An interesting week of politics has occurred in a former British colony
January 27, 2017 9:00 AM Subscribe
Exactly a week after attaining power, the 45th and popular vote-losing President of the 240 year old United States of America continues novaturient actions and promises such as a wall, to rescind other things, and to investigate things which may not exist. While allegedly refractory, he also allegedly has size "issues", fulminating at the numbers involved in the global and extremely well attended Women's March in comparison to his less impressive inauguration, while his initial approval rating craters. His press secretary, in between struggling with a basic 140 character service, angrily amplified his bosses grievances. Yesterday T(h)eresa May, the Prime Minister of Her Majesty's realm on an unbipartisan trip, addressed Republicans; today, she meets the current POTUS. Meanwhile, vote suppression and electability continue, with less than 22 months to the crucial midterm elections.
@seanspicer: 1000s gathered in DC to stand up for life & adoption and @CNN refers to them as "demonstrators" #MarchForLife
March for Life webpage: The March for Life is thrilled to announce its official list of guest speakers, set to address the world’s largest annual pro-life demonstration in Washington, D.C. on January 27th, 2017.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
March for Life webpage: The March for Life is thrilled to announce its official list of guest speakers, set to address the world’s largest annual pro-life demonstration in Washington, D.C. on January 27th, 2017.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
The Women's March makes another cover.
@coverjunkie
Wow! Next mondays cover @NewYorker . Artwork #abigailgrayswartz ✊🏻 [cover]
posted by chris24 at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
@coverjunkie
Wow! Next mondays cover @NewYorker . Artwork #abigailgrayswartz ✊🏻 [cover]
posted by chris24 at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
God save the King!
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
Long to reign over us
God save the King!
posted by Talez at 9:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Sweet land of liberty,
God save the King!
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
Long to reign over us
God save the King!
posted by Talez at 9:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
This week is a lesson to all those who say "How can this get any worse?"
posted by azpenguin at 9:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [70 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 9:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [70 favorites]
I just wanted to say thank you for these threads and everyone that is posting in them. This is one of the primary ways I am receiving and digesting news because I feel it is one of the few safe and reliable places. You've inspired me to start taking action... I have my list of people to start calling at lunch and the talking points to oppose the selloff of federal lands.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
I dreamed last night that I was reading on Facebook that something had finally forced him to resign and the news had exploded and it was amazing and then I'm like: no, I'm not actually holding the phone am I, I'm in bed and I'm going to roll over and pick it up and look and this is still going to be happening
posted by Countess Elena at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 9:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
I've been mulling the themes of dominance/humiliation which seem so central to Trump's ethos (insofar as he has one), as explicitly articulated by Bannon in his ravings to the NYT yesterday, and implicitly at the heart of the resurgence of "cuck" as an insult, and it occurred to me: What if the solution would be to crowdfund a phalanx of dominatrices to go to D.C. and give all these insecure manchildren the sexual degradation with which their obsession belies a deep craving?
posted by Aubergine at 9:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [41 favorites]
posted by Aubergine at 9:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [41 favorites]
Thanks Wordshore, definitely better then mine would of been. I liked my working title though. 'Black Mirror - USA, Episode One.
posted by Jalliah at 9:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [23 favorites]
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what I personally need from the PVL's (Popular Vote Loser) supporters to feel like I can forgive and reconcile with them. Some folks on here have noted that the left isn't always the best about having a system in place to forgive transgressions. Here's the list I have come up with. I need at a minimum:
* An admission that they have done something extremely dangerous and hurtful, preferably with some thoughtful analysis of why this action was super not okay.
* A commitment to and demonstrations of resistance, including being willing to take on some of the more dangerous roles in said activities.
* Acknowledgment of the roles white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-queer bias played in this election.
* A willing to pipe down and listen to those of us most negatively affected by their actions.
* Processing of negative feelings and shame on their own time and not looking immediately to marginalized people for absolution.
* Demonstrations of commitment to centering the most marginalized groups in our society.
* Demonstration of the understanding that they are kinda at the back of the line when it comes to whose ideas about resistance need to be acted on.
* Actively using their privilege for the benefit of those most affected.
* Understanding that their specific governmental and legislative priorities (especially about taxation, education, religion) are likely not going to be the focus of activities.
* Time enough to see and believe their demonstrations of solidarity and resistance are genuine.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person, but I do think it's useful to consider conditions under which I would. The preservation of a civil society may depend on it. What do you need in this respect?
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [41 favorites]
* An admission that they have done something extremely dangerous and hurtful, preferably with some thoughtful analysis of why this action was super not okay.
* A commitment to and demonstrations of resistance, including being willing to take on some of the more dangerous roles in said activities.
* Acknowledgment of the roles white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-queer bias played in this election.
* A willing to pipe down and listen to those of us most negatively affected by their actions.
* Processing of negative feelings and shame on their own time and not looking immediately to marginalized people for absolution.
* Demonstrations of commitment to centering the most marginalized groups in our society.
* Demonstration of the understanding that they are kinda at the back of the line when it comes to whose ideas about resistance need to be acted on.
* Actively using their privilege for the benefit of those most affected.
* Understanding that their specific governmental and legislative priorities (especially about taxation, education, religion) are likely not going to be the focus of activities.
* Time enough to see and believe their demonstrations of solidarity and resistance are genuine.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person, but I do think it's useful to consider conditions under which I would. The preservation of a civil society may depend on it. What do you need in this respect?
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [41 favorites]
don't much care for this trump fellow
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [119 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [119 favorites]
Vulture [thread] Trump's statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day never mentions Jews, says lesson is that we need more "tolerance."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
Like it or not, I think everyone's now an accelerationist.
posted by klarck at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by klarck at 9:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
'Black Mirror - USA, Episode One.'
In the UK version, the pig was the receiver. But when Soviet Russia is in charge...
posted by delfin at 9:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
In the UK version, the pig was the receiver. But when Soviet Russia is in charge...
posted by delfin at 9:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'm not sure if this will be helpful to people but the following is part of an email I sent to a family member who does not necessarily agree with me about the threats we are currently facing. I know responding can be exhausting and many of us are probably spending a lot of time and energy composing similar emails so if it's helpful please feel free to copy/paste this (modified as you see fit):
Thank you so much for sharing your thinking with me; I agree it's important to have empathy and understand as many different perspectives as possible. Something that might be worth doing is deciding, right now, what would be "too far" for you; what is it that would need to happen for you to decide that things are not okay?posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [312 favorites]
Explicitly racist statements?
Restrictions of the rights of citizens?
Voter suppression?
Criminalizing protest?
Making it illegal to criticize the government?
Defunding the FDA so that people routinely get sick?
Mass deportations?
Outlawing birth control?
Singling out one religion or ethnicity for legal restrictions?
Bombing a country and then telling its citizens that they can't seek asylum here?
Nepotism and corruption?
An increase in maternal and infant mortality rates?
Internment camps?
Making it illegal to be gay?
Martial law in one or more cities?
Cancelling elections?
What thing, however unlikely, would make you say "this is unacceptable"? Everyone has to make their own determination about what they feel is "not okay" and it's worth thinking about it early because, unfortunately, as worse and worse things happen it becomes easier and easier to accept them, especially if we are told that we are operating under "emergency circumstances". For me, that line has already been crossed on a number of fronts, but I understand that other people might not feel that way and I just encourage you to think about what conditions would cross that line so, if it happens, you can stand firm and not let your brain convince you that everything is normal. Just something to consider; I think in scary and uncertain times it's especially important to know what your convictions are so you can remain firm. Have a wonderful week!
@Countess, Trump's replacement scares me almost even more than the orange-haired-one himself. If you look at Pence's record, he is anti-gay, anti-choice, and would probably be more effective at getting stuff done because he doesn't distract himself with Twitter wars. The only comfort I would take in a Pence presidency is that I think he would be less likely to use nuclear weapons. Third in line, IIRC, is Paul Ryan.
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
posted by elmay at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
posted by elmay at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
@seanspicer: 1000s gathered in DC to stand up for life & adoption and @CNN refers to them as "demonstrators" #MarchForLife
It's telling that he thinks being a demonstrator is a bad thing. Fuck him.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [75 favorites]
It's telling that he thinks being a demonstrator is a bad thing. Fuck him.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [75 favorites]
... What do you need in this respect?
I'm thinking a lot about Martin Niemoller these days. That famous quote of his, "First they came..." was not just poetry. It was a literal statement of how things went for him. He supported Hitler, until the day he said, hey, wait a minute here, and the next thing he knew he was in a camp. But he lived to get out of it, and spent the rest of his life trying to make amends.
It's not the job of POC or other vulnerable populations to feel forgiveness here, to try and reach out to Trump voters and make them understand what they've done, or to keep working on the compassion that will be necessary to try to pry them out of their shell. It's on white people, and we need to try and draw out our old uncles and stubborn cousins as best we can.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
I'm thinking a lot about Martin Niemoller these days. That famous quote of his, "First they came..." was not just poetry. It was a literal statement of how things went for him. He supported Hitler, until the day he said, hey, wait a minute here, and the next thing he knew he was in a camp. But he lived to get out of it, and spent the rest of his life trying to make amends.
It's not the job of POC or other vulnerable populations to feel forgiveness here, to try and reach out to Trump voters and make them understand what they've done, or to keep working on the compassion that will be necessary to try to pry them out of their shell. It's on white people, and we need to try and draw out our old uncles and stubborn cousins as best we can.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
I really love the framing of this post. Thanks Wordshore!
posted by corb at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
Every stupid and irresponsible thing Trump announced during the campaign, everything we told ourselves couldn't actually happen – it's all happening. It helps that a lot of this was already happening – there's already a wall along much of the Mexican border, there are already visa restrictions on people from some majority-Muslim countries, there is already massive voter suppression – but for Theresa May, who's mostly threatened future evils through laconic ambiguity ("Brexit means Brexit"), the example of Trump might give her some confidence. You can say that you intend to blow up the world, and soon you'll find that there's nobody to stop you.Sam Kriss, Donald Trump Will Show Theresa May How Insignificant She Really Is, Vice (27 January 2017).
posted by Sonny Jim at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
What if the solution would be to crowdfund a phalanx of dominatrices to go to D.C. and give all these insecure manchildren the sexual degradation with which their obsession belies a deep craving?
Jewish dominatrix Tara Indiana is rarely on the bottom—but she was in her presidential race against Donald Trump
posted by XMLicious at 9:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm going to miss western democracy.
posted by Artw at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
In your social media efforts today, the march for "life" is an excellent excuse to link this article by OB/GYN Jen Gunter about the various lies of the antichoice movement when it comes to women's health. This one struck me particularly:
The risk of death in pregnancy is greater than the risk of death from an abortion. If 100,000 women decide to keep their pregnancy 8.8 will die. If 100,000 women have an abortion 0.6 will die.
posted by emjaybee at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [116 favorites]
The risk of death in pregnancy is greater than the risk of death from an abortion. If 100,000 women decide to keep their pregnancy 8.8 will die. If 100,000 women have an abortion 0.6 will die.
posted by emjaybee at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [116 favorites]
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what I personally need from the PVL's (Popular Vote Loser) supporters to feel like I can forgive and reconcile with them.
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
The likelihood of a country called the USA existing in 10 years, with borders resembling the current ones, is growing smaller each hour.
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Thanks Wordshore, definitely better then mine would of been. I liked my working title though. 'Black Mirror - USA, Episode One.
Rowan Atkinson needs to come back with "Blackladder". Rowan Atkinson as Eduardo del la Sumador Negro and Tony Robinson as his sidekick Calvopolla plan to use a ladder to get over Donald Trump's (Stephen Fry's) wall with his bumbling press secretary Sean Spicer (Hugh Laurie) acting as the foil and Kellyanne Conway (Miranda Richardson) as the woman who can never speak a truth. Tim McInnerny would obviously be John McCain, the incompetent legislator who claims to hate everything Trump stands for but meekly complies when challenged.
posted by Talez at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
Rowan Atkinson needs to come back with "Blackladder". Rowan Atkinson as Eduardo del la Sumador Negro and Tony Robinson as his sidekick Calvopolla plan to use a ladder to get over Donald Trump's (Stephen Fry's) wall with his bumbling press secretary Sean Spicer (Hugh Laurie) acting as the foil and Kellyanne Conway (Miranda Richardson) as the woman who can never speak a truth. Tim McInnerny would obviously be John McCain, the incompetent legislator who claims to hate everything Trump stands for but meekly complies when challenged.
posted by Talez at 9:20 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
To inform those who were asking, the tea consumed during the construction of this post was a most splendid Earl Grey with a slight citrus edge, obtained from the excellent store of provisions in a village a few miles east of here. The proprietors of said store, according to local "news", also provide the goldfish bowl into which attendees at the swingers parties their neighbors host (the house with the pampas grass growing outside) throw in their car keys.
posted by Wordshore at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [64 favorites]
Today, this account is tweeting out the passenger manifest of the St. Louis, which was turned away from several countries, including the U.S. and, finally, Canada.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [83 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [83 favorites]
I accidentally watched this a few minutes ago. It's too much. (SYTL, trigger warning: emotionally honest POTUS reminder)
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 9:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 9:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what I personally need from the PVL's (Popular Vote Loser) supporters to feel like I can forgive and reconcile with them.
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person
You don't say.
posted by loquax at 9:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
I will certainly admit to not being an especially forgiving person
You don't say.
posted by loquax at 9:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
I'm not sure if this will be helpful to people but the following is part of an email I sent to a family member who does not necessarily agree with me about the threats we are currently facing. I know responding can be exhausting and many of us are probably spending a lot of time and energy composing similar emails so if it's helpful please feel free to copy/paste this (modified as you see fit):
Incidentally if stuff like this isn't helpful I am absolutely happy not to post it as it's not like these threads need more clutter, I just think it can be easier to have these many, exhausting conversations if you've got a template of some sort and duplicating all of our efforts seems wasteful when there's so much to do.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Incidentally if stuff like this isn't helpful I am absolutely happy not to post it as it's not like these threads need more clutter, I just think it can be easier to have these many, exhausting conversations if you've got a template of some sort and duplicating all of our efforts seems wasteful when there's so much to do.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
If you're referring to the voters, then no, today they don't. But those numbers are falling off as they realize that the bad things are not just going to happen to brown people and women who don't shave their legs.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
If you're referring to the voters, then no, today they don't. But those numbers are falling off as they realize that the bad things are not just going to happen to brown people and women who don't shave their legs.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
One baffling line coming out from May at the moment is:
“The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are decisively over.”
Guess she missed the 'we're going back for the oil' stuff coming from Trump?
Anyway - like a lot of you, these threads are fast becoming the only kind of news I can stomach. Thank you for everyone involved in them, epecially Wordshore. I don't know how you're still doing this, but I'm glad you are.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
“The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are decisively over.”
Guess she missed the 'we're going back for the oil' stuff coming from Trump?
Anyway - like a lot of you, these threads are fast becoming the only kind of news I can stomach. Thank you for everyone involved in them, epecially Wordshore. I don't know how you're still doing this, but I'm glad you are.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Wordshore, that's like some sexy Wes Anderson movie set
posted by angrycat at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Oh man. I hope my grandma's New Yorker subscription is still active, she hands them off to me when she's done and I want that cover.
posted by palomar at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by palomar at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Make America
Great Britain Again
posted by standardasparagus at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Great Britain Again
posted by standardasparagus at 9:27 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Make America
Great Britain Again
Honestly, we wouldn't be in this mess if we had stayed colonists and gotten our independence the Canadian/Australian way.
posted by dis_integration at 9:30 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Great Britain Again
Honestly, we wouldn't be in this mess if we had stayed colonists and gotten our independence the Canadian/Australian way.
posted by dis_integration at 9:30 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Government by immature 12 year olds.
@BraddJaffy
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names” [video]
posted by chris24 at 9:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
@BraddJaffy
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names” [video]
posted by chris24 at 9:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
It's not the job of POC or other vulnerable populations to feel forgiveness here, to try and reach out to Trump voters and make them understand what they've done, or to keep working on the compassion that will be necessary to try to pry them out of their shell. It's on white people, and we need to try and draw out our old uncles and stubborn cousins as best we can.
I completely agree. I hope my framing didn't suggest that it was anything other than the responsibility of that man's voters to get with the program.
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
There are cracks, though. That Trump_Regrets Twitter account suggests that at least a few folks who voted for him are already becoming disillusioned. I'd rather have those folks work resisting in some fashion rather than throwing up their hands and going along with whatever horrible shit comes down the pipeline because they have no ways to back out of the terrible thing they've done..
I am emphatically not saying that any marginalized person should be pressured to forgive/reconcile with anyone if said person is not ready. I'm trans--I'm scared; I'm angry; I'm hurt. I'm going to need all the genuine resistance this country can muster.
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
Excuse me? I'm operationalizing the conditions I personally need to form a coalition of resistance to save my fucking life, even with those who hurt me grievously. I am part of a very marginalized community, so the condescension is really unnecessary.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I completely agree. I hope my framing didn't suggest that it was anything other than the responsibility of that man's voters to get with the program.
They're triumphant and implementing their punitive agenda. They have no interest in reconciling or compromising in any respect.
There are cracks, though. That Trump_Regrets Twitter account suggests that at least a few folks who voted for him are already becoming disillusioned. I'd rather have those folks work resisting in some fashion rather than throwing up their hands and going along with whatever horrible shit comes down the pipeline because they have no ways to back out of the terrible thing they've done..
I am emphatically not saying that any marginalized person should be pressured to forgive/reconcile with anyone if said person is not ready. I'm trans--I'm scared; I'm angry; I'm hurt. I'm going to need all the genuine resistance this country can muster.
How incredibly...something? Delusional? Naive? Assuming this was even supposed to be a serious comment, relax, stop with the manifestos and the martyrdom complex, and do something more constructive than obsess over this.
Excuse me? I'm operationalizing the conditions I personally need to form a coalition of resistance to save my fucking life, even with those who hurt me grievously. I am part of a very marginalized community, so the condescension is really unnecessary.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
I know many upon many in this thread are already engaged in so many ways, but I feel like it bears repeating: God helps those that help themselves, or so I was taught. So, organize and pray and vote and protest and write and call. Pray while doing all of the above. Regardless of where I've been at with religious beliefs (or lack thereof), I've found that doing something concrete aids prayer.
posted by nubs at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
I know many upon many in this thread are already engaged in so many ways, but I feel like it bears repeating: God helps those that help themselves, or so I was taught. So, organize and pray and vote and protest and write and call. Pray while doing all of the above. Regardless of where I've been at with religious beliefs (or lack thereof), I've found that doing something concrete aids prayer.
posted by nubs at 9:33 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names” [video]
"I'm here to take names and destroy the UN and I'm all done taking names!" [fake]
posted by Talez at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
"I'm here to take names and destroy the UN and I'm all done taking names!" [fake]
posted by Talez at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
The Republican President is going to sign the executive order for "extreme vetting" on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Fuck me.
posted by avalonian at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [106 favorites]
posted by avalonian at 9:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [106 favorites]
I Was Trained for the Culture Wars in Home School, Awaiting Someone Like Mike Pence as a Messiah
I grew up in the far-right evangelical conservative (Christofascist) movement; specifically, I was homeschooled and my parents were part of a subculture called Quiverfull, whose aim is to outbreed everyone for Jesus. I spent my teen years being a political activist. I was taught by every pastor I encountered that it was our job as Christians to outbreed the secularists (anyone not a far-right evangelical Protestant) and take over the government through sheer numbers. I was part of TeenPact, Generation Joshua and my local Teenage Republicans (TARS).posted by zachlipton at 9:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [112 favorites]
When the Tea Party rose in 2009, that was my culture. The Tea Party was step one. I was laying the groundwork for those elections in 2006. These people didn’t come out of the blue like it seemed. This plan, this Christofascist takeover of the US government, has been in the works for decades. When evangelical conservatism started becoming popular and more mainstream around the 1970s, the foundation was being laid for the tragedy playing out right now.
remember, when you hand-hold a Nazi, that's one less hand they can block your punches with
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [62 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [62 favorites]
“For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
remember, when you hand-hold a Nazi, that's one less hand they can block your punches with
I remember some commie hippie saying the words "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love."
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, can we stop it with the violent memes?
posted by Talez at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I remember some commie hippie saying the words "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love."
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, can we stop it with the violent memes?
posted by Talez at 9:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I believe during the recent unpleasantness some USG subject, in despair of the imminent rule of Trump or Clinton, wrote Her Majesty requesting she resume her imperium. The plea was sadly rebuffed.
The likelihood of a country called the USA existing in 10 years, with borders resembling the current ones, is growing smaller each hour.
One can only hope. I'm kinda tempted to go troll Shia LaBeouf info punching me with a sign "DIVISION IS THE ANSWER / PEACEFUL PARTITION NOW".
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
The likelihood of a country called the USA existing in 10 years, with borders resembling the current ones, is growing smaller each hour.
One can only hope. I'm kinda tempted to go troll Shia LaBeouf info punching me with a sign "DIVISION IS THE ANSWER / PEACEFUL PARTITION NOW".
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
“For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
ohpleaseohplease
posted by azpenguin at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
ohpleaseohplease
posted by azpenguin at 9:41 AM on January 27, 2017
can we stop it with the violent memes?
Angela Davis on violence (1972).
posted by melissasaurus at 9:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Angela Davis on violence (1972).
posted by melissasaurus at 9:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
I'm thinking her next speech should be something like Yakko naming the countries but omitting Russia and Israel.
And "Germany now in one piece" should be changed to "Germany for now in one piece".
posted by Talez at 9:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
And "Germany now in one piece" should be changed to "Germany for now in one piece".
posted by Talez at 9:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
posted by bonehead at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
If you're referring to the voters, then no, today they don't. But those numbers are falling off as they realize that the bad things are not just going to happen to brown people and women who don't shave their legs.
The message of the day from the Trumpoids is "Everyone but us is lying to you." So direct confrontation right now can backfire because it validates what they're saying. "Steve Bannon said you would say 'Trump is a fascist' and you did, so he's telling the truth!"
Some of them will drink the Kool-Aid forever. Some of them will get screwed by bad things and go "Wait a minute...", and at THAT point they will be more receptive to what you have to say. Don't scream; persuade. Let them grow suspicious of where they are, show them a viable alternative, and let them think it was their idea to go there.
posted by delfin at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
The message of the day from the Trumpoids is "Everyone but us is lying to you." So direct confrontation right now can backfire because it validates what they're saying. "Steve Bannon said you would say 'Trump is a fascist' and you did, so he's telling the truth!"
Some of them will drink the Kool-Aid forever. Some of them will get screwed by bad things and go "Wait a minute...", and at THAT point they will be more receptive to what you have to say. Don't scream; persuade. Let them grow suspicious of where they are, show them a viable alternative, and let them think it was their idea to go there.
posted by delfin at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
I participated in the protests here in Philadelphia last night and want to share my experience of them as well as some general thoughts. CW: some descriptions include potentially triggering words.
- I arrived at the what turned into the main barricades on the east side of City Hall at 13th and Market around 5:40 PM. At that time, it was mostly the BLM activists there with maybe ~250 people or so. Mostly POC, seemed to be about a 50/50 gender split. The line was metal barricade fences, 3 rows of cops about 40 cops long (so 120 cops), and 2 big garbage trucks parked end to end behind them. So highly unlikely to be surmounted.
- About 15 minutes after I arrived, a significantly larger group of protesters from several different orgs (I was plugged into the Philly Socialists group, and they were a part of it) arrived. This group was much larger, maybe 1k people? I'm not great at estimating crowd size. But it was shoulder to shoulder for 1.5 city blocks. So maybe 2-3k people. This group had more signs, drums, megaphones. They were much whiter, but with some POC as well.
- As the second group arrived, the bike cops that had been moving with them also arrived. So the lines of cops became 6 deep x 40 cops long. A lot of cops.
- The smaller BLM group I was a part of stayed at the barricade and swapped from chants to giving individual people, all POC, the megaphone to make speeches and share their truth with the group at the barricades. The larger group continued group chanting / singing.
- The speakers at the barricade were very, very angry. There was a palpable sense of fury and anger. At Trump, yes, and also with local issues, specifically police brutality. Also a lot of anger directed at white people generally, and at white allies. There was a lot of anger directed at the Women's March. The feeling was very much "we are glad you are here now, white allies, but what the fuck? We've been being brutalized for so long, and NOW you're finally mad?" and more bitingly "It wasn't until white pussy became endangered that you white women show up, but they've been raping black pussy forever". This resonated with me deeply. It was clear that many whites in the crowd became uncomfortable at having black anger directed at them instead of trump / the police. But they clapped and cheered and supported the speakers anyway.
- Protesters climbed on top of the subway shelter thingies. Many young white women with shirts off, electrical tape over nipples. Many young white men with megaphones.
- Most chanting was what you would expect, things like "Show me what democracy looks like / this is what democracy looks like", "we don't want your tiny hands / anywhere near our underpants", etc. Near the barricades the BLM chants were more incisive, things like "No good cops in a racist system" and "We don't get no justice / They don't get no peace".
My personal interactions with cops / protesters / counter-protesters:
- I spoke briefly to one of the cops on the line. Young white male. I said "You should be on our side". He said "I'm on the right side". The only way I could think of to try and make a point that might resonate was to respond with "You're enforcing for people that voted against cops in the 9/11 first responders bill. Guiliani prevented cops from getting the walkie talkies that would work in commercial buildings. A lot of cops died for that. The firefighters got them - they didn't have the same tragedy. Why would you support people that don't protect you?" He did not respond after that.
- At around 7:15 PM the bulk began to move northbound on 13th toward Chinatown. Many disbanded.
- I began to walk westbound on Market toward city hall. There were several young white men with bandanas on faces with flares and burning American flags. One man walked over from the sidewalk and put out the smoldering flags with his foot, saying "don't give them what they want". A white woman who was a counter-protester walked over and called the young men with flares cowards, and yelled at the protesters to "leave America if you don't like it here".
-This was the point at which my adrenaline kicked in and things got blurry and weird. It's important to note I think that I am an introvert - large crowds make me uncomfortable, I do not like to be a focus of attention, I do not have skills in fighting or managing surges of adrenaline. I was shaking like a leaf.
- The counter-protester woman went back to the sidewalk to join a man and a couple other counter-protester men. They continued to scream at everyone to get out of America. At that point I mic-checked a group of protesters and led a call and response chant of "No Trump. No Nazis. No Fascists. Go Home" directly at the counter-protesters. They became enraged and tried to shout back but there were few of them and many of us.
- A couple of the men that had been burning flags put down their flares and came over with a very wide and large sign that took a few people to hold that said essentially "No fascists. World war for open borders".
- I led a couple more call and response mic checks with a fairly intense "America kills Nazis. No negotiation. No normalization. America kills Nazis."
General Thoughts
I am a 33 year old queer white male introvert. This is very out of character for me. I feel strongly about politics and strongly about progressive values but always in a quiet way, preferably out of meatspace. I am cognizant of the fact that I am very late to be this vocal in the cause, and that my POC brothers and sisters have been fighting this forever. I feel as if I am being gradually "radicalized" but that's not the right word really. The thing is, while "conservative"administrations in my lifetime have ALL been actively evil, this new shit is actual neo-nazis having power. And my countrypeople have voted for neo-nazis. I've never had fully rose colored glasses about the USA but this has broken something inside my brain. This goes beyond the banality of evil "conservatism" and into me feeling like my countrypeople are traitors. This feels like a betrayal of even the flawed America I thought I knew. I would never have thought I would be screaming in the streets to kill Nazis. But here we are.
I am tired and hoarse and my body hurts today but I'm at work and trying to focus [when not typing a stupidly long comment] but I feel like my options are being narrowed. There are now neo-nazis in power. Our options are being restricted. It is time to ACTIVELY resist by hurting Nazis. Or it's time for me and my family to leave this country. Both are heartbreaking to contemplate.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [282 favorites]
- I arrived at the what turned into the main barricades on the east side of City Hall at 13th and Market around 5:40 PM. At that time, it was mostly the BLM activists there with maybe ~250 people or so. Mostly POC, seemed to be about a 50/50 gender split. The line was metal barricade fences, 3 rows of cops about 40 cops long (so 120 cops), and 2 big garbage trucks parked end to end behind them. So highly unlikely to be surmounted.
- About 15 minutes after I arrived, a significantly larger group of protesters from several different orgs (I was plugged into the Philly Socialists group, and they were a part of it) arrived. This group was much larger, maybe 1k people? I'm not great at estimating crowd size. But it was shoulder to shoulder for 1.5 city blocks. So maybe 2-3k people. This group had more signs, drums, megaphones. They were much whiter, but with some POC as well.
- As the second group arrived, the bike cops that had been moving with them also arrived. So the lines of cops became 6 deep x 40 cops long. A lot of cops.
- The smaller BLM group I was a part of stayed at the barricade and swapped from chants to giving individual people, all POC, the megaphone to make speeches and share their truth with the group at the barricades. The larger group continued group chanting / singing.
- The speakers at the barricade were very, very angry. There was a palpable sense of fury and anger. At Trump, yes, and also with local issues, specifically police brutality. Also a lot of anger directed at white people generally, and at white allies. There was a lot of anger directed at the Women's March. The feeling was very much "we are glad you are here now, white allies, but what the fuck? We've been being brutalized for so long, and NOW you're finally mad?" and more bitingly "It wasn't until white pussy became endangered that you white women show up, but they've been raping black pussy forever". This resonated with me deeply. It was clear that many whites in the crowd became uncomfortable at having black anger directed at them instead of trump / the police. But they clapped and cheered and supported the speakers anyway.
- Protesters climbed on top of the subway shelter thingies. Many young white women with shirts off, electrical tape over nipples. Many young white men with megaphones.
- Most chanting was what you would expect, things like "Show me what democracy looks like / this is what democracy looks like", "we don't want your tiny hands / anywhere near our underpants", etc. Near the barricades the BLM chants were more incisive, things like "No good cops in a racist system" and "We don't get no justice / They don't get no peace".
My personal interactions with cops / protesters / counter-protesters:
- I spoke briefly to one of the cops on the line. Young white male. I said "You should be on our side". He said "I'm on the right side". The only way I could think of to try and make a point that might resonate was to respond with "You're enforcing for people that voted against cops in the 9/11 first responders bill. Guiliani prevented cops from getting the walkie talkies that would work in commercial buildings. A lot of cops died for that. The firefighters got them - they didn't have the same tragedy. Why would you support people that don't protect you?" He did not respond after that.
- At around 7:15 PM the bulk began to move northbound on 13th toward Chinatown. Many disbanded.
- I began to walk westbound on Market toward city hall. There were several young white men with bandanas on faces with flares and burning American flags. One man walked over from the sidewalk and put out the smoldering flags with his foot, saying "don't give them what they want". A white woman who was a counter-protester walked over and called the young men with flares cowards, and yelled at the protesters to "leave America if you don't like it here".
-This was the point at which my adrenaline kicked in and things got blurry and weird. It's important to note I think that I am an introvert - large crowds make me uncomfortable, I do not like to be a focus of attention, I do not have skills in fighting or managing surges of adrenaline. I was shaking like a leaf.
- The counter-protester woman went back to the sidewalk to join a man and a couple other counter-protester men. They continued to scream at everyone to get out of America. At that point I mic-checked a group of protesters and led a call and response chant of "No Trump. No Nazis. No Fascists. Go Home" directly at the counter-protesters. They became enraged and tried to shout back but there were few of them and many of us.
- A couple of the men that had been burning flags put down their flares and came over with a very wide and large sign that took a few people to hold that said essentially "No fascists. World war for open borders".
- I led a couple more call and response mic checks with a fairly intense "America kills Nazis. No negotiation. No normalization. America kills Nazis."
General Thoughts
I am a 33 year old queer white male introvert. This is very out of character for me. I feel strongly about politics and strongly about progressive values but always in a quiet way, preferably out of meatspace. I am cognizant of the fact that I am very late to be this vocal in the cause, and that my POC brothers and sisters have been fighting this forever. I feel as if I am being gradually "radicalized" but that's not the right word really. The thing is, while "conservative"administrations in my lifetime have ALL been actively evil, this new shit is actual neo-nazis having power. And my countrypeople have voted for neo-nazis. I've never had fully rose colored glasses about the USA but this has broken something inside my brain. This goes beyond the banality of evil "conservatism" and into me feeling like my countrypeople are traitors. This feels like a betrayal of even the flawed America I thought I knew. I would never have thought I would be screaming in the streets to kill Nazis. But here we are.
I am tired and hoarse and my body hurts today but I'm at work and trying to focus [when not typing a stupidly long comment] but I feel like my options are being narrowed. There are now neo-nazis in power. Our options are being restricted. It is time to ACTIVELY resist by hurting Nazis. Or it's time for me and my family to leave this country. Both are heartbreaking to contemplate.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [282 favorites]
Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together
The pattern that emerges is clear: Members of the White House are concerned enough about Trump’s capacity to do the job that they’ll leak to prominent reporters, but they’re not concerned enough to muster the courage to tell Trump the truth, or to resign. Congressional Republicans are concerned enough about the things Trump is doing that they’ll signal independence from or displeasure with Trump, but not concerned enough to use real power to stop him, or to keep him honestposted by zachlipton at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [56 favorites]
Awesome cover! I just subscribed to the New Yorker last week because my wife mentioned it and I thought it would be a nice surprise. This will be the first issue to arrive and I'll have to remember to keep my mouth shut so I don't ruin it.
posted by cmfletcher at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 9:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I guess what I'm trying to say is, can we stop it with the violent memes?
No. If I see a fucking nazi, I will punch a fucking nazi.
posted by brand-gnu at 9:48 AM on January 27, 2017 [99 favorites]
No. If I see a fucking nazi, I will punch a fucking nazi.
posted by brand-gnu at 9:48 AM on January 27, 2017 [99 favorites]
This is one of the primary ways I am receiving and digesting news
Me too, to the point of feeling like a leech for basically parroting all the links in the threads on my Facebook page. But (as per usual) the quality's so kick ass here I have to pass it on.
Anyhow, thanks!
posted by Rykey at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Me too, to the point of feeling like a leech for basically parroting all the links in the threads on my Facebook page. But (as per usual) the quality's so kick ass here I have to pass it on.
Anyhow, thanks!
posted by Rykey at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
For someone who always feels free to comment on the appearance of others, Mr. Trump is a slob.
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Trump 100% photoshopped his hand bigger for this picture hanging in the white house, which is the most embarassing thing I've ever seen
posted by rewil at 9:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [85 favorites]
posted by rewil at 9:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [85 favorites]
It's amazing how much he looks like Nixon in that GQ video when his hair is slicked back.
Also punch Nazis forever.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also punch Nazis forever.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control you. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger. - No, wait, hold on. - Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side. - Hold on, no. Ahm... First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... - OK, can we forget that?
posted by thivaia at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control you. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger. - No, wait, hold on. - Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side. - Hold on, no. Ahm... First you get the women, then you get the money, then you... - OK, can we forget that?
posted by thivaia at 9:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
"It's a great honor to have Winston Churchill back," Pres Trump said of the bust. "It's a great honor to be here," PM May said in response.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:53 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:53 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump's replacement scares me almost even more than the orange-haired-one himself.
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to dieAlso: America 2017 re-imagined as The Watchmen. Bigly.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice: “For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
Of all the horrifying things that have happened this week, this one really stands out. This is our representitive in the UN, standing in the UN, issuing threats to our allies.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
Of all the horrifying things that have happened this week, this one really stands out. This is our representitive in the UN, standing in the UN, issuing threats to our allies.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
I remember some commie hippie saying the words "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love."
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
Yup. And he got murdered.
Come to think of it, there was another commie hippie with a recent birthday who said "But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other."
And guess what? He got murdered, too!
So maybe non-violent rhetoric really might not be the way to go for people whose primary goal is to avoid being murdered.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [95 favorites]
I'm pretty sure it was his birthday a little while ago, too.
Yup. And he got murdered.
Come to think of it, there was another commie hippie with a recent birthday who said "But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other."
And guess what? He got murdered, too!
So maybe non-violent rhetoric really might not be the way to go for people whose primary goal is to avoid being murdered.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [95 favorites]
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
These were Yoda's words to a troubled young lad in danger of falling in with the Star Wars equivalent of the alt-right
Note that when the shit went down, Yoda did not hesitate to lightsaber off some clonetrooper heads and try to physically overpower the leadership of the nascent Galactic Empire
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [129 favorites]
These were Yoda's words to a troubled young lad in danger of falling in with the Star Wars equivalent of the alt-right
Note that when the shit went down, Yoda did not hesitate to lightsaber off some clonetrooper heads and try to physically overpower the leadership of the nascent Galactic Empire
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [129 favorites]
Honestly, we wouldn't be in this mess if we had stayed colonists and gotten our independence the Canadian/Australian way.
Canada got self rule with a sternly worded letter because of the catastrophe of the American revolt.
posted by ocschwar at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Canada got self rule with a sternly worded letter because of the catastrophe of the American revolt.
posted by ocschwar at 9:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to die
President *Kif sigh* Trump, new spokesmodel for Oops I Crapped My Pants.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
President *Kif sigh* Trump, new spokesmodel for Oops I Crapped My Pants.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump is promoting a conspiracy theorist on Twitter who says Israel hacked the DNC. Guess that's one way to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Gregg Phillips is also apparently an expert at using a governmental position to line his own pockets, expertise the Trump Administration is surely looking to tap.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Gregg Phillips is also apparently an expert at using a governmental position to line his own pockets, expertise the Trump Administration is surely looking to tap.
posted by zachlipton at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
> Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
“For those that don't have our back, we're taking names”
They might want to watch that. In my experience, some of the people moving to "have your back" are doing so in order to stab it.
posted by nubs at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
They might want to watch that. In my experience, some of the people moving to "have your back" are doing so in order to stab it.
posted by nubs at 9:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
I will, with all of my shriveled black heart, protest the fuck out of a Pence presidency, every day of the week and twice on Sundays, but I will not go to bed every night wondering whether or not the next day a nuclear war is going to get started over China tweeting about our president's hand size.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [115 favorites]
I will, with all of my shriveled black heart, protest the fuck out of a Pence presidency, every day of the week and twice on Sundays, but I will not go to bed every night wondering whether or not the next day a nuclear war is going to get started over China tweeting about our president's hand size.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [115 favorites]
In 1st remarks at the UN, Nikki Haley puts world on notice ... we're taking names
Nimrata Randhawa Haley is delusional if she thinks that the white men she works for don't already have her name.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Nimrata Randhawa Haley is delusional if she thinks that the white men she works for don't already have her name.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
does this ass make my hands look small?
You win Deb Collins of twitter.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
You win Deb Collins of twitter.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
The risk of death in pregnancy is greater than the risk of death from an abortion. If 100,000 women decide to keep their pregnancy 8.8 will die. If 100,000 women have an abortion 0.6 will die.
Also with the attack on reproductive health treatment maternal mortality will increase for both of these decisions.
posted by srboisvert at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Also with the attack on reproductive health treatment maternal mortality will increase for both of these decisions.
posted by srboisvert at 10:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Up here we're just sitting a waiting to see what the hell he is going to do with Canada. My expectation is he is going release a wave of Canadian Righteous Politeness the likes of which haven't been seen for some time. Canadians tend to get mad with style but boyah can we get mad when it's warranted.
posted by Jalliah at 10:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
does this ass make my hands look small?
It really does. I've never though his hands looked particularly small, but they are definitely not proportional to his ass.
posted by diogenes at 10:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It really does. I've never though his hands looked particularly small, but they are definitely not proportional to his ass.
posted by diogenes at 10:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
A reminder, Nikki Haley was confirmed 96-4.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
I honestly can't tell the difference in the pictures at all. And I think it's a distraction. I don't care if he photoshops the size of his wanker.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:08 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I am tired and hoarse and my body hurts today but I'm at work and trying to focus [when not typing a stupidly long comment] but I feel like my options are being narrowed. There are now neo-nazis in power. Our options are being restricted. It is time to ACTIVELY resist by hurting Nazis. Or it's time for me and my family to leave this country. Both are heartbreaking to contemplate.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:47 AM on January 28 [28 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Thank you for what you did. I couldn't be there, and it breaks my heart every time to read these things and not be there, but you were, doing exactly the things that need to be done. Thank you.
posted by saysthis at 10:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 1:47 AM on January 28 [28 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Thank you for what you did. I couldn't be there, and it breaks my heart every time to read these things and not be there, but you were, doing exactly the things that need to be done. Thank you.
posted by saysthis at 10:10 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I can't decide if @RoguePOTUSstaff is about to get realer or is jumping the shark. (To be clear I am taking this and the dearly departed Whitehouse Leaker twitters with a grain of salt so large as to be on display at the Smithsonian and possibly seen from space, but it's also true that even through "normal" journalist-mediated channels the West Wing is currently leaking like a bottomless bucket so it's not entirely unpossible.) If we hear in a couple days that voting rolls show that some Trump family members voted twice, I guess we'll know.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
A reminder, Nikki Haley was confirmed 96-4.
Yeah, but if you think she wrote that speech herself you're vastly overestimating the freedom a UN ambassador has to act. Any Trump administration envoy would have said the same thing, because it'd be the same person telling them what to say.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, but if you think she wrote that speech herself you're vastly overestimating the freedom a UN ambassador has to act. Any Trump administration envoy would have said the same thing, because it'd be the same person telling them what to say.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I don't care if he photoshops the size of his wanker.
He should make Nigel Farage look very small in every picture.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
He should make Nigel Farage look very small in every picture.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
The decision of the prime minister to make her first address in the US to the GOP retreat, where she elided her role as head of government and that of Tory leader in pledging allegiance to their ideology, was even more shameful than this meeting today. She's betting recklessly, because she's a fundamentally weak leader who is still a Home Secretary in spirit.
posted by holgate at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
'Teresa May': White House Spells Theresa May's Name Wrong Three Times in Memo Ahead of Visit
Whether this is an example of incompetence or a deliberate slight - or maybe, as with so many Trumpian things, both - I genuinely do not know what to make of the fact that Teresa May (IMDB link, potentially NSFW) is a glamour model who has appeared in softcore porn videos, including one for a Playboy (just like Trump) and the Prodigy's music video for its hit "Smack My Bitch Up".
If this were a spec script for a sequel to In the Loop, it would get rejected as too hyperbolic and too grotesque.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Whether this is an example of incompetence or a deliberate slight - or maybe, as with so many Trumpian things, both - I genuinely do not know what to make of the fact that Teresa May (IMDB link, potentially NSFW) is a glamour model who has appeared in softcore porn videos, including one for a Playboy (just like Trump) and the Prodigy's music video for its hit "Smack My Bitch Up".
If this were a spec script for a sequel to In the Loop, it would get rejected as too hyperbolic and too grotesque.
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
I can say that a lot of us white ladies protesting last weekend (was it just last weekend? Jesus) talked a lot about the 53% of white women voting Trump. We're all a bunch of weirdos, though, so we're not exactly sure we have any pull with your typical white lady Trump voter who will, in fact, care that we don't (consistently) shave our legs and dismiss us.
HOWEVER, we look Standard White Lady enough that we can help at BLM or other protests, if that truly will keep the cops calmer. Put us in the front, in our little pink hats and white faces, maybe they'll hold back more on the pepper spray. We've got some social justice/protest training coming up at our church, so I'm definitely going to get that discussion going. The cops were remarkably calm for us Saturday and I've heard a lot of women of color remark on that.
Of course, plenty of white women have been attacked by cops too when things get heated enough, so it's not any kind of magic armor. But maybe they'll wait longer to escalate. We will do what we can. And try to reach out to white lady friends who might be on the fence.
posted by emjaybee at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [77 favorites]
HOWEVER, we look Standard White Lady enough that we can help at BLM or other protests, if that truly will keep the cops calmer. Put us in the front, in our little pink hats and white faces, maybe they'll hold back more on the pepper spray. We've got some social justice/protest training coming up at our church, so I'm definitely going to get that discussion going. The cops were remarkably calm for us Saturday and I've heard a lot of women of color remark on that.
Of course, plenty of white women have been attacked by cops too when things get heated enough, so it's not any kind of magic armor. But maybe they'll wait longer to escalate. We will do what we can. And try to reach out to white lady friends who might be on the fence.
posted by emjaybee at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [77 favorites]
Up here we're just sitting a waiting to see what the hell he is going to do with Canada. My expectation is he is going release a wave of Canadian Righteous Politeness the likes of which haven't been seen for some time. Canadians tend to get mad with style but boyah can we get mad when it's warranted.
I am hoping desperately--and it was going to be the question I was going to ask the PM had I been able to get into the Town Hall meeting here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago--that Trudeau has the guts to stand up to Bully-in-Chief. Because if he doesn't and rolls over like a lapdog, then I will be bitterly disappointed. (Not like any other non-Conservative candidate might have done any better, mind you.)
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
posted by Kitteh at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I am hoping desperately--and it was going to be the question I was going to ask the PM had I been able to get into the Town Hall meeting here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago--that Trudeau has the guts to stand up to Bully-in-Chief. Because if he doesn't and rolls over like a lapdog, then I will be bitterly disappointed. (Not like any other non-Conservative candidate might have done any better, mind you.)
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
posted by Kitteh at 10:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Calexit organizers have received permission to start collecting signatures to put a path to secession on the 2018 ballot. This would remove language in CA's state constitution declaring California a part of the United States, and would put the actual question of secession on a future ballot in 2019.
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
"I'm delighted to be able to congratulate you on what was a stunning electoral victory," May tells Trump
posted by slipthought at 10:15 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by slipthought at 10:15 AM on January 27, 2017
If this were a spec script for a sequel to In the Loop, it would get rejected as too hyperbolic and too grotesque.
It would, however, be perfect for Veep, The Thick of It/In the Loop's more hyperbolic and grotesque American cousin, which has already had to cut a joke because of Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017
It would, however, be perfect for Veep, The Thick of It/In the Loop's more hyperbolic and grotesque American cousin, which has already had to cut a joke because of Trump.
posted by zachlipton at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017
LOL when Theresa May passed on the Queen's congratulations to Trump in the presser, Trump made this big happy impressed with himself face for a second like *can u believe it queen love Trump*
posted by angrycat at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 10:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
The 1980 Republican Debate: Should illegal immigrants get access to free public schools?
posted by Talez at 10:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Talez at 10:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Donnie clearly wasn't briefed about the Minsk Agreement. Tsk tsk.
posted by birdheist at 10:19 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by birdheist at 10:19 AM on January 27, 2017
We need John Cleese to do a sketch of Basil Fawlty running the desk at the Torquay branch of Trump Hotel.
"Listen, don't mention the size of his hands. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
"Listen, don't mention the size of his hands. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
"I'm delighted to be able to congratulate you on what was a stunning electoral victory," May tells Trump
British humor is just too dry for most American audiences.
posted by contraption at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [138 favorites]
British humor is just too dry for most American audiences.
posted by contraption at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [138 favorites]
Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell, after Gillray.
posted by holgate at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
lazaruslong, thank you for your courage in being an active ally and your openness to hearing hard words and truths from PoC.
It's hard --extremely hard -- to be a good ally. I know that I have not always been the best ally to various of my sisters and brothers on this planet, both individually and at a group level. It takes so much work and involves a lot of stumbles.
And as you noted, being a good ally takes a toll on your body and your mind, but it's one of the most important things in the world to do.
Thanks again.
posted by lord_wolf at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
It's hard --extremely hard -- to be a good ally. I know that I have not always been the best ally to various of my sisters and brothers on this planet, both individually and at a group level. It takes so much work and involves a lot of stumbles.
And as you noted, being a good ally takes a toll on your body and your mind, but it's one of the most important things in the world to do.
Thanks again.
posted by lord_wolf at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
So is the new tag for politics threads "potus45"?
Asking for MyMefi purposes :)
posted by samthemander at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Asking for MyMefi purposes :)
posted by samthemander at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
is he setting up to kick Mattis out when the next attack happens and then DJT will be all *if only we had tortured people MadDog you have failed us*
posted by angrycat at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
You just have the federal one; here in Alberta I get the shitshow of the provincial one as an added bonus.
posted by nubs at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
You just have the federal one; here in Alberta I get the shitshow of the provincial one as an added bonus.
posted by nubs at 10:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Considering inviting some of my friends to join us here in Metafilter to get away from only seeing political news on FB.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017
angrycat, you've just overtaken the comment I was about to make asking whether Trump has just pre-emptively thrown Mattis under the bus.
posted by Major Clanger at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Major Clanger at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yes, Donald, it's the Mexicans that have made you look foolish
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 10:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Want to read an extended discussion from a Clinton-era advance guy on Presidential microphone choices and how Trump's changing the game? I thought so.
posted by zachlipton at 10:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Calexit organizers have received permission to start collecting signatures to put a path to secession on the 2018 ballot. This would remove language in CA's state constitution declaring California a part of the United States, and would put the actual question of secession on a future ballot in 2019.
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
Personally I hear this and my hands start shaking and I start going "oh god, oh god, I might need to run, our strongest ally won't even stand with me and mine and we're going to all die". I cannot imagine winning against these Nazi scum without California. I am trying to get Texas to where California is now all on my own and I have had a dozen people tell me it will be okay and I am trying to find the space and the, the, the control to pause and breathe. But every step I hear California taking to abandoning the rest of us in this poor misbegotten and tattered union sounds a warning knell to what remains of my determination and my optimism.
So, um, Californian MeFites, please for the love of--the love of--if you have ever liked a thing I have said or a sentiment I've had or if you have any positive feelings for me whatsoever, I am begging you, please stand against Calexit. Please. Please stand with us. Please help me protect the poorer and less privileged people in my community, because there's a lot of mes out here in places you don't maybe think about much or see and we cannot do it without your help and support. Please. I will get on my knees and beg on video if that will help, I will kiss your feet in gratitude, I have no shame left, but please do not let California abandon us.
posted by sciatrix at 10:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [160 favorites]
Will leave it to smarter people to say whether this is good or bad and what the actual impact will be, and I can't really imagine it will go well when I bring critical thought to it, but today marks the first day I read the word "Calexit" and had the knee-jerk reaction "Yes, that sounds like a good idea" instead of "Ugh." So that was weird.
Personally I hear this and my hands start shaking and I start going "oh god, oh god, I might need to run, our strongest ally won't even stand with me and mine and we're going to all die". I cannot imagine winning against these Nazi scum without California. I am trying to get Texas to where California is now all on my own and I have had a dozen people tell me it will be okay and I am trying to find the space and the, the, the control to pause and breathe. But every step I hear California taking to abandoning the rest of us in this poor misbegotten and tattered union sounds a warning knell to what remains of my determination and my optimism.
So, um, Californian MeFites, please for the love of--the love of--if you have ever liked a thing I have said or a sentiment I've had or if you have any positive feelings for me whatsoever, I am begging you, please stand against Calexit. Please. Please stand with us. Please help me protect the poorer and less privileged people in my community, because there's a lot of mes out here in places you don't maybe think about much or see and we cannot do it without your help and support. Please. I will get on my knees and beg on video if that will help, I will kiss your feet in gratitude, I have no shame left, but please do not let California abandon us.
posted by sciatrix at 10:34 AM on January 27, 2017 [160 favorites]
It's been stated before, but I need to reiterate -- a calexit would condemn the rest of the country, the madness that is sweeping the US would become irreversible. It is telling the ultra-right that they have won.
A real secession would take quite the coordinated fight as well as a ton of work and leadership to guide the state into an independent nation successfully - to deal with trade and currency issues, to deal with border control, to deal with armed forces and defense, to establish the international office functions needed to be a successful nation. Even assuming that there was no military intervention from the US, this would take an absurd amount of time and effort for something that would likely have a minuscule chance of being viewed as a success.
All of the time, money, effort, and leadership of a campaign would be time, money, effort, and leadership that could be used to play a significant role in correcting the course of the US - something that would then become impossible.
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more efficient way to ensure further suffering of the US in perpetuity than a calexit scenario.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [74 favorites]
A real secession would take quite the coordinated fight as well as a ton of work and leadership to guide the state into an independent nation successfully - to deal with trade and currency issues, to deal with border control, to deal with armed forces and defense, to establish the international office functions needed to be a successful nation. Even assuming that there was no military intervention from the US, this would take an absurd amount of time and effort for something that would likely have a minuscule chance of being viewed as a success.
All of the time, money, effort, and leadership of a campaign would be time, money, effort, and leadership that could be used to play a significant role in correcting the course of the US - something that would then become impossible.
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more efficient way to ensure further suffering of the US in perpetuity than a calexit scenario.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [74 favorites]
“This was your choice of a question? There goes that relationship!”
To Laura Keunssberg, the BBC's political editor, for asking a pointed question about public statements. (And Keunssberg has been accused in the past of being a little too chummy towards the Tory establishment and reflexively hostile to Labour.)
posted by holgate at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
To Laura Keunssberg, the BBC's political editor, for asking a pointed question about public statements. (And Keunssberg has been accused in the past of being a little too chummy towards the Tory establishment and reflexively hostile to Labour.)
posted by holgate at 10:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
and I think that's the point at which I have to acknowledge that I need a break from working on this before I actually collapse in tears at work again, so Imma gonna go to the library and hide myself in Call the Midwife compilations for a while.
posted by sciatrix at 10:37 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 10:37 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more efficient way to ensure further suffering of the US in perpetuity than a calexit scenario.
Well we did elect Donald Trump
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Well we did elect Donald Trump
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yes, Calexit is a stunningly bad idea and I have no intention of letting California leave the rest of the US. As cheesy as it sounds we are stronger together.
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
If we can save the West Coast, I'm for it.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Not wanting a civil war or Partition-style bloodbath isn't cheesy.
posted by Rykey at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
(God I miss the days when you could complain about political slogans being a little cheesy instead of terrifying symbols of upcoming fascism)
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Calexit is very possible a Russian/Putin plot to tear apart the United States. The guy who started it lives in Russia and is a homophobe.
KQED: From his home in Russia, Calexit leader plots California secession
A former right-wing activist from Buffalo, New York, Marinelli first moved to Russia almost a decade ago. He studied at St. Petersburg State University, the alma mater of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He returned to the United States to campaign against LGBTQ rights as part of the National Organization for Marriage.
...
In fact, Marinelli’s movement was covered almost exclusively in outlets funded by the Russian government and Communist Party before picking up more mainstream attention in the past few months. The ascendancy of his secessionist organization says just as much about the state of media as it does about the Russian government’s ability to sway U.S. public opinion.
posted by gucci mane at 10:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [91 favorites]
KQED: From his home in Russia, Calexit leader plots California secession
A former right-wing activist from Buffalo, New York, Marinelli first moved to Russia almost a decade ago. He studied at St. Petersburg State University, the alma mater of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He returned to the United States to campaign against LGBTQ rights as part of the National Organization for Marriage.
...
In fact, Marinelli’s movement was covered almost exclusively in outlets funded by the Russian government and Communist Party before picking up more mainstream attention in the past few months. The ascendancy of his secessionist organization says just as much about the state of media as it does about the Russian government’s ability to sway U.S. public opinion.
posted by gucci mane at 10:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [91 favorites]
I'm sorry I posted that Calexit link so blithely. I should have realized it would upset people. Despite my surprising-even-to-me initial reaction, I do not think Calexit is the way to go, and I think we still have a way forward through this mess.
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by sunset in snow country at 10:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
A real secession would take quite the coordinated fight
Navy Port.
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
posted by rough ashlar at 10:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Navy Port.
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
posted by rough ashlar at 10:43 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also from that link:
English says sowing domestic political divisions in the U.S. appears to be the motivating factor in supporting Yes California.
Marinelli’s effort is endorsed by the Kremlin, which hosted Yes California as part of an anti-globalization conference in Moscow in September. The conference was paid for by the Russian government, and the pictures of Marinelli flanked by other “freedom fighters” from Texas (“Texit,” anyone?), Catalonia, Ireland and Puerto Rico provided Yes California a veneer of legitimacy.
It’s a similar approach Russia took when Nigel Farage — the leader of the anti-EU party UKIP — was still considered a fringe character.
RT even offered Farage his own show on the network.
These efforts by Putin’s Kremlin to prop up fringe causes have been a concern of U.S. officials for several years. In a speech last year at the Brookings Institution, Vice President Joe Biden warned of Russian attempts to influence Western elections in 2015.
posted by gucci mane at 10:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
English says sowing domestic political divisions in the U.S. appears to be the motivating factor in supporting Yes California.
Marinelli’s effort is endorsed by the Kremlin, which hosted Yes California as part of an anti-globalization conference in Moscow in September. The conference was paid for by the Russian government, and the pictures of Marinelli flanked by other “freedom fighters” from Texas (“Texit,” anyone?), Catalonia, Ireland and Puerto Rico provided Yes California a veneer of legitimacy.
It’s a similar approach Russia took when Nigel Farage — the leader of the anti-EU party UKIP — was still considered a fringe character.
RT even offered Farage his own show on the network.
These efforts by Putin’s Kremlin to prop up fringe causes have been a concern of U.S. officials for several years. In a speech last year at the Brookings Institution, Vice President Joe Biden warned of Russian attempts to influence Western elections in 2015.
posted by gucci mane at 10:44 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yes, let's take our largest group of blue voters out of the country. That'll fix it.
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Calexit is a terrible idea, and if it actually got traction (it won't) it would spark a literal civil war. We provide far too much in food and tax revenue, not to mention many many critical military bases. It's not even worth a fantasy thought. And that's ignoring who is driving the idea.
posted by gofargogo at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by gofargogo at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [26 favorites]
Not that I think people mentioning hate and anger are doing this, but I thought it was a good point.
“Don’t fight hate with hate” is an example of subtle gaslighting, where our legitimate hurt & anger at the injustices we suffer is being equated to the bigotry & abuse of our oppressors.posted by chris24 at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [121 favorites]
Being angry doesn’t mean you are being hateful, it means you love yourself enough to get upset at your own mistreatment.
Geesus. This really is turning into the Hunger Games. California = District 13.
*kisses three fingers, extends arm*
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
*kisses three fingers, extends arm*
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Mod note: Y'all let's maybe collectively take a deep breath a little. Shit's hard, everybody's got good reason to be upset.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
The partition plan should include a process of assisted voluntary resettlement between the various resulting polities. It will probably be necessary to see coastal NIMBY's BTFO...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017
The west coast is seeing strong local leadership to fill voids and actively fight against much of what we are seeing come from the Trump administration... Sanctuary cities committing to disobey executive directives regarding immigration enforcement, potential statewide health insurance initiatives - This is where we see the largest resistance as well as where we will see models that can spread throughout the US if successful. It is where we will see how impotent many of the administrative directives will be.
Let's be selfish here and pretend that we only care about the west coast - please tell me how the states and cities of the west coast are able to be stronger and better off via a secession. I see no scenario in which this is the case.
There is no "saving" the west coast by abandoning the rest of the US, there is simply abandoning it and surrendering voices. It is an expression of hate for the rest of the country and divisiveness - and it's the ultimate dream of the ultra-right for the progressive ideals and voters of the west coast to no longer be a consideration.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Let's be selfish here and pretend that we only care about the west coast - please tell me how the states and cities of the west coast are able to be stronger and better off via a secession. I see no scenario in which this is the case.
There is no "saving" the west coast by abandoning the rest of the US, there is simply abandoning it and surrendering voices. It is an expression of hate for the rest of the country and divisiveness - and it's the ultimate dream of the ultra-right for the progressive ideals and voters of the west coast to no longer be a consideration.
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare [WaPo]
Recordings of closed sessions at the Republican policy retreat in Philadelphia this week were sent late Thursday to The Washington Post and several other news outlets from an anonymous email address. The remarks of all lawmakers quoted in this story were confirmed by their offices or by the lawmakers themselves.posted by melissasaurus at 10:47 AM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
...so Imma gonna go to the library...
This is often the best course of action when faced with many situations in life. Log off, drink a refreshing cup of tea, take a stroll to the public library, and imbibe from the many freely available fountains of knowledge. Unreservedly recommended.
posted by Wordshore at 10:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
This is often the best course of action when faced with many situations in life. Log off, drink a refreshing cup of tea, take a stroll to the public library, and imbibe from the many freely available fountains of knowledge. Unreservedly recommended.
posted by Wordshore at 10:49 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
From the above link:
“We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created [with repeal],” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS
posted by angrycat at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
“We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created [with repeal],” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS
posted by angrycat at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
"Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together"
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
Don't think of it as "if Trump fails, the Republicans also fail." That's also not what the article suggests. Trump could flame out and Pence could slide right in and the Republican agenda would continue smoothly. This is more of a "let's you and him fight" thing where many Republicans are saying "yes, I can vote for a lot of Trump's stuff but let HIM be the front man for it and pay that particular PR cost."
“Don’t fight hate with hate” is an example of subtle gaslighting, where our legitimate hurt & anger at the injustices we suffer is being equated to the bigotry & abuse of our oppressors.
Self-defense is not "fighting with hate." It also does not mean you have to pull your punches against a sufficient threat.
posted by delfin at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Sigh. People have been saying this since it became clear that he was going to be the nominee. I don't believe it for a second, unless we're talking about the "we all die in a nuclear war" kind of suicide.
Don't think of it as "if Trump fails, the Republicans also fail." That's also not what the article suggests. Trump could flame out and Pence could slide right in and the Republican agenda would continue smoothly. This is more of a "let's you and him fight" thing where many Republicans are saying "yes, I can vote for a lot of Trump's stuff but let HIM be the front man for it and pay that particular PR cost."
“Don’t fight hate with hate” is an example of subtle gaslighting, where our legitimate hurt & anger at the injustices we suffer is being equated to the bigotry & abuse of our oppressors.
Self-defense is not "fighting with hate." It also does not mean you have to pull your punches against a sufficient threat.
posted by delfin at 10:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I remember my high school classmates musing fondly on the idea of Calexit back in the Bush years. Even as idiot teens we knew it was a silly fantasy. The negotiations for water rights alone would kill the deal, and in the event of armed conflict the people in California who own guns are not the people that Democratic folks in the cities want owning guns. It's a pipe dream and it makes no sense.
posted by potrzebie at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ouch. I'm surprised this is getting so much free press.
posted by buzzman at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by buzzman at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am hoping desperately--and it was going to be the question I was going to ask the PM had I been able to get into the Town Hall meeting here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago--that Trudeau has the guts to stand up to Bully-in-Chief. Because if he doesn't and rolls over like a lapdog, then I will be bitterly disappointed. (Not like any other non-Conservative candidate might have done any better, mind you.)
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
I really can't speculate at what Trudeau is going to do at this point. He's in a tough place with NAFTA on the table and this has the potential to royally screw our economy. My expectation is that he's going to, at least at first, play a bit of the kiss as political game, because as we all know now that it's a strategy that can work with Donald. It's going to be tough to watch when it happens but I won't outright condemn him for it if it's looks like that's what he's doing (a strategy) and not because he means it. I'm hoping at least for a good/cop bad cop play when it comes to NAFTA. I'm okay with this as I understand how vital it is.
I also expect there may be pushback (if this admin figures it out) with our 'deepening of relations' with China which is starting next month (Free Trade). It will be interesting to see if this admin gets itself to the point of understanding that their desire to pull back from the world means that both countries on their borders are looking outward, with more motivation now. That outwards is leading directly to China and pacific trade. Both Canada and Mexico are having open talks with China now.
If he starts kissing ass on other issues? Especially social ones. Yeah I'll be right piss at that. At least he has already shown some indication that he's not with his comments on standing firm on Canada's views of refugees and immigration and his stand on feminism.
Climate change ditto. Trudeau is screwing around with the agenda with his whole support of pipelines but in general it's at least an issue that our government is trying to do something about. I can see Canada taking on even more of a leadership role especially since from talking to some people involved here people in the US who are working on climate change are now looking more to Canada for help and support. Our general populace is much more supportive of it being a primary issue relative to the US populace at this point.
NATO is another potential conflict if Trump actually goes there. I don't see Canada following any lead on that one.
If net neutrality takes hold I can see Canada becoming the place where 'net' stuff moves. I've already heard from those in the industry that queries from US tech companies about moving or setting up satellites up here has shot through the roof since the election. Also queries about moving data storage up here as well. That will be interesting to watch.
I have no friggen clue how Canada is going to react to this new Russian/US becoming 'friends' thing. This is a tough one because of the arctic and the opening of the arctic due to climate change. Oil and security being the issues. Russia if you go north is next door so yeah no idea and I doubt anyone has much of an idea at this point.
And yeah the Conservative race. Good lord. We get our very own Trump lite reality tv business guy. He's a putz like Trump but unfortunately I think a bit smarter putz. My only solace is that if he does become leader the crap going on in the US will help temper his the worst of whatever the hell he's gonna do and say. Thank goodness the election is still a few years away.
Whoops that turned into an essay. I will stop now.
posted by Jalliah at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And what a shitshow the Conservative leader race is turning out to be too!
I really can't speculate at what Trudeau is going to do at this point. He's in a tough place with NAFTA on the table and this has the potential to royally screw our economy. My expectation is that he's going to, at least at first, play a bit of the kiss as political game, because as we all know now that it's a strategy that can work with Donald. It's going to be tough to watch when it happens but I won't outright condemn him for it if it's looks like that's what he's doing (a strategy) and not because he means it. I'm hoping at least for a good/cop bad cop play when it comes to NAFTA. I'm okay with this as I understand how vital it is.
I also expect there may be pushback (if this admin figures it out) with our 'deepening of relations' with China which is starting next month (Free Trade). It will be interesting to see if this admin gets itself to the point of understanding that their desire to pull back from the world means that both countries on their borders are looking outward, with more motivation now. That outwards is leading directly to China and pacific trade. Both Canada and Mexico are having open talks with China now.
If he starts kissing ass on other issues? Especially social ones. Yeah I'll be right piss at that. At least he has already shown some indication that he's not with his comments on standing firm on Canada's views of refugees and immigration and his stand on feminism.
Climate change ditto. Trudeau is screwing around with the agenda with his whole support of pipelines but in general it's at least an issue that our government is trying to do something about. I can see Canada taking on even more of a leadership role especially since from talking to some people involved here people in the US who are working on climate change are now looking more to Canada for help and support. Our general populace is much more supportive of it being a primary issue relative to the US populace at this point.
NATO is another potential conflict if Trump actually goes there. I don't see Canada following any lead on that one.
If net neutrality takes hold I can see Canada becoming the place where 'net' stuff moves. I've already heard from those in the industry that queries from US tech companies about moving or setting up satellites up here has shot through the roof since the election. Also queries about moving data storage up here as well. That will be interesting to watch.
I have no friggen clue how Canada is going to react to this new Russian/US becoming 'friends' thing. This is a tough one because of the arctic and the opening of the arctic due to climate change. Oil and security being the issues. Russia if you go north is next door so yeah no idea and I doubt anyone has much of an idea at this point.
And yeah the Conservative race. Good lord. We get our very own Trump lite reality tv business guy. He's a putz like Trump but unfortunately I think a bit smarter putz. My only solace is that if he does become leader the crap going on in the US will help temper his the worst of whatever the hell he's gonna do and say. Thank goodness the election is still a few years away.
Whoops that turned into an essay. I will stop now.
posted by Jalliah at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
So maybe non-violent rhetoric really might not be the way to go for people whose primary goal is to avoid being murdered.
You can't blame anyone for making survival their primary goal, but it's worth noting that they were murdered because that rhetoric posed an effective threat to their oppressors.
posted by Coventry at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
You can't blame anyone for making survival their primary goal, but it's worth noting that they were murdered because that rhetoric posed an effective threat to their oppressors.
posted by Coventry at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I cannot imagine winning against these Nazi scum without California.
I live in California. We're not going anywhere. We're going to keep fighting.
I will never vote for anything that makes it harder for gay kids in red states to get to safety, and turning California into another country definitely counts.
And four years from now, when we have thrown this wanna-be dictator out of office, we will all celebrate together.
posted by Myca at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [63 favorites]
I live in California. We're not going anywhere. We're going to keep fighting.
I will never vote for anything that makes it harder for gay kids in red states to get to safety, and turning California into another country definitely counts.
And four years from now, when we have thrown this wanna-be dictator out of office, we will all celebrate together.
posted by Myca at 10:52 AM on January 27, 2017 [63 favorites]
One more thing that could also lead to conflict. Canada is set to nationally legalize pot. I can't see that going over well with this admin.
posted by Jalliah at 10:53 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
The partition plan should include a process of assisted voluntary resettlement between the various resulting polities.
The problem with this, aside from the practical difficulty many threatened populations would have with resettling, is that trans people and gay people and girls would continue to be born in what's left of the USA, and those kids would be FUCKED.
posted by contraption at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
The problem with this, aside from the practical difficulty many threatened populations would have with resettling, is that trans people and gay people and girls would continue to be born in what's left of the USA, and those kids would be FUCKED.
posted by contraption at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Trump 100% photoshopped his hand bigger for this picture hanging in the white house
A Disney layout artist posted an A/B animation with the original source picture. They totally did.
Maybe a distraction, but something to add to the Amendment 25(4) proceedings.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [65 favorites]
A Disney layout artist posted an A/B animation with the original source picture. They totally did.
Maybe a distraction, but something to add to the Amendment 25(4) proceedings.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:54 AM on January 27, 2017 [65 favorites]
I feel like I'm getting way too involved in these threads (I need my own damn blog, but y'know, impending fascism and all), but:
Calexit, if it ever DOES become a thing, will mean civil war. And it's a freakin' Russian plot at its most credible.
Stop panicking about this. It won't happen. Not before you get ample warning to run, and not before Calexit itself becomes a burned out shell of an idea similar to Brexit.
And as dismissive as I might sound here, I swear on my life as a Minnesotan I won't be among the "leavers". I have my own history of GTFO (posting history is there if curious), but I vote, I'm in it, and I sure as hell ain't gonna let my family, my hometown, and my state fall to these monsters without a fight. That means a fight for everyone they'll oppress.
I also think that's how most of the resistance, as currently constituted, feels about this.
And if ANYONE on metafilter is ever in danger, memail is there, and I'm here. I don't know how much or how far I can help, but the minute someone reaches out with a plea for help, you damn well better know there are people standing with you, and we're not without means.
Knowing that is what gets me through the day. I am who I am because there were strangers who didn't leave me behind, not just in my state, not just in my country, all over the world. Decent people being decent is how I survived and stayed decent. I'm not the only one.
Stay strong.
posted by saysthis at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [32 favorites]
Calexit, if it ever DOES become a thing, will mean civil war. And it's a freakin' Russian plot at its most credible.
Stop panicking about this. It won't happen. Not before you get ample warning to run, and not before Calexit itself becomes a burned out shell of an idea similar to Brexit.
And as dismissive as I might sound here, I swear on my life as a Minnesotan I won't be among the "leavers". I have my own history of GTFO (posting history is there if curious), but I vote, I'm in it, and I sure as hell ain't gonna let my family, my hometown, and my state fall to these monsters without a fight. That means a fight for everyone they'll oppress.
I also think that's how most of the resistance, as currently constituted, feels about this.
And if ANYONE on metafilter is ever in danger, memail is there, and I'm here. I don't know how much or how far I can help, but the minute someone reaches out with a plea for help, you damn well better know there are people standing with you, and we're not without means.
Knowing that is what gets me through the day. I am who I am because there were strangers who didn't leave me behind, not just in my state, not just in my country, all over the world. Decent people being decent is how I survived and stayed decent. I'm not the only one.
Stay strong.
posted by saysthis at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [32 favorites]
The word going around the resistance groups around me is that Senator Toomey (PA, R) is wavering on his support for DeVos so there is an increased effort to get out the calls to him. This afternoon, I've called all of his offices (all 8 of them!) three times each in an attempt to get through. Five of them have a "this mailbox is full" message and the rest go to a busy signal. (When was the last time you heard a busy signal?!)
I don't have much hope that Toomey will ever really stand up to Trump, but I sure as hell want anyone in office or considering running for office to know that they won't get away with this shit in peace.
posted by mcduff at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
I don't have much hope that Toomey will ever really stand up to Trump, but I sure as hell want anyone in office or considering running for office to know that they won't get away with this shit in peace.
posted by mcduff at 10:55 AM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
Matt Debenham @debenham:
This *sounds* like a good thing to say, until you read it again.posted by mhum at 10:57 AM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]Mark Knoller @markknoller:
Pres Trump marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day pledging to ensure "that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good."
Calexit is another Russia plot. They're aimed at breaking up the US.
Also, it makes no sense. California can barely house its citizens as is, the last thing they need is an internal refugee crisis as liberals flee Christian ISIS States to the Independent California.
Plus its a fantasy anyway. Washington wouldn't let all of the Pacific fleet walk away without violence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Also, it makes no sense. California can barely house its citizens as is, the last thing they need is an internal refugee crisis as liberals flee Christian ISIS States to the Independent California.
Plus its a fantasy anyway. Washington wouldn't let all of the Pacific fleet walk away without violence.
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fuck me. I have been thinking of Calexit as creating a New Jerusalem (holy shit, I'm murdering myself here) because I escaped from There to Here. Cognitively I KNOW that every progressive moving here and every conservative leaving is utter fantasy. But I've been absorbed into that fantasy hard. Thank you guys, especially sciatrix, for kicking me back down to the ground.
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
(On preview, I am not "an idiot", I'm just trying to cope with all the trauma.)
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 11:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
(On preview, I am not "an idiot", I'm just trying to cope with all the trauma.)
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 11:00 AM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Fuck me. I have been thinking of Calexit as creating a New Jerusalem (holy shit, I'm murdering myself here) because I escaped from There to Here. Cognitively I KNOW that every progressive moving here and every conservative leaving is utter fantasy. But I've been absorbed into that fantasy hard. Thank you guys, especially sciatrix, for kicking me back down to the ground.
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
You're not an idiot, my fantasy is the same and I'm not sorry for my dreams. Now I'm off to go for a walk in the park and reread Ecotopia.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Please know that in my dream world, NOBODY would be left behind. Still. Sorry.
You're not an idiot, my fantasy is the same and I'm not sorry for my dreams. Now I'm off to go for a walk in the park and reread Ecotopia.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Cosigning everything The Noble Goofy Elk just said.
posted by sunset in snow country at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by sunset in snow country at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
HOLY SHIT THIS MEXICO COVER OF VANITY FAIR FEATURING MELANIA
posted by angrycat at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Days of Rage: "Let's not mince words. The United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War"—David Hines (Storify).
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Trump 100% photoshopped his hand bigger for this picture hanging in the white house
I think we've found the jars of urine. Can someone get McConnell and John Roberts over here now please? I want to go home.
posted by petebest at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think we've found the jars of urine. Can someone get McConnell and John Roberts over here now please? I want to go home.
posted by petebest at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I wouldn't panic about Calexit actually happening. It will foster discussion and is more likely to lead to fights over state and city rights which could lead to an evolution of powers of the states and cities that want to hold onto more progressive outlook and agendas. What this would mean long term is up in the air but it's not necessarily a negative because what say a state like California could secure the rights to do makes it easier for other states in the country to follow.
I'm looking back at how Canada got universal healthcare as an example. This was fought for in one Province (nasty, horrible fight that actually echos what is going on now) and once it was secured it spread across the country.
posted by Jalliah at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
I'm looking back at how Canada got universal healthcare as an example. This was fought for in one Province (nasty, horrible fight that actually echos what is going on now) and once it was secured it spread across the country.
posted by Jalliah at 11:01 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Trump today at the joint press conference with May: 'We're looking to have a great relationship with all countries. But that probably won't happen with very many.' (may be slightly off from an exact quote)
posted by gatorae at 11:02 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 11:02 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Stop panicking about this. It won't happen. Not before you get ample warning to run, and not before Calexit itself becomes a burned out shell of an idea similar to Brexit.
If you've ever walked into a public building, or bought coffee from Starbucks, in California, you've seen a reminder of what crazy laws get passed because of citizen initiatives.
posted by sideshow at 11:03 AM on January 27, 2017
If you've ever walked into a public building, or bought coffee from Starbucks, in California, you've seen a reminder of what crazy laws get passed because of citizen initiatives.
posted by sideshow at 11:03 AM on January 27, 2017
Yes, let's take our largest group of blue voters out of the country. That'll fix it.
Well, I mean, considering that the Kremlin is aiding this effort, I think they believe it will, in fact, fix it. "It" being the ability of the United States to block their military adventures.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Well, I mean, considering that the Kremlin is aiding this effort, I think they believe it will, in fact, fix it. "It" being the ability of the United States to block their military adventures.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:05 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I do wanna say I totally get the impulse to think Calexit could be a good idea and maybe it'd be nice to live in our liberal paradise and not have to worry about all this (because it is exhausting). It's the same urge that has folks saying 'time to move to Canada', or in my case 'maybe we'll move back to Ireland' (which I'm glad to see is one of the remaining 19 full democracies according to that EIU list). But those are fleeting impulses and any amount of reflection has me saying F that. This is my home, this is my country now, these are my people (even if I reeeeeaaally don't understand some of them and how they can support this administration) and I and the rest of California are not going anywhere. We're all in this together. We keep pushing together and we make this country better for everyone.
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
The Full English...
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
American presidents normally have to wait a few years before they get invited to the UK for a state visit (that’s not just a normal visit, but the ceremonial Full English, with a state banquet at Buckingham Palace and full royal paraphernalia) but Trump is very keen to get one (apparently he wants to play golf at Balmoral) and May was able to oblige. In return, she seems to have got an assurance on Nato (see 6.16pm) and, perhaps, an assurance that Trump will not overturn the West’s sanctions policy towards Russia overnight.Trump and May's press conference - Snap verdict (Grauniad live)
In Trump-speak, it’s a deal, and one that satisfies both sides.
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:06 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Navy Port.
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
LOLWUT
San Diego
San Pedro/Long Beach
San Francisco/Oakland
There's plenty of water if we don't have to feed the rest of CONUS. Also, desalinization.
Not that this is a good idea. In part because you don't just secede with the Pacific Fleet HQ and the most important West Coast deep water ports.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lack of potable water.
The 1st one isn't a deal-killer like the 2nd one is.
Let 'em Briexit themselves. (or is this trumping oneself?)
LOLWUT
San Diego
San Pedro/Long Beach
San Francisco/Oakland
There's plenty of water if we don't have to feed the rest of CONUS. Also, desalinization.
Not that this is a good idea. In part because you don't just secede with the Pacific Fleet HQ and the most important West Coast deep water ports.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
May sounds like Chamberlin after the Munich agreement.
posted by humanfont at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
The Rise of Embedded Nationalism (via)
Two interrelated components are necessary for maintaining a stable domestic-international bargain. One, the international benefits of a liberal world economy—the gains from trade—has to be domestically distributed. Economists have always recognized that the gains are at the aggregate level. Those who gain from economic globalization (”winners“) need to compensate those who are hurt from it (”losers“) and mitigate the latters’ cost of adjusting to the new economic reality. Two, the domestic population needs to intuitively and/or rationally understand the nature of the domestic-international bargain and continually support to reinforce and sustain the international arrangement.posted by tonycpsu at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I have some ideas on why these two components unraveled over time: [...]
From Tommy Siegel's tumblr:
Last three “elite cosmopolitan liberal” presidents:
-From Georgia, *actual* peanut farmer
-Raised in Arkansas, poor, by an abusive stepfather
-Raised by single mom and grandparents in Kansas/Hawaii
Last four “everyman, white-working-class conservative” presidents:
-Hollywood actor from IL
-Son of borderline-royal Massachusetts family with banker/politician patriarch
-Literally the previous guy’s son
-NY millionaire at birth and later reality show star who probably owns a bunch of ponies but won’t talk about it or tell us their names
posted by PenDevil at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [180 favorites]
Last three “elite cosmopolitan liberal” presidents:
-From Georgia, *actual* peanut farmer
-Raised in Arkansas, poor, by an abusive stepfather
-Raised by single mom and grandparents in Kansas/Hawaii
Last four “everyman, white-working-class conservative” presidents:
-Hollywood actor from IL
-Son of borderline-royal Massachusetts family with banker/politician patriarch
-Literally the previous guy’s son
-NY millionaire at birth and later reality show star who probably owns a bunch of ponies but won’t talk about it or tell us their names
posted by PenDevil at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [180 favorites]
All Democratic senators will oppose DeVos as education secretary
posted by argonauta at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 11:09 AM on January 27, 2017 [146 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to die.
As a serial victim of really bad suits, my first thought on seeing that was, "Damn, that's a pretty nice suit to get blown up by a helicopter and keep it together like that."
posted by lagomorphius at 11:10 AM on January 27, 2017
As a serial victim of really bad suits, my first thought on seeing that was, "Damn, that's a pretty nice suit to get blown up by a helicopter and keep it together like that."
posted by lagomorphius at 11:10 AM on January 27, 2017
In return, she seems to have got an assurance on Nato (see 6.16pm) and, perhaps, an assurance that Trump will not overturn the West’s sanctions policy towards Russia overnight.
These are good things, but the process is terrifying. Inflate his ego and you get x and y in return. Beginning to think that Putin doesn't have kompromat, he didn't need any. He literally did just have to say nice things about him.
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
These are good things, but the process is terrifying. Inflate his ego and you get x and y in return. Beginning to think that Putin doesn't have kompromat, he didn't need any. He literally did just have to say nice things about him.
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:11 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
NATO is another potential conflict if Trump actually goes there. I don't see Canada following any lead on that one.
Don't forget NORAD. Canadian and US military forces are pretty intertwined and have had joint training and practice exercises for more than half a century.
posted by srboisvert at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Don't forget NORAD. Canadian and US military forces are pretty intertwined and have had joint training and practice exercises for more than half a century.
posted by srboisvert at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! This shirt was linked in a previous thread and it didn't used to be available as a onesie but now it is and I LOVE IT! Thank you to the teespring guy who my friend tweeted for making this happen!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 11:12 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
this pic is gonna get meme'd to hell and then we are all going to die.
This is stolen from a tweet that I can't find now, but he has the same butt:hand ratio has a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
posted by gatorae at 11:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is stolen from a tweet that I can't find now, but he has the same butt:hand ratio has a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
posted by gatorae at 11:13 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
@AndreaKuszewski I'm on board with this. The psychologist's guide on how to defeat Trump:
My biggest concern with a Trump Presidency has always been his psychopathology. Not his policies, VP, or Cabinet. I've vehemently disagreed with conservative (and some liberal) pols' agendas before, but my gravest truck with Trump ain't his values, perspectives, or plans.posted by joedan at 11:14 AM on January 27, 2017 [117 favorites]
What frightens me most is his Narcissistic Personality Disorder. His impulsivity, delusions, grandiosity, vengefulness, entitlement, lying, insecurities, Machiavellianism, and profound lack of empathy. Because:
"If someone does have NPD they can, indeed, wake up, see a Tweet or a news report from a foreign leader criticizing him, mocking him, calling him 'weak' or threatening his ego in any way and order some kind of impulsive, vindictive, punishing, immediate response that could include an unhinged order to attack that foreign leader or foreign country with military force, even including the authorization of nuclear weapons. It is extremely likely that there would be some kind of impulsive, angry diplomatic response. Because someone afflicted with this incurable and progressive NPD simply can’t help himself." [Link below]
And it ain't gonna get better. Sooooooo I'm thinking we gotta make it worse. Much worse. And fast. We RESISTERS have to:
Poke
Prod
Needle
Agitate
Alienate
We must get under his thin, Cheetos skin until he unhinges to a degree not yet seen. On Americans. Before he has a chance to insult N. Korea, China, and others such that their leaders are compelled to attack us to save face with their constituents. Before WWIII.
Clinicians are well versed in mitigating NPD. But Trump's untreatable. So we must do the opposite. Inflame it. Ignite it. And incite him into words and deeds that finally go too far for too many...that so flagrantly and repulsively violate the Constitution and Common Decency that even his most fervent supporters pull away. So he's isolated. And so Congress feels compelled to impeach or get impaled at the ballot box come 2018.
We need more Alec Baldwin. More late night host mockery. We need Jon Stewart back. Our Narcissist-in-Chief couldn't care less when we call him out on falsehoods. He's allergic to data and rationale discourse deflects right off of him. Trump's empirical Teflon.
But call his hands tiny? Hair fake? Wealth illusory? Crowds unimpressive? Election illegitimate? Sexual prowess forgettable? Question his sexual orientation? His virility? His manhood?
Trump's Kryptonite are his fragile ego and never ending need for adulation and admiration. If we can perturb both and put him on the defensive, Bigly, his offense could be his undoing. We gotta help Trump destroy himself. Before he does the Rest of Us.
Let's troll this fucker like no one has ever been trolled before.
#RESIST
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
Old Bess has shaken hands with many devils, Idi Amin, al-Assad, Mugabe, Nazarbayev (of Khazakstan). Trump will not be her first.
posted by bonehead at 11:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Old Bess has shaken hands with many devils, Idi Amin, al-Assad, Mugabe, Nazarbayev (of Khazakstan). Trump will not be her first.
posted by bonehead at 11:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
She has entertained worse than Trump. Quite routinely in fact.
posted by srboisvert at 11:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
She has entertained worse than Trump. Quite routinely in fact.
posted by srboisvert at 11:17 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
In NeverTrumpNeverReallyExisted news, Erick Erickson of Red State tweets:
Don’t agree with all his positions, but if the rest of his term is like the first week, I’d vote for Trump in 2020.
Well that didn't take long.
posted by gatorae at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [65 favorites]
Don’t agree with all his positions, but if the rest of his term is like the first week, I’d vote for Trump in 2020.
Well that didn't take long.
posted by gatorae at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [65 favorites]
Meeting of an axis of evil: Trump, May + Gary Cohn, Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Reince Priebus, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:21 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Fear Pence way less. He's a rigidly conservative asswipe, but he's enough of an uncharismatic, incompetent doofus that he has successfully managed to get Indiana to hate him.
Honestly even that I don't need. Trump is president, Pence is VP, that's the current reality. Trump has shown after 1 week that he'll sign all sorts of nightmare EOs which leads one to believe he's gonna just sign whatever legislation Congress sends over. I assume all this is true for Pence as well.
So you have a difference that Trump surrounds himself with people like Bannon, launches moronic shitfits over crowd sizes and election results, and constantly runs off at the mouth in public and endangers our relationships with other countries. Maybe you could defend that Pence would do equal damage to our electoral system with Executive-level interference with voting rights, so we can even spot you that one.
That's plenty enough reason to want Pence instead. He's be a massive nightmare, but he'd basically be what we have now but with Trump's public persona and inability to control his shit sloppily wiped off. I want a lot more, but I'll happily start with that.
posted by phearlez at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Honestly even that I don't need. Trump is president, Pence is VP, that's the current reality. Trump has shown after 1 week that he'll sign all sorts of nightmare EOs which leads one to believe he's gonna just sign whatever legislation Congress sends over. I assume all this is true for Pence as well.
So you have a difference that Trump surrounds himself with people like Bannon, launches moronic shitfits over crowd sizes and election results, and constantly runs off at the mouth in public and endangers our relationships with other countries. Maybe you could defend that Pence would do equal damage to our electoral system with Executive-level interference with voting rights, so we can even spot you that one.
That's plenty enough reason to want Pence instead. He's be a massive nightmare, but he'd basically be what we have now but with Trump's public persona and inability to control his shit sloppily wiped off. I want a lot more, but I'll happily start with that.
posted by phearlez at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Calexit is a terrible idea, and if it actually got traction (it won't) it would spark a literal civil war.
This is not an endorsement of Calexit, but American independence was a terrible idea in pragmatic materialistic terms and sparked a literal separatist war. The early US was a poor country. It was dependent upon subsistence agriculture and slavery for decades. It got by through the advantage of fertile land and a growing population and territorial expansion (and Jacksonian ethnic cleansing).
We know the fundamentals here: urban vs rural, clustering, a constitutional settlement written to placate slaveholders that doesn't take into account a country of 330 million, particularly one where the largest states have 50-80 times the population of the smallest.
Anyway, I agree with Jalliah: we've seen how small-population square states with their ALEC-funded legislators have driven the political agenda, and it's time for California to use its clout to put forward a different model and change the facts on the ground.
posted by holgate at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
This is not an endorsement of Calexit, but American independence was a terrible idea in pragmatic materialistic terms and sparked a literal separatist war. The early US was a poor country. It was dependent upon subsistence agriculture and slavery for decades. It got by through the advantage of fertile land and a growing population and territorial expansion (and Jacksonian ethnic cleansing).
We know the fundamentals here: urban vs rural, clustering, a constitutional settlement written to placate slaveholders that doesn't take into account a country of 330 million, particularly one where the largest states have 50-80 times the population of the smallest.
Anyway, I agree with Jalliah: we've seen how small-population square states with their ALEC-funded legislators have driven the political agenda, and it's time for California to use its clout to put forward a different model and change the facts on the ground.
posted by holgate at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
FUCK CALEXIT. The most progressive, wealthy, populous state in the nation WILL NOT abandon our brothers and sisters in the rest of the country to fight alone. We will stay and fight. California routinely puts wingnuttery front and center on ballot measures. No one took Brexit or Trump seriously until they were happening - we should keep our basilisk eyes on Calexit and say a hearty FUCK NO every time it's viewed favorably. If you're from Norcal I will accept FUCK THAT HELLA HARD.
posted by supercrayon at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 11:22 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
President Trump says of Obama, whose legitimacy he questioned for years: ‘I think he likes me’
posted by zachlipton at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [151 favorites]
Speaking to Fox News's Sean Hannity in an interview airing Thursday night, Trump reflected on his relationship with President Obama, and he said he thinks his predecessor has actually come to like him.I get the feeling Trump has never before encountered a person who put aside personal feelings out of a sense of duty to others (or indeed, never encountered a person who cared about a duty to others).
“What amazed me is that I was vicious to him in statements, he was vicious to me in statements, and here we are getting along, we're riding up Pennsylvania Avenue, talk — we don't even mention it,” Trump said. “I guess that's the world of politics. But I was tough on him, he was tough on me, and I like him, he likes me. I think he likes me. I mean, you're going to have to ask him, but I think he likes me.”
posted by zachlipton at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [151 favorites]
> AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
Vicente Fox to keep on keepin' on #FuckingWall
posted by tonycpsu at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
Vicente Fox to keep on keepin' on #FuckingWall
posted by tonycpsu at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
The overall impression I get is that May has been dashing around trying to please everyone and stall for time.
Of course, she has not been succeeding in pleasing everyone because Europe doesn't like us much right now. The UK has been a thorn in their side all along and now we're leaving we're even more of a constant nagging pain.
I feel like she just needed to get Trump off her to-do list while she proceeds with some very difficult negotiations. It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible. I would assume that May is counting on Trump being long gone by then.
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
posted by tel3path at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Of course, she has not been succeeding in pleasing everyone because Europe doesn't like us much right now. The UK has been a thorn in their side all along and now we're leaving we're even more of a constant nagging pain.
I feel like she just needed to get Trump off her to-do list while she proceeds with some very difficult negotiations. It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible. I would assume that May is counting on Trump being long gone by then.
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
posted by tel3path at 11:23 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Calexit seems like the lefty secular version of hoping for the Rapture to solve all your problems.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
What the poor Queen makes of the prospect of having to entertain Trump, though, is quite another matter ...
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, thank you very much, has clarified the arrangements for the visit of POTUS.
posted by Wordshore at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, thank you very much, has clarified the arrangements for the visit of POTUS.
posted by Wordshore at 11:24 AM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Calexit is a derail.
posted by diogenes at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
What the fuck does this mean? They'll just carry on about it in secret? Good plan.
posted by something something at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
What the fuck does this mean? They'll just carry on about it in secret? Good plan.
posted by something something at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I like to imagine Barack and Michele relaxing somewhere, seeing that little segment from Trump on Hannity - turning towards each other wide-eyed and simultaneously bursting into a deep deep cleansing laughter.
posted by meinvt at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
posted by meinvt at 11:25 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
Calexit seems like the lefty secular version of hoping for the Rapture to solve all your problems.
And like the Rapture, it's fine to privately hope for it if that floats your boat, but it becomes a pretty huge problem if you start acting to hurry it along.
posted by zachlipton at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And like the Rapture, it's fine to privately hope for it if that floats your boat, but it becomes a pretty huge problem if you start acting to hurry it along.
posted by zachlipton at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
If I were Obama I'd probably just be starting to sober up from the bender I went on beginning the afternoon of January 20th.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:26 AM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Immanentize the Caleschaton!
posted by uncleozzy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
Calexit is a derail.
The Black Light is a great album though.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
The Black Light is a great album though.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Acting to hurry up the Apocalypse is like clamouring to audition for the role of Judas in a Crucifixion reality show produced by The Lord Himself in person.
I do not think it means what they think it means.
posted by tel3path at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I do not think it means what they think it means.
posted by tel3path at 11:28 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
Does anyone anywhere believe that Trump is capable of sticking to that arrangement. He could have one aide whose sole responsibility it is to stand next to him whispering "don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall" and he still would "forget" that he's not supposed to mention the #fuckingwall.
posted by mcduff at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Does anyone anywhere believe that Trump is capable of sticking to that arrangement. He could have one aide whose sole responsibility it is to stand next to him whispering "don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall, don't mention the wall" and he still would "forget" that he's not supposed to mention the #fuckingwall.
posted by mcduff at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
And it ain't gonna get better. Sooooooo I'm thinking we gotta make it worse. Much worse. And fast. We RESISTERS have to:
Poke
Prod
Needle
Agitate
Alienate
We must get under his thin, Cheetos skin until he unhinges to a degree not yet seen. On Americans. Before he has a chance to insult N. Korea, China, and others such that their leaders are compelled to attack us to save face with their constituents. Before WWIII.
This is the reason why whoever is running this Rogue POTUS Staff twitter account is absolutely brilliant.
Is it actual staff? Who knows. It's amazing because it's absolutely believable from what we know about Donald.
I am absolutely fascinated by this whole twitter resistance thing. It's not something I ever contemplated at being in the mix of resisting this admin.
It's also turning the power that Donald and Co. are using twitter right back in their face and that feels satisfying.
posted by Jalliah at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
Poke
Prod
Needle
Agitate
Alienate
We must get under his thin, Cheetos skin until he unhinges to a degree not yet seen. On Americans. Before he has a chance to insult N. Korea, China, and others such that their leaders are compelled to attack us to save face with their constituents. Before WWIII.
This is the reason why whoever is running this Rogue POTUS Staff twitter account is absolutely brilliant.
Is it actual staff? Who knows. It's amazing because it's absolutely believable from what we know about Donald.
I am absolutely fascinated by this whole twitter resistance thing. It's not something I ever contemplated at being in the mix of resisting this admin.
It's also turning the power that Donald and Co. are using twitter right back in their face and that feels satisfying.
posted by Jalliah at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
re: Hate
I actively try to live a harmonious existence. My username was picked for a reason. INFJs live to bring harmony in their lives. This is mostly because we tend to put ourselves in others shoes, very often without consciously doing it. I say this, not to brag, but to help you understand where I'm coming from. I don't have to try hard to understand our new President. I can understand why the people who voted for them did. This is also why I am unabashedly liberal. Probably to a greater extreme then most people here at Metafilter. It's very hard to embrace conservative ideas when you can see the points of view from all the angles.
The worst part of this entire election season is watching people vote against their best interest. There are people out there who can't even put themselves in their own shoes. People completely incapable of self introspection. They have a label, and the leaders of that label tell them to vote this way, and they do it because they believe in their leaders. There is no questioning the leadership. Why would you? They're the leaders for a reason.
The problem with telling the above group that they voted against their best interest is the way humans (Americans?) react to being wrong. Most people will dig in deep when they're told they're wrong. Their defenses fly up. No matter what you say, how you say it, or what you do, they will refuse to admit to being wrong. Shame is a strong emotion, and invokes strong emotions in response. (Just look at the behavior of President Trump)
Should you hate Trump supporters and voters? I don't know. I think what matters the most is what you do with that hate. Don't use it to incite violence. Funnel that passion into calls to your congresspeople. Participate in peaceful protests.
Also, don't hold onto it or lock it down and try to pretend you're not feeling hate. Even if the only thing you can do is complain and swear on social media or metafilter.. do it. Hate functions like stress and will deteriorate your health and sanity if you try to bottle it up.
If you choose not to hate, that's fine too. Just try to keep in mind that you can't control other people. You can influence them, but you can't force them to do something. You might find peace in not hating, but you can't force your ideas and expectations on other people and gain peace. I know it seems like if only you could spread that peaceful feeling to others, everything would be better. That's not how humans work, unfortunately.
We're creatures of strong emotion. The difference between us and other creatures of this planet is our consciousness. A dog might bite out of fear, but you won't because you know better. You are conscious of your actions. Learn to be conscious of how your emotions impact your actions. It's much easier said than done.
Remember, the only person you can change is yourself.
posted by INFJ at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I actively try to live a harmonious existence. My username was picked for a reason. INFJs live to bring harmony in their lives. This is mostly because we tend to put ourselves in others shoes, very often without consciously doing it. I say this, not to brag, but to help you understand where I'm coming from. I don't have to try hard to understand our new President. I can understand why the people who voted for them did. This is also why I am unabashedly liberal. Probably to a greater extreme then most people here at Metafilter. It's very hard to embrace conservative ideas when you can see the points of view from all the angles.
The worst part of this entire election season is watching people vote against their best interest. There are people out there who can't even put themselves in their own shoes. People completely incapable of self introspection. They have a label, and the leaders of that label tell them to vote this way, and they do it because they believe in their leaders. There is no questioning the leadership. Why would you? They're the leaders for a reason.
The problem with telling the above group that they voted against their best interest is the way humans (Americans?) react to being wrong. Most people will dig in deep when they're told they're wrong. Their defenses fly up. No matter what you say, how you say it, or what you do, they will refuse to admit to being wrong. Shame is a strong emotion, and invokes strong emotions in response. (Just look at the behavior of President Trump)
Should you hate Trump supporters and voters? I don't know. I think what matters the most is what you do with that hate. Don't use it to incite violence. Funnel that passion into calls to your congresspeople. Participate in peaceful protests.
Also, don't hold onto it or lock it down and try to pretend you're not feeling hate. Even if the only thing you can do is complain and swear on social media or metafilter.. do it. Hate functions like stress and will deteriorate your health and sanity if you try to bottle it up.
If you choose not to hate, that's fine too. Just try to keep in mind that you can't control other people. You can influence them, but you can't force them to do something. You might find peace in not hating, but you can't force your ideas and expectations on other people and gain peace. I know it seems like if only you could spread that peaceful feeling to others, everything would be better. That's not how humans work, unfortunately.
We're creatures of strong emotion. The difference between us and other creatures of this planet is our consciousness. A dog might bite out of fear, but you won't because you know better. You are conscious of your actions. Learn to be conscious of how your emotions impact your actions. It's much easier said than done.
Remember, the only person you can change is yourself.
posted by INFJ at 11:29 AM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible.
But that doesn't explain sucking up in such a public way to the congressional GOP, unless she actually feels political kinship with that pack of scoundrels and loons, which is really quite unprecedented for a British PM. There's no political capital to be gained from making Rep. Chuck 'Chuck' Dumbfuck (R-AR) think you're swell.
posted by holgate at 11:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
But that doesn't explain sucking up in such a public way to the congressional GOP, unless she actually feels political kinship with that pack of scoundrels and loons, which is really quite unprecedented for a British PM. There's no political capital to be gained from making Rep. Chuck 'Chuck' Dumbfuck (R-AR) think you're swell.
posted by holgate at 11:32 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Reposted from my fb re: an issue I haven't heard much about elsewhere:
To those of you who care about veterans' health and mental health, regardless of your political affiliation: the federal hiring freeze means that psychology and medical students are currently in flux with regard to whether they can be placed in VA for residency. There is only one time per year that they get placed, and missing this window could mean there are no residents next year. The deadline for psych students to rank sites for the match is 2/1, and the deadline for med students is 2/22. Students will likely not rank VA sites if the freeze is still in place by then.
Residents make up a lot of the workforce in many VAs. We can't give lip service to addressing the waitlist problems in VA but fail to take advantage of a major source of cheap, talented providers who care deeply about vets.
We need congresspeople to put pressure on the administration to grant VA a waiver for this hiring freeze. This would be a great thing to call your congressperson about.
posted by quiet coyote at 11:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
To those of you who care about veterans' health and mental health, regardless of your political affiliation: the federal hiring freeze means that psychology and medical students are currently in flux with regard to whether they can be placed in VA for residency. There is only one time per year that they get placed, and missing this window could mean there are no residents next year. The deadline for psych students to rank sites for the match is 2/1, and the deadline for med students is 2/22. Students will likely not rank VA sites if the freeze is still in place by then.
Residents make up a lot of the workforce in many VAs. We can't give lip service to addressing the waitlist problems in VA but fail to take advantage of a major source of cheap, talented providers who care deeply about vets.
We need congresspeople to put pressure on the administration to grant VA a waiver for this hiring freeze. This would be a great thing to call your congressperson about.
posted by quiet coyote at 11:35 AM on January 27, 2017 [69 favorites]
Instead of Calexit, how about Calmerica? Make the rest of the US like you, instead of abandoning us. Infiltrate the red states with your message of progress. Collaborate with other progressive states to push it to more states. Get a little...evangelical, if you will. Fund training for activists. Encourage them.
posted by emjaybee at 11:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 11:36 AM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
Genius level, 11.
And that's the President of the United States on national TV pointing to a giant picture of his inauguration...that still says January 21, instead of January 20. (pause around 16 seconds)
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And that's the President of the United States on national TV pointing to a giant picture of his inauguration...that still says January 21, instead of January 20. (pause around 16 seconds)
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:38 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
There's plenty of water if we don't have to feed the rest of CONUS.
The sea water rises make the navel ports a non issue assuming Global Warming predictions about sea water matter but the shifting of weight on the crust along with changes in the water/soil mix will make for some 'interesting' shaking. What's the plan to absorb the damage of living on a fault line when it lets loose?
As for "feeding the Continental US" - Used to be a time when locals kept greenhouses and produce was local. I'm guessing a lack of salads in January won't be the reason to decide to keep the union intact.
(The diet of humans under agriculture used to be 10-15 items. Imagine that, and a spice rack of salt and pepper. Few are going to want to return to the diet range of the 1700/1800's )
Also, desalinization.
Not gonna work out. WAY too energy intensive. Might be a fine option if you bill out at $300+ an hour as then you have excess money to translate into energy to waste like that.
Photons and fossil water are how "we" are getting along ATM - and for parts of the country the fossil water is gonna be a non-option in 100 years. What's the cost accounting on sunlight and fossil's in the present US of A accounting system?
And if desalination is "the way out" - why the hand wringing over Florida's potable water suffering sea water ingress? How's desalination working to make the desert bloom in Saudia Arabia?
The calexit impulse should get embraced as a way to pivot to a discussion about fixing the broken system VS letting the political parties lawyers continue to run things deeper into the crater where they've already crashed. A calexit that makes it to a 1st round of "yes" is going to embolden the "Lets have a Constitution Convention" forces - and who thinks that meeting is not gonna end up as a "Corporations win all" event?
posted by rough ashlar at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017
The sea water rises make the navel ports a non issue assuming Global Warming predictions about sea water matter but the shifting of weight on the crust along with changes in the water/soil mix will make for some 'interesting' shaking. What's the plan to absorb the damage of living on a fault line when it lets loose?
As for "feeding the Continental US" - Used to be a time when locals kept greenhouses and produce was local. I'm guessing a lack of salads in January won't be the reason to decide to keep the union intact.
(The diet of humans under agriculture used to be 10-15 items. Imagine that, and a spice rack of salt and pepper. Few are going to want to return to the diet range of the 1700/1800's )
Also, desalinization.
Not gonna work out. WAY too energy intensive. Might be a fine option if you bill out at $300+ an hour as then you have excess money to translate into energy to waste like that.
Photons and fossil water are how "we" are getting along ATM - and for parts of the country the fossil water is gonna be a non-option in 100 years. What's the cost accounting on sunlight and fossil's in the present US of A accounting system?
And if desalination is "the way out" - why the hand wringing over Florida's potable water suffering sea water ingress? How's desalination working to make the desert bloom in Saudia Arabia?
The calexit impulse should get embraced as a way to pivot to a discussion about fixing the broken system VS letting the political parties lawyers continue to run things deeper into the crater where they've already crashed. A calexit that makes it to a 1st round of "yes" is going to embolden the "Lets have a Constitution Convention" forces - and who thinks that meeting is not gonna end up as a "Corporations win all" event?
posted by rough ashlar at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017
Saw the post from the young woman about evangelical Christianity. I'd like to shout out to other fellow escapees of evangelical Christianity here, whether you've written about it or not – it takes an awful lot of strength to get out of that mess. (Same goes for anyone who's been in a cult.)
I wrote this on FB earlier today, from my own experience.
Now that it's been a week, hopefully it is clear that we're dealing with an executive branch set to cause chaos, and supporters who turn on a dime when it comes to what they believe sinful (private email servers: Clinton evil, Trump okay, as just one example among many). A lot of you are probably wondering what's behind this; many of you recognize the influence of evangelical Christianity. Note: I am specifically identifying evangelical Christianity, not Christianity as a whole. It so happens I was raised by fundamentalist evangelical Christians. Want to know how to deal with this? Here's my viewpoint informed by 40 years of doing just that:
They do not actually believe the Bible. Examples abound. They use it and "dogma" as excuses to push their deeper agenda. This agenda is to create chaos so that they can do whatever they want, namely push white supremacy and women as cattle so that the white men can do whatever they want, with the willing/dogmatically-programmed support of women. Note that a lot of white men get hurt by this too, especially gay and trans men, but just as with women, they're taught it's justified by something they did that is not Biblical, so they stay in the group and support. Worse: even those who leave the group will often continue to say things like "well, I'm X which isn't Biblical, so it makes sense." If it "made sense" then why are an increasing amount of churches accepting LGBTQ? Again, that's just one example. So long as evangelicals have this base of dogmatic support, with people believing they're serving God and not the white supremacy agenda behind it all, their goal is served.
It's helpful to understand other reasons the agenda items (abortion, homeschooling, all their -isms justified by dogma) are so strongly held by evangelicals, if they're not the end goal. The surface is to give a veneer of rationality and togetherness. If you've picketed abortion clinics with your church sisters, you have shared stories and experiences fighting evil, for instance. This creates a powerful bond; our shared humanity reacts strongly to any idea of betraying that. Which, again, is exactly what the church leaders want. This is why arguing with the most outspoken believers is pointless: they don't actually believe the veneer of dogma. What they genuinely believe is that they are superior. In other words the veneer is a tool, it is not the end goal.
So how do you combat the end goal? Equality, intersectionality, diversity, appreciation of everyone (so long as they espouse tolerance and empathy). If I were to boil down their Achilles heel into a single phrase, it would be "we agree to disagree." Acceptance and tolerance mess with their end goal, as does NOT accepting their dogma. You do not need to argue with it, they know full well what Jesus preached.
posted by fraula at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I wrote this on FB earlier today, from my own experience.
Now that it's been a week, hopefully it is clear that we're dealing with an executive branch set to cause chaos, and supporters who turn on a dime when it comes to what they believe sinful (private email servers: Clinton evil, Trump okay, as just one example among many). A lot of you are probably wondering what's behind this; many of you recognize the influence of evangelical Christianity. Note: I am specifically identifying evangelical Christianity, not Christianity as a whole. It so happens I was raised by fundamentalist evangelical Christians. Want to know how to deal with this? Here's my viewpoint informed by 40 years of doing just that:
They do not actually believe the Bible. Examples abound. They use it and "dogma" as excuses to push their deeper agenda. This agenda is to create chaos so that they can do whatever they want, namely push white supremacy and women as cattle so that the white men can do whatever they want, with the willing/dogmatically-programmed support of women. Note that a lot of white men get hurt by this too, especially gay and trans men, but just as with women, they're taught it's justified by something they did that is not Biblical, so they stay in the group and support. Worse: even those who leave the group will often continue to say things like "well, I'm X which isn't Biblical, so it makes sense." If it "made sense" then why are an increasing amount of churches accepting LGBTQ? Again, that's just one example. So long as evangelicals have this base of dogmatic support, with people believing they're serving God and not the white supremacy agenda behind it all, their goal is served.
It's helpful to understand other reasons the agenda items (abortion, homeschooling, all their -isms justified by dogma) are so strongly held by evangelicals, if they're not the end goal. The surface is to give a veneer of rationality and togetherness. If you've picketed abortion clinics with your church sisters, you have shared stories and experiences fighting evil, for instance. This creates a powerful bond; our shared humanity reacts strongly to any idea of betraying that. Which, again, is exactly what the church leaders want. This is why arguing with the most outspoken believers is pointless: they don't actually believe the veneer of dogma. What they genuinely believe is that they are superior. In other words the veneer is a tool, it is not the end goal.
So how do you combat the end goal? Equality, intersectionality, diversity, appreciation of everyone (so long as they espouse tolerance and empathy). If I were to boil down their Achilles heel into a single phrase, it would be "we agree to disagree." Acceptance and tolerance mess with their end goal, as does NOT accepting their dogma. You do not need to argue with it, they know full well what Jesus preached.
posted by fraula at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
Kurt Schrader introduced a bill to prohibit the hiring freeze from affecting the VA (press release) HR 696, but congress.gov doesn't have its text up yet.
posted by worstname at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by worstname at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
This week established that the regime in power will consistently present lie as fact. The new regime established that they simply do not care if you present them with evidence that contradicts their reality. Your instinct, as a person that expects reason and rationality in discourse, is that presenting evidence that contradicts presented facts will sway your audience, and help them see the light.
This is a fool’s errand. This is not normal.
It serves no purpose anymore beyond today to waste valuable emotional energy factchecking information presented by the WH.
My approach going forward is observe the lie, and if I choose to acknowledge it, simply say 'I really don't think so' - and move on to something else.
Life is too short to get wrapped up in the alternate universe the regime wants us to buy into.
The crowd size at the event is 10 times bigger than photographic evidence? No, I really don't think so.
Foreign governments didn't successfully interfere with this election? No, I really don’t think so.
Agitating our trade partners will help the American economy, and Make American Gooder? No, I really don’t think so.
We can sit in front of our screens and argue on the internet all we want, and compile dossiers and evidence and what have you, but it will do no good and serve to burn us out if we just stay at home and high-five likeminded folk that agree with us already. The need now is to find allies, to organize, and to actually build an active resistance with a PLAN that is achievable and will be achieved.
We have a long road ahead and we need to do the work. Only 648 days until mid-term elections. Stay fired up.
posted by enfa at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
This is a fool’s errand. This is not normal.
It serves no purpose anymore beyond today to waste valuable emotional energy factchecking information presented by the WH.
My approach going forward is observe the lie, and if I choose to acknowledge it, simply say 'I really don't think so' - and move on to something else.
Life is too short to get wrapped up in the alternate universe the regime wants us to buy into.
The crowd size at the event is 10 times bigger than photographic evidence? No, I really don't think so.
Foreign governments didn't successfully interfere with this election? No, I really don’t think so.
Agitating our trade partners will help the American economy, and Make American Gooder? No, I really don’t think so.
We can sit in front of our screens and argue on the internet all we want, and compile dossiers and evidence and what have you, but it will do no good and serve to burn us out if we just stay at home and high-five likeminded folk that agree with us already. The need now is to find allies, to organize, and to actually build an active resistance with a PLAN that is achievable and will be achieved.
We have a long road ahead and we need to do the work. Only 648 days until mid-term elections. Stay fired up.
posted by enfa at 11:41 AM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
PBO here, speaking on behalf of all Californians. We've given it some thought and we'll table Calexit for now if we can have four six more senators. I think we're being reasonable.
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [71 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [71 favorites]
And who framed that picture? Its all wavy and wrinkly. I would think the POTUS could get a decent picture framed.
posted by ian1977 at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Cory Booker tweeted he's nay vote on both DeVos and Sessions. Time to write a thank you note.
posted by cmfletcher at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [38 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 11:42 AM on January 27, 2017 [38 favorites]
And who framed that picture? Its all wavy and wrinkly. I would think the POTUS could get a decent picture framed.
It's actually a styrofoam replica of a frame that Obama commissioned... [fake]
posted by Buntix at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
It's actually a styrofoam replica of a frame that Obama commissioned... [fake]
posted by Buntix at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Sorry, I've spent too much time on the webs today, and have to get going. But in case no one's posted this recently, here's Organizing for Action's event search and signups. I just found out about an Obamacare "event" at my dreadful Congressperson's local office.
In case this link hasn't been posted lately, I also feel inclined to look into the local Indivisible teams, which are sprouting up all over in my area. (It's just a matter of time while also dealing with personal repercussions of Der Gropenfuehrer's quickly escalating policies, right?)
posted by NorthernLite at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
In case this link hasn't been posted lately, I also feel inclined to look into the local Indivisible teams, which are sprouting up all over in my area. (It's just a matter of time while also dealing with personal repercussions of Der Gropenfuehrer's quickly escalating policies, right?)
posted by NorthernLite at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™ and I hate it so much.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:46 AM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
This'll probably get lost down here, but does anyone have a link to a translation of the Mexican President's Address To The People Of Mexico he released on Tuesday (wednesday?) My Spanish isn't quite good enough to keep up with the video in real time, though he seemed to directly say "Mexico doesn't believe in walls & Mexico will never pay for a wall" at one point. I'd like to read the whole thing, though. He seemed pretty "forthright," as they say in diplomatic circles.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:49 AM on January 27, 2017
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:49 AM on January 27, 2017
The new regime established that they simply do not care if you present them with evidence that contradicts their reality.
We really ought to stop referring to people's delusional political fictions as a "reality"
posted by thelonius at 11:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
We really ought to stop referring to people's delusional political fictions as a "reality"
posted by thelonius at 11:50 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Calexit is dumb and can we stop talking about it because it's always a handful of whiny privileged Californians that ruin for the rest of the state. Reject all Calexiters. Fly the Bear Flag in support of both the Union and the Golden State. We already have the Sierras as a geographical defense, you don't need to secede from a country to enact policies that are against the national-level gov't I mean have Calexiters even heard of the Underground Railroad
posted by Apocryphon at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™
And yet "y'all, we can quit any time we want, it's in our treaty" from Texans is typically considered a charming display of their Americanness.
posted by holgate at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
And yet "y'all, we can quit any time we want, it's in our treaty" from Texans is typically considered a charming display of their Americanness.
posted by holgate at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
The Obama-likes-me comments really, really, really underline just how terrible Trump must be at negotiations.
Like, everybody reasonable already knew this, but remember how he basically went all glowy with pleasure when Hillary laid a classic diplomat no-compliment insult by talking about his children when asked to bring up something she liked about him? It's clear that Trump is absolutely awful at reading people. It's clear he has no sense of scale. He doesn't think about what other people might have to gain, or why they might act the way do.
No way Trump is a master negotiator -- I mean, not like it's news to anyone, but dude doesn't even carry himself like experienced negotiator, who knows that people can turn it on and turn it off for effect, and consciously monitors their own reactions accordingly. It's a lot fucking less than you'd expect from somebody with 30+ years in real estate development, let alone in real estate development in NYC. Any government leader who even halfway belongs on the international stage is gonna fucking eat him for the Full English in negotiations.
Like, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [141 favorites]
Like, everybody reasonable already knew this, but remember how he basically went all glowy with pleasure when Hillary laid a classic diplomat no-compliment insult by talking about his children when asked to bring up something she liked about him? It's clear that Trump is absolutely awful at reading people. It's clear he has no sense of scale. He doesn't think about what other people might have to gain, or why they might act the way do.
No way Trump is a master negotiator -- I mean, not like it's news to anyone, but dude doesn't even carry himself like experienced negotiator, who knows that people can turn it on and turn it off for effect, and consciously monitors their own reactions accordingly. It's a lot fucking less than you'd expect from somebody with 30+ years in real estate development, let alone in real estate development in NYC. Any government leader who even halfway belongs on the international stage is gonna fucking eat him for the Full English in negotiations.
Like, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2017 [141 favorites]
Instead of Calexit, how about Calmerica? Make the rest of the US like you
CA's Grand Juries have an actual watchdog function per 916.
Start using them. Call for pubic officials to be held accountable. Show the States that can't even be bothered to hold a Grand Jury how its done.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
CA's Grand Juries have an actual watchdog function per 916.
Start using them. Call for pubic officials to be held accountable. Show the States that can't even be bothered to hold a Grand Jury how its done.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:56 AM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Days of Rage: "Let's not mince words. The United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War"—David Hines (Storify).
While I don't disagree with the overall premise, the suggestion that the fucking Weathermen are somehow equivalent to the KKK/militia movement and that left-wing institutions are more powerful somehow is blitheringly stupid.
posted by mightygodking at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
While I don't disagree with the overall premise, the suggestion that the fucking Weathermen are somehow equivalent to the KKK/militia movement and that left-wing institutions are more powerful somehow is blitheringly stupid.
posted by mightygodking at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
So the WaPo reports that the Photoshop fake was (probably) fake. Goddamit. There's enough real crazy shit without fake crazy shit.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
If I think there is milk in the refrigerator, but there isn't, I do not inhabit a "reality" where we have milk: I am just wrong.
posted by thelonius at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
RobotVoodooPower: "A reminder, Nikki Haley was confirmed 96-4."If the last week has taught us anything, surely its that any inclination to think that things couldn't get worse simply represents a failure of imagination? This is the administration that is placing two interns in their twenties, a blogger and a libertarian colonist, in charge of the $800 million dollar Voice of America that has been recently liberated from any restriction against propagandizing to Americans. Nikki Haley, for all of her many faults, was a competent governor with a talent for communications who sure as fuck did not write that speech.
Thank God the Senate jumped on confirming the fuck out of her.
posted by Blasdelb at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm in Puerto Rico. I tell people I belong to the reverse statehood party. If the U.S. asks real nice, they can become a part of Puerto Rico.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:59 AM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™ and I hate it so much.
Agreed.
There are times I wince a little at the "this is not who we are"/"this is not our values" rhetoric, because Trump is partially an apotheosis of a lot of the worst of American values: love of money, fear of outsiders, hatred of minorities. Historically speaking that's a lot of what we are. Look at the Twitter account tweeting the names of people on the St. Louis, turning people away when they need help because they scare us is a time honored American tradition.
The flip side of that is that there are a lot of us, and I'm speaking both now and in the past, for whom those aren't our values, and we're Americans too. There's a history of this country that can be told as the history of us and our values not the history of Trump and his, and it's just as valid, especially when you start defining American history apart from things done by white men. There's probably a point where I give in and say "sure let them have the territory of America, I'll take my history and go," but we're not there yet.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Agreed.
There are times I wince a little at the "this is not who we are"/"this is not our values" rhetoric, because Trump is partially an apotheosis of a lot of the worst of American values: love of money, fear of outsiders, hatred of minorities. Historically speaking that's a lot of what we are. Look at the Twitter account tweeting the names of people on the St. Louis, turning people away when they need help because they scare us is a time honored American tradition.
The flip side of that is that there are a lot of us, and I'm speaking both now and in the past, for whom those aren't our values, and we're Americans too. There's a history of this country that can be told as the history of us and our values not the history of Trump and his, and it's just as valid, especially when you start defining American history apart from things done by white men. There's probably a point where I give in and say "sure let them have the territory of America, I'll take my history and go," but we're not there yet.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
International treasure.
@VicenteFoxQue
Neither in public nor in private that #FuckingWall will ever be built. @realDonaldTrump is crumbling on his own words. Mexico HOY #to2unidos
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
@VicenteFoxQue
Neither in public nor in private that #FuckingWall will ever be built. @realDonaldTrump is crumbling on his own words. Mexico HOY #to2unidos
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
It's a lot fucking less than you'd expect from somebody with 30+ years in real estate development, let alone in real estate development in NYC.
His early deals were done with his father's money and reputation. His later ones he was either the junior partner, or they were an utter fucking disaster to the point where he was literally bailed out by the Russian mob and turned into their laundromat/puppet annnnnd now their trained POTUS.
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars. He's never actually been good at anything except playing a jackass on TV. Which is kind of his job now, only also with nukes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [76 favorites]
His early deals were done with his father's money and reputation. His later ones he was either the junior partner, or they were an utter fucking disaster to the point where he was literally bailed out by the Russian mob and turned into their laundromat/puppet annnnnd now their trained POTUS.
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars. He's never actually been good at anything except playing a jackass on TV. Which is kind of his job now, only also with nukes.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [76 favorites]
And yet "y'all, we can quit any time we want, it's in our treaty" from Texans is typically considered a charming display of their Americanness.
Naw, that USED to get "secession has already been decided" here on The Blue as the reaction but the overton window has been moved over to a new-gold painted frame so now the reaction is 'don't leave us to our fate!'
posted by rough ashlar at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Naw, that USED to get "secession has already been decided" here on The Blue as the reaction but the overton window has been moved over to a new-gold painted frame so now the reaction is 'don't leave us to our fate!'
posted by rough ashlar at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Any government leader who even halfway belongs on the international stage is gonna fucking eat him for the Full English in negotiations.
You might be right if there were some way of holding him accountable to his commitments, but I don't see why his reported reassurances to May about NATO or Russia sanctions, for instance, have any credibility.
Most negotiation theory revolves around the establishment of positive ongoing relationships, and it's clear that Trump doesn't value those very highly.
posted by Coventry at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
You might be right if there were some way of holding him accountable to his commitments, but I don't see why his reported reassurances to May about NATO or Russia sanctions, for instance, have any credibility.
Most negotiation theory revolves around the establishment of positive ongoing relationships, and it's clear that Trump doesn't value those very highly.
posted by Coventry at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
ike, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
I love this so much. Thank you for making me smile so hard.
posted by Jalliah at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I love this so much. Thank you for making me smile so hard.
posted by Jalliah at 12:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Devils Rancher: This'll probably get lost down here, but does anyone have a link to a translation of the Mexican President's Address To The People Of Mexico he released on Tuesday (wednesday?)
From the LATimes
posted by slipthought at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017
From the LATimes
posted by slipthought at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017
#to2unidos is a clever way of saving two characters.
posted by emelenjr at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
> He's never actually been good at anything except playing a jackass on TV.
Failing upward?
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Failing upward?
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own" - Adam Savage
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Make the rest of the US like you, instead of abandoning us. Infiltrate the red states with your message of progress. Collaborate with other progressive states to push it to more states. Get a little...evangelical, if you will. Fund training for activists. Encourage them.
Actually, could theoretical theologians be of any use? Fire up their high-energy canticle accelerators to plumb the depths of n-dimensional exegetical manifold space and find some clincher, broadly-appealing doctrine with which Trump or some other Dark Side figure can be declared a heresiarch, and usher in the Fifth Great Awakening?
posted by XMLicious at 12:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
No, Signatures On The White House Petition Site Aren’t Intentionally Frozen: “I think the team there is still trying to get their heads around how it works.”
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yesterday, I posted a comment about two Performance Measure webinars that USDOT canceled without much warning. Today, it looks like they're routing around internal obstructions and using University research centers like the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida who are able to set up webinars as their conduits. Problem: official US Government websites don't list the webinars (which address rules that were passed in the last days of the prior administration, FWIW).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Gul Dukat, 45th President of the United Federation of Planets, now has a Twitter account.
posted by ceejaytee at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by ceejaytee at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
#NeverTrump was always bullshit, sorry Corb but it's obvious that it's true.
If there was a chance that Trump could be defeated yeah there was some Republicans that were willing to criticize but the second he won there has been a rush by Republicans to align with Trump and support his agenda/ forgive his excesses.
The idea that there are principled Republican legislators is complete nonsense. As long as Trump is willing to sign every stupid Executive Order they give him and be willing to sign off on some sort of Tax Cut package they are more than willing to look past his authoritarian agenda/tendencies.
The modern Republican party has no moral agenda other than seeking and maintaining power. Pretenses of preferring small government? Republicans consistently support expansion of state authority. Belief in financial austerity? Nope, deficit spending is perfectly acceptable as long as the largesse is directed towards Republican businessmen. Principles are abandoned at the drop of a hat if it leads to political advantage.
The Modern Republican party has begun to resemble the Machine Political system of the 19th century where Boss Tweed figures hand out government contracts to political cronies in an attempt to enrich allies, then you retire and become a lobbyist-consultant and line your own pockets.
Outside of the ring of legislators there is the host of aides, and right-wing media figures whose whole reason for being is to go on talk shows and cable news and offer forth a whole host of lies as to how principled the Republican party is.
Of course the US electorate apparently has the attention span of a gnat so all the hypocritical posturing under Obama is abandoned now and the Republican base could care less.
posted by vuron at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
If there was a chance that Trump could be defeated yeah there was some Republicans that were willing to criticize but the second he won there has been a rush by Republicans to align with Trump and support his agenda/ forgive his excesses.
The idea that there are principled Republican legislators is complete nonsense. As long as Trump is willing to sign every stupid Executive Order they give him and be willing to sign off on some sort of Tax Cut package they are more than willing to look past his authoritarian agenda/tendencies.
The modern Republican party has no moral agenda other than seeking and maintaining power. Pretenses of preferring small government? Republicans consistently support expansion of state authority. Belief in financial austerity? Nope, deficit spending is perfectly acceptable as long as the largesse is directed towards Republican businessmen. Principles are abandoned at the drop of a hat if it leads to political advantage.
The Modern Republican party has begun to resemble the Machine Political system of the 19th century where Boss Tweed figures hand out government contracts to political cronies in an attempt to enrich allies, then you retire and become a lobbyist-consultant and line your own pockets.
Outside of the ring of legislators there is the host of aides, and right-wing media figures whose whole reason for being is to go on talk shows and cable news and offer forth a whole host of lies as to how principled the Republican party is.
Of course the US electorate apparently has the attention span of a gnat so all the hypocritical posturing under Obama is abandoned now and the Republican base could care less.
posted by vuron at 12:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
A Philly Indivisible Group is calling itself "Dumbledore's Army."
posted by angrycat at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [47 favorites]
I feel like she just needed to get Trump off her to-do list while she proceeds with some very difficult negotiations. It will be years before the UK completes Brexit and therefore, years before the UK actually reaches a point where making an actual deal with the US is possible. I would assume that May is counting on Trump being long gone by then.
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
She stood there silently while he blathered on about how he agreed with the use of torture and at no point interjected to say anything against this, so I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for her at all. May they both go down in flames together.
posted by dng at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
And Trump has just made me actually empathize with a Tory.
She stood there silently while he blathered on about how he agreed with the use of torture and at no point interjected to say anything against this, so I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for her at all. May they both go down in flames together.
posted by dng at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
American liberals, leftists, and those who oppose the policies of the federal government should really go on the offensive and just start coopting/appropriating right-wing canards to support their own policies. The one silver lining about this whole situation is that it's usually easier to be the opposition party, because you can be a wrecker and an obstructionist and you can focus a good deal of your energies on attacking. So instead of the Calexit nonsense, they should be reinventing states' rights in favor of opposing bad federal policies. Look up every single way Republicans have used states' rights in the twentieth century, and turn it on their heads. Use their fire against them.
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement, against establishment values of multiculturalism and pluralism, against the post-Civil Rights- postwar even- paradigm. And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself. Well, now they're the establishment. Tear them down.
posted by Apocryphon at 12:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement, against establishment values of multiculturalism and pluralism, against the post-Civil Rights- postwar even- paradigm. And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself. Well, now they're the establishment. Tear them down.
posted by Apocryphon at 12:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
His early deals were done with his father's money and reputation.
*And* the mob (the Italian one, he hadn't met the Russian one yet)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
*And* the mob (the Italian one, he hadn't met the Russian one yet)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
The Post throws cold water on the fun: No, the White House didn’t Photoshop an image of the president’s hand
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
She stood there silently while he blathered on about how he agreed with the use of torture and at no point interjected to say anything against this, so I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for her at all. May they both go down in flames together.
Okay, well, I haven't had a chance to watch it yet so that puts an end to my wishful thinking.
Now I'm going to have to watch it.
Friday nights used to be nicer than this.
posted by tel3path at 12:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Motion to add "President *Kif sigh* Trump" to the tags, please.
posted by Space Kitty at 12:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Space Kitty at 12:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Little things make me so happy these days. I suppose that's one good result of this election I appreciate the simple things in life much more now. I have to share today's simple delight.
My fast food lurv is Egg McMuffins, well Sausage and Egg McMuffins and OMGERD all day breakfast is finally coming to Canada!
Carry on....
posted by Jalliah at 12:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Devils Rancher: This one?
That one! Thanks. I do read the comments down here.
posted by Devils Rancher at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
That one! Thanks. I do read the comments down here.
posted by Devils Rancher at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
AP: Mexico says Pena Nieto, Trump agree to stop public statements about wall
So this got a bit weird. US, Mexico Statements Differ On Public Statements About Border Wall. Mexico included that line in the "joint statement," but the White House left out the bit where they agree to stop making public statements.
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
So this got a bit weird. US, Mexico Statements Differ On Public Statements About Border Wall. Mexico included that line in the "joint statement," but the White House left out the bit where they agree to stop making public statements.
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Does anyone else have "Describes Theresa May using a number between 1 and 10" on their Trump Bingo card?
posted by indubitable at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars.
I got to thinking about why NYC's actual billionaires tolerated him as a kind of society jester, and I'm sure it was partly because he distracted from what actual NYC billionaires do. But it was also because he was never considered direct competition. He could do his thing on his own level with his own dubious biz partners and it wouldn't affect them much either way. He might burn the banks, but the losses were mostly small enough to write down.
I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for [May] at all.
As someone noted on Twitter today, in reference to Holocaust Memorial Day, the common threads of May's political career have been "keep them out" and "send them back". The Home Office, with powers over policing and immigration and domestic security (including MI5) has an institutional lean towards authoritarianism and bureaucratic indifference, and anyone who eagerly takes the portfolio or holds it for long enough embodies that culture.
posted by holgate at 12:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I got to thinking about why NYC's actual billionaires tolerated him as a kind of society jester, and I'm sure it was partly because he distracted from what actual NYC billionaires do. But it was also because he was never considered direct competition. He could do his thing on his own level with his own dubious biz partners and it wouldn't affect them much either way. He might burn the banks, but the losses were mostly small enough to write down.
I'm not sure I've got any sympathy for [May] at all.
As someone noted on Twitter today, in reference to Holocaust Memorial Day, the common threads of May's political career have been "keep them out" and "send them back". The Home Office, with powers over policing and immigration and domestic security (including MI5) has an institutional lean towards authoritarianism and bureaucratic indifference, and anyone who eagerly takes the portfolio or holds it for long enough embodies that culture.
posted by holgate at 12:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Yes Trump is a terribad businessman who mistakes bluster and bragging as being solid business acumen. Of course the vast majority of Americans have been trained by movies since the 80s to think that the sort of character the Trump portrays is accurate. Yes Narcissism and Sociopathy are common place in fortune 500 boardrooms but Trump turns up all those knobs to 11 and doesn't even have the slightest bit of acumen to back up his Trumpiness.
The fact that his resorts have almost exclusively been flops in the gaming market (which is an expensive business to get into but not exactly the most challenging one) and his other real estate ventures have been mediocre for the most part simply shows how bad he is as a businessman.
You don't see other top level developers and CEOs going out there and hawking ties and steaks and other low level garbage. The reason why he always seems to be hustling after every penny he can make is that his businesses are ridiculously overleveraged and he seems to always be trying to stay one step ahead of abject ruin. I'm convinced that his entry into the Republican nomination process as basically yet another of those bullshit scams and somehow beyond all reason it seems to have turned into a moonshot.
posted by vuron at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
The fact that his resorts have almost exclusively been flops in the gaming market (which is an expensive business to get into but not exactly the most challenging one) and his other real estate ventures have been mediocre for the most part simply shows how bad he is as a businessman.
You don't see other top level developers and CEOs going out there and hawking ties and steaks and other low level garbage. The reason why he always seems to be hustling after every penny he can make is that his businesses are ridiculously overleveraged and he seems to always be trying to stay one step ahead of abject ruin. I'm convinced that his entry into the Republican nomination process as basically yet another of those bullshit scams and somehow beyond all reason it seems to have turned into a moonshot.
posted by vuron at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
US, Mexico Statements Differ On Public Statements About Border Wall.
"With regard to the payment of the border wall, both presidents acknowledge their clear and very public differences in position on this sensitive issue..."
It's like the One China policy, but for the #FuckingWall.
posted by holgate at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
"With regard to the payment of the border wall, both presidents acknowledge their clear and very public differences in position on this sensitive issue..."
It's like the One China policy, but for the #FuckingWall.
posted by holgate at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
In which Trump proposed getting rid of the Electoral College until McConnell shuts him down
posted by zachlipton at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
I know a guy who could make that happen. We could even find a way to have a pipe band in the red serge. The same one that Liz gets when she's in town no less. I'll bet our PM could throw in a free yoga lesson even.
I think May's on to something here.
posted by bonehead at 12:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I know a guy who could make that happen. We could even find a way to have a pipe band in the red serge. The same one that Liz gets when she's in town no less. I'll bet our PM could throw in a free yoga lesson even.
I think May's on to something here.
posted by bonehead at 12:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
New group recruits 1,200 millennials to run for office after Trump inauguration
posted by futz at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by futz at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
The Post throws cold water on the fun: No, the White House didn’t Photoshop an image of the president’s hand
Too good to be true? Perhaps, but not too stupid. Therein lies the difficulty in reviewing news about Trump for accuracy. I would like to point out, however, that none of the defenses of Trump I've seen took the line "the Donald J. Trump I know would never be so insecure as to stoop to such obvious forgery."
On that note, I'm treating the Rogue POTUS Staff Twitter account as fiction until it discloses a verifiable scoop ahead of the numerous regular leaks to the press.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Too good to be true? Perhaps, but not too stupid. Therein lies the difficulty in reviewing news about Trump for accuracy. I would like to point out, however, that none of the defenses of Trump I've seen took the line "the Donald J. Trump I know would never be so insecure as to stoop to such obvious forgery."
On that note, I'm treating the Rogue POTUS Staff Twitter account as fiction until it discloses a verifiable scoop ahead of the numerous regular leaks to the press.
posted by Doktor Zed at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
FYI -- Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism is $1.99 on Amazon Kindle today...
posted by suelac at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by suelac at 12:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
So Trump gave an exclusive interview to The Brody File of CBN this morning (that's The Christian Broadcasting Network), which airs tomorrow. Here's what they're reporting: Brody File Exclusive: President Trump Says Persecuted Christians Will Be Given Priority As Refugees
DAVID BRODY: “Persecuted Christians, we’ve talked about this, the refugees overseas. The refugee program, or the refugee changes you’re looking to make. As it relates to persecuted Christians, do you see them as kind of a priority here?”posted by zachlipton at 12:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Yes.”
DAVID BRODY: “You do?”
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “They’ve been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.”
That one! Thanks. I do read the comments down here.
Down here? It's just started!
b-b-b-baby you just ain't seen nothin' yet
posted by petebest at 12:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Down here? It's just started!
b-b-b-baby you just ain't seen nothin' yet
posted by petebest at 12:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
fDo you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States? If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible
*sigh*
posted by Etrigan at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
*sigh*
posted by Etrigan at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
Update to my earlier comment about the federal hiring freeze and the effects on VA- as of noon eastern time, we have a signed memo from Robert Snyder (Acting Secretary of VA) that healthcare positions are exempt from the freeze. Memail me if you want a copy. Small victories!!
posted by quiet coyote at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by quiet coyote at 12:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
Rather than taking the "what's the matter with Kansas" approach of wondering why people vote against their best interests I've decided to just accept that they know what their best interests are better than I do.
posted by humanfont at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
instead of the Calexit nonsense, they should be reinventing states' rights in favor of opposing bad federal policies
I think this is the single most useful thing anyone's said so far in this thread.
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement against establishment values [...] And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself.
Well said. I'd add that effective opposition will have to encompass and-co-opt its own backlash, making use of the American idiosyncratic, anti-authoritarian self-concept.
posted by tangerine at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I think this is the single most useful thing anyone's said so far in this thread.
The alt-right has a good amount of grassroots energy because it portrayed itself as a countercultural movement against establishment values [...] And what countercultures do, partly, is to use the weapons of the ruling order against itself.
Well said. I'd add that effective opposition will have to encompass and-co-opt its own backlash, making use of the American idiosyncratic, anti-authoritarian self-concept.
posted by tangerine at 12:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Had poor little Donny Trump, mediocre in every way, not been so emotionally abused by a monstrous father, we might not find ourselves in this horrible position. He is a hollow human who is not capable--it's not that he WON'T, he simply can't--of viewing the world other than a way of trying to get his needs met. He is all Id, and an incurious and functionally illiterate person. I feel sorry, in fact, for the little boy who would destroy the world to please an indifferent father.
Keeping this in mind, you will still find yourself aghast and shocked in the weeks to come, but you will no longer wonder about the "why."
posted by thebrokedown at 12:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
Trump contemplates a one-sided deal in which Russia wins
Appearing on “Fox & Friends,” Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, said that the unilateral lifting of sanctions against Russia was under consideration. Reaction was swift and fierce in foreign policy circles and on the Hill.
...The irony could not be greater. Republicans criticized President Obama for making a lopsided deal with Iran that did not obtain promised results (dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, a full accounting of its past weapons program, anywhere/anytime inspections), but at least Obama got something (temporary cessation of the nuclear program). Back in 2013, Trump declared, “What a rotten deal we made with Iran. We get nothing (except laughter at our stupidity). They get everything, including delay and big cash!”...
posted by futz at 12:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Appearing on “Fox & Friends,” Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, said that the unilateral lifting of sanctions against Russia was under consideration. Reaction was swift and fierce in foreign policy circles and on the Hill.
...The irony could not be greater. Republicans criticized President Obama for making a lopsided deal with Iran that did not obtain promised results (dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, a full accounting of its past weapons program, anywhere/anytime inspections), but at least Obama got something (temporary cessation of the nuclear program). Back in 2013, Trump declared, “What a rotten deal we made with Iran. We get nothing (except laughter at our stupidity). They get everything, including delay and big cash!”...
posted by futz at 12:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
His business career was always a flaming pile of dogshit backed up by fraud and starting out life with a half billion dollars of his dad's fortune in 1970s dollars.
The scuttlebutt was that the during the early successful years Donald's younger brother Robert was the brains behind the operation and Donald was the window dressing. And this worked well. Then Donald had a mid-life crisis, threw over Ivana, got involved with Marla Maples and all sorts of dodgy non-real-estate things. At that point Robert took his share and bailed. Things did not go well until some of Donald's kids, meaning mostly Ivanka, got old enough to start stabilizing things and clearing out the crap (like the casinos). And then came The Apprentice...
posted by lagomorphius at 12:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
The scuttlebutt was that the during the early successful years Donald's younger brother Robert was the brains behind the operation and Donald was the window dressing. And this worked well. Then Donald had a mid-life crisis, threw over Ivana, got involved with Marla Maples and all sorts of dodgy non-real-estate things. At that point Robert took his share and bailed. Things did not go well until some of Donald's kids, meaning mostly Ivanka, got old enough to start stabilizing things and clearing out the crap (like the casinos). And then came The Apprentice...
posted by lagomorphius at 12:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
I haven't wondered "why" about Trump since he rode down that escalator. He's clearly an extremely damaged person with a raging personality disorder, a drug habit, and in cognitive decline.
The "why" that still bugs the shit out of me is EVERYONE ELSE. Okay, not everyone else because yeah Nazis, I got your number. Trucknuts racists, you too. But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [123 favorites]
The "why" that still bugs the shit out of me is EVERYONE ELSE. Okay, not everyone else because yeah Nazis, I got your number. Trucknuts racists, you too. But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [123 favorites]
Motion to add "President *Kif sigh* Trump" to the tags, please.
[pop culture] Kif is an alien character from the animated series Futurama. His superior officer is a giant windbag with a gut who wears no pants.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
[pop culture] Kif is an alien character from the animated series Futurama. His superior officer is a giant windbag with a gut who wears no pants.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Re the federal hiring freeze and VA staffing: Signed Exemption to Hiring Freeze Memo with Exempted Occupations 1-27 2017. (pdf)
posted by klarck at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by klarck at 12:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, from the Trump the Dealmaker perspective the Russia sanctions should have been a gift to the new administration -- he doesn't really care if they go away, but oops, there's opposition within his own party to just dropping them so we're gonna have to get something in return in order to sell it. Pure leverage -- whatever he gets out of the deal is profit because he's giving up something that is, to him, worthless. And yet he'll never do it, because Putin is the one person he won't even pretend to play hardball with.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
I have this thought multiple times a day. This is what consumes all of my evens.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
I have this thought multiple times a day. This is what consumes all of my evens.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Days of Rage: "Let's not mince words. The United States of America is currently engaged in a cold Civil War"—David Hines (Storify).
