Team of Revileds
January 30, 2017 1:46 PM   Subscribe

The cabinet of new U.S. President Donald J. Trump is largely up for confirmation this week, and each nominee has a hefty portfolio to handle if confirmed.

For Rex Tillerson at State, Trump's (and Tillerson's) connections to Russia are under heavy scrutiny, while tensions with Iran and China continue to grow.

Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions will have to clean up the mess created by last week's executive order -- as will Transportation nominee Elaine Chao.

Betsy DeVos received some education about Education, while Scott Pruitt seeks to lead the burnt-out shell of the EPA.

Andrew Puzder at Labor will have to figure out if he has any particular opinions on what exactly the current unemployment rate is, Ben Carson wanders into HUD (with some controversial help from Elizabeth Warren), and Rick Perry has -- oops -- changed his tune on the Energy Department now that he has learned more or less what it does.

Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price will have to overcome his penchant for perjury if he wants the chance to oversee the colossal task of convincing Americans they don't actually want Obamacare.

Steve Mnuchin, Treasury nominee, will be charged with taking government back from those damn Goldman Sachs elites.

And finally, tomorrow night we'll get our answer to the question on everyone's lips: "Who Wants To Be A Supreme Court Justice?"

(Maybe.)
posted by saturday_morning (3325 comments total) 133 users marked this as a favorite
 
perfect timing as the old thread is spitting up server errors all over me like an overfed toddler
posted by poffin boffin at 1:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


Thanks, Saturday_Morning!
posted by samthemander at 1:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


I saw this linked on Twitter, and it appears to work-- if you want to fax but don't have a fax number, you can use this online service for free:

Fax your Representatives

Fax your Senators
posted by a fiendish thingy at 1:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]


Don't have a very high opinion of this Mr. Trump
posted by Rust Moranis at 1:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]


So who's coordinating the protest of the EO targeting LGBTQs? I feel like we should get out ahead of this one. No more reacting.
posted by lydhre at 1:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


lambda legal is definitely gearing up for a fight
posted by poffin boffin at 1:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


I'm scared. I thought that Trump was a immature narcissistic clown - and he is - but now I'm starting to believe that his administration (led by Bannon? Russia?) is deliberately sowing chaos, not being incompetent, and hoping for a civil war or coup and the literal end of the US as we know it.
posted by insectosaurus at 1:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]


I'd be cautious about protesting before anything is officially signed - I don't put it past President Bannon to float some things that aren't actually going to be signed as a way of making protestors look bad - "see, they didn't even have something to protest."
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


i think any pro-hate crime lgbt legislation presented will be the work of notorious homophobe pence rather than bannon the nazi but who even knows anymore
posted by poffin boffin at 1:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


I mean, today is Day 11. The Press Secretary to the President said, "The president went out of his way to recognize the Holocaust..."

I think messaging that we will not accept any rollback on LGBTQ rights is good, whether the draft that CNN says to have ever sees the light of day or not.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]






Just donated to Lambda Legal in anticipation - go get those fucks.
posted by mayonnaises at 1:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Write to your representatives: democracy.io streamlines sending emails.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Sources: Trump executive order allowing anti-LGBTQ discrimination is coming soon
From what we’ve heard, the executive order could be far-reaching, and could include: making taxpayer funds available for discrimination against LGBTQ people in social services; allow federally funded adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ parents; eliminate non-discrimination protections in order to make it possible to fire federal employers and contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity; and allow federal employees to refuse to serve people based on the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that gender is an immutable characteristic set at birth, which would impact a broad range of federal benefits.
posted by melissasaurus at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


Hey I just finished skimming the 2500+ comments from the weekend in time to catch the new thread. This was said in the last thread but I want to share my experience from Sunday.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the goal is to create “resistance fatigue,” to get Americans to the point where they’re more likely to say “Oh, another protest? Don’t you guys ever stop?” relatively quickly.

It's possible that this is their goal. But if so, may I say, it is a stupid goal.

Because I don't think they realized how rewarding it is to protest, especially when so many people in your community are involved, and ESPECIALLY when it's successful like it has been this weekend. They're getting us addicted to civil disobedience. I don't think that works out well for them in the end.


On Sunday I went to my first protest ever (second if you count the Women's March from a week ago). I didn't really know what to expect, but I'd been brimming with anger all weekend and one of my friends asked if we wanted to go with them. I'm so glad I went, and I can't imagine a better way to feel a little fulfilled and less angry about the course of events. It was in Houston, and I think organized in less than 24 hours to gather downtown. I went with my wife and a pair of friends, all of whom are newbies to protesting. My friends were so excited yet unguided that they brought a 3ft x 3ft whiteboard and markers, but then got to the protest with it blank and said they wanted to bring a sign but didn't know what to put on it. ('Abhi aren't your parents Immigrants?' 'Yea, they are.' 'Maybe you could put something about that?' 'Oh! Yea that'd probably be good!')

The turnout was ok I guess? I think between 1,000 and 2,000. I got there a bit late, and caught the last 45 minutes of the standing around chanting, before we started marching a bit aimlessly for a few blocks. Then the protest dispersed with directions to reconvene at the airport. In retrospect I feel a bit irritated that Houston's turnout was a 10th the size of cities that we're quadruple the size of, yesterday and for the Women's March (23k turnout I believe). Texas is red, but Harris county had I think the largest swing towards democrats this election nationwide, and Houston is by some metrics the most diverse city in the country. I'm still super glad I went and ready to do it again whenever I can. I learned in talking to friends this weekend that one of my good friend's mom was in a refugee camp in Malaysia before she immigrated, where she watched her mother die. My coworker and friend told me that both his parents were refugees from Pol Pot's reign. It's weird how close these things can hit to home without you really realizing it.
posted by DynamiteToast at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


Trump’s hard-line actions have an intellectual godfather: Jeff Sessions
Inside the White House and within Sessions’s alumni network, people have taken to calling the senator Joseph from the Old Testament — a boy shunned by his family and sold into slavery, only to rise through unusual circumstances to become right hand to the pharaoh and oversee the lands of Egypt.

In a 20-year Senate career, Sessions has been isolated in his own party, a dynamic crystallized a decade ago when he split with President George W. Bush and the business community over comprehensive immigration changes.
We may now commence the jokes about Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (bonus points for working pyramids for grain storage into them).
posted by zachlipton at 2:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Someone in the previous thread asked about the content of the proposed EO on LGBT issues. I assume they would involve rolling back Obama's protections for LGBT federal employees and federal contractors. So contractor firms would be allowed to discriminate against gay employees, for instance.

Possibly they would change how various federal benefits are distributed to LGBT Americans -- although this would probably be an Equal Protection violation, I suspect Wormtongue & Voldemort don't actually know what the 14th Amendment does. (Well, Wormtongue might, but he doesn't care.)

I'm not sure what a version of RFRA that is consistent with presidential authority could look like, though.
posted by suelac at 2:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


I came across Hate Thy Neighbor, a television series released in the last couple of weeks, featuring stand-up comedian Jamali Maddix interviewing hate groups around the world. The first episode features the National Socialist Movement in the U.S., with lots of Trump/Pence signs in evidence.
posted by XMLicious at 2:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


I made the mistake of going to the National Border Patrol Council Official Union of the US Border Patrol twitter account and now I'm really frightened. Trump basically has his own army. It seems crystal clear why there are airports where they are ignoring the court order.

They have a podcast episode about the executive order if any of you have the stomach to listen to it.
posted by missmerrymack at 15:54 on January 30 [has favorites −]


Really scary. And unnerving in how the union's twitter account is just there in the open.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


Also, Scott Pruitt, nominee for EPA Administrator, doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about.

I mean, less so than DeVos, but that's a low, low bar.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


ugh the lord is testing my unyielding devotion to collective bargaining
posted by poffin boffin at 2:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]


[...]I'm starting to believe that his administration (led by Bannon? Russia?) is deliberately sowing chaos, not being incompetent, and hoping for a civil war or coup and the literal end of the US as we know it.

I made and posted this a day or so after the inauguration. It's getting less and less funny.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Can we circle back to the excellent "Shock Event" article (old thread link) (see also the FB post if you are a FB'er) for a second to consider our strategy?

But because shock events destabilize a society, they can also be used positively. We do not have to respond along old fault lines. We could just as easily reorganize into a different pattern that threatens the people who sparked the event.

Is knowing say, certain Orange's Sunshine State travel schedule an opportunity for us?
posted by yoga at 2:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Nice clean new thread you got here


Be a shame if somebody filled it full of Trump
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [92 favorites]


Really scary. And unnerving in how the union's twitter account is just there in the open.

No doubt salivating over the 10 000 new dues paying members Trump promised to add to their ranks.
posted by PenDevil at 2:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


But that's what Bannon has always said he wanted, so, yeah?

He wants the destruction of the state, Annoying Orange's voters wanted the destruction of the state, so they won't be shocked and disappointed when they get it.
posted by tel3path at 2:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Excellent post title.

We are all focused on political opposition right now, and that makes sense. But what scares me is that these fascist policies and bigoted ideas have real social support.

What do we do about that? What do we do when the fascists in power aren't the cause, but the symptom?

This isn't a rhetorical question. I'm at a loss.
posted by schadenfrau at 2:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


Also, before heading to the protest yesterday I asked my wife if we should make a sign or something. She pointed out we didn't really have any materials to make a sign, and I responded that it was starting to look like it would be prudent to invest in sign making materials.
posted by DynamiteToast at 2:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


ugh the lord is testing my unyielding devotion to collective bargaining

I'm okay with the idea that there are evil unions, just like the idea that there are good corporations. It's how I've dealt with police unions for the last few years.

Also, before heading to the protest yesterday I asked my wife if we should make a sign or something. She pointed out we didn't really have any materials to make a sign, and I responded that it was starting to look like it would be prudent to invest in sign making materials.

Whiteboards. Reusable materials!
posted by dinty_moore at 2:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Al Jazeera English saying that the spokesmen for Shia militias in Iraq are calling for all U.S. citizens to be expelled.
posted by XMLicious at 2:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


it was starting to look like it would be prudent to invest in sign making materials.

One of the signs at the DC march yesterday was "I'M RUNNING OUT OF POSTER BOARD"
posted by a fiendish thingy at 2:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [94 favorites]


I was just listening to a Turkish author being interviewed, where she mentioned she was prosecuted under the 'insult to the Turkish nation' legislation and said "Of course, nobody knows what that means".

Which reminded me that badly-worded, obtuse and ambiguous legislation is a known weapon of authoritarian regimes, because of the latitude it gives them, especially with a compliant judiciary. So read the EOs with that in mind, and they make much more sense - well, meta-sense.

The other thing I have been very much reminded of over the past couple of days is a saying, and I do not know the source although that doesn't matter, that pay close attention to how governments treat immigrants and other non-citizens, because that's how they'd like to treat you if they got the chance.

On the plus side - loads of demonstrations across the UK this evening, which was the lead item on the BBC radio news just now. And the no-state-visit petition's still going up at around 10 sign-ups per second, which is a very respectable third of what it was doing yesterday, even though it's now at 1.5m+.
posted by Devonian at 2:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [60 favorites]


Al Jazeera English saying that the spokesmen for Shia militias in Iraq are calling for all U.S. citizens to be expelled.

Well, as they should. President Bannon sort of thinks politics is a one sided game (hence his whole shit fit about how his opposition should be too humiliated to protest or publish critiques right now) and everything that reminds him that, no, his short sighted and hateful actions have consequences the better.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Whiteboards. Reusable materials!

Alas, the maker community doesn't seem to have DIY lasers to project slogans on walls.

Yet.
posted by rough ashlar at 2:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


I'm okay with the idea that there are evil unions, just like the idea that there are good corporations. It's how I've dealt with police unions for the last few years.

Unions take on the collective character, wisdom and intelligence of their members.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


Right. Reading the possible (probable) EO attacking LGBTQ rights is being forewarned. I, for one, prefer to get a sort of head's up on these things.

I'm trying to remember some of his other campaign promises (besides Lock her up!) We'll probably see some sort of Law & Order EO which allows for Stop & Frisk. There will be some sort of severe attack on legal abortions. There will be tariffs-- especially on China. There will be an attempt to address "Voter Fraud" complete with his phony-bologny numbers that "prove" Illegal Immigrants voted. Any other big campaign promises I'm missing? Job creation, of course, with a big Infrastructure Bill but that will have to come through congress.

I feel nauseated already. Even though I know intellectually people in history have dealt with much worse, still this feels like the worst roller coaster ride imaginable and I"m not even sure I can count on the car to stay on the rails. Maybe we'll just go sailing off to our doom. Maybe it feels so bad because we were soft and complacent and used to living under good governance.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 2:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


Jacobin seems to think that Bannon is not long for this administration. I wish I had their optimism.

On the positive, some dipshit deplorables decided they'd come back to the scene of their previous crimes and hold a rally for the wall and their daddy issues. It appears that only peaceful pro-immigrant protestors showed up, thankfully.
posted by Existential Dread at 2:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


They have a podcast episode about the executive order if any of you have the stomach to listen to it.

You can win a Gerber LMF II Infantry Knife, or maybe a pair of Haix steel-toed boots!

Because, you know, totally civilian law enforcement.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:20 PM on January 30, 2017


Any other big campaign promises I'm missing?

"lock her up."
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


On the positive, some dipshit deplorables decided they'd come back to the scene of their previous crimes and hold a rally for the wall and their daddy issues. It appears that only peaceful pro-immigrant protestors showed up, thankfully.

I heard a report of a sole lonely Nazi turning up then hightailing it.
posted by Artw at 2:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


lock her up

Coming to a Senate Oversight Committee near you.

Beware the ides of March.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


it was starting to look like it would be prudent to invest in sign making materials.

If you have something that will be pretty universal to every protest, you can make it on fabric with water safe ink. If you go to a protest where it rains, it'll stay legible despite the water and will be reusable for multiple rallies.
posted by Candleman at 2:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Trump’s Refugee Ban Is a Betrayal of Iraqis Who Risked Their Lives for Us, commentary by Michael Zacchea, a former U.S. Marine who was awarded two bronze stars for valor and meritorious service in Iraq.

Trump & Bannon really underestimated how veterans would react to punishing Iraqi refugees.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [94 favorites]


But what scares me is that these fascist policies and bigoted ideas have real social support.

They undoubtedly do, but I am heartened by seeing how much the opposite is true too, especially outside of deep blue areas. We really do outnumber them.
posted by Artw at 2:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


One of the signs at the DC march yesterday was "I'M RUNNING OUT OF POSTER BOARD"

I will give this to the Trump administration: it is stimulating the art supplies sector of the economy.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


Psst Joey: I'm trying to remember some of his other campaign promises (besides Lock her up!)

I mentioned the Lock her up thing this morning as well, in the previous thread. I'm worried that he will justify it to himself as being popular with his base. That always did seem to get the biggest reaction from his rallies.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 2:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Alas, the maker community doesn't seem to have DIY lasers to project slogans on walls.

We have the technology. (ok, probably just a projector and not literal lasers, but close enough)
posted by zachlipton at 2:28 PM on January 30, 2017


Aaaugh I read that Jacobin article and it has a picture of President Bannon and

has nobody noticed that Bannon and Annoying Orange look JUST ALIKE?!?
posted by tel3path at 2:28 PM on January 30, 2017


Oh, shoot, sorry SLoG.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'm starting to think that when he asked "What have you got to lose?" it wasn't a rhetorical question.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


I rather dug those electronic signs that some protesters had - like shop window signs with the words picked out in individual high brightness LEDs. They're easy to make, cheap and would last a reasonable time on a not-stupid-to-carry battery pack. Not much harder to make them blink or cycle words, either, and with enough of them it'd look bloody stupendous at night.
posted by Devonian at 2:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


I made the mistake of going to the National Border Patrol Council Official Union of the US Border Patrol twitter account and now I'm really frightened.

Now think about how many police unions came out in support of Trump. Think about those San Antonio cops who met Trump and wore MAGA caps while on duty.

The responsibility to resist unjust police action may become a whole lot less theoretical for many people soon. (For some, of course, it's been a reality for decades. Another fight many of us are joining late.)
posted by chrominance at 2:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [47 favorites]


Chris Hayes: This is amazing; thousands show up to @SenWhitehouse town hall and demand answers for his vote on Pomepo,

Also Hayes: So I'm hearing some very interesting things out of Alabama,where it appears @SenatorSessions has been personally calling black lawmakers 1/x ...urging them to come out & publicly support him. Indications are that his connection to immig EO has he and his folks a bit nervous...2/2

Hit your Congresscretins HARD on Sessions. NO Democratic votes are acceptable, and ANY Dem voting yes on Sessions OR on SCOTUS must be primaried immediately. Those are uncrossable lines to remain in the Democratic party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [95 favorites]


Reading the possible (probable) EO attacking LGBTQ rights is being forewarned.

Probable, based on the claims of a single reporter, with no corresponding policy telegraphed by the administration or the Trump campaign? I don't see any harm in getting ahead of this in case it's real, but I'd give four to one against it.
posted by Coventry at 2:33 PM on January 30, 2017


> I don't see any harm in getting ahead of this in case it's real, but I'd give four to one against it.

Put me down for $20 (SAIT). MeMail is open.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


I have a close friend who is a tv pundit.. he's been watching and just said WaPo has clarified about the LBTG EO and will be releasing soon. Ugh...
posted by pearlybob at 2:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]




Time to print 1985, then.
posted by Namlit at 2:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


So it seems the New York Public Library is all out of copies of 1984.

Well, that's doubleplusgood.
posted by el io at 2:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


Hit your Congresscretins HARD on Sessions. NO Democratic votes are acceptable, and ANY Dem voting yes on Sessions OR on SCOTUS must be primaried immediately. Those are uncrossable lines to remain in the Democratic party.

Just managed to get through to Corker's Washington office (his and Alexander's phones have mostly been busy at all offices all weekend). The guy the answered sounded really tired. Good.
posted by ghharr at 2:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


I made the mistake of going to the National Border Patrol Council Official Union of the US Border Patrol twitter account and now I'm really frightened.

A silver lining I'm taking from this is that the rest of America is starting to figure out that La Migra is scary as fuck.
posted by joedan at 2:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


Put me down for $20. MeMail is open.

I state odds as a way to express my level of confidence in something. I wouldn't offer to actually gamble on a public forum, since I gather that's illegal in Massachusetts.
posted by Coventry at 2:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


I dare him to try and lock Hillary Clinton up. I triple dog dare him.

Wanna give the left a solid figure to rally around? Be my fucking guest.
posted by lydhre at 2:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [30 favorites]




I don't see any harm in getting ahead of this in case it's real, but I'd give four to one against it.

I'll take those odds - put me in the book for £25.
posted by MattWPBS at 2:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


I will give this to the Trump administration: it is stimulating the art supplies sector of the economy.

He probably has a hand in that, too. I would check this overwhelming chart of all Trump's business ties, but that would probably take the rest these four years.
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:45 PM on January 30, 2017


When Trump and Spicer talk about 109 people out of hundreds of thousands being stopped at airports as if this isn't a big deal, they're lying. Just among students alone, this impacts more than 17,000 college students, according to 538's analysis, including more than 12,000 Iranian students currently studying here. Not to mention non-students in every possible category. All of them are in limbo, unable to come back if they leave and unable to enter if they're abroad.
posted by zachlipton at 2:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


Any other big campaign promises I'm missing?

Destroying ISIS and then keeping the oil. Technically the former is a campaign promise and the latter is something he says he would have done had he been in charge at the time. But he's mentioned it often enough I think it could be a sign that he has some intention of a Middle East campaign/resource extraction.
posted by FJT at 2:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


In America, Nazi punches you!
posted by chavenet at 2:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I state odds as a way to express my level of confidence in something.

Too late, you are now the bookie here.


You have always been the bookie here.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


> I state odds as a way to express my level of confidence in something. I wouldn't offer to actually gamble on a public forum, since I gather that's illegal in Massachusetts.

What is driving this confidence? Pence promised that the administration would be anti-equality. The EOs so far have been making good on campaign promises, in ways that defy any sort of reason. What gives you confidence that these bigots won't follow through on this one?
posted by tonycpsu at 2:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I would like to see Hillary step forward and lead right now. I'd like to see her do it for the next four years.
posted by schadenfrau at 2:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


what's the vig tho
posted by poffin boffin at 2:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


But he's mentioned it often enough I think it could be a sign that he has some intention of a Middle East campaign/resource extraction.

Apart from being totally infeasible, wouldn't this be a fucking war crime

I would like to see Hillary step forward and lead right now. I'd like to see her do it for the next four years.

I have to say, where the hell has she been? If she's not here now, fighting with us, I'm not sure I want her back, frankly.
posted by Existential Dread at 2:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Wanna give the left a solid figure to rally around?

didn't happen when it really mattered. not sure why it would now
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


I'm making a few more signs that say MAKE AMERICA AMERICA AGAIN

I don't know what else to do

I feel like The Onion's post-9/11 "woman bakes patriotic cake"
posted by prefpara at 2:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]




If Hillary and Bernie can lead the opposition and keep things going that's great but a big part of their leading now better be to identify and support whoever will be to taking over from them because I don't think either of them would be a good choice to run again in 2020.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]


If I were her I would be drunk for the next eight years and if anyone tried to blame me for it I would just go "WHERE WERE YOU" and I would be 100% correct to do so.

She tried. Don't pin this on her.
posted by E. Whitehall at 2:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [215 favorites]


Self-care note. If you want/need to take a break, but want to stay on the blue and reading/contributing to something that's fun, relaxing, positive, a mind-rest from politics, the first thread for this year's Eurovision is up. Hoping to keep a regular supply of old and new Eurovision tunes, news and the like going between now and the final in mid-May, as the 43 competing nations select their entries and do musical diversity battle. The tag across the content will be the standard #ESC2017.

Alternately, for a quick positive hit, Belarus are one of the first countries to decide on their entry and it's uplifting.
posted by Wordshore at 2:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


I don't know if this is relevant, but as a trans person trying to cope with my own imminent designation as an enemy of the state, I just want to remind everyone that a legalization of LGBT discrimination does not merely affect actual LGBT people directly. It is a wide-ranging policing of the behavior of the general public.

I mean, how do you tell if someone is LGBT? If they don't tell you, you have to pick it up from context clues-- whom do they live with? how do they act? what are their interests? This affects people of all types who may not have the perfect stereotyped television gender appearance, whether out of happenstance or preference. I mean, how would you prove to your boss that you're not gay? This kind of legal language affects everyone, and I mean everyone, because it only take a rumor. So I'm hoping people will come out in support and I'm trying not to think about what will happen if they don't.

I decided a long time ago that when I transitioned, I would stay alive by any means possible because I didn't work this hard to give up. I will find a way, regardless of what happens. So please don't worry about me-- worry about yourselves and get out the damn vote in 2018.

I really picked the wrong week to apply to work at the State Dept, godDAMN
posted by blnkfrnk at 2:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [194 favorites]




If Hillary and Bernie can lead the opposition

i can't think of anything worse than splitting the party again to relitigate the fucking primaries in the inevitable argument on who we should follow, hillary or bernie

yes, i include dying in a gay latino death camp as not fucking worse than this hypothetical horror
posted by poffin boffin at 2:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [62 favorites]


I would like to see Hillary step forward and lead right now. I'd like to see her do it for the next four years.

Apart from being a horrible idea politically, putting herself out there is likely to end with her in jail. She can't be the opposition now. The Clinton era is over for better or worse. Dems have to rebuild with a new generation of leadership.

Obama can still lead, there's no rulebook on post-Presidential careers. Hell, let him move to North Carolina and run for the Senate again. That and his redistricting effort that's hopefully getting underway could be huge. I'd rather see him come back in a few weeks than any public role for Clinton until she does some 2018 midterm endorsements alongside Bill.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [60 favorites]


however if obama sent out a mass email saying arm yourselves for the revolution i would swing my sock full of quarters at the first red hat i saw
posted by poffin boffin at 2:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [106 favorites]


i can't think of anything worse than splitting the party again to relitigate the fucking primaries in the inevitable argument on who we should follow, hillary or bernie

Its like playing an endless series of games of Duck Season/Rabbit Season and realizing at the last moment every goddamn time that you're Daffy Duck getting a face full of buckshot.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


Sure, Eurovision is going to be a big surprise this year for the UK entry isn't it? We'll be lucky to get zero, and not for the usual reason that our song is crap, but because we have been even more dickish this year than in some time.
posted by biffa at 2:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


shriners are safe, i like their tiny cars
posted by poffin boffin at 2:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


You're going to see Hillary because they're going to try to drag her back into the Senate for more questioning. Which will distract from SCOTUS confirmation, other confirmations, injure her supporters and sew division over primary outcomes again.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]




Intel Source: Bannon Is Making Sure There’s No White House Paper Trail
“He is running a cabal, almost like a shadow NSC,” the official said. He described a work environment where there is little appetite for dissenting opinions, shockingly no paper trail of what’s being discussed and agreed upon at meetings, and no guidance or encouragement so far from above about how the National Security Council staff should be organized.

The intelligence official, who said he was willing to give the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt when it took office, is now deeply troubled by how things are being run.
posted by zakur at 3:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [98 favorites]




You're going to see Hillary because they're going to try to drag her back into the Senate for more questioning


that would rally the left WAY more than the right base, i think.
posted by zutalors! at 3:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Destroying ISIS and then keeping the oil.

Wasn't that Iraq?
posted by Artw at 3:02 PM on January 30, 2017


do you want to also take book on whether or not trump has looked for the nation of Isis on a world map?
posted by poffin boffin at 3:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


Intel Source: Bannon Is Making Sure There’s No White House Paper Trail

"Are you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?"
posted by Artw at 3:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [119 favorites]


In the midst of this very difficult, disheartening, enraging time, let me just say how grateful I am for MeFi and all of you, who make it possible to hang in. Please let's all take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and each other -- especially those who are most directly targeted and affected by this outrageous bullshit.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]


that would rally the left WAY more than the right base, i think.

Indeed. The left will flock to that, meanwhile their horrible justice will get on, and then they'll let the Hillary hearings go because it's a cynical ploy anyway.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


He's not really alone in thinking they are a place you can bomb and then the trouble goes away, unfortunately.
posted by Artw at 3:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


We are all focused on political opposition right now, and that makes sense. But what scares me is that these fascist policies and bigoted ideas have real social support.

What do we do about that? What do we do when the fascists in power aren't the cause, but the symptom?


I just point to common values over and over and over again. That means I'm in the pulpit each Sunday saying "Jesus was a refugee" like a broken record. It means I'm at the local school board meetings saying "trans people are people too." It means I'm marching and protesting when I can. It means I'm leading bible studies with people who do not think like me, hoping to expand their world views, while also getting into trouble because I'm too "political." As a POC serving the whitest Christian denomination there is, I'm a target and a leader all at the same time. I pray this is working but I have no idea because the people can easily just walk away.
posted by Stynxno at 3:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [139 favorites]


No paper trail means no documentation. This is Bannon running the show.

It's funny how the dilution of the white supremacist movement into "right wing populist" and then just "populist" has meant that almost no-one believes me when I warn that there is a literal Nazi in the White House.

"But are you sure" yes, yes actually I am quite sure now that you mention it, us weenie liberals do fact-check
posted by E. Whitehall at 3:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [47 favorites]


what's the vig tho

Same as in town
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


He's not even dapper.
posted by Artw at 3:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


The Foreign Policy article is scary, but maybe it's a good sign that somebody who seems fairly high up in the NSC is leaking about the inner workings?
posted by diogenes at 3:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Oh so much shade here from Quartz: Elon Musk believes we can live on Mars, but that Trump’s immigration order can’t be revoked

I'm really having a hard time wrapping my head around Elon Musk's ridiculous effort this weekend to have randoms on Twitter propose specific amendments to the executive order so he can present them to the President. I mean, I did not previously think Elon Musk was a stupid person. And sure, smart people have bad ideas sometimes, but the stunning stupidity of a tweet saying "Please read immigration order. Lmk specific amendments. Will seek advisory council consensus & present to President" cannot be overstated. It's phenomenally stupid. And it makes it clear Musk has no idea what he's doing jumping into bed with Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 3:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [48 favorites]


So, independents breaking for Trump was a big thing this election. But independents track close to Democrats and moderates track close to liberals on the gay marriage question, at least. If this EO comes down it's the kind of thing that eats into narrow victory margins, good for the Republican base but bad for the whole Obama/Obama/Trump voter. And his approval rating is already not great with Independents.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Tillerson's nom advanced 56-43. I missed the Dem crossover yeas except Manchin, so fuck him. I am livestreaming CSPAN. I am in freak out mode.
posted by prefpara at 3:10 PM on January 30, 2017


Australian Teen Denied Visa For Space Camp in US Because His Parents Are From Iran
The 15-year-old, Pouya Ghadirian, was born in Australia but his parents are from Iran, giving him dual citizenship. The visa denial is believed to be the first for an Australian citizen under the Trump regime’s so-called Muslim ban, interpreted by many legal scholars to be grossly unconstitutional.
posted by zakur at 3:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


The 5 Biggest Tech Companies Lost $32 Billion In Value Over Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban

Investors suspected Silicon Valley wouldn't have it easy under President Donald Trump's protectionist trade and immigration policies.

Trump deepened those fears Friday when he signed an executive order barring citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The move sent the market cap of the five biggest tech companies on the S&P 500 down by $32 billion Monday, as investors worried Trump's anti-immigration policies may cut into the workforces of tech companies.

Shares of Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook (FB, -0.95%) together fell roughly 1% for a total market cap of $2.4 trillion on Monday. Alphabet alone shed $13.8 billion in market cap.

posted by futz at 3:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Clinton worked her ass off for a long time to try and stop this. I'm not going to demand she keep going after she was shut down and the rest of us are just now getting off our asses. She can take a break now.
posted by bongo_x at 3:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [109 favorites]


On the other hand all of this is following fairly standard authoritarian would be tinpot methods. I can't be the only person that's worked for a company where there was a tinpot micromanager and their much scarier and much more directly relevant enabler/manipulator, right?

I vacillate between "this is unpresidented, lol it really isn't" and "this is exactly that boss dyad, I am having terrible flashbacks".
posted by E. Whitehall at 3:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


At some point in the last couple of weeks I ran out of fingernails and moved on to gnawing my ID badge lanyard. I should probably invest in some Juicy Fruit
posted by theodolite at 3:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]






The tweet from Hillary and the statement from Obama seem on the mark to me. Other approaches would take the focus off a) the streets; b) those in elected office. Neither is a refusal to step up. Both are endorsing those who have already done so.
posted by holgate at 3:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


She tried. Don't pin this on her

I'm not pinning anything on her. I'm saying we need her.

We need fucking someone.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I genuinely don't know what to do. I am the breadwinner for my family. But I have been struggling to focus on work. I am really frightened and very upset. I can't tear myself away from the news. And the firehose of shit is not going to stop.
posted by prefpara at 3:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [53 favorites]


Congressional Democrats are all outside the Capitol right now, holding a rally, calling Trump's immigration EO unconstitutional and evil.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [81 favorites]


Are there any historians in the house?

I want to hear real-world examples of when this has type of change-in-leadership-could-be-a-coup has happened in the past, and how the populace responded.
posted by samthemander at 3:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


We don't need her. She lost and she's not going to run again. Someone who is going to run for office needs to be the one getting out there.
posted by dilaudid at 3:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


If you happen to be in OR Dist. 2, Rep Greg Walden made a statement. He's w/ Trump and approves the Muslim ban. I have called him 3x about this, asking him to voice disapproval. So now I get to call tomorrow and express disappointment. If you are in his district please do the same.
posted by hilaryjade at 3:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


One thing I've not seen mentioned much lately is that the FBI telegraphed very loudly before the election that they have Trump/Bannon/Session's back. Anybody going forward who emerges as a new and credible threat is going to have their lives turned into a living hell.
posted by lagomorphius at 3:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


however if obama sent out a mass email saying arm yourselves for the revolution i would swing my sock full of quarters at the first red hat i saw

The traditional weapon is nickels. Cheaper and thicker. Also can be heated as in "a sack of hot nickels". FYI

Also ya'll leave Hilary alone the women has done literally everything she could and now she actually has to worry about getting arrested by a mouth-breathing yahoo administration. If she jumps in, great. But she doesn't owe us shit.
posted by emjaybee at 3:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [65 favorites]



The 5 Biggest Tech Companies Lost $32 Billion In Value Over Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban

Investors suspected Silicon Valley wouldn't have it easy under President Donald Trump's protectionist trade and immigration policies.

Trump deepened those fears Friday when he signed an executive order barring citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The move sent the market cap of the five biggest tech companies on the S&P 500 down by $32 billion Monday, as investors worried Trump's anti-immigration policies may cut into the workforces of tech companies.

Shares of Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook (FB, -0.95%) together fell roughly 1% for a total market cap of $2.4 trillion on Monday. Alphabet alone shed $13.8 billion in market cap.


This is huge.
posted by Jalliah at 3:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


RED HOT NICKEL BALL VS PUNCHABLE NAZI FACE
posted by Existential Dread at 3:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


Tactically it's probably better if there's no single leader of the resistance.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [64 favorites]


I don't think Hillary is wanted, plus what others said about her getting arrested if she does.

We need fucking someone.


I don't think we got anyone except each other. If you're looking for a leader against Trump, we don't got it. If Obama's not taking point, I don't know who is.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Protest. Democratic leadership doesn't fix this, we need plebs in the street.
posted by angrybear at 3:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


RED HOT NICKEL BALL VS PUNCHABLE NAZI FACE

I totally want to see this on the YouTube Hydraulic Press Channel.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


The 5 Biggest Tech Companies Lost $32 Billion In Value Over Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban

About that: Google employees are staging a walkout over Trump’s immigration ban
posted by zachlipton at 3:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]


Are there any historians in the house?

I want to hear real-world examples of when this has type of change-in-leadership-could-be-a-coup has happened in the past, and how the populace responded.


Yes. See previous link upthread
posted by yoga at 3:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


You could look to NGOs like Amnesty and the ACLU or its British counterpart, Liberty, for leadership.
posted by tel3path at 3:31 PM on January 30, 2017




Flying a large "Trump" flag, a mysterious convoy of military vehicles rolled down Interstate 65 through Louisville on Sunday morning.

Gross, and unacceptable.


Full Disclosure: You are 100% correct. That is gross and unacceptable.
The good news upside nothing good about this it doesn't seem like it was an actual military convoy. It was likely "just" a radical racist newly emboldened militant racist militia group of asshole racists with a stockpile of military hardware. It's still January 2017 and this is my new sense of optimism. I personally think that we will start seeing trump flags on Border Patrol vehicles before we see them on military, but I've been wrong about everything for the past year.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Sally Yates, currently acting Attorney General, has told Justice Department lawyers not to defend the immigration executive order, as the believes the order to be unlawful.
posted by zachlipton at 3:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]




Protest. Democratic leadership doesn't fix this, we need plebs in the street.

As the oft-quoted article on living under an autocrat says, we can't rely on Institutions to save us. They won't save us. Courts, congress, the DNC, the ACLU, CAIR et al can all work tirelessly but they will be dismantled, kneecapped, weakened and outlawed. It has to be all of us together working towards the same end.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


The Times has a story up on it now: Acting Attorney General Orders Justice Dept. Not to Defend Refugee Ban
“I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right,” Ms. Yates wrote in a letter to Justice Department lawyers. “At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the Executive Order is lawful.”
...
“For as long as I am the Acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the Executive Order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so,” she wrote.
Heroic.
posted by zachlipton at 3:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [142 favorites]


Silly question maybe, but do the Senate have to vote on Merrick before they vote on Trumps choice?

I mean, the nomination was made.
It's an active nomination, it wasn't rejected, they just chose not to vote on it.

Seems like it should still be on the todo list shouldn't it?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


> The intelligence official, who said he was willing to give the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt when it took office, is now deeply troubled by how things are being run.

Which is cool and all, but why anyone would have been willing to give the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt about *anything* in January of 2017 is beyond me.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I just point to common values over and over and over again. That means I'm in the pulpit each Sunday saying "Jesus was a refugee" like a broken record. It means I'm at the local school board meetings saying "trans people are people too." It means I'm marching and protesting when I can. It means I'm leading bible studies with people who do not think like me....

You're doing God's work, Stynxno. I mean that literally, even as an agnostic person.
posted by mudpuppie at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Shameless little necromancy from the previous thread:
Some reading material in case it doesn't feel like you're winning or if you're concerned your voice doesn't count.

And to contribute something new, this is the only protest sign I've ever needed.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


The reason I ask about leadership is that it seems, broadly, like there are two directions in which resistance can go. Within existing power structures, and outside of them. The latter seems to take longer and involve more blood.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:35 PM on January 30, 2017


Ms. Yates will be fired by the end of the day. Guarantee it.
posted by suelac at 3:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]


Warren's statement at the Dems' press conference is FIRE. She is saying what I want Dems to acknowledge. This is not business as usual.
posted by prefpara at 3:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Silly question maybe, but do the Senate have to vote on Merrick before they vote on Trumps choice?

No. The nomination expired when the 114th Congress adjourned.
posted by zachlipton at 3:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I called the offices of Senators Murray and Cantwell (both D-WA) again today to ask about their positions on the Sessions confirmation vote. Cantwell hasn’t taken any public position. Murray has criticized Sessions but her staff told me today that, “out of respect for the nomination process” she won’t announce her vote in advance. Both of them voted to confirm Kelly, Mattis, and Haley.

I’m very upset that Democratic senators believe they owe this nomination process any respect at all, after the “respect” their Republican colleagues showed to President Obama’s nominees.
posted by mbrubeck at 3:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]


So, independents breaking for Trump was a big thing this election. But independents track close to Democrats and moderates track close to liberals on the gay marriage question, at least.

On the other hand I have literally been explaining to my mother that actually, once I got my spouse to the US (thanks Windsor) and on my health insurance (thanks Obergefell), I stopped giving two wet shits about marriage and went back to worrying about literally everything else, up to and including legitimizing discrimination against gender non conforming/trans people, because I can talk about being a cis ally all I want but I'm well aware I'm GNC enough for a bigot to notice. My partner is just as GNC and as a bonus has IDed as nonbinary for ten years.

We are afraid. And not about a fucking wedding, either, so could the straight and cis people in the room shut up about gay marriage and take five minutes to familiarize themselves with literally anything that LGBTQ folks deal with, or is that too much to ask? Because in my more cynical moments handling well meaning family I swear it is.
posted by sciatrix at 3:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [77 favorites]


Primary those stupid fucks.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Pence promised that the administration would be anti-equality.

Thanks, I hadn't heard about that.
posted by Coventry at 3:40 PM on January 30, 2017


this rant brought to you by the grim reality that tonight I will be walking through this with people who claim to love me but apparently not enough to remember this crap after the tenth time I have walked through it slowly again
posted by sciatrix at 3:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


making taxpayer funds available for discrimination against LGBTQ people in social services; allow federally funded adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ parents; eliminate non-discrimination protections in order to make it possible to fire federal employers and contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity

But her speeches to Wall Street...

At what point does the "nonviolent" part of "nonviolent protest" become no longer operative? I'm not calling for violence by any means, I'm asking what the actual line is that people are no longer willing to tolerate? If its not allowing discrimination is it jailing people? Not until people start dying? What?
posted by Justinian at 3:41 PM on January 30, 2017


I think the ACT UP playbook will be relevant.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]


however if obama sent out a mass email saying arm yourselves for the revolution i would swing my sock full of quarters at the first red hat i saw

But you might walk up next to a St. Louis Cardinals fan and...

Nope, still a good plan.
posted by delfin at 3:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


That didn't take so long. White House aide Epshteyn wrote controversial Holocaust memorial statement
Epshteyn, a veteran of the Trump campaign who joined the Trump administration as a special assistant, did not immediately respond to calls and emails. The White House press office did not respond to emails. Epshteyn is a Russian-Jewish immigrant and the descendent of Holocaust survivors.
Frankly, I'm less concerned with the statement than the increasingly awful things they've said to try to defend it, especially Spicer's comments today that indicated he doesn't think they should be criticized for this because Obama wasn't deferential enough to the Israeli government, as if there is any real connection.
posted by zachlipton at 3:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


@RobertRaben: Irony alert: The DC Circuit, arbiter of how President Trump's (@potus) Executive Order on regulations will work, is lead by Merrick Garland.
posted by zakur at 3:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [85 favorites]


From my brother, who is a lawyer but not your lawyer: As the Times notes, "Mr. Trump has the authority to fire Ms. Yates, but as the top Senate-confirmed official at the Justice Department, she is the only one authorized to sign foreign surveillance warrants, an essential function at the department."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Sure, Eurovision is going to be a big surprise this year for the UK entry isn't it? We'll be lucky to get zero, and not for the usual reason that our song is crap, but because we have been even more dickish this year than in some time.
posted by biffa at 5:58 PM on January 30 [−] Favorite added! [!]

Oh biffa, I hadn't thought of that There was also talk last year of letting the USA compete at some point-- maybe easing us in like you did with Australia. I guess that's kaput.



The thing about not having a paper trail though is there is plausible deniability. If you don't give me exact orders written down, I can easily skip over the things I don't want to do and claim I was never told that was my responsibility.



I listened to The Weeds Podcast today and they brought up something I hadn't realized-- that the ban on the 7 countries is different from the ban on refugees-- even though there is considerable overlap. For example Christian Syrians might be let in under the country ban but not under the refugee ban. Also the refugee ban lasts 120 days while the 7 state ban lasts 90.

It is becoming more clear that Sessions had a heavy hand in crafting this because he has always been anti-immigration, even legal immigration and Steve Miller worked for him previously. I hope the Senate is aware of this and he does not get confirmed. For years Republicans have been adhering to a policy of "legal immigration is good for the country/ we are only against undocumented immigration." We'll see how that lasts. They sure do talk up stories about saving persecuted Christians.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


@RobertRaben: Irony alert: The DC Circuit, arbiter of how President Trump's (@potus) Executive Order on regulations will work, is lead by Merrick Garland.

Filed under: You can't make this shit up if you tried.
posted by Jalliah at 3:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


So Sally Yates, who led the prosecution against homophobic white-supremacist abortion clinic-bombing terrorist Eric Rudolph, has said, in essence, "if you want the DOJ defending this in court before Beauregard is confirmed, fire me. I dare you. Also, Rudy911's love of being on TV fucked you over big time."
posted by holgate at 3:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [71 favorites]


I'm sure they can find a workaround for the FISA warrants, like just not bothering.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


Another Trump thread, another Trump drawing.
I think it's set up so that anyone can download it they so desire, or at least share on the facebooks.
My god, it's endless, isn't it, this shit.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 3:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


I'm sure they can find a workaround for the FISA warrants, like just not bothering.

Yeah, that's what I would expect. The FISA warrants are secret, after all. How is the public or the press going to know if the searches are conducted without a warrant?

Trump does not care about the rule of law. Period.
posted by suelac at 3:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Burhanistan: "Van Susteren has the author of the travel ban on now and boy is he a doublespeak dead-eyed fuck."

Is it Stephen Miller? I bet it's Stephen Miller. I mean, I saw on Twitter that it was probably some combination of Ste[ph|v]ens Miller and Bannon behind it, but "dead-eyed fuck" (as opposed to "gin-blossomed pustule") is definitely Miller, right?
posted by mhum at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Cantwell and Murray have both been WA senators since the 1990s, back when Democrats locally were pretty much DINO conservatives, and both of them haven't really evolved at all. Murray is more activist and visible, Cantwell is practically non-existent even on the local radar. Time for primaries.
posted by azuresunday at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


The House of Commons is having an emergency debate on the immigration EO, and it's actually rather good - not much mistaking the distress and opposition to it across the benches.
posted by Devonian at 3:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


This is hilarious and says so much about our Idiot in Chief.

Trump gives an inaccurate explanation of how pipelines are built and shipped

Speaking to a group of small business leaders, Trump described a process that "hurts the pipe"...

"These are big pipes. Now, the only way I can imagine they [ship them] is they must have to cut them. Because they're so big, I can't imagine — they take up so much room — I can't imagine you could put that much pipe on ships. It's not enough. It's not long enough," he said.

"So I assume they have to fabricate and cut, which hurts the pipe, by the way," he said.

A spokesperson for the Association of Oil Pipe Lines said he had never heard of foreign pipe makers cutting segments into portions to send them overseas. Manufacturers create pipes in lengths that can be shipped rather than chopping up vast lengths of pipe.


He admits he has no idea how the pipelines are made but has to "imagine" out loud. Oh well, luckily for me he made an ass out of himself again.
posted by futz at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [89 favorites]


From my brother, who is a lawyer but not your lawyer: As the Times notes, "Mr. Trump has the authority to fire Ms. Yates, but as the top Senate-confirmed official at the Justice Department, she is the only one authorized to sign foreign surveillance warrants, an essential function at the department."

wow, Trump might bumble into doing something good for once, seeing as that's how domestic mass surveillance is authorized.
posted by indubitable at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


If it was anyone less ridiculous than Rudy Giuliani saying it, you'd have to think his comments on Fox News were a deliberate act of sabotage. I mean, outright admitting discriminatory intent on national TV? That's what you'd say if you were trying to intentionally set up evidence to be used against the administration in a legal challenge. Or if you were a moron. Yeah, I think it's that one actually.
posted by zachlipton at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]


Stephen Miller is what you get when a C-list radio host drunkenly mates with a lamppost.
posted by delfin at 3:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Is it Stephen Miller? I bet it's Stephen Miller. I mean, I saw on Twitter that it was probably some combination of Ste[ph|v]ens Miller and Bannon behind it, but "dead-eyed fuck" (as opposed to "gin-blossomed pustule") is definitely Miller, right?

It is indeed Miller, and this man is not only a dead-eyed fuck but a toxic-slime-producing pustule.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


wah wahahahaha wah wa. Cut the pipes hahaha-

*sob*
posted by Namlit at 3:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


"These are big pipes. Now, the only way I can imagine they [ship them] is they must have to cut them. Because they're so big, I can't imagine — they take up so much room — I can't imagine you could put that much pipe on ships. It's not enough. It's not long enough," he said.

Wait. Did Trump think they manufactured big oil pipelines in one piece? And because they're made overseas they have to cut them up so they fit on a ship, but if they made them domestically, they'd just make a single pipe segment miles and miles long?

This makes "series of tubes" seem well-considered.
posted by zachlipton at 3:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [89 favorites]


I'm sure they can find a workaround for the FISA warrants, like just not bothering.

FWIW, the Bush administration tried that, and the FISA court paddled them. Judges don't take kindly to having their authority undermined. The conflict is described in Weiner's history of the FBI, Enemies, IIRC.
posted by Coventry at 3:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


This is a clothing label from a small American company that sells their product in France. Here's the translation of the French part of the label:

Wash with warm water.
Use mild soap.
Dry flat.
Do not use bleach.
Do not dry in the dryer.
Do not iron.
We are sorry that our president is an idiot. We did not vote for him.
posted by zakur at 3:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [83 favorites]


Trump's private speeches must set records for awkward silences.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


idiot is what we called GWB II. We need stronger words.
posted by zutalors! at 3:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]


Let them try to lock up Clinton. It will make her into America's Aung San Suu Kyi overnight.
posted by um at 3:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


zakur: that's been going around since 2012 at least and probably earlier
posted by flatluigi at 3:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm sure they can find a workaround for the FISA warrants, like just not bothering.

FWIW, the Bush administration tried that, and the FISA court paddled them. Judges don't take kindly to having their authority undermined. The conflict is described in Weiner's history of the FBI, Enemies, IIRC.


