted by contraption at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [138 favorites]
Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell, after Gillray.
posted by holgate at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
lazaruslong, thank you for your courage in being an active ally and your openness to hearing hard words and truths from PoC.
It's hard --extremely hard -- to be a good ally. I know that I have not always been the best ally to various of my sisters and brothers on this planet, both individually and at a group level. It takes so much work and involves a lot of stumbles.
And as you noted, being a good ally takes a toll on your body and your mind, but it's one of the most important things in the world to do.
Thanks again.
posted by lord_wolf at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
It's hard --extremely hard -- to be a good ally. I know that I have not always been the best ally to various of my sisters and brothers on this planet, both individually and at a group level. It takes so much work and involves a lot of stumbles.
And as you noted, being a good ally takes a toll on your body and your mind, but it's one of the most important things in the world to do.
Thanks again.
posted by lord_wolf at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
So is the new tag for politics threads "potus45"?
Asking for MyMefi purposes :)
posted by samthemander at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Asking for MyMefi purposes :)
posted by samthemander at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
is he setting up to kick Mattis out when the next attack happens and then DJT will be all *if only we had tortured people MadDog you have failed us*
posted by angrycat at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
You just have the federal one; here in Alberta I get the shitshow of the provincial one as an added bonus.
posted by nubs at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
You just have the federal one; here in Alberta I get the shitshow of the provincial one as an added bonus.
posted by nubs at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Considering inviting some of my friends to join us here in Metafilter to get away from only seeing political news on FB.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017
angrycat, you've just overtaken the comment I was about to make asking whether Trump has just pre-emptively thrown Mattis under the bus.
posted by Major Clanger at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Major Clanger at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yes, Donald, it's the Mexicans that have made you look foolish
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Want to read an extended discussion from a Clinton-era advance guy on Presidential microphone choices and how Trump's changing the game? I thought so.
posted by zachlipton at 10:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Calexit organizers have received permission to start collecting signatures to put a path to secession on the 2018 ballot. This would remove language in CA's state constitution declaring California a part of the United States, and would put the actual question of secession on a future ballot in 2019.
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
Personally I hear this and my hands start shaking and I start going "oh god, oh god, I might need to run, our strongest ally won't even stand with me and mine and we're going to all die". I cannot imagine winning against these Nazi scum without California. I am trying to get Texas to where California is now all on my own and I have had a dozen people tell me it will be okay and I am trying to find the space and the, the, the control to pause and breathe. But every step I hear California taking to abandoning the rest of us in this poor misbegotten and tattered union sounds a warning knell to what remains of my determination and my optimism.
So, um, Californian MeFites, please for the love of--the love of--if you have ever liked a thing I have said or a sentiment I've had or if you have any positive feelings for me whatsoever, I am begging you, please stand against Calexit. Please. Please stand with us. Please help me protect the poorer and less privileged people in my community, because there's a lot of mes out here in places you don't maybe think about much or see and we cannot do it without your help and support. Please. I will get on my knees and beg on video if that will help, I will kiss your feet in gratitude, I have no shame left, but please do not let California abandon us.
posted by sciatrix at 10:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [163 favorites]
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
Personally I hear this and my hands start shaking and I start going "oh god, oh god, I might need to run, our strongest ally won't even stand with me and mine and we're going to all die". I cannot imagine winning against these Nazi scum without California. I am trying to get Texas to where California is now all on my own and I have had a dozen people tell me it will be okay and I am trying to find the space and the, the, the control to pause and breathe. But every step I hear California taking to abandoning the rest of us in this poor misbegotten and tattered union sounds a warning knell to what remains of my determination and my optimism.
So, um, Californian MeFites, please for the love of--the love of--if you have ever liked a thing I have said or a sentiment I've had or if you have any positive feelings for me whatsoever, I am begging you, please stand against Calexit. Please. Please stand with us. Please help me protect the poorer and less privileged people in my community, because there's a lot of mes out here in places you don't maybe think about much or see and we cannot do it without your help and support. Please. I will get on my knees and beg on video if that will help, I will kiss your feet in gratitude, I have no shame left, but please do not let California abandon us.
posted by sciatrix at 10:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [163 favorites]
It's been stated before, but I need to reiterate -- a calexit would condemn the rest of the country, the madness that is sweeping the US would become irreversible. It is telling the ultra-right that they have won.
A real secession would take quite the coordinated fight as well as a ton of work and leadership to guide the state into an independent nation successfully - to deal with trade and currency issues, to deal with border control, to deal with armed forces and defense, to establish the international office functions needed to be a successful nation. Even assuming that there was no military intervention from the US, this would take an absurd amount of time and effort for something that would likely have a minuscule chance of being viewed as a success.
All of the time, money, effort, and leadership of a campaign would be time, money, effort, and leadership that could be used to play a significant role in correcting the course of the US - something that would then become impossible.
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more efficient way to ensure further suffering of the US in perpetuity than a calexit scenario.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [75 favorites]
A real secession would take quite the coordinated fight as well as a ton of work and leadership to guide the state into an independent nation successfully - to deal with trade and currency issues, to deal with border control, to deal with armed forces and defense, to establish the international office functions needed to be a successful nation. Even assuming that there was no military intervention from the US, this would take an absurd amount of time and effort for something that would likely have a minuscule chance of being viewed as a success.
All of the time, money, effort, and leadership of a campaign would be time, money, effort, and leadership that could be used to play a significant role in correcting the course of the US - something that would then become impossible.
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more efficient way to ensure further suffering of the US in perpetuity than a calexit scenario.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [75 favorites]
“This was your choice of a question? There goes that relationship!”
To Laura Keunssberg, the BBC's political editor, for asking a pointed question about public statements. (And Keunssberg has been accused in the past of being a little too chummy towards the Tory establishment and reflexively hostile to Labour.)
posted by holgate at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
To Laura Keunssberg, the BBC's political editor, for asking a pointed question about public statements. (And Keunssberg has been accused in the past of being a little too chummy towards the Tory establishment and reflexively hostile to Labour.)
posted by holgate at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
and I think that's the point at which I have to acknowledge that I need a break from working on this before I actually collapse in tears at work again, so Imma gonna go to the library and hide myself in Call the Midwife compilations for a while.
posted by sciatrix at 10:37 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 10:37 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more efficient way to ensure further suffering of the US in perpetuity than a calexit scenario.
Well we did elect Donald Trump
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Well we did elect Donald Trump
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yes, Calexit is a stunningly bad idea and I have no intention of letting California leave the rest of the US. As cheesy as it sounds we are stronger together.
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
If we can save the West Coast, I'm for it.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Not wanting a civil war or Partition-style bloodbath isn't cheesy.
posted by Rykey at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
(God I miss the days when you could complain about political slogans being a little cheesy instead of terrifying symbols of upcoming fascism)
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Calexit is very possible a Russian/Putin plot to tear apart the United States. The guy who started it lives in Russia and is a homophobe.
KQED: From his home in Russia, Calexit leader plots California secession
A former right-wing activist from Buffalo, New York, Marinelli first moved to Russia almost a decade ago. He studied at St. Petersburg State University, the alma mater of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He returned to the United States to campaign against LGBTQ rights as part of the National Organization for Marriage.
...
In fact, Marinelli’s movement was covered almost exclusively in outlets funded by the Russian government and Communist Party before picking up more mainstream attention in the past few months. The ascendancy of his secessionist organization says just as much about the state of media as it does about the Russian government’s ability to sway U.S. public opinion.
posted by gucci mane at 10:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [91 favorites]
KQED: From his home in Russia, Calexit leader plots California secession
A former right-wing activist from Buffalo, New York, Marinelli first moved to Russia almost a decade ago. He studied at St. Petersburg State University, the alma mater of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He returned to the United States to campaign against LGBTQ rights as part of the National Organization for Marriage.
...
In fact, Marinelli’s movement was covered almost exclusively in outlets funded by the Russian government and Communist Party before picking up more mainstream attention in the past few months. The ascendancy of his secessionist organization says just as much about the state of media as it does about the Russian government’s ability to sway U.S. public opinion.
posted by gucci mane at 10:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [91 favorites]
I'm sorry I posted that Calexit link so blithely. I should have realized it would upset people. Despite my surprising-even-to-me initial reaction, I do not think Calexit is the way to go, and I think we still have a way forward through this mess.
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
A real secession would take quite the coordinated fight
Navy Port.
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
posted by rough ashlar at 10:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Navy Port.
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
posted by rough ashlar at 10:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also from that link:
English says sowing domestic political divisions in the U.S. appears to be the motivating factor in supporting Yes California.
Marinelli’s effort is endorsed by the Kremlin, which hosted Yes California as part of an anti-globalization conference in Moscow in September. The conference was paid for by the Russian government, and the pictures of Marinelli flanked by other “freedom fighters” from Texas (“Texit,” anyone?), Catalonia, Ireland and Puerto Rico provided Yes California a veneer of legitimacy.
It’s a similar approach Russia took when Nigel Farage — the leader of the anti-EU party UKIP — was still considered a fringe character.
RT even offered Farage his own show on the network.
These efforts by Putin’s Kremlin to prop up fringe causes have been a concern of U.S. officials for several years. In a speech last year at the Brookings Institution, Vice President Joe Biden warned of Russian attempts to influence Western elections in 2015.
posted by gucci mane at 10:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
English says sowing domestic political divisions in the U.S. appears to be the motivating factor in supporting Yes California.
Marinelli’s effort is endorsed by the Kremlin, which hosted Yes California as part of an anti-globalization conference in Moscow in September. The conference was paid for by the Russian government, and the pictures of Marinelli flanked by other “freedom fighters” from Texas (“Texit,” anyone?), Catalonia, Ireland and Puerto Rico provided Yes California a veneer of legitimacy.
It’s a similar approach Russia took when Nigel Farage — the leader of the anti-EU party UKIP — was still considered a fringe character.
RT even offered Farage his own show on the network.
These efforts by Putin’s Kremlin to prop up fringe causes have been a concern of U.S. officials for several years. In a speech last year at the Brookings Institution, Vice President Joe Biden warned of Russian attempts to influence Western elections in 2015.
posted by gucci mane at 10:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yes, let's take our largest group of blue voters out of the country. That'll fix it.
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Calexit is a terrible idea, and if it actually got traction (it won't) it would spark a literal civil war. We provide far too much in food and tax revenue, not to mention many many critical military bases. It's not even worth a fantasy thought. And that's ignoring who is driving the idea.
posted by gofargogo at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by gofargogo at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [26 favorites]
Not that I think people mentioning hate and anger are doing this, but I thought it was a good point.
“Don’t fight hate with hate” is an example of subtle gaslighting, where our legitimate hurt & anger at the injustices we suffer is being equated to the bigotry & abuse of our oppressors.posted by chris24 at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [121 favorites]
Being angry doesn’t mean you are being hateful, it means you love yourself enough to get upset at your own mistreatment.
Geesus. This really is turning into the Hunger Games. California = District 13.
*kisses three fingers, extends arm*
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
*kisses three fingers, extends arm*
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Mod note: Y'all let's maybe collectively take a deep breath a little. Shit's hard, everybody's got good reason to be upset.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
The partition plan should include a process of assisted voluntary resettlement between the various resulting polities. It will probably be necessary to see coastal NIMBY's BTFO...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017
The west coast is seeing strong local leadership to fill voids and actively fight against much of what we are seeing come from the Trump administration... Sanctuary cities committing to disobey executive directives regarding immigration enforcement, potential statewide health insurance initiatives - This is where we see the largest resistance as well as where we will see models that can spread throughout the US if successful. It is where we will see how impotent many of the administrative directives will be.
Let's be selfish here and pretend that we only care about the west coast - please tell me how the states and cities of the west coast are able to be stronger and better off via a secession. I see no scenario in which this is the case.
There is no "saving" the west coast by abandoning the rest of the US, there is simply abandoning it and surrendering voices. It is an expression of hate for the rest of the country and divisiveness - and it's the ultimate dream of the ultra-right for the progressive ideals and voters of the west coast to no longer be a consideration.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Let's be selfish here and pretend that we only care about the west coast - please tell me how the states and cities of the west coast are able to be stronger and better off via a secession. I see no scenario in which this is the case.
There is no "saving" the west coast by abandoning the rest of the US, there is simply abandoning it and surrendering voices. It is an expression of hate for the rest of the country and divisiveness - and it's the ultimate dream of the ultra-right for the progressive ideals and voters of the west coast to no longer be a consideration.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare [WaPo]
Recordings of closed sessions at the Republican policy retreat in Philadelphia this week were sent late Thursday to The Washington Post and several other news outlets from an anonymous email address. The remarks of all lawmakers quoted in this story were confirmed by their offices or by the lawmakers themselves.posted by melissasaurus at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
...so Imma gonna go to the library...
This is often the best course of action when faced with many situations in life. Log off, drink a refreshing cup of tea, take a stroll to the public library, and imbibe from the many freely available fountains of knowledge. Unreservedly recommended.
posted by Wordshore at 10:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
This is often the best course of action when faced with many situations in life. Log off, drink a refreshing cup of tea, take a stroll to the public library, and imbibe from the many freely available fountains of knowledge. Unreservedly recommended.
posted by Wordshore at 10:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
From the above link:
“We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created [with repeal],” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS
posted by angrycat at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
“We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created [with repeal],” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS
posted by angrycat at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
"Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together"
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
Don't think of it as "if Trump fails, the Republicans also fail." That's also not what the article suggests. Trump could flame out and Pence could slide right in and the Republican agenda would continue smoothly. This is more of a "let's you and him fight" thing where many Republicans are saying "yes, I can vote for a lot of Trump's stuff but let HIM be the front man for it and pay that particular PR cost."
“Don’t fight hate with hate” is an example of subtle gaslighting, where our legitimate hurt & anger at the injustices we suffer is being equated to the bigotry & abuse of our oppressors.
Self-defense is not "fighting with hate." It also does not mean you have to pull your punches against a sufficient threat.
posted by delfin at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
Don't think of it as "if Trump fails, the Republicans also fail." That's also not what the article suggests. Trump could flame out and Pence could slide right in and the Republican agenda would continue smoothly. This is more of a "let's you and him fight" thing where many Republicans are saying "yes, I can vote for a lot of Trump's stuff but let HIM be the front man for it and pay that particular PR cost."
“Don’t fight hate with hate” is an example of subtle gaslighting, where our legitimate hurt & anger at the injustices we suffer is being equated to the bigotry & abuse of our oppressors.
Self-defense is not "fighting with hate." It also does not mean you have to pull your punches against a sufficient threat.
posted by delfin at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I remember my high school classmates musing fondly on the idea of Calexit back in the Bush years. Even as idiot teens we knew it was a silly fantasy. The negotiations for water rights alone would kill the deal, and in the event of armed conflict the people in California who own guns are not the people that Democratic folks in the cities want owning guns. It's a pipe dream and it makes no sense.
posted by potrzebie at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ouch. I'm surprised this is getting so much free press.
posted by buzzman at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by buzzman at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am hoping desperately--and it was going to be the question I was going to ask the PM had I been able to get into the Town Hall meeting here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago--that Trudeau has the guts to stand up to Bully-in-Chief. Because if he doesn't and rolls over like a lapdog, then I will be bitterly disappointed. (Not like any other non-Conservative candidate might have done any better, mind you.)
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
I really can't speculate at what Trudeau is going to do at this point. He's in a tough place with NAFTA on the table and this has the potential to royally screw our economy. My expectation is that he's going to, at least at first, play a bit of the kiss as political game, because as we all know now that it's a strategy that can work with Donald. It's going to be tough to watch when it happens but I won't outright condemn him for it if it's looks like that's what he's doing (a strategy) and not because he means it. I'm hoping at least for a good/cop bad cop play when it comes to NAFTA. I'm okay with this as I understand how vital it is.
I also expect there may be pushback (if this admin figures it out) with our 'deepening of relations' with China which is starting next month (Free Trade). It will be interesting to see if this admin gets itself to the point of understanding that their desire to pull back from the world means that both countries on their borders are looking outward, with more motivation now. That outwards is leading directly to China and pacific trade. Both Canada and Mexico are having open talks with China now.
If he starts kissing ass on other issues? Especially social ones. Yeah I'll be right piss at that. At least he has already shown some indication that he's not with his comments on standing firm on Canada's views of refugees and immigration and his stand on feminism.
Climate change ditto. Trudeau is screwing around with the agenda with his whole support of pipelines but in general it's at least an issue that our government is trying to do something about. I can see Canada taking on even more of a leadership role especially since from talking to some people involved here people in the US who are working on climate change are now looking more to Canada for help and support. Our general populace is much more supportive of it being a primary issue relative to the US populace at this point.
NATO is another potential conflict if Trump actually goes there. I don't see Canada following any lead on that one.
If net neutrality takes hold I can see Canada becoming the place where 'net' stuff moves. I've already heard from those in the industry that queries from US tech companies about moving or setting up satellites up here has shot through the roof since the election. Also queries about moving data storage up here as well. That will be interesting to watch.
I have no friggen clue how Canada is going to react to this new Russian/US becoming 'friends' thing. This is a tough one because of the arctic and the opening of the arctic due to climate change. Oil and security being the issues. Russia if you go north is next door so yeah no idea and I doubt anyone has much of an idea at this point.
And yeah the Conservative race. Good lord. We get our very own Trump lite reality tv business guy. He's a putz like Trump but unfortunately I think a bit smarter putz. My only solace is that if he does become leader the crap going on in the US will help temper his the worst of whatever the hell he's gonna do and say. Thank goodness the election is still a few years away.
Whoops that turned into an essay. I will stop now.
posted by Jalliah at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
I really can't speculate at what Trudeau is going to do at this point. He's in a tough place with NAFTA on the table and this has the potential to royally screw our economy. My expectation is that he's going to, at least at first, play a bit of the kiss as political game, because as we all know now that it's a strategy that can work with Donald. It's going to be tough to watch when it happens but I won't outright condemn him for it if it's looks like that's what he's doing (a strategy) and not because he means it. I'm hoping at least for a good/cop bad cop play when it comes to NAFTA. I'm okay with this as I understand how vital it is.
I also expect there may be pushback (if this admin figures it out) with our 'deepening of relations' with China which is starting next month (Free Trade). It will be interesting to see if this admin gets itself to the point of understanding that their desire to pull back from the world means that both countries on their borders are looking outward, with more motivation now. That outwards is leading directly to China and pacific trade. Both Canada and Mexico are having open talks with China now.
If he starts kissing ass on other issues? Especially social ones. Yeah I'll be right piss at that. At least he has already shown some indication that he's not with his comments on standing firm on Canada's views of refugees and immigration and his stand on feminism.
Climate change ditto. Trudeau is screwing around with the agenda with his whole support of pipelines but in general it's at least an issue that our government is trying to do something about. I can see Canada taking on even more of a leadership role especially since from talking to some people involved here people in the US who are working on climate change are now looking more to Canada for help and support. Our general populace is much more supportive of it being a primary issue relative to the US populace at this point.
NATO is another potential conflict if Trump actually goes there. I don't see Canada following any lead on that one.
If net neutrality takes hold I can see Canada becoming the place where 'net' stuff moves. I've already heard from those in the industry that queries from US tech companies about moving or setting up satellites up here has shot through the roof since the election. Also queries about moving data storage up here as well. That will be interesting to watch.
I have no friggen clue how Canada is going to react to this new Russian/US becoming 'friends' thing. This is a tough one because of the arctic and the opening of the arctic due to climate change. Oil and security being the issues. Russia if you go north is next door so yeah no idea and I doubt anyone has much of an idea at this point.
And yeah the Conservative race. Good lord. We get our very own Trump lite reality tv business guy. He's a putz like Trump but unfortunately I think a bit smarter putz. My only solace is that if he does become leader the crap going on in the US will help temper his the worst of whatever the hell he's gonna do and say. Thank goodness the election is still a few years away.
Whoops that turned into an essay. I will stop now.
posted by Jalliah at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
So maybe non-violent rhetoric really might not be the way to go for people whose primary goal is to avoid being murdered.
You can't blame anyone for making survival their primary goal, but it's worth noting that they were murdered because that rhetoric posed an effective threat to their oppressors.
posted by Coventry at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
You can't blame anyone for making survival their primary goal, but it's worth noting that they were murdered because that rhetoric posed an effective threat to their oppressors.
posted by Coventry at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I cannot imagine winning against these Nazi scum without California.
I live in California. We're not going anywhere. We're going to keep fighting.
I will never vote for anything that makes it harder for gay kids in red states to get to safety, and turning California into another country definitely counts.
And four years from now, when we have thrown this wanna-be dictator out of office, we will all celebrate together.
posted by Myca at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [63 favorites]
I live in California. We're not going anywhere. We're going to keep fighting.
I will never vote for anything that makes it harder for gay kids in red states to get to safety, and turning California into another country definitely counts.
And four years from now, when we have thrown this wanna-be dictator out of office, we will all celebrate together.
posted by Myca at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [63 favorites]
One more thing that could also lead to conflict. Canada is set to nationally legalize pot. I can't see that going over well with this admin.
posted by Jalliah at 10:53 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
The partition plan should include a process of assisted voluntary resettlement between the various resulting polities.
The problem with this, aside from the practical difficulty many threatened populations would have with resettling, is that trans people and gay people and girls would continue to be born in what's left of the USA, and those kids would be FUCKED.
posted by contraption at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
The problem with this, aside from the practical difficulty many threatened populations would have with resettling, is that trans people and gay people and girls would continue to be born in what's left of the USA, and those kids would be FUCKED.
posted by contraption at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Trump 100% photoshopped his hand bigger for this picture hanging in the white house
A Disney layout artist posted an A/B animation with the original source picture. They totally did.
Maybe a distraction, but something to add to the Amendment 25(4) proceedings.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [66 favorites]
A Disney layout artist posted an A/B animation with the original source picture. They totally did.
Maybe a distraction, but something to add to the Amendment 25(4) proceedings.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [66 favorites]
I feel like I'm getting way too involved in these threads (I need my own damn blog, but y'know, impending fascism and all), but:
Calexit, if it ever DOES become a thing, will mean civil war. And it's a freakin' Russian plot at its most credible.
Stop panicking about this. It won't happen. Not before you get ample warning to run, and not before Calexit itself becomes a burned out shell of an idea similar to Brexit.
And as dismissive as I might sound here, I swear on my life as a Minnesotan I won't be among the "leavers". I have my own history of GTFO (posting history is there if curious), but I vote, I'm in it, and I sure as hell ain't gonna let my family, my hometown, and my state fall to these monsters without a fight. That means a fight for everyone they'll oppress.
I also think that's how most of the resistance, as currently constituted, feels about this.
And if ANYONE on metafilter is ever in danger, memail is there, and I'm here. I don't know how much or how far I can help, but the minute someone reaches out with a plea for help, you damn well better know there are people standing with you, and we're not without means.
Knowing that is what gets me through the day. I am who I am because there were strangers who didn't leave me behind, not just in my state, not just in my country, all over the world. Decent people being decent is how I survived and stayed decent. I'm not the only one.
Stay strong.
posted by saysthis at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [32 favorites]
Calexit, if it ever DOES become a thing, will mean civil war. And it's a freakin' Russian plot at its most credible.
Stop panicking about this. It won't happen. Not before you get ample warning to run, and not before Calexit itself becomes a burned out shell of an idea similar to Brexit.
And as dismissive as I might sound here, I swear on my life as a Minnesotan I won't be among the "leavers". I have my own history of GTFO (posting history is there if curious), but I vote, I'm in it, and I sure as hell ain't gonna let my family, my hometown, and my state fall to these monsters without a fight. That means a fight for everyone they'll oppress.
I also think that's how most of the resistance, as currently constituted, feels about this.
And if ANYONE on metafilter is ever in danger, memail is there, and I'm here. I don't know how much or how far I can help, but the minute someone reaches out with a plea for help, you damn well better know there are people standing with you, and we're not without means.
Knowing that is what gets me through the day. I am who I am because there were strangers who didn't leave me behind, not just in my state, not just in my country, all over the world. Decent people being decent is how I survived and stayed decent. I'm not the only one.
Stay strong.
posted by saysthis at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [32 favorites]
The word going around the resistance groups around me is that Senator Toomey (PA, R) is wavering on his support for DeVos so there is an increased effort to get out the calls to him. This afternoon, I've called all of his offices (all 8 of them!) three times each in an attempt to get through. Five of them have a "this mailbox is full" message and the rest go to a busy signal. (When was the last time you heard a busy signal?!)
I don't have much hope that Toomey will ever really stand up to Trump, but I sure as hell want anyone in office or considering running for office to know that they won't get away with this shit in peace.
posted by mcduff at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
I don't have much hope that Toomey will ever really stand up to Trump, but I sure as hell want anyone in office or considering running for office to know that they won't get away with this shit in peace.
posted by mcduff at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
Matt Debenham @debenham:
This *sounds* like a good thing to say, until you read it again.posted by mhum at 10:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]Mark Knoller @markknoller:
Pres Trump marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day pledging to ensure "that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good."
Calexit is another Russia plot. They're aimed at breaking up the US.
Also, it makes no sense. California can barely house its citizens as is, the last thing they need is an internal refugee crisis as liberals flee Christian ISIS States to the Independent California.
Plus its a fantasy anyway. Washington wouldn't let all of the Pacific fleet walk away without violence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Also, it makes no sense. California can barely house its citizens as is, the last thing they need is an internal refugee crisis as liberals flee Christian ISIS States to the Independent California.
Plus its a fantasy anyway. Washington wouldn't let all of the Pacific fleet walk away without violence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fuck me. I have been thinking of Calexit as creating a New Jerusalem (holy shit, I'm murdering myself here) because I escaped from There to Here. Cognitively I KNOW that every progressive moving here and every conservative leaving is utter fantasy. But I've been absorbed into that fantasy hard. Thank you guys, especially sciatrix, for kicking me back down to the ground.
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
(On preview, I am not "an idiot", I'm just trying to cope with all the trauma.)
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 11:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
(On preview, I am not "an idiot", I'm just trying to cope with all the trauma.)
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 11:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Fuck me. I have been thinking of Calexit as creating a New Jerusalem (holy shit, I'm murdering myself here) because I escaped from There to Here. Cognitively I KNOW that every progressive moving here and every conservative leaving is utter fantasy. But I've been absorbed into that fantasy hard. Thank you guys, especially sciatrix, for kicking me back down to the ground.
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
You're not an idiot, my fantasy is the same and I'm not sorry for my dreams. Now I'm off to go for a walk in the park and reread Ecotopia.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
You're not an idiot, my fantasy is the same and I'm not sorry for my dreams. Now I'm off to go for a walk in the park and reread Ecotopia.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Cosigning everything The Noble Goofy Elk just said.
posted by sunset in snow country at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by sunset in snow country at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
HOLY SHIT THIS MEXICO COVER OF VANITY FAIR FEATURING MELANIA
posted by angrycat at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Days of Rage: "Let's not mince words. The United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War"—David Hines (Storify).
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Trump 100% photoshopped his hand bigger for this picture hanging in the white house
I think we've found the jars of urine. Can someone get McConnell and John Roberts over here now please? I want to go home.
posted by petebest at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think we've found the jars of urine. Can someone get McConnell and John Roberts over here now please? I want to go home.
posted by petebest at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I wouldn't panic about Calexit actually happening. It will foster discussion and is more likely to lead to fights over state and city rights which could lead to an evolution of powers of the states and cities that want to hold onto more progressive outlook and agendas. What this would mean long term is up in the air but it's not necessarily a negative because what say a state like California could secure the rights to do makes it easier for other states in the country to follow.
I'm looking back at how Canada got universal healthcare as an example. This was fought for in one Province (nasty, horrible fight that actually echos what is going on now) and once it was secured it spread across the country.
posted by Jalliah at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
I'm looking back at how Canada got universal healthcare as an example. This was fought for in one Province (nasty, horrible fight that actually echos what is going on now) and once it was secured it spread across the country.
posted by Jalliah at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Trump today at the joint press conference with May: 'We're looking to have a great relationship with all countries. But that probably won't happen with very many.' (may be slightly off from an exact quote)
posted by gatorae at 11:02 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 11:02 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Stop panicking about this. It won't happen. Not before you get ample warning to run, and not before Calexit itself becomes a burned out shell of an idea similar to Brexit.
If you've ever walked into a public building, or bought coffee from Starbucks, in California, you've seen a reminder of what crazy laws get passed because of citizen initiatives.
posted by sideshow at 11:03 AM on January 27, 2017
If you've ever walked into a public building, or bought coffee from Starbucks, in California, you've seen a reminder of what crazy laws get passed because of citizen initiatives.
posted by sideshow at 11:03 AM on January 27, 2017
Yes, let's take our largest group of blue voters out of the country. That'll fix it.
Well, I mean, considering that the Kremlin is aiding this effort, I think they believe it will, in fact, fix it. "It" being the ability of the United States to block their military adventures.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Well, I mean, considering that the Kremlin is aiding this effort, I think they believe it will, in fact, fix it. "It" being the ability of the United States to block their military adventures.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I do wanna say I totally get the impulse to think Calexit could be a good idea and maybe it'd be nice to live in our liberal paradise and not have to worry about all this (because it is exhausting). It's the same urge that has folks saying 'time to move to Canada', or in my case 'maybe we'll move back to Ireland' (which I'm glad to see is one of the remaining 19 full democracies according to that EIU list). But those are fleeting impulses and any amount of reflection has me saying F that. This is my home, this is my country now, these are my people (even if I reeeeeaaally don't understand some of them and how they can support this administration) and I and the rest of California are not going anywhere. We're all in this together. We keep pushing together and we make this country better for everyone.
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
The Full English...
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
American presidents normally have to wait a few years before they get invited to the UK for a state visit (that’s not just a normal visit, but the ceremonial Full English, with a state banquet at Buckingham Palace and full royal paraphernalia) but Trump is very keen to get one (apparently he wants to play golf at Balmoral) and May was able to oblige. In return, she seems to have got an assurance on Nato (see 6.16pm) and, perhaps, an assurance that Trump will not overturn the West’s sanctions policy towards Russia overnight.Trump and May's press conference - Snap verdict (Grauniad live)
In Trump-speak, it’s a deal, and one that satisfies both sides.
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Navy Port.
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
LOLWUT
San Diego
San Pedro/Long Beach
San Francisco/Oakland
There's plenty of water if we don't have to feed the rest of CONUS. Also, desalinization.
Not that this is a good idea. In part because you don't just secede with the Pacific Fleet HQ and the most important West Coast deep water ports.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
LOLWUT
San Diego
San Pedro/Long Beach
San Francisco/Oakland
There's plenty of water if we don't have to feed the rest of CONUS. Also, desalinization.
Not that this is a good idea. In part because you don't just secede with the Pacific Fleet HQ and the most important West Coast deep water ports.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
May sounds like Chamberlin after the Munich agreement.
posted by humanfont at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
The Rise of Embedded Nationalism (via)
Two interrelated components are necessary for maintaining a stable domestic-international bargain. One, the international benefits of a liberal world economy—the gains from trade—has to be domestically distributed. Economists have always recognized that the gains are at the aggregate level. Those who gain from economic globalization (”winners“) need to compensate those who are hurt from it (”losers“) and mitigate the latters’ cost of adjusting to the new economic reality. Two, the domestic population needs to intuitively and/or rationally understand the nature of the domestic-international bargain and continually support to reinforce and sustain the international arrangement.posted by tonycpsu at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I have some ideas on why these two components unraveled over time: [...]
From Tommy Siegel's tumblr:
Last three “elite cosmopolitan liberal” presidents:
-From Georgia, *actual* peanut farmer
-Raised in Arkansas, poor, by an abusive stepfather
-Raised by single mom and grandparents in Kansas/Hawaii
Last four “everyman, white-working-class conservative” presidents:
-Hollywood actor from IL
-Son of borderline-royal Massachusetts family with banker/politician patriarch
-Literally the previous guy’s son
-NY millionaire at birth and later reality show star who probably owns a bunch of ponies but won’t talk about it or tell us their names
posted by PenDevil at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [180 favorites]
Last three “elite cosmopolitan liberal” presidents:
-From Georgia, *actual* peanut farmer
-Raised in Arkansas, poor, by an abusive stepfather
-Raised by single mom and grandparents in Kansas/Hawaii
Last four “everyman, white-working-class conservative” presidents:
-Hollywood actor from IL
-Son of borderline-royal Massachusetts family with banker/politician patriarch
-Literally the previous guy’s son
-NY millionaire at birth and later reality show star who probably owns a bunch of ponies but won’t talk about it or tell us their names
posted by PenDevil at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [180 favorites]
All Democratic senators will oppose DeVos as education secretary
posted by argonauta at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to die.
As a serial victim of really bad suits, my first thought on seeing that was, "Damn, that's a pretty nice suit to get blown up by a helicopter and keep it together like that."
posted by lagomorphius at 11:10 AM on January 27, 2017
As a serial victim of really bad suits, my first thought on seeing that was, "Damn, that's a pretty nice suit to get blown up by a helicopter and keep it together like that."
posted by lagomorphius at 11:10 AM on January 27, 2017
In return, she seems to have got an assurance on Nato (see 6.16pm) and, perhaps, an assurance that Trump will not overturn the West’s sanctions policy towards Russia overnight.
These are good things, but the process is terrifying. Inflate his ego and you get x and y in return. Beginning to think that Putin doesn't have kompromat, he didn't need any. He literally did just have to say nice things about him.
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
These are good things, but the process is terrifying. Inflate his ego and you get x and y in return. Beginning to think that Putin doesn't have kompromat, he didn't need any. He literally did just have to say nice things about him.
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
NATO is another potential conflict if Trump actually goes there. I don't see Canada following any lead on that one.
Don't forget NORAD. Canadian and US military forces are pretty intertwined and have had joint training and practice exercises for more than half a century.
posted by srboisvert at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Don't forget NORAD. Canadian and US military forces are pretty intertwined and have had joint training and practice exercises for more than half a century.
posted by srboisvert at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! This shirt was linked in a previous thread and it didn't used to be available as a onesie but now it is and I LOVE IT! Thank you to the teespring guy who my friend tweeted for making this happen!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to die.
This is stolen from a tweet that I can't find now, but he has the same butt:hand ratio has a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
posted by gatorae at 11:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is stolen from a tweet that I can't find now, but he has the same butt:hand ratio has a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
posted by gatorae at 11:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
@AndreaKuszewski I'm on board with this. The psychologist's guide on how to defeat Trump:
My biggest concern with a Trump Presidency has always been his psychopathology. Not his policies, VP, or Cabinet. I've vehemently disagreed with conservative (and some liberal) pols' agendas before, but my gravest truck with Trump ain't his values, perspectives, or plans.posted by joedan at 11:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
What frightens me most is his Narcissistic Personality Disorder. His impulsivity, delusions, grandiosity, vengefulness, entitlement, lying, insecurities, Machiavellianism, and profound lack of empathy. Because:
"If someone does have NPD they can, indeed, wake up, see a Tweet or a news report from a foreign leader criticizing him, mocking him, calling him 'weak' or threatening his ego in any way and order some kind of impulsive, vindictive, punishing, immediate response that could include an unhinged order to attack that foreign leader or foreign country with military force, even including the authorization of nuclear weapons. It is extremely likely that there would be some kind of impulsive, angry diplomatic response. Because someone afflicted with this incurable and progressive NPD simply can’t help himself." [Link below]
And it ain't gonna get better. Sooooooo I'm thinking we gotta make it worse. Much worse. And fast. We RESISTERS have to:
Poke
Prod
Needle
Agitate
Alienate
We must get under his thin, Cheetos skin until he unhinges to a degree not yet seen. On Americans. Before he has a chance to insult N. Korea, China, and others such that their leaders are compelled to attack us to save face with their constituents. Before WWIII.
Clinicians are well versed in mitigating NPD. But Trump's untreatable. So we must do the opposite. Inflame it. Ignite it. And incite him into words and deeds that finally go too far for too many...that so flagrantly and repulsively violate the Constitution and Common Decency that even his most fervent supporters pull away. So he's isolated. And so Congress feels compelled to impeach or get impaled at the ballot box come 2018.
We need more Alec Baldwin. More late night host mockery. We need Jon Stewart back. Our Narcissist-in-Chief couldn't care less when we call him out on falsehoods. He's allergic to data and rationale discourse deflects right off of him. Trump's empirical Teflon.
But call his hands tiny? Hair fake? Wealth illusory? Crowds unimpressive? Election illegitimate? Sexual prowess forgettable? Question his sexual orientation? His virility? His manhood?
Trump's Kryptonite are his fragile ego and never ending need for adulation and admiration. If we can perturb both and put him on the defensive, Bigly, his offense could be his undoing. We gotta help Trump destroy himself. Before he does the Rest of Us.
Let's troll this fucker like no one has ever been trolled before.
#RESIST
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
Old Bess has shaken hands with many devils, Idi Amin, al-Assad, Mugabe, Nazarbayev (of Khazakstan). Trump will not be her first.
posted by bonehead at 11:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Old Bess has shaken hands with many devils, Idi Amin, al-Assad, Mugabe, Nazarbayev (of Khazakstan). Trump will not be her first.
posted by bonehead at 11:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
She has entertained worse than Trump. Quite routinely in fact.
posted by srboisvert at 11:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
She has entertained worse than Trump. Quite routinely in fact.
posted by srboisvert at 11:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
In NeverTrumpNeverReallyExisted news, Erick Erickson of Red State tweets:
Don’t agree with all his positions, but if the rest of his term is like the first week, I’d vote for Trump in 2020.
Well that didn't take long.
posted by gatorae at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [65 favorites]
Don’t agree with all his positions, but if the rest of his term is like the first week, I’d vote for Trump in 2020.
Well that didn't take long.
posted by gatorae at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [65 favorites]
Meeting of an axis of evil: Trump, May + Gary Cohn, Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Reince Priebus, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
Honestly even that I don't need. Trump is president, Pence is VP, that's the current reality. Trump has shown after 1 week that he'll sign all sorts of nightmare EOs which leads one to believe he's gonna just sign whatever legislation Congress sends over. I assume all this is true for Pence as well.
So you have a difference that Trump surrounds himself with people like Bannon, launches moronic shitfits over crowd sizes and election results, and constantly runs off at the mouth in public and endangers our relationships with other countries. Maybe you could defend that Pence would do equal damage to our electoral system with Executive-level interference with voting rights, so we can even spot you that one.
That's plenty enough reason to want Pence instead. He's be a massive nightmare, but he'd basically be what we have now but with Trump's public persona and inability to control his shit sloppily wiped off. I want a lot more, but I'll happily start with that.
posted by phearlez at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Honestly even that I don't need. Trump is president, Pence is VP, that's the current reality. Trump has shown after 1 week that he'll sign all sorts of nightmare EOs which leads one to believe he's gonna just sign whatever legislation Congress sends over. I assume all this is true for Pence as well.
So you have a difference that Trump surrounds himself with people like Bannon, launches moronic shitfits over crowd sizes and election results, and constantly runs off at the mouth in public and endangers our relationships with other countries. Maybe you could defend that Pence would do equal damage to our electoral system with Executive-level interference with voting rights, so we can even spot you that one.
That's plenty enough reason to want Pence instead. He's be a massive nightmare, but he'd basically be what we have now but with Trump's public persona and inability to control his shit sloppily wiped off. I want a lot more, but I'll happily start with that.
posted by phearlez at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Calexit is a terrible idea, and if it actually got traction (it won't) it would spark a literal civil war.
This is not an endorsement of Calexit, but American independence was a terrible idea in pragmatic materialistic terms and sparked a literal separatist war. The early US was a poor country. It was dependent upon subsistence agriculture and slavery for decades. It got by through the advantage of fertile land and a growing population and territorial expansion (and Jacksonian ethnic cleansing).
We know the fundamentals here: urban vs rural, clustering, a constitutional settlement written to placate slaveholders that doesn't take into account a country of 330 million, particularly one where the largest states have 50-80 times the population of the smallest.
Anyway, I agree with Jalliah: we've seen how small-population square states with their ALEC-funded legislators have driven the political agenda, and it's time for California to use its clout to put forward a different model and change the facts on the ground.
posted by holgate at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
This is not an endorsement of Calexit, but American independence was a terrible idea in pragmatic materialistic terms and sparked a literal separatist war. The early US was a poor country. It was dependent upon subsistence agriculture and slavery for decades. It got by through the advantage of fertile land and a growing population and territorial expansion (and Jacksonian ethnic cleansing).
We know the fundamentals here: urban vs rural, clustering, a constitutional settlement written to placate slaveholders that doesn't take into account a country of 330 million, particularly one where the largest states have 50-80 times the population of the smallest.
Anyway, I agree with Jalliah: we've seen how small-population square states with their ALEC-funded legislators have driven the political agenda, and it's time for California to use its clout to put forward a different model and change the facts on the ground.
posted by holgate at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
FUCK CALEXIT. The most progressive, wealthy, populous state in the nation WILL NOT abandon our brothers and sisters in the rest of the country to fight alone. We will stay and fight. California routinely puts wingnuttery front and center on ballot measures. No one took Brexit or Trump seriously until they were happening - we should keep our basilisk eyes on Calexit and say a hearty FUCK NO every time it's viewed favorably. If you're from Norcal I will accept FUCK THAT HELLA HARD.
posted by supercrayon at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
President Trump says of Obama, whose legitimacy he questioned for years: ‘I think he likes me’
posted by zachlipton at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [152 favorites]
Speaking to Fox News's Sean Hannity in an interview airing Thursday night, Trump reflected on his relationship with President Obama, and he said he thinks his predecessor has actually come to like him.I get the feeling Trump has never before encountered a person who put aside personal feelings out of a sense of duty to others (or indeed, never encountered a person who cared about a duty to others).
“What amazed me is that I was vicious to him in statements, he was vicious to me in statements, and here we are getting along, we're riding up Pennsylvania Avenue, talk — we don't even mention it,” Trump said. “I guess that's the world of politics. But I was tough on him, he was tough on me, and I like him, he likes me. I think he likes me. I mean, you're going to have to ask him, but I think he likes me.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [152 favorites]
> AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
Vicente Fox to keep on keepin' on #FuckingWall
posted by tonycpsu at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
Vicente Fox to keep on keepin' on #FuckingWall
posted by tonycpsu at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
The overall impression I get is that May has been dashing around trying to please everyone and stall for time.
Of course, she has not been succeeding in pleasing everyone because Europe doesn't like us much right now. The UK has been a thorn in their side all along and now we're leaving we're even more of a constant nagging pain.
I feel like she just needed to get Trump off her to-do list while she proceeds with some very difficult negotiations. It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible. I would assume that May is counting on Trump being long gone by then.
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
posted by tel3path at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Of course, she has not been succeeding in pleasing everyone because Europe doesn't like us much right now. The UK has been a thorn in their side all along and now we're leaving we're even more of a constant nagging pain.
I feel like she just needed to get Trump off her to-do list while she proceeds with some very difficult negotiations. It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible. I would assume that May is counting on Trump being long gone by then.
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
posted by tel3path at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Calexit seems like the lefty secular version of hoping for the Rapture to solve all your problems.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, thank you very much, has clarified the arrangements for the visit of POTUS.
posted by Wordshore at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, thank you very much, has clarified the arrangements for the visit of POTUS.
posted by Wordshore at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Calexit is a derail.
posted by diogenes at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
What the fuck does this mean? They'll just carry on about it in secret? Good plan.
posted by something something at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
What the fuck does this mean? They'll just carry on about it in secret? Good plan.
posted by something something at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I like to imagine Barack and Michele relaxing somewhere, seeing that little segment from Trump on Hannity - turning towards each other wide-eyed and simultaneously bursting into a deep deep cleansing laughter.
posted by meinvt at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
posted by meinvt at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
Calexit seems like the lefty secular version of hoping for the Rapture to solve all your problems.
And like the Rapture, it's fine to privately hope for it if that floats your boat, but it becomes a pretty huge problem if you start acting to hurry it along.
posted by zachlipton at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And like the Rapture, it's fine to privately hope for it if that floats your boat, but it becomes a pretty huge problem if you start acting to hurry it along.
posted by zachlipton at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
If I were Obama I'd probably just be starting to sober up from the bender I went on beginning the afternoon of January 20th.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Immanentize the Caleschaton!
posted by uncleozzy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
Calexit is a derail.
The Black Light is a great album though.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
The Black Light is a great album though.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Acting to hurry up the Apocalypse is like clamouring to audition for the role of Judas in a Crucifixion reality show produced by The Lord Himself in person.
I do not think it means what they think it means.
posted by tel3path at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I do not think it means what they think it means.
posted by tel3path at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
Does anyone anywhere believe that Trump is capable of sticking to that arrangement. He could have one aide whose sole responsibility it is to stand next to him whispering "don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall" and he still would "forget" that he's not supposed to mention the #fuckingwall.
posted by mcduff at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Does anyone anywhere believe that Trump is capable of sticking to that arrangement. He could have one aide whose sole responsibility it is to stand next to him whispering "don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall" and he still would "forget" that he's not supposed to mention the #fuckingwall.
posted by mcduff at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
And it ain't gonna get better. Sooooooo I'm thinking we gotta make it worse. Much worse. And fast. We RESISTERS have to:
Poke
Prod
Needle
Agitate
Alienate
We must get under his thin, Cheetos skin until he unhinges to a degree not yet seen. On Americans. Before he has a chance to insult N. Korea, China, and others such that their leaders are compelled to attack us to save face with their constituents. Before WWIII.
This is the reason why whoever is running this Rogue POTUS Staff twitter account is absolutely brilliant.
Is it actual staff? Who knows. It's amazing because it's absolutely believable from what we know about Donald.
I am absolutely fascinated by this whole twitter resistance thing. It's not something I ever contemplated at being in the mix of resisting this admin.
It's also turning the power that Donald and Co. are using twitter right back in their face and that feels satisfying.
posted by Jalliah at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
Poke
Prod
Needle
Agitate
Alienate
We must get under his thin, Cheetos skin until he unhinges to a degree not yet seen. On Americans. Before he has a chance to insult N. Korea, China, and others such that their leaders are compelled to attack us to save face with their constituents. Before WWIII.
This is the reason why whoever is running this Rogue POTUS Staff twitter account is absolutely brilliant.
Is it actual staff? Who knows. It's amazing because it's absolutely believable from what we know about Donald.
I am absolutely fascinated by this whole twitter resistance thing. It's not something I ever contemplated at being in the mix of resisting this admin.
It's also turning the power that Donald and Co. are using twitter right back in their face and that feels satisfying.
posted by Jalliah at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
re: Hate
I actively try to live a harmonious existence. My username was picked for a reason. INFJs live to bring harmony in their lives. This is mostly because we tend to put ourselves in others shoes, very often without consciously doing it. I say this, not to brag, but to help you understand where I'm coming from. I don't have to try hard to understand our new President. I can understand why the people who voted for them did. This is also why I am unabashedly liberal. Probably to a greater extreme then most people here at Metafilter. It's very hard to embrace conservative ideas when you can see the points of view from all the angles.
The worst part of this entire election season is watching people vote against their best interest. There are people out there who can't even put themselves in their own shoes. People completely incapable of self introspection. They have a label, and the leaders of that label tell them to vote this way, and they do it because they believe in their leaders. There is no questioning the leadership. Why would you? They're the leaders for a reason.
The problem with telling the above group that they voted against their best interest is the way humans (Americans?) react to being wrong. Most people will dig in deep when they're told they're wrong. Their defenses fly up. No matter what you say, how you say it, or what you do, they will refuse to admit to being wrong. Shame is a strong emotion, and invokes strong emotions in response. (Just look at the behavior of President Trump)
Should you hate Trump supporters and voters? I don't know. I think what matters the most is what you do with that hate. Don't use it to incite violence. Funnel that passion into calls to your congresspeople. Participate in peaceful protests.
Also, don't hold onto it or lock it down and try to pretend you're not feeling hate. Even if the only thing you can do is complain and swear on social media or metafilter.. do it. Hate functions like stress and will deteriorate your health and sanity if you try to bottle it up.
If you choose not to hate, that's fine too. Just try to keep in mind that you can't control other people. You can influence them, but you can't force them to do something. You might find peace in not hating, but you can't force your ideas and expectations on other people and gain peace. I know it seems like if only you could spread that peaceful feeling to others, everything would be better. That's not how humans work, unfortunately.
We're creatures of strong emotion. The difference between us and other creatures of this planet is our consciousness. A dog might bite out of fear, but you won't because you know better. You are conscious of your actions. Learn to be conscious of how your emotions impact your actions. It's much easier said than done.
Remember, the only person you can change is yourself.
posted by INFJ at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I actively try to live a harmonious existence. My username was picked for a reason. INFJs live to bring harmony in their lives. This is mostly because we tend to put ourselves in others shoes, very often without consciously doing it. I say this, not to brag, but to help you understand where I'm coming from. I don't have to try hard to understand our new President. I can understand why the people who voted for them did. This is also why I am unabashedly liberal. Probably to a greater extreme then most people here at Metafilter. It's very hard to embrace conservative ideas when you can see the points of view from all the angles.
The worst part of this entire election season is watching people vote against their best interest. There are people out there who can't even put themselves in their own shoes. People completely incapable of self introspection. They have a label, and the leaders of that label tell them to vote this way, and they do it because they believe in their leaders. There is no questioning the leadership. Why would you? They're the leaders for a reason.
The problem with telling the above group that they voted against their best interest is the way humans (Americans?) react to being wrong. Most people will dig in deep when they're told they're wrong. Their defenses fly up. No matter what you say, how you say it, or what you do, they will refuse to admit to being wrong. Shame is a strong emotion, and invokes strong emotions in response. (Just look at the behavior of President Trump)
Should you hate Trump supporters and voters? I don't know. I think what matters the most is what you do with that hate. Don't use it to incite violence. Funnel that passion into calls to your congresspeople. Participate in peaceful protests.
Also, don't hold onto it or lock it down and try to pretend you're not feeling hate. Even if the only thing you can do is complain and swear on social media or metafilter.. do it. Hate functions like stress and will deteriorate your health and sanity if you try to bottle it up.
If you choose not to hate, that's fine too. Just try to keep in mind that you can't control other people. You can influence them, but you can't force them to do something. You might find peace in not hating, but you can't force your ideas and expectations on other people and gain peace. I know it seems like if only you could spread that peaceful feeling to others, everything would be better. That's not how humans work, unfortunately.
We're creatures of strong emotion. The difference between us and other creatures of this planet is our consciousness. A dog might bite out of fear, but you won't because you know better. You are conscious of your actions. Learn to be conscious of how your emotions impact your actions. It's much easier said than done.
Remember, the only person you can change is yourself.
posted by INFJ at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible.
But that doesn't explain sucking up in such a public way to the congressional GOP, unless she actually feels political kinship with that pack of scoundrels and loons, which is really quite unprecedented for a British PM. There's no political capital to be gained from making Rep. Chuck 'Chuck' Dumbfuck (R-AR) think you're swell.
posted by holgate at 11:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
But that doesn't explain sucking up in such a public way to the congressional GOP, unless she actually feels political kinship with that pack of scoundrels and loons, which is really quite unprecedented for a British PM. There's no political capital to be gained from making Rep. Chuck 'Chuck' Dumbfuck (R-AR) think you're swell.
posted by holgate at 11:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Reposted from my fb re: an issue I haven't heard much about elsewhere:
To those of you who care about veterans' health and mental health, regardless of your political affiliation: the federal hiring freeze means that psychology and medical students are currently in flux with regard to whether they can be placed in VA for residency. There is only one time per year that they get placed, and missing this window could mean there are no residents next year. The deadline for psych students to rank sites for the match is 2/1, and the deadline for med students is 2/22. Students will likely not rank VA sites if the freeze is still in place by then.
Residents make up a lot of the workforce in many VAs. We can't give lip service to addressing the waitlist problems in VA but fail to take advantage of a major source of cheap, talented providers who care deeply about vets.
We need congresspeople to put pressure on the administration to grant VA a waiver for this hiring freeze. This would be a great thing to call your congressperson about.
posted by quiet coyote at 11:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
To those of you who care about veterans' health and mental health, regardless of your political affiliation: the federal hiring freeze means that psychology and medical students are currently in flux with regard to whether they can be placed in VA for residency. There is only one time per year that they get placed, and missing this window could mean there are no residents next year. The deadline for psych students to rank sites for the match is 2/1, and the deadline for med students is 2/22. Students will likely not rank VA sites if the freeze is still in place by then.
Residents make up a lot of the workforce in many VAs. We can't give lip service to addressing the waitlist problems in VA but fail to take advantage of a major source of cheap, talented providers who care deeply about vets.
We need congresspeople to put pressure on the administration to grant VA a waiver for this hiring freeze. This would be a great thing to call your congressperson about.
posted by quiet coyote at 11:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
Instead of Calexit, how about Calmerica? Make the rest of the US like you, instead of abandoning us. Infiltrate the red states with your message of progress. Collaborate with other progressive states to push it to more states. Get a little...evangelical, if you will. Fund training for activists. Encourage them.
posted by emjaybee at 11:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 11:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
Genius level, 11.
And that's the President of the United States on national TV pointing to a giant picture of his inauguration...that still says January 21, instead of January 20. (pause around 16 seconds)
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And that's the President of the United States on national TV pointing to a giant picture of his inauguration...that still says January 21, instead of January 20. (pause around 16 seconds)
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
There's plenty of water if we don't have to feed the rest of CONUS.
The sea water rises make the navel ports a non issue assuming Global Warming predictions about sea water matter but the shifting of weight on the crust along with changes in the water/soil mix will make for some 'interesting' shaking. What's the plan to absorb the damage of living on a fault line when it lets loose?
As for "feeding the Continental US" - Used to be a time when locals kept greenhouses and produce was local. I'm guessing a lack of salads in January won't be the reason to decide to keep the union intact.
(The diet of humans under agriculture used to be 10-15 items. Imagine that, and a spice rack of salt and pepper. Few are going to want to return to the diet range of the 1700/1800's )
Also, desalinization.
Not gonna work out. WAY too energy intensive. Might be a fine option if you bill out at $300+ an hour as then you have excess money to translate into energy to waste like that.
Photons and fossil water are how "we" are getting along ATM - and for parts of the country the fossil water is gonna be a non-option in 100 years. What's the cost accounting on sunlight and fossil's in the present US of A accounting system?
And if desalination is "the way out" - why the hand wringing over Florida's potable water suffering sea water ingress? How's desalination working to make the desert bloom in Saudia Arabia?
The calexit impulse should get embraced as a way to pivot to a discussion about fixing the broken system VS letting the political parties lawyers continue to run things deeper into the crater where they've already crashed. A calexit that makes it to a 1st round of "yes" is going to embolden the "Lets have a Constitution Convention" forces - and who thinks that meeting is not gonna end up as a "Corporations win all" event?
posted by rough ashlar at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017
The sea water rises make the navel ports a non issue assuming Global Warming predictions about sea water matter but the shifting of weight on the crust along with changes in the water/soil mix will make for some 'interesting' shaking. What's the plan to absorb the damage of living on a fault line when it lets loose?
As for "feeding the Continental US" - Used to be a time when locals kept greenhouses and produce was local. I'm guessing a lack of salads in January won't be the reason to decide to keep the union intact.
(The diet of humans under agriculture used to be 10-15 items. Imagine that, and a spice rack of salt and pepper. Few are going to want to return to the diet range of the 1700/1800's )
Also, desalinization.
Not gonna work out. WAY too energy intensive. Might be a fine option if you bill out at $300+ an hour as then you have excess money to translate into energy to waste like that.
Photons and fossil water are how "we" are getting along ATM - and for parts of the country the fossil water is gonna be a non-option in 100 years. What's the cost accounting on sunlight and fossil's in the present US of A accounting system?
And if desalination is "the way out" - why the hand wringing over Florida's potable water suffering sea water ingress? How's desalination working to make the desert bloom in Saudia Arabia?
The calexit impulse should get embraced as a way to pivot to a discussion about fixing the broken system VS letting the political parties lawyers continue to run things deeper into the crater where they've already crashed. A calexit that makes it to a 1st round of "yes" is going to embolden the "Lets have a Constitution Convention" forces - and who thinks that meeting is not gonna end up as a "Corporations win all" event?
posted by rough ashlar at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017
Saw the post from the young woman about evangelical Christianity. I'd like to shout out to other fellow escapees of evangelical Christianity here, whether you've written about it or not – it takes an awful lot of strength to get out of that mess. (Same goes for anyone who's been in a cult.)
I wrote this on FB earlier today, from my own experience.
Now that it's been a week, hopefully it is clear that we're dealing with an executive branch set to cause chaos, and supporters who turn on a dime when it comes to what they believe sinful (private email servers: Clinton evil, Trump okay, as just one example among many). A lot of you are probably wondering what's behind this; many of you recognize the influence of evangelical Christianity. Note: I am specifically identifying evangelical Christianity, not Christianity as a whole. It so happens I was raised by fundamentalist evangelical Christians. Want to know how to deal with this? Here's my viewpoint informed by 40 years of doing just that:
They do not actually believe the Bible. Examples abound. They use it and "dogma" as excuses to push their deeper agenda. This agenda is to create chaos so that they can do whatever they want, namely push white supremacy and women as cattle so that the white men can do whatever they want, with the willing/dogmatically-programmed support of women. Note that a lot of white men get hurt by this too, especially gay and trans men, but just as with women, they're taught it's justified by something they did that is not Biblical, so they stay in the group and support. Worse: even those who leave the group will often continue to say things like "well, I'm X which isn't Biblical, so it makes sense." If it "made sense" then why are an increasing amount of churches accepting LGBTQ? Again, that's just one example. So long as evangelicals have this base of dogmatic support, with people believing they're serving God and not the white supremacy agenda behind it all, their goal is served.