I don't know who David Hines is when he's at home, but that ramble was about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment. I liked the part about how lefties were going to fuck up the Inauguration and the part about lefties were perfectly happy to march with ANSWER (conveniently forgetting or maybe ignorant of the giant split in the '02-'03 peace movement occasioned by lefties/liberals who wouldn't march with ANSWER). But watching him write that without even a reference to the entire national wildlife refuge occupied by armed righties was worth the reading.
Nikki Haley, for all of her many faults, was a competent governor with a talent for communications who sure as fuck did not write that speech.
Eh. Competent enough. Haley shone in the aftermath the '15 flood and the Mother Emanuel attack, but those were her best moments. And honestly, maybe her only. What I don't understand, tho, is her calculus of abandoning a Governorship to take a position which doesn't seem likely to advance a political career. Maybe she's in it for the grift. Of maybe she was flattered. Beats me.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
I don't know who David Hines is when he's at home, but that ramble was about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment. I liked the part about how lefties were going to fuck up the Inauguration and the part about lefties were perfectly happy to march with ANSWER (conveniently forgetting or maybe ignorant of the giant split in the '02-'03 peace movement occasioned by lefties/liberals who wouldn't march with ANSWER). But watching him write that without even a reference to the entire national wildlife refuge occupied by armed righties was worth the reading.
Nikki Haley, for all of her many faults, was a competent governor with a talent for communications who sure as fuck did not write that speech.
Eh. Competent enough. Haley shone in the aftermath the '15 flood and the Mother Emanuel attack, but those were her best moments. And honestly, maybe her only. What I don't understand, tho, is her calculus of abandoning a Governorship to take a position which doesn't seem likely to advance a political career. Maybe she's in it for the grift. Of maybe she was flattered. Beats me.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
Emailghazigate.
posted by breakin' the law at 12:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Emailghazigate.
posted by breakin' the law at 12:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
My guess is #TrumpRegrets is fanfiction. Sorry.
posted by gatorae at 12:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 12:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
As for the people who voted for him? I have zero pity. This man has lied and lied to them about EVERYTHING except who he is. He never hid that. If they end up feeling duped, it is because they duped themselves. The man was completely and obviously unfit from day one. I, once a "Hail, fellow! Well met!" kinda gal to EVERYONE, am having trouble even looking at white people I don't know. Trump's voters have broken me.
posted by thebrokedown at 12:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
posted by thebrokedown at 12:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [50 favorites]
> Trump contemplates a one-sided deal in which Russia wins
"What's good for Gazprom is good for America." [/fake]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
"What's good for Gazprom is good for America." [/fake]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I disagree that it's fanfic. We saw buyers' remorse post-Brexit (and a doubling-down from the true believers) and the campaign was conducted in the same smog. The unwelcome precedent there is that the double-downers in the UK have seized the political advantage.
posted by holgate at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by holgate at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
My fast food lurv is Egg McMuffins, well Sausage and Egg McMuffins and OMGERD all day breakfast is finally coming to Canada!
Hopefully Canada gets all-day breakfast working smoother than we do here in the States. Every time I've tried it, ordering any given breakfast item after normal breakfast hours basically guarantees at least one of three overlapping outcomes: (1) I will end up waiting an additional 10-15 minutes for my breakfast item, (2) my order will magically disappear from the order queue and never get made, (3) my order will be made, but incorrectly handed off to somebody in the drive-thru line. This rarely happens with any other menu items, but for some reason breakfast after 10:30 AM is still breaking McD's organizational brain. /derail
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hopefully Canada gets all-day breakfast working smoother than we do here in the States. Every time I've tried it, ordering any given breakfast item after normal breakfast hours basically guarantees at least one of three overlapping outcomes: (1) I will end up waiting an additional 10-15 minutes for my breakfast item, (2) my order will magically disappear from the order queue and never get made, (3) my order will be made, but incorrectly handed off to somebody in the drive-thru line. This rarely happens with any other menu items, but for some reason breakfast after 10:30 AM is still breaking McD's organizational brain. /derail
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
As for the people who voted for him? I have zero pity.
Oh yeah, I come not to praise those morons but to bury them. I just... how? I asked that all through the election, I asked that when it looked like we were winning, I asked it on November 9, and I still have no answers. (I'm coming to you live and direct from Liberal Bubblelandia, so I do not actually know any Trumpers personally. Even my supah dupah Christian neighbors were NeverTrump.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, I come not to praise those morons but to bury them. I just... how? I asked that all through the election, I asked that when it looked like we were winning, I asked it on November 9, and I still have no answers. (I'm coming to you live and direct from Liberal Bubblelandia, so I do not actually know any Trumpers personally. Even my supah dupah Christian neighbors were NeverTrump.)
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
What's good for Gazprom is good for ExxonMobil.
Tillerson is driving that scheme.
posted by vuron at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Tillerson is driving that scheme.
posted by vuron at 12:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Very disturbing.
Democratic Congresswoman Used Affiliates of a Violent, Anti-Semitic Political Party to Take Tea With Assad
-- Gabbard, as her own office has disclosed, took her “fact-finding” trip with a delegation of two men who are affiliated with an anti-Semitic political party accused of using female suicide bombers; of beating up Western and Arab journalists; helping U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and the U.S.-sanctioned Syrian regime wage war in the Levant.
And did we mention the party’s ideology and flag take their inspiration from Nazism?
-- Gabbard initially declined to say who financed her trip to Syria. However, in a press release Wednesday Gabbard revealed her delegation (which also included former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich) had been “led and sponsored by” an outfit called the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS—Ohio). Her statement added she and the rest of the delegation had been accompanied by two men, Elie and Bassam Khawam.
-- Who, then, are the Khawams? Gabbard’s press release described the pair as “longtime peace advocates.” The reality is, to put it as politely as possible, more complicated.
-- When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, it fell to the SSNP to violently disperse anti-regime demonstrators outside the Syrian embassy in Beirut, using “fists, sticks, and belts.” Most recently, the party has dispatched an estimated 6,000-8,000 fighters to the Syrian battlefield to help the Assad regime annihilate its opponents, to whom the SSNP officially refers as the “Jews of the interior” and “an essential arm of the racist Jewish enemy.”
posted by futz at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Democratic Congresswoman Used Affiliates of a Violent, Anti-Semitic Political Party to Take Tea With Assad
-- Gabbard, as her own office has disclosed, took her “fact-finding” trip with a delegation of two men who are affiliated with an anti-Semitic political party accused of using female suicide bombers; of beating up Western and Arab journalists; helping U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and the U.S.-sanctioned Syrian regime wage war in the Levant.
And did we mention the party’s ideology and flag take their inspiration from Nazism?
-- Gabbard initially declined to say who financed her trip to Syria. However, in a press release Wednesday Gabbard revealed her delegation (which also included former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich) had been “led and sponsored by” an outfit called the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS—Ohio). Her statement added she and the rest of the delegation had been accompanied by two men, Elie and Bassam Khawam.
-- Who, then, are the Khawams? Gabbard’s press release described the pair as “longtime peace advocates.” The reality is, to put it as politely as possible, more complicated.
-- When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, it fell to the SSNP to violently disperse anti-regime demonstrators outside the Syrian embassy in Beirut, using “fists, sticks, and belts.” Most recently, the party has dispatched an estimated 6,000-8,000 fighters to the Syrian battlefield to help the Assad regime annihilate its opponents, to whom the SSNP officially refers as the “Jews of the interior” and “an essential arm of the racist Jewish enemy.”
posted by futz at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
unless I missed it, I'm glad that so far we haven't had a new thing to be outraged about.
posted by INFJ at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by INFJ at 12:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Rather than taking the "what's the matter with Kansas" approach of wondering why people vote against their best interests I've decided to just accept that they know what their best interests are better than I do.
I think people are really fucking awful at voting in their best interests. But I think they're fucking amazing at voting for what's most important to them. And in this election that was preservation of white supremacy and patriarchy.
So yeah, fuck them. Zero pity.
posted by chris24 at 12:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
I think people are really fucking awful at voting in their best interests. But I think they're fucking amazing at voting for what's most important to them. And in this election that was preservation of white supremacy and patriarchy.
So yeah, fuck them. Zero pity.
posted by chris24 at 12:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Democratic Congresswoman Used Affiliates of a Violent, Anti-Semitic Political Party to Take Tea With Assad
Yeah, Tulsi Gabbard can go fuck herself, too. I'm half surprised that Trump hasn't offered her a position in an effort to "reach across the aisle."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Yeah, Tulsi Gabbard can go fuck herself, too. I'm half surprised that Trump hasn't offered her a position in an effort to "reach across the aisle."
posted by octobersurprise at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
This also consumes too much of my brainspace. The few people in my world with whom I have a good relationship that are Trump supporters and that are also willing to have a conversation with me (most refuse to defend anything he does) say that they don't care about any of this for two reasons:
1- Obama doing things like apologizing for the US dropping bombs on Japan make us a look weak to the rest of the world. (no response when asked how the state department emptying and all the ambassadors being fired make us look strong.)
2- Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country.
posted by Jacob G at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
This also consumes too much of my brainspace. The few people in my world with whom I have a good relationship that are Trump supporters and that are also willing to have a conversation with me (most refuse to defend anything he does) say that they don't care about any of this for two reasons:
1- Obama doing things like apologizing for the US dropping bombs on Japan make us a look weak to the rest of the world. (no response when asked how the state department emptying and all the ambassadors being fired make us look strong.)
2- Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country.
posted by Jacob G at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Donald Trump Blows Up the US-Mexico relationship
Searched for the link, didn't find it, apologies if this was already posted.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Searched for the link, didn't find it, apologies if this was already posted.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
"Everyone knows the Nazi lost World War 2. What this book administration presupposes is - maybe they didn't?"
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law is black and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country white.
Fixed that.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
Fixed that.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
Apparently, to them, Obama had zero respect for the rule of law is black and Trump is bringing lawfulness back to the country white.
Fixed that.
There's a lot of people out there who don't think you actually changed anything in that sentence.
posted by Etrigan at 1:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
Fixed that.
There's a lot of people out there who don't think you actually changed anything in that sentence.
posted by Etrigan at 1:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [52 favorites]
Haven't read this, yet, but it looks interesting:
Automating power: Social bot interference in global politics
Automating power: Social bot interference in global politics
[Chat bots] are used by regimes to send out sophisticated computational propaganda. This paper conducts a content analysis of available media articles on political bots in order to build an event dataset of global political bot deployment that codes for usage, capability, and history. This information is then analyzed, generating a global outline of this phenomenon. This outline seeks to explain the variety of political bot-oriented strategies and presents details crucial to building understandings of these automated software actorsposted by Coventry at 1:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Even the idea of Calexit feeds the prejudice that Californians and urbanites in general aren't Real Americans™ and I hate it so much.
'BEARICA FUCK YEAH
.....it's an amusing slogan,
cause there ain't no fucking way!...
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
'BEARICA FUCK YEAH
.....it's an amusing slogan,
cause there ain't no fucking way!...
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hmm, I don't know, I really don't like this Donald Trump character.
posted by zutalors! at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zutalors! at 1:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
So is the new tag for politics threads "potus45"? Asking for MyMefi purposes :)
I've made a comment proposing this on the current MetaTalk about the Trump (well, contemporary US politics) threads.
posted by Wordshore at 1:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've made a comment proposing this on the current MetaTalk about the Trump (well, contemporary US politics) threads.
posted by Wordshore at 1:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Third in line, IIRC, is Paul Ryan.
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
I'm praying for mass food-poisoning that takes out the top six people in line.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm praying for successful midterm elections...
I'm praying for mass food-poisoning that takes out the top six people in line.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
Hanlon's Razor - "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - loses its edge in the case of the trumpregretters. Were they too spiteful to recognize the stupidity of their vote or too stupid to see how spiteful Trump is? Is it a mistake to think these are asymptotic values when they really intersect at some point far out on the extremes?
All I know is that trying to follow the news this week and figure out what's going on has turned my brain into pink slurry.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Hanlon's Razor - "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - loses its edge in the case of the trumpregretters. Were they too spiteful to recognize the stupidity of their vote or too stupid to see how spiteful Trump is? Is it a mistake to think these are asymptotic values when they really intersect at some point far out on the extremes?
All I know is that trying to follow the news this week and figure out what's going on has turned my brain into pink slurry.
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Also, this, from Alexandr Dugin's thinktank:
Anglo-Saxons voluntarily renounce hegemony
Anglo-Saxons voluntarily renounce hegemony
[The Trump/May] talks are the beginning of a new world order in which countries will pursue their own domestic and foreign policies.posted by Coventry at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
As long as "potus" in this case stands for "piece of Trumpian uber-shit," I am comfortable with calling him potus.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
@mcten
LeBron James on the questionable player voting for the All-Star game: "There's always goofy votes. Donald Trump is our president"
posted by chris24 at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
LeBron James on the questionable player voting for the All-Star game: "There's always goofy votes. Donald Trump is our president"
posted by chris24 at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
*Friend points how most of the shit Trump spews is scapegoating by pointing out the ultra rich are mostly (rightly) to blame for a lot of the economic trouble in America*
Friend of Friend: LOL, I love how it's "Don't fall for scapegoating tactics", then continues to use scapegoat tactics.....
Me: Scapegoating requires the blame to be unmerited. It's not scapegoating if you get the correct source.
FoF: "a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place." Please show me where it's says "unmerited". You're blaming somebody else for your problems.
I am speaking English, right? I'm not speaking some foreign fucking language where the rules of transitive properties are just thrown out the fucking window and things have to be entirely literal, have I?
posted by Talez at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
Friend of Friend: LOL, I love how it's "Don't fall for scapegoating tactics", then continues to use scapegoat tactics.....
Me: Scapegoating requires the blame to be unmerited. It's not scapegoating if you get the correct source.
FoF: "a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place." Please show me where it's says "unmerited". You're blaming somebody else for your problems.
I am speaking English, right? I'm not speaking some foreign fucking language where the rules of transitive properties are just thrown out the fucking window and things have to be entirely literal, have I?
posted by Talez at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
FoF doesn't sound too bright.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Difficult to verify: from someone who works at the EPA - US Environmental Protection Agency: "So I work at the EPA and yeah it's as bad as you are hearing: The entire agency is under lockdown, the website, facebook, twitter, you name it is static and can't be updated. All reports, findings, permits and studies are frozen and not to be released. No presentations or meetings with outside groups are to be scheduled. Any Press contacting us are to be directed to the Press Office which is also silenced and will give no response. All grants and contracts are frozen from the contractors working on Superfund sites to grad school students working on their thesis. We are still doing our work, writing reports, doing cancer modeling for pesticides hoping that this is temporary and we will be able to serve the public soon. But many of us are worried about an ideologically-fueled purging and if you use any federal data I advise you gather what you can now. We have been told the website is being reworked to reflect the new administration's policy. Feel free to copy and paste, you all pay for the government and you should know what's going on. I am posting this as a fellow citizen and not in any sort of official capacity.
posted by adamvasco at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
I have a hard time believing that *any* voter's support of Trump was not predicated on racism and/or misogyny. At best - at BEST - the racism and misogyny were ingrained to the point of being subconscious, but even that's a stretch.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Also, this, from Alexandr Dugin's thinktank:
Anglo-Saxons voluntarily renounce hegemony
[The Trump/May] talks are the beginning of a new world order in which countries will pursue their own domestic and foreign policies.
Think about what the mind of a person who looks at the US-UK and sees Anglo-Saxons must be like
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
Other bulletins from the "thinkers" of Katheon:
"FREEDOM FOR EUROPE": THE ENF GROUP
THE REAWAKENING OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
SOROS’ GEOPOLITICAL FASHION SHOW
BYE BYE BARACK, THE BABY DADDY OF ISIS
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
"FREEDOM FOR EUROPE": THE ENF GROUP
THE REAWAKENING OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
SOROS’ GEOPOLITICAL FASHION SHOW
BYE BYE BARACK, THE BABY DADDY OF ISIS
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've never heard of Katheon, but those headlines seem like they could be pulled directly from Pat Buchanan's "American Conservative" magazine. Is Katheon American or Russian?
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by OnceUponATime at 1:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have a hard time believing that *any* voter's support of Trump was not predicated on racism and/or misogyny.
A lot of people think they can be non-racist and/or non-misogynist, but they don't have to get all het up just because they see a little racism and/or misogyny happening.
They're wrong, of course, but that's essentially what I've seen from some of them.
posted by Etrigan at 1:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
A lot of people think they can be non-racist and/or non-misogynist, but they don't have to get all het up just because they see a little racism and/or misogyny happening.
They're wrong, of course, but that's essentially what I've seen from some of them.
posted by Etrigan at 1:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Think about what the mind of a person who looks at the US-UK and sees Anglo-Saxons must be like
C Montgomery Burns
posted by zutalors! at 1:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Is Katheon American or Russian?
Russian.
posted by Coventry at 1:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Russian.
posted by Coventry at 1:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A lot of people think they can be non-racist and/or non-misogynist, but they don't have to get all het up just because they see a little racism and/or misogyny happening.
they think that everyone thinks whatever gross things they do about women and minorities and that real racism and/or misogyny involves direct personal violence towards women and minorities.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
they think that everyone thinks whatever gross things they do about women and minorities and that real racism and/or misogyny involves direct personal violence towards women and minorities.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
NeverTrump was always bullshit, sorry Corb but it's obvious that it's true.
I think what frustrates me is a lot of people seem to be talking about NeverTrump as though it's primarily legislators, with maybe a few rank and file people thrown in, whereas I see it as primarily a movement of organizers and rank and file and mid level folks, with one or two legislators thrown in.
So while I have hopes for two or three Senators and a few Congressmen and a Mefi's Adopted Own Presidential Candidate, , that's not where I'm putting my faith or organizing. And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
posted by corb at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
I think what frustrates me is a lot of people seem to be talking about NeverTrump as though it's primarily legislators, with maybe a few rank and file people thrown in, whereas I see it as primarily a movement of organizers and rank and file and mid level folks, with one or two legislators thrown in.
So while I have hopes for two or three Senators and a few Congressmen and a Mefi's Adopted Own Presidential Candidate, , that's not where I'm putting my faith or organizing. And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
posted by corb at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [44 favorites]
Mike Pence at March for Life: Bye, Planned Parenthood!
The Vice President promised a triumphant anti-abortion crowd that he’d defund abortion providers (read: Planned Parenthood) and give money to ‘women’s healthcare’ (read: controversial pregnancy crisis centers).
posted by futz at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
The Vice President promised a triumphant anti-abortion crowd that he’d defund abortion providers (read: Planned Parenthood) and give money to ‘women’s healthcare’ (read: controversial pregnancy crisis centers).
posted by futz at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is Katheon American or Russian?
If you haven't heard of Alexandr Dugin, you probably haven't seen Adam Curtis's Hypernormalization. It's worth a look.
posted by Coventry at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
If you haven't heard of Alexandr Dugin, you probably haven't seen Adam Curtis's Hypernormalization. It's worth a look.
posted by Coventry at 1:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think that a lot of people's only definition of racism is "race is mentioned."
There was a COLOSSAL failure in educating kids about racism in the 80s and 90s. That's when we (people my age and older) learned that the best thing to do is to be "colorblind", never mention that race is a thing, and if you have to say the word "black" to whisper it so that no one overhears. That's what I was taught, too. In school, by teachers. Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
It took a long-ass time for me to unlearn that bullshit. But if folks are wondering where the, "No, Barack Obama is the real racist" is coming from? That's where it's coming from.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [129 favorites]
There was a COLOSSAL failure in educating kids about racism in the 80s and 90s. That's when we (people my age and older) learned that the best thing to do is to be "colorblind", never mention that race is a thing, and if you have to say the word "black" to whisper it so that no one overhears. That's what I was taught, too. In school, by teachers. Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
It took a long-ass time for me to unlearn that bullshit. But if folks are wondering where the, "No, Barack Obama is the real racist" is coming from? That's where it's coming from.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [129 favorites]
a lot of people also think that having a black friend being friendly to their black co-worker completely overrides whatever racist attitudes they hold
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
I got an alert on my phone from Flipboard highlighting an article on how the Earth's magnetic poles may be reversing soon. Thankfully the linked article didn't have any news on when this would be happening but was a more generic "we're probably overdue for a reversal" that everyone already knows. But for the time between seeing the alert and reading the article I was just thinking that of course it would be happening now.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
My working theory has been absolution. If you take the economic anxiety thing at face value, there's a generation of workers who are working harder than their parents and seeing less, for themselves and for their children. According to our Great American Protestant Work Ethic, economic failure is moral failure, evidence that they failed to work hard enough to be among The Elect. Think of the shame they must feel, to have failed themselves, their children, and to have apparently wasted their parents' and communities' investment in them when they were younger.
If you don't take the economic anxiety thing at face value and dig into the racism that's usually beneath, there's also some cognitive dissonance, I think because what they call "political correctness" has been around long enough to percolate into their brains and make them feel a little guilty about wanting to blame their failure on some invading brown people. Somewhere deep in their unconscious they know they might have worked a good union factory job shoulder-to-shoulder with those folks, had each other's families over for dinner, cheered Little League games, and generally prospered and grown together. So there's more shame, however deep down they push the sense that it's wrong (morally and rationally) to blame their suffering on some Other. In that shame is an ember of anger, which years of shitty propaganda have successfully nurtured into a wildfire.
But the thing that unites all the economic and xenophobic anxiety is a refusal to believe that the social and governmental mechanisms (federal, state, local, every level) that were supposed to support them let them down. And I think that sense of grievance is deeper for the rural white working class voters the news keeps name-checking because on some level they know those systems were designed and maintained for them. And yes, that assumption of privilege has manifested most visibly as ugly resentment that anyone who doesn't look or think or talk or love exactly like them should receive help. The right-wing propaganda that has been nursing and exploiting this resentment works because it's literally inconceivable to these people that their government would leave them to wither and starve and die in the heartland. Like fairy tale children abandoned in the woods: But Daddy wouldn't leave us here. Daddy loves us. That awful stepmother must have tricked him. But I suspect that ugliness also hides more shame, shame that their government has rejected them, shame that they couldn't make it without help, shame at the discovery that they would have needed help, but most of all shame that they trusted these institutions to begin with. The kind of shame you feel when you've been conned.
So the Republicans have spent decades dismantling unions and defunding social programs and generally fucking them over, and then DJT came along and promised them it wasn't their fault. None of this is your fault. I absolve you of inadequacy, of the guilt that should accompany your misplaced resentment. He absolved them of shame. It's kind of prosperity gospel and kind of religious revival and yes, it's a con, but these people just spent so many years being fleeced that now they figure they've got nothing to lose, nothing else can be taken from them, so what could he possibly be conning them for? Surely he really did just come to absolve them, to set them free from shame.
I don't recall whether it was in these threads of elsewhere that someone derisively called DJT a carnival barker, but if you've watched Carnivàle you know that in America there's more overlap between carnival barker and preacher than we care to admit, especially in difficult times.
Whoa, that's a wall of text. I'll shut up now, but if you are interested in the DJT as prosperity gospel preacher connection, Jeff Sharlet's April 2016 dispatch from his rallies is very illuminating.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 1:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [85 favorites]
My working theory has been absolution. If you take the economic anxiety thing at face value, there's a generation of workers who are working harder than their parents and seeing less, for themselves and for their children. According to our Great American Protestant Work Ethic, economic failure is moral failure, evidence that they failed to work hard enough to be among The Elect. Think of the shame they must feel, to have failed themselves, their children, and to have apparently wasted their parents' and communities' investment in them when they were younger.
If you don't take the economic anxiety thing at face value and dig into the racism that's usually beneath, there's also some cognitive dissonance, I think because what they call "political correctness" has been around long enough to percolate into their brains and make them feel a little guilty about wanting to blame their failure on some invading brown people. Somewhere deep in their unconscious they know they might have worked a good union factory job shoulder-to-shoulder with those folks, had each other's families over for dinner, cheered Little League games, and generally prospered and grown together. So there's more shame, however deep down they push the sense that it's wrong (morally and rationally) to blame their suffering on some Other. In that shame is an ember of anger, which years of shitty propaganda have successfully nurtured into a wildfire.
But the thing that unites all the economic and xenophobic anxiety is a refusal to believe that the social and governmental mechanisms (federal, state, local, every level) that were supposed to support them let them down. And I think that sense of grievance is deeper for the rural white working class voters the news keeps name-checking because on some level they know those systems were designed and maintained for them. And yes, that assumption of privilege has manifested most visibly as ugly resentment that anyone who doesn't look or think or talk or love exactly like them should receive help. The right-wing propaganda that has been nursing and exploiting this resentment works because it's literally inconceivable to these people that their government would leave them to wither and starve and die in the heartland. Like fairy tale children abandoned in the woods: But Daddy wouldn't leave us here. Daddy loves us. That awful stepmother must have tricked him. But I suspect that ugliness also hides more shame, shame that their government has rejected them, shame that they couldn't make it without help, shame at the discovery that they would have needed help, but most of all shame that they trusted these institutions to begin with. The kind of shame you feel when you've been conned.
So the Republicans have spent decades dismantling unions and defunding social programs and generally fucking them over, and then DJT came along and promised them it wasn't their fault. None of this is your fault. I absolve you of inadequacy, of the guilt that should accompany your misplaced resentment. He absolved them of shame. It's kind of prosperity gospel and kind of religious revival and yes, it's a con, but these people just spent so many years being fleeced that now they figure they've got nothing to lose, nothing else can be taken from them, so what could he possibly be conning them for? Surely he really did just come to absolve them, to set them free from shame.
I don't recall whether it was in these threads of elsewhere that someone derisively called DJT a carnival barker, but if you've watched Carnivàle you know that in America there's more overlap between carnival barker and preacher than we care to admit, especially in difficult times.
Whoa, that's a wall of text. I'll shut up now, but if you are interested in the DJT as prosperity gospel preacher connection, Jeff Sharlet's April 2016 dispatch from his rallies is very illuminating.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 1:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [85 favorites]
Truth be told a lot of Republican voters told themselves the same thing that a lot of Democratic voters did which is that he's just playing a character and if he wins the big boys will pull him aside and tell him to straighten out.
That or they were getting ACA premium sticker shock and were desperate for a lifeline no matter how dubious the rescuer was.
Or they work in natural resources extraction and they've accepted the idea that more exploitation is good for their Job.
Or they just wanted a tax cut.
Plenty of Republicans said to themselves it didn't matter whether Trump was or wasn't a racist, misogynist douchebag as long as he got them stuff that they wanted. Or they're tribal identity means that they'll vote for the Republican every time regardless of how qualified they are.
Now they realize that some of the stuff they wanted like ACA repeal is really bad policy and that rather than become more stately he's gotten more and more unstable.
posted by vuron at 1:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
That or they were getting ACA premium sticker shock and were desperate for a lifeline no matter how dubious the rescuer was.
Or they work in natural resources extraction and they've accepted the idea that more exploitation is good for their Job.
Or they just wanted a tax cut.
Plenty of Republicans said to themselves it didn't matter whether Trump was or wasn't a racist, misogynist douchebag as long as he got them stuff that they wanted. Or they're tribal identity means that they'll vote for the Republican every time regardless of how qualified they are.
Now they realize that some of the stuff they wanted like ACA repeal is really bad policy and that rather than become more stately he's gotten more and more unstable.
posted by vuron at 1:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Just want to +1 what soren_lorensen said about race education. I was born in '83 and all of my education took place in South Carolina. The "best" messages were that we should all be color-blind, do not see race, etc. It took me until I was in my mid to late twenties to understand that saying the word "black" was not a slur. It's fucked up. It's something that always bugged me a little about Colbert and his ongoing 'joke' on the Colbert Report about how he doesn't see color.
Caveat that yes some racists can manage to use the word black as a slur.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Caveat that yes some racists can manage to use the word black as a slur.
posted by lazaruslong at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Looks like the Department of Education is on board, per Kal Penn - @kalpenn:
A few former coworkers may or may not have started @Alt_DeptofED to help w/ effective #resistance. 🇺🇸✌🏽Good follow with useful tools
posted by Room 641-A at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
A few former coworkers may or may not have started @Alt_DeptofED to help w/ effective #resistance. 🇺🇸✌🏽Good follow with useful tools
posted by Room 641-A at 1:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
People's definition of racism didn't really matter as much as the fact that it seems at least about a third of the country got out of bed every morning loathing the fact that a black man was the President.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
President Trump will sign the executive order on "extreme vetting" this afternoon, according to the White House pool report.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
People's definition of racism didn't really matter as much as the fact that it seems at least about a third of the country got out of bed every morning loathing the fact that a black man was the President.
For sure. And the way people doublethink themselves into believing that their hatred of a black man isn't really racism is by telling themselves and others that because they never said the word "black" that means their feelings aren't racist.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
For sure. And the way people doublethink themselves into believing that their hatred of a black man isn't really racism is by telling themselves and others that because they never said the word "black" that means their feelings aren't racist.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Gabbard seems in the habit of making not very bright choices, represents a D+20ish district, and the primary challenge against her needs to start tomorrow.
Anyway, the other Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson, has been busy. Look for all the details.
posted by holgate at 1:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Anyway, the other Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson, has been busy. Look for all the details.
posted by holgate at 1:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Don't get carried away by the #TrumpRegrets. It might not (all) be fan fiction, but there's definitely this stuff too:
NYT: Trump Backers Like His First Draft of a New America
Many of the voters who handed Mr. Trump the presidency — die-hards and reluctant supporters alike — were cheering from their living rooms, offices and diners across America as they saw the outlines of a new conservative era in government fast taking shape, even if they were still a little uneasy about the man doing the shaping.
And it's not rational, or fact-based, or even part of our reality at all, but it's here:
“Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years” ...
Boondocks ... sits about 1,900 miles from the Arizona deserts where sections of the multibillion-dollar border wall may rise. The Hispanic population is tiny in this overwhelmingly white county of 35,000, and it has grown only 0.3 percent in the past five years. Still, people here said they felt as if immigration had undercut wages for construction workers in the area.
These Trump voters sound really happy.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
NYT: Trump Backers Like His First Draft of a New America
Many of the voters who handed Mr. Trump the presidency — die-hards and reluctant supporters alike — were cheering from their living rooms, offices and diners across America as they saw the outlines of a new conservative era in government fast taking shape, even if they were still a little uneasy about the man doing the shaping.
And it's not rational, or fact-based, or even part of our reality at all, but it's here:
“Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years” ...
Boondocks ... sits about 1,900 miles from the Arizona deserts where sections of the multibillion-dollar border wall may rise. The Hispanic population is tiny in this overwhelmingly white county of 35,000, and it has grown only 0.3 percent in the past five years. Still, people here said they felt as if immigration had undercut wages for construction workers in the area.
These Trump voters sound really happy.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trump is reading from a script at the Mattis ceremony. He looks really uncomfortable. He is doing that weird shoulder thing that one does when you have already thrown or putted a golf ball and you use your body language to try and 'move' the ball where you want it to go. He is trying to stick to the script and it is killing him.
posted by futz at 1:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by futz at 1:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Anyway, the other Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson, has been busy. Look for all the details.
You can support Rowson by buying a copy of his amazing Chandleresque noir interpretation of The Wasteland.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
You can support Rowson by buying a copy of his amazing Chandleresque noir interpretation of The Wasteland.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [17 favorites]
Meanwhile… Melania Trump appears in the cover of Vanity Fair Mexico…
posted by Omon Ra at 1:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Omon Ra at 1:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
Never Again Well, maybe just one more time.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
then all the flashy EOs, which so far are just words (dear god please let them always be just words).
If they haven't been run through legal review, it's hard to know how enforceable they are. The hiring freeze memo, for instance, is sufficiently poorly-written that some agencies have no idea whether it applies to them. And the DAPL memo is self-contradictory on its face, and possibly outright illegal.
So some, at least, may never be fully implemented. But they make for good theater for the fans.
posted by suelac at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
If they haven't been run through legal review, it's hard to know how enforceable they are. The hiring freeze memo, for instance, is sufficiently poorly-written that some agencies have no idea whether it applies to them. And the DAPL memo is self-contradictory on its face, and possibly outright illegal.
So some, at least, may never be fully implemented. But they make for good theater for the fans.
posted by suelac at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Had poor little Donny Trump, mediocre in every way, not been so emotionally abused by a monstrous father, we might not find ourselves in this horrible position. He is a hollow human who is not capable--it's not that he WON'T, he simply can't--of viewing the world other than a way of trying to get his needs met. He is all Id, and an incurious and functionally illiterate person. I feel sorry, in fact, for the little boy who would destroy the world to please an indifferent father.
Somewhere during your 30's you completely lose the right to blame your parents for the shit you have grown up to be.
The man is 70 years old.
He owns who is he is and the voters who voted for him own what he does.
posted by srboisvert at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
Somewhere during your 30's you completely lose the right to blame your parents for the shit you have grown up to be.
The man is 70 years old.
He owns who is he is and the voters who voted for him own what he does.
posted by srboisvert at 1:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
Here's where Trump falsely claims to have been in Scotland the day before the Brexit vote. He was there the day after.
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
But all the people now tweeting their #trumpregrets like what they are seeing now is brand new information? What the fuck is up with you people? Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
After the third debate Clinton led popular vote polls by 7 percent. By election day that had eroded to 2 percent. A full 5 percent changed their minds in the last couple of weeks of the campaign. Those are your #trumpregrets voters right there, and I don't think it's fair to say they all went to Trump because of racism or misogyny. For that five percent, it's more likely that it really was about the emails, and I believe that their regret is real.
That five percent are also likely to vote in 2018 and 2020, so I don't think shunning them or insulting them (too much) is a smart move.
posted by rocket88 at 1:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
After the third debate Clinton led popular vote polls by 7 percent. By election day that had eroded to 2 percent. A full 5 percent changed their minds in the last couple of weeks of the campaign. Those are your #trumpregrets voters right there, and I don't think it's fair to say they all went to Trump because of racism or misogyny. For that five percent, it's more likely that it really was about the emails, and I believe that their regret is real.
That five percent are also likely to vote in 2018 and 2020, so I don't think shunning them or insulting them (too much) is a smart move.
posted by rocket88 at 1:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm going to continue supporting gun control, but I really am beginning to consider arming myself to the teeth for the time being. Which is an idea I openly laughed at not that long ago. Letting the nazis have all the guns is not an option.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
China 'deploys long-range nuclear-capable missiles to coast' in response to Donald Trump's 'aggression'
A bad time to pick a fight with China
posted by homunculus at 1:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
A bad time to pick a fight with China
posted by homunculus at 1:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Melania Trump appears in the cover of Vanity Fair Mexico…
Let them eat diamonds.
posted by Artw at 1:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Let them eat diamonds.
posted by Artw at 1:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Trump signs executive orders on 'extreme vetting' of refugees, military readiness
posted by avalonian at 2:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by avalonian at 2:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
That five percent are also likely to vote in 2018 and 2020, so I don't think shunning them or insulting them (too much) is a smart move.
here's the thing, though
1. if their vote is at all influenced by hurt feelings about what people on the internet are saying they really are complete dumbfucks
2. they might change their vote based on some other idiot garbage nonstory like the Comey statement anyway so why tiptoe around the fact that they're dumbfucks
seriously, you five percent who flip-flopped over Anthony Weiner's emails or whatever: you are dumbfucks. you are absolute morons. and the saddest thing is you probably thought you were being like a smart person keeping an 'open mind' and not being 'partisan' and making your decision based on some putative cybersecurity issue that you could not, in fact, wrap your idiot head around. god you were stupid, you were so stupid, and look what you did. LOOK WHAT YOU DID
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
here's the thing, though
1. if their vote is at all influenced by hurt feelings about what people on the internet are saying they really are complete dumbfucks
2. they might change their vote based on some other idiot garbage nonstory like the Comey statement anyway so why tiptoe around the fact that they're dumbfucks
seriously, you five percent who flip-flopped over Anthony Weiner's emails or whatever: you are dumbfucks. you are absolute morons. and the saddest thing is you probably thought you were being like a smart person keeping an 'open mind' and not being 'partisan' and making your decision based on some putative cybersecurity issue that you could not, in fact, wrap your idiot head around. god you were stupid, you were so stupid, and look what you did. LOOK WHAT YOU DID
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [58 favorites]
Charges dropped for journalist arrested while covering Trump inauguration
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
There was a COLOSSAL failure in educating kids about racism in the 80s and 90s. That's when we (people my age and older) learned that the best thing to do is to be "colorblind", never mention that race is a thing, and if you have to say the word "black" to whisper it so that no one overhears. That's what I was taught, too. In school, by teachers. Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
True, though I think there's a case to be made that, at that point, the reasonable first step was to get across to us white people omfg you seriously need to just shut up everything you say on this topic is awful. That part was not unreasonable. Stop saying "black" not because it needs to be whispered but because you're obviously incapable of saying it except as othering and demonstrating that it's the only thing you see when you look at people who aren't like you.
We didn't also get the necessary accompanying okay and now you need to listen to the people who actually know about this stuff. Being asked to shut up made good sense but we never got told to and now listen. The only people we were asked to listen to were other white people who talked about racism and tossed in some quotes from Dr King, so they could take out any of the parts that rocked the boat too much.
posted by phearlez at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
True, though I think there's a case to be made that, at that point, the reasonable first step was to get across to us white people omfg you seriously need to just shut up everything you say on this topic is awful. That part was not unreasonable. Stop saying "black" not because it needs to be whispered but because you're obviously incapable of saying it except as othering and demonstrating that it's the only thing you see when you look at people who aren't like you.
We didn't also get the necessary accompanying okay and now you need to listen to the people who actually know about this stuff. Being asked to shut up made good sense but we never got told to and now listen. The only people we were asked to listen to were other white people who talked about racism and tossed in some quotes from Dr King, so they could take out any of the parts that rocked the boat too much.
posted by phearlez at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
About that item in the Independent that homunculus linked--I saw that first thing this morning but haven't seen the story anywhere else. ??
posted by HotToddy at 2:06 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by HotToddy at 2:06 PM on January 27, 2017
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
The obnoxious thing is that many people love security theater, and there's noarguing discussing it with people who just. want. America. to. be. safe. already. (from the scary Muslims) (even if, like, car accidents are more likely to, and probably already have, hurt these people).
This might be the point where I have to check out from the election/potus45 threads. I think I just need to focus on the change that I can bring.
I've got a few small things locally in the works that I'm excited about - one especially that should get people, particularly religious people, out of their bubbles, and already has buy-in from a good-sized church, AND the way things are going might get some fantastic exposure to every church in the city regardless of denomination. These threads are fantastic, as is having the solidarity of the community here, but at this point obnoxious elected officials are gonna obnox, and I don't know how much I need to hear about it.
I know I have one or two people to get back to via Mefi Mail about my ideas on using "pro-life" to get conservative/religious people to open their eyes a little, but I'd like to extend that invitation of discussion again to anyone who has Christian people they reach out to. I think abortion is gonna be a hot button topic for religious folks for a while, but I also think there are ways to facilitate a shift of priorities, at least on an individual level.
Be well, all. Remember, America's in your hearts. Wherever you go, there she is. 🗽
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
The obnoxious thing is that many people love security theater, and there's no
This might be the point where I have to check out from the election/potus45 threads. I think I just need to focus on the change that I can bring.
I've got a few small things locally in the works that I'm excited about - one especially that should get people, particularly religious people, out of their bubbles, and already has buy-in from a good-sized church, AND the way things are going might get some fantastic exposure to every church in the city regardless of denomination. These threads are fantastic, as is having the solidarity of the community here, but at this point obnoxious elected officials are gonna obnox, and I don't know how much I need to hear about it.
I know I have one or two people to get back to via Mefi Mail about my ideas on using "pro-life" to get conservative/religious people to open their eyes a little, but I'd like to extend that invitation of discussion again to anyone who has Christian people they reach out to. I think abortion is gonna be a hot button topic for religious folks for a while, but I also think there are ways to facilitate a shift of priorities, at least on an individual level.
Be well, all. Remember, America's in your hearts. Wherever you go, there she is. 🗽
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
All those articles about how Republicans have no idea how to replace Obamacare...
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Your constituents will suddenly love it once you tell them it has nothing to do with Obama anymore! And if Trump says it got repealed, they will go to the grave insisting it got repealed, regardless of what their insurance statements or tax returns tell them. And you don't need to worry about liberals giving away the game by saying "But Trumpcare is exactly the same thing as Obamacare but with a new name!" Because they won't believe a word we say anyway! Anyway that new name is what they REALLY want.
The solution is staring you right in the face, Paul Ryan. This will work.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Your constituents will suddenly love it once you tell them it has nothing to do with Obama anymore! And if Trump says it got repealed, they will go to the grave insisting it got repealed, regardless of what their insurance statements or tax returns tell them. And you don't need to worry about liberals giving away the game by saying "But Trumpcare is exactly the same thing as Obamacare but with a new name!" Because they won't believe a word we say anyway! Anyway that new name is what they REALLY want.
The solution is staring you right in the face, Paul Ryan. This will work.
posted by OnceUponATime at 2:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
So some, at least, may never be fully implemented. But they make for good theater for the fans.
I guess another silver lining is that maybe this administration is going to scale back the concept of the imperial presidency by making executive orders totally meaningless
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
posted by Apocryphon at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I guess another silver lining is that maybe this administration is going to scale back the concept of the imperial presidency by making executive orders totally meaningless
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
posted by Apocryphon at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trump signs executive orders on 'extreme vetting' of refugees, military readiness
Watching Fox News coverage about this. They're saying that the order includes the public release every six months of numbers of "terrorists" charged and, even fucking worse, "the number of people radicalized."
This is terrifying. Even if these are statistics with no names attached to the numbers, it's symbolic proscription and the establishment of thought-crime.
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
More quiet murmurs from Federal government agencies: the Federal Highway Administration (state offices at least) are now prohibited from mentioning "Climate Change." Of course, this is off-record, because that's how _rump and co are addressing climate change - pretending that they aren't and that everyone just forgot that it's a thing that is fucking us up, right here and now.
Broadly related: Trump declares tornado disaster while denying climate change (NJ Today, January 25, 2017)
While the article mostly talks about the disasters and what climate change could mean for such disasters in the future, with the final paragraph noting that _rump administration has instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the climate change page from its website, I still give kudos to NJ Today, New Jersey's Oldest Newspaper, for the title, and for including the real-life Trump ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ photo in that article.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Broadly related: Trump declares tornado disaster while denying climate change (NJ Today, January 25, 2017)
While the article mostly talks about the disasters and what climate change could mean for such disasters in the future, with the final paragraph noting that _rump administration has instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to remove the climate change page from its website, I still give kudos to NJ Today, New Jersey's Oldest Newspaper, for the title, and for including the real-life Trump ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ photo in that article.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
That's the thing. These people who voted against Obamacare/didn't know it was ACA? They are morons. Just change the name to FreedomCare, do nothing else, and they will piss themselves with joy.
/is bitter
posted by emjaybee at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
/is bitter
posted by emjaybee at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
Signing this piece of crap legislation on Holocaust Memorial Day is just something else.
Planning to donate a huge chunk of money to CAIR when I get home and explicitly note that this is in honor of Holocaust remembrance day.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Planning to donate a huge chunk of money to CAIR when I get home and explicitly note that this is in honor of Holocaust remembrance day.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
The people who answer the phones for Senator Tillis' D.C. office are so great, they even do me the courtesy of acctually making generic typing sounds in the background as they "record my feedback to pass along to the Senator" (read: roll their eyes exaggeratedly and make gagging faces while speaking in their most earnestly passive-aggressive "smiling" voices).
Over-exaggerated "Yes, m'aam!"s aside, it is surprisingly nice to talk to an actual human rather than a dedicated voice-mail box specifically set aside for sequestering constituent feedback on confirmation hearings (which toooooootallly won't just be erased at then end of the day without ever being listened to, of course......I'm looking at you, Burr!).
Seriously, though: today is a cynical day, but humans on the other end of the line really are a nice touch. Staffing the public phones at a Senator's office can't be much fun in the best of times, and these are certainly not the best of times. I appreciate the polite and professional people who do this work (even if I think you work for an actual monster).
Talk to you again tomorrow (.....and tomorrow.....and tomorrow), Jordan!
posted by Dorinda at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Over-exaggerated "Yes, m'aam!"s aside, it is surprisingly nice to talk to an actual human rather than a dedicated voice-mail box specifically set aside for sequestering constituent feedback on confirmation hearings (which toooooootallly won't just be erased at then end of the day without ever being listened to, of course......I'm looking at you, Burr!).
Seriously, though: today is a cynical day, but humans on the other end of the line really are a nice touch. Staffing the public phones at a Senator's office can't be much fun in the best of times, and these are certainly not the best of times. I appreciate the polite and professional people who do this work (even if I think you work for an actual monster).
Talk to you again tomorrow (.....and tomorrow.....and tomorrow), Jordan!
posted by Dorinda at 2:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I keep thinking -- Guys! Guys! Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
This is where I would rail about how Cory Booker shot down the drug import stuff so why would you expect blah blah blah I just don't have it in my after this week but you can figure it out.
posted by phearlez at 2:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Why don't we do that except enact single payer instead
This is where I would rail about how Cory Booker shot down the drug import stuff so why would you expect blah blah blah I just don't have it in my after this week but you can figure it out.
posted by phearlez at 2:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ocean's 11/Rogue One except about stealing the GOP's Obamacare replacement plans (a stack of blank papers) and swapping them with a copy of Obamacare w/ a search and replace for Trumpcare, plus a public option scribbled on the bottom
posted by Apocryphon at 2:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 2:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Damn it, I posted in the wrong thread.
State lawmaker sends Sharia law "poll" to Texas mosques
Densho Encyclopedia: Loyalty questionnaire
posted by sunset in snow country at 2:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
State lawmaker sends Sharia law "poll" to Texas mosques
Densho Encyclopedia: Loyalty questionnaire
posted by sunset in snow country at 2:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Rust Moranis: Watching Fox News coverage about this. They're saying that the order includes the public release every six months of numbers of "terrorists" charged and, even fucking worse, "the number of people radicalized." This is terrifying.
So, speaking from someone in a public agency, the direction from the last 8+ years is to post numbers so you can then address them and show how your efforts are improving things.
_rump's actions and "plans" will make all of this worse, but how do you keep publishing worse numbers? Do you lie, just to say that everything is getting better, thanks to the Angry Orange?
And I'm saying that more people will be "radicalized" because I'm betting that some of those criteria include protests and demonstrations, and that's not going to stop any time soon. In fact, I can see them getting more organized and impressive. There's also the chance that with more minorities being targeted by angry citizens, more will defend themselves, so they could be considered "radicalized" for fighting at all, if it's up to local police to categorize such events.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
So, speaking from someone in a public agency, the direction from the last 8+ years is to post numbers so you can then address them and show how your efforts are improving things.
_rump's actions and "plans" will make all of this worse, but how do you keep publishing worse numbers? Do you lie, just to say that everything is getting better, thanks to the Angry Orange?
And I'm saying that more people will be "radicalized" because I'm betting that some of those criteria include protests and demonstrations, and that's not going to stop any time soon. In fact, I can see them getting more organized and impressive. There's also the chance that with more minorities being targeted by angry citizens, more will defend themselves, so they could be considered "radicalized" for fighting at all, if it's up to local police to categorize such events.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Today I successfully put my mug down and walked out of the room instead of smashing it against the wall. Then I did some pushups, because I need to be strong to smash fascists.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
Rogue One except it's about swapping the GOP's Obamacare replacement plans (a stack of blank papers) with Obamacare
So basically the good guys die and we'll have to rely on sentient Teddy Bears to save us three films from now.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
So basically the good guys die and we'll have to rely on sentient Teddy Bears to save us three films from now.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Some of you may know that I've gotten rather apocalyptic lately. For instance, I think Trump is on a mission to cut services, a la Limts to Growth.
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
Sometime between the announcement of the plans to build the Trump Wall and the first big round of buying the necessary steel, concrete and other commodities, the economy will crash.
A number of American corporations which are involved with the construction of the wall will then have a reason to buy up enormous quantities of commodities at low prices.
Half-hearted attempts to build the obviously impossible wall will sputter out, leaving companies with all of that raw material sitting in their inventory, at least partially paid for by the United States Government, or, more accurately, the American taxpayer.
Those resources, of course, are what you'd need to build bunkers. If a bunch of billionaires started buying enough concrete and steel to build enormous projects, it would cause quite a stir. The wall is the perfect cover, and a massive last-minute money grab.
posted by MrVisible at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
Sometime between the announcement of the plans to build the Trump Wall and the first big round of buying the necessary steel, concrete and other commodities, the economy will crash.
A number of American corporations which are involved with the construction of the wall will then have a reason to buy up enormous quantities of commodities at low prices.
Half-hearted attempts to build the obviously impossible wall will sputter out, leaving companies with all of that raw material sitting in their inventory, at least partially paid for by the United States Government, or, more accurately, the American taxpayer.
Those resources, of course, are what you'd need to build bunkers. If a bunch of billionaires started buying enough concrete and steel to build enormous projects, it would cause quite a stir. The wall is the perfect cover, and a massive last-minute money grab.
posted by MrVisible at 2:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Voter Fraud Today. Voter Suppression Tomorrow. We need to prepare for yet another Civil Rights fight.
posted by homunculus at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by homunculus at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Trump signs executive orders on 'extreme vetting' of refugees, military readiness
Are the actual EO's public yet?
posted by Coventry at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Are the actual EO's public yet?
posted by Coventry at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump said he would give priority to Christian immigrants?
Guys, guys. People are going to die. What the fuck. I'm scared.
posted by Yowser at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Guys, guys. People are going to die. What the fuck. I'm scared.
posted by Yowser at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
MetaFilter: about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment
posted by kirkaracha at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:23 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
And by people are going to die, I mean that Trump is going to order civilians shot.
In our lifetime my god.
I can't. What is even going on.
posted by Yowser at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
In our lifetime my god.
I can't. What is even going on.
posted by Yowser at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Are the actual EO's public yet?
Vice is keeping a running list, but I think they only post once a day.
posted by Jacob G at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Vice is keeping a running list, but I think they only post once a day.
posted by Jacob G at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
AlterNet: The NY Times Just Published the Most Perversely Tone-Deaf Piece on the Massive Women's March
The Times went out and photographed protesters and asked them what they were wearing, and then devoted an entire broadsheet backpage to this exercise in tin-eared mockery. Eleven protesters (out of 3-million-plus) made the cut. Granted, newspapers need to fill pages, but clearly, this is an idea that should have never made it out of an edit meeting alive.posted by ZeusHumms at 2:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
MetaFilter: about 10% insight and about 90% varying degrees of bullshit, projection, fear, and wish-fulfillment
Nah, we're a lot fucking better than a tweetstorm by a reactionary conspiracy theorist who equates the Weathermen with the KKK, and who believes that violent resistance to Nazis breaks the social compact.
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Nah, we're a lot fucking better than a tweetstorm by a reactionary conspiracy theorist who equates the Weathermen with the KKK, and who believes that violent resistance to Nazis breaks the social compact.
posted by joyceanmachine at 2:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
NYTimes: Russian Charged With Treason Worked in Office Linked to Election Hacking
Interesting theory here that the Russians will purposefully reveal details of the hacking to damage Trump's Presidency. But it's a hall of mirrors as usual.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Interesting theory here that the Russians will purposefully reveal details of the hacking to damage Trump's Presidency. But it's a hall of mirrors as usual.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Why don't you just leave it exactly as it is and have Trump TELL everyone he repealed it?
I think this is actually going to be what happens. Or maybe they'll do some sort of circular parliamentary maneuver, "repealing" it and then "replacing" it with the text of the same thing, or with one of the old Republican proposals that basically were the inspiration for the ACA, such that there's no real change.
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
... you're Trump, who has zero relevant experience in government, except perhaps insofar as the government occasionally finances big construction projects, which is admittedly something he has done, albeit reportedly very poorly.
I think he thinks he's going to no shit build a Great Wall of America on the Mexican border, and that doing so will create a bunch of jobs (which is ironically Keynesian for a self-described Republican), and that he's going to pay for it with the Mexican-import-derived portion of a “destination-based cash flow tax” (DBCFT).
I don't know if he'll actually be able to do that, but the DBCFT will supposedly pass muster with the WTO, and quite a few countries already have them, so it's not an especially radical plan or anything. (It's a little radical for a Republican, but... well, so is Trump.) It would let you sorta claim with a straight face that Mexico is "paying" for it, too, at least if you have a pretty flexible face. And a giant border wall, stupid as it would be—walls don't count for very much against someone with an air hammer and a few hours to spare without guards—is probably doable, although it would be a giant civil engineering project for no particular benefit. We know how to do it; it's really no different than highway construction. It's just dumb. So maybe they'll build a certain amount of actual wall for publicity purposes and then spend the rest of the money on some sort of sensor system, or hunter-killer robots, or land mines, or whatever else happens to be cheaper.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I think this is actually going to be what happens. Or maybe they'll do some sort of circular parliamentary maneuver, "repealing" it and then "replacing" it with the text of the same thing, or with one of the old Republican proposals that basically were the inspiration for the ACA, such that there's no real change.
So I've been thinking about the wall. It makes no sense to me. Unless...
... you're Trump, who has zero relevant experience in government, except perhaps insofar as the government occasionally finances big construction projects, which is admittedly something he has done, albeit reportedly very poorly.
I think he thinks he's going to no shit build a Great Wall of America on the Mexican border, and that doing so will create a bunch of jobs (which is ironically Keynesian for a self-described Republican), and that he's going to pay for it with the Mexican-import-derived portion of a “destination-based cash flow tax” (DBCFT).
I don't know if he'll actually be able to do that, but the DBCFT will supposedly pass muster with the WTO, and quite a few countries already have them, so it's not an especially radical plan or anything. (It's a little radical for a Republican, but... well, so is Trump.) It would let you sorta claim with a straight face that Mexico is "paying" for it, too, at least if you have a pretty flexible face. And a giant border wall, stupid as it would be—walls don't count for very much against someone with an air hammer and a few hours to spare without guards—is probably doable, although it would be a giant civil engineering project for no particular benefit. We know how to do it; it's really no different than highway construction. It's just dumb. So maybe they'll build a certain amount of actual wall for publicity purposes and then spend the rest of the money on some sort of sensor system, or hunter-killer robots, or land mines, or whatever else happens to be cheaper.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I subscribed to Teen Vogue yesterday.
posted by bq at 2:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by bq at 2:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
I just watched Dr. Strange. I like that world better.
posted by Jalliah at 2:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A reminder that Anne Frank and her family were also denied entry as refugees to the U.S.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [57 favorites]
This is from a ways up, but if you want to support Martin Rowson and indie bookstores, AND if you're avoiding Amazon because of #GrabYourWallet, you can buy The Waste Land at Powells.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by pxe2000 at 2:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm at the post office and someone said "California! Land of fruits and nuts!" and all the jokers in line were off and running with "I hope they leave," etc. It is all I can freaking do to keep from screaming, "Will you white men just SHUT UP half a goddamn minute for once and let the rest of us have a moment's peace!" I guess this particular line will no longer be a problem for me once the USPS is privatized and I can no longer afford to send mail.
posted by thebrokedown at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by thebrokedown at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
Historisterically (if you will), Trump was elected on the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In an open letter, Berlin's mayor tells Trump "Don’t build this wall!" [WaPo]; which, I guess we'll see how much good that'll do.
Also Der Spiegel, official press release (both in German).
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
In an open letter, Berlin's mayor tells Trump "Don’t build this wall!" [WaPo]; which, I guess we'll see how much good that'll do.
Also Der Spiegel, official press release (both in German).
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
Hey guys, remember upthread how Facebook is changing its trending news stuff to combat fake news?
Today my Facebook showed me an article by the "Washington Times" that "proved" 800,000 illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton.
I don't think these tweaks are going the right way.
posted by corb at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
Today my Facebook showed me an article by the "Washington Times" that "proved" 800,000 illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton.
I don't think these tweaks are going the right way.
posted by corb at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [59 favorites]
I subscribed to Teen Vogue yesterday.
Me too.
Seriously, I think someone needs to attempt to keep track of how many people are going to die because of Trump being elected. It'll be millions.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Me too.
Seriously, I think someone needs to attempt to keep track of how many people are going to die because of Trump being elected. It'll be millions.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Well this is a hell of a story:
Michal Kosinski was a student in Warsaw when his life took a new direction in 2008: he was accepted to the prestigious University of Cambridge in England to do doctoral work at the Psychometrics Center, one of the oldest institutions of its kind worldwide.posted by OnceUponATime at 2:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
...
Soon, with a mere ten “likes” as input his model could appraise a person’s character better than an average coworker. With seventy, it could “know” a subject better than a friend; with 150 likes, better than their parents. With 300 likes, Kosinski’s model could predict a subject’s answers better than their partner. With even more likes it could exceed what a person thinks they know about themselves.
The day he published these findings, Kosinski received two phonecalls. One was a threat to sue, the other a job offer. Both were from Facebook.
...
Around this time, in early 2014, a young assistant professor named Aleksandr Kogan approached Kosinski. He said he had received an inquiry from a company interested in Kosinski’s methods. They apparently wanted to access the MyPersonality database, Kosinski remembers. To what purpose, Kogan couldn’t say: there were strict secrecy stipulations. At first, Kosinski and his team considered the offer—it would have meant a lot of money for his institute. But he hesitated. Finally, Kosinski remembers, Kogan divulged the name of the company: SCL, Strategic Communications Laboratories.
...
In 2012, Kosinski demonstrated that from a mere 68 Facebook likes on average, a lot about a user could be reliably predicted: skin color (95% accuracy), sexual orientation (88% accuracy), Democrat or Republican (85%). But there’s more: level of intellect; religious affiliation; alcohol-, cigarette-, and drug abuse could all be calculated. Even whether or not your parents were divorced could be teased out of the data.
...
SCL is also the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, this ominous Big Data outfit that later managed online marketing for both Trump and the Brexit “Leave” campaign.
...
Steve Bannon, a Cambridge Analytica board member and former executive chair of the ultra-rightwing online site Breitbart News, was named Trump’s chief strategist. Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, ambitious Front National activist and niece of the presidential candidate, has tweeted that she would accept his invitation to collaborate. In an internal company video, there is a recording of a discussion entitled “Italy.” While Cambridge Analytica is not willing to comment on alleged ongoing talks with UK prime minister Theresa May, Alexander Nix claims that he is in the process of client acquisition, worldwide, and that he has received inquiries out of Switzerland and Germany.
Jen I'm not the only one am I.
I'd say that there is one small silver lining, but I want to delay the knock at m door.
I'm ill and can't stop reading.
My god that nazi Milo is speaking tonight at a University, and spoiled white rich kids will be cheering him on. Maybe someone will be shot again, much to his delight.
People are evil. Maybe the Catholics are on to something.
posted by Yowser at 2:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'd say that there is one small silver lining, but I want to delay the knock at m door.
I'm ill and can't stop reading.
My god that nazi Milo is speaking tonight at a University, and spoiled white rich kids will be cheering him on. Maybe someone will be shot again, much to his delight.
People are evil. Maybe the Catholics are on to something.
posted by Yowser at 2:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
How anonymously can I subscribe *someone else* to Teen Vogue?
Asking for a......friend.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Asking for a......friend.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
So, um, Californian MeFites, please for the love of--the love of--if you have ever liked a thing I have said or a sentiment I've had or if you have any positive feelings for me whatsoever, I am begging you, please stand against Calexit.
I am and remain against Calexit but PLEASE don't kiss my feet. We can get a drink together? Besides, in terms of water rights it would be fsking stupid; a lot of the ease of our water rights from other states is because they're other states; a hostile other nation is a lot more difficult to negotiate with.
I'm wondering if there's a way we can leverage the liberality and power from the cities to help rural areas, though; honestly, I'm really worried about women in rural areas being unsafe and not getting needed services because ASSHOLES, but I'm the opposite of someone organizing things - even my birthday parties suck.
posted by Deoridhe at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I am and remain against Calexit but PLEASE don't kiss my feet. We can get a drink together? Besides, in terms of water rights it would be fsking stupid; a lot of the ease of our water rights from other states is because they're other states; a hostile other nation is a lot more difficult to negotiate with.
I'm wondering if there's a way we can leverage the liberality and power from the cities to help rural areas, though; honestly, I'm really worried about women in rural areas being unsafe and not getting needed services because ASSHOLES, but I'm the opposite of someone organizing things - even my birthday parties suck.
posted by Deoridhe at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump said he would give priority to Christian immigrants?
Syrian Christians really are a persecuted minority group, persecuted by ISIS & by the terrorists backed by the American ancien régime.
Newseek, not the most reputable source, but here's a bit on the lack of Christian refugees. Functionally, not explicitly barred.
Disgustingly ironic, for all the "diversity" shtick, the Obama-era policy for some years was to support the ethnic and religious cleansing of Syria by radical Islamist Sunnis against Alawites, Christians, Druze, non-extremist Sunnis, etc...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Syrian Christians really are a persecuted minority group, persecuted by ISIS & by the terrorists backed by the American ancien régime.
Newseek, not the most reputable source, but here's a bit on the lack of Christian refugees. Functionally, not explicitly barred.
Disgustingly ironic, for all the "diversity" shtick, the Obama-era policy for some years was to support the ethnic and religious cleansing of Syria by radical Islamist Sunnis against Alawites, Christians, Druze, non-extremist Sunnis, etc...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 2:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
> Well this is a hell of a story
Yeah, the Cambridge Analytica psychometric micro-targeting is an under-appreciated story so far. I'm in awe of their capabilities - too bad they just used it for evil, instead of, say, goosing especially gullible folks to rethink their positions.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Yeah, the Cambridge Analytica psychometric micro-targeting is an under-appreciated story so far. I'm in awe of their capabilities - too bad they just used it for evil, instead of, say, goosing especially gullible folks to rethink their positions.
posted by RedOrGreen at 2:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fake News Is About to Get Even Scarier than You Ever Dreamed At corporations and universities across the country, incipient technologies appear likely to soon obliterate the line between real and fake. Or, in the simplest of terms, advancements in audio and video technology are becoming so sophisticated that they will be able to replicate real news—real TV broadcasts, for instance, or radio interviews—in unprecedented, and truly indecipherable, ways.
posted by joedan at 2:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by joedan at 2:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Finally *pulls down mirrorshades* we've arrived at the cyberpunk age
posted by Apocryphon at 2:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 2:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
For all the white ladies.
For + ten years, I've been working to support a squatter community. The thing is, my sociolect is urban upper-class. It's not entirely reflective of who I am, but that doesn't matter in practice. Most people see me as an overweight chummy old lady in a constant state of tracksuits, which is all fine with me.
But when I'm out defending my "family", I'll grab all the pearls and force myself into the dresses and tights and heels, and the authorities will treat me as if I am the entire force of conservative politics. That counts whether it is a political rally or a meeting with the police. I'm not alone. Several of us middle aged ladies have realized that there is power in (play-acting) conformity. And it works - we win almost every time we do it. (And hey, you can use 5 dollar pearls, it's in the style, not the price).
posted by mumimor at 2:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [82 favorites]
For + ten years, I've been working to support a squatter community. The thing is, my sociolect is urban upper-class. It's not entirely reflective of who I am, but that doesn't matter in practice. Most people see me as an overweight chummy old lady in a constant state of tracksuits, which is all fine with me.
But when I'm out defending my "family", I'll grab all the pearls and force myself into the dresses and tights and heels, and the authorities will treat me as if I am the entire force of conservative politics. That counts whether it is a political rally or a meeting with the police. I'm not alone. Several of us middle aged ladies have realized that there is power in (play-acting) conformity. And it works - we win almost every time we do it. (And hey, you can use 5 dollar pearls, it's in the style, not the price).
posted by mumimor at 2:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [82 favorites]
oh good i'm excited to live in a shack on the remains of the triboro bridge
posted by poffin boffin at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
unfortunately, due to budget constraints there will only be four monkeys.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
but the four monkeys will all have twitter accounts
posted by ian1977 at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
Today my Facebook showed me an article by the "Washington Times" that "proved" 800,000 illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton.
The Washington Times is "real news" in the sense it's an actual right-wing rag which has been operating in DC for over 30 years.
On the other hand, it has deep ties to Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.
It turned a profit for the first time in 2015.
posted by EmGeeJay at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
The Washington Times is "real news" in the sense it's an actual right-wing rag which has been operating in DC for over 30 years.
On the other hand, it has deep ties to Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.
It turned a profit for the first time in 2015.
posted by EmGeeJay at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Now maybe I can dump these pituitary glands and hot ram.
posted by valkane at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by valkane at 2:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I know some people don't like the alt accounts, but I liked this:
Smokey Says... Resist
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Smokey Says... Resist
posted by chris24 at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well this is a hell of a story:
The reality based community doesn't really stand a chance against this.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
The reality based community doesn't really stand a chance against this.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Interesting theory here that the Russians will purposefully reveal details of the hacking to damage Trump's Presidency. But it's a hall of mirrors as usual.
Yeah or claim he tried to hack it for Hillary to help Donnie's bullshit voter suppression.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017
Yeah or claim he tried to hack it for Hillary to help Donnie's bullshit voter suppression.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:01 PM on January 27, 2017
but the four monkeys will all have twitter accounts
They'll have three twitter accounts each, thus making twelve monkeys.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
They'll have three twitter accounts each, thus making twelve monkeys.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
> Newseek, not the most reputable source, but here's a bit on the lack of Christian refugees. Functionally, not explicitly barred.
FactCheck.org: What Religion Are the Syrian Refugees?
posted by tonycpsu at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
FactCheck.org: What Religion Are the Syrian Refugees?
So what religion are the Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S.?At the very least, there are serious reasons to be skeptical of any hard numbers on the percentages. The bar for us to aggressively engaged in affirmative action to support Christians specifically (at the expense of Muslims) should be even higher, and these claims don't come close to meeting that standard.
The vast majority are Sunni Muslims, who make up 2,128, or 93 percent, of the Syrian refugees in the U.S. The Sunnis are about 74 percent of the Syrian population, according to the CIA, but “they tend to support the rebels and oppose the Assad regime, and Syrian Sunnis have been subject to ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Alawite minority in recent months,” as the Washington Post reported on Oct. 18, 2012.
This explains why Sunni Muslims are disproportionately represented among Syrian refugees in the U.S., Andrew Tabler, a Middle East expert at the Washington Institute, told us in an email.
Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad’s regime is “made up of Alawites AND other minorities like Christians,” said Tabler, who wrote a 2011 book called “In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington’s Battle with Syria.”
“The reason why is that most refugees are not displaced because of ISIS, but as a result of bombardments by the Assad regime,” Tabler told us, explaining the large percentage of Sunnis who have been admitted to the U.S. from Syria. “The regime has attempted (but failed) to shoot them into submission. Those fleeing the fighting who are not with the regime have to run to neighboring countries for protection and become refugees. And some of them eventually apply to come to the U.S. as refugees.”
Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA military analyst in the Middle East who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, offered two other possible factors.
“In addition, much of the fighting has taken place in heavily Sunni areas (because most of the country is Sunni),” Pollack said. “Finally, much of the Sunni-controlled territory is controlled by ISIS, and nobody except absolute lunatics WANT to live under ISIS.”
posted by tonycpsu at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yeah or claim he tried to hack it for Hillary to help Donnie's bullshit voter suppression.
Or Flynn fed them info on CIA moles in the FSB and now they're cleaning house.
posted by PenDevil at 3:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Or Flynn fed them info on CIA moles in the FSB and now they're cleaning house.
posted by PenDevil at 3:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
That should pretty much be assumed.
posted by Artw at 3:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
What if we just let in both Muslim and Christian Syrian refugees on the basis of them both needing to flee people who want to kill them instead of prioritizing people by religion? Wouldn't that be grand?
posted by zachlipton at 3:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [51 favorites]
IBT: President's Executive Order Says Green Card Holders Could Be Deported For Minor Crimes
Twitter thread on Iraqs that have worked for the US gov't now fearing for their future.
I think whatever soft power we had left after the Iraq War has just evaporated.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Twitter thread on Iraqs that have worked for the US gov't now fearing for their future.
I think whatever soft power we had left after the Iraq War has just evaporated.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Man, I've been puzzling for a while over the connection between Russia and the American alt-right.
I've been thinking this election was won on social media, and have been giving Putin credit for being the genius who figured out that was possible. Mr. Russian Intelligence guy with his "kompromat" and his "fake news" and his "troll army" and his bots and his hackers and his search engine optimization and his propaganda wars, understood the information age better than we did. By all accounts Russians have been living in an alternate "reality" for some time anyway, all pretending everything is fine, and Putin helping them pretend.
But maybe I haven't been giving Steve Bannon enough credit. He's on the board of this company Cambridge Analytica which apparently can predict your age, race, skin color, religion, etc from your Facebook likes. Maybe he's the genius.
Or maybe there's a connection. There is definitely an ideological overlap. And of course American isolation is very much in Putin's interest. (Or American war with China, even better.) And Russia might be one of the few places that could (temporarily at least) benefit from climate change.
And I read that story about the origin of Cambridge Analytica and I can't help but wonder who this Aleksandr Kogan is, and whether he knows anyone important in Russia.
Goddamn this is freaking me out. I feel like I went to bed one night and woke up in a Neal Stephenson dystopia. I am not sure if I'm a crazy conspiracy nut these days or if Vladimir Putin and Steve Bannon just took over the world together without anyone knowing what they did or how they did it. Goddamn.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
I've been thinking this election was won on social media, and have been giving Putin credit for being the genius who figured out that was possible. Mr. Russian Intelligence guy with his "kompromat" and his "fake news" and his "troll army" and his bots and his hackers and his search engine optimization and his propaganda wars, understood the information age better than we did. By all accounts Russians have been living in an alternate "reality" for some time anyway, all pretending everything is fine, and Putin helping them pretend.
But maybe I haven't been giving Steve Bannon enough credit. He's on the board of this company Cambridge Analytica which apparently can predict your age, race, skin color, religion, etc from your Facebook likes. Maybe he's the genius.
Or maybe there's a connection. There is definitely an ideological overlap. And of course American isolation is very much in Putin's interest. (Or American war with China, even better.) And Russia might be one of the few places that could (temporarily at least) benefit from climate change.
And I read that story about the origin of Cambridge Analytica and I can't help but wonder who this Aleksandr Kogan is, and whether he knows anyone important in Russia.
Goddamn this is freaking me out. I feel like I went to bed one night and woke up in a Neal Stephenson dystopia. I am not sure if I'm a crazy conspiracy nut these days or if Vladimir Putin and Steve Bannon just took over the world together without anyone knowing what they did or how they did it. Goddamn.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
posted by futz at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by futz at 3:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [31 favorites]
Republicans should be scared of repealing Obamacare, and this poll shows why
Even more illustrative in the new poll, though, is this: Voters indicated they'll actually punish those who vote for repeal. Quinnipiac asked them whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a senator or member of Congress who votes for repeal, and by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, they said less likely.posted by zachlipton at 3:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Fully 43 percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who repeals Obamacare, while only 24 percent said they would be more likely.
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
More of this please. In the age of email leaks, we should have this shit against the Republicans too on a daily basis.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
More of this please. In the age of email leaks, we should have this shit against the Republicans too on a daily basis.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
in related voting news the NYSAG is joining in on the lawsuit against the board of elections over the nyc voter roll purges before the primary
posted by poffin boffin at 3:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 3:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
One week down, only 207 more to go. We can do this.
posted by rocket88 at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by rocket88 at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Even more illustrative in the new poll, though, is this: Voters indicated they'll actually punish those who vote for repeal. Quinnipiac asked them whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a senator or member of Congress who votes for repeal, and by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, they said less likely.
Fully 43 percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who repeals Obamacare, while only 24 percent said they would be more likely.
If that happens I'll eat my left shoe. The rep will just remind the electorate that only they stand against liberals with their abortions and their black people welfare and their socialism and they'll cruise to reelection.
posted by Talez at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fully 43 percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who repeals Obamacare, while only 24 percent said they would be more likely.
If that happens I'll eat my left shoe. The rep will just remind the electorate that only they stand against liberals with their abortions and their black people welfare and their socialism and they'll cruise to reelection.
posted by Talez at 3:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Like, if he tries to renegotiate NAFTA, and is left alone with even a mid-level Canadian diplomat, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump came out jubiliant that he'd traded the entire West Coast to Canada in return for a photo-op with some Mounties.
Did you know that Canada repatriated the Mounties trademark from Disney?
Another defeat for American trade.
posted by srboisvert at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017
Did you know that Canada repatriated the Mounties trademark from Disney?
Another defeat for American trade.
posted by srboisvert at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017
How anonymously can I subscribe *someone else* to Teen Vogue?
in the dark ages, we'd get a dead tree edition. send in the subscription card with a money order. and that is how your friend gets playgirl at work.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
in the dark ages, we'd get a dead tree edition. send in the subscription card with a money order. and that is how your friend gets playgirl at work.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
And I read that story about the origin of Cambridge Analytica
I'm skeptical. Cambridge Analytica looks less Person Of Interest to me and a little more like vaporware being sold by shysters to other shysters.
posted by octobersurprise at 3:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
I'm skeptical. Cambridge Analytica looks less Person Of Interest to me and a little more like vaporware being sold by shysters to other shysters.
posted by octobersurprise at 3:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
In the end, I believe in my heart they'll follow their talking points/marching orders and not their very real concerns about how repeal would be a disaster.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
In the end, I believe in my heart they'll follow their talking points/marching orders and not their very real concerns about how repeal would be a disaster.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Malia Obama takes on Trump: Former first daughter joins rally protesting President's plan to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline then attends private event with Standing Rock chairman
posted by futz at 3:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [112 favorites]
posted by futz at 3:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [112 favorites]
Well futz, that made me tear up. Go Malia!
posted by zutalors! at 3:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zutalors! at 3:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
A Conversation With the Rogue National Park Service Twitter Account
It seems like it's an assorted group of people now, including some journalists, who want to remain anonymous, and the actual NPS employees have backed away to avoid a government witch-hunt.
posted by zachlipton at 3:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It seems like it's an assorted group of people now, including some journalists, who want to remain anonymous, and the actual NPS employees have backed away to avoid a government witch-hunt.
posted by zachlipton at 3:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
The vast majority are Sunni Muslims, who make up 2,128, or 93 percent, of the Syrian refugees in the U.S
All else aside, it disgusts me that we have only taken in 2128 people, and now even that will pretty much be stopped. 2128! This is a huge, rich country. We could take in so many more people here and not even feel it.
I always think of an old song by the Dog-Faced Hermans which is about refugees, "Hear the Dogs":
Welcome, welcome
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may sit in my kitchen,
between the hours of five and six.
And you may butter your bread
on the one side only.
And we can do this,
because we're quite groovy so you're lucky.
Remember.
Welcome -
wipe your feet.
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may butter your bread
on the one side only,
only on the one side.
-But hear the dogs barking
outside.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
This is some country this is
this is some country.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
posted by Frowner at 3:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
All else aside, it disgusts me that we have only taken in 2128 people, and now even that will pretty much be stopped. 2128! This is a huge, rich country. We could take in so many more people here and not even feel it.
I always think of an old song by the Dog-Faced Hermans which is about refugees, "Hear the Dogs":
Welcome, welcome
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may sit in my kitchen,
between the hours of five and six.
And you may butter your bread
on the one side only.
And we can do this,
because we're quite groovy so you're lucky.
Remember.
Welcome -
wipe your feet.
I would give you the freedom of my own home,
and you may butter your bread
on the one side only,
only on the one side.
-But hear the dogs barking
outside.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
This is some country this is
this is some country.
-Everything in limitation,
nothing open-handed
posted by Frowner at 3:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yeah. Idly accusing anyone with a last name that could be Russian of being some kind of intelligence operative is not remotely cool.
posted by zachlipton at 3:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I am noticing similarities between the kind of "fake news" mediated self-deception described as common in Russia, and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
I wonder if it is possible that Bannon also noticed that large market for fake news, who would believe anything you told them if you told them the right way. And if that didn't lead him into film making, and then to Breitbart, and to Cambridge Analytica, and to the Trump campaign (which he claimed to be managing a year before he was named CEO -- saying he liked Trump for his nationalism) and ... I still can't help but speculate ... maybe to Putin. If you don't like my pointing out the Russian name in the Cambridge Analytica story, consider that Bannon is still tightly linked to the Trump campaign, and the Trump campaign has well documented links to Russia.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I wonder if it is possible that Bannon also noticed that large market for fake news, who would believe anything you told them if you told them the right way. And if that didn't lead him into film making, and then to Breitbart, and to Cambridge Analytica, and to the Trump campaign (which he claimed to be managing a year before he was named CEO -- saying he liked Trump for his nationalism) and ... I still can't help but speculate ... maybe to Putin. If you don't like my pointing out the Russian name in the Cambridge Analytica story, consider that Bannon is still tightly linked to the Trump campaign, and the Trump campaign has well documented links to Russia.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
It would not surprise me in the least if an incipient international fascist movement were involved in cutting edge analytics and opinion shaping. Fascists know the need for propaganda, and white supremacists know how important it is to cloak their ideology in plausible deniability.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm at O'Hare with volunteers waiting for one of the last Syrian families to arrive before Trump signs the orders.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
And just to make it clear, I have absolutely nothing against ordinary Russians, who I think are victims of Putin's abusive regime. If I'm speculating about Russian names it's not because I think all Russians are linked to Putin. It's because I think Russians in a story about a Bannon-linked datamining company which helped the Trump and Brexit campaigns might be Putin-linked.
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by OnceUponATime at 3:45 PM on January 27, 2017
Donald Trump is the sole reliable source of truth, says chair of House Science Committee
On Monday, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who has previously praised Trump’s “stamina” and “conviction,” gave a floor speech in the House in which lauded the president, celebrating his many accomplishments. According to Smith, you may not be familiar with those accomplishments, because the media won’t tell you.
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
For those not in the loop:
But most significantly, Smith is the chair of the House Science Committee, which he has transformed into an aggressively partisan instrument, using its investigatory powers — including sweeping new subpoena powers granted by fellow Republicans in 2015 — to harass and intimidate individual scientists, agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
posted by futz at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
On Monday, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who has previously praised Trump’s “stamina” and “conviction,” gave a floor speech in the House in which lauded the president, celebrating his many accomplishments. According to Smith, you may not be familiar with those accomplishments, because the media won’t tell you.
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
For those not in the loop:
But most significantly, Smith is the chair of the House Science Committee, which he has transformed into an aggressively partisan instrument, using its investigatory powers — including sweeping new subpoena powers granted by fellow Republicans in 2015 — to harass and intimidate individual scientists, agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
posted by futz at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
This is what Trump had the nerve to tweet with the video of the announcement of the Executive Orders today: I promise that our administration will ALWAYS have your back. We will ALWAYS be with you!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
Really looking out for us there.
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Donnie Cougar Mellancamp.
posted by valkane at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is what Trump had the nerve to tweet with the video of the announcement of the Executive Orders today: I promise that our administration will ALWAYS have your back. We will ALWAYS be with you!
That message wasn't meant for us.
posted by mochapickle at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
That message wasn't meant for us.
posted by mochapickle at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Do you think Bannon always tells Trump what is signing or does he leave it as a fun little surprise?
posted by Artw at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's more "look out!" than looking out.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Great, so now we have a secret plan to fight refugees.
posted by zachlipton at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
“Better to get your news directly from the president,” Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
Me: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
Me: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
When he says "we" or "us", he's only talking about red states. He's made it clear he considers anyone living in a state that didnt vote for him to be an enemy of the state.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Well, Russia and Nazis too.
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Looks like Bradd Jaffy at NBC just got a copy of at least one of the orders, though it is extremely hard to read.
posted by zachlipton at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
what, like, not ever? is it gonna be kept in a big cavern beneath the white house guarded by a huge fucking snake?
posted by poffin boffin at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
what, like, not ever? is it gonna be kept in a big cavern beneath the white house guarded by a huge fucking snake?
posted by poffin boffin at 3:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
i mean not to sound like a halfwitted naif or anything but uh. is he allowed to make secret laws
not that being allowed or not matters anymore lbr
posted by poffin boffin at 3:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
not that being allowed or not matters anymore lbr
posted by poffin boffin at 3:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
Just boiling the frog. Delay a day, then a week, then a month, then ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
like traditionally the passage of secret laws in specially arranged government meetings hasn't worked out well for my people
posted by poffin boffin at 4:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Is it time to walk out of our jobs and start the general strike yet?
No? Still no?
posted by perspicio at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
No? Still no?
posted by perspicio at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
So even if all you care about are Syrian Christians, this specifically bans all Syrian national refugees as "detrimental to the interests of the United States" until Trump orders otherwise.
It does have an exception that allows DHS and State to allow refugees during the 120 day suspension period (but apparently not Syrian refugees as I read it, those are banned in another section) on a case-by-case basis that specifically calls out religious minorities.
posted by zachlipton at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
It does have an exception that allows DHS and State to allow refugees during the 120 day suspension period (but apparently not Syrian refugees as I read it, those are banned in another section) on a case-by-case basis that specifically calls out religious minorities.
posted by zachlipton at 4:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
i mean not to sound like a halfwitted naif or anything but uh. is he allowed to make secret laws
A more pertinent question is, who's going to stop him?
posted by corb at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
A more pertinent question is, who's going to stop him?
posted by corb at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I can't live in this world.
posted by guiseroom at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by guiseroom at 4:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
i will ask my ancient terracotta pot
posted by poffin boffin at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
it's sort of the executive version of genital grabbing
posted by angrycat at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
And how's that coming along? You've mentioned having meetings and "getting candidates" here, but NeverTrump has been out of the news for some time outside of the widespread abdications by more prominent members of the movement, so I guess we should just presume lots of important stuff is going on and big plans have been made but they're all secret? It would be very heartening to hear some specifics to indicate that there is really going to be a groundswell of decent Republicans come 2018, but in the absence of any evidence at all of such people existing in significant numbers I'm not sure you'll find too many of us interested in pinning our hopes on it, or taking any remnant NeverTrump Republican movement too seriously.
posted by contraption at 4:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
And how's that coming along? You've mentioned having meetings and "getting candidates" here, but NeverTrump has been out of the news for some time outside of the widespread abdications by more prominent members of the movement, so I guess we should just presume lots of important stuff is going on and big plans have been made but they're all secret? It would be very heartening to hear some specifics to indicate that there is really going to be a groundswell of decent Republicans come 2018, but in the absence of any evidence at all of such people existing in significant numbers I'm not sure you'll find too many of us interested in pinning our hopes on it, or taking any remnant NeverTrump Republican movement too seriously.
posted by contraption at 4:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
The way he reads the EO in the video in this link.... it looks like he doesn't even know what he is signing!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-closes-pen-photoshop-battle-reddit_us_58890438e4b061cf898c6b14?
Bonus mocking Trump photoshopping in that link!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-closes-pen-photoshop-battle-reddit_us_58890438e4b061cf898c6b14?
Bonus mocking Trump photoshopping in that link!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
In leaked audio, Republicans destroy their own public talking points on Obamacare
Is this leaked audio floating around? I'd love to hear the sausage get made. Even if, for the purposes of this metaphor, I'm a vegetarian.
posted by dis_integration at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017
Is this leaked audio floating around? I'd love to hear the sausage get made. Even if, for the purposes of this metaphor, I'm a vegetarian.
posted by dis_integration at 4:06 PM on January 27, 2017
Here's a legible copy of the document
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
But that doesn't explain sucking up in such a public way to the congressional GOP, unless she actually feels political kinship with that pack of scoundrels and loons, which is really quite unprecedented for a British PM. There's no political capital to be gained from making Rep. Chuck 'Chuck' Dumbfuck (R-AR) think you're swell.
May is not aiming to build political capital with the 'Chucks' but with those who would support the position of the US as a viable substitute trading partner. May needs to present the appearance to her supporters in the UK that the UK is building links which will become trade partnerships so that Brexit supporters can maintain their illusion that there are realistic alternatives which will not pauperise the country. May's record as PM is entirely performative, the actuality may catch up at some point but in the meantime she can stay in power by having her supporters at home believe that there are realistic alternatives to the trade relationships the UK is throwing away.
posted by biffa at 4:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
May is not aiming to build political capital with the 'Chucks' but with those who would support the position of the US as a viable substitute trading partner. May needs to present the appearance to her supporters in the UK that the UK is building links which will become trade partnerships so that Brexit supporters can maintain their illusion that there are realistic alternatives which will not pauperise the country. May's record as PM is entirely performative, the actuality may catch up at some point but in the meantime she can stay in power by having her supporters at home believe that there are realistic alternatives to the trade relationships the UK is throwing away.
posted by biffa at 4:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
And I'm still organizing on a daily basis with my fellow NeverTrumpers, so every time someone says "Man NeverTrump is a fiction" it just seems kind of bizarre to me.
You're wasting your time and have been since he was nominated. Anything other than working to defeat Republican candidates is helping keep Trump in power. NeverTrump had its chance, and failed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
You're wasting your time and have been since he was nominated. Anything other than working to defeat Republican candidates is helping keep Trump in power. NeverTrump had its chance, and failed.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Reversing course, Trump administration will continue Obamacare outreach
They cancelled some of the ads, but phone calls and emails will still happen now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
They cancelled some of the ads, but phone calls and emails will still happen now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump's voter fraud expert owes US more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes
LOL.
The conservative activist cited by Donald Trump as an authority on voter fraud owes the US government more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes, was once accused of lying about his qualifications, and has faced several allegations of ethical impropriety.
posted by futz at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
LOL.
The conservative activist cited by Donald Trump as an authority on voter fraud owes the US government more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes, was once accused of lying about his qualifications, and has faced several allegations of ethical impropriety.
posted by futz at 4:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [37 favorites]
Executive orders are supposed to be relayed to the Federal Register, which then publishes them. This apparently takes a couple of days. So, "We are not revealing what he signed today" may mean the Trump Admin is not releasing the EO to the press directly today -- or not at all -- but eventually the Federal Register will (or should) publish it.
Except that so far they've only gotten around to publishing that one EO Trump signed about Obamacare on Inauguration Day, which is maybe because the OFR works slow or the Trump administration does.
Hmm, maybe a reporter should ask.
posted by notyou at 4:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Except that so far they've only gotten around to publishing that one EO Trump signed about Obamacare on Inauguration Day, which is maybe because the OFR works slow or the Trump administration does.
Hmm, maybe a reporter should ask.
posted by notyou at 4:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Section 7 of the executive order:
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Trump's voter fraud expert owes US more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes
awww. I was hoping they meant Kris Kobach.
posted by indubitable at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
awww. I was hoping they meant Kris Kobach.
posted by indubitable at 4:16 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Guys, I'm starting to worry that forcing the Republicans to smoke the entire pack of cigarettes at once isn't working, and anyway the secondhand smoke is terrible.
posted by ckape at 4:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
posted by ckape at 4:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been policy for years, they've just failed so far at actually making the thing.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been policy for years, they've just failed so far at actually making the thing.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been on the Republican wishlist for decades. Post-9/11, they collect fingerprints and photos of many visitors who enter the US, but there are no exit controls to collect the same data when leaving the country, unlike some other countries where you actually go to a desk and present your passport to an immigration officer want to exit.
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
What the ever living serious fuck?
This has been on the Republican wishlist for decades. Post-9/11, they collect fingerprints and photos of many visitors who enter the US, but there are no exit controls to collect the same data when leaving the country, unlike some other countries where you actually go to a desk and present your passport to an immigration officer want to exit.
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
posted by zachlipton at 4:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Is this really a Trump administration document?
posted by Coventry at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Is this really a Trump administration document?
posted by Coventry at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
This is probably not that interesting at this point, but with a bit of enhancement you can see that the piece of paper he's reading in the photos from Air Force One is a note about "Extreme Vetting".
posted by lucidium at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by lucidium at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017
The 9/11 commission recommended implementation of a biometric entry/exit tracking system. Facial scans and fingerprints upon entering and exiting the US, mainly the point seems to be cutting down on people overstaying their visas. It's been delayed ever since to Republicans great frustration. Very Minority Report, but similar systems already exist around the world, it's not the worst thing on its own, there's much worse stuff they want to do.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
They already track people leaving by having the airlines send through the manifests and surrendered I-94s. Biometric just eliminates some fraud that wouldn't be available to mere mortals anyway.
posted by Talez at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017
They already track people leaving by having the airlines send through the manifests and surrendered I-94s. Biometric just eliminates some fraud that wouldn't be available to mere mortals anyway.
posted by Talez at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017
Completion of the Biometric Entry/Exit Tracking system: The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
I see the dystopia is right on schedule.
posted by dis_integration at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I see the dystopia is right on schedule.
posted by dis_integration at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A Canadian story on the horrors of Syrian refugees
posted by nubs at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by nubs at 4:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Or, in the simplest of terms, advancements in audio and video technology are becoming so sophisticated that they will be able to replicate real news
And yet these advancements of everyone having the option of recording audio/video is why CNN was able to be challenged on the framing of the 'call for peace' in the Sylville Smith shooting. The 'real news' who had cameras at the event didn't step up and call CNN on its editing choice.
The tools aren't the biggest issue - its the humans in charge of the tools.
posted by rough ashlar at 4:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
And yet these advancements of everyone having the option of recording audio/video is why CNN was able to be challenged on the framing of the 'call for peace' in the Sylville Smith shooting. The 'real news' who had cameras at the event didn't step up and call CNN on its editing choice.
The tools aren't the biggest issue - its the humans in charge of the tools.
posted by rough ashlar at 4:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
The 9/11 commission recommended implementation of a biometric entry/exit tracking system. Facial scans and fingerprints upon entering and exiting the US, mainly the point seems to be cutting down on people overstaying their visas. It's been delayed ever since to Republicans great frustration. Very Minority Report, but similar systems already exist around the world, it's not the worst thing on its own, there's much worse stuff they want to do.
Do these idiots even realize what happens to non-US citizens visiting? If you leave and your I-94 (even when you don't get the form, CBP maintains a virtual I-94) hasn't been closed off CBP won't let you back into the country until you explain in very verbose detail why your I-94 is fucked up and prove that you didn't overstay your visa. The sheer bureaucratic pressure is enough to keep people out who dare even think about overstaying.
posted by Talez at 4:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Do these idiots even realize what happens to non-US citizens visiting? If you leave and your I-94 (even when you don't get the form, CBP maintains a virtual I-94) hasn't been closed off CBP won't let you back into the country until you explain in very verbose detail why your I-94 is fucked up and prove that you didn't overstay your visa. The sheer bureaucratic pressure is enough to keep people out who dare even think about overstaying.
posted by Talez at 4:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
OnceUponATime: I am noticing similarities between the kind of "fake news" mediated self-deception described as common in Russia, and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
Thanks for that white evangelical community link, OnceUponATime. It makes Pizzagate somewhat more comprehensible:
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Thanks for that white evangelical community link, OnceUponATime. It makes Pizzagate somewhat more comprehensible:
This comparing-down is ultimately corrosive because it bases our sense of morality in pride rather than in love — in the cardinal vice instead of the cardinal virtue. And to fuel that pride, we end up looking for ever-more extreme and exotically awful people to compare ourselves favorably against, people whose freakish cruelty makes our own mediocrity show more goodly and attract more eyes than that which hath no foil to set it off.(Now I'm remembering overhearing some white people talking to each other about how "Liberals reeeeaaally scare me! I'm afraid for the future of my kids with them in charge!" etc. There was no attempt to try to see things from liberals' perspectives. Just comparing-down and demonization, as so well explained in your link.)
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Bonus mocking Trump photoshopping in that link!
Electorate: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Bannon: Mine is an evil laugh
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 4:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Electorate: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Bannon: Mine is an evil laugh
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 4:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yay!
Federal judge blocks Texas fetal tissue burial rule
posted by futz at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [46 favorites]
Federal judge blocks Texas fetal tissue burial rule
posted by futz at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [46 favorites]
the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Is this really a Trump administration document?
Well, sure. Since it only means "bigotry against rich white people." Everyone else is still fair game.
posted by Archelaus at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is this really a Trump administration document?
Well, sure. Since it only means "bigotry against rich white people." Everyone else is still fair game.
posted by Archelaus at 4:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
@BraddJaffy
Trump order begins by invoking 9/11 three times
9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
None of those countries banned
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [100 favorites]
Trump order begins by invoking 9/11 three times
9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
None of those countries banned
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:48 PM on January 27, 2017 [100 favorites]
Since it only means "bigotry against rich white people."
I think it's a way to ban Muslims and other cultures that might possibly run afoul of the rules.
posted by corb at 4:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think it's a way to ban Muslims and other cultures that might possibly run afoul of the rules.
posted by corb at 4:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Lebanon
None of those countries banned
Wasn't it pointed out that none of the countries that trump has business deals with were banned?
posted by futz at 4:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
None of those countries banned
Wasn't it pointed out that none of the countries that trump has business deals with were banned?
posted by futz at 4:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [20 favorites]
What if we just let in both Muslim and Christian Syrian refugees on the basis of them both needing to flee people who want to kill them instead of prioritizing people by religion?
This situation has arisen precisely because UNHCR and other ground orgs carry out screenings into status. Muslim refugees are mostly in Jordan, with many in camps run by UNHCR. Christian refugees have apparently sought out communities in Iraq, Lebanon, or north-eastern provinces under Kurdish control -- a mixture of fearing reprisals in camps and feeling safer among established Christian communities. So the disparity is mostly down to the logistics of the refugee settlement process.
and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
There's definitely a kind of pincer between Breitbartism and evangelicals' self-selected news sources.
(And for what it's worth, the religious traditions and practices of Syrian Christian denominations have very little in common with even the more palatable American megachurches.)
posted by holgate at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
This situation has arisen precisely because UNHCR and other ground orgs carry out screenings into status. Muslim refugees are mostly in Jordan, with many in camps run by UNHCR. Christian refugees have apparently sought out communities in Iraq, Lebanon, or north-eastern provinces under Kurdish control -- a mixture of fearing reprisals in camps and feeling safer among established Christian communities. So the disparity is mostly down to the logistics of the refugee settlement process.
and the kind that is common in the white evangelical community.
There's definitely a kind of pincer between Breitbartism and evangelicals' self-selected news sources.
(And for what it's worth, the religious traditions and practices of Syrian Christian denominations have very little in common with even the more palatable American megachurches.)
posted by holgate at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Excludes Countries With Business Ties
posted by argonauta at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 4:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
People are freaking out because nobody can even tell if the order bans green card holders from coming home.
This is so fucked.
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
This is so fucked.
posted by zachlipton at 5:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
I'm trying to keep up. After my donation to PP, I was invited to an event discussing the future of women's healthcare in the area and have pledged and made plans to march with PP and the NC-NAACP in Raleigh next month. I just finished writing letters to my senators; they may fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes), but I am much more articulate in my writing than on the phone. I spoke to my aunts today and they marched last Saturday in Charlotte and asked me what they could do to stay involved; they would also like to march in Raleigh. An interesting discussion was borne from the fact that they felt that the march in Charlotte was quite white (although they did notice a lot of Hispanic and Latinx people, which they thought was awesome), so I attempted to share with them what I know about the dynamics of intersectional feminism and how we're trying to bring more women (and men, and NB, and trans* - I hope that is correct; forgive me and correct me if it isn't) to the table so we can all move forward together.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 5:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by sara is disenchanted at 5:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Excludes Countries With Business Ties
A guy's gotta eat.
posted by dis_integration at 5:04 PM on January 27, 2017
A guy's gotta eat.
posted by dis_integration at 5:04 PM on January 27, 2017
Meanwhile, Trump has bought himself headlines about rebuilding the military by signing an executive order that can't change the size of the military, because Congress has to appropriate money to do that.
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zachlipton at 5:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think the "rebuilding the military" one is a memorandum. Although I guess we won't know for awhile.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2017
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
It is my understanding that in the 1920's in New York State some (all?) of the State supremes were nailed for fraud by a citizen lead legal action.
The result was the idea of standing. To prevent such from happening again. (I've never seen a scholarly paper(s) documenting the above - but if true the system working to create rules to prevent the uppity proles from using law sure seems like a BAD plan. )
So here we have what appears to be a secret "law". Well, if you believe Executive Orders that are "law" to citizens. Given the caselaw established in the NSA snooping WRT standing,
how, exactly, is someone supposed to obtain standing to go before a Judge to have these 'secret orders' not be secret anymore?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
It is my understanding that in the 1920's in New York State some (all?) of the State supremes were nailed for fraud by a citizen lead legal action.
The result was the idea of standing. To prevent such from happening again. (I've never seen a scholarly paper(s) documenting the above - but if true the system working to create rules to prevent the uppity proles from using law sure seems like a BAD plan. )
So here we have what appears to be a secret "law". Well, if you believe Executive Orders that are "law" to citizens. Given the caselaw established in the NSA snooping WRT standing,
how, exactly, is someone supposed to obtain standing to go before a Judge to have these 'secret orders' not be secret anymore?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I've been constantly exhausted since November 8 and it's getting harder and harder to try to be any level of composed. God I hope I have a future ahead of me.
posted by flatluigi at 5:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 5:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Holy crap, I'm still kinda far upthread, but <ctrl>-f doesn't bring it up.
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, on The Last Word, President Donald Trump's First Negotiation Was A Humiliation - and he doesn't mince words.
Who is this guy?
posted by porpoise at 5:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, on The Last Word, President Donald Trump's First Negotiation Was A Humiliation - and he doesn't mince words.
Who is this guy?
posted by porpoise at 5:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [19 favorites]
President Donald Trump's First Negotiation Was A Humiliation
For the SECOND TIME by the SAME PERSON (remember how Hillary said he "choked").
Really, just give him some VR goggles and tell him he's head of the DPRK now.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
For the SECOND TIME by the SAME PERSON (remember how Hillary said he "choked").
Really, just give him some VR goggles and tell him he's head of the DPRK now.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
CAIR to Announce Constitutional Challenge to Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’ Executive Order
posted by argonauta at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
For the SECOND TIME by the SAME PERSON
?? Sorry if I reposted something that's already been
posted by porpoise at 5:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
?? Sorry if I reposted something that's already been
posted by porpoise at 5:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
It is my understanding that in the 1920's in New York State some (all?) of the State supremes were nailed for fraud by a citizen lead legal action. The result was the idea of standing.
It appears that you are correct about the date, but not the state or case.
posted by Coventry at 5:19 PM on January 27, 2017
It appears that you are correct about the date, but not the state or case.
posted by Coventry at 5:19 PM on January 27, 2017
zachlipton: "People are freaking out because nobody can even tell if the order bans green card holders from coming home."
And, just in case people aren't aware, please note that you can be found to have abandoned your green card status simply by staying out of the country too long. The USCIS language only indicates an "extended period of time" but the common rule of thumb is six months. And yes, there can be allowances for all sorts of discretion (in either direction) but let's be real here: if the administration so chooses, they could start directing ICE to start assuming every green card holder from a given list of countries who've been out of the country for X months (for any value of X) to have abandoned their status, regardless of return tickets, re-entry permits, etc... and telling them to bugger off and call their lawyers if they don't like it.
posted by mhum at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
And, just in case people aren't aware, please note that you can be found to have abandoned your green card status simply by staying out of the country too long. The USCIS language only indicates an "extended period of time" but the common rule of thumb is six months. And yes, there can be allowances for all sorts of discretion (in either direction) but let's be real here: if the administration so chooses, they could start directing ICE to start assuming every green card holder from a given list of countries who've been out of the country for X months (for any value of X) to have abandoned their status, regardless of return tickets, re-entry permits, etc... and telling them to bugger off and call their lawyers if they don't like it.
posted by mhum at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
So, speaking from someone in a public agency, the direction from the last 8+ years is to post numbers so you can then address them and show how your efforts are improving things.
This is the wrong perspective. The aim is to post increasing numbers in order to justify crackdowns, expand police and surveillance powers, encourage "loyal" citizens to rat out suspicious others. It's a bloody shirt used to strangle civil liberties.
posted by holgate at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
This is the wrong perspective. The aim is to post increasing numbers in order to justify crackdowns, expand police and surveillance powers, encourage "loyal" citizens to rat out suspicious others. It's a bloody shirt used to strangle civil liberties.
posted by holgate at 5:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I can't live in this world.
posted by guiseroom
---
I've been constantly exhausted since November 8 and it's getting harder and harder to try to be any level of composed. God I hope I have a future ahead of me.
posted by flatluigi
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
Thomas Paine
December 23, 1776
(So buck up, goddamn it.)
posted by perspicio at 5:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
This Lawrence guy, "Vladimir Putin is a crude and cruel dictator who is not very smart, as modern statesmen go, but he's smarter than Donald Trump.
In every way that matters for a president. And we have every right to fear what might happen in that phone call because Putin is a much, Much, MUCH better negotiator, than Donald Trump.
But then, who isn't.
posted by porpoise at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
In every way that matters for a president. And we have every right to fear what might happen in that phone call because Putin is a much, Much, MUCH better negotiator, than Donald Trump.
But then, who isn't.
posted by porpoise at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
The result was the idea of standing. To prevent such from happening again. (I've never seen a scholarly paper(s) documenting the above - but if true the system working to create rules to prevent the uppity proles from using law sure seems like a BAD plan. )
I agree that using standing to prevent common citizens from seeking a redress of grievances does sound problematic, but this isn't where standing emerged. It comes from Fairchild v Hughes (1922), where a man sued because he didn't like the 19th admendment granting women the right to vote, and Frotingham v Mellon (1922) where a guy was unhappy about taxes. A bunch of judges didn't get in trouble and then decide they had to protect themselves.
posted by dis_integration at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I agree that using standing to prevent common citizens from seeking a redress of grievances does sound problematic, but this isn't where standing emerged. It comes from Fairchild v Hughes (1922), where a man sued because he didn't like the 19th admendment granting women the right to vote, and Frotingham v Mellon (1922) where a guy was unhappy about taxes. A bunch of judges didn't get in trouble and then decide they had to protect themselves.
posted by dis_integration at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
in the absence of any evidence at all of such people existing in significant numbers I'm not sure you'll find too many of us interested in pinning our hopes on it, or taking any remnant NeverTrump Republican movement too seriously.
I have no idea what you think the usefulness of your snarky statements is. I don't see anyone making any solid moves to stop the coming nightmare. Chastising people who would try to retake the party from within for being ineffective so far seems pretty ridiculous.
posted by bongo_x at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
I have no idea what you think the usefulness of your snarky statements is. I don't see anyone making any solid moves to stop the coming nightmare. Chastising people who would try to retake the party from within for being ineffective so far seems pretty ridiculous.
posted by bongo_x at 5:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
mhum: "if the administration so chooses, they could start directing ICE"
Oh wait. To be clear, as far as I know, they haven't done anything of the sort nor suggested anything close to this yet. I just realized that might have come off as overly alarmist and wanted to make sure people aren't getting riled up over something that hasn't happened nor even been proposed yet.
posted by mhum at 5:23 PM on January 27, 2017
Oh wait. To be clear, as far as I know, they haven't done anything of the sort nor suggested anything close to this yet. I just realized that might have come off as overly alarmist and wanted to make sure people aren't getting riled up over something that hasn't happened nor even been proposed yet.
posted by mhum at 5:23 PM on January 27, 2017
I'm afraid I need the hashtag #to2unidos explained to me. Anyone?
posted by HotToddy at 5:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 5:25 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm afraid I need the hashtag #to2unidos explained to me. Anyone?
Read "2" as "dos": todos unidos. Everyone united.
posted by dis_integration at 5:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Read "2" as "dos": todos unidos. Everyone united.
posted by dis_integration at 5:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
So, I'm assuming that my dad, a green card holder and permanent resident since the 80s, who travels quite frequently for both business and pleasure, and who is planning an extended trip (half a year? a year?) to Australia when he retires, is not in any deportation danger from these shenanigans because he is extremely white and the world's most America-fetishizing Canadian?
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Families hoping to make the U.S. their home scramble to rearrange their lives
posted by zachlipton at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
Some institutions were already taking action before Trump signed the order. At a major teaching hospital in Ohio, one official said he had sent instructions to administrators telling them to cancel offers of residency to medical students from some countries.The head-sized indent in my desk continues to enlarge.
“We are literally going to look at ‘Country of origin’ and remove the applicant based on [that],” said the official, who did not want to be named criticizing the policy. “Can’t get more racist than that.”
posted by zachlipton at 5:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
So this may be explained elsewhere (or a result of some things Obama did due to an obstructionist Congress), but I remember from high school long ago that Congress makes the laws and the President signs or vetoes them. How are these executive orders working like decrees from on high where they immediately halt immigration?
posted by zempf at 5:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zempf at 5:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Who is this guy?
Lawrence O'Donnell has had a show for years, was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote 16 episodes of The West Wing. He's been around the block.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Lawrence O'Donnell has had a show for years, was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote 16 episodes of The West Wing. He's been around the block.
posted by waitingtoderail at 5:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
So this may be explained elsewhere (or a result of some things Obama did due to an obstructionist Congress), but I remember from high school long ago that Congress makes the laws and the President signs or vetoes them. How are these executive orders working like decrees from on high where they immediately halt immigration?
Executive orders are just how the President does the things that are within the power of the executive. They can't make new law, just direct the executive branch to do certain things. So if visa issuance is within the President's power, an executive order can set a policy about it. Etc.
They're as old as the Presidency, only not called Executive Orders until recently.
posted by dis_integration at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Executive orders are just how the President does the things that are within the power of the executive. They can't make new law, just direct the executive branch to do certain things. So if visa issuance is within the President's power, an executive order can set a policy about it. Etc.
They're as old as the Presidency, only not called Executive Orders until recently.
posted by dis_integration at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Judge refuses to toss lawsuit on harsh CIA interrogation
posted by futz at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by futz at 5:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I just remembered I have to do my taxes.
Anyone with more twitter followers than me (currently zero) want to start #illshowyoumine #ifyoushowmeyours and mail a copy of our returns to the White House en masse? Perhaps lightly redacted (though it's not like they don't have all our info anyway, they're the frickin Feds). I've got nothing in there to hide, how about you, Donald?
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Anyone with more twitter followers than me (currently zero) want to start #illshowyoumine #ifyoushowmeyours and mail a copy of our returns to the White House en masse? Perhaps lightly redacted (though it's not like they don't have all our info anyway, they're the frickin Feds). I've got nothing in there to hide, how about you, Donald?
posted by soren_lorensen at 5:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
So, I'm assuming that my dad, a green card holder and permanent resident since the 80s, who travels quite frequently for both business and pleasure, and who is planning an extended trip (half a year? a year?) to Australia when he retires, is not in any deportation danger from these shenanigans because he is extremely white and the world's most America-fetishizing Canadian?
N-400s run about $1000. That is inexpensive enough to make that assumption seem foolhardy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
N-400s run about $1000. That is inexpensive enough to make that assumption seem foolhardy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
And specifically when it comes to immigration, the laws passed by Congress give the executive a fair amount of discretion. For example, this provision:
posted by zachlipton at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
(f) Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by PresidentIn short, Congress already passed a law that says the President can ban whoever he wants if he concludes they "would be detrimental to the interests of the United States." And while there will be court challenges on the details, it's pretty much up to the President to define what that means.
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. Whenever the Attorney General finds that a commercial airline has failed to comply with regulations of the Attorney General relating to requirements of airlines for the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers traveling to the United States (including the training of personnel in such detection), the Attorney General may suspend the entry of some or all aliens transported to the United States by such airline.
posted by zachlipton at 5:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
?? Sorry if I reposted something that's already been
No, good porpoise, I mean he actually got p0wned twice by the President of Mexico.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
No, good porpoise, I mean he actually got p0wned twice by the President of Mexico.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Lawrence O'Donnell has had a show for years, was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote 16 episodes of The West Wing. He's been around the block.
Before the election he was the only tv pundit that I would occasionally watch. He's been pretty dead on through out it.
posted by Jalliah at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Before the election he was the only tv pundit that I would occasionally watch. He's been pretty dead on through out it.
posted by Jalliah at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
@LambdaLegal
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [39 favorites]
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 PM on January 27, 2017 [39 favorites]
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
And the Vice President
posted by Jalliah at 5:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [56 favorites]
And the Vice President
posted by Jalliah at 5:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [56 favorites]
Hi, sorry I'm late . . big thread, heh . . .
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
TV.
It is absolutely that simple.
posted by petebest at 5:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
TV.
It is absolutely that simple.
posted by petebest at 5:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
.@POTUS Executive Order signed today bans oppressors of #LGBTQ & others. Would bar several cabinet nominees as well.
It bans admitting them into the country, maybe. If they were already here though, yeah, fine.
posted by petebest at 5:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
It bans admitting them into the country, maybe. If they were already here though, yeah, fine.
posted by petebest at 5:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Um, don't forget poisonous radio. (Have you ever been to the rural midwest?)
posted by perspicio at 6:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by perspicio at 6:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Republicans warn Trump against lifting Russia sanctions
Two Republican senators on Friday warned President Donald Trump not to unilaterally ease sanctions against Russia — reminding him there's bipartisan support for blocking such a move.
Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain and Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman urged Trump to rule out any rollback of punitive measures against Moscow hours after White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said lifting administration sanctions against Moscow is "under consideration." The latest round of sanctions were imposed in response to U.S. intelligence officials' conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election on Trump's behalf.
"For the sake of America’s national security and that of our allies, I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation" about easing sanctions, McCain said in a statement, "and reject such a reckless course. If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law."
posted by Jalliah at 6:02 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I love Lawrence O'Donnell. There, I said it. He's consistently the least annoying person on MSNBC.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Um, don't forget poisonous radio. (Have you ever been to the rural midwest?)
So ordered.
posted by petebest at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
So ordered.
posted by petebest at 6:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Chastising people who would try to retake the party from within for being ineffective so far seems pretty ridiculous.
I love the idea of decent (or at least anti-Fascist) Republicans retaking the party from within! I just find it irritating to see corb trotting out this idea that big things are happening behind the scenes, and how bizarre it is that people would be discounting NeverTrump as a failed movement, when all we can see so far are the failures. I asked her in a previous thread if she could give any details about what they were working on and how we might be able to help, or if there were resources we could send to any Republican rank-and-file folks we knew who might be interested, and got crickets (though it's quite possible she just missed my comment.) I'm very glad that she is engaged in this work and is posting here about it to any degree, and I wish her and her fellows the best of luck. I would most like to hear that it is going great and we are X members strong and are in early planning for X primary campaigns and here's how to get involved.
In the absence of such information, though, saying it feels bizarre that people are calling it a failure seems to invite the question: if the people calling it a failure are wrong, how is it coming along? Every major party figure has caved. The nevertrump.org website is just an invitation for people to pledge that they will not vote for Trump (in the primaries? In the general? It's unclear.) It has 6,248 signatures and does not appear to have been updated since he was just a candidate. I would very much like to hear that it's still a going concern. I'd like recruitment info to pass along. From what I can see, though, it is not looking very active.
posted by contraption at 6:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
I love the idea of decent (or at least anti-Fascist) Republicans retaking the party from within! I just find it irritating to see corb trotting out this idea that big things are happening behind the scenes, and how bizarre it is that people would be discounting NeverTrump as a failed movement, when all we can see so far are the failures. I asked her in a previous thread if she could give any details about what they were working on and how we might be able to help, or if there were resources we could send to any Republican rank-and-file folks we knew who might be interested, and got crickets (though it's quite possible she just missed my comment.) I'm very glad that she is engaged in this work and is posting here about it to any degree, and I wish her and her fellows the best of luck. I would most like to hear that it is going great and we are X members strong and are in early planning for X primary campaigns and here's how to get involved.
In the absence of such information, though, saying it feels bizarre that people are calling it a failure seems to invite the question: if the people calling it a failure are wrong, how is it coming along? Every major party figure has caved. The nevertrump.org website is just an invitation for people to pledge that they will not vote for Trump (in the primaries? In the general? It's unclear.) It has 6,248 signatures and does not appear to have been updated since he was just a candidate. I would very much like to hear that it's still a going concern. I'd like recruitment info to pass along. From what I can see, though, it is not looking very active.
posted by contraption at 6:04 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
So what McCain's saying here is, he's totally on board with Trump's plan.
posted by Rykey at 6:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 6:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I know that we/Metafilter/newscomedy shows has been excoriating mainstream media for being 'soft' and appeasing; anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
Samantha Bee is a treasure. I've been somewhat disappointed in Stephen Colbert, but I understand. Seth Meyers is doing an adequate job - but probably ultimately unproductive (ie., will not reach anyone influenced by the alt-reality community).
posted by porpoise at 6:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Samantha Bee is a treasure. I've been somewhat disappointed in Stephen Colbert, but I understand. Seth Meyers is doing an adequate job - but probably ultimately unproductive (ie., will not reach anyone influenced by the alt-reality community).
posted by porpoise at 6:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
So what McCain's saying here is, he's totally on board with Trump's plan.
Sounds like it.
posted by Jalliah at 6:07 PM on January 27, 2017
Sounds like it.
posted by Jalliah at 6:07 PM on January 27, 2017
Wow, two Republicans in favor of not putting paws in the air for Russia! Such Reagan!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I know that we/Metafilter/newscomedy shows has been excoriating mainstream media for being 'soft' and appeasing; anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
I saw Joy Reid with Brian Williams last night and at least in that show they weren't holding back.
posted by Jalliah at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Also read about journalists working together through some Slack groups and readily sharing info and working with each other. Apparently this sort of thing is new and rather unprecedented.
posted by Jalliah at 6:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
Pretty sure the most powerful resistance from NeverTrump representatives so far has been Graham's "import tax means more expensive tequila, mucho sad!" tweet.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:12 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Oops, I presumed nevertrump.org and nevertrump.com would go to the same place, nevertrump.com has a lot more signatures but is also a pledge to "ensure that Donald Trump never becomes Commander-in-Chief."
posted by contraption at 6:13 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by contraption at 6:13 PM on January 27, 2017
This day in #NeverTrump history.
There's no movement. There never was. No elected Republican has given even the tiniest indication of going against him in any way, to the extent they've even mildly disagreed within him, those statements have been walked back immediately or resulted in a yes vote. No candidates running against the Trump line in any way shape or form are remotely viable in a Trumpublican primary. There's no moderate Republican party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
There's no movement. There never was. No elected Republican has given even the tiniest indication of going against him in any way, to the extent they've even mildly disagreed within him, those statements have been walked back immediately or resulted in a yes vote. No candidates running against the Trump line in any way shape or form are remotely viable in a Trumpublican primary. There's no moderate Republican party.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
I predict the parties will just change their names soon. The Trump Party vs the Super Best Friends.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
or maybe a brand new opposition party, The Presidents and Ex-Presidents Of Mexico
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:21 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm not sure who this is, but "Confirmed: Visa orders from the listed countries have been denied boarding their flights back to the US."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Also read about journalists working together through some Slack groups and readily sharing info and working with each other. Apparently this sort of thing is new and rather unprecedented.
They'd better get something with better encryption; my belief that various TLAs won't actively monitor and report a conversation between journalists is more defined by maths than ethics these days.
posted by jaduncan at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
They'd better get something with better encryption; my belief that various TLAs won't actively monitor and report a conversation between journalists is more defined by maths than ethics these days.
posted by jaduncan at 6:22 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Malia Obama takes on Trump: Former first daughter joins rally protesting President's plan to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline then attends private event with Standing Rock chairman
OMG OMG OMG. It just occurred to me that we may have another President Obama in my lifetime. Or two, even! If we survive this. Come on, people. We can do it.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
OMG OMG OMG. It just occurred to me that we may have another President Obama in my lifetime. Or two, even! If we survive this. Come on, people. We can do it.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
@dandrezner
Dear @POTUS: on Holocaust Remembrance Day my synagogue told me the Syrian refugee family we're sponsoring is not coming. Go fuck yourself.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [131 favorites]
Dear @POTUS: on Holocaust Remembrance Day my synagogue told me the Syrian refugee family we're sponsoring is not coming. Go fuck yourself.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [131 favorites]
Yeah, I'm seeing stories on Twitter of people that can't go home for funerals. This is a fucking punitive administration and it's fucking un-American.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
CBC is beginning to normalize Trump.
posted by Yowser at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Yowser at 6:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Some veterans and refugee advocates are worried that an executive order by President Trump to temporarily suspend refugee admissions into the U.S. will hurt foreign interpreters who helped American troops in war.
"With today’s Executive Order, the President has shut the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who served alongside our military since 2001," said Matt Zeller, Army veteran, and CEO and co-founder of No One Left Behind."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
"With today’s Executive Order, the President has shut the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who served alongside our military since 2001," said Matt Zeller, Army veteran, and CEO and co-founder of No One Left Behind."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
OK, you thought Bill Kristol saying sensible things was freaky? You'd better sit down:
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [33 favorites]
Eek, that's super old. I hate when that happens.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:35 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
yeah i'm sure he's figured out a way to personally profit from it by now.
posted by poffin boffin at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [21 favorites]
If news organisations aren't reporting live from the arrivals area in international airports tomorrow morning, they are worthless.
posted by holgate at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by holgate at 6:37 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
I've found the news and even the tweets about this slim. Probably timed exactly for that. But is it still seeping out? Because this needs to be the biggest reaction so far.
posted by Brainy at 6:40 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by Brainy at 6:40 PM on January 27, 2017
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
Check your date. That's from December 2015. Before Trump won.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Check your date. That's from December 2015. Before Trump won.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah the exact implementation is still unclear, but my company at least is assuming it will block visa holders up to and including green card holders from entering the US. They recommended a couple days ago that anyone who didn't want to get stuck outside return to the US if possible before it was signed, and to cancel any business trips outside the US.
Most of the people I personally know who would be affected are currently inside the US, but its amazing to think you could be on vacation and suddenly not allowed back into the country you've lived in for decades, not able to see your family, etc.
Technically of course this has always been possible (even green card holders are not guaranteed entry to the US), but I can't think of a similar circumstance (blanket ban based on birthplace/nationality with no individual factors) in my lifetime.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Most of the people I personally know who would be affected are currently inside the US, but its amazing to think you could be on vacation and suddenly not allowed back into the country you've lived in for decades, not able to see your family, etc.
Technically of course this has always been possible (even green card holders are not guaranteed entry to the US), but I can't think of a similar circumstance (blanket ban based on birthplace/nationality with no individual factors) in my lifetime.
posted by thefoxgod at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Great Moments in Dipshit Relatives #473:
Dad says to me "I talked to your mother last night, she popped up on the computer." Mom is a True Believer.
She asks "How is delfin's job search going?" Dad: "Not much yet, but he's still looking."
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
Well, HOT DAMN. That is SO COMFORTING.
posted by delfin at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
Dad says to me "I talked to your mother last night, she popped up on the computer." Mom is a True Believer.
She asks "How is delfin's job search going?" Dad: "Not much yet, but he's still looking."
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
Well, HOT DAMN. That is SO COMFORTING.
posted by delfin at 6:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
Well, someone has to slowly stroke the soft white kitty cat while he talks
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Well, someone has to slowly stroke the soft white kitty cat while he talks
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
He needs a babysitter.
posted by Jalliah at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
He needs a babysitter.
posted by Jalliah at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
He did check the date:
Eek, that's super old. I hate when that happens.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:35 PM on January 27
posted by futz at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017
Eek, that's super old. I hate when that happens.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:35 PM on January 27
posted by futz at 6:43 PM on January 27, 2017
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
good, i hope it's really awkward and uncomfortable for him to have to listen in on their creepy phone sex
posted by poffin boffin at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [43 favorites]
good, i hope it's really awkward and uncomfortable for him to have to listen in on their creepy phone sex
posted by poffin boffin at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [43 favorites]
anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
Lawrence O'Donnell, Jake Tapper, Dan Rather (to the extent he's still MSM).
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Lawrence O'Donnell, Jake Tapper, Dan Rather (to the extent he's still MSM).
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
Yep, stocking up the job store with lots of great new jobs!
posted by dis_integration at 6:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yep, stocking up the job store with lots of great new jobs!
posted by dis_integration at 6:46 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why did you ever for a single second fall for this?
TV.
Um, don't forget poisonous radio.
Don't forget The Internet.
The work of manipulation has been going on for years. But on this well traveled road you can find markers.
Books like Propaganda, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America, et al are a marker along the road. Another marker is things like Marshal McLuhan. Things like the old 60 hz television watching inducing theta waves are another marker that overlook a foggy part that has things like a book called "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" (huh. Google now called Alphabet - how foggy is that eh?) Elsewhere in the fog - people noting how the makers of tablet platforms limit their children's screen time due to worries about the development of the children.
There is a 'war on for your mind'. Be it a quick flash on the screen at the theater that instructs you to get popcorn or politicians deciding they need to be the "star" of a TV show - the research to play you like a fiddle is well known. Just not to you.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
TV.
Um, don't forget poisonous radio.
Don't forget The Internet.
The work of manipulation has been going on for years. But on this well traveled road you can find markers.
Books like Propaganda, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America, et al are a marker along the road. Another marker is things like Marshal McLuhan. Things like the old 60 hz television watching inducing theta waves are another marker that overlook a foggy part that has things like a book called "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" (huh. Google now called Alphabet - how foggy is that eh?) Elsewhere in the fog - people noting how the makers of tablet platforms limit their children's screen time due to worries about the development of the children.
There is a 'war on for your mind'. Be it a quick flash on the screen at the theater that instructs you to get popcorn or politicians deciding they need to be the "star" of a TV show - the research to play you like a fiddle is well known. Just not to you.
posted by rough ashlar at 6:47 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
GE signed a billion dollar deal to build power plants in Iraq today. I suppose some travel is going to happen without issue.
posted by cmfletcher at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Mom: "*pause* Well, be sure and tell him that now that Trump is President, he's bringing lots of good jobs back!"
just be like "well mom i wasn't sure you'd be okay with attending my future trial at the hague but your support means the world to me"
posted by poffin boffin at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
just be like "well mom i wasn't sure you'd be okay with attending my future trial at the hague but your support means the world to me"
posted by poffin boffin at 6:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
It's unclear how you would even do this since US airports simply aren't built for it, but there have been laws demanding it for ages now.
I knew that totalitarianism wouldn't work in America because our infrastructure sucks
posted by Apocryphon at 6:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
I knew that totalitarianism wouldn't work in America because our infrastructure sucks
posted by Apocryphon at 6:50 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
anyone else in the MSM opening up all the cannons on Donnie?
Rachel Maddow, for all her storytelling, is calling Trump delusional every night, and basically insisted last night that he's committing some sort of treason with Russia.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Rachel Maddow, for all her storytelling, is calling Trump delusional every night, and basically insisted last night that he's committing some sort of treason with Russia.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
If news organisations aren't reporting live from the arrivals area in international airports tomorrow morning, they are worthless.
Headlines are important journalistic choices
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Headlines are important journalistic choices
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
CBC is beginning to normalize Trump.
They have to get us ready for O'Leary, who is a CBC star after all.
posted by nubs at 6:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
They have to get us ready for O'Leary, who is a CBC star after all.
posted by nubs at 6:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump Executive Order Could Block 500,000 Legal U.S. Residents From Returning to America From Trips
posted by futz at 6:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by futz at 6:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [10 favorites]
He needs a babysitter.
Or a chaperone.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Or a chaperone.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:00 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ha, O'Donnell: "Trump managed to get humiliated by two foreign leaders today."
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ha, O'Donnell: "Trump managed to get humiliated by two foreign leaders today."
Madonna?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Madonna?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
So, the constitution keeps this from happening, right?
posted by valkane at 7:04 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by valkane at 7:04 PM on January 27, 2017
He needs a babysitter.
Or a chaperone.
A witness. They're finally taking a page from his lawyers.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 7:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
Or a chaperone.
A witness. They're finally taking a page from his lawyers.
posted by Fish, fish, are you doing your duty? at 7:05 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
The people who just broke apart thousands of families for fucking nothing need to suffer in new and creative ways.
posted by erratic meatsack at 7:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by erratic meatsack at 7:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [34 favorites]
FTA:
Nonetheless, Mr. Trump asserts that he still has the power to discriminate, pointing to a 1952 law that allows the president the ability to “suspend the entry” of “any class of aliens” that he finds are detrimental to the interest of the United States.
But the president ignores the fact that Congress then restricted this power in 1965, stating plainly that no person could be “discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.” The only exceptions are those provided for by Congress (such as the preference for Cuban asylum seekers).
When Congress passed the 1965 law, it wished to protect not just immigrants, but also American citizens, who should have the right to sponsor their family members or to marry a foreign-born spouse without being subject to pointless discrimination.
posted by futz at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
Nonetheless, Mr. Trump asserts that he still has the power to discriminate, pointing to a 1952 law that allows the president the ability to “suspend the entry” of “any class of aliens” that he finds are detrimental to the interest of the United States.
But the president ignores the fact that Congress then restricted this power in 1965, stating plainly that no person could be “discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.” The only exceptions are those provided for by Congress (such as the preference for Cuban asylum seekers).
When Congress passed the 1965 law, it wished to protect not just immigrants, but also American citizens, who should have the right to sponsor their family members or to marry a foreign-born spouse without being subject to pointless discrimination.
posted by futz at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2017 [36 favorites]
The people who just broke apart thousands of families for fucking nothing need to suffer in new and creative ways.
idk i think sometimes the old wicker ways are best
posted by poffin boffin at 7:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
idk i think sometimes the old wicker ways are best
posted by poffin boffin at 7:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
This is what it looks like when you run a government like a Nazi.
posted by valkane at 7:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by valkane at 7:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Countdown until someone files an emergency TRO against this...
posted by suelac at 7:19 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by suelac at 7:19 PM on January 27, 2017
It's not healthy yet but it's not cigarettes and trans fat neither
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [30 favorites]
May is not aiming to build political capital with the 'Chucks' but with those who would support the position of the US as a viable substitute trading partner.
All those rural UK farmers who voted for Brexit can prepare to be screwed by the flood of cheap corporate factory farm products and GMOs from the U.S.
posted by JackFlash at 7:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
All those rural UK farmers who voted for Brexit can prepare to be screwed by the flood of cheap corporate factory farm products and GMOs from the U.S.
posted by JackFlash at 7:44 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
@VP Pence will join @POTUS Trump on phone call with Vladimir Putin
Pence will act as translator to transform Trump's gibberish into standard English.
posted by JackFlash at 7:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Pence will act as translator to transform Trump's gibberish into standard English.
posted by JackFlash at 7:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Pence will act as translator to transform Trump's gibberish into standard English. ensure Trump doesn't agree to let Putin invade the entire Ukraine.
posted by jaduncan at 7:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by jaduncan at 7:53 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
If and when Putin wants to, Putin will do so. But the phone call is more likely about more financial remuneration.
posted by Artw at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've spent my evening translating some documents for a close family member whose father survived the Armenian genocide by taking refuge in Italy. My uncle has worked tirelessly all his goddamn life to strengthen the Remembrance of all genocides and to celebrate the good people, the Righteous, who stood tall and risked their lives to save others.
I sent him the documents and in my email said I felt shame. Shame for my adopted country, shame for my fellow citizens, shame. Just shame.
This is shameful. Today of all days, this is beyond the pale.
posted by lydhre at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [62 favorites]
I sent him the documents and in my email said I felt shame. Shame for my adopted country, shame for my fellow citizens, shame. Just shame.
This is shameful. Today of all days, this is beyond the pale.
posted by lydhre at 7:55 PM on January 27, 2017 [62 favorites]
Can you imagine the tantrum if Pence tried to course correct while He is talking with Putin?
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 7:56 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 7:56 PM on January 27, 2017
It's probably not a healthy thing to hope for a military coup, is it?
In public? Decidedly unhealthy.
posted by Coventry at 7:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
In public? Decidedly unhealthy.
posted by Coventry at 7:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Don't forget The Internet.
The problem there is that the Internet is not as predictable. Plus, did it normalize Jill Stein and slap us in the face with her every hour of every day for 19 months?
No, in terms of mass audience and the power of its persuasion, nothing succeeds like TV. Nothing else has the 50+ year history of triggers, tropes, T&A, programming, and fuckery.
Here's former NFL great Joe Theismann with more information on an important cognitive dissonance platform that might be right for you. Joe?
posted by petebest at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
The problem there is that the Internet is not as predictable. Plus, did it normalize Jill Stein and slap us in the face with her every hour of every day for 19 months?
No, in terms of mass audience and the power of its persuasion, nothing succeeds like TV. Nothing else has the 50+ year history of triggers, tropes, T&A, programming, and fuckery.
Here's former NFL great Joe Theismann with more information on an important cognitive dissonance platform that might be right for you. Joe?
posted by petebest at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
From the photographs I've seen, Pence just stands around grinning and playing pocket pool while Trump talks.
posted by valkane at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Two videos of left-wing discussions about the election and its aftermath:
The Anti-Inauguration featuring Naomi Klein, Jeremy Scahill, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and more
Building a Socialist Left Under Trump featuring Charlie Post, Jen Roesch, and Bhaskar Sunkara
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
The Anti-Inauguration featuring Naomi Klein, Jeremy Scahill, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and more
Building a Socialist Left Under Trump featuring Charlie Post, Jen Roesch, and Bhaskar Sunkara
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:59 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Jeet Heer: "The weakness of the American Empire was always the mismatch between a parochial population & a globe spanning regime. Very clear now."
I think it's a wee bit more complex than that. The GOP has cultivated a radical reality-show version of parochialism that none of its leaders actually subscribe to, but which the base gorges upon. But the repercussions once unleashed are the same.
posted by holgate at 8:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think it's a wee bit more complex than that. The GOP has cultivated a radical reality-show version of parochialism that none of its leaders actually subscribe to, but which the base gorges upon. But the repercussions once unleashed are the same.
posted by holgate at 8:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is how to end the world. Get in a line that includes the golfer Greg Norman. Look illegal (try shifting your eyes back and forth and say Ay! Papi!). Mention that you've heard that some of your "amigos" have nuclear weapons and would really hate to be obliterated by a first strike. Wait.
(too Swiftian?)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
(too Swiftian?)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Can you imagine the tantrum if Pence tried to course correct while He is talking with Putin?
Pence is probably there as the chaperone, and to prevent Putin from giving Trump explicit marching orders. He's there as the representative of the flaming wreckage of the old American foreign policy order, if/when Trump is forced out, Pence at least won't be Putin's poodle. Probably.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
Pence is probably there as the chaperone, and to prevent Putin from giving Trump explicit marching orders. He's there as the representative of the flaming wreckage of the old American foreign policy order, if/when Trump is forced out, Pence at least won't be Putin's poodle. Probably.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
The estimable David Malki ! makes up for a sub-par Wondermark on Tuesday with some good trolling of the orange one on twitter.
Also:
Also:
Marketers have known for years that scared, apocalyptic Republicans are gullible consumers.posted by mark k at 8:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
And watch out: liberals are now ALSO scared and apocalyptic; don't let it make you gullible too. Marketers will play to your fears.
The Noble Goofy Elk: "Can you imagine the tantrum if Pence tried to course correct while He is talking with Putin?"
yes, this is Trump.
so for 4th reich,
you take ukrai--
god dammit Mike,
stop shushing me
in front of Vlad -
he is my friend.
ur not my dad.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
yes, this is Trump.
so for 4th reich,
you take ukrai--
god dammit Mike,
stop shushing me
in front of Vlad -
he is my friend.
ur not my dad.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
I have never posted in an election thread (longtime listener, first time caller), but this anti-Muslim order has me freaking the fuck out. It's like an all-new level of terror, and I didn't think that was possible. I am worried the visa stuff will affect friends and coworkers, not to mention untold numbers of refugees. Is there anything any of us can do? Is the horrific significance of this getting through in the morass of Trump news?
posted by thetortoise at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 8:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [18 favorites]
"Today Trump abandoned brave Iraqi and Afghan interpreters who saved thousands of U.S. troops' lives. Mattis stood by smiling as he did so."
posted by bluecore at 8:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [73 favorites]
posted by bluecore at 8:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [73 favorites]
Nobody Wanted to Take Us In: The Story of Jared Kushner’s Family, and Mine
It’s likely that we’ll never know the number, or full roster of names, of those refugees who sought and failed to find haven in the United States before and during the Holocaust. Yet one survivor whose story still reverberates is a woman named Rae Kushner.... [I]f it echoes a little more loudly these days, it’s because she also happened to be the grandmother of Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser
posted by argonauta at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
It’s likely that we’ll never know the number, or full roster of names, of those refugees who sought and failed to find haven in the United States before and during the Holocaust. Yet one survivor whose story still reverberates is a woman named Rae Kushner.... [I]f it echoes a little more loudly these days, it’s because she also happened to be the grandmother of Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser
posted by argonauta at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [24 favorites]
I'm never catching up on this thread. Damn.
Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
I was very much brought up like this, and can remember my mom whispering the word "black" about people. (Of course, she still does this kind of thing.) When I met my now husband, I was taken aback by how openly he talked about race. He's white and comes from a very racist family, but he went to high school at a school that was 90% black. His speech is partly AAVE and he had this whole other appreciation of black culture. And it was kinda shocking to me, that he would just up and talk about race and talk about racial cultural differences and make (friendly) jokes about racial things. And that the black people around him responded positively to that and him.
As I moved into the workforce I started spending a lot of my time with black women, because that's who chooses to work in social services a lot of the time. And they also spoke about race openly, and made jokes about being the only black person ("like a fly in a bowl of milk") at an event or whatever.
And I slowly realized I was becoming an acceptable white person to them, someone they could talk about these things with. I remember one of my coworkers and a good friend first tentatively starting to talk about politics and racism with me, and only gradually becoming more comfortable having those conversations (but only when it was just the two of us.)
I know I'm nothing like a perfect ally and I have to fight bad impulses all the time. But I think it's important to talk about the way in which those of us who now know better once did not. We were once as clueless as THOSE white people talking about colorblindness. What did it for me was both having a white role model who was accepted by and comfortable with black folks in a way I wasn't and also just having more interaction with a culture that wasn't my own.
posted by threeturtles at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
Whatever you do DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. Which, when you're white, just means "keep on keepin' on, don't change a thing."
I was very much brought up like this, and can remember my mom whispering the word "black" about people. (Of course, she still does this kind of thing.) When I met my now husband, I was taken aback by how openly he talked about race. He's white and comes from a very racist family, but he went to high school at a school that was 90% black. His speech is partly AAVE and he had this whole other appreciation of black culture. And it was kinda shocking to me, that he would just up and talk about race and talk about racial cultural differences and make (friendly) jokes about racial things. And that the black people around him responded positively to that and him.
As I moved into the workforce I started spending a lot of my time with black women, because that's who chooses to work in social services a lot of the time. And they also spoke about race openly, and made jokes about being the only black person ("like a fly in a bowl of milk") at an event or whatever.
And I slowly realized I was becoming an acceptable white person to them, someone they could talk about these things with. I remember one of my coworkers and a good friend first tentatively starting to talk about politics and racism with me, and only gradually becoming more comfortable having those conversations (but only when it was just the two of us.)
I know I'm nothing like a perfect ally and I have to fight bad impulses all the time. But I think it's important to talk about the way in which those of us who now know better once did not. We were once as clueless as THOSE white people talking about colorblindness. What did it for me was both having a white role model who was accepted by and comfortable with black folks in a way I wasn't and also just having more interaction with a culture that wasn't my own.
posted by threeturtles at 8:20 PM on January 27, 2017 [35 favorites]
I... I think I want to try to understand what's going on. I just sit here wondering how it is possible for someone to look at any of this administration's actions with anything but horror. I look for unbiased sources, or at least try to be aware of them in reporting. But I must be missing something.
I'm considering remaking my Twitter feed, eliminating all the news sources and liberal-leaning accounts I follow and replacing them with conservative ones. I'd like to see how it's being presented, absent what I think are more balanced representations. Am I crazy for considering this?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm considering remaking my Twitter feed, eliminating all the news sources and liberal-leaning accounts I follow and replacing them with conservative ones. I'd like to see how it's being presented, absent what I think are more balanced representations. Am I crazy for considering this?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
So, the constitution keeps this from happening, right?
Nope!
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nope!
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:27 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Looking for a Trump countdown for your phone? There's an app for that!
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:28 PM on January 27, 2017
I'm considering remaking my Twitter feed, eliminating all the news sources and liberal-leaning accounts I follow and replacing them with conservative ones. I'd like to see how it's being presented, absent what I think are more balanced representations. Am I crazy for considering this?
Get Tweetbot or an app that allows you to filter by lists. Make different ones and switch between them.
Knowing your enemy is good. Switching to their propaganda exclusively is not.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
Get Tweetbot or an app that allows you to filter by lists. Make different ones and switch between them.
Knowing your enemy is good. Switching to their propaganda exclusively is not.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
T.D. Strange:
Defeatist/optimistic. I want an app that will count down the days til the midterm elections. If we can't vote in a Congress that will impeach the fucker, I am not sure we will be able to prevent him from winning re-election.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 8:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Defeatist/optimistic. I want an app that will count down the days til the midterm elections. If we can't vote in a Congress that will impeach the fucker, I am not sure we will be able to prevent him from winning re-election.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 8:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm not 100% sure we'll make it that far.
posted by petebest at 8:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by petebest at 8:34 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I want an app that will count down the days til the midterm elections.
It will also let you set a custom date. I just wish it would show the countdown in the icon like google calendar shows the date
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on January 27, 2017
It will also let you set a custom date. I just wish it would show the countdown in the icon like google calendar shows the date
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:35 PM on January 27, 2017
The current congress may impeach him as soon as his erratic petulance becomes more of a block to their plans than a distraction to the public. Then we get to deal with Pence trying to institute the Republic of Gilead.
The only bright spot there, is that Pence is thoroughly disliked, and doesn't have a web of international business contacts wanting to do business with him. He has support for his Christofascist agenda, but no personal allies at all.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
The only bright spot there, is that Pence is thoroughly disliked, and doesn't have a web of international business contacts wanting to do business with him. He has support for his Christofascist agenda, but no personal allies at all.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
I don't know which drives me crazier... the fact the one person can turn the world upside down, or that the 500-odd people who could stop him won't.
posted by Rykey at 8:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [74 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 8:38 PM on January 27, 2017 [74 favorites]
honestly i just want a firm date for the end of civilization bc i have a pretty good savings built up and i'd like to know how long i have to waste it on fancy chocolate and video games and those creepy pedicures where fish eat your feet
posted by poffin boffin at 8:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [93 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:41 PM on January 27, 2017 [93 favorites]
What I want to know is can I start smoking again.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:43 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
It just occurred to me that we may have another President Obama in my lifetime
If you watched the US version of Life On Mars, then you will know this is so.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you watched the US version of Life On Mars, then you will know this is so.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't think I have room to add it, but I love the ad for this app: "You can join others in watching Trump's seconds of infamy slip away, and you can even customize your countdown by changing from the default “optimist mode” to “pessimist mode,” which counts down to the end of a (hypothetical) second Trump term. You can also set your own date—maybe he’ll be impeached!"
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Trump/Pence/Bannon/Kushner wouldn't be hanging out together if their interests weren't aligned. And Trump is probably the least ideological member of that group. But he's the demagogue.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trita Parsi is live-tweeting the troubles a friend of his (who is a green card holder, and a citizen of one of the banned countries) is having getting back to the US tonight: "Was questioned at length now waiting alongside an Iranian green card holder. The officers are confused. Annoyed [they] just found out about the order and not sure what to do. They are very friendly"
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
“pessimist mode,” which counts down to the end of a (hypothetical) second Trump term.
That is in its own way fairly optimistic.
posted by Artw at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
That is in its own way fairly optimistic.
posted by Artw at 8:56 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I asked her in a previous thread if she could give any details about what they were working on and how we might be able to help, or if there were resources we could send to any Republican rank-and-file folks we knew who might be interested, and got crickets (though it's quite possible she just missed my comment.) I'm very glad that she is engaged in this work and is posting here about it to any degree, and I wish her and her fellows the best of luck. I would most like to hear that it is going great and we are X members strong and are in early planning for X primary campaigns and here's how to get involved.
I'm so sorry! I actually did see that, but by the time I got there the holy New Thread link had already been posted, so I wibbled about whether or not to respond or to go to the new thread, and ultimately did the latter.
I don't want to give anyone false hope. There are two separate Republican 'movements' I guess I'm involved in, and both of them are the remains of two earlier, stronger, movements - one the McMullin crew, one NeverTrump. When I say 'NeverTrumpers are left', I don't even mean they are advertising or calling themselves NeverTrump, because obviously we failed and Trump is here. I mean that a healthy portion of the people who were morally opposed to Trump with whom I previously worked are still morally opposed to Trump, and are trying the slow slog of trying to take their party back from the monster. It's slow. There are no quick fixes.