Oh, so the pride and effectiveness of a few secret judges is what protects the country? That's fine then. No worries.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


"So I assume they have to fabricate and cut, which hurts the pipe, by the way," he said.

It's true, the pipe screams and bleeds and they have to cauterize it right away or the pipe will die. A much better technique is to import immature pipes and grow them to size on a feedlot, but that takes more time.
posted by contraption at 4:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [123 favorites]


Stephen Miller is what you get when a C-list radio host drunkenly mates with a lamppost.

Duke's second-proudest graduate! (Nixon is first, of course)
posted by indubitable at 4:00 PM on January 30, 2017


And because they're made overseas they have to cut them up so they fit on a ship, but if they made them domestically, they'd just make a single pipe segment miles and miles long?

Well, I hope they don't make the uni-pipe in Florida because MAN would transporting it to the Dakotas hold up traffic.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


This is a clothing label from a small American company that sells their product in France.

It's Tom Binh and they did it a decade ago for W Bush and it's not France, it's a kind of jokey version of Canadian bilingual labelling. Otherwise, all true.
posted by holgate at 4:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


At what point does the "nonviolent" part of "nonviolent protest" become no longer operative? I'm not calling for violence by any means, I'm asking what the actual line is that people are no longer willing to tolerate? If its not allowing discrimination is it jailing people? Not until people start dying? What?

We're still at the stage of figuring out what will compel ordinary, non-activist people out to protest. I think there is a lot more we can do in that area before we start talking violence. I asked my husband that question this weekend because so far he has shown no desire to protest. I will be asking my daughter that question tonight because she is pansexual and many of her friends are in the LGBTQ community. Both of my loved ones voted for Clinton and stay up on political news but...they haven't felt the pull to do more. So I think there is room to motivate people like them. What it will take, I still don't know.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Found a snopes link about the tag, it's from 2004 and about GWB.
posted by flatluigi at 4:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


idiot is what we called GWB II. We need stronger words.

Fascist.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 4:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


the pride and effectiveness of a few secret judges is what protects the country? That's fine then. No worries.

I completely agree that the whole FISA scheme is ripe for abuse. But they can't just ignore the FISA judges.
posted by Coventry at 4:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Duke

That explains everything.
posted by delfin at 4:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Has the Google Doodle been mentioned yet?

Google makes a strong statement by putting Japanese internment camp survivor on home page
posted by futz at 4:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


"So I assume they have to fabricate and cut, which hurts the pipe, by the way," he said.

This is amazing. Straw man being created in real time.

I don't know how pipes are built.

This is how I think they build pipes.

That is a horrible these people are doing when they build pipe in this way. That I just forgot I made up.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]


I think the wheels are coming off the bus. Bannon is in over his head. You can't run the entire government with one person and the border patrol. It'll take a few weeks, but he'll be gone soon.
posted by My Dad at 4:03 PM on January 30, 2017


Speaking of Stephen Miller, here's an article posted today on Mother Jones, The Dark History of the White House Aides Who Crafted Trump's "Muslim Ban":
As a member of the Duke Conservative Union, Miller worked closely with Richard Spencer, a Ph.D. student who would later coin the term "alt-right" and become a leading white nationalist [Ed. note - and also get punched in the face twice in one day]. Spencer told me that at Duke, Miller helped him with fundraising and promotion for an on-campus debate on immigration policy that Spencer organized in 2007, featuring influential white nationalist Peter Brimelow. Miller vehemently denied to me that he had any connection to Spencer or his ideas, but another former member of the Duke Conservative Union confirmed to me that Miller and Spencer worked together on the Brimelow event. And at DCU meetings, according to another past member of the group, Miller denounced multiculturalism and expressed concerns that immigrants from non-European countries were not assimilating.
Ed. note mine.
posted by mhum at 4:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]


Trump gives an inaccurate description of how pipelines are built

Missed headline opportunity: Trump has problems laying pipe.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 4:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


A Google doodle counts as a "strong statement?" That's the most passive aggressive thing I've ever heard of.
posted by crashlanding at 4:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]


It'll take a few weeks, but he'll be gone soon.

I would take much more comfort in talk like this if I hadn't been hearing similar things (for different values of "he") for over a year now.
posted by contraption at 4:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


I don't think the question is that simple, Justinian. Violence isn't a last resort just because of the immediate harm that it does to human bodies. It's also a last resort because it's difficult to control and has unpredictable outcomes. It frequently is counterproductive.

I can easily imagine retributions for violent protest falling down the hardest on people who protestors are trying to protect, for example. I can also imagine violent protest resulting in stronger crackdowns against protest, eroding popular support for the opposition, and accomplishing nothing in the process.

So you can be willing to do violence, and suffer violence, before you think it's a good idea.

I now what a lot of people are thinking. If the people in power don't respect the law, what are the legal methods to remove them? The legal ways to remove or curtail Trump reside with the Republicans, who care more about protecting their power than protecting the country. I don't have a good answer. But I really do not see what violence will accomplish. We may be in a situation with no good answers.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


Tactically it's probably better if there's no single leader of the resistance.

Also while the Democratic party needs to get its act together on a strategy, and start figuring out what direction to go in on a local, regional, and national level, the anti-Trump Resistance could only be harmed by identifying with a partisan figure, be that Clinton, Sanders, Obama or Santa Claus.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


He admits he has no idea how the pipelines are made but has to "imagine" out loud. Oh well, luckily for me he made an ass out of himself again.

I work with engineers who design pipelines* (rarely oil, usually water/sewer) and I know some of them voted for him. I wonder how I can work this dumbfuckery into the conversation.

*they have good stories about things that get dug up during construction. Also I learned that when visiting pipes being put in in west Texas, you are wise to buy snake-proof boots. I just wanted to share that.
posted by emjaybee at 4:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


democracy.io use case/feature request:

First: Awesome and thanks for sharing this! I have used it to email the 3 congress members that come up when I input my address.

Request/use case: I want to start contacting people to oppose specific bills. Example: Bill 621 to sell off federal lands. The committee is the House Committee on Natural Resources and (I think) you can contact anyone on that committee in reference to the bill... you aren't limited to only the members who's district you're in. Is it possible to use this site to email a specific Congressperson? (Or at least the ones that already have their emails in this system?)
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 4:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


At what point does the "nonviolent" part of "nonviolent protest" become no longer operative? I'm not calling for violence by any means, I'm asking what the actual line is that people are no longer willing to tolerate?

Everyone should figure this out for themselves, but sweet Jesus, do not answer this online.
posted by corb at 4:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Canadian here, so bear with my lack of understanding of US government:

The 3-pillar system of legislative, executive and judicial branches is codified in the constitution, correct? Along with the system of checks and balances any one branch has with the others?
So my question is, how much of that system of checks and balances is dependent on each branch recognizing and acquiescing to those limits to their own power, recognizing the authority of the other branches, and recognizing the supremacy of the written constitution? What happens if the executive branch says no, and just ignores the courts and congress, including ignoring the results an impeachment finding, if it comes to that?

Because it seems that's what's coming, if it isn't happening already.
posted by rocket88 at 4:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I've given a fair amount of thought back to the campaign when it was revealed that Trump asked Kaisich if he wanted to be the most powerful Vice President ever... Maybe Trump meant only the ask, and had no intention of reeling in his own powers, moreso just allowing the VP to act with total impunity as well...

Well, fuck... Nate Silver wasn't the only one that misread that statement in analysis.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Tell me again about how the EO only "inconvienced" 100 people at the airport:

Scientific America After Trump Order, Hospitals Scramble to Aid Patients Slated for U.S. Care
Johns Hopkins Medicine has found at least 11 patients who live in the Muslim-majority nations targeted by the immigration ban—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen—and who were set to travel to the United States in the next 90 days for medical care. Another major health system, Cleveland Clinic, told STAT that it had nine patients scheduled to come to the United States for care from the affected countries.

“These are very, very ill patients,” Pamela Paulk, president of Johns Hopkins Medicine International, told STAT. “In most cases, these are not cases to be postponed.”
So far we have stories about students, patients, tech employees, college professors, children uniting with their parents, all being affected by the ban. Heckava Job! Brownie Bannon.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [66 favorites]


I watched Inglorious Basterds the other day.

Considering current events, seeing a depiction of Hitler getting machine-gunned in the face and then explode in a giant fireball was very theraputic. I highly recommend it.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


In the mene tyme Chaucer doth tweet messages of hope.
posted by Hypatia at 4:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


A Google doodle counts as a "strong statement?" That's the most passive aggressive thing I've ever heard of.

More strong would be stuff like the giving fund and both employees and founders demonstrating/etc.

(And other actions, these are the top 3 from the last few days I can think of)
posted by thefoxgod at 4:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


idiot is what we called GWB II. We need stronger words.
I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.
posted by bibliowench at 4:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


A reporter at Wired states that if Yates is fired/forced to resign, Comey would go with her.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


including ignoring the results an impeachment finding,

This is where the investment in light rail pays off.

Now you need some tar and feathers with the light rail ya get to tied to and then carried outta town and I'm betting you can find people to carry the rail.

(Really, there are people with an ability to use physical detention and will use such)
posted by rough ashlar at 4:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Van Susteren has the author of the travel ban Stpehen Miller on now and boy is he a doublespeak dead-eyed fuck.

so how we s'posed to tell them apart?
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


It'll take a few weeks, but he'll be gone soon.

Not unless we reach into that den of snakes and frog march him out ourselves. That's literally the only thing I've learned this year. We cannot afford to assume we've won until we have tangible proof in our hands and our properly elected officials again sit in the halls of power.

Never again will I be able to trust that everything will be okay without sustained public action. Never again will I be capable of trusting smug predictions that everything will be fine if we just hunker down for some unspecified time period. Never again will I rest easy in the faith I once put in my nation.

We have to keep going.
posted by sciatrix at 4:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [68 favorites]



Jeff Bezos Says Amazon Is Exploring "Legislative Options" Against Trump’s Refugee Ban

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday issued one of the strongest corporate statements of opposition to President Trump’s refugee ban yet.
In an email to all employees (full text below), Bezos said Amazon does not support the order and is exploring “legislative options” for opposing it. He also noted that Amazon will submit a declaration in support of Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is filing a lawsuit in federal court to stop the order.
Bezos, who was among tech executives who met with the president at Trump Tower in December, said Amazon’s legal team has filed a declaration of support of the Washington State Attorney General’s lawsuit against Trump.

posted by Jalliah at 4:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [57 favorites]


From the Mother Jones link
Bannon has lauded Miller, who previously worked for Sen. Jeff Sessions. "Whether the issue was trade or immigration or radical Islam, for many years before Donald Trump came on the scene, Sen. Sessions was the leader of the movement and Stephen was his right-hand man," Bannon told Politico in June.
We keep talking about the Miller-Bannon EO but don't forget there is talk that Sessions actually crafted the bill. This is what we need to stress when calling our Senators. Jeff Sessions is notoriously anti-immigration, ALL immigration. That is un-American. He should not be AG for the USA.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]


how much of that system of checks and balances is dependent on each branch recognizing and acquiescing to those limits to their own power, recognizing the authority of the other branches, and recognizing the supremacy of the written constitution?

All of it, essentially? That's the thing with presidentialism: it's a zero-sum decision on who has ultimate authority over the state monopoly on violence.
posted by holgate at 4:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


idiot is what we called GWB II. We need stronger words.

Santorum.
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I don't want to link directly, but I read a comment in a private group about how they are part of a non-political Discord channel. The members of that channel have taken to arguing politics, with several alt-right trumpists as the opposition. One of those alt-right people revealed that he had called the secret service on a prominent member of the leftists, and falsely claimed death threats. I don't want to be alarmist, but I do want to say be careful out there, especially in arguing online.

One line of defense I can think of is making it so that there's so much verbal outcry on social media that it's futile to pick out individuals. It's herd mentality, but I think it works in that situation.

I'm not sure what we do if the nature of the Secret Service suddenly changes or if a new paramilitary group is developed to "protect" the president... I can't think about that right now.
posted by codacorolla at 4:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


When I was veddy young, I had a toy flatbed truck (red) that carried little sections of toy pipe (yellow), which had little bits at each end that fitted together. Later in my childhood, our house got connected to the city sewerage system, and a big truck pulled up with big sections of real pipe, with bits at each end that fitted together. Many times on TV, I saw news and documentaries about the oil industry (you have one of those in the US, right?) and many others, which all had pipes of various sizes, all working in the same way.

I also note that if you see any sort of substantial pipework, and there's an awful lot in our lives, there it is again.

I am truly amazed - even given everything I already know about the profoundly incurious, unobservant and unintelligent mind of Donnie - that he has failed to absorb any of this, and presumably thought... what, exactly? Information easily available to a six year old in rural England has apparently passed him by.
posted by Devonian at 4:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]


> What happens if the executive branch says no, and just ignores the courts and congress, including ignoring the results an impeachment finding, if it comes to that?

Well Congress has a Sargeant at Arms, but is equally powerless to stop the executive as the Supreme Court was at stopping Andrew Jackson. At some level, borrowing capacity is a limit, should congress choose to defund the executive.

But this presupposes a Congressional majority isn't on board with the Trump administration's plans, which comes with a heavy dose of Citation Needed.
posted by pwnguin at 4:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


A reporter at Wired states that if Yates is fired/forced to resign, Comey would go with her.
She's not going to be fired. They'll just fast-track the Sessions nomination. Sessions will be confirmed by Friday, and he'll do everything Bannon wants him to do.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


What happens if the executive branch says no, and just ignores the courts and congress, including ignoring the results an impeachment finding, if it comes to that?

We activate the Deep-Deep-Deep-State to take out the Deep-Deep-State. Naww, just kidding, all of law enforcement will probably fall in line behind Trump.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


This just came up on Twitter. I side-eye linguistics pretty hard for reasons outside the scope of this thread, but this might have some merit?
posted by pxe2000 at 4:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


idiot is what we called GWB II. We need stronger words.

I vote for Fuckhead.
posted by INFJ at 4:18 PM on January 30, 2017


I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.

A myconid?
posted by um at 4:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


And I just learned that my father has given my address to my aunt--the one currently angling for a place in the new Trump administration, who has been determinedly trying to get access to both my partner and myself via Facebook friending but not actually contacting us for a week and a half now. The one who has been my grandmother's spoiled pet child these thirty or forty years.

Motherfucker. If you feel the need to warn me to tell you if she sends us anything, maybe you could fucking ask before you hand out my home address like it's nothing!
posted by sciatrix at 4:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


At what point does the "nonviolent" part of "nonviolent protest" become no longer operative? I'm not calling for violence by any means, I'm asking what the actual line is that people are no longer willing to tolerate?

Chomsky on the legitimacy of political violence
...here is a tendency to assume that a stand based on an absolute moral judgment shows high principle in a way that’s not shown in a stand taken on what are disparagingly referred to as “tactical grounds.” I think this is a pretty dubious assumption. If tactics involves a calculation of the human cost of various actions, then tactical considerations are actually the only considerations that have a moral quality to them. So I can’t accept a general and absolute opposition to violence, only that resort to violence is illegitimate unless the consequences are to eliminate a greater evil.

With this formulation, however, one moves from the abstract discussion to the context of concrete historical circumstances where there are shades of gray and obscure complex relations between means and ends and uncalculable consequences of actions, and so on and so forth. Formulated in these terms, the advocates of a qualified commitment to nonviolence have a pretty strong case. I think they can claim with very much justice that in almost all real circumstances there is a better way than resort to violence.

...the real issue today is the all-importance of the refusal to participate in violence, the refusal to fight. I think that’s not only crucial for the Vietnam War but a terribly crucial, central thing for us citizens of the world dominant power, the world’s major aggressive power — that we use the freedoms that still exist in it to try to build up resistance to participation in war. As to the tactics of the peace movement, I think there are very strong reasons in favor of nonviolence. The first reason — which Professor Hans Morgenthau described quite eloquently — is that the government happens to have a monopoly of terror. Therefore violence is simply suicidal. There is no way of combatting the terror, the violence that the government can use in response to any use of violence that the peace movement might adopt. And the situation is clearly getting worse. [He said this in 1967.]
posted by Coventry at 4:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]



Nicer news.

Icelandic President invites Syrian refugees to his official
residence


Five Syrian families, part of a new group of Syrian refugees invited by the Icelandic Government to settle in Iceland were received by President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson this afternoon. The President told them that Iceland wanted to show compassion, tolerance and an open mind.

"Icelanders cannot save the world. We cannot receive everyone fleeing their homes and powerful nations have to take action for peace in areas of war. But we can however do our bit by offering a secure shelter and by improving our society in showing compassion, tolerance and an open mind."

President Jóhannesson quoted former US President Franklind D. Roosevelt, and said we have nothing to fear except fear itself. and then welcomed the group to Iceland.

"In Iceland we defend human rights: equality of the sexes, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of travel and last but not least freedom from fear. I welcome you with all my heart to Iceland."

posted by Jalliah at 4:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [54 favorites]


I could be wrong, because I've stopped making predictions about politics, but I think an anti-LGB (wish I were more sure about the T, unfortunately) executive order would be really, really significant overreach. If you want to know what Trump could do that would get my nice, polite, white, Christian Iowan friends out in the street, I think that might be it. That's people's families: it's their parents and siblings and children. That's the kind of thing that I think people would do a general strike over.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


I don't want to be alarmist, but I do want to say be careful out there, especially in arguing online.

Linked by Coventry in the last thread: Twitter Activist Security
posted by indubitable at 4:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


His thoughts were red thoughts: "I watched Inglorious Basterds the other day."

I saw on Instagram a sign from the LAX protest this weekend carried by a college-aged Indian-Persian woman that just said "100 Nazi scalps". I know that MeFi recently had a whole back-and-forth about the morality of violence in general and punching Nazis in particular but, not gonna lie, I kinda dug that sign.
posted by mhum at 4:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


This just came up on Twitter. I side-eye linguistics pretty hard for reasons outside the scope of this thread, but this might have some merit?

Ok I have no idea if he's right or not but I love him now because of:
-esque. They'd spell it as -esk because QU is a mysterious bastard of a diphthong.
posted by INFJ at 4:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Some days the worst part of all this is having to face the callousness and blindness of people related to us. I'm sorry sciatrix.
posted by emjaybee at 4:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.

So something from the works of Lovecraft? Yuggoth fungi?
posted by rough ashlar at 4:23 PM on January 30, 2017


If fired, Yates could just draft a quick order that she's now on double-secret probation instead. Y'know, fuck it.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


The eight year old girl killed in yesterday's botched raid in Yemen was a US citizen.

It's already happened.
posted by Rust Moranis at 4:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]


This just came up on Twitter. I side-eye linguistics pretty hard for reasons outside the scope of this thread, but this might have some merit?

looks like pseudoscientific bullshit to me.
posted by indubitable at 4:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


A myconid?

No way is Trump lawful neutral.
posted by bibliowench at 4:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


'Hottest places in hell' reserved for those remaining neutral: Former US Ambassador unleashes on Trump

Mr Bleich, now a chair of the J. William Fulbright Board, said he had never before issued a statement condemning the actions of the United States government.

But he said as an "American, patriot and human being" he had no choice but to speak out and said: "None of us should be silent."

posted by futz at 4:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


My mother is a privileged white southern baptist lady who's never cared about politics. If she voted before I was around, it was for Republicans until 2012 Obama (couldn't get over Romney being Mormon, and I wasn't about to look that gift horse in the mouth) and 2016 Clinton. Even voting for Clinton though, it seemed like more of a anti-Trump vote. I've never really see her get worked up about any political cause before.

I just got off a 30-minute phone call where no part of it was not spent complaining about this executive order. She saw I went to a protest and wanted to know all about it, then wanted to tell me all about how the Dallas mayor had personally apologized to all the immigrants detained at DFW airport and she thought that was nice. She went on a long rant about how she had 'prayed all night' about what was going on in the world, and she read an article about how former Southern Baptist Convention president Bryant Wright condemned the order [I think this is what she's talking about] and how she wished she was at a church that was getting involved. Her church is currently building a multi-million dollar facility and she 'kinda wishes they were spending that money paying a refugee's rent'. She said she hoped someone got a case in front of the Supreme Court and I told her about the ACLU and how we'd given $20 this weekend and she asked that I send her a link because maybe she should too. I don't think she's ever donated money to a political group or candidate before.

This kinda rambled on, but I'm just blown away. This is what winning the culture war looks like.
posted by DynamiteToast at 4:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [183 favorites]


Yuggoth fungi?

The Outer Ones were emissaries of goodwill from beyond spacetime that welcomed all sentient beings into their multiversal society of monsters. They would resent the comparison.
posted by byanyothername at 4:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


This just came up on Twitter. I side-eye linguistics pretty hard for reasons outside the scope of this thread, but this might have some merit?

This is why I love this account so much. Who is doing it? It's a mystery! No matter who it is, it's tweeting out plausible info that undermines what's going on there. And if it's not people connected with actual staff.. then what is it's purpose.

It's Bannon: Okay why would he do it?
It's Russia : Okay why would they do it?

I'm not treating it as real or insight into the truth but it is interesting to read and contemplate it's purpose.
posted by Jalliah at 4:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Law enforcement and military support the fascist by large margins. The house of Rep is gerrymandered to hell, and will get worse. Because of the Senate and electoral college, legislative power continues to pool disproportionately in rural states. Most industries are in a state of de-regulated, oligarchal heaven. The executive is already ignoring the judiciary, and is actively creating a shadow security state. And the past two presidents spent collectively 16 years building and expanding a security state based on surveillance that has now become ubiquitous because of the internet and social media, which is controlled by a handful of companies. And half the country supports this.

How are we supposed to confront this?

Again, not a rhetorical question. Really grasping st anything at this point.
posted by schadenfrau at 4:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.

A myconid?


ARAUMYCOS, CONSORT OF ZUGGTMOY!
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


This kinda rambled on, but I'm just blown away. This is what winning the culture war looks like.


There are more of us than there are of them, and there are still more of us every day.
posted by Devonian at 4:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


Pence promised that the administration would be anti-equality.

Reminiscent of another vice president:
The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Constitution were, that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally and politically.
...
Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races.
...
Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


How are we supposed to confront this?

At the moment, wake up, get out of bed everyday, support those who need supporting and remain loud. Give money where you can, show up where you can, call the people you can. To whit, agitate, educate, organize.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


I side-eye linguistics pretty hard for reasons outside the scope of this thread, but this might have some merit?

You, uh, you side-eye the study of language?
posted by No-sword at 4:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


This just came up on Twitter. I side-eye linguistics pretty hard for reasons outside the scope of this thread, but this might have some merit?

it's literally just because "-esque" makes the tweet too many characters
posted by burgerrr at 4:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Tactically it's probably better if there's no single leader of the resistance.

Movie scene: I'm Spartacus.
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:33 PM on January 30, 2017


Y'all have it wrong. Instead of thinking of better and better insults to sling at that slug squatting in the White House, just get used to spitting the name Trump as a slur for every foul, traitorous, short sighted, thoughtless occasion and person you can think of.

Make trump go down as the same insult as we use for quislings and Benedict Arnolds and, yes, santorum. And use it liberally enough that in ten years school children never realize that a trump was a person first before it was an insult.

It seems a fitting legacy.
posted by sciatrix at 4:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


So Trump's gotten to the Saturday Night Massacre in just his second week. Impressive, at this rate he'll be impeached by April
posted by Zonker at 4:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Y'all have it wrong. Instead of thinking of better and better insults to sling at that slug squatting in the White House, just get used to spitting the name Trump as a slur for every foul, traitorous, short sighted, thoughtless occasion and person you can think of.

UGH, WHO TRUMPED?!
posted by indubitable at 4:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]



Y'all have it wrong. Instead of thinking of better and better insults to sling at that slug squatting in the White House


Well, I just made a comment that "idiot" was what we called GWB, and that turned out to be the origin of the clothing label anyway. I'm certainly not spending my time thinking of insults for Trump.
posted by zutalors! at 4:36 PM on January 30, 2017


Instead of thinking of better and better insults to sling at that slug squatting in the White House, just get used to spitting the name Trump as a slur for every foul, traitorous, short sighted, thoughtless occasion and person you can think of.

Exactly. And tie the (R) to his name whenever possible so that "Republican" can become as poisonous in some quarters as "liberal" is in others.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Y'all have it wrong. Instead of thinking of better and better insults to sling at that slug squatting in the White House, just get used to spitting the name Trump as a slur for every foul, traitorous, short sighted, thoughtless occasion and person you can think of.

Gordon Bennett! That's a brilliant idea!
posted by RonButNotStupid at 4:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Today my husband and I contacted his school and offered our spare bedroom for any students who must stay in the US over university breaks for fear of not being let back in again after. If you live in a university town maybe contact their office of international relations and let them know if you'd be willing to do the same.
posted by chainsofreedom at 4:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [56 favorites]


Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor, I'll piss on 'em. That's what the Statue of Bigotry says.

I know Lou wasn't perfect, but those lyrics are still relevant--they're basically the motto of the Groupies Of Putin.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 4:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


How are we supposed to confront this?

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.
--Tom Paine, The American Crisis (No.1)
posted by Hypatia at 4:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]


use it liberally enough that in ten years school children never realize that a trump was a person first before it was an insult.

Bender: Kiss my shiny metal trump.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Considering current events, seeing a depiction of Hitler getting machine-gunned in the face and then explode in a giant fireball was very theraputic. I highly recommend it.

I rented Anthropoid. For some reason movies about partisans killing the fuck out of Nazis is really appealing at the moment. Next up: Black Book and Flame and Citron.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


There is a picture on twitter that appears to be a family held at Dulles airport: 3 people including a small child all in handcuffs who were then apparently sent back to Syria. According to Barry Goldberg, the original twitter account that uploaded the picture was deleted due to threats.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


At what point does the "nonviolent" part of "nonviolent protest" become no longer operative? I'm not calling for violence by any means, I'm asking what the actual line is that people are no longer willing to tolerate?

The Axis of Violence/Non-Violence:
Non-violence workshops often start with a small game to help folk work out their line in the sand. The X axis represents the range from very non-violent to very violent and the Y axis represents how strategic or useful, or not, a particular non-violent/violent act may be in achieving your purposes: very useful, or not at all. The facilitator asks a number of questions (often related to the protest situation that the workshop was booked for) and each person plots themselves. It can be very elucidating, and helps understand each other's perspective in the group.

Two things are vital for successfully protesting in a non-violent manner: training and cooling. The first provides the basics and allows understanding of what non-violence looks like. The other is a role that occurs during the protest where any escalation is immediately cooled down by a colleague.

We're still at the stage of figuring out what will compel ordinary, non-activist people out to protest. I think there is a lot more we can do in that area before we start talking violence.

I disagree very strongly. You must start talking non-violence/violence at the point of recruitment, and model non-violence at every point along the way.
posted by Thella at 4:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


for anyone curious about what some of the military officers are thinking about the recent news, this comment on /r/Military has been getting a lot of attention.

(short version: there's still a lot of Trump support, but it has eroded fast in the last week, and the Muslim ban accelerated it. In the end, though, I think, where Mattis goes the military will follow. That's probably a not insignificant reason for why Trump gave him the short leash of being in his Cabinet.)
posted by bl1nk at 4:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


Rep. Charlie Dent is on MSNBC reporting that the CBP detained, revoked the visas of, and sent back a family of Syrian (non-refugee) Christians who had been working on coming to the US for 14 years.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]




Oh come on.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


There you go. Christian refugees. That's the thing that will make people rethink that Trump and Bannon are doing God's work after all
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Come on, guys, he was totally going to get around to registering in the other 47. For science, of course.
posted by tonycpsu at 4:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


If you're in California, I highly recommend jumping all over Feinstein in any way possible. Five Thirty Eight noted today she's given Trump a 100% voting approval score so far in the Senate, and I've seen several notes from Feinstein-watchers that her office is basically pandering for calls to push her one way or another. This is all absolutely appalling, but the first thing to do is call her & give her hell for it.

Feinstein in DC
Her State Offices
posted by scaryblackdeath at 4:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


So Trump's gotten to the Saturday Night Massacre in just his second week. Impressive, at this rate he'll be impeached by April

You can only be impeached if you consent to be impeached, or if the Congress can bring more force to bear to impeach you than you can to resist it.
posted by kafziel at 4:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I honestly think that despite Trump being a minority president, Bannon believes with the mechanics of our system and the partisanship of the electorate, he can get to fascist dictatorship faster than the majority can get to impeachment.
posted by chris24 at 4:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


@realDonaldTrump: The Democrats are delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons. They have nothing going but to obstruct. Now have an Obama A.G.

Life comes at you fast...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


I disagree very strongly. You must start talking non-violence/violence at the point of recruitment, and model non-violence at every point along the way.
posted by Thella at 7:40 PM on January 30 [+] [!]


Sorry but that is a lot of activist gobblydegook. I'm not recruiting anybody and I am most certainly not going to talk to them about violence. All I am asking of my friends and family is start thinking about what it would take to get them away from their computers and TVs and family dinners and go out to the streets to do a little chanting and display a sign. Walk with like-minded folk and show strength in numbers. There is still a lot of potential for growth in that area.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


Uh, that series of tweets from the Ghost Ryder account is not a serious linguistic analysis and the person who wrote it is obviously not a linguist. It's not even a particularly credible argument. What, your Russian disinformation agent knows English well enough to write those tweets and watch English television shows enough to pick up the word "vacay," but isn't familiar with words ending in -esque?

It's really not worth spreading around, to put it kindly.

Feel free to side-eye me now.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 4:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


One thing I've not seen mentioned much lately is that the FBI telegraphed very loudly before the election that they have Trump/Bannon/Session's back.

Have you seen the twitter feed of the Border Patrol union? Reads like a Trump campaign blog. If this is truly representative of CBP's membership, the only authority they recognize is Trump.
posted by longdaysjourney at 4:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


If you're in California, I highly recommend jumping all over Feinstein in any way possible. Five Thirty Eight noted today she's given Trump a 100% voting approval score so far in the Senate, and I've seen several notes from Feinstein-watchers that her office is basically pandering for calls to push her one way or another.

As I remarked in the last thread, that 538 graphic is embarrassingly misleading. They counted her non-vote while she was out for heart surgery as a "yes" vote. She's no worse than the Dem leaders like Schumer or Kaine, which is to say, still pretty bad.
posted by indubitable at 4:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I've been trying to get through to Feinstein's offices on and off for days, and no joy, and there's no way to leave a message. I have a job, I can't be constantly calling to try to get through during business hours. I've emailed instead, for all the good that will do. Any other tips?
posted by yasaman at 4:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


"But the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality," he said.

In Dante, they're kind of wandering around, where it isn't particularly hot, chasing a banner and being stung by insects.
posted by thelonius at 4:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


yasaman - someone posted it in the other thread, but send a fax! You can send one for free online at faxzero.com - it even has numbers of senators and representatives preloaded. I sent her two today.
posted by sunset in snow country at 4:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


"What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"
posted by indubitable at 4:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


This is like a slow-motion train wreck, except faster.
posted by ckape at 4:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


for anyone curious about what some of the military officers are thinking about the recent news, this comment on /r/Military has been getting a lot of attention.

(short version: there's still a lot of Trump support, but it has eroded fast in the last week, and the Muslim ban accelerated it. In the end, though, I think, where Mattis goes the military will follow. That's probably a not insignificant reason for why Trump gave him the short leash of being in his Cabinet.)


Most telling comment in that thread:

"This jives what i saw happen on AR15.com GD. A Naval officer showed up and basically said" Trump supporter here. WTF is wrong with you people, Bannon has no place at that table"."

AR15.com. GD indeed. Just chip-chip-chipping away at his own base.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


I feel like Bannon just wanting to see the world burn makes the most sense in terms of what's happening right now. I have to say I didn't see such a sweeping Executive Order happening, I thought it would be reinstatement of NSEERS or similar, something quiet enough that most people wouldn't even notice.
posted by zutalors! at 4:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I've emailed instead, for all the good that will do. Any other tips?

FAX
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:58 PM on January 30, 2017


he can get to fascist dictatorship faster than the majority can get to impeachment.

Sometimes the resistance does things like misspell the name on a warrant in Taiwan or cause a missile to rise out of the sea and go no where.

The idea(s) need to be implemented and between idea and boots on the ground implementation you can have people saying "no" - look at the airports who are helping VS not helping on the EO.


Hey....where are the Oathkeepers on Trump? Nov 2016 At the moment - supporting. Wonder what it'll take to have these people waver?
posted by rough ashlar at 4:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I've been trying to get through to Feinstein's offices on and off for days, and no joy, and there's no way to leave a message. I have a job, I can't be constantly calling to try to get through during business hours. I've emailed instead, for all the good that will do. Any other tips?

I've gotten through, but not reliably, and I agree it's profoundly frustrating. I'd make sure to try all her local office numbers, not just the one closest to you, and use this site to send her a fax for free. You have to click the link in the confirmation email it sends to actually make the fax go.
posted by zachlipton at 4:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


AP: Trump's voter fraud expert registered in 3 states

Well, that's how you know he's an expert
posted by flatluigi at 4:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [60 favorites]


My southern grandparents who had been in the fox abyss for a long time, but act very socially progressive, supported Trump.

My grandmother, was raised to love anyone. I feel like she watched fox when it wasn't so bad and just never change stations. She has paranoia with health insurance disapearing, and has a heafty dollop of rasism on top
. But I do remember as a kid her taking in families of all races. I remember her willingness to be a part of social causes. She supports my LGBT marriage, (she even remembers to leave messages of love for my wife) and she also came around to her adult grandchildren's marriage to (sarcastic gasp) a black man. She supports us.

After the EO comes out I'm going to call her in tears. I'm going to let her know how they have hurt me directly. And my grandmother who had been voting conservative but loves her family too fiercely to quantify is going to vote Democrat for the rest of her life.

Because I know my grandmother. And she wants great grandbabies.
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [40 favorites]


I honestly think that despite Trump being a minority president, Bannon believes with the mechanics of our system and the partisanship of the electorate, he can get to fascist dictatorship faster than the majority can get to impeachment.

If he thinks the military will stand for that, I urge him to think again. And that goes double for his motley band of border goons, cops, and Trumpgangs.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Hey....where are the Oathkeepers on Trump? Nov 2016 At the moment - supporting. Wonder what it'll take to have these people waver?

Hell literally freezing over? That's his base.
posted by Artw at 5:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Warren: Watch live now as I speak out from the Senate floor about @realDonaldTrump's Muslim ban:

http://floor.senate.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&event_id=1197
posted by diogenes at 5:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


A good friend just forwarded this tweet: https://twitter.com/NYCLU/status/825485580184207360/photo/1
posted by mosk at 5:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


What, your Russian disinformation agent knows English well enough to write those tweets and watch English television shows enough to pick up the word "vacay," but isn't familiar with words ending in -esque?

They might not be Russians, but they (whoever "they" are for an anon Twitter account, singular or plural) aren't making the kind of mistakes you'd expect from autocorrect or a native American English speaker, i.e. someone supposedly working sufficiently high up in the White House to Know Things. Low-rent Russian comment trolls are sometimes easy to spot from grammar (they actually forget to use articles, like someone speaking "comedy Russian") but this is a bit different. Not saying I agree with the linguistic stuff: just that it's a bullshit account.
posted by holgate at 5:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


How big a deal is it that Democratic Senators are speaking from the Senate floor at this hour?
posted by diogenes at 5:03 PM on January 30, 2017


I just watched bunch of interviews of Conway and some other dude with a funny to pronounce last name (started with a P) and man oh man are they BUTTHURT over the way the media treated them. Conway specifically called out the coverage of his primary run, after he was the republican nominee, during the race against clinton, after he became president elect and then after he was sworn in.

I decided to finally turn them off because they all sounded like whiny babies. "Wah, wah the big horrible media was mean to us! wah!"

Would that whoever was interviewing her said: well your man is a racist fuckhead, all we did was air his fuckheadedness.
posted by INFJ at 5:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Chris Hayes has the ACLU lawyer who successfully argued for the stay on the EO on the Muslim Ban on right now.
posted by zutalors! at 5:04 PM on January 30, 2017


Alexandra Petri: Sean Spicer is right. That five-year-old refugee has diabolical plans. [ed. the five-year-old is a US citizen, not a refugee]
He has plans to turn his bed into a spaceship without registering first with NASA. He has plans to invite friends over from school and hold them hostage behind the couch with his whole army of stuffed hippos.

He has plans to carry his sinister associate Bear Bear with him everywhere, to bed and to the dinner table and even to school, and we know how Betsy DeVos feels about bears in schools. Besides, Bear Bear is a foreign operative with a missing eye and almost none of his original fur, always silent, and his motives cannot be adequately discerned.
posted by zachlipton at 5:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [78 favorites]


This is just too much for me. I'm going to bed without reading one comment. But I'm putting in this for therapy for everyone. Good night.
posted by mumimor at 5:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Yuggoth fungi?

say what you want about the tenets of nyarlathotep worship but at least it's an ethos
posted by murphy slaw at 5:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


I just watched bunch of interviews of Conway and some other dude with a funny to pronounce last name (started with a P) and man oh man are they BUTTHURT over the way the media treated them. Conway specifically called out the coverage of his primary run, after he was the republican nominee, during the race against clinton, after he became president elect and then after he was sworn in.

I decided to finally turn them off because they all sounded like whiny babies. "Wah, wah the big horrible media was mean to us! wah!"

Would that whoever was interviewing her said: well your man is a racist fuckhead, all we did was air his fuckheadedness.
posted by INFJ at 9:04 AM on January 31 [1 favorite +] [!]

I enjoy watching them suffer too much to not ask for a link, or the name of the show, or any clue to where I can find their pain.
posted by saysthis at 5:10 PM on January 30, 2017


Hey....where are the Oathkeepers on Trump?

this just twigged me to remember 'bikers for trump'. there were 2 groups of 5 thousand who were awaiting permits days before the inaug. any idea what happened with them? and yes, i know about all the fakes news that trumpledumbfuck fell for that they were en route to dc.
posted by futz at 5:10 PM on January 30, 2017


Senator Blumenthal just now from the Senate floor: "Rip up this order Mr. President. Be on the right side of history. Be on the right side of the Constitution. Rip up this illegal order."
posted by diogenes at 5:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]


I decided to finally turn them off because they all sounded like whiny babies. "Wah, wah the big horrible media was mean to us! wah!"

It's not even the whininess. It's that they explicitly suggest their "suffering" is worse than that of the Muslims they're banning. Like having to go through airport security is equivalent to legal visa and green card holders being forcibly detained and deported -- and they trot out this catalog of their "wounds" right after Holocaust Remembrance Day. I mean god, Spicer was like AGGRIEVED about how horribly Trump was being treated and how he "went out of his way" to commemorate the Holocaust.

Well how bigly of him to do us that yuge favor.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


I am extremely frustrated that neither the Senate Majority nor Minority Leader have mailboxes to take messages on the phone. I feel like since they are the heads of the parties in the Senate, they need to be accountable to all Americans and listening to all of us, even if we're not in their states.

I could say the same thing about all the various committee where legislation is crafted, but some states totally lack representation. I think the chair of committees should have to factor in input from people outside their district on legislation that comes up in their committee.

I guess we can tell our Reps and Senators to pass along messages, but it's not efficient to do that. It should be easy for people to participate in our government, not a crapshoot where you have to be able to set aside 60 minutes a day to make a dozen calls to one understaffed office with no voice mail.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 5:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Warren: "Executive order strikes at the very heart of our democracy."
posted by diogenes at 5:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


@ctk86
.@aljwhite people in the U.K. Need to write their local Count or whatever the fuck they have that's like a senator/congressman.

...brought responses including:

@fieldy9999
@ctk86 @aljwhite already on it. I've informed the Mayor of Camberwick Green, the actual Lord of the Rings and the Chairman of Argos.

‏@Tuckineddy
@ctk86 @mutablejoe @aljwhite I've already written to my local gamekeeper AND left a strong message for the Keeper of the Royal Twiglets.

@JohannMurdoch
@ctk86 @aljwhite I'm not going to eat Swan for a week in protest! Old chap
posted by Wordshore at 5:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [47 favorites]


"Isn't in line with American values or our Constitution."
posted by diogenes at 5:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


"Do Senate Republicans agree? Then why aren't they here with us?"

"This is a crisis. Senate should take up bill to overturn this illegal order right now."
posted by diogenes at 5:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


Warren is saying exactly what I want all of them to say. "This is a crisis." "Shocking."
posted by prefpara at 5:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


Man, we need to get some clerics in the White House to Turn Undead and clear out all the wraiths

because everyone there is FAILING ALL THEIR CONSTITUTION CHECKS
posted by delfin at 5:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [106 favorites]


"Where are you now, Paul Ryan?" BLESS YOU ELIZABETH WARREN. She is going R by R and calling each out by name!
posted by prefpara at 5:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [109 favorites]


Hoping she hits Feinstein next.
posted by contraption at 5:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I enjoy watching them suffer too much to not ask for a link, or the name of the show, or any clue to where I can find their pain.

It's on the trending page for youtube. (I'm not sure if that's universal or curated for me, though)

Chris Wallace GRILLS Kellyanne Conway on Executive Orders Fox News Sunday FULL Interview 1/29/17

Reince Priebus: Immigration Ban Could Include More Countries (Full) | Meet The Press | NBC News

I cut the second one off at about 5:30 in when I decided they were just whining.
posted by INFJ at 5:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]



"Where are you now, Paul Ryan?" BLESS YOU ELIZABETH WARREN. She is going R by R and calling each out by name!


We've seen this so many times, but nothing will happen until some Republicans get on board. Like get down there and talk.
posted by zutalors! at 5:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


It's nice that Senators are talking in the Senate about this, but show me the money: throw up every procedural road block you have to stop the business of the Senate and this administration while your demands are not met. Until then, it's hot air.
posted by indubitable at 5:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


Kellyanne Conway: "It's like a pack of Marlboro lights came to life"
posted by porn in the woods at 5:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Go get 'em, Senator Warren.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 5:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Did the livestream just die for anybody else?
posted by diogenes at 5:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


It died on me too
posted by alligatorpear at 5:21 PM on January 30, 2017


PUT HER BACK ON MY SCREEN NOW

Edit: Facebook Live link.
posted by theraflu at 5:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


It died on me too.

That's alarming.
posted by diogenes at 5:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


alt sources for the livestream?
posted by xcasex at 5:23 PM on January 30, 2017


Watching Warren's fiery speech is actually making me feel better. So: highly recommend everyone tune in to CSPAN.
posted by prefpara at 5:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


You can listen on the C-Span App, Channel CSpan 2.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


It looks like you can watch her via Facebook Live, but the quality is a bit meh.
posted by jammer at 5:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Most telling comment in that thread:

"This jives what i saw happen on AR15.com GD. A Naval officer showed up and basically said" Trump supporter here. WTF is wrong with you people, Bannon has no place at that table"."

AR15.com. GD indeed. Just chip-chip-chipping away at his own base.


That whole thread actually made me feel better. A whole different group of people who I have no contact with and they are seeing the same sorts of things as being pretty messed up. Lots of wtf Bannon stuff there and I hadn't even considered what Bannon's NSC shenanigans would look like to people in the military. Makes total sense why it would cause some serious concern after reading a bunch of the comments.
posted by Jalliah at 5:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


Trying to keep up with the thread and failing, but regarding the "Where is Hilary?/Where is Obama?" stuff, I think, honestly, they are doing what they feel to be the right thing. Having the last president hanging around and criticizing the current president is a risky thing for the orderly transfer of power. Having the winner of the popular vote hanging around, criticizing, or even leading opposition to the President (the actual winner under the rules that we have, however stupid they are*) is risky, in that it would likely end with some (not all, but too many) calls to replace Trump with Clinton, which is, again, against pretty much the entire system we have.

Bannon is the one that wants to destroy the system. The people on the streets are the ones trying to keep the system from regressing, aware that progress has been made, however slow, and that the system (our government, our society, and how far we've come) is worth saving. I think Clinton respects the system well enough to avoid even the barest possibility of that sort of risk, and Obama just the same, is aware of the risk *to the system* that his prolonged presence on the scene would present.

And aside from that, I imagine they would rather people focus on new leaders who have a (political) future. Obama has been president. Clinton, sadly, never will be, but they can both (and probably are) working hard to help the next person with a chance.

*And the rules, the Electoral College, it is stupid. But I think both Clinton and Obama are of the "work inside the rules of the system to alter the system" mindset. There are ways and paths to removing the electoral college, and after having two of the last three presidents elected to office while losing the popular vote, I think the nation is pretty much ready to start exploring how to go about that.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


More Warren: "Criticism is not enough. President Trumps' EO must be overturned. We must overturn it."

Yes.
posted by prefpara at 5:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]


Sen. Warren: "Criticism is not enough."

THIS. So tired of Republicans getting credit for saying the right thing while enabling the wrong thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]


Don't think this has been posted yet:

Three Democrats join GOP to advance Tillerson nomination

In a 56-43 vote, Republicans picked up three Democratic votes to pierce the minority’s hoped-for united front against Mr. Trump’s unconventional nominee: Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Warner of Virginia, all of whom face re-election in 2018. Democratic-leaning independent Sen. Angus King of Maine also voted to advance Mr. Tillerson’s nomination.

Primary. Those. Fuckers.
posted by jammer at 5:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [119 favorites]


More Warren: "Criticism is not enough. President Trumps' EO must be overturned. We must overturn it."

"And then we must vote down every one of his misbegotten unqualified demonic cabinet picks, especially that racist fucker Sessions who is in this shit up to his chin. Plus whatever goose-stepping barely-passed-law-school bastard he comes up with for SCOTUS." [fake, sadly]
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Rep. Dave Brat: 'The women are in my grill no matter where I go'
Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, is feeling some political pressure as Republicans in Congress move to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"Since Obamacare and these issues have come up, the women are in my grill no matter where I go," Brat told an audience Saturday at a meeting of conservative groups at Hanover Tavern.

"They come up - 'When is your next town hall?' And believe me, it's not to give positive input."
Keep up the heat, get in their grills, everyone. It's, little by little, getting through.
posted by zachlipton at 5:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [150 favorites]


Primary. Those. Fuckers.

Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Mark Warner of Virginia
posted by INFJ at 5:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


My 72-year-old mom has always been a democrat but she's pretty shy and extremely conflict-avoidant and has never been politically active. She was an ardent Hillary supporter but I couldn't convince her to give phone banking a try because she was afraid someone might hang up on her. But! Now she's calling her senators and representative and is planning to join the March for Science. She even asked me to knit her a pussyhat! Guys, if my mom is on it, you know something big must be happening.
posted by HotToddy at 5:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [62 favorites]


Warner's from my home state. I'll be giving him hell over this.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 5:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Mark Warner of Virginia


Arya Stark has the right idea.
posted by lydhre at 5:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Mark Warner of Virginia

Shocked and disappointed. Ugh.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Mark Warner of Virginia

it's nothing personal, understand, it's just oligarch solidarity.

but seriously, you find a primary candidate, i'm there.
posted by indubitable at 5:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Here ya go - the plan per Slate
posted by rough ashlar at 5:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Rep. Dave Brat: 'The women are in my grill no matter where I go'

Note that this trumplicker seems to think that the constituents contacting him are paid leftist activists from elsewhere. I have pushed back on Facebook immediately where I have seen conservatives raise this idea as a protester, but I think we all need to push back on it. I've been drawling that we don't have any Koch brothers to rely on, pointing out places where I pay out of pocket to do my activism work, and generally insisting they talk to me about who I am and where I'm from.