It's helpful to understand other reasons the agenda items (abortion, homeschooling, all their -isms justified by dogma) are so strongly held by evangelicals, if they're not the end goal. The surface is to give a veneer of rationality and togetherness. If you've picketed abortion clinics with your church sisters, you have shared stories and experiences fighting evil, for instance. This creates a powerful bond; our shared humanity reacts strongly to any idea of betraying that. Which, again, is exactly what the church leaders want. This is why arguing with the most outspoken believers is pointless: they don't actually believe the veneer of dogma. What they genuinely believe is that they are superior. In other words the veneer is a tool, it is not the end goal.
So how do you combat the end goal? Equality, intersectionality, diversity, appreciation of everyone (so long as they espouse tolerance and empathy). If I were to boil down their Achilles heel into a single phrase, it would be "we agree to disagree." Acceptance and tolerance mess with their end goal, as does NOT accepting their dogma. You do not need to argue with it, they know full well what Jesus preached.
posted by fraula at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I wrote this on FB earlier today, from my own experience.
Now that it's been a week, hopefully it is clear that we're dealing with an executive branch set to cause chaos, and supporters who turn on a dime when it comes to what they believe sinful (private email servers: Clinton evil, Trump okay, as just one example among many). A lot of you are probably wondering what's behind this; many of you recognize the influence of evangelical Christianity. Note: I am specifically identifying evangelical Christianity, not Christianity as a whole. It so happens I was raised by fundamentalist evangelical Christians. Want to know how to deal with this? Here's my viewpoint informed by 40 years of doing just that:
They do not actually believe the Bible. Examples abound. They use it and "dogma" as excuses to push their deeper agenda. This agenda is to create chaos so that they can do whatever they want, namely push white supremacy and women as cattle so that the white men can do whatever they want, with the willing/dogmatically-programmed support of women. Note that a lot of white men get hurt by this too, especially gay and trans men, but just as with women, they're taught it's justified by something they did that is not Biblical, so they stay in the group and support. Worse: even those who leave the group will often continue to say things like "well, I'm X which isn't Biblical, so it makes sense." If it "made sense" then why are an increasing amount of churches accepting LGBTQ? Again, that's just one example. So long as evangelicals have this base of dogmatic support, with people believing they're serving God and not the white supremacy agenda behind it all, their goal is served.
It's helpful to understand other reasons the agenda items (abortion, homeschooling, all their -isms justified by dogma) are so strongly held by evangelicals, if they're not the end goal. The surface is to give a veneer of rationality and togetherness. If you've picketed abortion clinics with your church sisters, you have shared stories and experiences fighting evil, for instance. This creates a powerful bond; our shared humanity reacts strongly to any idea of betraying that. Which, again, is exactly what the church leaders want. This is why arguing with the most outspoken believers is pointless: they don't actually believe the veneer of dogma. What they genuinely believe is that they are superior. In other words the veneer is a tool, it is not the end goal.
So how do you combat the end goal? Equality, intersectionality, diversity, appreciation of everyone (so long as they espouse tolerance and empathy). If I were to boil down their Achilles heel into a single phrase, it would be "we agree to disagree." Acceptance and tolerance mess with their end goal, as does NOT accepting their dogma. You do not need to argue with it, they know full well what Jesus preached.
posted by fraula at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
Kurt Schrader introduced a bill to prohibit the hiring freeze from affecting the VA (press release) HR 696, but congress.gov doesn't have its text up yet.
posted by worstname at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by worstname at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
This week established that the regime in power will consistently present lie as fact. The new regime established that they simply do not care if you present them with evidence that contradicts their reality. Your instinct, as a person that expects reason and rationality in discourse, is that presenting evidence that contradicts presented facts will sway your audience, and help them see the light.
This is a fool’s errand. This is not normal.
It serves no purpose anymore beyond today to waste valuable emotional energy factchecking information presented by the WH.
My approach going forward is observe the lie, and if I choose to acknowledge it, simply say 'I really don't think so' - and move on to something else.
Life is too short to get wrapped up in the alternate universe the regime wants us to buy into.
The crowd size at the event is 10 times bigger than photographic evidence? No, I really don't think so.
Foreign governments didn't successfully interfere with this election? No, I really don’t think so.
Agitating our trade partners will help the American economy, and Make American Gooder? No, I really don’t think so.
We can sit in front of our screens and argue on the internet all we want, and compile dossiers and evidence and what have you, but it will do no good and serve to burn us out if we just stay at home and high-five likeminded folk that agree with us already. The need now is to find allies, to organize, and to actually build an active resistance with a PLAN that is achievable and will be achieved.
We have a long road ahead and we need to do the work. Only 648 days until mid-term elections. Stay fired up.
posted by enfa at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
This is a fool’s errand. This is not normal.
It serves no purpose anymore beyond today to waste valuable emotional energy factchecking information presented by the WH.
My approach going forward is observe the lie, and if I choose to acknowledge it, simply say 'I really don't think so' - and move on to something else.
Life is too short to get wrapped up in the alternate universe the regime wants us to buy into.
The crowd size at the event is 10 times bigger than photographic evidence? No, I really don't think so.
Foreign governments didn't successfully interfere with this election? No, I really don’t think so.
Agitating our trade partners will help the American economy, and Make American Gooder? No, I really don’t think so.
We can sit in front of our screens and argue on the internet all we want, and compile dossiers and evidence and what have you, but it will do no good and serve to burn us out if we just stay at home and high-five likeminded folk that agree with us already. The need now is to find allies, to organize, and to actually build an active resistance with a PLAN that is achievable and will be achieved.
We have a long road ahead and we need to do the work. Only 648 days until mid-term elections. Stay fired up.
posted by enfa at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
PBO here, speaking on behalf of all Californians. We've given it some thought and we'll table Calexit for now if we can have four six more senators. I think we're being reasonable.
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [71 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [71 favorites]
And who framed that picture? Its all wavy and wrinkly. I would think the POTUS could get a decent picture framed.
posted by ian1977 at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Cory Booker tweeted he's nay vote on both DeVos and Sessions. Time to write a thank you note.
posted by cmfletcher at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [38 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [38 favorites]
And who framed that picture? Its all wavy and wrinkly. I would think the POTUS could get a decent picture framed.
It's actually a styrofoam replica of a frame that Obama commissioned... [fake]
posted by Buntix at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
It's actually a styrofoam replica of a frame that Obama commissioned... [fake]
posted by Buntix at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Sorry, I've spent too much time on the webs today, and have to get going. But in case no one's posted this recently, here's Organizing for Action's event search and signups. I just found out about an Obamacare "event" at my dreadful Congressperson's local office.
In case this link hasn't been posted lately, I also feel inclined to look into the local Indivisible teams, which are sprouting up all over in my area. (It's just a matter of time while also dealing with personal repercussions of Der Gropenfuehrer's quickly escalating policies, right?)
posted by NorthernLite at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
In case this link hasn't been posted lately, I also feel inclined to look into the local Indivisible teams, which are sprouting up all over in my area. (It's just a matter of time while also dealing with personal repercussions of Der Gropenfuehrer's quickly escalating policies, right?)
posted by NorthernLite at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™ and I hate it so much.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
This'll probably get lost down here, but does anyone have a link to a translation of the Mexican President's Address To The People Of Mexico he released on Tuesday (wednesday?) My Spanish isn't quite good enough to keep up with the video in real time, though he seemed to directly say "Mexico doesn't believe in walls & Mexico will never pay for a wall" at one point. I'd like to read the whole thing, though. He seemed pretty "forthright," as they say in diplomatic circles.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:49 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:49 AM on January 27, 2017
The new regime established that they simply do not care if you present them with evidence that contradicts their reality.
We really ought to stop referring to people's delusional political fictions as a "reality"
posted by thelonius at 11:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
We really ought to stop referring to people's delusional political fictions as a "reality"
posted by thelonius at 11:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Calexit is dumb and can we stop talking about it because it's always a handful of whiny privileged Californians that ruin for the rest of the state. Reject all Calexiters. Fly the Bear Flag in support of both the Union and the Golden State. We already have the Sierras as a geographical defense, you don't need to secede from a country to enact policies that are against the national-level gov't I mean have Calexiters even heard of the Underground Railroad
posted by Apocryphon at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™
And yet "y'all, we can quit any time we want, it's in our treaty" from Texans is typically considered a charming display of their Americanness.
posted by holgate at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
And yet "y'all, we can quit any time we want, it's in our treaty" from Texans is typically considered a charming display of their Americanness.
posted by holgate at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
The Obama-likes-me comments really, really, really underline just how terrible Trump must be at negotiations.
Like, everybody reasonable already knew this, but remember how he basically went all glowy with pleasure when Hillary laid a classic diplomat no-compliment insult by talking about his children when asked to bring up something she liked about him? It's clear that Trump is absolutely awful at reading people. It's clear he has no sense of scale. He doesn't think about what other people might have to gain, or why they might act the way do.
No way Trump is a master negotiator -- I mean, not like it's news to anyone, but dude doesn't even carry himself like experienced negotiator, who knows that people can turn it on and turn it off for effect, and consciously monitors their own reactions accordingly. It's a lot fucking less than you'd expect from somebody with 30+ years in real estate development, let alone in real estate development in NYC. Any government leader who even halfway belongs on the international stage is gonna fucking eat him for the Full English in negotiations.
Like, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [141 favorites]
Like, everybody reasonable already knew this, but remember how he basically went all glowy with pleasure when Hillary laid a classic diplomat no-compliment insult by talking about his children when asked to bring up something she liked about him? It's clear that Trump is absolutely awful at reading people. It's clear he has no sense of scale. He doesn't think about what other people might have to gain, or why they might act the way do.
No way Trump is a master negotiator -- I mean, not like it's news to anyone, but dude doesn't even carry himself like experienced negotiator, who knows that people can turn it on and turn it off for effect, and consciously monitors their own reactions accordingly. It's a lot fucking less than you'd expect from somebody with 30+ years in real estate development, let alone in real estate development in NYC. Any government leader who even halfway belongs on the international stage is gonna fucking eat him for the Full English in negotiations.
Like, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [141 favorites]
Instead of Calexit, how about Calmerica? Make the rest of the US like you
CA's Grand Juries have an actual watchdog function per 916.
Start using them. Call for pubic officials to be held accountable. Show the States that can't even be bothered to hold a Grand Jury how its done.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
CA's Grand Juries have an actual watchdog function per 916.
Start using them. Call for pubic officials to be held accountable. Show the States that can't even be bothered to hold a Grand Jury how its done.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Days of Rage: "Let's not mince words. The United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War"—David Hines (Storify).
While I don't disagree with the overall premise, the suggestion that the fucking Weathermen are somehow equivalent to the KKK/militia movement and that left-wing institutions are more powerful somehow is blitheringly stupid.
posted by mightygodking at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
While I don't disagree with the overall premise, the suggestion that the fucking Weathermen are somehow equivalent to the KKK/militia movement and that left-wing institutions are more powerful somehow is blitheringly stupid.
posted by mightygodking at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
So the WaPo reports that the Photoshop fake was (probably) fake. Goddamit. There's enough real crazy shit without fake crazy shit.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
If I think there is milk in the refrigerator, but there isn't, I do not inhabit a "reality" where we have milk: I am just wrong.
posted by thelonius at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
RobotVoodooPower: "A reminder, Nikki Haley was confirmed 96-4."If the last week has taught us anything, surely its that any inclination to think that things couldn't get worse simply represents a failure of imagination? This is the administration that is placing two interns in their twenties, a blogger and a libertarian colonist, in charge of the $800 million dollar Voice of America that has been recently liberated from any restriction against propagandizing to Americans. Nikki Haley, for all of her many faults, was a competent governor with a talent for communications who sure as fuck did not write that speech.
Thank God the Senate jumped on confirming the fuck out of her.
posted by Blasdelb at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm in Puerto Rico. I tell people I belong to the reverse statehood party. If the U.S. asks real nice, they can become a part of Puerto Rico.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™ and I hate it so much.
Agreed.
There are times I wince a little at the "this is not who we are"/"this is not our values" rhetoric, because Trump is partially an apotheosis of a lot of the worst of American values: love of money, fear of outsiders, hatred of minorities. Historically speaking that's a lot of what we are. Look at the Twitter account tweeting the names of people on the St. Louis, turning people away when they need help because they scare us is a time honored American tradition.
The flip side of that is that there are a lot of us, and I'm speaking both now and in the past, for whom those aren't our values, and we're Americans too. There's a history of this country that can be told as the history of us and our values not the history of Trump and his, and it's just as valid, especially when you start defining American history apart from things done by white men. There's probably a point where I give in and say "sure let them have the territory of America, I'll take my history and go," but we're not there yet.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Agreed.
There are times I wince a little at the "this is not who we are"/"this is not our values" rhetoric, because Trump is partially an apotheosis of a lot of the worst of American values: love of money, fear of outsiders, hatred of minorities. Historically speaking that's a lot of what we are. Look at the Twitter account tweeting the names of people on the St. Louis, turning people away when they need help because they scare us is a time honored American tradition.
The flip side of that is that there are a lot of us, and I'm speaking both now and in the past, for whom those aren't our values, and we're Americans too. There's a history of this country that can be told as the history of us and our values not the history of Trump and his, and it's just as valid, especially when you start defining American history apart from things done by white men. There's probably a point where I give in and say "sure let them have the territory of America, I'll take my history and go," but we're not there yet.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
International treasure.
@VicenteFoxQue
Neither in public nor in private that #FuckingWall will ever be built. @realDonaldTrump is crumbling on his own words. Mexico HOY #to2unidos
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
@VicenteFoxQue
Neither in public nor in private that #FuckingWall will ever be built. @realDonaldTrump is crumbling on his own words. Mexico HOY #to2unidos
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
It's a lot fucking less than you'd expect from somebody with 30+ years in real estate development, let alone in real estate development in NYC.
His early deals were done with his father's money and reputation. His later ones he was either the junior partner, or they were an utter fucking disaster to the point where he was literally bailed out by the Russian mob and turned into their laundromat/puppet annnnnd now their trained POTUS.
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars. He's never actually been good at anything except playing a jackass on TV. Which is kind of his job now, only also with nukes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [76 favorites]
His early deals were done with his father's money and reputation. His later ones he was either the junior partner, or they were an utter fucking disaster to the point where he was literally bailed out by the Russian mob and turned into their laundromat/puppet annnnnd now their trained POTUS.
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars. He's never actually been good at anything except playing a jackass on TV. Which is kind of his job now, only also with nukes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [76 favorites]
And yet "y'all, we can quit any time we want, it's in our treaty" from Texans is typically considered a charming display of their Americanness.
Naw, that USED to get "secession has already been decided" here on The Blue as the reaction but the overton window has been moved over to a new-gold painted frame so now the reaction is 'don't leave us to our fate!'
posted by rough ashlar at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Naw, that USED to get "secession has already been decided" here on The Blue as the reaction but the overton window has been moved over to a new-gold painted frame so now the reaction is 'don't leave us to our fate!'
posted by rough ashlar at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Any government leader who even halfway belongs on the international stage is gonna fucking eat him for the Full English in negotiations.
You might be right if there were some way of holding him accountable to his commitments, but I don't see why his reported reassurances to May about NATO or Russia sanctions, for instance, have any credibility.
Most negotiation theory revolves around the establishment of positive ongoing relationships, and it's clear that Trump doesn't value those very highly.
posted by Coventry at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
You might be right if there were some way of holding him accountable to his commitments, but I don't see why his reported reassurances to May about NATO or Russia sanctions, for instance, have any credibility.
Most negotiation theory revolves around the establishment of positive ongoing relationships, and it's clear that Trump doesn't value those very highly.
posted by Coventry at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
ike, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
I love this so much. Thank you for making me smile so hard.
posted by Jalliah at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I love this so much. Thank you for making me smile so hard.
posted by Jalliah at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Devils Rancher: This'll probably get lost down here, but does anyone have a link to a translation of the Mexican President's Address To The People Of Mexico he released on Tuesday (wednesday?)
From the LATimes
posted by slipthought at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017
From the LATimes
posted by slipthought at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017
#to2unidos is a clever way of saving two characters.
posted by emelenjr at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
> He's never actually been good at anything except playing a jackass on TV.
Failing upward?
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Failing upward?
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own" - Adam Savage
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Make the rest of the US like you, instead of abandoning us. Infiltrate the red states with your message of progress. Collaborate with other progressive states to push it to more states. Get a little...evangelical, if you will. Fund training for activists. Encourage them.
Actually, could theoretical theologians be of any use? Fire up their high-energy canticle accelerators to plumb the depths of n-dimensional exegetical manifold space and find some clincher, broadly-appealing doctrine with which Trump or some other Dark Side figure can be declared a heresiarch, and usher in the Fifth Great Awakening?
posted by XMLicious at 12:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
No, Signatures On The White House Petition Site Aren’t Intentionally Frozen: “I think the team there is still trying to get their heads around how it works.”
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yesterday, I posted a comment about two Performance Measure webinars that USDOT canceled without much warning. Today, it looks like they're routing around internal obstructions and using University research centers like the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida who are able to set up webinars as their conduits. Problem: official US Government websites don't list the webinars (which address rules that were passed in the last days of the prior administration, FWIW).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Gul Dukat, 45th President of the United Federation of Planets, now has a Twitter account.
posted by ceejaytee at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by ceejaytee at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
#NeverTrump was always bullshit, sorry Corb but it's obvious that it's true.
If there was a chance that Trump could be defeated yeah there was some Republicans that were willing to criticize but the second he won there has been a rush by Republicans to align with Trump and support his agenda/ forgive his excesses.
The idea that there are principled Republican legislators is complete nonsense. As long as Trump is willing to sign every stupid Executive Order they give him and be willing to sign off on some sort of Tax Cut package they are more than willing to look past his authoritarian agenda/tendencies.
The modern Republican party has no moral agenda other than seeking and maintaining power. Pretenses of preferring small government? Republicans consistently support expansion of state authority. Belief in financial austerity? Nope, deficit spending is perfectly acceptable as long as the largesse is directed towards Republican businessmen. Principles are abandoned at the drop of a hat if it leads to political advantage.
The Modern Republican party has begun to resemble the Machine Political system of the 19th century where Boss Tweed figures hand out government contracts to political cronies in an attempt to enrich allies, then you retire and become a lobbyist-consultant and line your own pockets.
Outside of the ring of legislators there is the host of aides, and right-wing media figures whose whole reason for being is to go on talk shows and cable news and offer forth a whole host of lies as to how principled the Republican party is.
Of course the US electorate apparently has the attention span of a gnat so all the hypocritical posturing under Obama is abandoned now and the Republican base could care less.
posted by vuron at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
If there was a chance that Trump could be defeated yeah there was some Republicans that were willing to criticize but the second he won there has been a rush by Republicans to align with Trump and support his agenda/ forgive his excesses.
The idea that there are principled Republican legislators is complete nonsense. As long as Trump is willing to sign every stupid Executive Order they give him and be willing to sign off on some sort of Tax Cut package they are more than willing to look past his authoritarian agenda/tendencies.
The modern Republican party has no moral agenda other than seeking and maintaining power. Pretenses of preferring small government? Republicans consistently support expansion of state authority. Belief in financial austerity? Nope, deficit spending is perfectly acceptable as long as the largesse is directed towards Republican businessmen. Principles are abandoned at the drop of a hat if it leads to political advantage.
The Modern Republican party has begun to resemble the Machine Political system of the 19th century where Boss Tweed figures hand out government contracts to political cronies in an attempt to enrich allies, then you retire and become a lobbyist-consultant and line your own pockets.
Outside of the ring of legislators there is the host of aides, and right-wing media figures whose whole reason for being is to go on talk shows and cable news and offer forth a whole host of lies as to how principled the Republican party is.
Of course the US electorate apparently has the attention span of a gnat so all the hypocritical posturing under Obama is abandoned now and the Republican base could care less.
posted by vuron at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
A Philly Indivisible Group is calling itself "Dumbledore's Army."
posted by angrycat at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
I feel like she just needed to get Trump off her to-do list while she proceeds with some very difficult negotiations. It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible. I would assume that May is counting on Trump being long gone by then.
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
She stood there silently while he blathered on about how he agreed with the use of torture and at no point interjected to say anything against this, so I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for her at all. May they both go down in flames together.
posted by dng at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
She stood there silently while he blathered on about how he agreed with the use of torture and at no point interjected to say anything against this, so I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for her at all. May they both go down in flames together.
posted by dng at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
American liberals, leftists, and those who oppose the policies of the federal government should really go on the offensive and just start coopting/appropriating right-wing canards to support their own policies. The one silver lining about this whole situation is that it's usually easier to be the opposition party, because you can be a wrecker and an obstructionist and you can focus a good deal of your energies on attacking. So instead of the Calexit nonsense, they should be reinventing states' rights in favor of opposing bad federal policies. Look up every single way Republicans have used states' rights in the twentieth century, and turn it on their heads. Use their fire against them.
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement, against establishment values of multiculturalism and pluralism, against the post-Civil Rights- postwar even- paradigm. And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself. Well, now they're the establishment. Tear them down.
posted by Apocryphon at 12:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement, against establishment values of multiculturalism and pluralism, against the post-Civil Rights- postwar even- paradigm. And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself. Well, now they're the establishment. Tear them down.
posted by Apocryphon at 12:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
His early deals were done with his father's money and reputation.
*And* the mob (the Italian one, he hadn't met the Russian one yet)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
*And* the mob (the Italian one, he hadn't met the Russian one yet)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
The Post throws cold water on the fun: No, the White House didn’t Photoshop an image of the president’s hand
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
She stood there silently while he blathered on about how he agreed with the use of torture and at no point interjected to say anything against this, so I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for her at all. May they both go down in flames together.
Okay, well, I haven't had a chance to watch it yet so that puts an end to my wishful thinking.
Now I'm going to have to watch it.
Friday nights used to be nicer than this.
posted by tel3path at 12:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Motion to add "President *Kif sigh* Trump" to the tags, please.
posted by Space Kitty at 12:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Space Kitty at 12:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Little things make me so happy these days. I suppose that's one good result of this election I appreciate the simple things in life much more now. I have to share today's simple delight.
My fast food lurv is Egg McMuffins, well Sausage and Egg McMuffins and OMGERD all day breakfast is finally coming to Canada!
Carry on....
posted by Jalliah at 12:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Devils Rancher: This one?
That one! Thanks. I do read the comments down here.
posted by Devils Rancher at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
That one! Thanks. I do read the comments down here.
posted by Devils Rancher at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
So this got a bit weird. US, Mexico Statements Differ On Public Statements About Border Wall. Mexico included that line in the "joint statement," but the White House left out the bit where they agree to stop making public statements.
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
So this got a bit weird. US, Mexico Statements Differ On Public Statements About Border Wall. Mexico included that line in the "joint statement," but the White House left out the bit where they agree to stop making public statements.
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Does anyone else have "Describes Theresa May using a number between 1 and 10" on their Trump Bingo card?
posted by indubitable at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars.
I got to thinking about why NYC's actual billionaires tolerated him as a kind of society jester, and I'm sure it was partly because he distracted from what actual NYC billionaires do. But it was also because he was never considered direct competition. He could do his thing on his own level with his own dubious biz partners and it wouldn't affect them much either way. He might burn the banks, but the losses were mostly small enough to write down.
I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for [May] at all.
As someone noted on Twitter today, in reference to Holocaust Memorial Day, the common threads of May's political career have been "keep them out" and "send them back". The Home Office, with powers over policing and immigration and domestic security (including MI5) has an institutional lean towards authoritarianism and bureaucratic indifference, and anyone who eagerly takes the portfolio or holds it for long enough embodies that culture.
posted by holgate at 12:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I got to thinking about why NYC's actual billionaires tolerated him as a kind of society jester, and I'm sure it was partly because he distracted from what actual NYC billionaires do. But it was also because he was never considered direct competition. He could do his thing on his own level with his own dubious biz partners and it wouldn't affect them much either way. He might burn the banks, but the losses were mostly small enough to write down.
I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for [May] at all.
As someone noted on Twitter today, in reference to Holocaust Memorial Day, the common threads of May's political career have been "keep them out" and "send them back". The Home Office, with powers over policing and immigration and domestic security (including MI5) has an institutional lean towards authoritarianism and bureaucratic indifference, and anyone who eagerly takes the portfolio or holds it for long enough embodies that culture.
posted by holgate at 12:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Yes Trump is a terribad businessman who mistakes bluster and bragging as being solid business acumen. Of course the vast majority of Americans have been trained by movies since the 80s to think that the sort of character the Trump portrays is accurate. Yes Narcissism and Sociopathy are common place in fortune 500 boardrooms but Trump turns up all those knobs to 11 and doesn't even have the slightest bit of acumen to back up his Trumpiness.
The fact that his resorts have almost exclusively been flops in the gaming market (which is an expensive business to get into but not exactly the most challenging one) and his other real estate ventures have been mediocre for the most part simply shows how bad he is as a businessman.
You don't see other top level developers and CEOs going out there and hawking ties and steaks and other low level garbage. The reason why he always seems to be hustling after every penny he can make is that his businesses are ridiculously overleveraged and he seems to always be trying to stay one step ahead of abject ruin. I'm convinced that his entry into the Republican nomination process as basically yet another of those bullshit scams and somehow beyond all reason it seems to have turned into a moonshot.
posted by vuron at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
The fact that his resorts have almost exclusively been flops in the gaming market (which is an expensive business to get into but not exactly the most challenging one) and his other real estate ventures have been mediocre for the most part simply shows how bad he is as a businessman.
You don't see other top level developers and CEOs going out there and hawking ties and steaks and other low level garbage. The reason why he always seems to be hustling after every penny he can make is that his businesses are ridiculously overleveraged and he seems to always be trying to stay one step ahead of abject ruin. I'm convinced that his entry into the Republican nomination process as basically yet another of those bullshit scams and somehow beyond all reason it seems to have turned into a moonshot.
posted by vuron at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
US, Mexico Statements Differ On Public Statements About Border Wall.
"With regard to the payment of the border wall, both presidents acknowledge their clear and very public differences in position on this sensitive issue..."
It's like the One China policy, but for the #FuckingWall.
posted by holgate at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
"With regard to the payment of the border wall, both presidents acknowledge their clear and very public differences in position on this sensitive issue..."
It's like the One China policy, but for the #FuckingWall.
posted by holgate at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
In which Trump proposed getting rid of the Electoral College until McConnell shuts him down
posted by zachlipton at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
I know a guy who could make that happen. We could even find a way to have a pipe band in the red serge. The same one that Liz gets when she's in town no less. I'll bet our PM could throw in a free yoga lesson even.
I think May's on to something here.
posted by bonehead at 12:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I know a guy who could make that happen. We could even find a way to have a pipe band in the red serge. The same one that Liz gets when she's in town no less. I'll bet our PM could throw in a free yoga lesson even.
I think May's on to something here.
posted by bonehead at 12:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
New group recruits 1,200 millennials to run for office after Trump inauguration
posted by futz at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by futz at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
The Post throws cold water on the fun: No, the White House didn’t Photoshop an image of the president’s hand
Too good to be true? Perhaps, but not too stupid. Therein lies the difficulty in reviewing news about Trump for accuracy. I would like to point out, however, that none of the defenses of Trump I've seen took the line "the Donald J. Trump I know would never be so insecure as to stoop to such obvious forgery."
On that note, I'm treating the Rogue POTUS Staff Twitter account as fiction until it discloses a verifiable scoop ahead of the numerous regular leaks to the press.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Too good to be true? Perhaps, but not too stupid. Therein lies the difficulty in reviewing news about Trump for accuracy. I would like to point out, however, that none of the defenses of Trump I've seen took the line "the Donald J. Trump I know would never be so insecure as to stoop to such obvious forgery."
On that note, I'm treating the Rogue POTUS Staff Twitter account as fiction until it discloses a verifiable scoop ahead of the numerous regular leaks to the press.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
FYI -- Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism is $1.99 on Amazon Kindle today...
posted by suelac at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by suelac at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
So Trump gave an exclusive interview to The Brody File of CBN this morning (that's The Christian Broadcasting Network), which airs tomorrow. Here's what they're reporting: Brody File Exclusive: President Trump Says Persecuted Christians Will Be Given Priority As Refugees
DAVID BRODY: “Persecuted Christians, we’ve talked about this, the refugees overseas. The refugee program, or the refugee changes you’re looking to make. As it relates to persecuted Christians, do you see them as kind of a priority here?”posted by zachlipton at 12:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Yes.”
DAVID BRODY: “You do?”
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “They’ve been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.”
That one! Thanks. I do read the comments down here.
Down here? It's just started!
b-b-b-baby you just ain't seen nothin' yet
posted by petebest at 12:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Down here? It's just started!
b-b-b-baby you just ain't seen nothin' yet
posted by petebest at 12:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
fDo you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible
*sigh*
posted by Etrigan at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
*sigh*
posted by Etrigan at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
Update to my earlier comment about the federal hiring freeze and the effects on VA- as of noon eastern time, we have a signed memo from Robert Snyder (Acting Secretary of VA) that healthcare positions are exempt from the freeze. Memail me if you want a copy. Small victories!!
posted by quiet coyote at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by quiet coyote at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
Rather than taking the "what's the matter with Kansas" approach of wondering why people vote against their best interests I've decided to just accept that they know what their best interests are better than I do.
posted by humanfont at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
instead of the Calexit nonsense, they should be reinventing states' rights in favor of opposing bad federal policies
I think this is the single most useful thing anyone's said so far in this thread.
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement against establishment values [...] And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself.
Well said. I'd add that effective opposition will have to encompass and-co-opt its own backlash, making use of the American idiosyncratic, anti-authoritarian self-concept.
posted by tangerine at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I think this is the single most useful thing anyone's said so far in this thread.
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement against establishment values [...] And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself.
Well said. I'd add that effective opposition will have to encompass and-co-opt its own backlash, making use of the American idiosyncratic, anti-authoritarian self-concept.
posted by tangerine at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Had poor little Donny Trump, mediocre in every way, not been so emotionally abused by a monstrous father, we might not find ourselves in this horrible position. He is a hollow human who is not capable--it's not that he WON'T, he simply can't--of viewing the world other than a way of trying to get his needs met. He is all Id, and an incurious and functionally illiterate person. I feel sorry, in fact, for the little boy who would destroy the world to please an indifferent father.
Keeping this in mind, you will still find yourself aghast and shocked in the weeks to come, but you will no longer wonder about the "why."
posted by thebrokedown at 12:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
Trump contemplates a one-sided deal in which Russia wins
Appearing on “Fox & Friends,” Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, said that the unilateral lifting of sanctions against Russia was under consideration. Reaction was swift and fierce in foreign policy circles and on the Hill.
...The irony could not be greater. Republicans criticized President Obama for making a lopsided deal with Iran that did not obtain promised results (dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, a full accounting of its past weapons program, anywhere/anytime inspections), but at least Obama got something (temporary cessation of the nuclear program). Back in 2013, Trump declared, “What a rotten deal we made with Iran. We get nothing (except laughter at our stupidity). They get everything, including delay and big cash!”...
posted by futz at 12:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Appearing on “Fox & Friends,” Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, said that the unilateral lifting of sanctions against Russia was under consideration. Reaction was swift and fierce in foreign policy circles and on the Hill.
...The irony could not be greater. Republicans criticized President Obama for making a lopsided deal with Iran that did not obtain promised results (dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, a full accounting of its past weapons program, anywhere/anytime inspections), but at least Obama got something (temporary cessation of the nuclear program). Back in 2013, Trump declared, “What a rotten deal we made with Iran. We get nothing (except laughter at our stupidity). They get everything, including delay and big cash!”...
posted by futz at 12:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars.
The scuttlebutt was that the during the early successful years Donald's younger brother Robert was the brains behind the operation and Donald was the window dressing. And this worked well. Then Donald had a mid-life crisis, threw over Ivana, got involved with Marla Maples and all sorts of dodgy non-real-estate things. At that point Robert took his share and bailed. Things did not go well until some of Donald's kids, meaning mostly Ivanka, got old enough to start stabilizing things and clearing out the crap (like the casinos). And then came The Apprentice...
posted by lagomorphius at 12:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
The scuttlebutt was that the during the early successful years Donald's younger brother Robert was the brains behind the operation and Donald was the window dressing. And this worked well. Then Donald had a mid-life crisis, threw over Ivana, got involved with Marla Maples and all sorts of dodgy non-real-estate things. At that point Robert took his share and bailed. Things did not go well until some of Donald's kids, meaning mostly Ivanka, got old enough to start stabilizing things and clearing out the crap (like the casinos). And then came The Apprentice...
posted by lagomorphius at 12:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I haven't wondered "why" about Trump since he rode down that escalator. He's clearly an extremely damaged person with a raging personality disorder, a drug habit, and in cognitive decline.
The "why" that still bugs the shit out of me is EVERYONE ELSE. Okay, not everyone else because yeah Nazis, I got your number. Trucknuts racists, you too. But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [123 favorites]
The "why" that still bugs the shit out of me is EVERYONE ELSE. Okay, not everyone else because yeah Nazis, I got your number. Trucknuts racists, you too. But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [123 favorites]
Motion to add "President *Kif sigh* Trump" to the tags, please.
[pop culture] Kif is an alien character from the animated series Futurama. His superior officer is a giant windbag with a gut who wears no pants.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
[pop culture] Kif is an alien character from the animated series Futurama. His superior officer is a giant windbag with a gut who wears no pants.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Re the federal hiring freeze and VA staffing: Signed Exemption to Hiring Freeze Memo with Exempted Occupations 1-27 2017. (pdf)
posted by klarck at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by klarck at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, from the Trump the Dealmaker perspective the Russia sanctions should have been a gift to the new administration -- he doesn't really care if they go away, but oops, there's opposition within his own party to just dropping them so we're gonna have to get something in return in order to sell it. Pure leverage -- whatever he gets out of the deal is profit because he's giving up something that is, to him, worthless. And yet he'll never do it, because Putin is the one person he won't even pretend to play hardball with.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
I have this thought multiple times a day. This is what consumes all of my evens.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
I have this thought multiple times a day. This is what consumes all of my evens.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Days of Rage: "Let's not mince words. The United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War"—David Hines (Storify).
I don't know who David Hines is when he's at home, but that ramble was about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment. I liked the part about how lefties were going to fuck up the Inauguration and the part about lefties were perfectly happy to march with ANSWER (conveniently forgetting or maybe ignorant of the giant split in the '02-'03 peace movement occasioned by lefties/liberals who wouldn't march with ANSWER). But watching him write that without even a reference to the entire national wildlife refuge occupied by armed righties was worth the reading.
Nikki Haley, for all of her many faults, was a competent governor with a talent for communications who sure as fuck did not write that speech.
Eh. Competent enough. Haley shone in the aftermath the '15 flood and the Mother Emanuel attack, but those were her best moments. And honestly, maybe her only. What I don't understand, tho, is her calculus of abandoning a Governorship to take a position which doesn't seem likely to advance a political career. Maybe she's in it for the grift. Of maybe she was flattered. Beats me.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
I don't know who David Hines is when he's at home, but that ramble was about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment. I liked the part about how lefties were going to fuck up the Inauguration and the part about lefties were perfectly happy to march with ANSWER (conveniently forgetting or maybe ignorant of the giant split in the '02-'03 peace movement occasioned by lefties/liberals who wouldn't march with ANSWER). But watching him write that without even a reference to the entire national wildlife refuge occupied by armed righties was worth the reading.
Nikki Haley, for all of her many faults, was a competent governor with a talent for communications who sure as fuck did not write that speech.
Eh. Competent enough. Haley shone in the aftermath the '15 flood and the Mother Emanuel attack, but those were her best moments. And honestly, maybe her only. What I don't understand, tho, is her calculus of abandoning a Governorship to take a position which doesn't seem likely to advance a political career. Maybe she's in it for the grift. Of maybe she was flattered. Beats me.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
Emailghazigate.
posted by breakin' the law at 12:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Emailghazigate.
posted by breakin' the law at 12:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
My guess is #TrumpRegrets is fanfiction. Sorry.
posted by gatorae at 12:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 12:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
As for the people who voted for him? I have zero pity. This man has lied and lied to them about EVERYTHING except who he is. He never hid that. If they end up feeling duped, it is because they duped themselves. The man was completely and obviously unfit from day one. I, once a "Hail, fellow! Well met!" kinda gal to EVERYONE, am having trouble even looking at white people I don't know. Trump's voters have broken me.
posted by thebrokedown at 12:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
posted by thebrokedown at 12:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
> Trump contemplates a one-sided deal in which Russia wins
"What's good for Gazprom is good for America." [/fake]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
"What's good for Gazprom is good for America." [/fake]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I disagree that it's fanfic. We saw buyers' remorse post-Brexit (and a doubling-down from the true believers) and the campaign was conducted in the same smog. The unwelcome precedent there is that the double-downers in the UK have seized the political advantage.
posted by holgate at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by holgate at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
My fast food lurv is Egg McMuffins, well Sausage and Egg McMuffins and OMGERD all day breakfast is finally coming to Canada!
Hopefully Canada gets all-day breakfast working smoother than we do here in the States. Every time I've tried it, ordering any given breakfast item after normal breakfast hours basically guarantees at least one of three overlapping outcomes: (1) I will end up waiting an additional 10-15 minutes for my breakfast item, (2) my order will magically disappear from the order queue and never get made, (3) my order will be made, but incorrectly handed off to somebody in the drive-thru line. This rarely happens with any other menu items, but for some reason breakfast after 10:30 AM is still breaking McD's organizational brain. /derail
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hopefully Canada gets all-day breakfast working smoother than we do here in the States. Every time I've tried it, ordering any given breakfast item after normal breakfast hours basically guarantees at least one of three overlapping outcomes: (1) I will end up waiting an additional 10-15 minutes for my breakfast item, (2) my order will magically disappear from the order queue and never get made, (3) my order will be made, but incorrectly handed off to somebody in the drive-thru line. This rarely happens with any other menu items, but for some reason breakfast after 10:30 AM is still breaking McD's organizational brain. /derail
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
As for the people who voted for him? I have zero pity.
Oh yeah, I come not to praise those morons but to bury them. I just... how? I asked that all through the election, I asked that when it looked like we were winning, I asked it on November 9, and I still have no answers. (I'm coming to you live and direct from Liberal Bubblelandia, so I do not actually know any Trumpers personally. Even my supah dupah Christian neighbors were NeverTrump.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, I come not to praise those morons but to bury them. I just... how? I asked that all through the election, I asked that when it looked like we were winning, I asked it on November 9, and I still have no answers. (I'm coming to you live and direct from Liberal Bubblelandia, so I do not actually know any Trumpers personally. Even my supah dupah Christian neighbors were NeverTrump.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
What's good for Gazprom is good for ExxonMobil.
Tillerson is driving that scheme.
posted by vuron at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Tillerson is driving that scheme.
posted by vuron at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Very disturbing.
Democratic Congresswoman Used Affiliates of a Violent, Anti-Semitic Political Party to Take Tea With Assad
-- Gabbard, as her own office has disclosed, took her “fact-finding” trip with a delegation of two men who are affiliated with an anti-Semitic political party accused of using female suicide bombers; of beating up Western and Arab journalists; helping U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and the U.S.-sanctioned Syrian regime wage war in the Levant.
And did we mention the party’s ideology and flag take their inspiration from Nazism?
-- Gabbard initially declined to say who financed her trip to Syria. However, in a press release Wednesday Gabbard revealed her delegation (which also included former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich) had been “led and sponsored by” an outfit called the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS—Ohio). Her statement added she and the rest of the delegation had been accompanied by two men, Elie and Bassam Khawam.
-- Who, then, are the Khawams? Gabbard’s press release described the pair as “longtime peace advocates.” The reality is, to put it as politely as possible, more complicated.
-- When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, it fell to the SSNP to violently disperse anti-regime demonstrators outside the Syrian embassy in Beirut, using “fists, sticks, and belts.” Most recently, the party has dispatched an estimated 6,000-8,000 fighters to the Syrian battlefield to help the Assad regime annihilate its opponents, to whom the SSNP officially refers as the “Jews of the interior” and “an essential arm of the racist Jewish enemy.”
posted by futz at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Democratic Congresswoman Used Affiliates of a Violent, Anti-Semitic Political Party to Take Tea With Assad
-- Gabbard, as her own office has disclosed, took her “fact-finding” trip with a delegation of two men who are affiliated with an anti-Semitic political party accused of using female suicide bombers; of beating up Western and Arab journalists; helping U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and the U.S.-sanctioned Syrian regime wage war in the Levant.
And did we mention the party’s ideology and flag take their inspiration from Nazism?
-- Gabbard initially declined to say who financed her trip to Syria. However, in a press release Wednesday Gabbard revealed her delegation (which also included former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich) had been “led and sponsored by” an outfit called the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS—Ohio). Her statement added she and the rest of the delegation had been accompanied by two men, Elie and Bassam Khawam.
-- Who, then, are the Khawams? Gabbard’s press release described the pair as “longtime peace advocates.” The reality is, to put it as politely as possible, more complicated.
-- When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, it fell to the SSNP to violently disperse anti-regime demonstrators outside the Syrian embassy in Beirut, using “fists, sticks, and belts.” Most recently, the party has dispatched an estimated 6,000-8,000 fighters to the Syrian battlefield to help the Assad regime annihilate its opponents, to whom the SSNP officially refers as the “Jews of the interior” and “an essential arm of the racist Jewish enemy.”
posted by futz at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
unless I missed it, I'm glad that so far we haven't had a new thing to be outraged about.
posted by INFJ at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by INFJ at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Rather than taking the "what's the matter with Kansas" approach of wondering why people vote against their best interests I've decided to just accept that they know what their best interests are better than I do.
I think people are really fucking awful at voting in their best interests. But I think they're fucking amazing at voting for what's most important to them. And in this election that was preservation of white supremacy and patriarchy.
So yeah, fuck them. Zero pity.
posted by chris24 at 12:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
I think people are really fucking awful at voting in their best interests. But I think they're fucking amazing at voting for what's most important to them. And in this election that was preservation of white supremacy and patriarchy.
So yeah, fuck them. Zero pity.
posted by chris24 at 12:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Democratic Congresswoman Used Affiliates of a Violent, Anti-Semitic Political Party to Take Tea With Assad
Yeah, Tulsi Gabbard can go fuck herself, too. I'm half surprised that Trump hasn't offered her a position in an effort to "reach across the aisle."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Yeah, Tulsi Gabbard can go fuck herself, too. I'm half surprised that Trump hasn't offered her a position in an effort to "reach across the aisle."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
This also consumes too much of my brainspace. The few people in my world with whom I have a good relationship that are Trump supporters and that are also willing to have a conversation with me (most refuse to defend anything he does) say that they don't care about any of this for two reasons:
1- Obama doing things like apologizing for the US dropping bombs on Japan make us a look weak to the rest of the world. (no response when asked how the state department emptying and all the ambassadors being fired make us look strong.)
2- Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country.
posted by Jacob G at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
This also consumes too much of my brainspace. The few people in my world with whom I have a good relationship that are Trump supporters and that are also willing to have a conversation with me (most refuse to defend anything he does) say that they don't care about any of this for two reasons:
1- Obama doing things like apologizing for the US dropping bombs on Japan make us a look weak to the rest of the world. (no response when asked how the state department emptying and all the ambassadors being fired make us look strong.)
2- Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country.
posted by Jacob G at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Donald Trump Blows Up the US-Mexico relationship
Searched for the link, didn't find it, apologies if this was already posted.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Searched for the link, didn't find it, apologies if this was already posted.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
"Everyone knows the Nazi lost World War 2. What this book administration presupposes is - maybe they didn't?"
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law is black and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country white.
Fixed that.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [49 favorites]
Fixed that.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [49 favorites]
Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law is black and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country white.
Fixed that.
There's a lot of people out there who don't think you actually changed anything in that sentence.
posted by Etrigan at 1:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
Fixed that.
There's a lot of people out there who don't think you actually changed anything in that sentence.
posted by Etrigan at 1:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
Haven't read this, yet, but it looks interesting:
Automating power: Social bot interference in global politics
Automating power: Social bot interference in global politics
[Chat bots] are used by regimes to send out sophisticated computational propaganda. This paper conducts a content analysis of available media articles on political bots in order to build an event dataset of global political bot deployment that codes for usage, capability, and history. This information is then analyzed, generating a global outline of this phenomenon. This outline seeks to explain the variety of political bot-oriented strategies and presents details crucial to building understandings of these automated software actorsposted by Coventry at 1:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™ and I hate it so much.
'BEARICA FUCK YEAH
.....it's an amusing slogan,
cause there ain't no fucking way!...
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
'BEARICA FUCK YEAH
.....it's an amusing slogan,
cause there ain't no fucking way!...
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hmm, I don't know, I really don't like this Donald Trump character.
posted by zutalors! at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zutalors! at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
So is the new tag for politics threads "potus45"? Asking for MyMefi purposes :)
I've made a comment proposing this on the current MetaTalk about the Trump (well, contemporary US politics) threads.
posted by Wordshore at 1:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've made a comment proposing this on the current MetaTalk about the Trump (well, contemporary US politics) threads.
posted by Wordshore at 1:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Third in line, IIRC, is Paul Ryan.
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
I'm praying for mass food-poisoning that takes out the top six people in line.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
I'm praying for mass food-poisoning that takes out the top six people in line.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
Hanlon's Razor - "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - loses its edge in the case of the trumpregretters. Were they too spiteful to recognize the stupidity of their vote or too stupid to see how spiteful Trump is? Is it a mistake to think these are asymptotic values when they really intersect at some point far out on the extremes?
All I know is that trying to follow the news this week and figure out what's going on has turned my brain into pink slurry.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Hanlon's Razor - "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - loses its edge in the case of the trumpregretters. Were they too spiteful to recognize the stupidity of their vote or too stupid to see how spiteful Trump is? Is it a mistake to think these are asymptotic values when they really intersect at some point far out on the extremes?
All I know is that trying to follow the news this week and figure out what's going on has turned my brain into pink slurry.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Also, this, from Alexandr Dugin's thinktank:
Anglo-Saxons voluntarily renounce hegemony
Anglo-Saxons voluntarily renounce hegemony
[The Trump/May] talks are the beginning of a new world order in which countries will pursue their own domestic and foreign policies.posted by Coventry at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
As long as "potus" in this case stands for "piece of Trumpian uber-shit," I am comfortable with calling him potus.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
@mcten
LeBron James on the questionable player voting for the All-Star game: "There's always goofy votes. Donald Trump is our president"
posted by chris24 at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
LeBron James on the questionable player voting for the All-Star game: "There's always goofy votes. Donald Trump is our president"
posted by chris24 at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
*Friend points how most of the shit Trump spews is scapegoating by pointing out the ultra rich are mostly (rightly) to blame for a lot of the economic trouble in America*
Friend of Friend: LOL, I love how it's "Don't fall for scapegoating tactics", then continues to use scapegoat tactics.....
Me: Scapegoating requires the blame to be unmerited. It's not scapegoating if you get the correct source.
FoF: "a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place." Please show me where it's says "unmerited". You're blaming somebody else for your problems.
I am speaking English, right? I'm not speaking some foreign fucking language where the rules of transitive properties are just thrown out the fucking window and things have to be entirely literal, have I?
posted by Talez at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Friend of Friend: LOL, I love how it's "Don't fall for scapegoating tactics", then continues to use scapegoat tactics.....
Me: Scapegoating requires the blame to be unmerited. It's not scapegoating if you get the correct source.
FoF: "a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place." Please show me where it's says "unmerited". You're blaming somebody else for your problems.
I am speaking English, right? I'm not speaking some foreign fucking language where the rules of transitive properties are just thrown out the fucking window and things have to be entirely literal, have I?
posted by Talez at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
FoF doesn't sound too bright.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Difficult to verify: from someone who works at the EPA - US Environmental Protection Agency: "So I work at the EPA and yeah it's as bad as you are hearing: The entire agency is under lockdown, the website, facebook, twitter, you name it is static and can't be updated. All reports, findings, permits and studies are frozen and not to be released. No presentations or meetings with outside groups are to be scheduled. Any Press contacting us are to be directed to the Press Office which is also silenced and will give no response. All grants and contracts are frozen from the contractors working on Superfund sites to grad school students working on their thesis. We are still doing our work, writing reports, doing cancer modeling for pesticides hoping that this is temporary and we will be able to serve the public soon. But many of us are worried about an ideologically-fueled purging and if you use any federal data I advise you gather what you can now. We have been told the website is being reworked to reflect the new administration's policy. Feel free to copy and paste, you all pay for the government and you should know what's going on. I am posting this as a fellow citizen and not in any sort of official capacity.
posted by adamvasco at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
I have a hard time believing that *any* voter's support of Trump was not predicated on racism and/or misogyny. At best - at BEST - the racism and misogyny were ingrained to the point of being subconscious, but even that's a stretch.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Also, this, from Alexandr Dugin's thinktank:
Anglo-Saxons voluntarily renounce hegemony
[The Trump/May] talks are the beginning of a new world order in which countries will pursue their own domestic and foreign policies.
Think about what the mind of a person who looks at the US-UK and sees Anglo-Saxons must be like
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Other bulletins from the "thinkers" of Katheon:
"FREEDOM FOR EUROPE": THE ENF GROUP
THE REAWAKENING OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
SOROS’ GEOPOLITICAL FASHION SHOW
BYE BYE BARACK, THE BABY DADDY OF ISIS
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
"FREEDOM FOR EUROPE": THE ENF GROUP
THE REAWAKENING OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
SOROS’ GEOPOLITICAL FASHION SHOW
BYE BYE BARACK, THE BABY DADDY OF ISIS
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've never heard of Katheon, but those headlines seem like they could be pulled directly from Pat Buchanan's "American Conservative" magazine. Is Katheon American or Russian?
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have a hard time believing that *any* voter's support of Trump was not predicated on racism and/or misogyny.
A lot of people think they can be non-racist and/or non-misogynist, but they don't have to get all het up just because they see a little racism and/or misogyny happening.
They're wrong, of course, but that's essentially what I've seen from some of them.
posted by Etrigan at 1:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
A lot of people think they can be non-racist and/or non-misogynist, but they don't have to get all het up just because they see a little racism and/or misogyny happening.
They're wrong, of course, but that's essentially what I've seen from some of them.
posted by Etrigan at 1:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Think about what the mind of a person who looks at the US-UK and sees Anglo-Saxons must be like
C Montgomery Burns
posted by zutalors! at 1:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Is Katheon American or Russian?
Russian.
posted by Coventry at 1:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Russian.
posted by Coventry at 1:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A lot of people think they can be non-racist and/or non-misogynist, but they don't have to get all het up just because they see a little racism and/or misogyny happening.
they think that everyone thinks whatever gross things they do about women and minorities and that real racism and/or misogyny involves direct personal violence towards women and minorities.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
they think that everyone thinks whatever gross things they do about women and minorities and that real racism and/or misogyny involves direct personal violence towards women and minorities.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
NeverTrump was always bullshit, sorry Corb but it's obvious that it's true.
I think what frustrates me is a lot of people seem to be talking about NeverTrump as though it's primarily legislators, with maybe a few rank and file people thrown in, whereas I see it as primarily a movement of organizers and rank and file and mid level folks, with one or two legislators thrown in.
So while I have hopes for two or three Senators and a few Congressmen and a Mefi's Adopted Own Presidential Candidate, , that's not where I'm putting my faith or organizing. And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
posted by corb at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
I think what frustrates me is a lot of people seem to be talking about NeverTrump as though it's primarily legislators, with maybe a few rank and file people thrown in, whereas I see it as primarily a movement of organizers and rank and file and mid level folks, with one or two legislators thrown in.
So while I have hopes for two or three Senators and a few Congressmen and a Mefi's Adopted Own Presidential Candidate, , that's not where I'm putting my faith or organizing. And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
posted by corb at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
Mike Pence at March for Life: Bye, Planned Parenthood!
The Vice President promised a triumphant anti-abortion crowd that he’d defund abortion providers (read: Planned Parenthood) and give money to ‘women’s healthcare’ (read: controversial pregnancy crisis centers).
posted by futz at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
The Vice President promised a triumphant anti-abortion crowd that he’d defund abortion providers (read: Planned Parenthood) and give money to ‘women’s healthcare’ (read: controversial pregnancy crisis centers).
posted by futz at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is Katheon American or Russian?
If you haven't heard of Alexandr Dugin, you probably haven't seen Adam Curtis's Hypernormalization. It's worth a look.
posted by Coventry at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
If you haven't heard of Alexandr Dugin, you probably haven't seen Adam Curtis's Hypernormalization. It's worth a look.
posted by Coventry at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think that a lot of people's only definition of racism is "race is mentioned."
There was a COLOSSAL failure in educating kids about racism in the 80s and 90s. That's when we (people my age and older) learned that the best thing to do is to be "colorblind", never mention that race is a thing, and if you have to say the word "black" to whisper it so that no one overhears. That's what I was taught, too. In school, by teachers. Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
It took a long-ass time for me to unlearn that bullshit. But if folks are wondering where the, "No, Barack Obama is the real racist" is coming from? That's where it's coming from.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [129 favorites]
There was a COLOSSAL failure in educating kids about racism in the 80s and 90s. That's when we (people my age and older) learned that the best thing to do is to be "colorblind", never mention that race is a thing, and if you have to say the word "black" to whisper it so that no one overhears. That's what I was taught, too. In school, by teachers. Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
It took a long-ass time for me to unlearn that bullshit. But if folks are wondering where the, "No, Barack Obama is the real racist" is coming from? That's where it's coming from.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [129 favorites]
a lot of people also think that having a black friend being friendly to their black co-worker completely overrides whatever racist attitudes they hold
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
I got an alert on my phone from Flipboard highlighting an article on how the Earth's magnetic poles may be reversing soon. Thankfully the linked article didn't have any news on when this would be happening but was a more generic "we're probably overdue for a reversal" that everyone already knows. But for the time between seeing the alert and reading the article I was just thinking that of course it would be happening now.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
My working theory has been absolution. If you take the economic anxiety thing at face value, there's a generation of workers who are working harder than their parents and seeing less, for themselves and for their children. According to our Great American Protestant Work Ethic, economic failure is moral failure, evidence that they failed to work hard enough to be among The Elect. Think of the shame they must feel, to have failed themselves, their children, and to have apparently wasted their parents' and communities' investment in them when they were younger.
If you don't take the economic anxiety thing at face value and dig into the racism that's usually beneath, there's also some cognitive dissonance, I think because what they call "political correctness" has been around long enough to percolate into their brains and make them feel a little guilty about wanting to blame their failure on some invading brown people. Somewhere deep in their unconscious they know they might have worked a good union factory job shoulder-to-shoulder with those folks, had each other's families over for dinner, cheered Little League games, and generally prospered and grown together. So there's more shame, however deep down they push the sense that it's wrong (morally and rationally) to blame their suffering on some Other. In that shame is an ember of anger, which years of shitty propaganda have successfully nurtured into a wildfire.
But the thing that unites all the economic and xenophobic anxiety is a refusal to believe that the social and governmental mechanisms (federal, state, local, every level) that were supposed to support them let them down. And I think that sense of grievance is deeper for the rural white working class voters the news keeps name-checking because on some level they know those systems were designed and maintained for them. And yes, that assumption of privilege has manifested most visibly as ugly resentment that anyone who doesn't look or think or talk or love exactly like them should receive help. The right-wing propaganda that has been nursing and exploiting this resentment works because it's literally inconceivable to these people that their government would leave them to wither and starve and die in the heartland. Like fairy tale children abandoned in the woods: But Daddy wouldn't leave us here. Daddy loves us. That awful stepmother must have tricked him. But I suspect that ugliness also hides more shame, shame that their government has rejected them, shame that they couldn't make it without help, shame at the discovery that they would have needed help, but most of all shame that they trusted these institutions to begin with. The kind of shame you feel when you've been conned.
So the Republicans have spent decades dismantling unions and defunding social programs and generally fucking them over, and then DJT came along and promised them it wasn't their fault. None of this is your fault. I absolve you of inadequacy, of the guilt that should accompany your misplaced resentment. He absolved them of shame. It's kind of prosperity gospel and kind of religious revival and yes, it's a con, but these people just spent so many years being fleeced that now they figure they've got nothing to lose, nothing else can be taken from them, so what could he possibly be conning them for? Surely he really did just come to absolve them, to set them free from shame.
I don't recall whether it was in these threads of elsewhere that someone derisively called DJT a carnival barker, but if you've watched Carnivàle you know that in America there's more overlap between carnival barker and preacher than we care to admit, especially in difficult times.
Whoa, that's a wall of text. I'll shut up now, but if you are interested in the DJT as prosperity gospel preacher connection, Jeff Sharlet's April 2016 dispatch from his rallies is very illuminating.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 1:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [86 favorites]
My working theory has been absolution. If you take the economic anxiety thing at face value, there's a generation of workers who are working harder than their parents and seeing less, for themselves and for their children. According to our Great American Protestant Work Ethic, economic failure is moral failure, evidence that they failed to work hard enough to be among The Elect. Think of the shame they must feel, to have failed themselves, their children, and to have apparently wasted their parents' and communities' investment in them when they were younger.