So we made an early sally out to try to challenge people for party leadership and RNC positions. This is probably the thing that you can tell any Republican rank-and-file folks who are interested in working against Trump in a slow way - that they need to become a PCO, and tell their friends to be PCOs, because in addition to choosing delegates, PCOs also have the ability to vote out local party leadership, including the permanent Republican National Committeemembers, which can influence a lot of things about how the party operates. We did not do as well as we had hoped - we were not expecting defensive strategy from the Trumpists, we were not expecting to lose anyone from our side, and unfortunately their people were prepared and ready for us. We picked up very few RNC seats. It sucked and was disheartening as hell. But there's more chances ahead, and I think 2017 may be easier, as it's not an election year and you'll have less engagement from some people.
As for how you can help, short of selling sane Republicans on getting involved, I'm not really sure you can, exactly, except maybe passing McMullin's stuff around. He's planning on a 2020 run, which is probably doomed, but the more McMullin is around, the more his ideas about a diverse and free Republican party get heard, and so I view it as a net good.
Really, we're kind of fucked. Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.)
posted by corb at 8:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
I'm so sorry! I actually did see that, but by the time I got there the holy New Thread link had already been posted, so I wibbled about whether or not to respond or to go to the new thread, and ultimately did the latter.
I don't want to give anyone false hope. There are two separate Republican 'movements' I guess I'm involved in, and both of them are the remains of two earlier, stronger, movements - one the McMullin crew, one NeverTrump. When I say 'NeverTrumpers are left', I don't even mean they are advertising or calling themselves NeverTrump, because obviously we failed and Trump is here. I mean that a healthy portion of the people who were morally opposed to Trump with whom I previously worked are still morally opposed to Trump, and are trying the slow slog of trying to take their party back from the monster. It's slow. There are no quick fixes.
So we made an early sally out to try to challenge people for party leadership and RNC positions. This is probably the thing that you can tell any Republican rank-and-file folks who are interested in working against Trump in a slow way - that they need to become a PCO, and tell their friends to be PCOs, because in addition to choosing delegates, PCOs also have the ability to vote out local party leadership, including the permanent Republican National Committeemembers, which can influence a lot of things about how the party operates. We did not do as well as we had hoped - we were not expecting defensive strategy from the Trumpists, we were not expecting to lose anyone from our side, and unfortunately their people were prepared and ready for us. We picked up very few RNC seats. It sucked and was disheartening as hell. But there's more chances ahead, and I think 2017 may be easier, as it's not an election year and you'll have less engagement from some people.
As for how you can help, short of selling sane Republicans on getting involved, I'm not really sure you can, exactly, except maybe passing McMullin's stuff around. He's planning on a 2020 run, which is probably doomed, but the more McMullin is around, the more his ideas about a diverse and free Republican party get heard, and so I view it as a net good.
Really, we're kind of fucked. Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.)
posted by corb at 8:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [42 favorites]
In Iran, Shock and Bewilderment Over Trump Visa Crackdown
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:01 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Really, we're kind of fucked. Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.)
I'm not going to jump up and say that exactly, but I will note fascism would depart a lot faster if it was perceived as being electorally disastrous. It seems like the solution of working within one's party but refusing to vote for fascists (if they win the primary/policy battle) in the end would work effectively.
posted by jaduncan at 9:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm not going to jump up and say that exactly, but I will note fascism would depart a lot faster if it was perceived as being electorally disastrous. It seems like the solution of working within one's party but refusing to vote for fascists (if they win the primary/policy battle) in the end would work effectively.
posted by jaduncan at 9:03 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'm not sure how to make representatives electorally frightened. Right now they don't even know how to answer a simple question like "what day is it" because they're worried they missed a Trump tweet and you're trying to trick them.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I have this crazy idea. What if we all registered Republican and somehow got Jill Stein on their ticket? Or something like that?
I'm ignorant of how these things work, but aside from the general UGH of the idea, what structural impediments are there to doing something like that?
posted by saysthis at 9:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm ignorant of how these things work, but aside from the general UGH of the idea, what structural impediments are there to doing something like that?
posted by saysthis at 9:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Anybody fighting, from any side, is working to mitigate and save what things and people they can. I don't know anyone who knows how we can fix this. (I know somebody, somewhere, is going to jump up and yell 'Vote Democrat', but that does absolutely jack-all to get this poison out of the national discourse.
This is the baffling part of your position. You say you want to mitigate the Trump disaster but won't vote for a Democrat. All of the Republicans, Representatives and Senators, are Trump enablers yet you insist on voting for them. All of the NeverTrumper Republican politicians are anti- women, anti-abortion, anti-Obamacare, anti-Medicare, anti-Medicaid, anti-LGBT, anti-Social Security, anti-BlackLivesMatter, anti-welfare, anti-progressive taxation, anti-religious freedom.
So why would anyone concerned about social progress in America give a damn about Republican NeverTrumpers? For some reason you've got a hate-on for Trump but when you get down to the basic Republican beliefs and policies, there really isn't all that much difference. All of them are completely antithetical to progressive policies of the left.
posted by JackFlash at 9:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
This is the baffling part of your position. You say you want to mitigate the Trump disaster but won't vote for a Democrat. All of the Republicans, Representatives and Senators, are Trump enablers yet you insist on voting for them. All of the NeverTrumper Republican politicians are anti- women, anti-abortion, anti-Obamacare, anti-Medicare, anti-Medicaid, anti-LGBT, anti-Social Security, anti-BlackLivesMatter, anti-welfare, anti-progressive taxation, anti-religious freedom.
So why would anyone concerned about social progress in America give a damn about Republican NeverTrumpers? For some reason you've got a hate-on for Trump but when you get down to the basic Republican beliefs and policies, there really isn't all that much difference. All of them are completely antithetical to progressive policies of the left.
posted by JackFlash at 9:31 PM on January 27, 2017 [53 favorites]
all of this has been beyond the pale, so i don't know what we're beyond now. beyond the dark and into the void. i just sent an email to a family member with the subject, "this is what you are defending when you defend trump," and the content of the email is a photograph of a dead syrian child. can it really be that there is no way for us to stop this from happening. i think it would be appropriate for all american citizens to pour into the streets as one and shut down every city town and village until this order is revoked.
posted by prefpara at 9:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 9:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [13 favorites]
like i'm having trouble going to bed because i have this irrational feeling that any moment the decent adults will step in and undo this and i don't want to miss it
laugh or cry?
posted by prefpara at 9:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
laugh or cry?
posted by prefpara at 9:39 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
This is horrifying.
I feel like I need to unplug from the news for awhile because today's actions are making me feel physically ill and I've been actually crying off and on since I got home from work tonight. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed to be a part of a country where this can happen. Yet I also feel like it's not responsible to hide from what keeps happening. I don't know how to find a balance right now.
posted by bookmammal at 9:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
I feel like I need to unplug from the news for awhile because today's actions are making me feel physically ill and I've been actually crying off and on since I got home from work tonight. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed to be a part of a country where this can happen. Yet I also feel like it's not responsible to hide from what keeps happening. I don't know how to find a balance right now.
posted by bookmammal at 9:45 PM on January 27, 2017 [16 favorites]
It's probably not a healthy thing to hope for a military coup, is it?
I passed that point a while ago.
posted by bongo_x at 9:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I passed that point a while ago.
posted by bongo_x at 9:49 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Mattis was smiling beside Trump as he signed that vile anti-Muslim EO today. Put not your faith in the military.
posted by maudlin at 9:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 9:52 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
So much for Mattis not being a dumpster fire.
posted by palomar at 9:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by palomar at 9:54 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mattis was smiling beside Trump as he signed that vile anti-Muslim EO today.
do you have a link?
posted by futz at 9:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
do you have a link?
posted by futz at 9:57 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
all of this has been beyond the pale, so i don't know what we're beyond now. beyond the dark and into the void.
We are very clearly in the upsidedown.
So, it's the first weekend. Will our first lady come to DC? Will she speak anywhere? Will she grace us with a second tweet since taking over the FLOTUS Twitter account? Or will we have a First Lady who is 100% checked out?
And does Trump take the weekend off? Either way, will Steve Bannon give us time to catch our collective breath? Or will the bat shit never stop?
posted by Room 641-A at 9:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
We are very clearly in the upsidedown.
So, it's the first weekend. Will our first lady come to DC? Will she speak anywhere? Will she grace us with a second tweet since taking over the FLOTUS Twitter account? Or will we have a First Lady who is 100% checked out?
And does Trump take the weekend off? Either way, will Steve Bannon give us time to catch our collective breath? Or will the bat shit never stop?
posted by Room 641-A at 9:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
EO signing pic
I don't know about smiling, but there he is.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't know about smiling, but there he is.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
do you have a link?
Here is a NYT story.
In the pictures I've seen, Mattis is there but not smiling. And he's there because Trump is at the Pentagon for Mattis' swearing in ceremony. Whether that makes this better or not is up to you though.
posted by Justinian at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Here is a NYT story.
In the pictures I've seen, Mattis is there but not smiling. And he's there because Trump is at the Pentagon for Mattis' swearing in ceremony. Whether that makes this better or not is up to you though.
posted by Justinian at 10:06 PM on January 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Melancholia has supposedly been in DC since Thursday evening, though that was something I read earlier in the shitty week.
There are no weekends.
posted by holgate at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
There are no weekends.
posted by holgate at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
He's smiling in this one.
Although he might be reading a text message.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Although he might be reading a text message.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:07 PM on January 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
though he might be reading a text message.
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 10:10 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I can't believe I thought it'd take at least a little while for the evil to set in
what the fuck is this country going to look like a month from now
posted by flatluigi at 10:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [40 favorites]
what the fuck is this country going to look like a month from now
posted by flatluigi at 10:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [40 favorites]
where are our democratic leaders right now? i am beyond caring that it's 1 am. they are our representatives. they are our voice. this is sickening.
posted by prefpara at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [22 favorites]
"Annoyed [they] just found out about the order and not sure what to do. They are very friendly"
Not sure? They should do the right thing. As in, the thing they won't have to apologise to their grandchildren for doing, should we make it that far. Americans have seen enough movies with "only following orders" to know situations where that might apply.
(CBP officials at points of entry have all kinds of discretion by law.)
posted by holgate at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
Not sure? They should do the right thing. As in, the thing they won't have to apologise to their grandchildren for doing, should we make it that far. Americans have seen enough movies with "only following orders" to know situations where that might apply.
(CBP officials at points of entry have all kinds of discretion by law.)
posted by holgate at 10:13 PM on January 27, 2017 [14 favorites]
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
"Well I served with honor and distinction for forty four years, but I guess this pen is pretty sweet."
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
"Well I served with honor and distinction for forty four years, but I guess this pen is pretty sweet."
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:14 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
Probably more like "Does he actually think I want this? What the fuck do I do with it now?"
posted by corb at 10:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by corb at 10:15 PM on January 27, 2017 [7 favorites]
The power went out in my house today and my for real first thought was "I'm glad I watched those ASAP Science videos!"
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
His nickname is Mad Dog...
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:16 PM on January 27, 2017
> do you have a link?
DJT tweeted a video but it stops before the signing.
posted by christopherious at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
DJT tweeted a video but it stops before the signing.
posted by christopherious at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
...so I guess he should chew it up and spit it out.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:17 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think he got awarded the pen that was used to sign the document.
Made in China. (Custom-engraved in the US, and Cross has taken tax bennies to open a factory in RI, but still, made in China.)
posted by holgate at 10:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Made in China. (Custom-engraved in the US, and Cross has taken tax bennies to open a factory in RI, but still, made in China.)
posted by holgate at 10:19 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
novaturient...
I do not come to MetaFilter for the vocabulary, but this is way beyond the call of duty. Good job.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
I do not come to MetaFilter for the vocabulary, but this is way beyond the call of duty. Good job.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:24 PM on January 27, 2017 [15 favorites]
And there is precisely zero value in ragging on whatever remains of the #Nevers. I direct you to the sections in Homage to Catalonia where the socialists, communists and anarcho-syndicalists argue about which faction represents the purest form of resistance as the fascists dropped bombs on them. Fuck party identity, it's done: there are collaborators, there are appeasers, there are onlookers, and there are those who resist.
posted by holgate at 10:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:28 PM on January 27, 2017 [81 favorites]
Arrgh. I have a great job but I have decided to leave it to take any job in the nonprofit or political sector that matches my nonprofit political goals. FU Trump for ending my sweet little telecommuter thing!
posted by notyou at 10:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:30 PM on January 27, 2017 [8 favorites]
Those nonprofits need money. If your job is a good one (in many senses of the word), you might help more by staying put and giving generously.
posted by mochapickle at 10:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 10:32 PM on January 27, 2017 [25 favorites]
Watch Pence look over at Mattis when Trump calls the 44-year Marine a soldier. An honest gaffe, but dang. Pence has a son in the Marines.
posted by zachlipton at 10:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [28 favorites]
Trump refugee order dashes hopes of Iraqis who helped the U.S.
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 10:36 PM on January 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
And he's there because Trump is at the Pentagon for Mattis' swearing in ceremony. Whether that makes this better or not is up to you though.
I watched the whole ceremony and I commented a bit on it earlier. It was trump with training wheels on awkward.
posted by futz at 10:37 PM on January 27, 2017
I watched the whole ceremony and I commented a bit on it earlier. It was trump with training wheels on awkward.
posted by futz at 10:37 PM on January 27, 2017
Whelp, mochapickle, they won't hire me, but they can still take my money.
posted by notyou at 10:40 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by notyou at 10:40 PM on January 27, 2017
Which isn't much. But we all have to jump in. So jump in! Make them say no. Then find a way.
I'm at Jump In.
posted by notyou at 10:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm at Jump In.
posted by notyou at 10:42 PM on January 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Nah. Nothing better for platform engagement than outraged righteousness, they'd serve you that shit with a side of ads.
posted by BS Artisan at 10:57 PM on January 27, 2017
posted by BS Artisan at 10:57 PM on January 27, 2017
those creepy pedicures where fish eat your feet
OMG I WANT ONE TOO.
My friend and I talked about how frightening and surreal this week was, and they mentioned that print zine culture may make more of a resurgence - especially if the internet gets censored/restricted.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
OMG I WANT ONE TOO.
My friend and I talked about how frightening and surreal this week was, and they mentioned that print zine culture may make more of a resurgence - especially if the internet gets censored/restricted.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:08 PM on January 27, 2017 [9 favorites]
Take care of yourself. Make a realistic assessment of where your energy can have the most positive impact. Connect with others in your local community and coordinate your efforts where possible. Plan ahead so that you can continue taking action in the worst case scenario. Resist.
As much as I am aware, Mattis does not have a record of valuing the lives of Iraqis. E.g. Haditha and Fallujah. No one with real power is on our side. The most we can expect from our institutions is to slow them down. They have the loyalty of law enforcement, the military, congress, and the power of the executive. They are not far from controlling the SCOTUS. They wield the mandate of American Post-Christian theology. At least 4 in every 10 Americans you'll encounter believe the world will end during their lifetime. There is no reason to expect fair elections to continue in this country. Remember the San Antonio police in MAGA hats. Border Patrol union's endorsement. Erik Prince. Sessions. Bannon.
I have an extremely negative view of the current situation and think we are playing by the old rules while the radical right are playing Calvinball. America spent the last century dissolving any meaningful constitutional protection, hoping that bipartisan norms would maintain our union. Worse, we have created a pervasive financial and technological apparatus for social control and it is being used against us. There is no simple, easy way forward. We get no do-overs and we can't roll it back. This is happening.
I think there are some more practical steps you could take to maintain effectiveness in the darker futures. Learn to live off the cloud & build a library of resources you can access without internet connectivity. Share, train, and practice crypto/opsec in your personal networks. Acquire and learn to use a ham radio as well as the equipment to power it off-grid. Store some food and water, but focus on building resilient human networks -- your hoard will not last. We must be aware of the asymmetries we face and structure our resistance to utilize them for our advantage.
Personally I'm struggling at my first step. I hope to more effectively counter our current cultural craziness as I attempt to assert control over my emotions, actions, and future. It's okay that we're not 100% prepared or ready for this if we're working to resist the madness.
Most of all: dream of a better future. Allow yourself to have fun and to share human moments with real people. We cannot resist if we let them break us. Reject their norms and values, ignore their hatred, and experience joy, because that is a pure rejection of their desire to deprive you of positive human experience. This isn't easy, and the closest thing I've had to hope and joy in recent months was post-Women's-March.
We must resist. We must prevail.
I'd be very happy if you could convince me I'm crazy and talk me down a bit.
posted by polyhedron at 11:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
As much as I am aware, Mattis does not have a record of valuing the lives of Iraqis. E.g. Haditha and Fallujah. No one with real power is on our side. The most we can expect from our institutions is to slow them down. They have the loyalty of law enforcement, the military, congress, and the power of the executive. They are not far from controlling the SCOTUS. They wield the mandate of American Post-Christian theology. At least 4 in every 10 Americans you'll encounter believe the world will end during their lifetime. There is no reason to expect fair elections to continue in this country. Remember the San Antonio police in MAGA hats. Border Patrol union's endorsement. Erik Prince. Sessions. Bannon.
I have an extremely negative view of the current situation and think we are playing by the old rules while the radical right are playing Calvinball. America spent the last century dissolving any meaningful constitutional protection, hoping that bipartisan norms would maintain our union. Worse, we have created a pervasive financial and technological apparatus for social control and it is being used against us. There is no simple, easy way forward. We get no do-overs and we can't roll it back. This is happening.
I think there are some more practical steps you could take to maintain effectiveness in the darker futures. Learn to live off the cloud & build a library of resources you can access without internet connectivity. Share, train, and practice crypto/opsec in your personal networks. Acquire and learn to use a ham radio as well as the equipment to power it off-grid. Store some food and water, but focus on building resilient human networks -- your hoard will not last. We must be aware of the asymmetries we face and structure our resistance to utilize them for our advantage.
Personally I'm struggling at my first step. I hope to more effectively counter our current cultural craziness as I attempt to assert control over my emotions, actions, and future. It's okay that we're not 100% prepared or ready for this if we're working to resist the madness.
Most of all: dream of a better future. Allow yourself to have fun and to share human moments with real people. We cannot resist if we let them break us. Reject their norms and values, ignore their hatred, and experience joy, because that is a pure rejection of their desire to deprive you of positive human experience. This isn't easy, and the closest thing I've had to hope and joy in recent months was post-Women's-March.
We must resist. We must prevail.
I'd be very happy if you could convince me I'm crazy and talk me down a bit.
posted by polyhedron at 11:11 PM on January 27, 2017 [55 favorites]
Acquire and learn to use a ham radio as well as the equipment to power it off-grid.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of this. I used to have a license nearly 30 years ago, but let it lapse. After the Inaugural protests, where got my first whiffs of pepper spray, I wanted a better way to be effective in resistance, without necessarily putting myself in harm's way. Ham radio may just be one of those paths; I signed up for classes next month, and there's a couple of BaoFeng portable units I have my eyes on for when I reup my license. (I don't have the money nor space for a big rig.)
posted by spinifex23 at 11:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of this. I used to have a license nearly 30 years ago, but let it lapse. After the Inaugural protests, where got my first whiffs of pepper spray, I wanted a better way to be effective in resistance, without necessarily putting myself in harm's way. Ham radio may just be one of those paths; I signed up for classes next month, and there's a couple of BaoFeng portable units I have my eyes on for when I reup my license. (I don't have the money nor space for a big rig.)
posted by spinifex23 at 11:18 PM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of the Oscar-nominated The Salesman, is now banned from travelling to the US for the ceremony. (The Salesman is based around a performance of an American play. Guess which one it is.)
Tech companies are recalling US-resident staff from overseas visits.
This weekend will be the time that all the repercussions of this despicable act on families and businesses get spelled out. And I imagine that in parts of the US (for instance, the Iranian community in LA) there will be pretty visible dissent.
posted by holgate at 11:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Tech companies are recalling US-resident staff from overseas visits.
This weekend will be the time that all the repercussions of this despicable act on families and businesses get spelled out. And I imagine that in parts of the US (for instance, the Iranian community in LA) there will be pretty visible dissent.
posted by holgate at 11:29 PM on January 27, 2017 [29 favorites]
Google Recalls Staff to U.S. After Trump Immigration Order
posted by zachlipton at 11:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
Alphabet Inc.’s Google delivered a sharp message to staff traveling overseas who may be impacted by a new executive order on immigration from President Donald Trump: Get back to the U.S. now.Nobody apparently has any idea if green card holders are impacted, but H-1B visa holders are banned now. I've worked with people in this situation. This is not ok.
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai slammed Trump’s move in a note to employees Friday, telling them that more than 100 company staff are affected by the order.
"It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Pichai wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. "We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."
posted by zachlipton at 11:33 PM on January 27, 2017 [45 favorites]
Connect with others in your local community and coordinate your efforts where possible.
Also connect others with each other, locally and across the country. Build the networks, it just takes introductions and then things take a life of their own. I had a really great unexpected conversation with a fellow Mefite last night and they were doing a lot of good work connecting people, so I started trying today, and now friends who would never have met otherwise know to go to each other when they need each other's skills and my local Indivisible group might be looking at hooking up with my state's Moral Mondays group. All for the cost of a handful of Facebook messages over a couple hours! Just make those connections wherever you can, unexpected great things can come of it. I've been banging my head against the wall since the election trying to figure out what to do and this simple thing today gave me the best sense of progress yet.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Also connect others with each other, locally and across the country. Build the networks, it just takes introductions and then things take a life of their own. I had a really great unexpected conversation with a fellow Mefite last night and they were doing a lot of good work connecting people, so I started trying today, and now friends who would never have met otherwise know to go to each other when they need each other's skills and my local Indivisible group might be looking at hooking up with my state's Moral Mondays group. All for the cost of a handful of Facebook messages over a couple hours! Just make those connections wherever you can, unexpected great things can come of it. I've been banging my head against the wall since the election trying to figure out what to do and this simple thing today gave me the best sense of progress yet.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:40 PM on January 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Confirmed: Iran's Asghar Farhadi won't be let into the US to attend Oscar's. He's nominated for best foreign language film...
Boycotting and/or cancelling the Oscars would be an appropriate response.
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Boycotting and/or cancelling the Oscars would be an appropriate response.
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 PM on January 27, 2017 [27 favorites]
Wait, why boycott the Oscars? I would imagine Farhadi would have the support of most if not all who attend, as well as most of the audience.
posted by mochapickle at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
...and the award for tiniest hands in a documentary goes to...
posted by Buntix at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 12:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
where are our democratic leaders right now? i am beyond caring that it's 1 am. they are our representatives. they are our voice. this is sickening.
I've been wondering the same thing since early in the morning on November 9th. But it occurs to me now that...if they were speaking up, how would we know it?
You may be looking for more action than press releases, but you can go to their webpages to see their statements in response.
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
“Today’s executive order by President Trump using extreme vetting and banning refugees from many majority Muslim countries is offensive and a monumental waste of federal resources. Having served on active duty, we are taught that to defeat the enemy, we first need to know our enemy. Our enemies are terrorist groups such as ISIS and AL Qaeda, not children, women and senior citizens fleeing those groups.”
“The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."
posted by bertran at 12:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [105 favorites]
I've been wondering the same thing since early in the morning on November 9th. But it occurs to me now that...if they were speaking up, how would we know it?
You may be looking for more action than press releases, but you can go to their webpages to see their statements in response.
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
“Today’s executive order by President Trump using extreme vetting and banning refugees from many majority Muslim countries is offensive and a monumental waste of federal resources. Having served on active duty, we are taught that to defeat the enemy, we first need to know our enemy. Our enemies are terrorist groups such as ISIS and AL Qaeda, not children, women and senior citizens fleeing those groups.”
“The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."
posted by bertran at 12:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [105 favorites]
Has anybody besides me seen Trump in moments where Trump is looking lost and uncomfortable (most recent example: his photo op on Air Force One where there TV ad was screaming in the background) and thought *he looks like a pig in a wig. just a lost little pig in a wig*
Or is that just my personal insanity
posted by angrycat at 1:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Or is that just my personal insanity
posted by angrycat at 1:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Lady Liberty is crying.
I'm not sure of the last time the US government's actions have been so at odds with the poem engraved on her statue, so that makes sense.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm not sure of the last time the US government's actions have been so at odds with the poem engraved on her statue, so that makes sense.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Has anybody besides me seen Trump in moments where Trump is looking lost and uncomfortable
Not just you. When he's not playing it up for the cameras, he looks like he's very aware that he has NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING but he knows it's big and important and he's likely to fuck it up.
And dammit, the media needs to play on that. Needs to report on how he seems oblivious to what exactly he's signing - that he obviously didn't write or even direct those orders, and that he's just rubber-stamping whatever his handlers throw at him. Call him Pence's Puppet.
Ask about specific phrasing bits in the exec orders - "whose idea was this part?" Bring the public to realize he's not leading; he's cheerleading.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Not just you. When he's not playing it up for the cameras, he looks like he's very aware that he has NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING but he knows it's big and important and he's likely to fuck it up.
And dammit, the media needs to play on that. Needs to report on how he seems oblivious to what exactly he's signing - that he obviously didn't write or even direct those orders, and that he's just rubber-stamping whatever his handlers throw at him. Call him Pence's Puppet.
Ask about specific phrasing bits in the exec orders - "whose idea was this part?" Bring the public to realize he's not leading; he's cheerleading.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Whoof - made it to the end of the thread!
Re Cambridge Analytica, from way upthread.. if they provide such effective guidance to influencers, and are capable of producing society-swaying results (and an ethical vacuum, or they wouldn't be involved)... can WE hire them? Put their powers to use for Good?
Clearly they know which buttons to punch for best results in the people we despair of reaching...
posted by Ilira at 2:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Re Cambridge Analytica, from way upthread.. if they provide such effective guidance to influencers, and are capable of producing society-swaying results (and an ethical vacuum, or they wouldn't be involved)... can WE hire them? Put their powers to use for Good?
Clearly they know which buttons to punch for best results in the people we despair of reaching...
posted by Ilira at 2:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
can WE hire them?
Possibly, but with Bannon on the board I'd imagine it would be difficult.
posted by jaduncan at 3:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Possibly, but with Bannon on the board I'd imagine it would be difficult.
posted by jaduncan at 3:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
How a Secret Service controversy turned an innocent professor’s life into an online nightmare
The reason: O’Grady was mistakenly identified this week as a Secret Service agent (also named Kerry O’Grady) who is under investigation for posting a statement on Facebook that appeared to indicate she preferred jail over being shot and killed for President Trump.
posted by zakur at 3:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The reason: O’Grady was mistakenly identified this week as a Secret Service agent (also named Kerry O’Grady) who is under investigation for posting a statement on Facebook that appeared to indicate she preferred jail over being shot and killed for President Trump.
posted by zakur at 3:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just watched the Fox and Friends Saturday story on the "March for Life" (not having seen any news last night). There was lots of bemoaning and tut-tutting how "the media" is so biased and the coverage on other networks was so inadequate, and trash-talking the Women's March, but no crowd numbers were mentioned. So I'm guessing it was extremely Trump-sized.
posted by XMLicious at 4:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 4:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Possibly, but with Bannon on the board I'd imagine it would be difficult.
... that had somehow escaped me. OK, as you were.
posted by Ilira at 4:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
... that had somehow escaped me. OK, as you were.
posted by Ilira at 4:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sorry to ask, but can someone explain how green cards work? I was under the assumption that it was similar to my Canadian PR card in that I have to reside in Canada for x amount of days in order to maintain my residential status. The exceptions are if you are married to someone in a government job or the Canadian military. Is it different for a US green card?
posted by Kitteh at 4:24 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by Kitteh at 4:24 AM on January 28, 2017
Remember this tweet
Mike Pence 08 Dec 2015 via
posted by adamvasco at 4:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Mike Pence 08 Dec 2015 via
posted by adamvasco at 4:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Sorry to ask,
Turns to search engine, "US green card rules"...
Turns to search engine, "US green card rules"...
Permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status. If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status. A general guide used is whether you have been absent from the United States for more than a year. Abandonment may be found to occur in trips of less than a year where it is believed you did not intend to make the United States your permanent residence. While brief trips abroad generally are not problematic, the officer may consider criteria such as whether your intention was to visit abroad only temporarily, whether you maintained U.S. family and community ties, maintained U.S employment, filed U.S. income taxes as a resident, or otherwise established your intention to return to the United States as your permanent home. Other factors that may be considered include whether you maintained a U.S. mailing address, kept U.S. bank accounts and a valid U.S. driver’s license, own property or run a business in the United States, or any other evidence that supports the temporary nature of your absence.posted by Mister Bijou at 4:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
You may be looking for more action than press releases, but you can go to their webpages to see their statements in response.
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
I have his news page in my RSS feed and it includes bills he has introduced or co-sponsored as well as voting statements. (It also has gems like "Rep. Ted Lieu is trolling Donald Trump, and he hopes you're watching".) You could sign up for email alerts, too.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
For example, my congressman Ted Lieu posted this:
I have his news page in my RSS feed and it includes bills he has introduced or co-sponsored as well as voting statements. (It also has gems like "Rep. Ted Lieu is trolling Donald Trump, and he hopes you're watching".) You could sign up for email alerts, too.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I never realized how much I love America until Trump took it away.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
Apparently, the LA Times got hold of a draft EO that said Trump would cancel the 'visa interview waiver program' and reported it as him nuking the visa waiver program. Which caused quite some panic and created visions of utter chaos as a huge proportion of tourists and business people inbound to the US over the oceans realised they were going to be bumped at the airport.
I quite wish he had done that, Sure it would devastate US tourism and muck up international business, but it would demonstrate to us privileged in dramatic fashion how insanely cruel things already are for those who most need compassionate sanity.
posted by Devonian at 4:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I quite wish he had done that, Sure it would devastate US tourism and muck up international business, but it would demonstrate to us privileged in dramatic fashion how insanely cruel things already are for those who most need compassionate sanity.
posted by Devonian at 4:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@ConnorSouthard: If you want to know why we shouldn't trust anti-Trump Neocons, check out this shit
Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum: America’s acceptance of Somali refugees has not been a success for this countryposted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
LA Times got hold of a draft EO that said Trump would cancel the 'visa interview waiver program' and reported it as him nuking the visa waiver program. (Bolding mine)
Breibart and FOX News are going to love this... you know, yet one more example of the "lying MSM". Thanks, LA Times.
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Breibart and FOX News are going to love this... you know, yet one more example of the "lying MSM". Thanks, LA Times.
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Actually, I don't know if the LAT misreported it or whether that was downstream in the food chain - I got it from an NZ outlet.
People make mistakes, and in journalism when you catch them you retract and apologise. Evil liars will lie evilly about that too
posted by Devonian at 5:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
People make mistakes, and in journalism when you catch them you retract and apologise. Evil liars will lie evilly about that too
posted by Devonian at 5:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
“The chances of being struck by lightning TWICE is 1 in 9 million. The chances of being killed by a refugee committing a terrorist act is 1 in 3.6 billion. These facts lead me to conclude that Trump's action is not based on national security, it is based on bigotry. Lady Liberty is crying."
For comparison, your odds of dying from excessive heat are 1 in 10,700 but trump and his ilk don't seem to give a shit about the dangers of global warming. Maybe if we told trump that global warming was the fault of minorities ?
posted by ian1977 at 5:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
For comparison, your odds of dying from excessive heat are 1 in 10,700 but trump and his ilk don't seem to give a shit about the dangers of global warming. Maybe if we told trump that global warming was the fault of minorities ?
posted by ian1977 at 5:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Refugees Detained at U.S. Airports, Prompting Legal Challenges to Trump’s Immigration Order: Who is the person we need to talk to?” asked one of the lawyers, Mark Doss, supervising attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project.
“Mr. President,” said a Customs and Border Protection agent, who declined to identify himself. “Call Mr. Trump.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
“Mr. President,” said a Customs and Border Protection agent, who declined to identify himself. “Call Mr. Trump.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Something that occurs to me: a lot of foreign students and postdocs were overseas for the holiday. Term has just started here so anyone with classes will probably be back, but not probably not everyone.
In the sciences there are always H1-Bs and people from the "banned" countries - and while some of those people could be replaced by US researchers, IME it's because there are a lot of obscure specialties in research, and maybe the only person who has worked with your particular peptide is from Iran (as happened in a lab I know).
In my previous job, there was a grad student who was from Libya. Her funding from home fell through because of the situation there and the department really went to bat for her to make sure she had money to stay. I assume she and her husband and baby are here, since they weren't really traveling back much, but still.
Some of the people who were big advocates for her were Trump voters, which I never understood. They're not dummies, so I hope that this will shift them - I think they're conservative economically and believed Trump on terrorism, so I'm hoping that when they see this they'll change.
A big thing: a lot of the people in and around the sciences who will be activated as Democrats now are people who didn't pay that much attention and tended to lean Democrat but not care too much. I know those people and I bet they care now.
posted by Frowner at 5:47 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
In the sciences there are always H1-Bs and people from the "banned" countries - and while some of those people could be replaced by US researchers, IME it's because there are a lot of obscure specialties in research, and maybe the only person who has worked with your particular peptide is from Iran (as happened in a lab I know).
In my previous job, there was a grad student who was from Libya. Her funding from home fell through because of the situation there and the department really went to bat for her to make sure she had money to stay. I assume she and her husband and baby are here, since they weren't really traveling back much, but still.
Some of the people who were big advocates for her were Trump voters, which I never understood. They're not dummies, so I hope that this will shift them - I think they're conservative economically and believed Trump on terrorism, so I'm hoping that when they see this they'll change.
A big thing: a lot of the people in and around the sciences who will be activated as Democrats now are people who didn't pay that much attention and tended to lean Democrat but not care too much. I know those people and I bet they care now.
posted by Frowner at 5:47 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
From KLM: Allowed to enter the US are:
-Diplo visa (A,G, C-2 or NATO)
-Green Card
-Advanced parole document
NOT ALLOWED
-Tourist/Study Visa
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
-Diplo visa (A,G, C-2 or NATO)
-Green Card
-Advanced parole document
NOT ALLOWED
-Tourist/Study Visa
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
My wife and I are 'returnables' with Green Cards and she just said "Maybe we should apply for citizenship" and my first thought was "The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
Instead we have decided to be more aggressive about applying for jobs at home.
posted by srboisvert at 5:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Instead we have decided to be more aggressive about applying for jobs at home.
posted by srboisvert at 5:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
I mentioned elsewhere here that a friend's cousin was returned to Mexico late last year and immediately murdered by the gang he had been fleeing.
Here's what I think: I think this will all be kept in place long enough to cause shock, terror and economic loss (and death, let's not forget), and then some of this will be relaxed because it gets in the way of rich people.
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
What I thought before all this began was that they would have to rule with exceptional brutality precisely because they are so unpopular, and it's proving true.
The only thing is, we have to not be destroyed by fear and despair, because the whole purpose of these things is to destroy us through fear and despair.
posted by Frowner at 5:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
Here's what I think: I think this will all be kept in place long enough to cause shock, terror and economic loss (and death, let's not forget), and then some of this will be relaxed because it gets in the way of rich people.
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
What I thought before all this began was that they would have to rule with exceptional brutality precisely because they are so unpopular, and it's proving true.
The only thing is, we have to not be destroyed by fear and despair, because the whole purpose of these things is to destroy us through fear and despair.
posted by Frowner at 5:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
i've continued to light up the trump is poopy sign on the garage, even though the holidays are over, but i have been thinking of taking it down.
then last night a neighbor from down the alley i don't really know too well stopped by as i was working in the garage. she's an older woman in her 60s, and i know her dog has recently passed and that she lives alone. anyways, she was out of evens, as we say, and couldn't understand how this country had turned fascist overnight. she couldn't understand a lot of things that i couldn't understand.
i didn't really say much but to just agree and listen, and to let her know that there's a lot of us who feel that way. 20 minutes later we parted with an awkward stranger hug and i told her i'd let her know of any marches i'm going to and actions i'm trying to take to stop fascism.
i'm no longer considering taking down the sign, but instead building a bigger one to put on top of the house.
posted by localhuman at 6:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [74 favorites]
then last night a neighbor from down the alley i don't really know too well stopped by as i was working in the garage. she's an older woman in her 60s, and i know her dog has recently passed and that she lives alone. anyways, she was out of evens, as we say, and couldn't understand how this country had turned fascist overnight. she couldn't understand a lot of things that i couldn't understand.
i didn't really say much but to just agree and listen, and to let her know that there's a lot of us who feel that way. 20 minutes later we parted with an awkward stranger hug and i told her i'd let her know of any marches i'm going to and actions i'm trying to take to stop fascism.
i'm no longer considering taking down the sign, but instead building a bigger one to put on top of the house.
posted by localhuman at 6:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [74 favorites]
Rights groups inundated amid fears of being unable to return to US
He said it appeared that US border officials were deciding whether green-card holders could re-enter the US on a “case by case” basis which involved asking individuals about their political views. There were reports that some border officials were confused about their new instructions and unhappy about what was being asked of them.
WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?
My wife and I are 'returnables' with Green Cards and she just said "Maybe we should apply for citizenship" and my first thought was "The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
If you become a US citizen and you are arrested at a protest or whatever, the local police will not alert your home consulate. If you are an LPR arrested at a protest or whatever, the USCIS gets really pissed at you. It's not fun. Even if you're white you need to walk a tightrope.
posted by Talez at 6:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
He said it appeared that US border officials were deciding whether green-card holders could re-enter the US on a “case by case” basis which involved asking individuals about their political views. There were reports that some border officials were confused about their new instructions and unhappy about what was being asked of them.
WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?
My wife and I are 'returnables' with Green Cards and she just said "Maybe we should apply for citizenship" and my first thought was "The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
If you become a US citizen and you are arrested at a protest or whatever, the local police will not alert your home consulate. If you are an LPR arrested at a protest or whatever, the USCIS gets really pissed at you. It's not fun. Even if you're white you need to walk a tightrope.
posted by Talez at 6:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Please become citizens and help vote this monstrosity out.
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
These fucking assholes waited until end of business Friday to issue this order knowing it would create utter chaos and endanger lives and no one would have legal recourse for days. Every last one of them has to go. They are irredeemable.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [96 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [96 favorites]
Please become citizens and help vote this monstrosity out.
I'm in MA. I can't do anything more by becoming a citizen. srboisvert is in IL. His citizenship wouldn't matter either.
posted by Talez at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017
I'm in MA. I can't do anything more by becoming a citizen. srboisvert is in IL. His citizenship wouldn't matter either.
posted by Talez at 6:08 AM on January 28, 2017
Welp, I was already going to the Schumer protest today. I guess the fact that we have refugees sitting AT OUR AIRPORT is another good reason to protest.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
“Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015.”
posted by adamvasco at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [101 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 6:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [101 favorites]
“Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015.”
I spent a bit of time last night saying this exact thing to people who were celebrating this bold action to combat terrorism. If they're and you are so concerned about keeping the terrorists out then why in the hell didn't they ban from countries where the actual terrorists that have attacked you come from? Huh? Explain that please? Doesn't sound like your guy knows what he's doing does it?
Got back a bunch of argle bargle, hurf durf and a few crickets. Anyways this isn't the main point of why this whole thing is horrible but if you need an avenue of debate with the true believers this is a good one. It's an opening for undermining the action in their eyes where many of the other arguments won't work. They don't care and want it no matter what you say but any little thing that makes them question Trump, even if it's for a few seconds, is needed at this point.
posted by Jalliah at 6:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I spent a bit of time last night saying this exact thing to people who were celebrating this bold action to combat terrorism. If they're and you are so concerned about keeping the terrorists out then why in the hell didn't they ban from countries where the actual terrorists that have attacked you come from? Huh? Explain that please? Doesn't sound like your guy knows what he's doing does it?
Got back a bunch of argle bargle, hurf durf and a few crickets. Anyways this isn't the main point of why this whole thing is horrible but if you need an avenue of debate with the true believers this is a good one. It's an opening for undermining the action in their eyes where many of the other arguments won't work. They don't care and want it no matter what you say but any little thing that makes them question Trump, even if it's for a few seconds, is needed at this point.
posted by Jalliah at 6:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
@NYTimesComm [in response to the president's tweet-tantrum this morning]:
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
roomthreeseventeen - see you there.
posted by prefpara at 6:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 6:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is horrifying.
I called and left messages for one senator and my rep. The other senator's voice mailbox was full at both her D.C. and local offices, so I emailed her. They're all Dems, though I'm in a purple state.
We set up some recurring donations in November to civil rights oriented groups, and I want to add more - maybe to a refugee org (can be international) and a journalism outlet. I'm already subscribed to the WaPo and wasn't happy with NYT or NPR election coverage.
I also want to buy or make something to wear to visibly indicate that I am not okay with Trump or his actions. I'm thinking a Black Lives Matter pin or patch, but I'd also like to have something that specifically indicates that I support Muslims and something that's anti-Trump. I'm a white queer cis Jewish woman fwiw, and I'm not worried about my physical safety so I'd like to use that privilege to be a visibly anti-Trump and pro-civil rights.
I welcome suggestions for refugee focused organizations and journalism outlets to support & ideas for what I can wear.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I called and left messages for one senator and my rep. The other senator's voice mailbox was full at both her D.C. and local offices, so I emailed her. They're all Dems, though I'm in a purple state.
We set up some recurring donations in November to civil rights oriented groups, and I want to add more - maybe to a refugee org (can be international) and a journalism outlet. I'm already subscribed to the WaPo and wasn't happy with NYT or NPR election coverage.
I also want to buy or make something to wear to visibly indicate that I am not okay with Trump or his actions. I'm thinking a Black Lives Matter pin or patch, but I'd also like to have something that specifically indicates that I support Muslims and something that's anti-Trump. I'm a white queer cis Jewish woman fwiw, and I'm not worried about my physical safety so I'd like to use that privilege to be a visibly anti-Trump and pro-civil rights.
I welcome suggestions for refugee focused organizations and journalism outlets to support & ideas for what I can wear.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
@NYTimesComm [in response to the president's tweet-tantrum this morning]:
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
It's the same thing over and over. He's barely changing the words now. I know that this is for his base and part of the whole undermine the media strategy they're playing. They think that repetition is the key and it is for some people.
He's running into boy who cried wolf scenario here though and it's annoying people. The one consistent thing that I've heard from the 'mild' Trump voters is that this consistent tweet whining about the same thing, over and over is embarassing and annoying no matter what the issue is.
Doing this may keep his core but it is alienating some of his voters.
posted by Jalliah at 6:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters.
It's the same thing over and over. He's barely changing the words now. I know that this is for his base and part of the whole undermine the media strategy they're playing. They think that repetition is the key and it is for some people.
He's running into boy who cried wolf scenario here though and it's annoying people. The one consistent thing that I've heard from the 'mild' Trump voters is that this consistent tweet whining about the same thing, over and over is embarassing and annoying no matter what the issue is.
Doing this may keep his core but it is alienating some of his voters.
posted by Jalliah at 6:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
To add to my comment above. I've come across a few people saying that this action has made them feel safer already. It's all about the 'feels'. The response: This doesn't make me feel safer at all. They didn't ban anyone from countries where the actual terrorists from 9/11 came from. I think something else must be going on here. Notice how he didn't ban people from any countries that he has business stuff in? Like places where actual real terrorist have come from?
And while this runs the risk of these people asking for more bans of more countries it is an undermining tactic. Plus it undermines the who it's all about 'the feels' thing.
posted by Jalliah at 6:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
I'm coming to the conclusion that anyone who is in the Fox news bubble are out of reach. Unless they wake up themselves, there is no point in trying to reach them via reason, counter example, logic. It's like they are in a cult and need to be deprogrammed somehow.
posted by ThreeCatsBob at 6:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by ThreeCatsBob at 6:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
From the conservative magazine Tablet: The Arab-ization of American Politics
posted by XMLicious at 6:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 6:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Watch Pence look over at Mattis when Trump calls the 44-year Marine a soldier. An honest gaffe, but dang. Pence has a son in the Marines.
For people who don't know, calling a Marine a soldier is only marginally better than calling him or her a Cub Scout or car salesman. A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
For people who don't know, calling a Marine a soldier is only marginally better than calling him or her a Cub Scout or car salesman. A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
At ease, there, private.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
At ease, there, private.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
"The Fuck would I want to be a citizen of this country right now".
Gotta tell ya, dude, even if you're in a state where it doesn't matter, voting against that asshole is fun. Even here in NY, going in and making your mark against him feels really fuckin' good.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Gotta tell ya, dude, even if you're in a state where it doesn't matter, voting against that asshole is fun. Even here in NY, going in and making your mark against him feels really fuckin' good.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I'm coming to the conclusion that anyone who is in the Fox news bubble are out of reach. Unless they wake up themselves, there is no point in trying to reach them via reason, counter example, logic. It's like they are in a cult and need to be deprogrammed somehow.
Part of deprogramming someone is undermining their belief system. It never happens in one go at it. You poke holes and make cracks. And you never know what poke and what crack is going to cause it to fall apart.
I've had some pretty interesting discussions with people who have had extremist and fundemental view in the past. We talked candidly about what led to the change. Every single one said that it wasn't one thing or one person. It was little things that they ignored or denied until one day something, usually small, just broke them and it all started crumbling. Then they went into a sort of crisis panic mode for a bit as they kept trying to pull it back together and they just couldn't do it anymore.
In one case the lady had been a very fundementalist, Christian warrior type. Her views were based on literal interpretations of the Bible. This was paramount to her worldview. The crack occurred one day when she was watching a documentary show about snakes. She said the thought popped into head, "Hey wait a minute. Snakes can't talk. They physically can't talk' Afterwards she couldn't get this thought out of her head a no amount of 'God is all powerful and could make snakes talk if he wanted thinking' worked. It all fell apart, like a tower crumbling piece by piece. With hindsight she said that she knows that it was more then that, that she had been denying and ignoring things for years but 'snakes can't talk' was the crack that broke it all.
posted by Jalliah at 7:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [70 favorites]
Part of deprogramming someone is undermining their belief system. It never happens in one go at it. You poke holes and make cracks. And you never know what poke and what crack is going to cause it to fall apart.
I've had some pretty interesting discussions with people who have had extremist and fundemental view in the past. We talked candidly about what led to the change. Every single one said that it wasn't one thing or one person. It was little things that they ignored or denied until one day something, usually small, just broke them and it all started crumbling. Then they went into a sort of crisis panic mode for a bit as they kept trying to pull it back together and they just couldn't do it anymore.
In one case the lady had been a very fundementalist, Christian warrior type. Her views were based on literal interpretations of the Bible. This was paramount to her worldview. The crack occurred one day when she was watching a documentary show about snakes. She said the thought popped into head, "Hey wait a minute. Snakes can't talk. They physically can't talk' Afterwards she couldn't get this thought out of her head a no amount of 'God is all powerful and could make snakes talk if he wanted thinking' worked. It all fell apart, like a tower crumbling piece by piece. With hindsight she said that she knows that it was more then that, that she had been denying and ignoring things for years but 'snakes can't talk' was the crack that broke it all.
posted by Jalliah at 7:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [70 favorites]
Land of the free cruel.
Home ofthe brave people afraid of other people fleeing war.
posted by Talez at 7:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Home of
posted by Talez at 7:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Maryland police stopped an Indian-American US citizen to ask if she was here illegally
posted by bluecore at 7:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by bluecore at 7:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
The one consistent thing that I've heard from the 'mild' Trump voters is that this consistent tweet whining about the same thing, over and over is embarassing and annoying no matter what the issue is.
And this is why constantly goading him is a good thing. His brand is all about success and being on top of the world. Does scowling and whining and blustering count as that? It doesn't look like winning to me, and increasingly it looks unwinnerly to his own support. We need to keep the pressure on, never let him look or feel legitimate, because driving him crazy really does erode his popularity.
posted by jackbishop at 7:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
And this is why constantly goading him is a good thing. His brand is all about success and being on top of the world. Does scowling and whining and blustering count as that? It doesn't look like winning to me, and increasingly it looks unwinnerly to his own support. We need to keep the pressure on, never let him look or feel legitimate, because driving him crazy really does erode his popularity.
posted by jackbishop at 7:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
"Snakes can't talk" is observably true, I mean have you ever seen them at cocktail parties? They're never very gregarious, because they're preoccupied with figuring out how to hold their drink and their canapés all at once. No hands.
posted by tel3path at 7:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 7:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
At ease, there, private.
I think you mean lance corporal. :)
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think you mean lance corporal. :)
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
"Well I served with honor and distinction for forty four years, but I guess this pen is pretty sweet."
With Trump, it's probably one of those pens with a lady whose clothes vanish
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
With Trump, it's probably one of those pens with a lady whose clothes vanish
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
One of my best friends is marrying an Iranian-American in three months. While she's a citizen, the rest of her friends and family are a mix of citizens, green cards and student/tourist visas. About half of them will no longer be able to attend the wedding, and of those in the country able to, a bunch can no longer go home to see their families if they want to return.
Fuck this shit.
posted by chris24 at 7:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
Fuck this shit.
posted by chris24 at 7:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
We need to keep the pressure on
So far that doesn't look like it will be much of a problem. What's in store for today? Let's tune in now for the President as he continues eating the only extant moon lander at the Smithsonian. We are being told he's requested the gold foil thermal protection be removed ahead of time and placed in the trunk of his car.
posted by petebest at 7:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
So far that doesn't look like it will be much of a problem. What's in store for today? Let's tune in now for the President as he continues eating the only extant moon lander at the Smithsonian. We are being told he's requested the gold foil thermal protection be removed ahead of time and placed in the trunk of his car.
posted by petebest at 7:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
For people who don't know, calling a Marine a soldier is only marginally better than calling him or her a Cub Scout or car salesman. A soldier is by definition someone who was not good enough for the Corps.
Mattis stood by while Trump signed an EO betraying everything our country stands for, so maybe I don't give a fuck about his or Pence's feelings about using the wrong word? But it is interesting these guys get the vapors about someone being called a solider instead of a Marine, but can't wrap their head around why it's wrong to call an entire religion terrorists when they're not.
posted by bluecore at 7:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [109 favorites]
Mattis stood by while Trump signed an EO betraying everything our country stands for, so maybe I don't give a fuck about his or Pence's feelings about using the wrong word? But it is interesting these guys get the vapors about someone being called a solider instead of a Marine, but can't wrap their head around why it's wrong to call an entire religion terrorists when they're not.
posted by bluecore at 7:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [109 favorites]
Maryland police stopped an Indian-American US citizen to ask if she was here illegally
Of course they did. This all just gives white people and cops another way to fuck with people of color. Any time you want to make life hard for a neighbor, you just call in a "complaint" about a person who looks sort of like them and wait for the cops to come and papers-please them. And as to cops, any time they're bored or feeling frustrated, it's time for an immigration status check.
posted by Frowner at 7:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
Of course they did. This all just gives white people and cops another way to fuck with people of color. Any time you want to make life hard for a neighbor, you just call in a "complaint" about a person who looks sort of like them and wait for the cops to come and papers-please them. And as to cops, any time they're bored or feeling frustrated, it's time for an immigration status check.
posted by Frowner at 7:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
What Julian said.
You can never tell ahead of time what straw will break the back of the camel, but one day one will. Every little thing counts, from a single vote among thousands in a solid blue state to an off-hand observation in response to a rabid fundamentalist raging against compassion, to a debunking link posted to a Trumpian thread on FB. By themselves, and at the time, it may seem like just another raindrop in the desert, doomed to vanish without trace, but eventually the place will bloom.
It's like physics. You may think your energy is being destroyed, but it is going somewhere, and with time and persistence it will change the state of the place it's going to. You have to be more patient and more persistent than the other chap - that's the only rule.
posted by Devonian at 7:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
You can never tell ahead of time what straw will break the back of the camel, but one day one will. Every little thing counts, from a single vote among thousands in a solid blue state to an off-hand observation in response to a rabid fundamentalist raging against compassion, to a debunking link posted to a Trumpian thread on FB. By themselves, and at the time, it may seem like just another raindrop in the desert, doomed to vanish without trace, but eventually the place will bloom.
It's like physics. You may think your energy is being destroyed, but it is going somewhere, and with time and persistence it will change the state of the place it's going to. You have to be more patient and more persistent than the other chap - that's the only rule.
posted by Devonian at 7:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Mattis stood by while Trump signed an EO betraying everything our country stands for, so maybe I don't give a fuck about his or Pence's feelings about using the wrong word?
Maybe I don't either? Maybe the point was how pig-ignorant Trump is, even of things he claims to support?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Maybe I don't either? Maybe the point was how pig-ignorant Trump is, even of things he claims to support?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
http://europe.newsweek.com/trump-shame-us-immigration-ban-fear-549492?rm=eu
Then I think about Abdi, a young Somali, who shielded me against al-Shabaab bullets during a shootout in Mogadishu in 2002 and slept outside my door to make sure I was not kidnapped. He, too, had a dream of studying in the U.S.posted by Buntix at 7:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
One day Abdi told me why: “Life is short, but in Somalia it’s much shorter.” A few years before, walking down the street one day with his brother, he looked down and saw his brother on the ground, dead. A stray bullet had missed Abdi but found his brother’s heart. Abdi did not want to die like that—he wanted to work hard and get an education in the U.S. But he could not get papers. I tried for years, and the last time I saw him was in Juba, South Sudan. He was working a menial job, and he treated me to lunch to show that he had gone far. But I wept then, for what Abdi could have been, and how ashamed I was that we could not help him achieve a dream. He still wanted to get to America then. He won’t ever get there now.
Boycotting and/or cancelling the Oscars would be an appropriate response.
Last year, 34 million people watched the Oscars, and that was a low year. Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
Last year, 34 million people watched the Oscars, and that was a low year. Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
Another excerpt from The Crisis:
Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but "show your faith by your works," that God may bless you. It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.posted by perspicio at 7:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
FYI: CUNY's CLEAR program (pro bono legal clinic) is looking for Arabic and Farsi written translation help for quick turnaround (legal terminology a plus). Here's the tweet.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
It's all Bannon. Trump visibly has no fucking clue what's going on. Bannon is masterminding all of this shit. It's almost like when you put a NeoNazi in the White House, you get Nazi policies.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [94 favorites]
It's all Bannon. Trump visibly has no fucking clue what's going on. Bannon is masterminding all of this shit. It's almost like when you put a NeoNazi in the White House, you get Nazi policies.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [94 favorites]
Green card holders included in Trump ban -Homeland Security
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Thinking of Viktor Frankl this morning.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.Also
Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.posted by slipthought at 7:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Green card holders included in Trump ban -Homeland Security
Uh, what on earth does a green card even mean then?
posted by jaduncan at 7:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Uh, what on earth does a green card even mean then?
posted by jaduncan at 7:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Since I brushed off a long-dormant Twitter account in order to follow the altDepartments (and my guilty pleasure fanfic the rogue West Wing staff), I decided to also add follows for all my various state and federal legislators (all democrats, all dudes, all white, hey-o) and the PA Senate and House Democratic Caucuses.
Holy Jesus god the world is falling down around our ears and all the state contingent can talk about is that a local state prison is closing and WHAT ABOUT THE PRISON GUARD JORBS. Tweet after fucking tweet about this shit and NOTHING about Trump's retribution against Sanctuary Cities (which impacts my city, as the mayor just reaffirmed that we will remain a Sanctuary City), nothing about the Muslim ban (because it's not like your constituents might, say, be Muslims, or refugees, or Green Card holders. It's monstrous. La la la business as usual, won't someone think of the prison guards, there's nothing else to see here.
I'm fucking furious right now. It's Saturday so I know no one has their offices staffed but I hope I get at least some working voicemail because I've got a couple of barrels to unload.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Holy Jesus god the world is falling down around our ears and all the state contingent can talk about is that a local state prison is closing and WHAT ABOUT THE PRISON GUARD JORBS. Tweet after fucking tweet about this shit and NOTHING about Trump's retribution against Sanctuary Cities (which impacts my city, as the mayor just reaffirmed that we will remain a Sanctuary City), nothing about the Muslim ban (because it's not like your constituents might, say, be Muslims, or refugees, or Green Card holders. It's monstrous. La la la business as usual, won't someone think of the prison guards, there's nothing else to see here.
I'm fucking furious right now. It's Saturday so I know no one has their offices staffed but I hope I get at least some working voicemail because I've got a couple of barrels to unload.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Uh, what on earth does a green card even mean then?
It means "we let you live here until we decided we didn't like you after all."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
It means "we let you live here until we decided we didn't like you after all."
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
I think the time has come to begin organizing a General Strike.
I know full well what I am saying. I know that the collective structures any such strike depends on have been eroded in the United States practically to the point of inconsequentiality. I know that any such strike would impose real hardship on those choosing to undertake it. I know that employers might well simply use any such strike as an excuse to lean harder into offshoring or automation.
But we need to do something to put the Administration on notice that we will not allow business as usual to go on in the face of the obscene and un-American policies they seem hellbent on enacting. We need to down tools. We need to refuse to enable this atrocity. We need to stop pretending any other gesture we can make will even register. We need to get inside their OODA loop and force them onto their back feet. We need to strike.
Remember how we all felt before the Women's March last Saturday? Remember the feeling of inadequacy before the Administration's tactics of shock and awe? Do you remember how it felt like we were staring down the long perilous slide into learned helplessness, how the March changed all that? We're going to have to keep marching, keep occupying, keep striking if we're ever to remember our power. And maybe, honestly, we're going to have to keep punching Nazis.
But the experience of that March, coupled with the lessons of a long history of popular struggle before that, suggests that the most effective antidote for paralysis is not simply action but mass action. The General Strike is a mass action that is not merely proportionate to the magnitude of the calamity that has befallen the nation, but one that comes with a historical pedigree. It works. It's time. Let's make it happen.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:00 AM on January 28, 2017 [110 favorites]
I know full well what I am saying. I know that the collective structures any such strike depends on have been eroded in the United States practically to the point of inconsequentiality. I know that any such strike would impose real hardship on those choosing to undertake it. I know that employers might well simply use any such strike as an excuse to lean harder into offshoring or automation.
But we need to do something to put the Administration on notice that we will not allow business as usual to go on in the face of the obscene and un-American policies they seem hellbent on enacting. We need to down tools. We need to refuse to enable this atrocity. We need to stop pretending any other gesture we can make will even register. We need to get inside their OODA loop and force them onto their back feet. We need to strike.
Remember how we all felt before the Women's March last Saturday? Remember the feeling of inadequacy before the Administration's tactics of shock and awe? Do you remember how it felt like we were staring down the long perilous slide into learned helplessness, how the March changed all that? We're going to have to keep marching, keep occupying, keep striking if we're ever to remember our power. And maybe, honestly, we're going to have to keep punching Nazis.
But the experience of that March, coupled with the lessons of a long history of popular struggle before that, suggests that the most effective antidote for paralysis is not simply action but mass action. The General Strike is a mass action that is not merely proportionate to the magnitude of the calamity that has befallen the nation, but one that comes with a historical pedigree. It works. It's time. Let's make it happen.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:00 AM on January 28, 2017 [110 favorites]
Reading the stories this morning of refugees who already had visas being detained at airports because the EO was signed while they were in transit has absolutely ruined me. Hope cut short and lives of suffering continued.
This is so bad. It's so so bad. It's every bit and exactly as bad as I thought it would be if Trump won. He's not missing a single mark so far. And it's only just started. America is over.
posted by dis_integration at 8:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
This is so bad. It's so so bad. It's every bit and exactly as bad as I thought it would be if Trump won. He's not missing a single mark so far. And it's only just started. America is over.
posted by dis_integration at 8:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
……….wtf
@KellyannePolls
Get used to it. @POTUS is a man of action and impact.
Promises made, promises kept.
Shock to the system.
And he's just getting started
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@KellyannePolls
Get used to it. @POTUS is a man of action and impact.
Promises made, promises kept.
Shock to the system.
And he's just getting started
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Will green card holders from the banned countries be deported, if they're presently in the US?
posted by Coventry at 8:06 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by Coventry at 8:06 AM on January 28, 2017
Dutch airline company KLM refused 7 passengers to board on a flight to the US because of the new muslim ban. They said they had no choice but come on, that makes no sense, does it? Couldn't they have continued as normal, until more was clear on how to proceed? I don't expect activism from a company like KLM, but this feels so very similar to how in WWII Dutch companies (including the national railroad company) were all to eager to work with and for the Nazi's.
I understand that there's a good chance that those passengers would be stopped from entering the country by customs officials in the US anyway, but still, that's a step further, they are on US soil then, they have a chance that a customs official finds a reason to let them in, and if they don't, it's way clearer who's doing the harm, unlike when companies around the world are doing Trump's work for him.
posted by blub at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I understand that there's a good chance that those passengers would be stopped from entering the country by customs officials in the US anyway, but still, that's a step further, they are on US soil then, they have a chance that a customs official finds a reason to let them in, and if they don't, it's way clearer who's doing the harm, unlike when companies around the world are doing Trump's work for him.
posted by blub at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'd get behind a General Strike if it looked like it were going to be successful, but I've never seen one that was, and in the end they seem like one of those things that's a little embarassing and people just shrug off. I think the mass action I can get behind a lot more is coordinated work toward electoral change in 2018 to take back Congress and use it as a giant stonewall. It's not enough but it would be huge, and effective, and more than symbolic.
posted by Miko at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Miko at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Are there any funds set up to help people stranded abroad by this EO with their immediate expenses? e.g. hotels
posted by airmail at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by airmail at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Do legislators think they get fucking weekends still? Now is not the time for tweeting platitudes over brunch. Dem legislators at all levels need to be out in the street or at the airport or demanding an emergency session or something. This is it. This is the part where you have to resist. This is what fascism looks like. No more fucking decorum, Senators. It's time to raise hell. WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
posted by melissasaurus at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [77 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 8:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [77 favorites]
This is so bad. It's so so bad. It's every bit and exactly as bad as I thought it would be if Trump won. He's not missing a single mark so far. And it's only just started. America is over.
I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit of a broken record on this from here on in, so forgive me for that. But quite simply: no. We have a tool. We have tools. We have our labor power. We can withdraw that power. We can bring the beast to its knees, together. We can make change. America, if we want it, is just getting started.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit of a broken record on this from here on in, so forgive me for that. But quite simply: no. We have a tool. We have tools. We have our labor power. We can withdraw that power. We can bring the beast to its knees, together. We can make change. America, if we want it, is just getting started.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
I think the time has come to begin organizing a General Strike.
It might be more effective to work to make a political party illegal. How many of the people in office would be in office due to their good works VS having a D or R after their name?
And it would be a direct threat to the representatives. VS a slow line at the coffee shop due to a few workers not showing up.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
It might be more effective to work to make a political party illegal. How many of the people in office would be in office due to their good works VS having a D or R after their name?
And it would be a direct threat to the representatives. VS a slow line at the coffee shop due to a few workers not showing up.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Will green card holders from the banned countries be deported, if they're presently in the US.Who the fuck knows. They haven't indicated that they're going to do that, and it would be a complete nightmare to enforce, but I don't think anyone knows what's going to happen.
I think we should assume that a Muslim registry is coming, though, given Trump's apparent insistence on fulfilling all his loopy campaign promises.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
This all just gives white people and cops another way to fuck with people of color. Any time you want to make life hard for a neighbor, you just call in a "complaint" about a person who looks sort of like them and wait for the cops to come and papers-please them. And as to cops, any time they're bored or feeling frustrated, it's time for an immigration status check.
Well, that's a huge swath of my family then. My grandmother doesn't speak English, is one of the nicest little old ladies you'll ever meet, but this sort of shit signals that if any of her white neighbours voted for Trump, she might have a problem.
posted by Kitteh at 8:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well, that's a huge swath of my family then. My grandmother doesn't speak English, is one of the nicest little old ladies you'll ever meet, but this sort of shit signals that if any of her white neighbours voted for Trump, she might have a problem.
posted by Kitteh at 8:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
I think what we're all realizing is that we don't actually have any. We have to be our own leaders. Organize locally, act boldly.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
I think what we're all realizing is that we don't actually have any. We have to be our own leaders. Organize locally, act boldly.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
I really think that Senators should be at the airports demanding that the refugees and visa holders get access to legal counsel and they should refuse to leave until they're arrested. We need sitting legislators getting arrested over this.
posted by melissasaurus at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
I'd get behind a General Strike if it looked like it were going to be successful, but I've never seen one that was, and in the end they seem like one of those things that's a little embarassing and people just shrug off.
I'm not going to grind this axe (here), but seriously, if not now, when? Look at the coalition Donald Trump is assembling for us — look at all the constituencies he's insulted, look especially at how he makes common cause between people with nothing else in common.
This is a moment like no other in my lifetime. This feels like a moment we need to reach deep into the set of tools we've evolved over the past few thousand years of trying to be civilized, and remember that the power has always been ours.
I know that in many ways, you're not wrong. I know it's been near a hundred years since this idea had any currency at all, outside circles already primed to be receptive to it and enthusiastic about its odds of success. But I ask again: if not now, when?
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'm not going to grind this axe (here), but seriously, if not now, when? Look at the coalition Donald Trump is assembling for us — look at all the constituencies he's insulted, look especially at how he makes common cause between people with nothing else in common.
This is a moment like no other in my lifetime. This feels like a moment we need to reach deep into the set of tools we've evolved over the past few thousand years of trying to be civilized, and remember that the power has always been ours.
I know that in many ways, you're not wrong. I know it's been near a hundred years since this idea had any currency at all, outside circles already primed to be receptive to it and enthusiastic about its odds of success. But I ask again: if not now, when?
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
They ain't been the citizen's 'leaders' for a long time.
If this quote was actually true “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” - Benito Mussolini it could be said that the US of A isn't becoming Fascist.....its been there for some time.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
They ain't been the citizen's 'leaders' for a long time.
If this quote was actually true “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” - Benito Mussolini it could be said that the US of A isn't becoming Fascist.....its been there for some time.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?????
Let's be saying that directly to them, not each other. And yes: get involved with your local and state politics. That's where this starts happening. There are some Dems doing a good job, others still phoning it in. I think a lot of them don't quite realize (a) how much we have their back and (b) how little patience we have for business as usual. If we don't like what they're doing, we can and will replace them - if we stay focused and engaged.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
posted by Miko at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
Let's be saying that directly to them, not each other. And yes: get involved with your local and state politics. That's where this starts happening. There are some Dems doing a good job, others still phoning it in. I think a lot of them don't quite realize (a) how much we have their back and (b) how little patience we have for business as usual. If we don't like what they're doing, we can and will replace them - if we stay focused and engaged.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
posted by Miko at 8:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
I'm wondering if it makes sense to crowd-fund application fees for green card holders who want to become citizens and don't currently have the $700. I'm also a little worried that vulnerable people might be turned down if they applied for citizenship and that calling attention to themselves might not be safe. It terrifies me that I'm thinking this way.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm not going to grind this axe (here), but seriously, if not now, when? Look at the coalition Donald Trump is assembling for us — look at all the constituencies he's insulted, look especially at how he makes common cause between people with nothing else in common.
Yeah, but he did it through messaging, and he's riding on an existing Right infrastructure that's been effective through local, small-group organizing and electoral activity coordinated over decades. I really love visibility too, but at the same time, I think maybe the left's love of theatre is a little distracting when the differences really get made in the legislative and electoral processes. If we could apply more of our energy and creativity to that, well, not only would we not have even been in this situation, but going forward, we won't have to return to this situation.
posted by Miko at 8:18 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yeah, but he did it through messaging, and he's riding on an existing Right infrastructure that's been effective through local, small-group organizing and electoral activity coordinated over decades. I really love visibility too, but at the same time, I think maybe the left's love of theatre is a little distracting when the differences really get made in the legislative and electoral processes. If we could apply more of our energy and creativity to that, well, not only would we not have even been in this situation, but going forward, we won't have to return to this situation.
posted by Miko at 8:18 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Couldn't they have continued as normal, until more was clear on how to proceed? I don't expect activism from a company like KLM, but this feels so very similar to how in WWII Dutch companies (including the national railroad company) were all to eager to work with and for the Nazi's.
The airlines submit manifests to the CBP. The CBP gives final yay or nay on whether a passenger can board.
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The airlines submit manifests to the CBP. The CBP gives final yay or nay on whether a passenger can board.
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
And you thought Meryl Streep had it going on...wait until most of the winners start saying something.
I do concur with Miko that some folks really can't go without the paycheck to strike, and what showbiz_liz said over here. I certainly don't feel secure enough in my employment to go on strike.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
And you thought Meryl Streep had it going on...wait until most of the winners start saying something.
I do concur with Miko that some folks really can't go without the paycheck to strike, and what showbiz_liz said over here. I certainly don't feel secure enough in my employment to go on strike.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
My mother's family immigrated to the U.S. when she was 6 in 1930, because of the German economy (my grandfather had lost his business and they had to start over from scratch). Of course, at the time, they were considered (by racists) to be "good" "white" immigrants, being from Germany. That changed of course during World War II, though they were not interned like the Japanese-Americans. But, I know first hand what it means to be an immigrant in America from a country at war with the U.S., and us closing the door to people who desperately need a new home is hitting me hard.
I wonder if Trump even realizes that Steve Jobs was born in California, but he was actually adopted, and his biological father was a Muslim immigrant originally from the Syrian city of Homs. ... But by all means, ban the Syrians, because what could they contribute to America?
posted by gudrun at 8:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
I wonder if Trump even realizes that Steve Jobs was born in California, but he was actually adopted, and his biological father was a Muslim immigrant originally from the Syrian city of Homs. ... But by all means, ban the Syrians, because what could they contribute to America?
posted by gudrun at 8:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
The airline pays a fee and eats the cost of returning the passenger.
posted by jaduncan at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The airline pays a fee and eats the cost of returning the passenger.
posted by jaduncan at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm wondering if it makes sense to crowd-fund application fees for green card holders who want to become citizens and don't currently have the $700.
It may not be in the best interests of brown people to become US citizens. Becoming a US citizen means your home country can't make an international incident out of fascist shit that happens to you.
posted by Talez at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
It may not be in the best interests of brown people to become US citizens. Becoming a US citizen means your home country can't make an international incident out of fascist shit that happens to you.
posted by Talez at 8:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I really love visibility too, but at the same time, I think maybe the left's love of theatre is a little distracting when the differences really get made in the legislative and electoral processes.
I don't think these things are mutually exclusive. We each of us need to work in the way that's authentic to us. I wish you all of the luck there is.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't think these things are mutually exclusive. We each of us need to work in the way that's authentic to us. I wish you all of the luck there is.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
The airline pays a fee and eats the cost of returning the passenger.
That's if the person is found inadmissible at the port of entry (i.e. the border officer suspects intent to immigrate on a NIV). Sending over a person who CBP have explicitly instructed the airline not to let board is an entirely different level of stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017
That's if the person is found inadmissible at the port of entry (i.e. the border officer suspects intent to immigrate on a NIV). Sending over a person who CBP have explicitly instructed the airline not to let board is an entirely different level of stupid.
posted by Talez at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017
Unless we can figure out some way of mass-pressuring our D representatives to force them into action, we will see zero bravery from them until something even more shocking than this happens. I'm talking blood-in-the streets shocking, iconic-footage-everywhere-you-look shocking. It'll be terrible, and it will happen soon enough somewhere somehow. The questions then will be 1) how much reaction it provokes from elected Democrats even then and 2) how much agency we still have to express our will and induce action from them.
Remember that the crazy stuff still hasn't happened.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Remember that the crazy stuff still hasn't happened.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:23 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Talking about organizing: this post on one of the Action Together groups got my attention. Frustratingly, I can't find the original source of it, so it's always possible it's just made up - but I've seen enough of this stuff that I don't think it's too far off, and either way it's food for thought.
posted by Miko at 8:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
A VIEW FROM THE INSIDE OF THE OTHER SIDEThis was followed by a bunch of recommendations which are the type of thing you've seen already. But I think we really need to pay attention and think about what effective organizing looks like. Unions did this a ton in the first half of the 20th century, and despite strikes and protests, this level of organizing is really how they won. it's also how Obama won in 2008. I'd like us all to get a lot smarter about using the system and being structured and focused in the way we organize to do things that have an impact, beyond making a statement.
Last night I attended a Pro-President “little d” meeting. My summary will be a bit long, however, I want to pass on what we learned. In the art of war it is always advised to know what your enemy is doing, that is why there are spies. Two of the groups I’m involved with have a committee that is subscribed to little d’s supporters newsletters, are members of various FB groups (with specially created profiles) and are on his mailing list for updates.
Last night 3 of us went to a group meeting. Two women and one man. What we saw and heard was both scary and informative. The meeting was led by 5 men and we counted approximately 70 people in the room including us. We counted 13 women.
They started the meeting with a pledge of allegiance to the flag. Then they jumped into discussions, the first being the Marches. It was a lot of WTF and why don’t they just shut up. They discussed the report that there were no arrests so that meant that the police and the media were lying. The leader(s) then gave them an “action item” to find anything to dispute the no arrests report and to put pressure on the police to arrest protestors. Several people in the group admitted to being at the March to try to interfere, but felt they were bullied by the Marchers and had to stop “for their own safety” (actual quote). They questioned why so many people “got away with it” (Marching). It seemed to be a hot point with them.
They moved on to reports from the teams. They have teams and committees with specific tasks, ie: daily phone calls and collect tally’s of who makes phone calls to their Reps. It appears they call throughout the day, and each call is either a different issue or their personal favorite.
They have a team who monitor the public blogs and event postings of the Liberal groups (specifically mentioned Indivisible and MoveOn.) They laughed at the Indivisible Guide when one leader said “the Liberals will never get organized and carry any of this out, the snowflakes give up too easily, a little heat and they melt”. They talked about the “visit your representatives office event” that was planned for earlier in the day which was posted on MoveOn and all over FB. They also were at their reps offices, and a handful admitted to going to the Democratic representatives office in their own district to have their voice counted.
They have a team who spies on FB posts. When the man who was with us asked how to do it, he was told that if he was a member of Pantsuit Nation it’s almost an automatic in into most closed groups, and then once you are in one, you can get invited to others. Someone on their team joins all the public and open groups. Their report included reading a few actual posts, in a mimic whining voice, where the members were posting their concerns and frustrations and why bother. They actually cheered this. One leader applauded the report and said, “we don’t care if they like what we have to say, we don’t need them to agree with us. We just need them to give up, shut up and stay out of our way.”
They discussed some of the issues and the recent signed orders from the WH. Some of this discussion sounded intelligent, as if they had researched not only the issue, but how to present it to get the buy-in from the group. It felt to us like a persuasion/programming tactic.
They broke into their teams and anyone not on a team was asked to choose one to sit in on. We each went to a different team. Each team talked about their mission and their strategy. The phone team assigned times for each phone call and a number to text after you called. They practiced scripts. The Anti-Abortion team talked about how to plan protests at PP and other clinics, to find the names of Doctors who perform abortions and out them by protesting at their offices and clinics. The communications team discussed the content of their newsletter, the content they were borrowing from other newsletters and articles from Brietbart that they wanted to circulate. We didn’t get the names of the other teams that we didn’t sit in on but there were 4 others.
We found out that this group used to be a young republican group and after the election and seeing the actions of the Liberals, they changed to a support little d group to stand up for him and against Liberals.
I don’t believe all groups are this scary, however, they appear to be organized. One of the members in one of my groups, changed her registration to Republican so she could see what they do from the inside. She gets phone calls from a phone bank,sometimes several times a week, about issues and actions she should take, she gets their weekly newsletter and she attended a local Rep meeting. Her report is similar only in that they are very organized, take daily actions and communicate often.
So knowing this, what do we do?
posted by Miko at 8:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Whip and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, released the following statement:
“History will judge where America’s leaders stood today," said Durbin. “Faced with the humanitarian crisis of our time, the United States cannot turn its back on children fleeing persecution, genocide, and terror. During the Holocaust we failed to fulfill to our duty to humanity. We cannot allow mindless fear to lead us into another regretful chapter in our history.”
Dick Durbin is one of my senators. I'm in the process of leaving VMs at each of his offices asking him to release specifics on how he's planning on putting this message into action.
posted by bookmammal at 8:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
“History will judge where America’s leaders stood today," said Durbin. “Faced with the humanitarian crisis of our time, the United States cannot turn its back on children fleeing persecution, genocide, and terror. During the Holocaust we failed to fulfill to our duty to humanity. We cannot allow mindless fear to lead us into another regretful chapter in our history.”
Dick Durbin is one of my senators. I'm in the process of leaving VMs at each of his offices asking him to release specifics on how he's planning on putting this message into action.
posted by bookmammal at 8:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
We each of us need to work in the way that's authentic to us.
I agree, but work without a theory of change, work without effect, is wasted. We've done too much of that kind of work and not enough of the other. You can use theatrical tactics in electoral and legislative campaigns, but if they aren't connected to an agenda for change with acts and impacts, it's all to easy for the results to be dissipated. I just don't think we have time for more generalized demonstrations. Damage limitation means legal and legislative constraints as well as direct monkeywrenching in the attempts to implement new systems. Action with direct and immediate consequences.
posted by Miko at 8:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I agree, but work without a theory of change, work without effect, is wasted. We've done too much of that kind of work and not enough of the other. You can use theatrical tactics in electoral and legislative campaigns, but if they aren't connected to an agenda for change with acts and impacts, it's all to easy for the results to be dissipated. I just don't think we have time for more generalized demonstrations. Damage limitation means legal and legislative constraints as well as direct monkeywrenching in the attempts to implement new systems. Action with direct and immediate consequences.
posted by Miko at 8:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
@hannahgais:
Don't forget: you can thank Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, and that New Atheist clan for making Islamophobia seem hip, cool, and rational.
posted by chris24 at 8:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [63 favorites]
Don't forget: you can thank Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, and that New Atheist clan for making Islamophobia seem hip, cool, and rational.
posted by chris24 at 8:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [63 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
Let the elected Dems work the back rooms if they can, undermine Trump's support among Republicans and within institutions. That's where their power is. And the rest of us... let those who can strike, strike. Let those who can march, march. Let those who can write or make art, write and make art. Let's use every tool we have at our disposal.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:35 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Let the elected Dems work the back rooms if they can, undermine Trump's support among Republicans and within institutions. That's where their power is. And the rest of us... let those who can strike, strike. Let those who can march, march. Let those who can write or make art, write and make art. Let's use every tool we have at our disposal.
posted by OnceUponATime at 8:35 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
You can use theatrical tactics in electoral and legislative campaigns
I don't, in the slightest, intend anything I am arguing as theater.
If it weren't you saying this, Miko, I'd even perhaps be offended at the dismissiveness of characterizing it that way. I don't believe I'm dismissing the action you believe in, and I'd appreciate a similar extension of goodwill.
Believe me when I say there is a theory of change underneath everything I say, as well as hardknuckled realism and a fair amount of experience with the frustrations of organizing on the left. I wouldn't be going out on a limb like this if I didn't think it was justified and more than justified.
And again, I see no contradiction between your allocation of energy and mine. I wish you nothing but success.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:38 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't, in the slightest, intend anything I am arguing as theater.
If it weren't you saying this, Miko, I'd even perhaps be offended at the dismissiveness of characterizing it that way. I don't believe I'm dismissing the action you believe in, and I'd appreciate a similar extension of goodwill.
Believe me when I say there is a theory of change underneath everything I say, as well as hardknuckled realism and a fair amount of experience with the frustrations of organizing on the left. I wouldn't be going out on a limb like this if I didn't think it was justified and more than justified.
And again, I see no contradiction between your allocation of energy and mine. I wish you nothing but success.
posted by adamgreenfield at 8:38 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
At the very least, I literally expect them to be standing on soap boxes on the street corner screaming Fascism is here, rise up and join in our fight, brothers and sisters. That would be actually appropriate. Taking the weekend off is not.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
At the very least, I literally expect them to be standing on soap boxes on the street corner screaming Fascism is here, rise up and join in our fight, brothers and sisters. That would be actually appropriate. Taking the weekend off is not.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
With Trump, it's probably one of those pens with a lady whose clothes vanish
You're ruining my childhood. Don't let your next comment be about Nat Geo Magazine.
posted by srboisvert at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
You're ruining my childhood. Don't let your next comment be about Nat Geo Magazine.
posted by srboisvert at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
More info attatched to the tweet.
tweet: TAKE ACTION: #NYC head to #JFK #T4 arrivals for a rapid response protest NOW! #NoBanNoWall #MuslimBan #Resist
posted by Jalliah at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
tweet: TAKE ACTION: #NYC head to #JFK #T4 arrivals for a rapid response protest NOW! #NoBanNoWall #MuslimBan #Resist
posted by Jalliah at 8:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Let the elected Dems work the back rooms if they can, undermine Trump's support among Republicans and within institutions.
Yes, I'm sure the results of such 11th dimensional chess will be yuge. It'll result in SO much winning you'll get sick of all the winning.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yes, I'm sure the results of such 11th dimensional chess will be yuge. It'll result in SO much winning you'll get sick of all the winning.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'd get behind a General Strike if it looked like it were going to be successful, but I've never seen one that was, and in the end they seem like one of those things that's a little embarassing and people just shrug off. I think the mass action I can get behind a lot more is coordinated work toward electoral change in 2018 to take back Congress and use it as a giant stonewall. It's not enough but it would be huge, and effective, and more than symbolic.
Jesus Christ. The political process is broken. A major element of the Republican strategy, which has been wildly successful, has won them two of the last four presidential elections, and has produced a virtually election-proof majority in the House, is and has been voter disenfranchisement. And all arms of the federal government are very publicly acting to accelerate that. If you still think there are going to be elections in 2018 that mean anything, I don't know what to tell you. You can't use a broken system to fix that very same broken system. People in streets is what's called for.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
Excuse me, but without massive, disruptive protests, your proposed strategy is suited exactly to the advantaged.
I don't mean to be unkind. But you don't seem to be dealing with reality on its manifest terms in this matter.
You want to know what political strategies will work? Study the end of the Gilded Age. But don't ever, ever forget that it was people exercising their own agency to rebel against injustice and disrupt business as usual that forced the needed political change.
posted by perspicio at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
Jesus Christ. The political process is broken. A major element of the Republican strategy, which has been wildly successful, has won them two of the last four presidential elections, and has produced a virtually election-proof majority in the House, is and has been voter disenfranchisement. And all arms of the federal government are very publicly acting to accelerate that. If you still think there are going to be elections in 2018 that mean anything, I don't know what to tell you. You can't use a broken system to fix that very same broken system. People in streets is what's called for.
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.
Excuse me, but without massive, disruptive protests, your proposed strategy is suited exactly to the advantaged.
I don't mean to be unkind. But you don't seem to be dealing with reality on its manifest terms in this matter.
You want to know what political strategies will work? Study the end of the Gilded Age. But don't ever, ever forget that it was people exercising their own agency to rebel against injustice and disrupt business as usual that forced the needed political change.
posted by perspicio at 8:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO?
I'd really like to hear from more of them that they are WITH us. There are a few speaking forcefully but by and large it's just a bunch of mealy-mouthed bs. A few of our local reps have started reaching out to the grassroots, but not nearly enough, and not nearly fast enough. We feel abandoned. We feel like there's no plan, no leadership, and that none of these people actually give too much of a shit. Those Trumpers in the report up above didn't just spontaneously generate, complete with call lists and the technology to track the calls. That came from RNC leadership.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
I'd really like to hear from more of them that they are WITH us. There are a few speaking forcefully but by and large it's just a bunch of mealy-mouthed bs. A few of our local reps have started reaching out to the grassroots, but not nearly enough, and not nearly fast enough. We feel abandoned. We feel like there's no plan, no leadership, and that none of these people actually give too much of a shit. Those Trumpers in the report up above didn't just spontaneously generate, complete with call lists and the technology to track the calls. That came from RNC leadership.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
Remember that the crazy stuff still hasn't happened.
That's probably the only reason I haven't started losing my shit: I'm just waiting for the (redacted so mods don't delete this) to start. Compared to the horrors playing in my head, this current shit is nothing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
That's probably the only reason I haven't started losing my shit: I'm just waiting for the (redacted so mods don't delete this) to start. Compared to the horrors playing in my head, this current shit is nothing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
Go on...
posted by dis_integration at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Go on...
posted by dis_integration at 8:42 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
We all now need to factor in whether there will be an executive order issued while we are out of country that will result in our cats starving to death.
posted by srboisvert at 8:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
We all now need to factor in whether there will be an executive order issued while we are out of country that will result in our cats starving to death.
posted by srboisvert at 8:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
won them two of the last four presidential elections
Really, three of the last five. And given them two of the last three presidents.
posted by perspicio at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Really, three of the last five. And given them two of the last three presidents.
posted by perspicio at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Every executive order, every piece of legislation, every rule decree needs a swarm of bright legal types to disassemble it and throw roadblocks up everywhere they can as soon as they can.
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
Get 1,000 suits going all over to test the legality of executive orders and their scope. Make this whole thing a fucking legal morass.
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
Make Trump et al. do what they ultimately want, which is declare martial law. Make them do stuff which will prevent other countries from trading with us due to their own rules. Make Bannon and Co. drop any pretense and just get on with it, and then see how mom-in-law likes it when there is no football because no one is legally eligible to play the game under various executive orders.
posted by maxwelton at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
Get 1,000 suits going all over to test the legality of executive orders and their scope. Make this whole thing a fucking legal morass.
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
Make Trump et al. do what they ultimately want, which is declare martial law. Make them do stuff which will prevent other countries from trading with us due to their own rules. Make Bannon and Co. drop any pretense and just get on with it, and then see how mom-in-law likes it when there is no football because no one is legally eligible to play the game under various executive orders.
posted by maxwelton at 8:45 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Legal cases on the ban have started. (I keep reading that a large portion of the EO is illegal)
Here's one from the ACLU:
PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
I like seeing under the defendants list:
Donald Trump, President of the United States.
I hope this happens a tremendous amount of times. Huge numbers.
posted by Jalliah at 8:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [72 favorites]
WashPo: The leaks coming out of the Trump White House cast the president as a clueless child
posted by peeedro at 8:48 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 8:48 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Forward this along to all of your fundie friends: "I was a stranger and you did not welcome me". Father James Martin, S.J., on our Biblical obligations to offer refuge:
“Today,” St. John Paul II said, “the illegal migrant comes before us like that ‘stranger’ in whom Jesus asks to be recognized. To welcome him and to show him solidarity is a duty of hospitality and fidelity to Christian identity itself.”
So, reject these measures and welcome Christ. Call your local legislators and tell them to care for Christ. Write to the White House and ask them to protect Christ. Show up at town hall meetings and advocate for Christ. And pray for our brothers and sisters who are refugees and migrants.
Because if you do not, and you reject Christ, then it is their prayers that you will need.
posted by TwoStride at 8:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
“Today,” St. John Paul II said, “the illegal migrant comes before us like that ‘stranger’ in whom Jesus asks to be recognized. To welcome him and to show him solidarity is a duty of hospitality and fidelity to Christian identity itself.”
So, reject these measures and welcome Christ. Call your local legislators and tell them to care for Christ. Write to the White House and ask them to protect Christ. Show up at town hall meetings and advocate for Christ. And pray for our brothers and sisters who are refugees and migrants.
Because if you do not, and you reject Christ, then it is their prayers that you will need.
posted by TwoStride at 8:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
It's worth noting that the EO from Wednesday mandates throwing out green card holders for any crime, or even if an immigration official doesn't like the look of you.
posted by Coventry at 8:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
It's worth noting that the EO from Wednesday mandates throwing out green card holders for any crime, or even if an immigration official doesn't like the look of you.
posted by Coventry at 8:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think that mass protest is the best thing right now, because it make the worse stuff less likely. Something to think about: even the worst and most monstrous political actions take people and material and time. This is a very large country which is very spread out and which has a lot of jurisdictions. Martial law and state violence in the street will be much harder to conduct here than in a small country - or even a large country like Russia which already has the infrastructure. We have a large prison system and some history of political police, but we don't have a hundred years of mass imprisonment and murder of dissidents, or a system of street by street oversight and enforcement.
Right now, everything they've done requires relatively little enforcement or else is going to be massively litigated before it can start. The one thing we can all do is commit to making enough trouble now now now that it becomes obvious that martial law, mass imprisonment, etc, will be very, very difficult. "No matter who they vote for, we are ungovernable" is a useful slogan.
posted by Frowner at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Right now, everything they've done requires relatively little enforcement or else is going to be massively litigated before it can start. The one thing we can all do is commit to making enough trouble now now now that it becomes obvious that martial law, mass imprisonment, etc, will be very, very difficult. "No matter who they vote for, we are ungovernable" is a useful slogan.
posted by Frowner at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
You want to know what political strategies will work? Study the end of the Gilded Age. But don't ever, ever forget that it was people exercising their own agency to rebel against injustice and disrupt business as usual that forced the needed political change.
Such assumes you have a need for workers. The new age of robotics will result in less workers being needed. Just like drones have translated to less people to act as a 'bullet sponge' and furthers a lack of concern about the present WW III moving onto WW IV.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Such assumes you have a need for workers. The new age of robotics will result in less workers being needed. Just like drones have translated to less people to act as a 'bullet sponge' and furthers a lack of concern about the present WW III moving onto WW IV.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Protest at JFK from 2:00 to 7:00 today, if you couldn't get to the one at 11:00.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Every executive order, every piece of legislation, every rule decree needs a swarm of bright legal types to disassemble it and throw roadblocks up everywhere they can as soon as they can.
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
I've been reading some analysis on the EOs that came out this week and the conclusion seems to be that for a lot of them they're crap when it comes to implementing what they say they want. They are full of illegal things, things that can't be done easily, and they lack a coherent understanding of how the government works.
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
posted by Jalliah at 8:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Oh, it contradicts Some.Reg.123.h? File emergency suit in, er, FL courts. Do this for Every. Last. Thing. On sloppily written ones, force the agencies affected to immediately issue new rules which comply, and if they cannot, sue to prevent the order from taking place.
I've been reading some analysis on the EOs that came out this week and the conclusion seems to be that for a lot of them they're crap when it comes to implementing what they say they want. They are full of illegal things, things that can't be done easily, and they lack a coherent understanding of how the government works.
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
posted by Jalliah at 8:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'm fucking shaking with rage right now, and I need to have another go at this:
Have you been paying attention at all to what the most vulnerable people have been crying out for from the privileged? Since forever? They have been begging for the advantaged to stand with them! Not to withdraw into abstractions.
If you want to help them, help them! Maybe that means hitting the streets, maybe it means diverting some privileged income to help those who are casting their body ballots in the streets. And, yes, maybe it means working for political change.
But it goddamned well doesn't mean discouraging direct action.
posted by perspicio at 8:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
Another reason a general strike is a bad idea is that it places an unfair burden on unskilled, low-wage, and hourly workers, who have the most punitive consequences when they miss work, and can least do without the income. I'd rather find a strategy that isn't suited mainly to the already-advantaged.Oh, soo unfair!
Have you been paying attention at all to what the most vulnerable people have been crying out for from the privileged? Since forever? They have been begging for the advantaged to stand with them! Not to withdraw into abstractions.
If you want to help them, help them! Maybe that means hitting the streets, maybe it means diverting some privileged income to help those who are casting their body ballots in the streets. And, yes, maybe it means working for political change.
But it goddamned well doesn't mean discouraging direct action.
posted by perspicio at 8:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
I hope this happens a tremendous amount of times.
"Donald Trump, Defendant and President of the United States."
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
"Donald Trump, Defendant and President of the United States."
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
like, as a bare minimum
posted by indubitable at 9:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [92 favorites]
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
like, as a bare minimum
posted by indubitable at 9:03 AM on January 28, 2017 [92 favorites]
Now I'm seeing stuff on twitter that says GC holders are being let back in. Here and here for example. No one seems to know what the fuck is going on.
It seems that less savoury CBP officers are using the confusion to bring their personal beliefs and prejudices into the admission process for LPRs. This is despite the fact that LPRs are not technically seeking admission. The CBP officers are doing something that's blatantly illegal.
So now we have some people paying thousands because getting back into the country is coming down to a CBP crapshoot.
posted by Talez at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
It seems that less savoury CBP officers are using the confusion to bring their personal beliefs and prejudices into the admission process for LPRs. This is despite the fact that LPRs are not technically seeking admission. The CBP officers are doing something that's blatantly illegal.
So now we have some people paying thousands because getting back into the country is coming down to a CBP crapshoot.
posted by Talez at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
@aayoub: "It will bar green card holders," Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said in an email.
Utter clusterfuck.
posted by argonauta at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Utter clusterfuck.
posted by argonauta at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Question for those more steeped in the history of US international relations: what other times in our history has mere *entry* from a foreign nation been banned? I've been trying to dig up some information on that and I'm seeing all sorts of immigration restrictions, but nothing this blanket.
posted by jammer at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jammer at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Now I'm seeing stuff on twitter that says GC holders are being let back in. Here and here for example. No one seems to know what the fuck is going on.
Yes because this EO is crap and largely illegal. So it comes out, memos are sent from on high, people on the ground are expected to OBEY cause you know its the Whitehouse so they do. Then people who know how things they're crap start going WTF they're crap you can't do this, cause crap, illegal! and it's one big muddle of confusion.
Was it done purposely to make confusion and chaos, did they know exactly what was going to happen, like have an actual understand of how systems work? Or is this people on high thinking thinking they have the best minds, I shall decree and it all will go swimmingly.
I really have no idea which one it is with this admin. Arguments can easily be made supporting both points of view.
posted by Jalliah at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Yes because this EO is crap and largely illegal. So it comes out, memos are sent from on high, people on the ground are expected to OBEY cause you know its the Whitehouse so they do. Then people who know how things they're crap start going WTF they're crap you can't do this, cause crap, illegal! and it's one big muddle of confusion.
Was it done purposely to make confusion and chaos, did they know exactly what was going to happen, like have an actual understand of how systems work? Or is this people on high thinking thinking they have the best minds, I shall decree and it all will go swimmingly.
I really have no idea which one it is with this admin. Arguments can easily be made supporting both points of view.
posted by Jalliah at 9:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
A few disjointed thoughts:
-Didn't massive strikes work in South Korea a few months ago? The citizens pretty much Rosen up and the president resigned?
-I have decided the Fox News bubble, KoolAid drinking, blindly adoring Trump people are *that guy* from The Matrix who sold out the rest of the resistance so he could go back inside and live in blissful ignorance.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
-Didn't massive strikes work in South Korea a few months ago? The citizens pretty much Rosen up and the president resigned?
-I have decided the Fox News bubble, KoolAid drinking, blindly adoring Trump people are *that guy* from The Matrix who sold out the rest of the resistance so he could go back inside and live in blissful ignorance.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
A Habeas is the "great writ" - ANYONE should be able to walk into ANY ongoing court case and make the demand. And at the next break your writ should get heard.
(OF course such "uppity" demanding of rights by soldiers returning from WWII is why the 1946 change in the rules to access to federal grand juries were changed.)
posted by rough ashlar at 9:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
We have piles of surplus attorneys, let's put them to use!
A Habeas is the "great writ" - ANYONE should be able to walk into ANY ongoing court case and make the demand. And at the next break your writ should get heard.
(OF course such "uppity" demanding of rights by soldiers returning from WWII is why the 1946 change in the rules to access to federal grand juries were changed.)
posted by rough ashlar at 9:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Please stop misleading people about the law. Seriously, the reality you inhabit is your own (WWIII is upon us! Theta waves!) and it would be nice for some of the other lawyers around here to speak up.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Question for those more steeped in the history of US international relations: what other times in our history has mere *entry* from a foreign nation been banned? I've been trying to dig up some information on that and I'm seeing all sorts of immigration restrictions, but nothing this blanket.
Not steeped, but have you seen this article yet? It covers a lot of history and legislation.
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
and an earlier one: Trump’s Ban on Immigration from Certain Countries Is Illegal
posted by Jalliah at 9:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Not steeped, but have you seen this article yet? It covers a lot of history and legislation.
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
and an earlier one: Trump’s Ban on Immigration from Certain Countries Is Illegal
posted by Jalliah at 9:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
High five to the WaPo for that (!) after Jeb in the article peedro linked to upthread.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
@BraddJaffy: Trump is on the phone with Putin right now — surrounded by Pence, Priebus, Bannon and Flynn (photo via Spicer)
posted by argonauta at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO? Lead a coup?
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
A great site for tracking your senator's cabinet voting record
posted by dis_integration at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
for starters, STOP VOTING FOR TRUMP'S NOMINEES
A great site for tracking your senator's cabinet voting record
posted by dis_integration at 9:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Please stop misleading people about the law. Seriously, the reality you inhabit is your own (WWIII is upon us! Theta waves!) and it would be nice for some of the other lawyers around here to speak up.
It's not misleading if it's just relating what actual lawyers and people who work with these types of things are saying.
posted by Jalliah at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's not misleading if it's just relating what actual lawyers and people who work with these types of things are saying.
posted by Jalliah at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been reading some analysis on the EOs that came out this week and the conclusion seems to be that for a lot of them they're crap when it comes to implementing what they say they want. They are full of illegal things, things that can't be done easily, and they lack a coherent understanding of how the government works.
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
So really they are Executive Ejaculations.
posted by srboisvert at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
The one about expanding the military is pure fluff and symbolism. The others are being questioned on whether the people that wrote then actually know they're crap and it is mostly symbolism or how much of it is due to incompetence. There was a report that it was mostly Miller and Bannon writing these things without much consultation with agencies and people who know how things work and what's illegal and whatnot. I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point how much is part of the 'show' and how much is them not knowing wtf they're doing when it comes to actually getting these things to happen.
So really they are Executive Ejaculations.
posted by srboisvert at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
Just what I was looking for, Jalliah, thanks!
posted by jammer at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Just what I was looking for, Jalliah, thanks!
posted by jammer at 9:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hillary is a lot more resilient than me. If I was her I'd be home at Chappaqua just weeping while getting trashed on bourbon and, when that runs out, Listerine.
posted by Talez at 9:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Talez at 9:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
rough ashlar, many of the claims you make are false. It would be very helpful for people reading you if you could provide citations for future claims, and it would also bolster your accuracy and credibility.
posted by Coventry at 9:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Coventry at 9:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
A great site for tracking your senator's cabinet voting record
I tried doing this by going to senate.gov and looking up votes when I heard about Elizabeth Warren voting for Ben Carson in committee, but they don't seem to publish committee votes. Does anyone else know where to find records of committee votes? The individual committee web pages seem to be just press release fluff.
posted by indubitable at 9:18 AM on January 28, 2017
I tried doing this by going to senate.gov and looking up votes when I heard about Elizabeth Warren voting for Ben Carson in committee, but they don't seem to publish committee votes. Does anyone else know where to find records of committee votes? The individual committee web pages seem to be just press release fluff.
posted by indubitable at 9:18 AM on January 28, 2017
What are you guys expecting elected Democrats to DO?
I would like to see most of their words at least match Republican Evan Fucking McMullin who has formed a new conservative group to fight. This seems like a pretty low bar.
posted by bongo_x at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
I would like to see most of their words at least match Republican Evan Fucking McMullin who has formed a new conservative group to fight. This seems like a pretty low bar.
posted by bongo_x at 9:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
When you are out in the streets, demonstrating and marching and protesting, protect yourselves. It only takes a couple of idiots -- who may have nothing to do with your group -- to trigger a vile response. Sometimes not even that. Stay prepared, smart and safe.
If you find yourself in a crackdown and your group is doing nothing wrong, cameras high. Let the world play witness. Be assertive, not violent. Panic is contagious, but calm and courage can be too. Good luck.
posted by delfin at 9:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
If you find yourself in a crackdown and your group is doing nothing wrong, cameras high. Let the world play witness. Be assertive, not violent. Panic is contagious, but calm and courage can be too. Good luck.
posted by delfin at 9:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Trump is on the phone with Putin right now — surrounded by Pence, Priebus, Bannon and Flynn
Trump holding the handset.... so can those idiots even hear what is said on the other end or are they just watching Trump nod and say "Mmmmm hmmmm. Mmmmm hmmmmm"? In pictures where Presidents Obama is on the phone with the handset, others are over on the couches listening to another phone on speaker.
Trump is just going to hang up and not tell anyone what happened and just iMessage Putin later!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump holding the handset.... so can those idiots even hear what is said on the other end or are they just watching Trump nod and say "Mmmmm hmmmm. Mmmmm hmmmmm"? In pictures where Presidents Obama is on the phone with the handset, others are over on the couches listening to another phone on speaker.
Trump is just going to hang up and not tell anyone what happened and just iMessage Putin later!
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The N-dimensional chess question is: Why issue this late on a Friday? Just to be as much of an asshole as possible? I mean, that's definitely possible; late on a Friday means a large number of people are affected without recourse, making this as painful as possible.
With something slightly less inflammatory, and the old-media news cycle, Friday's when you dump the bad news and hope it simply gets lost over the weekend.
For something this big though, it gives those opposed the whole weekend to prepare; write briefs, reasearch case law, organize, get anec-data - bios of the many people negatively impacted by this; the missed weddings (both just attending and participant), missed births, missed funerals.
Which means a late Friday release is the opposite of what you'd want if you really want it to sick - it gives a whole weekend to prepare and organize.
The N-dimensional chess answer is then - they're going to do this every weekend and it'll tire us out. I'm outraged but I'm also very human. It's only been 1 week; there are another hundred to go before midterms, and resisting every weekend is gonna tire us out and this is a tactic to thin us out if we don't start taking weekdays off to compensate.
Relinking Mirah Curzer's piece on How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind in case anybody missed it from the last thread.
posted by fragmede at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
With something slightly less inflammatory, and the old-media news cycle, Friday's when you dump the bad news and hope it simply gets lost over the weekend.
For something this big though, it gives those opposed the whole weekend to prepare; write briefs, reasearch case law, organize, get anec-data - bios of the many people negatively impacted by this; the missed weddings (both just attending and participant), missed births, missed funerals.
Which means a late Friday release is the opposite of what you'd want if you really want it to sick - it gives a whole weekend to prepare and organize.
The N-dimensional chess answer is then - they're going to do this every weekend and it'll tire us out. I'm outraged but I'm also very human. It's only been 1 week; there are another hundred to go before midterms, and resisting every weekend is gonna tire us out and this is a tactic to thin us out if we don't start taking weekdays off to compensate.
Relinking Mirah Curzer's piece on How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind in case anybody missed it from the last thread.
posted by fragmede at 9:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Calls made. I'm shaking. Time to angry clean the bathroom.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
"Remember sitting in history, thinking “If I was alive then, I would’ve…” You’re alive now. Whatever you’re doing is what you would’ve done."
posted by bongo_x at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Illegal
Just what I was looking for, Jalliah, thanks!
Also in terms of bias, this is the CATO institute, funded largely by the Koch brothers. Liberal leaning bias they are not.
posted by Jalliah at 9:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Also in terms of bias, this is the CATO institute, funded largely by the Koch brothers. Liberal leaning bias they are not.
I was just chuckling over that, myself. If the regressives have go so far off the rails that the freaking CATO institute is calling them out... strange times indeed.
posted by jammer at 9:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I was just chuckling over that, myself. If the regressives have go so far off the rails that the freaking CATO institute is calling them out... strange times indeed.
posted by jammer at 9:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
It's clear to me that mass action is the only thing that could possibly impede the progress of the imminent global fascist regime. We cannot avoid a generation of atrocity if we allow the movement to continue building inertia. They are not playing by a rulebook we recognize.
We do need to be planning on the future, and what comes after, but the priority right now should be countering their momentum. We must stand together and impose the reality of our opposition on the mass consciousness.
posted by polyhedron at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
We do need to be planning on the future, and what comes after, but the priority right now should be countering their momentum. We must stand together and impose the reality of our opposition on the mass consciousness.
posted by polyhedron at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
With something slightly less inflammatory, and the old-media news cycle, Friday's when you dump the bad news and hope it simply gets lost over the weekend.
I think that's changed with Trump. With all the tv he watches, I think Friday news dumps are a strategy to control the topic on the Sunday news shows.
posted by peeedro at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
I think that's changed with Trump. With all the tv he watches, I think Friday news dumps are a strategy to control the topic on the Sunday news shows.
posted by peeedro at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Everyone seems to be focusing on what Democrats should be doing right now, but as a minority in both houses, they can do nothing alone except complain and maybe contribute to an amicus brief if this order is challenged on Constitutional grounds. Don't get me wrong -- they should definitely be complaining louder than they are right now, but we must also recognize that the fate of our country is in the hands of so-called moderate Republicans right now, and that is where the primary blame should be. It would only take a handful of them, joining with every single Democrat, to pass legislation that would reverse the effect of this executive order, or at least to fast-track a resolution of the Constitutional crisis in the courts. We already know where almost every Democrat stands on this -- where are the "moderate" Republicans?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 9:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Oh hey, should I also tweet my call scripts to their various Twitters? I'm new to teh twitbox.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017
@BraddJaffy: Trump is on the phone with Putin right now — surrounded by Pence, Priebus, Bannon and Flynn (photo via Spicer)
To repeat, he's not allowed to speak to foreign leaders alone because he's mentally unstable.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
To repeat, he's not allowed to speak to foreign leaders alone because he's mentally unstable.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
BTW that is about 13 million people.
posted by srboisvert at 9:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
BTW that is about 13 million people.
posted by srboisvert at 9:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
If you happen to live in the SF Bay Area, here are a couple things to do over the next couple weeks: Support our Muslim Neighbors canvassing, Interfaith Vigil to Support Immigrant Rights. I'm looking for more stuff..
posted by latkes at 9:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by latkes at 9:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
where are the "moderate" Republicans?
Again, there are none. There never were.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Again, there are none. There never were.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
CATO's not surprising- they're right-wingers, yes, but they've been complaining about the immigration process for years. They're mostly assholes (and IMO they want unrestricted immigration because they think it'll drive down wages), but this is a topic they're generally okay on.
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
RAND and Cato have studies out. So, RAND and Rand agree.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Now we just need to call Sanderson.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017
but as a minority in both houses, they can do nothing alone except complain and maybe contribute to an amicus brief if this order is challenged on Constitutional grounds
When it comes to executive orders, yes, they are mostly powerless. But their voice matters.
But the Senate is set up in such a way as to empower the minority party to stop legislation. The republicans only have 54 members, which is 6 short of the 60 required for cloture. The Democrats can block every single bill, basically, besides reconciliation, if they stand as a single front. They can also block any supreme court nominee. They can restrict Trump to executive action alone, and then work to have those actions challenged in court when they violate the law. If they did this they would likely gain seats in both the house and senate in 2018.
They will probably not do this because they suck.
posted by dis_integration at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
When it comes to executive orders, yes, they are mostly powerless. But their voice matters.
But the Senate is set up in such a way as to empower the minority party to stop legislation. The republicans only have 54 members, which is 6 short of the 60 required for cloture. The Democrats can block every single bill, basically, besides reconciliation, if they stand as a single front. They can also block any supreme court nominee. They can restrict Trump to executive action alone, and then work to have those actions challenged in court when they violate the law. If they did this they would likely gain seats in both the house and senate in 2018.
They will probably not do this because they suck.
posted by dis_integration at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
Libertarians are generally for unrestricted immigration/open borders, so yeah, no surprising w/ CATO.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
fragmede--thank you for re-linking the Curzer piece. I missed it in the last thread and needed to read it. I think I'll be needing to read it many times.
posted by bookmammal at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bookmammal at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
where are the "moderate" Republicans?
Still content to watch the mob from the veranda.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Still content to watch the mob from the veranda.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
All of this because his son is afraid of Skittles.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
The N-dimensional chess answer is then - they're going to do this every weekend and it'll tire us out. I'm outraged but I'm also very human. It's only been 1 week; there are another hundred to go before midterms, and resisting every weekend is gonna tire us out and this is a tactic to thin us out if we don't start taking weekdays off to compensate.
It is the tactic of trolls, the tactic of terrorists, the tactic of despots. It takes less emotional energy to initiate evil shit than to remain on guard, to react and resist it. The emotional component of this is what's unfamiliar to a lot of people, myself included. The animal fear, the twitchiness, the uncertainty: that's what people live with elsewhere, and have lived with during dark times. It demands a kind of training to manage it without forgetting where it's coming from.
posted by holgate at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
It is the tactic of trolls, the tactic of terrorists, the tactic of despots. It takes less emotional energy to initiate evil shit than to remain on guard, to react and resist it. The emotional component of this is what's unfamiliar to a lot of people, myself included. The animal fear, the twitchiness, the uncertainty: that's what people live with elsewhere, and have lived with during dark times. It demands a kind of training to manage it without forgetting where it's coming from.
posted by holgate at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
cabinetvotes.com is a handy URL, but it could use some of the at-a-glance color coding of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_of_Donald_Trump's_Cabinet#Confirmation_roll_call_votes
posted by scrowdid at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by scrowdid at 9:37 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Relinking Mirah Curzer's piece on How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind in case anybody missed it from the last thread.
This is great article. This particularly stood out for me because of my own experience with some quite tense and drawn out political and social conflict.
You will stop being shocked by the latest scandal and horrified by the latest attack on civil rights. Trump will become the new normal. And that is the worst thing that could happen, because THIS IS NOT NORMAL, and democracies fall when their people stop resisting.
We have to stay outraged for the next four years and resist the powerful urge to adapt to the new normal. But that doesn’t mean you have to live the next four years in a constant state of anxiety and anger. It means, when you do think about Trump and his minions, the appropriate feeling is outrage. But you can’t live like that all the time, and that means you have to spend a significant amount of time not thinking about Trump and all the work that has to be done. Do not get used to Trump — get away from him.
High levels of outrage for extended periods of time is soooo taxing. The way I describe what happened to me was I fell or maybe created a state that I can only try and describe as 'mundane outrage'. Where being outraged turns into a more manageable emotional state. Yes I am continuously outraged by this but I'm lessening the 'feel' part of it. Perhaps it's more an intellectual sense of outrage. It's not about becoming desensitized in the sense that you end up ignoring it but desensitizing to the emotional part. It is a coping mechinism.
So if you find yourself not responding with the same emotional intensity to something outrageous that's okay. Some might say that this has when you normalize it but it's not, if you still know that it's outrageous. It is however normalizing the outrage so you can cope day to day.
posted by Jalliah at 9:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Also, this is a nice little online project, a place to share what you are doing to prepare and respond for community safety and strength: Lightningbolt Vision.
posted by latkes at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by latkes at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
where are the "moderate" Republicans?
Posting "stupid protesters, Trump deserves a chance, he hasn't done anything yet, wasn't Madonna so horrible" on Facebook.
None of this registers with them unless they are affected personally.
posted by delfin at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Posting "stupid protesters, Trump deserves a chance, he hasn't done anything yet, wasn't Madonna so horrible" on Facebook.
None of this registers with them unless they are affected personally.
posted by delfin at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
For Canadians, courtesy of Julie Lalonde: contact your MPs and let them know this mistreatment and barring of refugees will not stand. Please ask them to publicly denounce the Trump Administration.
NPD leader Thomas Mulcair calls Trump a "fascist" and urges PM Trudeau to stand up to him.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to tell Trump administration that Canada does not support torture.
Now it's time for me to give Mark Gerretsen and Sophie Kiwala a ring.
posted by Kitteh at 9:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
NPD leader Thomas Mulcair calls Trump a "fascist" and urges PM Trudeau to stand up to him.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to tell Trump administration that Canada does not support torture.
Now it's time for me to give Mark Gerretsen and Sophie Kiwala a ring.
posted by Kitteh at 9:44 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Talez: The airlines submit manifests to the CBP. The CBP gives final yay or nay on whether a passenger can board.
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
KLM themselves did not say that they were not allowed to let the passengers board, they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US". That is a (translated) literal quote from the KLM spokesperson. It's one thing if specific individuals are prohibited from boarding a plane, it's quite different if a foreign company takes it upon themselves to make assumptions about which individuals, based upon nationality, "will not pass customs" according to KLM and therefore forbids them from boarding a plane.
At the very minimum, if what you were saying were the case, I would expect any company that is forced to comply with this racist rule would speak out vehemently against it and stress that they have no choice and feel terrible about this. KLM has not.
posted by blub at 9:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
There's no FAQ for what happens if the airline allows someone who's been given the thumbs down by the CBP to board because I'm pretty sure no airline is that fucking stupid.
KLM themselves did not say that they were not allowed to let the passengers board, they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US". That is a (translated) literal quote from the KLM spokesperson. It's one thing if specific individuals are prohibited from boarding a plane, it's quite different if a foreign company takes it upon themselves to make assumptions about which individuals, based upon nationality, "will not pass customs" according to KLM and therefore forbids them from boarding a plane.
At the very minimum, if what you were saying were the case, I would expect any company that is forced to comply with this racist rule would speak out vehemently against it and stress that they have no choice and feel terrible about this. KLM has not.
posted by blub at 9:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Fuck Jill Stein. Any leanings or sympathy I had for third parties is gone.
http://observer.com/2017/01/the-veil-has-come-off-jill-stein-rallies-greens-after-trump-inauguration/
posted by bongo_x at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
http://observer.com/2017/01/the-veil-has-come-off-jill-stein-rallies-greens-after-trump-inauguration/
posted by bongo_x at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Iran to ban US citizens in response to Trump's order
posted by futz at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by futz at 9:50 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
So, my dog died yesterday and I was emotionally gutted and went to bed drained and exhausted.
Then I woke up to this. God damn it. Can't I have one day to not feel paralyzed with fear? I don't even know what I should be doing right now. There is no resistance except on an individual level, and while individuals and small groups have done some wonderful work, this is not going to be good enough. It's still so early in and it's already this bad.
posted by byanyothername at 9:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Then I woke up to this. God damn it. Can't I have one day to not feel paralyzed with fear? I don't even know what I should be doing right now. There is no resistance except on an individual level, and while individuals and small groups have done some wonderful work, this is not going to be good enough. It's still so early in and it's already this bad.
posted by byanyothername at 9:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Democrats must decide: are they part of the resistance or not?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 9:52 AM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
It is the tactic of trolls, the tactic of terrorists, the tactic of despots. It takes less emotional energy to initiate evil shit than to remain on guard, to react and resist it. The emotional component of this is what's unfamiliar to a lot of people, myself included. The animal fear, the twitchiness, the uncertainty: that's what people live with elsewhere, and have lived with during dark times. It demands a kind of training to manage it without forgetting where it's coming from.
Absolutely, 100%. Ding, ding. I would favorite this 100x if I could. This relates exactly to my last comment about creating a state of 'mundane outrage'.
Also will add that long term, concerted resistance can get boring and start feeling more like it's a job. It's just something you do. At the outset the emotional highs can provide a whole lot of motivation. Then the highs subside, the intensity lessens, psychological coping mechinsm kick in and boom you find yourself dragging yourself to a protest, not because you're burnt out, but because it's just something you need to do. This is completely normal as well.
posted by Jalliah at 9:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Absolutely, 100%. Ding, ding. I would favorite this 100x if I could. This relates exactly to my last comment about creating a state of 'mundane outrage'.
Also will add that long term, concerted resistance can get boring and start feeling more like it's a job. It's just something you do. At the outset the emotional highs can provide a whole lot of motivation. Then the highs subside, the intensity lessens, psychological coping mechinsm kick in and boom you find yourself dragging yourself to a protest, not because you're burnt out, but because it's just something you need to do. This is completely normal as well.
posted by Jalliah at 9:55 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
For Canadians, courtesy of Julie Lalonde: contact your MPs and let them know this mistreatment and barring of refugees will not stand. Please ask them to publicly denounce the Trump Administration.
My wife and I got in an argument at the front door with our fuckhead of an MP over Syrian refugees during the last election. Once I'm home, I'll be happy to start it again with him.
posted by nubs at 9:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
My wife and I got in an argument at the front door with our fuckhead of an MP over Syrian refugees during the last election. Once I'm home, I'll be happy to start it again with him.
posted by nubs at 9:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Then the highs subside, the intensity lessens, psychological coping mechinsm kick in and boom you find yourself dragging yourself to a protest, not because you're burnt out, but because it's just something you need to do.
I think it's something we *have* to do if we ever again want to experience something resembling the old normal.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think it's something we *have* to do if we ever again want to experience something resembling the old normal.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
We Talked To People Who Fought For ISIS. This Is How They Plan To Use Trump.
In the days that followed, the recent defector said, ISIS members in Raqqa, the group’s self-declared capital, hailed Donald Trump’s win as a victory for the terror group. Local leaders even called it divine intervention. “They told us that victory is at hand and that God has sent the pig Trump as clear evidence of this,” Abu Musab said. “And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
posted by futz at 9:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
In the days that followed, the recent defector said, ISIS members in Raqqa, the group’s self-declared capital, hailed Donald Trump’s win as a victory for the terror group. Local leaders even called it divine intervention. “They told us that victory is at hand and that God has sent the pig Trump as clear evidence of this,” Abu Musab said. “And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
posted by futz at 9:59 AM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US". That is a (translated) literal quote from the KLM spokesperson. It's one thing if specific individuals are prohibited from boarding a plane, it's quite different if a foreign company takes it upon themselves to make assumptions about which individuals, based upon nationality, "will not pass customs" according to KLM and therefore forbids them from boarding a plane.
OK, this is, I believe, how it works...
(1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
(2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
(3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
((4) The non-greenlighted do not board.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
OK, this is, I believe, how it works...
(1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
(2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
(3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
((4) The non-greenlighted do not board.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:01 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, well, Jill Stein isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Her whole speech is obviously an attempt to distance herself from the whole "Hillary is worse than Trump" thing, which was one of the dumbest statements I've ever seen from an American leftist and a perfect illustration of why we will never have a middle class Green left here. We might conceivably have a Fight-For-$15 type party because they're not delusional and are good at the local level, but yeah, Stein is an idiot and I am deeply skeptical of anyone who guides their politics by her.
She's certainly right that the Democrats were a big part of getting us into this mess, but like it or lump it they also have to be a big part of getting us out again, which is going to require a transformation of the party.
posted by Frowner at 10:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
She's certainly right that the Democrats were a big part of getting us into this mess, but like it or lump it they also have to be a big part of getting us out again, which is going to require a transformation of the party.
posted by Frowner at 10:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
In the days that followed, the recent defector said, ISIS members in Raqqa, the group’s self-declared capital, hailed Donald Trump’s win as a victory for the terror group. Local leaders even called it divine intervention. “They told us that victory is at hand and that God has sent the pig Trump as clear evidence of this,” Abu Musab said. “And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
So basically ISIS, which is not the world's most perceptive terrorist organization, has a sounder and more accurate political analysis than about 90% of Americans.
posted by Frowner at 10:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
So basically ISIS, which is not the world's most perceptive terrorist organization, has a sounder and more accurate political analysis than about 90% of Americans.
posted by Frowner at 10:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
Has anyone seen total number of visa holders and green card holders impacted by this?
All of them. Every single one.
I'm going to predict right now that naturalized citizens will eventually become a target.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
All of them. Every single one.
I'm going to predict right now that naturalized citizens will eventually become a target.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
The republicans only have 54 members
Minor point, but it's 52. So 8 needed to beat a filibuster while Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
In comparison, Dems had 60 for a bit and 59 for quite a while with a candidate that had won the popular vote by 10 million, not lost it by 3. And Republicans with unified resistance managed to stop many things. We are not helpless or beaten. We need to keep fighting, get our representatives to start fighting, and not give in to despair. That's what Bannon wants with this "shock & awe". Demoralization and surrender.
Fuck that. I don't want to just punch Nazis, I want to kick their asses. And we can. They already caved on the ACA commercials. They're floundering on repealing the ACA. Half or more of this EO shit is garbage, unconstitutional and/or unenforceable. He's hugely unpopular and Republican policies are even more so.
So don't get down, get even. Our cause is right, our numbers bigger, our policies more popular. We can and will beat the fuckers.
posted by chris24 at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [83 favorites]
Minor point, but it's 52. So 8 needed to beat a filibuster while Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
In comparison, Dems had 60 for a bit and 59 for quite a while with a candidate that had won the popular vote by 10 million, not lost it by 3. And Republicans with unified resistance managed to stop many things. We are not helpless or beaten. We need to keep fighting, get our representatives to start fighting, and not give in to despair. That's what Bannon wants with this "shock & awe". Demoralization and surrender.
Fuck that. I don't want to just punch Nazis, I want to kick their asses. And we can. They already caved on the ACA commercials. They're floundering on repealing the ACA. Half or more of this EO shit is garbage, unconstitutional and/or unenforceable. He's hugely unpopular and Republican policies are even more so.
So don't get down, get even. Our cause is right, our numbers bigger, our policies more popular. We can and will beat the fuckers.
posted by chris24 at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2017 [83 favorites]
Someone just pointed out that 4% of active duty members of the American military are not US citizens. There may be current US service members who are kept out of the US by the ban on green card holders.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I'm going to predict right now that naturalized citizens will eventually become a target.
The only question in my mind is how many generations of ethnic purity they'll demand for birthright citizens.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
The only question in my mind is how many generations of ethnic purity they'll demand for birthright citizens.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Just catching up on the back catalogue here and localhuman's Trump is Poopy sign.
I ordered yard signs printed from a print-ready pdf that a local group made that say "All Are Welcome Here" and 'welcome' written in the languages of the largest immigrant and refugee groups in the city. It's pretty innocuous but I figured better than nothing. Last week while I was doing the dishes after dinner, the doorbell rang. The father of someone who lives up the street from us came by to thank us for the sign, to let us know that it did make him feel more welcome and it made him feel better about the neighborhood.
I let my husband field that convo while I was in the kitchen because he's really been fulfilling the Jacobin-reading revolutionary LARPer stereotype these days (real political or direct actions he has taken = 0) and had argued against yard signs as "mere virtue-signalling." When he came back in the house and told me what the guy had said, he did also say "so, score one for you." LOL okay whatever. As long as he keeps watching the kid while I go to meetings and marches, he can stay.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [74 favorites]
I ordered yard signs printed from a print-ready pdf that a local group made that say "All Are Welcome Here" and 'welcome' written in the languages of the largest immigrant and refugee groups in the city. It's pretty innocuous but I figured better than nothing. Last week while I was doing the dishes after dinner, the doorbell rang. The father of someone who lives up the street from us came by to thank us for the sign, to let us know that it did make him feel more welcome and it made him feel better about the neighborhood.
I let my husband field that convo while I was in the kitchen because he's really been fulfilling the Jacobin-reading revolutionary LARPer stereotype these days (real political or direct actions he has taken = 0) and had argued against yard signs as "mere virtue-signalling." When he came back in the house and told me what the guy had said, he did also say "so, score one for you." LOL okay whatever. As long as he keeps watching the kid while I go to meetings and marches, he can stay.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [74 favorites]
we must also recognize that the fate of our country is in the hands of so-called moderate Republicans right now, and that is where the primary blame should be. It would only take a handful of them, joining with every single Democrat, to pass legislation that would reverse the effect of this executive order, or at least to fast-track a resolution of the Constitutional crisis in the courts. We already know where almost every Democrat stands on this -- where are the "moderate" Republicans?
"Moderate" Republicans will hide under the cover of their base until Trump's popularity tanks enough, and we're not there yet. (We will be. Just not yet.) What we need to focus on is scared Republicans:
From the WaPo article on the closed door ACA strategy infighting:
Also, while any Republican in Congress who made a public statement against the ban over the past year cannot be relied on to remember their own words, and they won't take calls from people outside their districts, the news outlets in their districts don't know you're not a viewer/reader if you email. Maybe it's worth pushing journalists in Wisconsin to take Ryan to task for his own harsh words on the Muslim ban, they're susceptible to audience pressure and don't know you're not their audience.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
"Moderate" Republicans will hide under the cover of their base until Trump's popularity tanks enough, and we're not there yet. (We will be. Just not yet.) What we need to focus on is scared Republicans:
From the WaPo article on the closed door ACA strategy infighting:
- Tom McClintock is scared of electoral backlash - “We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created” with repeal, said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
- John Faso is scared of the mere threat of a fight - Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), a freshman congressman from the Hudson Valley, warned strongly against using the repeal of the ACA to also defund Planned Parenthood. “We are just walking into a gigantic political trap if we go down this path of sticking Planned Parenthood in the health insurance bill,” he said. “If you want to do it somewhere else, I have no problem, but I think we are creating a political minefield for ourselves — House and Senate.”
- Tom MacArthur also knows he can't piss on his constituents forever - Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) worried that the plans under GOP consideration could eviscerate coverage for the roughly 20 million Americans now covered through state and federal marketplaces and the law’s Medicaid expansion: “We’re telling those people that we’re not going to pull the rug out from under them, and if we do this too fast, we are in fact going to pull the rug out from under them.”
Also, while any Republican in Congress who made a public statement against the ban over the past year cannot be relied on to remember their own words, and they won't take calls from people outside their districts, the news outlets in their districts don't know you're not a viewer/reader if you email. Maybe it's worth pushing journalists in Wisconsin to take Ryan to task for his own harsh words on the Muslim ban, they're susceptible to audience pressure and don't know you're not their audience.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
Trump imposes a religious test for entry to the US and gets a one-column story in the second position in the NYT.
posted by porn in the woods at 10:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 10:10 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
So I just want to share something from up in Canada.
I'm currently in the hospital because I needed to have my appendix removed last night. In addition to experiencing the "horrors" of our socialized medicine, I've been following along with the Trump horror show of yesterday's EO and the contrast is amazing.
I was operated on last night by three surgeons, all female, two of them visible minorities and one those an immigrant. I just witnessed two members of the housekeeping staff great each other with "al Salam" before discussing the fact that one of them had found blood in one of the washrooms and heading off to find a nurse to alert her.
Like, what the fucking fuck is going on America? Eat the Skittles. Please.
posted by nubs at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
I'm currently in the hospital because I needed to have my appendix removed last night. In addition to experiencing the "horrors" of our socialized medicine, I've been following along with the Trump horror show of yesterday's EO and the contrast is amazing.
I was operated on last night by three surgeons, all female, two of them visible minorities and one those an immigrant. I just witnessed two members of the housekeeping staff great each other with "al Salam" before discussing the fact that one of them had found blood in one of the washrooms and heading off to find a nurse to alert her.
Like, what the fucking fuck is going on America? Eat the Skittles. Please.
posted by nubs at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
> The only question in my mind is how many generations of ethnic purity they'll demand for birthright citizens.
God damnit, "Trump is Voldemort" is supposed to be pithy, snarky throwaway line, not a call to action for anybody that's read Harry Potter.
posted by fragmede at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017
God damnit, "Trump is Voldemort" is supposed to be pithy, snarky throwaway line, not a call to action for anybody that's read Harry Potter.
posted by fragmede at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017
“And they said that now God will make the Americans start fighting amongst themselves, and they prayed to God, saying, ‘O God, destroy the oppressors by the hand of the oppressors and let us escape them unharmed.’ And we said, ‘Amen.’”
And this is what Bannon would like, because then he gets his outrages and purifying crackdowns and nuclear war.
posted by holgate at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
And this is what Bannon would like, because then he gets his outrages and purifying crackdowns and nuclear war.
posted by holgate at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
"Moderate" Republicans will hide under the cover of their base
My R Senator (who I guess? is a moderate? the Overton window has moved so much, I have no idea anymore) is currently just going LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU HEY HOW 'BOUT THEM STEELERS AMIRITE PLEASE DON'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING I MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE AN OPINION ON.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
My R Senator (who I guess? is a moderate? the Overton window has moved so much, I have no idea anymore) is currently just going LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU HEY HOW 'BOUT THEM STEELERS AMIRITE PLEASE DON'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING I MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE AN OPINION ON.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
I'm not clear that Democrats will be a meaningful part of getting out of this. However, it's still important that we try to use any avenues we have, so pressing our Democratic reps to stand strong is valuable, but again, I don't really see how they will be central to getting out of this. Looking at Dems since Reagan, I'm not clear how this is going to pan out with any kind of meaningful Democratic leadership.
posted by latkes at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by latkes at 10:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump imposes a religious test for entry to the US and gets a one-column story in the second position in the NYT.
You know what the worst thing about the NYT is? It's not that they consistently fuck us, by and large they do some good and great things, it's that when they betray their supposed principles, they seem to do it strategically.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
You know what the worst thing about the NYT is? It's not that they consistently fuck us, by and large they do some good and great things, it's that when they betray their supposed principles, they seem to do it strategically.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:14 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Jerry Nadler (both D-NY) are at JFK right now working to get detained refugees released.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [100 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [100 favorites]
Yeah, I've had no luck getting through to Toomey's offices the last couple of days, even to leave a message. I get that there's a fixed supply of staffers to go through voicemails, but I get the feeling it's more that he doesn't want to hear from us.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 10:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Fuck that. I don't want to just punch Nazis, I want to kick their asses. And we can. They already caved on the ACA commercials. They're floundering on repealing the ACA. Half or more of this EO shit is garbage, unconstitutional and/or unenforceable. He's hugely unpopular and Republican policies are even more so.
So don't get down, get even. Our cause is right, our numbers bigger, our policies more popular. We can and will beat the fuckers.
They've also already caved on the carte blanche hiring freeze due to the response. Veterans health care jobs are now exempt.
Partially caved on the gag orders and lost some control over controlling information. The alt-account resistance rising as well as likely thousands of people scooping all the digital information they want to disappear.
They had to walk back the 20% tax pay for the wall plan because of what looked like almost immediate response and the sheer stupidity of it. And now they are left with no real plan on how to do it so Mexico pays.
They also completely fucked up relations with Mexico
posted by Jalliah at 10:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
Never doubt that fascists and ISIS have the exact same goals.
posted by Artw at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [47 favorites]
I've had no luck getting through to Toomey's offices the last couple of days, even to leave a message.
I got through to everyone's VMs today at their DC offices. Whether they will be listened to on Monday is debatable. But yeah, I am fairly certain that Toomey particularly is just AVOID AVOID AVOID as mush as possible (which frankly has always been his #1 tactic). Which is why it's important to keep it up, and when possible, visit in person.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I got through to everyone's VMs today at their DC offices. Whether they will be listened to on Monday is debatable. But yeah, I am fairly certain that Toomey particularly is just AVOID AVOID AVOID as mush as possible (which frankly has always been his #1 tactic). Which is why it's important to keep it up, and when possible, visit in person.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Jerry Nadler (both D-NY) are at JFK right now working to get detained refugees released.
Nadler is my rep and he has been great in standing up to Trump. Boycotting the inauguration, tweets, statements, FUCKING ACTIONS like today. Proud to have voted for him.
posted by chris24 at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Nadler is my rep and he has been great in standing up to Trump. Boycotting the inauguration, tweets, statements, FUCKING ACTIONS like today. Proud to have voted for him.
posted by chris24 at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
I keep thinking about how two groups are made happy by Trump:
1) Racists/sexist people
2) members of ISIS
So, good job America.
posted by angrycat at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
1) Racists/sexist people
2) members of ISIS
So, good job America.
posted by angrycat at 10:19 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Never doubt that fascists and ISIS have the exact same goals.
ISIS is a twofer here too because they also share the same goal as millenialist Christians: apocalypse.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
The Trump regime rubs its tiny hands in glee waiting for the terrorist backlash.
posted by Flashman at 10:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 10:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
This is what I want elected Dems to be doing. Find those three Republicans. I'm hoping desperately that those votes for Mattis and Haley and Pompeo will buy them a few votes against Tillerson on the Republican side. If they do, it was worth it, given that a vote against would be just symbolic anyway. (I wish I could say I thought they might get a few votes against DeVos and Sessions, but...)
Find the Republicans from blue states and lean on them hard about Obamacare. Find the Libertarians and lean on them about starting trade wars. Use personal friendship, threats, or promises, but break Republican unity. Be the devil on their shoulder AND the angel.
I don't want to win a civil war against American Nazis. I want to send American Nazis back to the margins of society where they belong. And that can only happen if they are marginalized within the party.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
This is what I want elected Dems to be doing. Find those three Republicans. I'm hoping desperately that those votes for Mattis and Haley and Pompeo will buy them a few votes against Tillerson on the Republican side. If they do, it was worth it, given that a vote against would be just symbolic anyway. (I wish I could say I thought they might get a few votes against DeVos and Sessions, but...)
Find the Republicans from blue states and lean on them hard about Obamacare. Find the Libertarians and lean on them about starting trade wars. Use personal friendship, threats, or promises, but break Republican unity. Be the devil on their shoulder AND the angel.
I don't want to win a civil war against American Nazis. I want to send American Nazis back to the margins of society where they belong. And that can only happen if they are marginalized within the party.
posted by OnceUponATime at 10:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Yeah, for all their bluster, they back down whenever there's a skirmish. Just gotta keep at 'em
posted by notyou at 10:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
> OK, this is, I believe, how it works...
> (1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
> (2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
> (3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
That might be part of how it works (don't know all the details), but it's definitely not the whole story. Airlines have their own policies, and if they think you're unlikely to make it through immigration, they won't let you board. For example they independently verify that you to have a return ticket under certain circumstances.
The obvious reason is that they're the ones who have to fly you back if you're not admitted, and I imagine they get stuck with the cost a lot of the time.
> Whoever?
would probably be CBP, or some other DHS agency?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
> (1) Airline sends passenger list ahead of boarding to the US.
> (2) US agencies (CBP? Immigrstion? FBI? CIA? Whoever?) check passengers against their lists.
> (3) US agencies inform airline which passengers are greenlighted, or not.
That might be part of how it works (don't know all the details), but it's definitely not the whole story. Airlines have their own policies, and if they think you're unlikely to make it through immigration, they won't let you board. For example they independently verify that you to have a return ticket under certain circumstances.
The obvious reason is that they're the ones who have to fly you back if you're not admitted, and I imagine they get stuck with the cost a lot of the time.
> Whoever?
would probably be CBP, or some other DHS agency?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I´m sixty six years old and have a mammoth flash black going on but this time it' s 10,000% worse.
Americans, only you can turn it around.
posted by adamvasco at 10:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Americans, only you can turn it around.
posted by adamvasco at 10:25 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Dems need 3 to stop anything from passing.
Four. Manchin will be voting (and has been voting) with the Republican / Trumpnik regime on pretty much everything.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Four. Manchin will be voting (and has been voting) with the Republican / Trumpnik regime on pretty much everything.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Per CNN, Jerry Nadler just announced that one of the two Iraqi men detained at JFK has been released to be with his family. Darweesh, the former interpreter for the US Army. So one small victory today.
posted by chris24 at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 10:26 AM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
Between this and the declaration that Trump wants to conquer them and steal their oil i wonder how long Iraqis working alongside the US forces there is going to last. They've basically been told the people they're fighting ISIS with are going to be the leading edge of an invading force any day now.
posted by Artw at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Consider, however, the march of the Overton Window and that it's only been a week. Concessions in our favor are good but they are not enough. We must work to control the narrative so that we aren't reacting, we must be the force of action that is driving our country forward. We need to agitate for the expeditious removal of this executive.
posted by polyhedron at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by polyhedron at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
I've been having a lot of depressing discussions lately with friends, and going to some protests wondering if it's really helping. So here's what I'm doing right now:
I'm pre-printing a bunch of postcards with my senators' addresses and sticking stamps on them and carrying them around with me. Next time I'm in one of these conversations, they're coming out and the gripes will get written down and mailed. I'm going to take them to the next protest I go to. We're leaving a stack in our makerspace (along with markers and crafty stencils), and one of our members is bringing some around to the local bars.
I've also installed the Countable app on my phone and I'm loving having my reps' phone number at hand along with their recent voting records.
posted by antinomia at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
I'm pre-printing a bunch of postcards with my senators' addresses and sticking stamps on them and carrying them around with me. Next time I'm in one of these conversations, they're coming out and the gripes will get written down and mailed. I'm going to take them to the next protest I go to. We're leaving a stack in our makerspace (along with markers and crafty stencils), and one of our members is bringing some around to the local bars.
I've also installed the Countable app on my phone and I'm loving having my reps' phone number at hand along with their recent voting records.
posted by antinomia at 10:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
warning auto play video from KPIX 5 San Francisco - no transcript
California Could Cut Off Feds In Response To Trump Threat
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – The state of California is studying ways to suspend financial transfers to Washington after the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities, KPIX 5 has learned
posted by Jalliah at 10:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
he's really been fulfilling the Jacobin-reading revolutionary LARPer stereotype these days (real political or direct actions he has taken = 0)
FWIW, it took about six months of listening to Noam Chomsky talks before I took concrete political action, so he may be off to a good start.
posted by Coventry at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
FWIW, it took about six months of listening to Noam Chomsky talks before I took concrete political action, so he may be off to a good start.
posted by Coventry at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is what I want elected Dems to be doing. Find those three Republicans.
OnceUponATime: while I'm not holding my breath for it, this is an intriguing strategy. I don't know enough about Murkowski and Collins to know how amenable they might be in real life as opposed to just on paper, but there are pressure points. Definitely not convinced of the McCain part of that, but even getting just one R to go I is a big deal.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
OnceUponATime: while I'm not holding my breath for it, this is an intriguing strategy. I don't know enough about Murkowski and Collins to know how amenable they might be in real life as opposed to just on paper, but there are pressure points. Definitely not convinced of the McCain part of that, but even getting just one R to go I is a big deal.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I've been having a lot of distressing conversations with nice, white, Christian Iowan friends who agree that Trump is very bad but are upset that his critics have to be so strident about it. And Trump's critics are really posting on Facebook about politics too much. They're actually worse than the Trump people!
I miss living in a place where, for all their faults, people don't think that being polite is more important than not being a fascist.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
I miss living in a place where, for all their faults, people don't think that being polite is more important than not being a fascist.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Between this and the declaration that Trump wants to conquer them and steal their oil i wonder how long Iraqis working alongside the US forces there is going to last. They've basically been told the people they're fighting ISIS with are going to be the leading edge of an invading force any day now.
Iraqis Are Pissed That Trump Said The US Might Try To Seize Their Oil, Again
Iraqis at this tiny outpost near the front lines of the ISIS battle warn that any attempt by the US to seize their oil would destabilize the country, and the region, and possibly undermine the war against ISIS that Trump has described as a top priority.
“There’s no way Trump could take the oil unless he launched a new military front and it be a new world war,” said Kareem Kashekh, a photographer who works for the Popular Mobilization Units, a new branch of Iraq’s armed forces consisting of former militiamen and volunteers fighting against ISIS.
“He cannot do it. He cannot succeed,” said Dawoud Ali, a 30-year-old Baghdad resident and a member of Ansar al-Aghida, one of the Shiite militias fighting against ISIS. “Of course I would fight the Americans if they came for the oil.”
posted by Jalliah at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Special ops turned pundit Malcolm Nance about his Iraqi interpreters getting their Special Immigrant Visas pulled:
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
posted by bluecore at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
posted by bluecore at 10:40 AM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
I'm pre-printing a bunch of postcards with my senators' addresses and sticking stamps on them and carrying them around with me. Next time I'm in one of these conversations, they're coming out and the gripes will get written down and mailed. I'm going to take them to the next protest I go to. We're leaving a stack in our makerspace (along with markers and crafty stencils), and one of our members is bringing some around to the local bars.
I love this idea. Lower the barrier to action. I'll have to do this too.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I love this idea. Lower the barrier to action. I'll have to do this too.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:41 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Special ops turned pundit Malcolm Nance about his Iraqi interpreters getting their Special Immigrant Visas pulled:
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
On the inside things like this are severely screwing the intelligence and security agencies ability to gather intelligence. A large component of gaining access to sources is based on building trust. Donald is throwing the US's trust factor into the dumpster. 'Soft power' is going into the dumpster. He's undermining the IC's ability to meet his own goal of 'keeping America safe' in ways I doubt he has the ability to comprehend if you laid it out for him in crayon and pictures of cats.
posted by Jalliah at 10:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
TWO MORE! Just contacted by two more of my Iraqi Special ops interpreters. Both got SIV 5 days ago. All cancelled this AM at 0900. FFS!!
Aside from the despicable incipient fascism, these are people who directly risked their lives to protect American soldiers, doubly so because just being seen collaborating with Americans could get you killed. Why would any translator anywhere in the world ever risk their lives for us in the future?
No Republican gets to fucking lecture me on "supporting our troops" ever again.
On the inside things like this are severely screwing the intelligence and security agencies ability to gather intelligence. A large component of gaining access to sources is based on building trust. Donald is throwing the US's trust factor into the dumpster. 'Soft power' is going into the dumpster. He's undermining the IC's ability to meet his own goal of 'keeping America safe' in ways I doubt he has the ability to comprehend if you laid it out for him in crayon and pictures of cats.
posted by Jalliah at 10:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
To be honest, no matter what happened, ISIS would say it was a sign from God of their imminent victory and the best thing that could happen. That's a propaganda given.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:02 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Are greencard holders being pressured to abandon their PR status on re-entry??
posted by Coventry at 11:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Coventry at 11:04 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
@netanyahu:
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
posted by chris24 at 11:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
posted by chris24 at 11:06 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ooh I just found the perfect poster to repurpose for a letter writing campaign too, get rid of the caricatures on this thing (especially the super racist one) and replace them with caricatures of Donnie and Pence (tbh you don't have to alter the Mussolini one that much to make it into Trump), replace the text on the bottom with "Send a Letter to your Rep and Senators", then place this over a stack of those pre-stamped and addressed postcards antinomia talked about. I'll have to sketch up some caricatures! But if any other graphic artists out there want to take a swing at it, don't wait for me!
posted by jason_steakums at 11:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jason_steakums at 11:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey, dual citizens get shit on, too!