That, or if someone is paying for us to do this shit, can someone hook me up with the Sekret Casting Call For Librul Wimminz? Because damn, my mortgage fund could seriously use some padding right now...
posted by sciatrix at 5:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


I feel like beyond just enacting awful shit they want to happen, Bannon et al are reveling in a postmodern presidency. Releasing the EO for the Muslim ban on Holocaust remembrance day. So many people in Trump's family and administration being registered in multiple states while they tout bullshit about voter fraud. So many things that we've lumped under Trump's Mirror.

Sure, you can just say all of it just run of the mill hypocrisy and it probably is. But it feels almost purposeful. Like a fuck you to reality and facts that is being used as a darkly comic and chaotic tool.

And the joke is on us.
posted by defenestration at 5:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]



All of Warren's speech will become part of the Senate record yes?
posted by Jalliah at 5:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Politico has a heck of a story here: Hill staffers secretly worked on Trump's immigration order
Senior staffers on the House Judiciary Committee helped Donald Trump's top aides draft the executive order curbing immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations, but the Republican committee chairman and party leadership were not informed, according to multiple sources involved in the process.
...
The work of the committee aides began during the transition period after the election and before Donald Trump was sworn in. The staffers signed nondisclosure agreements, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Trump's transition operation forced its staff to sign these agreements, but it would be unusual to extend that requirement to congressional employees. Rexrode declined to comment on the nondisclosure pacts.
This is, well, concerning.
posted by zachlipton at 5:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [81 favorites]


The staffers signed nondisclosure agreements, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Is this a thing our government is even allowed to do? :|
posted by INFJ at 5:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


Note that this trumplicker seems to think that the constituents contacting him are paid leftist activists from elsewhere. I have pushed back on Facebook immediately where I have seen conservatives raise this idea as a protester, but I think we all need to push back on it.

Didn't you know? George Soros pays all protesters, funds CNN and MSNBC in full, is the world's largest dealer of private email servers, and had his henchmen distract Batman long enough to keep him from reaching BENGHAZI.
posted by delfin at 5:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Uh oh, trouble in paradise, but you'd better get used to it, guys:
Mattis, who stood next to Trump during Friday's signing ceremony, is said to be particularly incensed. A senior U.S. official said Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, was aware of the general concept of Trump's order but not the details. Tillerson has told the president's political advisers that he was baffled over not being consulted on the substance of the order.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


Trump's transition operation forced its staff to sign these agreements,.....This is, well, concerning.

FOIAing those records should ya on "the list" - right?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Daily Beast White House Lowballs Impact of Trump Ban
According to the email, 348 people were blocked from boarding flights into the U.S. before their flights departed.

An additional 200 to 250 people were denied entry to the U.S. once their flights landed. That’s part of a larger pool of 735 people at ports of entry who had encounters with CBP and could have been barred from entering the U.S. by the executive order.

Of that group, 394 were lawful permanent residents of the U.S., all but two of whom were eventually let in; of the remaining two lawful permanent residents, one person gave up on coming in and the other was entered into proceedings for a criminal record (likely because of an outstanding warrant).
There is so much to uncover about this story still, for example the reason the CBP felt comfortable enough to disobey court orders and what consequences will be meted out. Then there is the fact that John Kelly, the Head of the Department of Homeland Security who has already been sworn in and should have been in charge of executing and explaining this EO was kept out of the loop and had no idea what was going on. Has Trump shown us how he plans to run his Presidency? Completely ignoring his cabinet appointees as though they were only mere decoration?

Then, no doubt, there will be many personal stories of heartbreak and the disastrous consequences as a direct result of this EO. Plus all the stories to be told about what happens to refugees turned away, the loss to the tech industry and their financial bloodbath, and the fear that has spread to all Green Card holders as to what their futures in America might look like. And so many other topics and subtopics. Entire Books could be written.

Unfortunately by tomorrow it will be on to the next crisis which may or may not include changes to LGBTQ rights as well as the announcement of the Supreme Court nominee.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Politico has a heck of a story here: Hill staffers secretly worked on Trump's immigration order

Wowee kazowee. Rubio et al. are already livid at being left out of the loop (since Congresscritters generally get all shirty about that), but their own staffers working for Trump behind their backs? Oh my.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]



Murdoch Sons Decry Trump's Immigration Ban: "Immigration Is an Essential Part of America’s Strength"

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Trump's Immigration Ban Makes U.S. "Look Stupid

"I hope that this is a wake-up call for [the White House]," said the former California governor and new 'Celebrity Apprentice' host.

Celebrity Apprentice host Arnold Schwarzenegger was straightforward about his thoughts on President Donald Trump's recent immigration and travel ban, saying Monday he believes it is a mistake that "was vetted badly" and "makes us look stupid."

posted by Jalliah at 5:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


Senator Blumenthal just now from the Senate floor: "Rip up this order Mr. President. Be on the right side of history. Be on the right side of the Constitution. Rip up this illegal order."

This is so foreign to me coming from a parliamentary democracy. Since the executive is vested in the legislature Bill Shorten can call Turnbull a dickhead from across the table. With Trump being able to sequester himself in his ivory house or gilded tower he doesn't actually have to face any of this criticism unless he wants to.

I mean it's nice that Senator Blumenthal is getting on the floor but from my vantage point it seems like the most futile gesture.
posted by Talez at 5:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Manchin is a lost cause, and Heitkamp is hanging on for dear life in a really tough state for Democrats, but there is no excuse for Warner. If you're in Virginia, call his office daily. He really does need to be primaried from the left. Democrats can win in Virginia without behaving like garbage cowards.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]


Uh, that series of tweets from the Ghost Ryder account is not a serious linguistic analysis and the person who wrote it is obviously not a linguist. It's not even a particularly credible argument. What, your Russian disinformation agent knows English well enough to write those tweets and watch English television shows enough to pick up the word "vacay," but isn't familiar with words ending in -esque?

I've seen a lot of bullshit "analysis" going around about how Russians would or would not tweet.
posted by atoxyl at 5:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


> With Trump being able to sequester himself in his ivory house or gilded tower he doesn't actually have to face any of this criticism unless he wants to.

I've heard rumors somewhere that Trump does watch the occasional television news program.
posted by tonycpsu at 5:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Hill staffers secretly worked on Trump's immigration order

"I would've told you what I've been up to, except you would have told me why it's a bad idea." -- Trump to House Republicans
posted by Coventry at 5:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Samantha Bee: Syrian Refugees are already vetted as f***
posted by bunderful at 5:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


I just want to remind all the perplexed foreign observers that we in America don't totally understand what's going on, either.
posted by zutalors! at 5:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [61 favorites]


Uh oh, trouble in paradise, but you'd better get used to it, guys:
Mattis, who stood next to Trump during Friday's signing ceremony, is said to be particularly incensed. A senior U.S. official said Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, was aware of the general concept of Trump's order but not the details. Tillerson has told the president's political advisers that he was baffled over not being consulted on the substance of the order.


So if Bannon continues to play these games with the highest officials how is that gonna work for him long term? As evil genius as Bannon may be one person can't run and control the whole show, especially if the other power players in that show don't trust or hate you.
posted by Jalliah at 5:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Rubio tells reporters that the state department told his staff they had been asked not to give Congress information on immigration order.

Marco, honey, you'd better call the State department yourself from now on since apparently you can't believe anything your staff says. You're welcome!
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


So if Bannon continues to play these games with the highest officials how is that gonna work for him long term?

During these meetings, is Mattis polite? Is he professional?
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 5:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Don’t Trust the Courts: The legal fight against Trump’s attack on Muslims will only succeed if it’s backed up by mass politics.
Trump’s team likely had several strategic aims in mind. They wanted to conflate Islam with criminality and subversion. They wanted to tacitly encourage DHS personnel to arrogate police power to themselves. And they wanted to demonstrate the flimsiness of the web of authority, deference, and trust that restrains the security services’ latent, ever-present capacity for violence.

The ongoing showdown between the courts and federal agents both reveals the partial autonomy of state institutions and augurs a full-blown crisis of institutional relations. It offers Trump, Bannon, and Miller an opportunity to attempt to consolidate their power. But it also presents an opportunity for left opponents of Trump.

One vehicle for resistance will be the courts. But a legal battle will only be won if judges’ room for maneuver is limited by public opinion, if the costs of defying court orders are higher than the security services are willing to bear, and if the administration’s lack of a mandate is made clear.

In other words, it will only be won with sustained, mass democratic action.
posted by homunculus at 5:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


This is also an important story, even if it is from The Intercept: Turmoil at DHS and State Department - "There are people literally crying in the office here", featuring interviews and emails from within the agencies after the order came out. The bit that caught my eye is a little buried:
“Please look for additional guidance later this weekend on how to process naturalization applicants from one of the seven countries listed above who are currently scheduled for oath ceremony or whose N-400s have been approved and they are pending scheduling of oath ceremony,” Renaud wrote. “We expect to issue more detailed guidance and procedures as needed in the coming days.”
I hope somebody gets to the bottom of this fast, because that would indicate that they're messing with citizenship applications (or at least had plans to do so this weekend, though who knows what changed hour by hour), already approved citizenship applicants in fact, for people from the seven listed countries. And that's not remotely ok.
posted by zachlipton at 5:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [39 favorites]


Welp, I called 5 of Ted Cruz's offices -- one of my senators -- and finally got through to voice mail on try number 6 at their East Texas office. I suppose the fact that all the other voice mails are full is a good sign. This is the first time I've done this, and I was nervous so I read from a little blurb I typed up about my opposition to Sessions. What the heck do they do with these calls? Count them? Now, on to Cornyn.
posted by megancita at 5:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


The staffers signed nondisclosure agreements, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

That's the first reference to the Standard Family NDA being used in places where it shouldn't. I still want to know if the non-disparagement clauses stayed in for transition staffers seconded from congressional roles.
posted by holgate at 5:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


WSJ: Homeland Security Chief and White House Clash: That tension didn’t take long to materialize. Mr. Kelly hasn’t been able to name the deputy he wants at the agency, people familiar with the matter said, and he fought off attempts by the White House to put Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state known as a hard-liner on immigration, into the position.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


Actually, not seconded. Moonlighting from their congressional roles.
posted by holgate at 5:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Tillerson has told the president's political advisers that he was baffled over not being consulted on the substance of the order.

That these clowns are baffled by Trump doing whatever the fuck he wants (or Bannon wants) basically says everything you need to know about how much they're even paying attention. Give me a fucking break.
posted by tocts at 5:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]


(I'm impressed you got through, megancita! We've been filling those voicemails to the brim for months and I'm really pleased about how much angry Texans have been stepping up. If you want Texan resistance help, come sit by me an' emjaybee an' Unicorn on the cob and plot Cruz' demise in 2018.

I know people are currently calling Joaquin Castro and asking him to run against Cruz, and Castro is if nothing else qualified as shit and much beloved in San Antonio, where he's currently in the House. If we can all convince him we'll come out to support him in a couple of years, we might be able to oust that bastard Cruz after just one term in office!)
posted by sciatrix at 6:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


I think an anti-LGB (wish I were more sure about the T, unfortunately) executive order would be really, really significant overreach

Is there any possibility this is all an elaborate false flag? I know this is probably just grasping on straws, but I'm having trouble understanding how anyone can be so cartoonishly, stupidly evil, and keep falling back on "what if this is all a ploy to pretend to be evil to unite everyone against him?" I know it's delirious and this is probably sickbed fantasy but surely even they can't think this is working?
posted by corb at 6:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


The staffers signed nondisclosure agreements, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Is this a thing our government is even allowed to do? :|


We talked about this back even before Trump won because he loves him some NDAs-- everybody he employs has to sign one and they are comprehensive. Even his volunteers during his campaign had to sign NDAs that not only prevented them from ever discussing any details, it prevented them from ever criticizing DJT or anyone in his family or any family business for the rest of their lives. Which is insane but who wants the lawyer bills when he comes to sue you?

On the other hand he cannot legally compel government employs who work for him to sign NDAs. He might try and he might keep anyone who doesn't sign one out of the loop but I am confident he cannot fire a government employee who is hit with a FOIA from being questioned and answering in full nor could DJT then turn around and sue the State Employee for answering questions.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


Quick report from downtown Columbus, OH -

A couple hours ago, maybe 7pm, I had a pretty good view of the demonstration at the state house from way up in the Huntington building. The entire front steps were mobbed plus maybe 1-2x that many people again on the lawn (I'm terrible at estimating crowd sizes). I had to check into my hotel, but by maybe an hour later demonstrators had migrated to the street at the intersection of High and State - the police were queuing up on High St. approaching that intersection from the south. Crowd was "confrontational" in the sense of yelling at the line of police, but as with the other demonstrations I've seen these last couple weeks, otherwise very well behaved with no violence or vandalism at all. A good vibe.

It also didn't appear there were any arrests or other police aggression as of about 8:45.

Go central Ohio!
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 6:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


That's the first reference to the Standard Family NDA being used in places where it shouldn't.

Can you expand on this? I have no idea what a Family NDA is, or why it legally shouldn't be used here.
posted by Coventry at 6:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


That these clowns are baffled by Trump doing whatever the fuck he wants (or Bannon wants) basically says everything you need to know about how much they're even paying attention. Give me a fucking break.

I kind of get Tillerson's deal, though. I mean, from his point of view, he is Rex Fucking Tillerson, CEO of Exxon; nobody puts Rexxie in a corner! I'm sure he was assured he'd be a partner, and a valued counselor, and fully in charge of his own department. And now he's barely an afterthought.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


So if Bannon continues to play these games with the highest officials how is that gonna work for him long term?

Wormtongue managed to keep his job for a while.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Re: discussion above concerning wanting a leader for this movement (Hillary was mentioned). I had some thoughts yesterday about how heartening it has been to see so many people pitching in anyway they can. Lawyers showing up at airports, pizza being delivered to JFK by a guy from a pizza shop who saw the protests on the news and just wanted to help, the mefite who provided their roommate with cellphone power packs which helped the lawyers, each one of the protestors and everyone who put out the call for them.

And I remembered how in the days after the election I was so scared and yearned for a leader to tell me how to resist, to explain what had happened and to tell me how to think, to tell me what to do. And I realized that if one had emerged I probably would have followed them anywhere. And how dangerous that is. And how I'm grateful for the realization that I am capable of following someone, in fear, without critical thought. And grateful that instead, our leaders are diffuse and many and subject to dissent. Because otherwise I might be little different from a Trump acolyte.

It is better that our leaders are so many and that we criticize each other (to a point, the circular firing squad is a real threat), that we are allowed many voices but they are moderated (mefi is a good example of this!)

I participated in the anti war movement from 2001-2008 and became disillusioned with activism for several reasons (no effect on federal policy, people showing up to the protests for their pet causes rather than uniting in a single voice against the Iraq War, the privileging of straight White cismale voices above others, the leftier than thou culture) and was cynical about the possibility of progressive protest against Trump and his actions, but have been more than pleasantly surprised, I have been energized for the first time in years by the coming together of various groups and all the first time protestors and the calls for elevating the voices of the less heard.
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 6:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


Wormtongue managed to keep his job for a while.

Hopefully this also ends with Bannon and Trump stuck in Trump Tower surrounded by angry trees.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


Warren is still going. She's telling story after story of people impacted by the ban.
posted by diogenes at 6:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Well, here we go:

Jim Acosta: New Trump executive order on cyber security expected tomorrow, I'm told.

I'm expecting some kind of Great Firewall like China has, but anyone have any insight?
posted by bluecore at 6:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]



Can you expand on this? I have no idea what a Family NDA is, or why it legally shouldn't be used here.

Standard Family NDA

The US government is not Trump. It has it's own policies around NDA and keeping secrets.
posted by Jalliah at 6:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


"Trump seems intent on turning it [America] into a medieval fortress." - Warren
posted by saysthis at 6:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Wormtongue and Saruman also ended up reduced to petty dictators over the Shire before essentially killing each other (well, Wormtongue was killed by angry hobbits).
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Jim Acosta: New Trump executive order on cyber security expected tomorrow, I'm told.

An alleged draft already leaked [as in, the Washington Post has one. I'm not doing the thing where I post a picture where someone's drawn a bunch of computers behind a brick wall in crayon, though I want to do that too now]
posted by zachlipton at 6:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


More trouble in Paradise:

Vanity Fair Can Jared and Ivanka Outrun Donald Trump’s Scandals?
The timing of Trump’s executive order on Friday, just moments before sundown, meant that Kushner would not be in the West Wing to absorb another cataclysmic Saturday. Indeed, Kushner observed the Sabbath as thousands of people protested outside airports across the country, children waited for their detained parents, lawyers rushed to federal court rooms, taxi drivers went on strike, and one Democratic leader broke down in tears on live television.[...]

according to a source familiar with the situation, Kushner’s influence on his boss may be flagging. Last week, Kushner spent 24 hours trying to broker a meeting between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. The source said that Kushner was even considering flying to Mexico in order to convince Peña Nieto, who had butted heads with Trump over various issues, to travel to the White House. Ultimately, Peña Nieto agreed—a feat Kushner presented to his father-in-law on Wednesday night. It was his first real victory in the West Wing in his role as senior adviser, and it would be a major step toward turning one of Trump’s main campaign promises into a reality.

Less than 12 hours later, though, it all fell apart. After Peña Nieto reiterated that Mexico does not plan to pay for Trump’s proposed wall, Trump tweeted that if Mexico is “unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.” Just like that, the meeting was cancelled.
The article goes on to talk about how Kushner is appearing physically drained and Ivanka is finding it much more difficult to sell herself as a woman apart from her father-- more enlightened, more in touch with women.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [48 favorites]






Wormtongue and Saruman also...

Gah I was mistaking Wormtail for Wormtongue.
posted by INFJ at 6:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Boy, it sounds like that Nazi Bannon is fucking everything up for everybody.
posted by valkane at 6:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Is he trying to see how many people he can piss off? Because the Silicon Valley people will not be thrilled by a move like that, and he'll make some more rich and powerful enemies.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:13 PM on January 30, 2017


FIGHT EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME

So, there's a lot of confusion, and a Twitter war going on between these two journalists, one of whom has a copy of the anti-LGBT EO draft, and one who was told by a Trump person that it doesn't exist. I think the general consensus is that it DOES exist, but might in fact be called the "First Amendment Protection Act" or something disgusting like that.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:14 PM on January 30, 2017


large people with IT skills: YOU'VE JUST BEEN PUT ON NOTICE
posted by indubitable at 6:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]



An alleged draft already leaked [as in, the Washington Post has one. I'm not doing the thing where I post a picture where someone's drawn a bunch of computers behind a brick wall in crayon, though I want to do that too now]


I skimmed and nothing horrible stood out. It's basically saying do a report and review on everything related to national cyber security. I'm not an expect though but no mention of doing anything except a review, report and recommendation sort of thing.
posted by Jalliah at 6:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Following up on some earlier thoughts, it would be nice to see every guest on CNN keep repeating that Bannon is the real president. That might be the best way to get to Trump.
posted by uosuaq at 6:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


I think the oligarchs are realizing that Trump-Bannon-Miller-Sessions aren't really focused on pushing through the normal boring package of tax cuts, hampering regulators, pushing for increased energy production, etc.

Mattis and Kelly are are going to look at the NSC snub of the Joint Chiefs and realize that these guys aren't even going to put up a veneer of respect for the military. I suspect the same thing is going through the halls of the CIA, NSA, etc in regards to the DNI being excluded.

It doesn't matter if Thiel has Trump's back when billions of dollars worth of value in tech stocks just disappeared today. Trump is pushing EOs that are bad for business and some very very wealthy people are going to be calling their pet congressmen on speed dial.

And that's before they announce some sort of stupid anti-LGBT pro-discrimination EO tomorrow.

Yeah there are no doubt plenty of red state reps and Senators that are so terrified of the Trumpista base that they won't buck the President but there are already cracks forming and that's before there is even some sort of difficult legislative vote.

And while the Tea Party types are vocal and persistent it's pretty clear they don't have the numbers to engage in counter protests.
posted by vuron at 6:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


I skimmed and nothing horrible stood out. It's basically saying do a report and review on everything related to national cyber security. I'm not an expect though but no mention of doing anything except a review, report and recommendation sort of thing.

It looks like any 'ugh wtf' will come when the review and recommendations come in.
posted by Jalliah at 6:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Yeah that cybersecurity draft definitely does not look like the work of the chucklefucks who wrote most of these EOs. I didn't read too deeply though, there could be some heinous shit in there I missed.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Tump has fired Sally Yates. (statement)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [56 favorites]


Yeah that cybersecurity draft definitely does not look like the work of the chucklefucks who wrote most of these EOs. I didn't read too deeply though, there could be some heinous shit in there I missed.

I know it's weird, I was expecting worse but this one looks actually reasonable and boring.
posted by Jalliah at 6:19 PM on January 30, 2017


(The e-community in general, from my experience, also hates censorship - I'm thinking here of the anti-SOPA/PIPA movement which united more-or-less all corners of the Internet against a common threat, however briefly. So I want to think censoring the Web will be a harder fight with more opposition here than in, say, China, even without Trump antagonizing e-companies like Google and Amazon.)
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:19 PM on January 30, 2017


The EO is his new favorite drug.

"Get me some more o' those, Stinkin' Steve. I'm about out!"
posted by notyou at 6:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I think the cyber security review is for Trump/Bannon to learn what capabilities there are that they can then exploit. As in, what kind of monitoring can they do on their enemies, etc.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 6:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


I had some thoughts yesterday about how heartening it has been to see so many people pitching in anyway they can. Lawyers showing up at airports, pizza being delivered to JFK by a guy from a pizza shop who saw the protests on the news and just wanted to help, the mefite who provided their roommate with cellphone power packs which helped the lawyers, each one of the protestors and everyone who put out the call for them.

These people? Are the ones making America great again. These are the "helpers" Mr. Rogers talks about. These little glimmers of light are the only things that are giving me hope these days, which in turn gives me a new resolve to fight. I'm trying to share instances of this on my social media and in all my resist groups whenever I see them, because I hope that other people who are starting to feel fatigued will take heart from them as well. I'm making it a point to say that these are the real people making America great, and that we've ALWAYS been there. Because fuck Trump with his MAGA bullshit. We've always been great and he doesn't get to reframe it as anything else, if I have any say in the matter.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates.
Oh wow. I did not see that coming!
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


Thanks for the fax tip all, I faxed a brief angry letter to Sen. Feinstein's office and it got through right away. Took real effort not to have that fax just be:

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME????? NO TO ALL OF TRUMP'S BULLSHIT! ALL OF IT!!!!! Best, your constituent. P.S.: thx for saying the Muslim ban was bullshit and introducing a bill to that effect.
posted by yasaman at 6:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


this just twigged me to remember 'bikers for trump'. there were 2 groups of 5 thousand who were awaiting permits days before the inaug. any idea what happened with them?

Like 5 of them showed up, they had a stage on/near the mall, no one was intimidated by them, and occasionally Trump supporters would beg for them to form their "wall of meat" near where the protests were happening, which did not appear to happen.
posted by Copronymus at 6:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Yeah that cybersecurity draft definitely does not look like the work of the chucklefucks who wrote most of these EOs. I didn't read too deeply though, there could be some heinous shit in there I missed.

I didn't see anything that screams out as awful either, but it seems awfully derivative of the last dozen "let's have a committee do a report on cybersecurity and then not do anything" efforts. It seems like it could be a way to act like he's taking the problem seriously without having to change a thing.
posted by zachlipton at 6:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


oh, Mattis is incensed, is he? Resign like a man with dignity, then. everyone keeps secrets from the Cabinet, so maybe nobody has told him yet that he can do that.

anyway once he does that, then he can pretend to be upset and I'll pretend to believe it.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


Jesus fuck. They're efficient about some things, I guess.

Sally Yates, we salute you. It's a fucking honor to be fired for resisting this nazi administration.
posted by lydhre at 6:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [183 favorites]


-esque. They'd spell it as -esk because QU is a mysterious bastard of a diphthong.

it's literally just because "-esque" makes the tweet too many characters


I would expect -esq from a native English writer. Bannon-esq makes sense to me as an abbreviation; Bannon-esk made me look a couple of times to figure out what it meant - because we don't use "esk" for anything.

Same with "vakay" in the other one. I'm not sure how I'd abbreviate "vacation," but "vakay" certainly isn't it. (Vactn, probably. A non-native speaker wouldn't know that we drop the vowels more often than the extra syllables.)

I'm counting this as good plausibility that roguepotusstaff isn't a native US speaker/reader, and that Russian doesn't seem unlikely.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


'Standard Family NDA' is just a reference to how the Family Business copy-pasted its corporate nondisclosure & non-disparagement agreement for use in the campaign (the non-disparagement included all the children, but excluded Pence) and apparently did the same for the transition. Having people signed up to NDAs was the source of much of his corporate power.
posted by holgate at 6:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


All the more reason to block Sessions indefinitely.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Trump definitely wrote this statement. "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration" and all sorts of bitching and moaning.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


The letter firing Sally Yates is so graceless that I believe Trump went to the trouble of composing at least some of it himself.
posted by foxfirefey at 6:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [99 favorites]



Can you expand on this? I have no idea what a Family NDA is, or why it legally shouldn't be used here.
Standard Family NDA
It barred them from sharing any insider details in the future and made it clear that they could be sued for disparaging any member of the Trump family
How insecure do you have to be to contractually oblige people not to be mean to you. If you are that insecure, how dumb do you have to be to telegraph your crushing vulnerability to horrible-nasty-mean-people-calling-you-names to a world that increasingly reviles and despises you.

Then, a weekly hour of #TrumpSucks posting could be cathartic.
posted by Buntix at 6:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Christ, that press release. Can he not do anything with dignity? Yes, just ooze your whiny resentment all over the place instead of drafting an anodyne report like, y'know, most people do when they have to release a subordinate.
posted by jackbishop at 6:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates. (statement)

I can't believe they fit that much whining into a written statement - it reads like they transcribed Trump verbatim. Doesn't anyone edit these things?
posted by indubitable at 6:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates. (statement)

Who writes these? They're terrible. Oh noes, the Acting AG is 'weak on borders'. That's supposed to be an insult? Borders aren't (weren't) her job.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates. (statement)

And from a quick glance it looks like he replaced her with an attorney from the same court district as Dulles, same district one of the stays came from.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


That statement firing Yates is such a whiny piece of propaganda.
posted by alligatorpear at 6:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


That Sally Yates statement is just bananas. I've never seen a government document like it. I mean, it's really scary because it's obvious that the federal government is basically Trump, Bannon, Conway and a fax machine at this point, but still. Holy fuck. "Has betrayed the department of justice" - that's, ugh, I thought I had one last even deep down at the bottom of the package but when I tried to get it out it just broke up into crumbs.
posted by Frowner at 6:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [115 favorites]


From the purported "cybersecurity" EO, something which actually sounds sensible:
(d) Workforce Development Review. In order to ensure that the United States has a long-term cyber capability advantage, the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security shall also gather and review information from the Department of Education regarding computer science, mathematics, and cyber security education from primary through higher education to understand the full scope of U.S. efforts to educate and train the workforce of the future. The Secretary of Defense shall make recommendations as he sees fit in order to best position the U.S. educational system to maintain its competitive advantage into the future.
posted by Coventry at 6:25 PM on January 30, 2017


Also if an actual competent lawyer in the DoJ 'approved' that Executive Order, I will eat my hat. A 1st year law student could tell you it's unconstitutional.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


You can tell that he dictated much of the firing statement himself because it reads like a 9-year-old reviewing a toy.
posted by holgate at 6:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]


So can this acting attorney general sign FISA warrants?
posted by birdheist at 6:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Trump definitely wrote this statement. "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration" and all sorts of bitching and moaning.

He didn't write the whole thing but it's easy to see which parts he dictated.
posted by Jalliah at 6:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Don’t Trust the Courts: The legal fight against Trump’s attack on Muslims will only succeed if it’s backed up by mass politics.

You will not win your case based on the law and the facts - you will win based on the politics. - Randall Kelton.

A functional court watching program along with open records requests is an option to let 'em know the politics will be changing.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:26 PM on January 30, 2017


Following politics right now is like watching All the President's Men, but every time they say Nixon, it goes faster.
posted by tau_ceti at 6:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [98 favorites]


Boente was a Holder and then an Obama appointee. which doesn't necessarily mean anything good and they must must must have asked him if he'll do what he's told before picking him. because they aren't careless people?
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


That Yates announcement, eesh.

On Yates:

"betrayed the Justice Dept"

"is an Obama appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration."

A note about her replacement, which is buttressed with this clause about why Boente is needed:

"he [Sessions] is being wrongly held up by Democrats for purely political reasons."

Losing.
posted by notyou at 6:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


The cybersecurity draft reads like a Joint DNI-DoD review. Honestly it wouldn't shock me if it was more or less something from the Obama administration that they pulled out of a drawer as a way of potentially shutting down Criticisms from McCain and company.

Of course I had to laugh when I saw the section about the Department of Education being tasked to help develop critical capabilities in STEM fields especially computer science and such. I mean did they bother to read a bio on DeVos and her antipathy towards education in general?

I guess they can always use immigrants to make up the talent gap, ohh wait the chucklefucks in the White House fucked that shit up.
posted by vuron at 6:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


So can this acting attorney general sign FISA warrants?
This question only matters to someone who is concerned with the legality of their actions.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.

Jeff VanderMeer, we need you now more than ever.
posted by augustimagination at 6:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


Firing an (acting) AG for their legal opinion, huh? Sounds like the SaturdayMonday Night Massacre is just getting started.
posted by otenba at 6:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


"Also, FORMER Attorney General Yates is POOPY. And a GIRL. A POOPY GIRL."
posted by delfin at 6:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [57 favorites]


Hi it's time for one of my periodic invokings of The IRC.

But seriously, y'all, working there is giving me some hope right now - i mean, not because I"m doing much there (i'm literally like a dataprocessing monkey), but we get to hear about how other people care about the refugees and new Americans all the time.

Like: Kai Penn got an angry Tweet on Saturday saying that he "didn't belong in this country", and as a sort of neener back at the guy, he started a GoFundMe type of action asing people to donate in that guy's name. He said that if he got $50K he'd donate it all to the IRC.

He met that goal in 11 minutes. Then upped it to $100K and met that Saturday night. And he just kept going.

The campaign now is at a goal of $750K and is 95% of the way there.

He hosted a special Q-and-A with the IRC social media team on Twitter tonight too, and people are asking questions about "how else can I help, do you take volunteers".

The president's a cartoon villain, but there are clearly enough good people that we're not alone.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [73 favorites]


If you gave that cyber EO to half of the infosec people I've worked with, they'd interpret it as "lets point a vulnerability scanner at the entire US IP space and look at all the stuff that shows up as critical."
posted by MysticMCJ at 6:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]



I wish there was a way for Sessions to not be confirmed because that would be the bestist right now.
posted by Jalliah at 6:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


She didn't betray the DOJ, she betrayed Trump. She's not weak on borders, she's strong on the law. She's not a Nazi.
posted by valkane at 6:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [105 favorites]


Shut it all down...
posted by Windopaene at 6:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Also - can Sally Yates bring some kind of wrongful termination suit against the White House for this, and can that be the catalyst that brings on an impeachment?

PLEASE SAY YES
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates.

So on that: the President can simply fire and appoint the Acting AG as he pleases?

So, wait, what: if Trump's shitty Cabinet nominees get delayed by Congress he can simply install them, or equally shitty equivalents, as acting Secretaries by Presidential fiat?
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


I wish there was a way for Sessions to not be confirmed because that would be the bestist right now.


s/not be confirmed/deported
posted by delfin at 6:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm counting this as good plausibility that roguepotusstaff isn't a native US speaker/reader, and that Russian doesn't seem unlikely.

i mean? i know the terrible red menace is everyone's favourite breathless assumption these days but i feel like you might not be familiar with the breathtaking array of idiocy amongst native US english speakers if you think that they're all magically immune to some of the stupidest spelling errors i've ever seen

exhibit a is like 80% of all fanfic
posted by poffin boffin at 6:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


exhibit b is the sum total of youtube comments
posted by poffin boffin at 6:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]




The president's a cartoon villain, but there are clearly enough good people that we're not alone.

Wow. I saw it when it was just over a 100k and thought 'wow' then. 750k is incredible. This is great neener, neener.
posted by Jalliah at 6:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


I think Dana Boente budded from Mitch McConnell's spawnmother
posted by theodolite at 6:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


corb re the potential anti lgbt eo -- like this time last year the gop as a party made overt plans to restrict transgender rights so this is just a bigger, uglier, dumber, worse version of bad shit the GOP has wanted already

i mean yes it's horrible and i'm not happy about it but this shit isn't coming out of nowhere

anyway back to congratulating my reps, i guess merkley is leading a filibuster against anybody besides garland for scotus
posted by beefetish at 6:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Also, that press release definitely was penned by Trump - It looks like exactly what he'd do if you removed the character limit from twitter. Which, come to think of it, is probably exactly how he thinks of press releases.
posted by MysticMCJ at 6:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Press needs to ask whether Trump has rescinded this EO providing for DOJ order of succession:

Not really. Trump has acted consistently with it:

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this order, the President retains discretion, to the extent permitted by law, to depart from this order in designating an acting Attorney General.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'm frankly pretty shocked that he didn't call Sally Yates a "four" or a bimbo in that press release.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Well, that was fast, and with all the grace and social tact we've come to expect from Trump. Of course he fired her. And of course he was an unprofessional asshole.

As for me, I want to thank Sally Yates for standing her ground and to tell her she did good, fuck Trump and fuck Bannon.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [62 favorites]


I also had a reminder of what sundowning rage feels like on the receiving end.
posted by holgate at 6:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I'm frankly pretty shocked that he didn't call Sally Yates a "four" or a bimbo in that press release.

Give it time. He won't be done with this, not by a long shot. He'll keep going after her for a while yet.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]


Yeah, appointees like Yates (rather than career civil service employees) can absolutely be fired at will by the President. When the system works, it is a feature, not a bug: it's how to keep agencies from acting without any political accountability.
posted by alligatorpear at 6:36 PM on January 30, 2017


that press release reads like the sneering sniveling face-saving whine of a drunk frat guy that was hitting on you for an hour before calling you fat and ugly when you won't fuck him

so definitely hand-written by greasy orange rapist nazi fuckface himself
posted by poffin boffin at 6:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]








You remember how that whole "call him President Bannon so Trump will get mad and fire him" was a Twitter joke the other day? It's gone from Twitter joke to NYT editorial: President Bannon?
posted by zachlipton at 6:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]


(Christopher Pike voice) "Sally Yates was US Attorney General for eleven days. She saved N refugees. I dare you to do better. Apply to law school."
posted by officer_fred at 6:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [40 favorites]


CNN Trump's immigration reform: High-skilled visas may be next
The H-1B visa is the popular pathway that helps high-skilled foreigners work at companies in the U.S.

It's a program that's particularly near and dear to the tech community, with many talented engineers vying for one of the program's 85,000 visas each year.

During a White House briefing Monday, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump will continue to talk about reforming the H-1B visa program, among others, as part of a larger push for immigration reform.

Spicer said Trump will do so through executive order, as well as by working with Congress.
Just a reminder that DJT uses the H1B Visa to staff Mar A Lago (because apparently Americans don't fondle the lettuce right or something) and Melania herself was here on a H1B Visa for years.

I think all this immigration reform is really going to backfire on him. Not only the tech industry but business in general is going to be unhappy. Plus I don't think most Americans are upset with legal immigration levels.


ohh wait the chucklefucks in the White House fucked that shit up


This, this needs to be a fucking tatoo or something. Maybe spelled out in Christmas lights on top of my house.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


Oh thank god. I finally figured out who Spicer reminds me of! It was driving me crazy!
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Fuck me. I step away for 15 minutes and Trump fires the acting AG for betrayal with a bonkers press release.
posted by diogenes at 6:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


Wow. I saw [Kal Penn's fundraiser] when it was just over a 100k and thought 'wow' then. 750k is incredible.

You know what is getting me, actually, is the other fundraising teams alongside it. They're all small ones so at first glance they look less impressive - but that moves me more, you know? The $50 being pledged by people having a chili cookoff in their house, the couple hundred from the woman who's running a 5K, stuff like that. They're not famous, they don't have means, but they know what is important and they want to do something so they're all "uh...I can make good chili, maybe we can do something with that?" And instead of just sinking back into apathy they're saying "okay, sure, I'll do that, people need me too much" and on they go.

Somewhere upthread someone said something about how they wanted Hillary back because "we need SOMEONE to lead us now". But I don't think we need Hillary becuase - we got us.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]


can Sally Yates bring some kind of wrongful termination suit against the White House for this

No. The Attorney General serves at the pleasure of the President and can be dismissed at any time for any reason.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Boente has told WaPo that he'll enforce the order.

so much for the trump press release quoting Boente's promise to defend the laws of our nation, then. guess he lied!
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Out of morbid curiosity I really wonder how that call from Trump to Yates went, did he give her the trademark "You're fired!"? We need this interview in WaPo by tomorrow.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


"How could I betray you when I was never on your side to begin with?"

- Sally Yates (fake, but I wish)
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


So what I wonder if what's happening is that T/B are just writing EOs from scratch, no legal input, then just throwing them over the fence, saying "here, make this happen." Yates would have had to invent a defense from scratch, because the WH certainly doesn't seem to be helping anybody understand, and was Boente the EDVA atty who had no defense to offer in court on Saturday night? There's nothing behind the EO, just a pipe-dream, and Yates was in the role of realizing the dream. Insidious.

All of this would constitute a test to see if they can invent new laws with other people putting their names and expertise to its implementation.
posted by rhizome at 6:42 PM on January 30, 2017


That's nice that you'll defend it, Boente. Do you not think Yates has just inspired a lot of line attorneys to try to follow her lead in refusing to defend unconstitutional orders? (Even though they won't be rewarded with sweet jobs when they get fired, as I'm sure Yates will (as she deserves))
posted by alligatorpear at 6:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Boente has told WaPo that he'll enforce the order.

Gee I wonder which acting attorney general will come off well in the history books
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]


"i will enforce the order," says the brave little reichsminister
posted by poffin boffin at 6:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [63 favorites]


The cyber security EO draft is alarming at Point 8: Private Infrastructure Incentives Review. It's loosely wordrd enough to allow companies to get rewards for sharing of anything they deem as security data.
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Vanity Fair: Can Jared and Ivanka outrun Trump's scandals? Less than a fortnight into his new post, Kushner appears unable to control his father-in-law—and is “furious” that his efforts are being undermined.
posted by porn in the woods at 6:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


The H-1B visa is the popular pathway that helps high-skilled foreigners work at companies in the U.S..

Gee, I wonder where that idea came from?
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Meanwhile, on Wikipedia
posted by rhizome at 6:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [47 favorites]


I hope the ink is already drying on a job offer for Yates at the ACLU.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.

Will Dog Turd Fungus do?
posted by mudpuppie at 6:46 PM on January 30, 2017


maybe boente said he would defend the ban, but didn't tell trump he intends to do the lousiest job ever?
posted by localhuman at 6:46 PM on January 30, 2017


Kushner appears unable to control his father-in-law—and is “furious” that his efforts are being undermined.

Poor Jared. He thought he was special. Nice to see him feeling fucked over too.
posted by futz at 6:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]


What other options are there to stop the Attorney General from enforcing it?
posted by saysthis at 6:46 PM on January 30, 2017


From the Cyber security EO draft (PDF) - if the internet is a "national resource," does that mean it should be a public utility and everyone should have access to it? (ok, you can stop laughing now.)

From "Definitions" section -
(a) The term "critical infrastructure" means systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.
Umm... did he just declare Google, Twitter, and Facebook to be US gov't assets?
(ii) Within 60 days of the date of this order, initial recommendations for the protection of U.S. national security systems shall be submitted to the President through the Secretary of Defense.
Pfft, I can do that now. Get all gov't systems on Linux and hire a small phalanx of competent IT personnel. Secondary option, if that's too much hassle: Get everything to Win10, with the high security settings. Install some basic netnanny software - you don't need anything creative; just keep people off everything not required for their jobs. No google, no youtube, no twitter, no facebook - in fact, for the most part, no internet: if you don't work in the media, you don't need internet. Set up restricted internet access for those who need to order supplies online; make sure there's an automated paper (email) trail going to their dep't heads and the IT dep't.

All external email runs through (1) a filter looking for address spoofing; (2) a cache in the IT dep't, to track anything that did get through, and (3) attachment removal - all attachments must be sent via a secure logon site, not email attachments.

Don't let anyone break standard security procedures, for any reason. This means you, Mr. Keeping-my-Gmail-based-Twitter presidon't.

It's not hard to develop excellent security systems; the hard part is getting people to slog through the extra procedures and cope with the slowdowns to productivity. (Oh, and to keep them from resigning as soon as they find a job that doesn't treat its people like imbeciles or criminals. But if they're working directly for this administration, I assume they're already okay with that part.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Are USAGs conventionally admitted to the Supreme Court?
posted by rhizome at 6:47 PM on January 30, 2017


Trump lost O'Reilly. (O'Reilly: "Protecting Americans is...priority #1, but the nobility of our nation demands we help suffering, helpless people if we can.")
posted by zachlipton at 6:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [43 favorites]


maybe boente said he would defend the ban, but didn't tell trump he intends to do the lousiest job ever?

You realize you just said the same thing twice there, right?
posted by Etrigan at 6:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Poor Jared. He thought he was special. Nice to see him feeling fucked over too.

I'm shocked the Nazis are pushing out the Jew.
posted by chris24 at 6:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [63 favorites]




Boente has told WaPo that he'll enforce the order.

This is how the rule of law dies.
posted by prefpara at 6:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]


It's a program that's particularly near and dear to the tech community, with many talented engineers vying for one of the program's 85,000 visas each year.

I'm conflicted about this. The H1B program is absolutely one of the things that has made the US tech sector the strongest in the world; at the same time, there is rampant abuse by companies importing low-skilled cheap labor. I think one of the likely outcomes here is that the program will be scaled back in a way which will not really affect the tech giants (who have great legal teams and can afford to meet any salary requirements the government demands for H1B holders), but could absolutely destroy smaller companies outside the Bay Area.
posted by miyabo at 6:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


Considering how many people use PayPal and Uber alone and how buddy-buddy their owners are with Trump, I'll definitely admit to being worried about their possible misuse of anti-Trump users' personal data.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


oh, Mattis is incensed, is he? Resign like a man with dignity, then.

What, so Trump can put in someone who can nuke the planet? No thank you. He has a clear moral and ethical duty not to betray his uniform and his oaths. We are all fucking watching.
posted by corb at 6:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


Poor Jared. He thought he was special. Nice to see him feeling fucked over too.
Jared for sure knows where some bodies are buried. If he turns on Trump, things will get interesting, and maybe not in a good way.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


I'm shocked the Nazis are pushing out the Jew.

Does this mean Stephen Miller has to fire himself?
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:49 PM on January 30, 2017



You remember how that whole "call him President Bannon so Trump will get mad and fire him" was a Twitter joke the other day? It's gone from Twitter joke to NYT editorial: President Bannon?


Yes! NYT so he might even see it. (I just caught myself trying to fist bump my dog)
posted by Jalliah at 6:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


And the Yemen raid was a fuck-up. Suspicion over the weekend was that, since it was a ground operation, the aim was to bring back prisoners as trophies to restock Camp Delta.

Poor Jared. He thought he was special. Nice to see him feeling fucked over too.

MeFi's own (back in the day) Elizabeth Spiers worked for him at the Observer, and has her own thoughts on the relationship.
posted by holgate at 6:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]




I finally got around to the Jacobin article about Bannon being completely expendable and I have to say that I agree.

Yes, the alt-right can use all sorts of shenanigans to seem like they are a big movement on the internet but in reality they are cowards that largely limit their activities to the online world where it can be difficult to determine the precise number of people behind the various nazi anime twitter accounts trying to harass you. But think to yourself when have the alt-right ever shown up in force in meatspace? Most of the Trump rallies were primarily cranky old white fox-news watching men who are tired about minorities and women and LGBT individuals getting all uppity and lecturing them. Figures like Milo and Richard Spencer might have a few dozen "followers" around them at any given time but that's not even enough to stop someone from sucker punching a Nazi.

Bannon was useful during the campaign because Breitbart + Cambridge Analytics + Fake News factories could muddy the water enough to keep Democrats on the defensive but now the American public is seeing what sort of President Trump promises to be and they sure as shit don't like it.

I think you can see it in the increasingly whiny tone that Conway and Spicer and other proxies are taking and the distinct drop in Trumpistas trying to silence us with "We won and you lost".

No doubt Trump is still moderately popular in large swathes of the country but if you are anywhere near a big city or even a moderate large town it's pretty clear that the energy has completely gone out of the sails of the Trump supporters while the left is getting fired the fuck up.

Trump seems loyal to those who are willing to kiss his ass all the time but if people like Bannon are telling Trump that he's really popular but can't seem to actually make that support materialize then they are ultimately expendable.

And you can guarantee that the Priebus faction is more than willing to plunge the dagger in Bannon's back.
posted by vuron at 6:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


Can Jared and Ivanka outrun Trump's scandals?

I sincerely hope not.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


Wormtongue managed to keep his job for a while.

Hopefully this also ends with Bannon and Trump stuck in Trump Tower surrounded by angry trees.


There is a place.
posted by lagomorphius at 6:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


It's not going to take too much more for Trump to be seen as worse than Ahmedinejad or Ghaddafi. If Mattis' happened to resign and his seat was filled with a real wacko, Trump would have to start worrying about the Canadian border, where European troops will be massing.

Keep in mind that Trump will probably flip to "nice guy" in the not too distant future and the media won't be able to help themselves but go along.
posted by rhizome at 6:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


For a bunch of "tough guys", Trump and his crew of cowards and bullies sure are sensitive about their fee-fees being hurt.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 6:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


I'm thinking some sort of fungus, but one that has the capacity to feel hate.

Will Dog Turd Fungus do?


I never thought I'd go on the internet to defend nasty-looking fungi, but unlike FuckfaceTrump, at the very least they fill a very important ecological niche.
posted by otenba at 6:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Mattis really has to stay, if only to take Trump into custody and frog-march him out of the Oval Office.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Keep in mind that Trump will probably flip to "nice guy" in the not too distant future

People said that after the election. Look how that turned out. He's not going to change. This is who he is.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]






That might as well be Scahill's pinned tweet, because that's all The Intercept does.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


He's not going to change. This is who he is.

I hear that. Maybe I'm banking too much on a media strategy and he's really just furiously wanking every time Gap Kuato leaves the room.
posted by rhizome at 6:56 PM on January 30, 2017


Jeremy Scahill: Early tomorrow morning, we will publish a major story at @theintercept that the government does not want out. Stay tuned.

I hope it's a good story, so kudos to them, but jeez, these people even tweet like Julian Assange. Will they be promising they're all in perfect health next?
posted by zachlipton at 6:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


That might as well be Scahill's pinned tweet, because that's all The Intercept does.

Nope, posted 45min ago.
posted by rhizome at 6:57 PM on January 30, 2017




"President Bannon' has been showing up in a lot of places.

President Bannon's Hugely Destructive First Week in Office

foreignpolicy.com for example.
posted by futz at 6:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


Every time I read somebody saying they're going to publish a major story that somebody doesn't want out, I figure its going to be something like "Orrin Hatch smells like Geritol" and that the announcement is just a way to gin up interest. PROVE ME WRONG INTERCEPT.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


She's not going to be fired. They'll just fast-track the Sessions nomination.