If you don't take the economic anxiety thing at face value and dig into the racism that's usually beneath, there's also some cognitive dissonance, I think because what they call "political correctness" has been around long enough to percolate into their brains and make them feel a little guilty about wanting to blame their failure on some invading brown people. Somewhere deep in their unconscious they know they might have worked a good union factory job shoulder-to-shoulder with those folks, had each other's families over for dinner, cheered Little League games, and generally prospered and grown together. So there's more shame, however deep down they push the sense that it's wrong (morally and rationally) to blame their suffering on some Other. In that shame is an ember of anger, which years of shitty propaganda have successfully nurtured into a wildfire.
But the thing that unites all the economic and xenophobic anxiety is a refusal to believe that the social and governmental mechanisms (federal, state, local, every level) that were supposed to support them let them down. And I think that sense of grievance is deeper for the rural white working class voters the news keeps name-checking because on some level they know those systems were designed and maintained for them. And yes, that assumption of privilege has manifested most visibly as ugly resentment that anyone who doesn't look or think or talk or love exactly like them should receive help. The right-wing propaganda that has been nursing and exploiting this resentment works because it's literally inconceivable to these people that their government would leave them to wither and starve and die in the heartland. Like fairy tale children abandoned in the woods: But Daddy wouldn't leave us here. Daddy loves us. That awful stepmother must have tricked him. But I suspect that ugliness also hides more shame, shame that their government has rejected them, shame that they couldn't make it without help, shame at the discovery that they would have needed help, but most of all shame that they trusted these institutions to begin with. The kind of shame you feel when you've been conned.
So the Republicans have spent decades dismantling unions and defunding social programs and generally fucking them over, and then DJT came along and promised them it wasn't their fault. None of this is your fault. I absolve you of inadequacy, of the guilt that should accompany your misplaced resentment. He absolved them of shame. It's kind of prosperity gospel and kind of religious revival and yes, it's a con, but these people just spent so many years being fleeced that now they figure they've got nothing to lose, nothing else can be taken from them, so what could he possibly be conning them for? Surely he really did just come to absolve them, to set them free from shame.
I don't recall whether it was in these threads of elsewhere that someone derisively called DJT a carnival barker, but if you've watched Carnivàle you know that in America there's more overlap between carnival barker and preacher than we care to admit, especially in difficult times.
Whoa, that's a wall of text. I'll shut up now, but if you are interested in the DJT as prosperity gospel preacher connection, Jeff Sharlet's April 2016 dispatch from his rallies is very illuminating.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 1:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [86 favorites]
Truth be told a lot of Republican voters told themselves the same thing that a lot of Democratic voters did which is that he's just playing a character and if he wins the big boys will pull him aside and tell him to straighten out.
That or they were getting ACA premium sticker shock and were desperate for a lifeline no matter how dubious the rescuer was.
Or they work in natural resources extraction and they've accepted the idea that more exploitation is good for their Job.
Or they just wanted a tax cut.
Plenty of Republicans said to themselves it didn't matter whether Trump was or wasn't a racist, misogynist douchebag as long as he got them stuff that they wanted. Or they're tribal identity means that they'll vote for the Republican every time regardless of how qualified they are.
Now they realize that some of the stuff they wanted like ACA repeal is really bad policy and that rather than become more stately he's gotten more and more unstable.
posted by vuron at 1:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
That or they were getting ACA premium sticker shock and were desperate for a lifeline no matter how dubious the rescuer was.
Or they work in natural resources extraction and they've accepted the idea that more exploitation is good for their Job.
Or they just wanted a tax cut.
Plenty of Republicans said to themselves it didn't matter whether Trump was or wasn't a racist, misogynist douchebag as long as he got them stuff that they wanted. Or they're tribal identity means that they'll vote for the Republican every time regardless of how qualified they are.
Now they realize that some of the stuff they wanted like ACA repeal is really bad policy and that rather than become more stately he's gotten more and more unstable.
posted by vuron at 1:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Just want to +1 what soren_lorensen said about race education. I was born in '83 and all of my education took place in South Carolina. The "best" messages were that we should all be color-blind, do not see race, etc. It took me until I was in my mid to late twenties to understand that saying the word "black" was not a slur. It's fucked up. It's something that always bugged me a little about Colbert and his ongoing 'joke' on the Colbert Report about how he doesn't see color.
Caveat that yes some racists can manage to use the word black as a slur.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Caveat that yes some racists can manage to use the word black as a slur.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Looks like the Department of Education is on board, per Kal Penn - @kalpenn:
A few former coworkers may or may not have started @Alt_DeptofED to help w/ effective #resistance. 🇺🇸✌🏽Good follow with useful tools
posted by Room 641-A at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
A few former coworkers may or may not have started @Alt_DeptofED to help w/ effective #resistance. 🇺🇸✌🏽Good follow with useful tools
posted by Room 641-A at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
People's definition of racism didn't really matter as much as the fact that it seems at least about a third of the country got out of bed every morning loathing the fact that a black man was the President.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
President Trump will sign the executive order on "extreme vetting" this afternoon, according to the White House pool report.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
People's definition of racism didn't really matter as much as the fact that it seems at least about a third of the country got out of bed every morning loathing the fact that a black man was the President.
For sure. And the way people doublethink themselves into believing that their hatred of a black man isn't really racism is by telling themselves and others that because they never said the word "black" that means their feelings aren't racist.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
For sure. And the way people doublethink themselves into believing that their hatred of a black man isn't really racism is by telling themselves and others that because they never said the word "black" that means their feelings aren't racist.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Gabbard seems in the habit of making not very bright choices, represents a D+20ish district, and the primary challenge against her needs to start tomorrow.
Anyway, the other Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson, has been busy. Look for all the details.
posted by holgate at 1:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Anyway, the other Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson, has been busy. Look for all the details.
posted by holgate at 1:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Don't get carried away by the #TrumpRegrets. It might not (all) be fan fiction, but there's definitely this stuff too:
NYT: Trump Backers Like His First Draft of a New America
Many of the voters who handed Mr. Trump the presidency — die-hards and reluctant supporters alike — were cheering from their living rooms, offices and diners across America as they saw the outlines of a new conservative era in government fast taking shape, even if they were still a little uneasy about the man doing the shaping.
And it's not rational, or fact-based, or even part of our reality at all, but it's here:
“Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years” ...
Boondocks ... sits about 1,900 miles from the Arizona deserts where sections of the multibillion-dollar border wall may rise. The Hispanic population is tiny in this overwhelmingly white county of 35,000, and it has grown only 0.3 percent in the past five years. Still, people here said they felt as if immigration had undercut wages for construction workers in the area.
These Trump voters sound really happy.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
NYT: Trump Backers Like His First Draft of a New America
Many of the voters who handed Mr. Trump the presidency — die-hards and reluctant supporters alike — were cheering from their living rooms, offices and diners across America as they saw the outlines of a new conservative era in government fast taking shape, even if they were still a little uneasy about the man doing the shaping.
And it's not rational, or fact-based, or even part of our reality at all, but it's here:
“Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years” ...
Boondocks ... sits about 1,900 miles from the Arizona deserts where sections of the multibillion-dollar border wall may rise. The Hispanic population is tiny in this overwhelmingly white county of 35,000, and it has grown only 0.3 percent in the past five years. Still, people here said they felt as if immigration had undercut wages for construction workers in the area.
These Trump voters sound really happy.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trump is reading from a script at the Mattis ceremony. He looks really uncomfortable. He is doing that weird shoulder thing that one does when you have already thrown or putted a golf ball and you use your body language to try and 'move' the ball where you want it to go. He is trying to stick to the script and it is killing him.
posted by futz at 1:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by futz at 1:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Anyway, the other Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson, has been busy. Look for all the details.
You can support Rowson by buying a copy of his amazing Chandleresque noir interpretation of The Wasteland.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
You can support Rowson by buying a copy of his amazing Chandleresque noir interpretation of The Wasteland.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
Meanwhile… Melania Trump appears in the cover of Vanity Fair Mexico…
posted by Omon Ra at 1:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Omon Ra at 1:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
Never Again Well, maybe just one more time.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
then all the flashy EOs, which so far are just words (dear god please let them always be just words).
If they haven't been run through legal review, it's hard to know how enforceable they are. The hiring freeze memo, for instance, is sufficiently poorly-written that some agencies have no idea whether it applies to them. And the DAPL memo is self-contradictory on its face, and possibly outright illegal.
So some, at least, may never be fully implemented. But they make for good theater for the fans.
posted by suelac at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
If they haven't been run through legal review, it's hard to know how enforceable they are. The hiring freeze memo, for instance, is sufficiently poorly-written that some agencies have no idea whether it applies to them. And the DAPL memo is self-contradictory on its face, and possibly outright illegal.
So some, at least, may never be fully implemented. But they make for good theater for the fans.
posted by suelac at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Had poor little Donny Trump, mediocre in every way, not been so emotionally abused by a monstrous father, we might not find ourselves in this horrible position. He is a hollow human who is not capable--it's not that he WON'T, he simply can't--of viewing the world other than a way of trying to get his needs met. He is all Id, and an incurious and functionally illiterate person. I feel sorry, in fact, for the little boy who would destroy the world to please an indifferent father.
Somewhere during your 30's you completely lose the right to blame your parents for the shit you have grown up to be.
The man is 70 years old.
He owns who is he is and the voters who voted for him own what he does.
posted by srboisvert at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
Somewhere during your 30's you completely lose the right to blame your parents for the shit you have grown up to be.
The man is 70 years old.
He owns who is he is and the voters who voted for him own what he does.
posted by srboisvert at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
Here's where Trump falsely claims to have been in Scotland the day before the Brexit vote. He was there the day after.
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
After the third debate Clinton led popular vote polls by 7 percent. By election day that had eroded to 2 percent. A full 5 percent changed their minds in the last couple of weeks of the campaign. Those are your #trumpregrets voters right there, and I don't think it's fair to say they all went to Trump because of racism or misogyny. For that five percent, it's more likely that it really was about the emails, and I believe that their regret is real.
That five percent are also likely to vote in 2018 and 2020, so I don't think shunning them or insulting them (too much) is a smart move.
posted by rocket88 at 1:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
After the third debate Clinton led popular vote polls by 7 percent. By election day that had eroded to 2 percent. A full 5 percent changed their minds in the last couple of weeks of the campaign. Those are your #trumpregrets voters right there, and I don't think it's fair to say they all went to Trump because of racism or misogyny. For that five percent, it's more likely that it really was about the emails, and I believe that their regret is real.
That five percent are also likely to vote in 2018 and 2020, so I don't think shunning them or insulting them (too much) is a smart move.
posted by rocket88 at 1:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm going to continue supporting gun control, but I really am beginning to consider arming myself to the teeth for the time being. Which is an idea I openly laughed at not that long ago. Letting the nazis have all the guns is not an option.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
China 'deploys long-range nuclear-capable missiles to coast' in response to Donald Trump's 'aggression'
A bad time to pick a fight with China
posted by homunculus at 1:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
A bad time to pick a fight with China
posted by homunculus at 1:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Melania Trump appears in the cover of Vanity Fair Mexico…
Let them eat diamonds.
posted by Artw at 1:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Let them eat diamonds.
posted by Artw at 1:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Trump signs executive orders on 'extreme vetting' of refugees, military readiness
posted by avalonian at 2:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by avalonian at 2:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
That five percent are also likely to vote in 2018 and 2020, so I don't think shunning them or insulting them (too much) is a smart move.
here's the thing, though
1. if their vote is at all influenced by hurt feelings about what people on the internet are saying they really are complete dumbfucks
2. they might change their vote based on some other idiot garbage nonstory like the Comey statement anyway so why tiptoe around the fact that they're dumbfucks
seriously, you five percent who flip-flopped over Anthony Weiner's emails or whatever: you are dumbfucks. you are absolute morons. and the saddest thing is you probably thought you were being like a smart person keeping an 'open mind' and not being 'partisan' and making your decision based on some putative cybersecurity issue that you could not, in fact, wrap your idiot head around. god you were stupid, you were so stupid, and look what you did. LOOK WHAT YOU DID
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
here's the thing, though
1. if their vote is at all influenced by hurt feelings about what people on the internet are saying they really are complete dumbfucks
2. they might change their vote based on some other idiot garbage nonstory like the Comey statement anyway so why tiptoe around the fact that they're dumbfucks
seriously, you five percent who flip-flopped over Anthony Weiner's emails or whatever: you are dumbfucks. you are absolute morons. and the saddest thing is you probably thought you were being like a smart person keeping an 'open mind' and not being 'partisan' and making your decision based on some putative cybersecurity issue that you could not, in fact, wrap your idiot head around. god you were stupid, you were so stupid, and look what you did. LOOK WHAT YOU DID
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
Charges dropped for journalist arrested while covering Trump inauguration
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
There was a COLOSSAL failure in educating kids about racism in the 80s and 90s. That's when we (people my age and older) learned that the best thing to do is to be "colorblind", never mention that race is a thing, and if you have to say the word "black" to whisper it so that no one overhears. That's what I was taught, too. In school, by teachers. Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
True, though I think there's a case to be made that, at that point, the reasonable first step was to get across to us white people omfg you seriously need to just shut up everything you say on this topic is awful. That part was not unreasonable. Stop saying "black" not because it needs to be whispered but because you're obviously incapable of saying it except as othering and demonstrating that it's the only thing you see when you look at people who aren't like you.
We didn't also get the necessary accompanying okay and now you need to listen to the people who actually know about this stuff. Being asked to shut up made good sense but we never got told to and now listen. The only people we were asked to listen to were other white people who talked about racism and tossed in some quotes from Dr King, so they could take out any of the parts that rocked the boat too much.
posted by phearlez at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
True, though I think there's a case to be made that, at that point, the reasonable first step was to get across to us white people omfg you seriously need to just shut up everything you say on this topic is awful. That part was not unreasonable. Stop saying "black" not because it needs to be whispered but because you're obviously incapable of saying it except as othering and demonstrating that it's the only thing you see when you look at people who aren't like you.
We didn't also get the necessary accompanying okay and now you need to listen to the people who actually know about this stuff. Being asked to shut up made good sense but we never got told to and now listen. The only people we were asked to listen to were other white people who talked about racism and tossed in some quotes from Dr King, so they could take out any of the parts that rocked the boat too much.
posted by phearlez at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
About that item in the Independent that homunculus linked--I saw that first thing this morning but haven't seen the story anywhere else. ??
posted by HotToddy at 2:06 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by HotToddy at 2:06 PM on January 27, 2017
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
The obnoxious thing is that many people love security theater, and there's noarguing discussing it with people who just. want. America. to. be. safe. already. (from the scary Muslims) (even if, like, car accidents are more likely to, and probably already have, hurt these people).
This might be the point where I have to check out from the election/potus45 threads. I think I just need to focus on the change that I can bring.
I've got a few small things locally in the works that I'm excited about - one especially that should get people, particularly religious people, out of their bubbles, and already has buy-in from a good-sized church, AND the way things are going might get some fantastic exposure to every church in the city regardless of denomination. These threads are fantastic, as is having the solidarity of the community here, but at this point obnoxious elected officials are gonna obnox, and I don't know how much I need to hear about it.
I know I have one or two people to get back to via Mefi Mail about my ideas on using "pro-life" to get conservative/religious people to open their eyes a little, but I'd like to extend that invitation of discussion again to anyone who has Christian people they reach out to. I think abortion is gonna be a hot button topic for religious folks for a while, but I also think there are ways to facilitate a shift of priorities, at least on an individual level.
Be well, all. Remember, America's in your hearts. Wherever you go, there she is. 🗽
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
The obnoxious thing is that many people love security theater, and there's no
This might be the point where I have to check out from the election/potus45 threads. I think I just need to focus on the change that I can bring.
I've got a few small things locally in the works that I'm excited about - one especially that should get people, particularly religious people, out of their bubbles, and already has buy-in from a good-sized church, AND the way things are going might get some fantastic exposure to every church in the city regardless of denomination. These threads are fantastic, as is having the solidarity of the community here, but at this point obnoxious elected officials are gonna obnox, and I don't know how much I need to hear about it.
I know I have one or two people to get back to via Mefi Mail about my ideas on using "pro-life" to get conservative/religious people to open their eyes a little, but I'd like to extend that invitation of discussion again to anyone who has Christian people they reach out to. I think abortion is gonna be a hot button topic for religious folks for a while, but I also think there are ways to facilitate a shift of priorities, at least on an individual level.
Be well, all. Remember, America's in your hearts. Wherever you go, there she is. 🗽
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
All those articles about how Republicans have no idea how to replace Obamacare...
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Your constituents will suddenly love it once you tell them it has nothing to do with Obama anymore! And if Trump says it got repealed, they will go to the grave insisting it got repealed, regardless of what their insurance statements or tax returns tell them. And you don't need to worry about liberals giving away the game by saying "But Trumpcare is exactly the same thing as Obamacare but with a new name!" Because they won't believe a word we say anyway! Anyway that new name is what they REALLY want.
The solution is staring you right in the face, Paul Ryan. This will work.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Your constituents will suddenly love it once you tell them it has nothing to do with Obama anymore! And if Trump says it got repealed, they will go to the grave insisting it got repealed, regardless of what their insurance statements or tax returns tell them. And you don't need to worry about liberals giving away the game by saying "But Trumpcare is exactly the same thing as Obamacare but with a new name!" Because they won't believe a word we say anyway! Anyway that new name is what they REALLY want.
The solution is staring you right in the face, Paul Ryan. This will work.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
So some, at least, may never be fully implemented. But they make for good theater for the fans.
I guess another silver lining is that maybe this administration is going to scale back the concept of the imperial presidency by making executive orders totally meaningless
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
posted by Apocryphon at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I guess another silver lining is that maybe this administration is going to scale back the concept of the imperial presidency by making executive orders totally meaningless
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
posted by Apocryphon at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trump signs executive orders on 'extreme vetting' of refugees, military readiness
Watching Fox News coverage about this. They're saying that the order includes the public release every six months of numbers of "terrorists" charged and, even fucking worse, "the number of people radicalized."
This is terrifying. Even if these are statistics with no names attached to the numbers, it's symbolic proscription and the establishment of thought-crime.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
More quiet murmurs from Federal government agencies: the Federal Highway Administration (state offices at least) are now prohibited from mentioning "Climate Change." Of course, this is off-record, because that's how _rump and co are addressing climate change - pretending that they aren't and that everyone just forgot that it's a thing that is fucking us up, right here and now.
Broadly related: Trump declares tornado disaster while denying climate change (NJ Today, January 25, 2017)
While the article mostly talks about the disasters and what climate change could mean for such disasters in the future, with the final paragraph noting that _rump administration has instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the climate change page from its website, I still give kudos to NJ Today, New Jersey's Oldest Newspaper, for the title, and for including the real-life Trump ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ photo in that article.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Broadly related: Trump declares tornado disaster while denying climate change (NJ Today, January 25, 2017)
While the article mostly talks about the disasters and what climate change could mean for such disasters in the future, with the final paragraph noting that _rump administration has instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the climate change page from its website, I still give kudos to NJ Today, New Jersey's Oldest Newspaper, for the title, and for including the real-life Trump ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ photo in that article.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
That's the thing. These people who voted against Obamacare/didn't know it was ACA? They are morons. Just change the name to FreedomCare, do nothing else, and they will piss themselves with joy.
/is bitter
posted by emjaybee at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
/is bitter
posted by emjaybee at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
Planning to donate a huge chunk of money to CAIR when I get home and explicitly note that this is in honor of Holocaust remembrance day.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Planning to donate a huge chunk of money to CAIR when I get home and explicitly note that this is in honor of Holocaust remembrance day.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
The people who answer the phones for Senator Tillis' D.C. office are so great, they even do me the courtesy of acctually making generic typing sounds in the background as they "record my feedback to pass along to the Senator" (read: roll their eyes exaggeratedly and make gagging faces while speaking in their most earnestly passive-aggressive "smiling" voices).
Over-exaggerated "Yes, m'aam!"s aside, it is surprisingly nice to talk to an actual human rather than a dedicated voice-mail box specifically set aside for sequestering constituent feedback on confirmation hearings (which toooooootallly won't just be erased at then end of the day without ever being listened to, of course......I'm looking at you, Burr!).
Seriously, though: today is a cynical day, but humans on the other end of the line really are a nice touch. Staffing the public phones at a Senator's office can't be much fun in the best of times, and these are certainly not the best of times. I appreciate the polite and professional people who do this work (even if I think you work for an actual monster).
Talk to you again tomorrow (.....and tomorrow.....and tomorrow), Jordan!
posted by Dorinda at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Over-exaggerated "Yes, m'aam!"s aside, it is surprisingly nice to talk to an actual human rather than a dedicated voice-mail box specifically set aside for sequestering constituent feedback on confirmation hearings (which toooooootallly won't just be erased at then end of the day without ever being listened to, of course......I'm looking at you, Burr!).
Seriously, though: today is a cynical day, but humans on the other end of the line really are a nice touch. Staffing the public phones at a Senator's office can't be much fun in the best of times, and these are certainly not the best of times. I appreciate the polite and professional people who do this work (even if I think you work for an actual monster).
Talk to you again tomorrow (.....and tomorrow.....and tomorrow), Jordan!
posted by Dorinda at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
This is where I would rail about how Cory Booker shot down the drug import stuff so why would you expect blah blah blah I just don't have it in my after this week but you can figure it out.
posted by phearlez at 2:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
This is where I would rail about how Cory Booker shot down the drug import stuff so why would you expect blah blah blah I just don't have it in my after this week but you can figure it out.
posted by phearlez at 2:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ocean's 11/Rogue One except about stealing the GOP's Obamacare replacement plans (a stack of blank papers) and swapping them with a copy of Obamacare w/ a search and replace for Trumpcare, plus a public option scribbled on the bottom
posted by Apocryphon at 2:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 2:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Damn it, I posted in the wrong thread.
State lawmaker sends Sharia law "poll" to Texas mosques
Densho Encyclopedia: Loyalty questionnaire
posted by sunset in snow country at 2:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
State lawmaker sends Sharia law "poll" to Texas mosques
Densho Encyclopedia: Loyalty questionnaire
posted by sunset in snow country at 2:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Rust Moranis: Watching Fox News coverage about this. They're saying that the order includes the public release every six months of numbers of "terrorists" charged and, even fucking worse, "the number of people radicalized." This is terrifying.
So, speaking from someone in a public agency, the direction from the last 8+ years is to post numbers so you can then address them and show how your efforts are improving things.
_rump's actions and "plans" will make all of this worse, but how do you keep publishing worse numbers? Do you lie, just to say that everything is getting better, thanks to the Angry Orange?
And I'm saying that more people will be "radicalized" because I'm betting that some of those criteria include protests and demonstrations, and that's not going to stop any time soon. In fact, I can see them getting more organized and impressive. There's also the chance that with more minorities being targeted by angry citizens, more will defend themselves, so they could be considered "radicalized" for fighting at all, if it's up to local police to categorize such events.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
So, speaking from someone in a public agency, the direction from the last 8+ years is to post numbers so you can then address them and show how your efforts are improving things.
_rump's actions and "plans" will make all of this worse, but how do you keep publishing worse numbers? Do you lie, just to say that everything is getting better, thanks to the Angry Orange?
And I'm saying that more people will be "radicalized" because I'm betting that some of those criteria include protests and demonstrations, and that's not going to stop any time soon. In fact, I can see them getting more organized and impressive. There's also the chance that with more minorities being targeted by angry citizens, more will defend themselves, so they could be considered "radicalized" for fighting at all, if it's up to local police to categorize such events.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Today I successfully put my mug down and walked out of the room instead of smashing it against the wall. Then I did some pushups, because I need to be strong to smash fascists.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
Rogue One except it's about swapping the GOP's Obamacare replacement plans (a stack of blank papers) with Obamacare
So basically the good guys die and we'll have to rely on sentient Teddy Bears to save us three films from now.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
So basically the good guys die and we'll have to rely on sentient Teddy Bears to save us three films from now.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Some of you may know that I've gotten rather apocalyptic lately. For instance, I think Trump is on a mission to cut services, a la Limts to Growth.
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
Sometime between the announcement of the plans to build the Trump Wall and the first big round of buying the necessary steel, concrete and other commodities, the economy will crash.
A number of American corporations which are involved with the construction of the wall will then have a reason to buy up enormous quantities of commodities at low prices.
Half-hearted attempts to build the obviously impossible wall will sputter out, leaving companies with all of that raw material sitting in their inventory, at least partially paid for by the United States Government, or, more accurately, the American taxpayer.
Those resources, of course, are what you'd need to build bunkers. If a bunch of billionaires started buying enough concrete and steel to build enormous projects, it would cause quite a stir. The wall is the perfect cover, and a massive last-minute money grab.
posted by MrVisible at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
Sometime between the announcement of the plans to build the Trump Wall and the first big round of buying the necessary steel, concrete and other commodities, the economy will crash.
A number of American corporations which are involved with the construction of the wall will then have a reason to buy up enormous quantities of commodities at low prices.
Half-hearted attempts to build the obviously impossible wall will sputter out, leaving companies with all of that raw material sitting in their inventory, at least partially paid for by the United States Government, or, more accurately, the American taxpayer.
Those resources, of course, are what you'd need to build bunkers. If a bunch of billionaires started buying enough concrete and steel to build enormous projects, it would cause quite a stir. The wall is the perfect cover, and a massive last-minute money grab.
posted by MrVisible at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Voter Fraud Today. Voter Suppression Tomorrow. We need to prepare for yet another Civil Rights fight.
posted by homunculus at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Trump signs executive orders on 'extreme vetting' of refugees, military readiness
Are the actual EO's public yet?
posted by Coventry at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Are the actual EO's public yet?
posted by Coventry at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump said he would give priority to Christian immigrants?
Guys, guys. People are going to die. What the fuck. I'm scared.
posted by Yowser at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Guys, guys. People are going to die. What the fuck. I'm scared.
posted by Yowser at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
MetaFilter: about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment
posted by kirkaracha at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
And by people are going to die, I mean that Trump is going to order civilians shot.
In our lifetime my god.
I can't. What is even going on.
posted by Yowser at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
In our lifetime my god.
I can't. What is even going on.
posted by Yowser at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Are the actual EO's public yet?
Vice is keeping a running list, but I think they only post once a day.
posted by Jacob G at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Vice is keeping a running list, but I think they only post once a day.
posted by Jacob G at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
AlterNet: The NY Times Just Published the Most Perversely Tone-Deaf Piece on the Massive Women's March
The Times went out and photographed protesters and asked them what they were wearing, and then devoted an entire broadsheet backpage to this exercise in tin-eared mockery. Eleven protesters (out of 3-million-plus) made the cut. Granted, newspapers need to fill pages, but clearly, this is an idea that should have never made it out of an edit meeting alive.posted by ZeusHumms at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
MetaFilter: about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment
Nah, we're a lot fucking better than a tweetstorm by a reactionary conspiracy theorist who equates the Weathermen with the KKK, and who believes that violent resistance to Nazis breaks the social compact.
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Nah, we're a lot fucking better than a tweetstorm by a reactionary conspiracy theorist who equates the Weathermen with the KKK, and who believes that violent resistance to Nazis breaks the social compact.
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
NYTimes: Russian Charged With Treason Worked in Office Linked to Election Hacking
Interesting theory here that the Russians will purposefully reveal details of the hacking to damage Trump's Presidency. But it's a hall of mirrors as usual.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Interesting theory here that the Russians will purposefully reveal details of the hacking to damage Trump's Presidency. But it's a hall of mirrors as usual.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
I think this is actually going to be what happens. Or maybe they'll do some sort of circular parliamentary maneuver, "repealing" it and then "replacing" it with the text of the same thing, or with one of the old Republican proposals that basically were the inspiration for the ACA, such that there's no real change.
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
... you're Trump, who has zero relevant experience in government, except perhaps insofar as the government occasionally finances big construction projects, which is admittedly something he has done, albeit reportedly very poorly.
I think he thinks he's going to no shit build a Great Wall of America on the Mexican border, and that doing so will create a bunch of jobs (which is ironically Keynesian for a self-described Republican), and that he's going to pay for it with the Mexican-import-derived portion of a “destination-based cash flow tax” (DBCFT).
I don't know if he'll actually be able to do that, but the DBCFT will supposedly pass muster with the WTO, and quite a few countries already have them, so it's not an especially radical plan or anything. (It's a little radical for a Republican, but... well, so is Trump.) It would let you sorta claim with a straight face that Mexico is "paying" for it, too, at least if you have a pretty flexible face. And a giant border wall, stupid as it would be—walls don't count for very much against someone with an air hammer and a few hours to spare without guards—is probably doable, although it would be a giant civil engineering project for no particular benefit. We know how to do it; it's really no different than highway construction. It's just dumb. So maybe they'll build a certain amount of actual wall for publicity purposes and then spend the rest of the money on some sort of sensor system, or hunter-killer robots, or land mines, or whatever else happens to be cheaper.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I think this is actually going to be what happens. Or maybe they'll do some sort of circular parliamentary maneuver, "repealing" it and then "replacing" it with the text of the same thing, or with one of the old Republican proposals that basically were the inspiration for the ACA, such that there's no real change.
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
... you're Trump, who has zero relevant experience in government, except perhaps insofar as the government occasionally finances big construction projects, which is admittedly something he has done, albeit reportedly very poorly.
I think he thinks he's going to no shit build a Great Wall of America on the Mexican border, and that doing so will create a bunch of jobs (which is ironically Keynesian for a self-described Republican), and that he's going to pay for it with the Mexican-import-derived portion of a “destination-based cash flow tax” (DBCFT).
I don't know if he'll actually be able to do that, but the DBCFT will supposedly pass muster with the WTO, and quite a few countries already have them, so it's not an especially radical plan or anything. (It's a little radical for a Republican, but... well, so is Trump.) It would let you sorta claim with a straight face that Mexico is "paying" for it, too, at least if you have a pretty flexible face. And a giant border wall, stupid as it would be—walls don't count for very much against someone with an air hammer and a few hours to spare without guards—is probably doable, although it would be a giant civil engineering project for no particular benefit. We know how to do it; it's really no different than highway construction. It's just dumb. So maybe they'll build a certain amount of actual wall for publicity purposes and then spend the rest of the money on some sort of sensor system, or hunter-killer robots, or land mines, or whatever else happens to be cheaper.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I subscribed to Teen Vogue yesterday.
posted by bq at 2:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by bq at 2:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
I just watched Dr. Strange. I like that world better.
posted by Jalliah at 2:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A reminder that Anne Frank and her family were also denied entry as refugees to the U.S.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
This is from a ways up, but if you want to support Martin Rowson and indie bookstores, AND if you're avoiding Amazon because of #GrabYourWallet, you can buy The Waste Land at Powells.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by pxe2000 at 2:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm at the post office and someone said "California! Land of fruits and nuts!" and all the jokers in line were off and running with "I hope they leave," etc. It is all I can freaking do to keep from screaming, "Will you white men just SHUT UP half a goddamn minute for once and let the rest of us have a moment's peace!" I guess this particular line will no longer be a problem for me once the USPS is privatized and I can no longer afford to send mail.
posted by thebrokedown at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by thebrokedown at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
Historisterically (if you will), Trump was elected on the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In an open letter, Berlin's mayor tells Trump "Don’t build this wall!" [WaPo]; which, I guess we'll see how much good that'll do.
Also Der Spiegel, official press release (both in German).
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
In an open letter, Berlin's mayor tells Trump "Don’t build this wall!" [WaPo]; which, I guess we'll see how much good that'll do.
Also Der Spiegel, official press release (both in German).
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Hey guys, remember upthread how Facebook is changing its trending news stuff to combat fake news?
Today my Facebook showed me an article by the "Washington Times" that "proved" 800,000 illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton.
I don't think these tweaks are going the right way.
posted by corb at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
Today my Facebook showed me an article by the "Washington Times" that "proved" 800,000 illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton.
I don't think these tweaks are going the right way.
posted by corb at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I subscribed to Teen Vogue yesterday.
Me too.
Seriously, I think someone needs to attempt to keep track of how many people are going to die because of Trump being elected. It'll be millions.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Me too.
Seriously, I think someone needs to attempt to keep track of how many people are going to die because of Trump being elected. It'll be millions.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Well this is a hell of a story:
Michal Kosinski was a student in Warsaw when his life took a new direction in 2008: he was accepted to the prestigious University of Cambridge in England to do doctoral work at the Psychometrics Center, one of the oldest institutions of its kind worldwide.posted by OnceUponATime at 2:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
...
Soon, with a mere ten “likes” as input his model could appraise a person’s character better than an average coworker. With seventy, it could “know” a subject better than a friend; with 150 likes, better than their parents. With 300 likes, Kosinski’s model could predict a subject’s answers better than their partner. With even more likes it could exceed what a person thinks they know about themselves.
The day he published these findings, Kosinski received two phonecalls. One was a threat to sue, the other a job offer. Both were from Facebook.
...
Around this time, in early 2014, a young assistant professor named Aleksandr Kogan approached Kosinski. He said he had received an inquiry from a company interested in Kosinski’s methods. They apparently wanted to access the MyPersonality database, Kosinski remembers. To what purpose, Kogan couldn’t say: there were strict secrecy stipulations. At first, Kosinski and his team considered the offer—it would have meant a lot of money for his institute. But he hesitated. Finally, Kosinski remembers, Kogan divulged the name of the company: SCL, Strategic Communications Laboratories.
...
In 2012, Kosinski demonstrated that from a mere 68 Facebook likes on average, a lot about a user could be reliably predicted: skin color (95% accuracy), sexual orientation (88% accuracy), Democrat or Republican (85%). But there’s more: level of intellect; religious affiliation; alcohol-, cigarette-, and drug abuse could all be calculated. Even whether or not your parents were divorced could be teased out of the data.
...
SCL is also the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, this ominous Big Data outfit that later managed online marketing for both Trump and the Brexit “Leave” campaign.
...
Steve Bannon, a Cambridge Analytica board member and former executive chair of the ultra-rightwing online site Breitbart News, was named Trump’s chief strategist. Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, ambitious Front National activist and niece of the presidential candidate, has tweeted that she would accept his invitation to collaborate. In an internal company video, there is a recording of a discussion entitled “Italy.” While Cambridge Analytica is not willing to comment on alleged ongoing talks with UK prime minister Theresa May, Alexander Nix claims that he is in the process of client acquisition, worldwide, and that he has received inquiries out of Switzerland and Germany.
Jen I'm not the only one am I.
I'd say that there is one small silver lining, but I want to delay the knock at m door.
I'm ill and can't stop reading.
My god that nazi Milo is speaking tonight at a University, and spoiled white rich kids will be cheering him on. Maybe someone will be shot again, much to his delight.
People are evil. Maybe the Catholics are on to something.
posted by Yowser at 2:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'd say that there is one small silver lining, but I want to delay the knock at m door.
I'm ill and can't stop reading.
My god that nazi Milo is speaking tonight at a University, and spoiled white rich kids will be cheering him on. Maybe someone will be shot again, much to his delight.
People are evil. Maybe the Catholics are on to something.
posted by Yowser at 2:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
How anonymously can I subscribe *someone else* to Teen Vogue?
Asking for a......friend.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Asking for a......friend.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
So, um, Californian MeFites, please for the love of--the love of--if you have ever liked a thing I have said or a sentiment I've had or if you have any positive feelings for me whatsoever, I am begging you, please stand against Calexit.
I am and remain against Calexit but PLEASE don't kiss my feet. We can get a drink together? Besides, in terms of water rights it would be fsking stupid; a lot of the ease of our water rights from other states is because they're other states; a hostile other nation is a lot more difficult to negotiate with.
I'm wondering if there's a way we can leverage the liberality and power from the cities to help rural areas, though; honestly, I'm really worried about women in rural areas being unsafe and not getting needed services because ASSHOLES, but I'm the opposite of someone organizing things - even my birthday parties suck.
posted by Deoridhe at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I am and remain against Calexit but PLEASE don't kiss my feet. We can get a drink together? Besides, in terms of water rights it would be fsking stupid; a lot of the ease of our water rights from other states is because they're other states; a hostile other nation is a lot more difficult to negotiate with.
I'm wondering if there's a way we can leverage the liberality and power from the cities to help rural areas, though; honestly, I'm really worried about women in rural areas being unsafe and not getting needed services because ASSHOLES, but I'm the opposite of someone organizing things - even my birthday parties suck.
posted by Deoridhe at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump said he would give priority to Christian immigrants?
Syrian Christians really are a persecuted minority group, persecuted by ISIS & by the terrorists backed by the American ancien régime.
Newseek, not the most reputable source, but here's a bit on the lack of Christian refugees. Functionally, not explicitly barred.
Disgustingly ironic, for all the "diversity" shtick, the Obama-era policy for some years was to support the ethnic and religious cleansing of Syria by radical Islamist Sunnis against Alawites, Christians, Druze, non-extremist Sunnis, etc...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Syrian Christians really are a persecuted minority group, persecuted by ISIS & by the terrorists backed by the American ancien régime.
Newseek, not the most reputable source, but here's a bit on the lack of Christian refugees. Functionally, not explicitly barred.
Disgustingly ironic, for all the "diversity" shtick, the Obama-era policy for some years was to support the ethnic and religious cleansing of Syria by radical Islamist Sunnis against Alawites, Christians, Druze, non-extremist Sunnis, etc...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
> Well this is a hell of a story
Yeah, the Cambridge Analytica psychometric micro-targeting is an under-appreciated story so far. I'm in awe of their capabilities - too bad they just used it for evil, instead of, say, goosing especially gullible folks to rethink their positions.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Yeah, the Cambridge Analytica psychometric micro-targeting is an under-appreciated story so far. I'm in awe of their capabilities - too bad they just used it for evil, instead of, say, goosing especially gullible folks to rethink their positions.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fake News Is About to Get Even Scarier than You Ever Dreamed At corporations and universities across the country, incipient technologies appear likely to soon obliterate the line between real and fake. Or, in the simplest of terms, advancements in audio and video technology are becoming so sophisticated that they will be able to replicate real news—real TV broadcasts, for instance, or radio interviews—in unprecedented, and truly indecipherable, ways.
posted by joedan at 2:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by joedan at 2:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Finally *pulls down mirrorshades* we've arrived at the cyberpunk age
posted by Apocryphon at 2:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 2:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
For all the white ladies.
For + ten years, I've been working to support a squatter community. The thing is, my sociolect is urban upper-class. It's not entirely reflective of who I am, but that doesn't matter in practice. Most people see me as an overweight chummy old lady in a constant state of tracksuits, which is all fine with me.
But when I'm out defending my "family", I'll grab all the pearls and force myself into the dresses and tights and heels, and the authorities will treat me as if I am the entire force of conservative politics. That counts whether it is a political rally or a meeting with the police. I'm not alone. Several of us middle aged ladies have realized that there is power in (play-acting) conformity. And it works - we win almost every time we do it. (And hey, you can use 5 dollar pearls, it's in the style, not the price).
posted by mumimor at 2:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [82 favorites]
For + ten years, I've been working to support a squatter community. The thing is, my sociolect is urban upper-class. It's not entirely reflective of who I am, but that doesn't matter in practice. Most people see me as an overweight chummy old lady in a constant state of tracksuits, which is all fine with me.
But when I'm out defending my "family", I'll grab all the pearls and force myself into the dresses and tights and heels, and the authorities will treat me as if I am the entire force of conservative politics. That counts whether it is a political rally or a meeting with the police. I'm not alone. Several of us middle aged ladies have realized that there is power in (play-acting) conformity. And it works - we win almost every time we do it. (And hey, you can use 5 dollar pearls, it's in the style, not the price).
posted by mumimor at 2:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [82 favorites]
oh good i'm excited to live in a shack on the remains of the triboro bridge
posted by poffin boffin at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
unfortunately, due to budget constraints there will only be four monkeys.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
but the four monkeys will all have twitter accounts
posted by ian1977 at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Today my Facebook showed me an article by the "Washington Times" that "proved" 800,000 illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton.
The Washington Times is "real news" in the sense it's an actual right-wing rag which has been operating in DC for over 30 years.
On the other hand, it has deep ties to Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.
It turned a profit for the first time in 2015.
posted by EmGeeJay at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
The Washington Times is "real news" in the sense it's an actual right-wing rag which has been operating in DC for over 30 years.
On the other hand, it has deep ties to Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.
It turned a profit for the first time in 2015.
posted by EmGeeJay at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Now maybe I can dump these pituitary glands and hot ram.
posted by valkane at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by valkane at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I know some people don't like the alt accounts, but I liked this:
Smokey Says... Resist
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Smokey Says... Resist
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well this is a hell of a story:
The reality based community doesn't really stand a chance against this.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
The reality based community doesn't really stand a chance against this.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Interesting theory here that the Russians will purposefully reveal details of the hacking to damage Trump's Presidency. But it's a hall of mirrors as usual.
Yeah or claim he tried to hack it for Hillary to help Donnie's bullshit voter suppression.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017
Yeah or claim he tried to hack it for Hillary to help Donnie's bullshit voter suppression.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017
but the four monkeys will all have twitter accounts
They'll have three twitter accounts each, thus making twelve monkeys.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
They'll have three twitter accounts each, thus making twelve monkeys.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
> Newseek, not the most reputable source, but here's a bit on the lack of Christian refugees. Functionally, not explicitly barred.
FactCheck.org: What Religion Are the Syrian Refugees?
posted by tonycpsu at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
FactCheck.org: What Religion Are the Syrian Refugees?
So what religion are the Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S.?At the very least, there are serious reasons to be skeptical of any hard numbers on the percentages. The bar for us to aggressively engaged in affirmative action to support Christians specifically (at the expense of Muslims) should be even higher, and these claims don't come close to meeting that standard.
The vast majority are Sunni Muslims, who make up 2,128, or 93 percent, of the Syrian refugees in the U.S. The Sunnis are about 74 percent of the Syrian population, according to the CIA, but “they tend to support the rebels and oppose the Assad regime, and Syrian Sunnis have been subject to ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Alawite minority in recent months,” as the Washington Post reported on Oct. 18, 2012.
This explains why Sunni Muslims are disproportionately represented among Syrian refugees in the U.S., Andrew Tabler, a Middle East expert at the Washington Institute, told us in an email.
Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad’s regime is “made up of Alawites AND other minorities like Christians,” said Tabler, who wrote a 2011 book called “In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington’s Battle with Syria.”
“The reason why is that most refugees are not displaced because of ISIS, but as a result of bombardments by the Assad regime,” Tabler told us, explaining the large percentage of Sunnis who have been admitted to the U.S. from Syria. “The regime has attempted (but failed) to shoot them into submission. Those fleeing the fighting who are not with the regime have to run to neighboring countries for protection and become refugees. And some of them eventually apply to come to the U.S. as refugees.”
Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA military analyst in the Middle East who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, offered two other possible factors.
“In addition, much of the fighting has taken place in heavily Sunni areas (because most of the country is Sunni),” Pollack said. “Finally, much of the Sunni-controlled territory is controlled by ISIS, and nobody except absolute lunatics WANT to live under ISIS.”
posted by tonycpsu at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yeah or claim he tried to hack it for Hillary to help Donnie's bullshit voter suppression.
Or Flynn fed them info on CIA moles in the FSB and now they're cleaning house.
posted by PenDevil at 3:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Or Flynn fed them info on CIA moles in the FSB and now they're cleaning house.
posted by PenDevil at 3:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
That should pretty much be assumed.
posted by Artw at 3:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
What if we just let in both Muslim and Christian Syrian refugees on the basis of them both needing to flee people who want to kill them instead of prioritizing people by religion? Wouldn't that be grand?
posted by zachlipton at 3:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [51 favorites]
IBT: President's Executive Order Says Green Card Holders Could Be Deported For Minor Crimes
Twitter thread on Iraqs that have worked for the US gov't now fearing for their future.
I think whatever soft power we had left after the Iraq War has just evaporated.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Twitter thread on Iraqs that have worked for the US gov't now fearing for their future.
I think whatever soft power we had left after the Iraq War has just evaporated.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Man, I've been puzzling for a while over the connection between Russia and the American alt-right.
I've been thinking this election was won on social media, and have been giving Putin credit for being the genius who figured out that was possible. Mr. Russian Intelligence guy with his "kompromat" and his "fake news" and his "troll army" and his bots and his hackers and his search engine optimization and his propaganda wars, understood the information age better than we did. By all accounts Russians have been living in an alternate "reality" for some time anyway, all pretending everything is fine, and Putin helping them pretend.
But maybe I haven't been giving Steve Bannon enough credit. He's on the board of this company Cambridge Analytica which apparently can predict your age, race, skin color, religion, etc from your Facebook likes. Maybe he's the genius.
Or maybe there's a connection. There is definitely an ideological overlap. And of course American isolation is very much in Putin's interest. (Or American war with China, even better.) And Russia might be one of the few places that could (temporarily at least) benefit from climate change.
And I read that story about the origin of Cambridge Analytica and I can't help but wonder who this Aleksandr Kogan is, and whether he knows anyone important in Russia.
Goddamn this is freaking me out. I feel like I went to bed one night and woke up in a Neal Stephenson dystopia. I am not sure if I'm a crazy conspiracy nut these days or if Vladimir Putin and Steve Bannon just took over the world together without anyone knowing what they did or how they did it. Goddamn.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
I've been thinking this election was won on social media, and have been giving Putin credit for being the genius who figured out that was possible. Mr. Russian Intelligence guy with his "kompromat" and his "fake news" and his "troll army" and his bots and his hackers and his search engine optimization and his propaganda wars, understood the information age better than we did. By all accounts Russians have been living in an alternate "reality" for some time anyway, all pretending everything is fine, and Putin helping them pretend.
But maybe I haven't been giving Steve Bannon enough credit. He's on the board of this company Cambridge Analytica which apparently can predict your age, race, skin color, religion, etc from your Facebook likes. Maybe he's the genius.
Or maybe there's a connection. There is definitely an ideological overlap. And of course American isolation is very much in Putin's interest. (Or American war with China, even better.) And Russia might be one of the few places that could (temporarily at least) benefit from climate change.
And I read that story about the origin of Cambridge Analytica and I can't help but wonder who this Aleksandr Kogan is, and whether he knows anyone important in Russia.
Goddamn this is freaking me out. I feel like I went to bed one night and woke up in a Neal Stephenson dystopia. I am not sure if I'm a crazy conspiracy nut these days or if Vladimir Putin and Steve Bannon just took over the world together without anyone knowing what they did or how they did it. Goddamn.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
posted by futz at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by futz at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
Republicans should be scared of repealing Obamacare, and this poll shows why
Even more illustrative in the new poll, though, is this: Voters indicated they'll actually punish those who vote for repeal. Quinnipiac asked them whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a senator or member of Congress who votes for repeal, and by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, they said less likely.posted by zachlipton at 3:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Fully 43 percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who repeals Obamacare, while only 24 percent said they would be more likely.
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
More of this please. In the age of email leaks, we should have this shit against the Republicans too on a daily basis.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
More of this please. In the age of email leaks, we should have this shit against the Republicans too on a daily basis.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
in related voting news the NYSAG is joining in on the lawsuit against the board of elections over the nyc voter roll purges before the primary
posted by poffin boffin at 3:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 3:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
One week down, only 207 more to go. We can do this.
posted by rocket88 at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by rocket88 at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Even more illustrative in the new poll, though, is this: Voters indicated they'll actually punish those who vote for repeal. Quinnipiac asked them whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a senator or member of Congress who votes for repeal, and by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, they said less likely.
Fully 43 percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who repeals Obamacare, while only 24 percent said they would be more likely.
If that happens I'll eat my left shoe. The rep will just remind the electorate that only they stand against liberals with their abortions and their black people welfare and their socialism and they'll cruise to reelection.
posted by Talez at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fully 43 percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who repeals Obamacare, while only 24 percent said they would be more likely.
If that happens I'll eat my left shoe. The rep will just remind the electorate that only they stand against liberals with their abortions and their black people welfare and their socialism and they'll cruise to reelection.
posted by Talez at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Like, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
Did you know that Canada repatriated the Mounties trademark from Disney?
Another defeat for American trade.
posted by srboisvert at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017
Did you know that Canada repatriated the Mounties trademark from Disney?
Another defeat for American trade.
posted by srboisvert at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017
How anonymously can I subscribe *someone else* to Teen Vogue?
in the dark ages, we'd get a dead tree edition. send in the subscription card with a money order. and that is how your friend gets playgirl at work.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
in the dark ages, we'd get a dead tree edition. send in the subscription card with a money order. and that is how your friend gets playgirl at work.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
And I read that story about the origin of Cambridge Analytica
I'm skeptical. Cambridge Analytica looks less Person Of Interest to me and a little more like vaporware being sold by shysters to other shysters.
posted by octobersurprise at 3:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
I'm skeptical. Cambridge Analytica looks less Person Of Interest to me and a little more like vaporware being sold by shysters to other shysters.
posted by octobersurprise at 3:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
In the end, I believe in my heart they'll follow their talking points/marching orders and not their very real concerns about how repeal would be a disaster.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
In the end, I believe in my heart they'll follow their talking points/marching orders and not their very real concerns about how repeal would be a disaster.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Malia Obama takes on Trump: Former first daughter joins rally protesting President's plan to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline then attends private event with Standing Rock chairman
posted by futz at 3:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [112 favorites]
posted by futz at 3:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [112 favorites]
Well futz, that made me tear up. Go Malia!
posted by zutalors! at 3:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zutalors! at 3:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
A Conversation With the Rogue National Park Service Twitter Account
It seems like it's an assorted group of people now, including some journalists, who want to remain anonymous, and the actual NPS employees have backed away to avoid a government witch-hunt.
posted by zachlipton at 3:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It seems like it's an assorted group of people now, including some journalists, who want to remain anonymous, and the actual NPS employees have backed away to avoid a government witch-hunt.
posted by zachlipton at 3:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
The vast majority are Sunni Muslims, who make up 2,128, or 93 percent, of the Syrian refugees in the U.S
All else aside, it disgusts me that we have only taken in 2128 people, and now even that will pretty much be stopped. 2128! This is a huge, rich country. We could take in so many more people here and not even feel it.
I always think of an old song by the Dog-Faced Hermans which is about refugees, "Hear the Dogs":
Welcome, welcome
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may sit in my kitchen,
between the hours of five and six.
And you may butter your bread
on the one side only.
And we can do this,
because we're quite groovy so you're lucky.
Remember.
Welcome -
wipe your feet.
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may butter your bread
on the one side only,
only on the one side.
-But hear the dogs barking
outside.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
This is some country this is
this is some country.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
posted by Frowner at 3:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
All else aside, it disgusts me that we have only taken in 2128 people, and now even that will pretty much be stopped. 2128! This is a huge, rich country. We could take in so many more people here and not even feel it.
I always think of an old song by the Dog-Faced Hermans which is about refugees, "Hear the Dogs":
Welcome, welcome
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may sit in my kitchen,
between the hours of five and six.
And you may butter your bread
on the one side only.
And we can do this,
because we're quite groovy so you're lucky.
Remember.
Welcome -
wipe your feet.
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may butter your bread
on the one side only,
only on the one side.
-But hear the dogs barking
outside.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
This is some country this is
this is some country.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
posted by Frowner at 3:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yeah. Idly accusing anyone with a last name that could be Russian of being some kind of intelligence operative is not remotely cool.
posted by zachlipton at 3:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I am noticing similarities between the kind of "fake news" mediated self-deception described as common in Russia, and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
I wonder if it is possible that Bannon also noticed that large market for fake news, who would believe anything you told them if you told them the right way. And if that didn't lead him into film making, and then to Breitbart, and to Cambridge Analytica, and to the Trump campaign (which he claimed to be managing a year before he was named CEO -- saying he liked Trump for his nationalism) and ... I still can't help but speculate ... maybe to Putin. If you don't like my pointing out the Russian name in the Cambridge Analytica story, consider that Bannon is still tightly linked to the Trump campaign, and the Trump campaign has well documented links to Russia.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I wonder if it is possible that Bannon also noticed that large market for fake news, who would believe anything you told them if you told them the right way. And if that didn't lead him into film making, and then to Breitbart, and to Cambridge Analytica, and to the Trump campaign (which he claimed to be managing a year before he was named CEO -- saying he liked Trump for his nationalism) and ... I still can't help but speculate ... maybe to Putin. If you don't like my pointing out the Russian name in the Cambridge Analytica story, consider that Bannon is still tightly linked to the Trump campaign, and the Trump campaign has well documented links to Russia.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
It would not surprise me in the least if an incipient international fascist movement were involved in cutting edge analytics and opinion shaping. Fascists know the need for propaganda, and white supremacists know how important it is to cloak their ideology in plausible deniability.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm at O'Hare with volunteers waiting for one of the last Syrian families to arrive before Trump signs the orders.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
And just to make it clear, I have absolutely nothing against ordinary Russians, who I think are victims of Putin's abusive regime. If I'm speculating about Russian names it's not because I think all Russians are linked to Putin. It's because I think Russians in a story about a Bannon-linked datamining company which helped the Trump and Brexit campaigns might be Putin-linked.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017
Donald Trump is the sole reliable source of truth, says chair of House Science Committee
On Monday, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who has previously praised Trump’s “stamina” and “conviction,” gave a floor speech in the House in which lauded the president, celebrating his many accomplishments. According to Smith, you may not be familiar with those accomplishments, because the media won’t tell you.
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
For those not in the loop:
But most significantly, Smith is the chair of the House Science Committee, which he has transformed into an aggressively partisan instrument, using its investigatory powers — including sweeping new subpoena powers granted by fellow Republicans in 2015 — to harass and intimidate individual scientists, agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
posted by futz at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
On Monday, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who has previously praised Trump’s “stamina” and “conviction,” gave a floor speech in the House in which lauded the president, celebrating his many accomplishments. According to Smith, you may not be familiar with those accomplishments, because the media won’t tell you.
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
For those not in the loop:
But most significantly, Smith is the chair of the House Science Committee, which he has transformed into an aggressively partisan instrument, using its investigatory powers — including sweeping new subpoena powers granted by fellow Republicans in 2015 — to harass and intimidate individual scientists, agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
posted by futz at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
This is what Trump had the nerve to tweet with the video of the announcement of the Executive Orders today: I promise that our administration will ALWAYS have your back. We will ALWAYS be with you!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Really looking out for us there.
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Donnie Cougar Mellancamp.
posted by valkane at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is what Trump had the nerve to tweet with the video of the announcement of the Executive Orders today: I promise that our administration will ALWAYS have your back. We will ALWAYS be with you!
That message wasn't meant for us.
posted by mochapickle at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
That message wasn't meant for us.
posted by mochapickle at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Do you think Bannon always tells Trump what is signing or does he leave it as a fun little surprise?
posted by Artw at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's more "look out!" than looking out.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Great, so now we have a secret plan to fight refugees.
posted by zachlipton at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
Me: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
Me: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
When he says "we" or "us", he's only talking about red states. He's made it clear he considers anyone living in a state that didnt vote for him to be an enemy of the state.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Well, Russia and Nazis too.
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Looks like Bradd Jaffy at NBC just got a copy of at least one of the orders, though it is extremely hard to read.
posted by zachlipton at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
what, like, not ever? is it gonna be kept in a big cavern beneath the white house guarded by a huge fucking snake?
posted by poffin boffin at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
what, like, not ever? is it gonna be kept in a big cavern beneath the white house guarded by a huge fucking snake?
posted by poffin boffin at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
i mean not to sound like a halfwitted naif or anything but uh. is he allowed to make secret laws
not that being allowed or not matters anymore lbr
posted by poffin boffin at 3:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
not that being allowed or not matters anymore lbr
posted by poffin boffin at 3:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
Just boiling the frog. Delay a day, then a week, then a month, then ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
like traditionally the passage of secret laws in specially arranged government meetings hasn't worked out well for my people
posted by poffin boffin at 4:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Is it time to walk out of our jobs and start the general strike yet?
No? Still no?
posted by perspicio at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
No? Still no?
posted by perspicio at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
So even if all you care about are Syrian Christians, this specifically bans all Syrian national refugees as "detrimental to the interests of the United States" until Trump orders otherwise.
It does have an exception that allows DHS and State to allow refugees during the 120 day suspension period (but apparently not Syrian refugees as I read it, those are banned in another section) on a case-by-case basis that specifically calls out religious minorities.
posted by zachlipton at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
It does have an exception that allows DHS and State to allow refugees during the 120 day suspension period (but apparently not Syrian refugees as I read it, those are banned in another section) on a case-by-case basis that specifically calls out religious minorities.
posted by zachlipton at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
i mean not to sound like a halfwitted naif or anything but uh. is he allowed to make secret laws
A more pertinent question is, who's going to stop him?
posted by corb at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
A more pertinent question is, who's going to stop him?
posted by corb at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I can't live in this world.
posted by guiseroom at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by guiseroom at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
i will ask my ancient terracotta pot
posted by poffin boffin at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
it's sort of the executive version of genital grabbing
posted by angrycat at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
And how's that coming along? You've mentioned having meetings and "getting candidates" here, but NeverTrump has been out of the news for some time outside of the widespread abdications by more prominent members of the movement, so I guess we should just presume lots of important stuff is going on and big plans have been made but they're all secret? It would be very heartening to hear some specifics to indicate that there is really going to be a groundswell of decent Republicans come 2018, but in the absence of any evidence at all of such people existing in significant numbers I'm not sure you'll find too many of us interested in pinning our hopes on it, or taking any remnant NeverTrump Republican movement too seriously.
posted by contraption at 4:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
And how's that coming along? You've mentioned having meetings and "getting candidates" here, but NeverTrump has been out of the news for some time outside of the widespread abdications by more prominent members of the movement, so I guess we should just presume lots of important stuff is going on and big plans have been made but they're all secret? It would be very heartening to hear some specifics to indicate that there is really going to be a groundswell of decent Republicans come 2018, but in the absence of any evidence at all of such people existing in significant numbers I'm not sure you'll find too many of us interested in pinning our hopes on it, or taking any remnant NeverTrump Republican movement too seriously.
posted by contraption at 4:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
The way he reads the EO in the video in this link.... it looks like he doesn't even know what he is signing!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-closes-pen-photoshop-battle-reddit_us_58890438e4b061cf898c6b14?