Citizens of the seven countries identified by President Donald Trump for a 90-day visa ban who hold dual nationality also will be barred from entering the United States, the U.S. State Department said in a statement Saturday.posted by maudlin at 11:07 AM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
In a statement that the State Department is due to release, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the 90-day visa moratorium extends beyond just citizens of Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
It also applies to people who originally hail from those countries but are traveling on a passport issued by any other nation, the statement notes. That means Iraqis seeking to enter the U.S. on a British passport, for instance, will be barred, according to a U.S. official. British citizens don’t normally require a visa to enter the U.S. ...
Like a few here I'm enjoying reading the rogue Potus Staff account but treating it as fan fiction until it posts something before it happens which would confirm that it's coming from actual inside sources.
Here's tweet that may do this? I couldn't find anything specific in the news yet. Anyways just putting it here in case it does or if people have read about this being his specific strategy. There are a few things out there talking about his strategy previously but not anything I could find that matches up with what this tweet is saying.
Rogue Potus Staff
POTUS renegotiating 101: Plans to convince Boeing to "lower" cost of new AF1 by dropping new LM stealth jet in favor of old Boeing model.
posted by Jalliah at 11:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Here's tweet that may do this? I couldn't find anything specific in the news yet. Anyways just putting it here in case it does or if people have read about this being his specific strategy. There are a few things out there talking about his strategy previously but not anything I could find that matches up with what this tweet is saying.
Rogue Potus Staff
POTUS renegotiating 101: Plans to convince Boeing to "lower" cost of new AF1 by dropping new LM stealth jet in favor of old Boeing model.
posted by Jalliah at 11:08 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
A friend's description of the past week as "psychological warfare" has been a helpful way for me to frame how I've been feeling and how I respond. This, right here, this is shock and awe. This is an obvious attempt to stun us into complacency. I am making a commitment to myself to recognize the tactic and to care for myself so that I'm not beaten down by it.
Stand strong. Stand with each other. Resist.
posted by mcduff at 11:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Stand strong. Stand with each other. Resist.
posted by mcduff at 11:09 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
posted by Talez at 11:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
posted by Talez at 11:11 AM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how many of us non-American MeFites are on a list somewhere for our forthright online criticisms of Trump and might be denied entry to the U.S. at some point in the near future if we tried to travel there.
posted by orange swan at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – The state of California is studying ways to suspend financial transfers to Washington after the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from sanctuary cities, KPIX 5 has learned
[EXIT INTENSIFIES]
I know this upsets some people, but as partial consolation I think if you play your cards right you can end up with some looser overall union not too dissimilar from what Merkel has if she can hold it together, prolly not with full Schengen-style movement admittedly...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
[EXIT INTENSIFIES]
- The California Republic
- Cascadia
- New England
- The Republic of Texas
- New York City-State, with the remaining state of Up probably going with PA and the Rust Belt, I ain't know what that'll be called.
- The South, risen again
- Royal Colorado
- Appalachia
- The Theodemocracy of Utah, or do they go back to Deseret?
- Florida
- etc...
- United States Government is the organization that operates the District of Columbia tourist attraction, I think that one was straight up in Snow Crash.
I know this upsets some people, but as partial consolation I think if you play your cards right you can end up with some looser overall union not too dissimilar from what Merkel has if she can hold it together, prolly not with full Schengen-style movement admittedly...
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 11:13 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
They're trying to overwhelm us. Hold on to anger. Anger's the only stage of grief that can hurt your (attempted) murderer.
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:15 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how many of us non-American MeFites are on a list somewhere for our forthright online criticisms of Trump and might be denied entry to the U.S. at some point in the near future if we tried to travel there.
I've already decided not to even make a test case of myself. I do not consider the United States to be a trustworthy country right now. It will take a long time for it to gain back my trust. It may never happen.
posted by maudlin at 11:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I've already decided not to even make a test case of myself. I do not consider the United States to be a trustworthy country right now. It will take a long time for it to gain back my trust. It may never happen.
posted by maudlin at 11:16 AM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
The Theodemocracy of Utah, or do they go back to Deseret?
The Democratic People's Theocracy of Zion.
posted by Talez at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Democratic People's Theocracy of Zion.
posted by Talez at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea 🇮🇱🇺🇸
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
This is a smart move by Bibi. He knows the first rule of Trump, flatter him, and praise him, tell him he's beautiful and you love him, then ask him for whatever you want.
posted by dis_integration at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
This is a smart move by Bibi. He knows the first rule of Trump, flatter him, and praise him, tell him he's beautiful and you love him, then ask him for whatever you want.
posted by dis_integration at 11:17 AM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
GQ made a short video where they give Trump some quick menswear tips: Donald Trump Gets a GQ Makeover.
posted by peeedro at 11:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 11:20 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I am seriously wondering how many of us non-American MeFites are on a list somewhere for our forthright online criticisms of Trump and might be denied entry to the U.S. at some point in the near future if we tried to travel there.
I'm trying to not be that paranoid, given that I am a US citizen who makes another country her home because she married a Canadian. But echoing maudlin's comment above, my husband is flat-out refusing to go to the States because he has no idea what the hell might change or might happen critics of this administration.
posted by Kitteh at 11:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I'm trying to not be that paranoid, given that I am a US citizen who makes another country her home because she married a Canadian. But echoing maudlin's comment above, my husband is flat-out refusing to go to the States because he has no idea what the hell might change or might happen critics of this administration.
posted by Kitteh at 11:21 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Well, this seems only fair play. Iran to ban US citizens in response to Trump's immigration order
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:22 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Oh, and while no one was looking, some shitheels in Texas lit another mosque on fire.
Hours after Trump signs Muslim ban, Texas mosque goes up in flames
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Hours after Trump signs Muslim ban, Texas mosque goes up in flames
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 11:24 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
They built tunnels you idiot shitheel.
That and it 450 miles vs 1900 miles
This video on vimeo using satellite and google maps takes you over the entire length of where this wall must go. It helps put into perspective what a massive and (idiotic) undertaking that it is. Trump may get part of a wall but he's not going to see a full wall during his time in office let along his lifetime. Or it will have to be a piddly assed version of what he wants.
Best of Luck with the Wall
posted by Jalliah at 11:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
That and it 450 miles vs 1900 miles
This video on vimeo using satellite and google maps takes you over the entire length of where this wall must go. It helps put into perspective what a massive and (idiotic) undertaking that it is. Trump may get part of a wall but he's not going to see a full wall during his time in office let along his lifetime. Or it will have to be a piddly assed version of what he wants.
Best of Luck with the Wall
posted by Jalliah at 11:27 AM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
it appeared that US border officials were deciding whether green-card holders could re-enter the US on a “case by case” basis which involved asking individuals about their political views. There were reports that some border officials were confused about their new instructions and unhappy about what was being asked of them.
Of everything, this is what is sticking out to me. What are these political view questions, and who asked them to do this? This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
posted by corb at 11:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Of everything, this is what is sticking out to me. What are these political view questions, and who asked them to do this? This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
posted by corb at 11:28 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
If you're curious about how habeas challenges actually work in situations like this, the current effort by Yale Law will be worth keeping an eye on. It was just announced, so there's not much to link yet.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:29 AM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've been trying real hard to contain my anger toward Trump voters, direct it toward positive action, and mostly so there can be some room for walking back and redemption, but fuck.
Have they officially released yesterday's EO yet?
posted by notyou at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Have they officially released yesterday's EO yet?
posted by notyou at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hours after Trump signs Muslim ban, Texas mosque goes up in flames
This is exactly what I've been dreading we'd hear today. Look at how the election ramped up hate crimes. This week's racist fascist edicts are just boosting that signal.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
This is exactly what I've been dreading we'd hear today. Look at how the election ramped up hate crimes. This week's racist fascist edicts are just boosting that signal.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:30 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
As a trivial example of how poorly thought out this was, the executive order cites the wrong provision of immigration law.
Or as Chris Hayes put it: "Like I said: yesterday's typos on the schedule were the brown m & m's: little errors mean there are big ones lurking."
And it seems like they never considered basic questions like what about dual nationals until well after this was signed. These incompetents are destroying so many lives.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [61 favorites]
Or as Chris Hayes put it: "Like I said: yesterday's typos on the schedule were the brown m & m's: little errors mean there are big ones lurking."
And it seems like they never considered basic questions like what about dual nationals until well after this was signed. These incompetents are destroying so many lives.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on January 28, 2017 [61 favorites]
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
posted by porn in the woods at 11:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 11:32 AM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
@borzou: Breaking: Iraqi parliament to discuss retaliatory blocking of visas for all Americans, including contractors & journalists (MoFA source)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:33 AM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
What are these political view questions, and who asked them to do this? This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
Disorganization and chaos allows individual officers to make policy decisions on the ground, based on their own political biases. And the Customs and Border Patrol is #MAGA ground zero. They don't need to be told what to do, they already know. All they need is the normal rules to be suspended, thereby empowering their own petty tyranny.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Disorganization and chaos allows individual officers to make policy decisions on the ground, based on their own political biases. And the Customs and Border Patrol is #MAGA ground zero. They don't need to be told what to do, they already know. All they need is the normal rules to be suspended, thereby empowering their own petty tyranny.
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I don't think maybe Netanyahu has thought this "sucking up to fascist white supremacists" thing all the way through?
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
Well there you go.
This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
This seems like disorganized chaos giving authoritarians leeway to do what they "know" needs to be done.
posted by Artw at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Well there you go.
This seems organized, more so than Trump has the capacity for.
This seems like disorganized chaos giving authoritarians leeway to do what they "know" needs to be done.
posted by Artw at 11:34 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Democratic congressman: President Trump is 'mentally unstable'
"Yes, I do believe the president is mentally unstable," Gallego, a Democrat, said on KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos. "I've said this thousands of times."
posted by futz at 11:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
"Yes, I do believe the president is mentally unstable," Gallego, a Democrat, said on KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos. "I've said this thousands of times."
posted by futz at 11:36 AM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Also, the whole "if you let Israel be destroyed your eschatological fantasies will never be realised" thing.
posted by Talez at 11:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Talez at 11:39 AM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I really hope the deafening silence of the Democrats today is because they are in some sort of conference call putting together something big in response to this. If not, then we are even more fucked than I thought.
posted by gatorae at 11:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 11:46 AM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
Still no readout on the Putin call from either side, 2 hours later. Even Kremlin pool reporters are concerned.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:49 AM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
They are still coloring in the map of the countries they want.
posted by mochapickle at 11:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:51 AM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
More on the confusion. Canada edition. What a shitstorm.
It looks like it affecting Canadian citizens. If I read it right they're going by country of birth. So it's including Canadian citizens born in those countries.
Passport-holders of 7 Muslim-majority countries can’t board Air Canada flights to U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new executive order, which he did not explain out loud, has created mass confusion around the world.
and from Danial Dale
Between people of Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Somali, Sudanese birth, Trump appears to have banned hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens.
Affected Iranian-Canadian businessman: "It reminds me of the environment my parents escaped from! Funny thing is that I'm not even Muslim."
posted by Jalliah at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
I bet a tape of that call would be just as compromising as the pee-pee one.
posted by Artw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I just had a conversation with my father-in-law, who recently moved into the apartment I built for him and my mother-in-law in my backyard. He was complaining about how he's expected to tip minimum wage workers and how "minimum wage was never intended to be a living wage".
Naturally, he and my MIL voted for Trump. He has health care only by dint of being a veteran and my MIL has medicare and supplemental insurance via Covered California (aka the ACA). They have no income except a tiny military pension and social security. They have no savings. They are as dependent on social services as it is possible to be and not live in public housing.
My mother in law is an immigrant from South America.
They voted for Trump. They expect things to get better for them under this administration.
I know this is a tiny, tiny thing considering everything everything else going on today, but it annihilates my brain to see how much Saint Reagan and Fox News fooled some of the poorest people in the country into thinking that their interests are the same as the interests of big capital.
I feel sick.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [89 favorites]
Naturally, he and my MIL voted for Trump. He has health care only by dint of being a veteran and my MIL has medicare and supplemental insurance via Covered California (aka the ACA). They have no income except a tiny military pension and social security. They have no savings. They are as dependent on social services as it is possible to be and not live in public housing.
My mother in law is an immigrant from South America.
They voted for Trump. They expect things to get better for them under this administration.
I know this is a tiny, tiny thing considering everything everything else going on today, but it annihilates my brain to see how much Saint Reagan and Fox News fooled some of the poorest people in the country into thinking that their interests are the same as the interests of big capital.
I feel sick.
posted by murphy slaw at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [89 favorites]
I really hope the deafening silence of the Democrats today is because they are in some sort of conference call putting together something big in response to this. If not, then we are even more fucked than I thought.
My patience with them runneth quite low.
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
My patience with them runneth quite low.
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:53 AM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
RobotVoodooPower, got a link for any of that concern?
posted by birdheist at 11:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by birdheist at 11:54 AM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
They are still coloring in the map of the countries they want.
And Trump having problems staying inside the lines.
posted by JackFlash at 11:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
And Trump having problems staying inside the lines.
posted by JackFlash at 11:56 AM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Hey, just got a "remember to sign up" text from healthcare.gov! I'm still not entirely certain if this is because
a) the order to stop pushing out ads and texts/emails was rescinded
b) they couldn't figure out how to stop automated texts or
c) rogue HHS techies
but any way you slice it, it's good!
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
a) the order to stop pushing out ads and texts/emails was rescinded
b) they couldn't figure out how to stop automated texts or
c) rogue HHS techies
but any way you slice it, it's good!
posted by tivalasvegas at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Link
(from Russian) One and a half hours have passed since the end of the conversation between Putin and Trump: why they have been told that the two parties have yet to make any comments?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
(from Russian) One and a half hours have passed since the end of the conversation between Putin and Trump: why they have been told that the two parties have yet to make any comments?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:57 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I believe they backtracked on the notification ban thing to some degree after public outcry, which to some extent still works. We'll see how well it works on other things.
This may still be a democracy.
posted by Artw at 11:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
This may still be a democracy.
posted by Artw at 11:58 AM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Protest at SFO (international arrivals) at 3pm today. Not sure if I can make it, but I'll try to be there for a bit.
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
(from Russian) One and a half hours have passed since the end of the conversation between Putin and Trump: why they have been told that the two parties have yet to make any comments?
Trump inadvertently asked Putin when he's getting paid; Pence is dry heaving in the corner, Flynn is trying to book the quickest one way to Moscow and Reince and Bannon have strangled each other to death.
posted by PenDevil at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump inadvertently asked Putin when he's getting paid; Pence is dry heaving in the corner, Flynn is trying to book the quickest one way to Moscow and Reince and Bannon have strangled each other to death.
posted by PenDevil at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
They are still coloring in the map of the countries they want.
Mr. Molotov, Herr Ribbentrop, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mr. Molotov, Herr Ribbentrop, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 12:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I really hope the deafening silence of the Democrats today is because they are in some sort of conference call putting together something big in response to this. If not, then we are even more fucked than I thought.
My patience with them runneth quite low.
Lots of Dems have made statements online today. They're not getting much exposure, there'e only so much they can do to get on TV with no real power. This is a fight that will be fought with protests, and in the courts.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
My patience with them runneth quite low.
Lots of Dems have made statements online today. They're not getting much exposure, there'e only so much they can do to get on TV with no real power. This is a fight that will be fought with protests, and in the courts.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
save alive nothing that breatheth: New York City-State, with the remaining state of Up probably going with PA and the Rust Belt, I ain't know what that'll be called.It's called Niagara, and interestingly it has it's own secession movement, too. (Please don't let us join PA, I only moved here because of the fracking ban.)
posted by ragtag at 12:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
One of the big problems of being in opposition is that while the government's statements are inherently News, yours are not. This makes it hard for Dems to get cut-through even if they are trying.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Reince and Bannon have strangled each other to death.
Don't tease us like that.
posted by Behemoth at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Don't tease us like that.
posted by Behemoth at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
From Trita Parsi:
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I want to repeat: Green card holders were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 12:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
With ya there murphy slaw
My (super "Christian") parents voted for him while on public assistance and a union pension. Knowing that he has committed and bragged about committing most of your basic deadly sins.
Them: But we just "couldn't vote for that woman."
Me: So now the president is a man who will literally lie about whether it's raining on a crowd of people and it's not his biggest public lie of the day.
*crickets*
Them: All politicians lie. At least he's not trying to hide it.
Fox News has eaten my parents' brains. At first I fantasized about "what would it take for them to change their minds?"
Then I faced reality: nothing will. They and their cohort simply needs to be outworked and overwhelmed.
posted by sacre_bleu at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
My (super "Christian") parents voted for him while on public assistance and a union pension. Knowing that he has committed and bragged about committing most of your basic deadly sins.
Them: But we just "couldn't vote for that woman."
Me: So now the president is a man who will literally lie about whether it's raining on a crowd of people and it's not his biggest public lie of the day.
*crickets*
Them: All politicians lie. At least he's not trying to hide it.
Fox News has eaten my parents' brains. At first I fantasized about "what would it take for them to change their minds?"
Then I faced reality: nothing will. They and their cohort simply needs to be outworked and overwhelmed.
posted by sacre_bleu at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
Gosh I hate to bring this up because I feel like we are fighting so may different battles at the moment but this interview with Joy Reid bothered me. Anti-choice advocate admits to Joy Reid her ultimate goal is to make birth control illegal
The anti-BC voices have been getting louder in the past few years. At first I thought it was too absurd to even bother pay attention to, after all 99% of all American women of child-bearing age who have had sex have used birth control at some point.. Yet I am seeing more and more attempts to tie in certain methods-- particularly pills and IUDs-- tied into the move to ban abortions. Now sterilization has been added to the UN gag order along with abortion. So the Far Christian Right does not want you to get your tubes tied, use birth control, or get an abortion. Pence is part of the Far Christian Right. We may lose more than access to abortions in the next four years even if Trump is impeached.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
The anti-BC voices have been getting louder in the past few years. At first I thought it was too absurd to even bother pay attention to, after all 99% of all American women of child-bearing age who have had sex have used birth control at some point.. Yet I am seeing more and more attempts to tie in certain methods-- particularly pills and IUDs-- tied into the move to ban abortions. Now sterilization has been added to the UN gag order along with abortion. So the Far Christian Right does not want you to get your tubes tied, use birth control, or get an abortion. Pence is part of the Far Christian Right. We may lose more than access to abortions in the next four years even if Trump is impeached.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
Keith Ellison, first Muslim congressman, calls for ‘mass rallies’ to stop Trump orders
“It’s time for people to get active, to get involved, to vote and to organize,” said Ellison, who was in Houston to campaign for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “Trump must be stopped, and people power is what we have at our disposal to make him stop. We need mass rallies. We need them all over the country. We need them in Texas. We need them in D.C. We need them in Minnesota.”
Pick up that torch, Keith. We need a hero, or at least a leader, and we need it yesterday.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [89 favorites]
“It’s time for people to get active, to get involved, to vote and to organize,” said Ellison, who was in Houston to campaign for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “Trump must be stopped, and people power is what we have at our disposal to make him stop. We need mass rallies. We need them all over the country. We need them in Texas. We need them in D.C. We need them in Minnesota.”
Pick up that torch, Keith. We need a hero, or at least a leader, and we need it yesterday.
posted by Rust Moranis at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [89 favorites]
Corb, did you check your Trusted Traveler status?
posted by Yowser at 12:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 12:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Re Canadian cock-up: I can totally imagine them going 'Oh, wait. Canada? Totally forgot about you up there and them some going, 'oh shit' this isn't good. And then Bannon goes 'Oh shit totally forgot about Canada but right on you liberal pinko muther fuckers! You got those folk up there too, so yeah we did mean it. Suck it up!"
posted by Jalliah at 12:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Jalliah at 12:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Yes, I do believe the president is mentally unstable," Gallego, a Democrat, said on KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos. "I've said this thousands of times."
I'm so proud of my Congressman. He's been fighting the good fight since day one.
posted by Superplin at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I'm so proud of my Congressman. He's been fighting the good fight since day one.
posted by Superplin at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Kremlin readout says Putin & Trump discussed "main aspects of the Ukraine crisis," agreed to "partnership" over it.
Still no WH readout AFAIK.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Still no WH readout AFAIK.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Hey everybody! I'm panicking! I'm a Muslim-American naturalized US citizen and suddenly that citizenship feels like it might get taken away from me at any moment! I mean, maybe not mine, to be fair, I was born in Germany. Might take a little longer to drill down into "Muslims born in European countries." But just, y'know, everyone else in my family who was born in Iran or Afghanistan, which is, ahahaha, my entire fucking family except for the ones under 21 years old! This thread from Josh Shahryar is about where I'm at right now, only with bonus terror.
So, uh, I don't know what to do. I'm with Josh Shahryar's dad right now. They said all that shit about how it was okay, we'd be fine, they wouldn't come for us in Afghanistan too. And then they did, and then my family had to flee.
posted by yasaman at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [119 favorites]
So, uh, I don't know what to do. I'm with Josh Shahryar's dad right now. They said all that shit about how it was okay, we'd be fine, they wouldn't come for us in Afghanistan too. And then they did, and then my family had to flee.
posted by yasaman at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [119 favorites]
@lhfang Ted Cruz is pushing a bill to designate CAIR, the civil rights org fighting Muslim ban, as a terror affiliate group congress.gov/bill/114th-con…
posted by Artw at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Still no WH readout AFAIK.
They were waiting for the Kremlin readout *rimshot*
posted by Talez at 12:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
They were waiting for the Kremlin readout *rimshot*
posted by Talez at 12:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
A "partnership" does not sound like a good sign if you want Ukraine to still be an independent country in a month or two.
posted by zachlipton at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Kremlin readout says Putin & Trump discussed "main aspects of the Ukraine crisis," agreed to "partnership" over it.
Going for the US actively supporting the invasion overheat holding NATO back. Ballsy. They know how big they've won.
posted by Artw at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Going for the US actively supporting the invasion overheat holding NATO back. Ballsy. They know how big they've won.
posted by Artw at 12:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Huh.
Interestingly timed tweet from Canada's immigration minister, who came as a Somali refugee.
Also, he's posted a video on Twitter where he's getting a Bhangra lesson from the Maritime Bhangra group.
Steve Bannon u r being trolled bro.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Interestingly timed tweet from Canada's immigration minister, who came as a Somali refugee.
Also, he's posted a video on Twitter where he's getting a Bhangra lesson from the Maritime Bhangra group.
Steve Bannon u r being trolled bro.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I know this Gregg Phillips dude doesn't deserve any attention but he just went on TV and made an ass of himself and he is Donnie's proof. What a fucking joke.
Anchor confronts man behind voter fraud claim
CNN's John Berman speaks with Gregg Phillips. Phillips says he has evidence of illegal votes being cast in the presidential election, but has repeatedly refused to provide proof to substantiate his claims.
On preview, Cruz is calling CAIR a terror affiliate group??!!
posted by futz at 12:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anchor confronts man behind voter fraud claim
CNN's John Berman speaks with Gregg Phillips. Phillips says he has evidence of illegal votes being cast in the presidential election, but has repeatedly refused to provide proof to substantiate his claims.
On preview, Cruz is calling CAIR a terror affiliate group??!!
posted by futz at 12:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
@JohnJHarwood: senior DHS official tells @NBCNews that career professionals at State/DHS had no input on directives. now scrambling to interpret/implement
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think over how precarious their status is right about now too. The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
On preview, Cruz is calling CAIR a terror affiliate group??!!
He thinks they're competition for Christian Dominionism.
posted by Talez at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
He thinks they're competition for Christian Dominionism.
posted by Talez at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
> The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
I'm a natural-born US citizen with a publicly-funded research job and an active security clearance, and I'm thinking the same thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
I'm a natural-born US citizen with a publicly-funded research job and an active security clearance, and I'm thinking the same thing.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Re Canadian cock-up: I can totally imagine them going 'Oh, wait. Canada? Totally forgot about you up there and them some going, 'oh shit' this isn't good. And then Bannon goes 'Oh shit totally forgot about Canada but right on you liberal pinko muther fuckers! You got those folk up there too, so yeah we did mean it. Suck it up!"
It is impossible to tell if this is them screwing up due to rushing and not being experienced or if this is Bannon sowing chaos. Just my opinion but I do think Jared Kushner probably does not want the choas, he wants a legitimate, popular Presidency so he can make power plays. Unfortunately the big orange ass in the middle of this is too stupid to make rational, thoughtful choices and is allowing himself to be used by the others. He is a fucking puppet and is just too dumb not to know it because he has a hugely inflated sense of his own intelligence.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
It is impossible to tell if this is them screwing up due to rushing and not being experienced or if this is Bannon sowing chaos. Just my opinion but I do think Jared Kushner probably does not want the choas, he wants a legitimate, popular Presidency so he can make power plays. Unfortunately the big orange ass in the middle of this is too stupid to make rational, thoughtful choices and is allowing himself to be used by the others. He is a fucking puppet and is just too dumb not to know it because he has a hugely inflated sense of his own intelligence.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ted Cruz is pushing a bill to designate CAIR, the civil rights org fighting Muslim ban, as a terror affiliate group congress.gov/bill/114th-con…
Recall that Ted Cruz was the candidate the NeverTrumpers backed.
posted by JackFlash at 12:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [60 favorites]
Recall that Ted Cruz was the candidate the NeverTrumpers backed.
posted by JackFlash at 12:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [60 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think over how precarious their status is right about now too. The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
My citizenship interview is in a couple of weeks. I'm staying as far away from the border as I can. Even though I am in one of the safest demographics, I don't want to stake my future on a bureaucratic cock-up or some random asshole at CBP who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
posted by Behemoth at 12:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
My citizenship interview is in a couple of weeks. I'm staying as far away from the border as I can. Even though I am in one of the safest demographics, I don't want to stake my future on a bureaucratic cock-up or some random asshole at CBP who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
posted by Behemoth at 12:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Posting live from JFK. It's freezing outside, and snowing, but there are hundreds of us.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [132 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [132 favorites]
Good Grief. Ted Cruz is trying to get to the right of Trump/Bannon.
posted by notyou at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by notyou at 12:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
@lhfang Ted Cruz is pushing a bill to designate CAIR, the civil rights org fighting Muslim ban, as a terror affiliate group congress.gov/bill/114th-con…
Hey, let's grease the slippery slope to fascism. If they can get away with this, then next they can come for Black Lives Matter, and then Planned Parenthood, and then the ACLU and the PTA. If you don't praise the current President and kiss his ass, then you are an anti-American troublemaker and the government could be able to disappear you any time they want. They are disappearing our rights right now.
posted by puddledork at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
Hey, let's grease the slippery slope to fascism. If they can get away with this, then next they can come for Black Lives Matter, and then Planned Parenthood, and then the ACLU and the PTA. If you don't praise the current President and kiss his ass, then you are an anti-American troublemaker and the government could be able to disappear you any time they want. They are disappearing our rights right now.
posted by puddledork at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
Recall that Ted Cruz was the candidate the NeverTrumpers backed.
NeverTrumpers are still at heart Republicans, and all of this has been on the Republican wish list for years. The only true division of Amy consequence within the republican ranks is between those who think they might face another election and those that don't.
posted by Artw at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
NeverTrumpers are still at heart Republicans, and all of this has been on the Republican wish list for years. The only true division of Amy consequence within the republican ranks is between those who think they might face another election and those that don't.
posted by Artw at 12:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Posting live from JFK. It's freezing outside, and snowing, but there are hundreds of us.
Thank you roomthreeseventeen
posted by mcduff at 12:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Thank you roomthreeseventeen
posted by mcduff at 12:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
A "partnership" does not sound like a good sign if you want Ukraine to still be an independent country in a month or two.
A treaty about to be broken. Remember how we made them give up their nukes. We are becoming bad actors and there are 6.5 billion people that are going to treat us as such.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
A treaty about to be broken. Remember how we made them give up their nukes. We are becoming bad actors and there are 6.5 billion people that are going to treat us as such.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
yasaman - This thread from Josh Shahryar is about where I'm at right now, only with bonus terror.
I just read that, and I haven't felt the pit in my stomach this bad since election night. EVERYONE needs to read that thread.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
I just read that, and I haven't felt the pit in my stomach this bad since election night. EVERYONE needs to read that thread.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think over how precarious their status is right about now too. The life you built in the US may mean nothing.
This is literally all I've been thinking of since last evening. And it feels both hyperbolically panicky and selfish, because I know how much better off I am than people from the countries being affected by the executive order. But my parents worked so hard for me to get a green card. They thought that meant something more-or-less permanent; I thought it meant something more-or-less permanent.
A couple years ago I went on vacation to Italy and left my green card at home in a thoughtless moment, and getting back to the US was expensive and exhausting and often really scary. It is - a lot more than I can process, to think that there are people who built a life in the US with that expectation of permanency, and suddenly it's not there and they just can't go home, at all.
posted by Jeanne at 12:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Non-Muslim greencard holders should probably be having a good old think
That would be my ex-husband. He has lived here 44 years. He has worked hard, paid taxes, bought a house, had a child with me, but always planned to retire back in Japan. Now he is realizing he will never go back to live in Japan because all of his friends and his only child all live here. Besides he loves the California weather too much and life in Japan is even more expensive than life (i.e. golfing) than in California. So my daughter is working on getting his paperwork started for citizenship. I hope it works out for her sake.
I only bring this up because I think most people have no idea of how many people around us are here either on Green Cards or visas or else related somehow to people here on Green Cards. We are still a nation of immigrants.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
So I'm as inclined as anyone to think Ted Cruz would push for getting CAIR designated as a terrorist group but the introduced legislation that I can find is about the Muslim Brotherhood. Perhaps over-reaching, but not CAIR. Or am I missing something?
posted by R343L at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by R343L at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
hey didn't Sean Spicer say like two days ago that the only immigrants who needed to be worried were criminals?
posted by angrycat at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Of course, keep in mind we're getting our news from the Kremlin and the White House. We might as well just consult the I Ching.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I feel your pain, Yasaman. I'm an Afghan born in Pakistan who emigrated as a small child. I've been a citizen for over 30 years but I have had this dread in me since the election campaign started. My parents are retired and live in semi-rural Ohio and I made the decision on November 9 to move back there to be closer to them. My dad is a peaceful man and has been doing Interfaith outreach in local Sunday schools and churches since 9/11 and he is just devastated. He can't comprehend that the country he moved to and grew in would treat people like him, like this. I am prepared to be a body shield if it comes to that because I have no doubts that a Muslim Registry is next. It's just a matter of another attack on American soil.
I know so many people who are legal residents and it makes me sick to think that families will be divided and people will not get to return to their homes. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of innocent folks who are stranded or denied entry.
This man is monster. He will take us all down with him for the sake of the god-sized hole where his heart should be.
Anyone who is complicit in this should burn in the lowest circles of hell. I've already eliminated people in my life who voted for him (people I work with, not anyone I care about).
Now it just involves lots of planning and covering every contingency. If I have to leave this country with my parents, I will. And for the first time in my life, I am thinking about buying a gun.
A pox on all on their houses.
posted by nikitabot at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
I know so many people who are legal residents and it makes me sick to think that families will be divided and people will not get to return to their homes. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of innocent folks who are stranded or denied entry.
This man is monster. He will take us all down with him for the sake of the god-sized hole where his heart should be.
Anyone who is complicit in this should burn in the lowest circles of hell. I've already eliminated people in my life who voted for him (people I work with, not anyone I care about).
Now it just involves lots of planning and covering every contingency. If I have to leave this country with my parents, I will. And for the first time in my life, I am thinking about buying a gun.
A pox on all on their houses.
posted by nikitabot at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
DHS says WH denied them input on ban, now scrambling to implement
"Nobody has any idea what is going on," source tells @KenDilanianNBC
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
"Nobody has any idea what is going on," source tells @KenDilanianNBC
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
The other laws I can find about designating groups as terrorist are for an Iran revolutionary group which is probably not it either. Cruz introduced the same legislation in the Senate so that seems like it.
posted by R343L at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by R343L at 12:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sean Spicer is so stupid he accidentally tweeted his own Twitter password two days in a row, so who cares what he says? It's all lies anyway.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 12:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by Elementary Penguin at 12:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
I have tried to call both the Chicago and the Washington offices of Senators Durbin and Duckworth to leave a message with them insisting that strong statements are not enough, and ask for them to demand the attention of the nation and take immediate action in Congress to fight this in any way possible.
All four mailboxes were full, and these two are usually pretty good about not letting them fill up. Hopefully they are jammed full of other citizens leaving the exact same message.
posted by jammer at 12:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
All four mailboxes were full, and these two are usually pretty good about not letting them fill up. Hopefully they are jammed full of other citizens leaving the exact same message.
posted by jammer at 12:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
The Cruz bill includes this:
"In the Holy Land Foundation prosecutions—the largest terrorism financing trial in United States history—Department of Justice officials successfully argued in court that the international Muslim Brotherhood and its United States affiliates had engaged in a widespread conspiracy to raise money and materially support the terrorist group Hamas. HLF officials charged in the case were found guilty on all counts in November 2008, primarily related to millions of dollars that had been transferred to Hamas. During the trial and in court documents, Federal prosecutors implicated a number of prominent United States-Islamic organizations in this conspiracy, including the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. These groups and their leaders, among others, were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the case. The Department of Justice told the court that these United States-Muslim Brotherhood affiliates acted at the direction of the international Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorism in a July 2008 court filing: “ISNA and NAIT, in fact, shared more with HLF than just a parent organization. They were intimately connected with the Holy Land Foundation and its assigned task of providing financial support to HAMAS. Shortly after HAMAS was founded in 1987, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, the International Muslim Brotherhood ordered the Muslim Brotherhood chapters throughout the world to create Palestine Committees, who supported HAMAS with ‘media, money and men’. The U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood created the United States Palestine Committee, which documents reflect was initially comprised of 3 organizations: the Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the United Association for Studies and Research. CAIR was later added to these organizations. "
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
"In the Holy Land Foundation prosecutions—the largest terrorism financing trial in United States history—Department of Justice officials successfully argued in court that the international Muslim Brotherhood and its United States affiliates had engaged in a widespread conspiracy to raise money and materially support the terrorist group Hamas. HLF officials charged in the case were found guilty on all counts in November 2008, primarily related to millions of dollars that had been transferred to Hamas. During the trial and in court documents, Federal prosecutors implicated a number of prominent United States-Islamic organizations in this conspiracy, including the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. These groups and their leaders, among others, were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the case. The Department of Justice told the court that these United States-Muslim Brotherhood affiliates acted at the direction of the international Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorism in a July 2008 court filing: “ISNA and NAIT, in fact, shared more with HLF than just a parent organization. They were intimately connected with the Holy Land Foundation and its assigned task of providing financial support to HAMAS. Shortly after HAMAS was founded in 1987, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, the International Muslim Brotherhood ordered the Muslim Brotherhood chapters throughout the world to create Palestine Committees, who supported HAMAS with ‘media, money and men’. The U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood created the United States Palestine Committee, which documents reflect was initially comprised of 3 organizations: the Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the United Association for Studies and Research. CAIR was later added to these organizations. "
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
We have one Republican kind of sort of saying something:
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [30 favorites]
News: @RepCharlieDent, a PA Republican who reps a large Syrian comm tells me:It's not much, pretty much the least possible, but it's something. And the rest of his party is silent.
“I urge the admin to halt enforcement of this order..." (1/
"...until a more thoughtful and deliberate policy can be instated" (2/2)
Dent has constituents w family who were turned back at PHL this am
posted by zachlipton at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [30 favorites]
jammer--I was able to get thru to Durbin's Springfield and Rock Island VMs awhile ago.
posted by bookmammal at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by bookmammal at 12:51 PM on January 28, 2017
hey didn't Sean Spicer say like two days ago that the only immigrants who needed to be worried were criminals?
Well I think we all understand by now that Being Muslim is a crime in itself and Not Liking Trump is a double-plus crime. Soon to be recognized as crimes: Not Being Born in the USA, Not Having Parents Born in the USA, Not Voting Republican, Being Black in America, and Being Any Color Other Than White in America. Hyperbolic? I should hope so but at this moment in time it is feeling a bit too on the money.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Well I think we all understand by now that Being Muslim is a crime in itself and Not Liking Trump is a double-plus crime. Soon to be recognized as crimes: Not Being Born in the USA, Not Having Parents Born in the USA, Not Voting Republican, Being Black in America, and Being Any Color Other Than White in America. Hyperbolic? I should hope so but at this moment in time it is feeling a bit too on the money.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
hey didn't Sean Spicer say like two days ago that the only immigrants who needed to be worried were criminals?
These are also the people who loudly bray "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out!" at every opportunity, which in Sphincter's view is probably totally consistent.
posted by hangashore at 12:55 PM on January 28, 2017
These are also the people who loudly bray "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out!" at every opportunity, which in Sphincter's view is probably totally consistent.
posted by hangashore at 12:55 PM on January 28, 2017
Oh holy shit T.D. Strange. I only read thru the House version assuming they were basically the same (they usually are, the tweet linked to a House bill from the 114th).
posted by R343L at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by R343L at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
The bill mentions CAIR in some background stuff, and while the bill does not immediately call for action against CAIR you can bet it would be coming if the report the bill calls for goes Cruz' way - and a report is actually all it calls for, it's not saying the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization and giving that declaration the force of law but it's betting on a report from the Trump executive to say it:
posted by jason_steakums at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
(b) Report.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the intelligence community, shall submit a detailed report to the appropriate congressional committees that—If this bill goes through it needs to be the focus of the bureaucratic resistance to slow and stop it. In the meantime we call and act and agitate to make sure it doesn't go through.
(1) indicates whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); and
(2) if the Secretary of State determines that the Muslim Brotherhood does not meet the criteria referred to in paragraph (1), includes a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met.
(c) Form.—The report required under subsection (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, if appropriate.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2017
Iraqi refugee released from JFK calls America ‘the land of freedom’
posted by tonycpsu at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Unless we can figure out some way of mass-pressuring our D representatives to force them into action, we will see zero bravery from them until something even more shocking than this happens. I'm talking blood-in-the streets shocking, iconic-footage-everywhere-you-look shocking.
This very thought has been creeping in the back of my mind all week, and the fact that the president seems to have Chicago in his crosshairs has got me sick with dread. I don't doubt that we would rise up and fight like hell if they find a way to send in troops, or whatever fresh new horror they dream up. Of that I have total confidence. It's what happens after, that fills me with terror. It can't end well. I don't want us to make the history books as the tragic turning point of the resistance. It won't stop me from showing up, but good god I do not want this. I suppose nobody ever does.
posted by gueneverey at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
This very thought has been creeping in the back of my mind all week, and the fact that the president seems to have Chicago in his crosshairs has got me sick with dread. I don't doubt that we would rise up and fight like hell if they find a way to send in troops, or whatever fresh new horror they dream up. Of that I have total confidence. It's what happens after, that fills me with terror. It can't end well. I don't want us to make the history books as the tragic turning point of the resistance. It won't stop me from showing up, but good god I do not want this. I suppose nobody ever does.
posted by gueneverey at 1:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well what the hell else was the poor guy going to say?
posted by telepanda at 1:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by telepanda at 1:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
For those in the Chicago area, it looks like we got something firing up at Terminal 5 at ORD. I'm going to head over shortly.
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nobannowallchi
posted by jammer at 1:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nobannowallchi
posted by jammer at 1:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I hope Dubya speaks out. I despised him as President, and still feel generally ill towards him. However, one of the few things I admired was how he spoke up fairly quickly after the 9/11 attacks and urged people, repeatedly, to not take out their anger on the Muslims in this country. I don't know what effect that speech had on other Americans, but I believe it helped considerably in keeping the violence towards Muslims and Arab-Americans down in the intense anger of 2001.
posted by honestcoyote at 1:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by honestcoyote at 1:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Sr. DOJ official tells NBC News the dept had no input on the executive order & isn't sure who in the White House is writing & reviewing them
Theyre not even consulting with OLC.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
Theyre not even consulting with OLC.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
Obama, Dubya, Clinton, GHWB, and Carter should all speak out against this. In a case like this, to hell with the traditional protocol that says former presidents do not publicly criticize a sitting president.
posted by orange swan at 1:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 1:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [123 favorites]
It's pretty clear that Jeff Bannon is writing them, nobody is reviewing them. Trump probably is in broad agreement with them but sure as hell isnt reading them before signing.
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
Oh god, the Josh Shahryar tweets. I lost it and started bawling around
It turns out that any authoritarian group who believes their cause is just can be evil. But Shahryar's dad is right. When these things happen, it's amazing how fast it happens, how much the laws get disregarded in ways previously thought inconceivable.
I'm making plans, just in case, and I think it's reasonable at this point for other people to do so. Get all your important documents together. Start thinking of what you can't live without.
posted by corb at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
This is very diff from that."I've had a secret and not so secret fear for a long time that America would dissolve in revolution and rioting. I even asked about it, a long time ago. It was communists who came for my family, and I thought it would be communists who came for me.
"It's not. I saw the communists do it."
It turns out that any authoritarian group who believes their cause is just can be evil. But Shahryar's dad is right. When these things happen, it's amazing how fast it happens, how much the laws get disregarded in ways previously thought inconceivable.
I'm making plans, just in case, and I think it's reasonable at this point for other people to do so. Get all your important documents together. Start thinking of what you can't live without.
posted by corb at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Here's Michael Flynn's son outright calling it a Muslim ban.
posted by zachlipton at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
'She Decides': Dutch put millions into birth control fund
The Dutch government announced Saturday it's putting 10 million euros ($10.7 million) into an international fund it has launched to finance access to birth control, abortion and sex education for women in developing nations after President Donald Trump cut U.S. funding for such services.
Lilianne Ploumen, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said she was making the initial contribution and launched the fund — "She Decides - Global Fundraising Initiative" — with a website.
...The fund will "prevent women and girls being abandoned," she added. "Because they, too, must be able to decide for themselves if they want children, with whom and when."
posted by futz at 1:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
The Dutch government announced Saturday it's putting 10 million euros ($10.7 million) into an international fund it has launched to finance access to birth control, abortion and sex education for women in developing nations after President Donald Trump cut U.S. funding for such services.
Lilianne Ploumen, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said she was making the initial contribution and launched the fund — "She Decides - Global Fundraising Initiative" — with a website.
...The fund will "prevent women and girls being abandoned," she added. "Because they, too, must be able to decide for themselves if they want children, with whom and when."
posted by futz at 1:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
In other news,
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said. [independent.co.uk]
posted by porpoise at 1:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said. [independent.co.uk]
posted by porpoise at 1:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
I posted the transcript for the news bit about California could cut off feds, if anyone's interested.
Also re-watched Mario Savio's speech at UC Berkeley. The link is cued up to the most-quoted bit:
Also re-watched Mario Savio's speech at UC Berkeley. The link is cued up to the most-quoted bit:
There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
It's pretty clear that Jeff Bannon is writing them, nobody is reviewing them. Trump probably is in broad agreement with them but sure as hell isnt reading them before signing.
We need the media to focus on that point - declare loud and strong that the President is a puppet, that he has no idea what he's signing, that he's obviously just a figurehead who throws tantrums if he isn't told people like him.
Pick a clause from each EO, and pontificate about, "I bet the president has no idea that this means [X] for [Y] group of people; if he wants a thriving country, that was a pretty stupid thing to sign. I bet his handlers lied to him about what it really meant. That is, if he reads it at all... maybe he just signs anything they put in front of him. He could be replaced by an autograph machine and a parade float."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
We need the media to focus on that point - declare loud and strong that the President is a puppet, that he has no idea what he's signing, that he's obviously just a figurehead who throws tantrums if he isn't told people like him.
Pick a clause from each EO, and pontificate about, "I bet the president has no idea that this means [X] for [Y] group of people; if he wants a thriving country, that was a pretty stupid thing to sign. I bet his handlers lied to him about what it really meant. That is, if he reads it at all... maybe he just signs anything they put in front of him. He could be replaced by an autograph machine and a parade float."
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
Hey, dual citizens get shit on, too!
Not dual US citizens, though, right?
posted by Coventry at 1:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Not dual US citizens, though, right?
posted by Coventry at 1:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Jeff?
posted by petebest at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by petebest at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Anything planned for Sea-Tac Airport?
posted by spinifex23 at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by spinifex23 at 1:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Josh Marshall: The Republican Congress is Responsible
For political and moral reasons, it is important to remember that very little of what the President is now doing is possible without a compliant Congress. Executive orders in most cases fill in the blanks that legislation leaves to the President's discretion. So this isn't just a matter of the sway a Congress of the President's party can exercise over him, which is substantial. In many or most cases, Executive Orders and Actions can literally be overruled with new legislation. [...]posted by tonycpsu at 1:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [60 favorites]
The President is unpopular. His main policies are unpopular. His behavior is unpopular. The Congress makes everything he's doing possible. Most of them are up for reelection in less than two years.
I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration.
It kind of surprises me that people would want to illegally immigrate to Israel in the first place. Are they mostly descendants of Palestinian refugees?
posted by Coventry at 1:23 PM on January 28, 2017
It kind of surprises me that people would want to illegally immigrate to Israel in the first place. Are they mostly descendants of Palestinian refugees?
posted by Coventry at 1:23 PM on January 28, 2017
I was just thinking that this is another way in which our Representational Voting is set up to prevent Progressive ideas. Since the EC, The Senate, and even the State Reps give undue influence to the rural, less populated areas it means that those who are less likely to know any Green Card holders have more power in the voting booth than people who live in highly populated areas where you are more likely to know and have friendships (and even marry) people with Green Cards.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Paul Ryan: Trump’s refugee ban does not target Muslims
posted by tonycpsu at 1:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
“This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan.Likewise, if Democrats introduced a bill next week targeting the highest-ranking politician in the Presidential line of succession from the state of Wisconsin for a massive wedgie, they would not be targeting Paul Ryan directly.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Do any of these things have any likelihood of stopping this madness?
Ongoing (?) investigations into Russian connections, when his own people are running the investigation?
Lawsuits, when lawyers can be threatened, perhaps their families threatened, and judges can be bought or chosen?
The midterm elections, when all the supporting structure of fair elections might be completely dismantled by then?
Democrats, with no clear leaders or agreement. (One personal fantasy involves Obama sitting back to see whether this shitshow implodes on its own or if it doesn't, he stands up and leads all the people to... something less bad.)
I get the feeling that resistance is muted because those very few people who can make a difference are being threatened or bribed into silence. It is conspiracy theories gone wild! Meanwhile, along with Bannon and his violently propagandized white supremacists, Putin is behind it with his own master plan, having success at isolating us. The hell that I am typing these words.
But we have so many MORE good people, brilliant minds, venerated institutions.
Don't we still have time to avert complete and utter disaster? All signs of hope welcome.
posted by Glinn at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ongoing (?) investigations into Russian connections, when his own people are running the investigation?
Lawsuits, when lawyers can be threatened, perhaps their families threatened, and judges can be bought or chosen?
The midterm elections, when all the supporting structure of fair elections might be completely dismantled by then?
Democrats, with no clear leaders or agreement. (One personal fantasy involves Obama sitting back to see whether this shitshow implodes on its own or if it doesn't, he stands up and leads all the people to... something less bad.)
I get the feeling that resistance is muted because those very few people who can make a difference are being threatened or bribed into silence. It is conspiracy theories gone wild! Meanwhile, along with Bannon and his violently propagandized white supremacists, Putin is behind it with his own master plan, having success at isolating us. The hell that I am typing these words.
But we have so many MORE good people, brilliant minds, venerated institutions.
Don't we still have time to avert complete and utter disaster? All signs of hope welcome.
posted by Glinn at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hold on to anger. Anger's the only stage of grief that can hurt your (attempted) murderer.
Do people really believe they need anger to fight effectively?
posted by Coventry at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017
Do people really believe they need anger to fight effectively?
posted by Coventry at 1:28 PM on January 28, 2017
It kind of surprises me that people would want to illegally immigrate to Israel in the first place. Are they mostly descendants of Palestinian refugees?
Probably referring to migrants from East Africa coming up through Egypt.
posted by PenDevil at 1:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Probably referring to migrants from East Africa coming up through Egypt.
posted by PenDevil at 1:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'd been reluctant to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, even though I'm eligible in both sides, but I think I'm going to put my application in just so I can make sure my chapter says "This is not America."
posted by TheLateGreatAbrahamLincoln at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by TheLateGreatAbrahamLincoln at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
@JonSwaine Conservative member of parliament in the UK banned by Trump from entering the US
Well maybe T(h)eresa May can get on the phone with her old pal Trump and smooth things over. After all this was only meant to affect the powerless and the ordinary.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Well maybe T(h)eresa May can get on the phone with her old pal Trump and smooth things over. After all this was only meant to affect the powerless and the ordinary.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Not dual US citizens, though, right?I'm pretty sure that US citizens are entitled to enter the US. The ban extends to, say, British or Canadian citizens who also have citizenship in one of the banned countries. I'm hearing on Twitter that it also extends to all people who born in one of the off-limits countries, even if they're not a citizen. Nadhim Zahawi, a pro-Brexit Conservative British MP, was told that he and his wife can't travel to the US because they were born in Iraq, even though neither is an Iraqi citizen.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
So I can't find a way to donate via paypal to the ACLU National organization, only the Southern Calfiornia chapter (as well as other state chapters.)
Would donations to a regional chapter still help fight national issues with Trump executive orders, immigration, etc?
posted by bluecore at 1:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Would donations to a regional chapter still help fight national issues with Trump executive orders, immigration, etc?
posted by bluecore at 1:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Paul Ryan: Trump’s refugee ban does not target MuslimsWell, that's some bullshit, but it makes me think that the pushback is working, at least to some extent. Time to keep up the pressure.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
posted by basalganglia at 1:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 1:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
This is designed to increase the odds of another terrorist attack. They need an excuse for the next step - complete martial law.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
Lots of Dems have made statements online today. They're not getting much exposure, there'e only so much they can do to get on TV with no real power. This is a fight that will be fought with protests, and in the courts.
They could, I don't know, have a sit-in on the floor of congress, something weird like that
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Boy this nightmare makes me think of one of the Hillary Clinton emails that surfaced from the DNC hack -- you know, the one where she sees something on CNN about a 10 year old girl being oppressed in Yemen, remembers meeting her at a Glamour event, and asks her people to try to bring her to the US for education and counseling.
posted by pocketfullofrye at 1:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by pocketfullofrye at 1:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
It's a shame May seems determined to sell the country's soul for some putative deal that won't even be made for another couple of years, otherwise there's a good chance that another petition to ban Trump from the UK would have more success than last time. Even back in January 2016 40% of Scots were in favour.
His response was, predictably, to throw a tantrum.
posted by Buntix at 1:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
His response was, predictably, to throw a tantrum.
posted by Buntix at 1:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
On my way home now from JFK . The protest there started small, but grew quickly. I met a woman who came here as a Jewish Soviet refugee in 1989, and taught her about mic checks. It was so horrifying to chant "Let then in", knowing that at least one man, and maybe as many as a dozen people, were just inside, with no freedom.
My Congressman, Jerry Nadler, was there, as well as
the city council member who leads the immigration committee. It feels good to have some leadership when the POTUS goes against everything I stand for.
I only left because i have a two hour subway ride home. But I'll go back every day we need to.
Best sign: The Constitution is not alternative fact.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
My Congressman, Jerry Nadler, was there, as well as
the city council member who leads the immigration committee. It feels good to have some leadership when the POTUS goes against everything I stand for.
I only left because i have a two hour subway ride home. But I'll go back every day we need to.
Best sign: The Constitution is not alternative fact.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
This is designed to increase the odds of another terrorist attack.
I've said it before: If they need a terrorist attack, they will have no qualms about producing one themselves. In a sanctuary city. Probably a west coast one. And they will swoop in and come to the rescue, and prove that they are standing up for all of America.
And just try protesting anything they do after that.
And if it doesn't happen soon, I hate to tell you, it ain't happening, folks. Should never have waited till after the inauguration in the first place. Time's about up.
posted by perspicio at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I've said it before: If they need a terrorist attack, they will have no qualms about producing one themselves. In a sanctuary city. Probably a west coast one. And they will swoop in and come to the rescue, and prove that they are standing up for all of America.
And just try protesting anything they do after that.
There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels…upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!Goddamned straight.
And if it doesn't happen soon, I hate to tell you, it ain't happening, folks. Should never have waited till after the inauguration in the first place. Time's about up.
posted by perspicio at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Some usually non political veterans I know have started posting photos of their interpreters, with statements why a Muslim ban would be horrible. I don't know that it will change anything, but it's good to see at least.
posted by corb at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
posted by corb at 1:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
This is designed to increase the odds of another terrorist attack. They need an excuse for the next step - complete martial law.
I mean, this is what I'm waiting for. One terrorist attack, and it's registration and/or detainment time for me and my family. If you don't think this is exactly what's coming, I don't know what to tell you. At best, the hope is that law enforcement agencies won't cooperate, but I know my history. It doesn't take big evil or deliberate malice from all the cogs of the bureaucratic machine. All it takes is ordinary people following orders, going along with the flow.
So I'm asking you: start thinking, right now, about what you will do to protect people like me and my family, your fellow citizens. And I'm not talking about "give to the ACLU" levels of action, because yo, been there done, done that, set up my monthly donation. I'm talking Mario Savio put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels of the machine levels of action. My body's on the line no matter what. I'm in danger no matter what. If I'm getting crushed under those wheels, I'm going down screaming.
posted by yasaman at 1:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [84 favorites]
I mean, this is what I'm waiting for. One terrorist attack, and it's registration and/or detainment time for me and my family. If you don't think this is exactly what's coming, I don't know what to tell you. At best, the hope is that law enforcement agencies won't cooperate, but I know my history. It doesn't take big evil or deliberate malice from all the cogs of the bureaucratic machine. All it takes is ordinary people following orders, going along with the flow.
So I'm asking you: start thinking, right now, about what you will do to protect people like me and my family, your fellow citizens. And I'm not talking about "give to the ACLU" levels of action, because yo, been there done, done that, set up my monthly donation. I'm talking Mario Savio put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels of the machine levels of action. My body's on the line no matter what. I'm in danger no matter what. If I'm getting crushed under those wheels, I'm going down screaming.
posted by yasaman at 1:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [84 favorites]
Get all your important documents together. Start thinking of what you can't live without.
yeah i have a copy of my passport and naturalization docs on file with a lawyer and it doesn't even remotely feel like an overreaction
posted by poffin boffin at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
yeah i have a copy of my passport and naturalization docs on file with a lawyer and it doesn't even remotely feel like an overreaction
posted by poffin boffin at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I'm actually kind of surprised that a judge hasn't issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of this Executive Order. There has to be more than one Federal judge that would be willing to issue a stay and I suspect more than a few circuits that would uphold that stay.
If this lasts this whole week it would be shocking as it's so clearly in violation of current law.
posted by vuron at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
If this lasts this whole week it would be shocking as it's so clearly in violation of current law.
posted by vuron at 1:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I'm guessing they are thinking hard about what happens if their injunction just gets ignored before they do it.
posted by dilaudid at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by dilaudid at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Paul Ryan: Trump’s refugee ban does not target Muslims
“This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan.
Likewise, if Democrats introduced a bill next week targeting the highest-ranking politician in the Presidential line of succession from the state of Wisconsin for a massive wedgie, they would not be targeting Paul Ryan directly.
Ain't no boot licking like a Paul Ryan boot licking cause a Paul Ryan boot licking don't get punished at the ballot box - until 2018, you frat bro motherfucker.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
“This is not a religious test and it is not a ban on people of any religion,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan.
Likewise, if Democrats introduced a bill next week targeting the highest-ranking politician in the Presidential line of succession from the state of Wisconsin for a massive wedgie, they would not be targeting Paul Ryan directly.
Ain't no boot licking like a Paul Ryan boot licking cause a Paul Ryan boot licking don't get punished at the ballot box - until 2018, you frat bro motherfucker.
posted by jason_steakums at 1:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Also I know this applies only to a small group of people, but: active duty military, reservists, and retirees, you can fly space available with your family through military airports. This includes in and out of the country. While you do have to show a passport, you're just showing it to some bored E3, who has zero interest in stopping you.
posted by corb at 1:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by corb at 1:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Los Angeles people: protest planned for LAX tomorrow. There are reportedly a bunch of people being detained at Dallas-Fort Worth airport, but I don't know if there are protests going on there.
I'm trying to think of what we should do if we don't live anywhere near an international airport. This is a huge assault on the American academic community, and I'm thinking that people affiliated with universities should organize some sort of protest.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I'm trying to think of what we should do if we don't live anywhere near an international airport. This is a huge assault on the American academic community, and I'm thinking that people affiliated with universities should organize some sort of protest.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
The fact that this is patently unconstitutional and in violation of current statutes (and it would be impossible to revise those statutes in the face of a filibuster) makes me believe that this is 110% theatrics for the base. Throw them some red meat that is almost certain to be reversed in the courts and now you have got your base supporters howling for blood with all the bullshit "Activist Judges" rhetoric.
Make no mistake this is totally about the White House being 100% staffed by islamophobes that would love to have some sort of crusade against Islam but this is also about propping up a Presidency that is seeing approval numbers plummet on a daily basis.
posted by vuron at 2:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Make no mistake this is totally about the White House being 100% staffed by islamophobes that would love to have some sort of crusade against Islam but this is also about propping up a Presidency that is seeing approval numbers plummet on a daily basis.
posted by vuron at 2:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I've said it before: If they need a terrorist attack, they will have no qualms about producing one themselves.
Operation Gladio
Operation Northwoods
Operation Gladio
Operation Northwoods
It has retrospectively called Operation Gladio/A[2], after the project was adapted as "Gladio B", using radical Moslems as a substitute enemy image for communists.posted by rough ashlar at 2:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Keith Ellison, first Muslim congressman, calls for ‘mass rallies’ to stop Trump orders
I think we're getting close to general strike territory, myself.
posted by rhizome at 2:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
I think we're getting close to general strike territory, myself.
posted by rhizome at 2:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
Volunteer lawyers on the floor drafting habeas peititons.
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
I'm actually kind of surprised that a judge hasn't issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of this Executive Order.
The other beauty of doing this late on a Friday night, federal courts aren't in regular session till Monday.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The other beauty of doing this late on a Friday night, federal courts aren't in regular session till Monday.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
> Volunteer lawyers on the floor drafting habeas peititons.
RIP: Every lawyer joke ever.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
RIP: Every lawyer joke ever.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
It gets worse.
Woman set for deportation attempts suicide at JFK
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017
Woman set for deportation attempts suicide at JFK
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm guessing they are thinking hard about what happens if their injunction just gets ignored before they do it.
If ignoring a federal judge is on the table, then we really do have a whole 'nother thing going on.
posted by eclectist at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
If ignoring a federal judge is on the table, then we really do have a whole 'nother thing going on.
posted by eclectist at 2:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
If it is proven the order was illegal, what are the chances of it being possible to bring a class action suit for costs and damages? They must be really racking up right now...
Also cycles of oppression via @vonny_bravo
posted by Buntix at 2:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also cycles of oppression via @vonny_bravo
posted by Buntix at 2:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
"If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress"
On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York, on the twenty-third anniversary of the event. Most of the address was a history of British efforts toward emancipation as well as a reminder of the crucial role of the West Indian slaves in that own freedom struggle. However shortly after he began Douglass sounded a foretelling of the coming Civil War when he uttered two paragraphs that became the most quoted sentences of all of his public orations. They began with the words, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York, on the twenty-third anniversary of the event. Most of the address was a history of British efforts toward emancipation as well as a reminder of the crucial role of the West Indian slaves in that own freedom struggle. However shortly after he began Douglass sounded a foretelling of the coming Civil War when he uttered two paragraphs that became the most quoted sentences of all of his public orations. They began with the words, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.posted by perspicio at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. In the light of these ideas,Negroes[non-white non-Christians] will be hunted at the North and held and flogged at the South so long as they submit to those devilish outrages and make no resistance, either moral or physical. Men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get. If we ever get free from the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this by labor, by suffering, by sacrifice, and if needs be, by our lives and the lives of others.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
posted by variella at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by variella at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [51 favorites]
Evan McMullin: "The truth is that the average refugee knows far more about liberty and has a much deeper commitment to America than @realdonaldtrump"
posted by corb at 2:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
posted by corb at 2:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
Actually he's got an amazing tweet thread about this whole thing and Trump/Bannon's plan but I can't figure out how to share it on my phone, I encourage everyone to go read it though.
posted by corb at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by corb at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
I retweeted one of Trudeau's tweeted photos of him welcoming refugees with the words, "DUDE. Hugging refugees at the airport is all very well, but the #MuslimBan is happening to Canadians right now & you need to take a stand."
posted by orange swan at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I retweeted one of Trudeau's tweeted photos of him welcoming refugees with the words, "DUDE. Hugging refugees at the airport is all very well, but the #MuslimBan is happening to Canadians right now & you need to take a stand."
posted by orange swan at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yeah Justin Trudeau could bother to explicitly mention what he is passive-aggressively hinting at.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Elementary Penguin at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Now three GOP members of Congress with fairly week statements of disapproval. It's not a lot, but cracks are starting to form.
posted by zachlipton at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Micheal Moore is doing the FB live thing from JFK right now. The stream is jumpy for me. Over 10k people watching. But you can get a taste of what's going on. Lots of people!!
posted by Jalliah at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Just waiting for the clarification from Trudeau that his offer doesn't yet apply to Americans fleeing Trump.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 2:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Make that 13k watching jumped up in the time it took me to write that.
posted by Jalliah at 2:24 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm crying now this is friggen amazing.
posted by Jalliah at 2:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Am en route to ORD with some Leviticus I printed off at work. Say hi if you're there- I'll update if anything is happening.
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Make that 13k watching jumped up in the time it took me to write that.
posted by Jalliah at 6:24 AM on January 29 [+] [!]
Now 17k.
posted by saysthis at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Jalliah at 6:24 AM on January 29 [+] [!]
Now 17k.
posted by saysthis at 2:27 PM on January 28, 2017
Does anyone know of protests going on in Minneapolis/St Paul? I need to get loud right now.
posted by holmesian at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by holmesian at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The other beauty of doing this late on a Friday night, federal courts aren't in regular session till Monday.
Their level of cruelty and petty vindictiveness is astonishing beyond all other things.
posted by Artw at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Their level of cruelty and petty vindictiveness is astonishing beyond all other things.
posted by Artw at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump says. "[But] you see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely."
posted by porn in the woods at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Now 22k.
This is how to make America great again.
posted by saysthis at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
This is how to make America great again.
posted by saysthis at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump says. "[But] you see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely."
Unaware of events or just the "liberal tears" theory of success? Either way I hope this bites his gigantic orange ass hard.
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Unaware of events or just the "liberal tears" theory of success? Either way I hope this bites his gigantic orange ass hard.
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I already have a recurring payment to the ACLU. Who else can I support right now?
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
By which I actually mean "Who are you all supporting so I know i'm donating wisely. "
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:35 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:35 PM on January 28, 2017
MSNBC has congressman Charlie Dent R on right who is talking against this. Says it's unacceptable.
They also talked about Trudeau's response and how he was using our own words, Statue of Liberty etc in his statement. Didn't realize that.
posted by Jalliah at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
They also talked about Trudeau's response and how he was using our own words, Statue of Liberty etc in his statement. Didn't realize that.
posted by Jalliah at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
https://www.facebook.com/WorkingFamilies/ Livecasting on facebook from JFK about 45k watching
posted by supercrayon at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by supercrayon at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017
I genuinely wonder how many years it's going to be until I can wake up to good news again
posted by flatluigi at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty stingy with my money, but I just donated to the International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the two organizations suing Trump on behalf of the two Iraqis refused entry at JFK.
posted by piyushnz at 2:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by piyushnz at 2:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
https://www.facebook.com/events/370576413312630/
Protest planned at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport
Sunday, January 29 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
posted by bongo_x at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Protest planned at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport
Sunday, January 29 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
posted by bongo_x at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
DOJ had no input on EO & isn't sure who in WH wrote EO. Standard agency consultation process is not functioning
posted by flatluigi at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 2:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
> I already have a recurring payment to the ACLU. Who else can I support right now?
National Lawyers Guild - if your city has a local chapter, send them money; if not, send it to the national.
posted by rtha at 2:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
National Lawyers Guild - if your city has a local chapter, send them money; if not, send it to the national.
posted by rtha at 2:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Odd. The measure of a protest is usually the number of participants (e.g. those who chant). But just now, it seems to be the number of viewers of the live stream.
posted by stonepharisee at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Joey Michaels I just donated to CAIR. I figure if they are going to call it a terrorist organization, they are going to have to say that this middle aged WASPy woman is a terrorist too.
posted by mcduff at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 2:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
yasaman - This thread from Josh Shahryar is about where I'm at right now, only with bonus terror.
That thread is almost literally the first third of The Plot Against America.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
That thread is almost literally the first third of The Plot Against America.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
DOJ had no input on EO & isn't sure who in WH wrote EO. Standard agency consultation process is not functioning
Any articles expanding on this? All I'm seeing is tweet reports. This is absolutely fucking mad.
posted by windbox at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Any articles expanding on this? All I'm seeing is tweet reports. This is absolutely fucking mad.
posted by windbox at 2:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The NYC Taxi Workers just called for a work stoppage, starting at 6 pm. No pick ups or drop offs to JFK.
posted by zachlipton at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [139 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [139 favorites]
Protest planned at Philadelphia Airport tomorrow 2-4PM, Terminal A-West International Arrivals
posted by mcduff at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Odd. The measure of a protest is usually the number of participants (e.g. those who chant). But just now, it seems to be the number of viewers of the live stream.
Because we're the ones watching the raw feeds and can't count numbers easily and how many people see it matters as well.
posted by Jalliah at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Because we're the ones watching the raw feeds and can't count numbers easily and how many people see it matters as well.
posted by Jalliah at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
OH SHIT! Fucking good job, NYC taxi union. That is a thing likely to get some motion.
posted by corb at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
posted by corb at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
Bannon is writing the EOs. You think that guy is going to consult with anyone except his own gin-soaked fever dreams? Nah, son.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump has done a lot of things I think of as foolish, but this ban is the first one that outright flabbergasted me.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm at JFK and have to leave soon and this will the happiest I've ever been taking the airtrain.
posted by Brainy at 2:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
posted by Brainy at 2:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [41 favorites]
Any articles expanding on this? All I'm seeing is tweet reports. This is absolutely fucking mad.
I think it's at breaking news status so articles will likely be coming. They've talked about on both CNN and MSNBC
posted by Jalliah at 2:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think it's at breaking news status so articles will likely be coming. They've talked about on both CNN and MSNBC
posted by Jalliah at 2:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Trump and Bannon on record openly stating they want to destroy the goverment, crash the economy, and have the country go to hell so they can recreate it.
the Bannon article in the pic
posted by Buntix at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
the Bannon article in the pic
posted by Buntix at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
I don't suppose there's any chance we could get Uber and Lyft to honor the taxi strike? I'm going to email them and ask.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
There's a rally happening at IAD right now, too.
posted by amarynth at 2:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by amarynth at 2:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Fuck the wall! We'll tear it down" is the chant on the JFK livestream right now.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
That thread is almost literally the first third of The Plot Against America.
Could you perhaps expand on this because googling this at this particular juncture seems ill-advised
posted by yasaman at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Could you perhaps expand on this because googling this at this particular juncture seems ill-advised
posted by yasaman at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Apparently, Trump's big plan to defeat ISIS is to order the government to start working on a plan to defeat ISIS. And it took him a week to get around to doing that. Sad.
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
I've mentioned this already elsewhere, but one tiny ray of hope for me in all this is that (unlike the W years, where every other news report seemed to be about some "bold new initiative" of Bush's or another) people are absolutely Not Putting Up With This Shit. All the protests and pro bono lawyers and resistance from gagged government agencies are doing me a world of good.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
cmfletcher, I think the chant is, "Build a wall, we'll tear it down." Unless it's changed in the past 90 minutes.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not kidding you folks - I treated myself to a nap this afternoon and couldn't get up. I thought: what the Christ is it good for, anything else on the to-do list today? Why should I rise ...
And I got on FB. And I found a livestream of this.
And I have never been so moved by a chant I wasn't part of in my life.
SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
posted by Countess Elena at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
And I got on FB. And I found a livestream of this.
And I have never been so moved by a chant I wasn't part of in my life.
SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE
posted by Countess Elena at 2:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
I've been so engrossed in all of this horrible action around the Muslim ban today that I almost missed this article in which it seems cracks are starting to deepen re: Russia sanctions. Again, the usual disclaimers that I will not be holding my breath to see McCain, McConnell, Ryan, et al actually follow through but having Senate Republicans sign onto a bill by Democratic Senator Cardin is something. Especially combined with the establishment R's having Trump babysat during the Putin call. It seems like there's zero trust on the Russia stuff from the Republican congressional leaders and this feels like it could be the first big test of the establishment Republican theory that they can control Trump.
posted by jason_steakums at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
CNN: Conway just now, 2 hours later: "We are not revealing what he signed today."
Do executive orders take effect before publication in the Federal Register?
If so, how can detained visitors challenge their detention? How does their detention or expulsion from the United States differ from the enforcement of secret laws?
posted by compartment at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Do executive orders take effect before publication in the Federal Register?
If so, how can detained visitors challenge their detention? How does their detention or expulsion from the United States differ from the enforcement of secret laws?
posted by compartment at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
It definitely got more umm emphatic in the past 15 minutes.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't suppose there's any chance we could get Uber and Lyft to honor the taxi strike? I'm going to email them and ask.
i think we all know that uber will just raise their prices
posted by poffin boffin at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
i think we all know that uber will just raise their prices
posted by poffin boffin at 2:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
Uber and Lyft aren't allowed to pick up at NYC airports, the last time I checked.
posted by unknowncommand at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by unknowncommand at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Reminder again for Canadians to contact your MP (especially if they are a Liberal MP) and let them know you expect them and our current PM to stand the fuck up to the Bully-in-Chief. Now is not the time for politeness.
posted by Kitteh at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't suppose there's any chance we could get Uber and Lyft to honor the taxi strike? I'm going to email them and ask.
If they don't a DOS may be possible -- get groups of people to hire them to go to the opposite side of the city...
posted by Buntix at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
If they don't a DOS may be possible -- get groups of people to hire them to go to the opposite side of the city...
posted by Buntix at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've mentioned this already elsewhere, but one tiny ray of hope for me in all this is that (unlike the W years, where every other news report seemed to be about some "bold new initiative" of Bush's or another) people are absolutely Not Putting Up With This Shit. All the protests and pro bono lawyers and resistance from gagged government agencies are doing me a world of good.
It is good, though I do have a nagging feeling that if Trump, Bannon et al were able to ease up on being assholes 24/7 even the tiniest bit then they could have been nearly as awful or moreso without anyone making a squeak.
posted by Artw at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
It is good, though I do have a nagging feeling that if Trump, Bannon et al were able to ease up on being assholes 24/7 even the tiniest bit then they could have been nearly as awful or moreso without anyone making a squeak.
posted by Artw at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Ah, maybe they've changed it now. Nevermind.
posted by unknowncommand at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by unknowncommand at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017
Uber and Lyft agree independent contractors (that is their special sauce) so I imagine it's up to individual drivers. But yeah, a lot of airports don't allow them anyway.
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe was at Dulles International Airport Saturday, where he criticized President Donald Trump's recent executive action that bans certain immigrants and refugees.
He did a presser
posted by Jalliah at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
"It's not a Muslim ban,"
Says the guy who insists on saying "radical Islamic terrorism".
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Says the guy who insists on saying "radical Islamic terrorism".
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Uber and Lyft aren't allowed to pick up at NYC airports, the last time I checked.
Both Uber and Lyft pick up at JFK -- other NYC airports too I believe
https://www.uber.com/airports/jfk/
https://www.lyft.com/airports/jfk
posted by pocketfullofrye at 3:01 PM on January 28, 2017
Both Uber and Lyft pick up at JFK -- other NYC airports too I believe
https://www.uber.com/airports/jfk/
https://www.lyft.com/airports/jfk
posted by pocketfullofrye at 3:01 PM on January 28, 2017
My favorite protest sign from JFK so far.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
idk who the guys are who walk up and down the JFK taxi queue saying "uber?" out of the corner of their mouths in that "hey buddy you wanna buy a watch" 80s trenchcoat dude in times square way, but i've been assuming that they are in fact uber drivers.
posted by poffin boffin at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 3:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Just caught Trump speaking out earlier. He can't talk. "And it's at the airports and it's working very nicely. Working nicely. And we will have extreme vetting and yeah something or other. This is annoying can you go now please"
Okay he didn't say the last part but it sounded like he was thinking it.
posted by Jalliah at 3:04 PM on January 28, 2017
Reminder again for Canadians to contact your MP (especially if they are a Liberal MP) and let them know you expect them and our current PM to stand the fuck up to the Bully-in-Chief. Now is not the time for politeness.
I will. He's a Con who thinks Trump is the bestest and Kellie Lynch is the even more the bestest.
posted by Jalliah at 3:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I will. He's a Con who thinks Trump is the bestest and Kellie Lynch is the even more the bestest.
posted by Jalliah at 3:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
For those of you who consider Google to be unsafe: I very much agree with your assertion, and recommend Startpage, an anonymised version of Google.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Paul Reichkoff, executive director of IAVA, the largest post 9/11 veterans organization:
"Esam and Mohamed are my brothers. They defended me in Iraq. And I will defend them now. They barely escaped being killed for standing by me and my soldiers in Baghdad--and now live here in the US. America is lucky to have them here. They are heroes. You wanna kick them out? You'll have to come through me. #NotGonnaHappen #RefugeesWelcome"posted by corb at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [111 favorites]
My favorite protest sign from JFK so far.
A+++ Would buy again
posted by petebest at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
A+++ Would buy again
posted by petebest at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Actually screw that I'm gonna go right to the top. "Hey Justin, remember me? We used to hang out at work and drink beer together. So yeah about this Trump guy..."
posted by Jalliah at 3:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Outside of Terminal 4 at JFK, while lawyers fight on the inside, the protests have EXPLODED in size demanding justice for the detained...
posted by porn in the woods at 3:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 3:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Here's the brief White House readout of the Putin call, six hours later. No mention of Ukraine or sanctions.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez)
It's WORKING.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
One of the refugees, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, has been released[true]
It's WORKING.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Didn't Obama say his oath of respectful silence was contingent on Trump not targeting religions?
Wonder how his break in Palm Springs is going... (checks - ah, it got rained out so he's borrowed Richard Branson's private jet and popped down to the Caribbean. Hope Trump doesn't put Kenya on the no-home list and restrospectively EO a new birth certificate...)
posted by Devonian at 3:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Wonder how his break in Palm Springs is going... (checks - ah, it got rained out so he's borrowed Richard Branson's private jet and popped down to the Caribbean. Hope Trump doesn't put Kenya on the no-home list and restrospectively EO a new birth certificate...)
posted by Devonian at 3:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
"Samira Asgari had spent months planning her move from Switzerland to the United States. The 30-year-old Iranian woman had secured a post-doctoral fellowship at the prestigious, Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston…. A gentleman stopped me from boarding the plane,” she says. “He told me he was a consulate of the American government in Frankfort and not allowing anybody with a number of nationalities to board planes to the United States. They had already unloaded my luggage and everything.”
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
With all this barring of people getting on flights, I'd like to see a few things come out of it -
1) Court action or some kind of class action to recover the costs of these tickets for the people who were hurt on behalf of the order. Preferably from Sphincterface, Bannon, Conway et al.
2) Serious investigation of DHS implementation procedures and clarification of future executive order implementation so international cockups like this don't happen anymore.
3) Airlines to sue DHS for costs of badly implemented order.
posted by saysthis at 3:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
1) Court action or some kind of class action to recover the costs of these tickets for the people who were hurt on behalf of the order. Preferably from Sphincterface, Bannon, Conway et al.
2) Serious investigation of DHS implementation procedures and clarification of future executive order implementation so international cockups like this don't happen anymore.
3) Airlines to sue DHS for costs of badly implemented order.
posted by saysthis at 3:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
KLM themselves did not say that they were not allowed to let the passengers board, they said they refused them because they "would not pass customs in the US".
My understanding is that the airlines are on the hook for returning a rejected person back to the original location, so as a matter of policy they are conservative in letting people board flights to the US.
posted by Slothrup at 3:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
My understanding is that the airlines are on the hook for returning a rejected person back to the original location, so as a matter of policy they are conservative in letting people board flights to the US.
posted by Slothrup at 3:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
New memo establishes Steve Bannon as member of the National Security Council’s Principals Committee, typically off limits to political hacks
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I was going to take the weekend off, but apparently that isn't possible right now. Protests are being organized at Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston airports to my knowledge. In Austin, people are debating between protesting here in town or organizing carpool caravans to either DFW or Houston, and also checking to see whether any applicable flights have recently landed in San Antonio. No word there yet.
In the meantime, I am listening to the livestream of our State of the City address.
posted by sciatrix at 3:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
In the meantime, I am listening to the livestream of our State of the City address.
posted by sciatrix at 3:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Student visas have already been getting revoked for weeks, apparently.
posted by Slothrup at 3:32 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Slothrup at 3:32 PM on January 28, 2017
to recover the costs of these tickets
31 minutes: the time it took to raise £2600 to bring Glaswegian vet (w/ Iranian passport) back home after she was denied a transit visa for her flight home from Costa Rica.
posted by Buntix at 3:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
31 minutes: the time it took to raise £2600 to bring Glaswegian vet (w/ Iranian passport) back home after she was denied a transit visa for her flight home from Costa Rica.
posted by Buntix at 3:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trudeau says Canada will take refugees banned by U.S.
TORONTO – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you.
Trudeau reacted to Trump’s ban of Muslims from certain countries by tweeting Saturday: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”
Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s airport in late 2015.
Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.
A spokeswoman for Trudeau said Trudeau has a message for Trump.
“The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada’s immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak,” Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press.
posted by Jalliah at 3:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
Very nice words from Trudeau but as others mentioned, words ain't enough.
1) Publicly condemn the EO on behalf of the Canadian government.
2) Announce plans to allow (at least) an extra refugee into Canada this year for every refugee spot cancelled by the EO. That's sixty thousand, at last count. Preferably sixty thousand extra Syrians in addition to our pre-existing refugee commitments. Give us numbers, not "Canadians will welcome you".
3) Reevaluate the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement in light of these events.
4) Make any future Canada-U.S. economic deals contingent on free passage of Canadian citizens into the U.S. regardless of dual citizenship status.
I'm calling and emailing and tweeting at my Liberal MP as well as at Trudeau and making these specific demands. Passive aggressive Twitter swipes and photos of hugs are all nice and are usually suitable for Canadian purposes, but these are strange times.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Very nice words from Trudeau but as others mentioned, words ain't enough.
1) Publicly condemn the EO on behalf of the Canadian government.
2) Announce plans to allow (at least) an extra refugee into Canada this year for every refugee spot cancelled by the EO. That's sixty thousand, at last count. Preferably sixty thousand extra Syrians in addition to our pre-existing refugee commitments. Give us numbers, not "Canadians will welcome you".
3) Reevaluate the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement in light of these events.
4) Make any future Canada-U.S. economic deals contingent on free passage of Canadian citizens into the U.S. regardless of dual citizenship status.
I'm calling and emailing and tweeting at my Liberal MP as well as at Trudeau and making these specific demands. Passive aggressive Twitter swipes and photos of hugs are all nice and are usually suitable for Canadian purposes, but these are strange times.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
KLM in particular have been in trouble before for letting people on without passports and whatnot - they explained that to me when asking me for a bunch of documents before giving me a boarding pass in Singapore. They might just be turning people back after checking place of birth on their documents, knowing already what we know now about the situation at the airport. Even if they'd let people fly, would it help? This way there's a chance of a refund.
posted by infini at 3:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 3:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Say it loud / say it clear / refugees are welcome here"
At SFO in a large, peaceful, and loud crowd outside international arrivals.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
At SFO in a large, peaceful, and loud crowd outside international arrivals.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Clemson professor Nazanin Zinouri was just basically deported. She just recently got her PhD after a dissertation on improving the healthcare industry.
posted by flatluigi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [32 favorites]
I'm not flabbergasted by this. Trump's spokespeople have literally justified measures like a Muslim ban by pointing to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
They did this on major news networks.
And yet people who found this concerning were told to settle down: It's just something to appeal to the base, it's just about legal precedent, it's not as scary as you're making it out to be... and it got buried in excuses and the barrage of other trash coming from his campaign.
He's been signalling that this is the direction he would go in all along. But millions of people still voted for him - instead of standing up against it, they excused or supported it.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [83 favorites]
They did this on major news networks.
And yet people who found this concerning were told to settle down: It's just something to appeal to the base, it's just about legal precedent, it's not as scary as you're making it out to be... and it got buried in excuses and the barrage of other trash coming from his campaign.
He's been signalling that this is the direction he would go in all along. But millions of people still voted for him - instead of standing up against it, they excused or supported it.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [83 favorites]
KEEP PUTTING PRESSURE ON. The Labour party leader in New Zealand, Andrew Little, just committed to doubling the refugee quota if Labour takes power in the next election. Fight. Resist.
posted by supercrayon at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
@StacyStClair (Chicago Tribune)
Attorneys say that there are now 18 people being held at O'Hare, including at least three children.
Attorneys have set up shop at the O'Hare McDonald's as they work to get the 18 people held out
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
Attorneys say that there are now 18 people being held at O'Hare, including at least three children.
Attorneys have set up shop at the O'Hare McDonald's as they work to get the 18 people held out
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
@TimFederle
My dream is that "JFK Terminal 4" is the name of a future Spielberg movie about the day Trump's ugly presidency officially began to end.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
My dream is that "JFK Terminal 4" is the name of a future Spielberg movie about the day Trump's ugly presidency officially began to end.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [75 favorites]
https://twitter.com/jen_keesmaat/status/825452860355801092
Americans killed annually by terrorists: 16posted by Buntix at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
By armed toddlers: 21
I'm gonna head to the LAX protest tomorrow, probably. I'm currently in Riverside County visiting my parents, so hit me up via memail if you want to carpool there. I'm willing to pick you up if you're on the way, or in the West LA area.
posted by yasaman at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 3:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
why is it still light out on the FB livestream? Dark here in Philly.
posted by angrycat at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by angrycat at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017
TPM: Dick Cheney Thinks Trump's Muslim Ban Is 'Against Everything We Stand For'
Hell has frozen over and the devil is serving us ice cream.
posted by orange swan at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
Hell has frozen over and the devil is serving us ice cream.
posted by orange swan at 3:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
@StacyStClair
Mohamad Amirisefat has been told his brother-in-law - who has green card as well as dual British and Iranian citizenship - is being released
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Mohamad Amirisefat has been told his brother-in-law - who has green card as well as dual British and Iranian citizenship - is being released
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Riot cops assembled outside terminal entrance at JFK terminal 4
posted by porn in the woods at 3:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 3:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
(Not to derail, but that lone fucking McDonald's outside the ORD international arrivals door was probably the worst "Welcome To America" that ever existed until this started happening)
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Protests are getting angrier
Women's march: postive
Philly: angry
JFK: angrier
posted by angrycat at 3:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Women's march: postive
Philly: angry
JFK: angrier
posted by angrycat at 3:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Americans killed annually by terrorists: 16
By armed toddlers: 21
Don't forget people who are shot by their dogs
posted by thelonius at 3:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
By armed toddlers: 21
Don't forget people who are shot by their dogs
posted by thelonius at 3:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
DNI and Chairman of Joint Chiefs no longer automatic NSC Principals Committee members
People seem to be freaking out about this a bit ...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
People seem to be freaking out about this a bit ...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Nationalist Security Council, attachments to reality not allowed.
posted by Artw at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
People now talking about taking caravans of carpooling cars either to Houston or DFW from Austin. DFW already has protest starting; IAH's starts tomorrow. Crowds assembling at gates 1-8 at DFW.
posted by sciatrix at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 3:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
And word is #MoscowMike Flynn is President of the NSC.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017
Flynn will be there to represent Putin, of course.
posted by Artw at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
@roguePOTUSstaff on twitter is showing some cracks of being Russian propaganda. Unfortunately.
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
In 1993 Trump testified that operators of Native American casinos didn't "look like Indians"
posted by Buntix at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Well, it's been a busy week. Looks like it's on, already.
posted by stonepharisee at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by stonepharisee at 3:53 PM on January 28, 2017
We're in the closing stages of World War III. We didn't even know it was happening. And we're about to lose.
posted by Grangousier at 3:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 3:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Flynn will be there to represent Putin, of course.
He just had to wait to get permission on that phone call...
posted by Devonian at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
He just had to wait to get permission on that phone call...
posted by Devonian at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cops are no longer letting people onto airtrain at Jamaica station unless ticketed
posted by Brainy at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Brainy at 3:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
We're in the closing stages of World War III. We didn't even know it was happening. And we're about to lose.
Fuck that, that's defeatist
posted by thelonius at 3:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
Re: A general strike. I understand why that sounds good. I would love to see it. Basically, I would love if everyone did that. But my husband would still be showing up at work. (I already don't work and am doing what I can from my sickbed.) Because we've had some real basic survival poverty issues recently and he only JUST got into a position with a living wage and benefits. If he loses that job, and the ACA goes away, we'd be for real fucked. We'd be entirely dependent on charity for expensive medical care and without it he could die. And his boss is a Trump supporter, so I'm pretty sure he'd be fired for not showing up to work to protest, even if it was a single day.
And this kind of economic leverage is why a strike won't work. Too many people have their health and the health of their family hanging around their necks keeping them doing anything to keep their jobs. The ACA makes it easier to change jobs and that may be a big reason the employer class wants to get rid of it.
posted by threeturtles at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
And this kind of economic leverage is why a strike won't work. Too many people have their health and the health of their family hanging around their necks keeping them doing anything to keep their jobs. The ACA makes it easier to change jobs and that may be a big reason the employer class wants to get rid of it.
posted by threeturtles at 3:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Just got back from an info session on an organization that teaches English to recent immigrants and refugees - some of the more advanced students were there to help practice their conversation and reading. Also planning to give more money to the National Immigration Law Center
posted by dinty_moore at 3:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by dinty_moore at 3:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (NEBRASKA!?) is the first to break ranks with the GOP over the Muslim Ban.
I'm gonna send that man a fruit basket, and a campaign donation, assuming we ever have elections again.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
I'm gonna send that man a fruit basket, and a campaign donation, assuming we ever have elections again.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [53 favorites]
From Austin's State of the City address, now rolling in:
With respect to public safety you should know that Austin is one of the safest cities in the country. One of the big reasons we’re safe is because the people in our community trust our public safety officers: our police and our sheriff’s department. That trust is exhibited when everyone who is being victimized in our city feels comfortable seeking law enforcement protection.
…When witnesses to crimes are willing to come forward. When our law enforcement personnel are welcome and comfortable going anywhere in this city and into any neighborhood in this city. This specifically includes the people and places where crime and victimization might most likely otherwise exist.
This level of trust is earned over time.
And now, it’s facing a threat.
…Here’s what’s really going on…
Police Chief Manley and our Sheriff have told us what we need to do keep our community as safe as possible. Their advice is the same as we got from our former police chief. And, so you don’t think that this advice is just some progressive outlier, you need to know it’s the same advice given to us by the national association of Big Cities Chiefs.
Importantly, our local law enforcement officers follow all federal and state law. Of course we do.
Our Sheriff turns over, everyone, to the federal government that the law requires her to turn over. She even turns over some serious criminals even when not required by law. If the federal immigration service wants someone held in our county jail because it thinks they’re dangerous, all they have to do is to get a warrant. It’s that easy.
But what our Sheriff doesn’t do is participate in a voluntary program that would have her detain and turn over others without warrants. We don’t have the resources to have our local public safety officers act as federal immigration officers, or federal environmental officers or federal tax officers.
Most importantly, our public safety officers do what they do because they believe it makes us safe.
I trust our public safety professionals because they’re keeping us safe. I ask my community to trust our police and that means I trust them, too. This is not political for me. It’s simple and it’s about public safety.
Now, our State and Federal leaders are offering some money to us if we are willing to reject the advice of our public safety professionals and instead affirmatively choose to make ourselves less safe.
That gives us a horrible choice. The question we face as a community is simple, at what price do we sell our safety?
posted by sciatrix at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
With respect to public safety you should know that Austin is one of the safest cities in the country. One of the big reasons we’re safe is because the people in our community trust our public safety officers: our police and our sheriff’s department. That trust is exhibited when everyone who is being victimized in our city feels comfortable seeking law enforcement protection.
…When witnesses to crimes are willing to come forward. When our law enforcement personnel are welcome and comfortable going anywhere in this city and into any neighborhood in this city. This specifically includes the people and places where crime and victimization might most likely otherwise exist.
This level of trust is earned over time.
And now, it’s facing a threat.
…Here’s what’s really going on…
Police Chief Manley and our Sheriff have told us what we need to do keep our community as safe as possible. Their advice is the same as we got from our former police chief. And, so you don’t think that this advice is just some progressive outlier, you need to know it’s the same advice given to us by the national association of Big Cities Chiefs.
Importantly, our local law enforcement officers follow all federal and state law. Of course we do.
Our Sheriff turns over, everyone, to the federal government that the law requires her to turn over. She even turns over some serious criminals even when not required by law. If the federal immigration service wants someone held in our county jail because it thinks they’re dangerous, all they have to do is to get a warrant. It’s that easy.
But what our Sheriff doesn’t do is participate in a voluntary program that would have her detain and turn over others without warrants. We don’t have the resources to have our local public safety officers act as federal immigration officers, or federal environmental officers or federal tax officers.
Most importantly, our public safety officers do what they do because they believe it makes us safe.
I trust our public safety professionals because they’re keeping us safe. I ask my community to trust our police and that means I trust them, too. This is not political for me. It’s simple and it’s about public safety.
Now, our State and Federal leaders are offering some money to us if we are willing to reject the advice of our public safety professionals and instead affirmatively choose to make ourselves less safe.
That gives us a horrible choice. The question we face as a community is simple, at what price do we sell our safety?
posted by sciatrix at 4:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
hey, I'm also worried about WWIII, like big-time anxious, but I am in no way defeatist. I get that people wouldn't want to hear about worse things but look at the trajectory the trajectory is things getting worse until we lose our ability to say this is the worst and then it will be actually the worst.
posted by angrycat at 4:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 4:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
National Immigration Law Center has an emergency hearing at 7:30 tonight in Brooklyn and is looking for volunteers to pack the courtroom.
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 4:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Digging the chanting at JFK on this livestream. "Tear it down, Fuck the wall!"
posted by stonepharisee at 4:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 4:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Many people are saying #TrumpCantGrowFacialHair. We need to look into this. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/umsaRHrA9t
posted by porn in the woods at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
@roguePOTUSstaff on twitter is showing some cracks of being Russian propaganda. Unfortunately
Boooo that was my favorite fanfic :(
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump Halts Program to Bring Jewish, Christian, Baha'i Refugees from Iran
The episode isn't directly linked to an executive order Trump signed Friday that orders strict new screening for refugees to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the United States. But it reflects the knock-on effects already occurring from his tougher line on immigration and refugees. Similar to how tighter German migration rules had consequences across Europe, Trump's actions could lead other nations to take a harder look at people wishing to use their territories as transit points.posted by tonycpsu at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
The scene from above as thousands chant and scream, draping banners from above at JFK international arrivals shouting "LET THEM IN!"
posted by porn in the woods at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
This is an excellent write up this past week.
Trump's first week was a crusade against everything. But we returned the favor
The president’s first week in office has felt like a civil war – but the insubordination of civil society has been beautiful to watch
posted by Jalliah at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Trump's first week was a crusade against everything. But we returned the favor
The president’s first week in office has felt like a civil war – but the insubordination of civil society has been beautiful to watch
posted by Jalliah at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Guys, what organizations need lawyer volunteers?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
There's a solidarity event happening at the MSP baggage claim. ACLU is on-site.
posted by nickmark at 4:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by nickmark at 4:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
@roguePOTUSstaff on twitter is showing some cracks of being Russian propaganda. Unfortunately
How so? Further destablization in undermining him?
posted by Jalliah at 4:11 PM on January 28, 2017
How so? Further destablization in undermining him?
posted by Jalliah at 4:11 PM on January 28, 2017
FUCK THE WALL! WE'LL TEAR IT DOWN!
Holy 60's flashback Batman!!!!! Whoo!
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Holy 60's flashback Batman!!!!! Whoo!
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Anyone interested in what side NYPD is on. They are blocking people from entering AirTran at JFK
posted by porn in the woods at 4:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (NEBRASKA!?) is the first to break ranks with the GOP over the Muslim Ban.
I'm gonna send that man a fruit basket, and a campaign donation, assuming we ever have elections again.
Dent from Pennsylvania I think? He was on MSNBC earlier saying similar things. So not the only one.
posted by Jalliah at 4:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (NEBRASKA!?) is the first to break ranks with the GOP over the Muslim Ban.
God bless Senator Sasse, and may he serve to spur more.
posted by corb at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
God bless Senator Sasse, and may he serve to spur more.
posted by corb at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I was in an improv workshop all day and purposely did not check the news or mefi. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE PROTESTING AT JFK!
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
I think the greatest and most effective protest (and probably also the one most likely to end in state-sanctioned violence) would be to get thousands of people to gather outside the White House and simply chant "WE DON'T LIKE YOU." It would totally destroy him.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Buzzfeed also streaming live from JFK
From 2014, more relevant than ever: FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
posted by Buntix at 4:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
From 2014, more relevant than ever: FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States
posted by Buntix at 4:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Sam Charles of the Sun-Times (Twitter) is covering the Chicago O'Hare protest and detentions.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
An app that tells you when you're about to follow an unlawful order
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
No one knows how this will play out, but it seems to be becoming clear that you can't hijack the United States of America like this. You can't.
posted by stonepharisee at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by stonepharisee at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
WE DON'T LIKE YOU." It would totally destroy him.
Nah, he'd just selectively hear the "like you" and marvel at the huge crowds and try to photoshop them into his Inauguration file.
So if we're gonna do this at least the chant has to be "TINY HANDS NO HEART"
posted by TwoStride at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Nah, he'd just selectively hear the "like you" and marvel at the huge crowds and try to photoshop them into his Inauguration file.
So if we're gonna do this at least the chant has to be "TINY HANDS NO HEART"
posted by TwoStride at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
No one knows how this will play out, but it seems to be becoming clear that you can't hijack the United States of America like this. You can't.
Fingers crossed.
posted by Artw at 4:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Fingers crossed.
posted by Artw at 4:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
How so? Further destabilization in undermining him?
Not saying it is Russia, just saying proceed with [more] caution. Two weird tweets claiming Putin has him in the crosshairs (info wise, I hate that I need to specify) and that Bannon, Pence and Priebus are all gently trying to uncover what Russia has on Him. It's strangely specific on a day the account's other tweets don't suggest they are at the office.
Then this.
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 4:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not saying it is Russia, just saying proceed with [more] caution. Two weird tweets claiming Putin has him in the crosshairs (info wise, I hate that I need to specify) and that Bannon, Pence and Priebus are all gently trying to uncover what Russia has on Him. It's strangely specific on a day the account's other tweets don't suggest they are at the office.
Then this.
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 4:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
You guys I'm about to cry. My niece just contacted me on FB to express how upset she is by Trump's executive orders. We haven't had much contact with her because we cut contact with my husband's parents and she's on that side of the family. Her mother is a Filipino immigrant but she is conservative and my niece's parents both voted Trump.
So anyway my niece just let me know that her new husband isn't a citizen yet and they're scared of what could happen. They have an infant. And she reached out to me because I'm probably one of the few people she knows who is openly posting against all this. So I'm trying to let her know that I feel for them and I think a majority of Americans really don't support all this bullshit. And I'm hooking her up with my activist group to get some support and see that people are trying.
But y'all...
Also THIS is why facebook matters and why being visible on social media matters.
ETA: clarity.
posted by threeturtles at 4:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [57 favorites]
So anyway my niece just let me know that her new husband isn't a citizen yet and they're scared of what could happen. They have an infant. And she reached out to me because I'm probably one of the few people she knows who is openly posting against all this. So I'm trying to let her know that I feel for them and I think a majority of Americans really don't support all this bullshit. And I'm hooking her up with my activist group to get some support and see that people are trying.
But y'all...
Also THIS is why facebook matters and why being visible on social media matters.
ETA: clarity.
posted by threeturtles at 4:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [57 favorites]
TINY HANDS NO HEART
FE FI FO FUMP
FUCK THAT ASSHOLE DONALD TRUMP
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [48 favorites]
FE FI FO FUMP
FUCK THAT ASSHOLE DONALD TRUMP
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [48 favorites]
So if we're gonna do this at least the chant has to be "TINY HANDS NO HEART"
"TINY HANDS, TINY DICK, NO HEART, AND KINDA THICK"
posted by Buntix at 4:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
"TINY HANDS, TINY DICK, NO HEART, AND KINDA THICK"
posted by Buntix at 4:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
The Buzzfeed live FB feed is making me cry like a baby.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
The livestream is suggesting that the police are on their way into JFK
posted by Buntix at 4:26 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Buntix at 4:26 PM on January 28, 2017
(buzzfeed livestream)
posted by Buntix at 4:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Buntix at 4:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Good luck, everybody.
posted by Artw at 4:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Protests currently at:
JFK
Dulles
LAX
Atlanta
BOS
SFO
O'Hare
Philly
Detroit
Denver
Newark
Seattle
posted by Buntix at 4:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
JFK
Dulles
LAX
Atlanta
BOS
SFO
O'Hare
Philly
Detroit
Denver
Newark
Seattle
posted by Buntix at 4:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Buzzfeed live stream comments, on the other hand, are breaking my brain. So many people seemingly unable to understand a distinction between illegal immigrants from parts south and legal refugees, immigrants with visas and green card holders.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
LA!! URGENT: Arabic & Farsi translators urgently needed #LAX to assist family of people being detained. meeth@immdef.org #RESIST #MuslimBan
posted by porn in the woods at 4:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is a smart move by Bibi. He knows the first rule of Trump, flatter him, and praise him, tell him he's beautiful and you love him, then ask him for whatever you want.
Only if he's sure there's never going to be a Democratic administration and Congress again. Otherwise making Israel a partisan issue is a real fucking stupid longterm move. Democratic support for Israel has plummeted under Bibi's machinations.
posted by chris24 at 4:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Only if he's sure there's never going to be a Democratic administration and Congress again. Otherwise making Israel a partisan issue is a real fucking stupid longterm move. Democratic support for Israel has plummeted under Bibi's machinations.
posted by chris24 at 4:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I think it's interesting in this day & age that journalists like Buzzfeed and Teen Vogue are showing a deeper commitment to journalistic integrity than organizations like NPR.
I mean you can't call Trump a "lying despot" on air it just wouldn't be polite.
We all know very well that the alt-news (Fox, Talk Radio, Breitbart, etc) are more than willing to aid and abet this administration but it's depressing to see the traditional standard bearers of the fourth estate look so chastened in their approach.
The gloves need to come off until Trump/Bannon/Flynn et al are repudiated by both parties and the only way for that to happen is for the press to put the feet of powerful people to the fire instead of relying on access journalism.
posted by vuron at 4:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
I mean you can't call Trump a "lying despot" on air it just wouldn't be polite.
We all know very well that the alt-news (Fox, Talk Radio, Breitbart, etc) are more than willing to aid and abet this administration but it's depressing to see the traditional standard bearers of the fourth estate look so chastened in their approach.
The gloves need to come off until Trump/Bannon/Flynn et al are repudiated by both parties and the only way for that to happen is for the press to put the feet of powerful people to the fire instead of relying on access journalism.
posted by vuron at 4:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
It's been that way for over a decade.
posted by Artw at 4:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Theresa May has just said she doesn't agree with the ban. And will make representations if it affects Britons.
Take THAT, Donnie!
(weeps)
posted by Devonian at 4:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Take THAT, Donnie!
(weeps)
posted by Devonian at 4:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I'm at the JFK protest and it sounds like they're recommending undocumented people leave and keep themselves safe, but US citizens are staying. The police seem calm right now.
posted by Leslie Knope at 4:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
posted by Leslie Knope at 4:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Buzzfeed live feed: Organizers (or at least the woman with the bullhorn) encouraging undocumented people to go home. Police are on the way. "Please stay safe. The rest of us will keep fighting for you." 😭😭😭
posted by mudpuppie at 4:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
truck fump
posted by murphy slaw at 4:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 4:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Eyebrows & other lawyers, the Intl Refugee Assistance Project is looking for attorneys to help detained people at airports. I have a link to a google doc - I'll send it to you, Eyebrows, via memail and anyone else can contact me if they want it. I am not sure if it should be posted publicly.
They say that it is especially helpful if attorneys have background or training in asylum, expedited removal and the credible fear screening process and/or are able to file a habeus petition in district court.
I am not going to be able to keep up w this thread tonight so please memail me if you want to reach me, I may not see comments.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
They say that it is especially helpful if attorneys have background or training in asylum, expedited removal and the credible fear screening process and/or are able to file a habeus petition in district court.
I am not going to be able to keep up w this thread tonight so please memail me if you want to reach me, I may not see comments.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
They are asking people to protest at the Philly airport now. The families that are being detained will be gone before tomorrow afternoon protest.
posted by mcduff at 4:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 4:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Keep fighting, be safe, godspeed JFK protesters.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Excerpt from that last link:
There were happier endings Saturday, as well. At DFW Airport, Miriam Yasin was eventually reunited with her 54-year-old mother, Najah Alshamieh. The crowd cheered at their tearful reunion.
"It feels so good, but it's sad for the other ones," Yasin said. "I feel like I want to stay here for the other ones."
There are still 20-30 detainees at DFW.
posted by sciatrix at 4:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
There were happier endings Saturday, as well. At DFW Airport, Miriam Yasin was eventually reunited with her 54-year-old mother, Najah Alshamieh. The crowd cheered at their tearful reunion.
"It feels so good, but it's sad for the other ones," Yasin said. "I feel like I want to stay here for the other ones."
There are still 20-30 detainees at DFW.
posted by sciatrix at 4:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Trump’s Muslim ban: ‘Apple would not exist without immigration ... It is not a policy we support.
Apple CEO Tim Cook became the latest tech industry leader to speak out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies on Saturday.
“Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do,” wrote Cook in an email to Apple staff obtained by Recode. “I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support.”
Cook quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in the note to employees: “In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.’"
Not according to Trump, who has targeted a single group of people purely based on their religion.
Tech industry leaders, even those opposed to Trump, had been largely taking a silent wait-and-see approach, even though he had signaled that an immigration ban was his intent during the campaign.
“He’s bluffing,” one top tech exec said to me.
Um, no, he was not. So, after letting Trump run roughshod all over them for months, some started speaking out Friday following an executive order from President Trump that banned entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries.
posted by Jalliah at 4:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Apple CEO Tim Cook became the latest tech industry leader to speak out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies on Saturday.
“Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do,” wrote Cook in an email to Apple staff obtained by Recode. “I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support.”
Cook quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in the note to employees: “In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.’"
Not according to Trump, who has targeted a single group of people purely based on their religion.
Tech industry leaders, even those opposed to Trump, had been largely taking a silent wait-and-see approach, even though he had signaled that an immigration ban was his intent during the campaign.
“He’s bluffing,” one top tech exec said to me.
Um, no, he was not. So, after letting Trump run roughshod all over them for months, some started speaking out Friday following an executive order from President Trump that banned entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries.
posted by Jalliah at 4:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Lawyers are arriving by the dozens to JFK, taking shifts outside of international arrivals. Here's their call to action: pic.twitter.com/p34bTVKCwj
posted by porn in the woods at 4:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
I'm not anywhere near a major airport, but I am in a smallish place with a reasonably big community of immigrants and refugees from one of the affected countries. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm assuming that citizens of that country are going to have legal questions, and I'm wondering if there's a way to organize people with legal expertise to get them answered.
In a lot of towns, there are immigration clinics affiliated with the Catholic diocese. You're probably already plugged into those networks, Eyebrows, so I would ask if they know of anything or anyone.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
In a lot of towns, there are immigration clinics affiliated with the Catholic diocese. You're probably already plugged into those networks, Eyebrows, so I would ask if they know of anything or anyone.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
If any of these R reps are yours, maybe contact them and point out they're in a Dem district with a large Muslim constituency.
@Nate_Cohn
4 of the 23 Republicans in Clinton districts are among the top 25 Arab/Persian/Somali/Iranian CDs. Walters, Comstock, Rohrabacher, Culberson
posted by chris24 at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
@Nate_Cohn
4 of the 23 Republicans in Clinton districts are among the top 25 Arab/Persian/Somali/Iranian CDs. Walters, Comstock, Rohrabacher, Culberson
posted by chris24 at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I just realized SNL might be one for the ages tonight.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
LITERALLY on the ground. Volunteer lawyers are working pro-bono on a Saturday preparing habeus corpus petitions for detainees at JFK.
posted by porn in the woods at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Theresa May has just said she doesn't agree with the ban.
The reverse ferret. After equivocating all the way back from Turkey, then working out that whatever political capital she might have gained from going to the US had gone down the shitter.
posted by holgate at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
The reverse ferret. After equivocating all the way back from Turkey, then working out that whatever political capital she might have gained from going to the US had gone down the shitter.
posted by holgate at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I really admire the JFK protestor who, on their way out the door, thought "Hey, maybe I should take my tambourine."
posted by mudpuppie at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
That Trump visit to the UK is basically going to end in riots. It is NOT a happy country right now and he's everything people are upset about.
posted by Artw at 4:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
" I'm not a lawyer, but I'm assuming that citizens of that country are going to have legal questions, and I'm wondering if there's a way to organize people with legal expertise to get them answered. "
Yeah I am kinda noodling over whether it would be possible to organize a progressive attorney action network for those of us who live in the boonies to help, where we could be the "back office" for lawyers volunteering in NYC and LA and Chicago, who need typing or proofreading or research done fast. And a boots-on-the-ground network for reaching out to people local to us, but far from the large efforts, who need a hookup.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yeah I am kinda noodling over whether it would be possible to organize a progressive attorney action network for those of us who live in the boonies to help, where we could be the "back office" for lawyers volunteering in NYC and LA and Chicago, who need typing or proofreading or research done fast. And a boots-on-the-ground network for reaching out to people local to us, but far from the large efforts, who need a hookup.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Buntix: JFK Dulles LAX Atlanta BOS SFO O'Hare Philly Detroit Denver Newark Seattle
Starting in 15 minutes at Phoenix Sky Harbor.
posted by Superplin at 4:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Starting in 15 minutes at Phoenix Sky Harbor.
posted by Superplin at 4:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
I just realized SNL might be one for the ages tonight.
SNL is off tonight.
posted by chris24 at 4:47 PM on January 28, 2017
SNL is off tonight.
posted by chris24 at 4:47 PM on January 28, 2017
I never would have thunk that airports would be the sites of the first, of likely many more, spontaneous national protests.
posted by Jalliah at 4:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
Wait you don't always pack a tambourine in your backpack in case of emergency protest rallies?
I look forward to people not just having bug out bags ready but also social action rally kits.
posted by vuron at 4:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
I look forward to people not just having bug out bags ready but also social action rally kits.
posted by vuron at 4:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
"Devil sticks, motherfuckers!"
posted by Artw at 4:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 4:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Just donated to the National Immigration Law Center.
They're in a court room in Brooklyn right now for one of the first lawsuits against the immigration EO.
Their Charity Navigator page.
posted by bluecore at 4:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
They're in a court room in Brooklyn right now for one of the first lawsuits against the immigration EO.
Their Charity Navigator page.
posted by bluecore at 4:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Now they have a straight-up percussion section.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Honestly, I'm going to start bringing a protest sign with me wherever I go.
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
With cowbell!
posted by mudpuppie at 4:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
@SFBART subtweets: "You can take BART to all kinds of weekend events - also, direct service to SFO is running great right now."
posted by Buntix at 4:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [106 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 4:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [106 favorites]
I have one of those Trump bug out bags that the cards against humanity guys did in the summer. I think I'm going to load it with poster board, sharpies, and a tambourine now.
posted by cmfletcher at 4:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 4:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Yeah but the UK version of a "riot" is everybody rolling their eyes and going "tuh" and getting up to put the kettle on
posted by tel3path at 4:51 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by tel3path at 4:51 PM on January 28, 2017
And it's making the protesters dance like white people!
posted by mudpuppie at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Wait you don't always pack a tambourine in your backpack in case of emergency protest rallies?
I look forward to people not just having bug out bags ready but also social action rally kits.
If you use your phone, make sure you have a power pack in your rally kit. Nothing worse then running out of juice when you need to video or take pics.
posted by Jalliah at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I look forward to people not just having bug out bags ready but also social action rally kits.
If you use your phone, make sure you have a power pack in your rally kit. Nothing worse then running out of juice when you need to video or take pics.
posted by Jalliah at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ex-DHS official Juliette Kayyem: "Hearing that customs officials in tears because they can't get guidance from White House, DHS not returning calls, etc and crowds growing."
Maybe Bannon is loving this, because he thinks administrative chaos fits with the 1933 model. Maybe it's just chaos.
posted by holgate at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Maybe Bannon is loving this, because he thinks administrative chaos fits with the 1933 model. Maybe it's just chaos.
posted by holgate at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
That Trump visit to the UK is basically going to end in riots. It is NOT a happy country right now and he's everything people are upset about.
Protesting on the golf course - Suffragette style
posted by highanxiety at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Protesting on the golf course - Suffragette style
posted by highanxiety at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't think that Trump & co were and are at all prepared for the level of resistance the American people are showing .
I hope he starts to realize how small he is and how he deserves to suffer.
THIS IS NOT HIS COUNTRY.
posted by Kitteh at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
I hope he starts to realize how small he is and how he deserves to suffer.
THIS IS NOT HIS COUNTRY.
posted by Kitteh at 4:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
SNL is off tonight.
Ah shit, I thought the Baldwin one was tonight and I couldn't see him or McKinnon staying silent with a live platform.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ah shit, I thought the Baldwin one was tonight and I couldn't see him or McKinnon staying silent with a live platform.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah but the UK version of a "riot" is everybody rolling their eyes and going "tuh" and getting up to put the kettle on
Not really.
posted by Artw at 4:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Not really.
posted by Artw at 4:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
@SFBART subtweets: "You can take BART to all kinds of weekend events - also, direct service to SFO is running great right now."
Oh my gosh. Resistance coming from everywhere. :D
posted by Jalliah at 4:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
Oh my gosh. Resistance coming from everywhere. :D
posted by Jalliah at 4:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
Maybe Bannon is loving this, because he thinks administrative chaos fits with the 1933 model. Maybe it's just chaos.
Hard to tell. He is the guy that triggered a mutiny in a hermetically sealed biosphere, though.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Hard to tell. He is the guy that triggered a mutiny in a hermetically sealed biosphere, though.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 4:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Airports have been center stage for all of the security theatre about terrorism and the federal response to such since shortly after 9/11. The whole TSA apparatus is all about making us feel better about our risk of violence.
This Executive Order is just keeping in the same tradition of security theatre. An empty gesture that is all about pretending that these sorts of actions actually make Americans "safer". And the inevitable backlash will be just used as a way of saying to the Republican base "Look Liberals don't want you to be safe!"
Maybe some states like California can refuse entry of populations with links to hate groups, seems about as useful/constitutional as this Executive which is to say useless and completely unconstitutional.
posted by vuron at 4:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
This Executive Order is just keeping in the same tradition of security theatre. An empty gesture that is all about pretending that these sorts of actions actually make Americans "safer". And the inevitable backlash will be just used as a way of saying to the Republican base "Look Liberals don't want you to be safe!"
Maybe some states like California can refuse entry of populations with links to hate groups, seems about as useful/constitutional as this Executive which is to say useless and completely unconstitutional.
posted by vuron at 4:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Sam Charles is reporting over a 1000 people at O'hare now and that people keep coming. His first tweet showed around 100.
posted by Jalliah at 4:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
"These two girls have been waiting for their mother at JFK for 11 hours. Word is that she will be sent to Iraq. This video is hard to watch."
I don't think that Trump & co were and are at all prepared for the level of resistance the American people are showing .
I hope he starts to realize how small he is and how he deserves to suffer.
I hope the protests start to jam his business interests (albeit not great for the employees, but...). Not that that would make him melt down at all, cos after all he has nothing to do with them anymore...
posted by Buntix at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I don't think that Trump & co were and are at all prepared for the level of resistance the American people are showing .
I hope he starts to realize how small he is and how he deserves to suffer.
I hope the protests start to jam his business interests (albeit not great for the employees, but...). Not that that would make him melt down at all, cos after all he has nothing to do with them anymore...
posted by Buntix at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
If you use your phone, make sure you have a power pack in your rally kit. Nothing worse then running out of juice when you need to video or take pics.
Portable battery packs are really cheap now. Put one in your day bag or glove compartment.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Portable battery packs are really cheap now. Put one in your day bag or glove compartment.
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
jason_steakums: SNL is off tonight.
Ah shit, I thought the Baldwin one was tonight and I couldn't see him or McKinnon staying silent with a live platform.
A surprisingly useful one-use site: IsSNLNewThisWeek.com
Also tells you the host and musical guest when they're new.
posted by bluecore at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ah shit, I thought the Baldwin one was tonight and I couldn't see him or McKinnon staying silent with a live platform.
A surprisingly useful one-use site: IsSNLNewThisWeek.com
Also tells you the host and musical guest when they're new.
posted by bluecore at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh, Number 10's official statement is a reverse reverse ferret: "we do not agree with this approach, and it is not one we will be taking." Utterly spineless.
posted by holgate at 4:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by holgate at 4:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Portable battery packs are really cheap now. Put one in your day bag or glove compartment.
Or put 10 in your tambourine case.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Or put 10 in your tambourine case.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Hard to tell. He is the guy that triggered a mutiny in a hermetically sealed biosphere, though.
Heh.
posted by Artw at 5:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Heh.
posted by Artw at 5:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Every time I feel hopeless, America reminds me why I love it and I'm proud to be part of it. Thank you all.
posted by saysthis at 5:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 5:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
I just saw the person there with the Stars and Stripes flag. EVERYONE should take those to the protests. Show everyone watching that THIS is what America stands for.
posted by merocet at 5:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by merocet at 5:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Maybe the Muslim ban is a planned distraction from the NSC reorg, though.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
I hate large groups of people, but I am going to PHL anyway. Thank you all for letting me know where I can do something, no matter how small.
posted by biogeo at 5:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 5:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Global vacationers, musicians, sports people etc. should all stage a Sun City style boycott of the US. Who wants to plan a vacation or an event here with such repression and uncertainty?
posted by madamjujujive at 5:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by madamjujujive at 5:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
"US consulates just updated their websites, telling visa holders & applicants from Iraq, etc: appointments now cancelled." (pic of notice at link)
posted by Buntix at 5:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 5:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
BTW: Outspoken California geneticist Mike Eisen has announced his intention to run for Dianne Feinstein's seat in 2018.
posted by en forme de poire at 5:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 5:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
I saw this was asked up thread but I didn't see an answer...is there a protest at MSP ?
posted by ian1977 at 5:09 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by ian1977 at 5:09 PM on January 28, 2017
I have at least 3 FB friends at O'Hare right now as well: one says "maybe 1000", at least several hundred, and that the channel 7 reporter (ABC) says 2000.
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
If you use your phone, make sure you have a power pack in your rally kit. Nothing worse then running out of juice when you need to video or take pics.
Trufax. I actually have dug out the two older ones I no longer use and charged them with the intent of handing them to another fellow protestor one of these days. (They're great if you ride the bus!)
All this talk of having a protest sign on you at all times is making me think about maybe making a cloth or thin canvas protest banner that can be rolled up and stored in my usual day bag next to my umbrella. Possibly with sewn fabric letters, which seem less likely to wear out than paint ones. I figure I could probably find someone to hold the other end without much trouble in a pinch...
posted by sciatrix at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Trufax. I actually have dug out the two older ones I no longer use and charged them with the intent of handing them to another fellow protestor one of these days. (They're great if you ride the bus!)
All this talk of having a protest sign on you at all times is making me think about maybe making a cloth or thin canvas protest banner that can be rolled up and stored in my usual day bag next to my umbrella. Possibly with sewn fabric letters, which seem less likely to wear out than paint ones. I figure I could probably find someone to hold the other end without much trouble in a pinch...
posted by sciatrix at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
.@NYGovCuomo has ordered Port Authority to reverse its decision regarding JFK AirTrain saying "people of NY will have their voices heard"
posted by melissasaurus at 5:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [96 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 5:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [96 favorites]
I'm ashamed by Trudeau's smug, passive aggressive tweets. He should have said that anybody who's been vetted enough for the US is vetted enough for Canada and we will take them in, now.
posted by Flashman at 5:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 5:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Fuck your tired, your poor,
Screw your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
They're wretched, okay, just really low-class, disgusting, let me tell you.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost back home,
I lift my Taser beside the golden door!
-- D. Trump
posted by uosuaq at 5:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Screw your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
They're wretched, okay, just really low-class, disgusting, let me tell you.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost back home,
I lift my Taser beside the golden door!
-- D. Trump
posted by uosuaq at 5:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
@RoguePOTUSStaff: POTUS wants GOP to give $$ to #Calexit . Bannon urges to openly endorse as state's rights issue, but privately to shift elect. college red.
I mean, it's a plausible strategy...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I mean, it's a plausible strategy...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Senator Warren here. Tells me "I wanted to be down here with the people who are standing up for basic American principles." #MuslimBan
posted by porn in the woods at 5:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 5:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
Somewhere Steve Bannon is watching TV and giggling.
“I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed.
Shocked, I asked him what he meant.
“Lenin,” he answered, “wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.”
posted by sacre_bleu at 5:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
“I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed.
Shocked, I asked him what he meant.
“Lenin,” he answered, “wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.”
posted by sacre_bleu at 5:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Just caught this video from Danish TV and it's something I really needed right now. And I would say that the usual warning applies to not look at the YouTube comments, but right now I see that hateful shit posted under an amazing message of humanity for what it is: the shrieking of vampires who can't stand the sun.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 5:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I will admit I like this Cuomo better than the one that kept kicking education unions in the nuts.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
"1941 Dr. Seuss cartoon criticizing America's stance on denying Jews safe haven. Recognize the T-shirt slogan?"
posted by Buntix at 5:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 5:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Yes. Canadians should stop with the smugness.
America is dying and its heart breaking and there's no reason the cancer won't spread north to us.
posted by cacofonie at 5:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
America is dying and its heart breaking and there's no reason the cancer won't spread north to us.
posted by cacofonie at 5:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
Jury still out on these alt-accounts, but more fuel for the #Calexit is a Russian plot too theory:
POTUS, Bannon want GOP to back #Calexit
California secession organizers say they've opened an embassy -- in Moscow
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
POTUS, Bannon want GOP to back #Calexit
California secession organizers say they've opened an embassy -- in Moscow
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:22 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
A Man Without Grace Meets a Party Without Conscience ~ JOY-ANN REID Today at 2:17pm. I wonder what she would have written at 7pm!
[the last paragraph]
Nothing short of a voters rebellion over the next two years can yield for the country, or what’s left of it, any hope of restraining a man who has made it clear that he intends to use the presidency for two things: first, to enrich himself, his family and his friends, and second: to build a giant, moving, breathing monument to his own wounded, desperate and bloated ego.
Here’s praying the American people come through.
posted by futz at 5:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
[the last paragraph]
Nothing short of a voters rebellion over the next two years can yield for the country, or what’s left of it, any hope of restraining a man who has made it clear that he intends to use the presidency for two things: first, to enrich himself, his family and his friends, and second: to build a giant, moving, breathing monument to his own wounded, desperate and bloated ego.
Here’s praying the American people come through.
posted by futz at 5:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
America is dying and its heart breaking and there's no reason the cancer won't spread north to us.
Toronto already had the matineé with Rob Ford. Canadians have their left vote split two ways and the conservatives know it. I would not be anywhere near smug because Canada is literally easy mode for a white nationalistic fascist to take over.
posted by Talez at 5:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Toronto already had the matineé with Rob Ford. Canadians have their left vote split two ways and the conservatives know it. I would not be anywhere near smug because Canada is literally easy mode for a white nationalistic fascist to take over.
posted by Talez at 5:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Advice for affected travelers
In my mind I saw that phrase and unthinkingly assumed it was the link to some anodyne State Department guidance for how to handle the travel snafu affecting travelers from...
Oh yeah. Our government is the snafu. We can't trust official .gov resources anymore.
Fuck, I knew this was going to be happening but it's still so... raw.
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
In my mind I saw that phrase and unthinkingly assumed it was the link to some anodyne State Department guidance for how to handle the travel snafu affecting travelers from...
Oh yeah. Our government is the snafu. We can't trust official .gov resources anymore.
Fuck, I knew this was going to be happening but it's still so... raw.
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Anyone know if there's protests happening at Raleigh-Durham or Charlotte-Douglas international airports? I would LOVE to show up and actually do something.
posted by azuresunday at 5:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 5:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
America is dying and its heart breaking and there's no reason the cancer won't spread north to us.
Contact your MP. We have elections in 2019 so make sure you're doing your part to stop it.
posted by Kitteh at 5:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Contact your MP. We have elections in 2019 so make sure you're doing your part to stop it.
posted by Kitteh at 5:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Outspoken California geneticist Mike Eisen has announced his intention to run for Dianne Feinstein's seat in 2018.
He is an excellent scientist and academic. He'd be great Senator.
posted by Coventry at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
He is an excellent scientist and academic. He'd be great Senator.
posted by Coventry at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
If Trump's not careful, he's going to give fascism a bad name.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Ian Samuel: Any government official who refuses to execute Trump’s orders on grounds of illegality will receive free representation from me. & I’m good!
posted by porn in the woods at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
BEHIND-THE-NOISE ALERT:
Maybe the Muslim ban is a planned distraction from the NSC reorg, though.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:06 PM
This. Exactly this. Not to diminish the current situation at all, but it is obscuring the shit move going on in the wings and deserves close scrutiny.
posted by yoga at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
Maybe the Muslim ban is a planned distraction from the NSC reorg, though.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:06 PM
This. Exactly this. Not to diminish the current situation at all, but it is obscuring the shit move going on in the wings and deserves close scrutiny.
posted by yoga at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
RobotVoodooPower: @RoguePOTUSStaff: POTUS wants GOP to give $$ to #Calexit . Bannon urges to openly endorse as state's rights issue, but privately to shift elect. college red.
I mean, it's a plausible strategy...
Calexit began as a push by a far right/ anti-gay rights guy who lives in Russia. Putin's playbook for influence operations is to support both far right movements and far left movements to twist countries apart from within. Remember Jill Stein in that photo from the paid Russia Today event with Putin and Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn? Yeah.
posted by bluecore at 5:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
I mean, it's a plausible strategy...
Calexit began as a push by a far right/ anti-gay rights guy who lives in Russia. Putin's playbook for influence operations is to support both far right movements and far left movements to twist countries apart from within. Remember Jill Stein in that photo from the paid Russia Today event with Putin and Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn? Yeah.
posted by bluecore at 5:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Apparently, Trump's big plan to defeat ISIS is to order the government to start working on a plan to defeat ISIS.
So logically, Lauer’s question was, “So, is the plan you’ve been hiding this whole time asking someone else for their plan?”posted by kirkaracha at 5:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Trump simply offered, “No. But when I do come up with a plan that I like, and that perhaps agrees with mine — or maybe doesn’t — I may love what the generals come back with — ”
“But you have your own plan?” Lauer sought to clarify.
“I have a plan, but I don’t wanna be, look — I have a very substantial chance of winning,” he stammered...
Study the end of the Gilded Age.
In case anyone else is interested and doesn't have time to wade through the "long-form" BS, this article finally gets to the point in the section "Overturning Olgarchic Power," about halfway through.
posted by Coventry at 5:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
In case anyone else is interested and doesn't have time to wade through the "long-form" BS, this article finally gets to the point in the section "Overturning Olgarchic Power," about halfway through.
posted by Coventry at 5:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I am so proud of Governor Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov Cyrus Habib tonight! They showed strength and wit! ( this administration couldn't run a two car funeral! was one of the better one-liners
I've ever heard )
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 5:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
I've ever heard )
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 5:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Protest at Detroit DTW tomorrow, 4:00 pm
"Michigan has taken in 2,029 of the 18,908 Syrian refugees settled in the U.S. since the beginning of 2015."
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
"Michigan has taken in 2,029 of the 18,908 Syrian refugees settled in the U.S. since the beginning of 2015."
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
The White House would like to be really clear that not mentioning Jews in the Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation was totally intentional.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [27 favorites]
I also just wrote to my ex boss who I worked with at a Japanese-American-Canadian international travel company asking how she and the staff are holding up. She's just had a baby and is a green card holder...I can't fucking imagine what she and the other foreign born employees are going through right now. Every one of them is a dedicated hard working person who wants to be here and contribute. They believe (or at least...believed) in the same America I did and my heart is fucking broken. Fuck you, Trump.
posted by azuresunday at 5:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 5:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Terry Moran: A friend who works at a top research university's computer science department says they've lost 11 prospective Ph.D candidates to the ban.
posted by porn in the woods at 5:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 5:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
Digging the chanting at JFK on this livestream. "Tear it down, Fuck the wall!"
Even if Trump starts building a wall I expect it will be constantly destroyed. Hey, a jobs program.
posted by Justinian at 5:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Even if Trump starts building a wall I expect it will be constantly destroyed. Hey, a jobs program.
posted by Justinian at 5:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare [WaPo]
What the fuck?
Seriously, what the fuck? They had six years.
They have thousands of economics and political science PHDs, many of them specializing in health care, on the payroll of dozens of Koch-funded think tanks.
And they can;t come up with something?
What a shit-show.
posted by ocschwar at 5:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
The White House would like to be really clear that not mentioning Jews in the Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation was totally intentional.
Washington (CNN)The White House statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day didn't mention Jews or anti-Semitism because "despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered," administration spokeswoman Hope Hicks told CNN on Saturday.Hmmm, what to do, what to do? It's not like we could mention all those groups. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hicks provided a link to a Huffington Post UK story noting that while 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis, 5 million others were also slaughtered during Adolf Hitler's genocide, including "priests, gypsies, people with mental or physical disabilities, communists, trade unionists, Jehovah's Witnesses, anarchists, Poles and other Slavic peoples, and resistance fighters."
posted by kirkaracha at 5:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
This was just a few minutes ago in Washington State: Governor Jay Inslee, Port Commission respond to Trump’s immigration ban.
It's encouraging to see elected officials standing up and condemning this in no uncertain terms. Hopefully it will encourage others to follow suit. This should be happening in every state and every airport.
posted by entropical punch at 5:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
It's encouraging to see elected officials standing up and condemning this in no uncertain terms. Hopefully it will encourage others to follow suit. This should be happening in every state and every airport.
posted by entropical punch at 5:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I'm frustrated with the number of people on FB and Twitter saying, "Uh, is there a protest in Sacramento tomorrow?" So I've said yes, noon at the airport. Meet across from Terminal B.
I think it's working.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
I think it's working.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [43 favorites]
The White House would like to be really clear that not mentioning Jews in the Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation was totally intentional.
I just saw that ... I mean this is some minimization dog-whistling that would have AIPAC lighting up the phones if it was said by a university professor.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I just saw that ... I mean this is some minimization dog-whistling that would have AIPAC lighting up the phones if it was said by a university professor.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
And they can;t come up with something?
Obamacare is the something. It's the free-market alternative to single player. So the Republicans are left with the choice of leaving Obamacare, going single payer, or fucking over the health insurance market. Guess which they're gonna do?
posted by Justinian at 5:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Obamacare is the something. It's the free-market alternative to single player. So the Republicans are left with the choice of leaving Obamacare, going single payer, or fucking over the health insurance market. Guess which they're gonna do?
posted by Justinian at 5:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I am so proud of Governor Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov Cyrus Habib tonight!
I keep seeing Inslee's name and picture lately. I half suspect he's going to run for President in 2020.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I keep seeing Inslee's name and picture lately. I half suspect he's going to run for President in 2020.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The White House would like to be really clear that not mentioning Jews in the Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation was totally intentional.
Wow, they "All Lives Matter"-ed the Holocaust. Stay classy, Trump adminstration.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [114 favorites]
Wow, they "All Lives Matter"-ed the Holocaust. Stay classy, Trump adminstration.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [114 favorites]
Guess which they're gonna do?
Given their current trajectory? Probably ban all current 'traditional' medical provision and bring back trepanning...
posted by Buntix at 5:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Given their current trajectory? Probably ban all current 'traditional' medical provision and bring back trepanning...
posted by Buntix at 5:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Why would the Trump administration remove the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the regular membership of the National Security Council? What kind of security is the council going to discuss?
On preview: Echoing witchen
posted by Coventry at 5:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
On preview: Echoing witchen
posted by Coventry at 5:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
This NSC fuckery that's being obscured by the travel ban: can someone explain this in layperson's terms? It seems vaguely sketchy but I'm unclear on what that will mean for us.
Basically Bannon is closer to the National Security Council's decision making than the Director of National Intelligence and Chairman of Joint Chiefs are now.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Basically Bannon is closer to the National Security Council's decision making than the Director of National Intelligence and Chairman of Joint Chiefs are now.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:43 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
I can seriously say that I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime. This is just mind boggling. I can't even imagine how this is legal, let alone moral.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 5:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 5:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
I had a bitterly funny and slightly drunk conversation last night about the Trump denial of refugees on holocaust day which included the phrase "generic genocides" and checking that yes, there are multiple days of remembrance for different genocides because humans are thoughtful that way (Hallmark, you're missing a whole line of cards here!).
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Protests tomorrow in New York, DC, and Boston. If you don't see one in your town, consider organizing one.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Among other things, the NSC decides in secret on the Disposition Matrix (kill list). Thanks Obama/Bush!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
We need to protest at WH too! Get Bannon & Flynn OUT!
posted by saysthis at 5:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 5:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
So, literally on the advice of my therapist when we met on Thursday, I've backed off even further from any news, and had not been following these threads. Late Friday night on my way to bed I popped onto Facebook for a moment and read about this insane executive order. That was a mistake, because I became so angry I couldn't get to sleep for 2 hours. I stayed away from news again today, instead marathoning old Mary Tyler Moore Shows on SundanceTV, which was amazing.
Coming back out of that and seeing the protests at the airports is amazing. I'm so proud of the crowds that have turned out there to fight this bullshit. So, so very proud.
posted by dnash at 5:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Coming back out of that and seeing the protests at the airports is amazing. I'm so proud of the crowds that have turned out there to fight this bullshit. So, so very proud.
posted by dnash at 5:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Reporter on MSNBC is at the courthouse in Brooklyn. Not inside, says about 1000 people outside right now. They don't know for sure but they think a stay may have been granted.
posted by Jalliah at 5:49 PM on January 28, 2017
I really want to put a sign on the White House and the Capitol saying "YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT, DONNIE!!"
posted by jonmc at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
fucking over the health insurance market.
That is the single payer option. Insurance has traditionally invested in commercial real estate and that's not been in a good place the last few years. A knowable customer base along with checks being written by FedGov to the insurance firms - what was not to love in the ACA for 'em?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
That is the single payer option. Insurance has traditionally invested in commercial real estate and that's not been in a good place the last few years. A knowable customer base along with checks being written by FedGov to the insurance firms - what was not to love in the ACA for 'em?
posted by rough ashlar at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Write up about the NSC stuff, including comparisons to recent administrations: https://www.lawfareblog.com/national-security-presidential-memorandum-2—president-trumps-nsc-and-hsc
posted by clorox at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by clorox at 5:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
They have thousands of economics and political science PHDs, many of them specializing in health care, on the payroll of dozens of Koch-funded think tanks.
Over the past year I have become quite interested in the strange phrase "think tank". It is used everywhere you look. And lo, nobody really seems to know what they are. I did some reading and guess what quonsar? Think tanks are not places where actual thinking goes on. Most of them are merely propaganda mills, issuing papers and conducting "studies" that promote mostly right-wing political agendas. The term gives the product an aura of intellectual authenticity, when really it's just a shit stain rubbed off the asses of the undisclosed donors that make them possible.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 5:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Over the past year I have become quite interested in the strange phrase "think tank". It is used everywhere you look. And lo, nobody really seems to know what they are. I did some reading and guess what quonsar? Think tanks are not places where actual thinking goes on. Most of them are merely propaganda mills, issuing papers and conducting "studies" that promote mostly right-wing political agendas. The term gives the product an aura of intellectual authenticity, when really it's just a shit stain rubbed off the asses of the undisclosed donors that make them possible.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 5:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Also one of the plaintiffs in the ACLU case that was filed and posted earlier upthread is an Iraqi refugee who helped the US military for ten years. How brutal is that. Boggling.
posted by Jalliah at 5:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Protesters sitting down across all lanes of traffic at terminal five of Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
posted by porn in the woods at 5:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 5:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
The stay was granted!!!
Missed this on preview! Twitter faster then the reporter who is stuck outside.
posted by Jalliah at 5:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Missed this on preview! Twitter faster then the reporter who is stuck outside.
posted by Jalliah at 5:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's been a call for a general strike at Boston protest.
posted by ruetheday at 5:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by ruetheday at 5:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
What are the implications for the stay?
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
MSNBC is reporting a stay has been granted. Crowd is celebrating.
posted by Jalliah at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
"They have thousands of economics and political science PHDs, many of them specializing in health care, on the payroll of dozens of Koch-funded think tanks.
And they can;t come up with something?"
Obamacare is pretty much literally the Heritage Foundation's 1993 plan; there's nowhere for conservatives to go except "actually we just oppose people having health care, kthxbye." (Or, and this is SADLY too common a problem among Congressional Republicans, "We do not actually understand how insurance functions and therefore will make moronic suggestions divorced from the realities of insurance markets and/or economics and/or money because math is haaaaaaaaaard.")
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
And they can;t come up with something?"
Obamacare is pretty much literally the Heritage Foundation's 1993 plan; there's nowhere for conservatives to go except "actually we just oppose people having health care, kthxbye." (Or, and this is SADLY too common a problem among Congressional Republicans, "We do not actually understand how insurance functions and therefore will make moronic suggestions divorced from the realities of insurance markets and/or economics and/or money because math is haaaaaaaaaard.")
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
Verge: Federal court halts Trump’s immigration ban
@ericgeller: "Likelihood of success on merits." The judge is staying enforcement of the order b/c she's determined ACLU may have the better legal case.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
@ericgeller: "Likelihood of success on merits." The judge is staying enforcement of the order b/c she's determined ACLU may have the better legal case.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [45 favorites]
The lawyers are coming out now. Saying that he doesn't have independent comfirmation from the lawyers.
Stay is asking for EO to be frozen.
posted by Jalliah at 5:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lawyers are raising fists in the air through the glass.
posted by Jalliah at 5:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Protesters sitting down across all lanes of traffic at terminal five of Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
I don't want to directly link to friends' FB photos because netiquette/privacy, but this is congruent with the pics I'm seeing from them.
(For people who aren't familiar with Chicago, O'Hare is right at one of the ends of the second-busiest el lines -- it's stupidly easy to access via public transit, and so it's not surprising (but still heartening!) to see the crowd that's built there in a matter of hours.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I don't want to directly link to friends' FB photos because netiquette/privacy, but this is congruent with the pics I'm seeing from them.
(For people who aren't familiar with Chicago, O'Hare is right at one of the ends of the second-busiest el lines -- it's stupidly easy to access via public transit, and so it's not surprising (but still heartening!) to see the crowd that's built there in a matter of hours.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 5:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay halting President Donald Trump’s executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight, following widespread protests at airports around the country.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [57 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [57 favorites]
Airbnb CEO: Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing
posted by mochapickle at 5:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 5:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
Reporter is describing a crazy scene of celebration. There are no cameras. Just him describing it. He's sounding all excited.
posted by Jalliah at 6:00 PM on January 28, 2017
The crowd has shut down all lanes of traffic at O'Hare. Nothing the police can do. #MuslimBan #NoBanNoWall
posted by porn in the woods at 6:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 6:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Calling it the first legal defeat of the Trump administration.
posted by Jalliah at 6:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
I know the battle, let alone the war, is not won because of the stay, but GOD DAMN this was less than a day of protests and America shut Donnie's shit DOWN. The people mobilized in HOURS and did this.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 6:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
DNI and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs apparently aren't considered loyalists.
Got to have Priebus and Bannon sitting in on national security matters along with Michael "No conspiracy theory is stupid enough for me to distrust" Flynn.
If I was making comparison to a certain fascist regime I would go with:
Bannon = Goebbels
Priebus = Bormann
Flynn = Jodl
etc
Seems just like the Nazis competency is less important than asskissing ability.
posted by vuron at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Got to have Priebus and Bannon sitting in on national security matters along with Michael "No conspiracy theory is stupid enough for me to distrust" Flynn.
If I was making comparison to a certain fascist regime I would go with:
Bannon = Goebbels
Priebus = Bormann
Flynn = Jodl
etc
Seems just like the Nazis competency is less important than asskissing ability.
posted by vuron at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Protesting went ahead and started now at IAH, because fuck waiting for tomorrow. Planned to go through the night. Livestream here.
posted by sciatrix at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by sciatrix at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
C'mon, 2017, don't make me like lawyers!
posted by kirkaracha at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Does the stay apply nationally or just to NY?
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:03 PM on January 28, 2017
Time to find out if they'll respect federal courts now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I want to start a Twitter account called "Profiles in Courage" that puts pictures of, like, Mike Pence tweeting how he's against a Muslim ban, next to Mike Pence smiling at the signing of the Muslim ban. Memail me if you have examples or advice for running a single-issue twitter thingie.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [50 favorites]
Listening to MSNBC's Chris Hayes describing scene outside courthouse where the stay (still to be officially confirmed)has been granted. For literally the first time since Election Day I am feeling hope!
posted by bookmammal at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bookmammal at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's national. :D
posted by mochapickle at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Apparently Iraq has now also banned USA citizens from entry for as long as Iraqis are banned from entering the U.S.
posted by Buntix at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Does the stay apply nationally or just to NY?
All those effected will now be released.
posted by Jalliah at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017
So much for dropping bad news on Friday night!
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's national. :D
Good source for that? (I believe you! but I want something to be able to post to my FB friends who are at O'Hare.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:06 PM on January 28, 2017
Good source for that? (I believe you! but I want something to be able to post to my FB friends who are at O'Hare.)
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:06 PM on January 28, 2017
Fuck it, let's run the board of districts and have him fight 94 stays!
posted by jason_steakums at 6:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 6:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
It's quite likely to be the first of many major defeats. Just like Republicans went judge shopping to countermand Obama's various executive orders it will be easy to find judges willing to block Trump.
Now we just filibuster a Supreme Court Nominee for 4 years
posted by vuron at 6:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Now we just filibuster a Supreme Court Nominee for 4 years
posted by vuron at 6:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Lawyer on MSNBC said they got word about the stay and now teams nationally will do what they have to do. The word has to go out. Hopeful that with word of the stay they will release people tonight.
posted by Jalliah at 6:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Republicans Aren't Cowards for Falling in Line Behind Trump -- They're Worse
Nahhh -- these people aren't cowards. They're worse.posted by tonycpsu at 6:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [67 favorites]
They don't fear speaking out. They just don't care about the people affected by the ban. All they care about is what Republicans have focused on for years: power for themselves and tax and regulatory cuts for their donors. Nothing else matters.
This isn't a moral issue for them. For them, it's like the moral puzzle that forms the basis of the movie The Box and the Twilight Zone episode "Button, Button": Imagine if you could obtain a million dollars, and all you had to do was remotely kill someone you've never met. Would you do it?
That's what tacit support for Trump's policies is now: You give him leeway, you get those tax and regulatory cuts for the rich, and the only downside is the suffering of people you don't care about.
More on the NSC reorg. There are a couple of unusual features, like Bannon being invited to all meetings and the CIA Director not being invited. Previously, all kill list suspects were run through CIA Director Brennan. Joint Chiefs haven't been involved in the decision process since 2012. I don't like this.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
BREAKING: Federal Judge Blocks Deportations Under Trump's Immigration Ban
posted by allthingsconsidered at 6:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by allthingsconsidered at 6:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
If any updates on how we can protest or otherwise work directly to remove Bannon and Flynn, let me know. They have to go NOW. The others are run of the mill thieves and clowns. These two need to be fired NOW.
posted by saysthis at 6:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 6:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
@ericgeller: "Likelihood of success on merits." The judge is staying enforcement of the order b/c she's determined ACLU may have the better legal case.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:55 PM on January 28 [5 favorites +] [!]