Oh man, it's so weird being so far behind on the thread. Like I'm a time traveler from the future screaming out across the timeline trying to warn you. Is this what tehund felt like?

Okay, back up to the top to see this unfold in slow motion.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [63 favorites]


Your words give me hope, vuron, but I think Bannon's hold on Trump, and his vision is what is fueling our current unpleasantness. Without him, Trump's vision is gold curtains and weekends at Mar A Lago. Someone upthread said Bannon looks like Trump and it's true; I'm convinced Bannon is Trumps mirror made flesh.

When Trump looks at Bannon, he sees himself, only a little younger, a little smarter (in a visionary, clever about politics way, because Bannon did put Trump in the White House) and with (most importantly) way, way better hair.
posted by valkane at 6:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


xXx_WarriorMonk_xXx will quote Marcus Aurelius in his most serious voice as he carpet bombs Raqqa
posted by theodolite at 6:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Jeremy Scahill: Early tomorrow morning, we will publish a major story at @theintercept that the government does not want out.

It's probably about the Clinton foundation.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


This is already feeling like Nixon's last days. I managed to protest at both nixon's 1972 inauguration and the mayday protests covered in a recent FPP. Keep up the pressure on both Trump and congress and maybe we'll see an impeachment (though I'm not at all sure I want Pence as president).
posted by Death and Gravity at 7:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]


Lawrence O'Donnell says that the new Acting AG is not authorized for the FISA surveillance.

Trump spokesperson says that he is.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


The H1B program is absolutely one of the things that has made the US tech sector the strongest in the world; at the same time, there is rampant abuse by companies importing low-skilled cheap labor.

The H1B is a shitty visa class, shittily implemented. It is used the way it's used (both at the big tech co. end and the Infosys end) because there isn't really anything else, though big tech cos with a global presence have moved towards using L1s to bring people in from overseas offices, and even O1s for their top-tier hires. The job lock is a mess. It should really be an EB class, but credentialing in the tech industry isn't as mature as academia and medicine and other typical EB recipients.
posted by holgate at 7:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Umm... did he just declare Google, Twitter, and Facebook to be US gov't assets?

That language is (almost) directly from the Patriot Act. 42 USC § 5195c (e).
posted by skymt at 7:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Keep in mind that Trump will probably flip to "nice guy" in the not too distant future and the media won't be able to help themselves but go along.
I honestly am not convinced that he has the emotional control to do that when he feels that his authority is being challenged. He's like a toddler, except that most toddlers haven't had time to develop massive masculinity issues.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


How to Build an Autocracy [warning, David Frum].
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


I disagree with you Death and Gravity. This feels like October 1973. The Saturday Night Massacre. The not giving the tapes. Nixon's final days were still another 10 months away.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


yeah Sessions most likely gets fast tracked and confirmed in record time because no Senator wants ads running during re-election saying terror could have happened without FISA warrants.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 7:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Things move faster these days.

He said, hope in his voice.
posted by Etrigan at 7:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Mattis really has to stay, if only to take Trump into custody and frog-march him out of the Oval Office.

There was a comment upthread linking to a military discussion. After reading that and few others I found after that one the Mattis support is bake in. There was even discussion about what would happen if they were asked to do illegal things or reckless things that would lead to many being killed and they feel that Mattis is the only bulwark to that happening right now. And concerns about this are only growing. Also got the feeling that although it would be messy if Mattis had to go against Trump for some serious reason, that although messy per the discussion that Mattis would have a lot of military personal following his lead and not Trump's. (Air Force is it's own story)

Mattis needs to stay for now even with his warts.
posted by Jalliah at 7:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Okay, back up to the top to see this unfold in slow motion.

Take me to your planet please where things can be observed on earth in slow motion. My head is spinning in real time.
posted by futz at 7:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


(that was about Nixon's last days, not Sessions' next days)
posted by Etrigan at 7:06 PM on January 30, 2017


Being fired by Donald Trump is the highest civilian honor the presidency can confer
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [213 favorites]


Just reread the Yates press release. When it says, This order was approved as to form and legality by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, I can only guess that means someone at OLC told them that the president has authority to issue executive orders. Because I don't believe that anyone at OLC read that piece of crap and said, "yep, looks good to me."
posted by alligatorpear at 7:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Keep in mind that Trump will probably flip to "nice guy" in the not too distant future and the media won't be able to help themselves but go along.

lol i feel like you maybe don't have a lot of experience with infantile thin-skinned narcissistic men with egos far out of proportion to any of their body parts but i can guaranfuckingtee every woman here on mefi has dated at least one shitstain like this

he will only get worse, and also violent
posted by poffin boffin at 7:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [114 favorites]


The history of the of the American Presidency is also the history of the Calamity Bannon, a primal evil that has endured over the ages
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Keep in mind that Trump will probably flip to "nice guy" in the not too distant future and the media won't be able to help themselves but go along.

He'll flip to nice guy just as soon as everyone in the world agrees with him all the time and is never critical of anything he says or does.
posted by wondermouse at 7:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Is there any evidence that Trump has ever been in nice guy mode during his entire public life?
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]


Everyone is looking for a new word, but the word already exists. These people are Nazis. The whole meme of Godwin has lessened that term in the current world, but it's the only term that truly fits. Everybody knows they were the baddies. Even the baddies that emulate them. So that's the term of truth. Nazi. Use it.
posted by valkane at 7:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [56 favorites]


Doesn't the acting AG have to be confirmed by Congress?
posted by marguerite at 7:08 PM on January 30, 2017


I feel like, if Trump is ousted, we have to keep up the momentum and push for electoral college reform, by which I mean popular vote elections. That's where I hope we go on Pence. Aim for the Republican jugular, nationwide strikes and protests until it's done.
posted by saysthis at 7:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


And you can guarantee that the Priebus faction is more than willing to plunge the dagger in Bannon's back.

I'm not convinced that Priebus' agenda differs enough from Bannon's for that.

More importantly, I just don't see Trump firing Bannon at this point, for any reason. The only thing that could get Bannon fired would be to say "no", and he won't.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:09 PM on January 30, 2017


yeah Sessions most likely gets fast tracked and confirmed in record time because no Senator wants ads running during re-election saying terror could have happened without FISA warrants.

Good point, but on the other hand, I think the Senate may have just gotten very interested indeed in whether Sessions a) was as behind the Muslim Ban as he is thought to be and b) will rubber-stamp any crazy thing Trump wants.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


This is how the rule of law dies.

The rule of law died when the GOP announced it would refuse to hold hearings on the nominee to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat the same day the seat became vacant. No, they had no idea that killing respect for the rule of law would come in so handy a year later, but boy are they gleefully accepting the benefits.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [147 favorites]


Trump gave a not completely crazy interview with the New York Times right after the election that gave me some mild hope. Then came January 20th and he blew it all up. I've been wondering what exactly happened in the time between.
posted by lagomorphius at 7:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


No, the acting AG isn't confirmed by congress (that's what the "acting" part means - they aren't the "real" AG)
posted by alligatorpear at 7:10 PM on January 30, 2017


I feel like, if Trump is ousted, we have to keep up the momentum and push for electoral college reform, by which I mean popular vote elections. That's where I hope we go on Pence. Aim for the Republican jugular, nationwide strikes and protests until it's done.

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Call your state legislators.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]




He'll flip to nice guy just as soon as everyone in the world agrees with him all the time and is never critical of anything he says or does.

The truly pathetic thing is that not even that could make him a nice guy.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Trump lost O'Reilly. (O'Reilly: "Protecting Americans is...priority #1, but the nobility of our nation demands we help suffering, helpless people if we can.")

I would like you to know that this revelation just triggered a chorus of shock and confusion in my household via the following exchange:

"Holy shit, he lost O'Reilly."

"....O'Reily?"

"O'Reily!"

"Hey, he lost O'Reily!"

"O'Reily?!"

"Oh my god, O'Reily."

"He seriously lost O'Reily?"

"How did he lose O'Reily?!?"

"Seriously, O'Reily?"
posted by sciatrix at 7:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [37 favorites]


THIS IS FINE. U.S. says Iran has tested a ballistic missile

"President Trump, the protests are continuing, your firing of AAG Yates is being reported as childish and petty, and questions are building about--" "HEY LOOK OVER THERE! IRAN!"
posted by delfin at 7:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


More importantly, I just don't see Trump firing Bannon at this point, for any reason. The only thing that could get Bannon fired would be to say "no", and he won't.

Reasons that Trump might fire Bannon, or also complete fan fiction that will never happen.

Kushner and Ivanka have a serious talk with Dad and threaten that they will work and running his company and name into the ground if they don't fire Bannon.

Senate and Congress repubs, tell Trump point blank that if Bannon doesn't go they will start impeachment proceedings.

That's all I got.
posted by Jalliah at 7:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Trump gave a not completely crazy interview with the New York Times right after the election that gave me some mild hope. Then came January 20th and he blew it all up. I've been wondering what exactly happened in the time between.

Were you not paying attention for the last year? Seriously.
posted by futz at 7:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


> Newt Gingrich: Trump practiced "you're fired for years". (sic) Today he applied it to an insubordinate acting atty general. Congratulations.

Hey, everyone, remember when Newt Gingrich was a thing?
posted by tonycpsu at 7:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


I feel like, if Trump is ousted, we have to keep up the momentum and push for electoral college reform, by which I mean popular vote elections.
You know, let's do the Trump being ousted thing, and then we'll talk about what comes next. Because right now, the country descending into full-on fascism is actually a lot more likely than Trump being ousted. You are banking on the patriotism and integrity of high-ranking Republicans. Chew on that before you start getting optimistic about the potential for electoral college reform.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]


The staffers signed nondisclosure agreements, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Trump's transition operation forced its staff to sign these agreements, but it would be unusual to extend that requirement to congressional employees. Rexrode declined to comment on the nondisclosure pacts.

My understanding of 1st amendment jurisprudence is pretty weak but I'm almost 100% certain the President can't gag some random capitol hill staffer when it comes to drafting a policy. You can force people to shut up about national security stuff, like military secrets, but not about what was said in a meeting about drafting an executive order.
posted by dis_integration at 7:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Trump gave a not completely crazy interview with the New York Times right after the election that gave me some mild hope. Then came January 20th and he blew it all up. I've been wondering what exactly happened in the time between.

Were you not paying attention for the last year? Seriously.
posted by futz at 7:13 PM on January 30 [+] [!]


I said MILD hope but thanks for the free snark. I do read the news.
posted by lagomorphius at 7:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Senate and Congress repubs, tell Trump point blank that if Bannon doesn't go they will start impeachment proceedings.

You think he feels threatened by impeachment at this point? He has no respect for the other branches of government, and he won't abide by anything they say.

Literally our only hope is that the Secret Service refuses to defend him when the Marshals come knocking at the Oval Office door.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


@BNONews: BREAKING: President Trump dismisses Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Daniel Ragsdale

Thomas D. Homan has been appointed to take over as Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency

posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


You are banking on the patriotism and integrity of high-ranking Republicans.

i just shouted aloud with such abandoned laughter, oh my god
posted by poffin boffin at 7:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


where's that gifset where the japanese scientist is like "with mothra's aid we could approach the fairies for help"
posted by poffin boffin at 7:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]


A couple of reminders from history that Nazis tend to have their arses handed to them in the end: *fingers crossed it is sooner rather than later this time*

Jean-Luc Godard Gives a Dramatic Reading of Hannah Arendt’s “On the Nature of Totalitarianism”
Recently we realized that the tyranny, not of reason but argumentation, like an immense compulsive force exercised on the mind of men can serve specifically political tyranny. But this truth also remains that every end in history necessarily contains a new beginning. This beginning is the only promise, the only message which the end can ever give. St Augustine said that man was created so that there could be a beginning. This beginning is guaranteed by each new birth, it is, in truth, each man.
The Great Dictator Speech - Charlie Chaplin
To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair".

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress:
the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die liberty will never perish . . .
posted by Buntix at 7:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


The acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice

We see again Trump's obsession with loyalty and betrayal. He truly believes that he is actually a dictator, that the entire government answers to him and him alone.

Also,
Calling for tougher vetting for individuals traveling from seven dangerous places is not extreme
But you promised us EXTREME VETTING
HOW COULD YOU BETRAY AMERICA LIKE THIS
posted by J.K. Seazer at 7:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


delfin: THIS IS FINE. U.S. says Iran has tested a ballistic missile

This is my nightmare scenario, not because I fear them using one against us, but because I fear Trump+Bannon+Flynn using it as an excuse to kick of their Holy War with a nuke dropped on Tehran.
posted by bluecore at 7:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


ok this thread is officially going too fast for me to keep up with.

Parting thoughts before I go to bed: I had a kickass civic studies (we just plain called it "government") teacher in high school. Just knew his topic, taught it well. He made us pledge at the end of his class to always vote, and I have kept that pledge.

He said that no republic lasts forever. That history shows it doesn't. I thought he was wrong. Or at least that the USA could overcome many of the other problems that plagued other republics. We were the USA! Rah Rah Stars and Stripes and Freedoms! (I was, and perhaps still am, an unabashedly proud citizen of my country)

I am scared to think he was right and that this is happening in my lifetime.
posted by INFJ at 7:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Yeah.. Who had "Tuesday" for the war starting in the office pool?
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Oof, so much going on but this must be stopped too. Should be a no-brainer.

600+ Protesters plan on protesting at Trumps Palm Beach mansion on February 4th to protest the Red Cross having its yearly ball hosted there.
posted by futz at 7:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]


Thomas D. Homan has been appointed to take over as Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency

In case you were curious about Homan's background.
posted by Copronymus at 7:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


My understanding of 1st amendment jurisprudence is pretty weak but I'm almost 100% certain the President can't gag some random capitol hill staffer when it comes to drafting a policy. You can force people to shut up about national security stuff, like military secrets, but not about what was said in a meeting about drafting an executive order.

Especially if said staffer gets served with a Congressional subpoena. (Hey, I can dream, alright?)
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:21 PM on January 30, 2017


My understanding of 1st amendment jurisprudence is pretty weak but I'm almost 100% certain the President can't gag some random capitol hill staffer when it comes to drafting a policy.

Well, the amendment does only say Congress shall make no law...

No, but seriously, the argument would either be 1) that it's contractual, not the government acting in its sovereign capacity to prohibit speech, or 2) that government employees absolutely have their free speech inhibited as a condition of their employment. (Like, the Hatch Act prevents certain political speech in certain conditions.)
posted by alligatorpear at 7:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Trump is less than 2 weeks into office and the sharks are already circling. McConnell and Ryan aren't tossing in chum yet but they sure as shit aren't leaping to Trump's defense either.

The interviewers are already getting tired of Conway's song and dance routine particularly as it goes full "Why is everyone picking on us!". Spicer has pretty much already lost the White House press corps. They aren't in full fledged mutiny yet but you can tell by the increasingly testy relationship that's not far off.

Trump is already at 50% disapproval and I believe that's before this weekend's debacle really took shape.

Bannon like Rove before him is supposed to keep this shit under control. You didn't see Axelrod doing anything resembling this sort of nonsense.

Nope this is on Bannon + Miller + Sessions and obviously Trump. But when it's clear that Trump is expecting to be an absentee landlord, I mean who the fuck would schedule a vacation during a full on meltdown of your administration, you have to point fingers at the senior political staff and go "Oh man those guys fucked up".

Think about it,these guys are having to push forward the SCOTUS nominee as a way of changing the news cycle because they are getting crushed and they desperately need some way of changing the narrative.
posted by vuron at 7:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


I had a kickass history teacher in high school too. I remember this well: "What was the primary cause of World War II? Nationalism."
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


Thomas D. Homan has been appointed to take over as Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency

Thats the guy who is in charge of all of ICE's deportations.
posted by Lord_Pall at 7:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


You think he feels threatened by impeachment at this point? He has no respect for the other branches of government, and he won't abide by anything they say.

Literally our only hope is that the Secret Service refuses to defend him when the Marshals come knocking at the Oval Office door.


Of course he doesn't feel threatened by it. You have to actually understand something works to be threatened by it.

As I said, fan fiction and won't happen. I was just responding to the what in total dreamland might make Trump dump Bannon.

And since those to things are ridiculous fan-fiction the real answer is probably nothing that us on the outside have any control over.

Bannon is putting a huge target on his head though for all the others that want to have some sort of control or influence with the President. Must be the worst office politics ever in that place right now.
posted by Jalliah at 7:23 PM on January 30, 2017


"Nominations for the JFK Profile in Courage Award Nominations accepted on a rolling basis through February 1, 2017."

Nominations for the EMcG Profiles in Courage (Sarcastic Edition) Award on Twitter accepted daily, help a sister out with examples of Republicans wussing out big-time or backing off their prior statements of principle.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


god, "i wish i could hear what scalia would have to say about all this" is not something i ever imagined in all my wildest dreams i might one day think
posted by poffin boffin at 7:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Is BNO news a real website? They are the only ones reporting the ICE story.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Oh, and actually, there's a special privilege called the presidential communications privilege that prevents the disclosure of communications with or from the privilege in lawsuits or from subpoenas, so that isn't a method of getting someone to spill about what they said to POTUS or high level WH staff.
posted by alligatorpear at 7:24 PM on January 30, 2017


Trump's an asshole. He's always been an asshole and will be an asshole until the day he dies. He will not and cannot change - he's egotistical, brash, and not very bright, and has been that way for his entire adult life (and as far as I know even earlier).

But people like him attract cunning, unscrupulous people who can flatter him and play his lizard brain to their benefit. It's a twisted symbiosis that's been around as long as there have been evil and stupid but powerful and suggestible people and evil, crafty people who work best from the shadows.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 7:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


What will Congress do when the people march on Washington and won't go away?
posted by Devonian at 7:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]




Did that asshole just say "It's sad that our politics have become so politicized"?
posted by Etrigan at 7:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [94 favorites]


I What will Congress do when the people march on Washington and won't go away?

I was just thinking who would be the first person killed in this whole mess and when. Probably find out over the next month, god help us.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Must be the worst office politics ever in that place right now.

Not just right now but since the very beginning (has it only been 11 days?), considering it's had more leaks about the personal lives and foibles of the principals than the Obama White House did in 8 years. They all hate each other and love whining to the press about how stupid and mean everyone else is.
posted by Copronymus at 7:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


I think Bannon knows that it would take a long-ass time for Congress to get its impeachment act together, with weeks and months of telegraphing strategy, so even if it does happen, the WH has time on their side and can do a lot of damage, possibly the kind of damage that affects Congress' ability to impeach him.
posted by rhizome at 7:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


What will Congress do when the people march on Washington and won't go away?

Ever hear of the Bonus Army?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


Nominations for the EMcG Profiles in Courage (Sarcastic Edition) Award on Twitter accepted daily

John McCain all day every day, lifetime achievement award, eventually had to be specifically excluded so someone else had a shot at the prize
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


I feel like, if Trump is ousted, we have to keep up the momentum and push for electoral college reform, by which I mean popular vote elections.

You know, let's do the Trump being ousted thing, and then we'll talk about what comes next. Because right now, the country descending into full-on fascism is actually a lot more likely than Trump being ousted. You are banking on the patriotism and integrity of high-ranking Republicans. Chew on that before you start getting optimistic about the potential for electoral college reform.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:14 AM on January 31 [2 favorites +] [!]


If they're not gone, we're all leaving a hell of a trail of breadcrumbs for 'em right here. So chin up. No other option now. Hit the streets, keep protesting, keep up the pressure. They'll crack.
posted by saysthis at 7:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Can we just change the locks to the White House while Trump is on vacation?
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


nope, it's real
posted by avocet at 7:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


If Trump is ousted, I'm not so attached to electoral college reform at this point so much as presidential-power reduction. This could be turning into the right time to switch to a more parliamentary system.
posted by rhizome at 7:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


First Trump and Bannon make everyone at every level unsure of their standing:

Cabinet members
Generals
Spymasters
Friends
Enemies
Citizens

Some subset is cowed, great!

Others stand up. In those cases either fire them (Acting AG, State Dept Leadership) or pit them against each other (Mattis vs Tillerson, white poor vs white rich, Christians vs Muslims, etc)

In this chaos, no contender can build a base to threaten Trump.

It worked for a long time for Stalin, and has Machiavelli's approval.
posted by zippy at 7:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Literally our only hope is that the Secret Service refuses to defend him when the Marshals come knocking at the Oval Office door.

Of course he still has his own private security because we are so fucked.
posted by ckape at 7:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Sarah Jeong, who is trustworthy and knows her stuff, says Boente is empowered to sign FISA orders.
posted by zachlipton at 7:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


"If Trump is ousted, I'm not so attached to electoral college reform at this point so much as presidential-power reduction. "

A huge part of the reason the presidency has become so powerful is the absolute collapse of Congress's willingness to make hard choices or get anything done or, you know, fucking legislate. We're stuck with the imperial presidency until Congress gets its act together. (Which, honestly, I wonder if it doesn't take a change in MEDIA before Congress changes, because they just run scared of Fox News and its like and the 24-hour news cycle and the ability to compromise and make trade-offs and make sophisticated policy choices.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


Boente is empowered to sign FISA orders.

So no big hurry on Sessions then.

Is it just me, or has today been like 97 hours long?
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]


97:35 by my clock.
posted by valkane at 7:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Can we just change the locks to the White House while Trump is on vacation?

There are like twenty landlording AskMes where people get told not to do that. 'fraid we have to go through the whole long, painful eviction process.
posted by jackbishop at 7:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


I'll take 10 months to impeachment if it's like Nixon's last 10 months. But if we can keep the pressure up, I suspect he'll resign earlier because he's feeling so butthurt.
posted by Death and Gravity at 7:36 PM on January 30, 2017


What is this? The Monday Night Massacre? A new Night of Long Knives? The baptism scene from the Godfather?
posted by nubs at 7:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


nope, it's real

Sorry, that doesn't say anything about how his predecessor betrayed the Trump administration or have even a little bit of the tone of a Facebook rant about being overcharged at a Denny's, so it can't be real.
posted by Copronymus at 7:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


George W. Bush used "shock and awe" to attack Iraq. Trump's using it to attack the USA.
posted by porn in the woods at 7:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]


A huge part of the reason the presidency has become so powerful is the absolute collapse of Congress's willingness to make hard choices or get anything done or, you know, fucking legislate. We're stuck with the imperial presidency until Congress gets its act together. (Which, honestly, I wonder if it doesn't take a change in MEDIA before Congress changes, because they just run scared of Fox News and its like and the 24-hour news cycle and the ability to compromise and make trade-offs and make sophisticated policy choices.)

Maybe it's just time for the entire system to end. More than a few posters from countries with parliamentary systems have expressed surprise that our system has lasted as long as it has.
posted by indubitable at 7:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Just checked google is still accurate: "worst president"
posted by Buntix at 7:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Another dictionary joins the fight.

@Dictionarycom:
The Holocaust ("The" is important): "the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews"

Not much ambiguity on that: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/holocaust
posted by chris24 at 7:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


Schumer is talking about the Yates firing on the Senate floor.
posted by prefpara at 7:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


El Presidente will never resign. Admit his a loser?Never!
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


As a reminder, despite all Trump's whining about the fact that Sessions hasn't been confirmed, he's only appointed 28 out of the 658 positions requiring Senate confirmation, and that's ignoring the thousands of non-confirmable staff positions.

As a completely random example, chosen for no particular reason whatsoever, he has not actually nominated his own Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That acting assistant secretary was in place precisely because Trump hasn't been bothered to appoint someone for the job. He has also not nominated a Director or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or a Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
posted by zachlipton at 7:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


Can we quit talking about how we're winning culture wars and how many people Trump has lost?

Because losing the population doesn't matter right now unless we're committed to overturning the institution of government as we know it.

And that terrifies me.
posted by steady-state strawberry at 7:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]


But if we can keep the pressure up, I suspect he'll resign earlier because he's feeling so butthurt.

I'm afraid that his stubbornness outweighs his prissiness. He's not going to leave until he's forced out.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


I can barely keep up with it all - and I imagine a lot of people with busy lives have absolutely no clue what exactly is happening
posted by rosswald at 7:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


This night is a shitshow. I am dizzy.
posted by prefpara at 7:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Just keep telling him there's still time to beat William Henry Harrison's record.
posted by ckape at 7:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Eyebrows have you seen this from March from Speaker Ryan?

The president’s gross abuse of his executive powers, both in regard to immigration and throughout his presidency, has created a fourth branch of government that operates with little to no transparency and undermines Congress
posted by hilaryjade at 7:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


You mean there are people who don't just sit there and update metafilter all damn day?
posted by ian1977 at 7:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


i was really, really hoping that Sarah Kendzior was being too pessimistic during election season, but she's looking like the Cassandra to our Troy right now
posted by murphy slaw at 7:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]




In other news today, a 25-pound bobcat escaped from the National Zoo. I know how she feels. I want out too.
posted by zachlipton at 7:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


But they will.
posted by drezdn at 7:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


The president’s gross abuse of his executive powers

This is classic Republicanism. Obama probably did make a couple of executive orders that were dubious, but, for the most part, he conducted himself like previous Presidents. However, it was essential to the narrative to lie and claim that this constituted an unprecedented abuse of power. Now that Trump is in office, what do you see? The actual thing.
posted by thelonius at 7:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


People are going to notice though if Trump's actions result in a couple of big sell offs on Wall Street. A lot of Trump's voters are boomers that are trying to get ready for retirement and if they start seeing their 401ks drop like a rock then they are going to get nervous and they are going to start calling their legislators in a panic. Especially if the propaganda channels like Fox News start voicing dissent against Trump.

Yeah there are the 27% that are effectively unreachable but that isn't enough to win re-election.
posted by vuron at 7:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


CNN: Democrats consider backing off big battle over Trump's Supreme Court pick
The reason for the tactic: Republicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats stay largely united and block Trump's first pick. By employing the so-called "nuclear option," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could move to reduce the threshold for clearing a filibuster from 60 votes to 51 votes.
posted by zachlipton at 7:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'm watching Jaws where they're trying to convince the mayor to close the beaches on the 4th of July and it seems eerily similar to the reactions of Congress members.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


I keep writing and rewriting this comment because I'm worried I keep sounding too hyperbolic, but I'm realizing that there really is no such thing as hyperbole anymore.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


I'll take 10 months to impeachment if it's like Nixon's last 10 months. But if we can keep the pressure up, I suspect he'll resign earlier because he's feeling so butthurt.

I'm happy to be proven wrong by reality here, but my strong bet is still that Trump will never, ever resign, or concede defeat. Shackles or a pine box. Those are our options.
posted by dis_integration at 7:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


As a reminder, despite all Trump's whining about the fact that Sessions hasn't been confirmed, he's only appointed 28 out of the 658 positions requiring Senate confirmation, and that's ignoring the thousands of non-confirmable staff positions.

This is intentional. They're going to run a shadow government out of the White House under Bannon's personal direction, consistent with the Coup Attempt link upthread.

Yeah there are the 27% that are effectively unreachable but that isn't enough to win re-election.

We're more concerned about what's going to be left to save in the next 4 months, much less 4 years. Reelection is kind of far down on the list at the moment.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


The reason for the tactic: Republicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats stay largely united and block Trump's first pick. By employing the so-called "nuclear option," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could move to reduce the threshold for clearing a filibuster from 60 votes to 51 votes.

so in other words "we're going to be cowards to preserve a rule on filibusters even though our reasoning means we'll never actually mount one because then the Republicans would change the rules"?
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 7:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [87 favorites]


Democrats lets Nazis walk all over them, film at 11:00.
posted by valkane at 7:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


Can we quit talking about how we're winning culture wars and how many people Trump has lost?

Because losing the population doesn't matter right now unless we're committed to overturning the institution of government as we know it.

And that terrifies me.


This really can't be stated enough. President Bannon's personally stated goal is to destroy the entire establishment of government in this country. Democrats, Republicans, media, all of it. We have to get these assholes out NOW, because if we decide to wait and try to play fair it's not going to matter which way people would like to vote because there sure as hell won't be any elections to vote in.
posted by IAmUnaware at 7:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]


I did my taxes while the news of Yates's firing was breaking, so there is surely some sort of time dilation effect going on here.
posted by Leslie Knope at 7:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


CNN: Democrats consider backing off big battle over Trump's Supreme Court pick

I swear to God, if millions of people marching in the streets of virtually every large and small city across the country on the first two weekends of a Trump Presidency filled with unconstitutional, evil, and incompetent activity can't convince the fucking Democrats in the Senate to show even a tiny amount of backbone, maybe they really are beyond saving.
posted by Copronymus at 7:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [114 favorites]


Early tomorrow morning, we will publish a major story at @theintercept that the government does not want out. Stay tuned.

Could we please quit posting teasers like this? We did this hundreds of times during the campaign and they almost never panned out.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


McConnell and Ryan seem to be quite happy with a president who is many times the tyrant they acted like Obama was so long as he's a Republican.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 7:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


I did my taxes while the news of Yates's firing was breaking

see this is great actually because at least i won't have to worry about doing my taxes this year, surely

things are looking up
posted by poffin boffin at 7:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


hey're going to run a shadow government out of the White House under Bannon's personal direction,

They're going to try, all right, but they won't be able to do it. You can't run the US government with just a handful of people. And there are two factions now inside the White House.

Something's going to happen to Bannon.
posted by My Dad at 7:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Democrats consider backing off big battle over Trump's Supreme Court pick

My god the Democrats' spinelessness is just fucking staggering.
posted by Lyme Drop at 7:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [63 favorites]


McConnell and Ryan seem to be quite happy with a president who is many times the tyrant they acted like Obama was so long as he's a Republican.

they are truly the wolf who cried wolf
posted by prefpara at 7:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


CNN: Democrats consider backing off big battle over Trump's Supreme Court pick

Call all your Senators tomorrow. I'm calling Warner again on my lunch break to ream him for the Tillerson vote, and tell him to filibuster or be primaried. All Dems need to hear the same message loud and clear.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


Something's going to happen to Bannon.

Yeah, he's gonna have another G&T and wake up in the morning, eat a bunch of ibuprofin and write another hideous EO.
posted by valkane at 7:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]


Call all your Senators tomorrow.

can i email? if i use words aloud i will most certainly go to prison for a very long time
posted by poffin boffin at 7:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Fucking Democrats and their entire lack of collective common sense or spines. The GOP is not going to fucking blink guys, you have to stand your ground. ARGH.
posted by supercrayon at 7:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


Yeah, he's gonna have another G&T and wake up in the morning, eat a bunch of ibuprofin and write another hideous EO.

You spelled snort a line of coke wrong.
posted by COD at 7:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


epublicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats stay largely united and block Trump's first pick. By employing the so-called "nuclear option," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could move to reduce the threshold for clearing a filibuster from 60 votes to 51 votes.

So what? None of the fuckers in the Senate - Republican or Democratic - seem to realize that they are rapidly becoming irrelevant. Trump's administration does not care for the established customs of how the government has been run; they are seeing just how much of it they can ignore. They don't need political capital to spend with anyone because they don't envision a government they need to work with that exists beyond the White House. Lose the filibuster? Who cares? The Senate is the 4th ring in a 3 ring circus right now.

Trump's administration is an existential threat to every part of the judicial and legislative branches, and they need to realize that, fast. He doesn't give a shit who he runs over.
posted by nubs at 7:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]


Can we quit talking about how we're winning culture wars and how many people Trump has lost?

Because losing the population doesn't matter right now unless we're committed to overturning the institution of government as we know it.

And that terrifies me.


I honestly can't tell if I'm turning into a crazy person, or if I'm just getting mentally prepared to join le resistance, or something. I feel a little bit like I'm drowning.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


I emailed and called (and left a message -- but I'm assured by staffers that they tally voicemails too).

My script to my senators is that they should not vote on anything, refuse unanimous consent, etc. until the Republican leadership takes action to reign in the executive and its unconstitutional orders regarding immigration and refugees.
posted by R343L at 7:56 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


Can I send very ominous all caps faxes. Like: FILIBUSTER OR BE PRIMARIED. RESIST. TO DO ANY LESS IS TO COLLABORATE.
posted by yasaman at 7:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]


can i email?

No. Emailing is useless, they're as likely to read that as this comment on Metafilter. Call. Show up in person if you can. They record and respond to calls, emails get thrown in the trash folder unread.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


ok it's prison time then
posted by poffin boffin at 7:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


The reason for the tactic: Republicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats stay largely united and block Trump's first pick. By employing the so-called "nuclear option," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could move to reduce the threshold for clearing a filibuster from 60 votes to 51 votes.

In other words, Trump could nominate Richard "Insert Fist A Into Head B" Spencer and some Dems would be like "well, we have to conserve our precious political capital in case he nominates someone BAD next."
posted by delfin at 7:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [51 favorites]


ok it's prison time then

We'll send you packages.
posted by nubs at 7:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


I'm halfway through the jar of tums I got for christmas
posted by flatluigi at 7:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Is there any point in preserving the filibuster if you're never going to use it? At least one way you get the fuckers to do another terrible thing to add on when the bill comes due.

Or am I missing something in the 11-dimensional shit-throwing contest?

(Also, if Congress isn't worried about an executive which doesn't care about the law, then it's not joining the dots.)
posted by Devonian at 8:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Well who could have predicted the GOP would scrap the filibuster the very first thing

The Democrats should be given more time to reformulate their strategy

Two, three months, tops
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Melania's secret plan to continue the legacy of Michelle Obama, and to combat obesity was to get us to march in the streets every. damn. day.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]


T.D. Strange: I have been assured by multiple staffers that competent offices do in fact read email and tally the position the constituent is writing on. My experience is near 100% response rate when I ask for a response to an email (and if I am disappointed that my elected doesn't agree with me on some of those, they at least respond on the same topic). In these circumstances, I vote for an email with a few sentences (that you know are coherent) and a phone call (leaving message or not) with as coherent a version as you can make.
posted by R343L at 8:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


The president’s gross abuse of his executive powers, both in regard to immigration and throughout his presidency, has created a fourth branch of government that operates with little to no transparency and undermines Congress

FINALLY ... A politician with principles.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:02 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


zachlipton: "CNN: Democrats consider backing off big battle over Trump's Supreme Court pick
The reason for the tactic: Republicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats stay largely united and block Trump's first pick. By employing the so-called "nuclear option," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could move to reduce the threshold for clearing a filibuster from 60 votes to 51 votes.
The only argument for this I see is that they're saving the big blockade for if/when he's replacing a justice from the left flank, which would alter the balance far more radically than replacing Scalia. But really, the GOP straight-up stole this nomination from President Obama, so unless he picks Garland (or maaaybe Hardiman, who is relatively centrist), they really should draw the hard line now rather than later when losing means losing the Court for a generation.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]



CNN is calling it the Monday Night Massacre
posted by Jalliah at 8:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


They can kill the filibuster, it's almost assured they will. But it's dead anyway. Democrats using it at all means Republicans will kill it, so leaving it alive only benefits Republicans if ever they were to be in the minority again (oh, to live to see that day...). The only play is to stand strong and force them to confirm a stolen seat on a party line vote. It's not much, but that's the only hand dealt at this point.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]


the Republicans have been warning us for a long time that the expansion of civil liberty protections to black and gay people would lead to the downfall of America... I just didn't realize they were talking about what they were planning to do...
posted by prefpara at 8:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [64 favorites]


The Democrats in the Senate ought to throw the Republican line about letting the people decide on the Supreme Court back in their obstructionist faces. The popular vote went against Trump, so we clearly need to wait for a president who has a popular mandate before confirming any Supreme Court justices. Senate Democrats should hold that line and repeat it to every journalist they talk to every day from now until the Republicans either cave or go through with the "nuclear option." When the Democrats eventually come back into power -- assuming the earth hasn't been obliterated entirely before then -- it will be a lot easier to get things done if the Republicans have already killed the filibuster.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 8:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


If I was Ms. Yates I would frame that fucking letter and give it pride of place on my wall. Well done, Ms. Yates.
posted by emjaybee at 8:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [56 favorites]


So guys, I am sick with apparently massive flu, I think my immune system is just fucked at this point. So because I'm having delirious fever dreams I keep waking up and thinking this is all just a hilarious Metafilter anxiety dream and Trump isn't really president. I swear to god I have never been more glad to be sick just for those precious few minutes I think I hallucinated reality.
posted by corb at 8:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]


Everyone: email Feinstein's staff tonight if you want your thoughts conveyed on the Senate floor tomorrow. As here. Not just Californians!
posted by suelac at 8:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]




The only argument for this I see is that they're saving the big blockade for if/when he's replacing a justice from the left flank, which would alter the balance far more radically than replacing Scalia.

It doesn't matter. If Dems filibuster a later pick, they'll just kill it then. The filibuster isn't worth the paper its printed on.

Maybe the argument could hold if there was a chance to retake the Senate in 2018, but look at that map for Dems and weep. They'd be gambling on Trump not getting another pick for 4 years and Dems winning everything back in at-this-point-rather-dubious-free-elections in 2020.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


From the UK Parliament debate earlier (regarding Trump's muslim ban, not for the petition): The motion passed unanimously in House of Commons this eve condemning "Trump's discriminatory, divisive & counterproductive ban"

It didn't look to be a full house on the vid Devonian posted earlier, but still...

Also yay Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh who is my hillwalking area MP, if not my residency one.
posted by Buntix at 8:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Jonathan Livengood: "The Democrats in the Senate ought to throw the Republican line about letting the people decide on the Supreme Court back in their obstructionist faces. The popular vote went against Trump, so we clearly need to wait for a president who has a popular mandate before confirming any Supreme Court justices."

God yes. The most vexing thing about the last week and change has been Trump acting like he's an FDR or a Reagan rather than the yugest popular vote loser in nearly two centuries. He doesn't have the mandate to name a post office, much less turn the entire federal government on a dime like he's attempting.

Also, I'd thought that the filibuster could only be nixed at the start of each congressional session. But apparently it can happen any time? Where did I get the idea that you could only change Senate rules at the outset?
posted by Rhaomi at 8:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Also, I'd thought that the filibuster could only be nixed at the start of each congressional session. But apparently it can happen any time? Where did I get the idea that you could only change Senate rules at the outset?

That's the case for reconciliation instructions, which are passed at the outset of the new Congress and can't be changed midstream. Not the filibuster, which at its core is simply a rule of Senate order. It can be changed at any time.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


This fake-ass cowboy state senator in Tennessee is so unnerved by hundreds of protestors chanting "Black Lives Matter" in the state capitol while the "state of the state" speech was going on that he's trying to stir up tired old paid protestor trope bullshit.

Lying asshole sir: I was there. We were nurses, librarians, students, workers of Tennessee. Not paid to be there, busting our ass to be there after work to call you on your hateful bullshit.
posted by ghharr at 8:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [83 favorites]


Bush II (The Bushening) also acted like he had a mandate straight out of the gate.

The reason for the tactic: Republicans are considering gutting the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats stay largely united and block Trump's first pick.

Good. Do it. Make them nuke the filibuster. Let the blood be on their hands. If the Democrats can't block their shit, every single piece of shit is on the Republican's hands. Come on, Dems. Dare them to do it. Fuck them if they do, fuck them if they don't, but fuck you Dems if you don't force them to make that choice.
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [80 favorites]


OK. I thought I might be able to hop on here tonight and get back in, but things are moving really fucking fast and I've got planning to do. I'll try again tomorrow.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


The only way you win a war is offense.
posted by valkane at 8:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


A coup-resisting guide by First Dog on the Moon:

Be fierce, furious, and fight! Join the Raccoons of the Resistance!

Includes excellent direct action tactical advice such as: "Now that we know Trump is afraid of stairs and ramps everyone should dress as a short flight of steps or a mild incline"
posted by Buntix at 8:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


So let me tell y'all a little story. Tonight there was a Muslim Solidarity rally on the campus of Texas A&M. I couldn't make it due to my disability (I'm basically bedridden with pain right now) but I've been promoting the event and connecting people over it.

So it turns out this was an event planned not by any group or organization but by one student. She set the time at 8PM so her friend could make it after her lab. She expected maybe 30 people and made a FB event. Then local activists got a hold of it and promoted it all over, made press releases, got the word out. Estimates of turnout are at least 500. She was completely overwhelmed, in a good way.

There were chants against our local Rep who came out for the EO as well. The local Indivisible group had a good hand in promoting things.

This is a moment when little things can snowball and it only takes one person with an idea to DO something.
posted by threeturtles at 8:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [73 favorites]


Mod note: Couple deleted. Gently, folks, if you're having fantasies about self-harm, please stop reading political news and reach out to someone, a friend, a hotline, whatever. You can always reach us at the contact form. If you're not actually fantasizing about that, please don't bring idle talk about it in here; it's a hard time for everybody and self-harm talk ends up being not helpful for folks who are at their most vulnerable. Again - self-care, take breaks, let us know if you need to talk.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [50 favorites]


Paul Bailey isn't the only one trying to label all the protesters as being bankrolled.

(the responses are a seagull chorus of Soros)
posted by flatluigi at 8:25 PM on January 30, 2017


They're so out of practice. Like sending the interns to the WH press gaggles, this is an opportunity of ascendancy for any junior Congresspeople who still have the fire.
posted by rhizome at 8:26 PM on January 30, 2017


Maxine Waters going after him on Russia tomorrow morning.
posted by rhizome at 8:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


And here's good ol' boy Ted Cruz, so far up Trump's arse he can almost touch the partially-digested feet of Chris Christie.
posted by Devonian at 8:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]


The reason the Right Wingnuts believe the demonstrators are paid to do it is because the only crowds they ever get are paid shills. (obvious Trump's Mirror) And Trumpy was pissed about the attendance for the inauguration because he thought Reincy had assured him he'd paid for a million-and-a-half people... and 3/4 of the paid shills were no-shows.
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


How much money do they think Soros has anyway? Sheesh.
posted by emjaybee at 8:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Hm, I checked my mailbox when I came home from work. Still no check from Soros. Where's my money?
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


Two hours ago, when I posted this, Kai Penn had raised about $718K in his campaign and was going for 3/4 of a million.

He is now only about 10 grand away from that target.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


A huge part of the reason the presidency has become so powerful is the absolute collapse of Congress's willingness to make hard choices or get anything done or, you know, fucking legislate. We're stuck with the imperial presidency until Congress gets its act together.

The reason the presidency is currently powerful is that Congress* agrees with the president. Mealy-mouthed statements notwithstanding, there are tons of things that Congress could do to restrain and redirect the president, including passing all sorts of laws or reiterating the meaning of existing ones. But it actively chooses not to. During the Obama presidency, Congress was quite active blocking Obama's ambitions, though of course unable to pass significant legislation without his signature. Now that it has the signature, it's switching back to active law-creation rather than than law-blocking. It's act is very much together, and always has been. It's just that for six years that act was NO, and now it's a passive yes, plus a very active set of bills dismantling much of the liberal state that are being busily written at this very moment. It's not an imperial presidency, it's cooperation between the branches.

[* By which of course I mean the Republicans who control Congress.]
posted by chortly at 8:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]




*yawns* that's good to hear, threeturtles, cause my partner got real pissed tonight and went "he thinks he can fire her on a moment's notice? Fuck that guy!" and the upshot is that it's the two of us and a very sulky small dog going downtown now with a couple of candles, a portable speaker, and a carefully curated list of songs to sing in protest of this latest and shittiest action.

I imagine it will just be us, but I threw it on a couple of networks anyway before we left. Who knows?
posted by sciatrix at 8:31 PM on January 30, 2017




Here's something people outside the US can do:

Copy & pasting from a friend:
'A way to take action on Twitter: The account @Trump_Regrets re-tweets those who voted for Trump but are now displeased/disillusioned. I took the first ten or so Tweets I saw on the account and replied with variations of:
"Call your representative, esp. if they're Republican. Let them know your thoughts! Make them hear you http://www.whoismyrepresentative.com/ "
One regretter responded "this sounds like it might be helpful. Can you let us know how you get on with your representative?" I went on to say how our representatives work for us, and we should be voicing our complaints to them.
I have no clue if this person will follow-through, but this seems like a promising way to encourage those who voted for Trump, but are now unhappy with him, to speak up.
If you decide to do this, note that you could be opening yourself up to a nasty reply, so just be ready for that. I recommend refraining from condemnation or condescension, because that will only shut them off. I also don't think it's the time or place to try to convince them of every liberal gripe. But I think a message can be sent to representatives if we can encourage Trump voters to call in about their individual complaints.'

Also, if you want to up your safety while doing this, here is a link from the previous thread: Twitter Activist Security
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 8:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


Someone sent The Daily Show the inauguration cake. It's beautiful. #trumpcake on Twitter will have them decide what to do with it.
posted by Torosaurus at 8:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


The torture for me is not knowing when the chaos is due to stunning incompetence, and when the chaos is deliberate misdirection. Whichever the case, I don't think it does us any good to use demeaning nicknames to describe him or his monstrous entourage. We are at risk of losing our country, and I don't want to be distracted from that.
posted by DeWalt_Russ at 8:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


They seem incapable of believing that huge numbers of people would oppose them without being paid to do so.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 8:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Did that asshole just say "It's sad that our politics have become so politicized"?

It's sad that our tautologies have become so tautological.
posted by donatella at 8:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


The reason the presidency is currently powerful is that Congress* agrees with the president. Mealy-mouthed statements notwithstanding, there are tons of things that Congress could do to restrain and redirect the president, including passing all sorts of laws or reiterating the meaning of existing ones. But it actively chooses not to.

Trump hasn't done anything yet remotely outside of mainstream Republican thought. And to the extent he might be a Russia puppet, they're perfectly fine with that in exchange for tax cuts.

We're not close to impeachment here, this is still only the warm up act. If we make it to March, the real shock and awe will be the FY 2018 budget. Just get ready for zeroing out all science funding and everything that looks remotely liberal, because that's the baseline.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


Too much to weed through in this thread and I'm on my damn phone, so I apologize if it's already been linked, but here's a spreadsheet of senators'/AGs'/governors' stances on the ban. If nothing else, a little order amidst the chaos.
posted by materialgirl at 8:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Judge Eckhardt of Texas wears her pussy hat to court.
posted by emjaybee at 8:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]


More on Eckhardt and whether the hat was ok.
posted by emjaybee at 8:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


so do conservatives just come right out with the "SOROS = JEW" thing these days, or is it still confined to subtext?
posted by indubitable at 8:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]




The immigration ban is a headfake and we're falling for it

I agree that it's testing and also agree that they could be playing the 'ask for more then you want game'. That's a common political tactic. Used it myself many times in political arenas with lots of success.

That article is wrong about the NSC change and state department slipping throug. Maybe they wanted that to happen and this EO be a distraction but it didn't work. The NSC change has been all over the place, news, articles, blogs, discussion boards and social media. People still noticed and are talking about it.
posted by Jalliah at 8:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Breaking: obscure law requires Sen confirmation for WH aide like Bannon to serve on NSC. 50 U.S. Code § 3021

See, if we had a congress interested in checks and balances, this would be useful. Since we don't, if someone like the ACLU sues, they'll just change the law to allow Bannon on.

That's the difference between a functioning legislature interested in governing for the good of the nation, and the Republican party interested only in looting and power.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


Another new rule passed by the House that makes representatives' expenses private and non-discoverable: cite. Jesus, these guys aren't even pretending to be ethical anymore.
posted by suelac at 8:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


That's the case for reconciliation instructions, which are passed at the outset of the new Congress and can't be changed midstream. Not the filibuster, which at its core is simply a rule of Senate order. It can be changed at any time.