Bonus mocking Trump photoshopping in that link!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-closes-pen-photoshop-battle-reddit_us_58890438e4b061cf898c6b14?
Bonus mocking Trump photoshopping in that link!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
Is this leaked audio floating around? I'd love to hear the sausage get made. Even if, for the purposes of this metaphor, I'm a vegetarian.
posted by dis_integration at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017
Is this leaked audio floating around? I'd love to hear the sausage get made. Even if, for the purposes of this metaphor, I'm a vegetarian.
posted by dis_integration at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017
Here's a legible copy of the document
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
But that doesn't explain sucking up in such a public way to the congressional GOP, unless she actually feels political kinship with that pack of scoundrels and loons, which is really quite unprecedented for a British PM. There's no political capital to be gained from making Rep. Chuck 'Chuck' Dumbfuck (R-AR) think you're swell.
May is not aiming to build political capital with the 'Chucks' but with those who would support the position of the US as a viable substitute trading partner. May needs to present the appearance to her supporters in the UK that the UK is building links which will become trade partnerships so that Brexit supporters can maintain their illusion that there are realistic alternatives which will not pauperise the country. May's record as PM is entirely performative, the actuality may catch up at some point but in the meantime she can stay in power by having her supporters at home believe that there are realistic alternatives to the trade relationships the UK is throwing away.
posted by biffa at 4:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
May is not aiming to build political capital with the 'Chucks' but with those who would support the position of the US as a viable substitute trading partner. May needs to present the appearance to her supporters in the UK that the UK is building links which will become trade partnerships so that Brexit supporters can maintain their illusion that there are realistic alternatives which will not pauperise the country. May's record as PM is entirely performative, the actuality may catch up at some point but in the meantime she can stay in power by having her supporters at home believe that there are realistic alternatives to the trade relationships the UK is throwing away.
posted by biffa at 4:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
You're wasting your time and have been since he was nominated. Anything other than working to defeat Republican candidates is helping keep Trump in power. NeverTrump had its chance, and failed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
You're wasting your time and have been since he was nominated. Anything other than working to defeat Republican candidates is helping keep Trump in power. NeverTrump had its chance, and failed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Reversing course, Trump administration will continue Obamacare outreach
They cancelled some of the ads, but phone calls and emails will still happen now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
They cancelled some of the ads, but phone calls and emails will still happen now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump's voter fraud expert owes US more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes
LOL.
The conservative activist cited by Donald Trump as an authority on voter fraud owes the US government more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes, was once accused of lying about his qualifications, and has faced several allegations of ethical impropriety.
posted by futz at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
LOL.
The conservative activist cited by Donald Trump as an authority on voter fraud owes the US government more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes, was once accused of lying about his qualifications, and has faced several allegations of ethical impropriety.
posted by futz at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
Executive orders are supposed to be relayed to the Federal Register, which then publishes them. This apparently takes a couple of days. So, "We are not revealing what he signed today" may mean the Trump Admin is not releasing the EO to the press directly today -- or not at all -- but eventually the Federal Register will (or should) publish it.
Except that so far they've only gotten around to publishing that one EO Trump signed about Obamacare on Inauguration Day, which is maybe because the OFR works slow or the Trump administration does.
Hmm, maybe a reporter should ask.
posted by notyou at 4:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Except that so far they've only gotten around to publishing that one EO Trump signed about Obamacare on Inauguration Day, which is maybe because the OFR works slow or the Trump administration does.
Hmm, maybe a reporter should ask.
posted by notyou at 4:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Section 7 of the executive order:
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Trump's voter fraud expert owes US more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes
awww. I was hoping they meant Kris Kobach.
posted by indubitable at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
awww. I was hoping they meant Kris Kobach.
posted by indubitable at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Guys, I'm starting to worry that forcing the Republicans to smoke the entire pack of cigarettes at once isn't working, and anyway the secondhand smoke is terrible.
posted by ckape at 4:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
posted by ckape at 4:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been policy for years, they've just failed so far at actually making the thing.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been policy for years, they've just failed so far at actually making the thing.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been on the Republican wishlist for decades. Post-9/11, they collect fingerprints and photos of many visitors who enter the US, but there are no exit controls to collect the same data when leaving the country, unlike some other countries where you actually go to a desk and present your passport to an immigration officer want to exit.
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been on the Republican wishlist for decades. Post-9/11, they collect fingerprints and photos of many visitors who enter the US, but there are no exit controls to collect the same data when leaving the country, unlike some other countries where you actually go to a desk and present your passport to an immigration officer want to exit.
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Is this really a Trump administration document?
posted by Coventry at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Is this really a Trump administration document?
posted by Coventry at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
This is probably not that interesting at this point, but with a bit of enhancement you can see that the piece of paper he's reading in the photos from Air Force One is a note about "Extreme Vetting".
posted by lucidium at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by lucidium at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017
The 9/11 commission recommended implementation of a biometric entry/exit tracking system. Facial scans and fingerprints upon entering and exiting the US, mainly the point seems to be cutting down on people overstaying their visas. It's been delayed ever since to Republicans great frustration. Very Minority Report, but similar systems already exist around the world, it's not the worst thing on its own, there's much worse stuff they want to do.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
They already track people leaving by having the airlines send through the manifests and surrendered I-94s. Biometric just eliminates some fraud that wouldn't be available to mere mortals anyway.
posted by Talez at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017
They already track people leaving by having the airlines send through the manifests and surrendered I-94s. Biometric just eliminates some fraud that wouldn't be available to mere mortals anyway.
posted by Talez at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
I see the dystopia is right on schedule.
posted by dis_integration at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I see the dystopia is right on schedule.
posted by dis_integration at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A Canadian story on the horrors of Syrian refugees
posted by nubs at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by nubs at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Or, in the simplest of terms, advancements in audio and video technology are becoming so sophisticated that they will be able to replicate real news
And yet these advancements of everyone having the option of recording audio/video is why CNN was able to be challenged on the framing of the 'call for peace' in the Sylville Smith shooting. The 'real news' who had cameras at the event didn't step up and call CNN on its editing choice.
The tools aren't the biggest issue - its the humans in charge of the tools.
posted by rough ashlar at 4:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
And yet these advancements of everyone having the option of recording audio/video is why CNN was able to be challenged on the framing of the 'call for peace' in the Sylville Smith shooting. The 'real news' who had cameras at the event didn't step up and call CNN on its editing choice.
The tools aren't the biggest issue - its the humans in charge of the tools.
posted by rough ashlar at 4:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
The 9/11 commission recommended implementation of a biometric entry/exit tracking system. Facial scans and fingerprints upon entering and exiting the US, mainly the point seems to be cutting down on people overstaying their visas. It's been delayed ever since to Republicans great frustration. Very Minority Report, but similar systems already exist around the world, it's not the worst thing on its own, there's much worse stuff they want to do.
Do these idiots even realize what happens to non-US citizens visiting? If you leave and your I-94 (even when you don't get the form, CBP maintains a virtual I-94) hasn't been closed off CBP won't let you back into the country until you explain in very verbose detail why your I-94 is fucked up and prove that you didn't overstay your visa. The sheer bureaucratic pressure is enough to keep people out who dare even think about overstaying.
posted by Talez at 4:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Do these idiots even realize what happens to non-US citizens visiting? If you leave and your I-94 (even when you don't get the form, CBP maintains a virtual I-94) hasn't been closed off CBP won't let you back into the country until you explain in very verbose detail why your I-94 is fucked up and prove that you didn't overstay your visa. The sheer bureaucratic pressure is enough to keep people out who dare even think about overstaying.
posted by Talez at 4:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
OnceUponATime: I am noticing similarities between the kind of "fake news" mediated self-deception described as common in Russia, and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
Thanks for that white evangelical community link, OnceUponATime. It makes Pizzagate somewhat more comprehensible:
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Thanks for that white evangelical community link, OnceUponATime. It makes Pizzagate somewhat more comprehensible:
This comparing-down is ultimately corrosive because it bases our sense of morality in pride rather than in love — in the cardinal vice instead of the cardinal virtue. And to fuel that pride, we end up looking for ever-more extreme and exotically awful people to compare ourselves favorably against, people whose freakish cruelty makes our own mediocrity show more goodly and attract more eyes than that which hath no foil to set it off.(Now I'm remembering overhearing some white people talking to each other about how "Liberals reeeeaaally scare me! I'm afraid for the future of my kids with them in charge!" etc. There was no attempt to try to see things from liberals' perspectives. Just comparing-down and demonization, as so well explained in your link.)
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Bonus mocking Trump photoshopping in that link!
Electorate: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Bannon: Mine is an evil laugh
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 4:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Electorate: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Bannon: Mine is an evil laugh
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 4:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yay!
Federal judge blocks Texas fetal tissue burial rule
posted by futz at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [46 favorites]
Federal judge blocks Texas fetal tissue burial rule
posted by futz at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [46 favorites]
the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Is this really a Trump administration document?
Well, sure. Since it only means "bigotry against rich white people." Everyone else is still fair game.
posted by Archelaus at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is this really a Trump administration document?
Well, sure. Since it only means "bigotry against rich white people." Everyone else is still fair game.
posted by Archelaus at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
@BraddJaffy
Trump order begins by invoking 9/11 three times
9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
None of those countries banned
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [101 favorites]
Trump order begins by invoking 9/11 three times
9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
None of those countries banned
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [101 favorites]
Since it only means "bigotry against rich white people."
I think it's a way to ban Muslims and other cultures that might possibly run afoul of the rules.
posted by corb at 4:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think it's a way to ban Muslims and other cultures that might possibly run afoul of the rules.
posted by corb at 4:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
None of those countries banned
Wasn't it pointed out that none of the countries that trump has business deals with were banned?
posted by futz at 4:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
None of those countries banned
Wasn't it pointed out that none of the countries that trump has business deals with were banned?
posted by futz at 4:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
What if we just let in both Muslim and Christian Syrian refugees on the basis of them both needing to flee people who want to kill them instead of prioritizing people by religion?
This situation has arisen precisely because UNHCR and other ground orgs carry out screenings into status. Muslim refugees are mostly in Jordan, with many in camps run by UNHCR. Christian refugees have apparently sought out communities in Iraq, Lebanon, or north-eastern provinces under Kurdish control -- a mixture of fearing reprisals in camps and feeling safer among established Christian communities. So the disparity is mostly down to the logistics of the refugee settlement process.
and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
There's definitely a kind of pincer between Breitbartism and evangelicals' self-selected news sources.
(And for what it's worth, the religious traditions and practices of Syrian Christian denominations have very little in common with even the more palatable American megachurches.)
posted by holgate at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
This situation has arisen precisely because UNHCR and other ground orgs carry out screenings into status. Muslim refugees are mostly in Jordan, with many in camps run by UNHCR. Christian refugees have apparently sought out communities in Iraq, Lebanon, or north-eastern provinces under Kurdish control -- a mixture of fearing reprisals in camps and feeling safer among established Christian communities. So the disparity is mostly down to the logistics of the refugee settlement process.
and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
There's definitely a kind of pincer between Breitbartism and evangelicals' self-selected news sources.
(And for what it's worth, the religious traditions and practices of Syrian Christian denominations have very little in common with even the more palatable American megachurches.)
posted by holgate at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Excludes Countries With Business Ties
posted by argonauta at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
People are freaking out because nobody can even tell if the order bans green card holders from coming home.
This is so fucked.
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
This is so fucked.
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
I'm trying to keep up. After my donation to PP, I was invited to an event discussing the future of women's healthcare in the area and have pledged and made plans to march with PP and the NC-NAACP in Raleigh next month. I just finished writing letters to my senators; they may fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes), but I am much more articulate in my writing than on the phone. I spoke to my aunts today and they marched last Saturday in Charlotte and asked me what they could do to stay involved; they would also like to march in Raleigh. An interesting discussion was borne from the fact that they felt that the march in Charlotte was quite white (although they did notice a lot of Hispanic and Latinx people, which they thought was awesome), so I attempted to share with them what I know about the dynamics of intersectional feminism and how we're trying to bring more women (and men, and NB, and trans* - I hope that is correct; forgive me and correct me if it isn't) to the table so we can all move forward together.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 5:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by sara is disenchanted at 5:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Excludes Countries With Business Ties
A guy's gotta eat.
posted by dis_integration at 5:04 PM on January 27, 2017
A guy's gotta eat.
posted by dis_integration at 5:04 PM on January 27, 2017
Meanwhile, Trump has bought himself headlines about rebuilding the military by signing an executive order that can't change the size of the military, because Congress has to appropriate money to do that.
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think the "rebuilding the military" one is a memorandum. Although I guess we won't know for awhile.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2017
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
It is my understanding that in the 1920's in New York State some (all?) of the State supremes were nailed for fraud by a citizen lead legal action.
The result was the idea of standing. To prevent such from happening again. (I've never seen a scholarly paper(s) documenting the above - but if true the system working to create rules to prevent the uppity proles from using law sure seems like a BAD plan. )
So here we have what appears to be a secret "law". Well, if you believe Executive Orders that are "law" to citizens. Given the caselaw established in the NSA snooping WRT standing,
how, exactly, is someone supposed to obtain standing to go before a Judge to have these 'secret orders' not be secret anymore?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
It is my understanding that in the 1920's in New York State some (all?) of the State supremes were nailed for fraud by a citizen lead legal action.
The result was the idea of standing. To prevent such from happening again. (I've never seen a scholarly paper(s) documenting the above - but if true the system working to create rules to prevent the uppity proles from using law sure seems like a BAD plan. )
So here we have what appears to be a secret "law". Well, if you believe Executive Orders that are "law" to citizens. Given the caselaw established in the NSA snooping WRT standing,
how, exactly, is someone supposed to obtain standing to go before a Judge to have these 'secret orders' not be secret anymore?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I've been constantly exhausted since November 8 and it's getting harder and harder to try to be any level of composed. God I hope I have a future ahead of me.
posted by flatluigi at 5:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 5:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Holy crap, I'm still kinda far upthread, but <ctrl>-f doesn't bring it up.
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, on The Last Word, President Donald Trump's First Negotiation Was A Humiliation - and he doesn't mince words.
Who is this guy?
posted by porpoise at 5:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, on The Last Word, President Donald Trump's First Negotiation Was A Humiliation - and he doesn't mince words.
Who is this guy?
posted by porpoise at 5:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
President Donald Trump's First Negotiation Was A Humiliation
For the SECOND TIME by the SAME PERSON (remember how Hillary said he "choked").
Really, just give him some VR goggles and tell him he's head of the DPRK now.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
For the SECOND TIME by the SAME PERSON (remember how Hillary said he "choked").
Really, just give him some VR goggles and tell him he's head of the DPRK now.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
CAIR to Announce Constitutional Challenge to Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’ Executive Order
posted by argonauta at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [23 favorites]
For the SECOND TIME by the SAME PERSON
?? Sorry if I reposted something that's already been
posted by porpoise at 5:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
?? Sorry if I reposted something that's already been
posted by porpoise at 5:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It is my understanding that in the 1920's in New York State some (all?) of the State supremes were nailed for fraud by a citizen lead legal action. The result was the idea of standing.
It appears that you are correct about the date, but not the state or case.
posted by Coventry at 5:19 PM on January 27, 2017
It appears that you are correct about the date, but not the state or case.
posted by Coventry at 5:19 PM on January 27, 2017
zachlipton: "People are freaking out because nobody can even tell if the order bans green card holders from coming home."
And, just in case people aren't aware, please note that you can be found to have abandoned your green card status simply by staying out of the country too long. The USCIS language only indicates an "extended period of time" but the common rule of thumb is six months. And yes, there can be allowances for all sorts of discretion (in either direction) but let's be real here: if the administration so chooses, they could start directing ICE to start assuming every green card holder from a given list of countries who've been out of the country for X months (for any value of X) to have abandoned their status, regardless of return tickets, re-entry permits, etc... and telling them to bugger off and call their lawyers if they don't like it.
posted by mhum at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
And, just in case people aren't aware, please note that you can be found to have abandoned your green card status simply by staying out of the country too long. The USCIS language only indicates an "extended period of time" but the common rule of thumb is six months. And yes, there can be allowances for all sorts of discretion (in either direction) but let's be real here: if the administration so chooses, they could start directing ICE to start assuming every green card holder from a given list of countries who've been out of the country for X months (for any value of X) to have abandoned their status, regardless of return tickets, re-entry permits, etc... and telling them to bugger off and call their lawyers if they don't like it.
posted by mhum at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
So, speaking from someone in a public agency, the direction from the last 8+ years is to post numbers so you can then address them and show how your efforts are improving things.
This is the wrong perspective. The aim is to post increasing numbers in order to justify crackdowns, expand police and surveillance powers, encourage "loyal" citizens to rat out suspicious others. It's a bloody shirt used to strangle civil liberties.
posted by holgate at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
This is the wrong perspective. The aim is to post increasing numbers in order to justify crackdowns, expand police and surveillance powers, encourage "loyal" citizens to rat out suspicious others. It's a bloody shirt used to strangle civil liberties.
posted by holgate at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I can't live in this world.
posted by guiseroom
---
I've been constantly exhausted since November 8 and it's getting harder and harder to try to be any level of composed. God I hope I have a future ahead of me.
posted by flatluigi
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
Thomas Paine
December 23, 1776
(So buck up, goddamn it.)
posted by perspicio at 5:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
This Lawrence guy, "Vladimir Putin is a crude and cruel dictator who is not very smart, as modern statesmen go, but he's smarter than Donald Trump.
In every way that matters for a president. And we have every right to fear what might happen in that phone call because Putin is a much, Much, MUCH better negotiator, than Donald Trump.
But then, who isn't.
posted by porpoise at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
In every way that matters for a president. And we have every right to fear what might happen in that phone call because Putin is a much, Much, MUCH better negotiator, than Donald Trump.
But then, who isn't.
posted by porpoise at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
The result was the idea of standing. To prevent such from happening again. (I've never seen a scholarly paper(s) documenting the above - but if true the system working to create rules to prevent the uppity proles from using law sure seems like a BAD plan. )
I agree that using standing to prevent common citizens from seeking a redress of grievances does sound problematic, but this isn't where standing emerged. It comes from Fairchild v Hughes (1922), where a man sued because he didn't like the 19th admendment granting women the right to vote, and Frotingham v Mellon (1922) where a guy was unhappy about taxes. A bunch of judges didn't get in trouble and then decide they had to protect themselves.
posted by dis_integration at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I agree that using standing to prevent common citizens from seeking a redress of grievances does sound problematic, but this isn't where standing emerged. It comes from Fairchild v Hughes (1922), where a man sued because he didn't like the 19th admendment granting women the right to vote, and Frotingham v Mellon (1922) where a guy was unhappy about taxes. A bunch of judges didn't get in trouble and then decide they had to protect themselves.
posted by dis_integration at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
in the absence of any evidence at all of such people existing in significant numbers I'm not sure you'll find too many of us interested in pinning our hopes on it, or taking any remnant NeverTrump Republican movement too seriously.
I have no idea what you think the usefulness of your snarky statements is. I don't see anyone making any solid moves to stop the coming nightmare. Chastising people who would try to retake the party from within for being ineffective so far seems pretty ridiculous.
posted by bongo_x at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
I have no idea what you think the usefulness of your snarky statements is. I don't see anyone making any solid moves to stop the coming nightmare. Chastising people who would try to retake the party from within for being ineffective so far seems pretty ridiculous.
posted by bongo_x at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
mhum: "if the administration so chooses, they could start directing ICE"
Oh wait. To be clear, as far as I know, they haven't done anything of the sort nor suggested anything close to this yet. I just realized that might have come off as overly alarmist and wanted to make sure people aren't getting riled up over something that hasn't happened nor even been proposed yet.
posted by mhum at 5:23 PM on January 27, 2017
Oh wait. To be clear, as far as I know, they haven't done anything of the sort nor suggested anything close to this yet. I just realized that might have come off as overly alarmist and wanted to make sure people aren't getting riled up over something that hasn't happened nor even been proposed yet.
posted by mhum at 5:23 PM on January 27, 2017
I'm afraid I need the hashtag #to2unidos explained to me. Anyone?
posted by HotToddy at 5:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 5:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm afraid I need the hashtag #to2unidos explained to me. Anyone?
Read "2" as "dos": todos unidos. Everyone united.
posted by dis_integration at 5:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
Read "2" as "dos": todos unidos. Everyone united.
posted by dis_integration at 5:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
So, I'm assuming that my dad, a green card holder and permanent resident since the 80s, who travels quite frequently for both business and pleasure, and who is planning an extended trip (half a year? a year?) to Australia when he retires, is not in any deportation danger from these shenanigans because he is extremely white and the world's most America-fetishizing Canadian?
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Families hoping to make the U.S. their home scramble to rearrange their lives
posted by zachlipton at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
Some institutions were already taking action before Trump signed the order. At a major teaching hospital in Ohio, one official said he had sent instructions to administrators telling them to cancel offers of residency to medical students from some countries.The head-sized indent in my desk continues to enlarge.
“We are literally going to look at ‘Country of origin’ and remove the applicant based on [that],” said the official, who did not want to be named criticizing the policy. “Can’t get more racist than that.”
posted by zachlipton at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
So this may be explained elsewhere (or a result of some things Obama did due to an obstructionist Congress), but I remember from high school long ago that Congress makes the laws and the President signs or vetoes them. How are these executive orders working like decrees from on high where they immediately halt immigration?
posted by zempf at 5:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zempf at 5:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Who is this guy?
Lawrence O'Donnell has had a show for years, was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote 16 episodes of The West Wing. He's been around the block.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Lawrence O'Donnell has had a show for years, was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote 16 episodes of The West Wing. He's been around the block.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
So this may be explained elsewhere (or a result of some things Obama did due to an obstructionist Congress), but I remember from high school long ago that Congress makes the laws and the President signs or vetoes them. How are these executive orders working like decrees from on high where they immediately halt immigration?
Executive orders are just how the President does the things that are within the power of the executive. They can't make new law, just direct the executive branch to do certain things. So if visa issuance is within the President's power, an executive order can set a policy about it. Etc.
They're as old as the Presidency, only not called Executive Orders until recently.
posted by dis_integration at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Executive orders are just how the President does the things that are within the power of the executive. They can't make new law, just direct the executive branch to do certain things. So if visa issuance is within the President's power, an executive order can set a policy about it. Etc.
They're as old as the Presidency, only not called Executive Orders until recently.
posted by dis_integration at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Judge refuses to toss lawsuit on harsh CIA interrogation
posted by futz at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by futz at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I just remembered I have to do my taxes.
Anyone with more twitter followers than me (currently zero) want to start #illshowyoumine #ifyoushowmeyours and mail a copy of our returns to the White House en masse? Perhaps lightly redacted (though it's not like they don't have all our info anyway, they're the frickin Feds). I've got nothing in there to hide, how about you, Donald?
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Anyone with more twitter followers than me (currently zero) want to start #illshowyoumine #ifyoushowmeyours and mail a copy of our returns to the White House en masse? Perhaps lightly redacted (though it's not like they don't have all our info anyway, they're the frickin Feds). I've got nothing in there to hide, how about you, Donald?
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
So, I'm assuming that my dad, a green card holder and permanent resident since the 80s, who travels quite frequently for both business and pleasure, and who is planning an extended trip (half a year? a year?) to Australia when he retires, is not in any deportation danger from these shenanigans because he is extremely white and the world's most America-fetishizing Canadian?
N-400s run about $1000. That is inexpensive enough to make that assumption seem foolhardy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
N-400s run about $1000. That is inexpensive enough to make that assumption seem foolhardy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
And specifically when it comes to immigration, the laws passed by Congress give the executive a fair amount of discretion. For example, this provision:
posted by zachlipton at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
(f) Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by PresidentIn short, Congress already passed a law that says the President can ban whoever he wants if he concludes they "would be detrimental to the interests of the United States." And while there will be court challenges on the details, it's pretty much up to the President to define what that means.
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. Whenever the Attorney General finds that a commercial airline has failed to comply with regulations of the Attorney General relating to requirements of airlines for the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers traveling to the United States (including the training of personnel in such detection), the Attorney General may suspend the entry of some or all aliens transported to the United States by such airline.
posted by zachlipton at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
?? Sorry if I reposted something that's already been
No, good porpoise, I mean he actually got p0wned twice by the President of Mexico.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
No, good porpoise, I mean he actually got p0wned twice by the President of Mexico.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Lawrence O'Donnell has had a show for years, was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote 16 episodes of The West Wing. He's been around the block.
Before the election he was the only tv pundit that I would occasionally watch. He's been pretty dead on through out it.
posted by Jalliah at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Before the election he was the only tv pundit that I would occasionally watch. He's been pretty dead on through out it.
posted by Jalliah at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
@LambdaLegal
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [39 favorites]
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [39 favorites]
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
And the Vice President
posted by Jalliah at 5:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [56 favorites]
And the Vice President
posted by Jalliah at 5:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [56 favorites]
Hi, sorry I'm late . . big thread, heh . . .
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
TV.
It is absolutely that simple.
posted by petebest at 5:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
TV.
It is absolutely that simple.
posted by petebest at 5:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
It bans admitting them into the country, maybe. If they were already here though, yeah, fine.
posted by petebest at 5:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
It bans admitting them into the country, maybe. If they were already here though, yeah, fine.
posted by petebest at 5:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Um, don't forget poisonous radio. (Have you ever been to the rural midwest?)
posted by perspicio at 6:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by perspicio at 6:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Republicans warn Trump against lifting Russia sanctions
Two Republican senators on Friday warned President Donald Trump not to unilaterally ease sanctions against Russia — reminding him there's bipartisan support for blocking such a move.
Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain and Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman urged Trump to rule out any rollback of punitive measures against Moscow hours after White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said lifting administration sanctions against Moscow is "under consideration." The latest round of sanctions were imposed in response to U.S. intelligence officials' conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election on Trump's behalf.
"For the sake of America’s national security and that of our allies, I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation" about easing sanctions, McCain said in a statement, "and reject such a reckless course. If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law."
posted by Jalliah at 6:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I love Lawrence O'Donnell. There, I said it. He's consistently the least annoying person on MSNBC.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Um, don't forget poisonous radio. (Have you ever been to the rural midwest?)
So ordered.
posted by petebest at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
So ordered.
posted by petebest at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Chastising people who would try to retake the party from within for being ineffective so far seems pretty ridiculous.
I love the idea of decent (or at least anti-Fascist) Republicans retaking the party from within! I just find it irritating to see corb trotting out this idea that big things are happening behind the scenes, and how bizarre it is that people would be discounting NeverTrump as a failed movement, when all we can see so far are the failures. I asked her in a previous thread if she could give any details about what they were working on and how we might be able to help, or if there were resources we could send to any Republican rank-and-file folks we knew who might be interested, and got crickets (though it's quite possible she just missed my comment.) I'm very glad that she is engaged in this work and is posting here about it to any degree, and I wish her and her fellows the best of luck. I would most like to hear that it is going great and we are X members strong and are in early planning for X primary campaigns and here's how to get involved.
In the absence of such information, though, saying it feels bizarre that people are calling it a failure seems to invite the question: if the people calling it a failure are wrong, how is it coming along? Every major party figure has caved. The nevertrump.org website is just an invitation for people to pledge that they will not vote for Trump (in the primaries? In the general? It's unclear.) It has 6,248 signatures and does not appear to have been updated since he was just a candidate. I would very much like to hear that it's still a going concern. I'd like recruitment info to pass along. From what I can see, though, it is not looking very active.
posted by contraption at 6:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I love the idea of decent (or at least anti-Fascist) Republicans retaking the party from within! I just find it irritating to see corb trotting out this idea that big things are happening behind the scenes, and how bizarre it is that people would be discounting NeverTrump as a failed movement, when all we can see so far are the failures. I asked her in a previous thread if she could give any details about what they were working on and how we might be able to help, or if there were resources we could send to any Republican rank-and-file folks we knew who might be interested, and got crickets (though it's quite possible she just missed my comment.) I'm very glad that she is engaged in this work and is posting here about it to any degree, and I wish her and her fellows the best of luck. I would most like to hear that it is going great and we are X members strong and are in early planning for X primary campaigns and here's how to get involved.
In the absence of such information, though, saying it feels bizarre that people are calling it a failure seems to invite the question: if the people calling it a failure are wrong, how is it coming along? Every major party figure has caved. The nevertrump.org website is just an invitation for people to pledge that they will not vote for Trump (in the primaries? In the general? It's unclear.) It has 6,248 signatures and does not appear to have been updated since he was just a candidate. I would very much like to hear that it's still a going concern. I'd like recruitment info to pass along. From what I can see, though, it is not looking very active.
posted by contraption at 6:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
So what McCain's saying here is, he's totally on board with Trump's plan.
posted by Rykey at 6:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 6:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I know that we/Metafilter/newscomedy shows has been excoriating mainstream media for being 'soft' and appeasing; anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
Samantha Bee is a treasure. I've been somewhat disappointed in Stephen Colbert, but I understand. Seth Meyers is doing an adequate job - but probably ultimately unproductive (ie., will not reach anyone influenced by the alt-reality community).
posted by porpoise at 6:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Samantha Bee is a treasure. I've been somewhat disappointed in Stephen Colbert, but I understand. Seth Meyers is doing an adequate job - but probably ultimately unproductive (ie., will not reach anyone influenced by the alt-reality community).
posted by porpoise at 6:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
So what McCain's saying here is, he's totally on board with Trump's plan.
Sounds like it.
posted by Jalliah at 6:07 PM on January 27, 2017
Sounds like it.
posted by Jalliah at 6:07 PM on January 27, 2017
Wow, two Republicans in favor of not putting paws in the air for Russia! Such Reagan!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I know that we/Metafilter/newscomedy shows has been excoriating mainstream media for being 'soft' and appeasing; anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
I saw Joy Reid with Brian Williams last night and at least in that show they weren't holding back.
posted by Jalliah at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Also read about journalists working together through some Slack groups and readily sharing info and working with each other. Apparently this sort of thing is new and rather unprecedented.
posted by Jalliah at 6:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Pretty sure the most powerful resistance from NeverTrump representatives so far has been Graham's "import tax means more expensive tequila, mucho sad!" tweet.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Oops, I presumed nevertrump.org and nevertrump.com would go to the same place, nevertrump.com has a lot more signatures but is also a pledge to "ensure that Donald Trump never becomes Commander-in-Chief."
posted by contraption at 6:13 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by contraption at 6:13 PM on January 27, 2017
This day in #NeverTrump history.
There's no movement. There never was. No elected Republican has given even the tiniest indication of going against him in any way, to the extent they've even mildly disagreed within him, those statements have been walked back immediately or resulted in a yes vote. No candidates running against the Trump line in any way shape or form are remotely viable in a Trumpublican primary. There's no moderate Republican party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
There's no movement. There never was. No elected Republican has given even the tiniest indication of going against him in any way, to the extent they've even mildly disagreed within him, those statements have been walked back immediately or resulted in a yes vote. No candidates running against the Trump line in any way shape or form are remotely viable in a Trumpublican primary. There's no moderate Republican party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
I predict the parties will just change their names soon. The Trump Party vs the Super Best Friends.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
or maybe a brand new opposition party, The Presidents and Ex-Presidents Of Mexico
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm not sure who this is, but "Confirmed: Visa orders from the listed countries have been denied boarding their flights back to the US."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Also read about journalists working together through some Slack groups and readily sharing info and working with each other. Apparently this sort of thing is new and rather unprecedented.
They'd better get something with better encryption; my belief that various TLAs won't actively monitor and report a conversation between journalists is more defined by maths than ethics these days.
posted by jaduncan at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
They'd better get something with better encryption; my belief that various TLAs won't actively monitor and report a conversation between journalists is more defined by maths than ethics these days.
posted by jaduncan at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Malia Obama takes on Trump: Former first daughter joins rally protesting President's plan to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline then attends private event with Standing Rock chairman
OMG OMG OMG. It just occurred to me that we may have another President Obama in my lifetime. Or two, even! If we survive this. Come on, people. We can do it.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
OMG OMG OMG. It just occurred to me that we may have another President Obama in my lifetime. Or two, even! If we survive this. Come on, people. We can do it.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
@dandrezner
Dear @POTUS: on Holocaust Remembrance Day my synagogue told me the Syrian refugee family we're sponsoring is not coming. Go fuck yourself.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [131 favorites]
Dear @POTUS: on Holocaust Remembrance Day my synagogue told me the Syrian refugee family we're sponsoring is not coming. Go fuck yourself.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [131 favorites]
Yeah, I'm seeing stories on Twitter of people that can't go home for funerals. This is a fucking punitive administration and it's fucking un-American.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
CBC is beginning to normalize Trump.
posted by Yowser at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Yowser at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Some veterans and refugee advocates are worried that an executive order by President Trump to temporarily suspend refugee admissions into the U.S. will hurt foreign interpreters who helped American troops in war.
"With today’s Executive Order, the President has shut the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who served alongside our military since 2001," said Matt Zeller, Army veteran, and CEO and co-founder of No One Left Behind."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
"With today’s Executive Order, the President has shut the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who served alongside our military since 2001," said Matt Zeller, Army veteran, and CEO and co-founder of No One Left Behind."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
OK, you thought Bill Kristol saying sensible things was freaky? You'd better sit down:
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Eek, that's super old. I hate when that happens.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
yeah i'm sure he's figured out a way to personally profit from it by now.
posted by poffin boffin at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
If news organisations aren't reporting live from the arrivals area in international airports tomorrow morning, they are worthless.
posted by holgate at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by holgate at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
I've found the news and even the tweets about this slim. Probably timed exactly for that. But is it still seeping out? Because this needs to be the biggest reaction so far.
posted by Brainy at 6:40 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by Brainy at 6:40 PM on January 27, 2017
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
Check your date. That's from December 2015. Before Trump won.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Check your date. That's from December 2015. Before Trump won.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah the exact implementation is still unclear, but my company at least is assuming it will block visa holders up to and including green card holders from entering the US. They recommended a couple days ago that anyone who didn't want to get stuck outside return to the US if possible before it was signed, and to cancel any business trips outside the US.
Most of the people I personally know who would be affected are currently inside the US, but its amazing to think you could be on vacation and suddenly not allowed back into the country you've lived in for decades, not able to see your family, etc.
Technically of course this has always been possible (even green card holders are not guaranteed entry to the US), but I can't think of a similar circumstance (blanket ban based on birthplace/nationality with no individual factors) in my lifetime.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Most of the people I personally know who would be affected are currently inside the US, but its amazing to think you could be on vacation and suddenly not allowed back into the country you've lived in for decades, not able to see your family, etc.
Technically of course this has always been possible (even green card holders are not guaranteed entry to the US), but I can't think of a similar circumstance (blanket ban based on birthplace/nationality with no individual factors) in my lifetime.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Great Moments in Dipshit Relatives #473:
Dad says to me "I talked to your mother last night, she popped up on the computer." Mom is a True Believer.
She asks "How is delfin's job search going?" Dad: "Not much yet, but he's still looking."
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
Well, HOT DAMN. That is SO COMFORTING.
posted by delfin at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Dad says to me "I talked to your mother last night, she popped up on the computer." Mom is a True Believer.
She asks "How is delfin's job search going?" Dad: "Not much yet, but he's still looking."
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
Well, HOT DAMN. That is SO COMFORTING.
posted by delfin at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
Well, someone has to slowly stroke the soft white kitty cat while he talks
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Well, someone has to slowly stroke the soft white kitty cat while he talks
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
He needs a babysitter.
posted by Jalliah at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
He needs a babysitter.
posted by Jalliah at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
He did check the date:
Eek, that's super old. I hate when that happens.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:35 PM on January 27
posted by futz at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017
Eek, that's super old. I hate when that happens.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:35 PM on January 27
posted by futz at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
good, i hope it's really awkward and uncomfortable for him to have to listen in on their creepy phone sex
posted by poffin boffin at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [43 favorites]
good, i hope it's really awkward and uncomfortable for him to have to listen in on their creepy phone sex
posted by poffin boffin at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [43 favorites]
anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
Lawrence O'Donnell, Jake Tapper, Dan Rather (to the extent he's still MSM).
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Lawrence O'Donnell, Jake Tapper, Dan Rather (to the extent he's still MSM).
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
Yep, stocking up the job store with lots of great new jobs!
posted by dis_integration at 6:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yep, stocking up the job store with lots of great new jobs!
posted by dis_integration at 6:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
TV.
Um, don't forget poisonous radio.
Don't forget The Internet.
The work of manipulation has been going on for years. But on this well traveled road you can find markers.
Books like Propaganda, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America, et al are a marker along the road. Another marker is things like Marshal McLuhan. Things like the old 60 hz television watching inducing theta waves are another marker that overlook a foggy part that has things like a book called "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" (huh. Google now called Alphabet - how foggy is that eh?) Elsewhere in the fog - people noting how the makers of tablet platforms limit their children's screen time due to worries about the development of the children.
There is a 'war on for your mind'. Be it a quick flash on the screen at the theater that instructs you to get popcorn or politicians deciding they need to be the "star" of a TV show - the research to play you like a fiddle is well known. Just not to you.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
TV.
Um, don't forget poisonous radio.
Don't forget The Internet.
The work of manipulation has been going on for years. But on this well traveled road you can find markers.
Books like Propaganda, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America, et al are a marker along the road. Another marker is things like Marshal McLuhan. Things like the old 60 hz television watching inducing theta waves are another marker that overlook a foggy part that has things like a book called "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" (huh. Google now called Alphabet - how foggy is that eh?) Elsewhere in the fog - people noting how the makers of tablet platforms limit their children's screen time due to worries about the development of the children.
There is a 'war on for your mind'. Be it a quick flash on the screen at the theater that instructs you to get popcorn or politicians deciding they need to be the "star" of a TV show - the research to play you like a fiddle is well known. Just not to you.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
GE signed a billion dollar deal to build power plants in Iraq today. I suppose some travel is going to happen without issue.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
just be like "well mom i wasn't sure you'd be okay with attending my future trial at the hague but your support means the world to me"
posted by poffin boffin at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
just be like "well mom i wasn't sure you'd be okay with attending my future trial at the hague but your support means the world to me"
posted by poffin boffin at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
I knew that totalitarianism wouldn't work in America because our infrastructure sucks
posted by Apocryphon at 6:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I knew that totalitarianism wouldn't work in America because our infrastructure sucks
posted by Apocryphon at 6:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
Rachel Maddow, for all her storytelling, is calling Trump delusional every night, and basically insisted last night that he's committing some sort of treason with Russia.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Rachel Maddow, for all her storytelling, is calling Trump delusional every night, and basically insisted last night that he's committing some sort of treason with Russia.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
If news organisations aren't reporting live from the arrivals area in international airports tomorrow morning, they are worthless.
Headlines are important journalistic choices
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Headlines are important journalistic choices
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
CBC is beginning to normalize Trump.
They have to get us ready for O'Leary, who is a CBC star after all.
posted by nubs at 6:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
They have to get us ready for O'Leary, who is a CBC star after all.
posted by nubs at 6:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump Executive Order Could Block 500,000 Legal U.S. Residents From Returning to America From Trips
posted by futz at 6:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by futz at 6:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
He needs a babysitter.
Or a chaperone.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Or a chaperone.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ha, O'Donnell: "Trump managed to get humiliated by two foreign leaders today."
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ha, O'Donnell: "Trump managed to get humiliated by two foreign leaders today."
Madonna?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Madonna?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
So, the constitution keeps this from happening, right?
posted by valkane at 7:04 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by valkane at 7:04 PM on January 27, 2017
He needs a babysitter.
Or a chaperone.
A witness. They're finally taking a page from his lawyers.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 7:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Or a chaperone.
A witness. They're finally taking a page from his lawyers.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 7:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
The people who just broke apart thousands of families for fucking nothing need to suffer in new and creative ways.
posted by erratic meatsack at 7:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by erratic meatsack at 7:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
FTA:
Nonetheless, Mr. Trump asserts that he still has the power to discriminate, pointing to a 1952 law that allows the president the ability to “suspend the entry” of “any class of aliens” that he finds are detrimental to the interest of the United States.
But the president ignores the fact that Congress then restricted this power in 1965, stating plainly that no person could be “discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.” The only exceptions are those provided for by Congress (such as the preference for Cuban asylum seekers).
When Congress passed the 1965 law, it wished to protect not just immigrants, but also American citizens, who should have the right to sponsor their family members or to marry a foreign-born spouse without being subject to pointless discrimination.
posted by futz at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
Nonetheless, Mr. Trump asserts that he still has the power to discriminate, pointing to a 1952 law that allows the president the ability to “suspend the entry” of “any class of aliens” that he finds are detrimental to the interest of the United States.
But the president ignores the fact that Congress then restricted this power in 1965, stating plainly that no person could be “discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.” The only exceptions are those provided for by Congress (such as the preference for Cuban asylum seekers).
When Congress passed the 1965 law, it wished to protect not just immigrants, but also American citizens, who should have the right to sponsor their family members or to marry a foreign-born spouse without being subject to pointless discrimination.
posted by futz at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
The people who just broke apart thousands of families for fucking nothing need to suffer in new and creative ways.
idk i think sometimes the old wicker ways are best
posted by poffin boffin at 7:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
idk i think sometimes the old wicker ways are best
posted by poffin boffin at 7:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
This is what it looks like when you run a government like a Nazi.
posted by valkane at 7:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by valkane at 7:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Countdown until someone files an emergency TRO against this...
posted by suelac at 7:19 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by suelac at 7:19 PM on January 27, 2017
It's not healthy yet but it's not cigarettes and trans fat neither
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
May is not aiming to build political capital with the 'Chucks' but with those who would support the position of the US as a viable substitute trading partner.
All those rural UK farmers who voted for Brexit can prepare to be screwed by the flood of cheap corporate factory farm products and GMOs from the U.S.
posted by JackFlash at 7:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
All those rural UK farmers who voted for Brexit can prepare to be screwed by the flood of cheap corporate factory farm products and GMOs from the U.S.
posted by JackFlash at 7:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
Pence will act as translator to transform Trump's gibberish into standard English.
posted by JackFlash at 7:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Pence will act as translator to transform Trump's gibberish into standard English.
posted by JackFlash at 7:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Pence will act as translator to transform Trump's gibberish into standard English. ensure Trump doesn't agree to let Putin invade the entire Ukraine.
posted by jaduncan at 7:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 7:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
If and when Putin wants to, Putin will do so. But the phone call is more likely about more financial remuneration.
posted by Artw at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've spent my evening translating some documents for a close family member whose father survived the Armenian genocide by taking refuge in Italy. My uncle has worked tirelessly all his goddamn life to strengthen the Remembrance of all genocides and to celebrate the good people, the Righteous, who stood tall and risked their lives to save others.
I sent him the documents and in my email said I felt shame. Shame for my adopted country, shame for my fellow citizens, shame. Just shame.
This is shameful. Today of all days, this is beyond the pale.
posted by lydhre at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [62 favorites]
I sent him the documents and in my email said I felt shame. Shame for my adopted country, shame for my fellow citizens, shame. Just shame.
This is shameful. Today of all days, this is beyond the pale.
posted by lydhre at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [62 favorites]
Can you imagine the tantrum if Pence tried to course correct while He is talking with Putin?
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 7:56 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 7:56 PM on January 27, 2017
It's probably not a healthy thing to hope for a military coup, is it?
In public? Decidedly unhealthy.
posted by Coventry at 7:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
In public? Decidedly unhealthy.
posted by Coventry at 7:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Don't forget The Internet.
The problem there is that the Internet is not as predictable. Plus, did it normalize Jill Stein and slap us in the face with her every hour of every day for 19 months?
No, in terms of mass audience and the power of its persuasion, nothing succeeds like TV. Nothing else has the 50+ year history of triggers, tropes, T&A, programming, and fuckery.
Here's former NFL great Joe Theismann with more information on an important cognitive dissonance platform that might be right for you. Joe?
posted by petebest at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
The problem there is that the Internet is not as predictable. Plus, did it normalize Jill Stein and slap us in the face with her every hour of every day for 19 months?
No, in terms of mass audience and the power of its persuasion, nothing succeeds like TV. Nothing else has the 50+ year history of triggers, tropes, T&A, programming, and fuckery.
Here's former NFL great Joe Theismann with more information on an important cognitive dissonance platform that might be right for you. Joe?
posted by petebest at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
From the photographs I've seen, Pence just stands around grinning and playing pocket pool while Trump talks.
posted by valkane at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Two videos of left-wing discussions about the election and its aftermath:
The Anti-Inauguration featuring Naomi Klein, Jeremy Scahill, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and more
Building a Socialist Left Under Trump featuring Charlie Post, Jen Roesch, and Bhaskar Sunkara
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
The Anti-Inauguration featuring Naomi Klein, Jeremy Scahill, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and more
Building a Socialist Left Under Trump featuring Charlie Post, Jen Roesch, and Bhaskar Sunkara
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Jeet Heer: "The weakness of the American Empire was always the mismatch between a parochial population & a globe spanning regime. Very clear now."
I think it's a wee bit more complex than that. The GOP has cultivated a radical reality-show version of parochialism that none of its leaders actually subscribe to, but which the base gorges upon. But the repercussions once unleashed are the same.
posted by holgate at 8:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think it's a wee bit more complex than that. The GOP has cultivated a radical reality-show version of parochialism that none of its leaders actually subscribe to, but which the base gorges upon. But the repercussions once unleashed are the same.
posted by holgate at 8:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is how to end the world. Get in a line that includes the golfer Greg Norman. Look illegal (try shifting your eyes back and forth and say Ay! Papi!). Mention that you've heard that some of your "amigos" have nuclear weapons and would really hate to be obliterated by a first strike. Wait.
(too Swiftian?)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
(too Swiftian?)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Can you imagine the tantrum if Pence tried to course correct while He is talking with Putin?
Pence is probably there as the chaperone, and to prevent Putin from giving Trump explicit marching orders. He's there as the representative of the flaming wreckage of the old American foreign policy order, if/when Trump is forced out, Pence at least won't be Putin's poodle. Probably.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Pence is probably there as the chaperone, and to prevent Putin from giving Trump explicit marching orders. He's there as the representative of the flaming wreckage of the old American foreign policy order, if/when Trump is forced out, Pence at least won't be Putin's poodle. Probably.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
The estimable David Malki ! makes up for a sub-par Wondermark on Tuesday with some good trolling of the orange one on twitter.
Also:
Also:
Marketers have known for years that scared, apocalyptic Republicans are gullible consumers.posted by mark k at 8:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And watch out: liberals are now ALSO scared and apocalyptic; don't let it make you gullible too. Marketers will play to your fears.
The Noble Goofy Elk: "Can you imagine the tantrum if Pence tried to course correct while He is talking with Putin?"
yes, this is Trump.
so for 4th reich,
you take ukrai--
god dammit Mike,
stop shushing me
in front of Vlad -
he is my friend.
ur not my dad.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
yes, this is Trump.
so for 4th reich,
you take ukrai--
god dammit Mike,
stop shushing me
in front of Vlad -
he is my friend.
ur not my dad.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
I have never posted in an election thread (longtime listener, first time caller), but this anti-Muslim order has me freaking the fuck out. It's like an all-new level of terror, and I didn't think that was possible. I am worried the visa stuff will affect friends and coworkers, not to mention untold numbers of refugees. Is there anything any of us can do? Is the horrific significance of this getting through in the morass of Trump news?
posted by thetortoise at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
"Today Trump abandoned brave Iraqi and Afghan interpreters who saved thousands of U.S. troops' lives. Mattis stood by smiling as he did so."
posted by bluecore at 8:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [73 favorites]
posted by bluecore at 8:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [73 favorites]
Nobody Wanted to Take Us In: The Story of Jared Kushner’s Family, and Mine
It’s likely that we’ll never know the number, or full roster of names, of those refugees who sought and failed to find haven in the United States before and during the Holocaust. Yet one survivor whose story still reverberates is a woman named Rae Kushner.... [I]f it echoes a little more loudly these days, it’s because she also happened to be the grandmother of Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser
posted by argonauta at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
It’s likely that we’ll never know the number, or full roster of names, of those refugees who sought and failed to find haven in the United States before and during the Holocaust. Yet one survivor whose story still reverberates is a woman named Rae Kushner.... [I]f it echoes a little more loudly these days, it’s because she also happened to be the grandmother of Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser
posted by argonauta at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
I'm never catching up on this thread. Damn.
Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
I was very much brought up like this, and can remember my mom whispering the word "black" about people. (Of course, she still does this kind of thing.) When I met my now husband, I was taken aback by how openly he talked about race. He's white and comes from a very racist family, but he went to high school at a school that was 90% black. His speech is partly AAVE and he had this whole other appreciation of black culture. And it was kinda shocking to me, that he would just up and talk about race and talk about racial cultural differences and make (friendly) jokes about racial things. And that the black people around him responded positively to that and him.
As I moved into the workforce I started spending a lot of my time with black women, because that's who chooses to work in social services a lot of the time. And they also spoke about race openly, and made jokes about being the only black person ("like a fly in a bowl of milk") at an event or whatever.
And I slowly realized I was becoming an acceptable white person to them, someone they could talk about these things with. I remember one of my coworkers and a good friend first tentatively starting to talk about politics and racism with me, and only gradually becoming more comfortable having those conversations (but only when it was just the two of us.)
I know I'm nothing like a perfect ally and I have to fight bad impulses all the time. But I think it's important to talk about the way in which those of us who now know better once did not. We were once as clueless as THOSE white people talking about colorblindness. What did it for me was both having a white role model who was accepted by and comfortable with black folks in a way I wasn't and also just having more interaction with a culture that wasn't my own.
posted by threeturtles at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
I was very much brought up like this, and can remember my mom whispering the word "black" about people. (Of course, she still does this kind of thing.) When I met my now husband, I was taken aback by how openly he talked about race. He's white and comes from a very racist family, but he went to high school at a school that was 90% black. His speech is partly AAVE and he had this whole other appreciation of black culture. And it was kinda shocking to me, that he would just up and talk about race and talk about racial cultural differences and make (friendly) jokes about racial things. And that the black people around him responded positively to that and him.
As I moved into the workforce I started spending a lot of my time with black women, because that's who chooses to work in social services a lot of the time. And they also spoke about race openly, and made jokes about being the only black person ("like a fly in a bowl of milk") at an event or whatever.
And I slowly realized I was becoming an acceptable white person to them, someone they could talk about these things with. I remember one of my coworkers and a good friend first tentatively starting to talk about politics and racism with me, and only gradually becoming more comfortable having those conversations (but only when it was just the two of us.)
I know I'm nothing like a perfect ally and I have to fight bad impulses all the time. But I think it's important to talk about the way in which those of us who now know better once did not. We were once as clueless as THOSE white people talking about colorblindness. What did it for me was both having a white role model who was accepted by and comfortable with black folks in a way I wasn't and also just having more interaction with a culture that wasn't my own.
posted by threeturtles at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
I... I think I want to try to understand what's going on. I just sit here wondering how it is possible for someone to look at any of this administration's actions with anything but horror. I look for unbiased sources, or at least try to be aware of them in reporting. But I must be missing something.
I'm considering remaking my Twitter feed, eliminating all the news sources and liberal-leaning accounts I follow and replacing them with conservative ones. I'd like to see how it's being presented, absent what I think are more balanced representations. Am I crazy for considering this?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm considering remaking my Twitter feed, eliminating all the news sources and liberal-leaning accounts I follow and replacing them with conservative ones. I'd like to see how it's being presented, absent what I think are more balanced representations. Am I crazy for considering this?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
So, the constitution keeps this from happening, right?
Nope!
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nope!
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Looking for a Trump countdown for your phone? There's an app for that!
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on January 27, 2017
I'm considering remaking my Twitter feed, eliminating all the news sources and liberal-leaning accounts I follow and replacing them with conservative ones. I'd like to see how it's being presented, absent what I think are more balanced representations. Am I crazy for considering this?
Get Tweetbot or an app that allows you to filter by lists. Make different ones and switch between them.
Knowing your enemy is good. Switching to their propaganda exclusively is not.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
Get Tweetbot or an app that allows you to filter by lists. Make different ones and switch between them.
Knowing your enemy is good. Switching to their propaganda exclusively is not.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
T.D. Strange:
Defeatist/optimistic. I want an app that will count down the days til the midterm elections. If we can't vote in a Congress that will impeach the fucker, I am not sure we will be able to prevent him from winning re-election.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 8:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Defeatist/optimistic. I want an app that will count down the days til the midterm elections. If we can't vote in a Congress that will impeach the fucker, I am not sure we will be able to prevent him from winning re-election.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 8:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm not 100% sure we'll make it that far.
posted by petebest at 8:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by petebest at 8:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I want an app that will count down the days til the midterm elections.
It will also let you set a custom date. I just wish it would show the countdown in the icon like google calendar shows the date
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on January 27, 2017
It will also let you set a custom date. I just wish it would show the countdown in the icon like google calendar shows the date
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on January 27, 2017
The current congress may impeach him as soon as his erratic petulance becomes more of a block to their plans than a distraction to the public. Then we get to deal with Pence trying to institute the Republic of Gilead.
The only bright spot there, is that Pence is thoroughly disliked, and doesn't have a web of international business contacts wanting to do business with him. He has support for his Christofascist agenda, but no personal allies at all.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
The only bright spot there, is that Pence is thoroughly disliked, and doesn't have a web of international business contacts wanting to do business with him. He has support for his Christofascist agenda, but no personal allies at all.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I don't know which drives me crazier... the fact the one person can turn the world upside down, or that the 500-odd people who could stop him won't.
posted by Rykey at 8:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [74 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 8:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [74 favorites]
honestly i just want a firm date for the end of civilization bc i have a pretty good savings built up and i'd like to know how long i have to waste it on fancy chocolate and video games and those creepy pedicures where fish eat your feet
posted by poffin boffin at 8:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [93 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [93 favorites]
What I want to know is can I start smoking again.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
It just occurred to me that we may have another President Obama in my lifetime
If you watched the US version of Life On Mars, then you will know this is so.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you watched the US version of Life On Mars, then you will know this is so.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't think I have room to add it, but I love the ad for this app: "You can join others in watching Trump's seconds of infamy slip away, and you can even customize your countdown by changing from the default “optimist mode” to “pessimist mode,” which counts down to the end of a (hypothetical) second Trump term. You can also set your own date—maybe he’ll be impeached!"
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Trump/Pence/Bannon/Kushner wouldn't be hanging out together if their interests weren't aligned. And Trump is probably the least ideological member of that group. But he's the demagogue.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trita Parsi is live-tweeting the troubles a friend of his (who is a green card holder, and a citizen of one of the banned countries) is having getting back to the US tonight: "Was questioned at length now waiting alongside an Iranian green card holder. The officers are confused. Annoyed [they] just found out about the order and not sure what to do. They are very friendly"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
“pessimist mode,” which counts down to the end of a (hypothetical) second Trump term.
That is in its own way fairly optimistic.
posted by Artw at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
That is in its own way fairly optimistic.
posted by Artw at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I asked her in a previous thread if she could give any details about what they were working on and how we might be able to help, or if there were resources we could send to any Republican rank-and-file folks we knew who might be interested, and got crickets (though it's quite possible she just missed my comment.) I'm very glad that she is engaged in this work and is posting here about it to any degree, and I wish her and her fellows the best of luck. I would most like to hear that it is going great and we are X members strong and are in early planning for X primary campaigns and here's how to get involved.
I'm so sorry! I actually did see that, but by the time I got there the holy New Thread link had already been posted, so I wibbled about whether or not to respond or to go to the new thread, and ultimately did the latter.
I don't want to give anyone false hope. There are two separate Republican 'movements' I guess I'm involved in, and both of them are the remains of two earlier, stronger, movements - one the McMullin crew, one NeverTrump. When I say 'NeverTrumpers are left', I don't even mean they are advertising or calling themselves NeverTrump, because obviously we failed and Trump is here. I mean that a healthy portion of the people who were morally opposed to Trump with whom I previously worked are still morally opposed to Trump, and are trying the slow slog of trying to take their party back from the monster. It's slow. There are no quick fixes.
So we made an early sally out to try to challenge people for party leadership and RNC positions. This is probably the thing that you can tell any Republican rank-and-file folks who are interested in working against Trump in a slow way - that they need to become a PCO, and tell their friends to be PCOs, because in addition to choosing delegates, PCOs also have the ability to vote out local party leadership, including the permanent Republican National Committeemembers, which can influence a lot of things about how the party operates. We did not do as well as we had hoped - we were not expecting defensive strategy from the Trumpists, we were not expecting to lose anyone from our side, and unfortunately their people were prepared and ready for us. We picked up very few RNC seats. It sucked and was disheartening as hell. But there's more chances ahead, and I think 2017 may be easier, as it's not an election year and you'll have less engagement from some people.
As for how you can help, short of selling sane Republicans on getting involved, I'm not really sure you can, exactly, except maybe passing McMullin's stuff around. He's planning on a 2020 run, which is probably doomed, but the more McMullin is around, the more his ideas about a diverse and free Republican party get heard, and so I view it as a net good.