The stay is fantastic, but it's not really based on whether the plaintiffs are likely to win - the stay has a four element test, and likelihood of success on the merits is just one factor. Here's a decent write up:
"Whether the action is likely to succeed on its merits is the third element a court will consider. How great a likelihood is required can vary from court to court. The extreme cases are relatively clear. No judge will require an action to have a certainty, or even near-certainty of success, before they grant a preliminary injunction. Similarly, a frivolous lawsuit will never be able to satisfy this element. In between the extremes, however, there is less clarity. Some judges will require a probability of success to grant an injunction. Others require merely that the movant has raised a fair question over the existence of a right." Source
@jackievimo is tweeting, she wrote that the judge used that test and it was met
posted by insectosaurus at 6:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:55 PM on January 28 [5 favorites +] [!]
The stay is fantastic, but it's not really based on whether the plaintiffs are likely to win - the stay has a four element test, and likelihood of success on the merits is just one factor. Here's a decent write up:
"Whether the action is likely to succeed on its merits is the third element a court will consider. How great a likelihood is required can vary from court to court. The extreme cases are relatively clear. No judge will require an action to have a certainty, or even near-certainty of success, before they grant a preliminary injunction. Similarly, a frivolous lawsuit will never be able to satisfy this element. In between the extremes, however, there is less clarity. Some judges will require a probability of success to grant an injunction. Others require merely that the movant has raised a fair question over the existence of a right." Source
@jackievimo is tweeting, she wrote that the judge used that test and it was met
posted by insectosaurus at 6:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yep, it's national: Mother Jones on national stay, thanks to ACLU and Federal Judge Donnelly
posted by mochapickle at 6:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 6:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
A big early visible defeat should hopefully shake up some actual opposition from within Washington too, or at least weaken some support from spineless GOP folk.
They need to be shown over and over to be weak.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
They need to be shown over and over to be weak.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Chris Hayes: Now confirmed. EO has been frozen and cannot be executed. Said no one can be sent back to their country. Detained people unsure about being released. No one can be sent back.
It's a stunning legal defeat for Trump. All across the country.
posted by Jalliah at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [62 favorites]
CNN's "Breaking News" Headline (it's okay, I have it on mute): ACLU Seeking Nationwide Stay Against Travel Ban.
That the stay was granted was reported in this thread 25 minutes ago.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
That the stay was granted was reported in this thread 25 minutes ago.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Congratz, we have Democracy and the Rule of Law for yet another day!
posted by vuron at 6:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by vuron at 6:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Time to find out if they'll respect federal courts now.
They're busily turning the Oval Office into a Andrew Jackson fetish dungeon, so there's that.
One question is whether the implementation has been to coerce green card holders into signing I-407s, and other visa holders to "voluntarily" return. Without habeas for everybody affected, we just don't know what's going on in the border zone.
posted by holgate at 6:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
They're busily turning the Oval Office into a Andrew Jackson fetish dungeon, so there's that.
One question is whether the implementation has been to coerce green card holders into signing I-407s, and other visa holders to "voluntarily" return. Without habeas for everybody affected, we just don't know what's going on in the border zone.
posted by holgate at 6:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Nothing on NYTimes site yet. I only see the Verge and Mother Jones reports so far. Is it wrong to hope that Teen Vogue gets their report in next?
posted by vickyverky at 6:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by vickyverky at 6:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Chris Hayes just said that the stay will not apply to new people coming in after now. So that part doesn't change.
posted by Jalliah at 6:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
EO still applies to people applying for visas/student visas. We still have work to do.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Shoutout to RobotVoodooPower and saysthis for keeping the light on the highly suspect NSC maneuver.
posted by yoga at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by yoga at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
How does that work if there is a recognition that there is a class? Presumably all other persons impacted by the EO would also fit the class.
posted by vuron at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by vuron at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017
Oh my gosh. Resistance coming from everywhere. :D
Just realised how much of my twitter feed on the protests was retweets via Teal'c. I guess this shouldn't be surprising given his history.
posted by Buntix at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just realised how much of my twitter feed on the protests was retweets via Teal'c. I guess this shouldn't be surprising given his history.
posted by Buntix at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
A_day_may_come_when_the_courage_of_men_fails_when_we_forsake_our_friends_and_break_all_bonds_of_fellowship_but_it_is_not_this_day.gif
posted by uosuaq at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by uosuaq at 6:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [35 favorites]
ACLU is saying that it is a first but major legal step in dealing with the order. ACLU has broader arguments that weren't ruled on to night. So wider attack on all of the order in process.
posted by Jalliah at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Jalliah at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
If any updates on how we can protest or otherwise work directly to remove Bannon and Flynn, let me know. They have to go NOW.
Yeah, I don't know. People know who he is after he opened his big mouth yesterday. He shouldn't be in the WH at all, much less close to the kill list.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I don't know. People know who he is after he opened his big mouth yesterday. He shouldn't be in the WH at all, much less close to the kill list.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
It feels a little like a game of whack-a-mole. Trump does something awful, people mobilize quickly and shut him down, Trump does something else awful, whack whack whack.
If we're going to be protesting every weekend from here on out, I'm gonna need a better pair of shoes.
posted by basalganglia at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [30 favorites]
If we're going to be protesting every weekend from here on out, I'm gonna need a better pair of shoes.
posted by basalganglia at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [30 favorites]
SFO -- about to announce stay...?
posted by mudpuppie at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mudpuppie at 6:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Similar to when the Supreme Court ruled on the ACA, the NY Times likes to get their facts straight before they announce the implication of the ruling... but they are taking a bit long. And haven't even announced that there was a ruling, let alone one with specific implications.
posted by nightrecordings at 6:19 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by nightrecordings at 6:19 PM on January 28, 2017
If we're going to be protesting every weekend from here on out, I'm gonna need a better pair of shoes.
If Trump's American dystopia comes to pass, you're also gonna need a better pair of shoes.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
If Trump's American dystopia comes to pass, you're also gonna need a better pair of shoes.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
(That's not me saying the stay isn't legit/official news, I know it is and am celebrating[!!!], just commenting on why the NYT is taking so (too) damn long).
posted by nightrecordings at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by nightrecordings at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017
Time to find out if they'll respect federal courts now.
"Judge Donnelly has made her decision. Now let her enforce it!"
posted by Coventry at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
"Judge Donnelly has made her decision. Now let her enforce it!"
posted by Coventry at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
In SFO:
Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom has joined the protest.
posted by mochapickle at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom has joined the protest.
posted by mochapickle at 6:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Also note that there is another country with a large land mass whose leader uses political operatives to assassinate opponents.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Every weekend every weekday every evening. Wherever we can whenever we can for as long as we can.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 6:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Donate to the ACLU. I just put in $20. Maybe don't drink that fancy cocktail. Eat at home tomorrow. It's $20, you can do it.
It took me 30 seconds. If you're not in a place where you can protest, and even if you are, donate. There's no minimum.
posted by Telf at 6:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
It took me 30 seconds. If you're not in a place where you can protest, and even if you are, donate. There's no minimum.
posted by Telf at 6:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [56 favorites]
If any updates on how we can protest or otherwise work directly to remove Bannon and Flynn, let me know. They have to go NOW.
Yeah, I don't know. People know who he is after he opened his big mouth yesterday. He shouldn't be in the WH at all, much less close to the kill list.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:18 AM on 1/29
[1 favorite +] [!]
Shout it from the rooftops etc. That asshole got right under my skin this week, and it looks to me like if there's any strategic first target for protest and direct action, it's Bannon. Head of the god damn snake.
posted by saysthis at 6:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yeah, I don't know. People know who he is after he opened his big mouth yesterday. He shouldn't be in the WH at all, much less close to the kill list.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:18 AM on 1/29
[1 favorite +] [!]
Shout it from the rooftops etc. That asshole got right under my skin this week, and it looks to me like if there's any strategic first target for protest and direct action, it's Bannon. Head of the god damn snake.
posted by saysthis at 6:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump and Company are total morons so who knows but one thing that has mentioned at various points is that Roberts might be partisan in his rulings but he's also really focused on the independence of the courts so I'm not sure that arguments that the POTUS can ignore Federal Judges are going to win over the SCOTUS.
posted by vuron at 6:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by vuron at 6:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Hey Metafilter folks, this was a historic event debacle I'll remember, and I'll remember being here with you.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 6:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
I know some people aren't on board with nicknames but I would just like to say that the best one I've seen online for Trump is "Twitler".
posted by Justinian at 6:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 6:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Telf, I took your advice and just did! It was easy! Thanks for the reminder!
posted by mochapickle at 6:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 6:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I just donated to the ACLU as well.
posted by perhapses at 6:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by perhapses at 6:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Is there an anonymous donation option for the ACLU? I'll happily give them cash monies, but I'm already dealing with enough direct calls/mails daily from charitable orgs of various stripes. Quick search isn't turning up anything useful.
posted by Enturbulated at 6:26 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Enturbulated at 6:26 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm kinda glad I visited the USA before that became a moral issue. But now it has, and I think it would be good to remind people (specifically, the ones who would still have no problem entering the USA) that by visiting or studying there they are endorsing this policy, or at least acquiescing.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Inspiring video of Elizabeth Warren protesting at Boston Logan Airport.
posted by diogenes at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Twitler & Turd Reich (mentioned in this post or the one before)
posted by futz at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by futz at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Thanks for the reminder -- donation made.
posted by saturday_morning at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by saturday_morning at 6:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is there an anonymous donation option for the ACLU? I'll happily give them cash monies, but I'm already dealing with enough direct calls/mails daily from charitable orgs of various stripes
For whatever it's worth, I've never gotten calls or emails (other than from the ACLU itself) that I suspect to be related to ACLU donations.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
For whatever it's worth, I've never gotten calls or emails (other than from the ACLU itself) that I suspect to be related to ACLU donations.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's a long battle. But we just got a beachhead.
posted by azpenguin at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by azpenguin at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well, we've got a judge on it now, so I guess we'll find out about that whole other thing I was talking about earlier.
But Bannon on the NSC - yeesh. Gives me the willies. That's some straight-up Star Chamber shit.
posted by eclectist at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
But Bannon on the NSC - yeesh. Gives me the willies. That's some straight-up Star Chamber shit.
posted by eclectist at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Enturbulated, you can go thru Network for Good
posted by en forme de poire at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by en forme de poire at 6:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
@M_Breen
Iraq vet w/ 4 Purple Hearts, drove two hours to Dulles w/ his son.
Nobody called him. He just came. Why?
"Not what I fought for."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
Iraq vet w/ 4 Purple Hearts, drove two hours to Dulles w/ his son.
Nobody called him. He just came. Why?
"Not what I fought for."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [88 favorites]
in case anyone was actually wondering how uber would respond to the jfk cab strike
we must drive them into the sea
posted by poffin boffin at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
we must drive them into the sea
posted by poffin boffin at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [52 favorites]
For whatever it's worth, I've never gotten calls or emails (other than from the ACLU itself) that I suspect to be related to ACLU donations.
So noted, thanks.
Enturbulated, you can go thru Network for Good
ooh, checking. thanks!
posted by Enturbulated at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017
So noted, thanks.
Enturbulated, you can go thru Network for Good
ooh, checking. thanks!
posted by Enturbulated at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017
Washington Post now confirming the stay.
posted by nightrecordings at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by nightrecordings at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017
The ACLU donation page has a checkbox to opt out of sharing personal details with other orgs. Guess how I know.
posted by holgate at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by holgate at 6:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
that by visiting or studying there they are endorsing this policy, or at least acquiescing
I can see why you would say that but I don't agree at all.
posted by futz at 6:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I can see why you would say that but I don't agree at all.
posted by futz at 6:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Should we expect a crazed tweet soon?
God I hope so. Your move, Trump.
He's a spoiled brat who's just had his new toy slapped out of his hand. Expect many, increasingly, crazed tweets, unless his handlers manage to 'accidentally' drop his phone down the bog first, or something.
posted by Buntix at 6:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
This stay only covers the airport detainees/those in transit. It doesn't change ban going forward.
Does not stop enforcement, only allows people without notice to return.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Does not stop enforcement, only allows people without notice to return.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
I'm kinda glad I visited the USA before that became a moral issue. But now it has, and I think it would be good to remind people (specifically, the ones who would still have no problem entering the USA) that by visiting or studying there they are endorsing this policy, or at least acquiescing.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:27 AM on 1/29
[1 favorite +] [!]
Highly disagree. We need you in the borders, at the protests, telling our people exactly what you think. We need the world with us right now. It was foreigners who helped us shut this executive order down. Don't stay away. Hell, I'll protest-buy tickets with what money I've got. Please.
posted by saysthis at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:27 AM on 1/29
[1 favorite +] [!]
Highly disagree. We need you in the borders, at the protests, telling our people exactly what you think. We need the world with us right now. It was foreigners who helped us shut this executive order down. Don't stay away. Hell, I'll protest-buy tickets with what money I've got. Please.
posted by saysthis at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Is there an anonymous donation option for the ACLU? I'll happily give them cash monies, but I'm already dealing with enough direct calls/mails daily from charitable orgs of various stripes
I set up a monthly donation the day after the election and haven't received any persistent calls/emails.
posted by AtoBtoA at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I set up a monthly donation the day after the election and haven't received any persistent calls/emails.
posted by AtoBtoA at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's not all bad for Trump this weekend: he does seem to have someone massaging his comb-over a bit more competently than he did during the campaign.
posted by Coventry at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Coventry at 6:32 PM on January 28, 2017
MSNBC has a guy on who has been waiting for his detained family all day. The reporter just explained what the stay meant to him. That his family won't be sent back.
His reaction...glorious relief
Crying now.
posted by Jalliah at 6:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
FYI for those not familiar with this process - the stay that was issued is temporary, but is immediately appealable. The stay was issued in federal district court in NY, so the appeals court is the Second Circuit. The circuit court's decision can be appealed up to the Supreme Court.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:33 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by insectosaurus at 6:33 PM on January 28, 2017
NYT update: "JUDGE SUSPENDS TRUMP ORDER; BARS DEPORTATION OF REFUGEES
Partial Suspension Allows Scores to Stay for Now"
posted by nightrecordings at 6:35 PM on January 28, 2017
Partial Suspension Allows Scores to Stay for Now"
posted by nightrecordings at 6:35 PM on January 28, 2017
I wonder if Bannon or Sessions will get the blame/credit for penning this failed executive order.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Are any Bay Area MeFites at SFO btw?
posted by en forme de poire at 6:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 6:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
And if you stay away, this, violence to immigrants at airports, in transit, gets normalized all over the world. I'm a frequent traveler with a US passport and I dread the day this happens to me. DON'T let them do it. This impacts all of us. Please don't stay away, non-Americans. We need you now more than ever.
posted by saysthis at 6:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 6:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
tweet Tonight a whole lot of college kids who might have been bankers and consultants just became future public-interest lawyers.
reply to it. I just re-wrote my personal statement for law school, due tomorrow, because of this
posted by Jalliah at 6:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
He's a spoiled brat who's just had his new toy slapped out of his hand. Expect many, increasingly, crazed tweets, unless his handlers manage to 'accidentally' drop his phone down the bog first, or something.
So this is his presidency: He has the launch codes but not the combination for the lockbox where his handlers put his phone.
posted by mochapickle at 6:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Can someone help me understand? The NYT article makes it sound like these folks will now be detained until this is resolved? I suppose it's better than being deported, but it sure seems extremely non-good.
posted by metasav at 6:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by metasav at 6:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Telf count me as another who just renewed their monthly ACLU donation after your reminder.
posted by merocet at 6:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by merocet at 6:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I know it's a small victory, but I'm already watching the Downfall video in my head.
posted by Devonian at 6:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 6:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Can someone help me understand? The NYT article makes it sound like these folks will now be detained until this is resolved? I suppose it's better than being deported, but it sure seems extremely non-good.
There's mixed messages on this point. I don't think people know for sure yet. Lawyers being interviewed say they should be released with some sort of temporary status.
posted by Jalliah at 6:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
There's mixed messages on this point. I don't think people know for sure yet. Lawyers being interviewed say they should be released with some sort of temporary status.
posted by Jalliah at 6:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
So, I am confused, can someone please clarify: the judge is saying for ACLU to come back if anyone is detained tonight after this stay. But the stay prevents them from being sent back home, for now. So they're stuck at the airport until further notice?
posted by nightrecordings at 6:41 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by nightrecordings at 6:41 PM on January 28, 2017
I cancelled my Hulu account and turned it into an ongoing ACLU donation.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 6:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [76 favorites]
Grimes, Sia Match Donations to Groups Fighting Trump’s Immigration Ban [via pitchfork]
posted by piyushnz at 6:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by piyushnz at 6:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
@NYGovCuomo I have directed Port Authority, @NYSDOS, & my Counsel's Office to jointly explore all legal options to assist anyone detained at NY airports
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 6:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
@NaomiAKlein
Naomi Klein Retweeted Kellyanne Conway
Hey @KellyannePolls, I think these airport protests might be a shock to your boss's fragile little system. And we're just getting started.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [54 favorites]
Naomi Klein Retweeted Kellyanne Conway
Hey @KellyannePolls, I think these airport protests might be a shock to your boss's fragile little system. And we're just getting started.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [54 favorites]
Isn't being stuck at the airport not allowed to enter = being detained? I interpreted this as allowing those with visas and green cards and refugee status to enter the US as per normal (as though the EO hadn't happened). IANAL though.
posted by basalganglia at 6:45 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by basalganglia at 6:45 PM on January 28, 2017
It sounds like ACLU was concerned, after the judge announced stay, that some if not all could still be detained. And the judge said [I paraphrase], "well if that happens I guess I'll be hearing from you." So I think it's a wait-and-see-what-happens-once-they-try-to-leave, deal. Let's hope everyone makes it to their free AirBNB tonight without interference. These people deserve some rest.
posted by nightrecordings at 6:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by nightrecordings at 6:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
California Sues Trump to Halt and Repeal Visas/Immigration Order #MuslimBan
posted by porn in the woods at 6:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 6:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
And while you've got out your credit card, a year (six issues) subscription to Mother Jones is $12 and a year (four issues) of Teen Vogue is $5. Just sayin'.
posted by mochapickle at 6:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 6:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
MSNBC says that the order says that the US MUST ADMIT people with valid documents.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
A thought: if you live near a mosque or have Muslim neighbors, keep your eyes open tonight, neighborhood watch style. There are sure to be some horrible people dwelling on their worst impulses after this.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 6:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
I am so proud of Governor Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov Cyrus Habib tonight!
I keep seeing Inslee's name and picture lately. I half suspect he's going to run for President in 2020.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:40 PM on January 28
I personally know Gov. Jay Inslee and his wife. I worked in his first congressional campaign. His stump speech includes the hilarious story of how we met when he doorbelled my place.
I would work like Hell to elect him!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I keep seeing Inslee's name and picture lately. I half suspect he's going to run for President in 2020.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:40 PM on January 28
I personally know Gov. Jay Inslee and his wife. I worked in his first congressional campaign. His stump speech includes the hilarious story of how we met when he doorbelled my place.
I would work like Hell to elect him!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I understand if many elected Dems weren't near an airport or in a position to get to one on short notice -- and I'm thankful for the ones who were and showed up -- but they'd better fucking show up tomorrow.
posted by holgate at 6:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by holgate at 6:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
California Sues Trump to Halt and Repeal Visas/Immigration Order #MuslimBan
THIS IS WHY WE NEED CALIFORNIA.
MA, get your shit together.
posted by lydhre at 6:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
THIS IS WHY WE NEED CALIFORNIA.
MA, get your shit together.
posted by lydhre at 6:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
The lawsuit specifically was about people detained at airports with lawful and complete visa entry documentation who were possibly about to be sent back overseas. They can't be sent back now, at least for now. It doesn't affect any other part of the EO going forward, including for any green card or other visa holder who didn't happen to be already traveling back to the US on Friday.
posted by alligatorpear at 6:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by alligatorpear at 6:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
The EO is still in place for anybody who isn't traveling or isn't at an airport. If anybody is in the Toronto area and can help people who are stuck north of the border, please fill out this Google Sheet.
posted by randomination at 6:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by randomination at 6:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
We Rate Dogs is seriously going to get me through the Trump administration.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Still trying to wrap my head around this:
In a separate presidential memo, Trump reorganized the National Security Council to, along with other changes, give Bannon a regular seat on the principals committee — the meetings of the most senior national security officials, including the secretaries of defense and state.
The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and... a guy who previously ran a (racist) web site?
That memo also states that the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will sit on the principals committee only when the issues to be discussed pertain to their “responsibilities and expertise.”
Wouldn't all national security issues pertain to their responsibilities and expertise?
The White House thinks the changes will make the NSC more adaptive to modern threats. Trump said the changes would bring “a lot of efficiency and, I think, a lot of additional safety.”
How exactly does replacing the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs with Steve Bannon make us safer?
posted by diogenes at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
In a separate presidential memo, Trump reorganized the National Security Council to, along with other changes, give Bannon a regular seat on the principals committee — the meetings of the most senior national security officials, including the secretaries of defense and state.
The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and... a guy who previously ran a (racist) web site?
That memo also states that the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will sit on the principals committee only when the issues to be discussed pertain to their “responsibilities and expertise.”
Wouldn't all national security issues pertain to their responsibilities and expertise?
The White House thinks the changes will make the NSC more adaptive to modern threats. Trump said the changes would bring “a lot of efficiency and, I think, a lot of additional safety.”
How exactly does replacing the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs with Steve Bannon make us safer?
posted by diogenes at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Speaking of MA, Warren and Markey are both great, but we need a serious plan to vote Charlie Baker out of office when he's up for reelection in 2018. Toss the fucker out on his craven "moderate Republican" ass.
posted by lydhre at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by lydhre at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
"Fuck Trump, Fuck Pence, This Country's Built On Immigrants"
posted by porn in the woods at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 6:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
I made the thing. Feel free to shoot me more examples. Profiles in Courage!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
Yes, if the Texas AG could spend 90% of their time trying to fuck with Obama i fully expect the CA, NY, MA AGs to be obstructions to the rise of Fascism.
Of course Trump and Bannon might go full Reichstag fire.
posted by vuron at 6:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Of course Trump and Bannon might go full Reichstag fire.
posted by vuron at 6:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Here is a useful link to delete your Uber account
fucking ratfink collaborator scab motherfuckers
posted by TheNewWazoo at 6:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
fucking ratfink collaborator scab motherfuckers
posted by TheNewWazoo at 6:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
@Eyebrows that is rad. I see you. RT'd.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 6:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
ACLU : Trump :: Nazi-Puncher : Richard Spencer
posted by tonycpsu at 6:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 6:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
@M_Breen
Iraq vet w/ 4 Purple Hearts, drove two hours to Dulles w/ his son.
Nobody called him. He just came. Why?
"Not what I fought for."
This guy is a fucking hero. He later gave one of his Purple Hearts to an Iraqi who finally made it through today.
@Lussenpop
This man's wife made it through customs after hours. She's Iraqi. This man in cap & his son gave them a Purple Heart [pic]
posted by chris24 at 6:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [79 favorites]
Iraq vet w/ 4 Purple Hearts, drove two hours to Dulles w/ his son.
Nobody called him. He just came. Why?
"Not what I fought for."
This guy is a fucking hero. He later gave one of his Purple Hearts to an Iraqi who finally made it through today.
@Lussenpop
This man's wife made it through customs after hours. She's Iraqi. This man in cap & his son gave them a Purple Heart [pic]
posted by chris24 at 6:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [79 favorites]
How exactly does replacing the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs with Steve Bannon make us safer?
he's not talking to anyone other than racist white people like himself and his cronies; no one else registers as a human in his tiny little shitcovered hamster wheel of a brain
posted by poffin boffin at 6:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
he's not talking to anyone other than racist white people like himself and his cronies; no one else registers as a human in his tiny little shitcovered hamster wheel of a brain
posted by poffin boffin at 6:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
ACLU membership page is crashed: "Sorry, our full site is unavailable due to unusual traffic levels."
Hooray for unusual traffic levels!
posted by mochapickle at 6:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [73 favorites]
Hooray for unusual traffic levels!
posted by mochapickle at 6:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [73 favorites]
“a lot of efficiency and, I think, a lot of additional safety.”
For his regime
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
For his regime
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Someone on my FB:
On the stay
"A temporary suspension of the order until we can figure out what the hell is going on!"
posted by Jalliah at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
On the stay
"A temporary suspension of the order until we can figure out what the hell is going on!"
posted by Jalliah at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I went out today to write postcards with a bunch of women I didn't know at a dive bar ($2.50 for a craft beer happy hour yeah!) I'd never been to before. We sat on the back patio and drank beers and wrote our cards, which were all provided, along with stamps, along with lists of addresses, down to the state senator/rep level.
Anyway, a woman came back there and looked confused. When she was told what we were doing, and invited, she demurred because "she didn't know what to say," and then she paused and stage-whispered "I'm on ya'll's side!"
So while I still get nightmares and am often afraid, I'm going to keep doing this stuff because of moments like that. I'm going to start talking to more of my women friends about politics. It's hard because I am obsessive and can scare people and I don't want to do that, but I'm going to try to be charming and inviting and get them to write some postcards and go to some rallies and get out the fucking vote.
My state Senator has an office about 5 minutes from my house. She's Tea Party. I'm planning to get some friends to go pay her a visit and talk about issues soon.
posted by emjaybee at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Anyway, a woman came back there and looked confused. When she was told what we were doing, and invited, she demurred because "she didn't know what to say," and then she paused and stage-whispered "I'm on ya'll's side!"
So while I still get nightmares and am often afraid, I'm going to keep doing this stuff because of moments like that. I'm going to start talking to more of my women friends about politics. It's hard because I am obsessive and can scare people and I don't want to do that, but I'm going to try to be charming and inviting and get them to write some postcards and go to some rallies and get out the fucking vote.
My state Senator has an office about 5 minutes from my house. She's Tea Party. I'm planning to get some friends to go pay her a visit and talk about issues soon.
posted by emjaybee at 7:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
A few of my friends have shared this error message. The ACLU is getting overloaded with donations. Great! If you get an error message, don't give up. Donate later.
posted by Telf at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Telf at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Got my extra ACLU donation in before the site crashed. Great short-term victory tonight--but much more fighting for a more permanent victory is ahead.
posted by bookmammal at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by bookmammal at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
What happened with Uber? Why so furious?
posted by guiseroom at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by guiseroom at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The ACLU's "full site is unavailable due to high traffic levels", but you can still donate. I just did, for the first time. It feels good and I highly recommend it.
posted by hoist with his own pet aardvark at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by hoist with his own pet aardvark at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Just to nip this in the bud, "California" is not suing Trump. A lawyer named Andrew Shalaby has drafted a complaint putatively on behalf of Californians, but he's not a lawyer with the California Department of Justice, nor it seems hired by the State of California.
This seems like a crank complaint. Sorry to rain on this incredibly awesome parade.
posted by ferdydurke at 7:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
This seems like a crank complaint. Sorry to rain on this incredibly awesome parade.
posted by ferdydurke at 7:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Just donated to ACLU. I also just called and left a voicemail of support for my neighborhood mosque. It's not much, but I live in a red rural county (of a blue state), and I want them to know they have friends and allies.
posted by nightrecordings at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by nightrecordings at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
#deleteUber Here's the NY Taxi Workers Alliance Statement on the refugee ban. @Uber is still trying to go to JFK anyway
posted by porn in the woods at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
They're all good people, Trumy.
posted by notyou at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
What happened with Uber? Why so furious?
they're filthy fucking scabs
posted by poffin boffin at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
they're filthy fucking scabs
posted by poffin boffin at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [58 favorites]
Also, I have just been loving the action shots of lawyers in business casual huddling over their laptops. Go Team Boredom!
posted by ferdydurke at 7:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by ferdydurke at 7:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
That's filthy fucking independent contractor scabs, poffin boffin.
posted by holgate at 7:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by holgate at 7:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
If you use Uber or Lyft, you support evil bullshit. I realize that makes things inconvenient for a lot of people. Justice isn't always convenient.
posted by Justinian at 7:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
I just donated to the ACLU. We need them now more than ever.
posted by SisterHavana at 7:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by SisterHavana at 7:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Eyebrows McGee, hearted, followed. Thanks!
posted by Silverstone at 7:09 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Silverstone at 7:09 PM on January 28, 2017
@Sia
help our queer & immigrant friends. send me your donation receipts for the @aclu & I will match up to $100K https://action.aclu.org/donate-aclu?ms=web_horiz_nav_hp … #RESIST
@Rosie
and i will match your 100K donation sia - #resist
Twitter link
posted by madamjujujive at 7:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
help our queer & immigrant friends. send me your donation receipts for the @aclu & I will match up to $100K https://action.aclu.org/donate-aclu?ms=web_horiz_nav_hp … #RESIST
@Rosie
and i will match your 100K donation sia - #resist
Twitter link
posted by madamjujujive at 7:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [37 favorites]
The key paragraph of the stay: The gov't (agencies spelled out a bit) is
Restrained from... removing individuals
1) with refugee applications approved ... as part of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program,
2) holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and
3) other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.
Doesn't mean they can't be detained. However, it also doesn't mean any authorities are obligated to detain them, or put any sort of watch on them; actions are going to depend on the specific customs etc. departments involved.
It doesn't cover anyone who isn't already approved to enter the US - but it DOES cover EVERYONE who is.
Easy-to-download PDF.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
ENJOINED AND RESTRAINED from, in any manner or by any means, removing individuals with refugee applications approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.Broken down, since that's a bit dense in legalese:
Restrained from... removing individuals
1) with refugee applications approved ... as part of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program,
2) holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and
3) other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.
Doesn't mean they can't be detained. However, it also doesn't mean any authorities are obligated to detain them, or put any sort of watch on them; actions are going to depend on the specific customs etc. departments involved.
It doesn't cover anyone who isn't already approved to enter the US - but it DOES cover EVERYONE who is.
Easy-to-download PDF.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
You can't make this shit up:
@mflynnJR Making America Great Again! #MuslimBan #saturdaymorning #AmericaFirst @GenFlynn @realDonaldTrump
That's the son of Michael Flynn, our new national security advisor...
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
@mflynnJR Making America Great Again! #MuslimBan #saturdaymorning #AmericaFirst @GenFlynn @realDonaldTrump
That's the son of Michael Flynn, our new national security advisor...
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 7:11 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Re: the mosque in Victoria, TX which burned down last night. Last I heard the cause was still "unknown" but they are accepting donations to rebuild.
posted by threeturtles at 7:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by threeturtles at 7:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Yes, but it's accurate: The people pictured here will soon be history.
posted by mochapickle at 7:13 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by mochapickle at 7:13 PM on January 28, 2017
There is a crowd funder for the mosque that was burned down. Don't have the link as on creaky mobile, imagine Google will...
posted by Buntix at 7:13 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by Buntix at 7:13 PM on January 28, 2017
Maine's Senators Collins (R) and King (I) denounce the Muslim ban.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
So glad to see people donating to the ACLU. It was the first recurring donation I set up after the election, so that I could feel like I was doing something while I tried to figure out - ahem - what the hell was going on.
There's a lot of organizations and a lot of causes that need help, and the ACLU is involved in supporting tons of them. Donate monthly if you can - the fight doesn't stop when it's not in the media, and they need the resources to be ready when the shit hits the fan suddenly.
I love you all.
posted by mrgoat at 7:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
There's a lot of organizations and a lot of causes that need help, and the ACLU is involved in supporting tons of them. Donate monthly if you can - the fight doesn't stop when it's not in the media, and they need the resources to be ready when the shit hits the fan suddenly.
I love you all.
posted by mrgoat at 7:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Can anyone locate a fairly easy to read version of the stay that doesn't have too much legalese? I want to share with some friends who's first language isn't English.
posted by ian1977 at 7:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ian1977 at 7:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I just set up a monthly donation to CAIR.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
The EO is still in place for anybody who isn't traveling or isn't at an airport. If anybody is in the Toronto area and can help people who are stuck north of the border, please fill out this Google Sheet.
posted by randomination
Hey randomination, any idea if there is something like this set up for Ottawa? We have a spare bedroom but don't know how to connect with anyone displaced tonight.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by randomination
Hey randomination, any idea if there is something like this set up for Ottawa? We have a spare bedroom but don't know how to connect with anyone displaced tonight.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017
OK, I'm generally opposed to silly epithets for President Trump because I think they're silly, counter-productive and unfunny but really now, I must make an exception for this sign which baldly states "We are ALL immigrants, you goddamn orange cyst of a human."
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Even though Collins is spineless 99% of the time every little bit helps.
Maine residents should make it very clear to her aides that she will be personally blamed for all the bad shit going down
posted by vuron at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Maine residents should make it very clear to her aides that she will be personally blamed for all the bad shit going down
posted by vuron at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
The standard tests for an injunction -- strong likelihood of success on merits, risk of immediate and irreparable injury to those affected, etc. -- are much easier to reach for a removal order, which is why the ACLU and its legal partners took that route. It's a first small step. Those who are detained will have good representation.
posted by holgate at 7:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by holgate at 7:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
She can say whatever she wants, until she starts voting against Trump her words mean nothing.
posted by Justinian at 7:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 7:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Someone knows something about buttons.
“I hope Trump enjoys losing. He’s going to lose so much we’re going to get sick and tired of his losing,” ACLU national political director Faiz Shakir told Yahoo News shortly after the decision was announced.
posted by Jalliah at 7:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [110 favorites]
“I hope Trump enjoys losing. He’s going to lose so much we’re going to get sick and tired of his losing,” ACLU national political director Faiz Shakir told Yahoo News shortly after the decision was announced.
posted by Jalliah at 7:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [110 favorites]
If only all these companies and politicians who are coming out to say they're against the ban would then follow through with some action
posted by flatluigi at 7:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 7:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
"We are ALL immigrants, you goddamn orange cyst of a human."
As someone dealing with a cystic illness, that is an insult to cysts everywhere.
posted by mochapickle at 7:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
As someone dealing with a cystic illness, that is an insult to cysts everywhere.
posted by mochapickle at 7:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Just donated to CAIR. Come and get me Cruz.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I just got home from protesting at PHL. A protest was planned for tomorrow afternoon but the call went out on social media that we were needed there tonight. And so hundreds of us streamed into the airport. Joining us were Governor Wolf, Senator Casey, Mayor Kenney, a number of Representatives, many state senators and reps and my very favorite city councilwoman, Helen Gym. The police were chill and seemed very supportive.
As we left there were still people arriving to help.
I was simultaneously heartbroken that we had to be there and heartwarmed by so many of my fellow Philadelphians showing up for strangers in need.
Anyone in the area: we are protesting again tomorrow at 2:00. International terminal A.
posted by mcduff at 7:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
As we left there were still people arriving to help.
I was simultaneously heartbroken that we had to be there and heartwarmed by so many of my fellow Philadelphians showing up for strangers in need.
Anyone in the area: we are protesting again tomorrow at 2:00. International terminal A.
posted by mcduff at 7:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
I just want to tell you all good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
@JeremyLRedmon: Rep. John Lewis after an immigration official declined to say how many are being detained: "Why don't we just sit down and stay a while."
fuck yeah
posted by bibliowench at 7:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [140 favorites]
fuck yeah
posted by bibliowench at 7:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [140 favorites]
Two people from my church FB Live-ing their protest at DFW. "Si se puede!"
posted by emjaybee at 7:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 7:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
NYC locals: tomorrow is at Clinton Castle, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, 2pm.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I like this chant. "We are the wall.... and Trump will pay"
posted by Jalliah at 7:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [55 favorites]
Well Uber came out as against the ban and followed through with scabbing the cab strike..
posted by joeyh at 7:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by joeyh at 7:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I only just found out about the SFO protest and am trying to figure out whether I should go. It seems like people might be there for a while since they've committed to staying until the last detainee is released.
posted by en forme de poire at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by en forme de poire at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
ACLU donation: Done. Love me some lawyers.
posted by HotToddy at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Sergey Brin is at SFO, "in a personal capacity." He came to the US as a child from the former USSR. And the Iranian-American community is indeed out in force at LAX.
posted by holgate at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by holgate at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
Joining us were Governor Wolf, Senator Casey, Mayor Kenney, a number of Representatives, many state senators and reps and my very favorite city councilwoman, Helen Gym.
Rep. John Lewis after an immigration official declined to say how many are being detained: "Why don't we just sit down and stay a while."
Yeah one thing that seems to be happening a bit today is Dem lawmakers showing up and speaking out but not getting terribly much media attention because of all the craziness, and then people not hearing about them getting involved, and getting frustrated with Dem lawmakers not showing up and speaking out.
I'm as mad as anyone about the Dems not putting up enough resistance to Trump, but they actually seem to have done OK today.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [30 favorites]
Rep. John Lewis after an immigration official declined to say how many are being detained: "Why don't we just sit down and stay a while."
Yeah one thing that seems to be happening a bit today is Dem lawmakers showing up and speaking out but not getting terribly much media attention because of all the craziness, and then people not hearing about them getting involved, and getting frustrated with Dem lawmakers not showing up and speaking out.
I'm as mad as anyone about the Dems not putting up enough resistance to Trump, but they actually seem to have done OK today.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [30 favorites]
I think Republicans fail to realize that there are still a lot of civil rights activists who know how to do civil disobedience. The didn't all get killed and they can teach a whole new generation about getting shit done.
posted by vuron at 7:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by vuron at 7:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
Rep. John Lewis after an immigration official declined to say how many are being detained: "Why don't we just sit down and stay a while.
The look on that man's face sends chills down my spine.
posted by mrgoat at 7:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
The look on that man's face sends chills down my spine.
posted by mrgoat at 7:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Another ACLU recurring donation here.
This has been an incredible thread to follow along with. Thanks to everyone for the live reporting, and for getting out there and protesting.
posted by Pink Frost at 7:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
This has been an incredible thread to follow along with. Thanks to everyone for the live reporting, and for getting out there and protesting.
posted by Pink Frost at 7:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
While we're on the donation train, National Immigration Law Center could use some love too!
posted by jason_steakums at 7:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 7:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Well Uber came out as against the ban
I'd like to tweet out a link to this, along with why I'm deleting my account. Where should I point (my middle finger)?
posted by _Mona_ at 7:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'd like to tweet out a link to this, along with why I'm deleting my account. Where should I point (my middle finger)?
posted by _Mona_ at 7:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sergey Brin is at SFO, "in a personal capacity."
I didn't know who that was until I googled. Ha ha.
Anyways. Trump is doing so well the richest people in the world are turning up to protest.
posted by Jalliah at 7:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I didn't know who that was until I googled. Ha ha.
Anyways. Trump is doing so well the richest people in the world are turning up to protest.
posted by Jalliah at 7:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Bob Casey shows up at PHL in a tailcoat like Fred Astaire. He must have run out of some event like Superman.
posted by emjaybee at 7:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 7:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
NYC locals, the New York Immigration Coalition and Make the Road NY are organising a rally and march tomorrow to end the ban in Battery Park at 2pm. [FB link, sorry]
posted by catch as catch can at 7:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by catch as catch can at 7:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mexico rebukes Israel over Netanyahu wall tweet
Mexico's government on Saturday rebuked Israel for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to applaud U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.
Earlier on Saturday, Netanyahu tweeted: "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea."
The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexico's foreign ministry.
"The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahu's message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall.
"Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister," the ministry said, noting Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray had only on Friday expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking Holocaust memorial day.
posted by Jalliah at 7:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
I think Republicans fail to realize that there are still a lot of civil rights activists who know how to do civil disobedience. The didn't all get killed and they can teach a whole new generation about getting shit done.
Shit they still haven't learned what happens when you don't give people fair representation and that lesson's been taught every day since before we had a country.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Shit they still haven't learned what happens when you don't give people fair representation and that lesson's been taught every day since before we had a country.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Setting up a recurring ACLU donation because I can't seem to get it together to donate enough. And Planned Parenthood. And a few other things. Just going to have to cut back on other less important things.
posted by bongo_x at 7:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 7:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Anything Trump can do we will be better
We won't do anything Trump tells us to!
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
We won't do anything Trump tells us to!
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
@JesseFFerguson
BIG News in this story. DHS officials ruled that they couldn't ban ppl with Green Cards.
They were overruled by WH's Bannon and Miller.
Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban
posted by chris24 at 7:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [35 favorites]
BIG News in this story. DHS officials ruled that they couldn't ban ppl with Green Cards.
They were overruled by WH's Bannon and Miller.
Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban
posted by chris24 at 7:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [35 favorites]
I think Republicans fail to realize that there are still a lot of civil rights activists who know how to do civil disobedience.
I think they realize, but they shrug it off as ineffective, and go on to keep getting elected.
posted by Miko at 7:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think they realize, but they shrug it off as ineffective, and go on to keep getting elected.
posted by Miko at 7:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
So what happens with the Syrian family who landed in Philly and were sent back to Qatar? Can they try again because they were denied entry under an unconstitutional order? Or does the stay not cover them at all?
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Just back from the rally at JFK so... skipping the 490 new comments to say that if you are not sure about attending the protests, go. It was incredibly helpful to me, and I feel like I've regained my equilibrium. I was surrounded by people chanting and demonstrating in support of Muslims, immigrants, and refugees. They were kind to one another. People were passing out water, hand warmers, bananas. One guy came with a tall stack of pizza boxes. Someone asked him whether a protester had ordered pizzas to the protest. He said no, he had just seen on TV what was happening and made a bunch of pizzas and ran over. Ozone Pizza, get some. It was a huge, spirited, angry crowd, but the overall feeling was very positive. This is the America I love.
posted by prefpara at 7:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [114 favorites]
posted by prefpara at 7:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [114 favorites]
Kal Penn fundraiser tweet. Apologies if already linked.
To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name.
posted by hilaryjade at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name.
posted by hilaryjade at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [33 favorites]
I have this crazy idea. What if we all registered Republican and somehow got Jill Stein on their ticket? Or something like that? I'm ignorant of how these things work, but aside from the general UGH of the idea, what structural impediments are there to doing something like that?
posted by saysthis at 9:29 PM on January 27
I'm never going to catch up with this thread, am I? That was 24 hours ago....
I agree. This is why I'm a registered Republican in a state with a governor, two senators, and five representatives, all Republicans. In state senate, it's 42 / 6, and in state house, it's 74 / 26 / 1 Independent.
It's interesting how my Democrat husband finishes his ballot and is out the door before I've even gotten to the second page.
But then, we try to vote out the crazies in the primaries. And I feel like my vote counts for something against the most horrible offenses.
posted by TrishaU at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by saysthis at 9:29 PM on January 27
I'm never going to catch up with this thread, am I? That was 24 hours ago....
I agree. This is why I'm a registered Republican in a state with a governor, two senators, and five representatives, all Republicans. In state senate, it's 42 / 6, and in state house, it's 74 / 26 / 1 Independent.
It's interesting how my Democrat husband finishes his ballot and is out the door before I've even gotten to the second page.
But then, we try to vote out the crazies in the primaries. And I feel like my vote counts for something against the most horrible offenses.
posted by TrishaU at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
ian1977, the stay itself (PDF here) is only 3 pages long, and all that's on the third page is the judge's signature.
It goes into the standard four points required for an immediate injunction:
1 - the suit seems likely to succeed (note that this doesn't mean, "I think they'll win;" it means, "it looks like they have enough evidence to support a real lawsuit, and the other side hasn't presented anything that would automatically throw that out.");
2 - if not granted, the plaintiffs (the ones who filed the suit, or in this case, those & the ones in the same class) would suffer harm;
3) the defendants will NOT suffer harm by the stay being granted (and while the gov't can come back screaming about "but terrorists!" - and probably will, in the next hearing - the judge nicely addressed that in arguments by pointing out that these people already had permission to come here; they are not any more likely to be terrorists today than they were last week);
4) the exec order seems to violate the constitution, and therefore will be stopped, pending a full hearing at some later date.
People who are required to obey this order:
respondents (DJT, Dept Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, John Kelly (Sec'y of DHS); Kevin McAleenan (Commissioner of CBP), James Madden (NY Field Dir CBP)), their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all members and persons acting in concert or participation with them
People protected by the stay (emphasis added):
individuals with refugee applications approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.
IANAL! However, I am a paralegal, with some practice interpreting legal documents. THIS IS NOT A LEGAL ANALYSIS; it's a vague watered-down version suitable for casual discussion, not for true legal understanding.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
It goes into the standard four points required for an immediate injunction:
1 - the suit seems likely to succeed (note that this doesn't mean, "I think they'll win;" it means, "it looks like they have enough evidence to support a real lawsuit, and the other side hasn't presented anything that would automatically throw that out.");
2 - if not granted, the plaintiffs (the ones who filed the suit, or in this case, those & the ones in the same class) would suffer harm;
3) the defendants will NOT suffer harm by the stay being granted (and while the gov't can come back screaming about "but terrorists!" - and probably will, in the next hearing - the judge nicely addressed that in arguments by pointing out that these people already had permission to come here; they are not any more likely to be terrorists today than they were last week);
4) the exec order seems to violate the constitution, and therefore will be stopped, pending a full hearing at some later date.
People who are required to obey this order:
respondents (DJT, Dept Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, John Kelly (Sec'y of DHS); Kevin McAleenan (Commissioner of CBP), James Madden (NY Field Dir CBP)), their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all members and persons acting in concert or participation with them
People protected by the stay (emphasis added):
individuals with refugee applications approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.
IANAL! However, I am a paralegal, with some practice interpreting legal documents. THIS IS NOT A LEGAL ANALYSIS; it's a vague watered-down version suitable for casual discussion, not for true legal understanding.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
So what happens with the Syrian family who landed in Philly and were sent back to Qatar?With any luck, tomorrow they get on a plane to Canada.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Just to add an extra layer of fuckwittery - the US has told IATA that the visitor ban extends to flight crew...
posted by Devonian at 7:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 7:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
They were overruled by WH's Bannon and Miller.
A provable reason to get rid of him/them. Time to make some calls.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
A provable reason to get rid of him/them. Time to make some calls.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
It just occurred to me that the Uber tweet re: JFK said they were *ending* surge pricing there. Doesn't that mean they're dropping the incentive for any of their drivers to head over there?
posted by indubitable at 7:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by indubitable at 7:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
the defendants will NOT suffer harm by the stay being granted (and while the gov't can come back screaming about "but terrorists!" - and probably will, in the next hearing - the judge nicely addressed that in arguments by pointing out that these people already had permission to come here; they are not any more likely to be terrorists today than they were last week);
I'm not sure if it's two different filings but:
If the defendants are the ones from that are in the suit that was posted upthread then doing this could be a PR nightmare for them. If it's the same suit, one of defendants is a guy who helped the US military for 10 years.
posted by Jalliah at 7:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure if it's two different filings but:
If the defendants are the ones from that are in the suit that was posted upthread then doing this could be a PR nightmare for them. If it's the same suit, one of defendants is a guy who helped the US military for 10 years.
posted by Jalliah at 7:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Those are the plaintiffs, not the defendants, in this case - they're the ones suing for the injunction.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Bannon is fucking shitty fascist evil.
Miller is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions' surrogate brain, putting rotting meat on the dumb dixieman's bones. If any Dem votes to approve Sessions, especially since the ACLU believes he had a role in preparing these EOs, then the primary begins the next day.
Prevention from removal is asymmetric from admissibility -- once you're admitted, there are constitutional protections to keep you from being kicked out; if you're not admitted, there aren't the same protections -- but it looks like some airport CBPs (such as Boston) are using their discretionary powers to admit people and make it Somebody Else's Problem.
posted by holgate at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Miller is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions' surrogate brain, putting rotting meat on the dumb dixieman's bones. If any Dem votes to approve Sessions, especially since the ACLU believes he had a role in preparing these EOs, then the primary begins the next day.
Prevention from removal is asymmetric from admissibility -- once you're admitted, there are constitutional protections to keep you from being kicked out; if you're not admitted, there aren't the same protections -- but it looks like some airport CBPs (such as Boston) are using their discretionary powers to admit people and make it Somebody Else's Problem.
posted by holgate at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Anyone know when the next hearing is? When does the administration have to find a lawyer willing to show up in Brooklyn and try to defend the bullshit!
posted by vrakatar at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by vrakatar at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017
You can't expect the new administration to do anything right: Trump's shorthanded.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
Those are the plaintiffs, not the defendants, in this case - they're the ones suing for the injunction.
Oops yes that's what I meant. I plead being tired.
posted by Jalliah at 7:58 PM on January 28, 2017
Oops yes that's what I meant. I plead being tired.
posted by Jalliah at 7:58 PM on January 28, 2017
Yo - I just got back from the protest at the court about an hour ago.
It was a spontaneous thing - I found out about them needing people to fill the courthouse at 7; I'd been lamenting that I didn't have the energy to haul my butt to JFK (it'd be an hour commute), but for this I realized I only needed to put on pants and get a cab and I would be at the court in 10 minutes.
There was already a crowd when I got there, and there were chants starting up and petering out while we figured out what was going on. someone came and told us that they would only let 70 spectators into the courtroom, then that got downgraded to 30 a few minutes later. The crowd was already big enough that most of us realized "welp, I'm not getting in" and so we were just a steadily-growing crowd. Lots of chanting, a couple of attempts to sing "This Land Is Your Land" at one point. I found an abandoned traffic cone at the side of the road and grabbed it to use as a megaphone. I even started a chant: the crowd was chanting 'Let them stay' at one point, and during a lull I got a little inspired and shouted "LET! THEM STAY! IT'S THE AMER-I-CAN WAY!" That was going for a while. Then round about hour 1, a young woman edged her way through the crowd and asked me to bellow on her behalf - "I thought of a chant, but youv'e got a megaphone!" And so for her, I hollered "Get UP! Get DOWN! New York is an immigrant town!" That caught on too, and at one point there were even a couple people in front of me doing a choreographed dance to that.
But it was only a couple hours out there - I don't think the hearing started before 8, and by 9 there was an announcement that the ban was stayed. The ACLU lawyers got raucous cheers when they came out - they had no mike and it got frustrating being on the edge of the crowd trying to hear what they were saying, why the people at the front fell silent and then cheered, but gradually the news filtered back. (I took pity at the people way at the back and went to give them the headline with the megaphone.)
There was a team of about 5 people with trombones starting some kind of song to celebrate when I left; I'd have stayed but it was cold and I'd forgot to bring mittens.
I can second the "get to a protest" advice. That was a step towards taking power back.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
It was a spontaneous thing - I found out about them needing people to fill the courthouse at 7; I'd been lamenting that I didn't have the energy to haul my butt to JFK (it'd be an hour commute), but for this I realized I only needed to put on pants and get a cab and I would be at the court in 10 minutes.
There was already a crowd when I got there, and there were chants starting up and petering out while we figured out what was going on. someone came and told us that they would only let 70 spectators into the courtroom, then that got downgraded to 30 a few minutes later. The crowd was already big enough that most of us realized "welp, I'm not getting in" and so we were just a steadily-growing crowd. Lots of chanting, a couple of attempts to sing "This Land Is Your Land" at one point. I found an abandoned traffic cone at the side of the road and grabbed it to use as a megaphone. I even started a chant: the crowd was chanting 'Let them stay' at one point, and during a lull I got a little inspired and shouted "LET! THEM STAY! IT'S THE AMER-I-CAN WAY!" That was going for a while. Then round about hour 1, a young woman edged her way through the crowd and asked me to bellow on her behalf - "I thought of a chant, but youv'e got a megaphone!" And so for her, I hollered "Get UP! Get DOWN! New York is an immigrant town!" That caught on too, and at one point there were even a couple people in front of me doing a choreographed dance to that.
But it was only a couple hours out there - I don't think the hearing started before 8, and by 9 there was an announcement that the ban was stayed. The ACLU lawyers got raucous cheers when they came out - they had no mike and it got frustrating being on the edge of the crowd trying to hear what they were saying, why the people at the front fell silent and then cheered, but gradually the news filtered back. (I took pity at the people way at the back and went to give them the headline with the megaphone.)
There was a team of about 5 people with trombones starting some kind of song to celebrate when I left; I'd have stayed but it was cold and I'd forgot to bring mittens.
I can second the "get to a protest" advice. That was a step towards taking power back.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [112 favorites]
Also, noob question but how does the administration proceed with appeals when there is currently no Attorney General?
posted by saturday_morning at 8:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 8:01 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Rep. John Lewis waits it out at the Atl airport as the feds continue to detain at least one green card-holder returning from Iran.
American fucking hero. Over and over and over again.
posted by saturday_morning at 8:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [135 favorites]
American fucking hero. Over and over and over again.
posted by saturday_morning at 8:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [135 favorites]
Breitbart's headline: "Terror-Tied Group CAIR Causing Chaos, Promoting Protests & Lawsuits as Trump Protects Nation"
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'd been lamenting that I didn't have the energy to haul my butt to JFK
You're a New Yorker. That's so allowed.
posted by holgate at 8:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
You're a New Yorker. That's so allowed.
posted by holgate at 8:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
If any Dem votes to approve Sessions, especially since the ACLU believes he had a role in preparing these EOs, then the primary begins the next day.
Same goes for any Dem that votes for the SCOTUS pick or crosses over to break a filibuster.
The Court is tied 4-4, and ties go to the lower ruling. Right now they cannot overrule a nationwide stay. Trump cannot be allowed to seat a SCOTUS justice, period. At least not without forcing McConnell to break the filibuster and confirm on a party line vote. And if that happens and Dems ever retake the Presidency, they MUST impeach the illegitimate Trump Justice, regardless of who it is.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
Same goes for any Dem that votes for the SCOTUS pick or crosses over to break a filibuster.
The Court is tied 4-4, and ties go to the lower ruling. Right now they cannot overrule a nationwide stay. Trump cannot be allowed to seat a SCOTUS justice, period. At least not without forcing McConnell to break the filibuster and confirm on a party line vote. And if that happens and Dems ever retake the Presidency, they MUST impeach the illegitimate Trump Justice, regardless of who it is.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
Breitbart's headline: "Terror-Tied Group CAIR Causing Chaos, Promoting Protests & Lawsuits as Trump Protects Nation"
Gonna need a [real] or a [fake] on that one
posted by saturday_morning at 8:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Gonna need a [real] or a [fake] on that one
posted by saturday_morning at 8:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
> Breitbart's headline: "Terror-Tied Group CAIR Causing Chaos, Promoting Protests & Lawsuits as Trump Protects Nation"
Those wimpy Breitbart bedwetters need a strongman to protect them. How beta.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Those wimpy Breitbart bedwetters need a strongman to protect them. How beta.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Gonna need a [real] or a [fake] on that one
Real. Look on their webpage. No, I won't link it.
The man who still runs that site is essentially the President of the United States.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Real. Look on their webpage. No, I won't link it.
The man who still runs that site is essentially the President of the United States.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Bannon and Miller are total fuckwits and appear to be twin Grima Wormtongues.
Of course all the petty evil bullshit they are getting Trump to sign is going to make it that much harder for the Republicans in congress to pass their stupid as fuck agenda
posted by vuron at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Of course all the petty evil bullshit they are getting Trump to sign is going to make it that much harder for the Republicans in congress to pass their stupid as fuck agenda
posted by vuron at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Breitbart's headline: "Terror-Tied Group CAIR Causing Chaos, Promoting Protests & Lawsuits as Trump Protects Nation"
Gonna need a [real] or a [fake] on that one
[real]
posted by Jalliah at 8:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Gonna need a [real] or a [fake] on that one
[real]
posted by Jalliah at 8:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Honestly, I think all the protests are mostly to influence Democrats. Trump is gonna Trump, but the Democrats need to realize that their constituents are not going to accept appeasement or compromise.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [74 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:08 PM on January 28, 2017 [74 favorites]
White House Staff Reminded To Place Lids Firmly On Trash Cans After Steve Bannon Gets Into Garbage Again
posted by indubitable at 8:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 8:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Just saw that Trump tweeted 'never forget' about the challenger anniversary after not mentioning Jews in his Holocaust statement. Really???
posted by nakedmolerats at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by nakedmolerats at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
@bubbaprog: Impressive new record tho for shortest amount of time between swearing an oath to uphold the Constitution & being found in violation of it
posted by argonauta at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [44 favorites]
@WangCecillia: We have gotten disturbing reports that @CustomsBorder is refusing to comply with the court order
Good to know y'all.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Good to know y'all.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
‘Everything I worked for doesn’t matter:’ A Clemson PhD professor has been denied entry into the USA
The stay tonight does nothing to help people like this, who were taken off of planes today before making it home. And nothing to help anyone who didn't happen to be returning today, or anyone who needs to leave and return in the foreseeable. Long way left to go.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
The stay tonight does nothing to help people like this, who were taken off of planes today before making it home. And nothing to help anyone who didn't happen to be returning today, or anyone who needs to leave and return in the foreseeable. Long way left to go.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [40 favorites]
Rep. John Lewis waits it out at the Atl airport as the feds continue to detain at least one green card-holder returning from Iran.
Fucking hell. John Lewis is what it looks like when a man runs so completely out of evens that he runs for office, wins repeatedly, and continues to spend a lifetime fighting for the rights of all people.
DJT should be very, very afraid of the rate he is burning through people's evens, or he may be facing a lot more John Lewises.
posted by mrgoat at 8:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
Fucking hell. John Lewis is what it looks like when a man runs so completely out of evens that he runs for office, wins repeatedly, and continues to spend a lifetime fighting for the rights of all people.
DJT should be very, very afraid of the rate he is burning through people's evens, or he may be facing a lot more John Lewises.
posted by mrgoat at 8:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [64 favorites]
Video of passengers being released at Dulles.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Ban Is Unlikely to Reduce Threat: The unintended consequence of President Trump’s directive, many experts believe, is that it will make the risk worse.
posted by Miko at 8:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Miko at 8:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
@WangCecillia: We have gotten disturbing reports that @CustomsBorder is refusing to comply with the court order
I'd forward that on to the US Marshals, they don't take kindly to disobeyed Court Orders.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'd forward that on to the US Marshals, they don't take kindly to disobeyed Court Orders.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@netanyahu:
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea
Yahu's word choices sound very trumpian. Is this how he normally speaks?
posted by futz at 8:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea
Yahu's word choices sound very trumpian. Is this how he normally speaks?
posted by futz at 8:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Despite the stay order Vahideh Rasekhi is being deported on an 11:40 PM flight from JFK to Istanbul
posted by bluecore at 8:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by bluecore at 8:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
But in alt-facts land Emperor Trump has god given right to rule and despite losing the popular vote by over 3 million votes has free license to declare a crusade against Islam.
But he's totes not a bigot okay
posted by vuron at 8:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
But he's totes not a bigot okay
posted by vuron at 8:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@chrisgeidner: BREAKING: Fed judge in Virginia orders gov't to provide lawyers access to lawful perm residents detained at Dulles and halts removal.
posted by argonauta at 8:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 8:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
Yahu's word choices sound very trumpian. Is this how he normally speaks?
NO.
MIT graduate. Fluent in English. Putin has him by the balls too, though I suspect it's only by having Trump by whatever he has in lieu of balls. This coming from Netanyahu almost reeks of duress.
posted by ocschwar at 8:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
NO.
MIT graduate. Fluent in English. Putin has him by the balls too, though I suspect it's only by having Trump by whatever he has in lieu of balls. This coming from Netanyahu almost reeks of duress.
posted by ocschwar at 8:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
even William Henry Harrison lasted 22 days longer than this, jfc
posted by saturday_morning at 8:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 8:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
This man is a professor, with a wife and newborn.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Despite the stay order Vahideh Rasekhi is being deported on an 11:40 PM flight from JFK to Istanbul
If you read further down the thread it looks like she may be off the plane and lawyers are trying to get her in front of a judge.
posted by Jalliah at 8:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
If you read further down the thread it looks like she may be off the plane and lawyers are trying to get her in front of a judge.
posted by Jalliah at 8:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
> Ban Is Unlikely to Reduce Threat: The unintended consequence of President Trump’s directive, many experts believe, is that it will make the risk worse.
I see no reason to believe that this is an unintended consequence. A terror attack - preferably in a blue city - is the one thing missing so far in their march towards a fascist state.
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
I see no reason to believe that this is an unintended consequence. A terror attack - preferably in a blue city - is the one thing missing so far in their march towards a fascist state.
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [24 favorites]
Ban Is Unlikely to Reduce Threat: The unintended consequence of President Trump’s directive, many experts believe, is that it will make the risk worse.
No, it's an intended consequence. Bannon wants genocide and nuclear war. And he's in charge right now.
posted by holgate at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
No, it's an intended consequence. Bannon wants genocide and nuclear war. And he's in charge right now.
posted by holgate at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [18 favorites]
This coming from Netanyahu almost reeks of duress.
You have got to be shitting me.
posted by indubitable at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
You have got to be shitting me.
posted by indubitable at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Was their child born in the US? I mean it's disgusting either way but what sort of an idiot wouldn't realize how those optics are going to play.
posted by vuron at 8:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by vuron at 8:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Seen on Twitter: some group is running DEFEND DONALD TRUMP TV ads to get people to call an 800 number to express their support against meanie Democrats.
Pathetic.
posted by emjaybee at 8:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Pathetic.
posted by emjaybee at 8:23 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Clarifying the Muslim Ban;
https://twitter.com/billprady/status/825505260135280640
posted by bongo_x at 8:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
https://twitter.com/billprady/status/825505260135280640
posted by bongo_x at 8:24 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
This coming from Netanyahu almost reeks of duress.
You have got to be shitting me.
Trump just kicked the CIA off the NSC and put Bannon in.
And you think I'd even try to make shit up? Even professionals like our own cstross are bowing out of this game.
posted by ocschwar at 8:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
You have got to be shitting me.
Trump just kicked the CIA off the NSC and put Bannon in.
And you think I'd even try to make shit up? Even professionals like our own cstross are bowing out of this game.
posted by ocschwar at 8:26 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Just got back from O'Hare to see this great news.
Cheers go up at O'Hare as attorneys announce all the detainees have been released
posted by J.K. Seazer at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Cheers go up at O'Hare as attorneys announce all the detainees have been released
posted by J.K. Seazer at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
I know this is Meta, but could we please put HeatStreet in the same garbage bin as Breitbart? they hire Stephen Miller, who has just been identified as supposedly one of the people pushing hardest for the Muslim ban.
posted by Yowser at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
This coming from Netanyahu almost reeks of duress.
The guy who lectured America against Obama in front of the US Congress? Yea, no. He's been fully behind Trump from the beginning.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
The guy who lectured America against Obama in front of the US Congress? Yea, no. He's been fully behind Trump from the beginning.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Seen on Twitter: some group is running DEFEND DONALD TRUMP TV ads to get people to call an 800 number to express their support against meanie Democrats.
That looks and sounds an awful lot like the PAC ads that played on FOX News before the election. Press 1 if DJT will be a good president. Press 2 if DJT will be a GREAT president!
posted by mochapickle at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
That looks and sounds an awful lot like the PAC ads that played on FOX News before the election. Press 1 if DJT will be a good president. Press 2 if DJT will be a GREAT president!
posted by mochapickle at 8:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ugh there's a big chunk o' Notre Dame grads protesting at O'Hare in "IRISH" gear, making me cry. Mostly Republicans (as I know the peeps in the pics) and yet, out there protesting and posting all over social media about the treatment of the Irish way back when being the same as the treatment of Muslims now.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [39 favorites]
Proud of the work the ACLU is doing and happy I started monthly donations back in November.
posted by photoslob at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by photoslob at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Netanyahu is technically also Foreign Minister right now (because Israeli politics) but the Israeli Foreign Ministry's official spokesman offered a somewhat more diplomatic take, notable for using the official handle of the Israeli PM and not Bibi's personal one. It's perhaps best to see @netanyahu as @realBibiNetanyahu, or "Bibi wearing a red baseball hat", given that right now he spends more time behaving like a surrogate for the White House occupier than Israeli PM.
posted by holgate at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by holgate at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Re: The Hope Hicks "Jews aren't particularly special w/r/t the Holocaust" comment (I'm paraphrasing)
I mean this is some minimization dog-whistling that would have AIPAC lighting up the phones if it was said by a university professor.
What does it mean that the phones aren't lighting up? Serious question, I cannot understand what's going on between Trump and people such as Double-Super Special Advisor Jared Kushner and Only Person Trump May Love Ivanka Trump.
Take as a given the man's Not Right, what does he think his administration stands for? Besides bigly grateness, natch.
posted by petebest at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
I mean this is some minimization dog-whistling that would have AIPAC lighting up the phones if it was said by a university professor.
What does it mean that the phones aren't lighting up? Serious question, I cannot understand what's going on between Trump and people such as Double-Super Special Advisor Jared Kushner and Only Person Trump May Love Ivanka Trump.
Take as a given the man's Not Right, what does he think his administration stands for? Besides bigly grateness, natch.
posted by petebest at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Heat Street being the rag blog Louise Mensche puts out .
Yes, the same Louise Mensche people were clapping for in these very threads.
Normalization.
posted by Yowser at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yes, the same Louise Mensche people were clapping for in these very threads.
Normalization.
posted by Yowser at 8:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Rep. John Lewis after an immigration official declined to say how many are being detained: "Why don't we just sit down and stay a while.
Well, I guess that answers whoever a few threads ago was like "what has John Lewis done for me lately."
posted by corb at 8:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
Well, I guess that answers whoever a few threads ago was like "what has John Lewis done for me lately."
posted by corb at 8:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [80 favorites]
Who are the Republicans going to trot out tomorrow to defend this stupidity on the Talking Head shows?
Conway's vague threats of "You ain't seem nothing yet" make her seem less and less useful as a proxy. You've got to assume they'll try to get one of the usual suspects to somehow give Trump a pass even if they disagree with the implementation.
But at a certain point in time the Republicans have to realize that Trump is radioactive and if they don't want to make a early transition to lobbying they need to begin distancing themselves or at least go back to pretending that Trump didn't exist.
posted by vuron at 8:29 PM on January 28, 2017
Conway's vague threats of "You ain't seem nothing yet" make her seem less and less useful as a proxy. You've got to assume they'll try to get one of the usual suspects to somehow give Trump a pass even if they disagree with the implementation.
But at a certain point in time the Republicans have to realize that Trump is radioactive and if they don't want to make a early transition to lobbying they need to begin distancing themselves or at least go back to pretending that Trump didn't exist.
posted by vuron at 8:29 PM on January 28, 2017
Also, at least Rahm Emanuel seems to know which side his bread is buttered on.
Today's actions have tarnished America's standings as a beacon of hope for the free world, and there has been scant credible and confirmed information available throughout the day about the impact of the president's executive order or those detained. Following the stay that was granted this evening, I am calling on the federal government to immediately produce a list of the names of anyone currently being detained at O'Hare or Midway Airports, and calling on those unjustly affected to immediately be released and allowed to access legal counsel.posted by J.K. Seazer at 8:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Bannon (Breitbutt) and Miller (HeatSt) pushed for the green card part(and probably the whole thing, really)
For those keeping track, that means that BOTH of the people pushing hardest for the green card subpart of this whole odious affair are MEDIA people.
posted by Yowser at 8:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
For those keeping track, that means that BOTH of the people pushing hardest for the green card subpart of this whole odious affair are MEDIA people.
posted by Yowser at 8:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Seen on Twitter: some group is running DEFEND DONALD TRUMP TV ads to get people to call an 800 number to express their support against meanie Democrats.
I know Trump (probably?) wasn't personally behind those ads (hmm, then again...), but which is it, assholes? Is he the lone strongman who will fix every problem and slay every enemy (with almighty God in his corner, natch), or is he so vulnerable that a bunch of yelly libtards can "attack" him to the point of his needing RealAmerica to rush to his defense?
posted by Rykey at 8:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I know Trump (probably?) wasn't personally behind those ads (hmm, then again...), but which is it, assholes? Is he the lone strongman who will fix every problem and slay every enemy (with almighty God in his corner, natch), or is he so vulnerable that a bunch of yelly libtards can "attack" him to the point of his needing RealAmerica to rush to his defense?
posted by Rykey at 8:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
I've been thinking about Bannon, and I think that guy is all in on this. I don't think he gives a shit because his plan is to take down the country or go out by his own hand. I don't think he'll ever be locked up. That's why he's so dangerous.
posted by bongo_x at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I know Trump (probably?) wasn't personally behind those ads (hmm, then again...), but which is it, assholes? Is he the lone strongman who will fix every problem and slay every enemy (with almighty God in his corner, natch), or is he so vulnerable that a bunch of yelly libtards can "attack" him to the point of needing RealAmerica to rush to his defense?
please clap
posted by jason_steakums at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
please clap
posted by jason_steakums at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Press 1 if DJT will be a good president. Press 2 if DJT will be a GREAT president!
How does their software count slamming the phone on a rock, shitting on the phone, pissing on the phone repeatedly, covering the phone in lighter fluid, lighting the phone on fire, then smashing the phone with a hammer while screaming and crying ("screamying") "Fuck you, you fascist smallhands America-hating fucker"?
Is that like, a -1 or... ?
Asking for a friend.
posted by mrgoat at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
How does their software count slamming the phone on a rock, shitting on the phone, pissing on the phone repeatedly, covering the phone in lighter fluid, lighting the phone on fire, then smashing the phone with a hammer while screaming and crying ("screamying") "Fuck you, you fascist smallhands America-hating fucker"?
Is that like, a -1 or... ?
Asking for a friend.
posted by mrgoat at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
The ads are just a money grab for the PAC. Everything's a money grab. DJT probably wouldn't even know who they are.
posted by mochapickle at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 8:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Ugh there's a big chunk o' Notre Dame grads protesting at O'Hare in "IRISH" gear, making me cry. Mostly Republicans (as I know the peeps in the pics) and yet, out there protesting and posting all over social media about the treatment of the Irish way back when being the same as the treatment of Muslims now.
I could cry, because the same person who taught me all that Irish immigration history is the one who abandoned me and vomited the worst anti-immigrant bigotry I'd ever seen last week. (It was only last week. Time is passing so quickly. My god.)
I had been trying to learn Thousands Are Sailing by heart, so I could sing it at the next immigration protest I went to, to say "We were where you are, once, and I hope you have your own President you can cheer for, I hope your families will be woven into just as much a part of the fabric of this nation as mine, and you are welcome here." But after I went to DC I could barely listen to it at all--it hurt to feel the hypocrisy.
Maybe I'll sing it again sooner than I thought.
posted by sciatrix at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
I could cry, because the same person who taught me all that Irish immigration history is the one who abandoned me and vomited the worst anti-immigrant bigotry I'd ever seen last week. (It was only last week. Time is passing so quickly. My god.)
I had been trying to learn Thousands Are Sailing by heart, so I could sing it at the next immigration protest I went to, to say "We were where you are, once, and I hope you have your own President you can cheer for, I hope your families will be woven into just as much a part of the fabric of this nation as mine, and you are welcome here." But after I went to DC I could barely listen to it at all--it hurt to feel the hypocrisy.
Maybe I'll sing it again sooner than I thought.
posted by sciatrix at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
NBA contacted State Department for explanation on how immigration ban affects players from listed countries
Since the immigration ban went into effect, questions have been raised regarding the ability of players like Milwaukee Bucks rookie Thon Maker and Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng to travel to Toronto and return to the states.
However, USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reported that Maker—who was born in Sudan—was able to return to the United States without issue after Milwaukee's game in Toronto on Friday because he has an Australian passport.
Sounds like NBA player Thon Maker got very lucky.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
Since the immigration ban went into effect, questions have been raised regarding the ability of players like Milwaukee Bucks rookie Thon Maker and Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng to travel to Toronto and return to the states.
However, USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reported that Maker—who was born in Sudan—was able to return to the United States without issue after Milwaukee's game in Toronto on Friday because he has an Australian passport.
Sounds like NBA player Thon Maker got very lucky.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
The way decent Republicans and Democrats are coming together to fight and condemn this reminds me of that scene in The Rocketeer where the gangsters and the cops team up to fight the Nazis from the Zeppelin.
I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American. I don't work for no two-bit Nazi.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American. I don't work for no two-bit Nazi.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
It could also be to measure reactions at his base.
posted by AlexiaSky at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 8:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Let's call it what it is. This is an illegitimate presidency.
He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. In spite of that, he has acted like he has a mandate. He has shut down public access to information. He has failed to nominate over 600 positions that require confirmation. He issued a "no exceptions" order to ambassadors, guaranteeing that we have no ambassadors to many key countries for months or longer. He is preoccupied with winning a twitter war than he is with running the country competently. He isn't even trying.
Now comes word that he is leaving the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and he DNI off of the National Secuirty Council and put a white nationalist on the council. This is a massive disregard for the secuirty interests of the nation. He is allowing Bannon to write executive orders affecting civil rights and not running them through DoJ. This is negligent and a breach of his oath to faithfully execute the laws of the nation. He has alienated a key ally and our third largest trading partner. He has instituted a hiring freeze without considering the ramifications. He is not even making an attempt to execute his duties and showing a complete disregard for the law.
This presidency is illegitimate. It's that simple. And if Pence takes over, he has zero mandate.
posted by azpenguin at 8:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [189 favorites]
He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. In spite of that, he has acted like he has a mandate. He has shut down public access to information. He has failed to nominate over 600 positions that require confirmation. He issued a "no exceptions" order to ambassadors, guaranteeing that we have no ambassadors to many key countries for months or longer. He is preoccupied with winning a twitter war than he is with running the country competently. He isn't even trying.
Now comes word that he is leaving the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and he DNI off of the National Secuirty Council and put a white nationalist on the council. This is a massive disregard for the secuirty interests of the nation. He is allowing Bannon to write executive orders affecting civil rights and not running them through DoJ. This is negligent and a breach of his oath to faithfully execute the laws of the nation. He has alienated a key ally and our third largest trading partner. He has instituted a hiring freeze without considering the ramifications. He is not even making an attempt to execute his duties and showing a complete disregard for the law.
This presidency is illegitimate. It's that simple. And if Pence takes over, he has zero mandate.
posted by azpenguin at 8:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [189 favorites]
Israel's southern border is with Egypt. That whole tweet sounds like someone toadying because he wants something. I hope whatever he gets for it was worth the price. Not surprised diplomats are walking it back, but sheesh.
posted by Mchelly at 8:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 8:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't think he'll ever be locked up. That's why he's so dangerous.
Bannon/Sade.
posted by holgate at 8:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Bannon/Sade.
posted by holgate at 8:39 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
https://twitter.com/billprady/status/825505260135280640
That thread is worth it just to read what appears to be Trump supporters struggling with this information. They don't like it. It's hurting their brains.
posted by Jalliah at 8:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
That thread is worth it just to read what appears to be Trump supporters struggling with this information. They don't like it. It's hurting their brains.
posted by Jalliah at 8:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I mean this is some minimization dog-whistling that would have AIPAC lighting up the phones if it was said by a university professor.
What does it mean that the phones aren't lighting up? Serious question, I cannot understand what's going on between Trump and people such as Double-Super Special Advisor Jared Kushner and Only Person Trump May Love Ivanka Trump.
Wrong acronym. AIPAC doesn't get involved with things that aren't Israel-related. The ADL has already condemned it, loud and clear.
posted by Mchelly at 8:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
What does it mean that the phones aren't lighting up? Serious question, I cannot understand what's going on between Trump and people such as Double-Super Special Advisor Jared Kushner and Only Person Trump May Love Ivanka Trump.
Wrong acronym. AIPAC doesn't get involved with things that aren't Israel-related. The ADL has already condemned it, loud and clear.
posted by Mchelly at 8:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Bannon is a sad sack who seems determined to go out in a blaze of glory before his liver is completely shredded by whatever drug of choice he seems to be addicted to. I mean he seems like one of those sleazy producer/promoter types who are all about blustering their way through life while riding high on coke and oxy.
All the insider reports sound like palace intrigue where the inmates running the asylum are keeping Trump hopped up on a mixture of flattery, sleep deprivation, illicit substances while also playing to his paranoia.
I bet every day seems like the bunker scene in Downfall with the liberals getting closer and closer and Trump and company still thinking that they can somehow win this fight.
posted by vuron at 8:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
All the insider reports sound like palace intrigue where the inmates running the asylum are keeping Trump hopped up on a mixture of flattery, sleep deprivation, illicit substances while also playing to his paranoia.
I bet every day seems like the bunker scene in Downfall with the liberals getting closer and closer and Trump and company still thinking that they can somehow win this fight.
posted by vuron at 8:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Sounds like NBA player Thon Maker got very lucky.
Well, Luol Deng is a UK citizen presumably travelling on a British passport that says he was born in Sudan. Hey, Theresa May?
posted by holgate at 8:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well, Luol Deng is a UK citizen presumably travelling on a British passport that says he was born in Sudan. Hey, Theresa May?
posted by holgate at 8:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
And if Pence takes over, he has zero mandate.
Trump has zero mandate, it's not stopping him and it won't stop Pence, and it's not stopping any Republican. As far as they're concerned, they won, so fuck everyone else. They WILL have those tax cuts, and destroy the welfare state, and punish every woman who has ever had sex, or destroy the country. Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Trump has zero mandate, it's not stopping him and it won't stop Pence, and it's not stopping any Republican. As far as they're concerned, they won, so fuck everyone else. They WILL have those tax cuts, and destroy the welfare state, and punish every woman who has ever had sex, or destroy the country. Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:42 PM on January 28, 2017 [28 favorites]
Alleged hacker held in Prague at center of 'intense' US-Russia tug of war
Could be nothing but there are a lot of potentially tricksy goings on mentioned in the article.
“There’s intense lobbying in this case. People from the US and Russian side are talking to the Czech authorities because both really want Nikulin in their countries.”
One theory is Nikulin – even if not personally involved in the election hacking – may know other hackers who were.
Fuelling speculation is the existence of sealed US court documents, tabled six days after the original indictment against Nikulin on 20 October but whose contents have not been revealed.
posted by futz at 8:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Could be nothing but there are a lot of potentially tricksy goings on mentioned in the article.
“There’s intense lobbying in this case. People from the US and Russian side are talking to the Czech authorities because both really want Nikulin in their countries.”
One theory is Nikulin – even if not personally involved in the election hacking – may know other hackers who were.
Fuelling speculation is the existence of sealed US court documents, tabled six days after the original indictment against Nikulin on 20 October but whose contents have not been revealed.
posted by futz at 8:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
Honestly, I used to think this way, but before we can talk about regaining lost ground in 2020, we should make sure that said ground will not be radioactive.
posted by Behemoth at 8:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
Honestly, I used to think this way, but before we can talk about regaining lost ground in 2020, we should make sure that said ground will not be radioactive.
posted by Behemoth at 8:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [49 favorites]
Sen Flake: "President Trump and his administration are right to be concerned about national security, but it’s unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry. Enhancing long term national security requires that we have a clear-eyed view of radical Islamic terrorism without ascribing radical Islamic terrorist views to all Muslims."
posted by corb at 8:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by corb at 8:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Trump has zero mandate, it's not stopping him and it won't stop Pence, and it's not stopping any Republican. As far as their concerned, they won, so fuck everyone else. They WILL have those tax cuts, and destroy the welfare state, and punish every woman who ever had sex, or destroy the country. Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
Do you think Pence would keep Bannon?
posted by Jalliah at 8:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Do you think Pence would keep Bannon?
posted by Jalliah at 8:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
In New Zealand news, both the leaders of the Green Party and the Labour Party have pledged to double the refugee quotas as well as the Labour Party leader Andrew Little stating that he would never turn away refugees. I'm neck deep in my masters degree til July and have limited free time until then, but after it's done and dusted I think I might start spending my time volunteering down in Manukau with the NZ Red Cross refugee program, and seeing if I can get a couple of my coworkers involved as well. Reckon a few nurses might come in handy.
I set up donations to the ACLU, PP, CAIR, Oxfam. And I'm out of favorites. You guys are the greatest. Coming out of the state of the nation here in Auckland I wanted to know what had happened in the last hour, and when my husband asked where to look to get up to date I didn't hesitate to say "Go to Metafilter." Thanks to all who went out and protested, donated, tweeted, or were otherwise active participants in our democracy tonight. You should be absolutely proud of yourselves, you represent the best of what our country has to offer.
posted by supercrayon at 8:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
I set up donations to the ACLU, PP, CAIR, Oxfam. And I'm out of favorites. You guys are the greatest. Coming out of the state of the nation here in Auckland I wanted to know what had happened in the last hour, and when my husband asked where to look to get up to date I didn't hesitate to say "Go to Metafilter." Thanks to all who went out and protested, donated, tweeted, or were otherwise active participants in our democracy tonight. You should be absolutely proud of yourselves, you represent the best of what our country has to offer.
posted by supercrayon at 8:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [36 favorites]
Trump has zero mandate, it's not stopping him and it won't stop Pence, and it's not stopping any Republican.
While I agree with that, take a look at what's going on with the GOP now. Many republican members of congress are basically in hiding right now. They have just seen how bad this is playing. Wait until they bring a bill in to fund the wall. How's that gonna play now? Sure, plenty will vote for it but you think voicemail boxes are filling up now? Just wait. Attack these guys on all fronts. Make them defend or denounce Trump. Wanna cut Social Security? Wanna cut Medicare? This is what the GOP did to the Dems in '02 with the Iraq war vote. It's time to turn the tables. And Pence will not have some sudden grace period if he takes over. He will be the guy who fell into the office and will have no political capital. The only question is whether the Dems have the spine to go on the attack. That's the front I'm not so optimistic on.
posted by azpenguin at 8:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
While I agree with that, take a look at what's going on with the GOP now. Many republican members of congress are basically in hiding right now. They have just seen how bad this is playing. Wait until they bring a bill in to fund the wall. How's that gonna play now? Sure, plenty will vote for it but you think voicemail boxes are filling up now? Just wait. Attack these guys on all fronts. Make them defend or denounce Trump. Wanna cut Social Security? Wanna cut Medicare? This is what the GOP did to the Dems in '02 with the Iraq war vote. It's time to turn the tables. And Pence will not have some sudden grace period if he takes over. He will be the guy who fell into the office and will have no political capital. The only question is whether the Dems have the spine to go on the attack. That's the front I'm not so optimistic on.
posted by azpenguin at 8:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
This takes more than votes. It takes ripping their credibility up, exposing them, targeting their smartest operatives, and going after their backers.
If Pence and the Republicans want a mandate, let them earn it. No rest until they do. And if they don't? People power, bitches.
Start with Bannon. Call for his removal.
posted by saysthis at 8:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
This takes more than votes. It takes ripping their credibility up, exposing them, targeting their smartest operatives, and going after their backers.
If Pence and the Republicans want a mandate, let them earn it. No rest until they do. And if they don't? People power, bitches.
Start with Bannon. Call for his removal.
posted by saysthis at 8:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
We don't stop there.
posted by mrgoat at 8:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
We don't stop there.
posted by mrgoat at 8:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [26 favorites]
Do you think Pence would keep Bannon?
Who the fuck would want Bannon?
posted by Artw at 8:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Who the fuck would want Bannon?
posted by Artw at 8:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Heat Street being the rag blog Louise Mensche puts out .
Yes, the same Louise Mensche people were clapping for in these very threads.
Normalization.
I know I posted a fair bit about her, but it's definitely not clapping. She was canned from Heat Street after going after Trump, though. I still can't wrap my mind around her, she goes after Trump & Co with crazy tenacity, she apparently popped up in the Podesta emails suggesting an ad to the Clinton campaign, but she also worked/maybe still works (?) for News Corp and has a boatload of really awful views. Oh and she's super erratic, I saw her calling ProPublica a Russian front earlier and I just checked and now she's calling @RoguePOTUSStaff a Bannon/Flynn disinfo account after RTing the crap out of them earlier. But, I'm still keeping an eye on her Trump/Russia stuff. I can't tell if she's nuts or on point or some kind of Russian triple-reverse-propaganda or what, but imo that blog article on the Putin stuff is worth keeping an eye on either way, it's just not worth believing without confirmation from trusted sources.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Yes, the same Louise Mensche people were clapping for in these very threads.
Normalization.
I know I posted a fair bit about her, but it's definitely not clapping. She was canned from Heat Street after going after Trump, though. I still can't wrap my mind around her, she goes after Trump & Co with crazy tenacity, she apparently popped up in the Podesta emails suggesting an ad to the Clinton campaign, but she also worked/maybe still works (?) for News Corp and has a boatload of really awful views. Oh and she's super erratic, I saw her calling ProPublica a Russian front earlier and I just checked and now she's calling @RoguePOTUSStaff a Bannon/Flynn disinfo account after RTing the crap out of them earlier. But, I'm still keeping an eye on her Trump/Russia stuff. I can't tell if she's nuts or on point or some kind of Russian triple-reverse-propaganda or what, but imo that blog article on the Putin stuff is worth keeping an eye on either way, it's just not worth believing without confirmation from trusted sources.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Well, it's weak, but even that level of mild opposition makes me think Flake might not be a lost cause after all.
Maybe he feels the 2018 heat. As well he should.
posted by Superplin at 8:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Maybe he feels the 2018 heat. As well he should.
posted by Superplin at 8:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
If Trump was out, I think it'd be politically feasible to force Pence to adopt a more moderate cabinet. But that's getting too far ahead I think. This executive order was a fuckup, someone's head should roll.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm frustrated with the number of people on FB and Twitter saying, "Uh, is there a protest in Sacramento tomorrow?" So I've said yes, noon at the airport. Meet across from Terminal B.
I think it's working.
Fuck me, it totally worked (to the point that I was contacted by a local news channel), and now I have to actually GO.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [147 favorites]
I think it's working.
Fuck me, it totally worked (to the point that I was contacted by a local news channel), and now I have to actually GO.
posted by mudpuppie at 8:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [147 favorites]
Eyebrows McGee: "about the treatment of the Irish way back when being the same as the treatment of Muslims now."
How is that supposed to work then, like hazing or something? Get dumped on for several decades and then you'll be able to dump on whoever is the new freshman ethnicity?
posted by RobotHero at 8:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
How is that supposed to work then, like hazing or something? Get dumped on for several decades and then you'll be able to dump on whoever is the new freshman ethnicity?
posted by RobotHero at 8:57 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
In New Zealand news, both the leaders of the Green Party and the Labour Party have pledged to double the refugee quotas as well as the Labour Party leader Andrew Little stating that he would never turn away refugees.
Our outrage has ripple effects. Our protests matter. Even if it's in New Zealand. The world is watching.
posted by saysthis at 8:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Our outrage has ripple effects. Our protests matter. Even if it's in New Zealand. The world is watching.
posted by saysthis at 8:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Fuck me, it totally worked (to the point that I was contacted by a local news channel), and now I have to actually GO..
I feel bad. This made me laugh so hard. Thanks though I needed to laugh.
posted by Jalliah at 8:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
I feel bad. This made me laugh so hard. Thanks though I needed to laugh.
posted by Jalliah at 8:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
So CBP at Dulles has decided to deny lawyers access to LPRs, in spite of another federal judge in Virginia issuing a stay on removals and explicitly granting that access.
Renegade MAGAlaw enforcement is what we feared, and it's what we've got. In a week and a day.
posted by holgate at 8:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [82 favorites]
Renegade MAGAlaw enforcement is what we feared, and it's what we've got. In a week and a day.
posted by holgate at 8:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [82 favorites]
Do you think Pence would keep Bannon?
Im not sure which is worse, right now Bannon's idiocy and incompetence is providing a lightning rod by doing stupid and ill considered things like an immediate ban. Without that Pence, Prebius and Ryan would be more effective going through all the proper legal channels and rolling out horrible policies in at least a considered and coherent fashion, with total buy-in from the Republican Congress, because they're not complete nincompoops at the whole, "government, how does it work?" part. And Pence might keep Bannon around anyway to hang onto Trump's white nationalist base, who will NOT take any removal of their God Emperor well. If I had to pick, I bet Pence keeps him.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Im not sure which is worse, right now Bannon's idiocy and incompetence is providing a lightning rod by doing stupid and ill considered things like an immediate ban. Without that Pence, Prebius and Ryan would be more effective going through all the proper legal channels and rolling out horrible policies in at least a considered and coherent fashion, with total buy-in from the Republican Congress, because they're not complete nincompoops at the whole, "government, how does it work?" part. And Pence might keep Bannon around anyway to hang onto Trump's white nationalist base, who will NOT take any removal of their God Emperor well. If I had to pick, I bet Pence keeps him.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
....You wanna know how weird the country is right now?
NPR's Jonathan Schwartz is now playing the song "For What It's Worth" on his show right now ("it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's goin' down....")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
NPR's Jonathan Schwartz is now playing the song "For What It's Worth" on his show right now ("it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's goin' down....")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Of course Trump and Pence don't have a mandate and that doesn't matter to the Republicans but keep in mind that Trump also represents their get out of jail free card.
If Trump pushes through all sorts of dumb shit that is quite likely to result in a broken economy but somehow allows them to roll back various entitlement program and pass a tax cut in year one then they can disavow him or even replace him with Pence and suddenly they aren't responsible and BTW Trump isn't a real Republican, and didn't he use to be a Democrat and it's probably Clinton and Obama's fault anyway.
They know that various parts of their agenda are quite likely to lose them seats in congress and quite possibly the Presidency in 2020 but they are willing to do that because they think they can disavow Trump and the voters will be too dumb to remember.
It's actually not too bad of a plan if you look past the complete lack of moral leadership inherent in the approach. However Trump/Bannon/Miller are not playing their designated role. If they could just shut up and look presidential then maybe they could push through repeal and a tax cut but right now Trump's insanity is already forcing them into full turtlemode. While McConnell might be good at turtlemode that's hardly the position you want to be in 8 days after the Republicans have in effect won the trifecta of controlling both the House and Senate as well as the Presidency.
posted by vuron at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
If Trump pushes through all sorts of dumb shit that is quite likely to result in a broken economy but somehow allows them to roll back various entitlement program and pass a tax cut in year one then they can disavow him or even replace him with Pence and suddenly they aren't responsible and BTW Trump isn't a real Republican, and didn't he use to be a Democrat and it's probably Clinton and Obama's fault anyway.
They know that various parts of their agenda are quite likely to lose them seats in congress and quite possibly the Presidency in 2020 but they are willing to do that because they think they can disavow Trump and the voters will be too dumb to remember.
It's actually not too bad of a plan if you look past the complete lack of moral leadership inherent in the approach. However Trump/Bannon/Miller are not playing their designated role. If they could just shut up and look presidential then maybe they could push through repeal and a tax cut but right now Trump's insanity is already forcing them into full turtlemode. While McConnell might be good at turtlemode that's hardly the position you want to be in 8 days after the Republicans have in effect won the trifecta of controlling both the House and Senate as well as the Presidency.
posted by vuron at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Close to 5,000 signatures on Academics Against Immigration E.O.
posted by allthingsconsidered at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by allthingsconsidered at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Peter Thiel spokesperson: "Peter doesn't support a religious test, and the administration has not imposed one."
Asshole.
posted by bluecore at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Asshole.
posted by bluecore at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
> Renegade MAGAlaw enforcement is what we feared, and it's what we've got. In a week and a day.
This is when the US Marshalls pay their friends at CBP a visit and inform them of their responsibilities, right?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
This is when the US Marshalls pay their friends at CBP a visit and inform them of their responsibilities, right?
posted by tonycpsu at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
If Trump was out, I think it'd be politically feasible to force Pence to adopt a more moderate cabinet. But that's getting too far ahead I think. This executive order was a fuckup, someone's head should roll.
Pence would be on board with the whole Handmaid's Tale fantasy of rolling back the past 70 years of social progress, but at least he wouldn't trash the economy with idiotic tariffs and also probably get us in to war with China. I don't think, anyway. So, basically, I'll settle for 4 years of Pence, since we can unring the bell of social regression. But you can unexplode a nuke.
posted by dis_integration at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Pence would be on board with the whole Handmaid's Tale fantasy of rolling back the past 70 years of social progress, but at least he wouldn't trash the economy with idiotic tariffs and also probably get us in to war with China. I don't think, anyway. So, basically, I'll settle for 4 years of Pence, since we can unring the bell of social regression. But you can unexplode a nuke.
posted by dis_integration at 9:02 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Without Bannon a future as a democracy becomes vastly more likely.
posted by Artw at 9:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
posted by Artw at 9:04 PM on January 28, 2017 [46 favorites]
Swapping out Trump fixes almost nothing.
Swapping Pence for Trump would do a few useful things:
(1) It would replace someone who has proven to be, somehow, charismatic and compelling for horrible whiteys with someone with the sophisticated charm of a carved up potato who has already successfully made the white people of Indiana dislike him.
(2) Actually ejecting Trump from the presidency against his will would probably reduce GOP turnout noticeably -- some of them being too pissed to vote for the GOP that betrayed the white race or whatever, others just sad and demotivated now with their savior dethroned, maybe others just voting for David Duke next time 'cuz you just know that motherfucker is gonna run.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
Swapping Pence for Trump would do a few useful things:
(1) It would replace someone who has proven to be, somehow, charismatic and compelling for horrible whiteys with someone with the sophisticated charm of a carved up potato who has already successfully made the white people of Indiana dislike him.
(2) Actually ejecting Trump from the presidency against his will would probably reduce GOP turnout noticeably -- some of them being too pissed to vote for the GOP that betrayed the white race or whatever, others just sad and demotivated now with their savior dethroned, maybe others just voting for David Duke next time 'cuz you just know that motherfucker is gonna run.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [66 favorites]
Also, as dis_integration says, Pence wouldn't nuke China because he's throwing a tantrum.
posted by Justinian at 9:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 9:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
> Peter Thiel spokesperson: "Peter doesn't support a religious test, and the administration has not imposed one."
Asshole.
Yeah, Thiel was the "take Trump seriously, not literally" guy, wasn't he? How's that working out? Build a wall, ban Muslims, repeal Obamacare - can we take him at his word now, you privileged asshole?
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Asshole.
Yeah, Thiel was the "take Trump seriously, not literally" guy, wasn't he? How's that working out? Build a wall, ban Muslims, repeal Obamacare - can we take him at his word now, you privileged asshole?
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:10 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
vanguard cat is watching you agitate
posted by poffin boffin at 9:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 9:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [25 favorites]
Donations are pouring into the Go Fund Me to rebuild the mosque in Victoria, Tx, that burned early this morning. Right now it's at 373K of the 450K goal.
posted by megancita at 9:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by megancita at 9:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [17 favorites]
One last thing before I go to bed: that article about Cambridge Analytica's role has been linked several times, and it includes a video posted publicly on YouTube. I can't believe the video will stay public for very long, though.
If you haven't watched it yet, it's really, really worth the 11 minutes. Better presented than most TED talks, and definitely more chilling, with a sharp barbed hook at the end. Seriously, just watch.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
If you haven't watched it yet, it's really, really worth the 11 minutes. Better presented than most TED talks, and definitely more chilling, with a sharp barbed hook at the end. Seriously, just watch.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
vanguard cat is watching you agitate
omg that is my actual life
posted by mudpuppie at 9:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
omg that is my actual life
posted by mudpuppie at 9:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Yeah, Thiel was the "take Trump seriously, not literally" guy, wasn't he? How's that working out? Build a wall, ban Muslims, repeal Obamacare - can we take him at his word now, you privileged asshole?
Most of what you need to know about Thiel, in his own words:
posted by jaduncan at 9:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
Most of what you need to know about Thiel, in his own words:
I remain committed to the faith of my teenage years: to authentic human freedom as a precondition for the highest good. I stand against confiscatory taxes, totalitarian collectives, and the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual. For all these reasons, I still call myself “libertarian.”He's well down the fascism rabbit hole, it's a mistake to take his current public statements too seriously when he's in favour of making the US less democratic. His beliefs are antithetical to the American dream and fundamentally not someone who believes in the ideals set out in the constitution. He might not agree with the religious stuff, but he's all on board for rolling back democratic participation and reducing any welfare programs that still exist. He's also recently received NZ citizenship, so it can only be hoped he is to leave at some point.
But I must confess that over the last two decades, I have changed radically on the question of how to achieve these goals. Most importantly, I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible. [emphasis mine]
[snip]
The 1920s were the last decade in American history during which one could be genuinely optimistic about politics. Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of “capitalist democracy” into an oxymoron.
posted by jaduncan at 9:21 PM on January 28, 2017 [42 favorites]
He's also recently received NZ citizenship, so it can only be hoped he is to leave at some point.
No such luck, it's because of this: DOOMSDAY PREP FOR THE SUPER-RICH
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
No such luck, it's because of this: DOOMSDAY PREP FOR THE SUPER-RICH
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fuck it. Let him. Better than the money going to the RNC.
posted by ocschwar at 9:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 9:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
@JoshuaGreen: Emailed Bannon friend to ask reason for refugee EO. His reply: "America first. Americans first."
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:29 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:29 PM on January 28, 2017
Say what you will about Corey Booker but he showed up at Dulles to try and get lawyers access!
posted by jason_steakums at 9:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 9:29 PM on January 28, 2017 [29 favorites]
Update on Dulles situation. Mark Warner, senior senator from Virginia, working on getting lawyers access to detainees. Cory Booker on-site.
CBP at Dulles still defying court orders. Big question is whether they were directed to do so by the White House.
For people asking where have Dems been in this earlier, Mark Warner and Cory Booker are intervening directly.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
CBP at Dulles still defying court orders. Big question is whether they were directed to do so by the White House.
For people asking where have Dems been in this earlier, Mark Warner and Cory Booker are intervening directly.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:32 PM on January 28, 2017 [34 favorites]
His reply: "America first. Americans first."
you wouldn't know a real American if one jumped out of your desk and slapped the bottle of Evan Williams out of your hands motherfucker
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
you wouldn't know a real American if one jumped out of your desk and slapped the bottle of Evan Williams out of your hands motherfucker
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [20 favorites]
Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas
Scathing analysis by a supporter of CIA torture interrogation methods.
posted by Coventry at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
Scathing analysis by a supporter of CIA torture interrogation methods.
posted by Coventry at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [23 favorites]
So uh if they say orders came from the White House in a room full of Senators and lawyers that's probably not super great for Team Trump.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
vanguard cat is watching you agitate
I can barely type this because I'm lying on the couch and typing with one hand. Laptop is on the coffee table. One of my cats is sitting on my chest and staring at me, so I'm half turned and punching keys with one finger. Oh and there's a big German Shepherd lying on my feet.
Viva la revolution.
posted by Jalliah at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
I can barely type this because I'm lying on the couch and typing with one hand. Laptop is on the coffee table. One of my cats is sitting on my chest and staring at me, so I'm half turned and punching keys with one finger. Oh and there's a big German Shepherd lying on my feet.
Viva la revolution.
posted by Jalliah at 9:33 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Big question is whether they were directed to do so by the White House.
Well, I'm sure that Jason "my precious precious daughter" Chaffetz will be organising hearings about this stat.
posted by holgate at 9:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Well, I'm sure that Jason "my precious precious daughter" Chaffetz will be organising hearings about this stat.
posted by holgate at 9:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
@BrooklynSpoke: Dems: Wanna get Bannon out? Go on the Sunday shows & say, "We all know who has the real power in the White House and it isn't Donald Trump."
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [130 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [130 favorites]
So next week, when we're all making our calls to our Reps and Senators in deep blue areas (and we're all* planning on doing that as many days as possible, right?), let's additionally encourage them to take part in public actions like we've seen from Sens. Warner, Booker, and Warren. They need to know that we want expect them there with us and our activist sibs.
*All who are able, of course.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
*All who are able, of course.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Mark Warner has been garbage on opposing Trump so far, nice to see that he's trying to do something, I guess.
posted by indubitable at 9:39 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by indubitable at 9:39 PM on January 28, 2017
Mudpuppie: you are awesome!
posted by zachlipton at 9:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 9:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
So hey I've been reading elsewhere and this ban, and mess, is causing at least some Trump voters to waver. And that's just the ones willing to say it.
posted by Jalliah at 9:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
vanguard cat is watching you agitate
I can barely type this because I'm lying on the couch and typing with one hand. Laptop is on the coffee table. One of my cats is sitting on my chest and staring at me, so I'm half turned and punching keys with one finger. Oh and there's a big German Shepherd lying on my feet.
Viva la revolution.
posted by Jalliah at 10:33 PM on 1/28
I'm in a room with four snoring old bulldogs, two of which who are stealing my blankets. Critters make these times so much more bearable.
posted by azpenguin at 9:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
I can barely type this because I'm lying on the couch and typing with one hand. Laptop is on the coffee table. One of my cats is sitting on my chest and staring at me, so I'm half turned and punching keys with one finger. Oh and there's a big German Shepherd lying on my feet.
Viva la revolution.
posted by Jalliah at 10:33 PM on 1/28
I'm in a room with four snoring old bulldogs, two of which who are stealing my blankets. Critters make these times so much more bearable.
posted by azpenguin at 9:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
So uh if they say orders came from the White House in a room full of Senators and lawyers that's probably not super great for Team Trump.
Trump has a picture of Andrew Jackson hanging in the office. Multiple times this week they referred to him as "Jacksonian". Jackson famously defied the Supreme Court to institute the Trail of Tears. They're likely gearing up for a full frontal assault on the rule of law and the entire institution of judicial review. Trump won't let a few liberal judges derail the Turd Reich.
Roberts may get his test right out of the gate.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
Trump has a picture of Andrew Jackson hanging in the office. Multiple times this week they referred to him as "Jacksonian". Jackson famously defied the Supreme Court to institute the Trail of Tears. They're likely gearing up for a full frontal assault on the rule of law and the entire institution of judicial review. Trump won't let a few liberal judges derail the Turd Reich.
Roberts may get his test right out of the gate.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [71 favorites]
Well, it's weak, but even that level of mild opposition makes me think Flake might not be a lost cause after all.
I've said it before, but someone I know described him as "wrong about almost everything, but not evil". I like those kind of Republicans. Too bad I can name most of them, and most of the ones I can name aren't in office.
But hats off to Flake, Ana Navarro, Evan Mcmullin...who else?
Let's have a list of Republicans who have a spine and won't go down in history as collaborators.
posted by bongo_x at 9:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
I've said it before, but someone I know described him as "wrong about almost everything, but not evil". I like those kind of Republicans. Too bad I can name most of them, and most of the ones I can name aren't in office.
But hats off to Flake, Ana Navarro, Evan Mcmullin...who else?
Let's have a list of Republicans who have a spine and won't go down in history as collaborators.
posted by bongo_x at 9:44 PM on January 28, 2017 [15 favorites]
That's pretty much the entire list.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
So hey I've been reading elsewhere and this ban, and mess, is causing at least some Trump voters to waver. And that's just the ones willing to say it.
Reading where? I haven't found a trustworthy place to read about how Trump supporters are thinking about current events. r/the_donald is totally one-sided.
posted by Coventry at 9:46 PM on January 28, 2017
Reading where? I haven't found a trustworthy place to read about how Trump supporters are thinking about current events. r/the_donald is totally one-sided.
posted by Coventry at 9:46 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm reluctant to give any of 'em too much credit. They've been playing along for years. This is the bed they made.
posted by Miko at 9:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Miko at 9:47 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Rudy Giuliani: "Trump called me and said, 'I want to do a #MuslimBan. How do I do it legally?'"
posted by rhizome at 9:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 9:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
But hats off to Flake, Ana Navarro, Evan Mcmullin...who else?
Let's have a list of Republicans who have a spine and won't go down in history as collaborators.
Charlie Dent and one other guy I can't remember.
posted by Jalliah at 9:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
and the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual.
a. What is with tech libertarians and trying to become immortal? It's like they subconsciously believe that they'll be judged in the afterlife and thus their greatest con will be to cheat God.
b. If you think you're going to become immortal, shouldn't, I don't know, stopping climate change be a bigger priority? Shouldn't securing societal stability be a concern? If the world goes to shit, what makes you think that your perfect robot brain isn't going down with it?
posted by Pyry at 9:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
a. What is with tech libertarians and trying to become immortal? It's like they subconsciously believe that they'll be judged in the afterlife and thus their greatest con will be to cheat God.
b. If you think you're going to become immortal, shouldn't, I don't know, stopping climate change be a bigger priority? Shouldn't securing societal stability be a concern? If the world goes to shit, what makes you think that your perfect robot brain isn't going down with it?
posted by Pyry at 9:49 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Reading where? I haven't found a trustworthy place to read about how Trump supporters are thinking about current events. r/the_donald is totally one-sided.
Twitters, comments on articles and Reddit that isn't r_the donald. You won't see any of it on r_the donald, even if any of them did waver they'd be gone so fast you'd never see it.
posted by Jalliah at 9:51 PM on January 28, 2017
Twitters, comments on articles and Reddit that isn't r_the donald. You won't see any of it on r_the donald, even if any of them did waver they'd be gone so fast you'd never see it.
posted by Jalliah at 9:51 PM on January 28, 2017
But hats off to Flake, Ana Navarro, Evan Mcmullin...who else?
Ben Sasse has been okay, and willing to say something on the National GOP Day Of Shamefully Hiding In The Basement. Justin Amash too. Susan Collins has been Susan Collins, no change there.
If you have a GOP congresscritter nearby and you know which church they attend, show up outside tomorrow in advance.
posted by holgate at 9:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Ben Sasse has been okay, and willing to say something on the National GOP Day Of Shamefully Hiding In The Basement. Justin Amash too. Susan Collins has been Susan Collins, no change there.
If you have a GOP congresscritter nearby and you know which church they attend, show up outside tomorrow in advance.
posted by holgate at 9:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
Charlie Dent and one other guy I can't remember.
Sasse. It was posted upthread.
posted by Jalliah at 9:52 PM on January 28, 2017
Sasse. It was posted upthread.
posted by Jalliah at 9:52 PM on January 28, 2017
Wait, am I supposed to like Ana Navarro? Not sure if I can get on board.
posted by futz at 9:53 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by futz at 9:53 PM on January 28, 2017
That Giuliani interview is something else. He's describing it like he's the protagonist in a heist film.
He's such a ghoul.
posted by mochapickle at 9:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
He's such a ghoul.
posted by mochapickle at 9:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [14 favorites]
Ana Navarro to me says something reasonable approximately once every 2 or 3 months.
posted by futz at 9:56 PM on January 28, 2017
posted by futz at 9:56 PM on January 28, 2017
My words fail. One of the people detained at Dulles was a 5 year old kid! Travelling with another family.
VIDEO: Mother from Iran, 5-year-old son reunited after he was detained at Dulles Airport
I'm gobsmacked.
posted by Jalliah at 9:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [38 favorites]
A conversation this evening led me to point out something that Josh Marshall has already noted: the US presidency is the last remaining late 18th century monarchy. It is an elected monarchy, and 200-odd years has created customs that led it to impersonate the executive head of state of a modern democracy, but its powers are still functionally akin to those of George III. So now America has a demented king with wicked courtiers and absentee ministers. Sound familiar?
posted by holgate at 10:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:00 PM on January 28, 2017 [59 favorites]
For anyone in the Raleigh Durham area wanting to protest there's one tomorrow at 1pm at RDU. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1256095381146315
posted by azuresunday at 10:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 10:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Damon Silvers Reports now from Dulles that at least some, if not most detainees released. On other hand, reports of US Marshals en route to Dulles.
posted by Jalliah at 10:05 PM on January 28, 2017
I like the Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind piece ... especially where it talks about protests being fun, which they SO ARE. However I move we bring handclap games to protests, just because that would make them extra-fun.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:09 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
over/under on the first video of cbp agent saying, "i was only following ord....uh... instructions."
posted by j_curiouser at 10:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 10:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Ivanka Trump is getting social media hammered because a Trump is gotta Trump I guess.
Tone deaf.
The new gilded age.
posted by Jalliah at 10:13 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
over/under on the first video of cbp agent saying, "i was only following ord....uh... instructions."
They use the word "policy" for that now.
posted by rhizome at 10:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
They use the word "policy" for that now.
posted by rhizome at 10:14 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Re: Marshals vs CBP, If one armed branch of the government is forcing another armed branch of the government to do something it wouldn't otherwise do, isn't that kind of a civil war?
posted by ghharr at 10:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by ghharr at 10:15 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Well, rudy911 has given any judge a bunch of reasons to throw out the EO in its entirety thanks to his love of being on Fox News. Hooray for the ego-driven gobshites, I suppose.
posted by holgate at 10:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by holgate at 10:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Trump had already filled with the FEC for reelection in 2020. This tweet thread explains why this is a problem for nonprofits like PP going forward.
Foreverelection is the worst election.
posted by gatorae at 10:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Foreverelection is the worst election.
posted by gatorae at 10:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
@pierre: This is unbelievable. When asked by two Congressmen [who they report to] CBP agents at LAX said "Donald J Trump" and hung up.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:19 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
over/under on the first video of cbp agent saying, "i was only following ord....uh... instructions."
I don't think there was video, but there's definitely been reporting that "just following orders" literally came out of one of their mouths.
posted by Copronymus at 10:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
I don't think there was video, but there's definitely been reporting that "just following orders" literally came out of one of their mouths.
posted by Copronymus at 10:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [11 favorites]
https://twitter.com/billprady/status/825505260135280640
That thread is worth it just to read what appears to be Trump supporters struggling with this information. They don't like it. It's hurting their brains.
I'm not sure the Trumpistas in that discussion know how to read
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
That thread is worth it just to read what appears to be Trump supporters struggling with this information. They don't like it. It's hurting their brains.
I'm not sure the Trumpistas in that discussion know how to read
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:25 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump had already filled with the FEC for reelection in 2020. This tweet thread explains why this is a problem for nonprofits like PP going forward.
Foreverelection is the worst election.
I doubt any action brought against PP or others would survive a First Amendment challenge. I hope I'm right...
posted by azpenguin at 10:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Foreverelection is the worst election.
I doubt any action brought against PP or others would survive a First Amendment challenge. I hope I'm right...
posted by azpenguin at 10:27 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump had already filled with the FEC for reelection in 2020.... Foreverelection is the worst election.
Rules-lawyer-ism. Stupid weasle-y rules-lawyer. NO ONE likes a likes a rules-lawyer and they're either ejected from the rpg group or the group disbands.
posted by porpoise at 10:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Rules-lawyer-ism. Stupid weasle-y rules-lawyer. NO ONE likes a likes a rules-lawyer and they're either ejected from the rpg group or the group disbands.
posted by porpoise at 10:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Don't be rude, im sure they can read perfectly well in their native Russian.
posted by gatorae at 10:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 10:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
I'm not sure the Trumpistas in that discussion know how to read
I think my favourite was but Navy ships! (which didn't make sense) and the arguing of what counts as US soil.
posted by Jalliah at 10:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think my favourite was but Navy ships! (which didn't make sense) and the arguing of what counts as US soil.
posted by Jalliah at 10:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
To piggyback on my last comment, let's say that Trump filing for 2020 is found by the courts to be valid as far as shutting non-profits up. Well, that street goes both ways then. You get a Dem in office, they immediately file for re-election, and the NRA can't talk about them. I don't know that a court would uphold such an interpretation.
posted by azpenguin at 10:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by azpenguin at 10:36 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Except that the follow-on may be rescinding the church exemption on political advocacy.
posted by rhizome at 10:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 10:37 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Apprentice Producer Mark Burnett greeted with hissing and boos at Producers Guild Awards tonight. Some said "where are the tapes?"--@yashar
posted by zachlipton at 10:41 PM on January 28, 2017 [65 favorites]
New exec order, preventing lobbying on behalf of foreign gov't, and 5-yr block on other lobbying. Text of the order at WH.gov.
It begins with an "ethics pledge" requiring limits on lobbying:
It begins with an "ethics pledge" requiring limits on lobbying:
Section 1. Ethics Pledge. Every appointee in every executive agency appointed on or after January 20, 2017, shall sign, and upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge upon becoming an appointee:posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:42 PM on January 28, 2017
....
"Appointee" means every full-time, non-career Presidential or Vice-Presidential appointee, non-career appointee in the Senior Executive Service (or other SES-type system), and appointee to a position that has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of being of a confidential or policymaking character (Schedule C and other positions excepted under comparable criteria) in an executive agency. It does not include any person appointed as a member of the Senior Foreign Service or solely as a uniformed service commissioned officer.
New exec order, preventing lobbying on behalf of foreign gov't
Yeah, right. It's not "lobbying" if you're actually in control. #MoscowMike
posted by holgate at 10:45 PM on January 28, 2017
Yeah, right. It's not "lobbying" if you're actually in control. #MoscowMike
posted by holgate at 10:45 PM on January 28, 2017
let's say that Trump filing for 2020 is found by the courts to be valid as far as shutting non-profits up. Well, that street goes both ways then.
Doesn't that apply to nonprofits speaking for or against a candidate? It may be a gag rule on PP and similar orgs, but it also means the NRA can't speak out in support of him, and churches that speak in praise of him can be challenged as supporting a candidate.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Doesn't that apply to nonprofits speaking for or against a candidate? It may be a gag rule on PP and similar orgs, but it also means the NRA can't speak out in support of him, and churches that speak in praise of him can be challenged as supporting a candidate.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I set up a monthly recurring donation to the ACLU at 9 am on Nov. 9th and have never been happier than I am right now about that decision. So glad they got on top of this so quickly.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:45 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Right, so just like the Muslim ban isn't a Muslim ban because that's not exactly how it was worded, that ethics pledge is not a loyalty oath.
posted by rhizome at 10:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 10:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I took a break today and then jumped back into news just as the stay was lifted. Jesus. Our ACLU donation is still rolling, and I called all 3 reps and told them I hope they were at an airport today, and that the security council news has me scared, and that history will judge how they act in this moment My voice was shaking with anger like I've never heard before.
posted by deludingmyself at 10:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by deludingmyself at 10:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Deep breaths, everyone. It may get worse and you don't want to lose your nerve when it happens.
posted by rhizome at 10:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 10:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
New exec order, preventing lobbying on behalf of foreign gov't
Nice try. Foreign governments already know how to buy influence through more discreet channels than direct lobbying anyways. Whether it's an offshore shell company to trade your Rosneft shares or secret payments through the treasurer's black ledger.
posted by p3t3 at 10:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Nice try. Foreign governments already know how to buy influence through more discreet channels than direct lobbying anyways. Whether it's an offshore shell company to trade your Rosneft shares or secret payments through the treasurer's black ledger.
posted by p3t3 at 10:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
YES my local Indivisible group rocked today - and the group is only a week old.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 10:56 PM on January 28, 2017 [16 favorites]
Twitter is reporting that the police are moving in on protesters at Sea-Tac. Apparently they aren't complying and protesters have said they aren't leaving to all released.
Can anyone confirm?
posted by Jalliah at 10:58 PM on January 28, 2017
From Atlanta local news, this on a statement from John Lewis:
"People immigrate to America because they are inspired by our commitment to justice and democracy. To treat as strangers these law-abiding immigrants, to whom we as a nation have seen fit to grant permanent status, is a stain on the integrity of our country and threatens the democratic principles this nation stands for. This is a dark hour for America.”
I'm going to be in Atlanta today and am looking for information whether or not there is going to be a protest at Hartsfield (apparently all detainees have been released, so I'm not sure what plans exist, if any.)
posted by TwoToneRow at 10:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
"People immigrate to America because they are inspired by our commitment to justice and democracy. To treat as strangers these law-abiding immigrants, to whom we as a nation have seen fit to grant permanent status, is a stain on the integrity of our country and threatens the democratic principles this nation stands for. This is a dark hour for America.”
I'm going to be in Atlanta today and am looking for information whether or not there is going to be a protest at Hartsfield (apparently all detainees have been released, so I'm not sure what plans exist, if any.)
posted by TwoToneRow at 10:58 PM on January 28, 2017 [12 favorites]
CBP at LAX has also gone rogue.
There's going to be a reckoning here where law enforcement is presented a clear choice between declaring loyalty to the White House occupier and to the constitution, and I fear that the die has already been cast during the campaign. That is, unless steps are taken.
posted by holgate at 10:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
There's going to be a reckoning here where law enforcement is presented a clear choice between declaring loyalty to the White House occupier and to the constitution, and I fear that the die has already been cast during the campaign. That is, unless steps are taken.
posted by holgate at 10:59 PM on January 28, 2017 [31 favorites]
skipping the 490 new comments to say that if you are not sure about attending the protests, go
Thanks so much for this nudge. I'm at SFO right now and just successfully distributed a case of water as a result. You are totally right about the atmosphere here, actually makes me much more hopeful than I was earlier today.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
Thanks so much for this nudge. I'm at SFO right now and just successfully distributed a case of water as a result. You are totally right about the atmosphere here, actually makes me much more hopeful than I was earlier today.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:05 PM on January 28, 2017 [19 favorites]
@adikamdar - Boom: Court orders people not to be detained under the authority of the EO and orders CBP to notify airlines of order. Gov't doesn't object.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 11:06 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Our outrage has ripple effects. Our protests matter. Even if it's in New Zealand. The world is watching.
I'm seeing New Zealanders on my Twitter feed posting about deleting Uber, too. (The policy to double the refugee quota here, I thought that was already Green policy and that Labour was sympathetic, but it's great to have it confirmed).
posted by Pink Frost at 11:09 PM on January 28, 2017
I'm seeing New Zealanders on my Twitter feed posting about deleting Uber, too. (The policy to double the refugee quota here, I thought that was already Green policy and that Labour was sympathetic, but it's great to have it confirmed).
posted by Pink Frost at 11:09 PM on January 28, 2017
Twitter is saying close to 10,000 people there. Probably exagerated by a few thousand but still.
posted by Jalliah at 11:12 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Washington Governor says he's going to sue the Federal govt.
Video of his statements. He's pissed. was talking from the airport.
posted by Jalliah at 11:16 PM on January 28, 2017 [103 favorites]
Does anyone have a sense of what John Roberts is thinking right about now?
posted by Room 641-A at 11:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Room 641-A at 11:17 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
So what happened with the Putin phone call?
posted by From Bklyn at 11:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 11:18 PM on January 28, 2017 [5 favorites]
Just saw a video from 15mins ago. They were arresting people at Sea Tac
posted by Jalliah at 11:25 PM on January 28, 2017
If you think you're going to become immortal, shouldn't, I don't know, stopping climate change be a bigger priority? Shouldn't securing societal stability be a concern? If the world goes to shit, what makes you think that your perfect robot brain isn't going down with it?
You're going to turn the solar system into computronium to run your god-like self on it.
There's good satire of this viewpoint in Greg Egan's Zendegi.
posted by Coventry at 11:25 PM on January 28, 2017
You're going to turn the solar system into computronium to run your god-like self on it.
There's good satire of this viewpoint in Greg Egan's Zendegi.
posted by Coventry at 11:25 PM on January 28, 2017
5mins State partrol just arrived here at international arrivals. They took a look and left. #seatac #seatacprotest
posted by Jalliah at 11:28 PM on January 28, 2017 [9 favorites]
Does anyone have a sense of what John Roberts is thinking right about now?
I'm sure he does, but who knows? I'd guess that "well, I didn't sign up for this" comes into it. (His kids are foreign-born adoptees, though they pass the Bannon test.)
posted by holgate at 11:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm sure he does, but who knows? I'd guess that "well, I didn't sign up for this" comes into it. (His kids are foreign-born adoptees, though they pass the Bannon test.)
posted by holgate at 11:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Does anyone have a sense of what John Roberts is thinking right about now?
I'd hope he's mentally drafting an opinion, given that he's doubtlessly soon to have to give one.
posted by jaduncan at 11:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'd hope he's mentally drafting an opinion, given that he's doubtlessly soon to have to give one.
posted by jaduncan at 11:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
So what happened with the Putin phone call?
White House released the readout about 6 hours after the call
(I believe it was shortly after THAT when they released the memo announcing the changes to the National Security Council.)
posted by sporkwort at 11:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
White House released the readout about 6 hours after the call
(I believe it was shortly after THAT when they released the memo announcing the changes to the National Security Council.)
posted by sporkwort at 11:30 PM on January 28, 2017 [6 favorites]
Looks like the ACLU out of Massachusetts got a more expansive TRO issued in Boston tonight, including a provision that CBP notify airlines that individuals arriving at Logan "will not be detained or returned based solely on the basis of the executive order."
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
Cops now ar SeaTac in full military gear to break up protest #MuslimBan
Found one.
Sea Tac live feed.
They're arresting and breaking it up.
posted by Jalliah at 11:34 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
I hope the CBP officers and supervisors get hauled into court to testify as to why the order was defied. How many of them do you think would want to go to jail for Trump?
posted by azpenguin at 11:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 11:35 PM on January 28, 2017 [22 favorites]
Shit pepper spray . They just sprayed the camera guy.
posted by Jalliah at 11:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'd like to tweet out a link to this, along with why I'm deleting my account. Where should I point (my middle finger)?
The chances that you'll be able to effect UberFreight is minimal - but remember UberEats exists and you can point out to the restaurants that are paying 15% to UberEats to be a "customer" how unhappy you as the customer of the restaurant are with their 'business partner' Uber.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
The chances that you'll be able to effect UberFreight is minimal - but remember UberEats exists and you can point out to the restaurants that are paying 15% to UberEats to be a "customer" how unhappy you as the customer of the restaurant are with their 'business partner' Uber.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
In seattle, pepper spray. Cops pressing forward with bicycles to force the crowd back.
posted by mochapickle at 11:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 11:38 PM on January 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Leaked video of Trump-Putin conversation.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 11:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
That expanded order applies to MA (and thus, Logan) but it's now going to be the model for orders in every state with a port of entry.
SeaTac cops can go fuck themselves. And Chief Lisa Mulligan can go fuck herself.
posted by holgate at 11:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
SeaTac cops can go fuck themselves. And Chief Lisa Mulligan can go fuck herself.
posted by holgate at 11:40 PM on January 28, 2017 [4 favorites]
Ben Adlin Protesters blocking at least one #SeaTac skybridge are letting airport workers and families with kids pass, turning others away.
And Obama follows this guy.
posted by Jalliah at 11:45 PM on January 28, 2017
And Obama follows this guy.
posted by Jalliah at 11:45 PM on January 28, 2017
I made my signs for LAX tomorrow.
posted by professor plum with a rope at 11:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by professor plum with a rope at 11:46 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ok, the Seattle cops are pretty clever; using their bicycle unit as a barricade.
Seattlelites (and many other municipalities) respect bicycles. (More than barricades at least.)
posted by porpoise at 11:46 PM on January 28, 2017
Seattlelites (and many other municipalities) respect bicycles. (More than barricades at least.)
posted by porpoise at 11:46 PM on January 28, 2017
Does anyone have a sense of what John Roberts is thinking right about now?
Long lines of black people trying to vote but being denied as he masturbates furiously into tomorrow's coffee grounds.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
Long lines of black people trying to vote but being denied as he masturbates furiously into tomorrow's coffee grounds.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:48 PM on January 28, 2017 [13 favorites]
National Immigration Law Center is doing great work. They were in the suit with the ACLU.
posted by professor plum with a rope at 11:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by professor plum with a rope at 11:50 PM on January 28, 2017 [10 favorites]
Ok, the Seattle cops are pretty clever; using their bicycle unit as a barricade
Not really, that's a standard crowd-control police tactic (but it usually involves mounted police and horses, not bicycles)
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not really, that's a standard crowd-control police tactic (but it usually involves mounted police and horses, not bicycles)
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:51 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
From SFO Anyone who marches around an airport with a tuba is my favorite person. #NoBanNoWall #SFO
posted by Jalliah at 11:52 PM on January 28, 2017 [8 favorites]
And Obama follows this guy.
Just a guess, but I'd say Obama has better info on this than almost everyone. And that may include the current admin.
posted by azpenguin at 11:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just a guess, but I'd say Obama has better info on this than almost everyone. And that may include the current admin.
posted by azpenguin at 11:53 PM on January 28, 2017 [3 favorites]
Not really, that's a standard crowd-control police tactic (but it usually involves mounted police and horses, not bicycles)
It's a lot better for protesters in that a) bicycles don't unexpectedly kick out/weigh a ton if they step on you and b) if you touch a bike, you aren't assaulting a police officer.
posted by jaduncan at 11:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
It's a lot better for protesters in that a) bicycles don't unexpectedly kick out/weigh a ton if they step on you and b) if you touch a bike, you aren't assaulting a police officer.
posted by jaduncan at 11:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [7 favorites]
Long lines of black people trying to vote but being denied as he masturbates furiously into tomorrow's coffee grounds.
That's just disgusting. He grinds his coffee the night before?
posted by contraption at 11:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
That's just disgusting. He grinds his coffee the night before?
posted by contraption at 11:54 PM on January 28, 2017 [21 favorites]
Trump sucks!
posted by mazola at 11:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mazola at 11:55 PM on January 28, 2017 [2 favorites]
From what I can gather from other videos that are no longer streamer the protest end up in multiple places in the airport so the FB livestream that I posted upthread is just a small part of it.
seatlish Dozens arrested. Cops from multiple jurisdictions pushing demonstrators out, clearing entrances.
posted by Jalliah at 11:58 PM on January 28, 2017
Omg Tuba and chanting at sfo
I think this is live
posted by Jalliah at 12:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
SFO sounds like a party and I just saw a laundry basket full of snacks.
posted by Jalliah at 12:01 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Seems like if the governor of WA were really so anti-this-situation a good place to start would be to get his cops to stop attacking the protesters. Instead of making speeches. But that's just me maybe.
posted by Justinian at 12:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 12:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
CNN finally got there. The reporter said that the police told them no arrests. So since I actually saw people being zipped, the police are either lying or they just removed them and let them go without charge.
CNN also said that for now the word was they were going to let the protestors stay where they are.
posted by Jalliah at 12:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Seattle cops have a bit of a history of being their own thing. Their police union is one of the worst.
posted by Artw at 12:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Does the governor have authority over Seattle police? I guess idk how state/city police authority works.
posted by jason_steakums at 12:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jason_steakums at 12:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah but presumably they still answer to people who answer to Jay Inslee, right?
posted by corb at 12:12 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by corb at 12:12 AM on January 29, 2017
I have no idea to what degree they would acknowledge that.
posted by Artw at 12:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
yeah, tbf, the chain of command here does not extend directly from the governor's mansion, and while there are apparently cops from multiple jurisdictions in search of delicious overtime (and it would be good to know who made that request), SeaTac is a distinct municipality with its own force and chief, and the airport is under the control of the Port of Seattle. This is a problem with America: too many fucking police forces.
posted by holgate at 12:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by holgate at 12:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
Can confirm entire brass band with drum set at SFO and rolling cart full of granola bars.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 12:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [51 favorites]
Question from a Brit here: is it an offence in the USA to threaten or to advocate intimidation of a Federal judge?
I searched for 'Donnelly' on Twitter, and while 90%+ of the results on an All Tweets search are very supportive, there's a nasty countercurrent of attacks on her, some of which go past abuse into doxxing and threats.
posted by Major Clanger at 12:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I searched for 'Donnelly' on Twitter, and while 90%+ of the results on an All Tweets search are very supportive, there's a nasty countercurrent of attacks on her, some of which go past abuse into doxxing and threats.
posted by Major Clanger at 12:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I love this guy when saying they would stay until the detainees were released, "Yeah I got a stew in the crockpot. Rather not be here but we got work to do"
posted by Jalliah at 12:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Yeah but presumably they still answer to people who answer to Jay Inslee, right?
Much more likely that they answer to people who answer to the local electorate.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Much more likely that they answer to people who answer to the local electorate.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Damn, that sucks about Seattle. Cops here so far are definitely geared up but are hanging back and just forming a line across the security checkpoint... For now anyway.
Also there are taiko drums here i think??
posted by en forme de poire at 12:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also there are taiko drums here i think??
posted by en forme de poire at 12:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
This video from Sea Tac earlier is amazing.
Wow, just wow
posted by Jalliah at 12:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
> Omg Tuba and chanting at sfo
I think this is live
"This is what America looks like!"
They're (or they were I guess) killing it.
posted by christopherious at 12:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think this is live
"This is what America looks like!"
They're (or they were I guess) killing it.
posted by christopherious at 12:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh no. How'd that happen? It's 3:30 am. Ack! Shit. I need to sleep. Damn watching things on West Coast time. It messed me up.
Stay strong all!
posted by Jalliah at 12:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I just spent a week out of the country, not watching the news. Our flight flew us into O'Hare and got in early, about 7:10 local time. Yeah, that international terminal. Our plane was early arriving, but had to wait because our gate was still busy. As we waited I was wondering why there was a police car flashing it's light behind one of the planes.
I'd just spent 2 hours in an other country's airport and then 6 in the air with an active 16 month old baby. I should have peed on the plane. I should have peed before the customs line. We thought we'd have about an hour to eat and charge a phone and change the baby's diaper before our connecting flight.
We get our bags after customs, then we have to get to recheck them in to the airline for our connecting flight. Suddenly it's really crowded everywhere. I've got a luggage cart and my wife has our baby in a car seat on top of the stroller. We almost get routed to what I think is outside, but I get our bags rechecked, and now it's really crazy crowded. We have no idea where to go and there's so many people. The woman from the airline who takes our bags tells us to look for the elevator by the McDonald's.
So we turn the corner and it's sort of like being on the red carpet except there's a whole bunch of people on the other side of the low barricade with signs for 'lawyer'. Didn't someone on the plane mention something about a protest? What the fuck did that piece of shit do?
So if you were there at that airport, yeah, that was me, yelling that I had a baby and a connecting flight and besides I didn't vote for that asshole. You all got out of my way. Thank you.
There was no elevator next to the McDonald's. It was so crowded that we had to go past there to see no elevator on the far side of it, but that it was across from it. And there was a line waiting to use it that stretched about 2/3rds across the space. Maybe 50 or 60 or more people, almost all of them protesters waiting to go upstairs.
Someone told us the police had turned off and were blocking access to the escalators and we couldn't get our stroller up there besides. The upper level we were trying to get to was the one with the train to the other terminals.
We got let past almost of the protesters in the line. I guess it helps that my baby was finally asleep but I was also very loud about telling everyone she was and also that we had a connecting flight we were going to miss. I actually woke my kid up at this point but she just looked around smiling. She likes people, but I hate crowds.
But oh, here's the thing. As we waited, the elevator kept opening and people with their luggage would get off, but in the elevator were three airport people who had empty wheelchairs. They kept blocking anyone from getting on. The people at the front of the line with their luggage told me it kept happening. I watched it happen twice. I had the base of the car seat in my hand, and two bags on my shoulders, so the third time I pushed forward because I wasn't going to let these three guys press the close door button and open these damn collapsible wheelchairs and pretend there was no room on the elevator. I had a large hunk of plastic and I was going to shove it in the doors and not let this happen. I am not going to miss my flight. I really should have peed on the plane.
And I think those three guys were a bit shocked at a move so bold. I look behind me and my wife is pushing in, and these guys actually collapse the three wheelchairs they have with them. And there's plenty of room! The stroller fits, my wife fits, I fit, three other people fit with their bags. And then these guys start in.
You can talk all you want about that bag of human shit tweeting out insults and whatever. Fuck that weak pathetic excuse of a person. Those three guys riding wheelchairs up and down the elevator tying it up because "we were told to move all of these wheelchairs" and "Hey man, we don't want to lose our jobs..." That right there is where fascism starts. How much of this do I hear on my minute and a half with them? Is this what happened the week I was away? Suddenly it's bully up top and cowards down below? I'm just trying not to miss my flight home and now I'm listening to 3 poorly paid airport workers defensively telling me "We were just following orders!"
They got off the elevator at the top, saying they had more to move. Or maybe they got back on after I got my stroller past. I don't know. It was crowded up there on the platform, we had to wait for a second train. Finally got a view from there of the protesters, I thought it looked like two or three hundred people just on the street, but I really couldn't tell. It was very packed on the train.
We made our flight, by minutes.
posted by Catblack at 12:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [192 favorites]
I'd just spent 2 hours in an other country's airport and then 6 in the air with an active 16 month old baby. I should have peed on the plane. I should have peed before the customs line. We thought we'd have about an hour to eat and charge a phone and change the baby's diaper before our connecting flight.
We get our bags after customs, then we have to get to recheck them in to the airline for our connecting flight. Suddenly it's really crowded everywhere. I've got a luggage cart and my wife has our baby in a car seat on top of the stroller. We almost get routed to what I think is outside, but I get our bags rechecked, and now it's really crazy crowded. We have no idea where to go and there's so many people. The woman from the airline who takes our bags tells us to look for the elevator by the McDonald's.
So we turn the corner and it's sort of like being on the red carpet except there's a whole bunch of people on the other side of the low barricade with signs for 'lawyer'. Didn't someone on the plane mention something about a protest? What the fuck did that piece of shit do?
So if you were there at that airport, yeah, that was me, yelling that I had a baby and a connecting flight and besides I didn't vote for that asshole. You all got out of my way. Thank you.
There was no elevator next to the McDonald's. It was so crowded that we had to go past there to see no elevator on the far side of it, but that it was across from it. And there was a line waiting to use it that stretched about 2/3rds across the space. Maybe 50 or 60 or more people, almost all of them protesters waiting to go upstairs.
Someone told us the police had turned off and were blocking access to the escalators and we couldn't get our stroller up there besides. The upper level we were trying to get to was the one with the train to the other terminals.
We got let past almost of the protesters in the line. I guess it helps that my baby was finally asleep but I was also very loud about telling everyone she was and also that we had a connecting flight we were going to miss. I actually woke my kid up at this point but she just looked around smiling. She likes people, but I hate crowds.
But oh, here's the thing. As we waited, the elevator kept opening and people with their luggage would get off, but in the elevator were three airport people who had empty wheelchairs. They kept blocking anyone from getting on. The people at the front of the line with their luggage told me it kept happening. I watched it happen twice. I had the base of the car seat in my hand, and two bags on my shoulders, so the third time I pushed forward because I wasn't going to let these three guys press the close door button and open these damn collapsible wheelchairs and pretend there was no room on the elevator. I had a large hunk of plastic and I was going to shove it in the doors and not let this happen. I am not going to miss my flight. I really should have peed on the plane.
And I think those three guys were a bit shocked at a move so bold. I look behind me and my wife is pushing in, and these guys actually collapse the three wheelchairs they have with them. And there's plenty of room! The stroller fits, my wife fits, I fit, three other people fit with their bags. And then these guys start in.
You can talk all you want about that bag of human shit tweeting out insults and whatever. Fuck that weak pathetic excuse of a person. Those three guys riding wheelchairs up and down the elevator tying it up because "we were told to move all of these wheelchairs" and "Hey man, we don't want to lose our jobs..." That right there is where fascism starts. How much of this do I hear on my minute and a half with them? Is this what happened the week I was away? Suddenly it's bully up top and cowards down below? I'm just trying not to miss my flight home and now I'm listening to 3 poorly paid airport workers defensively telling me "We were just following orders!"
They got off the elevator at the top, saying they had more to move. Or maybe they got back on after I got my stroller past. I don't know. It was crowded up there on the platform, we had to wait for a second train. Finally got a view from there of the protesters, I thought it looked like two or three hundred people just on the street, but I really couldn't tell. It was very packed on the train.
We made our flight, by minutes.
posted by Catblack at 12:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [192 favorites]
We keep learning how to be in this new reality. In Trump's America, ALWAYS pee first.
Thank you for the personal account, Catblack! :)
posted by taz at 12:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
Thank you for the personal account, Catblack! :)
posted by taz at 12:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
Anyone got leads on an Indivisible group in Portland, Oregon? Or other political groups? Please memail me. Looking for local sources of activism. Thanks! I realize this ain't ask but it seems appropriate still, apologies if it isn't.
posted by juice boo at 12:47 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by juice boo at 12:47 AM on January 29, 2017
juice boo, check out the Indivisible Guide site, you can search for groups near you!
posted by jason_steakums at 12:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 12:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
In Trump's America, ALWAYS pee first.
In Trump's Moscow hotel room, ALWAYS get paid first.
Then pee.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 12:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
In Trump's Moscow hotel room, ALWAYS get paid first.
Then pee.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 12:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
I landed at seatac at 9:00 tonight. Saw a bunch of protestors chanting, but had to go home since I got the flu on my trip. Took cough syrup when i got Home.
Woke up 40 mins ago to the cat dying. Wife just took him to the emergency vet for cremation.
I cant figure out what the fuck is going on anymore.
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
Woke up 40 mins ago to the cat dying. Wife just took him to the emergency vet for cremation.
I cant figure out what the fuck is going on anymore.
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
So sorry about your kitty, Lord_Pall. That's freaking horrible!
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 12:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 12:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Yeah. We have one cat who is still alive, but this feels really off kilter right this moment.
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Lord_Pall at 12:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Jason s: thanks so much!
posted by professor plum with a rope at 12:55 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by professor plum with a rope at 12:55 AM on January 29, 2017
I'm so sorry, LP
posted by professor plum with a rope at 12:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by professor plum with a rope at 12:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lord-Pali (hugs).
posted by angrycat at 12:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 12:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mic check from SFO to people watching from home: people are meeting again at 12 noon at the International Terminal Arrivals Gate tomorrow.
posted by en forme de poire at 1:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 1:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
(Cops at SeaTac are Port of Seattle, fwiw. I am unaware of any departmental track record wrt protests. However if I recall correctly the Port was the primary complainant in attempting to litigate their way out of the City of Sea Tac's $15/hr minimum wage. The Port is answerable to and theoretically run by a publically elected board and has a local rep as a relatively opaque, smoke-filled room kinda jurisdiction. iirc their two main unions are the mighty and radical Ilwu and the up and coming seiu, with some old school teamsters in there too. citation: personal knowledge derived from my years as a PNW local labor union emblem designer.)
posted by mwhybark at 1:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by mwhybark at 1:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
So, I get why Giuliani would want to brag about providing a fig leaf for a Muslim ban requested by Trump by framing the ban in terms of nationalities, but isn't that going to cause the Trump administration huge problems in court?
posted by Coventry at 1:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Coventry at 1:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
That's assuming the concept of "laws" continues to exist.
posted by Artw at 1:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 1:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Love to you, Lord_Pall. So sorry for your loss
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
It just occurred to me that the Uber tweet re: JFK said they were *ending* surge pricing there. Doesn't that mean they're dropping the incentive for any of their drivers to head over there?
posted by indubitable at 7:54 PM on January 28 [+] [!]
A Strike would translate to dropping the "incentive" into the negative numbers, or a penalty. It's a strike. don't scab.
posted by eustatic at 1:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 7:54 PM on January 28 [+] [!]
A Strike would translate to dropping the "incentive" into the negative numbers, or a penalty. It's a strike. don't scab.
posted by eustatic at 1:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Coventry, I have a germ of an idea in the back of my head that this was just a test flight to see what they could get away with. Of course, this assumes they're capable of pulling off 11-dimensional chess crap, but the NSC reshuffle is a real problem that may just stay around (people aren't analyzing it like that that I've seen yet). The fact that the agencies are pledging to defy the court decision, none of the gov't lawyers had seen the text of the order for more than a couple hours, and from I can tell generally didn't have anything to say at the hearings, tells me that there could be a narrow weave being attempted, or in another sense, "spray and pray."
It's more likely they got to the White House and just asked "OK, where's the papers I fill out and sign to change laws?" and are just going to go to town with everything they can think of. Bannon in the corner, all, "it's casual."
posted by rhizome at 1:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's more likely they got to the White House and just asked "OK, where's the papers I fill out and sign to change laws?" and are just going to go to town with everything they can think of. Bannon in the corner, all, "it's casual."
posted by rhizome at 1:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
The end of that release says "The Department of Homeland Security will comply with judicial orders." It's not clear exactly what they're going to do or not do in that regard, but I don't think we can say yet that they're "ignoring the stay."
posted by J.K. Seazer at 1:27 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by J.K. Seazer at 1:27 AM on January 29, 2017
Uhm, wow, that's some weasel-wording in that statement - it's loose enough to be entirely meaningless as to whos orders they're gonna enforce.
posted by Enturbulated at 1:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Enturbulated at 1:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Hey so this is going to sound pessimistic, but it's not intended that way. We're going to be losing a lot more battles than we win for a couple decades (thanks to the coming Supreme Court disaster). It's great that there is so much energy and excitement to protest and we need to fight these battles at least as hard as this but we're going to need to keep fighting them for years and lose and still come back to fight again the next time.
Shit river is going to keep flowing. Even if we dam it up or reroute it its going to keep flowing.
Let's remind ourselves always that we're in this for the long haul. We can't let ourselves be crushed by losses or get too excited about victories. I think justice will ultimately prevail but we really are talking decades here.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
Shit river is going to keep flowing. Even if we dam it up or reroute it its going to keep flowing.