This is my vague recollection, so take it with a grain of salt:

Basically the 'nuclear option' relies on the fact that if a parliamentary action is questioned by a member, they can appeal to the chair for a ruling. The chair's ruling can then be further appealed to the whole body on a 50% + 1 basis.

So even though the rule as it currently stands might say that 60 votes are needed to pass legislation / confirmations of a particular sort, the rule can always be challenged and that challenge is subject to a regular majority vote.

The Dems did this exact thing to take away the filibuster for all nominations except for the SC, so basically there is no difference procedurally between what they did and what the Republicans could do.

(Now, if they had done what certain people were begging them to do and kill the filibuster entirely at the beginning of the Obama presidency, I think we'd be looking at a much different nation right now. Buuuuuut-- water under the bridge, hindsight is 20/20, can't teach an old dog new tricks, no use crying over spilt milk, the grass is always greener on the other side.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Everyone: email Feinstein's staff tonight if you want your thoughts conveyed on the Senate floor tomorrow. As here. Not just Californians!

They want 2-4 sentences and it's amazing how easily you can start with why you marched and still convey a ton of detailed anger about Sessions and Bannon, and fit in a dire warning about the groundswell of people watching Congress and connecting across political lines and getting engaged in the political process in opposition to everyone who enables this administration, with your good friend the em dash.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


rocket: The immigration ban is a headfake and we're falling for it

I really fucking wish that people would abandon the idea of all this shit being distractions for other shit instead of Bannon & co just trying to do as much evil as possible at once. They're not playing chess, they're evil motherfuckers running around with glee now that they finally have power.

It also continues to do the thing I'm really hating seeing more and more where things like this are somehow still being treated as theoreticals, as if nobody's currently being hurt and responding in any way to it is playing into their hands and letting them escalate to what they REALLY want.

There's no escalation. There's nothing more to escalate to.
posted by flatluigi at 8:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [132 favorites]


Doing my part to voice how upset I am about Scott Pruitt and other nominees: it was really eye-opening to see that Dianne Feinstein (CA) had straight-up confirmed every nominee so far, and Kamala Harris confirmed Nikki Haley. I tried calling Feinstein and Kamala Harris' offices today, but got "voicemail box full" messages. So I faxed them my letters instead, and FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, walked down to Feinstein's office and submitted my letter to the rep there. A nice young man in a suit took my letter, asked me what my concerns were, and noted them down on a clipboard.

I agree the immigration ban is a head-fake, and what really matters are these confirmations, Bannon's evil backdoor non-written deals, and the Supreme Court nominees. We need the Democrats to stand up to this and it's up to us to hold all accountable.
posted by hampanda at 8:44 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


hampanda, the immigration ban absolutely and 100% really matters.
posted by flatluigi at 8:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]


Breaking: obscure law requires Sen confirmation for WH aide like Bannon to serve on NSC. 50 U.S. Code § 3021

Norm Ornstein actually tweeted that the other day, but it was kind of offhand.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


This is my vague recollection, so take it with a grain of salt:

That's basically it. Calling the constitutional question, it's parliamentarian mumbojumbo that comes down to: the filibuster isn't in the constitution, so it's continued existence as a Senate rule is subject ultimately only to 50+1.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


There's no escalation. There's nothing more to escalate to.

Not quite true. There's still an escalation in the sense that there are perhaps still loyal patriots in the government that Bannon's inquisition has not yet rooted out. But, still, the way to prevent that is to react now and get Trump and Bannon the fuck out of the White House ASAP, before their purge progresses any further.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:53 PM on January 30, 2017


Leaked video of Bannon and Trump.
posted by dhens at 8:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Breaking: obscure law requires Sen confirmation for WH aide like Bannon to serve on NSC. 50 U.S. Code § 3021

Do read the replies on that tweet, it appears to be subject to more debate.
posted by nightrecordings at 8:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Well! Obama’s Protections for L.G.B.T. Workers Will Remain Under Trump.

While I am super glad that this stays for now, 1) I'm reminded of the comment upthread about Trump possibly doing the typical abuser thing of trying to throw out minimal nice moves to throw victims off guard, 2) if Trump knew politics he'd have never floated this when he's slashing open GOP rifts and the same guys who hate his affirmation of support for the LGBT community love Pence, 3) if this wasn't some shitty short con to get people worried before playing the benevolent, merciful ruler, and they did just float a trial balloon only to have it popped, the thought of more activist pressure is getting to him - keep it up!
posted by jason_steakums at 8:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


So let me tell y'all a little story. Tonight there was a Muslim Solidarity rally on the campus of Texas A&M.... So it turns out this was an event planned not by any group or organization but by one student.... She expected maybe 30 people and made a FB event. Then local activists got a hold of it and promoted it all over, made press releases, got the word out. Estimates of turnout are at least 500.

This is exactly how the Sacramento Airport protest happened yesterday, and that one person was me. I looked on social media for information on any planned airport protests in Sacramento and all I found were questions about whether anyone was planning an airport protest in Sacramento. I sort of reverse-trolled and reverse-engineered that situation and began responding to people's questions with "Yes. Noon. Terminal B." They believed me, and it spread.

Here is what I learned:

People want to show up. They're motivated to show up. But they still feel like they need to be told, or asked, to show up. People here were asking whether any groups were organizing a protest. And I'm like, people, YOU ARE THE PEOPLE! You don't need a group to organize your protest!

But you can't say that, because in doing so you're telling THEM to organize. Most people don't want to be organizers -- they want to be protesters. They just want to show up.

I learned on Sunday that you can make people -- strangers -- show up by telling them to. Act like the authoritative, motivated organizer and people will do what you tell them to do.

I'm pretty much the most introverted person you'll ever find, but I totally anonymously organized a protest of 500-700 motivated people just by telling 10-12 strangers something they wanted to hear, and encouraging them to spread the word. Then I went to the protest and pretended not to know anything and happily regressed to being the introvert I am.

We all have power. Mine is tricking people into thinking a protest has been organized, when all that really needs to happen is that they show up to protest, organization or no.

Find your power. You might end up realizing that it falls within your comfort zone.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [297 favorites]


There's no escalation. There's nothing more to escalate to.

The purge has only been of political appointees. There's around 7000 appointed positions, some 700 requiring confirmation, and 2 million career federal employees with greater protections from arbitrary dismissals (if lesser authority and freedom to push back on policy). It's a long way from over, and their war on the career staff that makes up most of the federal government is only just beginning.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:59 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


The scuttlebutt that I saw was not so much that he's keeping the LGBT protections in place as he didn't issue an EO about it, which apparently exists or existed.
posted by rhizome at 9:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I learned on Sunday that you can make people -- strangers -- show up by telling them to. Act like the authoritative, motivated organizer and people will do what you tell them to do.

Interesting, it's the same effect as that advice when you are at the scene of an accident or injury - you don't say "someone call 911!" you point to someone and say "You! Call 911!"
posted by jason_steakums at 9:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]


-- Were you not paying attention for the last year? Seriously.
posted by futz at 7:13 PM on January 30 [+] [!]


-- I said MILD hope but thanks for the free snark. I do read the news.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:15 PM on January 30
[3 favorites +] [!]


Hi lagomorphius, I am terribly sorry for my snarky knee-JERK comment. It was uncalled for and I want to apologise.
posted by futz at 9:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


>oh, Mattis is incensed, is he? Resign like a man with dignity, then.

>What, so Trump can put in someone who can nuke the planet? No thank you. He has a clear moral and ethical duty not to betray his uniform and his oaths.


Oh, Mattis gave up his ethics and oath when he dutifully stood next to Trump with a stupid grin on his face as Trump announced his unconstitutional ban on immigration.

Who stood up for the constitution?

Sally Yates -- a powerful woman of courage. Mattis -- a cowardly lickspittle.
posted by JackFlash at 9:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]


People want to show up. They're motivated to show up. But they still feel like they need to be told, or asked, to show up. People here were asking whether any groups were organizing a protest. And I'm like, people, YOU ARE THE PEOPLE! You don't need a group to organize your protest!

Well sure, but that's just not the way it works. Someone usually has to light a match, there just isn't that kind of "village plaza" kind of second nature in society anymore, aside from the internet. You provided the bridge, go you! And thanks!

And from what I understand about activist organizing, it's good that it only took like one match to light the fire.
posted by rhizome at 9:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Photo #1 here.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [43 favorites]


Photo #1 here.

Thank you. I needed that.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


T.D. Strange: You're misunderstanding me, I'm saying there's very little for them and the Nazis following/collaborating with them to "escalate" to since they're already doing their fucking best at pushing out as much evil as they can.

People are spreading discourse that nobody should get angry or resist in response to them (and certainly not PUNCHING them or anything like that!) because, obviously, that'd just make them act worse in retaliation!

But there's no "worse." The speed at which all this evil is being vomited out into the world and the absolute lack of any effort to hide what they're doing is proof of that. There's absolutely room for more bad things to happen right now, but there's zero indication that they aren't going to try to check off every box on that list before they stop -- whether it's through resistance or through the simple fact of them running out of things to do. You can't act worse than they already are.
posted by flatluigi at 9:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]


Hot takes on Medium from tech dudes can really wait their turn, even though they're dished out (with that stylesheet intimating authority) like a hot take canteen.
posted by holgate at 9:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]


NorthernLite, thank you. I wouldn't have seen that photo if it weren't for you and it is powerful and positive.
posted by samthemander at 9:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Is there any evidence that Trump has ever been in nice guy mode during his entire public life?

Any time he wants something from someone, and can't get it by bribery, intimidation or deception.

He was in this mode with his supporters pretty much the entire campaign. Watch some of his campaign speeches.
posted by Coventry at 9:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Time and time again things that impact marginalized groups are minimized, subordinated, treated as distractions to whatever REAL MAJOR CONCERN or TRUE NARRATIVE that those "Here's a TED Talk Thought Experiment" white liberals want to focus on.

Hear, hear. This is not a hypothetical or a game of Risk or a diversion. The Muslim Ban will destroy many, many actual people's lives; it will get them killed. It makes the world more dangerous for everyone and may have profound geopolitical impact. It has already caused a ton of suffering. The people who died in Quebec due in no small part to Trump's campaign of hate aren't trivial.

Can even more enormous fucked-up things happen? Of course. But let's not minimize this one.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [30 favorites]



Interesting, it's the same effect as that advice when you are at the scene of an accident or injury - you don't say "someone call 911!" you point to someone and say "You! Call 911!"


Also, when your at buffet dinner and the host says come and get it and everyone sits there waiting for someone else to start it. And then as soon as one person says 'okay I'll go' and then there is a mad rush behind them.
I am now always that person and the weird thing is people thank me for it. "Oh thank god, someone else took the lead'
posted by Jalliah at 9:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, everybody:

@maura_healey - I don't wake up every day looking for a way to sue Donald Trump. But we are 10 days in and I've filed three cases already.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [70 favorites]




The Muslim Ban will destroy many, many actual people's lives

Just saw a share on facebook - a friend of a friend was a volunteer conselor at America's Camp, the free summer camp for kids who lost a parent on 9/11. She's not even American, she's a dual Canadian-Iranian citizen, now in med school in Canada, and engaged to a guy living in the US at a different med school. Can they still see each other now? Who knows? No real clarity even 72 hours later.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Not a Jacobin fan, but, hey, one writer agrees with my Bannon hypothesis. Why does Trump tolerate Bannon's presence? What is Bannon supposed to bring to the table? And what has he delivered so far?
posted by My Dad at 9:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


"Another new rule passed by the House that makes representatives' expenses private and non-discoverable: cite. "

I knew before I clicked that we could thank Aaron Schock!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Sally Yates' confirmation hearing.

Whoa. That's amazing. A question directly on point and directed by the nominee for her replacement.

Hypocrisy meter just went full tilt.
posted by JackFlash at 9:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


What is Bannon supposed to bring to the table? And what has he delivered so far?

Imagination.
posted by rhizome at 9:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'd really, really, really like it if privileged white liberals ... dismiss things that ... affect people who aren't privileged white liberals

It's not being called a headfake because it has no effects on innocent people. It's being called a headfake because it costs Trump nothing and will very likely get overturned, gaining him nothing.

Keep your eye on the ball. Where "the ball" is freeing up hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian oil to be sold to US consumers.
posted by miyabo at 9:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


The military fuck up That's largely been unconnected upon is going to be the stuff of terrorist propaganda for decades.
posted by Artw at 9:24 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]


One of the few sources of comfort at the moment is seeing Bannon get more and more attention than you-know-who, more TV mentions, a higher profile and thinking about how corrosive that must be to the thoughts of a narcissist, how much it must rankle. So that maybe you start feeling a little less committed to your right-hand man, a little more insecure about his motivation for wanting to be in the inner circle. (Hey, I can dream!)
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I'm with you, FelliniBlank.

I think using "President Bannon" more and more, like today's political cartoon also kind of did, is something everyone should keep doing. Maybe Trump's ego will push Bannon off a cliff before any of Bannon's actions ever will.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]


it costs Trump nothing

It sure as hell looks like it's costing him. His own erstwhile allies are ranging from wavering to outright opposition. He's getting heavy media scrutiny and looking pretty terrible about now. He's got his opposition fired up and motivated.

Sure, none of this matters if he's ready to enact a coup right now, but if he's not, then he's bleeding support he can't afford as long as much of the mechanism of government is still loyal to the way power is supposed to be divided among the branches.
posted by jackbishop at 9:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]


One of the few sources of comfort at the moment is seeing Bannon get more and more attention than you-know-who, more TV mentions, a higher profile and thinking about how corrosive that must be to the thoughts of a narcissist, how much it must rankle. So that maybe you start feeling a little less committed to your right-hand man, a little more insecure about his motivation for wanting to be in the inner circle. (Hey, I can dream!)

My dream is that 'President Bannon' will be in one of skits when Alec Baldwin does SNL on the 11th because we know Donald is going to be watching that one.
posted by Jalliah at 9:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]


Where "the ball" is freeing up hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian oil to be sold to US consumers.

There's a lot of balls in the air. Russian payoffs, the pro quo for winning him the election. Voting rights crackdown to ensure the long promised Republican permanent majority. The Kushner Kleptocracy ever present in the background siphoning away public resources. The general Republican goals of Ryan/Pence/Priebus to end the welfare state and end all social progress.

There'll also be shock and distraction tactics. The immigration EO may be one. But resistance needs a focus too, and real people's hurt can also become the face of opposition to everything else. No one thing is "the" thing that mobilizes people against this, it's all of it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


Relevant Twitter thread from comedian/commentator Felonious Munk:
Replacing officials who refuse to follow unlawful orders is another step towards blatant, outward, fully-realized fascism. It's not hidden — Rasclat Al Ghul (@Felonious_munk) January 31, 2017

It's not coming. It's here. You're waiting for camps, registries, killings, etc. those are the RESULTS of fascism. Fascism comes first.

By the time we get to that point, the fascism is so engrained in the society it will take a revolution to stop it.
posted by nicebookrack at 9:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [74 favorites]



Hi lagomorphius, I am terribly sorry for my snarky knee-JERK comment. It was uncalled for and I want to apologise.

Thanks. We're all on the edge right now.
posted by lagomorphius at 9:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


...as long as much of the mechanism of government is still loyal to the way power is supposed to be divided among the branches.

So, like, another two-three days?
posted by neroli at 9:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


My dream is that 'President Bannon' will be in one of skits when Alec Baldwin does SNL on the 11th because we know Donald is going to be watching that one.

I prefer to think of him as "Reich Chancellor Bannon," but sure, whatever most rankles Viewer One.
posted by contraption at 9:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


The way the Trump presidency is beginning it is safe to say it will end in calamity. It is almost a certainty. Even Republicans know this!
--@JohnWDean

That's John "one of our nation's foremost living experts in Presidential calamities" Dean talking here.
posted by zachlipton at 9:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]


Well sure, but that's just not the way it works. Someone usually has to light a match, there just isn't that kind of "village plaza" kind of second nature in society anymore, aside from the internet. You provided the bridge, go you! And thanks!

And from what I understand about activist organizing, it's good that it only took like one match to light the fire.


I hear you.

I won't offend activists now by calling myself one, because I burned out on activism, in progressive stages, throughout the 1990s and 2000s. I am well aware of the Keystone Kopness and circular firing squads that have accompanied lefty/democrat activism since I came of voting age. It completely exhausted me to the point of apathy, and I'd say that I've not been politically "active" in any real sense of the word(s) for 10 years or so. But, this burned out person is fired up.

Look I've done organizing for real, and I would never go back to it by choice, but one thing has changed since I did it before: The prevalence of internet, broadly -- how online our lives are -- and social media, specifically.

Organizing used to literally require going door to door. In that context, one match wouldn't do it.

Now, "organizing" can be accomplished in a few strategic tweets. Engage someone who's motivated enough and who has a significant number of engaged followers, and one match can absolutely light the fire.

And I am dangerously close to a Billy Joel earworm here, so I'm going to back away slowly.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


Some of the articles floating around about the possibility of a Hardiman pick for the court are interesting, from the unnamed source here saying Trump thinks he might be the most conservative judge who can be voted in right now, to this pundit from a law enforcement background hyping up his cop-friendly bonafides which would definitely please Trump. And I bet the strongest reason Trump's considering him is the nepotism angle that Trump's sister is pushing for Hardiman. According to 538 Hardiman's pretty centrist, so I can see the whole "he's probably the only one who can get through" thing just being Trump's excuse for picking family over party since the GOP would be wanting someone like Gorsuch, because he fucking knows he could get a further right judge through.

Where it gets tricky is that if Hardiman actually is pretty centrist like 538 says it would incentivize the Dems to back off of a filibuster threat which would royally piss off the Dem base right now after they doubled down on it. The best way forward in that case is to probably filibuster anyways and act all shocked that the Republicans would pick the nuclear option and oh, no, this guy is the last thing we want, ohhh nooo we are defeeated... and then Scalia gets replaced with the lesser of a few evils that are on the table.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


I mean, except then we have no filibuster for the next Supreme Court nominee if there's another one.
posted by zachlipton at 9:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I mean, except then we have no filibuster for the next Supreme Court nominee if there's another one.

They'd get rid of the filibuster immediately at the next one, then.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]


They will nuke the filibuster the minute it looks like a threat. I'd rather Dems take that sad reality and turn it into a statement of strength.
posted by emjaybee at 9:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]


There's no filibuster now. It's dead now or later, unless the country survives 4 years of Trump and Democratic normalcy magically returns in 2020 with no more Court openings.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


I want to second qcubed here, with vehemence: don't you fucking dare pull this smarter-than-thou "look out, sheeple, the real story is over here" bullshit when it's registry and detainment time for innocent Muslim Americans like me. Because it's just an excuse for you to sit at your computer and nod your head feeling smart, maybe tweeting some theories, while your neighbors and community members are being dragged off to the figurative or probably literal cattle cars.
posted by yasaman at 9:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [177 favorites]


I won't have a chance to listen to the new Pod Save America ep until tomorrow, but I'm already in love with the episode title - "Protest is the new brunch."

If anyone thinks liberals are going to lose their appetite for brunch, think again. Every weekend, hungover and going back for seconds and thirds.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


Ha, Maddow has the Sessions/Yates tape.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


*yawns* Then, of course, the danger comes when you learn how to organize people on that level, you get addicted to the awe inspiring power and... ah, humility of achieving even temporary unity among that many people, and you get so sucked into building more and more unity and cohesion and momentum that you burn yourself out entirely as you forget to balance paid work and self care with those little proud hits of I did that and community obligation.

...not that I would know from experience or anything. But that kind of spreading motivation, getting used to dropping the little spark when critical masses of people clearly want to be involved with doing something, gently delegating roles and making people feel appreciated and valued for their contributions even as they second guess themselves, because it takes a while for folks to realize that something imperfect is infinitely better than nothing... It's all small stuff, but it can be hellishly hard emotional labor all its own, and I think one thing the Internet does is make it all move so much faster. Unless I'm just being rosy eyed about activism before my day, anyway.

Ugh, I don't know. That kind of gentle leadership is so subtle, but it works so well if you can just sustain it, and on the gripping hand I have no idea how to translate that labor into something that keeps my family fed and my household clean and my mortgage paid. Especially when all that delicate nudging to start things and encourage people to delegate some of emotional labor by loving each other works best when it's subtle--I am actually second guessing laying out my thought processes here because it feels rather sociopathic of me to have them--and therefore lends itself to being overlooked and devalued.

Aw, hell, I'm worried about burnout again. And I can't decide if I want to try to turn the smoldering embers of we can do better if we try into a steam engine or a hearth fire.
posted by sciatrix at 10:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


Is it just me, or has today been like 97 hours long?

As a variation on
http://projects.metafilter.com/5139/One-hour-a-week-for-political-change
maybe some of us need to go on one hour a day for political change.

I wrote my senators today! There were protests outside the US embassy in Ottawa today and I should be there for if there's some tomorrow.
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]


I also want to nth qcubed's point about calling the Muslim Ban a "headfake" being a really shitty act of so-called solidarity.

I'd also like to bring our attention back to this piece from Harper's which was linked in one of the previous political threads.
"One of ACT UP’s most important principles was simultaneity of action. ACT UP never worked by consensus, never demanded the full agreement of all its members for any individual action to go forward. If you wanted to get arrested doing needle exchange as a way of bringing attention to the necessity of clean-needle programs, you could do that. If someone else wanted to interrupt mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in order to protest the Catholic Church’s campaign to keep condoms out of public schools, she could do that. As long as the gestures were concrete, members didn’t try to stop one another from addressing the crisis however they felt was right."
we are a movement of millions. We can diversify our energies and our efforts. Some of us maintain a priority on stopping the confirmation of Betsy DeVos and working with our allies in education to rally opposition to her nomination. Some of us really care about Russian oil. A lot of us really care about our immigrant colleagues. They're all valid and, collectively, we have enough imagination to be worried about all of them and to coordinate and to focus in our own individual ways.
posted by bl1nk at 10:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [83 favorites]


And on a slightly less navel gazing and self indulgent point, let me add my own support to q cubed and yasaman. Keeping my immigrant friends and colleagues and family safe, as safe as I can? That is a fucking prize to fight for. Besides, it's pretty clear that these fuckers are throwing everything they can think of at us in the hopes of tiring us out, because they are incompetent at people. Especially our kind of people.

If I see anyone else argue that standing up for people like the woman who listened to me cry about my hard work and my failed experiments at least once a week for four years, and somehow still managed to find ways to buoy my spirits--if I see anyone else argue that standing up for her is a headfake? I swear I will rip a strip out of their hide. It's only dumb luck she wasn't affected; she was even going to travel back to Iran briefly to visit family while she transitioned to her new job, but moving to her new city took longer than anticipated.

This is a real cost to human lives. It is not a fucking drill. And it is not something we can or should be distracted from.
posted by sciatrix at 10:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [37 favorites]


The Nazis stole a bunch of money, too, but they are remembered for what they did to the people. The money stuff is important and imo is likely his main motivation, but the human toll is what really matters when all is said and done.
posted by gatorae at 10:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]


Honestly, I'm getting pretty tired with the "you're all sheeple! Sheeple!" voices right now, who think the most important thing to do when we're trying to fight fascism is to call us idiots for either liking something or opposing something. Who try to make conspiracy theories out of Russian oil, or Mattis smiling at his shitty Chinese pen given to him by Trump, or what have you. Let people organize, let everyone fight in their own way. Fight the goddamn fascists, not people's hope and good feelings about a success.
posted by corb at 10:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]




As fun as the sitting on Bannon's lap cartoon is I still prefer this one.
posted by ckape at 10:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


While I agree that the "headfake" article is casually racist and its prescriptions are harmful and authoritarian, I did learn from it first that Trump purged the State Department over the weekend, so it's true I was distracted by the ban EO to that extent. I also agree with these parts:
It is a much bigger deal that the DHS felt they could ignore a federal court than than Trump signed an EO blocking green card holders in the first place. It is a much bigger deal that Trump removed a permanent military presence from the NSC than that he issued a temporary stay on immigration. The immigration ban may be more viscerally upsetting, but the other moves are potentially far more dangerous.
...but that doesn't change the fact that, as bl1nk points out, as a mob, we have attention to spare.

Also, I think the "headfake" author underestimates what a big deal it is that so many people were activated to come out and protest. "Protests alone" might not effect much visible change, but simply bringing people together around a common cause is huge.
posted by Coventry at 10:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Two hours ago, when I posted this, Kai Penn had raised about $718K in his campaign and was going for 3/4 of a million.

it's kal. with an L. it's really not a difficult or confusingly foreign name to spell.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]




Y'all, MetaFilter is going to be the last living uninterrupted internet community epistolary link between the 9/11 attacks and the Trump dictatorship, or the Trump impeachment, whichever.

Political science students in foreign universities are going to study us, is what I'm saying.
posted by nicebookrack at 10:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [69 favorites]


Political science students in foreign universities are going to study us, is what I'm saying.

Well then I'd better say something profound: despite having seen him many times before, tonight is the first time I noticed that Jeff Sessions has a whole smirky Dana Carvey Church Lady thing going on.
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


"Pancakes, Beanplating, and Vibrating Brooms - The Early 21st Century Was A Land Of Contrasts." Dissertation
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]


Section I: The Naming of the Steves
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]


I went to see my psychiatrist today.

Me: I can't tell if it's because I'm super crazy right now, but this feels way worse to me than post 9/11.

Him: OH NO IT IS WAAAY WORSE!
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 10:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [98 favorites]


An Investigation of How These People Got Their Cats Wedged Into My Dissertation and Why.
posted by jaduncan at 10:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


"He'll Never Win the Primary": Donald Trump and the Underestimation of Fascism
posted by nicebookrack at 10:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]


I sincerely hope there are idiotic memos about which opposition measure are headfakes and which are the real thing circulating around the White House right now.
posted by chrchr at 10:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


The political scientists studying this thread will all be Tehhund.
posted by zachlipton at 10:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [39 favorites]


And they will all be eating Dippin' Dots.
posted by mochapickle at 10:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]


I really don't know what to make of the many "the real story is over here" pieces that keep refusing to die. These articles infuriate me because they're all real stories, they're all big daels. Some stories are bigger than others, and some represent different levels of urgency, but they're all real in that they're likely to fuck up a lot of people's lives and/or subvert democracy in some dangerous way. As you know, I post a lot of links here, links about various news stories. And the common theme among most of them is that they fall into one of two categories: somebody said something ridiculously stupid, and/or something is happening that will hurt people and weaken important institutions that we all depend on. And there's a lot of stories in the second category to post because such things keep happening frequently.

The immigration/refugee executive order is, simply, morally wrong. There are a lot of other reasons why it's bad policy, badly rolled out, etc..., but at it's core, it's just wrong. It's not a game and it's not part of some 12-dimensional-chess plan to distract us from something else. It's a thing that's happened, and it's wrong. And we're going to fight it, whether or not some guy thinks it's a "headfake." Because it's wrong.
posted by zachlipton at 10:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]


"but that doesn't change the fact that, as bl1nk points out, as a mob, we have attention to spare."

Not only can we care about more than one thing at a time, but, as they say, Al Capone was brought down on tax evasion. Aaron Schock got 24 felony charges because his office decor was so outre it prompted reporters to start sniffing and they uncovered all kinds of malfeasance. If immigration shenanigans is what gets people emotional and opposing Trump, and telling their Congresscritters that, HOORAY FOR THAT, it's not like anyone's going to be all "Oh, Congress got Trump to back down on his Muslim ban, NOW I TRUST THAT NICE YOUNG MAN!"

Yeah, our Congresscritters have to be at least a little strategic in what they oppose and how they spend their political capital in opposing Trump (I can swallow Dems voting for Mattis because they think he's a) within the normal bounds of conservative terrible and b) unlikely to start a nuclear war), but us opposing ALL THE THINGS and FIGHTING MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME is part of where that capital comes from and either makes them responsive or makes them run scared.

"I went to see my psychiatrist today.
Me: I can't tell if it's because I'm super crazy right now, but this feels way worse to me than post 9/11.
Him: OH NO IT IS WAAAY WORSE!"


Yeah my shrink and I cried together.

posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]


I honestly can't tell if I'm turning into a crazy person, or if I'm just getting mentally prepared to join le resistance, or something. I feel a little bit like I'm drowning.

So, I've had longstanding problems with anxiety, and my Testosterone made it worse. My docs and I have been working on finding a balance, and we thought found one. But then Trump actually became the fucking President.

I saw both my Endo and my Psychiatrist, and asked them. "Is my anxiety spiraling out of control, or is everything really horrid right now?"
Both of them answered: "No, things are really bad, This isn't just you. But by you being conscious of this, you can work to keep how you react to these events under control."

That was last Thursday, Jan 26th.
posted by spinifex23 at 10:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]


Reminder that the UK is with you: thousands protest.

A friend of mine was at the Cardiff protest, which featured protestors ranging from
hardened left-leaning activists to people who had never been on a demonstration before...Jim Gray, a student, said he had been shopping for trainers nearby when he saw someone with an anti-Trump placard. “I followed them and here I am. It suddenly made sense to me. I’d been worrying about the travel ban and this seems a way of making my views known. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
Also a woman with a sign "impolite grandmothers say dump on Trump".
posted by Pink Frost at 10:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]




Sally Yates predicted her choice today during her confirmation hearing.

@yottapoint

Amazing. Sally Yates at her confirmation hearing answering her job-ending Q. Look who's asking. Via @charles_gaba

posted by Coventry at 10:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]


ACLU and others are calling for people to show up to the Sessions hearing in DC tomorrow.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]


Omigod. That Sessions/Yates video. Omg.

Anyone know if he voted to confirm her in the end?
posted by saturday_morning at 10:53 PM on January 30, 2017


Anyway someone could get that Yates/Sessions video on the Times Square Jumbotron running 24/7?
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 10:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Warren Leight, who was the showrunner of SVU among other things, described the Sessions/Yates video as: "This is the most heavy-handed foreshadowing I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot."

I mean, the guy was in charge of a show where nothing ever happened without being telegraphed in advance and he thinks this is too much, so I'm pretty sure 2017's writers should take the note.
posted by zachlipton at 11:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [47 favorites]


Worth glancing at I think (npd relationship survivor): Narcissists, Narcissistic Supply and Sources of Supply:
Question: Could negative input serve as Narcissistic Supply (NS)?

Answer: Yes, it can. NS includes all forms of attention - both positive and negative: fame, notoriety, adulation, fear, applause, approval. Whenever the narcissist gets attention, positive or negative, whenever he is in the "limelight", it constitutes NS. If he can manipulate people or influence them – positively or negatively – it qualifies as NS.

Even quarrelling with people and confronting them constitute NS. Perhaps not the conflict itself, but the narcissist's ability to influence other people, to make them feel the way he wants, to manipulate them, to make them do something or refrain from doing it - all count as forms of narcissistic supply. Hence the phenomenon of "serial litigators".

Negative supply should be distinguished from low-grade or fake supply (collectively known as spurious narcissistic supply).

Low-grade narcissistic supply comes from sources which cannot be idealized, no matter how hard the narcissist tries and to what extent he blocks out and denies reality. The type of narcissistic supply determines whether its source can be idealized or not. For instance: compliments on his intellectual achievements doled out to a cerebral narcissist by an intellectually-challenged person would never pass muster and would never qualify as narcissistic supply.

Fake narcissistic supply is tinged with ulterior motives and hidden agendas. Sources of fake supply compliment the narcissist in order to manipulate him or some third person or in order to accomplish a goal. Endowed with cold empathy, the narcissist picks up on these true motivations and feels injured and slighted. Many narcissists test their sources of supply repeatedly: they engineer situations intended to expose the sincerity or lack thereof of the supply and the consistency and authenticity of the source’s conduct.

In turn, all the above should not be confused with static narcissistic supply.

Narcissistic supply is either static or dynamic. Dynamic supply upholds, enhances, buttresses, and abets the narcissist’s grandiose and fantastic False Self. The contents of dynamic narcissistic supply and the identity of its sources conform to the narcissist’s image of himself, his “destiny”, the evolution of his life, and his place in the Cosmos. Static supply fails to do so despite the fact that it is largely positive, reliably recurrent, and abundant. Static supply is akin to “hospital rations” or “junk food”: it maintains the narcissist for a while, but, as an exclusive diet, it results in malnutrition (deficient narcissistic supply). Static supply is repetitive, “boring” because it is predictable, and pedestrian. It does not propel the narcissist into new “highs”, nor does it reinflate him when he is down.
posted by christopherious at 11:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]


The Trump-sitting-on-Bannon's-lap cartoons keep getting mentions, but I want one where Trump's polishing B's stormtrooper boots.

I'd also accept a clip of Lainie Kazan saying, "Let me tell you something. Trump is the head of the country, but Bannon is the neck. And he can turn the head any way he wants."
posted by furtive_jackanapes at 11:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]


sciatrix: "Instead of thinking of better and better insults to sling at that slug squatting in the White House, just get used to spitting the name Trump as a slur for every foul, traitorous, short sighted, thoughtless occasion and person you can think of.

Make trump go down as the same insult as we use for quislings and Benedict Arnolds and, yes, santorum. And use it liberally enough that in ten years school children never realize that a trump was a person first before it was an insult.
"

There are like 5000 other people named Trump in the US; they'd probably really like if people didn't do this.
posted by Mitheral at 11:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Bit late now, TBH.
posted by Artw at 11:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


There are like 5000 other people named Trump in the US; they'd probably really like if people didn't do this.

There are/were people named Hitler, too, but things change.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:19 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


And I bet a full third have been riding high at parties on that "You're Fired!" bit for the past umpteen.
posted by rhizome at 11:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I think the "headfake" thing is a way for the writer to justify his own inaction more than anything else. Protesting the Muslim ban doesn't mean we can't also challenge changes to the National Security Council. Working together on one issue makes us more aware of other issues, and any victory provides momentum toward further victories.
posted by panic at 11:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]


My Protest Revolution Will Be Intersectional Or It Will Be Bullshit
posted by nicebookrack at 11:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]


Sally Yates middle name is Quillian which is like pretty bad ass by itself.
posted by PenDevil at 11:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]


Please tell me there's some one out there who is smart enough to outstrategize and defeat this shit. Surely there is someone who is quietly working away at a plan, not calling attention to themselves, and waiting for just the right moment to pounce.

PLEASE??
posted by MultiFaceted at 12:10 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


There is, unfortunately, no plan. The time to "pounce" was Obama's last days, when he could've appointed Merrick Garland during the brief congressional recess. Or before that - during campaign season, when he could've nudged congress into a law that the president has to release his tax returns each year, to show the nation that he's not a crook.

Fascism can be overcome - it's happened many times - but it's almost never defeated by a white-knight hero nor a cabal of clever insurrectionists. It's defeated over time, after a lot of pain and deaths make enough of the placid populace aware that the rhetoric has shifted from "annoying political babble" to "there is NO DAMN FOOD to buy."

We have the lucky advantage that no oppressed people in history have had - instant communication; there will be no "plz ignore the lights on the horizon as we test a weather balloon" because there will be people tweeting "GUNS AND BOMBS, FOLKS; BRING BANDAGES."

But unless the Dem congress rouses itself quickly *and* manages to entice a handful of Rep senators to work with them, then until people are literally screaming, "armed thugs are stomping through the schools and gunning down students in the name of the president," we will see no systematic pushback.

Doesn't mean protests are worthless. On the contrary, they're extremely important - each one raises a few more former supporters attention, and if we can keep them up, we *will* get reactions of, "but... why aren't they calming down yet?"

Long hard painful road ahead. Look to history, to the accounts of people who've survived similar regimes. If we manage to avoid the mushroom-cloud options, we can get through this. If we're very lucky, we'll even have a 50-state nation after. But don't hold out for saviors.

We are our own saviors, here.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [58 favorites]


Literally everyone is smart enough to defeat this shit. Bannon is a lot of things, but clever he isn't, and Trump's head has to be empty because how else could Bannon and Sessions get their hands in there to work his mouth? We know what we have to do. It's just a matter of having the nerve, putting out (and sustaining) the effort, and not getting scared off even when the violence starts getting even worse.
posted by IAmUnaware at 12:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Reposting (jason_steakums, last thread) this excellent, uplifting video: All We Share.
posted by progosk at 12:37 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


What if we just promise Trump he can loot the treasury if he leaves quietly? We build him a tower filled with fake gold and let him roll around naked in it anytime he wants, and surround him with brave volunteers 24/7 ready to clap and cheer and tell him how great he made America if it looks like he's coming down off his high.
posted by Soliloquy at 12:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


I feel like, if Trump is ousted, we have to keep up the momentum and push for electoral college reform, by which I mean popular vote elections.

Why that VS instant run off voting?

And why not the removal of political parties? You stand by your own words and actions VS your ability to get a label.
posted by rough ashlar at 12:47 AM on January 31, 2017


The removal of parties would result in groupings and endorsements that looked very like them. Absent removal/alteration of the first amendment, you can't stop political speech and association.
posted by jaduncan at 12:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Kushner and Ivanka have a serious talk with Dad and threaten that they will work and running his company and name into the ground if they don't fire Bannon.

Pfft. "Protecting who we are and what we do is more important to us and so we are walking away from the 'Trump Brand'".

Walking away would seem to HELP keep the contacts in their rolodex.

(Hey Kids! There was this system of paper back before the contacts in your phone or CRM called a Rolodex. Go to the old folks home and ask about rolodexes.)
posted by rough ashlar at 12:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Weak and Incompetent Leaders act like Strong Leaders
Tom Pepinsky Associate Professor of Government, Cornell University

Home › Current Affairs › Weak and Incompetent Leaders act like Strong Leaders
Weak and Incompetent Leaders act like Strong Leaders

...
Let me explain how observational equivalence works with an example. President Trump may have brought Steve Bannon into the NSC because he is consolidating power and intends to sideline all regular establishment players in the formulation of American foreign policy. Or he might have brought Bannon into the NSC because he is so isolated that he needs someone who he believes he can trust, and everyone in the foreign policy establishment is dragging feet and dissembling. The former is a sign of strength. The latter is a sign of weakness. Both have the same observable implication.

Another example: the swift release of President Trump’s Executive Order on immigration without much advice or feedback from the affected bureaucracies may be evidence that the administration is completely centralizing control within the office of the president. Or it might be because the administration does not understand standard operating procedures in a presidential administration. Or it might be because they worry that they have lost the narrative, need to do something, and a gross Nazi is calling the shots. Again, only the first is a sign of strength. The latter two are signs of weakness. All three of the same observable implications, but have radically different interpretations.

...
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [21 favorites]


Judge Eckhardt of Texas wears her pussy hat to court.

That's ok. It'd only be an issue of 'respect' if people wore them into the Judge's courtroom.
posted by rough ashlar at 1:02 AM on January 31, 2017


I'm still hoping for a road to impeachment, but with each passing day it seems less and less realistic.

I think a big part of why the repubs in Congress are so spineless to dump Trump is because even though they would keep the presidency and have a much more productive governance, they'd also be giving the left what we want, so they'd rather cut off their face to spite their nose.

Maybe they also fear losing the deplorable end of their base, but as it is now, they're going to lose the moderates anyways (assuming there even are any more moderates on the right). Is the majority of the base really that attached to Trump that they'd prefer him over Pence? And don't tell me it's for lack of cause, because the right will make a case for impeachment over the color of someone's socks when they're fired up enough.

They've still got that dumb Tea Party mentality where they think anything the left wants is worth fighting against but by the time they get over it, Trump will have piles of kompromat on all of them. I'm sure he can tap those same staffers who helped with the EO to help spy on their bosses.
posted by p3t3 at 1:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


The removal of parties would result in groupings and endorsements that looked very like them. Absent removal/alteration of the first amendment, you can't stop political speech and association.

Any 'serious' attempt to tear down the ability for a party system to exist would unite the R's with the D's to toss Trump hoping that him under the bus will cause such a movement to dissipate its energy. How is the party system working to be rid of Trump - or is the party system allowing him to remain in charge?

In the threads to date the idea of 'the rules have changed' along with how the Democrats are 'useless' as a party and the Republicans are in lockstep.

Trump got in on the backs of people wanting a change. An effort to make political parties illegal by Constitutional amendment is gonna shave off a few Trump supporters via the partial removal of the swamp water surrounding big parties.
posted by rough ashlar at 1:22 AM on January 31, 2017


that's good to hear, threeturtles, cause my partner got real pissed tonight and went "he thinks he can fire her on a moment's notice? Fuck that guy!" and the upshot is that it's the two of us and a very sulky small dog going downtown now with a couple of candles, a portable speaker, and a carefully curated list of songs to sing in protest of this latest and shittiest action.

Yeah I saw your FB event (you're like the one person I can keep straight on real name vs Mefi name). I hope you were joined by others feeling similarly moved. Or just bored, whatever. It's Austin on a Monday, anythings possible.
posted by threeturtles at 1:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Update, it was over 1000 at A&M according to the local paper. (I couldn't find hard numbers, news coverage, or pictures when I posted earlier.)
posted by threeturtles at 1:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Trump-sitting-on-Bannon's-lap cartoons keep getting mentions, but I want one where Trump's polishing B's stormtrooper boots.

Even before the big boy cartoon came out I was hoping for a ventriloquist dummy and/or marionette. Cartoons or SNL - I'm not picky.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 1:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


A longer version of the Sessions-Yates hearing. Goddamn. Yates is straight out of central casting's "sunny, confident heroine of boundless integrity" department, and Sessions keeps pressing her with more and more pointed questions like he's had a vision of the future and wants to make Trump look as bad as possible.
posted by Rhaomi at 1:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [59 favorites]


We are still paying for the sin of slavery.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:12 AM on January 31, 2017 [36 favorites]


For future reference, Tillerson's name should be spelled “Тилерсон”, and pronounced "tillyerson"; after all, that's how he's known to his handlers.
posted by acb at 2:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


CNN talked to a bunch of folks in a PA diner. All of them except one were completely behind Trump's ban. Coincidentally they were also all (except one) a combination of stupid and racist to various degrees. When someone is dumb enough it's hard to tell if they're saying dumb things as a fig leaf for their racism or because they are a Dunning Kruger effect in action.
posted by Justinian at 2:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


We all have power. Mine is tricking people into thinking a protest has been organized, when all that really needs to happen is that they show up to protest, organization or no.

Yeah I was totally thinking about that being something I could conceivably do even from my bed with no intention (due to no ability) to show up. I've taken it on myself to join LITERALLY EVERY activist FB group for a range of maybe 300 miles in Texas around me. And I make sure they know about what each other are doing. One event is posted in one group, I go around and see if it's been posted in all the others yet. When someone is asking "Is there a protest organized in ___ town for ___ day yet?" I go find that info and post it. When someone is later all "what time did that thing at Cruz's office start?" I go find it and answer.

This is what I can do right now. I don't have money, I don't have a functioning body, but I have time and an internet connection. And the ability to keep like 15 tabs of refreshing content open and not go insane.
posted by threeturtles at 2:27 AM on January 31, 2017 [97 favorites]


CNN talked to a bunch of folks in a PA diner.

Democrats have to forget about them. 40% of the US voting population would vote for a stack of wet newspapers as long as it had 'Official GOP Nominee' scribbled on it in sharpie. Dems need to energise their own base to register to vote and to turn out to vote. It's the only way they can win.
posted by PenDevil at 2:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [35 favorites]


While I agree that 40% of the population is a completely lost cause, this was in one of those counties that went for Obama twice (though narrowly) but went to Trump solidly in 2016. Don't make think about how these people can justify that voting record right now because I have to sleep soon. Probably something about emails.

Watching these kinds of interviews is so disheartening.
posted by Justinian at 2:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]



Is there any evidence that Trump has ever been in nice guy mode during his entire public life?

Any time he wants something from someone, and can't get it by bribery, intimidation or deception.


Someone with narcissistic personality disorder will typically switch back and forth between anger/abuse, pitiful playing the victim, and "good behavior". How much time someone spends in the various modes depends on the individual, but they can be quite good at playing the right role in the moment to manipulate their target. They will switch modes when one isn't working or isn't getting them attention. So if their anger isn't working and people are just tuning them out, they will switch to tears and talking about how badly they have been treated in an effort to provoke sympathy.

If neither of those things works, then they will try to put on a friendly face and swear all that bad behavior is in the past. The friendly, helpful, even overly generous face is typically the one that people meet for the first time. Again how long it lasts depends on the person and the situation but usually it's not long, or only under the first "betrayal" by the target. (And a betrayal could be literally anything other than exactly what the narcissist wants. I once woke up too late on Christmas morning for my MIL's liking and that was proof we didn't care about her or love her and Christmas was RUINED.)

I think Trump probably used to be pretty good at the friendly face, or his fame and success at manipulation wouldn't exist. I think as he's gotten older and experienced cognitive decline his anger has gotten much more dominant and that is most of his time.

Also it's worth mentioning that usually a narcissist is focused only on their immediate family. They tend to have one or two victims they prioritize controlling. Trump has a LOT of different groups and individuals he is having to juggle. It's why he mostly just talks to his base, because he can't do two modes at once to two different crowds, not in public. There's an emotional cycle to a NPD person's moods but I think he's probably in a permanent anger and vengeance tailspin these days. He's always experiencing betrayal from SOMEONE. I think that his saner-seeming moments during the campaign were probably the result of someone managing him well enough to reset the anger cycle so he was back on "good behavior". But the demands of the Presidency aren't going to allow him to get those kind of breaks, most likely.

(Disclaimer, most of this is according to reading I've done, personal family experiences and talking to other family members of NPD people. I was a mental health professional and I worked with some people with these issues but I wasn't really trained for it.)
posted by threeturtles at 2:51 AM on January 31, 2017 [31 favorites]


professional mealymouth david brooks has thrown the administration under the bus in a last-ditch attempt to draw a bright line between Trumpism and the republican party and he's spitting, if not fire, zesty mexican velveeta:
In the first place, the Trump administration is not a Republican administration; it is an ethnic nationalist administration…

… Outspoken critics of Paul Ryan are being given White House jobs, and at the same time, if Reince Priebus has a pulse it is not externally evident.

if Trump’s ideology were not noxious, his incompetence is a threat to all around him. To say that it is amateur hour at the White House is to slander amateurs. The recent executive orders were drafted and signed without any normal agency review or even semicoherent legal advice, filled with elemental errors that any nursery school student would have caught…
he also quotes former Bush II official (and raging Iran/Iraq hawk) Eliot Cohen in the Atlantic:
It will probably end in calamity — substantial domestic protest and violence, a breakdown of international economic relationships, the collapse of major alliances, or perhaps one or more new wars (even with China) on top of the ones we already have. It will not be surprising in the slightest if his term ends not in four or in eight years, but sooner, with impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment.
if you told me a year ago that david brooks's column would be darkly implying that a sitting republican president might not serve out his full term, i wouldn't have believed you.

hell, i might not have believed you two months ago.
posted by murphy slaw at 2:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [49 favorites]


CNN talked to a bunch of folks in a PA diner. All of them except one were completely behind Trump's ban.

No, CNN decided to SHOW you a bunch of folks who had the POV the workers wanted you to see.

What would be useful is if someone had the WHOLE interaction. Like from the surveillance cameras. Or someone's cell phone video.
posted by rough ashlar at 3:03 AM on January 31, 2017 [43 favorites]


It's a new thread so: I've started a weekly newsletter for the UK called The Loyal Opposition. It's a list of short, concrete actions to defend the weak, rebuild civic institutions, and fight right-wing extremism; here's issue 1.