Really, we're kind of fucked. Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.)
posted by corb at 8:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [43 favorites]
I'm so sorry! I actually did see that, but by the time I got there the holy New Thread link had already been posted, so I wibbled about whether or not to respond or to go to the new thread, and ultimately did the latter.
I don't want to give anyone false hope. There are two separate Republican 'movements' I guess I'm involved in, and both of them are the remains of two earlier, stronger, movements - one the McMullin crew, one NeverTrump. When I say 'NeverTrumpers are left', I don't even mean they are advertising or calling themselves NeverTrump, because obviously we failed and Trump is here. I mean that a healthy portion of the people who were morally opposed to Trump with whom I previously worked are still morally opposed to Trump, and are trying the slow slog of trying to take their party back from the monster. It's slow. There are no quick fixes.
So we made an early sally out to try to challenge people for party leadership and RNC positions. This is probably the thing that you can tell any Republican rank-and-file folks who are interested in working against Trump in a slow way - that they need to become a PCO, and tell their friends to be PCOs, because in addition to choosing delegates, PCOs also have the ability to vote out local party leadership, including the permanent Republican National Committeemembers, which can influence a lot of things about how the party operates. We did not do as well as we had hoped - we were not expecting defensive strategy from the Trumpists, we were not expecting to lose anyone from our side, and unfortunately their people were prepared and ready for us. We picked up very few RNC seats. It sucked and was disheartening as hell. But there's more chances ahead, and I think 2017 may be easier, as it's not an election year and you'll have less engagement from some people.
As for how you can help, short of selling sane Republicans on getting involved, I'm not really sure you can, exactly, except maybe passing McMullin's stuff around. He's planning on a 2020 run, which is probably doomed, but the more McMullin is around, the more his ideas about a diverse and free Republican party get heard, and so I view it as a net good.
Really, we're kind of fucked. Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.)
posted by corb at 8:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [43 favorites]
In Iran, Shock and Bewilderment Over Trump Visa Crackdown
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Really, we're kind of fucked. Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.)
I'm not going to jump up and say that exactly, but I will note fascism would depart a lot faster if it was perceived as being electorally disastrous. It seems like the solution of working within one's party but refusing to vote for fascists (if they win the primary/policy battle) in the end would work effectively.
posted by jaduncan at 9:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm not going to jump up and say that exactly, but I will note fascism would depart a lot faster if it was perceived as being electorally disastrous. It seems like the solution of working within one's party but refusing to vote for fascists (if they win the primary/policy battle) in the end would work effectively.
posted by jaduncan at 9:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm not sure how to make representatives electorally frightened. Right now they don't even know how to answer a simple question like "what day is it" because they're worried they missed a Trump tweet and you're trying to trick them.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I have this crazy idea. What if we all registered Republican and somehow got Jill Stein on their ticket? Or something like that?
I'm ignorant of how these things work, but aside from the general UGH of the idea, what structural impediments are there to doing something like that?
posted by saysthis at 9:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm ignorant of how these things work, but aside from the general UGH of the idea, what structural impediments are there to doing something like that?
posted by saysthis at 9:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.
This is the baffling part of your position. You say you want to mitigate the Trump disaster but won't vote for a Democrat. All of the Republicans, Representatives and Senators, are Trump enablers yet you insist on voting for them. All of the NeverTrumper Republican politicians are anti- women, anti-abortion, anti-Obamacare, anti-Medicare, anti-Medicaid, anti-LGBT, anti-Social Security, anti-BlackLivesMatter, anti-welfare, anti-progressive taxation, anti-religious freedom.
So why would anyone concerned about social progress in America give a damn about Republican NeverTrumpers? For some reason you've got a hate-on for Trump but when you get down to the basic Republican beliefs and policies, there really isn't all that much difference. All of them are completely antithetical to progressive policies of the left.
posted by JackFlash at 9:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
This is the baffling part of your position. You say you want to mitigate the Trump disaster but won't vote for a Democrat. All of the Republicans, Representatives and Senators, are Trump enablers yet you insist on voting for them. All of the NeverTrumper Republican politicians are anti- women, anti-abortion, anti-Obamacare, anti-Medicare, anti-Medicaid, anti-LGBT, anti-Social Security, anti-BlackLivesMatter, anti-welfare, anti-progressive taxation, anti-religious freedom.
So why would anyone concerned about social progress in America give a damn about Republican NeverTrumpers? For some reason you've got a hate-on for Trump but when you get down to the basic Republican beliefs and policies, there really isn't all that much difference. All of them are completely antithetical to progressive policies of the left.
posted by JackFlash at 9:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
all of this has been beyond the pale, so i don't know what we're beyond now. beyond the dark and into the void. i just sent an email to a family member with the subject, "this is what you are defending when you defend trump," and the content of the email is a photograph of a dead syrian child. can it really be that there is no way for us to stop this from happening. i think it would be appropriate for all american citizens to pour into the streets as one and shut down every city town and village until this order is revoked.
posted by prefpara at 9:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 9:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
like i'm having trouble going to bed because i have this irrational feeling that any moment the decent adults will step in and undo this and i don't want to miss it
laugh or cry?
posted by prefpara at 9:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
laugh or cry?
posted by prefpara at 9:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
This is horrifying.
I feel like I need to unplug from the news for awhile because today's actions are making me feel physically ill and I've been actually crying off and on since I got home from work tonight. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed to be a part of a country where this can happen. Yet I also feel like it's not responsible to hide from what keeps happening. I don't know how to find a balance right now.
posted by bookmammal at 9:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
I feel like I need to unplug from the news for awhile because today's actions are making me feel physically ill and I've been actually crying off and on since I got home from work tonight. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed to be a part of a country where this can happen. Yet I also feel like it's not responsible to hide from what keeps happening. I don't know how to find a balance right now.
posted by bookmammal at 9:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
It's probably not a healthy thing to hope for a military coup, is it?
I passed that point a while ago.
posted by bongo_x at 9:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I passed that point a while ago.
posted by bongo_x at 9:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Mattis was smiling beside Trump as he signed that vile anti-Muslim EO today. Put not your faith in the military.
posted by maudlin at 9:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 9:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
So much for Mattis not being a dumpster fire.
posted by palomar at 9:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by palomar at 9:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mattis was smiling beside Trump as he signed that vile anti-Muslim EO today.
do you have a link?
posted by futz at 9:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
do you have a link?
posted by futz at 9:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
all of this has been beyond the pale, so i don't know what we're beyond now. beyond the dark and into the void.
We are very clearly in the upsidedown.
So, it's the first weekend. Will our first lady come to DC? Will she speak anywhere? Will she grace us with a second tweet since taking over the FLOTUS Twitter account? Or will we have a First Lady who is 100% checked out?
And does Trump take the weekend off? Either way, will Steve Bannon give us time to catch our collective breath? Or will the bat shit never stop?
posted by Room 641-A at 9:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
We are very clearly in the upsidedown.
So, it's the first weekend. Will our first lady come to DC? Will she speak anywhere? Will she grace us with a second tweet since taking over the FLOTUS Twitter account? Or will we have a First Lady who is 100% checked out?
And does Trump take the weekend off? Either way, will Steve Bannon give us time to catch our collective breath? Or will the bat shit never stop?
posted by Room 641-A at 9:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
EO signing pic
I don't know about smiling, but there he is.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't know about smiling, but there he is.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
do you have a link?
Here is a NYT story.
In the pictures I've seen, Mattis is there but not smiling. And he's there because Trump is at the Pentagon for Mattis' swearing in ceremony. Whether that makes this better or not is up to you though.
posted by Justinian at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Here is a NYT story.
In the pictures I've seen, Mattis is there but not smiling. And he's there because Trump is at the Pentagon for Mattis' swearing in ceremony. Whether that makes this better or not is up to you though.
posted by Justinian at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Melancholia has supposedly been in DC since Thursday evening, though that was something I read earlier in the shitty week.
There are no weekends.
posted by holgate at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
There are no weekends.
posted by holgate at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
He's smiling in this one.
Although he might be reading a text message.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Although he might be reading a text message.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
though he might be reading a text message.
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I can't believe I thought it'd take at least a little while for the evil to set in
what the fuck is this country going to look like a month from now
posted by flatluigi at 10:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [40 favorites]
what the fuck is this country going to look like a month from now
posted by flatluigi at 10:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [40 favorites]
where are our democratic leaders right now? i am beyond caring that it's 1 am. they are our representatives. they are our voice. this is sickening.
posted by prefpara at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
"Annoyed [they] just found out about the order and not sure what to do. They are very friendly"
Not sure? They should do the right thing. As in, the thing they won't have to apologise to their grandchildren for doing, should we make it that far. Americans have seen enough movies with "only following orders" to know situations where that might apply.
(CBP officials at points of entry have all kinds of discretion by law.)
posted by holgate at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Not sure? They should do the right thing. As in, the thing they won't have to apologise to their grandchildren for doing, should we make it that far. Americans have seen enough movies with "only following orders" to know situations where that might apply.
(CBP officials at points of entry have all kinds of discretion by law.)
posted by holgate at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
"Well I served with honor and distinction for forty four years, but I guess this pen is pretty sweet."
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
"Well I served with honor and distinction for forty four years, but I guess this pen is pretty sweet."
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Probably more like "Does he actually think I want this? What the fuck do I do with it now?"
posted by corb at 10:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by corb at 10:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
The power went out in my house today and my for real first thought was "I'm glad I watched those ASAP Science videos!"
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
His nickname is Mad Dog...
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
> do you have a link?
DJT tweeted a video but it stops before the signing.
posted by christopherious at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
DJT tweeted a video but it stops before the signing.
posted by christopherious at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
...so I guess he should chew it up and spit it out.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
Made in China. (Custom-engraved in the US, and Cross has taken tax bennies to open a factory in RI, but still, made in China.)
posted by holgate at 10:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Made in China. (Custom-engraved in the US, and Cross has taken tax bennies to open a factory in RI, but still, made in China.)
posted by holgate at 10:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
novaturient...
I do not come to MetaFilter for the vocabulary, but this is way beyond the call of duty. Good job.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
I do not come to MetaFilter for the vocabulary, but this is way beyond the call of duty. Good job.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
And there is precisely zero value in ragging on whatever remains of the #Nevers. I direct you to the sections in Homage to Catalonia where the socialists, communists and anarcho-syndicalists argue about which faction represents the purest form of resistance as the fascists dropped bombs on them. Fuck party identity, it's done: there are collaborators, there are appeasers, there are onlookers, and there are those who resist.
posted by holgate at 10:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [82 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [82 favorites]
Arrgh. I have a great job but I have decided to leave it to take any job in the nonprofit or political sector that matches my nonprofit political goals. FU Trump for ending my sweet little telecommuter thing!
posted by notyou at 10:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Those nonprofits need money. If your job is a good one (in many senses of the word), you might help more by staying put and giving generously.
posted by mochapickle at 10:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 10:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Watch Pence look over at Mattis when Trump calls the 44-year Marine a soldier. An honest gaffe, but dang. Pence has a son in the Marines.
posted by zachlipton at 10:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
Trump refugee order dashes hopes of Iraqis who helped the U.S.
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
And he's there because Trump is at the Pentagon for Mattis' swearing in ceremony. Whether that makes this better or not is up to you though.
I watched the whole ceremony and I commented a bit on it earlier. It was trump with training wheels on awkward.
posted by futz at 10:37 PM on January 27, 2017
I watched the whole ceremony and I commented a bit on it earlier. It was trump with training wheels on awkward.
posted by futz at 10:37 PM on January 27, 2017
Whelp, mochapickle, they won't hire me, but they can still take my money.
posted by notyou at 10:40 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by notyou at 10:40 PM on January 27, 2017
Which isn't much. But we all have to jump in. So jump in! Make them say no. Then find a way.
I'm at Jump In.
posted by notyou at 10:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm at Jump In.
posted by notyou at 10:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Nah. Nothing better for platform engagement than outraged righteousness, they'd serve you that shit with a side of ads.
posted by BS Artisan at 10:57 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by BS Artisan at 10:57 PM on January 27, 2017
those creepy pedicures where fish eat your feet
OMG I WANT ONE TOO.
My friend and I talked about how frightening and surreal this week was, and they mentioned that print zine culture may make more of a resurgence - especially if the internet gets censored/restricted.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
OMG I WANT ONE TOO.
My friend and I talked about how frightening and surreal this week was, and they mentioned that print zine culture may make more of a resurgence - especially if the internet gets censored/restricted.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Take care of yourself. Make a realistic assessment of where your energy can have the most positive impact. Connect with others in your local community and coordinate your efforts where possible. Plan ahead so that you can continue taking action in the worst case scenario. Resist.
As much as I am aware, Mattis does not have a record of valuing the lives of Iraqis. E.g. Haditha and Fallujah. No one with real power is on our side. The most we can expect from our institutions is to slow them down. They have the loyalty of law enforcement, the military, congress, and the power of the executive. They are not far from controlling the SCOTUS. They wield the mandate of American Post-Christian theology. At least 4 in every 10 Americans you'll encounter believe the world will end during their lifetime. There is no reason to expect fair elections to continue in this country. Remember the San Antonio police in MAGA hats. Border Patrol union's endorsement. Erik Prince. Sessions. Bannon.
I have an extremely negative view of the current situation and think we are playing by the old rules while the radical right are playing Calvinball. America spent the last century dissolving any meaningful constitutional protection, hoping that bipartisan norms would maintain our union. Worse, we have created a pervasive financial and technological apparatus for social control and it is being used against us. There is no simple, easy way forward. We get no do-overs and we can't roll it back. This is happening.
I think there are some more practical steps you could take to maintain effectiveness in the darker futures. Learn to live off the cloud & build a library of resources you can access without internet connectivity. Share, train, and practice crypto/opsec in your personal networks. Acquire and learn to use a ham radio as well as the equipment to power it off-grid. Store some food and water, but focus on building resilient human networks -- your hoard will not last. We must be aware of the asymmetries we face and structure our resistance to utilize them for our advantage.
Personally I'm struggling at my first step. I hope to more effectively counter our current cultural craziness as I attempt to assert control over my emotions, actions, and future. It's okay that we're not 100% prepared or ready for this if we're working to resist the madness.
Most of all: dream of a better future. Allow yourself to have fun and to share human moments with real people. We cannot resist if we let them break us. Reject their norms and values, ignore their hatred, and experience joy, because that is a pure rejection of their desire to deprive you of positive human experience. This isn't easy, and the closest thing I've had to hope and joy in recent months was post-Women's-March.
We must resist. We must prevail.
I'd be very happy if you could convince me I'm crazy and talk me down a bit.
posted by polyhedron at 11:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
As much as I am aware, Mattis does not have a record of valuing the lives of Iraqis. E.g. Haditha and Fallujah. No one with real power is on our side. The most we can expect from our institutions is to slow them down. They have the loyalty of law enforcement, the military, congress, and the power of the executive. They are not far from controlling the SCOTUS. They wield the mandate of American Post-Christian theology. At least 4 in every 10 Americans you'll encounter believe the world will end during their lifetime. There is no reason to expect fair elections to continue in this country. Remember the San Antonio police in MAGA hats. Border Patrol union's endorsement. Erik Prince. Sessions. Bannon.
I have an extremely negative view of the current situation and think we are playing by the old rules while the radical right are playing Calvinball. America spent the last century dissolving any meaningful constitutional protection, hoping that bipartisan norms would maintain our union. Worse, we have created a pervasive financial and technological apparatus for social control and it is being used against us. There is no simple, easy way forward. We get no do-overs and we can't roll it back. This is happening.
I think there are some more practical steps you could take to maintain effectiveness in the darker futures. Learn to live off the cloud & build a library of resources you can access without internet connectivity. Share, train, and practice crypto/opsec in your personal networks. Acquire and learn to use a ham radio as well as the equipment to power it off-grid. Store some food and water, but focus on building resilient human networks -- your hoard will not last. We must be aware of the asymmetries we face and structure our resistance to utilize them for our advantage.
Personally I'm struggling at my first step. I hope to more effectively counter our current cultural craziness as I attempt to assert control over my emotions, actions, and future. It's okay that we're not 100% prepared or ready for this if we're working to resist the madness.
Most of all: dream of a better future. Allow yourself to have fun and to share human moments with real people. We cannot resist if we let them break us. Reject their norms and values, ignore their hatred, and experience joy, because that is a pure rejection of their desire to deprive you of positive human experience. This isn't easy, and the closest thing I've had to hope and joy in recent months was post-Women's-March.
We must resist. We must prevail.
I'd be very happy if you could convince me I'm crazy and talk me down a bit.
posted by polyhedron at 11:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
Acquire and learn to use a ham radio as well as the equipment to power it off-grid.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of this. I used to have a license nearly 30 years ago, but let it lapse. After the Inaugural protests, where got my first whiffs of pepper spray, I wanted a better way to be effective in resistance, without necessarily putting myself in harm's way. Ham radio may just be one of those paths; I signed up for classes next month, and there's a couple of BaoFeng portable units I have my eyes on for when I reup my license. (I don't have the money nor space for a big rig.)
posted by spinifex23 at 11:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of this. I used to have a license nearly 30 years ago, but let it lapse. After the Inaugural protests, where got my first whiffs of pepper spray, I wanted a better way to be effective in resistance, without necessarily putting myself in harm's way. Ham radio may just be one of those paths; I signed up for classes next month, and there's a couple of BaoFeng portable units I have my eyes on for when I reup my license. (I don't have the money nor space for a big rig.)
posted by spinifex23 at 11:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of the Oscar-nominated The Salesman, is now banned from travelling to the US for the ceremony. (The Salesman is based around a performance of an American play. Guess which one it is.)
Tech companies are recalling US-resident staff from overseas visits.
This weekend will be the time that all the repercussions of this despicable act on families and businesses get spelled out. And I imagine that in parts of the US (for instance, the Iranian community in LA) there will be pretty visible dissent.
posted by holgate at 11:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Tech companies are recalling US-resident staff from overseas visits.
This weekend will be the time that all the repercussions of this despicable act on families and businesses get spelled out. And I imagine that in parts of the US (for instance, the Iranian community in LA) there will be pretty visible dissent.
posted by holgate at 11:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Google Recalls Staff to U.S. After Trump Immigration Order
posted by zachlipton at 11:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
Alphabet Inc.’s Google delivered a sharp message to staff traveling overseas who may be impacted by a new executive order on immigration from President Donald Trump: Get back to the U.S. now.Nobody apparently has any idea if green card holders are impacted, but H-1B visa holders are banned now. I've worked with people in this situation. This is not ok.
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai slammed Trump’s move in a note to employees Friday, telling them that more than 100 company staff are affected by the order.
"It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Pichai wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. "We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."
posted by zachlipton at 11:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
Connect with others in your local community and coordinate your efforts where possible.
Also connect others with each other, locally and across the country. Build the networks, it just takes introductions and then things take a life of their own. I had a really great unexpected conversation with a fellow Mefite last night and they were doing a lot of good work connecting people, so I started trying today, and now friends who would never have met otherwise know to go to each other when they need each other's skills and my local Indivisible group might be looking at hooking up with my state's Moral Mondays group. All for the cost of a handful of Facebook messages over a couple hours! Just make those connections wherever you can, unexpected great things can come of it. I've been banging my head against the wall since the election trying to figure out what to do and this simple thing today gave me the best sense of progress yet.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Also connect others with each other, locally and across the country. Build the networks, it just takes introductions and then things take a life of their own. I had a really great unexpected conversation with a fellow Mefite last night and they were doing a lot of good work connecting people, so I started trying today, and now friends who would never have met otherwise know to go to each other when they need each other's skills and my local Indivisible group might be looking at hooking up with my state's Moral Mondays group. All for the cost of a handful of Facebook messages over a couple hours! Just make those connections wherever you can, unexpected great things can come of it. I've been banging my head against the wall since the election trying to figure out what to do and this simple thing today gave me the best sense of progress yet.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Confirmed: Iran's Asghar Farhadi won't be let into the US to attend Oscar's. He's nominated for best foreign language film...
Boycotting and/or cancelling the Oscars would be an appropriate response.
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Boycotting and/or cancelling the Oscars would be an appropriate response.
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Wait, why boycott the Oscars? I would imagine Farhadi would have the support of most if not all who attend, as well as most of the audience.
posted by mochapickle at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
...and the award for tiniest hands in a documentary goes to...
posted by Buntix at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
where are our democratic leaders right now? i am beyond caring that it's 1 am. they are our representatives. they are our voice. this is sickening.
I've been wondering the same thing since early in the morning on November 9th. But it occurs to me now that...if they were speaking up, how would we know it?
You may be looking for more action than press releases, but you can go to their webpages to see their statements in response.
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
“Today’s executive order by President Trump using extreme vetting and banning refugees from many majority Muslim countries is offensive and a monumental waste of federal resources. Having served on active duty, we are taught that to defeat the enemy, we first need to know our enemy. Our enemies are terrorist groups such as ISIS and AL Qaeda, not children, women and senior citizens fleeing those groups.”
“The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."
posted by bertran at 12:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [106 favorites]
I've been wondering the same thing since early in the morning on November 9th. But it occurs to me now that...if they were speaking up, how would we know it?
You may be looking for more action than press releases, but you can go to their webpages to see their statements in response.
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
“Today’s executive order by President Trump using extreme vetting and banning refugees from many majority Muslim countries is offensive and a monumental waste of federal resources. Having served on active duty, we are taught that to defeat the enemy, we first need to know our enemy. Our enemies are terrorist groups such as ISIS and AL Qaeda, not children, women and senior citizens fleeing those groups.”
“The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."
posted by bertran at 12:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [106 favorites]
Has anybody besides me seen Trump in moments where Trump is looking lost and uncomfortable (most recent example: his photo op on Air Force One where there TV ad was screaming in the background) and thought *he looks like a pig in a wig. just a lost little pig in a wig*
Or is that just my personal insanity
posted by angrycat at 1:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Or is that just my personal insanity
posted by angrycat at 1:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Lady Liberty is crying.
I'm not sure of the last time the US government's actions have been so at odds with the poem engraved on her statue, so that makes sense.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm not sure of the last time the US government's actions have been so at odds with the poem engraved on her statue, so that makes sense.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Has anybody besides me seen Trump in moments where Trump is looking lost and uncomfortable
Not just you. When he's not playing it up for the cameras, he looks like he's very aware that he has NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING but he knows it's big and important and he's likely to fuck it up.
And dammit, the media needs to play on that. Needs to report on how he seems oblivious to what exactly he's signing - that he obviously didn't write or even direct those orders, and that he's just rubber-stamping whatever his handlers throw at him. Call him Pence's Puppet.
Ask about specific phrasing bits in the exec orders - "whose idea was this part?" Bring the public to realize he's not leading; he's cheerleading.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Not just you. When he's not playing it up for the cameras, he looks like he's very aware that he has NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING but he knows it's big and important and he's likely to fuck it up.
And dammit, the media needs to play on that. Needs to report on how he seems oblivious to what exactly he's signing - that he obviously didn't write or even direct those orders, and that he's just rubber-stamping whatever his handlers throw at him. Call him Pence's Puppet.
Ask about specific phrasing bits in the exec orders - "whose idea was this part?" Bring the public to realize he's not leading; he's cheerleading.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Whoof - made it to the end of the thread!
Re Cambridge Analytica, from way upthread.. if they provide such effective guidance to influencers, and are capable of producing society-swaying results (and an ethical vacuum, or they wouldn't be involved)... can WE hire them? Put their powers to use for Good?
Clearly they know which buttons to punch for best results in the people we despair of reaching...
posted by Ilira at 2:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Re Cambridge Analytica, from way upthread.. if they provide such effective guidance to influencers, and are capable of producing society-swaying results (and an ethical vacuum, or they wouldn't be involved)... can WE hire them? Put their powers to use for Good?
Clearly they know which buttons to punch for best results in the people we despair of reaching...
posted by Ilira at 2:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
can WE hire them?
Possibly, but with Bannon on the board I'd imagine it would be difficult.
posted by jaduncan at 3:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Possibly, but with Bannon on the board I'd imagine it would be difficult.
posted by jaduncan at 3:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
How a Secret Service controversy turned an innocent professor’s life into an online nightmare
The reason: O’Grady was mistakenly identified this week as a Secret Service agent (also named Kerry O’Grady) who is under investigation for posting a statement on Facebook that appeared to indicate she preferred jail over being shot and killed for President Trump.
posted by zakur at 3:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The reason: O’Grady was mistakenly identified this week as a Secret Service agent (also named Kerry O’Grady) who is under investigation for posting a statement on Facebook that appeared to indicate she preferred jail over being shot and killed for President Trump.
posted by zakur at 3:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just watched the Fox and Friends Saturday story on the "March for Life" (not having seen any news last night). There was lots of bemoaning and tut-tutting how "the media" is so biased and the coverage on other networks was so inadequate, and trash-talking the Women's March, but no crowd numbers were mentioned. So I'm guessing it was extremely Trump-sized.
posted by XMLicious at 4:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 4:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Possibly, but with Bannon on the board I'd imagine it would be difficult.
... that had somehow escaped me. OK, as you were.
posted by Ilira at 4:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
... that had somehow escaped me. OK, as you were.
posted by Ilira at 4:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sorry to ask, but can someone explain how green cards work? I was under the assumption that it was similar to my Canadian PR card in that I have to reside in Canada for x amount of days in order to maintain my residential status. The exceptions are if you are married to someone in a government job or the Canadian military. Is it different for a US green card?
posted by Kitteh at 4:24 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by Kitteh at 4:24 AM on January 28, 2017
Remember this tweet
Mike Pence 08 Dec 2015 via
posted by adamvasco at 4:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Mike Pence 08 Dec 2015 via
posted by adamvasco at 4:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Sorry to ask,
Turns to search engine, "US green card rules"...
Turns to search engine, "US green card rules"...
Permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status. If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status. A general guide used is whether you have been absent from the United States for more than a year. Abandonment may be found to occur in trips of less than a year where it is believed you did not intend to make the United States your permanent residence. While brief trips abroad generally are not problematic, the officer may consider criteria such as whether your intention was to visit abroad only temporarily, whether you maintained U.S. family and community ties, maintained U.S employment, filed U.S. income taxes as a resident, or otherwise established your intention to return to the United States as your permanent home. Other factors that may be considered include whether you maintained a U.S. mailing address, kept U.S. bank accounts and a valid U.S. driver’s license, own property or run a business in the United States, or any other evidence that supports the temporary nature of your absence.posted by Mister Bijou at 4:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
You may be looking for more action than press releases, but you can go to their webpages to see their statements in response.
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
I have his news page in my RSS feed and it includes bills he has introduced or co-sponsored as well as voting statements. (It also has gems like "Rep. Ted Lieu is trolling Donald Trump, and he hopes you're watching".) You could sign up for email alerts, too.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
I have his news page in my RSS feed and it includes bills he has introduced or co-sponsored as well as voting statements. (It also has gems like "Rep. Ted Lieu is trolling Donald Trump, and he hopes you're watching".) You could sign up for email alerts, too.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I never realized how much I love America until Trump took it away.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
Apparently, the LA Times got hold of a draft EO that said Trump would cancel the 'visa interview waiver program' and reported it as him nuking the visa waiver program. Which caused quite some panic and created visions of utter chaos as a huge proportion of tourists and business people inbound to the US over the oceans realised they were going to be bumped at the airport.
I quite wish he had done that, Sure it would devastate US tourism and muck up international business, but it would demonstrate to us privileged in dramatic fashion how insanely cruel things already are for those who most need compassionate sanity.
posted by Devonian at 4:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I quite wish he had done that, Sure it would devastate US tourism and muck up international business, but it would demonstrate to us privileged in dramatic fashion how insanely cruel things already are for those who most need compassionate sanity.
posted by Devonian at 4:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@ConnorSouthard: If you want to know why we shouldn't trust anti-Trump Neocons, check out this shit
Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum: America’s acceptance of Somali refugees has not been a success for this countryposted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
LA Times got hold of a draft EO that said Trump would cancel the 'visa interview waiver program' and reported it as him nuking the visa waiver program. (Bolding mine)
Breibart and FOX News are going to love this... you know, yet one more example of the "lying MSM". Thanks, LA Times.
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Breibart and FOX News are going to love this... you know, yet one more example of the "lying MSM". Thanks, LA Times.
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Actually, I don't know if the LAT misreported it or whether that was downstream in the food chain - I got it from an NZ outlet.
People make mistakes, and in journalism when you catch them you retract and apologise. Evil liars will lie evilly about that too
posted by Devonian at 5:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
People make mistakes, and in journalism when you catch them you retract and apologise. Evil liars will lie evilly about that too
posted by Devonian at 5:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
“The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."
For comparison, your odds of dying from excessive heat are 1 in 10,700 but trump and his ilk don't seem to give a shit about the dangers of global warming. Maybe if we told trump that global warming was the fault of minorities ?
posted by ian1977 at 5:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
For comparison, your odds of dying from excessive heat are 1 in 10,700 but trump and his ilk don't seem to give a shit about the dangers of global warming. Maybe if we told trump that global warming was the fault of minorities ?
posted by ian1977 at 5:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Refugees Detained at U.S. Airports, Prompting Legal Challenges to Trump’s Immigration Order: Who is the person we need to talk to?” asked one of the lawyers, Mark Doss, supervising attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project.
“Mr. President,” said a Customs and Border Protection agent, who declined to identify himself. “Call Mr. Trump.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
“Mr. President,” said a Customs and Border Protection agent, who declined to identify himself. “Call Mr. Trump.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Something that occurs to me: a lot of foreign students and postdocs were overseas for the holiday. Term has just started here so anyone with classes will probably be back, but not probably not everyone.
In the sciences there are always H1-Bs and people from the "banned" countries - and while some of those people could be replaced by US researchers, IME it's because there are a lot of obscure specialties in research, and maybe the only person who has worked with your particular peptide is from Iran (as happened in a lab I know).
In my previous job, there was a grad student who was from Libya. Her funding from home fell through because of the situation there and the department really went to bat for her to make sure she had money to stay. I assume she and her husband and baby are here, since they weren't really traveling back much, but still.
Some of the people who were big advocates for her were Trump voters, which I never understood. They're not dummies, so I hope that this will shift them - I think they're conservative economically and believed Trump on terrorism, so I'm hoping that when they see this they'll change.
A big thing: a lot of the people in and around the sciences who will be activated as Democrats now are people who didn't pay that much attention and tended to lean Democrat but not care too much. I know those people and I bet they care now.
posted by Frowner at 5:47 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
In the sciences there are always H1-Bs and people from the "banned" countries - and while some of those people could be replaced by US researchers, IME it's because there are a lot of obscure specialties in research, and maybe the only person who has worked with your particular peptide is from Iran (as happened in a lab I know).
In my previous job, there was a grad student who was from Libya. Her funding from home fell through because of the situation there and the department really went to bat for her to make sure she had money to stay. I assume she and her husband and baby are here, since they weren't really traveling back much, but still.
Some of the people who were big advocates for her were Trump voters, which I never understood. They're not dummies, so I hope that this will shift them - I think they're conservative economically and believed Trump on terrorism, so I'm hoping that when they see this they'll change.
A big thing: a lot of the people in and around the sciences who will be activated as Democrats now are people who didn't pay that much attention and tended to lean Democrat but not care too much. I know those people and I bet they care now.
posted by Frowner at 5:47 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
From KLM: Allowed to enter the US are:
-Diplo visa (A,G, C-2 or NATO)
-Green Card
-Advanced parole document
NOT ALLOWED
-Tourist/Study Visa
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
-Diplo visa (A,G, C-2 or NATO)
-Green Card
-Advanced parole document
NOT ALLOWED
-Tourist/Study Visa
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
My wife and I are 'returnables' with Green Cards and she just said "Maybe we should apply for citizenship" and my first thought was "The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
Instead we have decided to be more aggressive about applying for jobs at home.
posted by srboisvert at 5:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Instead we have decided to be more aggressive about applying for jobs at home.
posted by srboisvert at 5:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
I mentioned elsewhere here that a friend's cousin was returned to Mexico late last year and immediately murdered by the gang he had been fleeing.
Here's what I think: I think this will all be kept in place long enough to cause shock, terror and economic loss (and death, let's not forget), and then some of this will be relaxed because it gets in the way of rich people.
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
What I thought before all this began was that they would have to rule with exceptional brutality precisely because they are so unpopular, and it's proving true.
The only thing is, we have to not be destroyed by fear and despair, because the whole purpose of these things is to destroy us through fear and despair.
posted by Frowner at 5:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
Here's what I think: I think this will all be kept in place long enough to cause shock, terror and economic loss (and death, let's not forget), and then some of this will be relaxed because it gets in the way of rich people.
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
What I thought before all this began was that they would have to rule with exceptional brutality precisely because they are so unpopular, and it's proving true.
The only thing is, we have to not be destroyed by fear and despair, because the whole purpose of these things is to destroy us through fear and despair.
posted by Frowner at 5:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
i've continued to light up the trump is poopy sign on the garage, even though the holidays are over, but i have been thinking of taking it down.
then last night a neighbor from down the alley i don't really know too well stopped by as i was working in the garage. she's an older woman in her 60s, and i know her dog has recently passed and that she lives alone. anyways, she was out of evens, as we say, and couldn't understand how this country had turned fascist overnight. she couldn't understand a lot of things that i couldn't understand.
i didn't really say much but to just agree and listen, and to let her know that there's a lot of us who feel that way. 20 minutes later we parted with an awkward stranger hug and i told her i'd let her know of any marches i'm going to and actions i'm trying to take to stop fascism.
i'm no longer considering taking down the sign, but instead building a bigger one to put on top of the house.
posted by localhuman at 6:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
then last night a neighbor from down the alley i don't really know too well stopped by as i was working in the garage. she's an older woman in her 60s, and i know her dog has recently passed and that she lives alone. anyways, she was out of evens, as we say, and couldn't understand how this country had turned fascist overnight. she couldn't understand a lot of things that i couldn't understand.
i didn't really say much but to just agree and listen, and to let her know that there's a lot of us who feel that way. 20 minutes later we parted with an awkward stranger hug and i told her i'd let her know of any marches i'm going to and actions i'm trying to take to stop fascism.
i'm no longer considering taking down the sign, but instead building a bigger one to put on top of the house.
posted by localhuman at 6:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
Rights groups inundated amid fears of being unable to return to US
He said it appeared that US border officials were deciding whether green-card holders could re-enter the US on a “case by case” basis which involved asking individuals about their political views. There were reports that some border officials were confused about their new instructions and unhappy about what was being asked of them.
WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?
My wife and I are 'returnables' with Green Cards and she just said "Maybe we should apply for citizenship" and my first thought was "The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
If you become a US citizen and you are arrested at a protest or whatever, the local police will not alert your home consulate. If you are an LPR arrested at a protest or whatever, the USCIS gets really pissed at you. It's not fun. Even if you're white you need to walk a tightrope.
posted by Talez at 6:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
He said it appeared that US border officials were deciding whether green-card holders could re-enter the US on a “case by case” basis which involved asking individuals about their political views. There were reports that some border officials were confused about their new instructions and unhappy about what was being asked of them.
WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?
My wife and I are 'returnables' with Green Cards and she just said "Maybe we should apply for citizenship" and my first thought was "The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
If you become a US citizen and you are arrested at a protest or whatever, the local police will not alert your home consulate. If you are an LPR arrested at a protest or whatever, the USCIS gets really pissed at you. It's not fun. Even if you're white you need to walk a tightrope.
posted by Talez at 6:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Please become citizens and help vote this monstrosity out.
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
These fucking assholes waited until end of business Friday to issue this order knowing it would create utter chaos and endanger lives and no one would have legal recourse for days. Every last one of them has to go. They are irredeemable.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [97 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [97 favorites]
Please become citizens and help vote this monstrosity out.
I'm in MA. I can't do anything more by becoming a citizen. srboisvert is in IL. His citizenship wouldn't matter either.
posted by Talez at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017
I'm in MA. I can't do anything more by becoming a citizen. srboisvert is in IL. His citizenship wouldn't matter either.
posted by Talez at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017
Welp, I was already going to the Schumer protest today. I guess the fact that we have refugees sitting AT OUR AIRPORT is another good reason to protest.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
“Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015.”
posted by adamvasco at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [101 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [101 favorites]
“Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015.”
I spent a bit of time last night saying this exact thing to people who were celebrating this bold action to combat terrorism. If they're and you are so concerned about keeping the terrorists out then why in the hell didn't they ban from countries where the actual terrorists that have attacked you come from? Huh? Explain that please? Doesn't sound like your guy knows what he's doing does it?
Got back a bunch of argle bargle, hurf durf and a few crickets. Anyways this isn't the main point of why this whole thing is horrible but if you need an avenue of debate with the true believers this is a good one. It's an opening for undermining the action in their eyes where many of the other arguments won't work. They don't care and want it no matter what you say but any little thing that makes them question Trump, even if it's for a few seconds, is needed at this point.
posted by Jalliah at 6:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I spent a bit of time last night saying this exact thing to people who were celebrating this bold action to combat terrorism. If they're and you are so concerned about keeping the terrorists out then why in the hell didn't they ban from countries where the actual terrorists that have attacked you come from? Huh? Explain that please? Doesn't sound like your guy knows what he's doing does it?
Got back a bunch of argle bargle, hurf durf and a few crickets. Anyways this isn't the main point of why this whole thing is horrible but if you need an avenue of debate with the true believers this is a good one. It's an opening for undermining the action in their eyes where many of the other arguments won't work. They don't care and want it no matter what you say but any little thing that makes them question Trump, even if it's for a few seconds, is needed at this point.
posted by Jalliah at 6:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
@NYTimesComm [in response to the president's tweet-tantrum this morning]:
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
roomthreeseventeen - see you there.
posted by prefpara at 6:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 6:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is horrifying.
I called and left messages for one senator and my rep. The other senator's voice mailbox was full at both her D.C. and local offices, so I emailed her. They're all Dems, though I'm in a purple state.
We set up some recurring donations in November to civil rights oriented groups, and I want to add more - maybe to a refugee org (can be international) and a journalism outlet. I'm already subscribed to the WaPo and wasn't happy with NYT or NPR election coverage.
I also want to buy or make something to wear to visibly indicate that I am not okay with Trump or his actions. I'm thinking a Black Lives Matter pin or patch, but I'd also like to have something that specifically indicates that I support Muslims and something that's anti-Trump. I'm a white queer cis Jewish woman fwiw, and I'm not worried about my physical safety so I'd like to use that privilege to be a visibly anti-Trump and pro-civil rights.
I welcome suggestions for refugee focused organizations and journalism outlets to support & ideas for what I can wear.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I called and left messages for one senator and my rep. The other senator's voice mailbox was full at both her D.C. and local offices, so I emailed her. They're all Dems, though I'm in a purple state.
We set up some recurring donations in November to civil rights oriented groups, and I want to add more - maybe to a refugee org (can be international) and a journalism outlet. I'm already subscribed to the WaPo and wasn't happy with NYT or NPR election coverage.
I also want to buy or make something to wear to visibly indicate that I am not okay with Trump or his actions. I'm thinking a Black Lives Matter pin or patch, but I'd also like to have something that specifically indicates that I support Muslims and something that's anti-Trump. I'm a white queer cis Jewish woman fwiw, and I'm not worried about my physical safety so I'd like to use that privilege to be a visibly anti-Trump and pro-civil rights.
I welcome suggestions for refugee focused organizations and journalism outlets to support & ideas for what I can wear.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
@NYTimesComm [in response to the president's tweet-tantrum this morning]:
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
It's the same thing over and over. He's barely changing the words now. I know that this is for his base and part of the whole undermine the media strategy they're playing. They think that repetition is the key and it is for some people.
He's running into boy who cried wolf scenario here though and it's annoying people. The one consistent thing that I've heard from the 'mild' Trump voters is that this consistent tweet whining about the same thing, over and over is embarassing and annoying no matter what the issue is.
Doing this may keep his core but it is alienating some of his voters.
posted by Jalliah at 6:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
It's the same thing over and over. He's barely changing the words now. I know that this is for his base and part of the whole undermine the media strategy they're playing. They think that repetition is the key and it is for some people.
He's running into boy who cried wolf scenario here though and it's annoying people. The one consistent thing that I've heard from the 'mild' Trump voters is that this consistent tweet whining about the same thing, over and over is embarassing and annoying no matter what the issue is.
Doing this may keep his core but it is alienating some of his voters.
posted by Jalliah at 6:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
To add to my comment above. I've come across a few people saying that this action has made them feel safer already. It's all about the 'feels'. The response: This doesn't make me feel safer at all. They didn't ban anyone from countries where the actual terrorists from 9/11 came from. I think something else must be going on here. Notice how he didn't ban people from any countries that he has business stuff in? Like places where actual real terrorist have come from?
And while this runs the risk of these people asking for more bans of more countries it is an undermining tactic. Plus it undermines the who it's all about 'the feels' thing.
posted by Jalliah at 6:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
I'm coming to the conclusion that anyone who is in the Fox news bubble are out of reach. Unless they wake up themselves, there is no point in trying to reach them via reason, counter example, logic. It's like they are in a cult and need to be deprogrammed somehow.
posted by ThreeCatsBob at 6:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by ThreeCatsBob at 6:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
From the conservative magazine Tablet: The Arab-ization of American Politics
posted by XMLicious at 6:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 6:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Watch Pence look over at Mattis when Trump calls the 44-year Marine a soldier. An honest gaffe, but dang. Pence has a son in the Marines.
For people who don't know, calling a Marine a soldier is only marginally better than calling him or her a Cub Scout or car salesman. A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
For people who don't know, calling a Marine a soldier is only marginally better than calling him or her a Cub Scout or car salesman. A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
At ease, there, private.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
At ease, there, private.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
"The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
Gotta tell ya, dude, even if you're in a state where it doesn't matter, voting against that asshole is fun. Even here in NY, going in and making your mark against him feels really fuckin' good.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Gotta tell ya, dude, even if you're in a state where it doesn't matter, voting against that asshole is fun. Even here in NY, going in and making your mark against him feels really fuckin' good.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I'm coming to the conclusion that anyone who is in the Fox news bubble are out of reach. Unless they wake up themselves, there is no point in trying to reach them via reason, counter example, logic. It's like they are in a cult and need to be deprogrammed somehow.
Part of deprogramming someone is undermining their belief system. It never happens in one go at it. You poke holes and make cracks. And you never know what poke and what crack is going to cause it to fall apart.
I've had some pretty interesting discussions with people who have had extremist and fundemental view in the past. We talked candidly about what led to the change. Every single one said that it wasn't one thing or one person. It was little things that they ignored or denied until one day something, usually small, just broke them and it all started crumbling. Then they went into a sort of crisis panic mode for a bit as they kept trying to pull it back together and they just couldn't do it anymore.
In one case the lady had been a very fundementalist, Christian warrior type. Her views were based on literal interpretations of the Bible. This was paramount to her worldview. The crack occurred one day when she was watching a documentary show about snakes. She said the thought popped into head, "Hey wait a minute. Snakes can't talk. They physically can't talk' Afterwards she couldn't get this thought out of her head a no amount of 'God is all powerful and could make snakes talk if he wanted thinking' worked. It all fell apart, like a tower crumbling piece by piece. With hindsight she said that she knows that it was more then that, that she had been denying and ignoring things for years but 'snakes can't talk' was the crack that broke it all.
posted by Jalliah at 7:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
Part of deprogramming someone is undermining their belief system. It never happens in one go at it. You poke holes and make cracks. And you never know what poke and what crack is going to cause it to fall apart.
I've had some pretty interesting discussions with people who have had extremist and fundemental view in the past. We talked candidly about what led to the change. Every single one said that it wasn't one thing or one person. It was little things that they ignored or denied until one day something, usually small, just broke them and it all started crumbling. Then they went into a sort of crisis panic mode for a bit as they kept trying to pull it back together and they just couldn't do it anymore.
In one case the lady had been a very fundementalist, Christian warrior type. Her views were based on literal interpretations of the Bible. This was paramount to her worldview. The crack occurred one day when she was watching a documentary show about snakes. She said the thought popped into head, "Hey wait a minute. Snakes can't talk. They physically can't talk' Afterwards she couldn't get this thought out of her head a no amount of 'God is all powerful and could make snakes talk if he wanted thinking' worked. It all fell apart, like a tower crumbling piece by piece. With hindsight she said that she knows that it was more then that, that she had been denying and ignoring things for years but 'snakes can't talk' was the crack that broke it all.
posted by Jalliah at 7:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
Land of the free cruel.
Home ofthe brave people afraid of other people fleeing war.
posted by Talez at 7:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Home of
posted by Talez at 7:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Maryland police stopped an Indian-American US citizen to ask if she was here illegally
posted by bluecore at 7:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by bluecore at 7:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
The one consistent thing that I've heard from the 'mild' Trump voters is that this consistent tweet whining about the same thing, over and over is embarassing and annoying no matter what the issue is.
And this is why constantly goading him is a good thing. His brand is all about success and being on top of the world. Does scowling and whining and blustering count as that? It doesn't look like winning to me, and increasingly it looks unwinnerly to his own support. We need to keep the pressure on, never let him look or feel legitimate, because driving him crazy really does erode his popularity.
posted by jackbishop at 7:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
And this is why constantly goading him is a good thing. His brand is all about success and being on top of the world. Does scowling and whining and blustering count as that? It doesn't look like winning to me, and increasingly it looks unwinnerly to his own support. We need to keep the pressure on, never let him look or feel legitimate, because driving him crazy really does erode his popularity.
posted by jackbishop at 7:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
"Snakes can't talk" is observably true, I mean have you ever seen them at cocktail parties? They're never very gregarious, because they're preoccupied with figuring out how to hold their drink and their canapés all at once. No hands.
posted by tel3path at 7:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 7:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
At ease, there, private.
I think you mean lance corporal. :)
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think you mean lance corporal. :)
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
"Well I served with honor and distinction for forty four years, but I guess this pen is pretty sweet."
With Trump, it's probably one of those pens with a lady whose clothes vanish
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
With Trump, it's probably one of those pens with a lady whose clothes vanish
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
One of my best friends is marrying an Iranian-American in three months. While she's a citizen, the rest of her friends and family are a mix of citizens, green cards and student/tourist visas. About half of them will no longer be able to attend the wedding, and of those in the country able to, a bunch can no longer go home to see their families if they want to return.
Fuck this shit.
posted by chris24 at 7:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
Fuck this shit.
posted by chris24 at 7:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
We need to keep the pressure on
So far that doesn't look like it will be much of a problem. What's in store for today? Let's tune in now for the President as he continues eating the only extant moon lander at the Smithsonian. We are being told he's requested the gold foil thermal protection be removed ahead of time and placed in the trunk of his car.
posted by petebest at 7:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
So far that doesn't look like it will be much of a problem. What's in store for today? Let's tune in now for the President as he continues eating the only extant moon lander at the Smithsonian. We are being told he's requested the gold foil thermal protection be removed ahead of time and placed in the trunk of his car.
posted by petebest at 7:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
For people who don't know, calling a Marine a soldier is only marginally better than calling him or her a Cub Scout or car salesman. A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
Mattis stood by while Trump signed an EO betraying everything our country stands for, so maybe I don't give a fuck about his or Pence's feelings about using the wrong word? But it is interesting these guys get the vapors about someone being called a solider instead of a Marine, but can't wrap their head around why it's wrong to call an entire religion terrorists when they're not.
posted by bluecore at 7:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [110 favorites]
Mattis stood by while Trump signed an EO betraying everything our country stands for, so maybe I don't give a fuck about his or Pence's feelings about using the wrong word? But it is interesting these guys get the vapors about someone being called a solider instead of a Marine, but can't wrap their head around why it's wrong to call an entire religion terrorists when they're not.
posted by bluecore at 7:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [110 favorites]
Maryland police stopped an Indian-American US citizen to ask if she was here illegally
Of course they did. This all just gives white people and cops another way to fuck with people of color. Any time you want to make life hard for a neighbor, you just call in a "complaint" about a person who looks sort of like them and wait for the cops to come and papers-please them. And as to cops, any time they're bored or feeling frustrated, it's time for an immigration status check.
posted by Frowner at 7:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
Of course they did. This all just gives white people and cops another way to fuck with people of color. Any time you want to make life hard for a neighbor, you just call in a "complaint" about a person who looks sort of like them and wait for the cops to come and papers-please them. And as to cops, any time they're bored or feeling frustrated, it's time for an immigration status check.
posted by Frowner at 7:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
What Julian said.
You can never tell ahead of time what straw will break the back of the camel, but one day one will. Every little thing counts, from a single vote among thousands in a solid blue state to an off-hand observation in response to a rabid fundamentalist raging against compassion, to a debunking link posted to a Trumpian thread on FB. By themselves, and at the time, it may seem like just another raindrop in the desert, doomed to vanish without trace, but eventually the place will bloom.
It's like physics. You may think your energy is being destroyed, but it is going somewhere, and with time and persistence it will change the state of the place it's going to. You have to be more patient and more persistent than the other chap - that's the only rule.
posted by Devonian at 7:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
You can never tell ahead of time what straw will break the back of the camel, but one day one will. Every little thing counts, from a single vote among thousands in a solid blue state to an off-hand observation in response to a rabid fundamentalist raging against compassion, to a debunking link posted to a Trumpian thread on FB. By themselves, and at the time, it may seem like just another raindrop in the desert, doomed to vanish without trace, but eventually the place will bloom.
It's like physics. You may think your energy is being destroyed, but it is going somewhere, and with time and persistence it will change the state of the place it's going to. You have to be more patient and more persistent than the other chap - that's the only rule.
posted by Devonian at 7:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Mattis stood by while Trump signed an EO betraying everything our country stands for, so maybe I don't give a fuck about his or Pence's feelings about using the wrong word?
Maybe I don't either? Maybe the point was how pig-ignorant Trump is, even of things he claims to support?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Maybe I don't either? Maybe the point was how pig-ignorant Trump is, even of things he claims to support?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
http://europe.newsweek.com/trump-shame-us-immigration-ban-fear-549492?rm=eu
Then I think about Abdi, a young Somali, who shielded me against al-Shabaab bullets during a shootout in Mogadishu in 2002 and slept outside my door to make sure I was not kidnapped. He, too, had a dream of studying in the U.S.posted by Buntix at 7:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
One day Abdi told me why: “Life is short, but in Somalia it’s much shorter.” A few years before, walking down the street one day with his brother, he looked down and saw his brother on the ground, dead. A stray bullet had missed Abdi but found his brother’s heart. Abdi did not want to die like that—he wanted to work hard and get an education in the U.S. But he could not get papers. I tried for years, and the last time I saw him was in Juba, South Sudan. He was working a menial job, and he treated me to lunch to show that he had gone far. But I wept then, for what Abdi could have been, and how ashamed I was that we could not help him achieve a dream. He still wanted to get to America then. He won’t ever get there now.
Boycotting and/or cancelling the Oscars would be an appropriate response.
Last year, 34 million people watched the Oscars, and that was a low year. Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [77 favorites]
Last year, 34 million people watched the Oscars, and that was a low year. Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [77 favorites]
Another excerpt from The Crisis:
Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but "show your faith by your works," that God may bless you. It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.posted by perspicio at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
FYI: CUNY's CLEAR program (pro bono legal clinic) is looking for Arabic and Farsi written translation help for quick turnaround (legal terminology a plus). Here's the tweet.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
It's all Bannon. Trump visibly has no fucking clue what's going on. Bannon is masterminding all of this shit. It's almost like when you put a NeoNazi in the White House, you get Nazi policies.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [94 favorites]
It's all Bannon. Trump visibly has no fucking clue what's going on. Bannon is masterminding all of this shit. It's almost like when you put a NeoNazi in the White House, you get Nazi policies.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [94 favorites]
Green card holders included in Trump ban -Homeland Security
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Thinking of Viktor Frankl this morning.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.Also
Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.posted by slipthought at 7:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Green card holders included in Trump ban -Homeland Security
Uh, what on earth does a green card even mean then?
posted by jaduncan at 7:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Uh, what on earth does a green card even mean then?
posted by jaduncan at 7:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Since I brushed off a long-dormant Twitter account in order to follow the altDepartments (and my guilty pleasure fanfic the rogue West Wing staff), I decided to also add follows for all my various state and federal legislators (all democrats, all dudes, all white, hey-o) and the PA Senate and House Democratic Caucuses.
Holy Jesus god the world is falling down around our ears and all the state contingent can talk about is that a local state prison is closing and WHAT ABOUT THE PRISON GUARD JORBS. Tweet after fucking tweet about this shit and NOTHING about Trump's retribution against Sanctuary Cities (which impacts my city, as the mayor just reaffirmed that we will remain a Sanctuary City), nothing about the Muslim ban (because it's not like your constituents might, say, be Muslims, or refugees, or Green Card holders. It's monstrous. La la la business as usual, won't someone think of the prison guards, there's nothing else to see here.
I'm fucking furious right now. It's Saturday so I know no one has their offices staffed but I hope I get at least some working voicemail because I've got a couple of barrels to unload.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Holy Jesus god the world is falling down around our ears and all the state contingent can talk about is that a local state prison is closing and WHAT ABOUT THE PRISON GUARD JORBS. Tweet after fucking tweet about this shit and NOTHING about Trump's retribution against Sanctuary Cities (which impacts my city, as the mayor just reaffirmed that we will remain a Sanctuary City), nothing about the Muslim ban (because it's not like your constituents might, say, be Muslims, or refugees, or Green Card holders. It's monstrous. La la la business as usual, won't someone think of the prison guards, there's nothing else to see here.
I'm fucking furious right now. It's Saturday so I know no one has their offices staffed but I hope I get at least some working voicemail because I've got a couple of barrels to unload.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Uh, what on earth does a green card even mean then?
It means "we let you live here until we decided we didn't like you after all."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
It means "we let you live here until we decided we didn't like you after all."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
I think the time has come to begin organizing a General Strike.
I know full well what I am saying. I know that the collective structures any such strike depends on have been eroded in the United States practically to the point of inconsequentiality. I know that any such strike would impose real hardship on those choosing to undertake it. I know that employers might well simply use any such strike as an excuse to lean harder into offshoring or automation.
But we need to do something to put the Administration on notice that we will not allow business as usual to go on in the face of the obscene and un-American policies they seem hellbent on enacting. We need to down tools. We need to refuse to enable this atrocity. We need to stop pretending any other gesture we can make will even register. We need to get inside their OODA loop and force them onto their back feet. We need to strike.
Remember how we all felt before the Women's March last Saturday? Remember the feeling of inadequacy before the Administration's tactics of shock and awe? Do you remember how it felt like we were staring down the long perilous slide into learned helplessness, how the March changed all that? We're going to have to keep marching, keep occupying, keep striking if we're ever to remember our power. And maybe, honestly, we're going to have to keep punching Nazis.
But the experience of that March, coupled with the lessons of a long history of popular struggle before that, suggests that the most effective antidote for paralysis is not simply action but mass action. The General Strike is a mass action that is not merely proportionate to the magnitude of the calamity that has befallen the nation, but one that comes with a historical pedigree. It works. It's time. Let's make it happen.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:00 AM on January 28, 2017 [111 favorites]
I know full well what I am saying. I know that the collective structures any such strike depends on have been eroded in the United States practically to the point of inconsequentiality. I know that any such strike would impose real hardship on those choosing to undertake it. I know that employers might well simply use any such strike as an excuse to lean harder into offshoring or automation.
But we need to do something to put the Administration on notice that we will not allow business as usual to go on in the face of the obscene and un-American policies they seem hellbent on enacting. We need to down tools. We need to refuse to enable this atrocity. We need to stop pretending any other gesture we can make will even register. We need to get inside their OODA loop and force them onto their back feet. We need to strike.
Remember how we all felt before the Women's March last Saturday? Remember the feeling of inadequacy before the Administration's tactics of shock and awe? Do you remember how it felt like we were staring down the long perilous slide into learned helplessness, how the March changed all that? We're going to have to keep marching, keep occupying, keep striking if we're ever to remember our power. And maybe, honestly, we're going to have to keep punching Nazis.
But the experience of that March, coupled with the lessons of a long history of popular struggle before that, suggests that the most effective antidote for paralysis is not simply action but mass action. The General Strike is a mass action that is not merely proportionate to the magnitude of the calamity that has befallen the nation, but one that comes with a historical pedigree. It works. It's time. Let's make it happen.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:00 AM on January 28, 2017 [111 favorites]
Reading the stories this morning of refugees who already had visas being detained at airports because the EO was signed while they were in transit has absolutely ruined me. Hope cut short and lives of suffering continued.
This is so bad. It's so so bad. It's every bit and exactly as bad as I thought it would be if Trump won. He's not missing a single mark so far. And it's only just started. America is over.
posted by dis_integration at 8:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
This is so bad. It's so so bad. It's every bit and exactly as bad as I thought it would be if Trump won. He's not missing a single mark so far. And it's only just started. America is over.
posted by dis_integration at 8:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
……….wtf
@KellyannePolls
Get used to it. @POTUS is a man of action and impact.
Promises made, promises kept.
Shock to the system.
And he's just getting started
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@KellyannePolls
Get used to it. @POTUS is a man of action and impact.
Promises made, promises kept.
Shock to the system.
And he's just getting started
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Will green card holders from the banned countries be deported, if they're presently in the US?
posted by Coventry at 8:06 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by Coventry at 8:06 AM on January 28, 2017
Dutch airline company KLM refused 7 passengers to board on a flight to the US because of the new muslim ban. They said they had no choice but come on, that makes no sense, does it? Couldn't they have continued as normal, until more was clear on how to proceed? I don't expect activism from a company like KLM, but this feels so very similar to how in WWII Dutch companies (including the national railroad company) were all to eager to work with and for the Nazi's.