Let's remind ourselves always that we're in this for the long haul. We can't let ourselves be crushed by losses or get too excited about victories. I think justice will ultimately prevail but we really are talking decades here.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
Sarah Pinsker (Nebula award winning author) is tweeting every senator, whether they made a statement on the muslim ban, their phone number, and when they're up for reelection. She got through half the list today and will continue tomorrow.
posted by supercrayon at 1:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 1:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
SEATTLE: Protests will continue tomorrow; protesters are asked to meet at Westlake Park at 5pm for a rally and march.
posted by spinifex23 at 2:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by spinifex23 at 2:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
We're going to be losing a lot more battles than we win for a couple decades (thanks to the coming Supreme Court disaster)
The battles will be happening in courtrooms.
The tools for keeping those places honest are:
1) Being able to report what happens. (Sadly the 'only' official record is not actual recording of what goes on but humans who act as transcriptionists.)
2) Administrative procedures like bar grievances, judicial conduct complaints and PACs VS judges.
How many PACs VS judges do you know of? How many court watching efforts do you know of?
You CAN have an effect - you just have to decide to be an agent of change. And actually bother to READ the rules.
In the context of Trump and 'the law':
Baseball has certain rules. Imagine if you came onto a baseball diamond and decided to play the 'game' of 'baseball' on what you might imagine what the rules are VS what is actually written down. Right now Trump is going off of what he THINKS the rules are or should be. But you need to read the actual laws of your State - which you are supposed to do anyway as "ignorance of the law is no excuse". While reading (imagine Sly saying "the law" as Judge Dread) "The Law" remember the FAILED attempts to count them and be sure to ask Trump to provide an accurate count.
posted by rough ashlar at 2:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
The battles will be happening in courtrooms.
The tools for keeping those places honest are:
1) Being able to report what happens. (Sadly the 'only' official record is not actual recording of what goes on but humans who act as transcriptionists.)
2) Administrative procedures like bar grievances, judicial conduct complaints and PACs VS judges.
How many PACs VS judges do you know of? How many court watching efforts do you know of?
You CAN have an effect - you just have to decide to be an agent of change. And actually bother to READ the rules.
In the context of Trump and 'the law':
Baseball has certain rules. Imagine if you came onto a baseball diamond and decided to play the 'game' of 'baseball' on what you might imagine what the rules are VS what is actually written down. Right now Trump is going off of what he THINKS the rules are or should be. But you need to read the actual laws of your State - which you are supposed to do anyway as "ignorance of the law is no excuse". While reading (imagine Sly saying "the law" as Judge Dread) "The Law" remember the FAILED attempts to count them and be sure to ask Trump to provide an accurate count.
posted by rough ashlar at 2:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is terrible - thank you all for what you are doing, and also for reporting back.
Apart from the fact that this is unconstitutional, it also gives problems for the transit countries where people are stuck. I suppose Switzerland may give a doctor some sort of residency, but a lot of people will be stuck in Turkey, where there are already 2,5 million refugees. Other big transit hubs are Schiphol in The Netherlands and Frankfurt in Germany. I don't think governments in these countries are going to take an unplanned mess like this lightly. Maybe it's all the same because Trump has already lost all respect during his first 2 days in office.
A question: it seems that all measures against immigrants will hit the blue states and the South harder (in terms of economy) than the Midwest. I remember reading here about Alabama (maybe) having to give up their hunt on undocumented workers because agriculture couldn't manage without them. In the short term, I guess that means Trump's core voters will have a blast, enjoying the humiliation of the coastal elites and the multicultural South. BUT (this is the question) isn't all of the US dependent on the wealth creation on the coasts and in some areas in the South? Won't it backfire horribly?
Another question, if the US imposes tariffs on Mexico, why wouldn't Mexican producers just find other markets (and we get all the avocados)? When the sanctions against Russia were imposed, pork producers here were worried, because they lost a huge market. Now all that pork is going to Asia instead - the setback was harsh, but only lasted a year or less. Maybe looking across the oceans will bring Mexico new opportunities, and I'm imagining there are people ready to make some great deals, now with the US out of the picture.
posted by mumimor at 2:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Apart from the fact that this is unconstitutional, it also gives problems for the transit countries where people are stuck. I suppose Switzerland may give a doctor some sort of residency, but a lot of people will be stuck in Turkey, where there are already 2,5 million refugees. Other big transit hubs are Schiphol in The Netherlands and Frankfurt in Germany. I don't think governments in these countries are going to take an unplanned mess like this lightly. Maybe it's all the same because Trump has already lost all respect during his first 2 days in office.
A question: it seems that all measures against immigrants will hit the blue states and the South harder (in terms of economy) than the Midwest. I remember reading here about Alabama (maybe) having to give up their hunt on undocumented workers because agriculture couldn't manage without them. In the short term, I guess that means Trump's core voters will have a blast, enjoying the humiliation of the coastal elites and the multicultural South. BUT (this is the question) isn't all of the US dependent on the wealth creation on the coasts and in some areas in the South? Won't it backfire horribly?
Another question, if the US imposes tariffs on Mexico, why wouldn't Mexican producers just find other markets (and we get all the avocados)? When the sanctions against Russia were imposed, pork producers here were worried, because they lost a huge market. Now all that pork is going to Asia instead - the setback was harsh, but only lasted a year or less. Maybe looking across the oceans will bring Mexico new opportunities, and I'm imagining there are people ready to make some great deals, now with the US out of the picture.
posted by mumimor at 2:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
In other words: This administration is trying to bypass Leg Before Wicket and claim that LBW is an anticricket rule from the beginning.
posted by clorox at 2:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by clorox at 2:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
A friend made this post on Facebook just now:
Regarding #DeleteUber (in response to the @Uber_NYC tweet): having spent a year in Uber, I think it's really likely that it was just the terrible judgment of some member of the local NYC team to suspend surge pricing, and not a directive from HQ. The company culture does encourage this sort of mistake because the very nature of the business discourages solidarity with strikes, but I highly doubt this particular tweet was ill-intentioned.posted by J.K. Seazer at 2:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Furthermore, from what I know of my former coworker engineers, who tend to be pro-immigrant or immigrants themselves, I do think there is some internal pressure from the employees to oppose the travel ban and refugee ban executive orders. I hope they find their collective voice and turn that pressure up within the company.
This doesn't excuse anything else they've done and if you still want to delete the app please go ahead.
The Midwest and California are heavily, heavily dependent upon migrant labor for their agriculture (even though the Midwest may be the most mechanized area with its preponderance of corn and soybeans), just like the south. The difference is that the Midwest and California recognize this and AG has pushed for better employment conditions for migrant labor and better immigration policy so they can legally get their laborers and pay them, and their laborers are safe. Most Midwestern states have migrant councils which provide uninterrupted schooling to migrant children, various legal and medical services, banking options, and general support regardless of the legality of their clients (although they advocate for legality). Hardly any of this infrastructure was in place in the south; it was very difficult to connect migrants to schooling, doctors, legal aid, etc, and there were a lot more human rights abuses than in the Midwest [more ..]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I should mention that said friend's lefty protest bona fides are very legit, so I trust they're not just trying to excuse shitty behavior.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 2:52 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by J.K. Seazer at 2:52 AM on January 29, 2017
RobotVoodooPower: Bannon being invited to all meetings and the CIA Director not being invited. Previously, all kill list suspects were run through CIA Director Brennan.
Am I reading this right? This means that Bannon the white supremacist Christian extremist theocrat, who is on record as wanting riots and the destruction of the country, will have an official say in which people, including American citizens, are called "suspected terrorists" and thus will be killed by US military? And no public record of any of it.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [79 favorites]
Am I reading this right? This means that Bannon the white supremacist Christian extremist theocrat, who is on record as wanting riots and the destruction of the country, will have an official say in which people, including American citizens, are called "suspected terrorists" and thus will be killed by US military? And no public record of any of it.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [79 favorites]
Lord Pall, sorry about your cat! I had one of mine die completely suddenly a few months ago.
And Catblack sorry about your bladder.
posted by threeturtles at 2:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
And Catblack sorry about your bladder.
posted by threeturtles at 2:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Anyway, yes, the loss of Mexican migrant labor will lead to plums and avocados rotting on the trees, and to Americans paying more for fruit (in particular) and veg. Mexicans pay more for corn, which is a lot more direct. But Agriculture, for all that 50% of US crops are exported and we can almost literally feed the world, AG is only 1% of GDP and it's just not going to matter much until people can't afford milk for their kids.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Trump should be tweeting any minute now. I want to go to sleep but all I can think about is what fresh new hell awaits me upon awakening.
posted by Justinian at 3:03 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by Justinian at 3:03 AM on January 29, 2017
Breitbart's headline: "Terror-Tied Group CAIR Causing Chaos, Promoting Protests & Lawsuits as Trump Protects Nation"
From back up the thread a ways, but this was absolutely chilling. We need to be absolutely clear what's going on here: This is a conscious and deliberate attempt by what amounts to state media to designate an official enemy, and to prepare the way for that enemy's physical destruction.
Uncountered, this kind of collective demonization is very effective. It's why we no longer have ACORN, for example. But far more seriously, this is how we get Sarajevos. This is how we get Rwandas. This is how we get Holocausts.
In contemporary America, there's no more effective way to neutralize a group than to smear it as somehow being related to "terror," especially so-called "Islamic terror." There are millions of people willing to believe that kind of smear, and even the simple repetition of a phrase like that gets into people's heads and begins to color their perceptions of reality.
This will get people killed. Unless, that is, we stand up in public now and take the smear off of CAIR by refusing to abandon them to the wolves. An effective show of solidarity now will save lives later on, and not just theirs either.
Lord_Pall, I'm so sorry about your cat.
.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
From back up the thread a ways, but this was absolutely chilling. We need to be absolutely clear what's going on here: This is a conscious and deliberate attempt by what amounts to state media to designate an official enemy, and to prepare the way for that enemy's physical destruction.
Uncountered, this kind of collective demonization is very effective. It's why we no longer have ACORN, for example. But far more seriously, this is how we get Sarajevos. This is how we get Rwandas. This is how we get Holocausts.
In contemporary America, there's no more effective way to neutralize a group than to smear it as somehow being related to "terror," especially so-called "Islamic terror." There are millions of people willing to believe that kind of smear, and even the simple repetition of a phrase like that gets into people's heads and begins to color their perceptions of reality.
This will get people killed. Unless, that is, we stand up in public now and take the smear off of CAIR by refusing to abandon them to the wolves. An effective show of solidarity now will save lives later on, and not just theirs either.
Lord_Pall, I'm so sorry about your cat.
.
posted by adamgreenfield at 3:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
Am I reading this right?
I think so.
Changes described in the memo are easy to see on the NSC Membership section on Wikipedia.
Within the NSC, The Principals Committee acts as the cabinet level forum for deciding national security policies. The PC dropped Military Advisor (Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Intelligence Advisor (Director of National Intelligence) seats as permanent members (though may invite them when "relevant" to their departments) and added Bannon. What could go wrong?
posted by p3t3 at 3:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think so.
Changes described in the memo are easy to see on the NSC Membership section on Wikipedia.
Within the NSC, The Principals Committee acts as the cabinet level forum for deciding national security policies. The PC dropped Military Advisor (Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Intelligence Advisor (Director of National Intelligence) seats as permanent members (though may invite them when "relevant" to their departments) and added Bannon. What could go wrong?
posted by p3t3 at 3:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
What is Hiding Behind Donald Trump's Lies It gets fluffy towards the end, but there is a much needed reminder of what actually happened during the Bush presidency: TLDR, it wasn't so much the intelligence that was wrong, as Cheney who was manipulating it and threatening people who told the truth
posted by mumimor at 3:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 3:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
petition to have uk parliament prevent trump's state visit (Could be for better reasons, but hey)
posted by Buntix at 3:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 3:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Muslim Conservative MP who promoted Brexit as cure for immigration issue, barred from entering US.
posted by PenDevil at 4:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 4:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
petition to have uk parliament prevent trump's state visit
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
We've added your signature to the petition:Done!
Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom.
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Muslim Conservative MP who promoted Brexit as cure for immigration issue, barred from entering US.
Also,
EDIT: link corrected
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also,
More from Iraqi born Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi. According to Sky News he fears his sons who study in the US will not be able to re-enter the country.Guardian Live
EDIT: link corrected
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
At the rate the petition ticker is going up it should only be an hour or so to the 100k needed for it to be discussed in parliament . So trump will be getting some public dissing if nothing else...
posted by Buntix at 4:23 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by Buntix at 4:23 AM on January 29, 2017
Angela Merkel explains...
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
A spokesperson for Angela Merkel said on Sunday that she “regrets” Donal[d] Trump’s decision to ban citizens of certain countries from entering the country, and that the German chancellor had “explained” the obligations of the Geneva Refugee Convention to the US president in a phone call on Saturday.Grauniad Live.. more Merlel here
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
100k needed for it to be discussed in parliament
Not a given, according to the Terms & Conditions: At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament
(Bolding mine)
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not a given, according to the Terms & Conditions: At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament
(Bolding mine)
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Apologies for missing the thread, and for not having read through. I'm a pretty deeply lapsed Jew, and the news, and the realization that this is Yom Hashoah shook something in me, jarred something loose, and while I'm not crazy about the "I posted this on Facebook" thing (even though I do it, too), well, this is me, and where I've been this weekend:
This is a bit late, and no, I'm no longer a practicing Jew, but one of the things that was hammered into me as a young Jew was that there is a responsibility to bear witness to the various acts of horror that have been visited upon them. And, well, to teach, as well.
When I was young, still in elementary school, my mother worked quite hard to organize a Yom Hashoah (day of holocaust remembrance) service at our small synagogue (Congregation of Moses, in Kalamazoo, Michigan) of about 200 families. It was a weekday, so it wasn't even a standard Saturday morning service. My memory is shaky enough that I used to believe it happened several years in a row, and honestly, that might have been an attempt to cope on my part. It might have been that there weren't enough adult males, and that I was included in the count in order to have minyan, or enough men to make it a "legitimate" service. Maybe that was another time. Like I said, I was maybe eight, maybe nine. I can't, or won't remember. It was pretty much like a normal service, except we stopped, and turned to a section of the prayer book if never seen before, which was readings on the holocaust, eye-witness accounts of survivors of the Holocaust. One by one, people went up to read from the various passages. There were many of them. Too many, because they were all the tales of people who had seen all they knew taken, had seen the idea of a compassionate society erased from possibility. Even one, suffering enough to tell those tales, would have been too many, but there we'd still so many.
One man, a man I'd known my whole life, whose daughter was my sister's age, a tall, quiet man, who rarely spoke, read a passage about the glow coming from the ovens, and how the nights were never truly dark because of the light from the ovens. As he finished, he raised up his hand, palm up, as if he was holding something out toward the sky, and his soft, deep voice cracked as he shouted, "I have *seen* those lights!"
That's the moment I learned that there were survivors in our community, that this quiet, generous old man had escaped from a camp as a teen, and had been haunted by it the rest of his life, even as he married and raised a family, it had never left him. I have forgotten so much, forgotten his name, his daughter, the prayers we used to sing together, but I have not, and will never forget this giant of a man, looking shattered, holding up his hand, voice cracking, as his hand reached out, holding, offering something I wasn't nearly old enough to understand.
Later, after the service, I was washing my hands in the bathroom. At the sink next to mine was a man I don't remember ever having met. He, two, was washing his hands, with his sleeve rolled up. He saw me looking over, and turned to me, to show the numbers that had been tattooed on his arm in the camps.
I have always had difficulty, since then, with movies and books about the Holocaust. I've told people who wondered why I don't want to watch the latest Hollywood film about it that I've witnessed enough, that I've seen more than my fair share, having only been exposed to the smallest sliver. I say this because the little I've been exposed to is something that is a weight I've carried with me since before I was able to understand what I carried, or how long I would carry it. And I realize, now, that no, it's not enough, I have barely witnessed anything, that the world has more suffering and misery to display. Having seen the little I have, at such an age, has profoundly affected me, made it so that it just isn't in me to deny another's humanity only because they are not me, or that they are different from me. I wonder at people who have it in them to deny based on those things, and I can only imagine that they have not witnessed, or, having witnessed, have sorely misunderstood the lesson.
Yet, we live now in a time when Google had to be persuaded over months and years that it was a *bad* thing to have the autocomplete for most searches for the Holocaust lead to phrases suggesting it was fake, or that the top results for searches leading to sites proclaiming it a hoax. And we live now in an era where an avowed white supremacist writes executive orders banning refugees that are gleefully signed by an idiot surrounded by smiling accomplices. Or the promises to list crimes committed by foreigners, an act pioneered by the Nazis, who listed imaginary crimes attributed to Jews whose photos were published next to those lies? In light of the order to ban refugees just as we remember the Holocaust, it is important to understand that it takes either a tone deafness so rooted in uncaring that it seems like hatred, or a proud, hatefilled awareness of the date, and all it means. It is either ignorance, unseemly in the office of the president, with all of the resources available to inform and educate, or willful hatred, malice towards other human beings towards the goal of winning political points.
This is not the America I grew up in. It is not the land of freedom and opportunity that I was taught about in school. At the very least, it is not yet Nazi Germany, but the president's advisor, speech writer, and executive order writer Stephen Bannon seems determined to push us towards that. White supremacists have no place in the White House, and an administration that employs them has no business being there, either.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [232 favorites]
This is a bit late, and no, I'm no longer a practicing Jew, but one of the things that was hammered into me as a young Jew was that there is a responsibility to bear witness to the various acts of horror that have been visited upon them. And, well, to teach, as well.
When I was young, still in elementary school, my mother worked quite hard to organize a Yom Hashoah (day of holocaust remembrance) service at our small synagogue (Congregation of Moses, in Kalamazoo, Michigan) of about 200 families. It was a weekday, so it wasn't even a standard Saturday morning service. My memory is shaky enough that I used to believe it happened several years in a row, and honestly, that might have been an attempt to cope on my part. It might have been that there weren't enough adult males, and that I was included in the count in order to have minyan, or enough men to make it a "legitimate" service. Maybe that was another time. Like I said, I was maybe eight, maybe nine. I can't, or won't remember. It was pretty much like a normal service, except we stopped, and turned to a section of the prayer book if never seen before, which was readings on the holocaust, eye-witness accounts of survivors of the Holocaust. One by one, people went up to read from the various passages. There were many of them. Too many, because they were all the tales of people who had seen all they knew taken, had seen the idea of a compassionate society erased from possibility. Even one, suffering enough to tell those tales, would have been too many, but there we'd still so many.
One man, a man I'd known my whole life, whose daughter was my sister's age, a tall, quiet man, who rarely spoke, read a passage about the glow coming from the ovens, and how the nights were never truly dark because of the light from the ovens. As he finished, he raised up his hand, palm up, as if he was holding something out toward the sky, and his soft, deep voice cracked as he shouted, "I have *seen* those lights!"
That's the moment I learned that there were survivors in our community, that this quiet, generous old man had escaped from a camp as a teen, and had been haunted by it the rest of his life, even as he married and raised a family, it had never left him. I have forgotten so much, forgotten his name, his daughter, the prayers we used to sing together, but I have not, and will never forget this giant of a man, looking shattered, holding up his hand, voice cracking, as his hand reached out, holding, offering something I wasn't nearly old enough to understand.
Later, after the service, I was washing my hands in the bathroom. At the sink next to mine was a man I don't remember ever having met. He, two, was washing his hands, with his sleeve rolled up. He saw me looking over, and turned to me, to show the numbers that had been tattooed on his arm in the camps.
I have always had difficulty, since then, with movies and books about the Holocaust. I've told people who wondered why I don't want to watch the latest Hollywood film about it that I've witnessed enough, that I've seen more than my fair share, having only been exposed to the smallest sliver. I say this because the little I've been exposed to is something that is a weight I've carried with me since before I was able to understand what I carried, or how long I would carry it. And I realize, now, that no, it's not enough, I have barely witnessed anything, that the world has more suffering and misery to display. Having seen the little I have, at such an age, has profoundly affected me, made it so that it just isn't in me to deny another's humanity only because they are not me, or that they are different from me. I wonder at people who have it in them to deny based on those things, and I can only imagine that they have not witnessed, or, having witnessed, have sorely misunderstood the lesson.
Yet, we live now in a time when Google had to be persuaded over months and years that it was a *bad* thing to have the autocomplete for most searches for the Holocaust lead to phrases suggesting it was fake, or that the top results for searches leading to sites proclaiming it a hoax. And we live now in an era where an avowed white supremacist writes executive orders banning refugees that are gleefully signed by an idiot surrounded by smiling accomplices. Or the promises to list crimes committed by foreigners, an act pioneered by the Nazis, who listed imaginary crimes attributed to Jews whose photos were published next to those lies? In light of the order to ban refugees just as we remember the Holocaust, it is important to understand that it takes either a tone deafness so rooted in uncaring that it seems like hatred, or a proud, hatefilled awareness of the date, and all it means. It is either ignorance, unseemly in the office of the president, with all of the resources available to inform and educate, or willful hatred, malice towards other human beings towards the goal of winning political points.
This is not the America I grew up in. It is not the land of freedom and opportunity that I was taught about in school. At the very least, it is not yet Nazi Germany, but the president's advisor, speech writer, and executive order writer Stephen Bannon seems determined to push us towards that. White supremacists have no place in the White House, and an administration that employs them has no business being there, either.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [232 favorites]
At the rate the petition ticker is going up it should only be an hour or so to the 100k needed for it to be discussed in parliament .
Took just under 20 minutes to get there.
posted by effbot at 4:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Took just under 20 minutes to get there.
posted by effbot at 4:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
What a bizarre 24 hours. Are they all going to be like this?
While trying to avoid posting utopian or dystopian fanfic on here, I do wonder that a President who refuses wilfully to follow the rule of law is a prima face candidate for the 25th. The thing's there for a reason, which is to protect the Constitution, and while yes yes yes Congress is more concerned for its own arse than to stop America burning to the ground it's amazing how people focus when they're actually confronted with an angry populace.
And I do hope that UK parliamentary petition shows that you're not without friends out here.
posted by Devonian at 4:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
While trying to avoid posting utopian or dystopian fanfic on here, I do wonder that a President who refuses wilfully to follow the rule of law is a prima face candidate for the 25th. The thing's there for a reason, which is to protect the Constitution, and while yes yes yes Congress is more concerned for its own arse than to stop America burning to the ground it's amazing how people focus when they're actually confronted with an angry populace.
And I do hope that UK parliamentary petition shows that you're not without friends out here.
posted by Devonian at 4:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Sir Mo Farah CBE: "On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien. I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years - working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome. It’s deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that Daddy might not be able to come home [...]"
posted by effbot at 5:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by effbot at 5:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
I really should have peed on the plane.
Mile High Club, St. Petersburg chapter
posted by thelonius at 5:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Mile High Club, St. Petersburg chapter
posted by thelonius at 5:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Collateral damage...
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
Thousands of pounds has been raised for an Iranian born Glasgow [veternarian] after she was left stranded in Costa Rica following Trump’s executive order.Grauniad Live
Hamaseh Tayari’s flight home from her holiday required her to change flights in New York meaning she would need a transit visa, which was revoked in light of the “muslim ban” because of her Iranian passport.
[...]
A group of Scottish women lead by Kathleen Caskie from the the Women for Independence campaign group, banded together to set up a Go Fund Me page to raise enough money for her new flight home.
Caskie said: “Firstly, she works in Glasgow, so therefore is now Glaswegian, and you don’t cross Glaswegians and secondly, we hate Trump and finally, our reach is such that we could raise the money by midnight tonight if she needs it.”
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
The Independent is reporting that DHS is refusing to abide by the stay.
Given the rumor that the man not yet (but almost certain to be) confirmed as US Attorney General helped write this trash heap of an EO, where do we go from here?
posted by Superplin at 5:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Given the rumor that the man not yet (but almost certain to be) confirmed as US Attorney General helped write this trash heap of an EO, where do we go from here?
posted by Superplin at 5:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
While I was watching, the Parliament petition got 1,500 signatures in a minute.
posted by Grangousier at 5:15 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by Grangousier at 5:15 AM on January 29, 2017
[W]here do we go from here?
The streets. Shut it all down.
We need to take a page from Korea: hundreds of thousands of us, in the streets day in and day out. Protest become a part of normal life, until it's reflexive, until we all know how and when to push further and how and when to deescalate. At the airport every single day. Blocking the bridges and freeways. Exacting a price for fascism, and for collaboration with it. Not bowing to the politics of liberal respectability and the voices chiding us for inconveniencing them. And never, ever letting up until we've faced the monster down.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [57 favorites]
The streets. Shut it all down.
We need to take a page from Korea: hundreds of thousands of us, in the streets day in and day out. Protest become a part of normal life, until it's reflexive, until we all know how and when to push further and how and when to deescalate. At the airport every single day. Blocking the bridges and freeways. Exacting a price for fascism, and for collaboration with it. Not bowing to the politics of liberal respectability and the voices chiding us for inconveniencing them. And never, ever letting up until we've faced the monster down.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [57 favorites]
At the moment, I expect his first visit here in the UK to not go at all well. Think that's going to be the case in most countries.
posted by MattWPBS at 5:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by MattWPBS at 5:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Tweets incoming:
@realDonaldTrump: Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!
posted by stonepharisee at 5:26 AM on January 29, 2017
@realDonaldTrump: Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!
posted by stonepharisee at 5:26 AM on January 29, 2017
where do we go from here?
Ongoing protests at major airports. Shut 'em down. O'Hare, JFK, Hartsfield-Jackson, SeaTac, etc. Massive popular resistance is the best and only answer to this.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
Ongoing protests at major airports. Shut 'em down. O'Hare, JFK, Hartsfield-Jackson, SeaTac, etc. Massive popular resistance is the best and only answer to this.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
So his answer to people protesting his xenophobic policy is to insult europe/rest of world... He's such a consummate negotiator!
posted by Buntix at 5:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 5:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I wonder what President Bannon has in store for us this week?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 5:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by GhostintheMachine at 5:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Oh, to add: boy howdy do we need to show up for one another. That means queer folks on the DAPL front lines, Chicano/as protesting the firebombing of mosques, climate scientists calling out police violence and BLM activists on clinic defense. We need to come together as a united fabric of appalled, outraged and utterly implacable opposition, whether the issue directly at hand affects us personally or not.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, and what's more there are already some very encouraging signs that we've already internalized the notion of injustice anywhere being a threat to justice everywhere. People get it. This is not a drill. But if there were ever a moment to make "stronger together" mean something more than glib sloganizing, it's right now.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [80 favorites]
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, and what's more there are already some very encouraging signs that we've already internalized the notion of injustice anywhere being a threat to justice everywhere. People get it. This is not a drill. But if there were ever a moment to make "stronger together" mean something more than glib sloganizing, it's right now.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [80 favorites]
Okay Right Wing talking points are being solidified. The one I'm seeing pop up most so far is 'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries, why aren't liberals protesting this?. Hypocrites'.
It's stupid I know but there you have it.
posted by Jalliah at 5:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
juice boo - here is a FaceBook link to Indivisible OR.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:46 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by hilaryjade at 5:46 AM on January 29, 2017
Someone up thread asked if it is illegal to threaten judges. Fot federal law at least (not sure if any states have extra protections): It is as illegal as threatening a private citizen, which is to say, yes it can be, but there is often very little the police can or will do about it, especially if it is "just" online. That said, they do often get more security offered to them. I know one federal judge who had a very scary stalker/angry litigant, and the result was that for decades the judge moved out of state and only came to town for hearing, removed all pictures of her from the court website, and (I think) had extra security from the US Marshalls service at her home and office.
posted by alligatorpear at 5:48 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by alligatorpear at 5:48 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries, why aren't liberals protesting this?. Hypocrites'.
Why ya think we're mad about Palestine?
posted by saysthis at 5:48 AM on January 29, 2017
Why ya think we're mad about Palestine?
posted by saysthis at 5:48 AM on January 29, 2017
He's already spilling blood abroad, American and foreign, and he's already fucked up his first military operation. Be good to each other, everybody.
American Commando Killed in Yemen in Trump’s First Counterterror Operation
"One American commando was killed and three others injured in a fierce firefight overnight with Qaeda militants in central Yemen, a senior American official said Sunday morning. The raid was the first counterterrorism operation approved by President Trump since he took office nine days ago."
[...]
"A military aircraft assisting in the operation crash-landed nearby, leaving a fourth service member injured, the statement said. That aircraft, identified by a senior American official as a V-22 Osprey sent to evacuate the troops wounded in the raid, was unable to fly after the landing and was destroyed by American airstrikes."
[...]
"A senior American official denied reports from the region that civilian women and children were among the dead."
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
American Commando Killed in Yemen in Trump’s First Counterterror Operation
"One American commando was killed and three others injured in a fierce firefight overnight with Qaeda militants in central Yemen, a senior American official said Sunday morning. The raid was the first counterterrorism operation approved by President Trump since he took office nine days ago."
[...]
"A military aircraft assisting in the operation crash-landed nearby, leaving a fourth service member injured, the statement said. That aircraft, identified by a senior American official as a V-22 Osprey sent to evacuate the troops wounded in the raid, was unable to fly after the landing and was destroyed by American airstrikes."
[...]
"A senior American official denied reports from the region that civilian women and children were among the dead."
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries
one of those countries is Saudi Arabia. Where Trump has business interests. Whose royal family has funded terrorists. Breeding ground of Wahabbism and home to most of the 9/11 hijackers. Whose citizens aren't included in this travel ban. So guess what, right-wing shills? You don't get to use that talking point. Since "hypocrites" in this instance includes your boss.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
one of those countries is Saudi Arabia. Where Trump has business interests. Whose royal family has funded terrorists. Breeding ground of Wahabbism and home to most of the 9/11 hijackers. Whose citizens aren't included in this travel ban. So guess what, right-wing shills? You don't get to use that talking point. Since "hypocrites" in this instance includes your boss.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
That time when Donald Trump grabs Theresa May's hand because he is afraid of stairs.
Downing Street officials claimed the president’s phobia of stairs and slopes led him to grab the prime minister’s hand as they walked down a ramp at the White House.
posted by Jalliah at 5:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Downing Street officials claimed the president’s phobia of stairs and slopes led him to grab the prime minister’s hand as they walked down a ramp at the White House.
posted by Jalliah at 5:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Israeli Jews From Muslim Countries at Risk Under Trump's New Ban
posted by PenDevil at 5:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 5:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Downing Street officials claimed the president’s phobia of stairs and slopes led him to grab the prime minister’s hand as they walked down a ramp at the White House.
I am suddenly seeing the escalator entrance in a whole new light.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
I am suddenly seeing the escalator entrance in a whole new light.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries, why aren't liberals protesting this?. Hypocrites'.
"Personally, I'm capable of wanting justice and equal rights for all people. Defending the rights of Israelis does not prevent me from defending the rights of refugees and citizens from other countries. What is your problem?"
That said - I've travelled with two passports in the Middle East and North Africa, more than once together with Israeli citizens, and the whole thing is just more complicated than one imagines, in the sense that a ban is not always a ban, it depends. I don't want to derail here, just say that it's much harder to get into the countries Trump did not blacklist than those he did.
posted by mumimor at 6:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Personally, I'm capable of wanting justice and equal rights for all people. Defending the rights of Israelis does not prevent me from defending the rights of refugees and citizens from other countries. What is your problem?"
That said - I've travelled with two passports in the Middle East and North Africa, more than once together with Israeli citizens, and the whole thing is just more complicated than one imagines, in the sense that a ban is not always a ban, it depends. I don't want to derail here, just say that it's much harder to get into the countries Trump did not blacklist than those he did.
posted by mumimor at 6:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries, why aren't liberals protesting this?. Hypocrites'.
I've sworn an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of this one.
posted by Zalzidrax at 6:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
I've sworn an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of this one.
posted by Zalzidrax at 6:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries, why aren't liberals protesting this?. Hypocrites'.
"Thank you for pointing this out! What you say is true: the best thing that can be said for President Trump's executive order is that it resembles the sort of bigotry you rightly condemn in other countries' policies.
I think we'd both agree that the United States is better than that; we can't let the hateful immigration policies of dictatorships and bigots set the bar for our country and our President. "
posted by kewb at 6:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [38 favorites]
"Thank you for pointing this out! What you say is true: the best thing that can be said for President Trump's executive order is that it resembles the sort of bigotry you rightly condemn in other countries' policies.
I think we'd both agree that the United States is better than that; we can't let the hateful immigration policies of dictatorships and bigots set the bar for our country and our President. "
posted by kewb at 6:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [38 favorites]
'Israelis are banned for entry in X number of countries, why aren't liberals protesting this?. Hypocrites'.
I've sworn an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of this one.
I've just been replying. "This makes no sense. I thought the President said it was all about "America First" now.
posted by Jalliah at 6:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Bannon makes a great Bond villian - he's already had one fortress HQ, Biosphere-2, which he fucked up, and now he's built another at 1600 Pennsilvania Av.
Perhaps we can get Connery out of retirement? The new guy's OK, but it needs that old Bladerunner magic.
posted by Devonian at 6:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Perhaps we can get Connery out of retirement? The new guy's OK, but it needs that old Bladerunner magic.
posted by Devonian at 6:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Downing Street officials claimed the president’s phobia of stairs and slopes led him to grab the prime minister’s hand as they walked down a ramp at the White House.
Ohmigod, he's a Dalek! It all makes sense now!
posted by kewb at 6:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
Ohmigod, he's a Dalek! It all makes sense now!
posted by kewb at 6:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
The USA has now gone from 1932 to 1934 on the Literally Hitler meter in less than two weeks. That's a lot quicker than I imagined possible. I'm particularly concerned about two things: that some officials may have been quietly implementing this discriminatory order for weeks; and that different jurisdictions and bureaux are starting to act in more or less partisan ways.
US citizenship has never been enough to protect people from a fascist Executive, but it's something, at least. If you're in the USA and don't have this protection - if you're a tourist or Green Card holder or whatever - I think you should be prepared for bad things to happen suddenly and unexpectedly and arbitrarily.
I'm most terribly sorry.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
US citizenship has never been enough to protect people from a fascist Executive, but it's something, at least. If you're in the USA and don't have this protection - if you're a tourist or Green Card holder or whatever - I think you should be prepared for bad things to happen suddenly and unexpectedly and arbitrarily.
I'm most terribly sorry.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
Any protests that become actually economically effective will result in a state of emergency being declared, because where else, exactly, do you think the Trump/Bannon axis could or will go? They have wasted no time in demonstrating their belief that their will supercedes the law and Constitution, and installing Bannon et al at the highest level of State security is a plausible prelude to a proper coup d'etat.
After that, we're into revolutionary territory or an effective dictatorship.
Which is to say, make sure everyone knows what the stakes are before playing your hand.
posted by Devonian at 6:25 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
After that, we're into revolutionary territory or an effective dictatorship.
Which is to say, make sure everyone knows what the stakes are before playing your hand.
posted by Devonian at 6:25 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
@VoiceOfThePhan : Who wore it better? @IvankaTrump
posted by Mchelly at 6:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [52 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 6:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [52 favorites]
UK petition just hit quarter of a million.
posted by Devonian at 6:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 6:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
After that, we're into revolutionary territory or an effective dictatorship...Which is to say, make sure everyone knows what the stakes are before playing your hand.
You are, of course, absolutely correct. Consider the alternative, though, which in the main consists of lying down en masse and letting them do as they will. That's no more acceptable, as far as I'm concerned. Too many will suffer from our inaction.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
You are, of course, absolutely correct. Consider the alternative, though, which in the main consists of lying down en masse and letting them do as they will. That's no more acceptable, as far as I'm concerned. Too many will suffer from our inaction.
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Speaking of petitions, I've noticed that a few started yesterday on the whitehouse.gov platform are still stuck at 1 signature -- is this a typical lag for that platform or is something else going on? For example.
posted by telegraph at 6:34 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by telegraph at 6:34 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Devonian, Trump's team could just report a crisis as fact, and declare martial law on that basis. His team has the advantage of action, while the side of liberal legality can only react. I think it's really not a good idea to hold back from peaceful and legal protest just because it may be used as a pretext for further abuse.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I didn't say don't do it.
posted by Devonian at 6:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 6:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't know what to make of this, but the executive order to suspend entry of immigrants, titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States," does not currently appear among presidential actions on the Whitehouse.gov website. I find it hard to believe that website staff forgot to add the most immediately consequential executive order of President Trump's new administration. Do they think that if they don't mention it, no one will notice?
For those more IT-adept than me, is there any way to check whether this executive order was previously posted to the whitehouse.gov website and then taken down? I don't know, won't speculate on how likely that is, but am curious.
posted by ferdydurke at 6:39 AM on January 29, 2017
For those more IT-adept than me, is there any way to check whether this executive order was previously posted to the whitehouse.gov website and then taken down? I don't know, won't speculate on how likely that is, but am curious.
posted by ferdydurke at 6:39 AM on January 29, 2017
>Speaking of petitions
There's definitely something wrong with the petitions system: 1 2 3
Seen these three mentioned elsewhere as examples of just the thing you're talking about. Lots of screencaps posted of people completing signatures on the first, especially.
posted by Enturbulated at 6:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
There's definitely something wrong with the petitions system: 1 2 3
Seen these three mentioned elsewhere as examples of just the thing you're talking about. Lots of screencaps posted of people completing signatures on the first, especially.
posted by Enturbulated at 6:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Anyone who thinks a low-grade (cold?) civil war and hasn't already started is fooling themselves. It's been declared by the coup and actions of the regime. Civil disorder and various possible forms/degrees of martial law are now certain and the likelihood or threat of them in a scenario makes it a plausible scenario, not one too drastic or too dark.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Two PA republican reps speak out against the ban.
posted by mcduff at 6:44 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 6:44 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
This thread: I told this story about #refugees a couple years ago on Veterans Day with a humorous slant. I'm going to tell it again today, unfiltered.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:47 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:47 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
The other thing I want to keep saying: martial law is difficult, especially in a county the size of ours. This place is really fucking big, you guys, and the National Guard is controlled by the states. I'm not saying that the Trump administration can't establish martial law, but it will stretch the resources of this country. You'll need lots of soldiers and lots of police, and they will have to be loyal, because you're going to have to police every liberal part of the country at a very high level.
Listen, when we had the Republican convention here in 2008, just heavily policing the downtown required drawing in cops from all over the state and some from elsewhere. Declaring martial law would take a lot more people, and they'd have to be ready to shoot to kill their fellow citizens on the street every day. This country has plenty of violent cops and soldiers, but that's not the same as having well-organized military forces ready to kill peaceful protesters in the streets.
I imagine they'd recruit civilians, thinking that their fascist rural base would be useful. But that would go pear-shaped, because people would either start killing at the drop of a hat or not be able to kill at all - that's what military training is for.
And really - California and New York are rich - they're not going to roll over that easily.
Martial law would not be "soldiers on every corner and everyone obediently produces value for the regime". It would be a constant state of crisis for Trump et al. Occupying this country? What other wars could we fight? We'd be a pushover anywhere else in the world because our soldiers would be spread out all across this great nation.
This is not Germany 1933. Trump is not popular. This is not a small (compared to the US) country with a huge percentage of traumatized ex-soldiers.
And consider this - if they declare martial law in just, say NYC and SF, the rest of the country will go up like a flare. There's no such thing as partial martial law for the Trump administration, because Trump is not popular.
Again, I'm not saying he can't do it - but I am saying that it would be very, very hard to do effectively.
posted by Frowner at 6:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [116 favorites]
Listen, when we had the Republican convention here in 2008, just heavily policing the downtown required drawing in cops from all over the state and some from elsewhere. Declaring martial law would take a lot more people, and they'd have to be ready to shoot to kill their fellow citizens on the street every day. This country has plenty of violent cops and soldiers, but that's not the same as having well-organized military forces ready to kill peaceful protesters in the streets.
I imagine they'd recruit civilians, thinking that their fascist rural base would be useful. But that would go pear-shaped, because people would either start killing at the drop of a hat or not be able to kill at all - that's what military training is for.
And really - California and New York are rich - they're not going to roll over that easily.
Martial law would not be "soldiers on every corner and everyone obediently produces value for the regime". It would be a constant state of crisis for Trump et al. Occupying this country? What other wars could we fight? We'd be a pushover anywhere else in the world because our soldiers would be spread out all across this great nation.
This is not Germany 1933. Trump is not popular. This is not a small (compared to the US) country with a huge percentage of traumatized ex-soldiers.
And consider this - if they declare martial law in just, say NYC and SF, the rest of the country will go up like a flare. There's no such thing as partial martial law for the Trump administration, because Trump is not popular.
Again, I'm not saying he can't do it - but I am saying that it would be very, very hard to do effectively.
posted by Frowner at 6:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [116 favorites]
Rust Moranis: Anyone who thinks a low-grade (cold?) civil war and hasn't already started is fooling themselves.The Executive is in open defiance of the Judiciary. Doesn't that mean the rule of law is already suspended?
Doesn't sound low-grade or cold to me.
posted by ragtag at 6:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Also, you guys, martial law is unpopular. The aggressive policing here in MPLS-St Paul during RNC was hugely unpopular even with a lot of conservatives and even with a lot of lying in the media. When you have martial law, for instance, the children of conservatives who were just going to see a concert get caught up in it and then the conservative parents become very skeptical of the regime. (Real life example known to me personally.)
If the Trump administration wants to try it, it will be a disaster for them. In fact, I bet that if there's a way in the world to be removed by a military/Republican coalition, a few months of attempted military rule would do it.
posted by Frowner at 6:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
If the Trump administration wants to try it, it will be a disaster for them. In fact, I bet that if there's a way in the world to be removed by a military/Republican coalition, a few months of attempted military rule would do it.
posted by Frowner at 6:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
.@Reince says "Order is not effecting green card holders going forward."
We're monitoring to see if this is true or another empty statement
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
We're monitoring to see if this is true or another empty statement
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
ferdydurke > EO not shown on WH website
One reference I've found so far is this Vice article which seems to be reasonably complete and is receiving updates. Might be mentioned in this thread, my search is going nuts right now though.
posted by Enturbulated at 6:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
One reference I've found so far is this Vice article which seems to be reasonably complete and is receiving updates. Might be mentioned in this thread, my search is going nuts right now though.
posted by Enturbulated at 6:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
UK petition just hit quarter of a million.
So already at or above Trump's inauguration audience.
posted by effbot at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
So already at or above Trump's inauguration audience.
posted by effbot at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
> After that, we're into revolutionary territory or an effective dictatorship...Which is to say, make sure everyone knows what the stakes are before playing your hand.
You are, of course, absolutely correct. Consider the alternative, though, which in the main consists of lying down en masse and letting them do as they will.
Letting them do as they will also means that we're already in an unofficial dictatorship. Nuts to that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
You are, of course, absolutely correct. Consider the alternative, though, which in the main consists of lying down en masse and letting them do as they will.
Letting them do as they will also means that we're already in an unofficial dictatorship. Nuts to that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
FB Event: Protests at LAX continuing for a second day today from 1-4pm.
@VoiceOfThePhan : Who wore it better? @IvankaTrump
That's devastating.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
@VoiceOfThePhan : Who wore it better? @IvankaTrump
That's devastating.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
> installing Bannon et al at the highest level of State security is a plausible prelude to a proper coup d'etat.
I don't see why it is a prelude, rather than a fait accompli.
posted by stonepharisee at 7:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I don't see why it is a prelude, rather than a fait accompli.
posted by stonepharisee at 7:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Washington Monthly: The Myth of Catharsis
"Making things worse won’t make things better."
"Making things worse won’t make things better."
One frequently heard sentiment among those appalled by the presidency of Donald Trump is the notion that he will make things so bad that the American people will awake from their trance-like state, take some unspecified action, and put America back on track.posted by ZeusHumms at 7:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Please share this photo of Donald Trump. He hates it
posted by porn in the woods at 7:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 7:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
@VoiceOfThePhan : Who wore it better? @IvankaTrump
That's devastating.
Cosign. I choked back a sob.
posted by adamgreenfield at 7:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is a crisis, not a military dictatorship - at least not yet. What's happening is that the people and the regime are in a struggle. There's no guarantee that the regime wins, yet. We in this country do not have a long history of rule by Trumps. We may not lose, if enough people and state-level politicians are willing to make enough trouble.
posted by Frowner at 7:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 7:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Protests in DC will start today at 1 (FB event)
posted by schmod at 7:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by schmod at 7:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
"[...] sources tell CNN that White House policy director Stephen Miller spoke with officials of the State Department, Customs and Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security and others to tell them that the President is deeply committed to the executive order and the public is firmly behind it -- urging them not to get distracted by what he described as hysterical voices on TV.
Miller also noted on Saturday that Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones. If the foreign visitor declines to share such information, he or she could be denied entry."
posted by effbot at 7:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
Miller also noted on Saturday that Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones. If the foreign visitor declines to share such information, he or she could be denied entry."
posted by effbot at 7:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
Naomi Klein, The Nation: Trump’s Crony Cabinet May Look Strong, but They Are Scared
From climate justice to the Fight for $15, movements had CEOs on the ropes—and we can still beat them.posted by ZeusHumms at 7:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
...
Let us be clear: This is not a peaceful transition of power. It’s a corporate takeover. The interests that have long-since paid off both major parties to do their bidding have decided they are tired of playing the game. Apparently, all that wining and dining of politicians, all that cajoling and legalized bribery, insulted their sense of divine entitlement.
So now they are cutting out the middleman and doing what every top dog does when they want something done right—they are doing it themselves.
I like it when you're relaxing with morning coffee and twitterbating with someone arguing about Green Card holders being just as bad and scary a refugees and the Trump is just 'figuring out what is going on' and you pop back to Metafilter and see that the WH has said they're walking back the part about Green Card holders and you get to go, 'oh hey, your guy has already caved on this part, look'.
He stopped talking to me after that.
posted by Jalliah at 7:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
martial law is difficult, especially in a county the size of ours
Frowner, the USA has an extraordinary number of separate jurisdictions that operate more or less independently. From what I've seen there are very few checks on their power. If a militarised police force enforces a curfew, that's effectively martial law right there. Suppose there are a hundred Fergusons around the country - how can people react to that effectively, without causing so much chaos that most people will welcome martial law?
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Frowner, the USA has an extraordinary number of separate jurisdictions that operate more or less independently. From what I've seen there are very few checks on their power. If a militarised police force enforces a curfew, that's effectively martial law right there. Suppose there are a hundred Fergusons around the country - how can people react to that effectively, without causing so much chaos that most people will welcome martial law?
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
My words fail. One of the people detained at Dulles was a 5 year old kid! Travelling with another family.
I'd like someone who has it to publish data on how many men, women and children were affected by Trump's travel ban on the first day. I heard him claiming, probably on NPR, that most/all of the refugees are fit young men. Being in touch with reality, I am sure that's not true. This is one more chance to show how distorted that man's fears are. I'm hoping that some of the less committed Islamophobe voters in this country can manage to not be afraid of small children and grandmas. (And I know I'm letting ageist and mysandric dislike of young men stand unexamined. Sorry, guys. I'll use any tool I can find to make Trump look stupid.)
posted by puddledork at 7:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'd like someone who has it to publish data on how many men, women and children were affected by Trump's travel ban on the first day. I heard him claiming, probably on NPR, that most/all of the refugees are fit young men. Being in touch with reality, I am sure that's not true. This is one more chance to show how distorted that man's fears are. I'm hoping that some of the less committed Islamophobe voters in this country can manage to not be afraid of small children and grandmas. (And I know I'm letting ageist and mysandric dislike of young men stand unexamined. Sorry, guys. I'll use any tool I can find to make Trump look stupid.)
posted by puddledork at 7:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
And one more comment: an awful lot of people who are basically conservative don't want the nation in chaos and they don't want martial law. There's plenty of average suburbanites who will get disgusted with a Trump administration that can't enact its policies successfully, but who are none the less not going to say "therefore send in the troops".
The fact that a Trump spokesman goes on television and says, apparently literally, "we apologize for nothing" is very bad for Trump. I don't think we have a protest here in MPLS St Paul (we're not a coastal airport) but you people who are out there on the coasts are doing a mighty work - whatever happens, this is a historic week and our struggles will be in the history books.
posted by Frowner at 7:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
The fact that a Trump spokesman goes on television and says, apparently literally, "we apologize for nothing" is very bad for Trump. I don't think we have a protest here in MPLS St Paul (we're not a coastal airport) but you people who are out there on the coasts are doing a mighty work - whatever happens, this is a historic week and our struggles will be in the history books.
posted by Frowner at 7:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
No mention of Jews in the Holocaust Remembrance statement, but this morning we have this:
[@realDonaldTrump] Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!posted by Westringia F. at 7:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
Minneapolis protest
Today: Minneapolis/St Paul at 1-3 terminal 1
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Today: Minneapolis/St Paul at 1-3 terminal 1
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'd like someone who has it to publish data on how many men, women and children were affected by Trump's travel ban on the first day. I heard him claiming, probably on NPR, that most/all of the refugees are fit young men. Being in touch with reality, I am sure that's not true. This is one more chance to show how distorted that man's fears are. I'm hoping that some of the less committed Islamophobe voters in this country can manage to not be afraid of small children and grandmas. (And I know I'm letting ageist and mysandric dislike of young men stand unexamined. Sorry, guys. I'll use any tool I can find to make Trump look stupid.)
Part of the issue is that they aren't releasing that data.
If NPR was saying all those detained are refugees they are wrong. Many were visa holders returning home or family members visiting the US. The videos I saw included senior citizens with at least two in wheel chairs. One couple was in their late 80's.
posted by Jalliah at 7:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Thanks. I'm paraphrasing what I heard yesterday and think "refugee" was something Trump said, not added by NPR editorial. (They have been repeating a lot of his shit w/o comment, though.)
posted by puddledork at 7:19 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by puddledork at 7:19 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's nice to see this today: Christian Leaders denounce Trump's plan to favor christian immigrants
posted by birdheist at 7:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [60 favorites]
posted by birdheist at 7:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [60 favorites]
This is only Day 9. There are like 1,451 more days to go.
I have no idea what the United States will be like in four years.
This is only Day 9.
posted by sacre_bleu at 7:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
I have no idea what the United States will be like in four years.
This is only Day 9.
posted by sacre_bleu at 7:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
I imagine they'd recruit civilians, thinking that their fascist rural base would be useful.
their fascist rural base, at least the ones who are mostly likely to be armed and willing to use their arms, are the most likely to revolt
the donald thinks he's got problems with the left - wait until he stirs up the moonlaw sovereign citizens and then he'll find out what problems are about
posted by pyramid termite at 7:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
their fascist rural base, at least the ones who are mostly likely to be armed and willing to use their arms, are the most likely to revolt
the donald thinks he's got problems with the left - wait until he stirs up the moonlaw sovereign citizens and then he'll find out what problems are about
posted by pyramid termite at 7:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Hank Green: For every reply to this tweet with a hand-drawn message of support for immigrants, Muslims, and/or refugees, I will donate $5 to the ACLU.
posted by porn in the woods at 7:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 7:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
[@realDonaldTrump] Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!
Sectarian violence against Christians is absolutely real, and horrible, but most of it is occurring within the context of the Syrian civil war with the connivance and/or support of Trump's buddy, Putin. Not that Muslims and others have it much better, sometimes worse. And the most immediate way of ameliorating their plight is to give them refuge, something Trump has just prevented.
There are no words to describe my disgust with this man and his coterie.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Sectarian violence against Christians is absolutely real, and horrible, but most of it is occurring within the context of the Syrian civil war with the connivance and/or support of Trump's buddy, Putin. Not that Muslims and others have it much better, sometimes worse. And the most immediate way of ameliorating their plight is to give them refuge, something Trump has just prevented.
There are no words to describe my disgust with this man and his coterie.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
White House is bringing out the fear guns. Kellyanne was on Fox saying that this has to happen so there won't be another 911.
posted by Jalliah at 7:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
And word is #MoscowMike Flynn is President of the NSC.
Listening to Spicer talk about this insanity live on This Week right now, it occurs to me that Flynn and Bannon are planning a war and they don't want any peacenik hippies telling them it's a bad idea on the NSC until it's already a fait accompli. Are we taking bets? I think we're going into Iran first, but who knows what goes on in Bannon's addled brain.
posted by dis_integration at 7:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Listening to Spicer talk about this insanity live on This Week right now, it occurs to me that Flynn and Bannon are planning a war and they don't want any peacenik hippies telling them it's a bad idea on the NSC until it's already a fait accompli. Are we taking bets? I think we're going into Iran first, but who knows what goes on in Bannon's addled brain.
posted by dis_integration at 7:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Frowner, the USA has an extraordinary number of separate jurisdictions that operate more or less independently. From what I've seen there are very few checks on their power. If a militarised police force enforces a curfew, that's effectively martial law right there. Suppose there are a hundred Fergusons around the country - how can people react to that effectively, without causing so much chaos that most people will welcome martial law?
Okay, yes, but the separate jurisdictions in liberal cities are not going to roll over and establish martial law because we're protesting Trump. In Minneapolis-St Paul, for instance, our people do not like Trump. Our leaders do not like Trump. The places that like Trump are not the places that are going to be in crisis.
Establishing martial law in some right-wing suburb where no one is protesting isn't going to do anything but make you unpopular; establishing martial law in MPLS-St Paul would require sending in the feds and taking over our government, and while Trump et al are evil enough to do it, it will present certain practical problems because they'll have to do the same in San Francisco, in Seattle, in Portland, in Bloomington Indiana, in Rochester MN, in Chicago, in Austin, in LA - all across this great nation they will need to take over large cities and run them at gun-point. And they'll need to keep the tech people working at speed - no work stoppages. Thiel et al are monsters, but I would be extremely surprised if every Google staffer and app developer is happy to keep working for a Trump regime.
Here is something else that not everyone may know: if you have not lived in a city with mass protests, you may not realize how they are still pretty small. When we had a week of heavy, violent policing and mass protest here during RNC, it was confined to only part of downtown St Paul. I remember walking up a hill out of downtown after we'd managed to oil on out of the big protest that was turning to shit and looking back, and I felt like there should be smoke rising or something, but I couldn't see any evidence of what was going on. Large protests that don't actually turn into violent riots are not necessarily going to make everyone in a large, liberal city thing "OMG, send in the Trumps, I mean troops", not least because such protests don't literally mean "every street is in chaos".
I was surprised by this myself, but it makes sense if you think about it.
posted by Frowner at 7:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
Okay, yes, but the separate jurisdictions in liberal cities are not going to roll over and establish martial law because we're protesting Trump. In Minneapolis-St Paul, for instance, our people do not like Trump. Our leaders do not like Trump. The places that like Trump are not the places that are going to be in crisis.
Establishing martial law in some right-wing suburb where no one is protesting isn't going to do anything but make you unpopular; establishing martial law in MPLS-St Paul would require sending in the feds and taking over our government, and while Trump et al are evil enough to do it, it will present certain practical problems because they'll have to do the same in San Francisco, in Seattle, in Portland, in Bloomington Indiana, in Rochester MN, in Chicago, in Austin, in LA - all across this great nation they will need to take over large cities and run them at gun-point. And they'll need to keep the tech people working at speed - no work stoppages. Thiel et al are monsters, but I would be extremely surprised if every Google staffer and app developer is happy to keep working for a Trump regime.
Here is something else that not everyone may know: if you have not lived in a city with mass protests, you may not realize how they are still pretty small. When we had a week of heavy, violent policing and mass protest here during RNC, it was confined to only part of downtown St Paul. I remember walking up a hill out of downtown after we'd managed to oil on out of the big protest that was turning to shit and looking back, and I felt like there should be smoke rising or something, but I couldn't see any evidence of what was going on. Large protests that don't actually turn into violent riots are not necessarily going to make everyone in a large, liberal city thing "OMG, send in the Trumps, I mean troops", not least because such protests don't literally mean "every street is in chaos".
I was surprised by this myself, but it makes sense if you think about it.
posted by Frowner at 7:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
On C-SPAN I caught an interview and call-in program with Nicole Austin-Hillery, Director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law earlier discussing voter fraud and the last caller (ignoring the entirety of everything she'd said beforehand, of course) said,
She didn't pick up on that in the few seconds she had to respond, but she really succinctly goes over all of the salient points on the various forms of voter fraud and suppression, and responses to dumbass talking points from callers, in the course of the interview.
posted by XMLicious at 7:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
If they've been doing it "for generations" they don't need to "appear to be legal" because they're already U.S. citizens! The persistent conservative-deplorable impulse to ignore the 14th Amendment—and the U.S., colonial, and English law that preceded it, also granting birthright citizenship—just gets more and more disturbing.I am from Minnesota and we have motor voter registration in this state. I have a valid drivers license, I can build. In my early career, I worked with and document to workers from California to Washington. They all drive. How many -- the fraud is not in the voting. The fraud is in getting the documentation you need so when you show up at the court, you appear to be legal. All of these and documented workers drive and had done it for generations. How many of these people, after the rhetoric that Trump put out, do you think did not get together and went to the polls and at least not vote for him or Hillary or Bernie Sanders? The fraud is not in the voting, man. It is in the documentation you get so that when you show up at the polls, you appear to be legal.
She didn't pick up on that in the few seconds she had to respond, but she really succinctly goes over all of the salient points on the various forms of voter fraud and suppression, and responses to dumbass talking points from callers, in the course of the interview.
posted by XMLicious at 7:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Apologies if someone else posted; 6 folk were arrested at Charlotte-Douglas last night; as of about an hour ago, 2 were still in. Several were trans.
Link for NC folks to donate to bail fund:
http://durhamsolidaritycenter.org/bondfund/
Rock on, everyone.
posted by allthinky at 7:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Link for NC folks to donate to bail fund:
http://durhamsolidaritycenter.org/bondfund/
Rock on, everyone.
posted by allthinky at 7:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I would be extremely surprised if every Google staffer and app developer is happy to keep working for a Trump regime.
Google cofounder Sergey Brin was at the SFO protest on Saturday: "I'm here because I'm a refugee".
posted by Mister Bijou at 7:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
Google cofounder Sergey Brin was at the SFO protest on Saturday: "I'm here because I'm a refugee".
posted by Mister Bijou at 7:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
So, is it a total coincidence that Resident Evil: The Final Chapter opened this weekend, with the tagline Evil Comes Home? I'll have to get tickets so I can see how Alice cleans the undead monsters out of the White House.
posted by Bringer Tom at 7:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Bringer Tom at 7:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Some in depth lawyersplaining here. Love it.
I've been going back and forth on Bannon being some evil genius who knows exactly what he is doing to evil guy who thinks he knows everything because power but isn't in total evil genius territory. Right now I'm in the middle. This is one of the reasons why.
Lawfare Blog: Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas
So yes, the order is malevolent. But here’s the thing: Many of these malevolent objectives were certainly achievable within the president’s lawful authority. The president’s power over refugee admissions is vast. His power to restrict visa issuances and entry of aliens to the United States is almost as wide. If the National Security Council had run a process of minimal competence, it could certainly have done a lot of stuff that folks like me, who care about refugees, would have gnashed our teeth over but which would have been solidly within the President’s authority. It could have all been implemented in a fashion that didn’t create endless litigation opportunities and didn’t cause enormous diplomatic friction.
How incompetent is this order? An immigration lawyer who works for the federal government wrote me today describing the quality of the work as “look[ing] like what an intern came up with over a lunch hour. . . . My take is that it is so poorly written that it’s hard to tell the impact." One of the reasons there’s so much chaos going on right now, in fact, is that nobody really knows what the order means on important points.
posted by Jalliah at 7:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
I've been going back and forth on Bannon being some evil genius who knows exactly what he is doing to evil guy who thinks he knows everything because power but isn't in total evil genius territory. Right now I'm in the middle. This is one of the reasons why.
Lawfare Blog: Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas
So yes, the order is malevolent. But here’s the thing: Many of these malevolent objectives were certainly achievable within the president’s lawful authority. The president’s power over refugee admissions is vast. His power to restrict visa issuances and entry of aliens to the United States is almost as wide. If the National Security Council had run a process of minimal competence, it could certainly have done a lot of stuff that folks like me, who care about refugees, would have gnashed our teeth over but which would have been solidly within the President’s authority. It could have all been implemented in a fashion that didn’t create endless litigation opportunities and didn’t cause enormous diplomatic friction.
How incompetent is this order? An immigration lawyer who works for the federal government wrote me today describing the quality of the work as “look[ing] like what an intern came up with over a lunch hour. . . . My take is that it is so poorly written that it’s hard to tell the impact." One of the reasons there’s so much chaos going on right now, in fact, is that nobody really knows what the order means on important points.
posted by Jalliah at 7:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
My wife, green card holder, (not from a targeted country), and my son are due to return to the US on Tuesday. I don't know if airports are going to be shut down. I don't know whether immigration checkpoint is going to be dysfunctional. I don't know.
This executive order is like a terrorist attack, the first of the Trump administration.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [73 favorites]
This executive order is like a terrorist attack, the first of the Trump administration.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [73 favorites]
Update from DC: I wanted to be at Dulles last night, but my roommate is an actual real life immigration attorney, and I was more useful being on-deck at home in case her team needed supplies/rides to the airport. Before she left, I shoved multiple power banks in her arms, and she told me that an Urdu-speaking lawyer who was getting escorted to see a lawyer used one of my chargers to keep his phone alive, so there is my tiny contribution. (I was also on-call in case they needed me to do a diaper/formula run to Costco-- no way of knowing how many kids were in detention at the time.)
One fun story she told me-- you may have seen the heartbreaking stories about the mother separated from her son. My roommate was with her while they waited, and the woman was weeping, wondering if her son was being fed.
Someone from airport: Yes, they are feeding him.
Mother: Wait, WHAT are they feeding him?
(It wasn't about allergies or anything, just a sweet mom-moment in the midst of horrible human rights violations. I think she was annoyed that he might be getting junk food instead of vegetables.)
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [100 favorites]
One fun story she told me-- you may have seen the heartbreaking stories about the mother separated from her son. My roommate was with her while they waited, and the woman was weeping, wondering if her son was being fed.
Someone from airport: Yes, they are feeding him.
Mother: Wait, WHAT are they feeding him?
(It wasn't about allergies or anything, just a sweet mom-moment in the midst of horrible human rights violations. I think she was annoyed that he might be getting junk food instead of vegetables.)
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [100 favorites]
Oh, and I'm sure I'll "see" several of you at the WH protest this afternoon.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Mrs. Pterodactyl, would you consider posting your excellent comment about considering what is "too far" for you somewhere that is more accessible please? I would love to be able to share your template more widely but given the size of this thread, it's unrealistic to link to your comment and have others be able to load the page properly and know where to begin reading.
posted by iamkimiam at 7:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by iamkimiam at 7:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
a fiendish thingy Before she left, I shoved multiple power banks in her arms, and she told me that an Urdu-speaking lawyer who was getting escorted to see a lawyer used one of my chargers to keep his phone alive, so there is my tiny contribution.
This is a good reminder when we are feeling discouraged. All of the small contributions we make add up to something huge. One voice gets added to all the other voices. One sign gets added to all the other signs. One bit of resistance gets added to the stream of resistance in your city which flows into the river of resistance in your state which joins the flood of resistance across the country.
posted by mcduff at 7:44 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
This is a good reminder when we are feeling discouraged. All of the small contributions we make add up to something huge. One voice gets added to all the other voices. One sign gets added to all the other signs. One bit of resistance gets added to the stream of resistance in your city which flows into the river of resistance in your state which joins the flood of resistance across the country.
posted by mcduff at 7:44 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Reince—while acknowledging the Holocaust was to eradicate Jews—says WH doesn't regret not mentioning Jews in Holocaust Remembrance Day stmt.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Man, fuck Reince Preibus.
posted by palomar at 7:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
posted by palomar at 7:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
[@realDonaldTrump] Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!
And therefore, we deny them the right to seek refuge in the US.
Yeah, that makes sense...
posted by sour cream at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
And therefore, we deny them the right to seek refuge in the US.
Yeah, that makes sense...
posted by sour cream at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
The Atlantic interviews the psychology professor who wrote their June 2016 cover profile "The Mind of Donald Trump" to get his reactions to Trump's behavior since the election. He brings up two points:
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
The first is that I would double down even more on the idea that what you see is what you get when it comes to Trump. {...} It’s all about winning, but even now that he’s won he can’t seem to let go of the fight. He continues to fixate on the election, and is now disputing—without evidence—the numbers on Hillary Clinton’s victory in the popular vote count. I think he’s going to continue to create chaos and attempt to emerge out of the confusion and uncertainty he creates as a victor. {emphasis added}While armchair psychologizing has its hazards, Prof. McAdams' proved pretty accurate and worth repeating: "when you learn that there isn’t much behind the mask except for these narcissistic goals and authoritarian values {emphasis added}, that’s important to learn, and it helps you predict what kind of president he is going to be."
The second thing I would emphasize more is the theme of authoritarianism. I think what we have seen in the last six months—and now that he is president—is that Trump really doesn’t know how, or want, to work within the typical institutional structures of democracy. Like an authoritarian leader, he wants to transcend that and connect directly to the people. He does that through Twitter, by going around the press, or by making it sound as though the world is an extraordinarily dangerous place and positioning himself as a sort of authoritarian leader, savior and strong man who will deliver the country from “carnage,” to use a word he used in his inaugural address.
posted by Doktor Zed at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
Preibus is quoted there as saying that if they could wipe the Holocaust from the history books, they would. I'm sure Bannon agrees.
posted by Aravis76 at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Aravis76 at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Just saw a FB from my senator (Casey) about his trip to the Philadelphia airport last night. He did good work there (and showed up in white tie and tails because he had been at a charity fundraiser) and sure enough people in the comments like "fooey, he voted against Bernie's drug bill, he's a shill for big pharma!!eleventy!" Holy shit, people. I mean, Casey has never been a firebrand and doesn't always please me but this is not the way forward. No more own goals, no more Democrats putting up gotcha bills to trap other Democrats, no more ideological purity. If Dems are showing up where they should be, thank them, encourage them, tell them your vote is contingent on more of the same and stop fucking relitigating Bernie.
Preaching to the choir here, I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [125 favorites]
Preaching to the choir here, I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [125 favorites]
Ultimately I think this all about laying the groundwork for regime change in Iran and paving the way for oil and gas pipelines from Russia and Azerbaijan to the Persian gulf and Mediterranean.
The propsed Russia Turkey pipeline has basically been in limbo since Turkey downed a Russian jet in Syria. So Putin needs an alternative route to get his petroleum and natural gas to market that isn't dependent on the Ukraine and Eastern European nations since it's looking increasingly likely that NATO will be willing to fight to protect the Baltic states and Poland.
Basically Putin seems more than willing to use the US to gain access to Persian Gulf.
Everything else is just window dressing although of course the House of Saud wants to continue their wars in Yemen and presumably Oman.
posted by vuron at 7:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
The propsed Russia Turkey pipeline has basically been in limbo since Turkey downed a Russian jet in Syria. So Putin needs an alternative route to get his petroleum and natural gas to market that isn't dependent on the Ukraine and Eastern European nations since it's looking increasingly likely that NATO will be willing to fight to protect the Baltic states and Poland.
Basically Putin seems more than willing to use the US to gain access to Persian Gulf.
Everything else is just window dressing although of course the House of Saud wants to continue their wars in Yemen and presumably Oman.
posted by vuron at 7:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Metafilter: I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus.
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by tivalasvegas at 7:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Any mefites going to the MSP protest? We could have a mini meet up! Memail me, but before 11am if poss.
Also: MPLS people: if you're taking the light rail, maybe go early? They'll probably start checking the trains if it gets out of hand, like they did for Black Lives Matter.
posted by Frowner at 7:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Also: MPLS people: if you're taking the light rail, maybe go early? They'll probably start checking the trains if it gets out of hand, like they did for Black Lives Matter.
posted by Frowner at 7:53 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Listening to Spicer talk about this insanity live on This Week right now, it occurs to me that Flynn and Bannon are planning a war and they don't want any peacenik hippies telling them it's a bad idea on the NSC until it's already a fait accompli. Are we taking bets? I think we're going into Iran first, but who knows what goes on in Bannon's addled brain.
War on Iran would not get Putin's approval.
Blundering us into a war in the South China Sea, after making damn sure our Vietnam & Company coalition is destroyed, however, would be his wet dream.
posted by ocschwar at 7:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Why are they dog whistling about the holocaust? What are they trying to accomplish? Even the vast majority of trump supporters are anti holocaust no?
posted by ian1977 at 7:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 7:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
We need to come together as a united fabric of appalled, outraged and utterly implacable opposition, whether the issue directly at hand affects us personally or not.
I want to call back to this because the whole comment is good, but I want to add something. If you see an attack on some group you does not affect you personally, that doesn't personally affect anyone you know... Well, go find someone who is personally affected and listen to them. Support them. Hear their story and their fears. Make yourself a face to put on these issues. That's how we maintain the fortitude to protect our friends and neighbors: by humanizing minority perspectives and making our monkey brains recognize those perspectives as human.
When I fight for Muslims, I think of my best student H, who worked hard and was so bright she shone. I think of A, the young woman I met at a protest who would use her own body to shield a man who hates her. I think of M, the brilliant scientist who has been my best mentor in my lab for five years, who isn't even religious herself but is an Iranian citizen with a green card just the same. I think of people I went to high school and college with and I think of people right here like yasaman who are willing to share their stories.
And suddenly I am a whole lot angrier. Fuck you, Trump; now it's personal. Quail under the force of my protective rage.
It is important that we learn to reach out to one another in face to face communication as well as in abstract. That's one of the most powerful motivators that will let us survive this together.
posted by sciatrix at 7:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
I want to call back to this because the whole comment is good, but I want to add something. If you see an attack on some group you does not affect you personally, that doesn't personally affect anyone you know... Well, go find someone who is personally affected and listen to them. Support them. Hear their story and their fears. Make yourself a face to put on these issues. That's how we maintain the fortitude to protect our friends and neighbors: by humanizing minority perspectives and making our monkey brains recognize those perspectives as human.
When I fight for Muslims, I think of my best student H, who worked hard and was so bright she shone. I think of A, the young woman I met at a protest who would use her own body to shield a man who hates her. I think of M, the brilliant scientist who has been my best mentor in my lab for five years, who isn't even religious herself but is an Iranian citizen with a green card just the same. I think of people I went to high school and college with and I think of people right here like yasaman who are willing to share their stories.
And suddenly I am a whole lot angrier. Fuck you, Trump; now it's personal. Quail under the force of my protective rage.
It is important that we learn to reach out to one another in face to face communication as well as in abstract. That's one of the most powerful motivators that will let us survive this together.
posted by sciatrix at 7:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
Part of an emailed statement from Senator Kamala Harris.
"I am profoundly saddened and angered by the broad discrimination sanctioned last night by the Trump administration against refugees -- those fleeing violence and terrorism within their country -- and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
There are two elements to this executive order: a ban on all refugees entering the country and a ban on all immigrants from seven, predominantly Muslim countries. Make no mistake — this is a Muslim ban, many of whom are women and children displaced by violence.
This runs counter to our national security interests and will be used as a recruitment tool for terror groups, endangering the lives of Americans overseas.
Furthermore, the Trump administration has proposed no practical or effective solution to make Americans safer from terrorism. Remember, between 2001 and 2015, more Americans were killed by homegrown terrorists than by foreign-born extremists. Rather than address that threat, the administration has cruelly closed our doors to immigrants and refugees who are already vetted for more than two years to ensure they pose no threat to our citizens.
Since the Holocaust, it has been the policy of presidents of both parties to open our doors to those fleeing war and oppression. "
(Some paragraph separation lost in the pasting process.)
posted by puddledork at 7:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
"I am profoundly saddened and angered by the broad discrimination sanctioned last night by the Trump administration against refugees -- those fleeing violence and terrorism within their country -- and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
There are two elements to this executive order: a ban on all refugees entering the country and a ban on all immigrants from seven, predominantly Muslim countries. Make no mistake — this is a Muslim ban, many of whom are women and children displaced by violence.
This runs counter to our national security interests and will be used as a recruitment tool for terror groups, endangering the lives of Americans overseas.
Furthermore, the Trump administration has proposed no practical or effective solution to make Americans safer from terrorism. Remember, between 2001 and 2015, more Americans were killed by homegrown terrorists than by foreign-born extremists. Rather than address that threat, the administration has cruelly closed our doors to immigrants and refugees who are already vetted for more than two years to ensure they pose no threat to our citizens.
Since the Holocaust, it has been the policy of presidents of both parties to open our doors to those fleeing war and oppression. "
(Some paragraph separation lost in the pasting process.)
posted by puddledork at 7:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Preibus is quoted there as saying that if they could wipe the Holocaust from the history books, they would. I'm sure Bannon agrees.
Wait, can you clarify?
You mean "wipe from the history books" like a Holocaust denier would wipe it away? Or more like "wish it never happened"?
posted by sour cream at 7:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wait, can you clarify?
You mean "wipe from the history books" like a Holocaust denier would wipe it away? Or more like "wish it never happened"?
posted by sour cream at 7:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ultimately I think this all about laying the groundwork for regime change in Iran
Why?
Putin just gave Iran the present of a restored regime in Syria. If he wants access to the Indian Ocean, he can basically just ask nicely and they'll give it to him.
posted by ocschwar at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Priebus might not be in full on Holocaust denial and either Bannon is in denial or he feels the Nazi regime didn't do a good enough job the first time.
posted by vuron at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by vuron at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
soren:Preaching to the choir here, I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus.
A small but noticeable chunk of the American left has been infected with the exact same virus that produced the Alt-Right. They are de-facto Deplorables; never bought into the horseshoe theory until this year but boy howdy do I these days. No idea how to deal with them stinking up the joint, though.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
A small but noticeable chunk of the American left has been infected with the exact same virus that produced the Alt-Right. They are de-facto Deplorables; never bought into the horseshoe theory until this year but boy howdy do I these days. No idea how to deal with them stinking up the joint, though.
posted by Rust Moranis at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Since the Holocaust, it has been the policy of presidents of both parties to open our doors to those fleeing war and oppression.
Since [FDR participated in turning away refugees who died in the] Holocaust, it has been the policy of presidents of both parties to open our doors to those fleeing war and oppression.
FTFY, Senator.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Since [FDR participated in turning away refugees who died in the] Holocaust, it has been the policy of presidents of both parties to open our doors to those fleeing war and oppression.
FTFY, Senator.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Why are they dog whistling about the holocaust? What are they trying to accomplish? Even the vast majority of trump supporters are anti holocaust no?
Oh you sweet summer child....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [44 favorites]
Oh you sweet summer child....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [44 favorites]
You mean "wipe from the history books" like a Holocaust denier would wipe it away? Or more like "wish it never happened"?
The context certainly suggested the latter, but he didn't clarify himself and the language is troubling nonetheless.
posted by telegraph at 7:58 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
The context certainly suggested the latter, but he didn't clarify himself and the language is troubling nonetheless.
posted by telegraph at 7:58 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I like it when you're relaxing with morning coffee and twitterbating with someone
You're doing the $ORGANIZING_PRINCIPLE's work, Jalliah.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
You're doing the $ORGANIZING_PRINCIPLE's work, Jalliah.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
ust saw a FB from my senator (Casey) about his trip to the Philadelphia airport last night. He did good work there (and skewed up in white tie and tails because he had been at a charity fundraiser) and sure enough people in the comments like "fooey, he voted against Bernie's drug bill, he's a shill for big pharma!!eleventy!" Holy shit, people. I mean, Casey has never been a firebrand and doesn't always please me but this is not the way forward. No more own goals, no more Democrats putting up gotcha bills to trap other Democrats, no more ideological purity. If Dems are showing up where they should be, thank them, encourage them, tell them your vote is contingent on more of the same and stop fucking relitigating Bernie.
Preaching to the choir here, I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus.
I saw the same thing happen with Booker last night. He was there trying to do what he could to get lawyers to the the detainees while the CPB defied them. CPB hung up on them. But the feed was full of drug bill stuff.
posted by Jalliah at 7:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Preaching to the choir here, I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus.
I saw the same thing happen with Booker last night. He was there trying to do what he could to get lawyers to the the detainees while the CPB defied them. CPB hung up on them. But the feed was full of drug bill stuff.
posted by Jalliah at 7:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I think it's a mistake to assume Trump's NSC will be focused exclusively on external threats.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Please don't patronize me EmpressCalilipygos. It's an actual question.
posted by ian1977 at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
"Everyone suffered in the Holocaust, including the Jewish people," said @Reince Priebus on @MeetThePress.
Just stop.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [56 favorites]
Just stop.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [56 favorites]
The sporadic talk about replacing Trump with Pence makes me nervous. Pence is still a man who wants me literally dead and is devoted to dismantling civil rights pretty much across the board. There has been no indication that he would necessarily be more moderate than Trump; he is just not as obviously unstable.
Trump, Pence, Bannon, Sessions, Thiel, Kushner, Tillerson, Flynn, Putin, et al are all serious threats and unfortunately, we will have to fight them all. Be prepared to fight Pence even harder than Trump, because he isn't going to be as idiot-obvious in his attempts to sneak by hateful legislation. What worries me is that people want to focus exclusively on Trump so that they can feel victorious if he gets impeached and go back home. But a lot of us will still need you out there fighting for and with us, even then.
I know it's exhausting.
posted by byanyothername at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Trump, Pence, Bannon, Sessions, Thiel, Kushner, Tillerson, Flynn, Putin, et al are all serious threats and unfortunately, we will have to fight them all. Be prepared to fight Pence even harder than Trump, because he isn't going to be as idiot-obvious in his attempts to sneak by hateful legislation. What worries me is that people want to focus exclusively on Trump so that they can feel victorious if he gets impeached and go back home. But a lot of us will still need you out there fighting for and with us, even then.
I know it's exhausting.
posted by byanyothername at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Ultimately I think this all about laying the groundwork for regime change in Iran and paving the way for oil and gas pipelines from Russia and Azerbaijan to the Persian gulf and Mediterranean.
What do you mean by "this", and whom do you mean it for?
What I mean is, there's not a lockstep fascist conspiracy here. There are multiple actors all with their own goals and agendas.
There is Putin. You may be right about his own goals: certainly he does not want to be encircled. But I think he's more likely to try to push at Ukraine and to start destabilizing the Baltics (even if he doesn't succeed at the latter, he will still benefit from forcing a crisis within NATO). As long as he has Sevastopol and a neutral or quasi-allied Turkey, what's the need for access to the Gulf?
But there are also: Trump, Bannon, Priebus, Pence, Ryan, Koch brothers / right-wing oligarchs -- all of whom have different agendas. The key is not to see these people as uniformly allied illiberal conspirators, but as a coalition of convenience that can and must be pried apart and set against each other if we are to defeat them.
Divide. And. Conquer. That is the game.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:01 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
What do you mean by "this", and whom do you mean it for?
What I mean is, there's not a lockstep fascist conspiracy here. There are multiple actors all with their own goals and agendas.
There is Putin. You may be right about his own goals: certainly he does not want to be encircled. But I think he's more likely to try to push at Ukraine and to start destabilizing the Baltics (even if he doesn't succeed at the latter, he will still benefit from forcing a crisis within NATO). As long as he has Sevastopol and a neutral or quasi-allied Turkey, what's the need for access to the Gulf?
But there are also: Trump, Bannon, Priebus, Pence, Ryan, Koch brothers / right-wing oligarchs -- all of whom have different agendas. The key is not to see these people as uniformly allied illiberal conspirators, but as a coalition of convenience that can and must be pried apart and set against each other if we are to defeat them.
Divide. And. Conquer. That is the game.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:01 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Sorry if it's already been posted, but there is a continuing protest in NYC today.
Demonstrators will gather at the West side of the park's Castle Clinton National Monument at 2 p.m. The group will then march from the Statue of Liberty Viewpoint to the Customs and Border Patrol officers near Broadway and Worth Street in the Financial District.
posted by Sweetdefenestration at 8:01 AM on January 29, 2017
Demonstrators will gather at the West side of the park's Castle Clinton National Monument at 2 p.m. The group will then march from the Statue of Liberty Viewpoint to the Customs and Border Patrol officers near Broadway and Worth Street in the Financial District.
posted by Sweetdefenestration at 8:01 AM on January 29, 2017
You mean "wipe from the history books" like a Holocaust denier would wipe it away? Or more like "wish it never happened"?
The context certainly suggested the latter, but he didn't clarify himself and the language is troubling nonetheless.
It smells like a trap to me. "What we said was harmless. Of course we didn't mean it that way. Look at those liberals losing their minds." It reeks of plausibly-deniable distraction. Although I would guess it was a slip, not a calculated statement.
(And yes, some Trump supporters would be pro-Holocaust they are so anti-Semitic. My fingers quivered as I typed that.)
posted by puddledork at 8:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
The context certainly suggested the latter, but he didn't clarify himself and the language is troubling nonetheless.
It smells like a trap to me. "What we said was harmless. Of course we didn't mean it that way. Look at those liberals losing their minds." It reeks of plausibly-deniable distraction. Although I would guess it was a slip, not a calculated statement.
(And yes, some Trump supporters would be pro-Holocaust they are so anti-Semitic. My fingers quivered as I typed that.)
posted by puddledork at 8:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
You're doing the $ORGANIZING_PRINCIPLE's work, Jalliah.
I had to google what this means. lol
posted by Jalliah at 8:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I had to google what this means. lol
posted by Jalliah at 8:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Why are they dog whistling about the holocaust? What are they trying to accomplish? Even the vast majority of trump supporters are anti holocaust no?
IME there are a lot more people than you would like to think who think that, much like African-Americans and slavery, the Holocaust was bad but it was a long time ago and the Jews just need to "get over it' and 'stop playing the victim'. Really.
posted by nakedmolerats at 8:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
IME there are a lot more people than you would like to think who think that, much like African-Americans and slavery, the Holocaust was bad but it was a long time ago and the Jews just need to "get over it' and 'stop playing the victim'. Really.
posted by nakedmolerats at 8:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
You mean "wipe from the history books" like a Holocaust denier would wipe it away? Or more like "wish it never happened"?
I assume Preibus means "wish it never happened". But it's not a coincidence he's saying it in language that implies "wish we could stop talking about it", while defending a statement that describes it in the vaguest possible terms. There's a spectrum of horrible beliefs in the White House right now, and I believe the Bannon/Breitbart people are close to the full-on Holocaust denial position. The rest, like Preibus, are being slowly infected by their desire to conciliate the lunatics.
posted by Aravis76 at 8:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I assume Preibus means "wish it never happened". But it's not a coincidence he's saying it in language that implies "wish we could stop talking about it", while defending a statement that describes it in the vaguest possible terms. There's a spectrum of horrible beliefs in the White House right now, and I believe the Bannon/Breitbart people are close to the full-on Holocaust denial position. The rest, like Preibus, are being slowly infected by their desire to conciliate the lunatics.
posted by Aravis76 at 8:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Putin has eclipsed Iran in terms of Assad's depending on a foreign leader. If you've gone to war and lets be honest Russia is already effectively at war in Syria do you think he's going to want Iran to step back in as the senior partner of the Syria Iran partnership.
Also keep in mind that fucking with Iran is a convenient way of fucking with China who has been investing all sorts of soft power in that Region.
posted by vuron at 8:04 AM on January 29, 2017
Also keep in mind that fucking with Iran is a convenient way of fucking with China who has been investing all sorts of soft power in that Region.
posted by vuron at 8:04 AM on January 29, 2017
He cannot mean "wish it never happened" and also say that "everyone suffered during the Holocaust."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Oh, right, I forgot Priebus in that list. I guess he's a Nazi apologist now? That sure looks like Holocaust...if not denial, then minimizing. "Everyone suffered"? Lots of disparate groups besides Jewish peoples, sure, but "everyone"? That's beyond my benefit of "probably just poorly worded" doubt.
posted by byanyothername at 8:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by byanyothername at 8:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Even the vast majority of trump supporters are anti holocaust no?
No.
The vast majority of Trump supporters I know shake their head at Holocaust mentions because they think the Jews should quit whining about something irrelevant that happened forever ago. Pretty much the same reaction when anyone mentions that blacks are here because of slavery.
"Fuck you for trying to make me feel bad. This is AMERICA."
On preview, nakedmolerats got it.
posted by sacre_bleu at 8:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [52 favorites]
No.
The vast majority of Trump supporters I know shake their head at Holocaust mentions because they think the Jews should quit whining about something irrelevant that happened forever ago. Pretty much the same reaction when anyone mentions that blacks are here because of slavery.
"Fuck you for trying to make me feel bad. This is AMERICA."
On preview, nakedmolerats got it.
posted by sacre_bleu at 8:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [52 favorites]
Even the vast majority of trump supporters are anti holocaust no?
You'd think so, but we'll probably find in the next few weeks that Republican opinions about the Holocaust have shifted, just like opinions about a bunch of other things have had to shift so that people could keep supporting Trump.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
You'd think so, but we'll probably find in the next few weeks that Republican opinions about the Holocaust have shifted, just like opinions about a bunch of other things have had to shift so that people could keep supporting Trump.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
No idea how to deal with them stinking up the joint, though.
Wheel and chew them out wherever you see them fomenting ideological purity or relitigating lost battles over workable forward movement. Do it fast, before they can convince other people that relitigating Bernie is a better place for energy that fighting in the trenches. We do it here all the time.
If you see someone dissenting to derail to something that does not matter (as opposed to raising a discussion on inclusivity or something topical or tactics or whatever) respond fast. Hold the line for us together. And make it awkward and uncomfortable for authoritarian leftists to spread that shit around you.
posted by sciatrix at 8:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Wheel and chew them out wherever you see them fomenting ideological purity or relitigating lost battles over workable forward movement. Do it fast, before they can convince other people that relitigating Bernie is a better place for energy that fighting in the trenches. We do it here all the time.
If you see someone dissenting to derail to something that does not matter (as opposed to raising a discussion on inclusivity or something topical or tactics or whatever) respond fast. Hold the line for us together. And make it awkward and uncomfortable for authoritarian leftists to spread that shit around you.
posted by sciatrix at 8:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
When I say he means it, I mean only that's what he hopes the rest of us will think he means. His actual belief seems to be that the Holocaust is uncomfortable to think or talk about, he doesn't want to think or talk about it, and he certainly doesn't want to think or talk about it in a way that requires him to alienate the current brood of anti-Semites who voted for his boss.
posted by Aravis76 at 8:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Aravis76 at 8:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think I now know more US Senate and Congress people names then I do Canadian MP and MLA names.
Senator Chris Van Hollen It's a sad day for our country when our Commander-in-Chief is acting more like Vladimir Putin than an American president.
And he also spoke out against the ban on tv this am.
posted by Jalliah at 8:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Senator Chris Van Hollen It's a sad day for our country when our Commander-in-Chief is acting more like Vladimir Putin than an American president.
And he also spoke out against the ban on tv this am.
posted by Jalliah at 8:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yep it's minimization.
"Look the Nazis were assholes but they were equal opportunity assholes. Jews just like to pretend they were the primary target"
Pretending that there weren't ovens and gas chambers at the extermination camps is a one way ticket to cranktown.
But pretend that Jews weren't explicitly targeted plsys to long standing antisemitism among Trump supporters.
Yeah they like Israel because of eschatological wetdreams that doesn't mean they actually support Jews.
posted by vuron at 8:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
"Look the Nazis were assholes but they were equal opportunity assholes. Jews just like to pretend they were the primary target"
Pretending that there weren't ovens and gas chambers at the extermination camps is a one way ticket to cranktown.
But pretend that Jews weren't explicitly targeted plsys to long standing antisemitism among Trump supporters.
Yeah they like Israel because of eschatological wetdreams that doesn't mean they actually support Jews.
posted by vuron at 8:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
Hey, looks like little ol' Bloomington, Indiana just made the national news as a protest site today (Courthouse Square, 4PM today!). Never been prouder!
posted by Rykey at 8:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Rykey at 8:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
byanyothername: "That sure looks like Holocaust...if not denial, then minimizing. "Everyone suffered"? Lots of disparate groups besides Jewish peoples, sure, but "everyone"?"
All lives matter.
posted by RobotHero at 8:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
All lives matter.
posted by RobotHero at 8:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
You'd think so, but we'll probably find in the next few weeks that Republican opinions about the Holocaust have shifted, just like opinions about a bunch of other things have had to shift so that people could keep supporting Trump.
A week? More like 2 days. I'm seeing the 'it was the past, we need to move forward and many people suffered' thing all over my social media right now. It's the main response under peoples postings about the WH not mentioning Jews in the statement.
posted by Jalliah at 8:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
But are they saying those things cuz they already thought them or they are just playing along with whatever the current administration is barfing out?
posted by ian1977 at 8:18 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by ian1977 at 8:18 AM on January 29, 2017
But are they saying those things cuz they already thought them or they are just playing along with whatever the current administration is barfing out?
Probably both. This admin gives people the go ahead to say what they real feel plus tells others how they should feel.
posted by Jalliah at 8:19 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Probably both. This admin gives people the go ahead to say what they real feel plus tells others how they should feel.
posted by Jalliah at 8:19 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
From the special relations department: "Boris Johnson to urge Kushner & Bannon to exempt UK dual nationals from Trump's ban on entry to US, source tells me".
posted by effbot at 8:20 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by effbot at 8:20 AM on January 29, 2017
Iraq cleric Moqtada Sadr to Americans: "You should get your nationals out.''
Going extremely well, Trump.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Going extremely well, Trump.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
The end result is the same. In order to stay supporting Trump you now have to say this and believe this.
posted by Jalliah at 8:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Basically, the Holocaust Memorial acknowledgment was written so as not to offend Holocaust deniers. No mention of numbers who died, in fact no mention that anyone died (he used the word victims), no mention of Jews, no mention of gas chambers, concentration camps, Final Solution, systematic killings versus collateral deaths. Basically all of the things the Holocaust deniers claim never happened are left out.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [108 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [108 favorites]
Probably both. This admin gives people the go ahead to say what they real feel plus tells others how they should feel.
It's possible that a lot of Trump supporters aren't consciously anti-semitic in the same way the alt-right explicitly is, but they still hear the dog whistles: liberal elite, hollywood elite, bankers, Soros, intellectuals, academics... -- they'd argue that that they don't hear a silent 'Jewish' in the terms, but they do. Not without many exceptions, obviously, but it is a real trend.
posted by Buntix at 8:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
It's possible that a lot of Trump supporters aren't consciously anti-semitic in the same way the alt-right explicitly is, but they still hear the dog whistles: liberal elite, hollywood elite, bankers, Soros, intellectuals, academics... -- they'd argue that that they don't hear a silent 'Jewish' in the terms, but they do. Not without many exceptions, obviously, but it is a real trend.
posted by Buntix at 8:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
But are they saying those things cuz they already thought them or they are just playing along with whatever the current administration is barfing out?
I think it's more like: they fucked up with the remembrance day message by not mentioning jews because they've got an antisemite (at least one) running the show (bannon) and they don't have anyone with any competence who is also able to stop the firehouse of Bannonian shit. So now they have to double down, because their other prerogative is to never ever ever admit mistakes or failures. So once Priebus is confronted with the question of why they left out specific mention of the Shoah, he's gotta get all tangled up and weaselly and he comes off sounding like a closet holocaust denier, because the other alternative is to say: that was a mistake and we fucked up and we apologize.
posted by dis_integration at 8:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
I think it's more like: they fucked up with the remembrance day message by not mentioning jews because they've got an antisemite (at least one) running the show (bannon) and they don't have anyone with any competence who is also able to stop the firehouse of Bannonian shit. So now they have to double down, because their other prerogative is to never ever ever admit mistakes or failures. So once Priebus is confronted with the question of why they left out specific mention of the Shoah, he's gotta get all tangled up and weaselly and he comes off sounding like a closet holocaust denier, because the other alternative is to say: that was a mistake and we fucked up and we apologize.
posted by dis_integration at 8:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Did anyone watch the morning political shows? (Meet the Press, etc.) How did they play out?
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 8:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 8:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
"List of rallies/actions happening across the country today"
posted by Mister Bijou at 8:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Mister Bijou at 8:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
because the other alternative is to say: that was a mistake and we fucked up and we apologize.
"Doh! in hindsight you're absolutely right, we probably shouldn't have let the actual Nazi do the speechwriting for this. But seriously, how could we have known the Nazi would say Nazi things..."
posted by Buntix at 8:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
"Doh! in hindsight you're absolutely right, we probably shouldn't have let the actual Nazi do the speechwriting for this. But seriously, how could we have known the Nazi would say Nazi things..."
posted by Buntix at 8:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
More then one stay.
Four federal judges issue orders blocking parts of Trump’s executive order on immigration
posted by Jalliah at 8:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
It's possible that a lot of Trump supporters aren't consciously anti-semitic in the same way the alt-right explicitly is, but they still hear the dog whistles: liberal elite, hollywood elite, bankers, Soros, intellectuals, academics... -- they'd argue that that they don't hear a silent 'Jewish' in the terms, but they do. Not without many exceptions, obviously, but it is a real trend.
It's just a coincidence that they are Jewish unless and until the person concerned has got more comfortable with their new world view and suddenly it isn't. If they never go down the rabbit hole, the enforcement of things against those people isn't because they are Jewish, it's because they are individually doing something bad. Why, look at Goldman Sachs/Soros/whatever and what they've been up to.
It's deniable in the same way that people refuse to see institutional racism and personal bias.
posted by jaduncan at 8:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
It's just a coincidence that they are Jewish unless and until the person concerned has got more comfortable with their new world view and suddenly it isn't. If they never go down the rabbit hole, the enforcement of things against those people isn't because they are Jewish, it's because they are individually doing something bad. Why, look at Goldman Sachs/Soros/whatever and what they've been up to.
It's deniable in the same way that people refuse to see institutional racism and personal bias.
posted by jaduncan at 8:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Some of the conservatives I have known are definitely in the camp of yeah the Holocaust happened but a)most of the direct perpetrators and victims are deceased and b) quit trying to milk the Holocaust for special treatment.
Same thing happens when you bring up US based atrocities like Slavery or the Trail of Tears. They don't like people getting to claim victim status for past events. Because apparently making white men feel a bit of empathy towards other groups of people is really impolite.
posted by vuron at 8:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
Same thing happens when you bring up US based atrocities like Slavery or the Trail of Tears. They don't like people getting to claim victim status for past events. Because apparently making white men feel a bit of empathy towards other groups of people is really impolite.
posted by vuron at 8:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
385,000+ signatures on the UK petition now, around 65,000 in the last hour.
posted by knapah at 8:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by knapah at 8:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Wow: Lawyers advising green card holders flying back to US to reroute flight thru Boston, since the court order there is most expansive
posted by porn in the woods at 8:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 8:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
385,000+ signatures on the UK petition now, around 65,000 in the last hour.
Still fewer than 2015's Stop all immigration and close the UK borders petition, though. But hopefully it'll make it past that one shortly.
posted by effbot at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Still fewer than 2015's Stop all immigration and close the UK borders petition, though. But hopefully it'll make it past that one shortly.
posted by effbot at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Did anyone watch the morning political shows? (Meet the Press, etc.) How did they play out?
Human anagram, Reince Priebus, got on MTP and said this:
Human anagram, Reince Priebus, got on MTP and said this:
"I would suspect that if you're an American citizen traveling back and forth to Libya you're likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport,"posted by Talez at 8:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
AP: Trump plans to turn to local police for help in cracking down on illegal immigration.
posted by porn in the woods at 8:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 8:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
In terms of Kremlinology it definitely seems like the supposed forces of moderation like Kushner and Priebus are losing power to the power block of Bannon and Miller and Flynn presumably Sessions.
Maybe the moderates are too busy trying to sneak off with all the good silverware while the fascist go off on a bender.
posted by vuron at 8:40 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Maybe the moderates are too busy trying to sneak off with all the good silverware while the fascist go off on a bender.
posted by vuron at 8:40 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
The thing that worries me is that where anti-semitism is normalized it will get stronger. People pick up prevailing attitudes. I suggest that when we're making our signs and badges and so on, non-Jews explicitly call out anti-semitism.
posted by Frowner at 8:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 8:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
That time when Donald Trump grabs Theresa May's hand because he is afraid of stairs.
Funny, I noticed that Trump is unable to walk down stairs and salute at the same time. On Marine One and on Air Force One (scroll to 1:57), both times he stops like he's the junior officer standing at attention. I figured that he's just learning the protocol, or maybe it's his bone spurs acting up, but afraid of stairs also explains it.
posted by peeedro at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Funny, I noticed that Trump is unable to walk down stairs and salute at the same time. On Marine One and on Air Force One (scroll to 1:57), both times he stops like he's the junior officer standing at attention. I figured that he's just learning the protocol, or maybe it's his bone spurs acting up, but afraid of stairs also explains it.
posted by peeedro at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
AP: Trump plans to turn to local police for help in cracking down on illegal immigration.
Just what we need, thousands of little Arpaios.
posted by mochapickle at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Just what we need, thousands of little Arpaios.
posted by mochapickle at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
#stoppresidentbannon is trending, so the NSC news must be getting around now.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
"I would suspect that if you're an American citizen traveling back and forth to Libya you're likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport,"
How about if I was born in Libya, applied to live in the US, was extensively vetted, worked here for a decade and then took a shopping trip into Canada?
Would that be different to if I was just an American citizen on a shopping trip to Canada, you massively disingenuous oaf?
posted by jaduncan at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
How about if I was born in Libya, applied to live in the US, was extensively vetted, worked here for a decade and then took a shopping trip into Canada?
Would that be different to if I was just an American citizen on a shopping trip to Canada, you massively disingenuous oaf?
posted by jaduncan at 8:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
#stoppresidentbannon is trending, so the NSC news must be getting around now.
It is. I'm seeing it everywhere.
posted by Jalliah at 8:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
It is. I'm seeing it everywhere.
posted by Jalliah at 8:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Remember how during the rule of Obama people here would complain that he pre-compromised all his deals with the Republicans rather than starting with a big ask and negotiating down? I have a fear this weekend we're seeing a process of negotiation...
Any Real News to what I was seeing last night about the border pigs defying the court order and maybe the Marshals having to show up? I feel like liberals, progressives, get caught up in this fantasy of government as this nice thing, forget at its core government is made of brutality and subjugation ... and forget about the necessity of maintaining any loyalty from the forces of brutality.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 8:45 AM on January 29, 2017
Any Real News to what I was seeing last night about the border pigs defying the court order and maybe the Marshals having to show up? I feel like liberals, progressives, get caught up in this fantasy of government as this nice thing, forget at its core government is made of brutality and subjugation ... and forget about the necessity of maintaining any loyalty from the forces of brutality.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 8:45 AM on January 29, 2017
Did anyone watch the morning political shows? (Meet the Press, etc.) How did they play out?
I'm watching Meet the Press right now, and Priebus just doubled down on their Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. The Republican pundit talking points seem to be leaning toward
(1) Obama ordered suspension of refugee program, why didn't anyone file lawsuits then?
(2) It's the implementation of the EO, rather than the EO itself that was flawed.
Tim Kaine provided a well articulated rebuke of the Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. CT also brought up Howard Dean's Tweet re: Dems need to do more. TK's response was "we've mounted opposition against ACA repeal that seems to be working; our focus right now is prioritizing cabinet and upcoming SCOTUS nominees.
Also, I think I just heard Republican pundit lady mention that Trump met with union leaders last week and is trying to "steal their [Dem's] base".
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm watching Meet the Press right now, and Priebus just doubled down on their Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. The Republican pundit talking points seem to be leaning toward
(1) Obama ordered suspension of refugee program, why didn't anyone file lawsuits then?
(2) It's the implementation of the EO, rather than the EO itself that was flawed.
Tim Kaine provided a well articulated rebuke of the Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. CT also brought up Howard Dean's Tweet re: Dems need to do more. TK's response was "we've mounted opposition against ACA repeal that seems to be working; our focus right now is prioritizing cabinet and upcoming SCOTUS nominees.
Also, I think I just heard Republican pundit lady mention that Trump met with union leaders last week and is trying to "steal their [Dem's] base".
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Obviously there are plenty of good shops that you can purchase goods and services in the US. Why aren't you supporting American businesses Jaduncan? Nope you are probably just in Toronto to meet with your ISIS contact.
That's the way this sort of stupid shit reads.
It's obvious that no competent lawyer reviewed the EO at all or if they did they got yelled at for not being a team player. Management through bullying.
The Dubya administration was a shit show of venality and incompetence but the Trump administration appears to be equal parts incompetence and malfeasance.
posted by vuron at 8:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
That's the way this sort of stupid shit reads.
It's obvious that no competent lawyer reviewed the EO at all or if they did they got yelled at for not being a team player. Management through bullying.
The Dubya administration was a shit show of venality and incompetence but the Trump administration appears to be equal parts incompetence and malfeasance.
posted by vuron at 8:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
AP: Trump plans to turn to local police for help in cracking down on illegal immigration.
Just what we need, thousands of little Arpaios.
Am I the only one who thinks Joe Arpaio is just a card that hasn't been played yet?
posted by lagomorphius at 8:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Just what we need, thousands of little Arpaios.
Am I the only one who thinks Joe Arpaio is just a card that hasn't been played yet?
posted by lagomorphius at 8:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
> I feel like liberals, progressives, get caught up in this fantasy of government as this nice thing, forget at its core government is made of brutality and subjugation ... and forget about the necessity of maintaining any loyalty from the forces of brutality.
What does this even mean? Law enforcement officers are ultimately employees of the state. They swear an oath to serve the people of their jurisdiction, but what they actually do is up to them. I have no idea how "liberals, progressives" are at fault here, or what "liberals, progressives" should be doing that they're not already. Yes, the state is ultimately only as good as the bombs and guns that ensure its existence -- we get that. What else are you trying to say here?
posted by tonycpsu at 8:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
What does this even mean? Law enforcement officers are ultimately employees of the state. They swear an oath to serve the people of their jurisdiction, but what they actually do is up to them. I have no idea how "liberals, progressives" are at fault here, or what "liberals, progressives" should be doing that they're not already. Yes, the state is ultimately only as good as the bombs and guns that ensure its existence -- we get that. What else are you trying to say here?
posted by tonycpsu at 8:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I attended the SFO protest yesterday and got somewhat Fired Up. I even called my parents, expecting to hear some level of minor outrage from them, since my dad was a green card holder born in an Arab country for most of my life (he's a citizen now).
Instead, my parents were disappointed to hear that I participated in the airport protests. They "feel safer" and think the ban is ok. Why?
1. Trump said he would do it during the election; we knew this was coming.
2. These countries are in chaos, as evidenced by European terror attacks. Countries like Saudi Arabia were excluded from this ban because we already have a partnership with them.
3. Obama started the pattern of executive overreach of power, Trump is just continuing that.
4. They'll put a better process in place soon, this is just a transition period. The details will get sorted out over the coming weeks.
5. Arab countries don't allow Jews in.
6. If it's illegal, the courts will overturn it.
GAH I CANT. CANT CANT.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 8:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Instead, my parents were disappointed to hear that I participated in the airport protests. They "feel safer" and think the ban is ok. Why?
1. Trump said he would do it during the election; we knew this was coming.
2. These countries are in chaos, as evidenced by European terror attacks. Countries like Saudi Arabia were excluded from this ban because we already have a partnership with them.
3. Obama started the pattern of executive overreach of power, Trump is just continuing that.
4. They'll put a better process in place soon, this is just a transition period. The details will get sorted out over the coming weeks.
5. Arab countries don't allow Jews in.
6. If it's illegal, the courts will overturn it.
GAH I CANT. CANT CANT.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 8:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Oh just heard a new one: "The leftover Obama staffers are not helping Trump in the same way that the leftover Bush staffers helped Obama."
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 8:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 8:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
@TrumpHotels: Tell us your favorite travel memory - was it a picture, a souvenir, a sunset? We'd love to hear it!
Not the responses they were angling for...
posted by Buntix at 8:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
Not the responses they were angling for...
posted by Buntix at 8:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
i will be at MSP terminal 1 around 1. not sure what to put on my sign yet though!
posted by localhuman at 8:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by localhuman at 8:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Am I the only one who thinks Joe Arpaio is just a card that hasn't been played yet?
In the sense that they're going to name him to lead Border Patrol? They will. They trotted him out for the RNC and all the Arizona rallies.
posted by mochapickle at 8:55 AM on January 29, 2017
In the sense that they're going to name him to lead Border Patrol? They will. They trotted him out for the RNC and all the Arizona rallies.
posted by mochapickle at 8:55 AM on January 29, 2017
If you have not yet run out of fucks:
Merkel's office says she explained the Geneva Convention over the phone to Trump on Saturday
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [72 favorites]
Merkel's office says she explained the Geneva Convention over the phone to Trump on Saturday
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [72 favorites]
Conway: When will reporters who 'talked smack' be fired?
"Who is cleaning house? Which one is going to be the first network to get rid of these people, the people who think things were just not true?" Conway asked on "Fox News Sunday."
"I went on three network shows and spoke for 35 minutes on three network Sunday shows. You know what got picked? The fact that I said 'alternative facts,' not the fact that I ripped a new one to some of those hosts that they never cover the facts that matter," Conway said.
my god
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [68 favorites]
"Who is cleaning house? Which one is going to be the first network to get rid of these people, the people who think things were just not true?" Conway asked on "Fox News Sunday."
"I went on three network shows and spoke for 35 minutes on three network Sunday shows. You know what got picked? The fact that I said 'alternative facts,' not the fact that I ripped a new one to some of those hosts that they never cover the facts that matter," Conway said.
my god
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [68 favorites]
According to this Politico article re: Obama's 2011 temporary suspension of the Iraqi refugee program, there was a lawsuit filed on behalf of Iraqis in the SIV Program who were waiting.
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
So for anyone that does take the time to engage twitterbating (or other social media) with Trumpista's, this morning I found and fun way to spin and twist things around. The default for them is 'whatever you are a pathetic liberal'. While this is true in the broadest sense of the word, right now I realized I am also a conservative. A person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.
And then when, 'I looked at your feed you support X and Y' that's liberal it's easy enough to spin right back with ' liberally' adjusted but normally conservative talking points. Law, order, rule of law, the Constitution, national security, freedom, liberty, economy, conservative viewpoint on climate change (it does exist), jobs etc.
Anyways just some fun playing mind gymnastics.
posted by Jalliah at 8:58 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
because he is afraid of stairs.
I think this is probably a real thing, and that specifically he has a phobia about falling down stairs or being pushed down them. Daddy's preferred punishment? Or perhaps going back to his school days?
posted by holgate at 8:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I think this is probably a real thing, and that specifically he has a phobia about falling down stairs or being pushed down them. Daddy's preferred punishment? Or perhaps going back to his school days?
posted by holgate at 8:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Forgive me for saying this so you are saying these are pants but that sounds remarkably like the same sorts of rationalizations that Jewish leaders told their communities during the Nazi regime. Rather than realize that the Trump administration does want a literal crusade against Islam people are going to go with just listen to his heart not his words. But hatred is in their hearts.
posted by vuron at 8:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by vuron at 8:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I am super sick this weekend, otherwise I would have hauled my ass out to LAX by now. Last night I had to settle for watching everything go down on the internets instead, but it was still exhausting and draining as hell.
I want to thank all of you who were able to show up at your respective airport, and are still showing up for day two. Seriously, thank you, and keep up the good work. My parents and my partner's parents are political refugees. My aunt's family is from Iraq. I may be bedridden and dehydrated as fuck right now, but I won't stand for this shit.
posted by otenba at 9:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I want to thank all of you who were able to show up at your respective airport, and are still showing up for day two. Seriously, thank you, and keep up the good work. My parents and my partner's parents are political refugees. My aunt's family is from Iraq. I may be bedridden and dehydrated as fuck right now, but I won't stand for this shit.
posted by otenba at 9:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Sen. Portman (R) from Ohio was on CNN's "State of the Union" this morning and expressed reservations about the EO's purpose & implementation, shortly followed by some tweets and a statement on his webpage. Which statement also points out that Congress should be involved in changes in immigration laws and standards, and re-emphasizes his position on keeping and codifying the sanctions against Russia.
So that got him a polite "I'm a constituent and I support your positions on these issues" call from me. I don't mind giving the not-crazies a cookie of sorts when they're openly not-crazy.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
So that got him a polite "I'm a constituent and I support your positions on these issues" call from me. I don't mind giving the not-crazies a cookie of sorts when they're openly not-crazy.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:00 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Please don't patronize me EmpressCalilipygos. It's an actual question.
You're right, I was snarky and I apologize for that.
I think, though, that I'm coming from a perspective born of feelling like a lot of the quiet-majority folk in the red states sort of paying lip service in some fashion. I've seen and heard a score of politicians trotting out "the brave First Responders" when talking about 9/11 once a year, and people plastering their Facebook feeds and twitter feeds with photoship GIFS of crying sparkly eagles in front of the Twin Towers and saying "Never Forget", but then they almost IMMEDIATELY turn around and take that sympathy back: the politicians kill the bills that can protect "the brave First Responders" or help them with health care, and the TwitterTwits go right back to slagging New York City as a cesspool. I once had some guy do that to me within THE SAME PARAGRAPH during a discussion about the Muslim Community Center they were going to build near the Ground Zero site.
So I've been left with the impression that there are a lot of people who pay lip service to saying the right things because it sounds patriotic and stuff, but secretly deep down they were thinking the things that only the far-rightists were saying. Just as the politicians would never say "I don't give a shit about the First Repsonders" outright, but their actions indicate otherwise; I don't doubt for a second that if you challenged any Trump supporters on it, they'd fall all over themselves to say "no, I don't hate Jews!" but deep down they think something very, very different.
I don't trust the majority of the Trump supporters, but I've had reason not to trust them, becuase I've heard and seen what they said about New York City post-9/11. "The Jews" are a prop, just like "New York City", that they can pose for a photo op in front of, but secretly they wish that the actual PEOPLE would just shut up and go away.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
You're right, I was snarky and I apologize for that.
I think, though, that I'm coming from a perspective born of feelling like a lot of the quiet-majority folk in the red states sort of paying lip service in some fashion. I've seen and heard a score of politicians trotting out "the brave First Responders" when talking about 9/11 once a year, and people plastering their Facebook feeds and twitter feeds with photoship GIFS of crying sparkly eagles in front of the Twin Towers and saying "Never Forget", but then they almost IMMEDIATELY turn around and take that sympathy back: the politicians kill the bills that can protect "the brave First Responders" or help them with health care, and the TwitterTwits go right back to slagging New York City as a cesspool. I once had some guy do that to me within THE SAME PARAGRAPH during a discussion about the Muslim Community Center they were going to build near the Ground Zero site.
So I've been left with the impression that there are a lot of people who pay lip service to saying the right things because it sounds patriotic and stuff, but secretly deep down they were thinking the things that only the far-rightists were saying. Just as the politicians would never say "I don't give a shit about the First Repsonders" outright, but their actions indicate otherwise; I don't doubt for a second that if you challenged any Trump supporters on it, they'd fall all over themselves to say "no, I don't hate Jews!" but deep down they think something very, very different.
I don't trust the majority of the Trump supporters, but I've had reason not to trust them, becuase I've heard and seen what they said about New York City post-9/11. "The Jews" are a prop, just like "New York City", that they can pose for a photo op in front of, but secretly they wish that the actual PEOPLE would just shut up and go away.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
We definitely need a new post, right?
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 9:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by The Noble Goofy Elk at 9:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Basically, the Holocaust Memorial acknowledgment was written so as not to offend Holocaust deniers.
Current Google search: how do i get off this planet
posted by otenba at 9:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Current Google search: how do i get off this planet
posted by otenba at 9:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
“America is better than this,” the Democrats tweeted.
It’s a soothing thought, but it’s wrong. America isn’t better than this. How could it be? America just did this. This is who we are. Not only that—it’s who we’ve been time and again. And if we really want to become a different country, we need to own it—all of it.
We’re the country of the Chinese Exclusion Act. We’re the country of Japanese internment. We’re the country that turned away Jews fleeing the Nazis.
More to the point, we’re the country that has spent nearly two decades demonizing Muslims. We’re the country that embraced the torture of Muslims around the world and on our TV screens. We’re the country that let the people who did the torturing off the hook. We’re the country that allowed people like Bill Maher to reframe rank Islamophobia as a form of edgy, anti-PC truth-telling and still be lauded by people who consider themselves to be good liberals. We’re the country whose media all too frequently treats the idea that Islam is inherently evil as a point to be debated, not a statement of crude bigotry. We’re the country where the racist harassment—and worse—of Muslims has become normalized, an everyday thing.
posted by infini at 9:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
It’s a soothing thought, but it’s wrong. America isn’t better than this. How could it be? America just did this. This is who we are. Not only that—it’s who we’ve been time and again. And if we really want to become a different country, we need to own it—all of it.
We’re the country of the Chinese Exclusion Act. We’re the country of Japanese internment. We’re the country that turned away Jews fleeing the Nazis.
More to the point, we’re the country that has spent nearly two decades demonizing Muslims. We’re the country that embraced the torture of Muslims around the world and on our TV screens. We’re the country that let the people who did the torturing off the hook. We’re the country that allowed people like Bill Maher to reframe rank Islamophobia as a form of edgy, anti-PC truth-telling and still be lauded by people who consider themselves to be good liberals. We’re the country whose media all too frequently treats the idea that Islam is inherently evil as a point to be debated, not a statement of crude bigotry. We’re the country where the racist harassment—and worse—of Muslims has become normalized, an everyday thing.
posted by infini at 9:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
FYI, anyone in Toronto, there's apparently going to be a small protest in front of the US Embassy (360 University Ave) around 1:30pm today.
https://twitter.com/Mad_Catur/status/825550962647511044
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 9:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
https://twitter.com/Mad_Catur/status/825550962647511044
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 9:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Our Kelda has come out in support in support of the Trump ban. (I do try hard to avoid feelings of national pride, but). Looks like the petition is shortly going to be hitting 1/2 a mil, egged on by @Iannucci (who should know about this sort of stuff).
posted by Buntix at 9:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 9:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I remember just 3 or 4 years ago fighting on the grey about the increasing anti muslim commentary that were never flagged as racist or hurtful. I saw it get more and more open. I think it took a bunch of muslim mefites to push back on it for the topic to be considered an offense by the mods.
It's truly great to see the change right now. Thank you.
posted by infini at 9:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
It's truly great to see the change right now. Thank you.
posted by infini at 9:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
This picture of my granddaughter is giving me hope.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 9:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 9:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
Trump's apparent stairs phobia then adds more weight to that line from the leaks about all the chaos in the WH about how Kellyanne is actually being marginalized because her office is upstairs in the WH... She is so loathesomely self-serving that I hope she sees the writing on the wall and at least tries to take down Bannon before she's booted completely...
posted by TwoStride at 9:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 9:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
because he is afraid of stairs.
Maybe he is worried about the terrible secret of space.
posted by drezdn at 9:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Maybe he is worried about the terrible secret of space.
posted by drezdn at 9:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Is there an active MeTa about managing the series of running threads on USA-centric current political events, and related information?
posted by perspicio at 9:13 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by perspicio at 9:13 AM on January 29, 2017
> Is there an active MeTa about managing the series of running threads on USA-centric current political events, and related information?
Yes.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Yes.
posted by tonycpsu at 9:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
At this point, I'm not willing to believe that Conway is any better than Bannon. She just never realized she could throw out the established rules of the game and make new ones up before him.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Hey LA-area/Socal Mefites, I am leaving for LAX in a couple hours, my offer of carpooling to the LAX protest still stands. If you're on my way from Riverside County to LAX, I'll be happy to pick you up. I'm currently picking up another mefite at Union Station. Memail if you'd like to join.
posted by yasaman at 9:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 9:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Basically, the Holocaust Memorial acknowledgment was written so as not to offend Holocaust deniers.
Basically, it was written BY Holocaust deniers and Holocaust fans.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Basically, it was written BY Holocaust deniers and Holocaust fans.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Yes. The fear in the anti-semitism MeTa coming from posters who are usually non-confrontational and quiet on these topics convinced me of that, Frowner. We need to be very clear about, e.g., centering Jews as fellow citizens and allies against fascism together, and calling attention to the many Jews who stand in solidarity with Syrian refugees. We need to remember the trauma of history and not allow scum like Holocaust deniers to pretend it does not happen.
One of the moments I remember most clearly from high school was when my World History teacher told us that Holocaust deniers existed and asked how we thought they presented themselves. I remember I opened my idiot fifteen year old mouth and said some adolescent cynical thing, and he shook his head and forcefully said that no, that wasn't it, that they would come in the guise of calm and reasonable people saying reasonable things that were nevertheless lies. I never forgot that, because it startled me that an authority figure would come out and take a stand like that.
He wasn't Jewish as far as I know. Just a good man, a smart man, with principles and dedication. And he warned us to keep our eyes and ears open to people using history for their own ends several times that year.
I suddenly miss him.
posted by sciatrix at 9:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [83 favorites]
One of the moments I remember most clearly from high school was when my World History teacher told us that Holocaust deniers existed and asked how we thought they presented themselves. I remember I opened my idiot fifteen year old mouth and said some adolescent cynical thing, and he shook his head and forcefully said that no, that wasn't it, that they would come in the guise of calm and reasonable people saying reasonable things that were nevertheless lies. I never forgot that, because it startled me that an authority figure would come out and take a stand like that.
He wasn't Jewish as far as I know. Just a good man, a smart man, with principles and dedication. And he warned us to keep our eyes and ears open to people using history for their own ends several times that year.
I suddenly miss him.
posted by sciatrix at 9:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [83 favorites]
Okay, Jonathan Schwartz is DEFINITELY sending out an NPR dogwhistle. I heard the tail end of his program last night, when he closed with For What It's Worth. His Sunday show just started now, and he also started with it - and then followed it up with Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. A note on Adagio, from Wikipedia:
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
The Adagio for Strings has been performed on many public occasions, especially during times of mourning. It was:Jonathan is talking now (it just ended), and simply saying "that's a piece of work, isn't it?" And then suddenly started marvelling at how quickly the crowds swelled at JFK yesterday, and then went on to recommend a Maureen Dowd column, before moving on to "and next up, here's a lovely bit from Audrey Hepburn...."
Broadcast over the radio at the announcement of Franklin D. Roosevelt's death
Broadcast over the TV at the announcement of John F. Kennedy's death
Played at the funeral of Albert Einstein
Played at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco
Broadcast on BBC Radio several times after the announcement of the death of Princess Diana
Performed at Last Night of the Proms in 2001 at the Royal Albert Hall to commemorate the victims of the September 11 attacks
Played during the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver; the fatal crash of the luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the same day added to the performance's emotional effect.
Played at the state funeral of Canadian New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton
Played in Trafalgar Square, on January 9, 2015, by an ensemble of 150 string players led by Thomas Gould of the Aurora Orchestra following the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo.
Played at the National University of Singapore for the state funeral of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore on 29 March 2015
Played by the Brussels Philharmonic on 25 March 2016 in front of the Brussels Stock Exchange following the 2016 Brussels bombings earlier that week.
Played at the National University of Singapore for the state funeral of S. R. Nathan in Singapore on 26 August 2016.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
He's a 70-year-old man. He should be afraid of stairs. I see nothing further in this line of discussion, personally.
posted by samthemander at 9:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by samthemander at 9:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Is there an active MeTa about managing the series of running threads on USA-centric current political events, and related information?
About the Trump threads
With as good as 2,000 comments on this thread in 48 hours, it looks like yet another post/thread will be needed in roughly a day or so. I can't do one as am mostly off the grid for cheese-related reasons I can't discuss, so if anyone wants to start constructing one, shouting dibs on here for the #nextpost may be a good idea (I forgot to do so last time and undercut Jalliah - sorry again).
posted by Wordshore at 9:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
About the Trump threads
With as good as 2,000 comments on this thread in 48 hours, it looks like yet another post/thread will be needed in roughly a day or so. I can't do one as am mostly off the grid for cheese-related reasons I can't discuss, so if anyone wants to start constructing one, shouting dibs on here for the #nextpost may be a good idea (I forgot to do so last time and undercut Jalliah - sorry again).
posted by Wordshore at 9:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP "it's not going to happen" Attys seeking contempt order (AFLCIO)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
> It just occurred to me that the Uber tweet re: JFK said they were *ending* surge pricing there. Doesn't that mean they're dropping the incentive for any of their drivers to head over there?
Yeah, but who cares about drivers? Certainly not Uber, which is a large reason for "fuck them" sentiments. Driver's don't actually get a choice of fare in the system; reject too many fares and their rating will fall, fall too low (like below 4.5 out of 5), and eventually they'll be kicked off the platform and not be allowed to drive anymore. Given extra traffic and no surge pricing, drivers have a negative incentive to drop riders off there, but drivers don't really have a choice.
Uber, as mentioned up thread and just like every other tech company, has a large number of immigrants working there, but tech workers are one group of employees that could easily band together to force a change. If they threaten to quit on Monday, follow through with the threat on Wednesday, they could have an offer by Friday.
Uber's CEO, and Trump apologist, Travis Kalanick has promised that this is an "issue that I will raise this coming Friday". But he already played his hand when they turned off surge pricing, instead of turning off service to the airport or saying they wouldn't penalize drivers who refuse to drive to the airport.
You're god damn right the app's been deleted.
posted by fragmede at 9:19 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
Yeah, but who cares about drivers? Certainly not Uber, which is a large reason for "fuck them" sentiments. Driver's don't actually get a choice of fare in the system; reject too many fares and their rating will fall, fall too low (like below 4.5 out of 5), and eventually they'll be kicked off the platform and not be allowed to drive anymore. Given extra traffic and no surge pricing, drivers have a negative incentive to drop riders off there, but drivers don't really have a choice.
Uber, as mentioned up thread and just like every other tech company, has a large number of immigrants working there, but tech workers are one group of employees that could easily band together to force a change. If they threaten to quit on Monday, follow through with the threat on Wednesday, they could have an offer by Friday.
Uber's CEO, and Trump apologist, Travis Kalanick has promised that this is an "issue that I will raise this coming Friday". But he already played his hand when they turned off surge pricing, instead of turning off service to the airport or saying they wouldn't penalize drivers who refuse to drive to the airport.
You're god damn right the app's been deleted.
posted by fragmede at 9:19 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
I've never protested anything in my entire life, I don't even know how to protest, but I will be damned if I keep quiet while they pick on helpless refugees.
Bay-area mefites assemble!
posted by getting_back_on_track at 9:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [30 favorites]
Bay-area mefites assemble!
posted by getting_back_on_track at 9:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [30 favorites]
My (Canadian) family just canceled what for years has been an annual camping trip to Michigan. My sister and her family have gone to Disney almost every year for well over a decade, but she just told me those days are done, too. I can't imagine they're the only ones having second thoughts about traveling to the U.S. for any reason. My wife and certainly won't be. But it's not like tourism and cross-border shopping are significant sectors of the American economy, so I'm sure Trump and his supporters won't miss the business.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
apropos of nothing, it occurs to me that half the reason Trump, Bannon and co. got this far is that the opposition (mainstream Republicans, Democrats) thought he was a joke until it was too late.
well now he's president, and that's no joke. i suspect that he'll find the opposition a lot less dismissive than he has become accustomed to.
posted by murphy slaw at 9:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
well now he's president, and that's no joke. i suspect that he'll find the opposition a lot less dismissive than he has become accustomed to.
posted by murphy slaw at 9:21 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
cheese-related reasons I can't discuss
oh hell no you are not dropping that here and walking away
posted by murphy slaw at 9:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [89 favorites]
oh hell no you are not dropping that here and walking away
posted by murphy slaw at 9:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [89 favorites]
Can someone please point me again to the tweeted list of legislators who have come out against the EO? I want to publicly thank them.
posted by HotToddy at 9:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 9:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP "it's not going to happen" Attys seeking contempt order (AFLCIO)
I've seen similar tweets about SFO and LAX.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:23 AM on January 29, 2017
I've seen similar tweets about SFO and LAX.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:23 AM on January 29, 2017
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP "it's not going to happen" Attys seeking contempt order (AFLCIO)
This is the first major test on how strong the institution of law can hold the line in this new era. This is rapidly approaching constitutional crisis territory.
Most important thing going on right now.
posted by Jalliah at 9:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [44 favorites]
This is the first major test on how strong the institution of law can hold the line in this new era. This is rapidly approaching constitutional crisis territory.
Most important thing going on right now.
posted by Jalliah at 9:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [44 favorites]
I am unable to do a post today. I'm here but doing other things at the same time.
posted by Jalliah at 9:25 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is the email I received from Uber when I cancelled my never used account (I do use Juno,Ubers competition; the drivers earn more, own a portion of the company, and I believe are protected more)
Thanks for your message. We share your concern that this ban will impact many thousands of innocent people. That’s why Uber is committed to financially compensating drivers affected by the ban, so that they can continue to support their families while they are prevented from returning to the US. For more information you can read our CEO’s statement at: http://t.uber.com/eo.
By no means were we trying to break up a strike at JFK. After the strike was over, we wanted to let people know that Uber was an option to get to/from the airport at normal prices.
While I’m sorry to hear about your concerns, I’ve gone ahead and deleted your account as requested.
posted by newpotato at 9:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thanks for your message. We share your concern that this ban will impact many thousands of innocent people. That’s why Uber is committed to financially compensating drivers affected by the ban, so that they can continue to support their families while they are prevented from returning to the US. For more information you can read our CEO’s statement at: http://t.uber.com/eo.
By no means were we trying to break up a strike at JFK. After the strike was over, we wanted to let people know that Uber was an option to get to/from the airport at normal prices.
While I’m sorry to hear about your concerns, I’ve gone ahead and deleted your account as requested.
posted by newpotato at 9:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP "it's not going to happen" Attys seeking contempt order
A surprising number of things in our society work by convention, and when those boundaries are broken it's not clear what happens next. In theory, courts have vast and unspecified powers to prevent, correct, and punish contempt. In practice most have a couple of middle-aged bailiffs and the assurance that they'll be supported if necessary. What happens when the Executive says "No, fsck you" to the Legislature? In theory that's when Congress would start impeachment proceedings. But suppose Congress supports the Executive, or is otherwise unwilling or unable to impeach? Well, that's basically the end of the US' Constitution.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
A surprising number of things in our society work by convention, and when those boundaries are broken it's not clear what happens next. In theory, courts have vast and unspecified powers to prevent, correct, and punish contempt. In practice most have a couple of middle-aged bailiffs and the assurance that they'll be supported if necessary. What happens when the Executive says "No, fsck you" to the Legislature? In theory that's when Congress would start impeachment proceedings. But suppose Congress supports the Executive, or is otherwise unwilling or unable to impeach? Well, that's basically the end of the US' Constitution.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
Saw upthread the question about how MTP went today...
Wanted to add that Preibus was asked about the reorganization of the National Security Council. He doubled down on the DNI/Joint Chiefs of Staff having an open invitation, despite the text of the order stating these persons “shall attend where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.”
You'd think that would be every meeting, so why specify?
posted by birdheist at 9:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Wanted to add that Preibus was asked about the reorganization of the National Security Council. He doubled down on the DNI/Joint Chiefs of Staff having an open invitation, despite the text of the order stating these persons “shall attend where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.”
You'd think that would be every meeting, so why specify?
posted by birdheist at 9:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP "it's not going to happen" Attys seeking contempt order (AFLCIO)
This is the first major test on how strong the institution of law can hold the line in this new era. This is rapidly approaching constitutional crisis territory.
All that keeps running through my head reading this is Trump's stoopid "LAW and ORDER!" bellowing at the RNC. People at the airports should put this on a loop and blast it through a boom box or something.
posted by Rykey at 9:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
This is the first major test on how strong the institution of law can hold the line in this new era. This is rapidly approaching constitutional crisis territory.
All that keeps running through my head reading this is Trump's stoopid "LAW and ORDER!" bellowing at the RNC. People at the airports should put this on a loop and blast it through a boom box or something.
posted by Rykey at 9:29 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yeah I saw some sweet summer child on social media yesterday saying "we the people can impeach him!" and yeah no, actually. That's not how that works and way too many people seem to have slept through that day in Civics class. We have no power here except the power to resist.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
What happens when the Executive says "No, fsck you" to the Legislature? In theory that's when Congress would start impeachment proceedings. But suppose Congress supports the Executive, or is otherwise unwilling or unable to impeach? Well, that's basically the end of the US' Constitution.
everything in the last week is telling me that this is quickly becoming the most likely end to the whole fiasco of DJT. best case scenario is impeachment right? but what happens if the President just chooses to not accept the impeachment? And does anyone here seriously think DJT will leave office cause some loser senators told him to?
posted by Glibpaxman at 9:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
everything in the last week is telling me that this is quickly becoming the most likely end to the whole fiasco of DJT. best case scenario is impeachment right? but what happens if the President just chooses to not accept the impeachment? And does anyone here seriously think DJT will leave office cause some loser senators told him to?
posted by Glibpaxman at 9:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
One of the moments I remember most clearly from high school was when my World History teacher told us that Holocaust deniers existed and asked how we thought they presented themselves. I remember I opened my idiot fifteen year old mouth and said some adolescent cynical thing, and he shook his head and forcefully said that no, that wasn't it, that they would come in the guise of calm and reasonable people saying reasonable things that were nevertheless lies. I never forgot that, because it startled me that an authority figure would come out and take a stand like that.
He wasn't Jewish as far as I know. Just a good man, a smart man, with principles and dedication. And he warned us to keep our eyes and ears open to people using history for their own ends several times that year.
I've been having similar warm feelings for my 10th grade World History teacher. Despite my being a temple-attending Jewish kid raised on the horrors of the Holocaust, he was the first person to present the rise of fascism to me in practical terms, and to point out forcefully and eloquently that it wasn't virulent hatred that propelled the Nazis to power, but apathy among the electorate in the Weimar Republic. That widespread apathy and disengagement from the duties of citizenship is what allows a tiny but fanatically motivated extremist minority to seize control of the levers of power. He's retired now, but I've been trying to track him down to thank him.
posted by contraption at 9:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
He wasn't Jewish as far as I know. Just a good man, a smart man, with principles and dedication. And he warned us to keep our eyes and ears open to people using history for their own ends several times that year.
I've been having similar warm feelings for my 10th grade World History teacher. Despite my being a temple-attending Jewish kid raised on the horrors of the Holocaust, he was the first person to present the rise of fascism to me in practical terms, and to point out forcefully and eloquently that it wasn't virulent hatred that propelled the Nazis to power, but apathy among the electorate in the Weimar Republic. That widespread apathy and disengagement from the duties of citizenship is what allows a tiny but fanatically motivated extremist minority to seize control of the levers of power. He's retired now, but I've been trying to track him down to thank him.
posted by contraption at 9:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
All that keeps running through my head reading this is Trump's stoopid "LAW and ORDER!" bellowing at the RNC. People at the airports should put this on a loop and blast it through a boom box or something.
What about the Law and Order theme song? That would be good to blast.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
What about the Law and Order theme song? That would be good to blast.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Here's a really easy and fast thing I just did and we all can do easily: Called my local international airport (SFO), spoke with receptionist and said,
"Please pass on this message to your supervisor: I fly out of your airport regularly, and I am asking you to uphold the US Constitution and to oppose yesterday's executive order."
The person who answered the phone was very sweet and positive.
Tying up phone lines, passing on the right message, these are tiny acts that help fill the river of action and descent - it's the least we can do.
posted by latkes at 9:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
"Please pass on this message to your supervisor: I fly out of your airport regularly, and I am asking you to uphold the US Constitution and to oppose yesterday's executive order."
The person who answered the phone was very sweet and positive.
Tying up phone lines, passing on the right message, these are tiny acts that help fill the river of action and descent - it's the least we can do.
posted by latkes at 9:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
everything in the last week is telling me that this is quickly becoming the most likely end to the whole fiasco of DJT.
from your mouth to the $ORGANIZING_PRINCIPLE's ears
but my gut tells me this ride is far from over
posted by murphy slaw at 9:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
from your mouth to the $ORGANIZING_PRINCIPLE's ears
but my gut tells me this ride is far from over
posted by murphy slaw at 9:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
All that keeps running through my head reading this is Trump's stoopid "LAW and ORDER!" bellowing at the RNC
They appear to not be good at either of those things. But of course those words mean different things to Trump supporters.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
They appear to not be good at either of those things. But of course those words mean different things to Trump supporters.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
All that keeps running through my head reading this is Trump's stoopid "LAW and ORDER!" bellowing at the RNC.The thing is, "law and order" doesn't mean actual law and actual order to people like Trump and his hardcore supporters. It means allowing the police to harass and terrorize black people. They would not recognize this as a betrayal of law and order, because for them "law and order" doesn't have anything to do with the executive abiding by court decisions.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:36 AM on January 29, 2017 [36 favorites]
"law and order" doesn't have anything to do with the executive abiding by court decisions
Right -- because that's unelected activist judges thwarting the will of the people.
posted by Slothrup at 9:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Right -- because that's unelected activist judges thwarting the will of the people.
posted by Slothrup at 9:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
List of US Senators responses to Muslim Ban
posted by birdheist at 9:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by birdheist at 9:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
Right -- because that's unelected activist judges thwarting the will of the people.
half the time the will of the people is to lynch motherfuckers so maybe fuck the will of the people
posted by murphy slaw at 9:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
half the time the will of the people is to lynch motherfuckers so maybe fuck the will of the people
posted by murphy slaw at 9:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Right -- because that's unelected activist judges thwarting the will of the people.No, I actually don't think it's even that. It's because "law and order", for them, is 100% racist dogwhistle.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:38 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
but what happens if the President just chooses to not accept the impeachment?
Basically, if Trump were to be impeached, Pence would be President. So if Trump refused to accept the result of the impeachment trial it would come down to Pence and whether the rest of the executive started taking orders from him. If Pence refused to take the oath of office, we'd have an Emperor Trump, I think, who would probably arrest the Senators who voted for his impeachment and maybe some Supremes for good measure. If Pence took the oath of office, said he was President now, and ordered Trump arrested, it would then be up to LEOs and military to either obey him, or continue to obey Trump. I expect there would be a split, guns would be drawn and it would come down to who was left standing.
I think I'm gonna read some Tacitus this week. Roman history was never more relevant.
posted by dis_integration at 9:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Basically, if Trump were to be impeached, Pence would be President. So if Trump refused to accept the result of the impeachment trial it would come down to Pence and whether the rest of the executive started taking orders from him. If Pence refused to take the oath of office, we'd have an Emperor Trump, I think, who would probably arrest the Senators who voted for his impeachment and maybe some Supremes for good measure. If Pence took the oath of office, said he was President now, and ordered Trump arrested, it would then be up to LEOs and military to either obey him, or continue to obey Trump. I expect there would be a split, guns would be drawn and it would come down to who was left standing.
I think I'm gonna read some Tacitus this week. Roman history was never more relevant.
posted by dis_integration at 9:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Also: MPLS people: if you're taking the light rail, maybe go early? They'll probably start checking the trains if it gets out of hand, like they did for Black Lives Matter.
This is good advice. Last night, Sound Transit's Link Light Rail (the light rail from Seattle to SeaTac airport) stopped serving the SeaTac Airport stop, directly to prevent protesters from getting to the airport.
Didn't stop 50 or so from just getting off at Tukwila instead, and marching down.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is good advice. Last night, Sound Transit's Link Light Rail (the light rail from Seattle to SeaTac airport) stopped serving the SeaTac Airport stop, directly to prevent protesters from getting to the airport.
Didn't stop 50 or so from just getting off at Tukwila instead, and marching down.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
List of US Senators responses to Muslim Ban
Thanks, had assumed Corker and Alexander were silent. Going to protest outside their Nashville offices today.
posted by ghharr at 9:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
On my way to SFO with a coffee carrier and a "Muslims Welcome Here" sign.
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:44 AM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:44 AM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
I feel for John Lewis. Man's a damn hero, and it's not like he's been sitting on his laurels even once he got into the halls of power, but I can't help but think that he was hoping and expecting not to have to take to the streets again half a century after his days fighting the system from the outside. I sure hope he's getting something of a lift from reviving the spirit of protest so long dormant, but were I in his shoes, I'd be mostly thinking, "I'm too old to have to be doing this shit again."
posted by jackbishop at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
but what happens if the President just chooses to not accept the impeachment?
We better hope the military is on our side.
At some point it comes down to who the people with the guns listen to.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
We better hope the military is on our side.
At some point it comes down to who the people with the guns listen to.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
The GDR was very strong on law and order. The Chinese are very strong on law and order. It's the absolute backbone of authoritarianism. After all, who's in favour of gangsterism and anarchy? Empty words unless the context is defined.
And if Donald was impeached then there would be riots, but Pence would be in charge and Donnie would be out, unless there was a coup supported by the military, because if he locked himself in the Oval Office people with guns would turn up and take him away.He wouldn't have a choice in the matter.
(On preview, what dis_integration said. It would be messy, but there is a clear course of action that would enable an effective impeachment)
posted by Devonian at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017
And if Donald was impeached then there would be riots, but Pence would be in charge and Donnie would be out, unless there was a coup supported by the military, because if he locked himself in the Oval Office people with guns would turn up and take him away.He wouldn't have a choice in the matter.
(On preview, what dis_integration said. It would be messy, but there is a clear course of action that would enable an effective impeachment)
posted by Devonian at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017
i find it encouraging that no senator has yet thought it was a good idea to speak up in favor of this catastrophe. they may be cowards, but they're smarter than i gave them credit for.
posted by murphy slaw at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
385,000+ signatures on the UK petition now, around 65,000 in the last hour.
Still fewer than 2015's Stop all immigration and close the UK borders petition, though. But hopefully it'll make it past that one shortly.
posted by effbot at 8:37 AM on January 29 [+] [!]
Done
posted by miorita at 9:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Still fewer than 2015's Stop all immigration and close the UK borders petition, though. But hopefully it'll make it past that one shortly.
posted by effbot at 8:37 AM on January 29 [+] [!]
Done
posted by miorita at 9:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Two people at SFO, one at Dulles, and two at JFK face "imminent deportation” because CBP won't comply with court order, advocates say.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 9:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Welp, took 9 days for the Constitutional crisis - Sr. White House official to @KellyO: Presidents EO targeting Muslim countries is still in place. Court rulings dont undercut Presidents EO
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
List of US Senators responses to Muslim Ban
See also: Here’s where Republicans stand on Trump’s controversial travel ban
posted by peeedro at 9:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
See also: Here’s where Republicans stand on Trump’s controversial travel ban
posted by peeedro at 9:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
i find it encouraging that no senator has yet thought it was a good idea to speak up in favor of this catastrophe. they may be cowards, but they're smarter than i gave them credit for
Not Paul Ryan though!
posted by ghharr at 9:50 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Welp, took 9 days for the Constitutional crisis - Sr. White House official to @KellyO: Presidents EO targeting Muslim countries is still in place. Court rulings dont undercut Presidents EO
"Sovereignty" is the new 21st century synonym of "State's Rights".
posted by Talez at 9:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Sovereignty" is the new 21st century synonym of "State's Rights".
posted by Talez at 9:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
> soren:Preaching to the choir here, I know, but Jesus fuck people, focus....
A small but noticeable chunk of the American left has been infected with the exact same virus that produced the Alt-Right. They are de-facto Deplorables; never bought into the horseshoe theory until this year but boy howdy do I these days. No idea how to deal with them stinking up the joint, though.
> Wheel and chew them out wherever you see them fomenting ideological purity or relitigating lost battles over workable forward movement. Do it fast, before they can convince other people that relitigating Bernie is a better place for energy that fighting in the trenches. We do it here all the time.You're going to jump on the Left for being skeptical of Democrats who vote for demonstrably shitty stuff? For the thousandth time, could we not do this?
Bob Casey has voted for 3 out of 4 of Trump's nominees so far. I'm a Virginian, so I took note of the news last night that Mark Warner showed up at the Dulles protest with more than a little side eye, because Warner has voted for all four of Trump's nominees that have come up. For that matter, so has my other Senator, Tim Kaine (you know, Hillary Clinton's vice presidential nominee — I guess we know now how deep "the most progressive platform in history" really went). So with that record in mind, Warner showing up at the airport to get in front some cameras looked like nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt.
When regular people like you and me, people who are not United States Senators, show up at a protest, it's because that's the extent of our power over the world to change things. When these guys show up after using their official powers to go along with the broader program of evil shit, it looks a whole lot like Trump showing up at Carrier to announce that he personally saved a couple hundred jobs. At best, it's pissing into the ocean. So excuse me if I remain skeptical until they demonstrate that they can get with the program.
posted by indubitable at 9:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Official DHS tweet @DHSgov: .@POTUS’s Executive Order affects a minor portion of int’l travelers
Minor portion = minorities
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Minor portion = minorities
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
A 12-year-old girl with U.S. citizen parents is stuck in Djibouti thanks to Trump's executive order
posted by porn in the woods at 9:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 9:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
Senator Chris Van Hollen It's a sad day for our country when our Commander-in-Chief is acting more like Vladimir Putin than an American president.
And he also spoke out against the ban on tv this am.