Most of the actions (writing to MPs, donating money, attending protests) are UK-centric, but some are about the US, because hey, the US affects everyone on this planet and our politicians have a better chance than others of influencing public opinion over there.

Please sign up or tell your British friends! 234 subscribers and counting...
posted by adrianhon at 3:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [29 favorites]


There is still an enormous education problem about Trump's ban. Many people still think it's about undocumented immigrants or criminals or terrorists or something. These are the same people who've spent the last decade or more going "why can't they just come in legally?" We have to make it clear that this is about people who've done everything right and followed a ridiculously convoluted legal process, except now they've had that taken away from them.

This is about the 15-year-old Australian kid with Iranian parents who can't go on his class trip to the Houston Rocket Center. This is about the tens of thousands of college students stuck in limbo right now. This is about kids seeing their grandparents, engineers working for Google, patients waiting to get to tertiary hospitals. This is like going through the worst bureaucratic DMV experience imaginable, only to be told at the last step that they can't get a license because the guy in charge doesn't like the hospital where they were born.

The vast majority of Americans have no clue how the legal immigration system works (or doesn't), and they're not really interested in learning. In the absence of that education effort, I think we have to brand this as punishment for the people who really did do everything right to come legally. Many Trump voters won't care of course, but having this many people so uninformed about the ban is not sustainable.
posted by zachlipton at 3:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [94 favorites]


Also in addition to using "President Bannon" as often as possible, I wish we could get some people to start writing about how Trump CAN'T get rid of Steve Bannon because Bannon is the only reason the White House hasn't burned down yet and there's no way Trump could be President without him.
posted by threeturtles at 3:12 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


The absence of an anti-LGBT EO does not mean there won't be a RFRA.

I do really enjoy the Times pointing out that "The decision to keep the order, the statement added, was Mr. Trump’s" as if anyone, especially POTUS, should be praised for keeping people's lawful protections from discrimination in place.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


It's also just a little bit of protesting too much. Who else would make such a decision? Surely there's only one person making the decisions, right?
posted by nickmark at 3:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Many people still think it's about undocumented immigrants or criminals or terrorists or something.

Yeah, I think that it's really easy to underestimate just how little information most people have. We don't have a culture that encourages being educated on the issues. Most people get their news from television in twenty second soundbites, or they get it from social media.

You can see them in the comments on stories about the ban, saying things like "well, she shouldn't have broken the law if she wanted to stay" - they have no clue whatsoever of the basic facts.

I don't know what the solution is, but I think we need to educate people in our lives about what Trump's policies do. Tell them what the ban does. Tell them about some of the people who are affected. If they are racist assholes, they might not care, but I've seen more than one person on social media say "If that's what it actually does I'm against it" or something like that.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:44 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


All of them except one were completely behind Trump's ban.

I do believe there is a substantial body of opinion out there that sort of likes seeing liberals and foreigners made to eat their liver, and is not disposed to think about it much more deeply than that.
posted by Segundus at 3:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


I do believe there is a substantial body of opinion out there that sort of likes seeing liberals and foreigners made to eat their liver, and is not disposed to think about it much more deeply than that.

I've seen people post things like "liberal tears are delicious" as though it doesn't matter how many individual lives are ruined as long as it makes your political opponents unhappy.
posted by Slothrup at 3:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [35 favorites]


"President Bannon" is only effective as a rhetorical device if Trump says something about it in the next 12 hours. I already think that if he didn't tweet about it at 3 am, it's not something he cares about. If it doesn't get under Trump's skin, saying it only normalizes the idea that Bannon is Presidential, or that we accept that he's in power. It already has no shock value.

I'd switch to wording that better reflects Trump's lack of control or incompetence, like Bannon's Puppet, or Bannon's (insert non-sexist word that I can't come up with because there are a couple of misogynist ones filling my head that would work perfectly). Let's not help create a world where Bannon gets even more power and most people we need as allies shrug and say "eh, he was already doing it, now it's just official"
posted by Mchelly at 4:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Bannon's (insert non-sexist word that I can't come up with because there are a couple of misogynist ones filling my head that would work perfectly).

I understand the appropriate vernacular is Bannon's Cuck?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:09 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


(Not that it's one I'd choose to use, because I find the "insult" hilariously absurd)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:10 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


It would be a shame to use cuck, as it's currently a great way to filter the opinions of the awfuls.
posted by mushhushshu at 4:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


This cartoon of him on Bannon's lap is basically what that SNL skit needs to be.

Why not continue the Chicago theme? Steve Bannon and the White House Rag.

"Understandable! Understandable! Yes the travel ban's understandable!
Comprehensible, Comprehensible
Not a bit reprehensible
But Yates thinks its not defensible"
posted by Talez at 4:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


I'd switch to wording that better reflects Trump's lack of control or incompetence, like Bannon's Puppet

Bannon's Handpuppet.
posted by Grangousier at 4:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates. (statement)

I imagine he's steaming that he dosen't (yet) have the power to have her put in front of a wall and shot. Or fed to a pack pf purposely-starved dogs, North Korean-fashion. That power's probably coming, though.
posted by acb at 4:26 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Speaking from a pretty contemptible morass of bewilderment on the other side of the Atlantic, by the way, something that's come into my head that would annoy the right people: Explicitly appropriate the language of the right - lots of rhetoric about Freedom, Liberty, and Opposing Tyranny. Use the same words as them. And dress up as founding fathers like they enjoy to (pace Hamilton). And lots of talk about the Constitution (the good thing about Liberals is that they are more likely to actually have read it. Many may even understand it) Make sure that there are enough people in public protests who tie what's going on explicitly to the founding mythology of the United States.

It might not have any lasting impact and people may not want to do it, and as I say it has nothing to do with me - not my language or mythology. But it would be a good time to take Freedom back for the people.
posted by Grangousier at 4:30 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


This is what I can do right now. I don't have money, I don't have a functioning body, but I have time and an internet connection. And the ability to keep like 15 tabs of refreshing content open and not go insane.

Spoken to my husband last night: "If I could do data entry for the revolution, that'd be awesome." (I do do data entry for one group right now, but I definitely have time to take on a couple more.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


In case there was any residual doubt, the immigration ban is absolutely not a "head-fake". It's the first shot of Steve Bannon's global war on Islam. This neatly ties the ban together with the NSC reshuffle, and also rationalizes (to some degree) the administration's addiction to creating chaos: the more things are churned up, and the angrier people get, the more likely a "flashpoint event" becomes that will let them really crack down without restraint. If there's any sort of planning behind these brutalist fumblings, I suspect that's its goal.
posted by informavore at 4:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


it doesn't matter how many individual lives are ruined as long as it makes your political opponents unhappy

Well, they wouldn't see those lives as fully human. Subhumans are expendable, and there's nothing wrong in burning a few just to trigger some snowflakes.
posted by acb at 4:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Bannon's handpuppet

Well. That evokes some pretty upsetting imagery.
posted by From Bklyn at 4:45 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


RE: The Wall

Does Trump know what a Sapper is?
posted by drezdn at 4:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Bannon's handpuppet

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary reports "Svengali" is trending.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


I would say Trump's Rasputin but that might be giving him too much credit.
posted by vuron at 4:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Kushner and Ivanka have a serious talk with Dad and threaten that they will work and running his company and name into the ground if they don't fire Bannon.

I highly doubt that will happen, but if it did, I think they'd both get a surprise about how much dear old dad really loves his favourite son-in-law. My money would be on Trump having played affectionate dad for years for Ivanka's sake - and whether he loves her in any recognisable, human way at all, rather than like a really, really shiny pony is still kind of a mystery - and unless Kushner has some kind of dirt on Trump, that Trump doesn't know about!, I reckon Kushner is going under the bus. I agree with whoever said that that gang of racists are probably all hugging themselves and twirling around like Mary Tyler Moore to have someone who thinks he's part of the gang, but is the one the rest of the gang gives up to the principal once he stops being useful. Plus: Jewish. Win-win.
posted by glitter at 4:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


I would say Trump's Rasputin but that might be giving him too much credit.

It would also result in this playing in my head forever.
posted by mushhushshu at 4:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


"President Bannon" is only effective as a rhetorical device if Trump says something about it in the next 12 hours. I already think that if he didn't tweet about it at 3 am, it's not something he cares about. If it doesn't get under Trump's skin, saying it only normalizes the idea that Bannon is Presidential, or that we accept that he's in power. It already has no shock value.

I'd switch to wording that better reflects Trump's lack of control or incompetence, like Bannon's Puppet, or Bannon's (insert non-sexist word that I can't come up with because there are a couple of misogynist ones filling my head that would work perfectly). Let's not help create a world where Bannon gets even more power and most people we need as allies shrug and say "eh, he was already doing it, now it's just official"


He has to be aware of it to respond to it. And as much as it is out there right now the only media that we know he watches or aware of is that's said it is NYT times in one opinion piece. And this piece may not have been in the headlines.
posted by Jalliah at 5:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Chicago Trib: White House claims 109 affected by travel ban - it's more like 90,000

- "According to the Department of Homeland Security, 348 people were denied boarding from the issuance of the executive order on Friday through 6 p.m. on Sunday."

-"The executive order means that visa holders will not be able to travel to the United States for at least 90 days. Or, if they are in the United States currently, they will not be able to leave and assume that they can return before the travel suspension ends.

Here's the breakdown by country:

Iran: 34,819 nonimmigrant visas, 7,179 immigrant visas

Iraq: 13,335 nonimmigrant visas, 2,010 immigrant visas

Syria: 9,770 nonimmigrant visas, 1,901 immigrant visas

Sudan: 5,039 nonimmigrant visas, 1,642 immigrant visas

Yemen: 4,472 nonimmigrant visas, 3,143 immigrant visas

Libya: 3,303 nonimmigrant visa, 272 immigrant visas

Somalia: 399 nonimmigrant visas, 1,078 immigrant visas"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:10 AM on January 31, 2017 [42 favorites]


Yeah I was totally thinking about that being something I could conceivably do even from my bed with no intention (due to no ability) to show up. I've taken it on myself to join LITERALLY EVERY activist FB group for a range of maybe 300 miles in Texas around me. And I make sure they know about what each other are doing. One event is posted in one group, I go around and see if it's been posted in all the others yet.

PS: this is definitely helping, because your efforts are the only way I found out that a Houston protest at IAH was definitely happening and I used that to tell at least three or four Austin groups what was up and to normalize marching on over to Houston in the morning. For those of you outside Texas that is a three hour drive. Next time I'll just say "yeah let's just go to AUS in solidarity" but you do know that your group is immensely important to me to help coordinate, right?

(it was indeed just us, but at least ten people said they were with us in spirit and frankly I didn't expect much else. You do have to give people SOME time to see things, esp at 10p on a Monday night.)
posted by sciatrix at 5:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


Signs from the protests in the UK last night here.

My personal favourite is "Get Fucked Wotsit Hitler".

(GIS for Wotsits, if you don't know of them)
posted by MattWPBS at 5:14 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


That Sessions/Yates video was just mentioned on BBC News. It's certainly got people's attention.
posted by Devonian at 5:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Tump has fired Sally Yates. (statement)

The thing that took down former USAG Alberto Gonzales and others in his office had nothing to do with The Patriot Act, or torture memos. It was firing AGs for political reasons. Is it any different when a president does it?
posted by Room 641-A at 5:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]




Why are we quite possibly hurtling towards domestic and international conflict? Germany had WWI and economic catastrophe to complain about.

A woman had a private email server
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [91 favorites]


With regards to the Yemen raid, this jumped out:

Karen Greenberg, director of Fordham University's Center on National Security, said the girl's death will be a boon to al Qaeda propagandists.

"The perception will be that it's not enough to kill al-Awlaki — that the U.S. had to kill the entire family," she said.


Anyone else remembering Trump saying he wanted the military to kill the families of terrorists? Could be a purely botched job, but could be worse.
posted by MattWPBS at 5:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


I know the ACLU and etc. can only use so many people at LAX, but I am profoundly hating feeling this useless as the headlines keep coming. Doing normal work feels like a bad joke right now.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


Question: Could negative input serve as Narcissistic Supply (NS)?

Answer: Yes, it can. NS includes all forms of attention - both positive and negative: fame, notoriety, adulation, fear, applause, approval. Whenever the narcissist gets attention, positive or negative, whenever he is in the "limelight", it constitutes NS. If he can manipulate people or influence them – positively or negatively – it qualifies as NS.


Last night during the nickname discussion I considered making a post using a british term for fart and a variation of an R-rated Canterbury Tale. But then I started to think that, with everything we know about this person, not referring to him by name might be far more frustrating to him. I think I'm going to try that. Talk about what's going on but not use his name.
posted by bunderful at 5:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Sally Yates middle name is Quillian which is like pretty bad ass by itself.

Which reminds me. You know how "Quisling" became a shorthand term for collaborators and spineless sycophants? Would be pretty cool if "Yates" became shorthand for the exact opposite of that.

Don't be a Quisling, be a Yates.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:37 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Don't be a Quisling, be a Yates.

I need someone to draft up a variation of that Facebook stick figure meme saying "Sally defied Trump. Sally is smart. Be like Sally."
posted by C'est la D.C. at 5:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [50 favorites]


Trump has a regular Putin and an Assputin.
posted by ian1977 at 5:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


How to Build an Autocracy
The preconditions are present in the U.S. today. Here’s the playbook Donald Trump could use to set the country down a path toward illiberalism. - David Frum .
posted by adamvasco at 5:42 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Trump’s hard-line actions have an intellectual godfather: Jeff Sessions

Bannon sounds like he's getting his Goebbels on in his e-mail supporting Sessions from that Post article: "In America and Europe, working people are reasserting their right to control their own destinies. Jeff Sessions has been at the forefront of this movement for years, developing populist nation-state policies that are supported by the vast and overwhelming majority of Americans, but are poorly understood by cosmopolitan elites in the media that live in a handful of our larger cities. {...} What we are witnessing now is the birth of a new political order, and the more frantic a handful of media elites become, the more powerful that new political order becomes itself." {emphasis added}
posted by Doktor Zed at 5:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


Washington Post: Customs agents at Dulles forced lawful permanent U.S. residents to give up their green cards this weekend, according to a complaint filed Monday in federal court in Alexandria. Tareq Aqel Mohammed Aziz and Ammar Aqel Mohammed Aziz were flying from Yemen to the United States. Both had been granted immigrant visas because their father, who lives in Flint, Mich., is a U.S. citizen.

When they arrived at Dulles Saturday morning, the Aziz brothers were handcuffed and their immigration paperwork was seized, according to the complaint.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:47 AM on January 31, 2017 [14 favorites]


"This. This is a picture."
posted by Buntix at 5:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [24 favorites]




Prepper tip of the day:

If anyone here (like me) is a naturalized immigrant (or has a loved one who is), I recommend that before things get even more hairy, make sure you have a valid US passport, as well as your naturalization certificate. US passports are usually valid for 10 years, so consider getting a new one if the expiration date on yours falls before the end of Trump's presidency.

If you cannot find your naturalization certificate (docs can always get lost), here are the instructions to get a replacement, and the form is in that website as well. This process is $555 and can take a few weeks, so try to get your ducks in a row or save up to get your paperwork done asap. You don't want to scramble if someone asks you for evidence of citizenship in the future.

And make digital copies and share them with family and contacts, in case you find yourself "undocumented".
posted by Tarumba at 5:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


cosmopolitan elites in the media

Huh, I wonder what he could possibly mean by that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by uncleozzy at 5:53 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


There is still an enormous education problem about Trump's ban. Many people still think it's about undocumented immigrants or criminals or terrorists or something.

So I waded deep into Republican Twitter about this, and I think mostly it falls in a few groups.

A) People who are totally okay with an actual Muslim ban, that only get unhinged when people mention it also impacts Christians and Jews

B) People who believe only 109 people affected but simultaneously that the "bad guys" were kept out

C) People who insist it's the same thing Obama did

D) People who have various ideas about implementation but weren't supporting it anyway.

Like I had no idea that many people were scheduled to come in the next 90 days or that so many people came as students or medical purposes, but I already opposed the ban so it's not like me knowing that impacted my position much.
posted by corb at 5:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [27 favorites]


Over on The Conversation, Rhona Smith describes the ways in which the ban order breaches the Geneva Convention:
A guide to the Geneva Convention for beginners, dummies and newly elected world leaders

Might help to add Smith's points to one's conversations with the clueless, at least some older people who experienced WW2 and/or its aftermath might retain a vestige of respect for that venerable agreement.
posted by valetta at 5:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Oh and if you are not an immigrant but are brown enough that people might question you, make sure you have your birth certificate at the ready, with digital copies and shared with key people in your life.
posted by Tarumba at 5:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


I've found that maintaining sleep hygiene requires me to cut off all political material after 6:00 every evening. It's because something like cell phone video of a (possibly) military convoy flying a Trump flag will keep me revved up for a good 8 hours.
posted by klarck at 5:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Explicitly appropriate the language of the right - lots of rhetoric about Freedom, Liberty, and Opposing Tyranny.

I sort of love this idea. I can see a whole meme campaign
  • Picture of Muslims at prayer at the airport last weekend with "Freedom of Religion"
  • Picture of protestors with big "patriots" text
  • Maybe people being reunited after the ban with "freedom from fear"
posted by shothotbot at 6:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


It's because something like cell phone video of a (possibly) military convoy flying a Trump flag will keep me revved up for a good 8 hours.

Probably just good Constitution-defenders going to a meeting where they'll talk about executive privilege and the separation of powers.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Merriam-Webster Dictionary reports "Svengali" is trending.

@MirriamWebster
Top 5 lookups right now, in order:
1. fascism
2. sex (this is always in the top 10)
3. anathema
4. Svengali
5. bigot

Good night!
Great list for a game of exquisite cadaver, bad list for a description of the fears of the populace.
posted by bibliowench at 6:11 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]




Krugman this morning:

Given the rate at which things are coming to a head, "President Trump" -- the sort-of legitimate head of a republic -- won't last long. Either he or the republic, in any meaningful sense, will be gone quite soon. I have a hard time seeing one year, let alone four. What this means is that anyone considering working for or with this White House -- Senators, officials, businessmen -- shouldn't. Either you're going to go down with a disgraced president, or you're going to be complicit in the death of democracy. Just say no.

It isn't a good feeling to wake up to a New York Times columnist talking about the imminent death of democracy.
posted by diogenes at 6:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [49 favorites]


Iowa Governor Branstad, former "respectable moderate Republican" and now Trump's nominee Ambassador to China:

"Asked about a University of Iowa alert regarding the travel issue sent to students on Sunday, Branstad remarked, “I think if you are from one of those seven countries and you are here, I don’t think you have to worry about it. But you need to be concerned about traveling back to those countries. First of all, they are dangerous places ... "

The governor is right that it is dangerous to travel outside the US; for example the President might sign an executive order preventing you from returning
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:16 AM on January 31, 2017 [20 favorites]


Heehee
posted by ian1977 at 6:16 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Time for some hot hot dictionary action
posted by ian1977 at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Matt Levine: "If we’re not going to be a nation of laws, then attitudes toward pieces of paper that carry no weight in the absence of law will have to be rethought." (Those pieces of paper are stocks and bonds.)

I'm thinking I might need to revisit my investment strategy of never changing my long-term strategy based on current events.
posted by diogenes at 6:22 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


I would say Trump's Rasputin but that might be giving him too much credit.

The American Dugin?
posted by acb at 6:23 AM on January 31, 2017


The Merriam-Webster Dictionary reports "Svengali" is trending.

As mentioned earlier, it would have to reach Trump to be effective. Does anyone who has listened to two or three of his speeches think his cultural literacy extends to the term "Svengali"? It is an 1895 George du Maurier novel. I believe one of the last three residents of the Oval Office would understand the reference.

And Trump is not that one (though he has all the best words, believe me).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:23 AM on January 31, 2017


Trump’s top trade adviser accuses Germany of currency exploitation

That's the problem with a clown car on fire. As soon as it gets on stage there are burning clowns running around everywhere.
posted by Grangousier at 6:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [45 favorites]


cosmopolitan elites in the media

Huh, I wonder what he could possibly mean by that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


It's probably something like the “Communist Bankers” who, when they monologue their nefarious schemes in Bircher pamphlets, start with something like “Oy vey, are you goyim gullible!”

I wonder if the cosmopolitan elites' natures could be said to be “sensual” and/or “trigonometric”...
posted by acb at 6:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Svengroady
posted by ian1977 at 6:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]




It's really annoying that right-wing goldbugs are probably going to make a killing.
posted by diogenes at 6:26 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Just wanted to point out that the White House press secretary now prints and holds up tweets the president has issues with"

Ugh of course this country winds up with the whiniest sort of fascism.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:27 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]


Bannon's handpuppet
Well. That evokes some pretty upsetting imagery.
Do you think they'll ship to the White House?
posted by indubitable at 6:28 AM on January 31, 2017


Trump’s top trade adviser accuses Germany of currency exploitation

Bernake had similar thoughts on Germany's trade surplus. Of course unlike Peter Navarro he wasn't unanimously considered a kook by economists, nor did he have a boss willing to help Putin break up the EU.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:28 AM on January 31, 2017


This is from upthread, but:

"Sally Yates was US Attorney General for eleven days. She saved N refugees. I dare you to do better. Apply to law school."

All the positive sentiment towards lawyers is nice, but no, still don't go to law school, at least if you have to take any loan money to do it.

The job market hasn't improved, there's going to be an effort to get rid of PSLF and IBR and suing Trump will not a career make for most lawyers.

If anything, upon graduating with loans you're more likely wind up as a servitor of the corporate and political interests you hoped to oppose.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]


"It's really annoying that right-wing goldbugs are probably going to make a killing."

I woke up to an ad on my clock radio just this morning (Cumulus/Album Adult Alt in a college town) for converting your 401K into gold that you can "actually touch". Was too groggy to figure out whether catch was that it was actually a withdrawal or if it was some other party "holding" the metal. Anyways, yes, plenty fear going around to get rich on.
posted by klarck at 6:35 AM on January 31, 2017


Given the rate at which things are coming to a head, "President Trump" -- the sort-of legitimate head of a republic -- won't last long. ... I have a hard time seeing one year, let alone four.

coming from the NYTimes this feels like reverse foreshadowing. this is what makes me feel like he'll go full dictator and be here for a decade. i hope krugman knocked on some fucking wood
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 6:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Republicans Must Save This Presidency. Now.

Fat chance of that.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:38 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


All the positive sentiment towards lawyers is nice, but no, still don't go to law school

Especially because law school is 3 years long, and that's just the beginning of becoming an effective lawyer. 0Ls today won't be doing real legal work against Trump until the middle of his second term. You can do a lot more good somewhere else in that time. Just about anywhere else actually.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:40 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


coming from the NYTimes this feels like reverse foreshadowing.

I don't really think of Krugman as the NYT. They give him a platform for an opinion column and a blog, but he's independent from the rest of the paper, and his track record is pretty good.
posted by diogenes at 6:42 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


ABC news is reporting that DHS Sec. John Kelly will hold a press conference on implementation of Pres. Trump's executive orders at 12:00 p.m. EDT [2 hours and 15 minutes from now]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:44 AM on January 31, 2017


At least 8 killed as fighting in Ukraine intensifies again

-- Salvos of heavy-calibre artillery were heard throughout the night and late morning in Avdiivka, where several thousand people have been living without electricity for days. Fighting has cut water supplies for most of the town and it was left without heating in the dead of winter. Temperatures plunged to –18 C on Tuesday morning.

-- The local hospital was flooded with injured soldiers during the night who were operated on and shipped to a town further away from the front line, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

-- Pavlo Zhebrivsky, head of the administration in charge of the government-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, said on Facebook his office was working on a plan to evacuate 12,000 residents from Avdiivka.


Curious if there will be a response from the WH and who they will side with.
posted by futz at 6:44 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


who they will side with.

That's a rhetorical question, right?
posted by diogenes at 6:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Curious if there will be a response from the WH and who they will side with.

Trump is too busy tweeting about Dems microphones not working. Priorities.
posted by Jalliah at 6:47 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Republicans Must Save This Presidency

I think we're already in "it became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it" territory, here.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


From 2015, Senate Roll Call Vote on Sally Yates
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


That's a rhetorical question, right?

I want to hear them say it publicly.
posted by futz at 6:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


0Ls today won't be doing real legal work against Trump until the middle of his second term.

I have a bar number and TBH there's very little to do right now unless you're affiliated with an established public interest group.

You can do a lot more good somewhere else in that time. Just about anywhere else actually.

Indeed. And if it's the legal front people want to pitch in on (with more than donation), from my poking around various local org websites it seems there are more ready opportunities for organizers and clerical workers than attorneys. They need help, they just don't need more attorneys they already struggle to support.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


#GeneralStrike is trending on Twitter.
posted by diogenes at 6:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [20 favorites]


A response from the White House?

Stinkin' Steve will get right on it; but first he's got to get through another couple more EOs.
posted by notyou at 6:49 AM on January 31, 2017


Trump to pharma execs right now: "We'll be cutting regulations at a level nobody's ever seen before!"

The next wave of thalidomide babies should be named "Trump babies" rather than named after whatever drug caused them. Not to be confused with babies who get conceived by parents who get turned on by fascism and the oppression of minorities.
posted by XMLicious at 6:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]


The First Plague should be an irritating but ultimately harmless case of orange tinted crib-cap.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:53 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


"United we stand, divided we fall": letter by President Donald Tusk to the 27 EU heads of state or government on the future of the EU

The challenges currently facing the European Union are more dangerous than ever before in the time since the signature of the Treaty of Rome. Today we are dealing with three threats, which have previously not occurred, at least not on such a scale.


One of these threats:
Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy.
posted by blub at 6:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


The President of the European Council is named Donald Tusk? That won't be confusing at all.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Trump to pharma execs right now: "We'll be cutting regulations at a level nobody's ever seen before!"


Given that his base are the #1 market for snake-oil, and Trump has no understanding whatsoever about the rational world - I'm still gobsmacked about the pipeline remarks - it's back to medieval medicine for us, along with the feudalism and absolute monarchy leavened only by the machinations of barons (or Bannons).

I never really thought of Game of Thrones as a near future dystopia before.
posted by Devonian at 6:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


At least we'll get dragons maybe?
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


"Don Tusk Brooks No Trust of Don Trump In Brusque Brussels Donnybrook"
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [94 favorites]


Intercept on White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement: “Federal law enforcement agencies in general — the FBI, the Marshals, the ATF — are aware that extremists have infiltrated state and local law enforcement agencies and that there are people in law enforcement agencies that may be sympathetic to these groups”
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [31 favorites]


Every time I see that guys name I always think of a herd of governmental Elephants all called Donald.

Donald Tusk, Donald Trump, Donald Jumbo, Donald Trunk, Donald Jarakeen, Donald Frump*

A whole herd of them big and small, grey and orange. Stomping around being elephants.



* A white elephant that appears in the TV show Rocko's Modern Life in the episode "Who Invited You?"
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


General strike, you say? Workers unite, Sabot Cat has your back!
posted by informavore at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


The President of the European Council is named Donald Tusk? That won't be confusing at all

Whether you're European or American, everyone's got the DTs.
posted by mushhushshu at 7:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Every time I see that guys name I always think of a herd of governmental Elephants all called Donald.

Donald Tusk, Donald Trump, Donald Jumbo, Donald Trunk, Donald Jarakeen, Donald Frump*


Worst Babar of all time.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Holy fuck knobs I finally got to the end of the thread and there are 73 82 more comments. So I'll just leave this here (should I also post in in the IRL section?)

NC Resistance:
Saturday Feb 11: NAACP and HKonJ.com Forward Together Movement to resist repeal of healthcare and rollback of civil rights protections.
posted by yoga at 7:03 AM on January 31, 2017 [12 favorites]


Donald Tusk, Donald Trump, Donald Jumbo, Donald Trunk, Donald Jarakeen, Donald Frump

Romper, Tromper, Stomper, and Boo?

(Bannon is Boo because, holee shit, he scary)
posted by notsnot at 7:03 AM on January 31, 2017


it's back to medieval medicine for us

Implying that anybody will be able to afford henbane poultices under Trumpcare.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:03 AM on January 31, 2017 [14 favorites]


Huh, I guess Babar was actually about governmental elephants. Just hereditary monarchy ones.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:04 AM on January 31, 2017


Shackles or a pine box.

i'll take pine box for 500, alex.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 7:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


The other night I met up with other local folks to work on programs for our local Democratic club. One of them had been at JFK during the protests this weekend, and said they'd been delayed getting on the AirTrain because Port Authority had stopped it. And then Governor Cuomo directed Port Authority to cut it out. But the Port Authority folks didn't immediately let the protesters on. So the protesters sat down and chanted, in call-and-response, Cuomo's tweet, over and over. And finally the PA folks let the protestors on.

We were at a restaurant chitchatting, waiting for the last of us to arrive. We decided it was time to start.

"Could we all say the Pledge of Allegiance? Because that's how meetings at the Democratic club start..."

"I would feel a little weird saying the Pledge of Allegiance in a restaurant," another person said. And indeed I actually couldn't see a US flag anywhere nearby.

"But I like doing something ritual to start something like this, something where we all chant the same thing together. And people usually don't like to be made to sing."

"How about we chant Cuomo's tweet?" another person suggested.

So somebody looked it up on their phone, and spoke it aloud, and we repeated after them.

"I have ordered..." "I have ordered..."

"the Port Authority..." "the Port Authority..."

"to reverse its decision..." "to reverse its decision..."

"regarding the JFK AirTrain." "regarding the JFK AirTrain."

"The people of New York..." "The people of New York..."

"will have their voices heard." "will have their voices heard."

It was pretty great!
posted by brainwane at 7:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [96 favorites]


General strike, you say? Workers unite, Sabot Cat has your back!

sabot cat is watching you agitate
posted by murphy slaw at 7:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


General Strike? Hey, just another general that Trump likes!
posted by azpenguin at 7:09 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Can't get through to my senators (Harris/Feinstein) on the phone, so I sent an email and fax, FWIW. I think Harris will do the right thing. Doubt Feinstein will.
posted by entropicamericana at 7:09 AM on January 31, 2017


I'm watching the Sessions hearings now. Hearing Senator Hatch speaks robs my soul of everything good. These people will never change their thinking. Our efforts need to be on pressuring the Democrats to stay strong and fight back.
posted by archimago at 7:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Rasmussen: 57 Percent Support a Temporary Ban on Refugees

Rasmussen is a conservative polling company, but fuck, fascism isn't just the government...it is the fascism in our heads.
posted by bodywithoutorgans at 7:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


“Federal law enforcement agencies in general — the FBI, the Marshals, the ATF — are aware that extremists have infiltrated state and local law enforcement agencies and that there are people in law enforcement agencies that may be sympathetic to these groups”

Gee, what a shock, creepy people who love to dominate being attracted to and wanted in law enforcement jobs. I never would have guessed that would happen!
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


Feinstein just spoke on the Sessions hearings and pretty much tore him apart, if it's any consolation.
posted by windbox at 7:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]



Rasmussen: 57 Percent Support a Temporary Ban on Refugees

Rasmussen is a conservative polling company, but fuck, the fascism isn't just the government...it is the fascism in our heads.


They played tricksy with the wording of the question. 1* Do you favor or oppose a temporary ban on refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen until the federal government improves its ability to screen out potential terrorists from coming here?

Which implies that the government is failing to do this already. Which follows the narrative that Trump Co. has been pushing.
posted by Jalliah at 7:21 AM on January 31, 2017 [65 favorites]


> Feinstein just spoke on the Sessions hearings and pretty much tore him apart, if it's any consolation.

Like with Trump, it's actions that matter, not words. As Sen. Warren said last night, "criticism is not enough." That goes for the supposed good guys as well.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:21 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


The President of the European Council is named Donald Tusk? That won't be confusing at all.

This is gonna end in another Mars Climate Orbiter situation, isn't it
posted by saturday_morning at 7:22 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Rasmussen: 57 Percent Support a Temporary Ban on Refugees

That's 57% of "likely voters" according to Rasmussen, based on their phrasing, data collection and interpretation. There's a strong streak of xenophobic anti-refugee sentiment but Rasmussen doesn't deserve our trust on its exact prevalence.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Rasmussen: 57 Percent Support a Temporary Ban on Refugees

First off, the question wording is such that it minimizes the reality of the ban and its possible results which gooses the favorability.

"Do you favor or oppose a temporary ban on refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen until the federal government improves its ability to screen out potential terrorists from coming here?"

And secondly, the right, constitutional, American thing is not determined by polling. Interracial marriage was not a majority opinion until 1997, 30 years after Loving v Virginia.
posted by chris24 at 7:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [52 favorites]


All the positive sentiment towards lawyers is nice, but no, still don't go to law school, at least if you have to take any loan money to do it.

Yeah I really did think "I should have gone to law school and it's not too late" for a few minutes but then I thought it would be more practical and effective and immediate to just give all the money I'd spend on law school tuition to the ACLU. then I checked my assets and what do you know, I don't actually have law school tuition money.
posted by queenofbithynia at 7:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


Many people, with good reason, consider Reddit to be still part of the problem, but here we go: Alexis Ohanian aka kn0thing, executive chairman of Reddit and "son of an undocumented immigrant from Germany and the great grandson of refugees who fled the Armenian Genocide", just wrote An open letter to the Reddit community. Lots of family stories in the comments.
posted by elgilito at 7:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Holy fuck knobs

SIRI:
Did you mean......JAMES....DOBSON.....or.....JERRY...FALWELL.... JR.....or...RICHARD....LAND.......or......PAULA.....WHITE.....or.....RABBI....SHEMTOV........or............
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Yeah, I am a lawyer and I'm starting to think about how to use that to fight this (I volunteered to go to Dulles but wasn't called and I'm signed up to take a training on doing pro bono asylum cases next month), but don't go to law school. The heroes this weekend were lawyers, but last weekend it was National Parks employees, who knows who'll it be next weekend. Everyone has a part to play, do what you can now, with the skills you have.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:27 AM on January 31, 2017 [49 favorites]


Feinstein just spoke on the Sessions hearings and pretty much tore him apart, if it's any consolation.

Sounds like she's about to vote "yes."
posted by rhizome at 7:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Spicer tweeted out his password again.
posted by drezdn at 7:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [39 favorites]


According to DiFi's Twitter, she voted no. Can someone confirm her vote?
posted by entropicamericana at 7:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


I heard Feinstein say no.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Confirmed.
posted by zabuni at 7:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


I just wanted to point out that this is a portion of the text in the executive order:

"The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law."

I understand why we wouldn't want violent ideologies like mercenary capitalism that destroys lives and environment, or fundamentalist Christianity that kidnaps children and sends them to pray away the gay camps in Central America.

Oh wait you meant every Muslim ever.
posted by Tarumba at 7:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Spicer tweeted out his password again.

folks, spicer was the chief republican strategist and they won. we should be ashamed.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [29 favorites]


Has anyone considered the possibility that Spicer's password tweets are code

If so, do they tell us anything about the thermal exhaust port
posted by saturday_morning at 7:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


Confirmed.

phrasing!
posted by murphy slaw at 7:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [35 favorites]


They played tricksy with the wording of the question.
...
Which implies that the government is failing to do this already. Which follows the narrative that Trump Co. has been pushing.


I agree the poll is poorly constructed. Nevertheless as an immigrant, I worry that inspite of this wonderful community and my liberal enclave, I am seriously misunderestimating the fascistic, racist, and xenophobic elements of American society.

This is a war of perception.
posted by bodywithoutorgans at 7:37 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


If so, do they tell us anything about the thermal exhaust port

it's a small port right above the main port, and two meters wide. it would be smaller, but bannon's had his hand up there so long it's pretty stretched out
posted by entropicamericana at 7:38 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


At least 8 killed as fighting in Ukraine intensifies again

Yes, it's possible this weekend's events were also a distraction from this. There's a Syria-like humanitarian crisis in the making. We have the opportunity to make a statement at today's OSCE meeting.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:38 AM on January 31, 2017


it would be smaller, but bannon's had his hand up there so long it's pretty stretched out

Ah, the ol' womp rat bull's eye.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:39 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Because I can't bring myself to watch the Sessions sessions -- has anyone managed to press him on the Yates confirmation video?
posted by saturday_morning at 7:40 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


How many Americans were going to pay attention to fighting in Ukraine anyway?

I really doubt the "distraction" theory if only because I doubt the administration's ability to pay attention to two things at once.
posted by tel3path at 7:40 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


Eric Geller at Politico says that the cybersecurity EO to be signed at 3:00 this afternoon "does not sound much like the draft that circulated."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


@AndyKindler
"You have to give Hitler credit. He's following through on his campaign promises." - Cable News 1933.
posted by chris24 at 7:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [30 favorites]


People want to show up. They're motivated to show up. But they still feel like they need to be told, or asked, to show up. People here were asking whether any groups were organizing a protest. And I'm like, people, YOU ARE THE PEOPLE! You don't need a group to organize your protest!

But you can't say that, because in doing so you're telling THEM to organize. Most people don't want to be organizers -- they want to be protesters. They just want to show up.


From way, way upthread. QFFT.

Apparently, I'm an organizer. I used to be a follower. I joined ACT UP/LA in 1989. But I started a group in November and had a meeting and now we've had 4 meetings and 5 MeFites have shown up and we're creating an Advocacy/Activism Curriculum and yesterday I sent a Farsi interpreter to LAX with sharpies and notepads for the lawyers still in the international terminal.

NOTE: I keep getting pleas from red states for people to show up to calls or meetings. Is there anywhere on MeFi I can post this where it might be seen by folks wanting to be active without getting Cortex upset? TIA
posted by Sophie1 at 7:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


Seems relevant now. From Wikipedia, Push Poll
A push poll is an interactive marketing technique, most commonly employed during political campaigning, in which an individual or organization attempts to manipulate or alter prospective voters' views/beliefs under the guise of conducting an opinion poll.

In a push poll, large numbers of voters are contacted with little effort made to actually collect and analyze voters' response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as an opinion poll. Push polls may rely on innuendo, or information gleaned from opposition research on the political opponent of the interests behind the poll.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Spicer tweeted out his password again.

Alright, this can't be a simple accident anymore. He's cutting and pasting his password and his tweets or something like that. And won't change his habits.

Possibly, the tweets are being iMessaged/Slacked or emailed to him?
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


I agree the poll is poorly constructed.

i think it's very well constructed for what it was intended to achieve. it's basically a push poll.

unfortunately coverage of the results will probably gloss that over.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:42 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


By the way - one MeFite has driven 120 miles both ways to show up at meetings. Twice. That is some fucking dedication!!!!
posted by Sophie1 at 7:42 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Fun fact, my dad was trying very gingerly to convince me to consider pivoting to get a JD on top of my PhD a couple months ago and go into biological patent law, back when I was being a little more openly bitter about the obvious impending death of American basic science.

My dad works for a company that literally creates software to do the shit that business lawyers used to do. It, uh, it did not take long for me to spot the flaws with paying for a JD right now. That would have been true even if I wasn't the primary breadwinner right now and could have afforded another four years of backbreaking work and minimal pay/maximal debt while I work like a dog for a promised good job that will never materialize. (To his credit, it didn't take him long to realize why I wasn't enthusiastic about the idea either, but still!)
posted by sciatrix at 7:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


There's a Syria-like humanitarian crisis in the making.

Ukrainians are white and are right on the border of the EU. They'll walk across the border to Poland or Romania if they have to. I guarantee you'll be astounded at the difference between Syria and the response to any Ukranian refugee situation.
posted by Talez at 7:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Feinstein is voting NO on Sessions!
posted by Sophie1 at 7:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Just called my congressman (Grijalva) to urge a no vote on HR621 which would sell off a lot of public lands in the west. So many damn fronts to fight on.
posted by azpenguin at 7:44 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


I guarantee you'll be astounded at the difference between Syria and the response to any Ukranian refugee situation.

I don't know - there's a shameful number of British people utterly freaked out by polish plumbers, for instance. Bigotry is pretty mutable.
posted by Artw at 7:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Ryan has gone full-Nazi.

@ericawerner
Several members say Speaker Ryan stood up in conference this morning and strongly DEFENDED Trump immigration order
posted by chris24 at 7:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


NOTE: I keep getting pleas from red states for people to show up to calls or meetings. Is there anywhere on MeFi I can post this where it might be seen by folks wanting to be active without getting Cortex upset? TIA

The Projects tab. And the IRL tab for events and actions.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Several members say Speaker Ryan stood up in conference this morning and strongly DEFENDED Trump immigration order

Are there going to be official minutes, or audio or video of this?
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:49 AM on January 31, 2017


Several members say Speaker Ryan stood up in conference this morning and strongly DEFENDED Trump immigration order

it is amazing how he is able to stand without a spine
posted by entropicamericana at 7:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [39 favorites]


Who is this clown talking now in the Sessions hearing? He basically just said "Who else is Trump supposed to pick? He's not allowed to pick his bother in law like JFK did." A constituent heckled him and was ushered out screaming I love This Country.
posted by archimago at 7:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [12 favorites]


Aargh, I ran out of favorites way up there. But thank you all, for keeping the sanity alive. When I woke up this morning to the news of Trump having fired Sally Yates, I was certain the coup was over and the world's largest economy and military power had been wholly taken over by a small band of psychos with no clue about what they are doing.
Now you have convinced me that it isn't completely over yet, and it's worth it to fight against the orange nazi (also I keep refreshing the UK petition like it is oxygen).
It's hard to stand here thousands of miles away and not be able to do much; seeing how so many of you are fighting the good fight is heartening. Keep up the resistance!
posted by mumimor at 7:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


You'd think someone looking to lead the DoE would know plagiarism is bad.

DeVos questionnaire appears to include passages from uncited sources
posted by chris24 at 7:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Ryan wants to get support for cutting Social Security, etc. He'll cut deals with Trump on any old thing as long as he can make sure we're all eating catfood in retirement. Or dead.
posted by Frowner at 7:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


Feinstein is voting NO on Sessions!

She's finally noticing everyone's horror at her waffling. There were going to be protests at all her offices this afternoon (there probably still will be, but this was the big impetus for them).
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


I don't know - there's a shameful number of British people utterly freaked out by polish plumbers, for instance.

I'd say there's a difference between "white refugee from war zone" and "white person who 'just' wants a better job", but yeah, racists will definitely shift their definition of Those People as necessary.
posted by Etrigan at 7:51 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Yes, it's possible this weekend's events were also a distraction from this.

Aside from what's already been said upthread about this sort of thinking erasing the very real harm being done right now to thousands of people because it's somehow not as important as a hypothetical future bad thing that you've imagined might happen, I also don't see how it's actually distracting from anything considering how, for example, I've now heard of the National Security Council for the first time in my life. More importantly, I actually think it works the other way. People getting angry at the Trump administration creates more scrutiny and more energy for protesting other abuses he's in the middle of or will commit in the future. I doubt the crowds at airports this weekend would have been as large without the Women's March because these things build and have momentum as people see they have some effects and bring people together, and that means they can do more on more issues, not less.
posted by Copronymus at 7:51 AM on January 31, 2017 [27 favorites]


I'm officially done with NPR. I hadn't been listening recently because they're so committed to false balance, and sure enough, I flipped over and Audie Cornish was interviewing a state AG who was planning to sue Trump over the executive order, and she interrupted him to say, "Well, the president has broad authority to control immigration, RIGHT?"

Fucking everyone already knows that the question is not whether the president has the power to issue EOs about immigration, but whether THIS PARTICULAR ONE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL ON ITS FACE.

Nice job taking him to task on something that you personally know is not in dispute.
posted by radicalawyer at 7:51 AM on January 31, 2017 [63 favorites]


Several members say Speaker Ryan stood up in conference this morning and strongly DEFENDED Trump immigration order

it is amazing how he is able to stand without a spine


This implies that he personally disagrees with what Trump is doing, but I see absolutely no evidence to support that
posted by saturday_morning at 7:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Who is this clown talking now in the Sessions hearing?

Lindsay Graham is talking now, so I'm guessing that's the specific clown you heard.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:53 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


NPR continues to straddle the fence between complicity in and collaboration with the regime.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


They're done straddling it. They've lubed up and are bearing down.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [14 favorites]


If you're wondering how the ban is being reported on Fox, an example is here. Due warning: you may wish to tear your sensory organs out at some point during the clip.
posted by jaduncan at 7:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


You fuck up the second CTL-C and your clipboard doesn't change.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Does it not stay logged in between uses?
posted by Fleebnork at 7:59 AM on January 31, 2017


qcubed, yasaman, sciatrix: thank you all very much for your posts, I'm taking them to heart. I'm sorry for the grief my ignorance caused.
posted by rocket at 7:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


Can someone recommend a nice, light ATC-esque morning show to ease into my day that isn't hosted by today's equivalent of Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw-Haw?
posted by entropicamericana at 8:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


Spicer strikes me as a guy who drops his phone into the toilet pretty regularly.
posted by Etrigan at 8:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [27 favorites]


Just use lastpass already.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Does it not stay logged in between uses?

Not if yer switching accounts.
posted by notyou at 8:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


You fuck up the second CTL-C and your clipboard doesn't change.

Twice in a week, and twice not bothering to see what the pasted text is *when posting on the press secretary account*? That's almost as impressive as thinking that the status bar is the password field, TBH.
posted by jaduncan at 8:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Senate Democrats boycott committee votes on Price and Mnuchin

This postpones the votes because the committees do not have a quorum.
posted by thecaddy at 8:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [88 favorites]


You fuck up the second CTL-C and your clipboard doesn't change.

That explains how it can get in the tweet box(been there done that, do it on metafilter all the time) but not the brains needed to push 'tweet' once it's in there.
posted by Jalliah at 8:02 AM on January 31, 2017


Re: Tweeting your password, if you have two-factor auth set up on Twitter you login with your username and password and then it texts you a number for the two-factor. For whatever reason, the number it texts you from is the same number (40404) that hooks into the text-to-Twitter system (that I don't think anyone uses anymore but used to be the primary way posting to Twitter worked, hence the 140-char limit). I *guess* I could see mistaking that as a prompt for your password and replying to it, which would then post to your Twitter account..?
posted by zempf at 8:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


I could not help but laugh helplessly at the fact that Tusk's letter to EU leaders did not include Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May 0:
posted by moody cow at 8:03 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


@marcorubio: Following orders of leftwing extremists, @SenateDems boycotted vote on @POTUS nominees for Treasury & HHS. They will still be confirmed! MR

Looks like Little Marco has gotten fully on board the Trump Choo-Choo.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


Twice in a week, and twice not bothering to see what the pasted text is *when posting on the press secretary account*? That's almost as impressive as thinking that the status bar is the password field, TBH.

There is a ~103% chance that Spicer is the kind of guy who types "google.com" into the search box, then clicks the first Bing result and does his search there.
posted by Mayor West at 8:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [56 favorites]


I *guess* I could see mistaking that as a prompt for your password and replying to it, which would then post to your Twitter account..?

Twice in a week when you're the press secretary?

I also really, really hope that I can't post to a major governmental account by just spoofing the SMS sender.
posted by jaduncan at 8:04 AM on January 31, 2017



Eric Geller at Politico says that the cybersecurity EO to be signed at 3:00 this afternoon "does not sound much like the draft that circulated."


Oh great. So somebody looked at it and thought wait a minute this doesn't look totally horrible. Give me the horrible version please.
posted by Jalliah at 8:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


That explains how it can get in the tweet box(been there done that, do it on metafilter all the time) but not the brains needed to push 'tweet' once it's in there.