I understand that there's a good chance that those passengers would be stopped from entering the country by customs officials in the US anyway, but still, that's a step further, they are on US soil then, they have a chance that a customs official finds a reason to let them in, and if they don't, it's way clearer who's doing the harm, unlike when companies around the world are doing Trump's work for him.
posted by blub at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I understand that there's a good chance that those passengers would be stopped from entering the country by customs officials in the US anyway, but still, that's a step further, they are on US soil then, they have a chance that a customs official finds a reason to let them in, and if they don't, it's way clearer who's doing the harm, unlike when companies around the world are doing Trump's work for him.
posted by blub at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'd get behind a General Strike if it looked like it were going to be successful, but I've never seen one that was, and in the end they seem like one of those things that's a little embarassing and people just shrug off. I think the mass action I can get behind a lot more is coordinated work toward electoral change in 2018 to take back Congress and use it as a giant stonewall. It's not enough but it would be huge, and effective, and more than symbolic.
posted by Miko at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Miko at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Are there any funds set up to help people stranded abroad by this EO with their immediate expenses? e.g. hotels
posted by airmail at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by airmail at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Do legislators think they get fucking weekends still? Now is not the time for tweeting platitudes over brunch. Dem legislators at all levels need to be out in the street or at the airport or demanding an emergency session or something. This is it. This is the part where you have to resist. This is what fascism looks like. No more fucking decorum, Senators. It's time to raise hell. WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
posted by melissasaurus at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [77 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [77 favorites]
This is so bad. It's so so bad. It's every bit and exactly as bad as I thought it would be if Trump won. He's not missing a single mark so far. And it's only just started. America is over.
I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit of a broken record on this from here on in, so forgive me for that. But quite simply: no. We have a tool. We have tools. We have our labor power. We can withdraw that power. We can bring the beast to its knees, together. We can make change. America, if we want it, is just getting started.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit of a broken record on this from here on in, so forgive me for that. But quite simply: no. We have a tool. We have tools. We have our labor power. We can withdraw that power. We can bring the beast to its knees, together. We can make change. America, if we want it, is just getting started.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
I think the time has come to begin organizing a General Strike.
It might be more effective to work to make a political party illegal. How many of the people in office would be in office due to their good works VS having a D or R after their name?
And it would be a direct threat to the representatives. VS a slow line at the coffee shop due to a few workers not showing up.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
It might be more effective to work to make a political party illegal. How many of the people in office would be in office due to their good works VS having a D or R after their name?
And it would be a direct threat to the representatives. VS a slow line at the coffee shop due to a few workers not showing up.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Will green card holders from the banned countries be deported, if they're presently in the US.Who the fuck knows. They haven't indicated that they're going to do that, and it would be a complete nightmare to enforce, but I don't think anyone knows what's going to happen.
I think we should assume that a Muslim registry is coming, though, given Trump's apparent insistence on fulfilling all his loopy campaign promises.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
This all just gives white people and cops another way to fuck with people of color. Any time you want to make life hard for a neighbor, you just call in a "complaint" about a person who looks sort of like them and wait for the cops to come and papers-please them. And as to cops, any time they're bored or feeling frustrated, it's time for an immigration status check.
Well, that's a huge swath of my family then. My grandmother doesn't speak English, is one of the nicest little old ladies you'll ever meet, but this sort of shit signals that if any of her white neighbours voted for Trump, she might have a problem.
posted by Kitteh at 8:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well, that's a huge swath of my family then. My grandmother doesn't speak English, is one of the nicest little old ladies you'll ever meet, but this sort of shit signals that if any of her white neighbours voted for Trump, she might have a problem.
posted by Kitteh at 8:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
I think what we're all realizing is that we don't actually have any. We have to be our own leaders. Organize locally, act boldly.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
I think what we're all realizing is that we don't actually have any. We have to be our own leaders. Organize locally, act boldly.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
I really think that Senators should be at the airports demanding that the refugees and visa holders get access to legal counsel and they should refuse to leave until they're arrested. We need sitting legislators getting arrested over this.
posted by melissasaurus at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
I'd get behind a General Strike if it looked like it were going to be successful, but I've never seen one that was, and in the end they seem like one of those things that's a little embarassing and people just shrug off.
I'm not going to grind this axe (here), but seriously, if not now, when? Look at the coalition Donald Trump is assembling for us — look at all the constituencies he's insulted, look especially at how he makes common cause between people with nothing else in common.
This is a moment like no other in my lifetime. This feels like a moment we need to reach deep into the set of tools we've evolved over the past few thousand years of trying to be civilized, and remember that the power has always been ours.
I know that in many ways, you're not wrong. I know it's been near a hundred years since this idea had any currency at all, outside circles already primed to be receptive to it and enthusiastic about its odds of success. But I ask again: if not now, when?
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'm not going to grind this axe (here), but seriously, if not now, when? Look at the coalition Donald Trump is assembling for us — look at all the constituencies he's insulted, look especially at how he makes common cause between people with nothing else in common.
This is a moment like no other in my lifetime. This feels like a moment we need to reach deep into the set of tools we've evolved over the past few thousand years of trying to be civilized, and remember that the power has always been ours.
I know that in many ways, you're not wrong. I know it's been near a hundred years since this idea had any currency at all, outside circles already primed to be receptive to it and enthusiastic about its odds of success. But I ask again: if not now, when?
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
They ain't been the citizen's 'leaders' for a long time.
If this quote was actually true “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” - Benito Mussolini it could be said that the US of A isn't becoming Fascist.....its been there for some time.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
They ain't been the citizen's 'leaders' for a long time.
If this quote was actually true “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” - Benito Mussolini it could be said that the US of A isn't becoming Fascist.....its been there for some time.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
Let's be saying that directly to them, not each other. And yes: get involved with your local and state politics. That's where this starts happening. There are some Dems doing a good job, others still phoning it in. I think a lot of them don't quite realize (a) how much we have their back and (b) how little patience we have for business as usual. If we don't like what they're doing, we can and will replace them - if we stay focused and engaged.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
posted by Miko at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
Let's be saying that directly to them, not each other. And yes: get involved with your local and state politics. That's where this starts happening. There are some Dems doing a good job, others still phoning it in. I think a lot of them don't quite realize (a) how much we have their back and (b) how little patience we have for business as usual. If we don't like what they're doing, we can and will replace them - if we stay focused and engaged.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
posted by Miko at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
I'm wondering if it makes sense to crowd-fund application fees for green card holders who want to become citizens and don't currently have the $700. I'm also a little worried that vulnerable people might be turned down if they applied for citizenship and that calling attention to themselves might not be safe. It terrifies me that I'm thinking this way.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm not going to grind this axe (here), but seriously, if not now, when? Look at the coalition Donald Trump is assembling for us — look at all the constituencies he's insulted, look especially at how he makes common cause between people with nothing else in common.
Yeah, but he did it through messaging, and he's riding on an existing Right infrastructure that's been effective through local, small-group organizing and electoral activity coordinated over decades. I really love visibility too, but at the same time, I think maybe the left's love of theatre is a little distracting when the differences really get made in the legislative and electoral processes. If we could apply more of our energy and creativity to that, well, not only would we not have even been in this situation, but going forward, we won't have to return to this situation.
posted by Miko at 8:18 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yeah, but he did it through messaging, and he's riding on an existing Right infrastructure that's been effective through local, small-group organizing and electoral activity coordinated over decades. I really love visibility too, but at the same time, I think maybe the left's love of theatre is a little distracting when the differences really get made in the legislative and electoral processes. If we could apply more of our energy and creativity to that, well, not only would we not have even been in this situation, but going forward, we won't have to return to this situation.
posted by Miko at 8:18 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Couldn't they have continued as normal, until more was clear on how to proceed? I don't expect activism from a company like KLM, but this feels so very similar to how in WWII Dutch companies (including the national railroad company) were all to eager to work with and for the Nazi's.
The airlines submit manifests to the CBP. The CBP gives final yay or nay on whether a passenger can board.
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The airlines submit manifests to the CBP. The CBP gives final yay or nay on whether a passenger can board.
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
And you thought Meryl Streep had it going on...wait until most of the winners start saying something.
I do concur with Miko that some folks really can't go without the paycheck to strike, and what showbiz_liz said over here. I certainly don't feel secure enough in my employment to go on strike.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
And you thought Meryl Streep had it going on...wait until most of the winners start saying something.
I do concur with Miko that some folks really can't go without the paycheck to strike, and what showbiz_liz said over here. I certainly don't feel secure enough in my employment to go on strike.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
My mother's family immigrated to the U.S. when she was 6 in 1930, because of the German economy (my grandfather had lost his business and they had to start over from scratch). Of course, at the time, they were considered (by racists) to be "good" "white" immigrants, being from Germany. That changed of course during World War II, though they were not interned like the Japanese-Americans. But, I know first hand what it means to be an immigrant in America from a country at war with the U.S., and us closing the door to people who desperately need a new home is hitting me hard.
I wonder if Trump even realizes that Steve Jobs was born in California, but he was actually adopted, and his biological father was a Muslim immigrant originally from the Syrian city of Homs. ... But by all means, ban the Syrians, because what could they contribute to America?
posted by gudrun at 8:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
I wonder if Trump even realizes that Steve Jobs was born in California, but he was actually adopted, and his biological father was a Muslim immigrant originally from the Syrian city of Homs. ... But by all means, ban the Syrians, because what could they contribute to America?
posted by gudrun at 8:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
The airline pays a fee and eats the cost of returning the passenger.
posted by jaduncan at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The airline pays a fee and eats the cost of returning the passenger.
posted by jaduncan at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm wondering if it makes sense to crowd-fund application fees for green card holders who want to become citizens and don't currently have the $700.
It may not be in the best interests of brown people to become US citizens. Becoming a US citizen means your home country can't make an international incident out of fascist shit that happens to you.
posted by Talez at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
It may not be in the best interests of brown people to become US citizens. Becoming a US citizen means your home country can't make an international incident out of fascist shit that happens to you.
posted by Talez at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I really love visibility too, but at the same time, I think maybe the left's love of theatre is a little distracting when the differences really get made in the legislative and electoral processes.
I don't think these things are mutually exclusive. We each of us need to work in the way that's authentic to us. I wish you all of the luck there is.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I don't think these things are mutually exclusive. We each of us need to work in the way that's authentic to us. I wish you all of the luck there is.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The airline pays a fee and eats the cost of returning the passenger.
That's if the person is found inadmissible at the port of entry (i.e. the border officer suspects intent to immigrate on a NIV). Sending over a person who CBP have explicitly instructed the airline not to let board is an entirely different level of stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017
That's if the person is found inadmissible at the port of entry (i.e. the border officer suspects intent to immigrate on a NIV). Sending over a person who CBP have explicitly instructed the airline not to let board is an entirely different level of stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017
Unless we can figure out some way of mass-pressuring our D representatives to force them into action, we will see zero bravery from them until something even more shocking than this happens. I'm talking blood-in-the streets shocking, iconic-footage-everywhere-you-look shocking. It'll be terrible, and it will happen soon enough somewhere somehow. The questions then will be 1) how much reaction it provokes from elected Democrats even then and 2) how much agency we still have to express our will and induce action from them.
Remember that the crazy stuff still hasn't happened.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Remember that the crazy stuff still hasn't happened.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Talking about organizing: this post on one of the Action Together groups got my attention. Frustratingly, I can't find the original source of it, so it's always possible it's just made up - but I've seen enough of this stuff that I don't think it's too far off, and either way it's food for thought.
posted by Miko at 8:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
A VIEW FROM THE INSIDE OF THE OTHER SIDEThis was followed by a bunch of recommendations which are the type of thing you've seen already. But I think we really need to pay attention and think about what effective organizing looks like. Unions did this a ton in the first half of the 20th century, and despite strikes and protests, this level of organizing is really how they won. it's also how Obama won in 2008. I'd like us all to get a lot smarter about using the system and being structured and focused in the way we organize to do things that have an impact, beyond making a statement.
Last night I attended a Pro-President “little d” meeting. My summary will be a bit long, however, I want to pass on what we learned. In the art of war it is always advised to know what your enemy is doing, that is why there are spies. Two of the groups I’m involved with have a committee that is subscribed to little d’s supporters newsletters, are members of various FB groups (with specially created profiles) and are on his mailing list for updates.
Last night 3 of us went to a group meeting. Two women and one man. What we saw and heard was both scary and informative. The meeting was led by 5 men and we counted approximately 70 people in the room including us. We counted 13 women.
They started the meeting with a pledge of allegiance to the flag. Then they jumped into discussions, the first being the Marches. It was a lot of WTF and why don’t they just shut up. They discussed the report that there were no arrests so that meant that the police and the media were lying. The leader(s) then gave them an “action item” to find anything to dispute the no arrests report and to put pressure on the police to arrest protestors. Several people in the group admitted to being at the March to try to interfere, but felt they were bullied by the Marchers and had to stop “for their own safety” (actual quote). They questioned why so many people “got away with it” (Marching). It seemed to be a hot point with them.
They moved on to reports from the teams. They have teams and committees with specific tasks, ie: daily phone calls and collect tally’s of who makes phone calls to their Reps. It appears they call throughout the day, and each call is either a different issue or their personal favorite.
They have a team who monitor the public blogs and event postings of the Liberal groups (specifically mentioned Indivisible and MoveOn.) They laughed at the Indivisible Guide when one leader said “the Liberals will never get organized and carry any of this out, the snowflakes give up too easily, a little heat and they melt”. They talked about the “visit your representatives office event” that was planned for earlier in the day which was posted on MoveOn and all over FB. They also were at their reps offices, and a handful admitted to going to the Democratic representatives office in their own district to have their voice counted.
They have a team who spies on FB posts. When the man who was with us asked how to do it, he was told that if he was a member of Pantsuit Nation it’s almost an automatic in into most closed groups, and then once you are in one, you can get invited to others. Someone on their team joins all the public and open groups. Their report included reading a few actual posts, in a mimic whining voice, where the members were posting their concerns and frustrations and why bother. They actually cheered this. One leader applauded the report and said, “we don’t care if they like what we have to say, we don’t need them to agree with us. We just need them to give up, shut up and stay out of our way.”
They discussed some of the issues and the recent signed orders from the WH. Some of this discussion sounded intelligent, as if they had researched not only the issue, but how to present it to get the buy-in from the group. It felt to us like a persuasion/programming tactic.
They broke into their teams and anyone not on a team was asked to choose one to sit in on. We each went to a different team. Each team talked about their mission and their strategy. The phone team assigned times for each phone call and a number to text after you called. They practiced scripts. The Anti-Abortion team talked about how to plan protests at PP and other clinics, to find the names of Doctors who perform abortions and out them by protesting at their offices and clinics. The communications team discussed the content of their newsletter, the content they were borrowing from other newsletters and articles from Brietbart that they wanted to circulate. We didn’t get the names of the other teams that we didn’t sit in on but there were 4 others.
We found out that this group used to be a young republican group and after the election and seeing the actions of the Liberals, they changed to a support little d group to stand up for him and against Liberals.
I don’t believe all groups are this scary, however, they appear to be organized. One of the members in one of my groups, changed her registration to Republican so she could see what they do from the inside. She gets phone calls from a phone bank,sometimes several times a week, about issues and actions she should take, she gets their weekly newsletter and she attended a local Rep meeting. Her report is similar only in that they are very organized, take daily actions and communicate often.
So knowing this, what do we do?
posted by Miko at 8:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Whip and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, released the following statement:
“History will judge where America’s leaders stood today," said Durbin. “Faced with the humanitarian crisis of our time, the United States cannot turn its back on children fleeing persecution, genocide, and terror. During the Holocaust we failed to fulfill to our duty to humanity. We cannot allow mindless fear to lead us into another regretful chapter in our history.”
Dick Durbin is one of my senators. I'm in the process of leaving VMs at each of his offices asking him to release specifics on how he's planning on putting this message into action.
posted by bookmammal at 8:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
“History will judge where America’s leaders stood today," said Durbin. “Faced with the humanitarian crisis of our time, the United States cannot turn its back on children fleeing persecution, genocide, and terror. During the Holocaust we failed to fulfill to our duty to humanity. We cannot allow mindless fear to lead us into another regretful chapter in our history.”
Dick Durbin is one of my senators. I'm in the process of leaving VMs at each of his offices asking him to release specifics on how he's planning on putting this message into action.
posted by bookmammal at 8:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
We each of us need to work in the way that's authentic to us.
I agree, but work without a theory of change, work without effect, is wasted. We've done too much of that kind of work and not enough of the other. You can use theatrical tactics in electoral and legislative campaigns, but if they aren't connected to an agenda for change with acts and impacts, it's all to easy for the results to be dissipated. I just don't think we have time for more generalized demonstrations. Damage limitation means legal and legislative constraints as well as direct monkeywrenching in the attempts to implement new systems. Action with direct and immediate consequences.
posted by Miko at 8:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I agree, but work without a theory of change, work without effect, is wasted. We've done too much of that kind of work and not enough of the other. You can use theatrical tactics in electoral and legislative campaigns, but if they aren't connected to an agenda for change with acts and impacts, it's all to easy for the results to be dissipated. I just don't think we have time for more generalized demonstrations. Damage limitation means legal and legislative constraints as well as direct monkeywrenching in the attempts to implement new systems. Action with direct and immediate consequences.
posted by Miko at 8:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
@hannahgais:
Don't forget: you can thank Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, and that New Atheist clan for making Islamophobia seem hip, cool, and rational.
posted by chris24 at 8:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [63 favorites]
Don't forget: you can thank Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, and that New Atheist clan for making Islamophobia seem hip, cool, and rational.
posted by chris24 at 8:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [63 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
Let the elected Dems work the back rooms if they can, undermine Trump's support among Republicans and within institutions. That's where their power is. And the rest of us... let those who can strike, strike. Let those who can march, march. Let those who can write or make art, write and make art. Let's use every tool we have at our disposal.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:35 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Let the elected Dems work the back rooms if they can, undermine Trump's support among Republicans and within institutions. That's where their power is. And the rest of us... let those who can strike, strike. Let those who can march, march. Let those who can write or make art, write and make art. Let's use every tool we have at our disposal.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:35 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
You can use theatrical tactics in electoral and legislative campaigns
I don't, in the slightest, intend anything I am arguing as theater.
If it weren't you saying this, Miko, I'd even perhaps be offended at the dismissiveness of characterizing it that way. I don't believe I'm dismissing the action you believe in, and I'd appreciate a similar extension of goodwill.
Believe me when I say there is a theory of change underneath everything I say, as well as hardknuckled realism and a fair amount of experience with the frustrations of organizing on the left. I wouldn't be going out on a limb like this if I didn't think it was justified and more than justified.
And again, I see no contradiction between your allocation of energy and mine. I wish you nothing but success.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:38 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't, in the slightest, intend anything I am arguing as theater.
If it weren't you saying this, Miko, I'd even perhaps be offended at the dismissiveness of characterizing it that way. I don't believe I'm dismissing the action you believe in, and I'd appreciate a similar extension of goodwill.
Believe me when I say there is a theory of change underneath everything I say, as well as hardknuckled realism and a fair amount of experience with the frustrations of organizing on the left. I wouldn't be going out on a limb like this if I didn't think it was justified and more than justified.
And again, I see no contradiction between your allocation of energy and mine. I wish you nothing but success.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:38 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
At the very least, I literally expect them to be standing on soap boxes on the street corner screaming Fascism is here, rise up and join in our fight, brothers and sisters. That would be actually appropriate. Taking the weekend off is not.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
At the very least, I literally expect them to be standing on soap boxes on the street corner screaming Fascism is here, rise up and join in our fight, brothers and sisters. That would be actually appropriate. Taking the weekend off is not.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
With Trump, it's probably one of those pens with a lady whose clothes vanish
You're ruining my childhood. Don't let your next comment be about Nat Geo Magazine.
posted by srboisvert at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
You're ruining my childhood. Don't let your next comment be about Nat Geo Magazine.
posted by srboisvert at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
More info attatched to the tweet.
tweet: TAKE ACTION: #NYC head to #JFK #T4 arrivals for a rapid response protest NOW! #NoBanNoWall #MuslimBan #Resist
posted by Jalliah at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
tweet: TAKE ACTION: #NYC head to #JFK #T4 arrivals for a rapid response protest NOW! #NoBanNoWall #MuslimBan #Resist
posted by Jalliah at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Let the elected Dems work the back rooms if they can, undermine Trump's support among Republicans and within institutions.
Yes, I'm sure the results of such 11th dimensional chess will be yuge. It'll result in SO much winning you'll get sick of all the winning.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yes, I'm sure the results of such 11th dimensional chess will be yuge. It'll result in SO much winning you'll get sick of all the winning.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'd get behind a General Strike if it looked like it were going to be successful, but I've never seen one that was, and in the end they seem like one of those things that's a little embarassing and people just shrug off. I think the mass action I can get behind a lot more is coordinated work toward electoral change in 2018 to take back Congress and use it as a giant stonewall. It's not enough but it would be huge, and effective, and more than symbolic.
Jesus Christ. The political process is broken. A major element of the Republican strategy, which has been wildly successful, has won them two of the last four presidential elections, and has produced a virtually election-proof majority in the House, is and has been voter disenfranchisement. And all arms of the federal government are very publicly acting to accelerate that. If you still think there are going to be elections in 2018 that mean anything, I don't know what to tell you. You can't use a broken system to fix that very same broken system. People in streets is what's called for.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
Excuse me, but without massive, disruptive protests, your proposed strategy is suited exactly to the advantaged.
I don't mean to be unkind. But you don't seem to be dealing with reality on its manifest terms in this matter.
You want to know what political strategies will work? Study the end of the Gilded Age. But don't ever, ever forget that it was people exercising their own agency to rebel against injustice and disrupt business as usual that forced the needed political change.
posted by perspicio at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
Jesus Christ. The political process is broken. A major element of the Republican strategy, which has been wildly successful, has won them two of the last four presidential elections, and has produced a virtually election-proof majority in the House, is and has been voter disenfranchisement. And all arms of the federal government are very publicly acting to accelerate that. If you still think there are going to be elections in 2018 that mean anything, I don't know what to tell you. You can't use a broken system to fix that very same broken system. People in streets is what's called for.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
Excuse me, but without massive, disruptive protests, your proposed strategy is suited exactly to the advantaged.
I don't mean to be unkind. But you don't seem to be dealing with reality on its manifest terms in this matter.
You want to know what political strategies will work? Study the end of the Gilded Age. But don't ever, ever forget that it was people exercising their own agency to rebel against injustice and disrupt business as usual that forced the needed political change.
posted by perspicio at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO?
I'd really like to hear from more of them that they are WITH us. There are a few speaking forcefully but by and large it's just a bunch of mealy-mouthed bs. A few of our local reps have started reaching out to the grassroots, but not nearly enough, and not nearly fast enough. We feel abandoned. We feel like there's no plan, no leadership, and that none of these people actually give too much of a shit. Those Trumpers in the report up above didn't just spontaneously generate, complete with call lists and the technology to track the calls. That came from RNC leadership.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
I'd really like to hear from more of them that they are WITH us. There are a few speaking forcefully but by and large it's just a bunch of mealy-mouthed bs. A few of our local reps have started reaching out to the grassroots, but not nearly enough, and not nearly fast enough. We feel abandoned. We feel like there's no plan, no leadership, and that none of these people actually give too much of a shit. Those Trumpers in the report up above didn't just spontaneously generate, complete with call lists and the technology to track the calls. That came from RNC leadership.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Remember that the crazy stuff still hasn't happened.
That's probably the only reason I haven't started losing my shit: I'm just waiting for the (redacted so mods don't delete this) to start. Compared to the horrors playing in my head, this current shit is nothing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
That's probably the only reason I haven't started losing my shit: I'm just waiting for the (redacted so mods don't delete this) to start. Compared to the horrors playing in my head, this current shit is nothing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
Go on...
posted by dis_integration at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
Go on...
posted by dis_integration at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
We all now need to factor in whether there will be an executive order issued while we are out of country that will result in our cats starving to death.
posted by srboisvert at 8:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
We all now need to factor in whether there will be an executive order issued while we are out of country that will result in our cats starving to death.
posted by srboisvert at 8:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
won them two of the last four presidential elections
Really, three of the last five. And given them two of the last three presidents.
posted by perspicio at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Really, three of the last five. And given them two of the last three presidents.
posted by perspicio at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Every executive order, every piece of legislation, every rule decree needs a swarm of bright legal types to disassemble it and throw roadblocks up everywhere they can as soon as they can.
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
Get 1,000 suits going all over to test the legality of executive orders and their scope. Make this whole thing a fucking legal morass.
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
Make Trump et al. do what they ultimately want, which is declare martial law. Make them do stuff which will prevent other countries from trading with us due to their own rules. Make Bannon and Co. drop any pretense and just get on with it, and then see how mom-in-law likes it when there is no football because no one is legally eligible to play the game under various executive orders.
posted by maxwelton at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
Get 1,000 suits going all over to test the legality of executive orders and their scope. Make this whole thing a fucking legal morass.
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
Make Trump et al. do what they ultimately want, which is declare martial law. Make them do stuff which will prevent other countries from trading with us due to their own rules. Make Bannon and Co. drop any pretense and just get on with it, and then see how mom-in-law likes it when there is no football because no one is legally eligible to play the game under various executive orders.
posted by maxwelton at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Legal cases on the ban have started. (I keep reading that a large portion of the EO is illegal)
Here's one from the ACLU:
PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
I like seeing under the defendants list:
Donald Trump, President of the United States.
I hope this happens a tremendous amount of times. Huge numbers.
posted by Jalliah at 8:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [73 favorites]
WashPo: The leaks coming out of the Trump White House cast the president as a clueless child
posted by peeedro at 8:48 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 8:48 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Forward this along to all of your fundie friends: "I was a stranger and you did not welcome me". Father James Martin, S.J., on our Biblical obligations to offer refuge:
“Today,” St. John Paul II said, “the illegal migrant comes before us like that ‘stranger’ in whom Jesus asks to be recognized. To welcome him and to show him solidarity is a duty of hospitality and fidelity to Christian identity itself.”
So, reject these measures and welcome Christ. Call your local legislators and tell them to care for Christ. Write to the White House and ask them to protect Christ. Show up at town hall meetings and advocate for Christ. And pray for our brothers and sisters who are refugees and migrants.
Because if you do not, and you reject Christ, then it is their prayers that you will need.
posted by TwoStride at 8:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
“Today,” St. John Paul II said, “the illegal migrant comes before us like that ‘stranger’ in whom Jesus asks to be recognized. To welcome him and to show him solidarity is a duty of hospitality and fidelity to Christian identity itself.”
So, reject these measures and welcome Christ. Call your local legislators and tell them to care for Christ. Write to the White House and ask them to protect Christ. Show up at town hall meetings and advocate for Christ. And pray for our brothers and sisters who are refugees and migrants.
Because if you do not, and you reject Christ, then it is their prayers that you will need.
posted by TwoStride at 8:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
It's worth noting that the EO from Wednesday mandates throwing out green card holders for any crime, or even if an immigration official doesn't like the look of you.
posted by Coventry at 8:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
It's worth noting that the EO from Wednesday mandates throwing out green card holders for any crime, or even if an immigration official doesn't like the look of you.
posted by Coventry at 8:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think that mass protest is the best thing right now, because it make the worse stuff less likely. Something to think about: even the worst and most monstrous political actions take people and material and time. This is a very large country which is very spread out and which has a lot of jurisdictions. Martial law and state violence in the street will be much harder to conduct here than in a small country - or even a large country like Russia which already has the infrastructure. We have a large prison system and some history of political police, but we don't have a hundred years of mass imprisonment and murder of dissidents, or a system of street by street oversight and enforcement.
Right now, everything they've done requires relatively little enforcement or else is going to be massively litigated before it can start. The one thing we can all do is commit to making enough trouble now now now that it becomes obvious that martial law, mass imprisonment, etc, will be very, very difficult. "No matter who they vote for, we are ungovernable" is a useful slogan.
posted by Frowner at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Right now, everything they've done requires relatively little enforcement or else is going to be massively litigated before it can start. The one thing we can all do is commit to making enough trouble now now now that it becomes obvious that martial law, mass imprisonment, etc, will be very, very difficult. "No matter who they vote for, we are ungovernable" is a useful slogan.
posted by Frowner at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
You want to know what political strategies will work? Study the end of the Gilded Age. But don't ever, ever forget that it was people exercising their own agency to rebel against injustice and disrupt business as usual that forced the needed political change.
Such assumes you have a need for workers. The new age of robotics will result in less workers being needed. Just like drones have translated to less people to act as a 'bullet sponge' and furthers a lack of concern about the present WW III moving onto WW IV.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Such assumes you have a need for workers. The new age of robotics will result in less workers being needed. Just like drones have translated to less people to act as a 'bullet sponge' and furthers a lack of concern about the present WW III moving onto WW IV.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Protest at JFK from 2:00 to 7:00 today, if you couldn't get to the one at 11:00.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Every executive order, every piece of legislation, every rule decree needs a swarm of bright legal types to disassemble it and throw roadblocks up everywhere they can as soon as they can.
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
I've been reading some analysis on the EOs that came out this week and the conclusion seems to be that for a lot of them they're crap when it comes to implementing what they say they want. They are full of illegal things, things that can't be done easily, and they lack a coherent understanding of how the government works.
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
posted by Jalliah at 8:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
I've been reading some analysis on the EOs that came out this week and the conclusion seems to be that for a lot of them they're crap when it comes to implementing what they say they want. They are full of illegal things, things that can't be done easily, and they lack a coherent understanding of how the government works.
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
posted by Jalliah at 8:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'm fucking shaking with rage right now, and I need to have another go at this:
Have you been paying attention at all to what the most vulnerable people have been crying out for from the privileged? Since forever? They have been begging for the advantaged to stand with them! Not to withdraw into abstractions.
If you want to help them, help them! Maybe that means hitting the streets, maybe it means diverting some privileged income to help those who are casting their body ballots in the streets. And, yes, maybe it means working for political change.
But it goddamned well doesn't mean discouraging direct action.
posted by perspicio at 8:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.Oh, soo unfair!
Have you been paying attention at all to what the most vulnerable people have been crying out for from the privileged? Since forever? They have been begging for the advantaged to stand with them! Not to withdraw into abstractions.
If you want to help them, help them! Maybe that means hitting the streets, maybe it means diverting some privileged income to help those who are casting their body ballots in the streets. And, yes, maybe it means working for political change.
But it goddamned well doesn't mean discouraging direct action.
posted by perspicio at 8:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
I hope this happens a tremendous amount of times.
"Donald Trump, Defendant and President of the United States."
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
"Donald Trump, Defendant and President of the United States."
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
like, as a bare minimum
posted by indubitable at 9:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [93 favorites]
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
like, as a bare minimum
posted by indubitable at 9:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [93 favorites]
Now I'm seeing stuff on twitter that says GC holders are being let back in. Here and here for example. No one seems to know what the fuck is going on.
It seems that less savoury CBP officers are using the confusion to bring their personal beliefs and prejudices into the admission process for LPRs. This is despite the fact that LPRs are not technically seeking admission. The CBP officers are doing something that's blatantly illegal.
So now we have some people paying thousands because getting back into the country is coming down to a CBP crapshoot.
posted by Talez at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
It seems that less savoury CBP officers are using the confusion to bring their personal beliefs and prejudices into the admission process for LPRs. This is despite the fact that LPRs are not technically seeking admission. The CBP officers are doing something that's blatantly illegal.
So now we have some people paying thousands because getting back into the country is coming down to a CBP crapshoot.
posted by Talez at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
@aayoub: "It will bar green card holders," Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said in an email.
Utter clusterfuck.
posted by argonauta at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Utter clusterfuck.
posted by argonauta at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Question for those more steeped in the history of US international relations: what other times in our history has mere *entry* from a foreign nation been banned? I've been trying to dig up some information on that and I'm seeing all sorts of immigration restrictions, but nothing this blanket.
posted by jammer at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jammer at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Now I'm seeing stuff on twitter that says GC holders are being let back in. Here and here for example. No one seems to know what the fuck is going on.
Yes because this EO is crap and largely illegal. So it comes out, memos are sent from on high, people on the ground are expected to OBEY cause you know its the Whitehouse so they do. Then people who know how things they're crap start going WTF they're crap you can't do this, cause crap, illegal! and it's one big muddle of confusion.
Was it done purposely to make confusion and chaos, did they know exactly what was going to happen, like have an actual understand of how systems work? Or is this people on high thinking thinking they have the best minds, I shall decree and it all will go swimmingly.
I really have no idea which one it is with this admin. Arguments can easily be made supporting both points of view.
posted by Jalliah at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Yes because this EO is crap and largely illegal. So it comes out, memos are sent from on high, people on the ground are expected to OBEY cause you know its the Whitehouse so they do. Then people who know how things they're crap start going WTF they're crap you can't do this, cause crap, illegal! and it's one big muddle of confusion.
Was it done purposely to make confusion and chaos, did they know exactly what was going to happen, like have an actual understand of how systems work? Or is this people on high thinking thinking they have the best minds, I shall decree and it all will go swimmingly.
I really have no idea which one it is with this admin. Arguments can easily be made supporting both points of view.
posted by Jalliah at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
A few disjointed thoughts:
-Didn't massive strikes work in South Korea a few months ago? The citizens pretty much Rosen up and the president resigned?
-I have decided the Fox News bubble, KoolAid drinking, blindly adoring Trump people are *that guy* from The Matrix who sold out the rest of the resistance so he could go back inside and live in blissful ignorance.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
-Didn't massive strikes work in South Korea a few months ago? The citizens pretty much Rosen up and the president resigned?
-I have decided the Fox News bubble, KoolAid drinking, blindly adoring Trump people are *that guy* from The Matrix who sold out the rest of the resistance so he could go back inside and live in blissful ignorance.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
A Habeas is the "great writ" - ANYONE should be able to walk into ANY ongoing court case and make the demand. And at the next break your writ should get heard.
(OF course such "uppity" demanding of rights by soldiers returning from WWII is why the 1946 change in the rules to access to federal grand juries were changed.)
posted by rough ashlar at 9:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
A Habeas is the "great writ" - ANYONE should be able to walk into ANY ongoing court case and make the demand. And at the next break your writ should get heard.
(OF course such "uppity" demanding of rights by soldiers returning from WWII is why the 1946 change in the rules to access to federal grand juries were changed.)
posted by rough ashlar at 9:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Please stop misleading people about the law. Seriously, the reality you inhabit is your own (WWIII is upon us! Theta waves!) and it would be nice for some of the other lawyers around here to speak up.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Question for those more steeped in the history of US international relations: what other times in our history has mere *entry* from a foreign nation been banned? I've been trying to dig up some information on that and I'm seeing all sorts of immigration restrictions, but nothing this blanket.
Not steeped, but have you seen this article yet? It covers a lot of history and legislation.
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
and an earlier one: Trump’s Ban on Immigration from Certain Countries Is Illegal
posted by Jalliah at 9:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Not steeped, but have you seen this article yet? It covers a lot of history and legislation.
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
and an earlier one: Trump’s Ban on Immigration from Certain Countries Is Illegal
posted by Jalliah at 9:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
High five to the WaPo for that (!) after Jeb in the article peedro linked to upthread.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
@BraddJaffy: Trump is on the phone with Putin right now — surrounded by Pence, Priebus, Bannon and Flynn (photo via Spicer)
posted by argonauta at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
A great site for tracking your senator's cabinet voting record
posted by dis_integration at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
A great site for tracking your senator's cabinet voting record
posted by dis_integration at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Please stop misleading people about the law. Seriously, the reality you inhabit is your own (WWIII is upon us! Theta waves!) and it would be nice for some of the other lawyers around here to speak up.
It's not misleading if it's just relating what actual lawyers and people who work with these types of things are saying.
posted by Jalliah at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's not misleading if it's just relating what actual lawyers and people who work with these types of things are saying.
posted by Jalliah at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been reading some analysis on the EOs that came out this week and the conclusion seems to be that for a lot of them they're crap when it comes to implementing what they say they want. They are full of illegal things, things that can't be done easily, and they lack a coherent understanding of how the government works.
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
So really they are Executive Ejaculations.
posted by srboisvert at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
So really they are Executive Ejaculations.
posted by srboisvert at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
Just what I was looking for, Jalliah, thanks!
posted by jammer at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Just what I was looking for, Jalliah, thanks!
posted by jammer at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hillary is a lot more resilient than me. If I was her I'd be home at Chappaqua just weeping while getting trashed on bourbon and, when that runs out, Listerine.
posted by Talez at 9:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Talez at 9:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
rough ashlar, many of the claims you make are false. It would be very helpful for people reading you if you could provide citations for future claims, and it would also bolster your accuracy and credibility.
posted by Coventry at 9:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Coventry at 9:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
A great site for tracking your senator's cabinet voting record
I tried doing this by going to senate.gov and looking up votes when I heard about Elizabeth Warren voting for Ben Carson in committee, but they don't seem to publish committee votes. Does anyone else know where to find records of committee votes? The individual committee web pages seem to be just press release fluff.
posted by indubitable at 9:18 AM on January 28, 2017
I tried doing this by going to senate.gov and looking up votes when I heard about Elizabeth Warren voting for Ben Carson in committee, but they don't seem to publish committee votes. Does anyone else know where to find records of committee votes? The individual committee web pages seem to be just press release fluff.
posted by indubitable at 9:18 AM on January 28, 2017
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO?
I would like to see most of their words at least match Republican Evan Fucking McMullin who has formed a new conservative group to fight. This seems like a pretty low bar.
posted by bongo_x at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
I would like to see most of their words at least match Republican Evan Fucking McMullin who has formed a new conservative group to fight. This seems like a pretty low bar.
posted by bongo_x at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
When you are out in the streets, demonstrating and marching and protesting, protect yourselves. It only takes a couple of idiots -- who may have nothing to do with your group -- to trigger a vile response. Sometimes not even that. Stay prepared, smart and safe.
If you find yourself in a crackdown and your group is doing nothing wrong, cameras high. Let the world play witness. Be assertive, not violent. Panic is contagious, but calm and courage can be too. Good luck.
posted by delfin at 9:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
If you find yourself in a crackdown and your group is doing nothing wrong, cameras high. Let the world play witness. Be assertive, not violent. Panic is contagious, but calm and courage can be too. Good luck.
posted by delfin at 9:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Trump is on the phone with Putin right now — surrounded by Pence, Priebus, Bannon and Flynn
Trump holding the handset.... so can those idiots even hear what is said on the other end or are they just watching Trump nod and say "Mmmmm hmmmm. Mmmmm hmmmmm"? In pictures where Presidents Obama is on the phone with the handset, others are over on the couches listening to another phone on speaker.
Trump is just going to hang up and not tell anyone what happened and just iMessage Putin later!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump holding the handset.... so can those idiots even hear what is said on the other end or are they just watching Trump nod and say "Mmmmm hmmmm. Mmmmm hmmmmm"? In pictures where Presidents Obama is on the phone with the handset, others are over on the couches listening to another phone on speaker.
Trump is just going to hang up and not tell anyone what happened and just iMessage Putin later!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The N-dimensional chess question is: Why issue this late on a Friday? Just to be as much of an asshole as possible? I mean, that's definitely possible; late on a Friday means a large number of people are affected without recourse, making this as painful as possible.
With something slightly less inflammatory, and the old-media news cycle, Friday's when you dump the bad news and hope it simply gets lost over the weekend.
For something this big though, it gives those opposed the whole weekend to prepare; write briefs, reasearch case law, organize, get anec-data - bios of the many people negatively impacted by this; the missed weddings (both just attending and participant), missed births, missed funerals.
Which means a late Friday release is the opposite of what you'd want if you really want it to sick - it gives a whole weekend to prepare and organize.
The N-dimensional chess answer is then - they're going to do this every weekend and it'll tire us out. I'm outraged but I'm also very human. It's only been 1 week; there are another hundred to go before midterms, and resisting every weekend is gonna tire us out and this is a tactic to thin us out if we don't start taking weekdays off to compensate.
Relinking Mirah Curzer's piece on How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind in case anybody missed it from the last thread.
posted by fragmede at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
With something slightly less inflammatory, and the old-media news cycle, Friday's when you dump the bad news and hope it simply gets lost over the weekend.
For something this big though, it gives those opposed the whole weekend to prepare; write briefs, reasearch case law, organize, get anec-data - bios of the many people negatively impacted by this; the missed weddings (both just attending and participant), missed births, missed funerals.
Which means a late Friday release is the opposite of what you'd want if you really want it to sick - it gives a whole weekend to prepare and organize.
The N-dimensional chess answer is then - they're going to do this every weekend and it'll tire us out. I'm outraged but I'm also very human. It's only been 1 week; there are another hundred to go before midterms, and resisting every weekend is gonna tire us out and this is a tactic to thin us out if we don't start taking weekdays off to compensate.
Relinking Mirah Curzer's piece on How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind in case anybody missed it from the last thread.
posted by fragmede at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Calls made. I'm shaking. Time to angry clean the bathroom.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
"Remember sitting in history, thinking “If I was alive then, I would’ve…” You’re alive now. Whatever you’re doing is what you would’ve done."
posted by bongo_x at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
Just what I was looking for, Jalliah, thanks!
Also in terms of bias, this is the CATO institute, funded largely by the Koch brothers. Liberal leaning bias they are not.
posted by Jalliah at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Also in terms of bias, this is the CATO institute, funded largely by the Koch brothers. Liberal leaning bias they are not.
I was just chuckling over that, myself. If the regressives have go so far off the rails that the freaking CATO institute is calling them out... strange times indeed.
posted by jammer at 9:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I was just chuckling over that, myself. If the regressives have go so far off the rails that the freaking CATO institute is calling them out... strange times indeed.
posted by jammer at 9:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
It's clear to me that mass action is the only thing that could possibly impede the progress of the imminent global fascist regime. We cannot avoid a generation of atrocity if we allow the movement to continue building inertia. They are not playing by a rulebook we recognize.
We do need to be planning on the future, and what comes after, but the priority right now should be countering their momentum. We must stand together and impose the reality of our opposition on the mass consciousness.
posted by polyhedron at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
We do need to be planning on the future, and what comes after, but the priority right now should be countering their momentum. We must stand together and impose the reality of our opposition on the mass consciousness.
posted by polyhedron at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
With something slightly less inflammatory, and the old-media news cycle, Friday's when you dump the bad news and hope it simply gets lost over the weekend.
I think that's changed with Trump. With all the tv he watches, I think Friday news dumps are a strategy to control the topic on the Sunday news shows.
posted by peeedro at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
I think that's changed with Trump. With all the tv he watches, I think Friday news dumps are a strategy to control the topic on the Sunday news shows.
posted by peeedro at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Everyone seems to be focusing on what Democrats should be doing right now, but as a minority in both houses, they can do nothing alone except complain and maybe contribute to an amicus brief if this order is challenged on Constitutional grounds. Don't get me wrong -- they should definitely be complaining louder than they are right now, but we must also recognize that the fate of our country is in the hands of so-called moderate Republicans right now, and that is where the primary blame should be. It would only take a handful of them, joining with every single Democrat, to pass legislation that would reverse the effect of this executive order, or at least to fast-track a resolution of the Constitutional crisis in the courts. We already know where almost every Democrat stands on this -- where are the "moderate" Republicans?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Oh hey, should I also tweet my call scripts to their various Twitters? I'm new to teh twitbox.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017
@BraddJaffy: Trump is on the phone with Putin right now — surrounded by Pence, Priebus, Bannon and Flynn (photo via Spicer)
To repeat, he's not allowed to speak to foreign leaders alone because he's mentally unstable.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
To repeat, he's not allowed to speak to foreign leaders alone because he's mentally unstable.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
BTW that is about 13 million people.
posted by srboisvert at 9:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
BTW that is about 13 million people.
posted by srboisvert at 9:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
If you happen to live in the SF Bay Area, here are a couple things to do over the next couple weeks: Support our Muslim Neighbors canvassing, Interfaith Vigil to Support Immigrant Rights. I'm looking for more stuff..
posted by latkes at 9:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by latkes at 9:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
where are the "moderate" Republicans?
Again, there are none. There never were.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Again, there are none. There never were.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
CATO's not surprising- they're right-wingers, yes, but they've been complaining about the immigration process for years. They're mostly assholes (and IMO they want unrestricted immigration because they think it'll drive down wages), but this is a topic they're generally okay on.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
RAND and Cato have studies out. So, RAND and Rand agree.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Now we just need to call Sanderson.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017
but as a minority in both houses, they can do nothing alone except complain and maybe contribute to an amicus brief if this order is challenged on Constitutional grounds
When it comes to executive orders, yes, they are mostly powerless. But their voice matters.
But the Senate is set up in such a way as to empower the minority party to stop legislation. The republicans only have 54 members, which is 6 short of the 60 required for cloture. The Democrats can block every single bill, basically, besides reconciliation, if they stand as a single front. They can also block any supreme court nominee. They can restrict Trump to executive action alone, and then work to have those actions challenged in court when they violate the law. If they did this they would likely gain seats in both the house and senate in 2018.
They will probably not do this because they suck.
posted by dis_integration at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
When it comes to executive orders, yes, they are mostly powerless. But their voice matters.
But the Senate is set up in such a way as to empower the minority party to stop legislation. The republicans only have 54 members, which is 6 short of the 60 required for cloture. The Democrats can block every single bill, basically, besides reconciliation, if they stand as a single front. They can also block any supreme court nominee. They can restrict Trump to executive action alone, and then work to have those actions challenged in court when they violate the law. If they did this they would likely gain seats in both the house and senate in 2018.
They will probably not do this because they suck.
posted by dis_integration at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
Libertarians are generally for unrestricted immigration/open borders, so yeah, no surprising w/ CATO.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
fragmede--thank you for re-linking the Curzer piece. I missed it in the last thread and needed to read it. I think I'll be needing to read it many times.
posted by bookmammal at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bookmammal at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
where are the "moderate" Republicans?
Still content to watch the mob from the veranda.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Still content to watch the mob from the veranda.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
All of this because his son is afraid of Skittles.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
The N-dimensional chess answer is then - they're going to do this every weekend and it'll tire us out. I'm outraged but I'm also very human. It's only been 1 week; there are another hundred to go before midterms, and resisting every weekend is gonna tire us out and this is a tactic to thin us out if we don't start taking weekdays off to compensate.
It is the tactic of trolls, the tactic of terrorists, the tactic of despots. It takes less emotional energy to initiate evil shit than to remain on guard, to react and resist it. The emotional component of this is what's unfamiliar to a lot of people, myself included. The animal fear, the twitchiness, the uncertainty: that's what people live with elsewhere, and have lived with during dark times. It demands a kind of training to manage it without forgetting where it's coming from.
posted by holgate at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
It is the tactic of trolls, the tactic of terrorists, the tactic of despots. It takes less emotional energy to initiate evil shit than to remain on guard, to react and resist it. The emotional component of this is what's unfamiliar to a lot of people, myself included. The animal fear, the twitchiness, the uncertainty: that's what people live with elsewhere, and have lived with during dark times. It demands a kind of training to manage it without forgetting where it's coming from.
posted by holgate at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
cabinetvotes.com is a handy URL, but it could use some of the at-a-glance color coding of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_of_Donald_Trump's_Cabinet#Confirmation_roll_call_votes
posted by scrowdid at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by scrowdid at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Relinking Mirah Curzer's piece on How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind in case anybody missed it from the last thread.
This is great article. This particularly stood out for me because of my own experience with some quite tense and drawn out political and social conflict.
You will stop being shocked by the latest scandal and horrified by the latest attack on civil rights. Trump will become the new normal. And that is the worst thing that could happen, because THIS IS NOT NORMAL, and democracies fall when their people stop resisting.
We have to stay outraged for the next four years and resist the powerful urge to adapt to the new normal. But that doesn’t mean you have to live the next four years in a constant state of anxiety and anger. It means, when you do think about Trump and his minions, the appropriate feeling is outrage. But you can’t live like that all the time, and that means you have to spend a significant amount of time not thinking about Trump and all the work that has to be done. Do not get used to Trump — get away from him.
High levels of outrage for extended periods of time is soooo taxing. The way I describe what happened to me was I fell or maybe created a state that I can only try and describe as 'mundane outrage'. Where being outraged turns into a more manageable emotional state. Yes I am continuously outraged by this but I'm lessening the 'feel' part of it. Perhaps it's more an intellectual sense of outrage. It's not about becoming desensitized in the sense that you end up ignoring it but desensitizing to the emotional part. It is a coping mechinism.
So if you find yourself not responding with the same emotional intensity to something outrageous that's okay. Some might say that this has when you normalize it but it's not, if you still know that it's outrageous. It is however normalizing the outrage so you can cope day to day.
posted by Jalliah at 9:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Also, this is a nice little online project, a place to share what you are doing to prepare and respond for community safety and strength: Lightningbolt Vision.
posted by latkes at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by latkes at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
where are the "moderate" Republicans?
Posting "stupid protesters, Trump deserves a chance, he hasn't done anything yet, wasn't Madonna so horrible" on Facebook.
None of this registers with them unless they are affected personally.
posted by delfin at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Posting "stupid protesters, Trump deserves a chance, he hasn't done anything yet, wasn't Madonna so horrible" on Facebook.
None of this registers with them unless they are affected personally.
posted by delfin at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
For Canadians, courtesy of Julie Lalonde: contact your MPs and let them know this mistreatment and barring of refugees will not stand. Please ask them to publicly denounce the Trump Administration.
NPD leader Thomas Mulcair calls Trump a "fascist" and urges PM Trudeau to stand up to him.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to tell Trump administration that Canada does not support torture.
Now it's time for me to give Mark Gerretsen and Sophie Kiwala a ring.
posted by Kitteh at 9:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
NPD leader Thomas Mulcair calls Trump a "fascist" and urges PM Trudeau to stand up to him.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to tell Trump administration that Canada does not support torture.
Now it's time for me to give Mark Gerretsen and Sophie Kiwala a ring.
posted by Kitteh at 9:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Talez: The airlines submit manifests to the CBP. The CBP gives final yay or nay on whether a passenger can board.
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
KLM themselves did not say that they were not allowed to let the passengers board, they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US". That is a (translated) literal quote from the KLM spokesperson. It's one thing if specific individuals are prohibited from boarding a plane, it's quite different if a foreign company takes it upon themselves to make assumptions about which individuals, based upon nationality, "will not pass customs" according to KLM and therefore forbids them from boarding a plane.
At the very minimum, if what you were saying were the case, I would expect any company that is forced to comply with this racist rule would speak out vehemently against it and stress that they have no choice and feel terrible about this. KLM has not.
posted by blub at 9:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
KLM themselves did not say that they were not allowed to let the passengers board, they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US". That is a (translated) literal quote from the KLM spokesperson. It's one thing if specific individuals are prohibited from boarding a plane, it's quite different if a foreign company takes it upon themselves to make assumptions about which individuals, based upon nationality, "will not pass customs" according to KLM and therefore forbids them from boarding a plane.
At the very minimum, if what you were saying were the case, I would expect any company that is forced to comply with this racist rule would speak out vehemently against it and stress that they have no choice and feel terrible about this. KLM has not.
posted by blub at 9:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Fuck Jill Stein. Any leanings or sympathy I had for third parties is gone.
http://observer.com/2017/01/the-veil-has-come-off-jill-stein-rallies-greens-after-trump-inauguration/
posted by bongo_x at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
http://observer.com/2017/01/the-veil-has-come-off-jill-stein-rallies-greens-after-trump-inauguration/
posted by bongo_x at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Iran to ban US citizens in response to Trump's order
posted by futz at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by futz at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
So, my dog died yesterday and I was emotionally gutted and went to bed drained and exhausted.
Then I woke up to this. God damn it. Can't I have one day to not feel paralyzed with fear? I don't even know what I should be doing right now. There is no resistance except on an individual level, and while individuals and small groups have done some wonderful work, this is not going to be good enough. It's still so early in and it's already this bad.
posted by byanyothername at 9:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Then I woke up to this. God damn it. Can't I have one day to not feel paralyzed with fear? I don't even know what I should be doing right now. There is no resistance except on an individual level, and while individuals and small groups have done some wonderful work, this is not going to be good enough. It's still so early in and it's already this bad.
posted by byanyothername at 9:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Democrats must decide: are they part of the resistance or not?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
It is the tactic of trolls, the tactic of terrorists, the tactic of despots. It takes less emotional energy to initiate evil shit than to remain on guard, to react and resist it. The emotional component of this is what's unfamiliar to a lot of people, myself included. The animal fear, the twitchiness, the uncertainty: that's what people live with elsewhere, and have lived with during dark times. It demands a kind of training to manage it without forgetting where it's coming from.
Absolutely, 100%. Ding, ding. I would favorite this 100x if I could. This relates exactly to my last comment about creating a state of 'mundane outrage'.
Also will add that long term, concerted resistance can get boring and start feeling more like it's a job. It's just something you do. At the outset the emotional highs can provide a whole lot of motivation. Then the highs subside, the intensity lessens, psychological coping mechinsm kick in and boom you find yourself dragging yourself to a protest, not because you're burnt out, but because it's just something you need to do. This is completely normal as well.
posted by Jalliah at 9:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Absolutely, 100%. Ding, ding. I would favorite this 100x if I could. This relates exactly to my last comment about creating a state of 'mundane outrage'.
Also will add that long term, concerted resistance can get boring and start feeling more like it's a job. It's just something you do. At the outset the emotional highs can provide a whole lot of motivation. Then the highs subside, the intensity lessens, psychological coping mechinsm kick in and boom you find yourself dragging yourself to a protest, not because you're burnt out, but because it's just something you need to do. This is completely normal as well.
posted by Jalliah at 9:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
For Canadians, courtesy of Julie Lalonde: contact your MPs and let them know this mistreatment and barring of refugees will not stand. Please ask them to publicly denounce the Trump Administration.
My wife and I got in an argument at the front door with our fuckhead of an MP over Syrian refugees during the last election. Once I'm home, I'll be happy to start it again with him.
posted by nubs at 9:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
My wife and I got in an argument at the front door with our fuckhead of an MP over Syrian refugees during the last election. Once I'm home, I'll be happy to start it again with him.
posted by nubs at 9:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Then the highs subside, the intensity lessens, psychological coping mechinsm kick in and boom you find yourself dragging yourself to a protest, not because you're burnt out, but because it's just something you need to do.
I think it's something we *have* to do if we ever again want to experience something resembling the old normal.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think it's something we *have* to do if we ever again want to experience something resembling the old normal.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
"And whether we were heading for a slow demise you know being strangled by neoliberalism under the Democratic Party or whether we are actually engaging the battle right now facing this neofascist administration, we are kind of going to the same place.”Oh, FUCK YOU Jill Stein. I pitched in $50 toward your goddamn farce of a recount effort and if I had it back today I'd use it to buy spray paint so I could write FUCK YOU JILL STEIN in ten foot high letters on every surface I could reach.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 9:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [87 favorites]
We Talked To People Who Fought For ISIS. This Is How They Plan To Use Trump.
In the days that followed, the recent defector said, ISIS members in Raqqa, the group’s self-declared capital, hailed Donald Trump’s win as a victory for the terror group. Local leaders even called it divine intervention. “They told us that victory is at hand and that God has sent the pig Trump as clear evidence of this,” Abu Musab said. “And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
posted by futz at 9:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
In the days that followed, the recent defector said, ISIS members in Raqqa, the group’s self-declared capital, hailed Donald Trump’s win as a victory for the terror group. Local leaders even called it divine intervention. “They told us that victory is at hand and that God has sent the pig Trump as clear evidence of this,” Abu Musab said. “And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
posted by futz at 9:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US". That is a (translated) literal quote from the KLM spokesperson. It's one thing if specific individuals are prohibited from boarding a plane, it's quite different if a foreign company takes it upon themselves to make assumptions about which individuals, based upon nationality, "will not pass customs" according to KLM and therefore forbids them from boarding a plane.
OK, this is, I believe, how it works...
(1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
(2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
(3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
((4) The non-greenlighted do not board.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
OK, this is, I believe, how it works...
(1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
(2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
(3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
((4) The non-greenlighted do not board.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, well, Jill Stein isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Her whole speech is obviously an attempt to distance herself from the whole "Hillary is worse than Trump" thing, which was one of the dumbest statements I've ever seen from an American leftist and a perfect illustration of why we will never have a middle class Green left here. We might conceivably have a Fight-For-$15 type party because they're not delusional and are good at the local level, but yeah, Stein is an idiot and I am deeply skeptical of anyone who guides their politics by her.
She's certainly right that the Democrats were a big part of getting us into this mess, but like it or lump it they also have to be a big part of getting us out again, which is going to require a transformation of the party.
posted by Frowner at 10:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
She's certainly right that the Democrats were a big part of getting us into this mess, but like it or lump it they also have to be a big part of getting us out again, which is going to require a transformation of the party.
posted by Frowner at 10:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
In the days that followed, the recent defector said, ISIS members in Raqqa, the group’s self-declared capital, hailed Donald Trump’s win as a victory for the terror group. Local leaders even called it divine intervention. “They told us that victory is at hand and that God has sent the pig Trump as clear evidence of this,” Abu Musab said. “And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
So basically ISIS, which is not the world's most perceptive terrorist organization, has a sounder and more accurate political analysis than about 90% of Americans.
posted by Frowner at 10:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
So basically ISIS, which is not the world's most perceptive terrorist organization, has a sounder and more accurate political analysis than about 90% of Americans.
posted by Frowner at 10:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
I'm going to predict right now that naturalized citizens will eventually become a target.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
I'm going to predict right now that naturalized citizens will eventually become a target.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
The republicans only have 54 members
Minor point, but it's 52. So 8 needed to beat a filibuster while Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
In comparison, Dems had 60 for a bit and 59 for quite a while with a candidate that had won the popular vote by 10 million, not lost it by 3. And Republicans with unified resistance managed to stop many things. We are not helpless or beaten. We need to keep fighting, get our representatives to start fighting, and not give in to despair. That's what Bannon wants with this "shock & awe". Demoralization and surrender.