Van Hollen also addressed the competence issue: "These guys couldn't run a two-car funeral."
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
And he also spoke out against the ban on tv this am.
Van Hollen also addressed the competence issue: "These guys couldn't run a two-car funeral."
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Welp, took 9 days for the Constitutional crisis - Sr. White House official to @KellyO: Presidents EO targeting Muslim countries is still in place. Court rulings dont undercut Presidents EO
The attached statement says, basically, that the President has the legal power to ignore the law, is now doing so, and intends to carry on doing so.
Perhaps a more constitutionally-informed Mefite could tell me what further test is needed for impeachment, apart (of course) from Congress deciding to act on its responsibility to do so?
posted by Devonian at 9:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
The attached statement says, basically, that the President has the legal power to ignore the law, is now doing so, and intends to carry on doing so.
Perhaps a more constitutionally-informed Mefite could tell me what further test is needed for impeachment, apart (of course) from Congress deciding to act on its responsibility to do so?
posted by Devonian at 9:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
A 12-year-old girl with U.S. citizen parents is stuck in Djibouti thanks to Trump's executive order
That story describes one nightmare after another.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:01 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
That story describes one nightmare after another.
posted by Mister Bijou at 10:01 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Someone should tell Trump that John Marshall was merely courteous when he didn't call the US Marshals to enforce Worcester. The possibility of an armed arm of the judicial branch and an armed arm of the executive branch coming into conflict is fucking nuts.
posted by Talez at 10:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Talez at 10:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson joins calls to cancel Donald Trump's state visit
posted by Buntix at 10:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 10:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
The 12-year-old girl stranding makes me want to break something and scream FUCK! FUCK! over and over again. I hate this so much.
Which makes me wonder how all of you are doing and coping. My creeping sense of dread and grief has been replaced by this weird, perpetual, full-body terror and anger. This is really happening, isn't it? Boy, am I glad for these threads. I probably would have been dumped, lost my job, and fallen into blithering insanity without them.
posted by mynameisluka at 10:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Which makes me wonder how all of you are doing and coping. My creeping sense of dread and grief has been replaced by this weird, perpetual, full-body terror and anger. This is really happening, isn't it? Boy, am I glad for these threads. I probably would have been dumped, lost my job, and fallen into blithering insanity without them.
posted by mynameisluka at 10:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Trump: L'etat c'est moi.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
The attached statement says, basically, that the President has the legal power to ignore the law, is now doing so, and intends to carry on doing so.
Such statements have happened in the past and there was no meaningful impeachment effort. Just internet outrage over the Torture memo as an example.
posted by rough ashlar at 10:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Such statements have happened in the past and there was no meaningful impeachment effort. Just internet outrage over the Torture memo as an example.
posted by rough ashlar at 10:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Perhaps a more constitutionally-informed Mefite could tell me what further test is needed for impeachment, apart (of course) from Congress deciding to act on its responsibility to do so?
I don't believe you need any test at all. It's Congress that decides what counts as "high crimes and misdemeanors", and it is Congress that decides whether they have been committed. So don't wait for a "surely this" moment: they could have done it, and they're choosing not to, and they will only do it when enough Republicans think that it's a good idea.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I don't believe you need any test at all. It's Congress that decides what counts as "high crimes and misdemeanors", and it is Congress that decides whether they have been committed. So don't wait for a "surely this" moment: they could have done it, and they're choosing not to, and they will only do it when enough Republicans think that it's a good idea.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Chuck Schumer was moved to visible tears this morning talking about how the EO is "mean-spirited and un-American." I do hope that some good comes out of this in the form of galvanized opposition to Trump's nominees -- Schumer's good at saying one thing to the media and doing another behind the scenes, but you can't fake the kind of emotion that he displayed talking about it today. Maybe this is the kick in the ass that Democrats needed. /SurelyThis
posted by tonycpsu at 10:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 10:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
"bribery, treason, or other high crimes or misdemeanors"
If they impeach Trump it'll be bribery, I bet
posted by thelonius at 10:08 AM on January 29, 2017
If they impeach Trump it'll be bribery, I bet
posted by thelonius at 10:08 AM on January 29, 2017
Eliot Cohen on Trump's 1st week (The Atlantic)
Precisely because the problem is one of temperament and character, it will not get better. It will get worse, as power intoxicates Trump and those around him. 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. The sooner Americans get used to these likelihoods, the better.posted by kingless at 10:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
So they are going to ignore judiciary rulings - I suspect they will start removing judges who defy them from office - and making up their own rules shitting all over the constitution, how do people stop them? Is the ONLY POSSIBLE THING that enough Republicans agree to impeach him?
I fear some heroes are needed, and more likely than not, those with the potential right now have some sort of knives against their throats or those of their loved ones. If something could be done, WHAT IS THAT THING? I do (hope and) believe people are holed up in rooms from coast to coast right now trying to answer this question. I find myself potentially at the dawn of a new very bad era with very little in terms of tangible skills (legal, organizational, military, ?) to help turn the tide back toward good.
For Monday, I am signed up to go to a community meeting with state reps to discuss how to help local Syrian refugees, which I signed up for before the immigration ban. At some point, many of us may have to decide whether keeping our jobs is more important than lining the streets day after day - which makes it just a bit easier to see how power is kept once it is taken.
posted by Glinn at 10:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I fear some heroes are needed, and more likely than not, those with the potential right now have some sort of knives against their throats or those of their loved ones. If something could be done, WHAT IS THAT THING? I do (hope and) believe people are holed up in rooms from coast to coast right now trying to answer this question. I find myself potentially at the dawn of a new very bad era with very little in terms of tangible skills (legal, organizational, military, ?) to help turn the tide back toward good.
For Monday, I am signed up to go to a community meeting with state reps to discuss how to help local Syrian refugees, which I signed up for before the immigration ban. At some point, many of us may have to decide whether keeping our jobs is more important than lining the streets day after day - which makes it just a bit easier to see how power is kept once it is taken.
posted by Glinn at 10:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Perhaps a more constitutionally-informed Mefite could tell me what further test is needed for impeachment, apart (of course) from Congress deciding to act on its responsibility to do so?
Well, the constitution states "The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." However, for all practical purposes the only mechanism is Congress deciding to remove the President, for whatever reason they think is necessary.
The 25th amendment also states "Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President." And there is quite a bit of talk about Pence and the Cabinet declaring Trump mentally unfit for office and then requesting that Ryan and McConnell Agree. This would be a much much lower bar to clear, as it wouldn't require a 2/3 majority in the Senate, which might be impossible.
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Well, the constitution states "The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." However, for all practical purposes the only mechanism is Congress deciding to remove the President, for whatever reason they think is necessary.
The 25th amendment also states "Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President." And there is quite a bit of talk about Pence and the Cabinet declaring Trump mentally unfit for office and then requesting that Ryan and McConnell Agree. This would be a much much lower bar to clear, as it wouldn't require a 2/3 majority in the Senate, which might be impossible.
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:11 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think that White House statement is purporting to be an interpretation of the judicial ruling, not open defiance of it. It's saying that, while deportations have been halted, the remaining elements of the EO (withdrawals of visas, turning people away before they make it to US soil etc) remain in force. The terrifying question will arise when a court strikes the whole thing down as unconstitutional, which hasn't happened yet.
posted by Aravis76 at 10:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Aravis76 at 10:12 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
So they are going to ignore judiciary rulings - I suspect they will start removing judges who defy them from office - and making up their own rules shitting all over the constitution, how do people stop them?
If they place themselves outside the rule of law, many options become open:
If they place themselves outside the rule of law, many options become open:
- A short rope and a long fall
- Free helicopter rides
- A spot up against the wall
Son w dad who was detained released to applause. Green card holder from Sudan. Cancer patient in immunotherapy. Held for four hours.
See you in the streets.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
See you in the streets.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
I think if enough federal judges cite POTUS with contempt of court, that might be enough to start impeaching.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:16 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Re: heroes -- Once there's this much visible resistance, the bar for heroism is actually sort of low for any individual participant. Just being part of the crowd makes Trump's job so much harder, because he needs Congress to be with him, and they need their voters to vote for them. The lawyers and laypeople showing up to make enforcement of this order harder and more controversial are denying Bannon and Trump what they wanted out of this, which was a political victory.
Even if they end up winning in court and this EO remains in place, the way it's been done has fired up the opposition and highlighted how incompetent his management is with how poorly this was handled. It's undercut one of Trump's major selling points to "moderates", which was his business acumen and ability to manage others. Once he starts losing elements of the fragile electoral coalition that got him elected, he will have to do something to avoid becoming so unpopular that Republicans look to make the change to Pence. The difference between Trump's current popularity and the threshold at which that would become appealing to a significant number of GOP reps can't be more than 10-15%. The only heroism that's needed is what people are already doing -- calling reps, taking to the streets, and screaming loudly that this is not okay.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Even if they end up winning in court and this EO remains in place, the way it's been done has fired up the opposition and highlighted how incompetent his management is with how poorly this was handled. It's undercut one of Trump's major selling points to "moderates", which was his business acumen and ability to manage others. Once he starts losing elements of the fragile electoral coalition that got him elected, he will have to do something to avoid becoming so unpopular that Republicans look to make the change to Pence. The difference between Trump's current popularity and the threshold at which that would become appealing to a significant number of GOP reps can't be more than 10-15%. The only heroism that's needed is what people are already doing -- calling reps, taking to the streets, and screaming loudly that this is not okay.
posted by tonycpsu at 10:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Holy shit. It's a miracle. I managed to get to a point in a convo with a Trump supporter who started out with talking point after brainless talking point and calling me a pathetic liberal to where we're talking mostly normal. It's like some sort of diplomatic detente.
I'm engaging!
posted by Jalliah at 10:18 AM on January 29, 2017 [54 favorites]
500,011 signatures
posted by Devonian at 10:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 10:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
For impeachment you are either hoping congressional Republicans, as a group, decide to put the country above their own chances for reelection. Because even though Americans are turning sour on DJT quickly, Republicans love him. So any Republican who votes for impeachment would get primaried in a heartbeat. Or you are hoping that Pence, Ryan, and McConnell decide they want to implement the most hard right conservative agenda in a generation, that Trump is a serious liability to this, and that they are gonna lose big in 2018 anyway so they might as well do everything they can before they lose their majorities. In which case they use the 25th amendment to make Pence "acting President" and we head down a different, but probably even darker path. This is assuming that Trump, his supporters, and any loyalists within the bureaucracy itself go along with the "acting President" scheme, which I seriously doubt.
But if you want Trump gone before Jan 2021 I think those are the options.
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
But if you want Trump gone before Jan 2021 I think those are the options.
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
The president is apparently watching Finding Dory whilst the world burns.
posted by Artw at 10:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:24 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
i am the bannon robot. i am the conway robot. we are here to protect you from the terrible secret of trump.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 10:25 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 10:25 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
You're going to jump on the Left for being skeptical of Democrats who vote for demonstrably shitty stuff? For the thousandth time, could we not do this?
Sorry, no, I wasn't being clear. Being skeptical is one thing; frankly, I'm skeptical of blue Senators in particular right now even as I badly wish I had one instead of Cruz and Cornyn, those cowardly traitors. I think we have to push them to make them stand, and I wish that wasn't necessary.
No, what I'm actually talking about is leftists who cheer stuff like calexit despite the fact that it means abandoning so many of us to fail. Or leftists who go "everyone is equally bad so what's the point? Vote Jill Stein." Or people who are still bringing up the hope that Bernie would save us even as he's been as craven as any other blue senator.
I'm not talking skepticism exactly and I'm sorry that in my haste I elided that. I'm talking about, effectively, the kinds of dogmatic rhetoric designed to pit us against ourselves or divide allies.
posted by sciatrix at 10:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Sorry, no, I wasn't being clear. Being skeptical is one thing; frankly, I'm skeptical of blue Senators in particular right now even as I badly wish I had one instead of Cruz and Cornyn, those cowardly traitors. I think we have to push them to make them stand, and I wish that wasn't necessary.
No, what I'm actually talking about is leftists who cheer stuff like calexit despite the fact that it means abandoning so many of us to fail. Or leftists who go "everyone is equally bad so what's the point? Vote Jill Stein." Or people who are still bringing up the hope that Bernie would save us even as he's been as craven as any other blue senator.
I'm not talking skepticism exactly and I'm sorry that in my haste I elided that. I'm talking about, effectively, the kinds of dogmatic rhetoric designed to pit us against ourselves or divide allies.
posted by sciatrix at 10:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
I'm officially boycotting everything but food and socks. No more spending on fun stuff. My fish will have to suffer with their current filter. No new computer for my mom on Mothers Day like I normally do. The next four years everyone is getting donations to Planned Parenthood in their name for birthdays and Christmas.
The best way to stop the Republican President is to tank the economy. It will at least make sure the four year nightmare doesn't become eight.
And I realize this will hurt people. But I am fine with that.
posted by johnpowell at 10:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
The best way to stop the Republican President is to tank the economy. It will at least make sure the four year nightmare doesn't become eight.
And I realize this will hurt people. But I am fine with that.
posted by johnpowell at 10:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I'm a Virginia resident and, following latkes' excellent example above, have done the following today to protest the Dulles detentions:
- Called Dulles US Customs Services. I got a voicemail, and left a polite but firm voicemail advising them to support the US Constitution and comply with yesterday's court order.
- Called Dulles Airport, whose very nice and helpful representative advised me to call their operations department and gave me their phone number. I called operations, spoke with a representative and advised the same as above when I called the Dulles Customs office. This representative told me it "wasn't Dulles, it's the US Government" and when I asked why other airports were complying with the court order and Dulles was not, he did not have an answer and was not able to suggest anyone else to call, other than customs, who I advised him I'd already left a message for. I politely reiterated that he pass along my opposition to his supervisor and he advised he would do so.
- Called Virginia senators Mark Warner's and Tim Kaine's DC offices but it's a Sunday so no answer and Kaine's office didn't have an option to leave a voicemail. I'm going to try calling their regional offices next to at least leave a voicemail. If this doesn't work I'm calling again tomorrow during business hours.
- Called Virginia governor McAuliffe's office and also got no voicemail option- just a line than rang forever and then eventually dropped. Ugh, Sundays.
If anyone wants the phone number for the Dulles operations department, please memail me (I wasn't sure if it was okay to post phone numbers in the thread).
I'd strongly suggest googling the Dulles Customs Office phone number, calling and leaving a voicemail. Overrun their phone with calls and fill up that voicemail box.
posted by nightrecordings at 10:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
- Called Dulles US Customs Services. I got a voicemail, and left a polite but firm voicemail advising them to support the US Constitution and comply with yesterday's court order.
- Called Dulles Airport, whose very nice and helpful representative advised me to call their operations department and gave me their phone number. I called operations, spoke with a representative and advised the same as above when I called the Dulles Customs office. This representative told me it "wasn't Dulles, it's the US Government" and when I asked why other airports were complying with the court order and Dulles was not, he did not have an answer and was not able to suggest anyone else to call, other than customs, who I advised him I'd already left a message for. I politely reiterated that he pass along my opposition to his supervisor and he advised he would do so.
- Called Virginia senators Mark Warner's and Tim Kaine's DC offices but it's a Sunday so no answer and Kaine's office didn't have an option to leave a voicemail. I'm going to try calling their regional offices next to at least leave a voicemail. If this doesn't work I'm calling again tomorrow during business hours.
- Called Virginia governor McAuliffe's office and also got no voicemail option- just a line than rang forever and then eventually dropped. Ugh, Sundays.
If anyone wants the phone number for the Dulles operations department, please memail me (I wasn't sure if it was okay to post phone numbers in the thread).
I'd strongly suggest googling the Dulles Customs Office phone number, calling and leaving a voicemail. Overrun their phone with calls and fill up that voicemail box.
posted by nightrecordings at 10:27 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
The president is apparently watching Finding Dory whilst the world burns.
A movie about an orphaned fish who is detained while traveling to reunite with her family. Maybe he'll learn something.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
A movie about an orphaned fish who is detained while traveling to reunite with her family. Maybe he'll learn something.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
Wait....he's actually watching Finding Dory?
posted by ian1977 at 10:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 10:30 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Actually I thought about that and thought "it's about empathy - so it's doubly a waste of time."
posted by Artw at 10:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 10:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Omg he is. Well I'm sure he's such good friends with Ellen. :/
posted by ian1977 at 10:31 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by ian1977 at 10:31 AM on January 29, 2017
Finding Dory. JFC. Pray tomorrow gets me higher.
posted by Talez at 10:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Talez at 10:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think he making a few phone calls to kings today as well. Nice relaxing Sunday stuff.
posted by Artw at 10:32 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by Artw at 10:32 AM on January 29, 2017
I have no doubt that some of the CBP and ICE offices are staffed by low level bureaucratic Authoritarians who will be compliant with all sorts of stupid shit because they want to follow orders if the biggest bully.
Which is why we need to continue to undermine any attempt to appeal to the dignity of the office.
posted by vuron at 10:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Which is why we need to continue to undermine any attempt to appeal to the dignity of the office.
posted by vuron at 10:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
[Just wanted to say Thank You to the mods for all the behind the scenes work that you've done during these trying times...this weekend especially. I'd like to think that you'll be able to take a breather soon, but I don't know... Anyway, THANKS! ]
posted by bookmammal at 10:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [60 favorites]
posted by bookmammal at 10:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [60 favorites]
A tough and very smart US lawyer I'm friends with has confessed that she broke down in tears reading the DHS statement that it's still following the EO despite court orders.
The Executive Branch has in effect just made it clear that it will disregard constitutional checks and balances, at which point the rule of law in the USA has not so much started down a slippery slope as been pushed off the edge of a cliff.
I'm beginning to wonder if Trump will simply say that the Executive Branch will not consider itself bound by court orders that contradict its own EOs. At that point, who arrests the President for contempt?
posted by Major Clanger at 10:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
The Executive Branch has in effect just made it clear that it will disregard constitutional checks and balances, at which point the rule of law in the USA has not so much started down a slippery slope as been pushed off the edge of a cliff.
I'm beginning to wonder if Trump will simply say that the Executive Branch will not consider itself bound by court orders that contradict its own EOs. At that point, who arrests the President for contempt?
posted by Major Clanger at 10:35 AM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Wait....he's actually watching Finding Dory?
Yes. He's putting on a staff kid event at the WH.
posted by Jalliah at 10:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yes. He's putting on a staff kid event at the WH.
posted by Jalliah at 10:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
sciatrix, the juxtaposition of your comment with the one that followed is an irony so perfect it would be comical if it were not so tragic. (For the avoidance of doubt I'm with you, not Mr-throw-every-worker-under-a-bus.)
posted by Major Clanger at 10:38 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by Major Clanger at 10:38 AM on January 29, 2017
At that point, who arrests the President for contempt?
The Congress. By impeaching him.
These are our marching orders for tomorrow - find your senators on this list and see how they responded.
If they are a democrat who opposed the ban, thank them, and tell them that this act violated Trump's oath to uphold the Constitution, and that therefore he must be impeached. NOW.
If they are a Republican who opposed the ban, thank them, and tell them that this act violated Trump's oath to uphold the Constitution, and that therefore he must be impeached. NOW.
If they are a Republican who didn't say anything, tell them your concerns, especially since Trump's act violated his oath to uphold the Constitution and that he therefore should be impeached NOW.
If they are a Republican who supported the ban, tell them that Trump's act violated his oath to uphold the Constitution, and that you will no longer support them OR Trump, and that it is grounds for impeachment for both of them. NOW.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [51 favorites]
The Congress. By impeaching him.
These are our marching orders for tomorrow - find your senators on this list and see how they responded.
If they are a democrat who opposed the ban, thank them, and tell them that this act violated Trump's oath to uphold the Constitution, and that therefore he must be impeached. NOW.
If they are a Republican who opposed the ban, thank them, and tell them that this act violated Trump's oath to uphold the Constitution, and that therefore he must be impeached. NOW.
If they are a Republican who didn't say anything, tell them your concerns, especially since Trump's act violated his oath to uphold the Constitution and that he therefore should be impeached NOW.
If they are a Republican who supported the ban, tell them that Trump's act violated his oath to uphold the Constitution, and that you will no longer support them OR Trump, and that it is grounds for impeachment for both of them. NOW.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:42 AM on January 29, 2017 [51 favorites]
At that point, who arrests the President for contempt?There actually isn't a good answer to that. At that point, we're in a national existential crisis. It's happened once before: Andrew Jackson defied the Supreme Court and went through with the Trail of Tears. He got away with it, and subsequent presidents seem to have realized that having a functional democracy was pretty important and that they shouldn't follow suit. You could argue that something similar happened when FDR basically strong-armed the court into allowing New Deal labor legislation, and that also was a one-time thing that subsequent presidents didn't copy. But basically, there's no way to enforce something on the executive branch if they don't want to do it. The US hangs together because of a shared set of norms, and if the executive doesn't care about those norms, there's no recourse. There is a real chance that this is lights out for America, at least until (hopefully) people come to their senses.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
I'm beginning to wonder if Trump will simply say that the Executive Branch will not consider itself bound by court orders that contradict its own EOs.
Didn't he already say he was going to do that? In the first presidential debate he was told by Lester Holt that stop and frisk is discriminatory and unconstitutional, Trump dismissed that ruling as a nonsense from a "very against-police judge". Going forward, I assume he's going to ignore any rulings against him while attacking the judge who made the ruling (see also Judge Curiel).
posted by peeedro at 10:46 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Didn't he already say he was going to do that? In the first presidential debate he was told by Lester Holt that stop and frisk is discriminatory and unconstitutional, Trump dismissed that ruling as a nonsense from a "very against-police judge". Going forward, I assume he's going to ignore any rulings against him while attacking the judge who made the ruling (see also Judge Curiel).
posted by peeedro at 10:46 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Headed to MSP. If mefites are meeting somewhere send me a memail.
posted by misterpatrick at 10:46 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by misterpatrick at 10:46 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Richmond, VA protest scheduled for 4 p.m. today. (FB)
posted by emelenjr at 10:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 10:51 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Livestream from outside the White House.
posted by peeedro at 10:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 10:52 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Yes, the state is ultimately only as good as the bombs and guns that ensure its existence -- we get that. What else are you trying to say here?
I don't want to try to make anyone feel bad about actions and beliefs they held pre-Trump. But this is kind of the fear that honest libertarians have always had - that the state is a brutal juggernaut, and the only thing that protects us from a fall into hell is that there happens not to be a monster at the helm.
When this is all over, I hope we can make sure this never happens again - that no one man is given this kind of power for good or ill - because sometimes, they choose ill.
posted by corb at 10:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
I don't want to try to make anyone feel bad about actions and beliefs they held pre-Trump. But this is kind of the fear that honest libertarians have always had - that the state is a brutal juggernaut, and the only thing that protects us from a fall into hell is that there happens not to be a monster at the helm.
When this is all over, I hope we can make sure this never happens again - that no one man is given this kind of power for good or ill - because sometimes, they choose ill.
posted by corb at 10:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Holy shit. It's a miracle. I managed to get to a point in a convo with a Trump supporter who started out with talking point after brainless talking point and calling me a pathetic liberal to where we're talking mostly normal. It's like some sort of diplomatic detente.
I'm engaging!
quote from the convo " I'm getting worried that you're tricking me into becoming a liberal'
" Nah, don't worry we're just talking and shit"
" Okay then"
posted by Jalliah at 10:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [49 favorites]
I'm engaging!
quote from the convo " I'm getting worried that you're tricking me into becoming a liberal'
" Nah, don't worry we're just talking and shit"
" Okay then"
posted by Jalliah at 10:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [49 favorites]
So they are going to ignore judiciary rulings - I suspect they will start removing judges who defy them from office
Lots of lower-tier federal judiciary vacancies to be filled, thanks to Mitch McConnell. Watch that space. Along with all the other spaces.
posted by holgate at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Lots of lower-tier federal judiciary vacancies to be filled, thanks to Mitch McConnell. Watch that space. Along with all the other spaces.
posted by holgate at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Fast-moving thread so maybe it's already been linked but in case not: spreadsheet of Senators' responses (or lack thereof).
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Does anyone have links to translations of how the international press is covering this?
I hope our message is being sent to our sisters and brothers in Arab countries, to like-minded friends of democracy in Europe, to allies in Asia, Africa, and South America right now.
posted by latkes at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I hope our message is being sent to our sisters and brothers in Arab countries, to like-minded friends of democracy in Europe, to allies in Asia, Africa, and South America right now.
posted by latkes at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Its not just one man. Its the entire Republican party that is either falling in line or supporting this. Ditto for actual voting Republicans.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
I'm officially boycotting everything but food and socks. No more spending on fun stuff. My fish will have to suffer with their current filter. No new computer for my mom on Mothers Day like I normally do. The next four years everyone is getting donations to Planned Parenthood in their name for birthdays and Christmas.
There's an extremely valid point in there - if you're a liberal who carries out tech support - especially on an annual visit - to relatives with extreme right wing views, then ... stop. Instead of wiping all the viruses and stuff off your elderly folks computer so they can resume posting Benghazi / Make America Great Again / deport all people who don't look like me memes to all their relatives (including you) and resume reading fake news, just don't any more. It'll save you time, means they receive less fake news, and means they are less able to amplify this fake news to others, including you.
posted by Wordshore at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [84 favorites]
There's an extremely valid point in there - if you're a liberal who carries out tech support - especially on an annual visit - to relatives with extreme right wing views, then ... stop. Instead of wiping all the viruses and stuff off your elderly folks computer so they can resume posting Benghazi / Make America Great Again / deport all people who don't look like me memes to all their relatives (including you) and resume reading fake news, just don't any more. It'll save you time, means they receive less fake news, and means they are less able to amplify this fake news to others, including you.
posted by Wordshore at 10:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [84 favorites]
Livestream from outside the White House.
Anyone have an idea of how many people?
posted by Jalliah at 11:01 AM on January 29, 2017
Anyone have an idea of how many people?
posted by Jalliah at 11:01 AM on January 29, 2017
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP "it's not going to happen"
Among the other steps, someone needs to scrounge up the contact info for those CBP officers' bosses, and call them; tell them their employees are failing to comply with a court order - and they're next on line for legal action if they refuse to tell those employees to follow the order. Start filing charges against management for (1) refusing to support the law (I'm a bit too blurry to sort out the exact legal language right now) and (2) for the harm done to the detainees who should've been released.
Don't (just) jump to the top - start on the next rung up the ladder, until you find someone who doesn't want the hassles and pushes back at the people who're causing problems. Find whoever has instant firing power, and pressure *that* person to pressure the agents.
And yeah, scrounge up personal info and call those people on a Sunday. Make sure they know that being middle managers in a cushy gov't job doesn't make them immune to civil chaos.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Among the other steps, someone needs to scrounge up the contact info for those CBP officers' bosses, and call them; tell them their employees are failing to comply with a court order - and they're next on line for legal action if they refuse to tell those employees to follow the order. Start filing charges against management for (1) refusing to support the law (I'm a bit too blurry to sort out the exact legal language right now) and (2) for the harm done to the detainees who should've been released.
Don't (just) jump to the top - start on the next rung up the ladder, until you find someone who doesn't want the hassles and pushes back at the people who're causing problems. Find whoever has instant firing power, and pressure *that* person to pressure the agents.
And yeah, scrounge up personal info and call those people on a Sunday. Make sure they know that being middle managers in a cushy gov't job doesn't make them immune to civil chaos.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:02 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
multiple thousands for sure
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
The whole "we didn't mention Jews were killed in the Holocaust because other people were killed too" thing is, due to recent events, surprisingly not at the top of my outrage list this morning, but since I'm capable of being outraged by more than one thing at a time, and because the recent statements by Trump spokespeople have made it a whole lot worse...
It's a complicated issue, because yes we should all acknowledge everyone who was targeted, but ignoring the uniqueness of the Holocaust for Jews has a long and troubling history. It's nicely summarized in today's JTA article Why Trump’s universalizing of the Holocaust matters to the Jews:
posted by zachlipton at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [91 favorites]
It's a complicated issue, because yes we should all acknowledge everyone who was targeted, but ignoring the uniqueness of the Holocaust for Jews has a long and troubling history. It's nicely summarized in today's JTA article Why Trump’s universalizing of the Holocaust matters to the Jews:
Dermer invokes the late Elie Wiesel repeatedly in his talk, and the revered Auschwitz survivor was a fierce defender of the “uniqueness” argument. “Not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims,” he famously wrote. International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by the United Nations and is marked on the day Auschwitz was liberated in large part to counter the “de-Judaization” of the Shoah.And this stuff isn't new:
You wouldn’t know that from the White House statement. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks doubled down on the statement in light of the criticism, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper, “Despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered.” She also shared a Huffington Post UK article describing the “gay people, priests, gypsies, people with mental or physical disabilities, communists, trade unionists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, anarchists, Poles and other Slavic peoples” who were “targeted” by the Nazis.
The Jews’ insistence on the uniquely Jewish aspect of the Holocaust has often been turned against them, with accusations that it is meant to deny the suffering of others or to somehow shield Israel from criticism. These have been recurring themes both on the far right and the far left. Indeed, by insisting on the universality of the Holocaust, the Trump statement invited bipartisan condemnation. Writing for Commentary, former Reagan speechwriter John Podhoretz said the omission of the Jews is “the culmination of decades of ill feeling that seems to center on the idea that the Jews have somehow made unfair ‘use’ of the Holocaust and it should not ‘belong’ to them.” Josh Marshall, editor and publisher of the liberal website TalkingPointsMemo.com, noted that “it has long been a trope of Holocaust deniers and white nationalists to insist that Jews were only incidentally targeted.”
There were articulate Soviet Jewish witnesses and chroniclers, such as Vassily Grossman. But he and others were forbidden from presenting the Holocaust as a distinctly Jewish event. Grossman discovered Treblinka as a journalist with the Red Army in September 1944. Perhaps because he knew what the Germans had done to Jews in his native Ukraine, he was able to guess what had happened there, and wrote a short book about it. He called Treblinka “hell,” and placed it at the center of the war and of the century. Yet for Stalin, the mass murder of Jews had to be seen as the suffering of “citizens.” Grossman helped to compile a Black Book of German crimes against Soviet Jews, which Soviet authorities later suppressed. If any group suffered especially under the Germans, Stalin maintained wrongly, it was the Russians. In this way Stalinism has prevented us from seeing Hitler’s mass killings in proper perspective.The Administration's comments smack of a lighter form of Holocaust denial. The Nazis killed 2/3rds of the Jews of Europe. The Final Solution was literally called "die Endlösung der Judenfrage," The Final Solution to the Jewish Question. You don't get to handwave away the systematic attempt to wipe out every European Jew because the murderous regime also targeted other groups. Acknowledge that this happened. Yes, of course, we must acknowledge and remember other groups too, many of whom are subject to persecution today. But call the systemic murder of Europe's Jews by its name. It was an internet press release––there was plenty of space to say everything that needed to be said. That they chose not to do so speaks volumes.
posted by zachlipton at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2017 [91 favorites]
Does anyone have links to translations of how the international press is covering this?
It's growing in the UK - and there's a BBC reporter detained at LAX. for the crime of being Iranian (works for the Persian service).
posted by Devonian at 11:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
It's growing in the UK - and there's a BBC reporter detained at LAX. for the crime of being Iranian (works for the Persian service).
posted by Devonian at 11:04 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
you're a liberal who carries out tech support - especially on an annual visit - to relatives with extreme right wing views, then ... stop.
Edit the HOSTS file. Not like they'll know how to fix it.
Better yet, somebody should put together an constantly updated list, like Ad Block, for all the fake news sites, and use it to redirect to a "this is a fake news site" explanatory page.
If I were a Google or Apple or Mozilla person of influence, I'd make it a default install for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.
You want the benefits of science and tech? Then stop trying to kill it!
posted by leotrotsky at 11:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Edit the HOSTS file. Not like they'll know how to fix it.
Better yet, somebody should put together an constantly updated list, like Ad Block, for all the fake news sites, and use it to redirect to a "this is a fake news site" explanatory page.
If I were a Google or Apple or Mozilla person of influence, I'd make it a default install for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.
You want the benefits of science and tech? Then stop trying to kill it!
posted by leotrotsky at 11:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Does anyone have links to translations of how the international press is covering this?
Al Jazeera English is useful in this regard.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Al Jazeera English is useful in this regard.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
The War Vet on the wapo feed is amazing.
posted by Jalliah at 11:05 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I agree! And he's trying to get a meeting with Trump. I hope he does.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by nightrecordings at 11:06 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
yeah this guy had better be all over CNN and social media feeds, stat
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
And I realize this is very slim hope, but I will say this in defense of hope: the US has totally gone off its rocker before. This isn't unprecedented. The whole country totally went off its rocker during World War I, for instance. The Supreme Court upheld legislation that sent people to prison for 20 years for saying that they didn't think the American flag was aesthetically appealing. I don't want to downplay the awfulness of the whole country going completely unhinged: terrible, lasting things have happened, mostly to vulnerable people, when that's happened in the past. But we have been in similar places before, and people did eventually say "oh, gosh, maybe that wasn't such a great idea to COMPLETELY IGNORE THE BASIC TENETS OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. Ok, let's stop doing that now." We need to keep reminding people of what is so very, very bizarre about all of this, because even if we have a total constitutional meltdown, it is entirely possible that they will eventually come to their senses.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
Matt Zeller rocks!
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 11:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 11:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't want to try to make anyone feel bad about actions and beliefs they held pre-Trump. But this is kind of the fear that honest libertarians have always had - the state is a brutal juggernaut, and the only thing that protects us from a fall into hell is that there happens not to be a monster at the helm
Yes, well, I don't want to make you or anybody feel bad either, but I beg you to take a step back and consider the possibility that their fear is what gave us the thing they feared. Starving the government only made it more susceptible to being overtaken by a monster. The Republican Revolution and the Tea Party Revolution, and the utter and depraved abdication of fidelity to intellectual honesty that both movements wholly embraced in pursuit of power, were critical events.
It's almost as though discarding Enlightenment principles leads to brutal, dystopic outcomes.
It's almost as though the ends not only didn't justify the means, but the means didn't produce the desired ends.
posted by perspicio at 11:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
Yes, well, I don't want to make you or anybody feel bad either, but I beg you to take a step back and consider the possibility that their fear is what gave us the thing they feared. Starving the government only made it more susceptible to being overtaken by a monster. The Republican Revolution and the Tea Party Revolution, and the utter and depraved abdication of fidelity to intellectual honesty that both movements wholly embraced in pursuit of power, were critical events.
It's almost as though discarding Enlightenment principles leads to brutal, dystopic outcomes.
It's almost as though the ends not only didn't justify the means, but the means didn't produce the desired ends.
posted by perspicio at 11:08 AM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
quote from the convo " I'm getting worried that you're tricking me into becoming a liberal'
....Does he think that liberal thinking is like...cooties, or something?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
....Does he think that liberal thinking is like...cooties, or something?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:09 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
that the state is a brutal juggernaut, and the only thing that protects us from a fall into hell is that there happens not to be a monster at the helm.
But the US doesn't have a system that gives total power to one man. The US has a system under which Congress and the Senate have the power to check the excesses of the President. The problem is not (just) that Trump is a monster and the US constitution gives him too much power; it's that the Republican majorities in both bodies have completely abdicated their responsibility to exercise their power, perform their constitutional function and rein him in.
There is no way to design any system of government that doesn't ultimately depend on shared acceptance of basic norms, and a shared responsibility to maintain institutions. Libertarian, social democrat, socialist, communist -- everything, under every system, always depends on the conscience of the majority of those in power. Republicans are that majority right now, and they are absolutely failing to defend the norms of their country. The problem is not that their principles are inadequately libertarian. It's that they turn out to prefer power to any principles at all.
posted by Aravis76 at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
But the US doesn't have a system that gives total power to one man. The US has a system under which Congress and the Senate have the power to check the excesses of the President. The problem is not (just) that Trump is a monster and the US constitution gives him too much power; it's that the Republican majorities in both bodies have completely abdicated their responsibility to exercise their power, perform their constitutional function and rein him in.
There is no way to design any system of government that doesn't ultimately depend on shared acceptance of basic norms, and a shared responsibility to maintain institutions. Libertarian, social democrat, socialist, communist -- everything, under every system, always depends on the conscience of the majority of those in power. Republicans are that majority right now, and they are absolutely failing to defend the norms of their country. The problem is not that their principles are inadequately libertarian. It's that they turn out to prefer power to any principles at all.
posted by Aravis76 at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
I don't know how much it would help, but I'd like to see all former presidents issue a joint statement condeming the *rump's actions. I know it's customary for them to refrain from criticising the current president in public, but yeah, these aren't customary times. I plan on writing them and emailing. Bush 41 is still recovering, but:
Jimmy Carter
https://www.cartercenter.org/
I think writing the Carter Center is the only way to send a message to President Carter
The Carter Center
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
George HW Bush
https://bush41.org/
Not sure if this is the best address
George Bush Presidential Library foundation
Post Office Box 14141
College Station, TX 77841-4141
George W Bush
http://www.bushcenter.org/
It seems like the best approach is to contact the GWB Presidential Center
2943 SMU Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75205
Bill Clinton
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/
I think the Foundation might be a better way than the Clinton Presidential Library?
1271 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd Floor
New York, NY 10020
Info@OGWB.org
If there's a better way to do this, please follow up!
posted by foonly at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Jimmy Carter
https://www.cartercenter.org/
I think writing the Carter Center is the only way to send a message to President Carter
The Carter Center
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
George HW Bush
https://bush41.org/
Not sure if this is the best address
George Bush Presidential Library foundation
Post Office Box 14141
College Station, TX 77841-4141
George W Bush
http://www.bushcenter.org/
It seems like the best approach is to contact the GWB Presidential Center
2943 SMU Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75205
Bill Clinton
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/
I think the Foundation might be a better way than the Clinton Presidential Library?
1271 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd Floor
New York, NY 10020
Info@OGWB.org
If there's a better way to do this, please follow up!
posted by foonly at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
I need to figure out how to go back and rip this guy talking. This needs to be out there.
posted by Jalliah at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Any MeFites at/headed to SFO and interested in meeting up later? Any particular supplies needed?
posted by zachlipton at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by zachlipton at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017
Actually never mind can't go back on this feed. damn
posted by Jalliah at 11:10 AM on January 29, 2017
Tell us your favorite travel memory - was it a picture, a souvenir, a sunset? We'd love to hear it!--@TrumpHotels (from October 2011)
In reply:
My father was kicked out of Egypt for being Jewish. They fled to Paris before being welcomed in the United States. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️--@jeffisrael25
posted by zachlipton at 11:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
Matt Zeller's No One Left Behind site is crashing from traffic but keep trying and donate if you can.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by nightrecordings at 11:13 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
....Does he think that liberal thinking is like...cooties, or something?
I would say sorta yes? Earlier before detente he said that what I was saying wasn't working, 'you're failing, your liberalism is not rubbing off on me' and "I will not catch your liberalism"
posted by Jalliah at 11:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I would say sorta yes? Earlier before detente he said that what I was saying wasn't working, 'you're failing, your liberalism is not rubbing off on me' and "I will not catch your liberalism"
posted by Jalliah at 11:14 AM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Meanwhile, the Wikipedia article on The New Colossus jumped from its usual thousand-ish views a day to 25,000 yesterday.
posted by hyperbolic at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by hyperbolic at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Friendly Historical Reminder:
This was an executive order.
posted by LiteOpera at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
This was an executive order.
posted by LiteOpera at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
No One Left Behind has a FaceBook page.
2013 news story about Zeller and his interpreter.
posted by peeedro at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
2013 news story about Zeller and his interpreter.
posted by peeedro at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
No One Left Behind has a FaceBook page.
2013 news story about Zeller and his interpreter.
I'm going to contact WaPo somehow and ask them to please post that interview.
posted by Jalliah at 11:16 AM on January 29, 2017
LAX border guards have let the BBC Perisan reporter, Ali Hamedan, in after two hours and a search of his bag, computer and phone. He was told 'You can come back any time',.
I guess the airports where this isn't happening are doing so off their own bat, which rather implies (if it wasn't so obvious anyway) that this whole thing is as disorganised as a meth party in a monkey cage.
posted by Devonian at 11:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
I guess the airports where this isn't happening are doing so off their own bat, which rather implies (if it wasn't so obvious anyway) that this whole thing is as disorganised as a meth party in a monkey cage.
posted by Devonian at 11:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
I have to admit that I'm kind of flabbergasted that DHS is failing to comply with the rulings of Federal judges.
I have no doubt that the Trump Administration is staffed by people that believe in the unitary executive nonsense advanced by Nixon in the past but by the very action of the Executive branch refusing to defer to judicial review a whole foundational piece of the US system is at risk.
This is a massive issue regardless of where you exist on the political landscape.
If you are conservative it's putting forth the belief that the administration can bypass congress and pass laws by themselves. That should be terrifying. If you are libertarian it means that there is absolutely no limit to the potential power of the state. If they can ban lawful residents without judicial review then they can ignore property rights or contracts or any other sorts of things that Trump finds annoying. Obviously if you are liberal you've already been concerned about the stated goals of Trump and his cronies.
You need to ask every member of congress whether they believe that the president is truly above the law and can act in an arbitrary and capricious manner. And if they say yes then ask if they'll think the same way if a Democratic president is in office.
posted by vuron at 11:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
I have no doubt that the Trump Administration is staffed by people that believe in the unitary executive nonsense advanced by Nixon in the past but by the very action of the Executive branch refusing to defer to judicial review a whole foundational piece of the US system is at risk.
This is a massive issue regardless of where you exist on the political landscape.
If you are conservative it's putting forth the belief that the administration can bypass congress and pass laws by themselves. That should be terrifying. If you are libertarian it means that there is absolutely no limit to the potential power of the state. If they can ban lawful residents without judicial review then they can ignore property rights or contracts or any other sorts of things that Trump finds annoying. Obviously if you are liberal you've already been concerned about the stated goals of Trump and his cronies.
You need to ask every member of congress whether they believe that the president is truly above the law and can act in an arbitrary and capricious manner. And if they say yes then ask if they'll think the same way if a Democratic president is in office.
posted by vuron at 11:17 AM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
Boston is looking like it has a crazy amount of people.
posted by Jalliah at 11:19 AM on January 29, 2017
I guess the airports where this isn't happening are doing so off their own bat, which rather implies (if it wasn't so obvious anyway) that this whole thing is as disorganised as a meth party in a monkey cage.
Yep, which totally explains that Dulles operations rep I talked to trying to shift the blame to "the US government" alone.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yep, which totally explains that Dulles operations rep I talked to trying to shift the blame to "the US government" alone.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:20 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, Zeller is awesome.
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
posted by corb at 11:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
posted by corb at 11:22 AM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Update on the Uber/Lyft/taxi union story:
Lyft will donate $1M to ACLU after Trump immigration ban
Celebrities Spread #DeleteUber After Lyft's Response to Trump Immigration Ban
posted by nightrecordings at 11:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Lyft will donate $1M to ACLU after Trump immigration ban
Celebrities Spread #DeleteUber After Lyft's Response to Trump Immigration Ban
posted by nightrecordings at 11:23 AM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Oh yeah, Zeller is awesome.
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
In the interview he got a bit emotional and said he felt like the calvary had finally arrived.
posted by Jalliah at 11:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
In the interview he got a bit emotional and said he felt like the calvary had finally arrived.
posted by Jalliah at 11:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, Zeller is awesome.
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
For anyone who hasn't listened to the This American Life feature from January 6th, it is all about this. Highly recommended.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
For anyone who hasn't listened to the This American Life feature from January 6th, it is all about this. Highly recommended.
posted by nightrecordings at 11:26 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
WSJ: Ban Could Hurt U.S.-Iraqi Ties, Diplomats Say
posted by zachlipton at 11:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [48 favorites]
A memo sent by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to the State Department and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed that diplomats appeared blindsided by the order issued on Friday and its breadth. They said it would be felt disproportionately in Iraq and urgently warned that it could have do lasting harm to bilateral relations in the one nation on the list that the U.S. considers a close ally.So the State Department is leaking memos now. That's encouraging. And just look at what Trump's love for generals has actually meant.
...
One of the top generals in the fight had been planning a trip to the U.S. in early February to see family but “now appears to be stuck in Iraq,” the memo says. The general had been living in the U.S. under a sanctuary visa since last year after he received multiple death threats for his military service. But Mr. Abadi asked him to return to Iraq to help lead the fight against Islamic State, according to the memo.
“His work alongside the U.S.-led coalition and U.S. Special Operations Forces in the fight against ISIS has contributed in a major way toward the accomplishment of vital U.S. national interests,” the memo says.
posted by zachlipton at 11:28 AM on January 29, 2017 [48 favorites]
So the State Department is leaking memos now. That's encouraging.
Yep, now we just need to go through the illegal surveillance and the enemies-list phases and we'll be full-on Nixon.
posted by Coventry at 11:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Yep, now we just need to go through the illegal surveillance and the enemies-list phases and we'll be full-on Nixon.
posted by Coventry at 11:31 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
biogeo says the bus to the Philly airport for today's protest is packed with protesters. We spoke with someone from the office of civic engagement last night at the airport, and they seemed supportive of the protests.
posted by cui bono at 11:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by cui bono at 11:32 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Lindsey Graham weighs in. I'm one of his constituents and have been tweeting at him relentlessly for the past 36 hours.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:33 AM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Bernie would save us even as he's been as craven as any other blue senator.
What did he do?
posted by Coventry at 11:34 AM on January 29, 2017
What did he do?
posted by Coventry at 11:34 AM on January 29, 2017
The Administration's comments smack of a lighter form of Holocaust denial.
Just to be clear about what's happening now, white supremacists are currently praising the President for not mentioning "Jews, anti-Semitism, or the science fiction Zionist folklore about ovens and gas chambers so prominent in (((Hollywood))) narratives" (link is intentionally to the tweet, not the hate site).
posted by zachlipton at 11:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
Just to be clear about what's happening now, white supremacists are currently praising the President for not mentioning "Jews, anti-Semitism, or the science fiction Zionist folklore about ovens and gas chambers so prominent in (((Hollywood))) narratives" (link is intentionally to the tweet, not the hate site).
posted by zachlipton at 11:37 AM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
So the State Department is leaking memos now. That's encouraging. And just look at what Trump's love for generals has actually meant.
No shit. Both Iraq and Iran are moving to ban US citizens in the same way the US has done.
posted by Jalliah at 11:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
No shit. Both Iraq and Iran are moving to ban US citizens in the same way the US has done.
posted by Jalliah at 11:39 AM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is a bit of a tangent, but tonight I'm starting 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.
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 slightly better chance than others of influencing public opinion in the US.
I was inspired by the many weekly civic checklists in the US - and I was shocked that I couldn't find a single one in the UK, so I made this one. Please sign up or tell your British friends!
posted by adrianhon at 11:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
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 slightly better chance than others of influencing public opinion in the US.
I was inspired by the many weekly civic checklists in the US - and I was shocked that I couldn't find a single one in the UK, so I made this one. Please sign up or tell your British friends!
posted by adrianhon at 11:41 AM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
Headed out to the Kingston solidarity protest. For MeFites who already follow me on Instagram, I'll post pics if I can!
posted by Kitteh at 11:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 11:43 AM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Protest now happening in front of Trump Hotel in Washington. I think it's going to have to be renamed the the Trump 'Lightning Rod ' Hotel.
posted by Jalliah at 11:49 AM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Even the vast majority of trump supporters are anti holocaust no?
You'd think so, but we'll probably find in the next few weeks that Republican opinions about the Holocaust have shifted, just like opinions about a bunch of other things have had to shift so that people could keep supporting Trump.
Torture, for instance.
posted by Gelatin at 11:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
You'd think so, but we'll probably find in the next few weeks that Republican opinions about the Holocaust have shifted, just like opinions about a bunch of other things have had to shift so that people could keep supporting Trump.
Torture, for instance.
posted by Gelatin at 11:54 AM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
George Takei Attempting to spread information for the detained.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:55 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
New York "understands terrorism," but "you cannot protect democracy by violating individual rights," says Gov. Cuomo http://cbsn.ws/2jLa3rr
posted by porn in the woods at 11:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 11:56 AM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Kim Kardashian tweeting some truth.
How is it the Kim Kardashian has a better take on immigration than our sitting president?
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
How is it the Kim Kardashian has a better take on immigration than our sitting president?
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
@JuddLegumposted by Coventry at 11:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Stunning scene at Copley Square in Boston.
Massive protest against Trump's executive order.
Buzzfeed now reporting that even a Koch official is speaking against the immigration ban.
posted by azuresunday at 11:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 11:57 AM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump strikes a blow to jihadism by stopping an Iraqi general leading the fight against ISIS from seeing his family.
posted by porn in the woods at 11:58 AM on January 29, 2017 [51 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 11:58 AM on January 29, 2017 [51 favorites]
I'm at sacramento airport. We have news trucks. :)
posted by mudpuppie at 11:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 11:59 AM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
How is parking at LAX? Deciding if should Uber.
posted by persona au gratin at 11:59 AM on January 29, 2017
posted by persona au gratin at 11:59 AM on January 29, 2017
Today's NY Post cover: Uncle Scram
posted by porn in the woods at 12:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 12:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Last year, 34 million people watched the Oscars, and that was a low year. Imagine 3+ hours of nobody thanking agents or managers but just talking nonstop to the world about this shit, with Trump watching.
Btw, the SAG Awards are on TNT/TBS tonight, 8pm ET. Should be lively.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Btw, the SAG Awards are on TNT/TBS tonight, 8pm ET. Should be lively.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think it's very instructive to look at the words of Bannon to explain what's going on right now in regards to these Executive Orders.
These are people that want a crusade against "Radical Islam" not so much because they think the Islam and Christianity are entangled in an existential struggle but because there is a belief that we need an external enemy to slow down the inevitable secularization of the west.
These are people that see the rise of secular inclusive democracies as a mistake. Whether it's expanding suffrage to women or enfranchising minority populations these are people that fundamentally believe the modern western Democracies are a mistake. That fundamental Democracy is incompatible with the type of society these guys want. I'm not sure how Theocracy, Libertarianism and Fascism are compatible but apparently they seem to think it's something they can will into being.
posted by vuron at 12:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
These are people that want a crusade against "Radical Islam" not so much because they think the Islam and Christianity are entangled in an existential struggle but because there is a belief that we need an external enemy to slow down the inevitable secularization of the west.
These are people that see the rise of secular inclusive democracies as a mistake. Whether it's expanding suffrage to women or enfranchising minority populations these are people that fundamentally believe the modern western Democracies are a mistake. That fundamental Democracy is incompatible with the type of society these guys want. I'm not sure how Theocracy, Libertarianism and Fascism are compatible but apparently they seem to think it's something they can will into being.
posted by vuron at 12:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
How is it the Kim Kardashian has a better take on immigration than our sitting president?
Maybe the question is rhetorical, but Kardashian is an Armenian name and Armenians have searing memories of genocide.
And the majority of Americans know more about truth and history than the current Presiden.
posted by puddledork at 12:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
Maybe the question is rhetorical, but Kardashian is an Armenian name and Armenians have searing memories of genocide.
And the majority of Americans know more about truth and history than the current Presiden.
posted by puddledork at 12:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
How is parking at LAX? Deciding if should Uber.
You shouldn't Uber. You can Lyft if you want, but you shouldn't Uber.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [73 favorites]
You shouldn't Uber. You can Lyft if you want, but you shouldn't Uber.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [73 favorites]
Markey, Warren and Mayor Marty Walsh are at the (now massive) protest in Boston.
HOLD THE LINE, DEMOCRATS.
posted by lydhre at 12:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
HOLD THE LINE, DEMOCRATS.
posted by lydhre at 12:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Just coming from the Boston protest. THAT was the intersectional protest some of us were craving last week. It was invigorating. I wonder if the city police is just planning for the Back Bay to be shut down every weekend for protests.
Also the calls for Governor Baker to participate were literally deafening.
posted by bl1nk at 12:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
Also the calls for Governor Baker to participate were literally deafening.
posted by bl1nk at 12:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
These are people that want a crusade against "Radical Islam" not so much because they think the Islam and Christianity are entangled in an existential struggle but because there is a belief that we need an external enemy to slow down the inevitable secularization of the west.
...I'd wager that it's more about scared people just needing a boogeyman they could point to.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
...I'd wager that it's more about scared people just needing a boogeyman they could point to.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Buzzfeed now reporting that even a Koch official is speaking against the immigration ban.
And the world continues to spin off it's axis.
posted by Jalliah at 12:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
The Trump presidency really is uniting the country (and world) like no other has... :D
posted by Buntix at 12:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 12:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
Lindsey Graham weighs in. I'm one of his constituents and have been tweeting at him relentlessly for the past 36 hours.
Nice!!
Now I hope everyone moves on to tweeting at him, "so what are you going to do about it?"
posted by saturday_morning at 12:08 PM on January 29, 2017
Nice!!
Now I hope everyone moves on to tweeting at him, "so what are you going to do about it?"
posted by saturday_morning at 12:08 PM on January 29, 2017
Yeah. By Uber I meant Lyft.
posted by persona au gratin at 12:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by persona au gratin at 12:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm officially boycotting everything but food and socks.
i've decided to go On Strike this year too. No more economic 'demand' from this kid.
My line of work is relatively recession-proof so it's no big sacrifice but it's one thing I can do to give a risk-free finger to the Man.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
i've decided to go On Strike this year too. No more economic 'demand' from this kid.
My line of work is relatively recession-proof so it's no big sacrifice but it's one thing I can do to give a risk-free finger to the Man.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm not sure how Theocracy, Libertarianism and Fascism are compatible but apparently they seem to think it's something they can will into being.
The formula is liberty for them, fascism and theocracy for the rest. I spent a bit of time wallowing in some parts of it, last year, in a spirit of know-thy-enemy anxiety, and their worldview is internally consistent if you expel most of the human race from the libertarian fixation on individual rights. Inviolable private property rights for white men, which includes ownership of women as well as lesser races. No rights for anyone else. The end. (The level of anger about the existence of marital rape laws among these communities is pretty instructive. It vividly illustrates the private property lens through which they see women and access to women.)
posted by Aravis76 at 12:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
The formula is liberty for them, fascism and theocracy for the rest. I spent a bit of time wallowing in some parts of it, last year, in a spirit of know-thy-enemy anxiety, and their worldview is internally consistent if you expel most of the human race from the libertarian fixation on individual rights. Inviolable private property rights for white men, which includes ownership of women as well as lesser races. No rights for anyone else. The end. (The level of anger about the existence of marital rape laws among these communities is pretty instructive. It vividly illustrates the private property lens through which they see women and access to women.)
posted by Aravis76 at 12:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
More rhetorical than anything given the distance The Kardashians have placed between themselves and politics in general.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 12:09 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 12:09 PM on January 29, 2017
I'd wager that it's more about scared people just needing a boogeyman they could point to.
S.O.P with Trump and the GOP in general is 80% bullshit and 20% optics.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:10 PM on January 29, 2017
S.O.P with Trump and the GOP in general is 80% bullshit and 20% optics.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:10 PM on January 29, 2017
The Trump presidency really is uniting the country (and world) like no other has... :D
Clocks have stopped. On the same side of an issue as Kochs and Cheney.
posted by Jalliah at 12:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Clocks have stopped. On the same side of an issue as Kochs and Cheney.
posted by Jalliah at 12:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
The New Yorker: A Dangerously Isolated President
posted by TwoStride at 12:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by TwoStride at 12:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey, give Kardashian some Kredit. She's making her point not by editorializing or interjecting herself into the whole thing but by simply citing facts.
That *is* a statement when someone with her public persona does it.
posted by tel3path at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
That *is* a statement when someone with her public persona does it.
posted by tel3path at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
There are oh so many things wrong with this one: Kellyanne Conway: ‘I Was Stopped Many Times After 9/11’ Though I Don’t ‘Resemble’ Terrorists
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
Kellyanne Conway, top advisor to President Donald Trump, suggested on Sunday that she understands what it’s like for immigrants and refugees to be detained at U.S. airports because her own travels were slowed down after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Does she think having to show through ID to get through airport security or something is the same thing as being banned from the country?
“I was stopped many times ... after 9/11,” she said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I didn’t resemble, or share a name with, or be part of any kind of terrorist conspiracy, but this is what we do to keep a nation safe.”
posted by zachlipton at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
Daniel dale Ban protesters in DC chanted "thank you Canada" as they passed the Canadian Embassy, a friend in the crowd reports.
posted by Jalliah at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Call me sentimental, but it warms my heart to see thousands of people approach the Capitol chanting, "Paul Ryan sucks!"
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
But this is kind of the fear that honest libertarians have always had - that the state is a brutal juggernaut, and the only thing that protects us from a fall into hell
no, the only thing that protects Us is Us, aka "We The People" in the Preamble.
repressive governments only fall when enough 'jack-booted thugs' switch sides and join the protesters.
"We're all in this together" is not the message of conservatism or its libertarian offshoots, however.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
no, the only thing that protects Us is Us, aka "We The People" in the Preamble.
repressive governments only fall when enough 'jack-booted thugs' switch sides and join the protesters.
"We're all in this together" is not the message of conservatism or its libertarian offshoots, however.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
@AriMelber: NY AG issues joint stmt from 16 state AGs w "130 million Americans" saying courts will strike down entire ban
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
The Koch's want immigration because they think it will drive wages down.
posted by PenDevil at 12:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 12:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Kim Kardashian tweeting some truth.
How is it the Kim Kardashian has a better take on immigration than our sitting president?
Kim needs to tell Kanye to tell his best friend Trump to end the ban. If Trump can become POTUS, then surely a Kardashian can save the day. It's no longer that wild of an idea.
but eesh
posted by nightrecordings at 12:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
How is it the Kim Kardashian has a better take on immigration than our sitting president?
Kim needs to tell Kanye to tell his best friend Trump to end the ban. If Trump can become POTUS, then surely a Kardashian can save the day. It's no longer that wild of an idea.
but eesh
posted by nightrecordings at 12:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
If enough countries announced sanctions and embargoes against the United States as long as Trump is in power, could that kickstart impeachment proceedings? Is that even feasible?
posted by holmesian at 12:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by holmesian at 12:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hopefully these continues strong arm tactics by Presidente Trump will continue to drive a wedge between the Police state Republicans and the Libertarians. I assume the usual right libertarians that abandon any pretext of supporting civil rights in favor of economic "liberty" will continue to support Trump as long as they get their inevitable tax cut but hopefully some of the other libertarians will begin to realize that once you go down the road towards Fascism/Totalitarianism all of those individual rights go out the door.
I might not like the policies of politicians like Rand Paul but at this point in time I think we need to develop some sort of coalition that is willing to push back against what appears to be the opening salvos in a war to replace our deeply flawed but democratically elected form of government with some sort of fascist police state.
You'd think more people would read books like 1984 and realize that they are cautionary tales rather than a model to emulate.
posted by vuron at 12:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I might not like the policies of politicians like Rand Paul but at this point in time I think we need to develop some sort of coalition that is willing to push back against what appears to be the opening salvos in a war to replace our deeply flawed but democratically elected form of government with some sort of fascist police state.
You'd think more people would read books like 1984 and realize that they are cautionary tales rather than a model to emulate.
posted by vuron at 12:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I could be wrong, but aren't all the libertarians ON the brutal juggernaut that is hurtling towards us? Any that aren't sure are being damn quiet about it.
posted by Artw at 12:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
I'd argue Conway is doing far more damage to American than any terrorist.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Donald Trump Can Absolutely Walk Up and Down Stairs Like a Big Boy
posted by Buntix at 12:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 12:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
Philly taxi drivers are joining NYC drivers in the airport strike, according to Philly We Rise.
posted by mcduff at 12:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 12:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Donald Trump Can Absolutely Walk Up and Down Stairs Like a Big Boy
The most amazing thing about this is catching yet another Trump's Mirror projection. It happens with the tiniest things (relevantly) like stairs.
posted by Jalliah at 12:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
The most amazing thing about this is catching yet another Trump's Mirror projection. It happens with the tiniest things (relevantly) like stairs.
posted by Jalliah at 12:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
as armenian-americans maybe the kardashians have a little bit of familial memory of what happens when no one speaks up for a minority
posted by murphy slaw at 12:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 12:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
I think it's pretty clear that Trump is afraid of falling on camera. This is someone's who's entire public image is built on looking strong and virile and in charge but if he starts being seen as weak and unsteady and uncertain that would evaporate his external image.
And for someone as a prone to narcissism yet possess of a complete lack of self-esteem a public perception that he is a weak, stupid man would be soul crushing.
In a different age people like him would just rent out a floor of Desert Inn and start saving his toe nail clippings but instead we live in a day and age where apparently a long running "reality" tv show is considered appropriate preparation for being President.
posted by vuron at 12:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
And for someone as a prone to narcissism yet possess of a complete lack of self-esteem a public perception that he is a weak, stupid man would be soul crushing.
In a different age people like him would just rent out a floor of Desert Inn and start saving his toe nail clippings but instead we live in a day and age where apparently a long running "reality" tv show is considered appropriate preparation for being President.
posted by vuron at 12:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
yeah kim k has done a fair amount of outreach and awareness advocacy about the armenian genocide over the years.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 12:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
This is a bit of a tangent, but tonight I'm starting 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.
Signing up now. Thank you for this - I was scratching for ways to help more other than becoming a slightly less crappy Lib Dem and upping my contribution.
This is absolutely a global call to arms for liberal democracy. Whether it's pitching £10 a month at a cause (seriously, that's like, what, a couple of pints at the pub?) for a worthy cause or getting out and pounding pavement, it's time for us to fight back.
This isn't just American. It's a global fight for our values. E Pluribus Unum.
posted by generichuman at 12:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Signing up now. Thank you for this - I was scratching for ways to help more other than becoming a slightly less crappy Lib Dem and upping my contribution.
This is absolutely a global call to arms for liberal democracy. Whether it's pitching £10 a month at a cause (seriously, that's like, what, a couple of pints at the pub?) for a worthy cause or getting out and pounding pavement, it's time for us to fight back.
This isn't just American. It's a global fight for our values. E Pluribus Unum.
posted by generichuman at 12:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I think it's pretty clear that Trump is afraid of falling on camera.
Ah. So this would be an area where he actually watches out? In an informed way? Like, take that foot, step, then take this foot, another step, neatly one after the other, no haste?? Wow, simply wow. The man has potential after all.
We are waiting for the metaphorical fall, then.
posted by Namlit at 12:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ah. So this would be an area where he actually watches out? In an informed way? Like, take that foot, step, then take this foot, another step, neatly one after the other, no haste?? Wow, simply wow. The man has potential after all.
We are waiting for the metaphorical fall, then.
posted by Namlit at 12:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
very little in terms of tangible skills (legal, organizational, military, ?)
2 days study and practice can make you a useful 1st aid provider, 2 weeks of hard study can get you up to a basic EMT level of knowledge. A backpack full of basic 1st aid kits in quart ziplock bags to give away can help a lot if things go sideways.
posted by ridgerunner at 12:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
2 days study and practice can make you a useful 1st aid provider, 2 weeks of hard study can get you up to a basic EMT level of knowledge. A backpack full of basic 1st aid kits in quart ziplock bags to give away can help a lot if things go sideways.
posted by ridgerunner at 12:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Do you have stairs in your house?
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
With the Bannon installation I am legitimately afraid of a Reichstag scenario. Like a dirty bomb in DC.
posted by Tevin at 12:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 12:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
WH protest now on the move. Marching down 15th to Penn, then Capitol. #resist #NoBanNoWall #RefugeesWelcome
posted by porn in the woods at 12:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 12:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
WaPo posting stories of people denied entry to US since ban took effect:
‘Donald Trump destroyed my life,’ says barred Iraqi who worked for U.S.
Down the drain means this: The family had sold their house, their car and all their possessions to aid them in their new life. The children were pulled out of their schools. Sharef quit his well-paying job at a pharmaceutical company. And their air tickets cost $5,000.
Also down the drain is their sense of security. Sharef once worked for a U.S. government subcontractor in post-invasion Iraq as a translator and a program manager. He got his visas, after two years of vetting, through a special U.S. resettlement program for Iraqi employees of the American government. Working for Americans was filled with perils, he said. He and other colleagues faced death threats; he knew co-workers who were kidnapped or killed.
On Sunday, he and his family — his wife, Arazoo, 41; his son, Bnyad, 19; his daughter Yad, 17; and another daughter, Shad, 10 — boarded a flight back to Irbil after spending the night inside the airport terminal.
“Donald Trump destroyed my life,” Sharef said. “How can he do this to people who risked their lives to help America?”
posted by nightrecordings at 12:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [98 favorites]
‘Donald Trump destroyed my life,’ says barred Iraqi who worked for U.S.
Down the drain means this: The family had sold their house, their car and all their possessions to aid them in their new life. The children were pulled out of their schools. Sharef quit his well-paying job at a pharmaceutical company. And their air tickets cost $5,000.
Also down the drain is their sense of security. Sharef once worked for a U.S. government subcontractor in post-invasion Iraq as a translator and a program manager. He got his visas, after two years of vetting, through a special U.S. resettlement program for Iraqi employees of the American government. Working for Americans was filled with perils, he said. He and other colleagues faced death threats; he knew co-workers who were kidnapped or killed.
On Sunday, he and his family — his wife, Arazoo, 41; his son, Bnyad, 19; his daughter Yad, 17; and another daughter, Shad, 10 — boarded a flight back to Irbil after spending the night inside the airport terminal.
“Donald Trump destroyed my life,” Sharef said. “How can he do this to people who risked their lives to help America?”
posted by nightrecordings at 12:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [98 favorites]
god imagine the outcry if trump tripped over his own feet and fell down the stairs live on camera and wet his pants and his toupee flew off. if it was at the white house the shrill squealing conspiracy theorists would blame obama and then he could make a video of himself just looking into the camera and shaking his head silently.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 12:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Days until achieving MAJORITY disapproval from @Gallup
Reagan: 727
Bush I: 1336
Clinton: 573
Bush II: 1205
Obama: 936
Trump: 8. days.
posted by porn in the woods at 12:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [102 favorites]
Reagan: 727
Bush I: 1336
Clinton: 573
Bush II: 1205
Obama: 936
Trump: 8. days.
posted by porn in the woods at 12:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [102 favorites]
Do you have stairs in your house?
At this point, is anyone _really_ protected?
posted by delfin at 12:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
At this point, is anyone _really_ protected?
posted by delfin at 12:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I could be wrong, but aren't all the libertarians
At the point where you say ALL - you are wrong.
Micheal Badnarik I believe stakes out the idea that Executive Orders are just that - orders for the people in the executive branch and are otherwise an unconstitutional way to flex power. And in his 2004 campaign had a position that 'Open immigration based on just a criminal background check'. Given the past positions - not seeing how he'd be in favor of the present state of things. No statements made in the present that I can find - he was clinically dead for a bit and isn't as vocal as he used to be.
The Koch boys gave out gold coins during their run at the Libertarians - and their position via spokespeople have been noted.
Given the hearding cats aspect of "Libertarians" - saying "all" means the answer is "no".
posted by rough ashlar at 12:53 PM on January 29, 2017
At the point where you say ALL - you are wrong.
Micheal Badnarik I believe stakes out the idea that Executive Orders are just that - orders for the people in the executive branch and are otherwise an unconstitutional way to flex power. And in his 2004 campaign had a position that 'Open immigration based on just a criminal background check'. Given the past positions - not seeing how he'd be in favor of the present state of things. No statements made in the present that I can find - he was clinically dead for a bit and isn't as vocal as he used to be.
The Koch boys gave out gold coins during their run at the Libertarians - and their position via spokespeople have been noted.
Given the hearding cats aspect of "Libertarians" - saying "all" means the answer is "no".
posted by rough ashlar at 12:53 PM on January 29, 2017
god imagine the outcry if trump tripped over his own feet and fell down the stairs live on camera and wet his pants and his toupee flew off.
No, Firelord Trump, you're not wearing pants!
posted by murphy slaw at 12:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
No, Firelord Trump, you're not wearing pants!
posted by murphy slaw at 12:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
WaPo livestream of D.C. protest
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Days until achieving MAJORITY disapproval from @Gallup
Reagan: 727
Bush I: 1336
Clinton: 573
Bush II: 1205
Obama: 936
Trump: 8. days.
Well he likes to be the best at things.
re: comments
I wonder if we will ever see the end of 'he won, get over it' responses to everything about him.
posted by Jalliah at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Re elected officials, I tweeted my rep from the dfw airport, with footage of the protests, asking why he wasn't there.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
1-95 entry into PHL is completely shut down due to protest
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 12:59 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 12:59 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Senior admin. official confirms SCOTUS pick could be announced as early as tmrw or Tuesday - rather than Thursday, as originally expected.
Huh wonder if there's something they want to distract from
posted by saturday_morning at 1:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Huh wonder if there's something they want to distract from
posted by saturday_morning at 1:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
At this point, is anyone _really_ protected?
When it's dark, my stairs look like you're walking down into a horror movie. I did fall down them and wrecked my rotator cuff so I think they're haunted.
posted by Jalliah at 1:01 PM on January 29, 2017
When it's dark, my stairs look like you're walking down into a horror movie. I did fall down them and wrecked my rotator cuff so I think they're haunted.
posted by Jalliah at 1:01 PM on January 29, 2017
Sean Spicer Retweets Onion Video Saying He Provides ‘Robust Misinformation’: ‘You Nailed It’
[Spicer] didn’t watch the video or read the Onion’s tweet as carefully as he could have … since they declare Spicer’s “role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation.”
posted by futz at 1:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [68 favorites]
[Spicer] didn’t watch the video or read the Onion’s tweet as carefully as he could have … since they declare Spicer’s “role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation.”
posted by futz at 1:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [68 favorites]
There are so many strong and good actions out there right now, including Kim Kardashian (!) and the Kochs (!!!!!!), but obviously mainly the sustained protests across the US, and even all over the world (thanks UK). There is something to prepare for though: the more universal the protest, the more entrenched the reaction. The death throes of the Trump presidency will be horrible, and they may last four years. Don't worry, don't stop fighting, just be prepared.
posted by mumimor at 1:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 1:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
There will be an extreme vetting of stairs. We will ban stairs from the earth. It's gonna be beautiful. It's true.
posted by Namlit at 1:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Namlit at 1:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Sean Spicer Retweets Onion Video Saying He Provides ‘Robust Misinformation’: ‘You Nailed It’
[Spicer] didn’t watch the video or read the Onion’s tweet as carefully as he could have … since they declare Spicer’s “role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation.”
Seriously? This is like some The Onion meets reality paradox that folds in on itself and hurts my brain.
posted by Jalliah at 1:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
[Spicer] didn’t watch the video or read the Onion’s tweet as carefully as he could have … since they declare Spicer’s “role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation.”
Seriously? This is like some The Onion meets reality paradox that folds in on itself and hurts my brain.
posted by Jalliah at 1:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
Ack yes, trying to link to tweets on my little phone. 1st link was of a protest sign in DC saying: "Protest is the new brunch." 2nd was a joke about "whoever had Day 10 in the office pool for 'Constitutional Crisis,' come collect your winnings.
posted by NorthernLite at 1:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by NorthernLite at 1:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
> Spicer/Onion TwitterLoveFest
There's a couple different ways to take Spicer's response. I choose to take it straight, because that's the funniest.
posted by Enturbulated at 1:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
There's a couple different ways to take Spicer's response. I choose to take it straight, because that's the funniest.
posted by Enturbulated at 1:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump symptoms-
1) Forgetting recent events - such as denying that he said things that he is on tape saying
2) Problems finding the right words - this as all can tell is a Bigly problem
3) Being depressed, anxious, withdrawn - every recent report indicates he's becoming increasingly withdrawn
4) Prone to repetition - Says the same things all the time. Sad
5) Increasingly hasty and irritable decision-making - uhh yeah
6) Unsteady on feet
7) Dependent on core caregivers - Kushner, Bannon, Miller, Priebus
Between these sorts of symptoms and his refusal to release medical reports I honestly wouldn't be shocked if he's in early onset Alzheimers and you have all sorts of family members and hangers on looking to manipulate him for their own benefit.
I wonder if the Trump administration will be as skilled in hiding his decline as the Reagan white house was.
posted by vuron at 1:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
1) Forgetting recent events - such as denying that he said things that he is on tape saying
2) Problems finding the right words - this as all can tell is a Bigly problem
3) Being depressed, anxious, withdrawn - every recent report indicates he's becoming increasingly withdrawn
4) Prone to repetition - Says the same things all the time. Sad
5) Increasingly hasty and irritable decision-making - uhh yeah
6) Unsteady on feet
7) Dependent on core caregivers - Kushner, Bannon, Miller, Priebus
Between these sorts of symptoms and his refusal to release medical reports I honestly wouldn't be shocked if he's in early onset Alzheimers and you have all sorts of family members and hangers on looking to manipulate him for their own benefit.
I wonder if the Trump administration will be as skilled in hiding his decline as the Reagan white house was.
posted by vuron at 1:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Of all the unlikely things, Sean Spicer was here recently, talking to David Axelrod and wearing weird socks.
posted by lagomorphius at 1:11 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by lagomorphius at 1:11 PM on January 29, 2017
President Trump exhibits classic signs of mental illness, including 'malignant narcissism,' shrinks say [NY Daily News]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 1:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 1:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump symptoms-
on the one hand these are all symptoms of dementia, on the other they are also all symptoms of being a lifelong imposter in way, way over your head
posted by murphy slaw at 1:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
on the one hand these are all symptoms of dementia, on the other they are also all symptoms of being a lifelong imposter in way, way over your head
posted by murphy slaw at 1:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Chelsea Clinton: Yes. We will keep standing up for a country that matches our values and ideals for all.
posted by porn in the woods at 1:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 1:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
In more lighthearted news, some smaller forms of protest -
* There have been calls for the Irish Taoischeach Enda Kenny to call of this years' traditional St. Patricks' Day visit to the White House to offer the US president a bowl of shamrocks. Thus far the Taoischeach has been pushing back; a spokesman has argued that carrying on with the visit will let Kenny level with Trump face-to-face on the matter and let him try to reason Trump out of it. Still Kenny was himself snubbed by Trump during a December visit to New York, so it's anyone's guess how that'd work.
* I've had the Jonathan Schwartz show playing off and on all afternoon, and - holy crap, Jonathan Schwartz is getting political. Instead of his usual on-air patter about the time he saw such and such famous jazz chanteuse singing in a little club in San Francisco or whatever, he's talking about having nightmares about having to barricade his door against soldiers and talking about how "all we New Yorkers have been similarly feeling depressed since November, don't you agree?" and playing left-leaning selections.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
* There have been calls for the Irish Taoischeach Enda Kenny to call of this years' traditional St. Patricks' Day visit to the White House to offer the US president a bowl of shamrocks. Thus far the Taoischeach has been pushing back; a spokesman has argued that carrying on with the visit will let Kenny level with Trump face-to-face on the matter and let him try to reason Trump out of it. Still Kenny was himself snubbed by Trump during a December visit to New York, so it's anyone's guess how that'd work.
* I've had the Jonathan Schwartz show playing off and on all afternoon, and - holy crap, Jonathan Schwartz is getting political. Instead of his usual on-air patter about the time he saw such and such famous jazz chanteuse singing in a little club in San Francisco or whatever, he's talking about having nightmares about having to barricade his door against soldiers and talking about how "all we New Yorkers have been similarly feeling depressed since November, don't you agree?" and playing left-leaning selections.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
I think Spicer has been pounding Mike's Hard Lemonade since Friday evening and peering through is blinds for his priority shipment from Jos. A Banks.
posted by cmfletcher at 1:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 1:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Even if Trump starts building a wall I expect it will be constantly destroyed. Hey, a jobs program.
Maybe someone else can check my back-of-the-envelope math: seems to me, even assuming no delays with tricky terrain, objections from owners of private property, court fights, suppliers, protesters/saboteurs (ahem), transportation of workers and every other damn thing, and assuming that they finish it the morning of January 20, 2021 and work round the clock from oh-let's-say tomorrow morning... to build a wall along the border will require erecting a little over a football field's worth of wall every hour of every day from now until the end of his term.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Maybe someone else can check my back-of-the-envelope math: seems to me, even assuming no delays with tricky terrain, objections from owners of private property, court fights, suppliers, protesters/saboteurs (ahem), transportation of workers and every other damn thing, and assuming that they finish it the morning of January 20, 2021 and work round the clock from oh-let's-say tomorrow morning... to build a wall along the border will require erecting a little over a football field's worth of wall every hour of every day from now until the end of his term.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm trying to figure out what I will hear from relatives later about all of this.
1) But what if someone in one of these airports had a sudden outbreak of something incredibly deadly and had to get to the hospital, huh? Like quick-onset leprosy? The protests are COSTING AMERICAN LIVES.
2) He hasn't even DONE anything yet.
3) Did you hear what (Al Sharpton | Rosie O'Donnell | Whoopi Goldberg) said?
posted by delfin at 1:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
1) But what if someone in one of these airports had a sudden outbreak of something incredibly deadly and had to get to the hospital, huh? Like quick-onset leprosy? The protests are COSTING AMERICAN LIVES.
2) He hasn't even DONE anything yet.
3) Did you hear what (Al Sharpton | Rosie O'Donnell | Whoopi Goldberg) said?
posted by delfin at 1:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Perhaps Mr. Trump could confer with Mr. Trudeau for stair travel lessons.
posted by mannequito at 1:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mannequito at 1:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Anil Dash wins the thread on that Spicer/Onion tweet.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
The (former, since last week) US ambassador to Sweden: "I would not have been allowed to set foot in USA! Not the vision our founders had in mind. Not America."
Hopefully they'll at least let her in when she returns.
posted by effbot at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Hopefully they'll at least let her in when she returns.
posted by effbot at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
708k on the UK petition to refuse a state visit now.
posted by MattWPBS at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by MattWPBS at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Well that escalated quickly.
posted by Flashman at 1:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 1:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Senior admin. official confirms SCOTUS pick could be announced as early as tmrw or Tuesday
Who cares? Seems like this administration plans to ignore the judicial branch anyway.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Who cares? Seems like this administration plans to ignore the judicial branch anyway.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Fyi, as a time saving device when either engaging or inadvertently drawing the attention of Nazis online, I respond to every single tweet, comment, whatever with this gif of Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids saying "Auf Wiedersehen, asshole." Satisfying, economical, highly recommended.
posted by supercrayon at 1:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 1:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Maybe someone else can check my back-of-the-envelope math: seems to me, even assuming no delays with tricky terrain, objections from owners of private property, court fights, suppliers, protesters/saboteurs (ahem), transportation of workers and every other damn thing, and assuming that they finish it the morning of January 20, 2021 and work round the clock from oh-let's-say tomorrow morning... to build a wall along the border will require erecting a little over a football field's worth of wall every hour of every day from now until the end of his term.
It's kinda amazing when you really start to think through like this. And there's people who are expecting it to be done in a couple of years. lol
posted by Jalliah at 1:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's kinda amazing when you really start to think through like this. And there's people who are expecting it to be done in a couple of years. lol
posted by Jalliah at 1:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Senior admin. official confirms SCOTUS pick could be announced as early as tmrw or Tuesday
Who cares? Seems like this administration plans to ignore the judicial branch anyway.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:28 AM on January 30 [+] [!]
NOPE. We care. We don't want their lackeys on the bench. Protest like hell.
posted by saysthis at 1:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Who cares? Seems like this administration plans to ignore the judicial branch anyway.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:28 AM on January 30 [+] [!]
NOPE. We care. We don't want their lackeys on the bench. Protest like hell.
posted by saysthis at 1:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
View from the Newseum this afternoon #MuslimBan
posted by porn in the woods at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Building a wall along the NM and Arizona borders with Mexico is moderately doable due to the majority of the land being owned by the US government. Get to Texas though and the logistics of the wall become untenable. An incredibly long shared border that is largely bordered by privately owned land. Yes there is the possibility of seizing the land through eminent domain but that would be massively unpopular among all the "private property rights should be sacrosanct" crowd.
Not to mention that it's a dumb idea that would be needless expensive and paying for the damne thing is something nobody really wants to do.
The idea that Republicans are going to somehow go against decades of support for free trade and pay for a wall with import taxes on Mexican goods is completely laughable. Whatever happened to Trump's supposed Maquiladora friend? Or all those companies that assemble all sorts of stuff in border factory regions for export to the US.
His plans are stupid, unworkable and completely contrary to the foundations of conservative economic theory.
posted by vuron at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Not to mention that it's a dumb idea that would be needless expensive and paying for the damne thing is something nobody really wants to do.
The idea that Republicans are going to somehow go against decades of support for free trade and pay for a wall with import taxes on Mexican goods is completely laughable. Whatever happened to Trump's supposed Maquiladora friend? Or all those companies that assemble all sorts of stuff in border factory regions for export to the US.
His plans are stupid, unworkable and completely contrary to the foundations of conservative economic theory.
posted by vuron at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
On a MARTA train right now enroute to Hartsfield -- packed with people carrying signs.
posted by TwoToneRow at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by TwoToneRow at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
I went to the MSP airport protest, which was pretty big - hundreds of people. Big enough that it had "zones", sort of, where one zone was singing "This Land is Your Land" and another was changing "No KKK/No racist USA".
I felt like I was having an out of body experience - like, I could hear my own voice chanting and I found myself yelling at the cars of hostile people, when normally I'm a bad chanter and not a yeller.
The people honking in support waaaaaaaaay outnumbered the hostiles, and I think even outnumbered the neutrals.
posted by Frowner at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
I felt like I was having an out of body experience - like, I could hear my own voice chanting and I found myself yelling at the cars of hostile people, when normally I'm a bad chanter and not a yeller.
The people honking in support waaaaaaaaay outnumbered the hostiles, and I think even outnumbered the neutrals.
posted by Frowner at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
The Dallas-Morning News reports I'm seeing seem to indicate that at least some of those detained were released and allowed to go to their destinations from DFW.
Can't find anything that says they all were.
I am proud of my fellow Texans, truly, for what they are doing right now. I'm home with a kid who wouldn't handle a protest crowd well so I'm glad the rest of them could go.
posted by emjaybee at 1:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Can't find anything that says they all were.
I am proud of my fellow Texans, truly, for what they are doing right now. I'm home with a kid who wouldn't handle a protest crowd well so I'm glad the rest of them could go.
posted by emjaybee at 1:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Look at all these coastal elites that turned up in Nebraska to protest Trump's unconstitutional #MuslimBan.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
Three is going to be another protest at ORD at 6 tonight. I'll be there.
posted by AlexiaSky at 1:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by AlexiaSky at 1:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Who cares? Seems like this administration plans to ignore the judicial branch anyway.
If the courts are stacked in the favor of the trumpists, then the courts will no longer be ignored. For a quick reference, here's all of Obama's judicial nominations in 2013.
posted by codacorolla at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
If the courts are stacked in the favor of the trumpists, then the courts will no longer be ignored. For a quick reference, here's all of Obama's judicial nominations in 2013.
posted by codacorolla at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Apropos of what Frowner said upthread about scientists being activated by this ban:
Science Magazine: Scientists’ lives upended by Trump’s immigration order
Science Magazine: Scientists’ lives upended by Trump’s immigration order
Wael Al-Delaimy, an Iraqi-born physician and chronic disease epidemiologist at the University of California, San Diego, travels six times a year to U.S.- or USCD-funded projects in Ecuador, Mozambique, Jordan and India that address topics such as pesticide exposure and cognitive decline among children and refugee mental health. A green-card holder, Al-Delaimy says he is now afraid to leave the United States, which will hobble his work. He takes no solace from the fact that the executive order’s ban on Iraqis entering the United States is limited to 90 days. “I am fearful that this is just going to be extended and extended. That this is just a litmus test to see the reaction, and once people are complacent they go ahead and [a permanent ban] becomes okay.”posted by en forme de poire at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
When Trump on the campaign trail last year announced his intention to ban Muslims from entering the United States, Al-Delaimy says his 10-year-old son, a U.S. citizen, asked him, “Where are we going to go if we are going to be banned from this country?” Al-Delaimy answered: “We are not going anywhere. This is your country and our residence. I reassured him. But now frankly I am beginning to think this is maybe not going as I told him.”
Trump has released a statement on the executive order. As usual, there is media blaming, denials and Obama-did-it-isms.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
No mention of the judicial stay of course.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
An interesting note about the wall - some of the border with Mexico actually is on land belonging to the Tohono O’odham Nation, who've already said that they won't allow their land to be used. The leader's exact words were "over my dead body."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:41 PM on January 29, 2017 [71 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:41 PM on January 29, 2017 [71 favorites]
The "Jews need to get over it thing" is so shocking to me, because a kitschy love of Judaica/stories about the Holocaust were hugely popular in my Baptist church in the 80s. It was about them being key to the eschatology stuff, but also about us as white people wanting to glom on to their status as Chosen People/heroic survivors of persecution. We dwelt on the realities of the Holocaust in rather grim detail*, so denying it would have been unthinkable.
Of course, how the adults acted towards actual, non-Jews-for-Jesus Jews outside of church was surely different, although I can't remember any anti-Semitic comments or jokes from that time.
*except for the parts where Christians helped enable it of course.
posted by emjaybee at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Of course, how the adults acted towards actual, non-Jews-for-Jesus Jews outside of church was surely different, although I can't remember any anti-Semitic comments or jokes from that time.
*except for the parts where Christians helped enable it of course.
posted by emjaybee at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
the lady next to me on MARTA is on the way to the airport to catch a flight. i remarked that its probably not the best day to have to deal with traveling. Her reply was "no, I applaud you."
posted by TwoToneRow at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [67 favorites]
posted by TwoToneRow at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [67 favorites]
A Dutch news site reported (in Dutch) that over 70 people protested against the muslimban at Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport) tonight.
posted by blub at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by blub at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
More on the ban affecting scientists:
Boston Globe: Boston-area academics face bans on entering US
The Atlantic: Trump's immigration ban is already harming American science
posted by en forme de poire at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Boston Globe: Boston-area academics face bans on entering US
The Atlantic: Trump's immigration ban is already harming American science
posted by en forme de poire at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
to build a wall along the border will require erecting a little over a football field's worth of wall every hour of every day from now until the end of his term.
With prefab concrete slabs (yay boondoggle for mafia-owned cement companies!) and a massive, pyramid-like mobilization of labor, it could get done. It will cost tens of billions, provide no tangible positive good for us, and definitely not be paid for by Mexico. But it could be done.
posted by dis_integration at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
With prefab concrete slabs (yay boondoggle for mafia-owned cement companies!) and a massive, pyramid-like mobilization of labor, it could get done. It will cost tens of billions, provide no tangible positive good for us, and definitely not be paid for by Mexico. But it could be done.
posted by dis_integration at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
some of the border with Mexico actually is on land belonging to the Tohono O’odham
Alt-right comments I've seen in re this are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2017
Alt-right comments I've seen in re this are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2017
From DJT's statement: "There are over 40 different countries that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order."
"But officer, look at all the stores I *didn't* rob!"
posted by tonycpsu at 1:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
"But officer, look at all the stores I *didn't* rob!"
posted by tonycpsu at 1:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
Re Obama's 2011 "ban" on Iraqi immigration: per this article, the program is was suspended because security got too dicey and they had to pull the people running the program out. Not remotely the same situation.
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Mike Stanek reporting from Dulles
some US passport holders are also being pulled aside, understand they're being asked for social media handles.
Good reminder, next time I travel outside the US I'll be sure to set up a fake Twitter account for them.
posted by emjaybee at 1:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
some US passport holders are also being pulled aside, understand they're being asked for social media handles.
Good reminder, next time I travel outside the US I'll be sure to set up a fake Twitter account for them.
posted by emjaybee at 1:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
The "Jews need to get over it thing" is so shocking to me, because a kitschy love of Judaica/stories about the Holocaust were hugely popular in my Baptist church in the 80s.
Makes total sense to me. The Jews and the Holocaust were being discussed as props, it sounds like, rather than being seen as people with their own rights and their own lives and their own agency. I find that kind of thing to be very common among the more moderate right; it's what lets them square the circle between "the black lives matter movement is so violent" and "but I'm not racist".
Alt-right comments I've seen in re [the Tohono O'odham] are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
Eminent Domain only counts if it's land belonging to the United States. Aren't tribal lands considered to NOT belong to the United States?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Makes total sense to me. The Jews and the Holocaust were being discussed as props, it sounds like, rather than being seen as people with their own rights and their own lives and their own agency. I find that kind of thing to be very common among the more moderate right; it's what lets them square the circle between "the black lives matter movement is so violent" and "but I'm not racist".
Alt-right comments I've seen in re [the Tohono O'odham] are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
Eminent Domain only counts if it's land belonging to the United States. Aren't tribal lands considered to NOT belong to the United States?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Trump has released a statement on the executive order. As usual, there is media blaming, denials and Obama-did-it-isms.
And a promise to start issuing visas to "all countries" again once the 90 days are up.
Sure.
I think the takeaway here is that *we are winning*. They see the protests, they see how massively unpopular this decision was, and so they are backtracking. First on green card holders, now meekly suggesting the whole thing is temporary. And every time he has to backtrack, he loses in the dominance game, he becomes a loser, a pathetic weak loser.
We just scored a huge point, and every point we score makes the next point easier because of how much Trump's self-image and public image comes from winning. We'll make him a loser next time too, and the next time, until he is nothing.
posted by saturday_morning at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
And a promise to start issuing visas to "all countries" again once the 90 days are up.
Sure.
I think the takeaway here is that *we are winning*. They see the protests, they see how massively unpopular this decision was, and so they are backtracking. First on green card holders, now meekly suggesting the whole thing is temporary. And every time he has to backtrack, he loses in the dominance game, he becomes a loser, a pathetic weak loser.
We just scored a huge point, and every point we score makes the next point easier because of how much Trump's self-image and public image comes from winning. We'll make him a loser next time too, and the next time, until he is nothing.
posted by saturday_morning at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
Did the EO affect countries where DJT has properties? I don't know how to google this question.
posted by angrycat at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by angrycat at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
An interesting note about the wall - some of the border with Mexico actually is on land belonging to the Tohono O’odham Nation, who've already said that they won't allow their land to be used. The leader's exact words were "over my dead body."
The more things change... Donald Trump’s long history of clashes with Native Americans
posted by Buntix at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
The more things change... Donald Trump’s long history of clashes with Native Americans
posted by Buntix at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Hundreds protesting today at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Friends say the cops keeping traffic clear are high-fiving the protestors, so yay.
Wish I could be there, but I stupidly ran a half-marathon this morning on a mild injury that is now a really painful ankle-knee-hip chain. Wish I could pin this on DJT, too, somehow. Poor judgment caused by sleep deprivation over his incompetent fuckery, perhaps?
posted by Superplin at 1:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Wish I could be there, but I stupidly ran a half-marathon this morning on a mild injury that is now a really painful ankle-knee-hip chain. Wish I could pin this on DJT, too, somehow. Poor judgment caused by sleep deprivation over his incompetent fuckery, perhaps?
posted by Superplin at 1:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Re Obama's 2011 "ban" on Iraqi immigration
Thanks for the sensible link - I've just tried googling for more information and all I get are links from Breitbart and other "Obama did this and other things the media won't tell you" rubbish..
posted by jontyjago at 1:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Thanks for the sensible link - I've just tried googling for more information and all I get are links from Breitbart and other "Obama did this and other things the media won't tell you" rubbish..
posted by jontyjago at 1:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
id the EO affect countries where DJT has properties? I don't know how to google this question..<
Nope it didn't.
posted by Jalliah at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Nope it didn't.
posted by Jalliah at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Statement
blah blah... To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting..... blah blah
posted by adamvasco at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2017
blah blah... To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting..... blah blah
posted by adamvasco at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2017
Trump has released a statement on the executive order. As usual, there is media blaming, denials and Obama-did-it-isms.
Trump Bannon has released a statement
posted by futz at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by futz at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Did the EO affect countries where DJT has properties? I don't know how to google this question.
Countries where Trump does business are not hit by new travel restrictions
posted by peeedro at 1:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Countries where Trump does business are not hit by new travel restrictions
posted by peeedro at 1:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Statement
blah blah... To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting..... blah blah
That is one whiny statement!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2017
blah blah... To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting..... blah blah
That is one whiny statement!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2017
If anyone reading is in the Triangle area of North Carolina & is a lawyer or notary public, one of the Durham NC city council members, Jillian Johnson, is asking for help to free a minor detained at Charlotte-Douglas Int'l airport by the ban. Link here.
posted by azuresunday at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
And a promise to start issuing visas to "all countries" again once the 90 days are up.
No, importantly, no such promise in Trump's statement. Only after review and a new program.
posted by prefpara at 1:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
No, importantly, no such promise in Trump's statement. Only after review and a new program.
posted by prefpara at 1:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
There's not a lot of ways for "the media" to misrepresent abducting a 5 year old.
posted by Artw at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
There's a couple different ways to take Spicer's response. I choose to take it straight, because that's the funniest.
Same here. I like to think that Spicer is rethinking his life's choices and drinking bitterly as a result. "Clearly articulated misinformation, that's me. Way to go Sean."
posted by bibliowench at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Same here. I like to think that Spicer is rethinking his life's choices and drinking bitterly as a result. "Clearly articulated misinformation, that's me. Way to go Sean."
posted by bibliowench at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
some of the border with Mexico actually is on land belonging to the Tohono O’odham
Alt-right comments I've seen in re this are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
I live near the TO reservation and I have family that lives on it. All I can say is go ahead and f*cking try to eminent domain the land there.
posted by azpenguin at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
Alt-right comments I've seen in re this are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
I live near the TO reservation and I have family that lives on it. All I can say is go ahead and f*cking try to eminent domain the land there.
posted by azpenguin at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
No, importantly, no such promise in Trump's statement. Only after review and a new program.
Right, sure, I should have said a "suggestion" rather than a "promise".
Point stands, though, that they're scrambling to give the appearance of watering it down, because they are losing this battle.
posted by saturday_morning at 1:59 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Right, sure, I should have said a "suggestion" rather than a "promise".
Point stands, though, that they're scrambling to give the appearance of watering it down, because they are losing this battle.
posted by saturday_morning at 1:59 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Do you think Trump understands that if (when?) he pushes things too far and manages to get impeached, it's going to be amazingly, stunningly expedient for Pence and the GOP to put him and his family in prison so they stop being embarrassing and can't blab about shit?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Also, while Trump whines about the meanies calling this a #MuslimBan, periodic reminder that the call for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on" is still on his website
posted by saturday_morning at 2:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [65 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 2:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [65 favorites]
All people detained last night at DFW have been released; they are waiting for more (detained today possibly?).
posted by emjaybee at 2:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 2:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
The number of signatories for the petition to the UK Parliament to deny Trump a state visit has just passed three quarters of a million.
That's still far short of the four million who asked for a rerun of the Brexit Referendum with clearer criteria, but it's growing fast.
posted by Major Clanger at 2:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
That's still far short of the four million who asked for a rerun of the Brexit Referendum with clearer criteria, but it's growing fast.
posted by Major Clanger at 2:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
You mean actually target nations like Saudi Arabia and UAE were there have been demonstrable ties to Al Queda and ISIS in the form of financial support, strong theological support of "radical islam", where most of the terrorists involved in plots against the US have come from?
Of course not because unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia buys lots of US weapons and has deep ties to US energy companies and the Trump organization has either investment properties.
To imagine that Trump isn't willing to abandon his "principles" in favor of those willing to meet his asking price is complete delusional. I'm pretty sure that he'd be willing to open a hotel in Pyongyang if the price was right.
posted by vuron at 2:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Of course not because unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia buys lots of US weapons and has deep ties to US energy companies and the Trump organization has either investment properties.
To imagine that Trump isn't willing to abandon his "principles" in favor of those willing to meet his asking price is complete delusional. I'm pretty sure that he'd be willing to open a hotel in Pyongyang if the price was right.
posted by vuron at 2:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Can banned countries just promise to put TRUMP on a given office tower, pay him a royalty, and get him to turn around? I'm thinking yes?
I'll bet it wouldn't even have to be that much money. He's shitty at bargaining.
posted by emjaybee at 2:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'll bet it wouldn't even have to be that much money. He's shitty at bargaining.
posted by emjaybee at 2:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I can't wait for the tell-all memoirs about this period to come out. Really interested in how the WH came up with this plan, and how they're coping with the reaction.
posted by Coventry at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Coventry at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration. The two...
...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.
I guess "Finding Dory" is over.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [49 favorites]
...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.
I guess "Finding Dory" is over.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [49 favorites]
DJT is now using Twitter to tell his GOP critics, McCain and Graham, to shut up and stop trying to cause World War III [real].
Boy, Trump's Mirror makes this the scariest pair of tweets yet, doesn't it?
posted by Superplin at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
Boy, Trump's Mirror makes this the scariest pair of tweets yet, doesn't it?
posted by Superplin at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 19m19 minutes ago
...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.
!!!!!
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.
!!!!!
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 2:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I guess "Finding Dory" is over.
🎵 Just keep tweeting, just keep tweeting 🎵
posted by peeedro at 2:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
🎵 Just keep tweeting, just keep tweeting 🎵
posted by peeedro at 2:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
The Age (Australia): Donald Trump's Muslim ban excludes countries in which he has business ties
posted by valetta at 2:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by valetta at 2:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
MSNBC just pointed out that the "these 7 countries were flagged as terrorism hotbeds by Obama" is total bullshit. Some Obama administration documents flag them as dangerous places to visit (because they're, you know, war zones, etc.), not sources of US-bound jihadists.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
STOP BEING MEAN TO MY BFF PUTIN GUYS!
posted by vuron at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by vuron at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Maybe 10k at LAX
posted by persona au gratin at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by persona au gratin at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
All I can think about is how DJT's face must be the color of raspberry jam right now after wrestling the phone from his handlers and locking himself in the Oval Office toilet to write that tweet.
posted by mochapickle at 2:13 PM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 2:13 PM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
Maybe when Trump said that he would never let us down during his inauguration speech, he really meant that he would usher us to the peace of the grave
posted by angrycat at 2:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 2:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
I get genuinely peeved when our insane fascist dictator with the power to destroy humanity tweets about destroying humanity
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 2:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Did anyone else notice that DJT called them "former presidential candidates", not "senators"?
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [59 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [59 favorites]
Mr. Rogers always said look for the helpers in a bad situation.
Here's the chief of SEPTA transit police at PHL.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [49 favorites]
Here's the chief of SEPTA transit police at PHL.
posted by cmfletcher at 2:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [49 favorites]
Yea I get a Jim Jones koolaid vibe on the trajectory of this thing. Like he's all LOOK WE'RE GOING TOGETHER TO THE TRUMP PALACE IN THE SKY AND ITS GONNA BE TERRIFIC LET ME TELL YOU
posted by angrybear at 2:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by angrybear at 2:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Here's the chief of SEPTA transit police at PHL.
I've been impressed by what I've seen him tweeting: defending the expression of first amendent rights and, in particular, before each protest tweeting out a link to the ACLU's information on the rights of protestors.
posted by mcduff at 2:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
I've been impressed by what I've seen him tweeting: defending the expression of first amendent rights and, in particular, before each protest tweeting out a link to the ACLU's information on the rights of protestors.
posted by mcduff at 2:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Did anyone else notice that DJT called them "former presidential candidates", not "senators"?
He won and they didn't. They're losers. Sad!
posted by Slothrup at 2:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
He won and they didn't. They're losers. Sad!
posted by Slothrup at 2:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Checking in from New York. Both of our senators and a ton of our representatives attended the rally. They heard VERY STRONGLY from a crowd of thousands that we want them to reject the rest of Trump's Cabinet as well as fixing this EO mess. As of this afternoon, there were still 17 people being detained or being deported from JFK.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
Of course not because unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia buys lots of US weapons and has deep ties to US energy companies and the Trump organization has either investment properties.
Once the petrodollar goes away, so can the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Such is the wet dream of the goldbugs and the people who want to smash the Federal Reserve System. (with Trumplandia being filled with the gold 'n mansachs cabinetry this section of people have had to be satisfied with Bitcoin at USD $1000. Oh wait, they are now unhappy as the Trump Train rolls on a Bannon'ed tracks.)
posted by rough ashlar at 2:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Once the petrodollar goes away, so can the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Such is the wet dream of the goldbugs and the people who want to smash the Federal Reserve System. (with Trumplandia being filled with the gold 'n mansachs cabinetry this section of people have had to be satisfied with Bitcoin at USD $1000. Oh wait, they are now unhappy as the Trump Train rolls on a Bannon'ed tracks.)
posted by rough ashlar at 2:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Twodots- Good for them. I did some contract work for them a few years back and it's a really great team.
posted by Lord_Pall at 2:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Lord_Pall at 2:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
At some point it comes down to who the people with the guns listen to.
“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me – who lives and who dies?”
posted by Justinian at 2:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me – who lives and who dies?”
posted by Justinian at 2:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Honestly, for progressive movements the fresh-outrage-a-week thing is a gift. Give us something new to energize us every Saturday, and a chance to show up with fellow travelers and share a vibe of optimism, camaraderie, and unity.
There is not much of a protest here in Louisville (there's apparently a small one at SDF, but even though we're theoretically an international airport, the only immigrants possibly coming in here are stowaways in UPS boxes, so there's not much on-site to protest), but there was a standing-room only progressive-unity event yesterday where we commiserated and planned and looked forward. I don't like the instigating events but I do like having good reason to get out of the house and be part of something. And, hell, at this point, why not stage a progressive event every Saturday? If shit needs rectifying, mobilize it there. If not, well, these are still good folks to get together with.
posted by jackbishop at 2:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
There is not much of a protest here in Louisville (there's apparently a small one at SDF, but even though we're theoretically an international airport, the only immigrants possibly coming in here are stowaways in UPS boxes, so there's not much on-site to protest), but there was a standing-room only progressive-unity event yesterday where we commiserated and planned and looked forward. I don't like the instigating events but I do like having good reason to get out of the house and be part of something. And, hell, at this point, why not stage a progressive event every Saturday? If shit needs rectifying, mobilize it there. If not, well, these are still good folks to get together with.
posted by jackbishop at 2:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Did anyone else notice that DJT called them "former presidential candidates", not "senators"?
The one framing is to remind you they are losers (where he is not) and the other is to remind the citizens how they don't have a great healthcare and other benefits package.
Has anyone asked Dear Leader when the winning starts? Cuz a bunch of people seem sick of what's going on and if THIS is what winning looks like, the abyss of loss must be a black hole of suck.
posted by rough ashlar at 2:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
The one framing is to remind you they are losers (where he is not) and the other is to remind the citizens how they don't have a great healthcare and other benefits package.
Has anyone asked Dear Leader when the winning starts? Cuz a bunch of people seem sick of what's going on and if THIS is what winning looks like, the abyss of loss must be a black hole of suck.
posted by rough ashlar at 2:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Did anyone else notice that DJT called them "former presidential candidates", not "senators"?
The one framing is to remind you they are losers (where he is not) and the other is to remind the citizens how they don't have a great healthcare and other benefits package.
It also implies that their motivation is sour-grapes/revenge and they aren't acting in good-faith based on real concern (because there is nothing to be concerned about!).
posted by Buntix at 2:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
The one framing is to remind you they are losers (where he is not) and the other is to remind the citizens how they don't have a great healthcare and other benefits package.
It also implies that their motivation is sour-grapes/revenge and they aren't acting in good-faith based on real concern (because there is nothing to be concerned about!).
posted by Buntix at 2:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
re Two Dots: inasmuch as their treasure hunts often commemorate holidays or events, I was wondering whether they were maybe trying to say something by having the "Valley of Ruins" be the inauguration-weekend hunt.
posted by jackbishop at 2:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 2:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
A little while ago he accused the press of being like "Nazi Germany", look where we are now.
Now he's accusing people of trying to start "World War III", guess what's coming in the next few days.
posted by tel3path at 2:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
Now he's accusing people of trying to start "World War III", guess what's coming in the next few days.
posted by tel3path at 2:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
It also implies that their motivation is sour-grapes/revenge and they aren't acting in good-faith based on real concern
With Graham and McCain though, they're never acting in good faith, he's actually right about that, even though their cravenness benefits him. They're still going to vote for Tillerson and Sessions no matter what he calls them.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
With Graham and McCain though, they're never acting in good faith, he's actually right about that, even though their cravenness benefits him. They're still going to vote for Tillerson and Sessions no matter what he calls them.
posted by T.D. Strange at 2:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Seriously though. He rightly now perceives that the whole world is against him, so I think we can reasonably anticipate he'll try to destroy the world pretty soon, just out of spite.
I wish I were just being alarmist.
posted by tel3path at 2:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
I wish I were just being alarmist.
posted by tel3path at 2:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
ACLU raised $10mil since Saturday morning! Thread is killing my phone so I can't link to story, but way to go!
posted by erratic meatsack at 2:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
posted by erratic meatsack at 2:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
erratic meatsack: got you covered. ACLU says it raised $10 million since Saturday
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 2:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
It's maybe a little bit of a sideways skip but in the interest of facilitating non-browser-crushing discussion I'll note there's a new post framed around Bannon's ascension into the National Security Council that I've decided to let stand.
posted by cortex at 2:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
posted by cortex at 2:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
AILA member reports passengers on LAX-bound flight still in the air being forced to sign I-407s surrendering green cards.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
.Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.
Aggh. I've been holding this in for a while, and now I've got to get it out here, where my Trump-voting relatives (pity me) can't see it. Hope you guys don't mind.
YOU USELESS FUCKING WASTE OF SKIN. YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO POLISH THE DOORKNOBS OF THE OFFICE YOU HOLD. THE BEST-CASE SCENARIO FOR YOU RIGHT NOW IS TO EITHER RESIGN OR DIE OF APOPLEXY DURING ANOTHER RAGE-FILLED TWEETSTORM, YOU GODDAMNED SHRIEKING BALL OF NAZISM AND FAILURE IN A SKIN SUIT.
FUCK OFF AND KEEP FUCKING OFF, AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE ALL FUCKED OUT, FUCK OFF SOME MORE.
Phew. I feel better.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [54 favorites]
Aggh. I've been holding this in for a while, and now I've got to get it out here, where my Trump-voting relatives (pity me) can't see it. Hope you guys don't mind.
YOU USELESS FUCKING WASTE OF SKIN. YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO POLISH THE DOORKNOBS OF THE OFFICE YOU HOLD. THE BEST-CASE SCENARIO FOR YOU RIGHT NOW IS TO EITHER RESIGN OR DIE OF APOPLEXY DURING ANOTHER RAGE-FILLED TWEETSTORM, YOU GODDAMNED SHRIEKING BALL OF NAZISM AND FAILURE IN A SKIN SUIT.
FUCK OFF AND KEEP FUCKING OFF, AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE ALL FUCKED OUT, FUCK OFF SOME MORE.
Phew. I feel better.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [54 favorites]
In terms of Kremlinology it definitely seems like the supposed forces of moderation like Kushner and Priebus are losing power to the power block of Bannon and Miller and Flynn presumably Sessions.
Maybe the moderates are too busy trying to sneak off with all the good silverware while the fascist go off on a bender.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
posted by JackFlash at 2:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Maybe the moderates are too busy trying to sneak off with all the good silverware while the fascist go off on a bender.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
posted by JackFlash at 2:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Feinstein to introduce two bills in response to Trump's ban
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will introduce two bills on Monday in response to President Donald Trump’s executive action on immigration and refugees.
“The first bill immediately rescinds the order. The second limits executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the Judiciary Committee ranking member wrote on Twitter Sunday.
posted by supercrayon at 2:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will introduce two bills on Monday in response to President Donald Trump’s executive action on immigration and refugees.
“The first bill immediately rescinds the order. The second limits executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the Judiciary Committee ranking member wrote on Twitter Sunday.
posted by supercrayon at 2:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
Mr Bad Example, I would happily put £10 towards paying Peter Capaldi to recite that in-character as Malcolm Tucker.
(Alas, I fear he is probably contractually obliged not to say FUCK in public during his tenancy as The Doctor, but one can dream...)
posted by Major Clanger at 3:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
(Alas, I fear he is probably contractually obliged not to say FUCK in public during his tenancy as The Doctor, but one can dream...)
posted by Major Clanger at 3:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
This is astonishing from same lawyer friend on the ground at Dulles. CBP basically creating travel ban black sites
posted by porn in the woods at 3:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 3:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
from the Hamilton Mitape (with updated lyric)
An open letter to the fat, arrogant, anti-charismatic, national embarrassment known as President Donald Trump
Shit!
[Verse 1: Watsky]
The man's irrational. He claims that I'm in league
With Muslims in some vast international intrigue
Trick, please!
You wouldn't know what I'm doin'
You're always goin' berserk
But you never show up to work
Give my regards to Jared
Next time you write about my lack of moral compass
At least I do my job up in this rumpus
Ooh...
[Verse 2]
The line is behind me, I crossed it again
While the president's demagogue-o again
Aw, such a rough life
Better run, tell your wife
"Yo, the boss is in Mar-a-lago again"
Let me ask you a question. Who sits pretty
At your desk when you're in New York City?
They were calling you a dick back in '76
And you really haven't done anything new since
You nuisance with no sense
You would die of irrelevance
Go ahead, you aspire to my level
You aspire to malevolence
Say hi to the Jacksons!
And the spies all around me
Maybe they can confirm
I don't care if I kill my career with this letter
I'm confining you to one term
Sit down, Don, you fat motherfucker!
[Outro]
Cool
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
An open letter to the fat, arrogant, anti-charismatic, national embarrassment known as President Donald Trump
Shit!
[Verse 1: Watsky]
The man's irrational. He claims that I'm in league
With Muslims in some vast international intrigue
Trick, please!
You wouldn't know what I'm doin'
You're always goin' berserk
But you never show up to work
Give my regards to Jared
Next time you write about my lack of moral compass
At least I do my job up in this rumpus
Ooh...
[Verse 2]
The line is behind me, I crossed it again
While the president's demagogue-o again
Aw, such a rough life
Better run, tell your wife
"Yo, the boss is in Mar-a-lago again"
Let me ask you a question. Who sits pretty
At your desk when you're in New York City?
They were calling you a dick back in '76
And you really haven't done anything new since
You nuisance with no sense
You would die of irrelevance
Go ahead, you aspire to my level
You aspire to malevolence
Say hi to the Jacksons!
And the spies all around me
Maybe they can confirm
I don't care if I kill my career with this letter
I'm confining you to one term
Sit down, Don, you fat motherfucker!
[Outro]
Cool
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
AILA member reports passengers on LAX-bound flight still in the air being forced to sign I-407s surrendering green cards.
Well, fuck.
posted by mcduff at 3:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well, fuck.
posted by mcduff at 3:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Great, great news on ACLU. I'm already a member, but I held off on donating last night (since the main site was down and the only other option was PayPal.) Now that it's up again, I just set up a recurring monthly donation.
So now Planned Parenthood and ACLU are each getting a little slice of each monthly paycheck, and I couldn't be happier. It's not much, but it's something.
posted by Salieri at 3:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
So now Planned Parenthood and ACLU are each getting a little slice of each monthly paycheck, and I couldn't be happier. It's not much, but it's something.
posted by Salieri at 3:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
AILA member reports passengers on LAX-bound flight still in the air being forced to sign I-407s surrendering green cards.
By the flight attendants?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
By the flight attendants?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
My assumption is something to do with air marshals. There's probably an armed radical enforcement agent on any given flight that enters/transits the US.
posted by polyhedron at 3:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by polyhedron at 3:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Honestly, for progressive movements the fresh-outrage-a-week thing is a gift. Give us something new to energize us every Saturday, and a chance to show up with fellow travelers and share a vibe of optimism, camaraderie, and unity.
True as far as it goes. Just don't forget that our opponents genuinely thrive on and believe in sadism and cruelty, and that means they will absolutely seek to inflict their most heinous acts upon us precisely when we are feeling our best.
It's important to know that in advance and bear it in mind every step of the way, because this potentially makes us very vulnerable. The more optimistic we become, the more vulnerable we are...unless our optimism is firmly rooted in things that we can control. That means drawing our strength from the fruits that grow directly from activism itself: forming bonds of community, building solidarity amidst diversity, having unity and integrity of body, heart and mind, and affirming our values ever more strongly in the face of withering opposition.
Defeating this current crop of liberty's opponents and perverters of humanity, in whatever measure that occurs, is just the icing. The cake is belonging to the fierce and beautiful and inclusive community of radical love whose members, scared though they may be, willingly make personal sacrifices and take personal risks to reject and repel the politics of alienation, isolation, and low-minded, individual self-interest.
posted by perspicio at 3:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
True as far as it goes. Just don't forget that our opponents genuinely thrive on and believe in sadism and cruelty, and that means they will absolutely seek to inflict their most heinous acts upon us precisely when we are feeling our best.
It's important to know that in advance and bear it in mind every step of the way, because this potentially makes us very vulnerable. The more optimistic we become, the more vulnerable we are...unless our optimism is firmly rooted in things that we can control. That means drawing our strength from the fruits that grow directly from activism itself: forming bonds of community, building solidarity amidst diversity, having unity and integrity of body, heart and mind, and affirming our values ever more strongly in the face of withering opposition.
Defeating this current crop of liberty's opponents and perverters of humanity, in whatever measure that occurs, is just the icing. The cake is belonging to the fierce and beautiful and inclusive community of radical love whose members, scared though they may be, willingly make personal sacrifices and take personal risks to reject and repel the politics of alienation, isolation, and low-minded, individual self-interest.
posted by perspicio at 3:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
> An interesting note about the wall - some of the border with Mexico actually is on land belonging to the Tohono O’odham Nation, who've already said that they won't allow their land to be used. The leader's exact words were "over my dead body."
Tribe Uneasy About Border Surveillance Plans on Their Land: Tensions are high on the Tohono O’odham Nation, where Border Patrol has proposed high-tech surveillance towers as part of a sophisticated “virtual wall” system.
posted by homunculus at 3:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Tribe Uneasy About Border Surveillance Plans on Their Land: Tensions are high on the Tohono O’odham Nation, where Border Patrol has proposed high-tech surveillance towers as part of a sophisticated “virtual wall” system.
posted by homunculus at 3:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
CNN's Tapper reported (as effbot posted) that the WH is considering "asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit".
Over/under on Metafilter being on their blacklist? Is it time we non-USian MeFites disavow/cloak our participation/membership here?
posted by progosk at 3:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Over/under on Metafilter being on their blacklist? Is it time we non-USian MeFites disavow/cloak our participation/membership here?
posted by progosk at 3:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Rep. Maxine Waters leading protests at LAX, which she somehow manages to do with the incredible look on her face that she is continuing to throw shade at all this bullshit.
posted by zachlipton at 3:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
By the flight attendants?
Good question. We need to find out who is doing this and put pressure on them to stop breaking the fucking law as well. Foreign airport security staff? Airline staff? US Air Marshals? Wtf?
posted by supercrayon at 3:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Good question. We need to find out who is doing this and put pressure on them to stop breaking the fucking law as well. Foreign airport security staff? Airline staff? US Air Marshals? Wtf?
posted by supercrayon at 3:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Aren't tribal lands considered to NOT belong to the United States?
Almost all reservations are held BY the Feds in trust for the tribes. That's a lot of what made Termination and Allotments so bad for NDNs.
posted by ridgerunner at 3:13 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Almost all reservations are held BY the Feds in trust for the tribes. That's a lot of what made Termination and Allotments so bad for NDNs.
posted by ridgerunner at 3:13 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Alt-right comments I've seen in re [the Tohono O'odham] are along the line of "Eminent Domain, you lose"
Eminent Domain only counts if it's land belonging to the United States. Aren't tribal lands considered to NOT belong to the United States?
Considered thus by case law.
Precisely the kind of case law Trump's hero Jackson ignored.
posted by ocschwar at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Eminent Domain only counts if it's land belonging to the United States. Aren't tribal lands considered to NOT belong to the United States?
Considered thus by case law.
Precisely the kind of case law Trump's hero Jackson ignored.
posted by ocschwar at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also National Immigration Law Center: nilc.org
posted by persona au gratin at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by persona au gratin at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2017
AFLCIO guy: CBP appears to be saying people in their custody not "detained" technically & Dulles international arrivals areas not in the United States
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Aggh. I've been holding this in for a while, and now I've got to get it out here, where my Trump-voting relatives (pity me) can't see it.
It's possible that I'm bitter, but I actually think half the reason we are in this mess is because so many of we progressives with family who support this fascist bullshit have been silent to preserve cordial family relations. I would submit that silence looks like agreement to these people, and they feel emboldened when they make little flurries of support for this asshole and no one pushes back. It normalizes hate.
So while I laughed at your outburst and read it aloud and all, please do share your anger where your asshole family can see. If they nuke your relationship over it, well, how much was your relationship worth to them then? Obviously exceptions can and should be made for people who are dependent on their family financially, physically, or otherwise, but if you can do without your family if you need to, speaking out to them is an important form of activism. Do it for America?
posted by sciatrix at 3:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [38 favorites]
It's possible that I'm bitter, but I actually think half the reason we are in this mess is because so many of we progressives with family who support this fascist bullshit have been silent to preserve cordial family relations. I would submit that silence looks like agreement to these people, and they feel emboldened when they make little flurries of support for this asshole and no one pushes back. It normalizes hate.
So while I laughed at your outburst and read it aloud and all, please do share your anger where your asshole family can see. If they nuke your relationship over it, well, how much was your relationship worth to them then? Obviously exceptions can and should be made for people who are dependent on their family financially, physically, or otherwise, but if you can do without your family if you need to, speaking out to them is an important form of activism. Do it for America?
posted by sciatrix at 3:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [38 favorites]
@ericgeller: BREAKING: DHS Secretary John Kelly says lawful permanent residents from 7 banned countries are now allowed into the U.S.
Of course the game is distrust and verify, so we have to see what CBP officials actually do.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Of course the game is distrust and verify, so we have to see what CBP officials actually do.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Even better Maxine Waters shade face, with Rep. Ted Lieu.
Can we just get her to follow around Trump all day?
posted by zachlipton at 3:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Can we just get her to follow around Trump all day?
posted by zachlipton at 3:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Guys, I'm reading this entire thread, and I'm seeing tweets you're all linking from Dulles saying
1) CBP is asking for US citizen social media
2) CBP is taking detainees offsite
3) CBP is now detaining US dual citizens
CAN I FREAK OUT NOW?
posted by saysthis at 3:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
1) CBP is asking for US citizen social media
2) CBP is taking detainees offsite
3) CBP is now detaining US dual citizens
CAN I FREAK OUT NOW?
posted by saysthis at 3:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
It's possible that I'm bitter, but I actually think half the reason we are in this mess is because so many of we progressives with family who support this fascist bullshit have been silent to preserve cordial family relations. I would submit that silence looks like agreement to these people, and they feel emboldened when they make little flurries of support for this asshole and no one pushes back. It normalizes hate.
agree. Silence is agreement. Maybe not agreement, but it is perceived as tacit understanding that their racist bigoted views *should* be allowed to continue defiling the air unchecked. And I get it, it is hard as fuck to speak out. Especially if the power dynamics are all wrong (i.e. Boss, older relative, etc). But it's still true. I feel like a complete piece of garbage for every time I didn't tell my boss to shut his racist mouth before I reported him to HR. My fears of professional retaliation were correct, but also true is that I did not fear the alternative outcome enough.
posted by ian1977 at 3:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Of purse, if you've signed away your green card on the plane due to intimidation, you aren't a permanent resident anymore.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
As far as I know no attorney has been allowed to see any arriving passenger subject to Trumps exec order at Dulles today.
posted by nightrecordings at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by nightrecordings at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
2) CBP is taking detainees offsite
Jesus, any way of finding out where they've gone? This is not my field.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Jesus, any way of finding out where they've gone? This is not my field.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Holy shit who are these CBP brownshirts? Who is their boss? Who can we call?
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
The very idea that someone needed to "deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest" is appalling.
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
That Dulles shit is terrifying. Seconded that I'm more freaked now that I've reached the very end of this thread than I was at any point before.
posted by yellowbinder at 3:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by yellowbinder at 3:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Most probably Trump loving relatives will react badly to your loud dissent. It threatens their very fragile sense of being in the right. Be prepared to walk away from those connections when it doesn't work.
posted by emjaybee at 3:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 3:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
"What social media sites do you frequent?"
"Fisher-Price.com mostly."
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 3:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
"Fisher-Price.com mostly."
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 3:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
The social media question was in place before Trump's inauguration, but it was voluntary. Yes, it's a scary and (IMO) inappropriate question for the USA's representatives to ask.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
My representative Bill Flores was just on the news expressing support for the EO. He just posted on facebook a picture of him at an Eagle Scout ceremony and about the important of upholding the Boy Scout Code. So I looked up the code and commented to ask him how his stance on the EO and banning refugees is compatible with the part of the code that says "help others at all times."
I'll probably get banned for this, as apparently he's been banning people a lot on FB and twitter.
posted by threeturtles at 3:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
I'll probably get banned for this, as apparently he's been banning people a lot on FB and twitter.
posted by threeturtles at 3:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
You know what else. We've gotten used to the President casually tweeting references to World War III as he attacks Senators.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
(of his own party)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Holy shit who are these CBP brownshirts? Who is their boss? Who can we call?
So far I've seen stories about three separate sets of airport police responding to that question by saying "Donald Trump."
posted by flatluigi at 3:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
So far I've seen stories about three separate sets of airport police responding to that question by saying "Donald Trump."
posted by flatluigi at 3:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
You know what else. We've gotten used to the President casually tweeting references to World War III as he attacks Senators.
And we totally skipped over the President casually tweeting attacks on the New York Times this morning.
posted by zachlipton at 3:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
And we totally skipped over the President casually tweeting attacks on the New York Times this morning.
posted by zachlipton at 3:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Holy shit who are these CBP brownshirts? Who is their boss? Who can we call?
And are these people acting on their own initiative or are they being coordinated? And if they are, by who?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
And are these people acting on their own initiative or are they being coordinated? And if they are, by who?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I am a Canadian watching this with a mixture of shock, horror, and white knuckle rage. One of the ways I have of dealing with it is to draw Trump, which I have been doing recently, because I will literally spend the whole day screaming without this outlet.
Here's one of the drawings; sorry, Facebook,
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 3:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Here's one of the drawings; sorry, Facebook,
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 3:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Just got home from the protest at the Sacramento airport. It started with a few dozen people, but the crowd swelled to at least 500. The police had us over in a corner initially, but once the crowd grew they issued a permit on the spot and let us move to the bottom of the escalators in baggage claim. (Behind caution tape, so as not to block the travelers' way, which the protesters respected.)
I was just about to leave because my back was getting really sore when the mayor showed up. He took over the bullhorn and spoke for a few minutes about Sacramento being a sanctuary city. And it was great! But then people started chanting at him about Sacramento's (homeless) camping ban, and someone took the bullhorn from him and started yelling in his face, and he left abruptly, and it all kind of went down from there. I and a bunch of others left. (I mean, I get it, and I agree with them about the camping ban, but that's not what we were there for. Focus, people.)
That was 45 minutes ago or so, and I'm seeing on Twitter that a decent portion of the crowd stayed but that the sheriff deputies are now trying to get them to disperse.
My three favorite sights:
* The 4- or 5-year-old boy who came down the escalator with a handmade sign that said "Just because you have power you don't have to be sour," next to a drawing of a lemon drop.
* A mom and dad and their three kids, all of whom had signs, and who varied in height from about 18" to 36". (The kids. The parents were normal-sized.)
* And this cat. Oh, this cat. (Not my Twitter link. My photo didn't turn out as well.)
posted by mudpuppie at 3:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
I was just about to leave because my back was getting really sore when the mayor showed up. He took over the bullhorn and spoke for a few minutes about Sacramento being a sanctuary city. And it was great! But then people started chanting at him about Sacramento's (homeless) camping ban, and someone took the bullhorn from him and started yelling in his face, and he left abruptly, and it all kind of went down from there. I and a bunch of others left. (I mean, I get it, and I agree with them about the camping ban, but that's not what we were there for. Focus, people.)
That was 45 minutes ago or so, and I'm seeing on Twitter that a decent portion of the crowd stayed but that the sheriff deputies are now trying to get them to disperse.
My three favorite sights:
* The 4- or 5-year-old boy who came down the escalator with a handmade sign that said "Just because you have power you don't have to be sour," next to a drawing of a lemon drop.
* A mom and dad and their three kids, all of whom had signs, and who varied in height from about 18" to 36". (The kids. The parents were normal-sized.)
* And this cat. Oh, this cat. (Not my Twitter link. My photo didn't turn out as well.)
posted by mudpuppie at 3:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
CALL DULLES. PUT THE PRESSURE ON.
If the mods have to delete this than so be it but here are the numbers:
- Dulles customs: 202-732-4242 (you will probably have to leave a vm but do it anyway)
- Dulles operations: 703-572-2730 (where I got through to a human being earlier)
Tell them you disapprove and that the public is aware that they are violating a federal court order. Ask them why they are the only US airport who hasn't complied (well, as far as I know).
Apologies, I am out running errands and typing this from my phone, furious as all hell
posted by nightrecordings at 3:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
If the mods have to delete this than so be it but here are the numbers:
- Dulles customs: 202-732-4242 (you will probably have to leave a vm but do it anyway)
- Dulles operations: 703-572-2730 (where I got through to a human being earlier)
Tell them you disapprove and that the public is aware that they are violating a federal court order. Ask them why they are the only US airport who hasn't complied (well, as far as I know).
Apologies, I am out running errands and typing this from my phone, furious as all hell
posted by nightrecordings at 3:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
I am a Canadian watching this with a mixture of shock, horror, and white knuckle rage. One of the ways I have of dealing with it is to draw Trump, which I have been doing recently, because I will literally spend the whole day screaming without this outlet.
Here's one of the drawings; sorry, Facebook,
Trump through the lens of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
I guess I don't need to sleep today
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Here's one of the drawings; sorry, Facebook,
Trump through the lens of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
I guess I don't need to sleep today
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
CBP appears to be saying people in their custody not "detained" technically & Dulles international arrivals areas not in the United States
So US CBP is saying that it can set up its own micro-Guantanamos at US airports, so long as they are airside of Immigration?
posted by Major Clanger at 3:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
So US CBP is saying that it can set up its own micro-Guantanamos at US airports, so long as they are airside of Immigration?
posted by Major Clanger at 3:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Regarding standing up to family members. I've decided that while I wouldn't be directly confrontational, I would not back down.
My fiance's Brietbart-loving grandmother had increasingly started posting pretty condescending snark comments on my FB page in trolly language. I ignored the first few posts, not wanting any sort of back-and-forth, but finally responded with an "If my grandmother started posting snarky and condescending comments on [fiance]'s Facebook page, I would be mortified." Left it at that.
There was a bit of a non-apology apology from her and a phone call with fiance where we were called naive, but long-story short, a bouquet of flowers showed up the other night. And my page has been silent. Polite but firm when necessary, 2017.
posted by Sreiny at 3:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
My fiance's Brietbart-loving grandmother had increasingly started posting pretty condescending snark comments on my FB page in trolly language. I ignored the first few posts, not wanting any sort of back-and-forth, but finally responded with an "If my grandmother started posting snarky and condescending comments on [fiance]'s Facebook page, I would be mortified." Left it at that.
There was a bit of a non-apology apology from her and a phone call with fiance where we were called naive, but long-story short, a bouquet of flowers showed up the other night. And my page has been silent. Polite but firm when necessary, 2017.
posted by Sreiny at 3:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
So this is my drug addled mind but i was at seatac last night during the protests. While i was waiting for my ride 8-10 plainclothes folks were getting into 2 cars. 1 was an airforce plated van, the other was a pickup truck i did not see the plates on.
I thought it was odd becaus they were loading in a huge amount of really heavy pelican cases and duffel bags. I assume it was all checked firearms. There were probably 15 separate bags.
They were all white dudes in their 20s.
No idea if that is normal but it felt weird. I know there are bases near olympia, but still weird to me.
posted by Lord_Pall at 3:41 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I thought it was odd becaus they were loading in a huge amount of really heavy pelican cases and duffel bags. I assume it was all checked firearms. There were probably 15 separate bags.
They were all white dudes in their 20s.
No idea if that is normal but it felt weird. I know there are bases near olympia, but still weird to me.
posted by Lord_Pall at 3:41 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also, I live about 40 minutes from Dulles. I'm hearing that the lawyers on the ground need supplies (water/snacks/power strips/etc). Can someone memail me contact info or a list?
posted by Slackermagee at 3:41 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by Slackermagee at 3:41 PM on January 29, 2017
Also caveat is that ive been walking around with a 102 degree fever so a lot of stuff seems weird to me.
posted by Lord_Pall at 3:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Lord_Pall at 3:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
In a lot of cities in a midwest without international airports, they're protesting at the federal courthouses.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Jesus, This American Life just had a scary-ass segment on how border patrol agents fucking love Trump like they're his special little stormtroopers. So, case in point.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
There's actually a decently sized group of veterans who have been trying like hell to get their interpreters in. This is just the tip of the anger iceberg.
Unfortunately a majority of veterans keep voting for anti-immigrant Republicans who have been hampering the Special Immigrant Visa program for years. If not for their obstructionism, all of those brave Iraqi interpreters would be in the U.S. already and Trump wouldn't be a factor. Leading the pack for years has been Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions.
What do you suppose those in the Iraqi Army fighting ISIS along side U.S. advisors think when they hear that they are not welcome in the U.S. and that Trump plans to come back and steal their oil.
Support the troops my ass.
posted by JackFlash at 3:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Unfortunately a majority of veterans keep voting for anti-immigrant Republicans who have been hampering the Special Immigrant Visa program for years. If not for their obstructionism, all of those brave Iraqi interpreters would be in the U.S. already and Trump wouldn't be a factor. Leading the pack for years has been Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions.
What do you suppose those in the Iraqi Army fighting ISIS along side U.S. advisors think when they hear that they are not welcome in the U.S. and that Trump plans to come back and steal their oil.
Support the troops my ass.
posted by JackFlash at 3:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Forgive me for repeating, but what is going on with CBP at the airports? Why can't people see lawyers? Are these rogue agents? Is this coming from higher up? What's going on?
I can take a lot of bad news, but I might need to take 5 and calm down...
posted by saysthis at 3:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I can take a lot of bad news, but I might need to take 5 and calm down...
posted by saysthis at 3:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I thought, when Trump was first elected, that I was overreacting when I feared he would be the end of America.
Now I think I may have been underreacting. It's barely been more than a week, and he's already starting to unravel the basic concept of rule of law.
posted by sotonohito at 3:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
Now I think I may have been underreacting. It's barely been more than a week, and he's already starting to unravel the basic concept of rule of law.
posted by sotonohito at 3:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
Forgive me for repeating, but what is going on with CBP at the airports? Why can't people see lawyers? Are these rogue agents? Is this coming from higher up? What's going on?
I'm not gonna re-link all the stuff, but summary: it seems to be primarily Dulles (?). Ever since the federal stay last night, CBP agents there have not allowed attorneys to see detainees, and various reports from "a lawyer friend of mine at Dulles" tweets have indicated that they may have continued deporting folks, started detaining US citizens with dual citizenship, and quietly removing detainees to unknown detention locations.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'm not gonna re-link all the stuff, but summary: it seems to be primarily Dulles (?). Ever since the federal stay last night, CBP agents there have not allowed attorneys to see detainees, and various reports from "a lawyer friend of mine at Dulles" tweets have indicated that they may have continued deporting folks, started detaining US citizens with dual citizenship, and quietly removing detainees to unknown detention locations.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Lawyers are seeking contempt citations.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
> That's the son of Michael Flynn, our new national security advisor...
Trump Advisor's Son Deletes Twitter After Calling Executive Order A 'Muslim Ban'
Oops!
posted by tonycpsu at 3:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Trump Advisor's Son Deletes Twitter After Calling Executive Order A 'Muslim Ban'
Oops!
posted by tonycpsu at 3:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
MSNBC reporting as breaking news that DHS just said to let in all green card holders.
posted by futz at 3:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by futz at 3:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
FelliniBlank, to my knowledge, the JFK detainees are still there as well, although they may have access to lawyers.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:55 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:55 PM on January 29, 2017
Except that a lot of people just got stripped of their green cards in midair, correct?
posted by tel3path at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Forgive me for repeating, but what is going on with CBP at the airports? Why can't people see lawyers? Are these rogue agents? Is this coming from higher up? What's going on?
I'm not gonna re-link all the stuff, but summary: it seems to be primarily Dulles (?). Ever since the federal stay last night, CBP agents there have not allowed attorneys to see detainees, and various reports from "a lawyer friend of mine at Dulles" tweets have indicated that they may have continued deporting folks, started detaining US citizens with dual citizenship, and quietly removing detainees to unknown detention locations.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:52 AM on January 30 [2 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Thank you, I'm mashing refresh on some of your previous Twitter links...whatever's going on there needs to be made national news right now.
posted by saysthis at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2017
I'm not gonna re-link all the stuff, but summary: it seems to be primarily Dulles (?). Ever since the federal stay last night, CBP agents there have not allowed attorneys to see detainees, and various reports from "a lawyer friend of mine at Dulles" tweets have indicated that they may have continued deporting folks, started detaining US citizens with dual citizenship, and quietly removing detainees to unknown detention locations.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:52 AM on January 30 [2 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Thank you, I'm mashing refresh on some of your previous Twitter links...whatever's going on there needs to be made national news right now.
posted by saysthis at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2017
From the VA ACLU twitter: the remote site may be the Berks Detention Facility in Harrisburg, PA.
posted by Slackermagee at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Slackermagee at 3:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Except that a lot of people just got stripped of their green cards in midair, correct?It sounds like they've been asking green card holders to sign I-407 forms to abandon LPR status, both in air and in detention.
Not sure what recourse a person would have if that's been signed. (It's under duress, obviously, but need to get a lawyer + a court, etc.)
posted by birdheist at 4:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Lawyers are seeking contempt citations.
Haven't they been seeking this since the original stay started to be disobeyed, late last night? What's taking so long?
(Not "What's taking so long" in a snarky way, just genuinely wondering how long I should be expecting to wait for news on that front)
posted by saturday_morning at 4:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Haven't they been seeking this since the original stay started to be disobeyed, late last night? What's taking so long?
(Not "What's taking so long" in a snarky way, just genuinely wondering how long I should be expecting to wait for news on that front)
posted by saturday_morning at 4:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
MSNBC has video of 5,000 people at the airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
It sounds like they've been asking green card holders to sign I-407 forms to abandon citizenship, both in air and in detention.
Which (not that it's really needed) proves utterly a lie their stated position about it being a temporary 90 day thing while they get new protocols in order. Stripping previously vetted people of their green cards is so far outwith that.
It also strongly suggests that the 90 day thing is just a sleight of hand, and the restrictions will be getting worse, not removed.
posted by Buntix at 4:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
Which (not that it's really needed) proves utterly a lie their stated position about it being a temporary 90 day thing while they get new protocols in order. Stripping previously vetted people of their green cards is so far outwith that.
It also strongly suggests that the 90 day thing is just a sleight of hand, and the restrictions will be getting worse, not removed.
posted by Buntix at 4:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [24 favorites]
Reports of 400 people showing up to protest at the little tiny airport in Flagstaff, Arizona today. Can't vouch for the accuracy of that, but people are saying the airport was filled.
posted by compartment at 4:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by compartment at 4:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
From the VA ACLU twitter: the remote site may be the Berks Detention Facility in Harrisburg, PA.
Berks Family Residential Center? Not Harrisburg--much closer to Reading.
Berks Family Residential Center? Not Harrisburg--much closer to Reading.
In the United States, the Constitution generally bars the government from indefinitely detaining individuals without a trial.posted by MonkeyToes at 4:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
But there are a few exceptions, namely in times of war, in the case of alleged terrorists, and in some cases to control immigration. Under these circumstances, governments may employ a practice called "administrative detention" to imprison people outside the established criminal justice channels.
It's through that process that women and children who cross the border illegally end up at a 96-bed residential facility in Leesport.
Does anyone have links to translations of how the international press is covering this?
Italian Il Post actually has a liveblog running (something only do for major events); the headline refers to events as the current US immigration crisis, which, as often, is really missing the point. Repubblica titles its articles "Massive crowd in NY and protests besiege the WH"; the Corriere currently has "16 States oppose Trumps restrictions on islamic migrants", and "Protest explode at airports".
France's Libération is still pretty non-committal with "Travellers from several Muslim countries see their access to the US refused". Le Monde has an article titled "Muslim ban in Washington", but it's not showing at all prominently on their front page.
Der Spiegel (online) is leading with "US Democrats plan to overturn Trump's entry ban". TAZ is underlining Merkel's condemnation of the ban. (Bild is focussing on the fact that there are Germans who'll be affected by the ban.)
(Currently haven't found translations of actual articles, sorry.)
posted by progosk at 4:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Italian Il Post actually has a liveblog running (something only do for major events); the headline refers to events as the current US immigration crisis, which, as often, is really missing the point. Repubblica titles its articles "Massive crowd in NY and protests besiege the WH"; the Corriere currently has "16 States oppose Trumps restrictions on islamic migrants", and "Protest explode at airports".
France's Libération is still pretty non-committal with "Travellers from several Muslim countries see their access to the US refused". Le Monde has an article titled "Muslim ban in Washington", but it's not showing at all prominently on their front page.
Der Spiegel (online) is leading with "US Democrats plan to overturn Trump's entry ban". TAZ is underlining Merkel's condemnation of the ban. (Bild is focussing on the fact that there are Germans who'll be affected by the ban.)
(Currently haven't found translations of actual articles, sorry.)
posted by progosk at 4:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
This Is How Steve Bannon Sees The Entire World
Steve Bannon, laid out his global nationalist vision in unusually in-depth remarks delivered by Skype to a conference held inside the Vatican in the summer of 2014.
BuzzFeed News originally posted a transcript beginning 90 seconds into the then-Breitbart News chairman’s remarks because microphone placement made the opening mostly unintelligible, but we have completed the transcript from a video of the talk on YouTube. You can hear the whole recording at the bottom of the post.
The article is dated November 2016 but Bannon's comments were made in 2014.
FTA: “Putin’s … very, very very intelligent. I can see this in the United States where he’s playing very strongly to social conservatives about his message about more traditional values, so I think it’s something that we have to be very much on guard of.”
And: “I’m not an expert in this, but it seems that [right-wing parties] have had some aspects that may be anti-Semitic or racial … My point is that over time it all gets kind of washed out, right?”
posted by futz at 4:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Steve Bannon, laid out his global nationalist vision in unusually in-depth remarks delivered by Skype to a conference held inside the Vatican in the summer of 2014.
BuzzFeed News originally posted a transcript beginning 90 seconds into the then-Breitbart News chairman’s remarks because microphone placement made the opening mostly unintelligible, but we have completed the transcript from a video of the talk on YouTube. You can hear the whole recording at the bottom of the post.
The article is dated November 2016 but Bannon's comments were made in 2014.
FTA: “Putin’s … very, very very intelligent. I can see this in the United States where he’s playing very strongly to social conservatives about his message about more traditional values, so I think it’s something that we have to be very much on guard of.”
And: “I’m not an expert in this, but it seems that [right-wing parties] have had some aspects that may be anti-Semitic or racial … My point is that over time it all gets kind of washed out, right?”
posted by futz at 4:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Watch Jared Kushner’s Grandmother Talk of Refugee Plight, Warn Against Another Hitler [warning: Kushner's grandmother uses ethnic slurs]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
There are still people detained at JFK. NY Attorney General @AGSchneiderman is asking DHS & CBP for an list of detained people. #nomuslimban
posted by porn in the woods at 4:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
3,000 people in the elite city of Birmingham, Alabama.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
How are people maintaining corporeal integrity after receiving those glares from Maxine Waters and John Lewis? Those looks would melt steel.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
It sounds like they've been asking green card holders to sign I-407 forms to abandon LPR status, both in air and in detention.
Mother FUCKERS.
posted by en forme de poire at 4:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Mother FUCKERS.
posted by en forme de poire at 4:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
According to The Guardian:
"Lee Gelernt, the attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who argued in Brooklyn on Saturday night, said lawyers were trying to record incidents of noncompliance so they could go back to court. 'The judge will certainly want to know if her orders are not being complied with,' he said. 'Eventually you could get to something like contempt, but I think we're a long way from that.'
"Gelernt said that Saturday's suits were the 'first step' in a broader challenge to Trump's orders. 'We have to say no to discrimination based on religion.'"
posted by tel3path at 4:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
"Lee Gelernt, the attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who argued in Brooklyn on Saturday night, said lawyers were trying to record incidents of noncompliance so they could go back to court. 'The judge will certainly want to know if her orders are not being complied with,' he said. 'Eventually you could get to something like contempt, but I think we're a long way from that.'