Because you're a MAN OF ACTION who's going to SHOW THOSE FUCKERS and CTL-C ALT TAB CTL-V ENTER ALT TAB CTL-V ALT TAB CTL-V ENTER FUCK YEAH

oh shit
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [14 favorites]


@marcorubio: Following orders of leftwing extremists

Hey, look, everyone -- Marco got a Trump™ Mirror for Christmas.
posted by Etrigan at 8:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


Senate Democrats boycott committee votes on Price and Mnuchin

This postpones the votes because the committees do not have a quorum.


YES. Freaking YES. THIS is what you do when you're in the minority and when the majority is tyrannical. You gum up the works. You use every tool at your disposal, no matter how obscure or crude or downright weird. You put your body upon the gears and upon the wheels and levers. You just do it because you can and because it might just work.
posted by saturday_morning at 8:07 AM on January 31, 2017 [111 favorites]


We should probably be happy we haven't seen his dick yet.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:08 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]


Senate Democrats boycott committee votes on Price and Mnuchin

FINALLY fighting a little dirty. That's the type of thing that should ideally get people calls thanking them.
posted by jaduncan at 8:08 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


Can we please stop theorizing that the immigration ban is a distraction from X? I am not saying X isn't important, but the immigration ban is the death of whatever sense of honor the US had left. It's short sighted, discriminatory, ignorant, unconstitutional, and immoral.

It's short sighted because selfishly, our society functions with the assistance of tons of professionals from these countries, so it's not even like Trump is protecting private business either. If I were an MD from Iran, I would right now look into moving to Canada or Europe, even if it costs me time and money. The US already has a shortage of physicians.

Ignorant because it is written assuming that religious minorities are Christian, when many refugees fled because their particular doctrine of Islam was not the right one and so, are ALSO religious minorities, only apparently Muslim = bad so they are on their own.

Immoral because for many reasons, but for example the Special Immigrant visas fall under the umbrella of refugee, and they were for to those who helped our troops. It was a contract between us and those immigrants who put their lives at risk for years for us, and now we're doing essentially what Trump has been doing to all small business owners. They did their part and now we are swindling them.

I could go on, but honestly, the immigration ban is fucking heart breaking. It's not a distraction. It's real.
posted by Tarumba at 8:08 AM on January 31, 2017 [44 favorites]


Just added myself to the UK petition, mainly as a fuck-you to the Twitterers whinging about it.

Mind you they've got a rival petition up signed by the real British people as opposed to us imagination figments.
posted by threetwentytwo at 8:08 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Can someone recommend a nice, light ATC-esque morning show to easy into my day that isn't hosted by today's equivalent of Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw-Haw?

Hard to say - most progressive radio seems to be talk/call in. Am listening to the Stephanie Miller show via http://tunein.com/radio/Progressive-Voices-s189055/, if that helps.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:09 AM on January 31, 2017


How many Americans were going to pay attention to fighting in Ukraine anyway?

BTW the third episode of the series I linked to up above, documenting hate groups, is about the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian military group based in the far eastern end of the country, and their political arm the National Corps.

Presumably these are the guys who Russians are talking about when they say that they're fighting fascism and neo-nazis in Ukraine. Interesting to compare with the Night Wolves Russian biker gang whose members have gone to Ukraine to fight.
posted by XMLicious at 8:11 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


@marcorubio: Following orders of leftwing extremists

Following orders of rightwing extremists, @marcorubio kneels and kisses the ring reverently.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:12 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


Mind you they've got a rival petition up signed by the real British people as opposed to us imagination figments.

"Donald Trump should be invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a free world and U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that appose our point of view should be gagged."

I'm not a right winger, but even if I was I feel that a basic respect for the importance of literacy would make it hard to sign that.
posted by jaduncan at 8:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Simon Schama -

Ha'aretz reporting US embassy in Israel reassures 145,000 Jews born in Iraq and Iran of exemption from ban. Which means it IS a Muslim ban
posted by Devonian at 8:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [98 favorites]


People don't really mean that it's a distraction in the sense of relative importance on principle. They mean it has potential to be used as a DIVERSION.

And, yes, you deal with that by making sure you have enough resources (attention, money, bodies) that you aren't in fact diverting anything in a zero-sum sense.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:14 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


From the DeVos hearing:

"Collins now talking about the importance of each Senator having the ability to vote for any Cabinet nominee. Collins’ wording of her support in committee (everyone should get the chance to vote), but her personal “concerns” with the nominee diverge dramatically from the rest of the Republican caucus. She could, possibly, not vote/vote against on the floor."

- does this mean that Collins is opposing DeVos in the committee, or that she will vote yea in committee but may vote differently on the floor?
posted by anastasiav at 8:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Honestly, those do sound like errors that could've been made by a native Russian speaker.
posted by tel3path at 8:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


These fucking people!

Trump's former EPA transition head has a 'message of hope' about how the government will dismantle environmental policies

But Ebell told the conference that he brought "a message of great hope, both to the US and to the world, in terms of the changes that Trump administration will bring on energy and environmental policy."

Those changes include how Trump plans to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, defund UN climate programs, and undo Obama's climate action plan.

He said that the "first hopeful thing" was that Trump wants to jump start more fossil fuel production, which he added would be very popular in many parts of the US, away from what he referred to as the "bi-coastal elite."

..."The climate science community is actually quite small and yet I'm amazed by how many people have become public policy experts on the basis of being scientists," he said on Monday. "The expert class is full of arrogance or hubris, and people, at least in this election, have said we've had enough of that."


HOPE? It's fucking insanity.
posted by futz at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [53 favorites]


And, yes, you deal with that by making sure you have enough resources (attention, money, bodies) that you aren't in fact diverting anything in a zero-sum sense.

Yeah like "protest fatigue" there's not really a cure for this other than vigilance. Don't be distracted. If you're feeling fatigued, go home, rest, and come back. Ignoring the ban to pay attention to the "real" issue is also allowing yourself to be distracted.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


This postpones the votes because the committees do not have a quorum.

They need to make sure to send one senator (two are needed for quorum) to quorum call if they try to proceed without it (and I wouldn't put it past them). Make the United States Capitol Police hunt down the rest.
posted by Talez at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


- does this mean that Collins is opposing DeVos in the committee, or that she will vote yea in committee but may vote differently on the floor?

It means Collins is probably going to do the same fucking thing Collins always does, which is swear up and down that she's not going to take the football away at the last second and then take it away at the last second. I would love to be wrong.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Trump's former EPA transition head has a 'message of hope' about how the government will dismantle environmental policies

'How's that hopey-changey thing working out for you?'

Bannon's iPad strikes again.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2017


People don't really mean that it's a distraction in the sense of relative importance on principle. They mean it has potential to be used as a DIVERSION.

I'm having trouble seeing the difference.

When a magician wants to distract you from a move, he doesn't pull out a real pistol and actually shoot an audience member dead.
posted by Etrigan at 8:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [35 favorites]


HOPE? It's fucking insanity.

Audacity.
posted by saturday_morning at 8:18 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


When a magician wants to distract you from a move, he doesn't pull out a real pistol and actually shoot an audience member dead.

That's the difference.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


she's not going to take the football away at the last second and then take it away at the last second.

She's my Senator. I'm well aware of her issues. However, she's been getting pummeled pretty hard here by the teachers' union and many others. I'm just trying to figure out how she's voting (I can't watch the stream, the decisiondeskhq post is the best I've found.)
posted by anastasiav at 8:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


"The expert class is full of arrogance or hubris, and people, at least in this election, have said we've had enough of that."

The Brexit is spreading. It was a bad idea to let anyone come into contact with Gove, but we didn't know he was contagious when we let him leave the country.
posted by jaduncan at 8:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


pruitt and anyone who votes for his confirmation should be required to drink, cook, and bathe with nothing but flint water from here on out
posted by entropicamericana at 8:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [40 favorites]


That's the difference.

Which is to day, I think the people who worry about 'distraction' do understand that there are in fact lives and rights at stake here. That's why I think worrying about 'diversion' is more accurate. It's not a distraction.

It's a concern about whether we can respond to everything.

And we can.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:21 AM on January 31, 2017


HOPE? It's fucking insanity.

It's what rebellions are built on.
posted by Mayor West at 8:21 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


The Democratic leadership had better be resisting these appointments. If they don't oppose the appointment of such obvious threats to some of the community, I question what they think they are there for. It's literally the least I could respect.
posted by jaduncan at 8:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


and should any paper trail actually exist to become public

Bannon isn't consulting with anyone outside a small circle, so I really doubt he's stupid enough to write things down rather than just talking with that small circle.
posted by jaduncan at 8:26 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Senate Democrats boycott committee votes on Price and Mnuchin

This postpones the votes because the committees do not have a quorum.


Yes! That's what I'm talking about, Senate Dems!
posted by indubitable at 8:27 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


When a magician wants to distract you from a move, he doesn't pull out a real pistol and actually shoot an audience member dead.

When a judoka hits you with atemi, it hurts. Also it helps distract you so you are less likely/able to avoid the impending pin or the chokehold. These aspects are not in tension or contradiction; the pain is the whole fucking reason it works!

The immigration order sucks and hurts real people and competes for our attention with other things that suck and hurt real people. If using the word "distraction" or "diversion" increases infighting then drop it and find another way to characterize what's going on.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:27 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


I prefer to characterize it as "one snowflake in an avalanche of bullshit."
posted by Roommate at 8:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


That's why I think worrying about 'diversion' is more accurate. It's not a distraction.

It still reeks of smug privilege. It's not a diversion or a distraction or a feint or any other term you want to come up with. It's evil, in and of itself, and telling people that it's actually a different thing is not helping.
posted by Etrigan at 8:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


While the distraction/diversion language is disturbing, I read TFA and follow-ups differently. As I understood it, the idea is that if Trump/Bannon can get away with this unconstitutional and inhuman stunt, they will feel they can legitimately do more of the same, harming larger and larger groups including millions of American citizens until they have their fantasy fifties USA.

Obviously, there is no feasible economy for that fantasy, but that will only make them double up on the scapegoating and conspiracy mongering, and of course they will seek out the recourse of every failing authoritarian regime: war.
posted by mumimor at 8:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


> it is amazing how he is able to stand without a spine

Paul Ryan is Evil, Not Weak
The emerging meme that Paul Ryan is “spineless” gives him far too much credit. It implies that he would like to stand up to Trump but lacks courage. But I have no idea why anyone thinks standing up to Trump is his preference. He’s a full-on Trump supporter and collaborator because Trump can help him fulfill his longtime goals of passing massive upper-class tax cuts and brutalizing the poor: [...]
posted by tonycpsu at 8:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [55 favorites]


Can someone recommend a nice, light ATC-esque morning show to ease into my day that isn't hosted by today's equivalent of Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw-Haw?

Democracy Now! is available in daily podcast format. Not exactly light, but it does fulfill my need for "daily news audio" for times when I have to commute somewhere.
posted by indubitable at 8:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]



"The expert class is full of arrogance or hubris, and people, at least in this election, have said we've had enough of that."


Actually, you know what this reminds me of? The Cultural Revolution. There was actually a slogan about bad people who chose the "white (non-communist/bad/etc) road of expertise" instead of the red road of revolution, and that was part of the process by which many people starved and died.

OTOH, it also was instrumental in weakening Mao, the Gang of Four trial, etc, and paving the way for Deng Xiao-Peng's reforms. (Which, frankly, were pretty good ones, as much as he did a lot of bad stuff. Things could have gone totally off the fucking rails in the seventies/early eighties but DXP kept the lights on and managed some improvements. Subsequent leaders have been, IMO, much worse on economic policy.)

Anyway, the point is that if we choose the red road of GOP revolution over expertise, there will be a reckoning and the reds may not like it.
posted by Frowner at 8:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [31 favorites]


As Philip J. Fry said, "A man can sneak off and do two things."
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [12 favorites]




Gettin' primaried

The one thing I will say about the Republicans is that certain groups get to know their representatives will largely hold the line. If nothing else, I'd hope that the leadership know on an amoral level that they can either lock in much of what will soon be a majority minority vote or choose not to. Not resisting hard would be an act of extreme idiocy in even the medium term of politics. If they can't do that, yeah, for political and moral reasons primaries look good.

It's more moral than that, though. It's time to protect the people that the legitimacy of the party partly lies in protecting. As Ivanka Trump quoted, "if not now, when?" I mean, admittedly she cited it as Emma Watson, but you can't have everything. Hillel's point still applies.
posted by jaduncan at 8:35 AM on January 31, 2017


Are there any good live blogs for the confirmation hearings? I know I watched them live last time, but in the mood I'm in I think I'm likely to throw my computer through the TV if I tried.
posted by corb at 8:35 AM on January 31, 2017


Mod note: One deleted. Let's set down the "is the Muslim ban a diversion or some other word" thing -- people have said why this framing is a problem, going around in circles about it isn't gonna move anything forward, enough.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


I'm watching the Sessions hearing on CNN. Not sure if it is completely synchronous, might be a delay.
posted by archimago at 8:36 AM on January 31, 2017


Reports: Russian cyber spy treason cases linked to CIA

Sergei Mikhailov and Dmitry Dokuchaev, who worked for the cyber wing of Russia's FSB domestic intelligence service until their arrests in December, are accused of cooperating with the CIA, according to unnamed sources cited Tuesday by Interfax news agency.

No officials have publicly commented, but Russian media outlets with links to the security services have reported in detail on the case. An executive from cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab has also reportedly been arrested on linked treason charges

posted by futz at 8:37 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


The Kaspersky detail came out last week. I think the link to the CIA is new though.
posted by diogenes at 8:41 AM on January 31, 2017


For a laugh:
@ChelseaHandler: The ACLU has received over $24M in donations. That's $1 for everyone who attended trump's inauguration. & then 23.7 million more dollars.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [94 favorites]


FUCK. DeVos nom just went forward (ie out of ctte and to the full Senate), 12-11
posted by Westringia F. at 8:45 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Also, consider this. An deescalation of Ukrainian aggression could give cover for Trump to lift sanctions. Of course, there must first be escalation.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


I really fucking wish that people would abandon the idea of all this shit being distractions for other shit instead of Bannon & co just trying to do as much evil as possible at once. They're not playing chess, they're evil motherfuckers running around with glee now that they finally have power.

From upthread - I'm seeing that Medium article about how the Immigration Ban Is a Headfake - and others like it - all over facebook and it is really pissing me off. I'm so glad people here are pushing back!
posted by maggiemaggie at 8:53 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:54 AM on January 31, 2017


Also, consider this. An deescalation of Ukrainian aggression could give cover for Trump to lift sanctions. Of course, there must first be escalation.

More likely it's just Putin testing the resolve of the alliance as well as checking out what the US response is. Same way that Iran just didn't by testing the ballistic missile the other day. And China upping the rhetoric about war by saying they're preparing for it.
posted by Jalliah at 8:55 AM on January 31, 2017


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

He intends to be dictator, not president.
posted by Zalzidrax at 8:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [32 favorites]


I'd switch to wording that better reflects Trump's lack of control or incompetence, like Bannon's Puppet

Trump is Bannon's Poodle.
posted by HotToddy at 8:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

He wants to be a dictator and GOP Congress is happy to get all of their dream policies without having to actually vote on them (i.e. have accountability).
posted by melissasaurus at 8:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [12 favorites]


If we could get the news to mostly occur at 4:30 am PST when I wake up in a cold sweat and check the news on my phone, that would be great. As of now, it's kind of a waste of time, believe it or not.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


NOTE: I keep getting pleas from red states for people to show up to calls or meetings. Is there anywhere on MeFi I can post this where it might be seen by folks wanting to be active without getting Cortex upset? TIA

The Projects tab. And the IRL tab for events and actions.


Make sure to tell folks here, though, so we know about it. Many of us don't check IRL and projects regularly.
posted by sciatrix at 8:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

Remember when you were a kid and you'd pretend to be an astronaut or a race car driver? You distilled the game down to the most exciting parts. Zoooooooom!

Trump is a seven-year-old pretending to be President.

Zoooooooom!
posted by stolyarova at 8:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [29 favorites]


Ugh, it's so hard to pick which single issue to call/fax/email about when you're drowning in a sea of fetid, hateful political dogshit.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 8:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress

Some of it I think is actually that he wants the credit all to himself. If he just signed bills that Congress created, no one would know it was his "magic" that got it done. Plus they would have to actually be somewhat sane.
posted by corb at 8:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


After meeting with pharma lobbyists, Trump drops promise to negotiate drug prices

"But the President is simply keeping his campaign promises."
posted by notyou at 9:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [33 favorites]


Sophie1 and sciatrix: There's a current MeTa thread about activism, and if you've entered a location, you can set up IRL Mefimail alerts to let you know if there's a meetup within your specified area.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:00 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


Trump is a seven-year-old pretending to be President.

So this isn't so much the Producers Presidency as the Axe Cop Presidency?
posted by acb at 9:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [12 favorites]


Cripes, that crew can't even do populism right. Guys, you're supposed to buy off the masses with easy give aways once in a while!
posted by notyou at 9:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

That's how being king works, isn't it?
posted by Artw at 9:03 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


I have picked my issue to call about. I will be calling my House Rep and asking him to support this bill.

179 House Democrats, led by U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) today introduced legislation to defund and rescind President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from Muslim countries and suspending the refugee program.


Find your rep.

This needs to come to a vote. Republicans are trying to keep their heads down, but I want to force them to go on the record as opposed or in favor. Bring this to a vote, and if it doesn't pass, we can at least see who actually supports it and who doesn't. Don't let them hide.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:03 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Two reasons a)it advances the ideal of an imperial presidency, b)it tries to force Dems onto the defensive so they are compliant on legislative priorities.

I think various parts of the Republican caucus realize that their best chance of getting most of what they want is to act fast and keep the Senate from going into full obstruction mode.

The reality is rather than get the left to surrender it's actually forcing the opposite.
posted by vuron at 9:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Paul Ryan is Evil, Not Weak
The emerging meme that Paul Ryan is “spineless” gives him far too much credit. It implies that he would like to stand up to Trump but lacks courage. But I have no idea why anyone thinks standing up to Trump is his preference. He’s a full-on Trump supporter and collaborator because Trump can help him fulfill his longtime goals of passing massive upper-class tax cuts and brutalizing the poor: [...]


This. There is quite a lot of overlap in what the Ryan/McConnel/Norquist and the Bannon/Trump camps want to do America, that I see little to no chance of any GOP defections. So far all we've seen are EOs (any one of which could just as easily been legislated), and some confirmation discussions. When the legislative branch gets rolling, it will be hard to keep up with the firehose. Strap in.
posted by jetsetsc at 9:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


> FUCK. DeVos nom just went forward (ie out of ctte and to the full Senate), 12-11

Spoke too soon; one of those 12's was a proxy vote, which under the rules is not valid for a nomination unless all present members agree, making it 11-11. There is now some argumentation about what is to be done about that.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [28 favorites]


Senate Democrats boycott committee votes on Price and Mnuchin

Be sure to call or write to thank the committee members, especially if you're a constituent. Let them know we have their backs. I left an angry message for Warner this morning and wrote just now to thank him for the boycott. Good Senator! You get a cookie!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:04 AM on January 31, 2017 [18 favorites]




With the EOs, he gets all the attention. Plus, it takes a long time for bills to find their way to his desk. With the EOs, he can control the news cycle in a more significant way than with just another meeting with business tycoons.
posted by notyou at 9:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

Go listen to the Slate link about what he'd do on the 1st day.
posted by rough ashlar at 9:06 AM on January 31, 2017


Professional historians tell me that this is the state-of-the-art book on the rise of the German fascists - The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany, Richard J. Evans.

It is the textbook on how to take a democratic country which leads the world in culture, technology and science and burn it to the ground in twenty years. It starts with petty criminals using fear and greed to get support from farmers and peasants, in order to get power to hide their crimes, and how the various democratic parties and groups fell in line behind them through fear of losing popular support.

Ten quid on Amazon.
posted by Devonian at 9:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [57 favorites]


> FUCK. DeVos nom just went forward (ie out of ctte and to the full Senate), 12-11

Spoke too soon; one of those 12's was a proxy vote, which under the rules is not valid for a nomination unless all present members agree, making it 11-11. There is now some argumentation about what is to be done about that.


I am 100% in favor of Democrats adopting the "The card says 'Moops'" strategy.
posted by melissasaurus at 9:07 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


It starts with petty criminals using fear and greed to get support from farmers and peasants, in order to get power to hide their crimes

Don't we already have state and local governments?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:08 AM on January 31, 2017


> It starts with petty criminals using fear and greed to get support from farmers and peasants, in order to get power to hide their crimes

From upthread:

> Another new rule passed by the House that makes representatives' expenses private and non-discoverable: cite.
Jesus, these guys aren't even pretending to be ethical anymore.

posted by fragmede at 9:12 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


More from the "evil, not weak" department: Do Republicans Remember When They Promised They'd Be A Check On Trump?
House Speaker Paul Ryan: I'd 'Sue' A President Who Exceeded His Constitutional Powers

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: 'There Will Be Constraints' On Trump

Sen. Marco Rubio: I Will Be 'A Check And Balance On Whoever The President Is'

Sen. Orrin Hatch: I'll 'Ensure A President Trump Toes The Line'

Sen. Pat Toomey: I'll 'Stand Up To Any President's Bad Ideas'

Sen. John McCain: We Have Congress To 'Restrain Someone' Who Exceeds Constitution

Rep. Mike Coffman: 'I’ll stand up to him. Plain and simple.'
posted by tonycpsu at 9:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [71 favorites]


Alexander [Chair of the ed ctte] wants there to be a revote with everyone present. Dems saying this amounts to revoting because they don't like the 11-11 outcome, Sen Murray motions to overrule chair on this, debate is cut off.

Someone on a live mike during the vote to overrule: "this is totally alternative fact."
posted by Westringia F. at 9:14 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


Professional historians tell me that this is the state-of-the-art book on the rise of the German fascists - The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany, Richard J. Evans.

There's also some good recommendations (and history based advice) at:

A Yale history professor’s powerful, 20-point guide to defending democracy under a Trump presidency

In relation to that (para)military convoy with the Trump flag,
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries.

When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.
The extremist right is well aware of the role the Sturmabteilung/Brownshirts and seek to emulate it quite openly, e.g. see the logo of National Action, the organisation the guy who shot MP Jo Cox was a member of.
posted by Buntix at 9:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [31 favorites]


I am 100% in favor of Democrats adopting the "The card says 'Moops'" strategy.


"Wait! Wait! Cancel that…I guess it says 'helf.'"
posted by murphy slaw at 9:16 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


John Kelly just said he wanted to look at your browser history before letting you in the country.
posted by stolyarova at 9:16 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Trump’s Refugee Ban Is a Betrayal of Iraqis Who Risked Their Lives for Us, commentary by Michael Zacchea, a former U.S. Marine who was awarded two bronze stars for valor and meritorious service in Iraq.

As happy as I am this hero is speaking out, it makes me nostalgic for the time when one could presume Republicans -- which the media constantly presumes is "strong on defense" -- would respect a veteran's service.

Then came John Kerry's run against George W. Bush.

These people are snakes. While the day may come when we might forgive, we must not forget.
posted by Gelatin at 9:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


Not a professional historian, but I cannot favorite Devonian's rec of The Coming of the Third Reich hard enough.

It's an outstanding book, and it's a big part of why I'm currently putting on my shoes under the desk and going out to personally deliver some mail to my Republican senator as part of Tuesdays with Toomey.

We must hold the so-called center accountable.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [20 favorites]


The extremist right is well aware of the role the Sturmabteilung/Brownshirts and seek to emulate it quite openly

Do they know what happened to them?
posted by thelonius at 9:17 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


John Kelly just said he wanted to look at your browser history before letting you in the country.

Has anyone tried to FOIA the browser history of a congressperson yet?
posted by rough ashlar at 9:18 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


I just called my Senator (Mark Warner 202-224-2023) for the first time ever! For an introvert like me that's exciting and scary. I got through to a staffer and told her that I was proud of him for boycotting the committee vote, and that I expected him to continue to oppose Trump and that I hoped they would treat any SC nominees the same way Garland was treated. She thanked me and said she would pass that along to the Senator.

Now to get out of the house and protest!
posted by BigVACub at 9:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [30 favorites]


But what scares me is that these fascist policies and bigoted ideas have real social support.

They undoubtedly do, but I am heartened by seeing how much the opposite is true too, especially outside of deep blue areas. We really do outnumber them.


Yes we do. The Republican Party is acting like this is their last, best shot to ruin the nation implement their agenda for a reason. A party that is confident of its broad popularity doesn't need to indulge in voter suppression tactics.

Or play footsie with the Russians.
posted by Gelatin at 9:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


I think I have just reached the end of my rope. The DeVos thing has broken me.

If Collins had simply voted no instead of this hair-splitting bullshittery, DeVos' nom would have ended in committee and that would have been that. Now, as it stands, Collins gets to vote nay on the floor and say she voted "against" and DeVos gets to be SecEd anyhow, because there simply are not enough votes against in the Senate.

I have a son. He's the light of my life. He is brilliant and funny and a shining star. He wants to be a paleontologist. He wants to study science, and help us understand how the world was formed. He's ten. He has autism and adhd and disgraphia and a bundle of other issues, but with help from his amazing public school he is able to reach is full potential. And probably soon, very soon, not only will he not be able to get an education, but he also won't be able to get healthcare, because autism is a pre-existing condition.

I cannot protect him from these people. I cannot keep him safe. It doesn't matter how many calls I make or how much I march -- I cannot keep him safe.

I want to be clear that we are a white family living in a very, very blue city. We are not really in any danger. But then I think about the class photo that he brought home last week, with his classmates who were born -- literally -- all over the world. His class photo represents every race, every settled continent. It is my job to protect those children with the same ferocity as I protect and fight for my own. Lots of them are in more danger than he is, and are even more desperately in need of a high quality public education, and health care... and a safe place to live. Lots of them are refugees, coming from the very countries currently named as 'dangerous'.

But apparently, nobody gives a shit about those kids, or any kids, anywhere, any more. Nobody but me and the other moms and dads, and apparently we don't count to the people that we elected to represent us. We can march all we want, yell all we want, call all we want -- nobody is fucking listening.

I would very much like to leave the country, but we can't afford passports, and where would we go anyhow? I very much doubt we'd be approved to emigrate anywhere. So we're stuck here.

Anyway, there really isn't a point to this except that I am now not only out of evens, I am also out of fucks. Getting arrested or fired from my job won't help my family, so I'll endeavor to function at levels that keep me from doing those things. But I don't know much beyond that what I'll do.

This morning when I woke up there was a tiny shred of hope left in my heart. Its gone. It melted away like the last sliver of ice in the lake as the fire consumes the forest.
posted by anastasiav at 9:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [152 favorites]


are aware that extremists have infiltrated state and local law enforcement agencies

It's not infiltration if the agencies in question know about it. And tbf, that's good reporting from The Intercept, reminding us how policing in parts of the US is grounded in the history of slave patrols. The structural problems of Too Many Damn Police Forces, all with their own standards and command structure, are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

"Some of those that work forces / are the same that burn crosses."
posted by holgate at 9:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


That React logo sure looks like it might be atom bomb plans...

I think I'm going to not be flying home for the duration.
posted by Artw at 9:21 AM on January 31, 2017


I mentioned the Lock her up thing this morning as well, in the previous thread. I'm worried that he will justify it to himself as being popular with his base. That always did seem to get the biggest reaction from his rallies.

That's okay, NPR assures me it was all about economic anxiety, not sexism or racism.
posted by Gelatin at 9:22 AM on January 31, 2017 [21 favorites]


Someone definitely got to Kelly. He is onboard for the entire EO, said that people knew what was in it long before it was signed.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Anyway, there really isn't a point to this except that I am now not only out of evens, I am also out of fucks. Getting arrested or fired from my job won't help my family, so I'll endeavor to function at levels that keep me from doing those things. But I don't know much beyond that what I'll do.

This morning when I woke up there was a tiny shred of hope left in my heart. Its gone. It melted away like the last sliver of ice in the lake as the fire consumes the forest.
posted by anastasiav at 1:20 AM on February 1 [6 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

No! Not now! Not today!

You've got a message in your inbox.
posted by saysthis at 9:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]


I never really thought of Game of Thrones as a near future dystopia before.

"Summer is coming."
posted by Coventry at 9:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


The Ryan "spineless" link upthread is correct as far as it goes, but it still doesn't go far enough:
The emerging meme that Paul Ryan is “spineless” gives him far too much credit. It implies that he would like to stand up to Trump but lacks courage. But I have no idea why anyone thinks standing up to Trump is his preference. He’s a full-on Trump supporter and collaborator because Trump can help him fulfill his longtime goals of passing massive upper-class tax cuts and brutalizing the poor. ... Ryan does have serious principles. He is deeply committed to the principle of liberating the affluent from the burdens of progressive taxation. ... As long as Trump is willing to sign what Ryan and McConnell put on his desk, he’ll have their full support. Not because Ryan and McConnell are cowardly, but because Trump is useful to them and their substantively horrible and deeply unpopular agenda.
This suggests that rather than opposing Trump's actions but lacking the spine to stand up to them, Ryan in fact is callously indifferent as long as he gets his tax-cutting bills passed. But this too is wrong. Ryan may appear primarily dedicated to pro-rich tax cuts, and may even think of himself in that way, but that is mistaken. These things all stick together, and you can't spend 20 years dedicated to rolling back policies for the poor, attacking the under-privileged, and pushing through tea party policies without having opinions about those things. More empirically, Ryan has supported a variety of anti-poor legislative actions that have no connection to tax cuts (since they account for very little revenue, and in any case deficits don't matter where tax cuts are concerned). No, the truth is that Ryan is neither spineless nor indifferent -- like all successful Republicans these days, in his heart of hearts he supports punishing immigrants, (black) criminals and welfare recipients, LGBT folks, the "lazy" poor, and all the rest. He's just a garden-variety hatful Republican who simply supports what Trump is doing, and thus has no reason to oppose it. And he's no different than hundreds of silent "centrist" Republicans throughout Congress and state and local governments. They have been preaching hate for decades and they believe it. I'd say judge them by their actions and not their words, but heck, Ryan is becoming increasingly explicit in his words too. Scratch a "passively racist" Trump voter and you are likely to find an active racist. This goes double for career Republicans, especially snakes like Ryan.
posted by chortly at 9:26 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


I am 100% in favor of Democrats adopting the "The card says 'Moops'" strategy.

I am also in favor of the Democrats flooping the pig.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 9:26 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Doug Jones, Balloon Juice: The four people you meet in Hell
A few years ago I did a post about the three different kinds of conservatives in the media. I decided they were:
  1. “Atlas Shrugged” conservatives: Megan McArdle, the Reasonoids, Larry Kudlow, etc.
  2. “Chronicles Of Narnia” conservatives: Ross Douthat, Peggy Noonan, many other Catholic conservatives.
  3. “300” conservatives: Victor David Hanson, war bloggers, any neoconservatives.
I thought it might be time to revisit this classification in the age of Trump. [...]
  1. Narnians: Peggy Noonan, Rod Dreher (supporters); Ross Douthat (enabler). These are folks who believe that the United States is first and foremost a magical Christian nation. Therefore, Trump is at best Aslan and at worst a boob who was brought to power by left-wing excesses.
  2. Narcissists: Megan McArdle, Charles Lane, Frank Bruni, Nick Kristof. These self-styled centrists can’t let their beautiful minds be consumed by partisanship, so they have to spend as much or more criticizing impolite protesters and the Oberlin student council as they do criticizing Trump. Show business kids making movies of themself, you know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else. It pains me to leave Ron Fournier off this list, but he’s been very tough on Trump.
  3. Nihilists: Bob Woodward, most Republican elected officials, everyone who works at Axios. The nihilists have no political convictions, they only care about access and power. If you haven’t noticed, B Dub is all the way in the tank for Trump. Republican elected officials would give Satan a rim job if it killed the Great Society. Axios has already run a great deal of Satan-sponsored content.
  4. Neo-Nazis: Marc Thiessen, everyone at Breitbart. Needs no explanation. Say what you want about their tenets…
posted by tonycpsu at 9:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [33 favorites]


When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.

They've been doing this for years. The Oathkeepers, for example, include former and current military personnel. Dudes threateningly pacing around in tactical gear and semi-autos outside mosques, women's health clinics, and into black neighborhoods has happened for years. There's been nary a peep from the 2A community against it.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]




I haven't seen this posted yet (my apologies if I've missed it in this or the last few threads) but this commercial urging people to call their senators to confirm Jeff Sessions as AG has been running here in Florida for a couple days. I hope they really are shook.
posted by hollygoheavy at 9:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


After meeting with pharma lobbyists, Trump drops promise to negotiate drug prices

Just as we learn of a lawsuit accusing the three makers of insulin of price-fixing in order to kick back proceeds to pharmacy benefit managers, something already suspected by people who'd seen the prices of all insulin brands rise simultaneously over the past year.
posted by holgate at 9:30 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


Oh, bullshit! Kelly just said that the people who were "inconvenienced" were treated with "dignity and respect."

Tell that to the five-year-old you kept from his mother. Tell that to the mother and two children who were held for twenty hours without food. Tell that to the Iranian grandmother who was held without food for nine hours.
posted by stolyarova at 9:30 AM on January 31, 2017 [56 favorites]


Looks like Trump's NSA Michael Flynn deleted his Twit account sometime in that last 24 hours.
posted by futz at 9:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


I was trying to order The Coming of the Third Reich through Amazon (second hand)

it's backordered
posted by Tarumba at 9:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


I haven't seen this posted yet (my apologies if I've missed it in this or the last few threads) but this commercial yt urging people to call their senators to confirm Jeff Sessions as AG has been running here in Florida for a couple days. I hope they really are shook.

We're getting ones for Price here in PA. Like Trump's not bad enough, he has to bombard us with political ads outside election season.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


A party that is confident of its broad popularity doesn't need to indulge in voter suppression tactics.

This is, I'm sure, what's behind all of the "suck it up, buttercup" "you lost, stop whining" shite on social media. If we stfu, then they can start enjoying it, sit there like little kings signing their horrible Nazi laws into action. But people everywhere didn't stfu. We aren't going to stfu. We're going to keep "whining" and kicking and you ruined Trumpz inauguration for him, and on this side of the Atlantic I'm very sure we'll ruin his State visit and It's pissing them off.
posted by threetwentytwo at 9:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [45 favorites]


you ruined Trumpz inauguration for him

Maybe if they'd bothered to show up.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


From twitter: @Hegemommy: So did they just leak the SCOTUS announcement by still not understanding Twitter? https://twitter.com/JusticeNGorsuch
posted by pixie at 9:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


Well, that's it: the ctte revoted, and the DeVos nomination has been recommended to the Senate.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


From twitter: @hegemony: So did they just leak the SCOTUS announcement by still not understanding Twitter? https://twitter.com/JusticeNGorsuch

No. There's also one for Hardiman, at least.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:51 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


...Not with a bang, but a "whaddya gonna do?"
posted by tonycpsu at 9:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


From twitter: @hegemony: So did they just leak the SCOTUS announcement by still not understanding Twitter? https://twitter.com/JusticeNGorsuch

In the replies someone notes there's also https://twitter.com/JusticeHardiman because what is the Supreme Court if not a game show.
posted by zempf at 9:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Pixie... that's ridiculous. Yes, the answer is yes.
posted by samthemander at 9:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


I was trying to order The Coming of the Third Reich through Amazon (second hand)

it's backordered


I reread Evans' Coming when Trump won the nomination and while it's great it doesn't really illuminate much about our present situation. The 21st century American context is radically different than the Weimar era. The most you can learn to really apply to the present is that people are fucking monsters.
posted by dis_integration at 9:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


In the replies someone notes there's also https://twitter.com/JusticeHardiman because what is the Supreme Court if not a game show.

Wait, it should be noted that Hardiman's isn't locked and doesn't have his first initial.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:53 AM on January 31, 2017


oh! saner heads than mine prevail.
posted by samthemander at 9:53 AM on January 31, 2017


CNN Hires Hack Trump Advisor to Spout Gibberish About Economics

It's The Steves' world, we just live in it.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


I think I've called my Congresswoman and Senators more in the past few days than I have over the past 10 years.

The staff are always very nice and appreciative of feedback. Also, my kids now think I'm very important because of all the 'thank you for your feedback' letters we're getting from Congress.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]




MikeRUnderwood:
Sally Yates' house.
*Knock at the door.*
It's Barack Obama. W/an eye patch.
Obama: I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.
posted by nicebookrack at 9:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [40 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

He can't achieve his campaign promises by cooperation with Congress. I'm skeptical about whether he can achieve them at all, but it's always been clear that he'd have to do some kind of end run around their control of budget and legislation.
posted by Coventry at 10:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]



I was trying to order The Coming of the Third Reich through Amazon (second hand)

it's backordered


I tried too. Only second hand back orders. Decided to check out the 'free' way and the two places I found it at can't be accessed due to high traffic.
posted by Jalliah at 10:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


i feel like reality is bifurcating before my eyes. i'm scheduling business travel in march and making vacation plans for my daughter's spring break in april and i have to proceed as if the status quo will maintain long enough for those plans to come to fruition, but every day that seems more and more unlikely.
posted by murphy slaw at 10:08 AM on January 31, 2017 [29 favorites]


Spicer is briefing
posted by zachlipton at 10:10 AM on January 31, 2017


I'm travelling overseas this weekend and I am sick to my stomach about it. What will I come back to?
posted by ian1977 at 10:11 AM on January 31, 2017


... and how's your social media presence?
posted by ODiV at 10:12 AM on January 31, 2017


I always get a [shameful] kick from seeing Union members and leadership cheer-leading for right wing populists. They aren't great students of history and the look of incomprehension on their faces when the populist turns around and shucks them like shellfish is [shamefully] delightful.

Like a dog when you pretend to throw a ball and they run and run then "no ball" or the smaller bully who tosses a few kicks at the target, he might know that when they are done with the kid in glasses his "friends" will turn on him, but for now, he's doing the kicking.

What motivates this? Fear or Self-Interest. Masochism?

I have to keep pointing out to my dad that the Right Wing HATES and FEARS him, because he always ends up taking their side (and he's a union member)

Shameful Delight.
posted by NiteMayr at 10:12 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


What will I come back to?

Protests, blunders and walkbacks, general incompetence.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


I have all these bricks all of a sudden, and an appointment with the proctologist.
posted by Tarumba at 10:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


i feel like reality is bifurcating before my eyes. i'm scheduling business travel in march and making vacation plans for my daughter's spring break in april and i have to proceed as if the status quo will maintain long enough for those plans to come to fruition, but every day that seems more and more unlikely.

It was the realization that we are scheduling our board game night around all of the protests that did it for me.
posted by dinty_moore at 10:16 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Why is Trump doing so many EO's over signing bills passed by Congress?

Same reasons Obama did. Same reason any president does. (Interesting to see that they were particularly popular in the first part of the twentieth century.)
posted by IndigoJones at 10:16 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


So this Op that got the seal killed, civilians and the little girl that was US citizen looks like it may blow up more then it has already. It's looking more and more like a total cock-up. Trumpco has mumbled that it was just them going through with an Obama op but word is going around that this is a lie. Not that we should be surprised. I'm trying to track the sources on this.
But the implications are that the intel was bad or uncertain and instead of waiting he rushed it through in less then a week.
posted by Jalliah at 10:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [43 favorites]


#tuesdayswithtoomey is what Democracy looks like today.

I still haven't been able to go in person, but for now I content myself to be TwT-PGH Chief Data Entry Wrangler and IT Support Analyst, Assistant Questions Posed on Facebook Answerer, and Self-Appointed Nice White Lady Radicalizer.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


I had to wait for my copy of The Origins of Totalitarianism because it was back ordered. Seems some of us "coastal intellectuals" are re-building their real life libraries.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Trumpco has mumbled that it was just them going through with an Obama op but probably word is going around that that was a lie.

It sounds like they tried to repeat the Osama raid without proper preparation - possibly part of the shock and awe campaign?
posted by Artw at 10:21 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]



Found the lie part: SEAL, American Girl Die in First Trump-Era U.S. Military Raid

Contrary to earlier reporting, the senior military official said, the raid was Trump's first clandestine strike — not a holdover mission approved by President Barack Obama. The mission involved "boots on the ground" at an al Qaeda camp near al Bayda in south central Yemen, the official said.

"Almost everything went wrong," the official said.

posted by Jalliah at 10:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [44 favorites]


Just as we learn of a lawsuit accusing the three makers of insulin of price-fixing in order to kick back proceeds to pharmacy benefit managers, something already suspected by people who'd seen the prices of all insulin brands rise simultaneously over the past year.

As someone with diabetes who wondered for years how a drug invented in 1922 had a sticker price so high that half the time the pharmacy clerk ringing me up would be shocked at how much I was paying, but there were no cheaper alternatives, even reading the PDF of the lawsuit linked to in that article is quite interesting.

(For anyone else struggling with the cost of insulin, the solution I found is that Walmart has access to some sort of warp zone that lets them get around U.S. market prices and their pharmacies sell several kinds of insulin under the brand "Novolin" that are inexplicably far cheaper to buy directly, without insurance. It doesn't require a prescription to buy but I'd assume that you'd want to talk to your doctor before switching brands or types of insulin.)
posted by XMLicious at 10:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


New legislation requiring H1-B visa holders to make at least $130k, more than double of its current requirement

The shares of top Indian IT companies sank Tuesday in response to news of proposed U.S. legislation that would require salaries for H-1B visa holders to be doubled. The aim: to make it harder for companies to replace American workers with those from countries like India.
posted by futz at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


On the continuing WTF NPR train, APM's Marketplace journalist Lewis Wallace wrote a medium post a few days ago titled "Objectivity is dead, and I'm ok with it" about "how we must change what we are doing to adapt to a government that believes in “alternative facts” and thrives on lies", and was promptly fired for it.
posted by DynamiteToast at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [24 favorites]


Mod note: Couple comments deleted. I appreciate the effort but really, digging back in on exactly the pros and cons of the previously-debated "it's a headfake" article isn't a useful direction. If folks want to talk about the many bad things worth paying attention to, that's fine.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


"Almost everything went wrong," the official said.

Truly, a mantra for our times.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [47 favorites]


Spicer is now claiming "it's not a travel ban" because lots of other people who aren't banned are still coming into the country. Apparently, he would only accept the term "travel ban" if literally all travel was banned.
posted by zachlipton at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


FUCK. DeVos nom just went forward (ie out of ctte and to the full Senate), 12-11

Feinstein's mailboxes are all full and all of Harris' mailboxes are full but one. There's a single surly staffer picking up the phone at the LA office, but when asked how Senator Harris intends to vote on DeVos (per deludingmyself's excellent script) she said the senator didn't know she would vote, because the committee vote had just happened. WTeverlovingF??? How can she not know yet? Were the hearing snippets I've been seeing all over the web retroactively classified? What else is there to know?

I was too annoyed to push politely, so I just said I'd call again later. Jam those lines, y'all.

(Apparently it's possible to leverage anxieties against each other, because my typical anxiety about talking to strangers has succumbed to my even greater anxiety about living under a kleptocratic kakistocracy. So, um, yay?)
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 10:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


It's an incredible fuck up. Under any other admin heads would be rolling. They just made Anwar al Awaki immortal and sympathetic, and images of his kid will be driving terrorist causes for decades.
posted by Artw at 10:26 AM on January 31, 2017 [33 favorites]



I don't know how these things work in practice. As the article states Mattis was at a social event while this was occurring. Questions are out there as to why he was there and not where ever 'there' is while it was happening. No idea if it's normal for the Sec Def to have involvement while an Op like this is going on.

Anyone know?
posted by Jalliah at 10:28 AM on January 31, 2017


The aim: to make it harder for companies to replace American workers with those from countries like India.

Won't the companies just off shore then?
posted by drezdn at 10:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


Timothy Snyder: His election that November came as a surprise…
The terrorist attack came as a surprise. It was unclear whether he planned this himself, but it hardly mattered. He blamed the left, banned its parties, and had its leaders put in camps. A state of emergency was declared and never lifted. A one-party state emerged. The division of powers vanished. The parliament became a rubber stamp. The bureaucracy proved loyal to him. Bright and ambitious men with law degrees were found. For many lawyers and judges, professional ethics were somehow submerged in an understanding of the greater good of the nation, state, or race.
posted by monospace at 10:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Where are you guys getting local phone numbers for the senators? I can only find the DC offices for Feinstein and Harris. I even did a metafilter search and it didn't turn anything useful up.
posted by zug at 10:32 AM on January 31, 2017


I fucking hate the press interviewing Spicer.
posted by defenestration at 10:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


idiot is what we called GWB II. We need stronger words.

If it helps, I retweeted Trump's asinine excuse for not giving a week's notice for the travel ban (i.e., "the "bad" would rush into our country during that week") with the words, "You, sir, are an idiot who surpasses all other idiots by the sheer magnitude of your idiocy."

I still thought I'd drawn it mild.
posted by orange swan at 10:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Anyone know?

You mean this sort of thing? They don't have time to hang around like that when there are American citizens, green card holders and refugees to persecute.
posted by Artw at 10:32 AM on January 31, 2017


It's an incredible fuck up. Under any other admin heads would be rolling. They just made Anwar al Awaki immortal and sympathetic, and images of his kid will be driving terrorist causes for decades.

Trump repeatedly said he would kill the families of terrorists and that the military would not refuse him
. This sat very well with his supporters. I guarantee the administration and its supporters are happy an 8 year old was killed. The fact that she was a US citizen doesn't matter to them at all (and we can thank prior administrations for normalizing the extrajudicial killings of US citizens).
posted by jedicus at 10:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [50 favorites]


Won't the companies just off shore then?

Yes. Google/FB/Microsoft aren't going to stop wanting the cream of India's* CS courses, and neither is anyone else. None of the tech giants are in a position where they are going to let talent get sucked by competitors. Bigger campuses in the states where the engineers are is a bit of a no-brainer.

It does of course mean said engineers won't be paying US taxes or setting up startups in the Valley, but omlette/eggs/Trump-is-an-idiot-and-Bannon-hates-the-modern-world.

*insert state of choice.
posted by jaduncan at 10:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


The latest in Rally-wear
posted by shothotbot at 10:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


And it's happened again - Bomb threats at multiple JCCs today. Salt Lake City, UT, La Jolla CA, New Haven, CT, West Orange NJ, Syracuse, NY, Albany, NY and Boulder, CO. Possibly more (news is still breaking as case by case).
posted by Mchelly at 10:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [42 favorites]


Spicer is now claiming "it's not a travel ban" because lots of other people who aren't banned are still coming into the country. Apparently, he would only accept the term "travel ban" if literally all travel was banned.

And Trump himself called it a ban. Spicer is now arguing it's a "vetting system," not a "ban."

Spicer, showing no awareness Merrick Garland happened whatsoever: "The confirmation process is, the default is that if you're qualified for the position you should be confirmed, not the other way around. Most Democrats understand that having a court that is not fully operational is not the political fight to have." AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.
posted by zachlipton at 10:35 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


I never bought the Greenwaldian defense of Anwar Al Awaki. That guy was a motherfucker regardless of nationality and I am glad that he is dead. But this just makes no sense and is stupid, and makes us all less safe.
posted by Artw at 10:35 AM on January 31, 2017


zug: "Where are you guys getting local phone numbers for the senators? I can only find the DC offices for Feinstein and Harris. I even did a metafilter search and it didn't turn anything useful up."