Fuck that. I don't want to just punch Nazis, I want to kick their asses. And we can. They already caved on the ACA commercials. They're floundering on repealing the ACA. Half or more of this EO shit is garbage, unconstitutional and/or unenforceable. He's hugely unpopular and Republican policies are even more so.
So don't get down, get even. Our cause is right, our numbers bigger, our policies more popular. We can and will beat the fuckers.
posted by chris24 at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [83 favorites]
Minor point, but it's 52. So 8 needed to beat a filibuster while Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
In comparison, Dems had 60 for a bit and 59 for quite a while with a candidate that had won the popular vote by 10 million, not lost it by 3. And Republicans with unified resistance managed to stop many things. We are not helpless or beaten. We need to keep fighting, get our representatives to start fighting, and not give in to despair. That's what Bannon wants with this "shock & awe". Demoralization and surrender.
Fuck that. I don't want to just punch Nazis, I want to kick their asses. And we can. They already caved on the ACA commercials. They're floundering on repealing the ACA. Half or more of this EO shit is garbage, unconstitutional and/or unenforceable. He's hugely unpopular and Republican policies are even more so.
So don't get down, get even. Our cause is right, our numbers bigger, our policies more popular. We can and will beat the fuckers.
posted by chris24 at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [83 favorites]
Someone just pointed out that 4% of active duty members of the American military are not US citizens. There may be current US service members who are kept out of the US by the ban on green card holders.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I'm going to predict right now that naturalized citizens will eventually become a target.
The only question in my mind is how many generations of ethnic purity they'll demand for birthright citizens.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
The only question in my mind is how many generations of ethnic purity they'll demand for birthright citizens.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Just catching up on the back catalogue here and localhuman's Trump is Poopy sign.
I ordered yard signs printed from a print-ready pdf that a local group made that say "All Are Welcome Here" and 'welcome' written in the languages of the largest immigrant and refugee groups in the city. It's pretty innocuous but I figured better than nothing. Last week while I was doing the dishes after dinner, the doorbell rang. The father of someone who lives up the street from us came by to thank us for the sign, to let us know that it did make him feel more welcome and it made him feel better about the neighborhood.
I let my husband field that convo while I was in the kitchen because he's really been fulfilling the Jacobin-reading revolutionary LARPer stereotype these days (real political or direct actions he has taken = 0) and had argued against yard signs as "mere virtue-signalling." When he came back in the house and told me what the guy had said, he did also say "so, score one for you." LOL okay whatever. As long as he keeps watching the kid while I go to meetings and marches, he can stay.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
I ordered yard signs printed from a print-ready pdf that a local group made that say "All Are Welcome Here" and 'welcome' written in the languages of the largest immigrant and refugee groups in the city. It's pretty innocuous but I figured better than nothing. Last week while I was doing the dishes after dinner, the doorbell rang. The father of someone who lives up the street from us came by to thank us for the sign, to let us know that it did make him feel more welcome and it made him feel better about the neighborhood.
I let my husband field that convo while I was in the kitchen because he's really been fulfilling the Jacobin-reading revolutionary LARPer stereotype these days (real political or direct actions he has taken = 0) and had argued against yard signs as "mere virtue-signalling." When he came back in the house and told me what the guy had said, he did also say "so, score one for you." LOL okay whatever. As long as he keeps watching the kid while I go to meetings and marches, he can stay.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
we must also recognize that the fate of our country is in the hands of so-called moderate Republicans right now, and that is where the primary blame should be. It would only take a handful of them, joining with every single Democrat, to pass legislation that would reverse the effect of this executive order, or at least to fast-track a resolution of the Constitutional crisis in the courts. We already know where almost every Democrat stands on this -- where are the "moderate" Republicans?
"Moderate" Republicans will hide under the cover of their base until Trump's popularity tanks enough, and we're not there yet. (We will be. Just not yet.) What we need to focus on is scared Republicans:
From the WaPo article on the closed door ACA strategy infighting:
Also, while any Republican in Congress who made a public statement against the ban over the past year cannot be relied on to remember their own words, and they won't take calls from people outside their districts, the news outlets in their districts don't know you're not a viewer/reader if you email. Maybe it's worth pushing journalists in Wisconsin to take Ryan to task for his own harsh words on the Muslim ban, they're susceptible to audience pressure and don't know you're not their audience.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
"Moderate" Republicans will hide under the cover of their base until Trump's popularity tanks enough, and we're not there yet. (We will be. Just not yet.) What we need to focus on is scared Republicans:
From the WaPo article on the closed door ACA strategy infighting:
- Tom McClintock is scared of electoral backlash - “We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created” with repeal, said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
- John Faso is scared of the mere threat of a fight - Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), a freshman congressman from the Hudson Valley, warned strongly against using the repeal of the ACA to also defund Planned Parenthood. “We are just walking into a gigantic political trap if we go down this path of sticking Planned Parenthood in the health insurance bill,” he said. “If you want to do it somewhere else, I have no problem, but I think we are creating a political minefield for ourselves — House and Senate.”
- Tom MacArthur also knows he can't piss on his constituents forever - Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) worried that the plans under GOP consideration could eviscerate coverage for the roughly 20 million Americans now covered through state and federal marketplaces and the law’s Medicaid expansion: “We’re telling those people that we’re not going to pull the rug out from under them, and if we do this too fast, we are in fact going to pull the rug out from under them.”
Also, while any Republican in Congress who made a public statement against the ban over the past year cannot be relied on to remember their own words, and they won't take calls from people outside their districts, the news outlets in their districts don't know you're not a viewer/reader if you email. Maybe it's worth pushing journalists in Wisconsin to take Ryan to task for his own harsh words on the Muslim ban, they're susceptible to audience pressure and don't know you're not their audience.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
Trump imposes a religious test for entry to the US and gets a one-column story in the second position in the NYT.
posted by porn in the woods at 10:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 10:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
So I just want to share something from up in Canada.
I'm currently in the hospital because I needed to have my appendix removed last night. In addition to experiencing the "horrors" of our socialized medicine, I've been following along with the Trump horror show of yesterday's EO and the contrast is amazing.
I was operated on last night by three surgeons, all female, two of them visible minorities and one those an immigrant. I just witnessed two members of the housekeeping staff great each other with "al Salam" before discussing the fact that one of them had found blood in one of the washrooms and heading off to find a nurse to alert her.
Like, what the fucking fuck is going on America? Eat the Skittles. Please.
posted by nubs at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
I'm currently in the hospital because I needed to have my appendix removed last night. In addition to experiencing the "horrors" of our socialized medicine, I've been following along with the Trump horror show of yesterday's EO and the contrast is amazing.
I was operated on last night by three surgeons, all female, two of them visible minorities and one those an immigrant. I just witnessed two members of the housekeeping staff great each other with "al Salam" before discussing the fact that one of them had found blood in one of the washrooms and heading off to find a nurse to alert her.
Like, what the fucking fuck is going on America? Eat the Skittles. Please.
posted by nubs at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
> The only question in my mind is how many generations of ethnic purity they'll demand for birthright citizens.
God damnit, "Trump is Voldemort" is supposed to be pithy, snarky throwaway line, not a call to action for anybody that's read Harry Potter.
posted by fragmede at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017
God damnit, "Trump is Voldemort" is supposed to be pithy, snarky throwaway line, not a call to action for anybody that's read Harry Potter.
posted by fragmede at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017
“And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
And this is what Bannon would like, because then he gets his outrages and purifying crackdowns and nuclear war.
posted by holgate at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
And this is what Bannon would like, because then he gets his outrages and purifying crackdowns and nuclear war.
posted by holgate at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
"Moderate" Republicans will hide under the cover of their base
My R Senator (who I guess? is a moderate? the Overton window has moved so much, I have no idea anymore) is currently just going LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU HEY HOW 'BOUT THEM STEELERS AMIRITE PLEASE DON'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING I MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE AN OPINION ON.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
My R Senator (who I guess? is a moderate? the Overton window has moved so much, I have no idea anymore) is currently just going LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU HEY HOW 'BOUT THEM STEELERS AMIRITE PLEASE DON'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING I MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE AN OPINION ON.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
I'm not clear that Democrats will be a meaningful part of getting out of this. However, it's still important that we try to use any avenues we have, so pressing our Democratic reps to stand strong is valuable, but again, I don't really see how they will be central to getting out of this. Looking at Dems since Reagan, I'm not clear how this is going to pan out with any kind of meaningful Democratic leadership.
posted by latkes at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by latkes at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump imposes a religious test for entry to the US and gets a one-column story in the second position in the NYT.
You know what the worst thing about the NYT is? It's not that they consistently fuck us, by and large they do some good and great things, it's that when they betray their supposed principles, they seem to do it strategically.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
You know what the worst thing about the NYT is? It's not that they consistently fuck us, by and large they do some good and great things, it's that when they betray their supposed principles, they seem to do it strategically.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Jerry Nadler (both D-NY) are at JFK right now working to get detained refugees released.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [100 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [100 favorites]
Yeah, I've had no luck getting through to Toomey's offices the last couple of days, even to leave a message. I get that there's a fixed supply of staffers to go through voicemails, but I get the feeling it's more that he doesn't want to hear from us.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 10:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Fuck that. I don't want to just punch Nazis, I want to kick their asses. And we can. They already caved on the ACA commercials. They're floundering on repealing the ACA. Half or more of this EO shit is garbage, unconstitutional and/or unenforceable. He's hugely unpopular and Republican policies are even more so.
So don't get down, get even. Our cause is right, our numbers bigger, our policies more popular. We can and will beat the fuckers.
They've also already caved on the carte blanche hiring freeze due to the response. Veterans health care jobs are now exempt.
Partially caved on the gag orders and lost some control over controlling information. The alt-account resistance rising as well as likely thousands of people scooping all the digital information they want to disappear.
They had to walk back the 20% tax pay for the wall plan because of what looked like almost immediate response and the sheer stupidity of it. And now they are left with no real plan on how to do it so Mexico pays.
They also completely fucked up relations with Mexico
posted by Jalliah at 10:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
Never doubt that fascists and ISIS have the exact same goals.
posted by Artw at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [47 favorites]
I've had no luck getting through to Toomey's offices the last couple of days, even to leave a message.
I got through to everyone's VMs today at their DC offices. Whether they will be listened to on Monday is debatable. But yeah, I am fairly certain that Toomey particularly is just AVOID AVOID AVOID as mush as possible (which frankly has always been his #1 tactic). Which is why it's important to keep it up, and when possible, visit in person.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I got through to everyone's VMs today at their DC offices. Whether they will be listened to on Monday is debatable. But yeah, I am fairly certain that Toomey particularly is just AVOID AVOID AVOID as mush as possible (which frankly has always been his #1 tactic). Which is why it's important to keep it up, and when possible, visit in person.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Jerry Nadler (both D-NY) are at JFK right now working to get detained refugees released.
Nadler is my rep and he has been great in standing up to Trump. Boycotting the inauguration, tweets, statements, FUCKING ACTIONS like today. Proud to have voted for him.
posted by chris24 at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Nadler is my rep and he has been great in standing up to Trump. Boycotting the inauguration, tweets, statements, FUCKING ACTIONS like today. Proud to have voted for him.
posted by chris24 at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
I keep thinking about how two groups are made happy by Trump:
1) Racists/sexist people
2) members of ISIS
So, good job America.
posted by angrycat at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
1) Racists/sexist people
2) members of ISIS
So, good job America.
posted by angrycat at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Never doubt that fascists and ISIS have the exact same goals.
ISIS is a twofer here too because they also share the same goal as millenialist Christians: apocalypse.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
The Trump regime rubs its tiny hands in glee waiting for the terrorist backlash.
posted by Flashman at 10:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 10:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
This is what I want elected Dems to be doing. Find those three Republicans. I'm hoping desperately that those votes for Mattis and Haley and Pompeo will buy them a few votes against Tillerson on the Republican side. If they do, it was worth it, given that a vote against would be just symbolic anyway. (I wish I could say I thought they might get a few votes against DeVos and Sessions, but...)
Find the Republicans from blue states and lean on them hard about Obamacare. Find the Libertarians and lean on them about starting trade wars. Use personal friendship, threats, or promises, but break Republican unity. Be the devil on their shoulder AND the angel.
I don't want to win a civil war against American Nazis. I want to send American Nazis back to the margins of society where they belong. And that can only happen if they are marginalized within the party.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
This is what I want elected Dems to be doing. Find those three Republicans. I'm hoping desperately that those votes for Mattis and Haley and Pompeo will buy them a few votes against Tillerson on the Republican side. If they do, it was worth it, given that a vote against would be just symbolic anyway. (I wish I could say I thought they might get a few votes against DeVos and Sessions, but...)
Find the Republicans from blue states and lean on them hard about Obamacare. Find the Libertarians and lean on them about starting trade wars. Use personal friendship, threats, or promises, but break Republican unity. Be the devil on their shoulder AND the angel.
I don't want to win a civil war against American Nazis. I want to send American Nazis back to the margins of society where they belong. And that can only happen if they are marginalized within the party.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Yeah, for all their bluster, they back down whenever there's a skirmish. Just gotta keep at 'em
posted by notyou at 10:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
> OK, this is, I believe, how it works...
> (1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
> (2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
> (3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
That might be part of how it works (don't know all the details), but it's definitely not the whole story. Airlines have their own policies, and if they think you're unlikely to make it through immigration, they won't let you board. For example they independently verify that you to have a return ticket under certain circumstances.
The obvious reason is that they're the ones who have to fly you back if you're not admitted, and I imagine they get stuck with the cost a lot of the time.
> Whoever?
would probably be CBP, or some other DHS agency?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
> (1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
> (2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
> (3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
That might be part of how it works (don't know all the details), but it's definitely not the whole story. Airlines have their own policies, and if they think you're unlikely to make it through immigration, they won't let you board. For example they independently verify that you to have a return ticket under certain circumstances.
The obvious reason is that they're the ones who have to fly you back if you're not admitted, and I imagine they get stuck with the cost a lot of the time.
> Whoever?
would probably be CBP, or some other DHS agency?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I´m sixty six years old and have a mammoth flash black going on but this time it' s 10,000% worse.
Americans, only you can turn it around.
posted by adamvasco at 10:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Americans, only you can turn it around.
posted by adamvasco at 10:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
Four. Manchin will be voting (and has been voting) with the Republican / Trumpnik regime on pretty much everything.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Four. Manchin will be voting (and has been voting) with the Republican / Trumpnik regime on pretty much everything.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Per CNN, Jerry Nadler just announced that one of the two Iraqi men detained at JFK has been released to be with his family. Darweesh, the former interpreter for the US Army. So one small victory today.
posted by chris24 at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
Between this and the declaration that Trump wants to conquer them and steal their oil i wonder how long Iraqis working alongside the US forces there is going to last. They've basically been told the people they're fighting ISIS with are going to be the leading edge of an invading force any day now.
posted by Artw at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Consider, however, the march of the Overton Window and that it's only been a week. Concessions in our favor are good but they are not enough. We must work to control the narrative so that we aren't reacting, we must be the force of action that is driving our country forward. We need to agitate for the expeditious removal of this executive.
posted by polyhedron at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by polyhedron at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
I've been having a lot of depressing discussions lately with friends, and going to some protests wondering if it's really helping. So here's what I'm doing right now:
I'm pre-printing a bunch of postcards with my senators' addresses and sticking stamps on them and carrying them around with me. Next time I'm in one of these conversations, they're coming out and the gripes will get written down and mailed. I'm going to take them to the next protest I go to. We're leaving a stack in our makerspace (along with markers and crafty stencils), and one of our members is bringing some around to the local bars.
I've also installed the Countable app on my phone and I'm loving having my reps' phone number at hand along with their recent voting records.
posted by antinomia at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
I'm pre-printing a bunch of postcards with my senators' addresses and sticking stamps on them and carrying them around with me. Next time I'm in one of these conversations, they're coming out and the gripes will get written down and mailed. I'm going to take them to the next protest I go to. We're leaving a stack in our makerspace (along with markers and crafty stencils), and one of our members is bringing some around to the local bars.
I've also installed the Countable app on my phone and I'm loving having my reps' phone number at hand along with their recent voting records.
posted by antinomia at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
warning auto play video from KPIX 5 San Francisco - no transcript
California Could Cut Off Feds In Response To Trump Threat
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – The state of California is studying ways to suspend financial transfers to Washington after the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities, KPIX 5 has learned
posted by Jalliah at 10:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
he's really been fulfilling the Jacobin-reading revolutionary LARPer stereotype these days (real political or direct actions he has taken = 0)
FWIW, it took about six months of listening to Noam Chomsky talks before I took concrete political action, so he may be off to a good start.
posted by Coventry at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
FWIW, it took about six months of listening to Noam Chomsky talks before I took concrete political action, so he may be off to a good start.
posted by Coventry at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is what I want elected Dems to be doing. Find those three Republicans.
OnceUponATime: while I'm not holding my breath for it, this is an intriguing strategy. I don't know enough about Murkowski and Collins to know how amenable they might be in real life as opposed to just on paper, but there are pressure points. Definitely not convinced of the McCain part of that, but even getting just one R to go I is a big deal.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
OnceUponATime: while I'm not holding my breath for it, this is an intriguing strategy. I don't know enough about Murkowski and Collins to know how amenable they might be in real life as opposed to just on paper, but there are pressure points. Definitely not convinced of the McCain part of that, but even getting just one R to go I is a big deal.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I've been having a lot of distressing conversations with nice, white, Christian Iowan friends who agree that Trump is very bad but are upset that his critics have to be so strident about it. And Trump's critics are really posting on Facebook about politics too much. They're actually worse than the Trump people!
I miss living in a place where, for all their faults, people don't think that being polite is more important than not being a fascist.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
I miss living in a place where, for all their faults, people don't think that being polite is more important than not being a fascist.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Between this and the declaration that Trump wants to conquer them and steal their oil i wonder how long Iraqis working alongside the US forces there is going to last. They've basically been told the people they're fighting ISIS with are going to be the leading edge of an invading force any day now.
Iraqis Are Pissed That Trump Said The US Might Try To Seize Their Oil, Again
Iraqis at this tiny outpost near the front lines of the ISIS battle warn that any attempt by the US to seize their oil would destabilize the country, and the region, and possibly undermine the war against ISIS that Trump has described as a top priority.
“There’s no way Trump could take the oil unless he launched a new military front and it be a new world war,” said Kareem Kashekh, a photographer who works for the Popular Mobilization Units, a new branch of Iraq’s armed forces consisting of former militiamen and volunteers fighting against ISIS.
“He cannot do it. He cannot succeed,” said Dawoud Ali, a 30-year-old Baghdad resident and a member of Ansar al-Aghida, one of the Shiite militias fighting against ISIS. “Of course I would fight the Americans if they came for the oil.”
posted by Jalliah at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Special ops turned pundit Malcolm Nance about his Iraqi interpreters getting their Special Immigrant Visas pulled:
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
posted by bluecore at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
posted by bluecore at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
I'm pre-printing a bunch of postcards with my senators' addresses and sticking stamps on them and carrying them around with me. Next time I'm in one of these conversations, they're coming out and the gripes will get written down and mailed. I'm going to take them to the next protest I go to. We're leaving a stack in our makerspace (along with markers and crafty stencils), and one of our members is bringing some around to the local bars.
I love this idea. Lower the barrier to action. I'll have to do this too.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I love this idea. Lower the barrier to action. I'll have to do this too.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Special ops turned pundit Malcolm Nance about his Iraqi interpreters getting their Special Immigrant Visas pulled:
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
On the inside things like this are severely screwing the intelligence and security agencies ability to gather intelligence. A large component of gaining access to sources is based on building trust. Donald is throwing the US's trust factor into the dumpster. 'Soft power' is going into the dumpster. He's undermining the IC's ability to meet his own goal of 'keeping America safe' in ways I doubt he has the ability to comprehend if you laid it out for him in crayon and pictures of cats.
posted by Jalliah at 10:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
On the inside things like this are severely screwing the intelligence and security agencies ability to gather intelligence. A large component of gaining access to sources is based on building trust. Donald is throwing the US's trust factor into the dumpster. 'Soft power' is going into the dumpster. He's undermining the IC's ability to meet his own goal of 'keeping America safe' in ways I doubt he has the ability to comprehend if you laid it out for him in crayon and pictures of cats.
posted by Jalliah at 10:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
To be honest, no matter what happened, ISIS would say it was a sign from God of their imminent victory and the best thing that could happen. That's a propaganda given.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Are greencard holders being pressured to abandon their PR status on re-entry??
posted by Coventry at 11:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Coventry at 11:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
@netanyahu:
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
posted by chris24 at 11:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
posted by chris24 at 11:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ooh I just found the perfect poster to repurpose for a letter writing campaign too, get rid of the caricatures on this thing (especially the super racist one) and replace them with caricatures of Donnie and Pence (tbh you don't have to alter the Mussolini one that much to make it into Trump), replace the text on the bottom with "Send a Letter to your Rep and Senators", then place this over a stack of those pre-stamped and addressed postcards antinomia talked about. I'll have to sketch up some caricatures! But if any other graphic artists out there want to take a swing at it, don't wait for me!
posted by jason_steakums at 11:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jason_steakums at 11:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey, dual citizens get shit on, too!
Citizens of the seven countries identified by President Donald Trump for a 90-day visa ban who hold dual nationality also will be barred from entering the United States, the U.S. State Department said in a statement Saturday.posted by maudlin at 11:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
In a statement that the State Department is due to release, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the 90-day visa moratorium extends beyond just citizens of Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
It also applies to people who originally hail from those countries but are traveling on a passport issued by any other nation, the statement notes. That means Iraqis seeking to enter the U.S. on a British passport, for instance, will be barred, according to a U.S. official. British citizens don’t normally require a visa to enter the U.S. ...
Like a few here I'm enjoying reading the rogue Potus Staff account but treating it as fan fiction until it posts something before it happens which would confirm that it's coming from actual inside sources.
Here's tweet that may do this? I couldn't find anything specific in the news yet. Anyways just putting it here in case it does or if people have read about this being his specific strategy. There are a few things out there talking about his strategy previously but not anything I could find that matches up with what this tweet is saying.
Rogue Potus Staff
POTUS renegotiating 101: Plans to convince Boeing to "lower" cost of new AF1 by dropping new LM stealth jet in favor of old Boeing model.
posted by Jalliah at 11:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Here's tweet that may do this? I couldn't find anything specific in the news yet. Anyways just putting it here in case it does or if people have read about this being his specific strategy. There are a few things out there talking about his strategy previously but not anything I could find that matches up with what this tweet is saying.
Rogue Potus Staff
POTUS renegotiating 101: Plans to convince Boeing to "lower" cost of new AF1 by dropping new LM stealth jet in favor of old Boeing model.
posted by Jalliah at 11:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
A friend's description of the past week as "psychological warfare" has been a helpful way for me to frame how I've been feeling and how I respond. This, right here, this is shock and awe. This is an obvious attempt to stun us into complacency. I am making a commitment to myself to recognize the tactic and to care for myself so that I'm not beaten down by it.
Stand strong. Stand with each other. Resist.
posted by mcduff at 11:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Stand strong. Stand with each other. Resist.
posted by mcduff at 11:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
posted by Talez at 11:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
posted by Talez at 11:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how many of us non-American MeFites are on a list somewhere for our forthright online criticisms of Trump and might be denied entry to the U.S. at some point in the near future if we tried to travel there.
posted by orange swan at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – The state of California is studying ways to suspend financial transfers to Washington after the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities, KPIX 5 has learned
[EXIT INTENSIFIES]
I know this upsets some people, but as partial consolation I think if you play your cards right you can end up with some looser overall union not too dissimilar from what Merkel has if she can hold it together, prolly not with full Schengen-style movement admittedly...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
[EXIT INTENSIFIES]
- The California Republic
- Cascadia
- New England
- The Republic of Texas
- New York City-State, with the remaining state of Up probably going with PA and the Rust Belt, I ain't know what that'll be called.
- The South, risen again
- Royal Colorado
- Appalachia
- The Theodemocracy of Utah, or do they go back to Deseret?
- Florida
- etc...
- United States Government is the organization that operates the District of Columbia tourist attraction, I think that one was straight up in Snow Crash.
I know this upsets some people, but as partial consolation I think if you play your cards right you can end up with some looser overall union not too dissimilar from what Merkel has if she can hold it together, prolly not with full Schengen-style movement admittedly...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
They're trying to overwhelm us. Hold on to anger. Anger's the only stage of grief that can hurt your (attempted) murderer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how many of us non-American MeFites are on a list somewhere for our forthright online criticisms of Trump and might be denied entry to the U.S. at some point in the near future if we tried to travel there.
I've already decided not to even make a test case of myself. I do not consider the United States to be a trustworthy country right now. It will take a long time for it to gain back my trust. It may never happen.
posted by maudlin at 11:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I've already decided not to even make a test case of myself. I do not consider the United States to be a trustworthy country right now. It will take a long time for it to gain back my trust. It may never happen.
posted by maudlin at 11:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
The Theodemocracy of Utah, or do they go back to Deseret?
The Democratic People's Theocracy of Zion.
posted by Talez at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Democratic People's Theocracy of Zion.
posted by Talez at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
This is a smart move by Bibi. He knows the first rule of Trump, flatter him, and praise him, tell him he's beautiful and you love him, then ask him for whatever you want.
posted by dis_integration at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
This is a smart move by Bibi. He knows the first rule of Trump, flatter him, and praise him, tell him he's beautiful and you love him, then ask him for whatever you want.
posted by dis_integration at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
GQ made a short video where they give Trump some quick menswear tips: Donald Trump Gets a GQ Makeover.
posted by peeedro at 11:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 11:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how many of us non-American MeFites are on a list somewhere for our forthright online criticisms of Trump and might be denied entry to the U.S. at some point in the near future if we tried to travel there.
I'm trying to not be that paranoid, given that I am a US citizen who makes another country her home because she married a Canadian. But echoing maudlin's comment above, my husband is flat-out refusing to go to the States because he has no idea what the hell might change or might happen critics of this administration.
posted by Kitteh at 11:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'm trying to not be that paranoid, given that I am a US citizen who makes another country her home because she married a Canadian. But echoing maudlin's comment above, my husband is flat-out refusing to go to the States because he has no idea what the hell might change or might happen critics of this administration.
posted by Kitteh at 11:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Well, this seems only fair play. Iran to ban US citizens in response to Trump's immigration order
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Oh, and while no one was looking, some shitheels in Texas lit another mosque on fire.
Hours after Trump signs Muslim ban, Texas mosque goes up in flames
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Hours after Trump signs Muslim ban, Texas mosque goes up in flames
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
That and it 450 miles vs 1900 miles
This video on vimeo using satellite and google maps takes you over the entire length of where this wall must go. It helps put into perspective what a massive and (idiotic) undertaking that it is. Trump may get part of a wall but he's not going to see a full wall during his time in office let along his lifetime. Or it will have to be a piddly assed version of what he wants.
Best of Luck with the Wall
posted by Jalliah at 11:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
That and it 450 miles vs 1900 miles
This video on vimeo using satellite and google maps takes you over the entire length of where this wall must go. It helps put into perspective what a massive and (idiotic) undertaking that it is. Trump may get part of a wall but he's not going to see a full wall during his time in office let along his lifetime. Or it will have to be a piddly assed version of what he wants.
Best of Luck with the Wall
posted by Jalliah at 11:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
it appeared that US border officials were deciding whether green-card holders could re-enter the US on a “case by case” basis which involved asking individuals about their political views. There were reports that some border officials were confused about their new instructions and unhappy about what was being asked of them.
Of everything, this is what is sticking out to me. What are these political view questions, and who asked them to do this? This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
posted by corb at 11:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Of everything, this is what is sticking out to me. What are these political view questions, and who asked them to do this? This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
posted by corb at 11:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
If you're curious about how habeas challenges actually work in situations like this, the current effort by Yale Law will be worth keeping an eye on. It was just announced, so there's not much to link yet.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've been trying real hard to contain my anger toward Trump voters, direct it toward positive action, and mostly so there can be some room for walking back and redemption, but fuck.
Have they officially released yesterday's EO yet?
posted by notyou at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Have they officially released yesterday's EO yet?
posted by notyou at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hours after Trump signs Muslim ban, Texas mosque goes up in flames
This is exactly what I've been dreading we'd hear today. Look at how the election ramped up hate crimes. This week's racist fascist edicts are just boosting that signal.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
This is exactly what I've been dreading we'd hear today. Look at how the election ramped up hate crimes. This week's racist fascist edicts are just boosting that signal.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
As a trivial example of how poorly thought out this was, the executive order cites the wrong provision of immigration law.
Or as Chris Hayes put it: "Like I said: yesterday's typos on the schedule were the brown m & m's: little errors mean there are big ones lurking."
And it seems like they never considered basic questions like what about dual nationals until well after this was signed. These incompetents are destroying so many lives.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [61 favorites]
Or as Chris Hayes put it: "Like I said: yesterday's typos on the schedule were the brown m & m's: little errors mean there are big ones lurking."
And it seems like they never considered basic questions like what about dual nationals until well after this was signed. These incompetents are destroying so many lives.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [61 favorites]
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
posted by porn in the woods at 11:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 11:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
@borzou: Breaking: Iraqi parliament to discuss retaliatory blocking of visas for all Americans, including contractors & journalists (MoFA source)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
What are these political view questions, and who asked them to do this? This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
Disorganization and chaos allows individual officers to make policy decisions on the ground, based on their own political biases. And the Customs and Border Patrol is #MAGA ground zero. They don't need to be told what to do, they already know. All they need is the normal rules to be suspended, thereby empowering their own petty tyranny.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Disorganization and chaos allows individual officers to make policy decisions on the ground, based on their own political biases. And the Customs and Border Patrol is #MAGA ground zero. They don't need to be told what to do, they already know. All they need is the normal rules to be suspended, thereby empowering their own petty tyranny.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I don't think maybe Netanyahu has thought this "sucking up to fascist white supremacists" thing all the way through?
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
Well there you go.
This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
This seems like disorganized chaos giving authoritarians leeway to do what they "know" needs to be done.
posted by Artw at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Well there you go.
This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
This seems like disorganized chaos giving authoritarians leeway to do what they "know" needs to be done.
posted by Artw at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Democratic congressman: President Trump is 'mentally unstable'
"Yes, I do believe the president is mentally unstable," Gallego, a Democrat, said on KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos. "I've said this thousands of times."
posted by futz at 11:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
"Yes, I do believe the president is mentally unstable," Gallego, a Democrat, said on KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos. "I've said this thousands of times."
posted by futz at 11:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Also, the whole "if you let Israel be destroyed your eschatological fantasies will never be realised" thing.
posted by Talez at 11:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Talez at 11:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I really hope the deafening silence of the Democrats today is because they are in some sort of conference call putting together something big in response to this. If not, then we are even more fucked than I thought.
posted by gatorae at 11:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 11:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
Still no readout on the Putin call from either side, 2 hours later. Even Kremlin pool reporters are concerned.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
They are still coloring in the map of the countries they want.
posted by mochapickle at 11:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
More on the confusion. Canada edition. What a shitstorm.
It looks like it affecting Canadian citizens. If I read it right they're going by country of birth. So it's including Canadian citizens born in those countries.
Passport-holders of 7 Muslim-majority countries can’t board Air Canada flights to U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new executive order, which he did not explain out loud, has created mass confusion around the world.
and from Danial Dale
Between people of Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Somali, Sudanese birth, Trump appears to have banned hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens.
Affected Iranian-Canadian businessman: "It reminds me of the environment my parents escaped from! Funny thing is that I'm not even Muslim."
posted by Jalliah at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
I bet a tape of that call would be just as compromising as the pee-pee one.
posted by Artw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I just had a conversation with my father-in-law, who recently moved into the apartment I built for him and my mother-in-law in my backyard. He was complaining about how he's expected to tip minimum wage workers and how "minimum wage was never intended to be a living wage".
Naturally, he and my MIL voted for Trump. He has health care only by dint of being a veteran and my MIL has medicare and supplemental insurance via Covered California (aka the ACA). They have no income except a tiny military pension and social security. They have no savings. They are as dependent on social services as it is possible to be and not live in public housing.
My mother in law is an immigrant from South America.
They voted for Trump. They expect things to get better for them under this administration.
I know this is a tiny, tiny thing considering everything everything else going on today, but it annihilates my brain to see how much Saint Reagan and Fox News fooled some of the poorest people in the country into thinking that their interests are the same as the interests of big capital.
I feel sick.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [90 favorites]
Naturally, he and my MIL voted for Trump. He has health care only by dint of being a veteran and my MIL has medicare and supplemental insurance via Covered California (aka the ACA). They have no income except a tiny military pension and social security. They have no savings. They are as dependent on social services as it is possible to be and not live in public housing.
My mother in law is an immigrant from South America.
They voted for Trump. They expect things to get better for them under this administration.
I know this is a tiny, tiny thing considering everything everything else going on today, but it annihilates my brain to see how much Saint Reagan and Fox News fooled some of the poorest people in the country into thinking that their interests are the same as the interests of big capital.
I feel sick.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [90 favorites]
I really hope the deafening silence of the Democrats today is because they are in some sort of conference call putting together something big in response to this. If not, then we are even more fucked than I thought.
My patience with them runneth quite low.
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
My patience with them runneth quite low.
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
RobotVoodooPower, got a link for any of that concern?
posted by birdheist at 11:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by birdheist at 11:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
They are still coloring in the map of the countries they want.
And Trump having problems staying inside the lines.
posted by JackFlash at 11:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
And Trump having problems staying inside the lines.
posted by JackFlash at 11:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Hey, just got a "remember to sign up" text from healthcare.gov! I'm still not entirely certain if this is because
a) the order to stop pushing out ads and texts/emails was rescinded
b) they couldn't figure out how to stop automated texts or
c) rogue HHS techies
but any way you slice it, it's good!
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
a) the order to stop pushing out ads and texts/emails was rescinded
b) they couldn't figure out how to stop automated texts or
c) rogue HHS techies
but any way you slice it, it's good!
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Link
(from Russian) One and a half hours have passed since the end of the conversation between Putin and Trump: why they have been told that the two parties have yet to make any comments?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
(from Russian) One and a half hours have passed since the end of the conversation between Putin and Trump: why they have been told that the two parties have yet to make any comments?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I believe they backtracked on the notification ban thing to some degree after public outcry, which to some extent still works. We'll see how well it works on other things.
This may still be a democracy.
posted by Artw at 11:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
This may still be a democracy.
posted by Artw at 11:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Protest at SFO (international arrivals) at 3pm today. Not sure if I can make it, but I'll try to be there for a bit.
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
(from Russian) One and a half hours have passed since the end of the conversation between Putin and Trump: why they have been told that the two parties have yet to make any comments?
Trump inadvertently asked Putin when he's getting paid; Pence is dry heaving in the corner, Flynn is trying to book the quickest one way to Moscow and Reince and Bannon have strangled each other to death.
posted by PenDevil at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump inadvertently asked Putin when he's getting paid; Pence is dry heaving in the corner, Flynn is trying to book the quickest one way to Moscow and Reince and Bannon have strangled each other to death.
posted by PenDevil at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
They are still coloring in the map of the countries they want.
Mr. Molotov, Herr Ribbentrop, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mr. Molotov, Herr Ribbentrop, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I really hope the deafening silence of the Democrats today is because they are in some sort of conference call putting together something big in response to this. If not, then we are even more fucked than I thought.
My patience with them runneth quite low.
Lots of Dems have made statements online today. They're not getting much exposure, there'e only so much they can do to get on TV with no real power. This is a fight that will be fought with protests, and in the courts.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
My patience with them runneth quite low.
Lots of Dems have made statements online today. They're not getting much exposure, there'e only so much they can do to get on TV with no real power. This is a fight that will be fought with protests, and in the courts.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
save alive nothing that breatheth: New York City-State, with the remaining state of Up probably going with PA and the Rust Belt, I ain't know what that'll be called.It's called Niagara, and interestingly it has it's own secession movement, too. (Please don't let us join PA, I only moved here because of the fracking ban.)
posted by ragtag at 12:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
One of the big problems of being in opposition is that while the government's statements are inherently News, yours are not. This makes it hard for Dems to get cut-through even if they are trying.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Reince and Bannon have strangled each other to death.
Don't tease us like that.
posted by Behemoth at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Don't tease us like that.
posted by Behemoth at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
From Trita Parsi:
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
With ya there murphy slaw
My (super "Christian") parents voted for him while on public assistance and a union pension. Knowing that he has committed and bragged about committing most of your basic deadly sins.
Them: But we just "couldn't vote for that woman."
Me: So now the president is a man who will literally lie about whether it's raining on a crowd of people and it's not his biggest public lie of the day.
*crickets*
Them: All politicians lie. At least he's not trying to hide it.
Fox News has eaten my parents' brains. At first I fantasized about "what would it take for them to change their minds?"
Then I faced reality: nothing will. They and their cohort simply needs to be outworked and overwhelmed.
posted by sacre_bleu at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
My (super "Christian") parents voted for him while on public assistance and a union pension. Knowing that he has committed and bragged about committing most of your basic deadly sins.
Them: But we just "couldn't vote for that woman."
Me: So now the president is a man who will literally lie about whether it's raining on a crowd of people and it's not his biggest public lie of the day.
*crickets*
Them: All politicians lie. At least he's not trying to hide it.
Fox News has eaten my parents' brains. At first I fantasized about "what would it take for them to change their minds?"
Then I faced reality: nothing will. They and their cohort simply needs to be outworked and overwhelmed.
posted by sacre_bleu at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
Gosh I hate to bring this up because I feel like we are fighting so may different battles at the moment but this interview with Joy Reid bothered me. Anti-choice advocate admits to Joy Reid her ultimate goal is to make birth control illegal
The anti-BC voices have been getting louder in the past few years. At first I thought it was too absurd to even bother pay attention to, after all 99% of all American women of child-bearing age who have had sex have used birth control at some point.. Yet I am seeing more and more attempts to tie in certain methods-- particularly pills and IUDs-- tied into the move to ban abortions. Now sterilization has been added to the UN gag order along with abortion. So the Far Christian Right does not want you to get your tubes tied, use birth control, or get an abortion. Pence is part of the Far Christian Right. We may lose more than access to abortions in the next four years even if Trump is impeached.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
The anti-BC voices have been getting louder in the past few years. At first I thought it was too absurd to even bother pay attention to, after all 99% of all American women of child-bearing age who have had sex have used birth control at some point.. Yet I am seeing more and more attempts to tie in certain methods-- particularly pills and IUDs-- tied into the move to ban abortions. Now sterilization has been added to the UN gag order along with abortion. So the Far Christian Right does not want you to get your tubes tied, use birth control, or get an abortion. Pence is part of the Far Christian Right. We may lose more than access to abortions in the next four years even if Trump is impeached.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
Keith Ellison, first Muslim congressman, calls for ‘mass rallies’ to stop Trump orders
“It’s time for people to get active, to get involved, to vote and to organize,” said Ellison, who was in Houston to campaign for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “Trump must be stopped, and people power is what we have at our disposal to make him stop. We need mass rallies. We need them all over the country. We need them in Texas. We need them in D.C. We need them in Minnesota.”
Pick up that torch, Keith. We need a hero, or at least a leader, and we need it yesterday.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [89 favorites]
“It’s time for people to get active, to get involved, to vote and to organize,” said Ellison, who was in Houston to campaign for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “Trump must be stopped, and people power is what we have at our disposal to make him stop. We need mass rallies. We need them all over the country. We need them in Texas. We need them in D.C. We need them in Minnesota.”
Pick up that torch, Keith. We need a hero, or at least a leader, and we need it yesterday.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [89 favorites]
Corb, did you check your Trusted Traveler status?
posted by Yowser at 12:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 12:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Re Canadian cock-up: I can totally imagine them going 'Oh, wait. Canada? Totally forgot about you up there and them some going, 'oh shit' this isn't good. And then Bannon goes 'Oh shit totally forgot about Canada but right on you liberal pinko muther fuckers! You got those folk up there too, so yeah we did mean it. Suck it up!"
posted by Jalliah at 12:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Jalliah at 12:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Yes, I do believe the president is mentally unstable," Gallego, a Democrat, said on KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos. "I've said this thousands of times."
I'm so proud of my Congressman. He's been fighting the good fight since day one.
posted by Superplin at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I'm so proud of my Congressman. He's been fighting the good fight since day one.
posted by Superplin at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Kremlin readout says Putin & Trump discussed "main aspects of the Ukraine crisis," agreed to "partnership" over it.
Still no WH readout AFAIK.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Still no WH readout AFAIK.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Hey everybody! I'm panicking! I'm a Muslim-American naturalized US citizen and suddenly that citizenship feels like it might get taken away from me at any moment! I mean, maybe not mine, to be fair, I was born in Germany. Might take a little longer to drill down into "Muslims born in European countries." But just, y'know, everyone else in my family who was born in Iran or Afghanistan, which is, ahahaha, my entire fucking family except for the ones under 21 years old! This thread from Josh Shahryar is about where I'm at right now, only with bonus terror.
So, uh, I don't know what to do. I'm with Josh Shahryar's dad right now. They said all that shit about how it was okay, we'd be fine, they wouldn't come for us in Afghanistan too. And then they did, and then my family had to flee.
posted by yasaman at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [119 favorites]
So, uh, I don't know what to do. I'm with Josh Shahryar's dad right now. They said all that shit about how it was okay, we'd be fine, they wouldn't come for us in Afghanistan too. And then they did, and then my family had to flee.
posted by yasaman at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [119 favorites]
@lhfang Ted Cruz is pushing a bill to designate CAIR, the civil rights org fighting Muslim ban, as a terror affiliate group congress.gov/bill/114th-con…
posted by Artw at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Still no WH readout AFAIK.
They were waiting for the Kremlin readout *rimshot*
posted by Talez at 12:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
They were waiting for the Kremlin readout *rimshot*
posted by Talez at 12:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
A "partnership" does not sound like a good sign if you want Ukraine to still be an independent country in a month or two.
posted by zachlipton at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Kremlin readout says Putin & Trump discussed "main aspects of the Ukraine crisis," agreed to "partnership" over it.
Going for the US actively supporting the invasion overheat holding NATO back. Ballsy. They know how big they've won.
posted by Artw at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Going for the US actively supporting the invasion overheat holding NATO back. Ballsy. They know how big they've won.
posted by Artw at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Huh.
Interestingly timed tweet from Canada's immigration minister, who came as a Somali refugee.
Also, he's posted a video on Twitter where he's getting a Bhangra lesson from the Maritime Bhangra group.
Steve Bannon u r being trolled bro.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Interestingly timed tweet from Canada's immigration minister, who came as a Somali refugee.
Also, he's posted a video on Twitter where he's getting a Bhangra lesson from the Maritime Bhangra group.
Steve Bannon u r being trolled bro.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I know this Gregg Phillips dude doesn't deserve any attention but he just went on TV and made an ass of himself and he is Donnie's proof. What a fucking joke.
Anchor confronts man behind voter fraud claim
CNN's John Berman speaks with Gregg Phillips. Phillips says he has evidence of illegal votes being cast in the presidential election, but has repeatedly refused to provide proof to substantiate his claims.
On preview, Cruz is calling CAIR a terror affiliate group??!!
posted by futz at 12:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anchor confronts man behind voter fraud claim
CNN's John Berman speaks with Gregg Phillips. Phillips says he has evidence of illegal votes being cast in the presidential election, but has repeatedly refused to provide proof to substantiate his claims.
On preview, Cruz is calling CAIR a terror affiliate group??!!
posted by futz at 12:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
@JohnJHarwood: senior DHS official tells @NBCNews that career professionals at State/DHS had no input on directives. now scrambling to interpret/implement
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think over how precarious their status is right about now too. The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
On preview, Cruz is calling CAIR a terror affiliate group??!!
He thinks they're competition for Christian Dominionism.
posted by Talez at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
He thinks they're competition for Christian Dominionism.
posted by Talez at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
> The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
I'm a natural-born US citizen with a publicly-funded research job and an active security clearance, and I'm thinking the same thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I'm a natural-born US citizen with a publicly-funded research job and an active security clearance, and I'm thinking the same thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Re Canadian cock-up: I can totally imagine them going 'Oh, wait. Canada? Totally forgot about you up there and them some going, 'oh shit' this isn't good. And then Bannon goes 'Oh shit totally forgot about Canada but right on you liberal pinko muther fuckers! You got those folk up there too, so yeah we did mean it. Suck it up!"
It is impossible to tell if this is them screwing up due to rushing and not being experienced or if this is Bannon sowing chaos. Just my opinion but I do think Jared Kushner probably does not want the choas, he wants a legitimate, popular Presidency so he can make power plays. Unfortunately the big orange ass in the middle of this is too stupid to make rational, thoughtful choices and is allowing himself to be used by the others. He is a fucking puppet and is just too dumb not to know it because he has a hugely inflated sense of his own intelligence.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
It is impossible to tell if this is them screwing up due to rushing and not being experienced or if this is Bannon sowing chaos. Just my opinion but I do think Jared Kushner probably does not want the choas, he wants a legitimate, popular Presidency so he can make power plays. Unfortunately the big orange ass in the middle of this is too stupid to make rational, thoughtful choices and is allowing himself to be used by the others. He is a fucking puppet and is just too dumb not to know it because he has a hugely inflated sense of his own intelligence.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ted Cruz is pushing a bill to designate CAIR, the civil rights org fighting Muslim ban, as a terror affiliate group congress.gov/bill/114th-con…
Recall that Ted Cruz was the candidate the NeverTrumpers backed.
posted by JackFlash at 12:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [60 favorites]
Recall that Ted Cruz was the candidate the NeverTrumpers backed.
posted by JackFlash at 12:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [60 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think over how precarious their status is right about now too. The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
My citizenship interview is in a couple of weeks. I'm staying as far away from the border as I can. Even though I am in one of the safest demographics, I don't want to stake my future on a bureaucratic cock-up or some random asshole at CBP who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
posted by Behemoth at 12:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
My citizenship interview is in a couple of weeks. I'm staying as far away from the border as I can. Even though I am in one of the safest demographics, I don't want to stake my future on a bureaucratic cock-up or some random asshole at CBP who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
posted by Behemoth at 12:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Posting live from JFK. It's freezing outside, and snowing, but there are hundreds of us.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [133 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [133 favorites]
Good Grief. Ted Cruz is trying to get to the right of Trump/Bannon.
posted by notyou at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by notyou at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
@lhfang Ted Cruz is pushing a bill to designate CAIR, the civil rights org fighting Muslim ban, as a terror affiliate group congress.gov/bill/114th-con…
Hey, let's grease the slippery slope to fascism. If they can get away with this, then next they can come for Black Lives Matter, and then Planned Parenthood, and then the ACLU and the PTA. If you don't praise the current President and kiss his ass, then you are an anti-American troublemaker and the government could be able to disappear you any time they want. They are disappearing our rights right now.
posted by puddledork at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
Hey, let's grease the slippery slope to fascism. If they can get away with this, then next they can come for Black Lives Matter, and then Planned Parenthood, and then the ACLU and the PTA. If you don't praise the current President and kiss his ass, then you are an anti-American troublemaker and the government could be able to disappear you any time they want. They are disappearing our rights right now.
posted by puddledork at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
Recall that Ted Cruz was the candidate the NeverTrumpers backed.
NeverTrumpers are still at heart Republicans, and all of this has been on the Republican wish list for years. The only true division of Amy consequence within the republican ranks is between those who think they might face another election and those that don't.
posted by Artw at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
NeverTrumpers are still at heart Republicans, and all of this has been on the Republican wish list for years. The only true division of Amy consequence within the republican ranks is between those who think they might face another election and those that don't.
posted by Artw at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Posting live from JFK. It's freezing outside, and snowing, but there are hundreds of us.
Thank you roomthreeseventeen
posted by mcduff at 12:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Thank you roomthreeseventeen
posted by mcduff at 12:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
A "partnership" does not sound like a good sign if you want Ukraine to still be an independent country in a month or two.
A treaty about to be broken. Remember how we made them give up their nukes. We are becoming bad actors and there are 6.5 billion people that are going to treat us as such.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
A treaty about to be broken. Remember how we made them give up their nukes. We are becoming bad actors and there are 6.5 billion people that are going to treat us as such.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
yasaman - This thread from Josh Shahryar is about where I'm at right now, only with bonus terror.
I just read that, and I haven't felt the pit in my stomach this bad since election night. EVERYONE needs to read that thread.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
I just read that, and I haven't felt the pit in my stomach this bad since election night. EVERYONE needs to read that thread.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think over how precarious their status is right about now too. The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
This is literally all I've been thinking of since last evening. And it feels both hyperbolically panicky and selfish, because I know how much better off I am than people from the countries being affected by the executive order. But my parents worked so hard for me to get a green card. They thought that meant something more-or-less permanent; I thought it meant something more-or-less permanent.
A couple years ago I went on vacation to Italy and left my green card at home in a thoughtless moment, and getting back to the US was expensive and exhausting and often really scary. It is - a lot more than I can process, to think that there are people who built a life in the US with that expectation of permanency, and suddenly it's not there and they just can't go home, at all.
posted by Jeanne at 12:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think
That would be my ex-husband. He has lived here 44 years. He has worked hard, paid taxes, bought a house, had a child with me, but always planned to retire back in Japan. Now he is realizing he will never go back to live in Japan because all of his friends and his only child all live here. Besides he loves the California weather too much and life in Japan is even more expensive than life (i.e. golfing) than in California. So my daughter is working on getting his paperwork started for citizenship. I hope it works out for her sake.
I only bring this up because I think most people have no idea of how many people around us are here either on Green Cards or visas or else related somehow to people here on Green Cards. We are still a nation of immigrants.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
So I'm as inclined as anyone to think Ted Cruz would push for getting CAIR designated as a terrorist group but the introduced legislation that I can find is about the Muslim Brotherhood. Perhaps over-reaching, but not CAIR. Or am I missing something?
posted by R343L at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by R343L at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
hey didn't Sean Spicer say like two days ago that the only immigrants who needed to be worried were criminals?
posted by angrycat at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Of course, keep in mind we're getting our news from the Kremlin and the White House. We might as well just consult the I Ching.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I feel your pain, Yasaman. I'm an Afghan born in Pakistan who emigrated as a small child. I've been a citizen for over 30 years but I have had this dread in me since the election campaign started. My parents are retired and live in semi-rural Ohio and I made the decision on November 9 to move back there to be closer to them. My dad is a peaceful man and has been doing Interfaith outreach in local Sunday schools and churches since 9/11 and he is just devastated. He can't comprehend that the country he moved to and grew in would treat people like him, like this. I am prepared to be a body shield if it comes to that because I have no doubts that a Muslim Registry is next. It's just a matter of another attack on American soil.
I know so many people who are legal residents and it makes me sick to think that families will be divided and people will not get to return to their homes. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of innocent folks who are stranded or denied entry.
This man is monster. He will take us all down with him for the sake of the god-sized hole where his heart should be.
Anyone who is complicit in this should burn in the lowest circles of hell. I've already eliminated people in my life who voted for him (people I work with, not anyone I care about).
Now it just involves lots of planning and covering every contingency. If I have to leave this country with my parents, I will. And for the first time in my life, I am thinking about buying a gun.
A pox on all on their houses.
posted by nikitabot at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
I know so many people who are legal residents and it makes me sick to think that families will be divided and people will not get to return to their homes. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of innocent folks who are stranded or denied entry.
This man is monster. He will take us all down with him for the sake of the god-sized hole where his heart should be.
Anyone who is complicit in this should burn in the lowest circles of hell. I've already eliminated people in my life who voted for him (people I work with, not anyone I care about).
Now it just involves lots of planning and covering every contingency. If I have to leave this country with my parents, I will. And for the first time in my life, I am thinking about buying a gun.
A pox on all on their houses.
posted by nikitabot at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
DHS says WH denied them input on ban, now scrambling to implement
"Nobody has any idea what is going on," source tells @KenDilanianNBC
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
"Nobody has any idea what is going on," source tells @KenDilanianNBC
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
The other laws I can find about designating groups as terrorist are for an Iran revolutionary group which is probably not it either. Cruz introduced the same legislation in the Senate so that seems like it.
posted by R343L at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by R343L at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sean Spicer is so stupid he accidentally tweeted his own Twitter password two days in a row, so who cares what he says? It's all lies anyway.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 12:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by Elementary Penguin at 12:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
I have tried to call both the Chicago and the Washington offices of Senators Durbin and Duckworth to leave a message with them insisting that strong statements are not enough, and ask for them to demand the attention of the nation and take immediate action in Congress to fight this in any way possible.
All four mailboxes were full, and these two are usually pretty good about not letting them fill up. Hopefully they are jammed full of other citizens leaving the exact same message.
posted by jammer at 12:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
All four mailboxes were full, and these two are usually pretty good about not letting them fill up. Hopefully they are jammed full of other citizens leaving the exact same message.
posted by jammer at 12:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
The Cruz bill includes this:
"In the Holy Land Foundation prosecutions—the largest terrorism financing trial in United States history—Department of Justice officials successfully argued in court that the international Muslim Brotherhood and its United States affiliates had engaged in a widespread conspiracy to raise money and materially support the terrorist group Hamas. HLF officials charged in the case were found guilty on all counts in November 2008, primarily related to millions of dollars that had been transferred to Hamas. During the trial and in court documents, Federal prosecutors implicated a number of prominent United States-Islamic organizations in this conspiracy, including the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. These groups and their leaders, among others, were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the case. The Department of Justice told the court that these United States-Muslim Brotherhood affiliates acted at the direction of the international Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorism in a July 2008 court filing: “ISNA and NAIT, in fact, shared more with HLF than just a parent organization. They were intimately connected with the Holy Land Foundation and its assigned task of providing financial support to HAMAS. Shortly after HAMAS was founded in 1987, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, the International Muslim Brotherhood ordered the Muslim Brotherhood chapters throughout the world to create Palestine Committees, who supported HAMAS with ‘media, money and men’. The U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood created the United States Palestine Committee, which documents reflect was initially comprised of 3 organizations: the Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the United Association for Studies and Research. CAIR was later added to these organizations. "
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
"In the Holy Land Foundation prosecutions—the largest terrorism financing trial in United States history—Department of Justice officials successfully argued in court that the international Muslim Brotherhood and its United States affiliates had engaged in a widespread conspiracy to raise money and materially support the terrorist group Hamas. HLF officials charged in the case were found guilty on all counts in November 2008, primarily related to millions of dollars that had been transferred to Hamas. During the trial and in court documents, Federal prosecutors implicated a number of prominent United States-Islamic organizations in this conspiracy, including the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. These groups and their leaders, among others, were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the case. The Department of Justice told the court that these United States-Muslim Brotherhood affiliates acted at the direction of the international Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorism in a July 2008 court filing: “ISNA and NAIT, in fact, shared more with HLF than just a parent organization. They were intimately connected with the Holy Land Foundation and its assigned task of providing financial support to HAMAS. Shortly after HAMAS was founded in 1987, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, the International Muslim Brotherhood ordered the Muslim Brotherhood chapters throughout the world to create Palestine Committees, who supported HAMAS with ‘media, money and men’. The U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood created the United States Palestine Committee, which documents reflect was initially comprised of 3 organizations: the Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the United Association for Studies and Research. CAIR was later added to these organizations. "
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
We have one Republican kind of sort of saying something:
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
News: @RepCharlieDent, a PA Republican who reps a large Syrian comm tells me:It's not much, pretty much the least possible, but it's something. And the rest of his party is silent.
“I urge the admin to halt enforcement of this order..." (1/
"...until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated" (2/2)
Dent has constituents w family who were turned back at PHL this am
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
jammer--I was able to get thru to Durbin's Springfield and Rock Island VMs awhile ago.
posted by bookmammal at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by bookmammal at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017
hey didn't Sean Spicer say like two days ago that the only immigrants who needed to be worried were criminals?
Well I think we all understand by now that Being Muslim is a crime in itself and Not Liking Trump is a double-plus crime. Soon to be recognized as crimes: Not Being Born in the USA, Not Having Parents Born in the USA, Not Voting Republican, Being Black in America, and Being Any Color Other Than White in America. Hyperbolic? I should hope so but at this moment in time it is feeling a bit too on the money.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Well I think we all understand by now that Being Muslim is a crime in itself and Not Liking Trump is a double-plus crime. Soon to be recognized as crimes: Not Being Born in the USA, Not Having Parents Born in the USA, Not Voting Republican, Being Black in America, and Being Any Color Other Than White in America. Hyperbolic? I should hope so but at this moment in time it is feeling a bit too on the money.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
hey didn't Sean Spicer say like two days ago that the only immigrants who needed to be worried were criminals?