They are listed on their websites usually: here is Feinstein's and the ones for Harris are listed at the bottom of her site here.
posted by erratic meatsack at 10:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Spicer says that Trump is calling it a ban because that's what the media is calling it.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


As the article states Mattis was at a social event while this was occurring. Questions are out there as to why he was there and not where ever 'there' is while it was happening. No idea if it's normal for the Sec Def to have involvement while an Op like this is going on.

Given that it's popular-imagination Seal Team 6 and we are also hearing that Trump maybe rushed the op, I would lay money on Trump not thinking he needed to involve Mattis, and just wanting a quick "propaganda victory" to take the heat off him with the executive orders. If I had access, I would lay money now on at some point the words "Obama just ordered them to do stuff!" being moaned whinily by Herr Trump.
posted by corb at 10:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


i will not send any more money to npr until they decide to grow a spine. (so basically, never again)

please consider shifting your donations to propublica or democracy now, and sending npr an email explaining what you are doing and why
posted by entropicamericana at 10:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


Where are you guys getting local phone numbers for the senators? I can only find the DC offices for Feinstein and Harris. I even did a metafilter search and it didn't turn anything useful up.

zug, check your memail.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 10:37 AM on January 31, 2017


zug:

Feinstein

Harris (at the very, very bottom of the page)
posted by anastasiav at 10:38 AM on January 31, 2017


Where are you guys getting local phone numbers for the senators?

From their websites. For example, Debbie Stabenow's (MI) are in the bottom of every page, but you have to hover over each branch location in order to get the number. Where as Gary Peters (MI) has his own dedicated page.
posted by INFJ at 10:39 AM on January 31, 2017


From article about protest crackdowns.

Heath Montgomery, a spokesperson for [Denver International], told a local reporter that the regulation is intended to protect airport patrons’ safety. “We have to ensure that people who use this airport are safe and able to go about their business uninterrupted and that’s going to remain our focus,” he said.

We must keep the trains on time.
posted by NorthernLite at 10:39 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


ATTENTION: THE ACLU IS COLLABORATING WITH Y COMBINATOR.

PETER THIEL AND MARK ANDRESEN ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH Y COMBINATOR.
posted by Yowser at 10:39 AM on January 31, 2017


Possibly more

Milwaukee had one today, too.
posted by drezdn at 10:40 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


ATTENTION: THE ACLU IS COLLABORATING WITH Y COMBINATOR.

If you're referring to this, Y Combinator is helping out the ACLU, not the other way around.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 10:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


Spicer is cracking. He's insisted it's not a "ban," and then himself called it a "ban." And he blames the press for the fact that the President himself called it a "ban" in his tweet, as if reporters can decide what words the President uses. He's angry and starting to break.
posted by zachlipton at 10:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [45 favorites]


Given that it's popular-imagination Seal Team 6 and we are also hearing that Trump maybe rushed the op, I would lay money on Trump not thinking he needed to involve Mattis, and just wanting a quick "propaganda victory" to take the heat off him with the executive orders. If I had access, I would lay money now on at some point the words "Obama just ordered them to do stuff!" being moaned whinily by Herr Trump.

They already did moan that. And now a military came out and said it didn't have anything to do with Obama and was all Trump.
I can't see this sort of shit going over well in military circles, especially if Mattis was left out. From what I read yesterday people were cautious about Trump and would continue to be unless he started ordering stupid risky shit that would get our buddies killed.

You probably know much better then I how this would be looked at from their POV.
posted by Jalliah at 10:44 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


He's getting crushed there. The press isn't buying it.
posted by azpenguin at 10:44 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Spicer is asked about Trump's previous statements about taking out terrorists' families. He ducks the question.
posted by zachlipton at 10:45 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


I feel like I already know the answer to this unfortunately, but what are the chances that the house oversight committee or some other body investigates the botched op a la Benghazi? (Or you know, a normal investigation that's actually their job)
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


As the article states Mattis was at a social event while this was occurring. Questions are out there as to why he was there and not where ever 'there' is while it was happening. No idea if it's normal for the Sec Def to have involvement while an Op like this is going on.

In general, it depends how big the op is. It's not like SecDef gets out of bed every time someone kicks in a door. I doubt this mission started out as 'let's whack the kids', but it's a two chopper raid of a very high value target's family. I could imagine it either way, and I'd make a no-special-knowledge guess that some form of high level SOCOM contingent were handling it while Mattis was at the event with instructions to contact him if it all went tits up. Which it did, and he then turned up. Aside from the monumental level of screwup that appears to have occurred and/or RoEs that allow shooting kids, it's relatively normal looking at it in purely chain of command terms. Remember, Mattis isn't directly military these days.
posted by jaduncan at 10:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


correct horse battery staple, Sean! correct horse battery staple! You can do it!
posted by maudlin at 10:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


"There are no American troops in Baghdad. "
posted by MattWPBS at 10:47 AM on January 31, 2017


n general, it depends how big the op is. It's not like SecDef gets out of bed every time someone kicks in a door. I doubt this mission started out as 'let's whack the kids', but it's a two chopper raid of a very high value target's family. I could imagine it either way, and I'd make a no-special-knowledge guess that some form of high level SOCOM contingent were handling it while Mattis was at the event with instructions to contact him if it all went tits up. Which it did, and he then turned up. Aside from the monumental level of screwup that appears to have occurred and/or RoEs that allow shooting kids, it's relatively normal looking at it in purely chain of command terms. Remember, Mattis isn't directly military these days.

Awesome. Thanks.
posted by Jalliah at 10:48 AM on January 31, 2017


And it's happened again - Bomb threats at multiple JCCs today. Salt Lake City, UT, La Jolla CA, New Haven, CT, West Orange NJ, Syracuse, NY, Albany, NY and Boulder, CO. Possibly more (news is still breaking as case by case).

These threats are some incredibly sick shit. We (non-Jewish people) should probably call/email/contact local synagogues to voice support for our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors. Antisemitism is baked into this so-called administration, and we must oppose it.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 10:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [28 favorites]


I feel like I already know the answer to this unfortunately, but what are the chances that the house oversight committee or some other body investigates the botched op a la Benghazi?

Let's just say that Slim has left town.
posted by Etrigan at 10:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Spicer: "No American citizen will ever be targeted."
posted by zachlipton at 10:49 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


The thing this is doing for me is that since I am on the phone now multiple times a day talking to my increasingly surly congressman and senators staff, I am becoming BRAVE AND FEARLESS about talking on the phone.

Soon I will be able to call for takeout in a voice like a brazen gong, thick with confidence and stuff.
posted by winna at 10:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [109 favorites]


Boy, he bailed in a hurry.
posted by azpenguin at 10:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Damn it, the Lewis Wallace firing kills me because for months now Marketplace has been the one public radio program I could count on to call out the inconsistencies/unsupported claims/outright lies of Trump et al. I specifically pledged support to APM rather than NPR because of it.
posted by Flannery Culp at 10:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


My overly long comment about the headfake article among those deleted in the course of moderation and I'm sort of bummed out about that. You are loved and appreciated, LobsterMitten.

I'm going to go take a walk to clear my head. It is probably good if folks do that same thing when they're getting emotionally invested in a metafilter thread. I am not sure what is a useful direction for this thread to take, and perhaps a break will help me figure that out.
posted by enfa at 10:50 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Oh man I am bummed the CSPAN feed just cut after Spicer fled. Sounded like things were about to pop off with the press.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:51 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


These threats are some incredibly sick shit. We (non-Jewish people) should probably call local/email/contact synagogues to voice support for our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors. Antisemitism is baked into this so-called administration, and we must oppose it.

Yes. Mosques and Muslim community centers, too. Probably Sikhs as well, since the American Nazis think they're Muslims. The time may soon come when we need to be protecting these places with our bodies 24/7.
posted by biogeo at 10:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


Spicer: "No American citizen will ever be targeted."

"It will totally be an accident."
posted by XMLicious at 10:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


I started to post thoughts and feelings and they got long, so I posted them at my blog. TL;DR version: I am so fucking tired.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Spicer says that Trump is calling it a ban because that's what the media is calling it.

Well if THAT is the case, has "the media" thought of calling Trump Not the President?
posted by rough ashlar at 10:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]



I feel like I already know the answer to this unfortunately, but what are the chances that the house oversight committee or some other body investigates the botched op a la Benghazi?


It's the same as the answer to "Is there a Clinton in charge?"
posted by drezdn at 10:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


Wasn't the little girl killed in the raid an American citizen?
posted by rocket at 10:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [9 favorites]


Just got back from Philadelphia's Tuesdays with Toomey! It was the first time I've actually made it, and I'm so happy I did, despite the fact that it was pretty painfully cold out there. This week's topic was the repeal of the ACA and there were...a couple hundred people, at least. I got there crazy-early and was terrified that I'd be standing there alone or something, but twenty minutes before the stated start time, there were easily a hundred people already there.

It was fantastic to see such a huge number of people turn out. My favorite is the signs that are clearly made out of anything to hand -- the top of a takeout container, a shoebox. (Someone made a giant rubber stamp out of cardboard which was amazing.) Everyone was super-friendly and fired up, and there were a couple of middle-aged ladies who would start chants and just -- it was hopeful, and positive and empowering, with lots of encouragement to call people, etc. I'm really excited about next week's, too!

(For the record, it was a relatively light police presence, and my friend caught them cheering at a few of the speakers. Also, even more amazingly since Philadelphia, no one was a dick about us filling the sidewalk and part of the street itself.)
posted by kalimac at 10:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [22 favorites]





And it's happened again - Bomb threats at multiple JCCs today. Salt Lake City, UT, La Jolla CA, New Haven, CT, West Orange NJ, Syracuse, NY, Albany, NY and Boulder, CO. Possibly more (news is still breaking as case by case).


Is there any word on investigations into this?
posted by Jalliah at 10:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


If anyone is lacking for courage/red-hot-rage when they call their respective congresscritters, let me suggest you queue this up in between calls. Also useful if you find yourself apathetic about the outcome of the election, or need a non-pharmaceutical way to correct your hypotension. [real, but if you've read this far, listening to this song will probably cause a red veil of rage to cover your vision]
posted by Mayor West at 10:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


My hyper-local group who is targeting my frail-spined Congressman (Sherman (D-CA) went and took bunches of flowers and cards down to the local mosque yesterday - brought their kids to play in the preschool with the kids from the mosque. Super sweet and well done.
posted by Sophie1 at 10:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Yea just to reiterate for those not watching Spicer's briefing, I've watched 3 of these now and that was easily the most uneasy and combative, and he really lost the room and just bailed at the end.
posted by DynamiteToast at 10:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [16 favorites]


Thank you Sophie1, I had thought that America didn't care about the terrorist attack.
posted by Yowser at 11:01 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]




The Ryan "spineless" link upthread is correct as far as it goes, but it still doesn't go far enough:

All you need to know about Paul Ryan is that he gives out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents and requires all his staff and interns to read it. His goal is to create an Ayn Rand dystopia.

Wait, interns too? Isn't that child abuse.
posted by JackFlash at 11:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Wasn't the little girl killed in the raid an American citizen?

Yes. I really cannot overstate how much of a screwup I think that represents. Propaganda about how the US will even kill their own country's children if they are Islamic will be coming up very soon, I would imagine.

I would also imagine it will run with Trump's quote about being prepared to kill people's entire families rather than just the combatants, because even idiots are going to connect those two dots.
posted by jaduncan at 11:02 AM on January 31, 2017 [23 favorites]


bluecore: "This is disturbing. Thread with more info starting here:

Reports from LA that US Marshals are refusing to enforce fed court orders against CBP. They've been instructed to take orders from US Atty.
"

Jesus, that is a genuinely frightening read.
posted by erratic meatsack at 11:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [18 favorites]


Even Bush never made it this easy for exremists to say "America will kill your children to take your oil" with supporting quotes, video clips and actions.
posted by Artw at 11:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Really hoping that at least one law enforcement agency will stand up to enforce the law...
posted by DynamiteToast at 11:05 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Meanwhile, in the world of leaked possible-future-EOs.
The Trump administration is considering a plan to weed out would-be immigrants who are likely to require public assistance, as well as to deport — when possible — immigrants already living in the United States who depend on taxpayer help, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Washington Post.
Christ.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:06 AM on January 31, 2017 [18 favorites]


Yes. I really cannot overstate how much of a screwup I think that represents. Propaganda about how the US will even kill their own country's children if they are Islamic will be coming up very soon, I would imagine.

I would also imagine it will run with Trump's quote about being prepared to kill people's entire families rather than just the combatants, because even idiots are going to connect those two dots.


It's already be used. I'll see if I can find the article I read that talked about how quickly it made it into ISIS propaganda world. It was fast.
posted by Jalliah at 11:07 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Well, that's it, then. Coup complete.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:07 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


Sopan Deb has a culture story that's kind of frivolous under the circumstances, but this anecdote is pretty golden. Trump Scorns the Pop Culture World He Once Cultivated:
“There’s a large sculpture in the middle of the room, a brass floor piece by Donald Judd,” Mr. Muschamp wrote. “Evidently Mr. Trump mistakes it for a coffee table, for he uses it as one, tossing his overcoat and some binders full of pictures on top of it as we walk over to the painting.”

For his part, Mr. Trump openly praised Mr. Muschamp’s article about the museum visit.

“They say it was the longest article ever written in The New York Times,” Mr. Trump told Mr. D’Antonio, the biographer.
And on Billy Joel attending Trump's wedding:
But some of Mr. Trump’s wedding guests weren’t exactly close friends. Mr. Joel, for example, told a radio station last year that he didn’t know why he was invited.

“I don’t remember much because I think I drank too much,” Mr. Joel said. “But I don’t really know him that well. You know, I think I met him once or twice.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:07 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Even Bush never made it this easy for exremists to say "America will kill your children to take your oil" with supporting quotes, video clips and actions.

Ah yes, I forgot the many clips of him saying the oil should be taken. There really is literally almost no field they haven't been irresponsible in.
posted by jaduncan at 11:08 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Well, that's it, then. Coup complete.

Yep pretty much. Is there even any other law enforcement that could enforce the order?
posted by Jalliah at 11:09 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Trump makes as much sense as an ISIS plant as he does a Russian.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:10 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


I would also imagine it will run with Trump's quote about being prepared to kill people's entire families rather than just the combatants, because even idiots are going to connect those two dots.

You know, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but are we sure that Trump wasn't just okay with this? It seems like a hell of a coincidence that we wouldn't know about the girl and would just approve a risky op like that.
posted by corb at 11:10 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


He really wants his Reichstag fire/is just fucking stupid.

Mainly I think some idiot let him watch Zero Dark Thirty.
posted by Artw at 11:11 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


soren_lorensen: "Meanwhile, in the world of leaked possible-future-EOs."
The administration would be seeking to “deny admission to any alien who is likely to become a public charge” and develop standards for “determining” whether an immigrant can be deported after five years if that person receives a certain amount of public assistance, including Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid.
i have a well of endless screaming that will never runneth dry
posted by erratic meatsack at 11:13 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


I just left voicemail at ABC about the NSC shakeup. Coverage of it was on This Week (you'll need this info to press buttons to get to their voicemail). Here's my script. They give you 30 seconds. (ALL CAPS are to remind me to emphasize important words.)

"Martha Raddatz's coverage FAILS to mention that the NSC is responsible for deciding who's on Kill Lists. Kill Lists label people as "SUSPECTED" terrorists and our government orders our military to kill them. The people killed include American citizens. NOW, the NSC makes these decisions with NO mandated input WHATSOEVER from Intel, or the Joint Chiefs. There is NO PUBLIC RECORD of the decision making or the executions. Does this make you proud to be American?"

Suggestions for improvement welcome. Media people, is it important to leave my name and phone number? I didn't, because I didn't want to cut it down further.

I'm focusing on this because it looks to me like Bannon's shortcut to trigger riots, martial law, etc.

Copying & pasting the following from the brilliant user who put this in the previous thread:

This is how we oppose Bannon. We apply our pressure to changing the narrative:
CBS customer service: (212) 975-3247
ABC customer service: (818) 460-7477
CNN Customer service: (404) 827-1500
Fox News customer service: (888) 369-4762
NBC and MSNBC: (212) 664-4444
CNBC: (201) 585-2622
Associated Press: (212) 621-1500
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 11:14 AM on January 31, 2017 [41 favorites]


msm needs to get this failed mission on the front page - like with Operation Eagle Claw (failed iranian hostage rescue c. 1980). it's a big deal. part of supporting the troops is not-sending-them-to-die-for-pr-opps. goddamn. this (disturbing and graphic) photo was on the cover of a popular news mag the week after (i think time?). it was the image that humanized warfare for me. that poor guy...
posted by j_curiouser at 11:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Every day it's a new bombshell. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first one to say this, but Trump (with Bannon's hand up his ass), is lobbing these edicts like the velociraptors testing the fences in Jurassic Park. Let's see what they do/how they react/who they call/where they move when we do _______, write it down, and then modify our strategy accordingly.

Believe me when I say that Bannon is as evil as political animals come, but he's no dope. There is a larger endgame at work.
posted by prepmonkey at 11:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [17 favorites]


Isn't likelihood to become a public charge already grounds for inadmissibility or a change of status? Like, that's already the law?
posted by zachlipton at 11:15 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Not if you decide the standards are "you have to have 10 thousand dollars in your bank account" or "You have to come from a developed country"
posted by Tarumba at 11:17 AM on January 31, 2017


Thanks to someone way upthread, and let me re-amplify the Fax Your Senator link (Faxzero, 5 free faxes a day, already has prefilled info for each state and district).

I've successfully faxed my rep and senators, including Toomey, which sure felt like pissing into the wind, but still.
posted by Dashy at 11:18 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


zachlipton: "Isn't likelihood to become a public charge already grounds for inadmissibility or a change of status? Like, that's already the law?"

YES. I can't get over how stupid this is and really should have quoted the following portion of the article:
That’s partly because under existing federal law, new permanent residents, or green-card holders, are unable to qualify for welfare and other public benefits during their first five years of residency. Immigrants who entered the United States illegally also are unable to obtain federal welfare benefits.

Refugees are an exception, and advocates note that while those fleeing war and strife at home tend to need assistance upon arrival, they generally begin contributing to the economy within a few years.
This is like, stupid spite. Stupid.
posted by erratic meatsack at 11:18 AM on January 31, 2017 [26 favorites]


Like, that's already the law?

What is this word "law"?
posted by tobascodagama at 11:18 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]



I just read about how the Marshalls, what they're responsible for and the chain of command. Straight up to the DOJ, so if DOJ says don't enforce (which they will now since Yates is gone) then they won't. So the DOJ is now ignoring the laws and legal system that it oversees. And therefore not much can be done to enforce the court orders.

If this a correct read on how it works?
posted by Jalliah at 11:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'm really, really, really hoping that the report about the Marshals is false. I don't think it is. But I really, really hope.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:19 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


zachlipton: The impression they want to give of the immigration process is that it's as easy as walking over the border and there needs to finally be some vetting in place, despite every process to get into and live in this country legally already being ridiculously overwrought, complicated, and lengthy.

It's kind of obviously something they feel they can only get away with because their supporters have never and will never frankly talk to anyone who's gone through the processes
posted by flatluigi at 11:20 AM on January 31, 2017 [22 favorites]


Manchin won't filibuster SCOTUS. They need 7 more.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:21 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


You know, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but are we sure that Trump wasn't just okay with this? It seems like a hell of a coincidence that we wouldn't know about the girl and would just approve a risky op like that.

Jalliah's NBC News link said that Al-Awlaki's widow, the girl's mother, was there too but not killed. It didn't say whether she's a U.S. citizen, though. Al-Awlaki's brother-in-law is among those killed, too.
posted by XMLicious at 11:21 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


You know, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but are we sure that Trump wasn't just okay with this? It seems like a hell of a coincidence that we wouldn't know about the girl and would just approve a risky op like that.

I'm not sure what they were thinking; as I said above, WTF RoEs. I'm frankly surprised that the SEALs on the ground actually fired on so many apparently non-threatening civilians regardless of what the RoEs might or might not have said and (allegedly) burnt a house to the ground with civilians in. A completely rushed risky op and a fire from a flashbang I can certainly believe, but a lot of people have to say it's OK for experienced soldiers to be shooting children. I don't know about you, but to me that doesn't sound like an NCO/junior officer level choice.

It's also sticking out like a sore thumb that nobody from the US side has explicitly denied the civilian shooting story. The point I'm at, horrifyingly enough, is that I could completely believe that the orders and RoE were shocking but I'd like to think that the SEALs have enough professionalism to not intentionally just shoot anything moving.
posted by jaduncan at 11:22 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Re: the court orders not being enforced - well, if we're no longer a nation of laws, there's going to be a lot of 1%ers who are going to be unhappily surprised along with the rest of us. I wonder how the Koch brothers are feeling about their contracts and their paper (or electronic) shareholdings, if all laws are up to selective enforcement.
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:23 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Reports from LA that US Marshals are refusing to enforce fed court orders against CBP. They've been instructed to take orders from US Atty."

Jesus, that is a genuinely frightening read.


That sounds like confusion by the US Marshals more than anything else. US Marshals, though the enforcement branch of judiciary, are part of DOJ and are looking for direction from above.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:24 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Until the courts do something to defy the will of the 1%ers, I doubt this will be a concern for them.
posted by erratic meatsack at 11:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


I know some of the tech. companies have been very critical of the immigration ban - but has any other companies said anything? IBM, GE, Ford, Workforce, Tyson, Etc. Etc.? I would think these companies also have a lot to lose with this policy.
posted by rosswald at 11:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


NPR continues to straddle the fence between complicity in and collaboration with the regime.

They're done straddling it. They've lubed up and are bearing down.

I think I shared this previously, but it's apropos.
(link in MF post sfw. gif in twitter feed may not be.)
posted by prepmonkey at 11:25 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Apparently it's possible to leverage anxieties against each other, because my typical anxiety about talking to strangers has succumbed to my even greater anxiety about living under a kleptocratic kakistocracy.

This happened to me in the primaries.
posted by Coventry at 11:27 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Manchin won't filibuster SCOTUS. They need 7 more.

Anybody in WV? Pick up the phone.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Isn't likelihood to become a public charge already grounds for inadmissibility or a change of status? Like, that's already the law?

I don't want to alarm anyone, but I think I may see the shape of Bannon's plan, but it's going to make me sound a little crazy to say out loud. Hear me out, I think this is a real possibility.

So the 7 country ban supposedly has the effect only on those countries, right? But in real, practical effect, who is going to spend so much time and money on something they think can be yanked away at any moment, any part of the way through the process? So you will have lower immigration to the US.

Now if you were a racist like Bannon trying to stop demographic change in the US, where would you look? Birthright citizenship and children, because the children of green card holders, if born here, are citizens. Well, it's impossible to stop people from having children. But the line that stands out there for me is including Medicaid. Why include Medicaid? Well, how expensive is a hospital birth? About 10k. If you don't have the cash, and you use a hospital to have your baby, then you have been a "drain on the public purse" and can be deported - along with, most likely, your new-citizen child, because who is going to keep a newborn alone in the US? Also just the threat of it is likely to land you towards home birth - less recorded, less citizen-provable, and with a much higher mortality rate.

I don't want to think this is their plan, but it really seems like these executive orders are starting to fit together.
posted by corb at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [53 favorites]


This happened to me in the primaries.

Oops, I mean that as an expression of support, not as an opening to a relitigation of the primaries. Sorry.
posted by Coventry at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm getting rather tired of assorted pols and media people smirkingly using the tired phrase "Saturday/Monday night massacre" as a cool-kids-table political metaphor about yesterday's firings mere days after several people in Quebec were killed in an actual, literal massacre. Ye gods, are we not doing phrasing anymore? And speaking of phrasing:

@marcorubio: Following orders of leftwing extremists

God I hope you never meet any real left-wing extremists, Marco, you weasel, because about the only thing they'd have to say to you is "Up against the wall, motherfucker."
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [40 favorites]


That sounds like confusion by the US Marshals more than anything else. US Marshals, though the enforcement branch of judiciary, are part of DOJ and are looking for direction from above.

Right. They're looking for direction from the executive, which is currently controlled by a bunch of fascists, about whether they should enforce a court order against another branch of the executive. We don't need to guess what "direction" they'll receive, and we don't need to guess that the same thing will happen the next time we count on them to enforce a court order that the fascists don't like.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:28 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


Not if you decide the standards are "you have to have 10 thousand dollars in your bank account" or "You have to come from a developed country"

That's, to strip away all the legal gobblygook about presumption of immigrant intent and such, a first order approximation of the standards to get a visitor visa now.
posted by zachlipton at 11:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


I just read about how the Marshalls, what they're responsible for and the chain of command. Straight up to the DOJ, so if DOJ says don't enforce (which they will now since Yates is gone) then they won't. So the DOJ is now ignoring the laws and legal system that it oversees. And therefore not much can be done to enforce the court orders.

If this a correct read on how it works?


I think they report to the AG (or acting AG), so the AG can tell them to ignore it and they'll have to. But, I think then the court can find the AG/specific parties in contempt of the court order and threaten sanctions, fines, or jail time. But if the US Marshals refuse to enforce the contempt order, then we have a constitutional crisis and I'm not sure what happens then.
posted by melissasaurus at 11:29 AM on January 31, 2017 [10 favorites]


Isn't likelihood to become a public charge already grounds for inadmissibility or a change of status? Like, that's already the law?

After five years you can successfully use benefits without fear of reprisal. I'm guessing TOG wants to expand that to indefinitely.
posted by Talez at 11:30 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'm clinging to hope on the Marshal story. It seems to be "just" (ha) another situation with the DOJ saying "we don't know what we're supposed to do so we're waiting for orders", not a final decision. And the Marshals are listening to the US Attorney not because they are abdicating their responsibility to deliver the orders to CBP, but because they are trying to figure out who at either CBP or DOJ will accept the orders on CBP's behalf. In other words, not that they are refusing to enforce judicial orders and refusing to hand the papers to someone, but no one will take them.
posted by alligatorpear at 11:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


I think they report to the AG (or acting AG), so the AG can tell them to ignore it and they'll have to. But, I think then the court can find the AG/specific parties in contempt of the court order and threaten sanctions, fines, or jail time. But if the US Marshals refuse to enforce the contempt order, then we have a constitutional crisis and I'm not sure what happens then.

We find out if Gödel was right.
posted by Talez at 11:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Corb, that's actually part of it and pretty blatant. This is from the same article:
It also instructs DHS and the State Department to submit a report on “the steps they are taking to combat the birth tourism phenomenon,” meaning instances in which noncitizens come to the United States to have children, who in turn gain citizenship, a popular conservative refrain but one that is dismissed by immigration experts as a relatively minor problem.
posted by erratic meatsack at 11:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [25 favorites]


Won't the companies just off shore then?

I don't understand it, but people have been talking about offshoring software development for decades, and it hasn't happened. It seems like a perfect fit for offshoring, since transport and communication costs are basically zero. But it doesn't seem to work out that way for some reason.
posted by Coventry at 11:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


On the other hand: IBM—Whose CEO Advises Trump—Calls for ‘Openness’ After Immigration Ban

Well, they certainly have form.

posted by jaduncan at 11:31 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


corb: I suspect you are broadly correct about what the plan is, yeah.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:32 AM on January 31, 2017


The lady who first posted the picture of the handcuffed child, well, she's still silent.

I asked her to reach out to my Congresswoman, who among other things is already quite familiar with being menaced online.

My eldest is about the same age as that kid.
posted by ocschwar at 11:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


From tweets accompanying the initial U.S. Marshals tweet from journalist Charlotte Silver above,
So imm. lawyers went to US Marshal, the enforcement branch of judiciary, asking them to serve orders to CBP, but they refused, saying they were instructed by Office of the General Counsel to await instruction from the U.S. Attorney’s office. So lawyers went to US Atty. US Atty office was about to accept the proof of service on behalf of CBP/DHS, but were abruptly called away. When they came back they informed immigration lawyers they could not sign.
posted by XMLicious at 11:32 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Oh, good. It appears Infowars is starting a DC news bureau and will be applying to get White House Correspondent credentials. (I can't imagine they'd go through the effort unless the WH signaled in advance they'd get them.)

It's weird to watch the collapse of your country minute by minute.
posted by bluecore at 11:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [53 favorites]


I'm clinging to hope on the Marshal story. It seems to be "just" (ha) another situation with the DOJ saying "we don't know what we're supposed to do so we're waiting for orders", not a final decision. And the Marshals are listening to the US Attorney not because they are abdicating their responsibility to deliver the orders to CBP, but because they are trying to figure out who at either CBP or DOJ will accept the orders on CBP's behalf. In other words, not that they are refusing to enforce judicial orders and refusing to hand the papers to someone, but no one will take them.

Seconding alligatorpear. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity (or bureaucratic confusion).

The DOJ being headed by a likely racist old school southerner is one thing; the DOJ denying the authority of the judiciary branch is another thing entirely. I just don't see that happening; particularly when they are about to take control of the Supreme Court.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:33 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


@marcorubio: Following orders of leftwing extremists

Furthermore, when some pantywaist Republican whiner calls you a leftwing extremist, you know you're doing something right, or at least not being a fucking inert doormat for once.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [14 favorites]


The US Marshals are mandated by law to enforce lawful court orders. You don't need to refer up for that.

If the AG is telling the Marshals not to enforce the orders, then the AG is acting illegally.

If the President doesn't remove the AG for acting illegally, and no court is able to detain him, then the judiciary is impotent and there's your coup.
posted by Devonian at 11:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [74 favorites]


But if the US Marshals refuse to enforce the contempt order, then we have a constitutional crisis and I'm not sure what happens then.

A bloodless coup?
posted by nubs at 11:34 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


PETER THIEL AND MARK ANDRESEN ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH Y COMBINATOR.

What's their involvement? What's disturbing about Mark Andreessen?
posted by Coventry at 11:36 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Guys guys guys, unless you have a different source of information than the Twitter reporting linked upstream, there is NO reporting of the AG telling Marshals not to enforce orders. There's plenty of events to freak out about, but that isn't one of them.
posted by alligatorpear at 11:37 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


Thanks 'cjelli' - I am hoping that some of the larger voices in private industry are able to sway Trump in the way others clearly aren't.
posted by rosswald at 11:38 AM on January 31, 2017


The explanations from Charlotte Silver are way less incendiary than the "refusing to enforce court orders" headline tweet. It's about service of process -- literally finding someone to take a physical copy of the order on CBP's behalf (like the "you've been served" scenes in movies). The Marshals are listening to the US Attorney (who is not the same as the Attorney General) only because they are trying to find someone at DOJ to give the order to, not because they are asking the US Attorney whether they should enforce the court order.
posted by alligatorpear at 11:40 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Oh, good. It appears Infowars is starting a DC news bureau and will be applying to get White House Correspondent credentials. (I can't imagine they'd go through the effort unless the WH signaled in advance they'd get them.)

Alex Jones has already been talking about getting them, according to Pod Save America. I feel like there's a strange future about to happen where Spicer repeatedly skips over NYT and CNN to call on Breitbart and Infowars. I'm not sure at what point Spicer will lose respect for himself whilst facing questions on the actions of the NWO, but I'd like to think it would be before he's required to take a position on chemtrails.
posted by jaduncan at 11:41 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]




CNN is reporting that both Gorsuch and Hardiman are in or headed to DC. In case you though tthere wasn't going to be a rose ceremony.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [15 favorites]


Thank you for the link to faxzero above. I just used it to send the following message to Pat Toomey's office. I have little hope that it will do any good, but I'm doing my best to appeal to the idea that confirming Sessions would let Trump take power from Toomey and the Senate.
I am a constituent from Philadelphia asking Senator Toomey to reject the confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. The last weeks have made it very clear that the United States needs an Attorney General who will respect the Constitution and stand up to executive overreach by the President. The President is abusing the privilege of Executive Orders to effectively create new laws, circumventing the role of the Legislature. Senator Toomey must not cede the legislative prerogative of himself and his colleagues in the Senate and House to the President. As Attorney General, Jeff Sessions would act only to further the President's unconstitutional overruse of Executive Orders. Senator Toomey must only vote to confirm an Attorney General who will support the rule of law and the rightful role of the Legislative branch in our government.

I have attempted to call several of Senator Toomey's offices to express my concerns over this issue, but have not been able to get through anywhere. As a constituent, this is extremely concerning.
Any fellow Pennsylvanians are free to use part or all of this if they like.
posted by biogeo at 11:43 AM on January 31, 2017 [12 favorites]


The public charge stuff is indeed already law, and those signing an affidavit of support can be liable to repay public assistance while it's valid (an affidavit is only lifted after 40 quarterly SocSec credits or on naturalization).

The question of "public assistance" inevitably gets blurry. If the aim is to expand public charge rules to cover things like Medicaid, CHIP and WIC, then it's going to punish US citizen children of immigrant parents. But that's probably the plan.
posted by holgate at 11:45 AM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]




The continuing mystery of Roguepotusstaff.

They just tweeted that it is Gorsuch.
posted by Jalliah at 11:46 AM on January 31, 2017


So when will Bannon be on covers of all the magazines? Can we republish Time's Man of the Year?

I bet our President would love it?
posted by armacy at 11:46 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


This is tragic:

Family of [the] Syrians Deported From Philadelphia Voted for Donald Trump.


You misspelled poetic.
posted by phearlez at 11:47 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Guys guys guys, unless you have a different source of information than the Twitter reporting linked upstream, there is NO reporting of the AG telling Marshals not to enforce orders. There's plenty of events to freak out about, but that isn't one of them.

The story is starting to fall apart somewhat. The source was a now-deleted Facebook post. Also here.
posted by zachlipton at 11:47 AM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


I'm just here to encourage anyone who's feeling incredibly overwhelmed with the world, to call up your therapists or psychiatrists and get the help you need. It's OK to take anxiety meds if you need them in order to attend a protest or just in general cope with how you feel all day.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:47 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


they are trying to find someone at DOJ to give the order to,

Why is that a problem. though? In the movies, the 'you've been served' moment is rarely followed by a 'thanks, but on careful consideration I've decided to decline your kind offer'.
posted by Devonian at 11:48 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]




They just tweeted that it is Gorsuch.

Is he the most awful? Not hard to predict.
posted by Artw at 11:51 AM on January 31, 2017


I had good money on the SCOTUS pick being Bannon, followed by a presser announcing he will also be maintaining all of his duties in the White House and NSC.
posted by mayonnaises at 11:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


I am aware Jones is a right-wing extremist, a racist, and dangerous because he has Trump's ear, but before the primaries I was under the impression that outside of the chemtrails/NWO/lizard-people sphere he was considered a crank and not taken particularly seriously (which, in hindsight, may have been part of the danger he posed).

What's caused Infowars and Jones to suddenly gain more prominence as a serious threat and as an influence on Trump beyond being "those weirdos who believe in chemtrails and black helicopters"?
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 11:52 AM on January 31, 2017



Why is that a problem. though? In the movies, the 'you've been served' moment is rarely followed by a 'thanks, but on careful consideration I've decided to decline your kind offer'.


Regardless of who they are to serve it to, there are people in detention who, as per the court order, are to receive legal counsel.

Legal counsel is there. If the CBP officers there are not able to understand the order they've been give, then they should be un-badged on the spot and removed from the airport.
posted by ocschwar at 11:52 AM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


Gorsuch has never had the opportunity to write an opinion on Roe v. Wade.[29] However, based on his opinions expressed in his books opposing euthanasia and the taking of human life, people on both sides of the issue know where he stands.[32]

Wikipedia can be so helpful.
posted by Donald Trump Sex Nightmare at 11:53 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Is he the most awful? Not hard to predict.

Yes, he's maybe the most extreme judge in the nation.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:53 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]




What's caused Infowars and Jones to suddenly gain more prominence as a serious threat and as an influence on Trump beyond being "those weirdos who believe in chemtrails and black helicopters"?

Racism and lack of critical thinking skills mean that this current administration would love having him be the one report to citizens.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Info on Gorsuch: Neil Gorsuch, just 49, is described as a strict originalist, as well as a clear writer whose opinions are easy to understand. He sided with Hobby Lobby when that company cited religious reasons for excluding certain types of birth control from the employee insurance package, and he has challenged the authority of regulatory agencies to decide what the law means. Gorsuch opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia.
posted by rewil at 11:54 AM on January 31, 2017 [8 favorites]


Gorsuch wrote an article in 2005 for the National Review arguing that liberals are using the courts too much and specifically mentioning same-sex marriage:

But rather than use the judiciary for extraordinary cases, von Drehle recognizes that American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education….

As von Drehle recognizes, too much reliance on constitutional litigation is also bad for the Left itself. The Left’s alliance with trial lawyers and its dependence on constitutional litigation to achieve its social goals risks political atrophy. Liberals may win a victory on gay marriage when preaching to the choir before like-minded judges in Massachusetts. But in failing to reach out and persuade the public generally, they invite exactly the sort of backlash we saw in November when gay marriage was rejected in all eleven states where it was on the ballot.

posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Furthermore, when some pantywaist Republican whiner calls you a leftwing extremist, you know you're doing something right, or at least not being a fucking inert doormat for once.

I'm old enough to remember that when Republican whiners called you a left wing extremist, they were implying that you were being manipulated by Moscow.
posted by Gelatin at 11:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [51 favorites]


Is he the most awful? Not hard to predict.

I think this sums it up.

In a 2005 article published by National Review, Gorsuch argued that "American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda" and that they are "failing to reach out and persuade the public". Gorsuch wrote that, by relying on judges instead of elected officials and the ballot box to enact their agenda, American liberals are circumventing the democratic process on issues like gay marriage, school vouchers, and assisted suicide, and this has led to a compromised judiciary, which is no longer independent. Gorsuch wrote that American liberals' "overweening addiction" to using the courts for social debate is "bad for the nation and bad for the judiciary"
posted by Jalliah at 11:55 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Why is that a problem. though? In the movies, the 'you've been served' moment is rarely followed by a 'thanks, but on careful consideration I've decided to decline your kind offer'.

The basic problem is that, unlike the scenes in the movies (which generally are showing individual people getting served), the CBP is not a single person. So you have to figure out who has authority to accept service on behalf of the whole agency on that particular issue. And it's even one more step removed when you're trying to find someone at DOJ to accept on behalf of CBP. Yes, the DOJ represents almost all government agencies, but not every person who is a DOJ employee can accept service for any issue for any agency because there would be no guarantee it would get to the people who actually need to receive it in time.
posted by alligatorpear at 11:56 AM on January 31, 2017


I had a therapy appointment yesterday at which my therapist announced her pregnancy and maternity leave schedule. I had a very difficult time venting my doom and gloom to her, especially the part about how I'm probably never going to be able to afford children, and why would I want to bring them into this world anyway? Therapy seems particularly empty to me. She's as terrified as I am.
posted by Donald Trump Sex Nightmare at 11:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Fucker is 49, too. I do not want to get stuck with this nonsense that long.
posted by erratic meatsack at 11:56 AM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


So...are the Dems still wavering on blocking this nut? Because he sounds exactly like what I expected from a Trump justice.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 11:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Until the courts do something to defy the will of the 1%ers, I doubt this will be a concern for them.

Depends. Sheldon Adelson doesn't give a damn if you go to his casinos in Vegas. He does give a damn if his whales stop showing.

Now imagine a world where, with your smart phone, someone can use facial recognition to determine if you are dealing with one of these whales, or the people who makes the whales existence possible. And based on the crowd-sourced data you opt to shun the whale or the quislings of the whale.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:57 AM on January 31, 2017


Also he cried when told about Scalia's death and there are photos of him fishing with Scalia. He will be a younger and more deranged Scalia and will sit there for 40 or 50 years or until the USA collapses, whichever comes first.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:57 AM on January 31, 2017 [11 favorites]


Originalists strike me as the sort who have problems improvising a traffic route without a GPS.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


Fucker is 49, too. I do not want to get stuck with this nonsense that long.

Given that they stole Obama's pick, impeach him.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:58 AM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


Otherwise, it feels like the nominated replacement for Scalia is effectively Scalia 2.0.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:59 AM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Yes, he's maybe the most extreme judge in the nation.

First, this is probably not true, but second, never EVER say this. It's like standing and yelling at the sky "At least it can't possibly get worse!" IT CAN ALWAYS GET WORSE.
posted by corb at 12:00 PM on January 31, 2017 [43 favorites]


So you have to figure out who has authority to accept service on behalf of the whole agency on that particular issue

Two options: look at the DoJ org chart, or start at the top. The person in charge has authority over the lot, right?

Now that would make a decent movie scene. Perhaps it will, one day.
posted by Devonian at 12:00 PM on January 31, 2017


Young Scalia, this fall on HBO.
posted by drezdn at 12:00 PM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]


Re LAX: Friend just got off the phone with a staffer at Councilman Bonin's office. He said the L.A. city attorney is working with the governor's office on a solution. He also said people should email the councilman's community liaison to LAX, Omar Pulido. (omarpulido@lacity.org)
posted by Sophie1 at 12:00 PM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Young Scalia (unfortunately not played by Jude Law).
posted by uncleozzy at 12:01 PM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Otherwise, it feels like the nominated replacement for Scalia is effectively Scalia 2.0.

And that's exactly what DJT promised during his campaign. Literally and seriously.
posted by mochapickle at 12:01 PM on January 31, 2017 [6 favorites]


Yes, he's maybe the most extreme judge in the nation.

all jumping out of a plane strapped to a snowboard, shouting and whoopin' it up, slamming a mountain dew, writing a legal opinion before he pops his 'chute

at least, that's what i'm choosing to believe right now
posted by indubitable at 12:02 PM on January 31, 2017 [13 favorites]


It can always be worse. Could be Bill Pryor.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 12:03 PM on January 31, 2017


Pryor is generally considered to be right-ward of Gorsuch, isn't he?

It really don't make no nevermind; all these guys are horrible, the chosen one will get in, and all we can do is make it as difficult and time-consuming and bitterly fought as possible.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:04 PM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


At least less people will watch the dumbass unveiling show.
posted by Artw at 12:04 PM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


It can always be worse. Could be Bill Pryor.

Or Judge Dredd.
posted by Grangousier at 12:04 PM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


"Dear Reader,
I write to let you know that we're doing something at The Atlantic that we only rarely do. We are releasing our upcoming cover story weeks before our subscribers receive it, and before we put it on newsstands around the world.
These unusual times demand unusual publishing decisions. Given the precipitous nature of the decision by the White House to issue an executive order concerning refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, I thought that it would be better for people to read David Frum's upcoming cover story, "How to Build an Autocracy," sooner, rather than later.

[...]

Jeffrey Goldberg
Editor in Chief"
posted by monospace at 12:05 PM on January 31, 2017 [62 favorites]


I know it's dreadful and upsetting, but seriously, every day of delay is one day longer that the American people have fundamental rights.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:06 PM on January 31, 2017 [7 favorites]


I hate how these slimeballs are inexorably getting their way and getting rid of and terrorizing anyone who has the moral fortitude and courage to stand up to them without blinking. Hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:07 PM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Washington Posts's Catherine Rampell (@crampell) on twitter says she was just forwarded an e-mail stating that DHS Is rejecting all Global Entry, TSA Pre and Nexus applications from 7 Countries listed in Travel ban, also for US citizens with dual nationality to these countries (via Greg Siskind). Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:07 PM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Or Judge Dredd.

*sigh*

Judge Dredd writer here. Judge Dredd is a tepresemtive of an awful authoritarian dystopian future where democracy has been crushed and the state has near total control over civilian lives. However Dredd himself is not corrupt or self serving in any way, and has an overwhelming concern for the wellbeing of his cities populace. Comparisons to republicans are unfair.
posted by Artw at 12:09 PM on January 31, 2017 [151 favorites]


Otherwise, it feels like the nominated replacement for Scalia is effectively Scalia 2.0.

Oh, I wouldn't say that. Scalia's administrative law reasoning is often extremely sophisticated.

---

Pryor is generally considered to be right-ward of Gorsuch, isn't he?


And yes, Pryor would be more of a horror show. He's a socially conservative politician from the South, he is against Lawrence v Texas, and called Roe v Wade "the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history." I would imagine he'd be problematic as a Justice because he follows the law but is a dumpster fire with his opinions. Justices have far more latitude than judges. The rest is left as an exercise for the reader.
posted by jaduncan at 12:09 PM on January 31, 2017 [2 favorites]


all these guys are horrible, the chosen one will get in

Seriously, it hardly matters that so-and-so is four inches or four feet or four miles to the right of so-and-so, because they're all going to make the same terrible rulings. Do as much as possible to gum the works.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:09 PM on January 31, 2017 [5 favorites]


Crazy thought... Trump isn't having two possible justice choices come to the White House to make it less clear who his pick is. Maybe he's planning on increasing the size of the court. (I don't think he would, but maybe?)
posted by drezdn at 12:11 PM on January 31, 2017


Plausible.
posted by Artw at 12:12 PM on January 31, 2017 [1 favorite]


Another peak into the comments from a Federal Agency: a meeting organized by a federal employee was updated just to add this note:
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Federal Highway Administration.
Dear POTUS: Get. Your. Shit. Together. You're making this fooking country look like a joke, and bringing normal operations of otherwise day-to-day business of government to a crawl as people try to figure out what they can and can't "officially" say, even if you're just reporting facts and figures.

Of course, that's probably the goal. "Look how ineffective government is, let's really cut out this waste and make the system more efficient!"

So if anyone points to the lack of action from any Federal agency under the new administration, remember that the the wooden shoes that are jamming the system aren't coming from the workers among the cogs, but the leaders from on high.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:12 PM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]


Maybe he's planning on increasing the size of the court.

I mean, it's certainly possible he thinks he can do that unilaterally given the quality of legal advice he is apparently getting these days, but it would take an act of Congress to increase the number of justices on the Court.
posted by alligatorpear at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2017


Crazy thought... Trump isn't having two possible justice choices come to the White House to make it less clear who his pick is.

And the final rose goes to...
posted by zakur at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2017 [3 favorites]


Feds detain Katy High School student from Jordan following President Trump's immigration ban

"A 16-year-old Jordanian visa holder, who attends Katy High School, has been detained by U.S. immigration officials for more than three days following President Trump's controversial immigration executive order, according to his brother.

Mohammad Abu Khadra, who lives in Katy with his brother Rami, traveled to Jordan last week to renew his visa. When he flew into Bush IAH airport Saturday, immigration officials allegedly canceled his visa and detained him at the airport for about 72 hours. He was transferred to a detention center in Chicago Monday and has no access to his cell phone."

"Rami, a 37-year-old green card holder who has been in the United States for five years, said he feels helpless.

"My country is not one of seven countries on the list," Rami said. "It's like because he's from the Middle East, he gets detained."

Officials told Rami that Mohammad could be in the Chicago detention center for as long as two months. Rami said he hopes to hear from Mohammad Tuesday, but that his little brother is only allowed to call once a week for 30 minutes."

posted by anastasiav at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2017 [71 favorites]


It's an incredible fuck up. Under any other admin heads would be rolling. They just made Anwar al Awaki immortal and sympathetic, and images of his kid will be driving terrorist causes for decades.

To go back to this really quickly, it's important that we all understand (and do our best to get into the press) that this operation was NOT A FUCK UP. The soldiers almost certainly had orders to commit an atrocity of some kind, and in fact that was probably the only actual purpose of the mission. Bannon wants a terrorist attack to occur against the US to give him a casus belli, and he is trying to provoke one. This went exactly the way he wanted it to go, except maybe for the death of the SEAL. "images of his kid will be driving terrorist causes for decades" was absolutely the intent of this mission.
posted by IAmUnaware at 12:13 PM on January 31, 2017 [19 favorites]