These are also the people who loudly bray "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out!" at every opportunity, which in Sphincter's view is probably totally consistent.
posted by hangashore at 12:55 PM on January 28, 2017
These are also the people who loudly bray "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out!" at every opportunity, which in Sphincter's view is probably totally consistent.
posted by hangashore at 12:55 PM on January 28, 2017
Oh holy shit T.D. Strange. I only read thru the House version assuming they were basically the same (they usually are, the tweet linked to a House bill from the 114th).
posted by R343L at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by R343L at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
The bill mentions CAIR in some background stuff, and while the bill does not immediately call for action against CAIR you can bet it would be coming if the report the bill calls for goes Cruz' way - and a report is actually all it calls for, it's not saying the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization and giving that declaration the force of law but it's betting on a report from the Trump executive to say it:
posted by jason_steakums at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
(b) Report.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the intelligence community, shall submit a detailed report to the appropriate congressional committees that—If this bill goes through it needs to be the focus of the bureaucratic resistance to slow and stop it. In the meantime we call and act and agitate to make sure it doesn't go through.
(1) indicates whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); and
(2) if the Secretary of State determines that the Muslim Brotherhood does not meet the criteria referred to in paragraph (1), includes a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met.
(c) Form.—The report required under subsection (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if appropriate.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
Iraqi refugee released from JFK calls America ‘the land of freedom’
posted by tonycpsu at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Unless we can figure out some way of mass-pressuring our D representatives to force them into action, we will see zero bravery from them until something even more shocking than this happens. I'm talking blood-in-the streets shocking, iconic-footage-everywhere-you-look shocking.
This very thought has been creeping in the back of my mind all week, and the fact that the president seems to have Chicago in his crosshairs has got me sick with dread. I don't doubt that we would rise up and fight like hell if they find a way to send in troops, or whatever fresh new horror they dream up. Of that I have total confidence. It's what happens after, that fills me with terror. It can't end well. I don't want us to make the history books as the tragic turning point of the resistance. It won't stop me from showing up, but good god I do not want this. I suppose nobody ever does.
posted by gueneverey at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
This very thought has been creeping in the back of my mind all week, and the fact that the president seems to have Chicago in his crosshairs has got me sick with dread. I don't doubt that we would rise up and fight like hell if they find a way to send in troops, or whatever fresh new horror they dream up. Of that I have total confidence. It's what happens after, that fills me with terror. It can't end well. I don't want us to make the history books as the tragic turning point of the resistance. It won't stop me from showing up, but good god I do not want this. I suppose nobody ever does.
posted by gueneverey at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well what the hell else was the poor guy going to say?
posted by telepanda at 1:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by telepanda at 1:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
For those in the Chicago area, it looks like we got something firing up at Terminal 5 at ORD. I'm going to head over shortly.
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nobannowallchi
posted by jammer at 1:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nobannowallchi
posted by jammer at 1:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I hope Dubya speaks out. I despised him as President, and still feel generally ill towards him. However, one of the few things I admired was how he spoke up fairly quickly after the 9/11 attacks and urged people, repeatedly, to not take out their anger on the Muslims in this country. I don't know what effect that speech had on other Americans, but I believe it helped considerably in keeping the violence towards Muslims and Arab-Americans down in the intense anger of 2001.
posted by honestcoyote at 1:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by honestcoyote at 1:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Sr. DOJ official tells NBC News the dept had no input on the executive order & isn't sure who in the White House is writing & reviewing them
Theyre not even consulting with OLC.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
Theyre not even consulting with OLC.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
Obama, Dubya, Clinton, GHWB, and Carter should all speak out against this. In a case like this, to hell with the traditional protocol that says former presidents do not publicly criticize a sitting president.
posted by orange swan at 1:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 1:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
It's pretty clear that Jeff Bannon is writing them, nobody is reviewing them. Trump probably is in broad agreement with them but sure as hell isnt reading them before signing.
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
I am so full of anger and frustration right now but there's not much I can say that everyone hasn't already said better than I could. Thank you guys for being here, all of us supporting and encouraging each other means a lot.
I do want to remind everyone (including myself) to take a little time for self-care, today and as often as you need to in the coming days. Detach from the outrage firehose and recharge when you can. Look for and share whatever good news you can find. Tell the people you love that you love them. Eat, sleep, spend time with friends and family. Take your meds if you need meds. See your doctor or counselor if you need to. Look after the people and things that need your attention, that were here long before Trump and will be here long after he's gone.
Stay well and strong, everybody. We'll get through this together.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
I do want to remind everyone (including myself) to take a little time for self-care, today and as often as you need to in the coming days. Detach from the outrage firehose and recharge when you can. Look for and share whatever good news you can find. Tell the people you love that you love them. Eat, sleep, spend time with friends and family. Take your meds if you need meds. See your doctor or counselor if you need to. Look after the people and things that need your attention, that were here long before Trump and will be here long after he's gone.
Stay well and strong, everybody. We'll get through this together.
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Oh god, the Josh Shahryar tweets. I lost it and started bawling around
It turns out that any authoritarian group who believes their cause is just can be evil. But Shahryar's dad is right. When these things happen, it's amazing how fast it happens, how much the laws get disregarded in ways previously thought inconceivable.
I'm making plans, just in case, and I think it's reasonable at this point for other people to do so. Get all your important documents together. Start thinking of what you can't live without.
posted by corb at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
This is very diff from that."I've had a secret and not so secret fear for a long time that America would dissolve in revolution and rioting. I even asked about it, a long time ago. It was communists who came for my family, and I thought it would be communists who came for me.
"It's not. I saw the communists do it."
It turns out that any authoritarian group who believes their cause is just can be evil. But Shahryar's dad is right. When these things happen, it's amazing how fast it happens, how much the laws get disregarded in ways previously thought inconceivable.
I'm making plans, just in case, and I think it's reasonable at this point for other people to do so. Get all your important documents together. Start thinking of what you can't live without.
posted by corb at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Here's Michael Flynn's son outright calling it a Muslim ban.
posted by zachlipton at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
'She Decides': Dutch put millions into birth control fund
The Dutch government announced Saturday it's putting 10 million euros ($10.7 million) into an international fund it has launched to finance access to birth control, abortion and sex education for women in developing nations after President Donald Trump cut U.S. funding for such services.
Lilianne Ploumen, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said she was making the initial contribution and launched the fund — "She Decides - Global Fundraising Initiative" — with a website.
...The fund will "prevent women and girls being abandoned," she added. "Because they, too, must be able to decide for themselves if they want children, with whom and when."
posted by futz at 1:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
The Dutch government announced Saturday it's putting 10 million euros ($10.7 million) into an international fund it has launched to finance access to birth control, abortion and sex education for women in developing nations after President Donald Trump cut U.S. funding for such services.
Lilianne Ploumen, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said she was making the initial contribution and launched the fund — "She Decides - Global Fundraising Initiative" — with a website.
...The fund will "prevent women and girls being abandoned," she added. "Because they, too, must be able to decide for themselves if they want children, with whom and when."
posted by futz at 1:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
In other news,
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said. [independent.co.uk]
posted by porpoise at 1:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said. [independent.co.uk]
posted by porpoise at 1:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
I posted the transcript for the news bit about California could cut off feds, if anyone's interested.
Also re-watched Mario Savio's speech at UC Berkeley. The link is cued up to the most-quoted bit:
Also re-watched Mario Savio's speech at UC Berkeley. The link is cued up to the most-quoted bit:
There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
It's pretty clear that Jeff Bannon is writing them, nobody is reviewing them. Trump probably is in broad agreement with them but sure as hell isnt reading them before signing.
We need the media to focus on that point - declare loud and strong that the President is a puppet, that he has no idea what he's signing, that he's obviously just a figurehead who throws tantrums if he isn't told people like him.
Pick a clause from each EO, and pontificate about, "I bet the president has no idea that this means [X] for [Y] group of people; if he wants a thriving country, that was a pretty stupid thing to sign. I bet his handlers lied to him about what it really meant. That is, if he reads it at all... maybe he just signs anything they put in front of him. He could be replaced by an autograph machine and a parade float."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
We need the media to focus on that point - declare loud and strong that the President is a puppet, that he has no idea what he's signing, that he's obviously just a figurehead who throws tantrums if he isn't told people like him.
Pick a clause from each EO, and pontificate about, "I bet the president has no idea that this means [X] for [Y] group of people; if he wants a thriving country, that was a pretty stupid thing to sign. I bet his handlers lied to him about what it really meant. That is, if he reads it at all... maybe he just signs anything they put in front of him. He could be replaced by an autograph machine and a parade float."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Hey, dual citizens get shit on, too!
Not dual US citizens, though, right?
posted by Coventry at 1:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Not dual US citizens, though, right?
posted by Coventry at 1:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Jeff?
posted by petebest at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by petebest at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Anything planned for Sea-Tac Airport?
posted by spinifex23 at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by spinifex23 at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Josh Marshall: The Republican Congress is Responsible
For political and moral reasons, it is important to remember that very little of what the President is now doing is possible without a compliant Congress. Executive orders in most cases fill in the blanks that legislation leaves to the President's discretion. So this isn't just a matter of the sway a Congress of the President's party can exercise over him, which is substantial. In many or most cases, Executive Orders and Actions can literally be overruled with new legislation. [...]posted by tonycpsu at 1:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [60 favorites]
The President is unpopular. His main policies are unpopular. His behavior is unpopular. The Congress makes everything he's doing possible. Most of them are up for reelection in less than two years.
I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration.
It kind of surprises me that people would want to illegally immigrate to Israel in the first place. Are they mostly descendants of Palestinian refugees?
posted by Coventry at 1:23 PM on January 28, 2017
It kind of surprises me that people would want to illegally immigrate to Israel in the first place. Are they mostly descendants of Palestinian refugees?
posted by Coventry at 1:23 PM on January 28, 2017
I was just thinking that this is another way in which our Representational Voting is set up to prevent Progressive ideas. Since the EC, The Senate, and even the State Reps give undue influence to the rural, less populated areas it means that those who are less likely to know any Green Card holders have more power in the voting booth than people who live in highly populated areas where you are more likely to know and have friendships (and even marry) people with Green Cards.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Paul Ryan: Trump’s refugee ban does not target Muslims
posted by tonycpsu at 1:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
“This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan.Likewise, if Democrats introduced a bill next week targeting the highest-ranking politician in the Presidential line of succession from the state of Wisconsin for a massive wedgie, they would not be targeting Paul Ryan directly.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Do any of these things have any likelihood of stopping this madness?
Ongoing (?) investigations into Russian connections, when his own people are running the investigation?
Lawsuits, when lawyers can be threatened, perhaps their families threatened, and judges can be bought or chosen?
The midterm elections, when all the supporting structure of fair elections might be completely dismantled by then?
Democrats, with no clear leaders or agreement. (One personal fantasy involves Obama sitting back to see whether this shitshow implodes on its own or if it doesn't, he stands up and leads all the people to... something less bad.)
I get the feeling that resistance is muted because those very few people who can make a difference are being threatened or bribed into silence. It is conspiracy theories gone wild! Meanwhile, along with Bannon and his violently propagandized white supremacists, Putin is behind it with his own master plan, having success at isolating us. The hell that I am typing these words.
But we have so many MORE good people, brilliant minds, venerated institutions.
Don't we still have time to avert complete and utter disaster? All signs of hope welcome.
posted by Glinn at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ongoing (?) investigations into Russian connections, when his own people are running the investigation?
Lawsuits, when lawyers can be threatened, perhaps their families threatened, and judges can be bought or chosen?
The midterm elections, when all the supporting structure of fair elections might be completely dismantled by then?
Democrats, with no clear leaders or agreement. (One personal fantasy involves Obama sitting back to see whether this shitshow implodes on its own or if it doesn't, he stands up and leads all the people to... something less bad.)
I get the feeling that resistance is muted because those very few people who can make a difference are being threatened or bribed into silence. It is conspiracy theories gone wild! Meanwhile, along with Bannon and his violently propagandized white supremacists, Putin is behind it with his own master plan, having success at isolating us. The hell that I am typing these words.
But we have so many MORE good people, brilliant minds, venerated institutions.
Don't we still have time to avert complete and utter disaster? All signs of hope welcome.
posted by Glinn at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hold on to anger. Anger's the only stage of grief that can hurt your (attempted) murderer.
Do people really believe they need anger to fight effectively?
posted by Coventry at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017
Do people really believe they need anger to fight effectively?
posted by Coventry at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017
It kind of surprises me that people would want to illegally immigrate to Israel in the first place. Are they mostly descendants of Palestinian refugees?
Probably referring to migrants from East Africa coming up through Egypt.
posted by PenDevil at 1:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Probably referring to migrants from East Africa coming up through Egypt.
posted by PenDevil at 1:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'd been reluctant to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, even though I'm eligible in both sides, but I think I'm going to put my application in just so I can make sure my chapter says "This is not America."
posted by TheLateGreatAbrahamLincoln at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by TheLateGreatAbrahamLincoln at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
@JonSwaine Conservative member of parliament in the UK banned by Trump from entering the US
Well maybe T(h)eresa May can get on the phone with her old pal Trump and smooth things over. After all this was only meant to affect the powerless and the ordinary.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Well maybe T(h)eresa May can get on the phone with her old pal Trump and smooth things over. After all this was only meant to affect the powerless and the ordinary.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Not dual US citizens, though, right?I'm pretty sure that US citizens are entitled to enter the US. The ban extends to, say, British or Canadian citizens who also have citizenship in one of the banned countries. I'm hearing on Twitter that it also extends to all people who born in one of the off-limits countries, even if they're not a citizen. Nadhim Zahawi, a pro-Brexit Conservative British MP, was told that he and his wife can't travel to the US because they were born in Iraq, even though neither is an Iraqi citizen.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
So I can't find a way to donate via paypal to the ACLU National organization, only the Southern Calfiornia chapter (as well as other state chapters.)
Would donations to a regional chapter still help fight national issues with Trump executive orders, immigration, etc?
posted by bluecore at 1:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Would donations to a regional chapter still help fight national issues with Trump executive orders, immigration, etc?
posted by bluecore at 1:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Paul Ryan: Trump’s refugee ban does not target MuslimsWell, that's some bullshit, but it makes me think that the pushback is working, at least to some extent. Time to keep up the pressure.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
posted by basalganglia at 1:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 1:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
This is designed to increase the odds of another terrorist attack. They need an excuse for the next step - complete martial law.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
Lots of Dems have made statements online today. They're not getting much exposure, there'e only so much they can do to get on TV with no real power. This is a fight that will be fought with protests, and in the courts.
They could, I don't know, have a sit-in on the floor of congress, something weird like that
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Boy this nightmare makes me think of one of the Hillary Clinton emails that surfaced from the DNC hack -- you know, the one where she sees something on CNN about a 10 year old girl being oppressed in Yemen, remembers meeting her at a Glamour event, and asks her people to try to bring her to the US for education and counseling.
posted by pocketfullofrye at 1:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by pocketfullofrye at 1:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
It's a shame May seems determined to sell the country's soul for some putative deal that won't even be made for another couple of years, otherwise there's a good chance that another petition to ban Trump from the UK would have more success than last time. Even back in January 2016 40% of Scots were in favour.
His response was, predictably, to throw a tantrum.
posted by Buntix at 1:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
His response was, predictably, to throw a tantrum.
posted by Buntix at 1:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
On my way home now from JFK . The protest there started small, but grew quickly. I met a woman who came here as a Jewish Soviet refugee in 1989, and taught her about mic checks. It was so horrifying to chant "Let then in", knowing that at least one man, and maybe as many as a dozen people, were just inside, with no freedom.
My Congressman, Jerry Nadler, was there, as well as
the city council member who leads the immigration committee. It feels good to have some leadership when the POTUS goes against everything I stand for.
I only left because i have a two hour subway ride home. But I'll go back every day we need to.
Best sign: The Constitution is not alternative fact.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
My Congressman, Jerry Nadler, was there, as well as
the city council member who leads the immigration committee. It feels good to have some leadership when the POTUS goes against everything I stand for.
I only left because i have a two hour subway ride home. But I'll go back every day we need to.
Best sign: The Constitution is not alternative fact.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
This is designed to increase the odds of another terrorist attack.
I've said it before: If they need a terrorist attack, they will have no qualms about producing one themselves. In a sanctuary city. Probably a west coast one. And they will swoop in and come to the rescue, and prove that they are standing up for all of America.
And just try protesting anything they do after that.
And if it doesn't happen soon, I hate to tell you, it ain't happening, folks. Should never have waited till after the inauguration in the first place. Time's about up.
posted by perspicio at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I've said it before: If they need a terrorist attack, they will have no qualms about producing one themselves. In a sanctuary city. Probably a west coast one. And they will swoop in and come to the rescue, and prove that they are standing up for all of America.
And just try protesting anything they do after that.
There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!Goddamned straight.
And if it doesn't happen soon, I hate to tell you, it ain't happening, folks. Should never have waited till after the inauguration in the first place. Time's about up.
posted by perspicio at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Some usually non political veterans I know have started posting photos of their interpreters, with statements why a Muslim ban would be horrible. I don't know that it will change anything, but it's good to see at least.
posted by corb at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
posted by corb at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
This is designed to increase the odds of another terrorist attack. They need an excuse for the next step - complete martial law.
I mean, this is what I'm waiting for. One terrorist attack, and it's registration and/or detainment time for me and my family. If you don't think this is exactly what's coming, I don't know what to tell you. At best, the hope is that law enforcement agencies won't cooperate, but I know my history. It doesn't take big evil or deliberate malice from all the cogs of the bureaucratic machine. All it takes is ordinary people following orders, going along with the flow.
So I'm asking you: start thinking, right now, about what you will do to protect people like me and my family, your fellow citizens. And I'm not talking about "give to the ACLU" levels of action, because yo, been there done, done that, set up my monthly donation. I'm talking Mario Savio put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels of the machine levels of action. My body's on the line no matter what. I'm in danger no matter what. If I'm getting crushed under those wheels, I'm going down screaming.
posted by yasaman at 1:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [84 favorites]
I mean, this is what I'm waiting for. One terrorist attack, and it's registration and/or detainment time for me and my family. If you don't think this is exactly what's coming, I don't know what to tell you. At best, the hope is that law enforcement agencies won't cooperate, but I know my history. It doesn't take big evil or deliberate malice from all the cogs of the bureaucratic machine. All it takes is ordinary people following orders, going along with the flow.
So I'm asking you: start thinking, right now, about what you will do to protect people like me and my family, your fellow citizens. And I'm not talking about "give to the ACLU" levels of action, because yo, been there done, done that, set up my monthly donation. I'm talking Mario Savio put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels of the machine levels of action. My body's on the line no matter what. I'm in danger no matter what. If I'm getting crushed under those wheels, I'm going down screaming.
posted by yasaman at 1:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [84 favorites]
Get all your important documents together. Start thinking of what you can't live without.
yeah i have a copy of my passport and naturalization docs on file with a lawyer and it doesn't even remotely feel like an overreaction
posted by poffin boffin at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
yeah i have a copy of my passport and naturalization docs on file with a lawyer and it doesn't even remotely feel like an overreaction
posted by poffin boffin at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I'm actually kind of surprised that a judge hasn't issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of this Executive Order. There has to be more than one Federal judge that would be willing to issue a stay and I suspect more than a few circuits that would uphold that stay.
If this lasts this whole week it would be shocking as it's so clearly in violation of current law.
posted by vuron at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
If this lasts this whole week it would be shocking as it's so clearly in violation of current law.
posted by vuron at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I'm guessing they are thinking hard about what happens if their injunction just gets ignored before they do it.
posted by dilaudid at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by dilaudid at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Paul Ryan: Trump’s refugee ban does not target Muslims
“This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan.
Likewise, if Democrats introduced a bill next week targeting the highest-ranking politician in the Presidential line of succession from the state of Wisconsin for a massive wedgie, they would not be targeting Paul Ryan directly.
Ain't no boot licking like a Paul Ryan boot licking cause a Paul Ryan boot licking don't get punished at the ballot box - until 2018, you frat bro motherfucker.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
“This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan.
Likewise, if Democrats introduced a bill next week targeting the highest-ranking politician in the Presidential line of succession from the state of Wisconsin for a massive wedgie, they would not be targeting Paul Ryan directly.
Ain't no boot licking like a Paul Ryan boot licking cause a Paul Ryan boot licking don't get punished at the ballot box - until 2018, you frat bro motherfucker.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Also I know this applies only to a small group of people, but: active duty military, reservists, and retirees, you can fly space available with your family through military airports. This includes in and out of the country. While you do have to show a passport, you're just showing it to some bored E3, who has zero interest in stopping you.
posted by corb at 1:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by corb at 1:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Los Angeles people: protest planned for LAX tomorrow. There are reportedly a bunch of people being detained at Dallas-Fort Worth airport, but I don't know if there are protests going on there.
I'm trying to think of what we should do if we don't live anywhere near an international airport. This is a huge assault on the American academic community, and I'm thinking that people affiliated with universities should organize some sort of protest.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I'm trying to think of what we should do if we don't live anywhere near an international airport. This is a huge assault on the American academic community, and I'm thinking that people affiliated with universities should organize some sort of protest.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
The fact that this is patently unconstitutional and in violation of current statutes (and it would be impossible to revise those statutes in the face of a filibuster) makes me believe that this is 110% theatrics for the base. Throw them some red meat that is almost certain to be reversed in the courts and now you have got your base supporters howling for blood with all the bullshit "Activist Judges" rhetoric.
Make no mistake this is totally about the White House being 100% staffed by islamophobes that would love to have some sort of crusade against Islam but this is also about propping up a Presidency that is seeing approval numbers plummet on a daily basis.
posted by vuron at 2:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Make no mistake this is totally about the White House being 100% staffed by islamophobes that would love to have some sort of crusade against Islam but this is also about propping up a Presidency that is seeing approval numbers plummet on a daily basis.
posted by vuron at 2:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I've said it before: If they need a terrorist attack, they will have no qualms about producing one themselves.
Operation Gladio
Operation Northwoods
Operation Gladio
Operation Northwoods
It has retrospectively called Operation Gladio/A[2], after the project was adapted as "Gladio B", using radical Moslems as a substitute enemy image for communists.posted by rough ashlar at 2:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Keith Ellison, first Muslim congressman, calls for ‘mass rallies’ to stop Trump orders
I think we're getting close to general strike territory, myself.
posted by rhizome at 2:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
I think we're getting close to general strike territory, myself.
posted by rhizome at 2:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
Volunteer lawyers on the floor drafting habeas peititons.
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
I'm actually kind of surprised that a judge hasn't issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of this Executive Order.
The other beauty of doing this late on a Friday night, federal courts aren't in regular session till Monday.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The other beauty of doing this late on a Friday night, federal courts aren't in regular session till Monday.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
> Volunteer lawyers on the floor drafting habeas peititons.
RIP: Every lawyer joke ever.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
RIP: Every lawyer joke ever.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
It gets worse.
Woman set for deportation attempts suicide at JFK
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017
Woman set for deportation attempts suicide at JFK
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm guessing they are thinking hard about what happens if their injunction just gets ignored before they do it.
If ignoring a federal judge is on the table, then we really do have a whole 'nother thing going on.
posted by eclectist at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
If ignoring a federal judge is on the table, then we really do have a whole 'nother thing going on.
posted by eclectist at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
If it is proven the order was illegal, what are the chances of it being possible to bring a class action suit for costs and damages? They must be really racking up right now...
Also cycles of oppression via @vonny_bravo
posted by Buntix at 2:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also cycles of oppression via @vonny_bravo
posted by Buntix at 2:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
"If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress"
On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York, on the twenty-third anniversary of the event. Most of the address was a history of British efforts toward emancipation as well as a reminder of the crucial role of the West Indian slaves in that own freedom struggle. However shortly after he began Douglass sounded a foretelling of the coming Civil War when he uttered two paragraphs that became the most quoted sentences of all of his public orations. They began with the words, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York, on the twenty-third anniversary of the event. Most of the address was a history of British efforts toward emancipation as well as a reminder of the crucial role of the West Indian slaves in that own freedom struggle. However shortly after he began Douglass sounded a foretelling of the coming Civil War when he uttered two paragraphs that became the most quoted sentences of all of his public orations. They began with the words, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.posted by perspicio at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. In the light of these ideas,Negroes[non-white non-Christians] will be hunted at the North and held and flogged at the South so long as they submit to those devilish outrages and make no resistance, either moral or physical. Men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get. If we ever get free from the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this by labor, by suffering, by sacrifice, and if needs be, by our lives and the lives of others.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
posted by variella at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by variella at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
Evan McMullin: "The truth is that the average refugee knows far more about liberty and has a much deeper commitment to America than @realdonaldtrump"
posted by corb at 2:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
posted by corb at 2:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
Actually he's got an amazing tweet thread about this whole thing and Trump/Bannon's plan but I can't figure out how to share it on my phone, I encourage everyone to go read it though.
posted by corb at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by corb at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
I retweeted one of Trudeau's tweeted photos of him welcoming refugees with the words, "DUDE. Hugging refugees at the airport is all very well, but the #MuslimBan is happening to Canadians right now & you need to take a stand."
posted by orange swan at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I retweeted one of Trudeau's tweeted photos of him welcoming refugees with the words, "DUDE. Hugging refugees at the airport is all very well, but the #MuslimBan is happening to Canadians right now & you need to take a stand."
posted by orange swan at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yeah Justin Trudeau could bother to explicitly mention what he is passive-aggressively hinting at.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Now three GOP members of Congress with fairly week statements of disapproval. It's not a lot, but cracks are starting to form.
posted by zachlipton at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Micheal Moore is doing the FB live thing from JFK right now. The stream is jumpy for me. Over 10k people watching. But you can get a taste of what's going on. Lots of people!!
posted by Jalliah at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Just waiting for the clarification from Trudeau that his offer doesn't yet apply to Americans fleeing Trump.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 2:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Make that 13k watching jumped up in the time it took me to write that.
posted by Jalliah at 2:24 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm crying now this is friggen amazing.
posted by Jalliah at 2:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Am en route to ORD with some Leviticus I printed off at work. Say hi if you're there- I'll update if anything is happening.
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Make that 13k watching jumped up in the time it took me to write that.
posted by Jalliah at 6:24 AM on January 29 [+] [!]
Now 17k.
posted by saysthis at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Jalliah at 6:24 AM on January 29 [+] [!]
Now 17k.
posted by saysthis at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017
Does anyone know of protests going on in Minneapolis/St Paul? I need to get loud right now.
posted by holmesian at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by holmesian at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The other beauty of doing this late on a Friday night, federal courts aren't in regular session till Monday.
Their level of cruelty and petty vindictiveness is astonishing beyond all other things.
posted by Artw at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Their level of cruelty and petty vindictiveness is astonishing beyond all other things.
posted by Artw at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump says. "[But] you see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely."
posted by porn in the woods at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Now 22k.
This is how to make America great again.
posted by saysthis at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
This is how to make America great again.
posted by saysthis at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump says. "[But] you see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely."
Unaware of events or just the "liberal tears" theory of success? Either way I hope this bites his gigantic orange ass hard.
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Unaware of events or just the "liberal tears" theory of success? Either way I hope this bites his gigantic orange ass hard.
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I already have a recurring payment to the ACLU. Who else can I support right now?
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
By which I actually mean "Who are you all supporting so I know i'm donating wisely. "
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:35 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:35 PM on January 28, 2017
MSNBC has congressman Charlie Dent R on right who is talking against this. Says it's unacceptable.
They also talked about Trudeau's response and how he was using our own words, Statue of Liberty etc in his statement. Didn't realize that.
posted by Jalliah at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
They also talked about Trudeau's response and how he was using our own words, Statue of Liberty etc in his statement. Didn't realize that.
posted by Jalliah at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
https://www.facebook.com/WorkingFamilies/ Livecasting on facebook from JFK about 45k watching
posted by supercrayon at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by supercrayon at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017
I genuinely wonder how many years it's going to be until I can wake up to good news again
posted by flatluigi at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty stingy with my money, but I just donated to the International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the two organizations suing Trump on behalf of the two Iraqis refused entry at JFK.
posted by piyushnz at 2:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by piyushnz at 2:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
https://www.facebook.com/events/370576413312630/
Protest planned at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport
Sunday, January 29 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
posted by bongo_x at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Protest planned at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport
Sunday, January 29 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
posted by bongo_x at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
DOJ had no input on EO & isn't sure who in WH wrote EO. Standard agency consultation process is not functioning
posted by flatluigi at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
> I already have a recurring payment to the ACLU. Who else can I support right now?
National Lawyers Guild - if your city has a local chapter, send them money; if not, send it to the national.
posted by rtha at 2:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
National Lawyers Guild - if your city has a local chapter, send them money; if not, send it to the national.
posted by rtha at 2:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Odd. The measure of a protest is usually the number of participants (e.g. those who chant). But just now, it seems to be the number of viewers of the live stream.
posted by stonepharisee at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Joey Michaels I just donated to CAIR. I figure if they are going to call it a terrorist organization, they are going to have to say that this middle aged WASPy woman is a terrorist too.
posted by mcduff at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
yasaman - This thread from Josh Shahryar is about where I'm at right now, only with bonus terror.
That thread is almost literally the first third of The Plot Against America.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
That thread is almost literally the first third of The Plot Against America.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
DOJ had no input on EO & isn't sure who in WH wrote EO. Standard agency consultation process is not functioning
Any articles expanding on this? All I'm seeing is tweet reports. This is absolutely fucking mad.
posted by windbox at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Any articles expanding on this? All I'm seeing is tweet reports. This is absolutely fucking mad.
posted by windbox at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The NYC Taxi Workers just called for a work stoppage, starting at 6 pm. No pick ups or drop offs to JFK.
posted by zachlipton at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [140 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [140 favorites]
Protest planned at Philadelphia Airport tomorrow 2-4PM, Terminal A-West International Arrivals
posted by mcduff at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Odd. The measure of a protest is usually the number of participants (e.g. those who chant). But just now, it seems to be the number of viewers of the live stream.
Because we're the ones watching the raw feeds and can't count numbers easily and how many people see it matters as well.
posted by Jalliah at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Because we're the ones watching the raw feeds and can't count numbers easily and how many people see it matters as well.
posted by Jalliah at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
OH SHIT! Fucking good job, NYC taxi union. That is a thing likely to get some motion.
posted by corb at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
posted by corb at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
Bannon is writing the EOs. You think that guy is going to consult with anyone except his own gin-soaked fever dreams? Nah, son.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump has done a lot of things I think of as foolish, but this ban is the first one that outright flabbergasted me.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm at JFK and have to leave soon and this will the happiest I've ever been taking the airtrain.
posted by Brainy at 2:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
posted by Brainy at 2:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
Any articles expanding on this? All I'm seeing is tweet reports. This is absolutely fucking mad.
I think it's at breaking news status so articles will likely be coming. They've talked about on both CNN and MSNBC
posted by Jalliah at 2:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think it's at breaking news status so articles will likely be coming. They've talked about on both CNN and MSNBC
posted by Jalliah at 2:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Trump and Bannon on record openly stating they want to destroy the goverment, crash the economy, and have the country go to hell so they can recreate it.
the Bannon article in the pic
posted by Buntix at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
the Bannon article in the pic
posted by Buntix at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
I don't suppose there's any chance we could get Uber and Lyft to honor the taxi strike? I'm going to email them and ask.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
There's a rally happening at IAD right now, too.
posted by amarynth at 2:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by amarynth at 2:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Fuck the wall! We'll tear it down" is the chant on the JFK livestream right now.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
That thread is almost literally the first third of The Plot Against America.
Could you perhaps expand on this because googling this at this particular juncture seems ill-advised
posted by yasaman at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Could you perhaps expand on this because googling this at this particular juncture seems ill-advised
posted by yasaman at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Apparently, Trump's big plan to defeat ISIS is to order the government to start working on a plan to defeat ISIS. And it took him a week to get around to doing that. Sad.
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
I've mentioned this already elsewhere, but one tiny ray of hope for me in all this is that (unlike the W years, where every other news report seemed to be about some "bold new initiative" of Bush's or another) people are absolutely Not Putting Up With This Shit. All the protests and pro bono lawyers and resistance from gagged government agencies are doing me a world of good.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
cmfletcher, I think the chant is, "Build a wall, we'll tear it down." Unless it's changed in the past 90 minutes.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not kidding you folks - I treated myself to a nap this afternoon and couldn't get up. I thought: what the Christ is it good for, anything else on the to-do list today? Why should I rise ...
And I got on FB. And I found a livestream of this.
And I have never been so moved by a chant I wasn't part of in my life.
SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
posted by Countess Elena at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
And I got on FB. And I found a livestream of this.
And I have never been so moved by a chant I wasn't part of in my life.
SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
posted by Countess Elena at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
I've been so engrossed in all of this horrible action around the Muslim ban today that I almost missed this article in which it seems cracks are starting to deepen re: Russia sanctions. Again, the usual disclaimers that I will not be holding my breath to see McCain, McConnell, Ryan, et al actually follow through but having Senate Republicans sign onto a bill by Democratic Senator Cardin is something. Especially combined with the establishment R's having Trump babysat during the Putin call. It seems like there's zero trust on the Russia stuff from the Republican congressional leaders and this feels like it could be the first big test of the establishment Republican theory that they can control Trump.
posted by jason_steakums at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
Do executive orders take effect before publication in the Federal Register?
If so, how can detained visitors challenge their detention? How does their detention or expulsion from the United States differ from the enforcement of secret laws?
posted by compartment at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Do executive orders take effect before publication in the Federal Register?
If so, how can detained visitors challenge their detention? How does their detention or expulsion from the United States differ from the enforcement of secret laws?
posted by compartment at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
It definitely got more umm emphatic in the past 15 minutes.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't suppose there's any chance we could get Uber and Lyft to honor the taxi strike? I'm going to email them and ask.
i think we all know that uber will just raise their prices
posted by poffin boffin at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
i think we all know that uber will just raise their prices
posted by poffin boffin at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
Uber and Lyft aren't allowed to pick up at NYC airports, the last time I checked.
posted by unknowncommand at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by unknowncommand at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Reminder again for Canadians to contact your MP (especially if they are a Liberal MP) and let them know you expect them and our current PM to stand the fuck up to the Bully-in-Chief. Now is not the time for politeness.
posted by Kitteh at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't suppose there's any chance we could get Uber and Lyft to honor the taxi strike? I'm going to email them and ask.
If they don't a DOS may be possible -- get groups of people to hire them to go to the opposite side of the city...
posted by Buntix at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
If they don't a DOS may be possible -- get groups of people to hire them to go to the opposite side of the city...
posted by Buntix at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've mentioned this already elsewhere, but one tiny ray of hope for me in all this is that (unlike the W years, where every other news report seemed to be about some "bold new initiative" of Bush's or another) people are absolutely Not Putting Up With This Shit. All the protests and pro bono lawyers and resistance from gagged government agencies are doing me a world of good.
It is good, though I do have a nagging feeling that if Trump, Bannon et al were able to ease up on being assholes 24/7 even the tiniest bit then they could have been nearly as awful or moreso without anyone making a squeak.
posted by Artw at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
It is good, though I do have a nagging feeling that if Trump, Bannon et al were able to ease up on being assholes 24/7 even the tiniest bit then they could have been nearly as awful or moreso without anyone making a squeak.
posted by Artw at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Ah, maybe they've changed it now. Nevermind.
posted by unknowncommand at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by unknowncommand at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017
Uber and Lyft agree independent contractors (that is their special sauce) so I imagine it's up to individual drivers. But yeah, a lot of airports don't allow them anyway.
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe was at Dulles International Airport Saturday, where he criticized President Donald Trump's recent executive action that bans certain immigrants and refugees.
He did a presser
posted by Jalliah at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
"It's not a Muslim ban,"
Says the guy who insists on saying "radical Islamic terrorism".
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Says the guy who insists on saying "radical Islamic terrorism".
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Uber and Lyft aren't allowed to pick up at NYC airports, the last time I checked.
Both Uber and Lyft pick up at JFK -- other NYC airports too I believe
https://www.uber.com/airports/jfk/
https://www.lyft.com/airports/jfk
posted by pocketfullofrye at 3:01 PM on January 28, 2017
Both Uber and Lyft pick up at JFK -- other NYC airports too I believe
https://www.uber.com/airports/jfk/
https://www.lyft.com/airports/jfk
posted by pocketfullofrye at 3:01 PM on January 28, 2017
My favorite protest sign from JFK so far.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
idk who the guys are who walk up and down the JFK taxi queue saying "uber?" out of the corner of their mouths in that "hey buddy you wanna buy a watch" 80s trenchcoat dude in times square way, but i've been assuming that they are in fact uber drivers.
posted by poffin boffin at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Just caught Trump speaking out earlier. He can't talk. "And it's at the airports and it's working very nicely. Working nicely. And we will have extreme vetting and yeah something or other. This is annoying can you go now please"
Okay he didn't say the last part but it sounded like he was thinking it.
posted by Jalliah at 3:04 PM on January 28, 2017
Reminder again for Canadians to contact your MP (especially if they are a Liberal MP) and let them know you expect them and our current PM to stand the fuck up to the Bully-in-Chief. Now is not the time for politeness.
I will. He's a Con who thinks Trump is the bestest and Kellie Lynch is the even more the bestest.
posted by Jalliah at 3:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I will. He's a Con who thinks Trump is the bestest and Kellie Lynch is the even more the bestest.
posted by Jalliah at 3:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
For those of you who consider Google to be unsafe: I very much agree with your assertion, and recommend Startpage, an anonymised version of Google.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Paul Reichkoff, executive director of IAVA, the largest post 9/11 veterans organization:
"Esam and Mohamed are my brothers. They defended me in Iraq. And I will defend them now. They barely escaped being killed for standing by me and my soldiers in Baghdad--and now live here in the US. America is lucky to have them here. They are heroes. You wanna kick them out? You'll have to come through me. #NotGonnaHappen #RefugeesWelcome"posted by corb at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [111 favorites]
My favorite protest sign from JFK so far.
A+++ Would buy again
posted by petebest at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
A+++ Would buy again
posted by petebest at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Actually screw that I'm gonna go right to the top. "Hey Justin, remember me? We used to hang out at work and drink beer together. So yeah about this Trump guy..."
posted by Jalliah at 3:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Outside of Terminal 4 at JFK, while lawyers fight on the inside, the protests have EXPLODED in size demanding justice for the detained...
posted by porn in the woods at 3:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 3:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Here's the brief White House readout of the Putin call, six hours later. No mention of Ukraine or sanctions.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez)
It's WORKING.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
One of the refugees, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, has been released[true]
It's WORKING.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Didn't Obama say his oath of respectful silence was contingent on Trump not targeting religions?
Wonder how his break in Palm Springs is going... (checks - ah, it got rained out so he's borrowed Richard Branson's private jet and popped down to the Caribbean. Hope Trump doesn't put Kenya on the no-home list and restrospectively EO a new birth certificate...)
posted by Devonian at 3:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Wonder how his break in Palm Springs is going... (checks - ah, it got rained out so he's borrowed Richard Branson's private jet and popped down to the Caribbean. Hope Trump doesn't put Kenya on the no-home list and restrospectively EO a new birth certificate...)
posted by Devonian at 3:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
"Samira Asgari had spent months planning her move from Switzerland to the United States. The 30-year-old Iranian woman had secured a post-doctoral fellowship at the prestigious, Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston…. A gentleman stopped me from boarding the plane,” she says. “He told me he was a consulate of the American government in Frankfort and not allowing anybody with a number of nationalities to board planes to the United States. They had already unloaded my luggage and everything.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
With all this barring of people getting on flights, I'd like to see a few things come out of it -
1) Court action or some kind of class action to recover the costs of these tickets for the people who were hurt on behalf of the order. Preferably from Sphincterface, Bannon, Conway et al.
2) Serious investigation of DHS implementation procedures and clarification of future executive order implementation so international cockups like this don't happen anymore.
3) Airlines to sue DHS for costs of badly implemented order.
posted by saysthis at 3:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
1) Court action or some kind of class action to recover the costs of these tickets for the people who were hurt on behalf of the order. Preferably from Sphincterface, Bannon, Conway et al.
2) Serious investigation of DHS implementation procedures and clarification of future executive order implementation so international cockups like this don't happen anymore.
3) Airlines to sue DHS for costs of badly implemented order.
posted by saysthis at 3:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
KLM themselves did not say that they were not allowed to let the passengers board, they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US".
My understanding is that the airlines are on the hook for returning a rejected person back to the original location, so as a matter of policy they are conservative in letting people board flights to the US.
posted by Slothrup at 3:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
My understanding is that the airlines are on the hook for returning a rejected person back to the original location, so as a matter of policy they are conservative in letting people board flights to the US.
posted by Slothrup at 3:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
New memo establishes Steve Bannon as member of the National Security Council’s Principals Committee, typically off limits to political hacks
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I was going to take the weekend off, but apparently that isn't possible right now. Protests are being organized at Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston airports to my knowledge. In Austin, people are debating between protesting here in town or organizing carpool caravans to either DFW or Houston, and also checking to see whether any applicable flights have recently landed in San Antonio. No word there yet.
In the meantime, I am listening to the livestream of our State of the City address.
posted by sciatrix at 3:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
In the meantime, I am listening to the livestream of our State of the City address.
posted by sciatrix at 3:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Student visas have already been getting revoked for weeks, apparently.
posted by Slothrup at 3:32 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Slothrup at 3:32 PM on January 28, 2017
to recover the costs of these tickets
31 minutes: the time it took to raise £2600 to bring Glaswegian vet (w/ Iranian passport) back home after she was denied a transit visa for her flight home from Costa Rica.
posted by Buntix at 3:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
31 minutes: the time it took to raise £2600 to bring Glaswegian vet (w/ Iranian passport) back home after she was denied a transit visa for her flight home from Costa Rica.
posted by Buntix at 3:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trudeau says Canada will take refugees banned by U.S.
TORONTO – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you.
Trudeau reacted to Trump’s ban of Muslims from certain countries by tweeting Saturday: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”
Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s airport in late 2015.
Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.
A spokeswoman for Trudeau said Trudeau has a message for Trump.
“The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada’s immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak,” Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.
posted by Jalliah at 3:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
Very nice words from Trudeau but as others mentioned, words ain't enough.
1) Publicly condemn the EO on behalf of the Canadian government.
2) Announce plans to allow (at least) an extra refugee into Canada this year for every refugee spot cancelled by the EO. That's sixty thousand, at last count. Preferably sixty thousand extra Syrians in addition to our pre-existing refugee commitments. Give us numbers, not "Canadians will welcome you".
3) Reevaluate the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement in light of these events.
4) Make any future Canada-U.S. economic deals contingent on free passage of Canadian citizens into the U.S. regardless of dual citizenship status.
I'm calling and emailing and tweeting at my Liberal MP as well as at Trudeau and making these specific demands. Passive aggressive Twitter swipes and photos of hugs are all nice and are usually suitable for Canadian purposes, but these are strange times.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Very nice words from Trudeau but as others mentioned, words ain't enough.
1) Publicly condemn the EO on behalf of the Canadian government.
2) Announce plans to allow (at least) an extra refugee into Canada this year for every refugee spot cancelled by the EO. That's sixty thousand, at last count. Preferably sixty thousand extra Syrians in addition to our pre-existing refugee commitments. Give us numbers, not "Canadians will welcome you".
3) Reevaluate the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement in light of these events.
4) Make any future Canada-U.S. economic deals contingent on free passage of Canadian citizens into the U.S. regardless of dual citizenship status.
I'm calling and emailing and tweeting at my Liberal MP as well as at Trudeau and making these specific demands. Passive aggressive Twitter swipes and photos of hugs are all nice and are usually suitable for Canadian purposes, but these are strange times.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
KLM in particular have been in trouble before for letting people on without passports and whatnot - they explained that to me when asking me for a bunch of documents before giving me a boarding pass in Singapore. They might just be turning people back after checking place of birth on their documents, knowing already what we know now about the situation at the airport. Even if they'd let people fly, would it help? This way there's a chance of a refund.
posted by infini at 3:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 3:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Say it loud / say it clear / refugees are welcome here"
At SFO in a large, peaceful, and loud crowd outside international arrivals.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
At SFO in a large, peaceful, and loud crowd outside international arrivals.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Clemson professor Nazanin Zinouri was just basically deported. She just recently got her PhD after a dissertation on improving the healthcare industry.
posted by flatluigi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
I'm not flabbergasted by this. Trump's spokespeople have literally justified measures like a Muslim ban by pointing to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
They did this on major news networks.
And yet people who found this concerning were told to settle down: It's just something to appeal to the base, it's just about legal precedent, it's not as scary as you're making it out to be... and it got buried in excuses and the barrage of other trash coming from his campaign.
He's been signalling that this is the direction he would go in all along. But millions of people still voted for him - instead of standing up against it, they excused or supported it.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [84 favorites]
They did this on major news networks.
And yet people who found this concerning were told to settle down: It's just something to appeal to the base, it's just about legal precedent, it's not as scary as you're making it out to be... and it got buried in excuses and the barrage of other trash coming from his campaign.
He's been signalling that this is the direction he would go in all along. But millions of people still voted for him - instead of standing up against it, they excused or supported it.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [84 favorites]
KEEP PUTTING PRESSURE ON. The Labour party leader in New Zealand, Andrew Little, just committed to doubling the refugee quota if Labour takes power in the next election. Fight. Resist.
posted by supercrayon at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
@StacyStClair (Chicago Tribune)
Attorneys say that there are now 18 people being held at O'Hare, including at least three children.
Attorneys have set up shop at the O'Hare McDonald's as they work to get the 18 people held out
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
Attorneys say that there are now 18 people being held at O'Hare, including at least three children.
Attorneys have set up shop at the O'Hare McDonald's as they work to get the 18 people held out
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
@TimFederle
My dream is that "JFK Terminal 4" is the name of a future Spielberg movie about the day Trump's ugly presidency officially began to end.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
My dream is that "JFK Terminal 4" is the name of a future Spielberg movie about the day Trump's ugly presidency officially began to end.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
https://twitter.com/jen_keesmaat/status/825452860355801092
Americans killed annually by terrorists: 16posted by Buntix at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
By armed toddlers: 21
I'm gonna head to the LAX protest tomorrow, probably. I'm currently in Riverside County visiting my parents, so hit me up via memail if you want to carpool there. I'm willing to pick you up if you're on the way, or in the West LA area.
posted by yasaman at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
why is it still light out on the FB livestream? Dark here in Philly.
posted by angrycat at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by angrycat at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
Hell has frozen over and the devil is serving us ice cream.
posted by orange swan at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
Hell has frozen over and the devil is serving us ice cream.
posted by orange swan at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
@StacyStClair
Mohamad Amirisefat has been told his brother-in-law - who has green card as well as dual British and Iranian citizenship - is being released
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Mohamad Amirisefat has been told his brother-in-law - who has green card as well as dual British and Iranian citizenship - is being released
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Riot cops assembled outside terminal entrance at JFK terminal 4
posted by porn in the woods at 3:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 3:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
(Not to derail, but that lone fucking McDonald's outside the ORD international arrivals door was probably the worst "Welcome To America" that ever existed until this started happening)
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Protests are getting angrier
Women's march: postive
Philly: angry
JFK: angrier
posted by angrycat at 3:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Women's march: postive
Philly: angry
JFK: angrier
posted by angrycat at 3:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Americans killed annually by terrorists: 16
By armed toddlers: 21
Don't forget people who are shot by their dogs
posted by thelonius at 3:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
By armed toddlers: 21
Don't forget people who are shot by their dogs
posted by thelonius at 3:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
DNI and Chairman of Joint Chiefs no longer automatic NSC Principals Committee members
People seem to be freaking out about this a bit ...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
People seem to be freaking out about this a bit ...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Nationalist Security Council, attachments to reality not allowed.
posted by Artw at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
People now talking about taking caravans of carpooling cars either to Houston or DFW from Austin. DFW already has protest starting; IAH's starts tomorrow. Crowds assembling at gates 1-8 at DFW.
posted by sciatrix at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
And word is #MoscowMike Flynn is President of the NSC.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017
Flynn will be there to represent Putin, of course.
posted by Artw at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
@roguePOTUSstaff on twitter is showing some cracks of being Russian propaganda. Unfortunately.
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
In 1993 Trump testified that operators of Native American casinos didn't "look like Indians"
posted by Buntix at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Well, it's been a busy week. Looks like it's on, already.
posted by stonepharisee at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by stonepharisee at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017
We're in the closing stages of World War III. We didn't even know it was happening. And we're about to lose.
posted by Grangousier at 3:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 3:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Flynn will be there to represent Putin, of course.
He just had to wait to get permission on that phone call...
posted by Devonian at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
He just had to wait to get permission on that phone call...
posted by Devonian at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cops are no longer letting people onto airtrain at Jamaica station unless ticketed
posted by Brainy at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Brainy at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
We're in the closing stages of World War III. We didn't even know it was happening. And we're about to lose.
Fuck that, that's defeatist
posted by thelonius at 3:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
Re: A general strike. I understand why that sounds good. I would love to see it. Basically, I would love if everyone did that. But my husband would still be showing up at work. (I already don't work and am doing what I can from my sickbed.) Because we've had some real basic survival poverty issues recently and he only JUST got into a position with a living wage and benefits. If he loses that job, and the ACA goes away, we'd be for real fucked. We'd be entirely dependent on charity for expensive medical care and without it he could die. And his boss is a Trump supporter, so I'm pretty sure he'd be fired for not showing up to work to protest, even if it was a single day.
And this kind of economic leverage is why a strike won't work. Too many people have their health and the health of their family hanging around their necks keeping them doing anything to keep their jobs. The ACA makes it easier to change jobs and that may be a big reason the employer class wants to get rid of it.
posted by threeturtles at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
And this kind of economic leverage is why a strike won't work. Too many people have their health and the health of their family hanging around their necks keeping them doing anything to keep their jobs. The ACA makes it easier to change jobs and that may be a big reason the employer class wants to get rid of it.
posted by threeturtles at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Just got back from an info session on an organization that teaches English to recent immigrants and refugees - some of the more advanced students were there to help practice their conversation and reading. Also planning to give more money to the National Immigration Law Center
posted by dinty_moore at 3:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by dinty_moore at 3:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (NEBRASKA!?) is the first to break ranks with the GOP over the Muslim Ban.
I'm gonna send that man a fruit basket, and a campaign donation, assuming we ever have elections again.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
I'm gonna send that man a fruit basket, and a campaign donation, assuming we ever have elections again.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
From Austin's State of the City address, now rolling in:
With respect to public safety you should know that Austin is one of the safest cities in the country. One of the big reasons we’re safe is because the people in our community trust our public safety officers: our police and our sheriff’s department. That trust is exhibited when everyone who is being victimized in our city feels comfortable seeking law enforcement protection.
…When witnesses to crimes are willing to come forward. When our law enforcement personnel are welcome and comfortable going anywhere in this city and into any neighborhood in this city. This specifically includes the people and places where crime and victimization might most likely otherwise exist.
This level of trust is earned over time.
And now, it’s facing a threat.
…Here’s what’s really going on…
Police Chief Manley and our Sheriff have told us what we need to do keep our community as safe as possible. Their advice is the same as we got from our former police chief. And, so you don’t think that this advice is just some progressive outlier, you need to know it’s the same advice given to us by the national association of Big Cities Chiefs.
Importantly, our local law enforcement officers follow all federal and state law. Of course we do.
Our Sheriff turns over, everyone, to the federal government that the law requires her to turn over. She even turns over some serious criminals even when not required by law. If the federal immigration service wants someone held in our county jail because it thinks they’re dangerous, all they have to do is to get a warrant. It’s that easy.
But what our Sheriff doesn’t do is participate in a voluntary program that would have her detain and turn over others without warrants. We don’t have the resources to have our local public safety officers act as federal immigration officers, or federal environmental officers or federal tax officers.
Most importantly, our public safety officers do what they do because they believe it makes us safe.
I trust our public safety professionals because they’re keeping us safe. I ask my community to trust our police and that means I trust them, too. This is not political for me. It’s simple and it’s about public safety.
Now, our State and Federal leaders are offering some money to us if we are willing to reject the advice of our public safety professionals and instead affirmatively choose to make ourselves less safe.
That gives us a horrible choice. The question we face as a community is simple, at what price do we sell our safety?
posted by sciatrix at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
With respect to public safety you should know that Austin is one of the safest cities in the country. One of the big reasons we’re safe is because the people in our community trust our public safety officers: our police and our sheriff’s department. That trust is exhibited when everyone who is being victimized in our city feels comfortable seeking law enforcement protection.
…When witnesses to crimes are willing to come forward. When our law enforcement personnel are welcome and comfortable going anywhere in this city and into any neighborhood in this city. This specifically includes the people and places where crime and victimization might most likely otherwise exist.
This level of trust is earned over time.
And now, it’s facing a threat.
…Here’s what’s really going on…
Police Chief Manley and our Sheriff have told us what we need to do keep our community as safe as possible. Their advice is the same as we got from our former police chief. And, so you don’t think that this advice is just some progressive outlier, you need to know it’s the same advice given to us by the national association of Big Cities Chiefs.
Importantly, our local law enforcement officers follow all federal and state law. Of course we do.
Our Sheriff turns over, everyone, to the federal government that the law requires her to turn over. She even turns over some serious criminals even when not required by law. If the federal immigration service wants someone held in our county jail because it thinks they’re dangerous, all they have to do is to get a warrant. It’s that easy.
But what our Sheriff doesn’t do is participate in a voluntary program that would have her detain and turn over others without warrants. We don’t have the resources to have our local public safety officers act as federal immigration officers, or federal environmental officers or federal tax officers.
Most importantly, our public safety officers do what they do because they believe it makes us safe.
I trust our public safety professionals because they’re keeping us safe. I ask my community to trust our police and that means I trust them, too. This is not political for me. It’s simple and it’s about public safety.
Now, our State and Federal leaders are offering some money to us if we are willing to reject the advice of our public safety professionals and instead affirmatively choose to make ourselves less safe.
That gives us a horrible choice. The question we face as a community is simple, at what price do we sell our safety?
posted by sciatrix at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
hey, I'm also worried about WWIII, like big-time anxious, but I am in no way defeatist. I get that people wouldn't want to hear about worse things but look at the trajectory the trajectory is things getting worse until we lose our ability to say this is the worst and then it will be actually the worst.
posted by angrycat at 4:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
National Immigration Law Center has an emergency hearing at 7:30 tonight in Brooklyn and is looking for volunteers to pack the courtroom.
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Digging the chanting at JFK on this livestream. "Tear it down, Fuck the wall!"
posted by stonepharisee at 4:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 4:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Many people are saying #TrumpCantGrowFacialHair. We need to look into this. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/umsaRHrA9t
posted by porn in the woods at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
@roguePOTUSstaff on twitter is showing some cracks of being Russian propaganda. Unfortunately
Boooo that was my favorite fanfic :(
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump Halts Program to Bring Jewish, Christian, Baha'i Refugees from Iran
The episode isn't directly linked to an executive order Trump signed Friday that orders strict new screening for refugees to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the United States. But it reflects the knock-on effects already occurring from his tougher line on immigration and refugees. Similar to how tighter German migration rules had consequences across Europe, Trump's actions could lead other nations to take a harder look at people wishing to use their territories as transit points.posted by tonycpsu at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
The scene from above as thousands chant and scream, draping banners from above at JFK international arrivals shouting "LET THEM IN!"
posted by porn in the woods at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
This is an excellent write up this past week.
Trump's first week was a crusade against everything. But we returned the favor
The president’s first week in office has felt like a civil war – but the insubordination of civil society has been beautiful to watch
posted by Jalliah at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Trump's first week was a crusade against everything. But we returned the favor
The president’s first week in office has felt like a civil war – but the insubordination of civil society has been beautiful to watch
posted by Jalliah at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Guys, what organizations need lawyer volunteers?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
There's a solidarity event happening at the MSP baggage claim. ACLU is on-site.
posted by nickmark at 4:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by nickmark at 4:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
@roguePOTUSstaff on twitter is showing some cracks of being Russian propaganda. Unfortunately
How so? Further destablization in undermining him?
posted by Jalliah at 4:11 PM on January 28, 2017
How so? Further destablization in undermining him?
posted by Jalliah at 4:11 PM on January 28, 2017
FUCK THE WALL! WE'LL TEAR IT DOWN!
Holy 60's flashback Batman!!!!! Whoo!
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Holy 60's flashback Batman!!!!! Whoo!
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anyone interested in what side NYPD is on. They are blocking people from entering AirTran at JFK
posted by porn in the woods at 4:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (NEBRASKA!?) is the first to break ranks with the GOP over the Muslim Ban.
I'm gonna send that man a fruit basket, and a campaign donation, assuming we ever have elections again.
Dent from Pennsylvania I think? He was on MSNBC earlier saying similar things. So not the only one.
posted by Jalliah at 4:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (NEBRASKA!?) is the first to break ranks with the GOP over the Muslim Ban.
God bless Senator Sasse, and may he serve to spur more.
posted by corb at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
God bless Senator Sasse, and may he serve to spur more.
posted by corb at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I was in an improv workshop all day and purposely did not check the news or mefi. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE PROTESTING AT JFK!
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I think the greatest and most effective protest (and probably also the one most likely to end in state-sanctioned violence) would be to get thousands of people to gather outside the White House and simply chant "WE DON'T LIKE YOU." It would totally destroy him.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Buzzfeed also streaming live from JFK
From 2014, more relevant than ever: FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
posted by Buntix at 4:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
From 2014, more relevant than ever: FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
posted by Buntix at 4:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Sam Charles of the Sun-Times (Twitter) is covering the Chicago O'Hare protest and detentions.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
An app that tells you when you're about to follow an unlawful order
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
No one knows how this will play out, but it seems to be becoming clear that you can't hijack the United States of America like this. You ca
*golf clap*
Thank you Wordshore! Your FPP skeelz are truly mad
posted by petebest at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]