"Gelernt said that Saturday's suits were the 'first step' in a broader challenge to Trump's orders. 'We have to say no to discrimination based on religion.'"
posted by tel3path at 4:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
It sounds like they've been asking green card holders to sign I-407 forms to abandon citizenship, both in air and in detention.
Are people with US Citizenship affected? And I don't get it. Greencard holders don't have US citizenship they can abandon. I guess they can abandon their forbidden-country citizenship, but unless they have two non-US citizenships, that would presumably leave them stateless, which I'm pretty sure is not allowed (yeah, ok, when I say "pretty sure that's not allowed" I can see why everyone would burst into laughter/tears at the thought that anyone running this show cares at all).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Are people with US Citizenship affected? And I don't get it. Greencard holders don't have US citizenship they can abandon. I guess they can abandon their forbidden-country citizenship, but unless they have two non-US citizenships, that would presumably leave them stateless, which I'm pretty sure is not allowed (yeah, ok, when I say "pretty sure that's not allowed" I can see why everyone would burst into laughter/tears at the thought that anyone running this show cares at all).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Speaking of thousands of people at airports, I'm at one now (because I was actually supposed to be flying somewhere tonight) and it is chaos because Delta's computer systems are all down. Online ticketing, check-in kiosks, everything. Nationwide, according to the travel agent I talked to.
They are not dispatching any flights. It's been about 30 minutes that everything has been down. The ticketing area for Delta is wall to wall people now, lines intersecting and mingling. Probably a coincidence, but it's spooky. No one is flying anywhere right now, at least on Delta.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
They are not dispatching any flights. It's been about 30 minutes that everything has been down. The ticketing area for Delta is wall to wall people now, lines intersecting and mingling. Probably a coincidence, but it's spooky. No one is flying anywhere right now, at least on Delta.
posted by OnceUponATime at 4:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Sorry - I edited my comment but wasn't quick enough. It's not citizenship but Lawful Permanent Residence status.
Also most mention of I-407 comes from twitter so take with a grain of salt.
posted by birdheist at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also most mention of I-407 comes from twitter so take with a grain of salt.
posted by birdheist at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Mod note: roomthreeseventeen, you've posted several dozen single-line tweets as stand-alone comments; maybe round up a bunch of tweets and post them all in a single comment instead of essentially using the thread to RT single tweets?
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
CALL DULLES. PUT THE PRESSURE ON.
For what good it might do, I have left messages at Rep Comstock's offices. Dulles is in Virginia's 10th district, which is rich with immigrants, and she has put out a statement weakly disagreeing with the policy of barring entry of permanent residents. Her DC office is (202) 225-5136 and her Loudoun office is (703) 404-6903, if you also want to tell it's time to take a stand for something.
posted by peeedro at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
For what good it might do, I have left messages at Rep Comstock's offices. Dulles is in Virginia's 10th district, which is rich with immigrants, and she has put out a statement weakly disagreeing with the policy of barring entry of permanent residents. Her DC office is (202) 225-5136 and her Loudoun office is (703) 404-6903, if you also want to tell it's time to take a stand for something.
posted by peeedro at 4:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Are people with US Citizenship affected? And I don't get it. Greencard holders don't have US citizenship they can abandon.
I-407 is how you give up your Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
posted by effbot at 4:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I-407 is how you give up your Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
posted by effbot at 4:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't get it. How do you pressure someone into signing away a green card? What happens if you refuse?
posted by Devonian at 4:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Devonian at 4:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I-407 isn't about abandoning citizenship, it's about abandoning lawful alien resident status. You cannot sign away your actual citizenship. At least normally; with these fuckers running things who knows. I have a nephew who has triple citizenship (mother born in the US, father in Australia, born himself in Ireland) I am wondering what will happen if he tries to come back to visit the inlaws.
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I just got back from a protest at DTW (the main airport for the Detroit area). There were a ton of people there, and more arriving as I was leaving. It was somewhat disorganized and protestors were split into multiple areas; I think the police and airport security were trying to make sure travelers could still get through. It was peaceful, lots of signs and chanting. A significant portion of the crowd was [presumably] Muslim and wearing headscarves.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by insectosaurus at 4:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Smallish (~200) protest at the Pittsburgh International which is only nominally international and way out in the middle of the cornfields so not that easy for protesters to get to.
posted by octothorpe at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
This is where we're at now. From Josh Barro:
Ha ha we're all going to die 😭😭😭.
It's been 9 days.
posted by Justinian at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Ha ha we're all going to die 😭😭😭.
It's been 9 days.
posted by Justinian at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Sorry if anyone has mentioned this already (it's a long thread and I was busy for the last 36 hours, which has given me tehhund lag) but it seems the pithy way to summon this up:
On the one hand, Trump is in many ways the continuation of Republican policies of the last forty years, and Pence is more of the same; but on the other hand, I don't think Pence wants to start a shooting war with China, and Trump apparently might. They seem equally bad on domestic policy (in different ways), but Pence probably won't start a nuclear exchange -- that's something worth fixing.
... is some corollary of "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Maybe "don't let the awful be the enemy of the dismal"?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
On the one hand, Trump is in many ways the continuation of Republican policies of the last forty years, and Pence is more of the same; but on the other hand, I don't think Pence wants to start a shooting war with China, and Trump apparently might. They seem equally bad on domestic policy (in different ways), but Pence probably won't start a nuclear exchange -- that's something worth fixing.
... is some corollary of "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Maybe "don't let the awful be the enemy of the dismal"?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
don't let the preferable be the enemy of survival?
posted by Buntix at 4:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Buntix at 4:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
LAX crowd still growing. Three hours into protest.
posted by persona au gratin at 4:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by persona au gratin at 4:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I was at PHL for the afternoon. The crowd was huge, enthusiastic, and orderly. We stretched across pretty much the entire length of the arrivals area. The overall tone was decidedly angrier than the Women's March in DC. Philadelphia, SEPTA, and even Amtrak police lined much of the crowd. I thanked several of the officers for helping make our protest a success, and they joked about it just being too cold, but said they were happy to be there and were completely with us.
posted by biogeo at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Went to the Nashville protest outside the offices of Senators Corker and Alexander. Had the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, our state senator, and several councilpersons there and speak, along with others. Maybe 1000+?
posted by ghharr at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ghharr at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
As a Philadelphian, I have been so happy to see Rep Dwight Evans (my rep), Mayor Kenney, Senator Bob Casey, and Governor Wolf doing their parts. Senator Toomey is AWOL, and his VM is full - but here is some contact information to Fax his office - Fax Toomey
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 4:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 4:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
I don't get it. How do you pressure someone into signing away a green card? What happens if you refuse?
That's a really fucking good question and I'd like to know the answer myself.
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
That's a really fucking good question and I'd like to know the answer myself.
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
I don't get it. How do you pressure someone into signing away a green card? What happens if you refuse?First, you bring them to a country with a history of classified extrajudicial detainment at secret sites.
posted by Devonian
Second, you deny them legal counsel.
Third, you have an representative of the state who is largely unaccountable for misdeeds order them to do so.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 4:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
NEW: @ACLU now says it has received 290,000 online donations totaling $19.4 million since Saturday morning. Average per year is $3-4 million
posted by porn in the woods at 4:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [80 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 4:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [80 favorites]
The Governor of Washington State gave a rather good, forceful statement at SeaTac. (alternate link)
“These people couldn’t run a two-car funeral,” said Gov. Jay Inslee (D) at a press conference at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday, according to the Seattle Times. “It is a train wreck. It can’t stand. We’re drawing the line here at Sea-Tac.”..........
Inslee compared the situation to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two. "
posted by Rumple at 4:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
“These people couldn’t run a two-car funeral,” said Gov. Jay Inslee (D) at a press conference at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday, according to the Seattle Times. “It is a train wreck. It can’t stand. We’re drawing the line here at Sea-Tac.”..........
Inslee compared the situation to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War Two. "
posted by Rumple at 4:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
The Denver chief of police told protestors they couldn't do anything resembling free speech without a permit. When someone asked if they could carry a copy of the Constitution, he said no.
Rawstory link.
posted by suelac at 4:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Rawstory link.
posted by suelac at 4:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Just got back from a candlelight (well, penlights and phone lights and fake tealights) vigil here at Lincoln's capitol. It was assembled quickly (by the ACLU as far as I know) but still drew, from what I could see, at least a couple hundred - maybe three? As things were breaking up it looked like there was an additional group across the street that I couldn't see from where I was. Seven speakers plus one bonus small child, all but one of color - a Mexican-American civil rights lawyer, a preacher from a Christian group that works with refugees, several Iraqi people who were refugees (or their parents were) in the 1990s, a gentleman from the Congo, and a Sudanese woman whose parents were refugees and who is a med student in Omaha. Unfortunately they weren't able to get a permit in time to access electricity for a speaker so they made do with a megaphone but the crowd dealt well enough with not always being able to hear and with the fact that it was pretty cold. Lots of exhortation that showing up at rallies was great but not enough, and lots of info about various groups that we should hook up with to stay informed and to stay organized.
posted by PussKillian at 5:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by PussKillian at 5:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I've been lurking on these threads since far before the election but have never commented. I have never done anything more political than vote and share articles on Facebook. Thanks to the inspiration you've all given me, today I took to the streets of Manhattan to shout "no ban, no registry, fuck white supremacy" with thousands of my neighbors. I never thought I'd see the day but these are no ordinary times.
posted by Neely O'Hara at 5:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [136 favorites]
posted by Neely O'Hara at 5:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [136 favorites]
Kate Hess: If the refugee ban is this confusing & terribly executed imagine how it's gonna go when millions lose their healthcare.
posted by porn in the woods at 5:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 5:05 PM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
From Kamala Harris (on fb)
"Today I sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, urging him to immediately allow individuals detained at ports-of-entry to have timely access to legal counsel. I have received reports from attorneys in California and across the country that Customs and Border Patrol are continuing to deny or delay entry to America to visa holders, Legal Permanent Residents, and others. This violates the federal court orders and it is imperative he ensures all staff are notified and comply with the law. Yesterday evening, I also spoke on the phone with Secretary Kelly and told him this Executive Order goes against our American values. I’ve also been in touch with Muslim community leaders and I’m carefully monitoring the detainment issues that have arisen in California airports. Trump should listen to the voices of those rising up across the country and cancel these bigoted executive orders targeting refugees."
posted by supercrayon at 5:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
"Today I sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, urging him to immediately allow individuals detained at ports-of-entry to have timely access to legal counsel. I have received reports from attorneys in California and across the country that Customs and Border Patrol are continuing to deny or delay entry to America to visa holders, Legal Permanent Residents, and others. This violates the federal court orders and it is imperative he ensures all staff are notified and comply with the law. Yesterday evening, I also spoke on the phone with Secretary Kelly and told him this Executive Order goes against our American values. I’ve also been in touch with Muslim community leaders and I’m carefully monitoring the detainment issues that have arisen in California airports. Trump should listen to the voices of those rising up across the country and cancel these bigoted executive orders targeting refugees."
posted by supercrayon at 5:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
I wish there had been a rally against the Muslim ban here in Colorado Springs today, but as far as I could tell, there wasn't. I thought about going to Denver, but it's 75 miles and I had committed to going to a local anti-DAPL and KXL rally and march already, so I did that. I asked the kids if they wanted to go and they said "sure" and I kind of love that protest marches are becoming a normal thing for them. We got posterboards and more markers (and I'm gonna follow in the wise poster whose name I can't remember's footsteps from way upthread or a few threads ago and buy bulk posterboard from Amazon) and made signs and went to the march. It was an impressive turnout of several hundred people on the steps of City Hall, peaceful and energized. My son fretted a little when he heard that there wasn't a permit to march so we had to keep to the sidewalks and he asked if we were going to get arrested. I reassured him that we would follow the rules and it would be fine and told him that resistance is patriotic. It's nerve-wracking to bring them and I can only hope that it continues to be ok and I guess all I can do is evaluate on a case by case basis, but I'm also proud of them and I hope they are learning that showing up and adding their voices matters.
posted by danielleh at 5:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by danielleh at 5:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Neely O'Hara, I know what you mean! My first march was the Women's March last Saturday which was incredible. I wish I could have made it to one of the rallies today, but I'm on home call which means I've just been sitting here all weekend waiting for my pager to go off and watching livefeeds from across the country. Thank you all who went today!
posted by basalganglia at 5:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 5:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Based on the opening salvos of Ashton Kutcher and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (daughter of a Nazi-fleeing refugee immigrant), I don't think there's gonna be a whole lot of agent-thanking at the SAG Awards.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
I have a list of every friend who told me Hillary was just as bad as Trump and I read the list to myself every night like Arya Stark.I literally fought with a family member today over Trump. He told me to stop whining and buck up for four years and I told him that with any luck I wouldn't be bucking up for four more weeks. This was after he told me that crime against whites and cops was the worst it has ever been in American history and I told him straight up to stop spreading lies. It was a tense afternoon.
posted by xyzzy at 5:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [66 favorites]
I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
I'm not sure what I think about this and am interested in your opinions.
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 5:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
I'm not sure what I think about this and am interested in your opinions.
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 5:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
Golanda - yes, I can see how that works and it'd be (sadly) something I'd expect if they think you're pulling a fast one by keeping your green card while living overseas.
But the story was that people were being forced to sign stuff on the plane. You don't get to scream at people on planes, and while you can say something like 'if you don't sign, we'll detain you at the airport and really put the pressure on', that would seem to be about it - and me, I'd take that chance, even if I was tired, because the knowledge of what would definitely happen if I signed would be obvious and horrible. A green card is a serious chunk of life.
posted by Devonian at 5:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
But the story was that people were being forced to sign stuff on the plane. You don't get to scream at people on planes, and while you can say something like 'if you don't sign, we'll detain you at the airport and really put the pressure on', that would seem to be about it - and me, I'd take that chance, even if I was tired, because the knowledge of what would definitely happen if I signed would be obvious and horrible. A green card is a serious chunk of life.
posted by Devonian at 5:18 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has made almost as much money from Seinfeld as Steve Bannon.
It still breaks my heart how much Trump AND Bannon have been enabled over the years by "Liberal Hollywood".
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
It still breaks my heart how much Trump AND Bannon have been enabled over the years by "Liberal Hollywood".
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Thanks for the explanation, Gotanda. These creepy motherfuckers do not represent me.
posted by Bringer Tom at 5:20 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by Bringer Tom at 5:20 PM on January 29, 2017
A report from the ground here in Portland, Oregon: we had an emergency DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) meeting today. I think there were between 50-60 people there, which is pretty astonishing considering this meeting didn't even exist until about 4 days ago.
posted by Automocar at 5:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Automocar at 5:21 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'm already seeing people in my social media circles celebrating "victory" that LPR's are once again allowed to return to the United States; completely ignoring that this order doesn't mention people we've already granted visas to, etc. Their "Big Ask" is working.
I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
I'm not sure what I think about this and am interested in your opinions.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 5:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Waiting for Pierce Inverarity, that was my initial read on the situation, but given how it's escalated, they've barely backed down, and we have all signs of explicit malicious intent, I've resigned myself to thinking that this is just real.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 5:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 5:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
It's an interesting theory, but I don't think Donald actually knows any sales techniques. His awfulness may achieve the same ends, but everything about this administration screams incompetence, not strategy.
posted by biogeo at 5:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
It's an interesting theory, but I don't think Donald actually knows any sales techniques. His awfulness may achieve the same ends, but everything about this administration screams incompetence, not strategy.
posted by biogeo at 5:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
blogeo they are achieving all of their objectives. Our options for recourse are mostly impotent or extremely dangerous. Looks strategic to me.
posted by polyhedron at 5:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by polyhedron at 5:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Kellyanne Conway looks to be in a tight race with Sean Spicer to completely implode from either cognitive dissonance or lack of sleep. She ended her interview with Chris Wallace earlier today by going on an increasingly unhinged 5-minute rant. Will Saletan tweeted "God bless Chris Wallace for not interrupting this spectacular Kellyanne Conway meltdown" and transcribed part of it thusly:
She does not look well.
posted by bibliowench at 5:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [65 favorites]
I went on three network shows and spoke for 35 minutes on three network Sunday shows. You know what got picked? The fact that I said 'alternative facts,' not the fact that I ripped a new one to some of those hosts that they never cover the facts that matter . . . .Not one silly political analyst and pundit who talked smack all day long about Donald Trump has been let go . . . Who is the first editorial writer? Who is the first blogger that will be left out, that embarrassed him at outlets . . . The election was three months ago. None of them have been let go. If the mainstream media were a thriving private sector business that actually turned a profit . . . 20% of the people would be gone. They embarrassed, they failed to protect their shareholders and the board members and their colleagues. And yet we deal with him every single day. We turn the other cheek. If you are part of team Trump, you walk around with these gaping, seeping wounds every day, that's fine. I'm here every Sunday morning. I haven't slept in in a month.You can watch the end of the interview here, but she really gets going around 3:20.
She does not look well.
posted by bibliowench at 5:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [65 favorites]
Powerful image. People gather to pray in baggage claim during protest at Dulles airport. Via @reuters
posted by porn in the woods at 5:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 5:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
She does not look well.
Well then, I hope she gets treated by Jill Stein, and she gets told that she has to get worse before she gets better.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Well then, I hope she gets treated by Jill Stein, and she gets told that she has to get worse before she gets better.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Dr. Jill Stein.
posted by kingless at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by kingless at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Conway never looks "well". She always look like she's about to knock you down and use her ovipositor to lay eggs in your chest.
posted by Frowner at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [87 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [87 favorites]
Remember when Trump said ICE supported him during the debates?
What if he meant CBP?
posted by E. Whitehall at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
What if he meant CBP?
posted by E. Whitehall at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just had another "What the fuck?!?" when I refreshed the Guardian home page. Scott Morrison has declined to criticise Donald Trump’s contentious travel ban, saying it is up to the United States to determine its border control arrangements, and noting the rest of the world is now “catching up” with Australia’s harsh deterrence policies.
Scott Morrison is a slimy bastard as are most of the ministers in our current government.
posted by michswiss at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Scott Morrison is a slimy bastard as are most of the ministers in our current government.
posted by michswiss at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Biogeo, Trump is nothing BUT sales techniques. He has no other strategy or plan or loyalty, but all his experience is about "closing."
posted by Bringer Tom at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Bringer Tom at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
More on Trump's relationship to Liberal Hollywood... specifically Disney CEO Bob Iger.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
"whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government of the United States, knowingly and willfully" falsifies or conceals information, including before a congressional committee's inquiry, may also be fined or imprisoned up to five years.I mean, COME ON. This whole admin could be in the clink tomorrow.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
His big ask is patently in violation of the constitution and legislative statutes. This isn't a big ask that you expect to negotiate from. This is idiots thinking that the left was still in shock and would crumble under claims if being weak on terrorism.
Quit trying to think this is some sort if 11th dimension chess. These are people that are completely incapable of doing the job trying the age old strategy of fake it till you make it. Now that they are getting rightfully called out they are doubling down.
They are hoping our natural deference to authority will cause the left to back down. They might even assume that the right will start counter protests which is not bloody likely.
These guys don't have the SA backing them up and based upon my experience the alt-right storm weenies are fucking cowards when they don't outnumber their victims.
posted by vuron at 5:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
Quit trying to think this is some sort if 11th dimension chess. These are people that are completely incapable of doing the job trying the age old strategy of fake it till you make it. Now that they are getting rightfully called out they are doubling down.
They are hoping our natural deference to authority will cause the left to back down. They might even assume that the right will start counter protests which is not bloody likely.
These guys don't have the SA backing them up and based upon my experience the alt-right storm weenies are fucking cowards when they don't outnumber their victims.
posted by vuron at 5:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
In new fed case, Judge Dolly Gee (CD Cal) requires the *return* of a person deported under the Trump EO
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [70 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [70 favorites]
I'm honestly torn between whether I'd rather Kellyanne Conway be remembered as one of history's greatest monsters, or not remembered at all. Maybe, god willing, she'll one day just be an anonymous hack referred to in the history books amongst the failed Trump administration's unending supply of deceitful and traitorous advisors.
posted by tocts at 5:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by tocts at 5:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
If we're making wishes, how about "the failed Trump administration's small and ephemeral circle of deceitful and traitorous advisors?"
posted by Spathe Cadet at 5:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Spathe Cadet at 5:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm honestly torn between whether I'd rather Kellyanne Conway be remembered as one of history's greatest monsters, or not remembered at all. Maybe, god willing, she'll one day just be an anonymous hack referred to in the history books amongst the failed Trump administration's unending supply of deceitful and traitorous advisors.
posted by tocts at 9:38 AM on January 30 [+] [!]
I'd rather she be remembered as one of the sniveling yes-men who embarrassed Trump's politics into defeat.
posted by saysthis at 5:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by tocts at 9:38 AM on January 30 [+] [!]
I'd rather she be remembered as one of the sniveling yes-men who embarrassed Trump's politics into defeat.
posted by saysthis at 5:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Vuron my fear is that the CBP is their SA. And they are just getting started.
posted by gofargogo at 5:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by gofargogo at 5:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
In new fed case, Judge Dolly Gee (CD Cal) requires the *return* of a person deported under the Trump EO
"Respondents shall transport Petitioner back to the United States and admit him under the terms of his previously approved visa."
YOU GO, YOUR HONOR.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
"Respondents shall transport Petitioner back to the United States and admit him under the terms of his previously approved visa."
YOU GO, YOUR HONOR.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
I don't know how solid the numbers are, but Warren says there were 20,000 people protesting in Copley Square in Boston today.
posted by diogenes at 5:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 5:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Remember when everyone was all like, "Poor Kellyanne Conway, she's thrown her career away on this Trump chump"? Haha, good times. We'll all be looking back on them again in a month while we're roasting iguanas-on-a-stick and wrestling molerats for the good sleeping pits.
posted by byanyothername at 5:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by byanyothername at 5:46 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Also tomorrow, the March for Science organizers say they will announce the date for it.
posted by ocschwar at 5:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 5:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Waiting for Pierce Inverarity I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
Maybe.
That's actually my most optimistic thought on the topic. But I'm a bit doubtful. I'm still pessimistically sure that this is Trump's opening move in getting dictatorial powers.
But I'm actively planning how I'll flee when/if Trump makes it necessary. I don't think I'll need to flee for a while yet, but I'm getting more and more sure that I will need to flee eventually. Maybe that's cowardly, I'm in a blue city after all, and it could be argued that I've got a moral obligation to stay in Texas and fight from behind the barricades.
But I also have a ten year old son, and a partner with serious health problems. And, I'm a coward. the very thought of either of them taken to be tortured by Trumpites gives me panic attacks. My son is only four years younger than Emmett Till, and I am not brave enough to face him dying the same way. I don't think there'd be enough of my mind left for me to even become a suicide bomber if that happened.
When it starts to look like the nation really is finished, like the fight really is coming, I'm sorry but I can't stay in Texas and fight. I'm ashamed to say that, but it's true. I'll run and save my family.
Maybe guilt will drive me back to fight once they're safe. But my first action will be to flee the very instant I think it looks necessary.
I used to do computer work for an older Jewish gentleman, a retired polymer chemist, who is alive only because his family ran back in 1932. His family was upper middle class, doctors, professors, people like that. They ran almost too late, escaped with little but the clothes on their backs, and eventually got to the USA where they worked as janitors because they didn't speak English.
He had a few uncles who though this parents were foolish. They stayed behind and died in the Shoah.
My ambition is to be as smart, as paranoid, and as bold, as his parents were and to flee Texas before the borders close and we're trapped.
I really, really, hope I'm being far too paranoid and worried. But this lawlessness that Trump is so relentlessly pursuing convinces me that I'm right to be thinking of running. I think it isn't time yet, but I'm in active planning now.
I'm buying go bags tomorrow and packing them. I'll buy a case of bottled water for the car, maybe some MRE's. The part that really worries me is that we'll have to stop for gas. Maybe time to invest in some jerrycans?
I urge any mefite in a red state to make escape plans and be on the lookout for signs that it is time to run. If it never happens you feel a bit foolish. But if you don't plan and it does happen then feeling foolish is the least of your worries.
posted by sotonohito at 5:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
Maybe.
That's actually my most optimistic thought on the topic. But I'm a bit doubtful. I'm still pessimistically sure that this is Trump's opening move in getting dictatorial powers.
But I'm actively planning how I'll flee when/if Trump makes it necessary. I don't think I'll need to flee for a while yet, but I'm getting more and more sure that I will need to flee eventually. Maybe that's cowardly, I'm in a blue city after all, and it could be argued that I've got a moral obligation to stay in Texas and fight from behind the barricades.
But I also have a ten year old son, and a partner with serious health problems. And, I'm a coward. the very thought of either of them taken to be tortured by Trumpites gives me panic attacks. My son is only four years younger than Emmett Till, and I am not brave enough to face him dying the same way. I don't think there'd be enough of my mind left for me to even become a suicide bomber if that happened.
When it starts to look like the nation really is finished, like the fight really is coming, I'm sorry but I can't stay in Texas and fight. I'm ashamed to say that, but it's true. I'll run and save my family.
Maybe guilt will drive me back to fight once they're safe. But my first action will be to flee the very instant I think it looks necessary.
I used to do computer work for an older Jewish gentleman, a retired polymer chemist, who is alive only because his family ran back in 1932. His family was upper middle class, doctors, professors, people like that. They ran almost too late, escaped with little but the clothes on their backs, and eventually got to the USA where they worked as janitors because they didn't speak English.
He had a few uncles who though this parents were foolish. They stayed behind and died in the Shoah.
My ambition is to be as smart, as paranoid, and as bold, as his parents were and to flee Texas before the borders close and we're trapped.
I really, really, hope I'm being far too paranoid and worried. But this lawlessness that Trump is so relentlessly pursuing convinces me that I'm right to be thinking of running. I think it isn't time yet, but I'm in active planning now.
I'm buying go bags tomorrow and packing them. I'll buy a case of bottled water for the car, maybe some MRE's. The part that really worries me is that we'll have to stop for gas. Maybe time to invest in some jerrycans?
I urge any mefite in a red state to make escape plans and be on the lookout for signs that it is time to run. If it never happens you feel a bit foolish. But if you don't plan and it does happen then feeling foolish is the least of your worries.
posted by sotonohito at 5:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
i am not sucker enough to be in the predictions game at this point but i really think there is a possible near-term future where trump has locked himself in a white house washroom, prodding at his face like it's a wax mask, and screaming at anyone who knocks on the door that they're banished
posted by murphy slaw at 5:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump Sleeping Pits are the best sleeping pits. Huge. Very elegant. You're going to love your sleeping pit, you're going to love it so much you'll never want to leave your sleeping pit. Six feet might seem deep but let me tell you, all that space - you're going to want that extra space alright?
posted by Tevin at 5:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 5:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Has there been confirmation of detainees being moved to domestic "black sites?" (Do we really have concentration camps already!!?)
posted by gofargogo at 5:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by gofargogo at 5:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Will Saletan tweeted "God bless Chris Wallace for not interrupting this spectacular Kellyanne Conway meltdown"
Jesus. That is freaking Palin-worthy.
posted by torticat at 5:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Jesus. That is freaking Palin-worthy.
posted by torticat at 5:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
referred to in the history books
How many web sites and pages are dedicated to April Glaspie? Does she even make the cut for a pre-college history book?
Trump had the option of doing this differently - in a way that future generations would sing his praises VS the road he sure does seem headed down. He was handed the greatest PR and brand building opportunity and it sure does seem that he's blown it.
Kelly had nice dark circles under her eyes the last time I saw a picture. But I have no idea how she is normally looking before she took the Trump related work. But I'm sure someone, someplace has an Instagram dedicated to tracking photos of the various people that historians will be able to reference.
posted by rough ashlar at 5:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
How many web sites and pages are dedicated to April Glaspie? Does she even make the cut for a pre-college history book?
Trump had the option of doing this differently - in a way that future generations would sing his praises VS the road he sure does seem headed down. He was handed the greatest PR and brand building opportunity and it sure does seem that he's blown it.
Kelly had nice dark circles under her eyes the last time I saw a picture. But I have no idea how she is normally looking before she took the Trump related work. But I'm sure someone, someplace has an Instagram dedicated to tracking photos of the various people that historians will be able to reference.
posted by rough ashlar at 5:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Has there been confirmation of detainees being moved to domestic "black sites?" (Do we really have concentration camps already!!?)
I hate to break it to you, but the infrastructure has always been there.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
I hate to break it to you, but the infrastructure has always been there.
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
suelac: "The Denver chief of police told protestors they couldn't do anything resembling free speech without a permit. When someone asked if they could carry a copy of the Constitution, he said no."
What the everlasting fuck?!?
posted by Hairy Lobster at 5:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
What the everlasting fuck?!?
posted by Hairy Lobster at 5:54 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
I'd like to set Judge Judy on them.
posted by tel3path at 5:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by tel3path at 5:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm back from the LAX protest! I got there with Room 641-A and Fish, fish are you doing your duty? at about 2ish? I think? and things were fully in swing then. The atmosphere felt much more urgent and energetic than the women's march, but everything was still orderly and peaceful. We had one close call with a Trump supporter in one of those awful MAGA hats and a bullhorn, but the crowd protected that guy from any violence, and kept anyone else from touching him.
No idea how many people were there, other than that it was definitely thousands, but we were moving along in orderly fashion in a march along the inner loop of the terminals. There was a call out to get people inside the terminal for a sit-in outside the (closed) CBP offices.
posted by yasaman at 5:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
No idea how many people were there, other than that it was definitely thousands, but we were moving along in orderly fashion in a march along the inner loop of the terminals. There was a call out to get people inside the terminal for a sit-in outside the (closed) CBP offices.
posted by yasaman at 5:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Chicago Trib: At least three families at O'Hare International Airport on Sunday who were waiting for relatives to be released from questioning who are Mexican citizens.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
That's why our response needs to be straight-up Willy Wonka: "You get nothing. You lose. Good DAY, sir."
posted by Etrigan at 5:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
That's why our response needs to be straight-up Willy Wonka: "You get nothing. You lose. Good DAY, sir."
posted by Etrigan at 5:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Maybe time to invest in some jerrycans?
They're cheap enough, and it's not like petrol drops in price.
Also if there's any degree of forewarning hiring something robust but state-of-the-art economical may be an idea.
posted by Buntix at 6:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
They're cheap enough, and it's not like petrol drops in price.
Also if there's any degree of forewarning hiring something robust but state-of-the-art economical may be an idea.
posted by Buntix at 6:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Has there been confirmation of detainees being moved to domestic "black sites?" (Do we really have concentration camps already!!?)
I hate to break it to you, but the infrastructure has always been there.
posted by adamgreenfield
gofargogo's main question still stands though. Were those just rumors or have people been moved off-site and are being detained. Does anyone know?
posted by futz at 6:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I hate to break it to you, but the infrastructure has always been there.
posted by adamgreenfield
gofargogo's main question still stands though. Were those just rumors or have people been moved off-site and are being detained. Does anyone know?
posted by futz at 6:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't, but I believe the (manifestly bad-faith but probably narrowly correct) contention was that as long as an arrivee hasn't been processed into the United States, they are not technically being "detained."
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:07 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:07 PM on January 29, 2017
If they have been moved off-site I would call that being detained.
posted by futz at 6:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by futz at 6:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
(In the event, I would also very much like to know just what the hell is going on: what steps have been taken, on whose orders, following what protocol. This is legit the shit-scariest thing I've heard since Election Day.)
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by adamgreenfield at 6:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
A lawyer friend posted this article on facebook: Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas
posted by maggiemaggie at 6:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by maggiemaggie at 6:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Does anybody in the Boston area know who I should be following to get informed about protests in the near future?
posted by diogenes at 6:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 6:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
My guess is that Bannon is deliberately going to extremes to provoke push back. This then becomes Trump's Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card if any terrorist attack occurs on his watch. He can say "See, I tried to protect you but liberals and activist judges stopped me. Not my fault. Sad."
posted by JackFlash at 6:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
My guess is that Bannon is deliberately going to extremes to provoke push back. This then becomes Trump's Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card if any terrorist attack occurs on his watch. He can say "See, I tried to protect you but liberals and activist judges stopped me. Not my fault. Sad."
posted by JackFlash at 6:16 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
NEW: @ACLU now says it has received 290,000 online donations totaling $19.4 million since Saturday morning. Average per year is $3-4 million
Has anyone been keeping a running tally of the relevant charities mentioned in this thread so far? I'm sure there are a bunch of people right now who would like to know the best way to direct their money to help out with this situation.
posted by indubitable at 6:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Has anyone been keeping a running tally of the relevant charities mentioned in this thread so far? I'm sure there are a bunch of people right now who would like to know the best way to direct their money to help out with this situation.
posted by indubitable at 6:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
They've taken the judicial branch link off of whitehouse.gov. What a shitshow.
posted by FireFountain at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by FireFountain at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
I've got a moral obligation to stay in Texas
I know this feeling, and a part of me would sincerely like to stay and fight and see things turn around here, but speaking as someone trying to flee Texas, you've got to take care of yourself and those you love. The writing is already on the wall; this region is lost at least within my lifetime. I honestly do expect it will only get worse.
posted by byanyothername at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I know this feeling, and a part of me would sincerely like to stay and fight and see things turn around here, but speaking as someone trying to flee Texas, you've got to take care of yourself and those you love. The writing is already on the wall; this region is lost at least within my lifetime. I honestly do expect it will only get worse.
posted by byanyothername at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's like Trmup wants to do the same kind of things that he thinks Putin does but because he's a collossal fuckup everything he does just makes people more outraged and idealistic rather than cynical and despairing.
posted by um at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by um at 6:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
So tell me – who lives and who dies?
are you kidding me
you kill all three and redistribute their property to the proletariat
posted by poffin boffin at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
are you kidding me
you kill all three and redistribute their property to the proletariat
posted by poffin boffin at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
April Doss, on Twitter: I used to be head of intelligence law at NSA. If asked to approve this, I would've said no. Violates law, bad policy, & poor intel.
posted by vac2003 at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by vac2003 at 6:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
I don't believe this for a millisecond:
(Christian Broadcast Network. There is not much more to the article. Maybe some sidebar links to more of the interview)
Brody File Exclusive Interview: President Trump Relying On God Now More Than Ever
In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, President Donald Trump says becoming President of the United States has made him rely on God more than ever. “I would say that the office is so powerful that you need God even more,” Trump tells The Brody File. “There’s almost not a decision that you make when you’re sitting in this position that isn’t a really life-altering position. So God comes in even more so.”
posted by futz at 6:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
(Christian Broadcast Network. There is not much more to the article. Maybe some sidebar links to more of the interview)
Brody File Exclusive Interview: President Trump Relying On God Now More Than Ever
In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, President Donald Trump says becoming President of the United States has made him rely on God more than ever. “I would say that the office is so powerful that you need God even more,” Trump tells The Brody File. “There’s almost not a decision that you make when you’re sitting in this position that isn’t a really life-altering position. So God comes in even more so.”
posted by futz at 6:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I saw a post in my local indivisible group that theorized that Trump is using a sales technique with this EO by asking for something huge and shocking and then when he walks it back a bit we will feel like we've "won" and accept something pretty bad but not as bad.
Yes. In every way they are trying to overwhelm so that people get tired and a lot of their bullshit gets through. "I want things to go back to normal" is the enemy now. This has got to be a long haul fight, we have to take things way past where they were. There is a chance to keep hammering and turn things around completely, but trying to get back to where we were will not work. We lost that chance at the election.
I am saying this as someone who never cared about or wanted to be involved in politics in the first place. I do not protest for fun. But this is going to be my way of life for the foreseeable future.
posted by bongo_x at 6:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Yes. In every way they are trying to overwhelm so that people get tired and a lot of their bullshit gets through. "I want things to go back to normal" is the enemy now. This has got to be a long haul fight, we have to take things way past where they were. There is a chance to keep hammering and turn things around completely, but trying to get back to where we were will not work. We lost that chance at the election.
I am saying this as someone who never cared about or wanted to be involved in politics in the first place. I do not protest for fun. But this is going to be my way of life for the foreseeable future.
posted by bongo_x at 6:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
My guess is that Bannon is deliberately going to extremes to provoke push back.
I think a productive strategy might be to sow contention in the ranks. Instead of blaming Trump for the fiasco, tweet how listening to Bannon has made him look bad. Getting Trump to fire him would be a nice start.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think a productive strategy might be to sow contention in the ranks. Instead of blaming Trump for the fiasco, tweet how listening to Bannon has made him look bad. Getting Trump to fire him would be a nice start.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 6:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I made a thing. Given how the past week has gone, it made sense to carve some posters up for printing.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [67 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [67 favorites]
Who do I call to ask when we're getting the judicial branch back?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
you kill all three and redistribute their property to the proletariat
specifically, you strangle the king with the entrails of the priest. the rich man's death is the freestyle portion of the event.
posted by murphy slaw at 6:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
specifically, you strangle the king with the entrails of the priest. the rich man's death is the freestyle portion of the event.
posted by murphy slaw at 6:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Mo Farah on Trump (Guardian):
He also contrasted his treatment from the Queen, who recently gave him a knighthood, with that of Trump, saying: “On 1 January this year, Her Majesty the Queen made me a knight of the realm. On 27 January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.”posted by kingless at 6:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
The Twitter account of the Chief of SEPTA transit (Philly area) police was linked above, but it is worth mentioning again. He is making a calm, articulate, and reasoned defense of American values and the rule of law from the perspective of local law enforcement, responding to people criticizing the protests. This officer embodies the best of our civilian police, and I wish they were all like him.
posted by biogeo at 6:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 6:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
I'm seeing this link that claims Marco Rubio and Tim Scott have put out a moderating statement on the EO, but I can't find a source to confirm it.
posted by emjaybee at 6:37 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by emjaybee at 6:37 PM on January 29, 2017
I'm staying put for now because of school and friends, etc, but I'm legitimately wondering...what would I need to prepare if the moment comes to flee?
Passport and cash of course. Other important documents. A few changes of clothes. My laptop. The dog. What else? A list of embassies in Canada I could apply to for asylum? Where are the easiest border crossings into Canada & Mexico? Will other countries turn Americans away?
Christ.
posted by azuresunday at 6:37 PM on January 29, 2017
Passport and cash of course. Other important documents. A few changes of clothes. My laptop. The dog. What else? A list of embassies in Canada I could apply to for asylum? Where are the easiest border crossings into Canada & Mexico? Will other countries turn Americans away?
Christ.
posted by azuresunday at 6:37 PM on January 29, 2017
And it is contagious: 5 Dead in Quebec City Mosque Shooting.
posted by TwoStride at 6:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 6:38 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Bannon's power grab
If you want to understand President Trump's wild, chaotic and controversial first days, study up on White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Bannon's fingerprints are all over the executive order banning entry from seven Muslim-majority nations. Just like they were all over other executive orders. Just like his ideas and words were sprinkled throughout Trump's inaugural address.
The Bannon coup
A conservative leader told Axios' Jonathan Swan that Reince Priebus' people were feeling like they "won November and December," having filled the White House with so many loyalists. The spin was that Reince was outmaneuvering Bannon and would be the real power source. But now it's dawning on them, as Trump makes his early moves, that maybe they spoke too soon.
posted by futz at 6:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
If you want to understand President Trump's wild, chaotic and controversial first days, study up on White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Bannon's fingerprints are all over the executive order banning entry from seven Muslim-majority nations. Just like they were all over other executive orders. Just like his ideas and words were sprinkled throughout Trump's inaugural address.
The Bannon coup
A conservative leader told Axios' Jonathan Swan that Reince Priebus' people were feeling like they "won November and December," having filled the White House with so many loyalists. The spin was that Reince was outmaneuvering Bannon and would be the real power source. But now it's dawning on them, as Trump makes his early moves, that maybe they spoke too soon.
posted by futz at 6:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Brody File Exclusive Interview: President Trump Relying On God Now More Than Ever
trump's more fortunate than we are - all he has to do to see his god is look at a mirror
posted by pyramid termite at 6:41 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
trump's more fortunate than we are - all he has to do to see his god is look at a mirror
posted by pyramid termite at 6:41 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Details are sketchy at this point, but:
Five people were killed after gunmen opened fire in a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers, the mosque's president told reporters on Sunday.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Five people were killed after gunmen opened fire in a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers, the mosque's president told reporters on Sunday.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:42 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I know this feeling, and a part of me would sincerely like to stay and fight and see things turn around here, but speaking as someone trying to flee Texas, you've got to take care of yourself and those you love. The writing is already on the wall; this region is lost at least within my lifetime. I honestly do expect it will only get worse.
I'm in the same boat here in FL. I'm safe for the time being in my liberal little enclave but I'm convinced this is the first act of a shit show that can only get more fascist and I don't trust the local LEO's to side with the people. They've been waiting for a strong man to give them the green light to crack heads with impunity. Our governor and legislature are wing-nut republican and Pam Bondi is our AG. If and when things go really sideways liberals are going to be on their own. Better to get out if you can.
posted by photoslob at 6:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm in the same boat here in FL. I'm safe for the time being in my liberal little enclave but I'm convinced this is the first act of a shit show that can only get more fascist and I don't trust the local LEO's to side with the people. They've been waiting for a strong man to give them the green light to crack heads with impunity. Our governor and legislature are wing-nut republican and Pam Bondi is our AG. If and when things go really sideways liberals are going to be on their own. Better to get out if you can.
posted by photoslob at 6:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
So far I've seen stories about three separate sets of airport police responding to that question by saying "Donald Trump."
DJT does not sign their paychecks. Someone needs to find out who does, and yell at those people for having employees who violate federal orders. Point out that the bosses are next in the chain of command - and therefore accountability - when the next lawsuits roll around.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
DJT does not sign their paychecks. Someone needs to find out who does, and yell at those people for having employees who violate federal orders. Point out that the bosses are next in the chain of command - and therefore accountability - when the next lawsuits roll around.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Remember that list of 'crimes committed by immigrants' thing that got ordered a few days back? The Daily Kos points out a direct antecedent, Are We Seriously Ignoring the DHS Order to Revive "The Criminal Jew"?.
With the wholesale hijacking of the Voice of America (which is going to have far more serious consequences than is currently realised), our antennae should be very finely tuned to the evolution of state propaganda, and I very much hope someone goes into bat to challenge all such authoritarian balderdash on as many fronts as possible. Obama included a note when he signed the budget that included the VOA takeover clause that he thought it raised constitutional issues - and he should know, being a pretty shit-hot constitutional lawyer.
posted by Devonian at 6:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
With the wholesale hijacking of the Voice of America (which is going to have far more serious consequences than is currently realised), our antennae should be very finely tuned to the evolution of state propaganda, and I very much hope someone goes into bat to challenge all such authoritarian balderdash on as many fronts as possible. Obama included a note when he signed the budget that included the VOA takeover clause that he thought it raised constitutional issues - and he should know, being a pretty shit-hot constitutional lawyer.
posted by Devonian at 6:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [27 favorites]
Lots of people at ATL today, way more than I was expecting. Peaceful but fired up.
posted by bongo_x at 6:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 6:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Rubio/Scott statement
Rubio is a fucking weasel. His parents were immigrants from a communist country with a history of radicals overthrowing the government. Of course I'm taking his parents fleeing the communist revolution in the time of Castro out of context for effect but I'm assuming many Americans weren't thrilled about the influx of cuban refugees in south Florida. He's a fucking hypocrite.
posted by photoslob at 6:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Rubio is a fucking weasel. His parents were immigrants from a communist country with a history of radicals overthrowing the government. Of course I'm taking his parents fleeing the communist revolution in the time of Castro out of context for effect but I'm assuming many Americans weren't thrilled about the influx of cuban refugees in south Florida. He's a fucking hypocrite.
posted by photoslob at 6:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
FWIW Judge Donnelly's restraining order filed yesterday instructed the U.S. Marshals to enforce the order.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
It's good to have a bug out plan but it's also good to fight as long as you can. I'm still in fight mode but yes, I've thought about what I would do, and made as much of a plan as is possible. I was in panic about that fact for a while but I'm currently at Grim Determination + a little nihilism.
Trump is a dementia-addled conman puppet being yanked around by a Hitler fanboy nutjob and Putin, but history rhymes instead of repeats. We are not exactly analogous to 1930s Germany and things are not going to play out in exactly the same way. What that means no one really knows. Certainly not me. I still have enough hope that I'm not planning to go anywhere. But I sure don't blame anyone who says "fuck I'm out" either.
posted by emjaybee at 6:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
Trump is a dementia-addled conman puppet being yanked around by a Hitler fanboy nutjob and Putin, but history rhymes instead of repeats. We are not exactly analogous to 1930s Germany and things are not going to play out in exactly the same way. What that means no one really knows. Certainly not me. I still have enough hope that I'm not planning to go anywhere. But I sure don't blame anyone who says "fuck I'm out" either.
posted by emjaybee at 6:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
The Washington Post is reporting on people personally affected by the travel ban:
posted by peeedro at 6:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [69 favorites]
- A Syrian woman flew to the U.S. to see her hospitalized mother. She was forced to turn around.
- ‘Donald Trump destroyed my life,’ says barred Iraqi who worked for U.S.
- A refugee for 25 years, he was days away from a move to America
- Despite her life in Texas, she fears deportation to Iraq — where she is a stranger
- The plane turned back from the runway. But this Iranian was still detained more than 16 hours.
- He was headed to college in Michigan, until he got the email
- A Syrian tries to make it back to Virginia
- This time they were lucky. But Trump’s ban will still make things hard for their family
- With his wife blocked from returning from Iran, a Columbia University student eyes quitting his program to be with her
- He risked his life working for the U.S. in Iraq. Now his visa’s no good.
posted by peeedro at 6:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [69 favorites]
Judge Donnelly's restraining order filed yesterday instructed the U.S. Marshals to enforce the order.
Can they dispatch some to IAD? It sounds like CBP there are being unusually fuckheaded, and as I understand it the Marshals are empowered to arrest obstructors.
posted by jackbishop at 6:56 PM on January 29, 2017
Can they dispatch some to IAD? It sounds like CBP there are being unusually fuckheaded, and as I understand it the Marshals are empowered to arrest obstructors.
posted by jackbishop at 6:56 PM on January 29, 2017
diogenes, this might help: @BosWomensMarch
posted by madamjujujive at 6:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by madamjujujive at 6:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Not part of WaPo feature but from local news: Syrian Family Unable to Reunite with Father in Milford After Executive Order
Syrian refugee hasn't seen wife or daughters in two years. They aren't allowed to board flight in Ukraine, stuck there for now...
posted by birdheist at 6:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Syrian refugee hasn't seen wife or daughters in two years. They aren't allowed to board flight in Ukraine, stuck there for now...
posted by birdheist at 6:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
On the "signing away their green cards" thing:
According to lawyers spread out in teams across John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, multiple detainees are being pressured to sign a form typically called a "withdrawal of application for admission." Despite having the long-term legal right to stay in the country, the scared and nervous detainees, the lawyers said, are being asked to revoke their status so they can be sent back to their countries of origin.posted by saysthis at 7:01 PM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
"What we've heard is that the detainees are told that they can sign the forms, go home, it'll all be better and it'll be like this all never happened," Melissa Trent, a representative of the lawyers, said in an interview on Sunday morning at Kennedy Airport. "It gives them authority to put these people back on planes and send them home."
The forms are being presented in English to people who don't speak the language well. One organizer with the lawyers said by phone late Saturday night that they'd seen one of the signed forms firsthand. Lawyers are urging detainees not to sign any forms at all.
This is a tactic familiar to immigration lawyers who have dealt with Customs and Border Patrol officials in the past. Immigration officials trying to turn away detainees will tell someone that giving up their lawful status is an easy out, and that the immigrant won't have a deportation on their record.
AILA member reports passengers on LAX-bound flight still in the air being forced to sign I-407s surrendering green cards.
Hey guys, remember what seems like forever election threads ago, someone was talking about how demographically the white people would be outnumbered by some year and somebody, I think it was poffin boffin,said those numbers relied on immigration holding steady and green cards to citizens holding steady?
I am thinking about that, and Bannon's endgame, a lot right now.
posted by corb at 7:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [57 favorites]
Hey guys, remember what seems like forever election threads ago, someone was talking about how demographically the white people would be outnumbered by some year and somebody, I think it was poffin boffin,said those numbers relied on immigration holding steady and green cards to citizens holding steady?
I am thinking about that, and Bannon's endgame, a lot right now.
posted by corb at 7:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [57 favorites]
This isn't proof by any means but another lawyer, @HaillyKorman tweeted:
I'm a lawyer here at #IAD and I can corroborate this concern. In response to the original tweet about black sites.
posted by futz at 7:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm a lawyer here at #IAD and I can corroborate this concern. In response to the original tweet about black sites.
posted by futz at 7:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
AILA member reports passengers on LAX-bound flight still in the air being forced to sign I-407s surrendering green cards.
Hey guys, remember what seems like forever election threads ago, someone was talking about how demographically the white people would be outnumbered by somebody year and somebody, I think it was poffin boffin, said those numbers relied on immigration holding steady and green cards to citizens holding steady?
I am thinking about that, and Bannon's endgame, a lot right now.
posted by corb at 11:04 AM on January 30 [+] [!]
Don't think about it. Call representatives, repost/retweet all the dirt on Bannon you can find, go out and write signs demanding he be fired, basically just focus all your energy on getting him gone. He's the head of the snake. Get him out, you're fighting dumber-than-rocks billionaires.
posted by saysthis at 7:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Hey guys, remember what seems like forever election threads ago, someone was talking about how demographically the white people would be outnumbered by somebody year and somebody, I think it was poffin boffin, said those numbers relied on immigration holding steady and green cards to citizens holding steady?
I am thinking about that, and Bannon's endgame, a lot right now.
posted by corb at 11:04 AM on January 30 [+] [!]
Don't think about it. Call representatives, repost/retweet all the dirt on Bannon you can find, go out and write signs demanding he be fired, basically just focus all your energy on getting him gone. He's the head of the snake. Get him out, you're fighting dumber-than-rocks billionaires.
posted by saysthis at 7:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Just left ORD. I'm not sure how many people were there, but there was good turn out. Honestly, there isn't much news coming out of O'hare, so I feel it was more in solidarity. I'm glad I went. Staff and police seemed polite.
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 7:12 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Is it just Dulles where the court order is being defied by CBP, or is this happening at other airports?
posted by jason_steakums at 7:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 7:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm not familiar with mic.com; is there any msm sources on people being pressured to sign away their permanent resident status? Would like to share a link in good conscience.
posted by kaibutsu at 7:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by kaibutsu at 7:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I posted the following to Facebook this morning. Although really I have few Trumpists as friends for a person living in Mississippi, I do have a few, and it was surprisingly frightening to push the "post" button.
"I'm having a family crisis; of this I know you are all aware. Plus, I still have a select few Facebook folks with whom I don't agree politically, and I think about them when I consider posting political things--I really don't want to alienate or offend those people. I like them and I want them to like me. I'm human like that.
So I've pretty much been quiet here, while ranting elsewhere about the horribleness that is happening to my country. I'm exhausted. I don't want to hurt people's feelings. I don't want to be uncool.
But I'm pretty much done with that as of today. If I don't speak up now, then when? If I curate to placate, how am I different than anyone else who has ever turned a blind eye to injustice? If I'M scared--an old white lady in Mississippi--how scary IS this shit? So I have decided to trust you, the people I have been afraid to offend. I have decided to trust that you have enough sense to see this for what it is: UnAmerican. Totalitarian. Fascist."
One person posted a response stating that she is respectfully messaging the people she knows voted for him and asking them to unfriend HER, which seems a powerful statement and I might do it myself.
posted by thebrokedown at 7:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
"I'm having a family crisis; of this I know you are all aware. Plus, I still have a select few Facebook folks with whom I don't agree politically, and I think about them when I consider posting political things--I really don't want to alienate or offend those people. I like them and I want them to like me. I'm human like that.
So I've pretty much been quiet here, while ranting elsewhere about the horribleness that is happening to my country. I'm exhausted. I don't want to hurt people's feelings. I don't want to be uncool.
But I'm pretty much done with that as of today. If I don't speak up now, then when? If I curate to placate, how am I different than anyone else who has ever turned a blind eye to injustice? If I'M scared--an old white lady in Mississippi--how scary IS this shit? So I have decided to trust you, the people I have been afraid to offend. I have decided to trust that you have enough sense to see this for what it is: UnAmerican. Totalitarian. Fascist."
One person posted a response stating that she is respectfully messaging the people she knows voted for him and asking them to unfriend HER, which seems a powerful statement and I might do it myself.
posted by thebrokedown at 7:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
@RepRickLarson
Working on bill 2 require Chairman Joint Chiefs & DNI to be full-time members of NSC. Need to counter political influence
posted by saysthis at 7:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
Working on bill 2 require Chairman Joint Chiefs & DNI to be full-time members of NSC. Need to counter political influence
posted by saysthis at 7:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [58 favorites]
I do think it is worthwhile for everyone to consider exactly where their risk threshold in regards to the Trump administration is.
While I think that the chances of an actual Third Reich 2.0 are still pretty small as any attempt to pretend that Trump has a mandate to ignore the rule of law is ludicrous. Furthermore while there are some definite authoritarian tendencies in this country and we tend to lose our fucking minds periodically the reality is that most Americans are pretty fond of the the idea of Democracy warts and all. Furthermore the large US population and the large geographic separation of the cities makes the idea of a permanent state of martial law more or less impossible.
Martial law depends heavily on state and local officials being more or less complicit as well as the compliance of population particularly in urban areas. Large cities like NYC, LA, Chicago might have large police forces but they depend in large part on the consent of the governed. Large scale protests in major cities can stretch local resources to the breaking point and the idea that the National Guard or the active duty Armed Forces could be relied upon to support a right wing coup requires a big stretch. Any attempt to force the military into a loyalty oath to Trump instead of defending the constitution would almost certainly result in a massive backlash.
The conditions that allowed Hitler and Mussolini and Lenin to come to power are largely absent currently in the US. Yes there is extreme partisanship but roving gangs of paramilitary forces haven't materialized yet.
We do need to be vigilant about the authoritarian tendencies of this White House especially in regards to the first amendment but I think Bannon and company are severely mistaken if they think that there is going to be a big groundswell of support for Trump acting in increasingly undemocratic ways. He's already incredibly unpopular particularly in the urban areas and resistance to his policy overreach is already galvanizing the opposition in a way that hasn't been seen in decades.
Make no mistake the next 4 years are liable to be a shitshow unless the Republican party realizes that Trump is about to deal them a fatal blow and they move to oust him but I'm not ready to give up on the US yet. However I do think that if you are in a population that is likely to bear the brunt of the right-wing nonsense over the next 4 years I don't blame you for looking around at other states or even countries where your civil liberties are more likely to be protected.
posted by vuron at 7:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
While I think that the chances of an actual Third Reich 2.0 are still pretty small as any attempt to pretend that Trump has a mandate to ignore the rule of law is ludicrous. Furthermore while there are some definite authoritarian tendencies in this country and we tend to lose our fucking minds periodically the reality is that most Americans are pretty fond of the the idea of Democracy warts and all. Furthermore the large US population and the large geographic separation of the cities makes the idea of a permanent state of martial law more or less impossible.
Martial law depends heavily on state and local officials being more or less complicit as well as the compliance of population particularly in urban areas. Large cities like NYC, LA, Chicago might have large police forces but they depend in large part on the consent of the governed. Large scale protests in major cities can stretch local resources to the breaking point and the idea that the National Guard or the active duty Armed Forces could be relied upon to support a right wing coup requires a big stretch. Any attempt to force the military into a loyalty oath to Trump instead of defending the constitution would almost certainly result in a massive backlash.
The conditions that allowed Hitler and Mussolini and Lenin to come to power are largely absent currently in the US. Yes there is extreme partisanship but roving gangs of paramilitary forces haven't materialized yet.
We do need to be vigilant about the authoritarian tendencies of this White House especially in regards to the first amendment but I think Bannon and company are severely mistaken if they think that there is going to be a big groundswell of support for Trump acting in increasingly undemocratic ways. He's already incredibly unpopular particularly in the urban areas and resistance to his policy overreach is already galvanizing the opposition in a way that hasn't been seen in decades.
Make no mistake the next 4 years are liable to be a shitshow unless the Republican party realizes that Trump is about to deal them a fatal blow and they move to oust him but I'm not ready to give up on the US yet. However I do think that if you are in a population that is likely to bear the brunt of the right-wing nonsense over the next 4 years I don't blame you for looking around at other states or even countries where your civil liberties are more likely to be protected.
posted by vuron at 7:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
A friend linked me to this Medium piece which, while not by a political scientist or similar authority (best I can tell, the author is an engineer at Google specializing in privacy), lays out what we know along with some plausible speculation and suggests that there is a coup in the offing.
I'm not sure what I think. These are some of my worst fears, and I want to be told I'm just paranoid, but it sure feels realistic.
posted by Superplin at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
I'm not sure what I think. These are some of my worst fears, and I want to be told I'm just paranoid, but it sure feels realistic.
posted by Superplin at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Yeah, looks like mods took down the mic.com link. Oops. Point taken, I'll restrict it to mainstream media from now on.
posted by saysthis at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by saysthis at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey guys, remember what seems like forever election threads ago, someone was talking about how demographically the white people would be outnumbered by some year and somebody, I think it was poffin boffin,said those numbers relied on immigration holding steady and green cards to citizens holding steady?
I am thinking about that, and Bannon's endgame, a lot right now.
I had been wondering why the hell they were targeting green-card holders, it doesn't make sense as a first move in terms on avoiding bad publicity and blowback (and really don't buy that it's a sales technique, Trump's only technique has always been intimidation and bluster).
It does make sense if you figure the endgame is deliberate, cold-blooded, ethnic cleansing. It whittles away at the concept of citizenship, and if successful makes it a whole lot easier to remove anyone with lesser residency rights.
posted by Buntix at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Oh, my. I knew Dolly Gee, peripherally, back when I was a lawyer in CA.
I feel all tingly about it.
posted by allthinky at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I feel all tingly about it.
posted by allthinky at 7:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
> Vuron my fear is that the CBP is their SA. And they are just getting started.
That's more than a bit worring, given CBP's assumed authority over the 100-mile border zone.
posted by fragmede at 7:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
That's more than a bit worring, given CBP's assumed authority over the 100-mile border zone.
posted by fragmede at 7:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Mod note: The mic.com link is still there, saysthis; I cleaned up the html a little bit because it was a hot mess.
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:28 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Vuron my fear is that the CBP is their SA. And they are just getting started
And through the border search exception, 2/3's of the population lives in an extra-constitutional zone.
posted by rhizome at 7:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
And through the border search exception, 2/3's of the population lives in an extra-constitutional zone.
posted by rhizome at 7:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm staying put for now because of school and friends, etc, but I'm legitimately wondering...what would I need to prepare if the moment comes to flee?
Friends and contacts in other countries. Cash, and some small valuables. The valuables don't even need to be really valuable; hardly anyone can tell the difference between a second-hand $200 ring and a $5,000 one. They can all be your "mother's most cherished possession". Maybe an old watch that you can plausibly claim is really expensive? Photos - not whole albums, just the few few that are really important to you. Proof of graduation, passport, birth and marriage certificate. Collect some important numbers like the ACLU, your lawyer, the friends and contacts I mentioned earlier. Write them down in multiple places.
And because it isn't the 1940s any more, your phone and a charger.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Friends and contacts in other countries. Cash, and some small valuables. The valuables don't even need to be really valuable; hardly anyone can tell the difference between a second-hand $200 ring and a $5,000 one. They can all be your "mother's most cherished possession". Maybe an old watch that you can plausibly claim is really expensive? Photos - not whole albums, just the few few that are really important to you. Proof of graduation, passport, birth and marriage certificate. Collect some important numbers like the ACLU, your lawyer, the friends and contacts I mentioned earlier. Write them down in multiple places.
And because it isn't the 1940s any more, your phone and a charger.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
My Laptop
Why? Why not upload what you consider the important encrypted data to a not-US based service as the ability of DHS to just grab your laptop and demand the password(s) was part of some 2013 laws?
And, because of Clinton, the US prevents money from leaving the nation without a punitive tax. You might want to look into conversion of Federal Reserve Notes into forms that can cross borders. And what makes you think by the time you need to leave the US of A, the US Dollar will be worth something to other nations and have a value?
posted by rough ashlar at 7:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Why? Why not upload what you consider the important encrypted data to a not-US based service as the ability of DHS to just grab your laptop and demand the password(s) was part of some 2013 laws?
And, because of Clinton, the US prevents money from leaving the nation without a punitive tax. You might want to look into conversion of Federal Reserve Notes into forms that can cross borders. And what makes you think by the time you need to leave the US of A, the US Dollar will be worth something to other nations and have a value?
posted by rough ashlar at 7:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
A very impressive news release from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. This has been an interesting weekend - I've praised both Dick Cheney and Starbucks. We are living in interesting times.
Support for DACA
"we are enthusiastically behind their work to support “Dreamers” across our country"
Hiring Refugees
"There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business."
Building Bridges, Not Walls, With Mexico
"We have been open for business in Mexico since 2002, and have since opened almost 600 stores in 60 cities across the country, which together employ over 7,000 Mexican partners who proudly wear the green apron. "
Our Healthcare Commitment to You
"let me restate what we have recently communicated with you about the Affordable Care Act – our commitment remains that if you are benefits eligible, you will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks."
Read the full news post here:
Living Our Values in Uncertain Times
posted by misterpatrick at 7:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Support for DACA
"we are enthusiastically behind their work to support “Dreamers” across our country"
Hiring Refugees
"There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business."
Building Bridges, Not Walls, With Mexico
"We have been open for business in Mexico since 2002, and have since opened almost 600 stores in 60 cities across the country, which together employ over 7,000 Mexican partners who proudly wear the green apron. "
Our Healthcare Commitment to You
"let me restate what we have recently communicated with you about the Affordable Care Act – our commitment remains that if you are benefits eligible, you will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks."
Read the full news post here:
Living Our Values in Uncertain Times
posted by misterpatrick at 7:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Starbucks pledges to hire 10,000 refugees
posted by futz at 7:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by futz at 7:36 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
>[The mic.com link is still there, saysthis; I cleaned up the html a little bit because it was a hot mess.]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:28 AM on January 30 [1 favorite +] [!]
Indeed it is. I need a nap. (Also just got back from a Google detour and it looks like mic.com is actually not skeevy, the article feels legit.)
posted by saysthis at 7:36 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:28 AM on January 30 [1 favorite +] [!]
Indeed it is. I need a nap. (Also just got back from a Google detour and it looks like mic.com is actually not skeevy, the article feels legit.)
posted by saysthis at 7:36 PM on January 29, 2017
While I think that the chances of an actual Third Reich 2.0 are still pretty small as any attempt to pretend that Trump has a mandate to ignore the rule of law is ludicrous...
...Make no mistake the next 4 years are liable to be a shitshow unless the Republican party realizes that Trump is about to deal them a fatal blow and they move to oust him but I'm not ready to give up on the US yet...
I really, really don't think there is any 4 years to worry about. This is not normal. They do not plan on this being normal, they are all in. We are going full dictator very soon or they are flaming out. They have no interest in sitting around running a conventional Conservative government. They came to blow shit up, not work.
Republicans in Congress and the public may be fooling themselves, or were, that this was just going to be a Conservative revolution, but that's not what Bannon ever had in mind. That's not happening. Some people are just slow to realize it.
posted by bongo_x at 7:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
...Make no mistake the next 4 years are liable to be a shitshow unless the Republican party realizes that Trump is about to deal them a fatal blow and they move to oust him but I'm not ready to give up on the US yet...
I really, really don't think there is any 4 years to worry about. This is not normal. They do not plan on this being normal, they are all in. We are going full dictator very soon or they are flaming out. They have no interest in sitting around running a conventional Conservative government. They came to blow shit up, not work.
Republicans in Congress and the public may be fooling themselves, or were, that this was just going to be a Conservative revolution, but that's not what Bannon ever had in mind. That's not happening. Some people are just slow to realize it.
posted by bongo_x at 7:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [33 favorites]
It will be interesting to see what world markets do tomorrow. Are investors going to be able to continue to pretend that it's "business as usual plus tax cut"?
posted by Slothrup at 7:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Slothrup at 7:43 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
roving gangs of paramilitary forces haven't materialized yet.
I appreciate your wisdom and you talk sense, vuron. At the same time, I don't think we're necessarily in the 3rd Reich playbook that exactingly. One move I'm starting to really fear is this: The Don's followers notice he can't get traction on his promises, and he uses his rhetoric to make it clear that it's our fault - those who oppose and resist and obstruct him - and empowers them, just through speech, to take matters into their own hands and start making us pay. It isn't martial law but it would be pretty fucking nasty. And I feel we're a short walk from there already.
posted by Miko at 7:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
I appreciate your wisdom and you talk sense, vuron. At the same time, I don't think we're necessarily in the 3rd Reich playbook that exactingly. One move I'm starting to really fear is this: The Don's followers notice he can't get traction on his promises, and he uses his rhetoric to make it clear that it's our fault - those who oppose and resist and obstruct him - and empowers them, just through speech, to take matters into their own hands and start making us pay. It isn't martial law but it would be pretty fucking nasty. And I feel we're a short walk from there already.
posted by Miko at 7:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Josh Marshall, TPM: Just Hate
It all comes down to a simple point. People do awful things out of fear and hate. The two frequently meld into each other in ways that make them hard to distinguish. But this move is driven by hate. It's driven by feelings of aggression. It is not even engineered in a way that would be effective to address its stated purpose. If you are for draconian actions toward immigrants from a region in the grips of extremism and war, but also happen to be ferociously against immigrants from Latin America where little if any of these apply, maybe you're just a malevolent person rather than security conscious. To be a true marquee war criminal takes more than just motivation. You need to be in the right place at the right time. A lot of the guys around Trump are the types who are just waiting for their moment.posted by tonycpsu at 7:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [29 favorites]
For all the talk about 'populism', what really imbues this White House is nationalism. But not just nationalism in a general sense which can have positive, communitarian aspects. It is a hateful and aggressive nationalism based on zero-sum relationships and a thirst for domination and violence. These are dangerous people.
Even if you stop immigration entirely the demographic realities are already written in stone.
4 States are already majority minority and 9 others have between 50-60% of the population being non-hispanic whites.
Despite stupidity like the quiverful nonsense the reality is that for the most part white America is getting older, having less children and becoming a smaller percentage of the US. This is particularly noticeable among younger cohorts as the majority of children in the US ages 0-18 will be minority by 2019.
The storm weenies can try to inspire all sorts of racial hatred in an attempt to divide the races but they are on the losing end of this battle. The future is beautiful and brown and it frightens the fuck out of them.
I understand that they think it's an existential crisis for WASP culture but the idea that the bulk of the US is going to somehow come around to supporting mass genocide of minorities seems like a stretch.
People are going to be hurt by the death spasms of white nationalism some will even be killed but White nationalism is going to fail miserably in their goals. We as people of conscience just need to make sure that they fail fast and that as few people as possible are hurt by their viciousness even if it means putting your body and life on the line to protect others.
posted by vuron at 7:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
4 States are already majority minority and 9 others have between 50-60% of the population being non-hispanic whites.
Despite stupidity like the quiverful nonsense the reality is that for the most part white America is getting older, having less children and becoming a smaller percentage of the US. This is particularly noticeable among younger cohorts as the majority of children in the US ages 0-18 will be minority by 2019.
The storm weenies can try to inspire all sorts of racial hatred in an attempt to divide the races but they are on the losing end of this battle. The future is beautiful and brown and it frightens the fuck out of them.
I understand that they think it's an existential crisis for WASP culture but the idea that the bulk of the US is going to somehow come around to supporting mass genocide of minorities seems like a stretch.
People are going to be hurt by the death spasms of white nationalism some will even be killed but White nationalism is going to fail miserably in their goals. We as people of conscience just need to make sure that they fail fast and that as few people as possible are hurt by their viciousness even if it means putting your body and life on the line to protect others.
posted by vuron at 7:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
Uncle Ira and I spent today protesting at DFW airport. I've never seen so many kids and volunteers handing out everything from pizza to Girl Scout Cookies in my life.
I can't be silent anymore. I texted updates and videos all day to my mom, who voted for Trump. By the end of the day, she was praying for everyone to be less hateful and saying she doesn't support the blanket ban.
It's not enough, but it's a start in the right direction. Her worry for me and trust that I won't do something terrible may be enough to start turning the tide of voting minds in my own family, at least. I'm done being polite and not speaking out.
Tonight may be the first good night of sleep I've had without prescription tranquilizers since Nov. 8, and I'm calm again for the first time in months.
This is NOT the end of our fight!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 7:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [60 favorites]
I can't be silent anymore. I texted updates and videos all day to my mom, who voted for Trump. By the end of the day, she was praying for everyone to be less hateful and saying she doesn't support the blanket ban.
It's not enough, but it's a start in the right direction. Her worry for me and trust that I won't do something terrible may be enough to start turning the tide of voting minds in my own family, at least. I'm done being polite and not speaking out.
Tonight may be the first good night of sleep I've had without prescription tranquilizers since Nov. 8, and I'm calm again for the first time in months.
This is NOT the end of our fight!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 7:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [60 favorites]
NEW: @ACLU now says it has received 290,000 online donations totaling $19.4 million since Saturday morning.
This is awesome, but a reminder that we've got to keep this up at least through next year:
Koch network to spend $300 million to $400 million on politics, policy in 2018 cycle
Stay strong! And thanks to everyone on MeFi, everyone protesting, donating, etc, etc!
posted by p3t3 at 7:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
This is awesome, but a reminder that we've got to keep this up at least through next year:
Koch network to spend $300 million to $400 million on politics, policy in 2018 cycle
Stay strong! And thanks to everyone on MeFi, everyone protesting, donating, etc, etc!
posted by p3t3 at 7:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
rough ashlar: "And, because of Clinton, the US prevents money from leaving the nation without a punitive tax. You might want to look into conversion of Federal Reserve Notes into forms that can cross borders. And what makes you think by the time you need to leave the US of A, the US Dollar will be worth something to other nations and have a value?"
This is fairly easily managed if you have even modest funds. Convert some of your holdings into foreign currencies; at a minimum have some money in your intended bolt country. Have some money stowed away in that country if possible even if it is just an envelope with a couple grand in cash being held by a friend. Actual gold and silver jewellery is somewhat portable and convertible.
A foreign safety deposit box can hold not only that cash but also a hardrive containing photos and scans of documentation. Again might be easier if you had a friend in the country open the box with you so as to allow them to access it while you may be detained.
futz: "Starbucks pledges to hire 10,000 refugees
"
While this is great it also gives a pretty obvious example to those who want to claim refugees are stealing American jobs.
posted by Mitheral at 7:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
This is fairly easily managed if you have even modest funds. Convert some of your holdings into foreign currencies; at a minimum have some money in your intended bolt country. Have some money stowed away in that country if possible even if it is just an envelope with a couple grand in cash being held by a friend. Actual gold and silver jewellery is somewhat portable and convertible.
A foreign safety deposit box can hold not only that cash but also a hardrive containing photos and scans of documentation. Again might be easier if you had a friend in the country open the box with you so as to allow them to access it while you may be detained.
futz: "Starbucks pledges to hire 10,000 refugees
"
While this is great it also gives a pretty obvious example to those who want to claim refugees are stealing American jobs.
posted by Mitheral at 7:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
The jobs are open to refugees in 75 countries plus I have already seen the trumpies say that most americans are already employed so give the refugees the low wage jobs after they are properly vetted. Seriously.
posted by futz at 7:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by futz at 7:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Holy shit, Stranger Things goes fucking in at SAG
posted by supercrayon at 7:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by supercrayon at 7:56 PM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
futz: "Starbucks pledges to hire 10,000 refugees
"
While this is great it also gives a pretty obvious example to those who want to claim refugees are stealing American jobs.
posted by Mitheral at 11:50 AM on January 30 [1 favorite +] [!]
But don't they mean in 75 countries around the world that are not the US? Seems to me most if not all of those jobs wouldn't touch American soil. And if anyone claims they are taking away American jobs, I think the rebuttal to shut 'em up is baked into the pledge.
posted by saysthis at 7:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
"
While this is great it also gives a pretty obvious example to those who want to claim refugees are stealing American jobs.
posted by Mitheral at 11:50 AM on January 30 [1 favorite +] [!]
But don't they mean in 75 countries around the world that are not the US? Seems to me most if not all of those jobs wouldn't touch American soil. And if anyone claims they are taking away American jobs, I think the rebuttal to shut 'em up is baked into the pledge.
posted by saysthis at 7:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
NYT has a story on the EO chaos:
Gen. John F. Kelly, the secretary of homeland security, had dialed in from a Coast Guard plane as he headed back to Washington from Miami. Along with other top officials, he needed guidance from the White House, which had not asked his department for a legal review of the order.
Halfway into the briefing, someone on the call looked up at a television in his office. “The president is signing the executive order that we’re discussing,” the official said, stunned.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [72 favorites]
Gen. John F. Kelly, the secretary of homeland security, had dialed in from a Coast Guard plane as he headed back to Washington from Miami. Along with other top officials, he needed guidance from the White House, which had not asked his department for a legal review of the order.
Halfway into the briefing, someone on the call looked up at a television in his office. “The president is signing the executive order that we’re discussing,” the official said, stunned.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [72 favorites]
This is politely brutal and insulting & I love it.
President Trump may hire “only the best people” but he did not rely upon them to draft and implement his latest Executive Order
-- Whatever one thinks of the underlying policy, the degree of administrative incompetence in its execution is jaw-dropping...
-- Indeed, as drafted, the EO didn’t even cite the right provisions in federal law. In the words of Charles L. Black Jr., in these actions “the curves of callousness and stupidity intersect at their respective maxima.” (Hat tip: Walter Dellinger)
-- When Department of Justice attorneys go into court to defend the policy, they will not be able to maintain that this policy reflects careful review of the relevant security concerns or that administration lawyers gave due consideration to potential objections and relevant legal or constitutional constraints on the executive branch’s conduct. They won’t be able to say those things because they are not true — and judges will notice.
posted by futz at 7:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
President Trump may hire “only the best people” but he did not rely upon them to draft and implement his latest Executive Order
-- Whatever one thinks of the underlying policy, the degree of administrative incompetence in its execution is jaw-dropping...
-- Indeed, as drafted, the EO didn’t even cite the right provisions in federal law. In the words of Charles L. Black Jr., in these actions “the curves of callousness and stupidity intersect at their respective maxima.” (Hat tip: Walter Dellinger)
-- When Department of Justice attorneys go into court to defend the policy, they will not be able to maintain that this policy reflects careful review of the relevant security concerns or that administration lawyers gave due consideration to potential objections and relevant legal or constitutional constraints on the executive branch’s conduct. They won’t be able to say those things because they are not true — and judges will notice.
posted by futz at 7:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
Sciatrix if you are protesting in DFW and need a place to stay you're always welcome at our place.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
> she doesn't support the blanket ban.
As hateful and xenophobic as it it anyway, the logical inconsistency is the part of the ban that makes me think there really isn't N-dimensional chess going on, and it's simple greed and corruption.
The seven countries on the EO: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The three countries the 9/11 hijackers were from: Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE.
Under a racist worldview where you could even support a blanket ban, how does it make sense to leave the three countries the 9/11 hijackers came from OFF THE FREAKING LIST?
...unless, y'know, the whole xenophbia thing is a con for easy marks.
And oh, hey, total coincidence, but Trump has business interests in those 3 countries.
posted by fragmede at 8:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
As hateful and xenophobic as it it anyway, the logical inconsistency is the part of the ban that makes me think there really isn't N-dimensional chess going on, and it's simple greed and corruption.
The seven countries on the EO: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The three countries the 9/11 hijackers were from: Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the UAE.
Under a racist worldview where you could even support a blanket ban, how does it make sense to leave the three countries the 9/11 hijackers came from OFF THE FREAKING LIST?
...unless, y'know, the whole xenophbia thing is a con for easy marks.
And oh, hey, total coincidence, but Trump has business interests in those 3 countries.
posted by fragmede at 8:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
People do awful things out of fear and hate.
The social media talking points have definitely been distributed because I'm seeing like the same three "gotchas" in comments, pretty much verbatim.
And it occurred to me when I'd read the like twentieth "you don't leave your door unlocked at night, do you???"* comment... YOU PEOPLE SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF MASSIVE, QUIVERING COWARDS. They've stopped even trying to paper it over, I guess. A third of the country is scared shitless, apparently, and not only scared shitless but unable to be brave for even a second for the sake of women, children and elders who desperately need help. And most of these craven assholes are people living in places that have never and will never see terrorism of any kind. Those of us in cities, where this does actually happen once in a tragic blue moon, seem to be out protesting this bullshit in the thousands, because we aren't willing to let our actually kind of justified fear get in the way of our humanity. The rest of the country? Scared of its own shadows and quite happy to wallow in that fear. I want to go walking up and down the streets with a bell yelling SHAME.
*Correct answer: "If you were to see a fiery car wreck outside your house and someone came rushing to your house for assistance, would you cower in your closet until they went away, or would you unlock your door and let them in?"
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [71 favorites]
The social media talking points have definitely been distributed because I'm seeing like the same three "gotchas" in comments, pretty much verbatim.
And it occurred to me when I'd read the like twentieth "you don't leave your door unlocked at night, do you???"* comment... YOU PEOPLE SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF MASSIVE, QUIVERING COWARDS. They've stopped even trying to paper it over, I guess. A third of the country is scared shitless, apparently, and not only scared shitless but unable to be brave for even a second for the sake of women, children and elders who desperately need help. And most of these craven assholes are people living in places that have never and will never see terrorism of any kind. Those of us in cities, where this does actually happen once in a tragic blue moon, seem to be out protesting this bullshit in the thousands, because we aren't willing to let our actually kind of justified fear get in the way of our humanity. The rest of the country? Scared of its own shadows and quite happy to wallow in that fear. I want to go walking up and down the streets with a bell yelling SHAME.
*Correct answer: "If you were to see a fiery car wreck outside your house and someone came rushing to your house for assistance, would you cower in your closet until they went away, or would you unlock your door and let them in?"
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [71 favorites]
NYT has a story on the EO chaos:
The One Where Phearlez Longs For The Competency Level Of Bush43
posted by phearlez at 8:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
The One Where Phearlez Longs For The Competency Level Of Bush43
posted by phearlez at 8:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I have to admit that like many I was terrified of what the US was turning into on November 9th. A couple of months of panic attacks and wondering if it would be worthwhile to immigrate to some Caribbean nation and wait for the US to either get it's shit together or start WWIII.
But then things like the women's march happened and the pushback against the muzzling of scientists and the media beginning to grow a spine and push back against alt-facts.
I'm still worried about the future of this country and how much damage these chucklefucks are going to do over the next couple of years but I'm also wrapping my head around the need to fight back and also how dependent they are on our fear keeping us from acting.
But seeing lawyers race up to work to defend people they've never met, to see a massive outpouring of spontaneous protests against Trump's overreach and in favor of these villified populations makes me realize that I can't let my fear keep me from doing what's right and just. The bullies in the White House and make no mistakes these are bullies plain and simple are depending on our fear or our indifference to silence dissent and everytime we get out on the streets and push back against intolerance even if we aren't successful in the short term we are making the world a better place.
posted by vuron at 8:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
But then things like the women's march happened and the pushback against the muzzling of scientists and the media beginning to grow a spine and push back against alt-facts.
I'm still worried about the future of this country and how much damage these chucklefucks are going to do over the next couple of years but I'm also wrapping my head around the need to fight back and also how dependent they are on our fear keeping us from acting.
But seeing lawyers race up to work to defend people they've never met, to see a massive outpouring of spontaneous protests against Trump's overreach and in favor of these villified populations makes me realize that I can't let my fear keep me from doing what's right and just. The bullies in the White House and make no mistakes these are bullies plain and simple are depending on our fear or our indifference to silence dissent and everytime we get out on the streets and push back against intolerance even if we aren't successful in the short term we are making the world a better place.
posted by vuron at 8:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [45 favorites]
And yet we deal with him every single day. We turn the other cheek. If you are part of team Trump, you walk around with these gaping, seeping wounds every day, that's fine. I'm here every Sunday morning.
sounds like a nice place to work
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
sounds like a nice place to work
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
The One Where Phearlez Longs For The Competency Level Of Bush43
Say what you will about him, but he never seemed to be under any illusions about his own intelligence. He knew he was dim, and he knew that meant he had to surround himself with smart (evil, but smart) people.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:13 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Say what you will about him, but he never seemed to be under any illusions about his own intelligence. He knew he was dim, and he knew that meant he had to surround himself with smart (evil, but smart) people.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:13 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
This Medium piece Superplin linked upthread tied together a bunch of the threads that I've been putting together less successfully. This is terrifying.
posted by gatorae at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by gatorae at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
I haven't slept in in a month.
I guess that answers my "how do these people sleep at night?" question.
They don't.
Good.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
I guess that answers my "how do these people sleep at night?" question.
They don't.
Good.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [22 favorites]
And it occurred to me when I'd read the like twentieth "you don't leave your door unlocked at night, do you???"* comment... YOU PEOPLE SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF MASSIVE, QUIVERING COWARDS.
I routinely forget to lock the back door at night, here in the HELLISH WAR ZONE OF CHICAGO. And I live in a pretty middle-of-the-road, working-class Latino neighborhood, neither particularly high- or low-crime. I almost never leave the door locked during the day although tbf my husband is always telling me off for that.
Never lost any sleep over it. But then I am not a massive, quivering coward.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
I routinely forget to lock the back door at night, here in the HELLISH WAR ZONE OF CHICAGO. And I live in a pretty middle-of-the-road, working-class Latino neighborhood, neither particularly high- or low-crime. I almost never leave the door locked during the day although tbf my husband is always telling me off for that.
Never lost any sleep over it. But then I am not a massive, quivering coward.
posted by tivalasvegas at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
saysthis: "But don't they mean in 75 countries around the world that are not the US?"
Sure but they also say this in the announcement:
posted by Mitheral at 8:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sure but they also say this in the announcement:
we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.Besides even the fact that the initiative is intended to apply world wide is too nuanced for the sound bite circle.
posted by Mitheral at 8:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you are part of team Trump, you walk around with these gaping, seeping wounds every day, that's fine. I'm here every Sunday morning.
omfg Ray Walston, Luck Dragon & bibliowench. How did I miss that? Yeah, she'll be in the history books just like Eva Braun.
posted by futz at 8:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
omfg Ray Walston, Luck Dragon & bibliowench. How did I miss that? Yeah, she'll be in the history books just like Eva Braun.
posted by futz at 8:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
i hope i have my reoccurring dream again where michelle obama rides up to me on a majestic pegasus and pulls me up into the saddle behind her and then with broadswords we hunt congressional republicans as they scuttle across the white house lawn
posted by poffin boffin at 8:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [65 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:19 PM on January 29, 2017 [65 favorites]
I've been fighting all day with my Trumpist mother, barring the break when I went to the vigil in front of the capitol. It's not going to do any good. She's too far down the well, and she's never insisted on logic even in the best of times. I hit her with a Jesuit, so maybe that will back her down a bit. I feel weirdly unflustered about confronting her so directly, because in the past we've always just sort of worked around her. I don't know if this is the breaking point with our relationship.
Anyway. Huh.
posted by PussKillian at 8:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
Anyway. Huh.
posted by PussKillian at 8:20 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
My mom had to sit through the political talk from me, a cousin, a friend of hers and her sister this weekend. She is pretty much refusing to say anything other than, "Well, it's not like there's anything we can do about it, so why talk about it?"
*faceplants*
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
*faceplants*
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
i hope i have my reoccurring dream again where michelle obama rides up to me on a majestic pegasus and pulls me up into the saddle behind her and then with broadswords we hunt congressional republicans as they scuttle across the white house lawn
Please commit this to paper immediately upon waking and share it with the rest of us. You have a moral duty.
posted by biogeo at 8:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Please commit this to paper immediately upon waking and share it with the rest of us. You have a moral duty.
posted by biogeo at 8:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Jesus, that coup speculation piece linked upthread is going to give me nightmares.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
"And yet we deal with him every single day. We turn the other cheek. If you are part of team Trump, you walk around with these gaping, seeping wounds every day, that's fine. I'm here every Sunday morning."
omfg Ray Walston, Luck Dragon & bibliowench. How did I miss that?
because it's not what she said even though it would be really funny and great if she had. she said "them," (the press), not "him." if you rely on amateur free transcription you get what you pay for.
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
omfg Ray Walston, Luck Dragon & bibliowench. How did I miss that?
because it's not what she said even though it would be really funny and great if she had. she said "them," (the press), not "him." if you rely on amateur free transcription you get what you pay for.
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Re: G'ing TFO, I really desperately want to believe that it won't come to leaving and that our country is rapidly acknowledging the danger and will protect itself, but I've got a sick SO to care for and preparedness is never foolish. So uh, if any Winnipeg MeFites want to drop me a MeMail to exchange contact info I'd love to make your acquaintance.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Is the goal here to get rid of all the really incredibly objectionable stuff quickly, so the massive firestorm burns itself out well before the midterms? Because that's the only reason I can think of for going this quickly (even if you DID agree with the actual policies).
posted by miyabo at 8:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by miyabo at 8:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ahhhhh. Thank you queenofbithynia, that changes everything.
posted by futz at 8:28 PM on January 29, 2017
posted by futz at 8:28 PM on January 29, 2017
Yeah, that medium piece on the coup is what I've been trying to talk to my friends about for the last 48 hours, with a lot of shocked "you're crazy' kind of looks. I even got an honest 'it can't happen here.' response.
I really fear that all those in position to stop it haven't realized the danger we're in, that they still believe 'it can't happen here.'
The next step is a Reichstag fire.
posted by gofargogo at 8:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I really fear that all those in position to stop it haven't realized the danger we're in, that they still believe 'it can't happen here.'
The next step is a Reichstag fire.
posted by gofargogo at 8:29 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
I talked to my mom today and she said that she and dad had signed up at church to work with some undocumented young people. My parents! And then my sister told me she's going to the science march! Who are these people?
posted by Biblio at 8:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Biblio at 8:37 PM on January 29, 2017 [20 favorites]
Americans.
posted by gofargogo at 8:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
posted by gofargogo at 8:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
unless the Republican party realizes that Trump is about to deal them a fatal blow
Nah, the Republicans will bounce back. They did from Nixon and Bush II. Massive campaign financing means never having to say you're sorry.
posted by Coventry at 8:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Nah, the Republicans will bounce back. They did from Nixon and Bush II. Massive campaign financing means never having to say you're sorry.
posted by Coventry at 8:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I really fear that all those in position to stop it haven't realized the danger we're in, that they still believe 'it can't happen here.'
The GOP still hasn't realized that they are the frog in the "Scorpion and the Frog" parable. And that the ending isn't Trump saying, "It's in my nature!" but Bannon smiling through, "I can swim."
posted by Slackermagee at 8:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
The GOP still hasn't realized that they are the frog in the "Scorpion and the Frog" parable. And that the ending isn't Trump saying, "It's in my nature!" but Bannon smiling through, "I can swim."
posted by Slackermagee at 8:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
For those of you arguing with family... while I typically stay clear of political arguments with loved ones, this is a different time. They should not feel like their views are accepted if they are endorsing what is going on as far as the current racist policies that are being rolled out now. No safe spaces for that. For those who can't bring themselves to argue for whatever reason, that's perfectly fine and good because you need to make the best decisions that you can for you and yours. But for those who are arguing - you aren't doing anything wrong by doing so.
posted by azpenguin at 8:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 8:47 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Of course I could be totally wrong, but I don't think they are going to exhaust the protesters. I'm seeing the opposite really... people are acknowledging to each other that this is only the beginning. I do believe that the Women's March took them completely by surprise, especially in comparison to the dismal turnout for Trump's inauguration. People keep talking about the 11th dimensional chess Bannon is playing, but I just don't believe he saw that coming. And I don't see how anyone could have predicted the spontaneous outpouring of solidarity that's going on now.
I don't doubt that Bannon wants a coup, but I don't think it will be as easy as some are making out.
posted by maggiemaggie at 8:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
I don't doubt that Bannon wants a coup, but I don't think it will be as easy as some are making out.
posted by maggiemaggie at 8:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [28 favorites]
Field report from the battle for SFO
The resistance is real. We won victories today in airports all across the country. At SFO, we shut down the international terminal. There were so many amazing people, and even a marching band. I'd like to write more but after 7 hours marching, chanting, singing, and even a brief stint in a blockade, I'm exhausted physically.
My soul is uplifted though. This isn't protesting, this is therapy. And we're just getting started.
posted by getting_back_on_track at 8:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [63 favorites]
The resistance is real. We won victories today in airports all across the country. At SFO, we shut down the international terminal. There were so many amazing people, and even a marching band. I'd like to write more but after 7 hours marching, chanting, singing, and even a brief stint in a blockade, I'm exhausted physically.
My soul is uplifted though. This isn't protesting, this is therapy. And we're just getting started.
posted by getting_back_on_track at 8:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [63 favorites]
Upthread it was mentioned that "The Judicial Branch" section of whitehouse.gov (current site) has been taken down. (You can still find "The Executive Branch" and "The Legislative Branch" sections under the "1600 Penn" menu.) If you're interested in reading an archived copy of the removed section here is one from December 31.
posted by pickles_have_souls at 8:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by pickles_have_souls at 8:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Based upon the usual political cycle the typical desire is to get as much done in the first 100 days as you possibly can.
However this is hampered by the fact that the Trump transition team appears to be run by completely inept dunderheads and they are even less prepared to hit the ground running than the Obama team was in 2009.
It is also hampered by the fact that the Republicans in congress are already having some second thoughts about moving forward with a Repeal plan especially without the merest hint of a workable replacement plan.
Border wall is being laughed at by virtually everyone as being a several billion dollar monument to stupidity (and a great give away to various public works contractors - probably Bechtel or KBR).
Republicans in the congress seem less than inclined to even consider the Trump-Bannon infrastructure plans.
For a party that has the House and Senate and White House the level of incompetence being shown on the legislative front is stunning. So they've been trying to make head way with imperial edicts and it's going gangbusters for them.
Maybe we can get Trump's Bday as a national holiday or something which can be celebrated with a parade with tanks and shit since his inauguration parade was sorely missing the Soviet Mayday parade feel.
posted by vuron at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
However this is hampered by the fact that the Trump transition team appears to be run by completely inept dunderheads and they are even less prepared to hit the ground running than the Obama team was in 2009.
It is also hampered by the fact that the Republicans in congress are already having some second thoughts about moving forward with a Repeal plan especially without the merest hint of a workable replacement plan.
Border wall is being laughed at by virtually everyone as being a several billion dollar monument to stupidity (and a great give away to various public works contractors - probably Bechtel or KBR).
Republicans in the congress seem less than inclined to even consider the Trump-Bannon infrastructure plans.
For a party that has the House and Senate and White House the level of incompetence being shown on the legislative front is stunning. So they've been trying to make head way with imperial edicts and it's going gangbusters for them.
Maybe we can get Trump's Bday as a national holiday or something which can be celebrated with a parade with tanks and shit since his inauguration parade was sorely missing the Soviet Mayday parade feel.
posted by vuron at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
The thing with a coup is you have to act fast. He's (Bannon) outmaneuvered his political opponents, but the public was on his ass from minute one. I hope that is enough.
posted by gofargogo at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by gofargogo at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
I was at the AUS protests this afternoon (arrived late due to work). There was a good showing, a lot of obviously unpracticed protesters (myself included), immigrants using the Human Megaphone to talk about their hopes for the country, tons of painfully clever signs, children, tons of supportive motorists honking their approval...and it all ended promptly at 5, as scheduled.
posted by LiteOpera at 8:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by LiteOpera at 8:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Cartoon: We’ve Not Anti-Immigrant, They Say
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [6 favorites]
Senate Democrats Call For Investigation Into Trump Officials’ Failure To Obey Court Orders
posted by zachlipton at 8:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [80 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 8:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [80 favorites]
It whittles away at the concept of citizenship
The campaign already defined who the Herrenvolk are. It's a weird definition of sovereignty by blood, where Thiel-like übermenschen and second- and third-generation descendants of "white ethnic" immigrants in the Midwest have a greater claim than the descendants of slaves (cf. black neighbourhoods under federal occupation, African-Americans disenfranchised through felony prohibitions, polling-place suppression and Voter ID) but I'm not the fucking nazi making that definition.
So, the target list in rough order: undocumented immigrants, people on restricted visas, LPRs, native-born citizens of undocumented parents, naturalized citizens from certain countries, native-born citizens of non-citizen parents.
posted by holgate at 8:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
The campaign already defined who the Herrenvolk are. It's a weird definition of sovereignty by blood, where Thiel-like übermenschen and second- and third-generation descendants of "white ethnic" immigrants in the Midwest have a greater claim than the descendants of slaves (cf. black neighbourhoods under federal occupation, African-Americans disenfranchised through felony prohibitions, polling-place suppression and Voter ID) but I'm not the fucking nazi making that definition.
So, the target list in rough order: undocumented immigrants, people on restricted visas, LPRs, native-born citizens of undocumented parents, naturalized citizens from certain countries, native-born citizens of non-citizen parents.
posted by holgate at 8:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you out there protesting right now.
posted by flatluigi at 8:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
posted by flatluigi at 8:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [41 favorites]
I just saw a facebook post of a sign from a protest today that said "Don't think we haven't noticed the shit you're pulling at the NSC."
posted by maggiemaggie at 8:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [57 favorites]
posted by maggiemaggie at 8:57 PM on January 29, 2017 [57 favorites]
People keep talking about the 11th dimensional chess Bannon is playing, but I just don't believe he saw that coming.
Yeah people who hold racist thoughts typically also assume that the majority of people think the way they do but are too cowed by the PC crowd to speak up. The idea that they are simply hopelessly out-of-step with the values that the majority of people actually hold never occurs to them.
posted by um at 9:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
Yeah people who hold racist thoughts typically also assume that the majority of people think the way they do but are too cowed by the PC crowd to speak up. The idea that they are simply hopelessly out-of-step with the values that the majority of people actually hold never occurs to them.
posted by um at 9:00 PM on January 29, 2017 [31 favorites]
I just finished that Medium piece linked up-thread, regarding the possibility of a coup, and while the idea is terrifying and the risk shouldn't be dismissed or ignored, I think it's important to keep in mind that the first two weekends of this adminstration have resulted in massive national protests. Not small demonstrations expressing local frustrations but large events in which people are actively trying to negate the hateful rhetoric coming out of the White House. I couldn't make it to LAX today but the response to this EO nation-wide gives me hope. Months of planning went into the demonstrations last Saturday. People began pushing back within hours this weekend. I think Trump & Co. can and will do worse in the coming weeks/months but I think it's foolish to think people will get "resistance fatigue." For a lot of us the resistance is making it easier to get up, go to work, be social and live our lives as we did before.
I also have issues with thinking of this as a "coup" as if Trump and Bannon and the rest of the inner circle our outsiders over throwing the US government. The policies they're currently shoving through are the same policies the GOP has been threatening for a while. This is not an adminstration of outsiders. It's the GOP in its promised form.
posted by AtoBtoA at 9:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
I also have issues with thinking of this as a "coup" as if Trump and Bannon and the rest of the inner circle our outsiders over throwing the US government. The policies they're currently shoving through are the same policies the GOP has been threatening for a while. This is not an adminstration of outsiders. It's the GOP in its promised form.
posted by AtoBtoA at 9:02 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
Photo 7 of this set taken at PHL today shows a protest sign reading "#ITMFA".
Fess up, what's your Mefi handle?
posted by biogeo at 9:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [38 favorites]
Fess up, what's your Mefi handle?
posted by biogeo at 9:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [38 favorites]
Your ASL sign of the day, your sign of the week, your sign until further notice: “resist.”
posted by Miko at 9:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [61 favorites]
posted by Miko at 9:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [61 favorites]
Months of planning went into the demonstrations last Saturday. People began pushing back within hours this weekend.
Yeah, it's interesting, but all those Facebook groups that started up for "liberal-tears" type commiseration purposes early on turned into coordinating for meetings and then Congressional contacts and the Women's March and now there are really effective systems are in place and we have an understanding of the enormous power we represent and are finding it much easier to head out the door. We've been in training without necessarily realizing it.
posted by Miko at 9:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
Yeah, it's interesting, but all those Facebook groups that started up for "liberal-tears" type commiseration purposes early on turned into coordinating for meetings and then Congressional contacts and the Women's March and now there are really effective systems are in place and we have an understanding of the enormous power we represent and are finding it much easier to head out the door. We've been in training without necessarily realizing it.
posted by Miko at 9:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [37 favorites]
Of course I could be totally wrong, but I don't think they are going to exhaust the protesters.
We might get tired of their shit, but we don't get tired of protesting.
posted by azpenguin at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
We might get tired of their shit, but we don't get tired of protesting.
posted by azpenguin at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
jackbishop: "Honestly, for progressive movements the fresh-outrage-a-week thing is a gift. Give us something new to energize us every Saturday, and a chance to show up with fellow travelers and share a vibe of optimism, camaraderie, and unity."
Church?
posted by RobotHero at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Church?
posted by RobotHero at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
The Australian foreign minister has asked Australian diplomats to lick Bannon's bag discuss the possibility of exempting Australian dual-nationals from the ban.
So this is what it's come to: foreign leaders are beating a path to the Trump House to plead for a little personal consideration for their citizens. I don't think this is commonly known, but the same thing happened during the Holocaust: Jews who were dual nationals had a much better chance of surviving. They were sometimes allowed to flee, or were not deported to concentration camps, or were kept in a special (and much less lethal) part of the camps when they were finally deported. This wasn't out of concern for the prisoners per se but because the Nazis didn't want to trample on the toes of foreign countries.
That's what it means when Australia's PM says "It's not my job as Prime Minister of Australia to run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries", and then instructs his Foreign Minister to ask for an exemption for Australians: the message is that as far as Australia's concerned the people affected have rights as Australians, but not otherwise.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [44 favorites]
So this is what it's come to: foreign leaders are beating a path to the Trump House to plead for a little personal consideration for their citizens. I don't think this is commonly known, but the same thing happened during the Holocaust: Jews who were dual nationals had a much better chance of surviving. They were sometimes allowed to flee, or were not deported to concentration camps, or were kept in a special (and much less lethal) part of the camps when they were finally deported. This wasn't out of concern for the prisoners per se but because the Nazis didn't want to trample on the toes of foreign countries.
That's what it means when Australia's PM says "It's not my job as Prime Minister of Australia to run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries", and then instructs his Foreign Minister to ask for an exemption for Australians: the message is that as far as Australia's concerned the people affected have rights as Australians, but not otherwise.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [44 favorites]
Like the dog that finally catches the car, I think Bannon is in over his head. The size and strength of these protests have got to be causing Trump heartburn ("Why won't they love me? You promised!") and Bannon's runway is going to run out real fast. Plus the GOP senators making quiet shuffling motions for the exits - that's not helping.
And I have to believe that enough of the country still believes in the legitimacy of the courts and will not follow illegal orders - even though some goons will, enough won't.
I'm much more heartened by the last 3 days than if they had done this more incrementally, with a better sense for their own limits. They're going to crash and burn. (Of course, they could take a chunk of the country with them still.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
And I have to believe that enough of the country still believes in the legitimacy of the courts and will not follow illegal orders - even though some goons will, enough won't.
I'm much more heartened by the last 3 days than if they had done this more incrementally, with a better sense for their own limits. They're going to crash and burn. (Of course, they could take a chunk of the country with them still.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:10 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
You don't need a coup when you have constitutionally-created strong executive and a compliant legislature from the same party. They could do exactly all they are doing now with a fully staffed White House if they could actually find the staff to fill it; failing that, they are doing what they can with a skeleton staff. Of course, the reason they can't staff it up quickly is that there aren't actually that many competent nazis out there, but that will change. But either way, with our without a gutted State, NSC, and everything else, they will do what they want, skirmishing, ignoring, or steamrolling local judges, city and state officials, the media, and anyone else who stands in their way until they are stopped by Congress or the Supreme Court. Which is to say, not any time soon.
But that's not a coup, that's just a strong-president democracy. There's a reason why that form of government traditionally has a short half-life (one that we are long, long past). But that's more often due to the opposition overthrowing the president, not the other way around, since there's not much need for that. A gradual increase in legal executive power, stamped by the approval of Congress and the Supreme Court, is all they need to bother with. The only real threat of a coup right now is from our side, via a colored-revolution-style, months-long shutdown of the country. And the track record of such things in recent years isn't great. The other alternative is the hard slog, the myriad fights in the courts, Congress, the states, the streets and the media -- that looks disappointingly like normalization to those who want something swifter. It will be a grind, thousands of days and counting. But that's probably, if we're lucky, the best we can look forward to, and dark dreams of coups in either direction are just accelerationism in another key.
posted by chortly at 9:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
But that's not a coup, that's just a strong-president democracy. There's a reason why that form of government traditionally has a short half-life (one that we are long, long past). But that's more often due to the opposition overthrowing the president, not the other way around, since there's not much need for that. A gradual increase in legal executive power, stamped by the approval of Congress and the Supreme Court, is all they need to bother with. The only real threat of a coup right now is from our side, via a colored-revolution-style, months-long shutdown of the country. And the track record of such things in recent years isn't great. The other alternative is the hard slog, the myriad fights in the courts, Congress, the states, the streets and the media -- that looks disappointingly like normalization to those who want something swifter. It will be a grind, thousands of days and counting. But that's probably, if we're lucky, the best we can look forward to, and dark dreams of coups in either direction are just accelerationism in another key.
posted by chortly at 9:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [16 favorites]
We might get tired of their shit, but we don't get tired of protesting.
Renewable energy, motherfuckers.
posted by Artw at 9:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
Renewable energy, motherfuckers.
posted by Artw at 9:11 PM on January 29, 2017 [34 favorites]
I also have issues with thinking of this as a "coup" as if Trump and Bannon and the rest of the inner circle our outsiders over throwing the US government. The policies they're currently shoving through are the same policies the GOP has been threatening for a while. This is not an adminstration of outsiders. It's the GOP in its promised form.
Really can't be said enough times.
Nothing Trump has done to date has been at all outside of the Republican mainstream that they've been advocating and demagoguing for 8, or 40, years.
Their only objections have been process, or political. He did it too fast and too stupid, not did the wrong thing. And that might cost them electorally. There's been NO moral disagreement. None.
There's a reason that #NeverTrump was always bullshit, why we're seeing zero pushback from any elected Republicans. Why there's no room for compromise with any part of the Republican party.
This is the Republican platform in action. He's doing EXACTLY what any Republican would be. Only stupider.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
Really can't be said enough times.
Nothing Trump has done to date has been at all outside of the Republican mainstream that they've been advocating and demagoguing for 8, or 40, years.
Their only objections have been process, or political. He did it too fast and too stupid, not did the wrong thing. And that might cost them electorally. There's been NO moral disagreement. None.
There's a reason that #NeverTrump was always bullshit, why we're seeing zero pushback from any elected Republicans. Why there's no room for compromise with any part of the Republican party.
This is the Republican platform in action. He's doing EXACTLY what any Republican would be. Only stupider.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [40 favorites]
Toomey flunks moral test, hides in Palm Springs with billionaire donors
He must be a busy guy, right? Indeed, when all hell broke loose on Saturday, curious constituents and journalists couldn't even find him...at first. It slowly emerged that -- at the very moment that Pennsylvania's senior senator Casey had dropped everything to head to Philadelphia's airport to press for the detainees' freedom -- Toomey was 3,000 long miles away.posted by tonycpsu at 9:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [50 favorites]
He was in the sunny Coachella Valley outside Palm Springs, California, at a mountain-ringed luxury resort called the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort and Spa. There, he was speaking to a gathering of wealthy campaign donors and industrialists, led by the infamous Koch brothers, the oil billionaires Charles and David Koch --who spent a whopping $3 million-plus to ensure Toomey's narrow re-election last fall.
These are the people Pat Toomey really works for. [...]
Today, Toomey staffers told reporters (although not me, as they continue to refuse to acknowledge my emails...heh) that the senator wouldn't be commenting today because he was "traveling." Maybe the Pony Express with news of Trump's order hadn't reached Palm Springs -- or the airfare out there was so high that Toomey had to hock his cell phone?
Or he's a coward -- a coward who just flunked the biggest moral test of his political career.
Former NPS director John Jarvis high-fives the rogue rangers:
I have been watching the Trump administration trying unsuccessfully to suppress the National Park Service with a mix of pride and amusement. The NPS is the steward of America's most important places and the narrator of our most powerful stories, told authentically, accurately, and built upon scientific and scholarly research. The Park Ranger is a trusted interpreter of our complex natural and cultural history and a voice that cannot be suppressed. . . .posted by FelliniBlank at 9:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [43 favorites]
Trump’s Border Patrol Defies Judge, U.S. Senator at Dulles Airport as His First Constitutional Crisis Unfolds
“They told me nothing, and it was unacceptable,” [Sen. Cory Booker] said. “I believe it’s a Constitutional crisis, where the executive branch is not abiding by the law.”posted by zachlipton at 9:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [55 favorites]
A source familiar with Booker’s exchange with CBP officials told The Daily Beast that officials with the agency refused to see him face to face. Instead, Booker wrote questions on a piece of paper which he handed to police officers, and those officers gave the paper—along with a copy of Brinkema’s ruling—to CBP officials. Those CBP officials then wrote out their answers to the senator’s questions, according to the source. The source described it as a half-written, half-spoken game of telephone.
Quick update: not protesting today, although I'm keeping in the loop and grateful for your offer, Unicorn on the cob! I've been taking the day off from work to wind and organize embroidery thread, see Moana, and contemplate/take notes on the possibility of picking up regular blogging again. I've been burned out hard-core on that since 2012, but maybe I have things to say again. Maybe.
I have also been helping my partner look into home security systems, since we have decided we'll feel safer with one now we're both committing harder to local activism. The dog is a good dog and will bark if something is amiss, but household security is not her job and anyway she's a bit smallish for it. And I'm pausing to update my passport, which expires in May, in case we unexpectedly need it.
I don't intend to leave any time soon. But it pays to be prepared.
posted by sciatrix at 9:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I have also been helping my partner look into home security systems, since we have decided we'll feel safer with one now we're both committing harder to local activism. The dog is a good dog and will bark if something is amiss, but household security is not her job and anyway she's a bit smallish for it. And I'm pausing to update my passport, which expires in May, in case we unexpectedly need it.
I don't intend to leave any time soon. But it pays to be prepared.
posted by sciatrix at 9:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I am so freakin' impressed with every single one of you protesting on the streets, online, on the phone, by letter. You make this little Aussie duck so hopeful for the future ahead. Resisting/protesting for what you know in your gut is good and right, with strangers who share these core values, is so incredibly empowering, enriching. Here's hoping, once the dust has settled on your victory against this impostor-leadership, whatever shape that takes, you realise that you have lived the best of lives and been the best of people.
Thank you all so much.
posted by Thella at 9:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
Thank you all so much.
posted by Thella at 9:32 PM on January 29, 2017 [15 favorites]
as His First Constitutional Crisis Unfolds
First. Of many.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
First. Of many.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
I also have issues with thinking of this as a "coup" as if Trump and Bannon and the rest of the inner circle our outsiders over throwing the US government.
I think they align in some ways, but I don't think Bannon's ultimate goal is the same as the GOP's. I think he wants to bring the country down. Republicans just want to live in a shitty racist fantasy version of it. It's a matter of degree.
Trump's opinion doesn't matter, he doesn't have a thought worth discussing. The problem is that so many different groups that saw him as the idiot puppet they were going to be pulling the strings on. The GOP is just starting to realize they got played.
posted by bongo_x at 9:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
I think they align in some ways, but I don't think Bannon's ultimate goal is the same as the GOP's. I think he wants to bring the country down. Republicans just want to live in a shitty racist fantasy version of it. It's a matter of degree.
Trump's opinion doesn't matter, he doesn't have a thought worth discussing. The problem is that so many different groups that saw him as the idiot puppet they were going to be pulling the strings on. The GOP is just starting to realize they got played.
posted by bongo_x at 9:33 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Of course I could be totally wrong, but I don't think they are going to exhaust the protesters. I'm seeing the opposite really...
Yeah, I've rarely ever protested anything in my life. Most people I know haven't in the past, but have recently. I don't like politics. I'm ready to make this a regular part of my life. Someone poked the bear and thought it wouldn't wake up.
posted by bongo_x at 9:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
Yeah, I've rarely ever protested anything in my life. Most people I know haven't in the past, but have recently. I don't like politics. I'm ready to make this a regular part of my life. Someone poked the bear and thought it wouldn't wake up.
posted by bongo_x at 9:39 PM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
atter, he doesn't have a thought worth discussing. The problem is that so many different groups that saw him as the idiot puppet they were going to be pulling the strings on. The GOP is just starting to realize they got played.
They knew it was a rattlesnake when they picked it up.
posted by azpenguin at 9:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
They knew it was a rattlesnake when they picked it up.
posted by azpenguin at 9:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
Unnamed White House official on travel ban: 'It really is a massive success story.'
posted by rtha at 9:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
On Sunday evening, the White House organized a briefing for reporters with two senior administration officials who agreed to explain the president's executive order - but only on the condition anonymity.[real] [not from the Onion]
One senior administration official explained the ground rules to reporters gathered at the White House and listening on a conference call, then said: "With that, I'll turn it over to a senior administration official."
"Thank you," the other senior administration official said before beginning a 45-minute defense.
posted by rtha at 9:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [13 favorites]
So, there's corroboration that LPRs were given I-407s on planes and told that it would be easier for them to surrender their green cards "voluntarily" and be flown back than be formally denied entry, deported and incur an entry ban. That's evil. That's not just individual dickhead CBP redhatters asking people their opinion of the White House occupier, or asking a US citizen of Lebanese descent "do you love your country?" That's something planned and executed. Somebody issued that order.
Jason "oh my precious daughter" Chaffetz will be doing fuck all to find out who. It may be up to the courts and the discovery process (and FOIA reporters) to do his job.
posted by holgate at 9:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [53 favorites]
Jason "oh my precious daughter" Chaffetz will be doing fuck all to find out who. It may be up to the courts and the discovery process (and FOIA reporters) to do his job.
posted by holgate at 9:45 PM on January 29, 2017 [53 favorites]
Unnamed White House official on travel ban: 'It really is a massive success story.'
Kevin Drum: Trump's Immigration Fiasco Might Be More Premeditated Than We Think
In other words, both sides think that maximum exposure is good for them. Liberals think middle America will be appalled at Trump's callousness. Bannon thinks middle America will be appalled that lefties and the elite media are taking the side of terrorists.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Kevin Drum: Trump's Immigration Fiasco Might Be More Premeditated Than We Think
In other words, both sides think that maximum exposure is good for them. Liberals think middle America will be appalled at Trump's callousness. Bannon thinks middle America will be appalled that lefties and the elite media are taking the side of terrorists.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:49 PM on January 29, 2017 [10 favorites]
Unnamed White House official on travel ban: 'It really is a massive success story.'
I've seen this story and I agree with Maggie Haberman: "So successful this must be said on background?"
Frankly, the press has no business running the story this way. Government officials do not get to anonymously toot their own horns, ever, let alone when the stakes are this high. If you want to brag about how successful your administration is, you attach your name.
Anyway, Jim Manley, who worked in the Senate for decades, DGAF and spills the beans: "The gutless White House side [sic] who refused to go on the record is Stephen Miller folks"
posted by zachlipton at 9:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
I've seen this story and I agree with Maggie Haberman: "So successful this must be said on background?"
Frankly, the press has no business running the story this way. Government officials do not get to anonymously toot their own horns, ever, let alone when the stakes are this high. If you want to brag about how successful your administration is, you attach your name.
Anyway, Jim Manley, who worked in the Senate for decades, DGAF and spills the beans: "The gutless White House side [sic] who refused to go on the record is Stephen Miller folks"
posted by zachlipton at 9:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [64 favorites]
I think they align in some ways, but I don't think Bannon's ultimate goal is the same as the GOP's. I think he wants to bring the country down.
Uh. What does Bannon actually want?
posted by schadenfrau at 9:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Uh. What does Bannon actually want?
posted by schadenfrau at 9:53 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Government officials do not get to anonymously toot their own horns, ever, let alone when the stakes are this high. If you want to brag about how successful your administration is, you attach your name.
This is a LONG running press failure. Especially prevalent at the NYT. Government officials who request anonymity, get it, no questions asked or pushback, in direct contravention of their own journalistic standards.
One 'norm' Trump could upset that would be long overdue.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
This is a LONG running press failure. Especially prevalent at the NYT. Government officials who request anonymity, get it, no questions asked or pushback, in direct contravention of their own journalistic standards.
One 'norm' Trump could upset that would be long overdue.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:55 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
While this is great it also gives a pretty obvious example to those who want to claim refugees are stealing American jobs.
Yeah, for those that make the claim, just remind them how many times have conservatives attempted to boycott and protest Starbucks?
posted by FJT at 9:55 PM on January 29, 2017
Yeah, for those that make the claim, just remind them how many times have conservatives attempted to boycott and protest Starbucks?
posted by FJT at 9:55 PM on January 29, 2017
Uh. What does Bannon actually want?
Apparently, Sansa Stark.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Apparently, Sansa Stark.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:03 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Uh. What does Bannon actually want?
Well...:
posted by zachlipton at 10:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Well...:
Then we had a long talk about his approach to politics. He never called himself a “populist” or an “American nationalist,” as so many think of him today. “I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed.It's not clear to me what the end result he's looking for actually looks like (other than it being rather white indeed), but his priorities are very much in opposition to what the GOP has historically wanted.
Shocked, I asked him what he meant.
“Lenin,” he answered, “wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Bannon was employing Lenin’s strategy for Tea Party populist goals. He included in that group the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as the traditional conservative press.
posted by zachlipton at 10:04 PM on January 29, 2017 [18 favorites]
Bannon sounds like a Dark Enlightenment type to me. He basically sees the twentieth-century as a hellscape.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, all evidence is that Bannon wants to burn everything down and then lead a skinhead revolution to rise from the ashes. We sometimes talk about how the Republican party won't be happy until only white males can vote again and everyone else is enslaved, but it's sort of abstract; Bannon thinks he can make this a concrete reality within the next couple of years.
posted by IAmUnaware at 10:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by IAmUnaware at 10:06 PM on January 29, 2017 [23 favorites]
What does Bannon actually want?
I think his confused whining about how the media is supposed to feel "humiliated" after the election, combined with the fact that he ran fucking Breitbart, says it all. Bannon hates, I mean really hates, minorities, liberals, the media, etc. He wants to cause as much suffering to the people he sees as enemies as he can. People he hates really like this whole "America" thing, so he's going to destroy it if he can.
posted by biogeo at 10:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
I think his confused whining about how the media is supposed to feel "humiliated" after the election, combined with the fact that he ran fucking Breitbart, says it all. Bannon hates, I mean really hates, minorities, liberals, the media, etc. He wants to cause as much suffering to the people he sees as enemies as he can. People he hates really like this whole "America" thing, so he's going to destroy it if he can.
posted by biogeo at 10:07 PM on January 29, 2017 [9 favorites]
Ethics in game journalism.
posted by Artw at 10:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:08 PM on January 29, 2017 [21 favorites]
Block Betsey Devos
Mefites in Maine, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Wyoming, Louisiana, or Kentucky- please call your senators. Democrats are 3 votes short of blocking Devos. Contact numbers in the linked tweet.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
Mefites in Maine, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Wyoming, Louisiana, or Kentucky- please call your senators. Democrats are 3 votes short of blocking Devos. Contact numbers in the linked tweet.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [32 favorites]
This is how much undecided voters didn't want to have a female president.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [70 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:15 PM on January 29, 2017 [70 favorites]
On behalf of the good people of Michigan, I would like to apologize to everyone for the human catastrophe that is Betsey DeVos. Unfortunately, "the good people of Michigan" doesn't really describe that many of the state's residents.
One thing that people might want to bring up when contacting their reps about DeVos is that the All Children Matter PAC that she runs was fined $5.2 million for violations of Ohio campaign finance laws and she simply declined to pay. As far as I am aware, the fine is still outstanding; she just decided the law didn't apply to her and that she would pay no price for flaunting it. Might make a difference to somebody.
posted by IAmUnaware at 10:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
One thing that people might want to bring up when contacting their reps about DeVos is that the All Children Matter PAC that she runs was fined $5.2 million for violations of Ohio campaign finance laws and she simply declined to pay. As far as I am aware, the fine is still outstanding; she just decided the law didn't apply to her and that she would pay no price for flaunting it. Might make a difference to somebody.
posted by IAmUnaware at 10:24 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
I thought I'd take a break from politics and activism just for a bit this weekend, but it seems that's a luxury reserved for simpler times. So I despaired and celebrated yesterday with you all, and then today drove my spouse to airport so he could fly out for another week on the road. I hate having him away Sunday through Thursday nights when it feels like the world's collapsing, but today I hugged him before security and then went outside to join the Denver protest. We were outside where people walk in from the light rail, a wide path between two lines of chanting, cheering protestors. Many of the staff at DEN are immigrants themselves, and the looks on some of their faces as they came up the escalators on a terrible Sunday to a crowd of people shouting "immigrants make America great!" warmed my heart more than anything so far this year.
And then I went to a 300 person strong Indivisible Denver meeting, and it was raucous and respectful and action-oriented. We're laser focused on meeting with our elected officials to oppose Trump's agenda, but moving quickly to find translators for meetings and events, to push for making Denver a true sanctuary city, to liaise with existing groups in the city with whom we can find common cause, to not just passively invite diversity but to actively and systemically build it into the organization. We spent the last 15 minutes breaking into small groups based on skills and interests. I joined the tech team. I won't be the most skilled there, but we have experienced sysadmins and web developers and I figured even if I just do liaison work and low level project management, it's where I can do the most good. And I am sad for my country, but I am fired up to protect the best of American values in a way I've never felt before in my life. And apparently there's an army of progressives right here with me.
posted by deludingmyself at 10:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
And then I went to a 300 person strong Indivisible Denver meeting, and it was raucous and respectful and action-oriented. We're laser focused on meeting with our elected officials to oppose Trump's agenda, but moving quickly to find translators for meetings and events, to push for making Denver a true sanctuary city, to liaise with existing groups in the city with whom we can find common cause, to not just passively invite diversity but to actively and systemically build it into the organization. We spent the last 15 minutes breaking into small groups based on skills and interests. I joined the tech team. I won't be the most skilled there, but we have experienced sysadmins and web developers and I figured even if I just do liaison work and low level project management, it's where I can do the most good. And I am sad for my country, but I am fired up to protect the best of American values in a way I've never felt before in my life. And apparently there's an army of progressives right here with me.
posted by deludingmyself at 10:25 PM on January 29, 2017 [35 favorites]
NBA coaches continue to be the only major sports voice speaking up, Steve Kerr, whose dad was killed by terrorists, on the immigration ban
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 10:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
I think they align in some ways, but I don't think Bannon's ultimate goal is the same as the GOP's. I think he wants to bring the country down.
I disagree. Elected officials have kept just enough distance from the worst ideas Bannon represents to evoke plausible deniability when needed but they have never gone so far as to fully reject the rhetoric and idealigies he represents. For example, they'v benefited immensely by allowing the racist birtherism movement to fester. And their first response to the effects of poverty in minority communities is to criminalize the desperate. They've courted and fully accepted the portions of the population that respond very favorably to hate speech. It's what keeps them in power. Look at their responses to everything happening now. Mostly crickets. Bannon hardly wants to bring the country down for everybody. They all want to other and demoralize those who disagree with them and make a spectacle of suffering while maintaining a constant fear of imagined future violence so they can keep their jobs. They want to cut funding to social programs that service the most vulnerable communities while keeping hefty tax payer funded salaries. Unregulated capitalism is more important than democracy. Human life is only valuable as a source of profit and power.
posted by AtoBtoA at 10:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I disagree. Elected officials have kept just enough distance from the worst ideas Bannon represents to evoke plausible deniability when needed but they have never gone so far as to fully reject the rhetoric and idealigies he represents. For example, they'v benefited immensely by allowing the racist birtherism movement to fester. And their first response to the effects of poverty in minority communities is to criminalize the desperate. They've courted and fully accepted the portions of the population that respond very favorably to hate speech. It's what keeps them in power. Look at their responses to everything happening now. Mostly crickets. Bannon hardly wants to bring the country down for everybody. They all want to other and demoralize those who disagree with them and make a spectacle of suffering while maintaining a constant fear of imagined future violence so they can keep their jobs. They want to cut funding to social programs that service the most vulnerable communities while keeping hefty tax payer funded salaries. Unregulated capitalism is more important than democracy. Human life is only valuable as a source of profit and power.
posted by AtoBtoA at 10:26 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's linked to above in a Vanity Fair article about it, but if you haven't seen the Stranger Things acceptance speech and you need a pick-me-up, here it is as a direct YouTube link.
Seriously, let's not re-litigate why Clinton lost yet again, go watch a reminder of why we fight.
posted by Candleman at 10:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Seriously, let's not re-litigate why Clinton lost yet again, go watch a reminder of why we fight.
posted by Candleman at 10:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [17 favorites]
Psst, it's "Betsy" (only one 'E') "DeVos". Capital "V" -- "vos" means "fox" in Dutch (ok, you caught me, I had to google it), and though their name got smushed into one word at some point, the vestigial capital V remains.
Hey, I learned a new thing.
Betsy the Fox. Yeah, and our kids are in the henhouse.
posted by tivalasvegas at 10:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Hey, I learned a new thing.
Betsy the Fox. Yeah, and our kids are in the henhouse.
posted by tivalasvegas at 10:30 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
As I said looong ago, President Bannon sounds a lot like Marinetti and the Italian Futurists, who were proto-fascists (and many became fascists). Fetish for heavy industry and early 20th-c technology and the purifying fire of warfare. Which is rich coming from an old lump of rotting, pickled flesh, given that Futurism was conceived by considerably younger men, many of whom ended up in the trenches.
posted by holgate at 10:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
We will glorify war—the world’s only hygiene—militarism, patriotism, the destructive gesture of freedom-bringers, beautiful ideas worth dying for, and scorn for woman.Prosper from the rebuilding of a destroyed world economy: it worked for the American (white) Boomers, not that they chose it or were responsible for the destruction. But (white) Boomers remember the chrome and the growing prosperity and the Pleasantville homogeneity and the transformation of their communities from "immigrant" to American through suburban homeownership. For some reason they don't remember "duck and cover".
We will destroy the museums, libraries, academies of every kind, will fight moralism, feminism, every opportunistic or utilitarian cowardice.
posted by holgate at 10:34 PM on January 29, 2017 [11 favorites]
Ack, thanks for the spell check!
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 10:35 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am not looking forward to the contortions that Trump and his junta go through to use the Mosque shooting as a justification for the ban. And yet I have no doubt they'll try.
posted by Justinian at 10:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 10:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I loved seeing the resistance in the SAG awards speeches, and the general outpouring of progressive support from Hollywood, but I hope they reflect on why this moment is why we've needed better representation of minorities in films and tv. Every little decision on who to represent and include adds up to what's normalized in the culture.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 10:44 PM on January 29, 2017 [26 favorites]
After a day of reading this thread and Twitter, I made the mistake of remembering that this Planet P Project concept album exists, and listening to it.
1931 is the first in a trilogy of CDs that will chronicle the last 100 years of world society. It starts with the amazing "My Radio Talks To Me" about 1931 Nazi propaganda. It jumps to Japan with "Join the Parade". We take a tour of Italy and so on and so forth until Carey touches on all the feelings and people that participated in the turning point of the world. (from)
The Judge And The Jury (youtube) was especially upsetting.
1931 on spotify
posted by itesser at 10:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
1931 is the first in a trilogy of CDs that will chronicle the last 100 years of world society. It starts with the amazing "My Radio Talks To Me" about 1931 Nazi propaganda. It jumps to Japan with "Join the Parade". We take a tour of Italy and so on and so forth until Carey touches on all the feelings and people that participated in the turning point of the world. (from)
The Judge And The Jury (youtube) was especially upsetting.
1931 on spotify
posted by itesser at 10:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Canada Will Offer Temporary Permits to Those Stranded There by President Trump's Ban
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 10:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
Jennifer Moss, who co-founded a Canadian tech company and speaks for an organization called Tech Without Borders, said such visas could help workers who are blocked from returning to U.S. jobs.So angry that this action is even necessary. Good for Canada--an abject shame for the United States.
"If you're not interested in keeping people that are extremely talented, intelligent, brilliant minds from all around the world, and turning them away at the borders, we're happy to take those people in our country," Moss said.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 10:52 PM on January 29, 2017 [39 favorites]
The Airport Cases: What Happened, and What’s Next? [justsecurity.com]
'Breathtaking violation of rights': L.A. city attorney barred from seeing detainees at LAX
I'm talking to people @ LAX currently about whether lawyers are needed for a night shift.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
'Breathtaking violation of rights': L.A. city attorney barred from seeing detainees at LAX
I'm talking to people @ LAX currently about whether lawyers are needed for a night shift.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:58 PM on January 29, 2017 [12 favorites]
Back then: "Anyone can grow up to be President if they just work hard enough!"
Now: "Watch out - don't you know anyone can grow up to be President?!"
posted by azuresunday at 11:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Now: "Watch out - don't you know anyone can grow up to be President?!"
posted by azuresunday at 11:09 PM on January 29, 2017 [8 favorites]
Who are these people?
Meanwhile my formerly Republican still-kinda-racist mother is having her daily deluge of posting from Occupy Democrats and Andy Borowitz and other various left-wing sources of dubious worth. And she keeps sharing my posts, which are friends-locked so I keep trying to explain that to her. But anyway it's really pretty weird. She's totally gone from "I voted for Obama and I think I feel good about it" which she SECRETLY confessed to me to umm, radicalized? Seriously, Trump was her official LAST STRAW with Republican bullshit.
I do feel bad for her though, because her friends from Texas are all on the Trump train, while her friends in Hawaii are all anti-vaxx kale freaks. She told me her horror at a recent dinner party she went to where everything was just horrible anti-science lefty stuff. She's a nurse, so yanno, don't talk to her about antibiotics being poison, ok?
posted by threeturtles at 11:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
Meanwhile my formerly Republican still-kinda-racist mother is having her daily deluge of posting from Occupy Democrats and Andy Borowitz and other various left-wing sources of dubious worth. And she keeps sharing my posts, which are friends-locked so I keep trying to explain that to her. But anyway it's really pretty weird. She's totally gone from "I voted for Obama and I think I feel good about it" which she SECRETLY confessed to me to umm, radicalized? Seriously, Trump was her official LAST STRAW with Republican bullshit.
I do feel bad for her though, because her friends from Texas are all on the Trump train, while her friends in Hawaii are all anti-vaxx kale freaks. She told me her horror at a recent dinner party she went to where everything was just horrible anti-science lefty stuff. She's a nurse, so yanno, don't talk to her about antibiotics being poison, ok?
posted by threeturtles at 11:17 PM on January 29, 2017 [19 favorites]
Wrote to my Congresspeeps to tell them to get out in the streets.
Its Our America.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 11:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Its Our America.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 11:22 PM on January 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Hey, I seem to recall a comment like five thousand election threads ago about a maybe Czech person saying that one should 'believe the dictator' in order to avoid surprise when the torrent of bullshit leads to some utterly degrading action. Can anyone help me with a citation?
posted by kaibutsu at 11:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by kaibutsu at 11:23 PM on January 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey, I seem to recall a comment like five thousand election threads ago about a maybe Czech person saying that one should 'believe the dictator'
That would be this.
I have lived in autocracies most of my life, and have spent much of my career writing about Vladimir Putin’s Russia. I have learned a few rules for surviving in an autocracy and salvaging your sanity and self-respect. It might be worth considering them now:
Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. He means what he says. Whenever you find yourself thinking, or hear others claiming, that he is exaggerating, that is our innate tendency to reach for a rationalization. This will happen often: humans seem to have evolved to practice denial when confronted publicly with the unacceptable.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:27 PM on January 29, 2017 [25 favorites]
I had a nice conversation with a scientist and medical researcher who was an Iranian-American (he mentioned he had dual citizenship) on my way to the DTW protest today. I took the shuttle that goes to the airport to get to the protest and he was headed back to California and we wound up sitting next to each other. I am also working in research and have recently (been trying to) come to terms with the fact that things go wrong in research all the time and, coincidentally, serendipitously, he offhandedly mentioned how he used to struggle with the same. We talked about politics a bit and about Iran. He told me about how he's applying to medical school soon. We didn't know each other very long, but he just seemed like a decent dude. And then I get home from the protest and I read about people being detained at LAX. I wish I could go back in time and ask his full name and number in case he got in trouble, but he seemed flippant about anything happening to him, too. I hope he's all right. His name was Abteen.
The protest itself went okay? I don't know how to judge these things but seeing the smile and wonder on a young hijabi girl's face as her family drove past the protest site with the windows down -- that is the reason we were all out there. Muslims belong here. Immigrants belong here. Refugees belong here. We stood in the cold and the snow just showing up for each other and letting the rest of the world know this wasn't okay. At one point, I had a peculiar incident happen. I am very green to protesting and, every so often, the cops would make a big show of asking us to get back from the rails fencing in our protest spot. It seemed pretty arbitrary. One time one of the cops was standing there trying to read my sign (part of it was in Arabic script) and looked pissed and looked around and seemed to settle on barreling through the crowd starting in my direction, except I moved out of the way and he stopped for a minute and looked confused then moved on. Later, as I saw in a Facebook video post-protest, the same cop pushed a protester off one of the baggage carousels. Didn't get his badge but in one of my pictures I saw that his vest said Customs and Border Patrol. The animus some of these people have for those coming through our borders became real to me tonight. I am extremely worried for those people who are being taken to these "black sites." Additionally, our House rep, Debbie Dingell, showed up and said to the crowd that, though they are demanding it, no information is being given about anyone who is possibly being detained at DTW as result of this ban.
I don't really have a lot of people to talk politics with or, more so, just about my anger and all my feelings about what's going on. The people I used to confide in and trust most are out there shrugging all this off like it's not their problem. It's hard for me to even talk to them on a casual basis now; I am that disappointed and the gulf now runs that deep between us. I have thought about it and I would rather die with my principles than live the rest of my life as a coward, if it had to come down to that, and they can't even bother to pay attention.
posted by sevenofspades at 11:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [47 favorites]
The protest itself went okay? I don't know how to judge these things but seeing the smile and wonder on a young hijabi girl's face as her family drove past the protest site with the windows down -- that is the reason we were all out there. Muslims belong here. Immigrants belong here. Refugees belong here. We stood in the cold and the snow just showing up for each other and letting the rest of the world know this wasn't okay. At one point, I had a peculiar incident happen. I am very green to protesting and, every so often, the cops would make a big show of asking us to get back from the rails fencing in our protest spot. It seemed pretty arbitrary. One time one of the cops was standing there trying to read my sign (part of it was in Arabic script) and looked pissed and looked around and seemed to settle on barreling through the crowd starting in my direction, except I moved out of the way and he stopped for a minute and looked confused then moved on. Later, as I saw in a Facebook video post-protest, the same cop pushed a protester off one of the baggage carousels. Didn't get his badge but in one of my pictures I saw that his vest said Customs and Border Patrol. The animus some of these people have for those coming through our borders became real to me tonight. I am extremely worried for those people who are being taken to these "black sites." Additionally, our House rep, Debbie Dingell, showed up and said to the crowd that, though they are demanding it, no information is being given about anyone who is possibly being detained at DTW as result of this ban.
I don't really have a lot of people to talk politics with or, more so, just about my anger and all my feelings about what's going on. The people I used to confide in and trust most are out there shrugging all this off like it's not their problem. It's hard for me to even talk to them on a casual basis now; I am that disappointed and the gulf now runs that deep between us. I have thought about it and I would rather die with my principles than live the rest of my life as a coward, if it had to come down to that, and they can't even bother to pay attention.
posted by sevenofspades at 11:31 PM on January 29, 2017 [47 favorites]
P.S.: Thanks, fellow MeFites, for these threads, because it's the only thing out there can keep me both informed and sane. So grateful for this thoughtful, intelligent, empathetic community.
posted by sevenofspades at 11:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
posted by sevenofspades at 11:40 PM on January 29, 2017 [42 favorites]
That SFGate article is blowing my mind.
On Saturday, this same senior administration official told reporters that if a green-card holder from one the seven targeted countries is currently elsewhere in the world, that person would need to apply for a case-by-case waiver before returning to the United States. But then on Sunday morning, the president's chief of staff went onto a morning news show and said that the executive order "doesn't affect them."posted by threeturtles at 11:48 PM on January 29, 2017 [77 favorites]
"Nothing has changed," the senior administration official explained, claiming that the White House has provided clear instructions from the beginning on how green-card holders should navigate the system. These green-card holders are "exempt" from the new restrictions, the senior administration official said.
A reporter jumped in: "That's different from what you said when we were in here yesterday, right?"
"No," the senior administration official said.
"Do you want me to pull the quote?" the reporter said.
"You can do whatever you want," the official said.
Re that petition: "UK government rejects calls to cancel Donald Trump state visit, saying it would "undo everything" in #MayTrump talks"
posted by effbot at 11:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by effbot at 11:50 PM on January 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Great poster, robocopisbleeding. If you want more people to have access and you're happy to go public domain with it, consider contributing it to Open Clipart. You can send an email with the image attached to request@openclipart.org and they will convert to SVG, PNG, PDF and WMF formats. Or you can make a plain SVG version, start an account and upload that yourself.
I made a thing - linked a thread or two ago and linking again in case it's useful to anybody in this one - called "tweeto".
posted by valetta at 1:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I went down to LAX -- the protest had dissipated, and inside the terminal everything on the legal front was wrapping up for today. There may or may not be more to do tomorrow.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:19 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:19 AM on January 30, 2017
Compliments also to Phlegmco(tm)'s drawing from earlier upthread. A Steadman scream, a Bacon smear and a puddle of piss. Nice.
posted by valetta at 1:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by valetta at 1:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Jeff Atwood (of Coding Horror & StackOverflow) has become an activist.
posted by pharm at 2:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by pharm at 2:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
> Re that petition: "UK government rejects calls to cancel Donald Trump state visit, saying it would "undo everything" in #MayTrump talks"
Yup. Now that we have cast ourselves adrift from secure European shores, we all have to like it when one of our only hopes of trade-rescue is a Nazi autocrat. Days until the Daily Mail and Sun heil Trump?
That said, over 1M signatures surely warrants more of a response and debate.
Without a Brexiteer campaign to direct their thoughts, I imagine the vast majority of British people are horrified at Trump (as they were at W) - Leave voters included. Sadly I doubt these two directly-related things (support one, support the other) will ever really line up in their minds.
There were mutterings about adopting an Australian-style immigration system in the UK post-Brexit, so I'm not surprised that the government is squirming around in tacit support of Bannon-Trump's worldview.
posted by Quagkapi at 2:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yup. Now that we have cast ourselves adrift from secure European shores, we all have to like it when one of our only hopes of trade-rescue is a Nazi autocrat. Days until the Daily Mail and Sun heil Trump?
That said, over 1M signatures surely warrants more of a response and debate.
Without a Brexiteer campaign to direct their thoughts, I imagine the vast majority of British people are horrified at Trump (as they were at W) - Leave voters included. Sadly I doubt these two directly-related things (support one, support the other) will ever really line up in their minds.
There were mutterings about adopting an Australian-style immigration system in the UK post-Brexit, so I'm not surprised that the government is squirming around in tacit support of Bannon-Trump's worldview.
posted by Quagkapi at 2:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
UK people signing petition: remember that if you haven't already, you can also contact your MP to express your concern about the government's position on Trump or indeed anything else. Not enough people do this and more people should. Don't be overwhelmed by apathy or "oh well mine's an [INSERT-PARTY-HERE] anyway, s/he already knows/won't care". It's the job of Parliament to hold Government to account; let them know if there is something in particular you would like them to hold the Government to account on. WriteToThem.
posted by Catseye at 2:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Catseye at 2:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
I went to a meeting with my MP on Friday about Brexit and it didn't fill me with hope. She had the nerve to say to a room that included quite a few non-UK EU citizens that ensuring they could stay was the Government's priority. The Government could make that so straight away, but would prefer to use then as bargaining chips.
posted by biffa at 3:08 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by biffa at 3:08 AM on January 30, 2017
Dismissing the petition as a "populist" idea... and Brexit wasn't a populist thing to be dismissed, oh no.
Never mind the Brexit referendum was advisory and not binding, and now the nation is out on a limb and vulnerable with basically no prospects and no allies, with May broadcasting desperation far and wide and Europe going "good riddance".
The UK can't afford to strike a deal with Trump and also can't afford to make an enemy of him.
Nice going, Tories. You bunch of unusually overt fuckups who even more obviously than usual don't know what you're doing.
Incidentally, all Boris Johnson needs is a revolving bow tie.
posted by tel3path at 3:10 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
Never mind the Brexit referendum was advisory and not binding, and now the nation is out on a limb and vulnerable with basically no prospects and no allies, with May broadcasting desperation far and wide and Europe going "good riddance".
The UK can't afford to strike a deal with Trump and also can't afford to make an enemy of him.
Nice going, Tories. You bunch of unusually overt fuckups who even more obviously than usual don't know what you're doing.
Incidentally, all Boris Johnson needs is a revolving bow tie.
posted by tel3path at 3:10 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
I think it's pretty clear that Trump is afraid of falling on camera. This is someone's who's entire public image is built on looking strong and virile and in charge but if he starts being seen as weak and unsteady and uncertain that would evaporate his external image.
And for someone as a prone to narcissism yet possess of a complete lack of self-esteem a public perception that he is a weak, stupid man would be soul crushing.
Then I've got some bad news for him...
posted by Gelatin at 3:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
And for someone as a prone to narcissism yet possess of a complete lack of self-esteem a public perception that he is a weak, stupid man would be soul crushing.
Then I've got some bad news for him...
posted by Gelatin at 3:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Today is the cloture vote on Tillerson. If you don't know, the cloture rule–Rule 22–is the procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster. Under cloture, the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours of debate.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
oh, to clarify, I'm not suggesting that contacting your MP will be any kind of magic bullet - some of will be set on whatever they're set on no matter what their constituents say. But if they don't even hear their constituents saying it, that's a lot easier to dismiss. Even (especially!) the ones who care about nothing more than their own careers will be paying broad attention to the things their constituents think are important, if for no other reason than their own seat at the next election might depend on it. (And not even directly - if you're a Tory MP, you want the vote of the local lifetime-Tory-voters of course, but you really really want the vote of the person who says "well I've always voted Labour, but my MP helped me so much about [thing] that I think she's just fantastic and I'll definitely vote for her in future" to all their non-Tory-voting friends.)
I appreciate it's still often futile, especially in the short term, but if we're going to be banging our heads off any wall it may as well be this one.
posted by Catseye at 3:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I appreciate it's still often futile, especially in the short term, but if we're going to be banging our heads off any wall it may as well be this one.
posted by Catseye at 3:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also, Josh Brown (the Reformed Broker) on the history of immigration in the US. None of this will be news to most readers here, but the source means it mightbe read by relatives or friends when other media might be regarded as simply the biased left blathering on yet again...
posted by pharm at 3:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by pharm at 3:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Boris Johnson was apparently told that the travel ban definitely does not apply to UK citizens with dual nationality. However, the US Embassy in London is now stating that it does.
posted by MattWPBS at 3:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by MattWPBS at 3:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Catseye: What I did take from the meeting with my MP I went to was that it made me pretty angry. Its incentivised me to rejoin the greens and to get out and actually attend some meetings and take some action.
posted by biffa at 4:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by biffa at 4:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Dahlia Lithwick: The Lawyers Showed Up. And They Won.
posted by Mchelly at 4:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 4:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
The dual-citizenship UK issue remains fascinatingly Schrodingered -
Faisal Islam @faisalislam 5m5 minutes ago
Right from off - State Department interpreted Executive Order as applying to dual nationals, briefed DC press. Embassies following that...
Faisal Islam @faisalislam 4m4 minutes ago
..but UK diplomats say that White House, or some part thereof, categorically has told them it does not apply to duals, and have reconfirmed
All good at Fort Fumble! I'm liking this narrative of gross incompetence; it has corrosive power.
posted by Devonian at 4:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Faisal Islam @faisalislam 5m5 minutes ago
Right from off - State Department interpreted Executive Order as applying to dual nationals, briefed DC press. Embassies following that...
Faisal Islam @faisalislam 4m4 minutes ago
..but UK diplomats say that White House, or some part thereof, categorically has told them it does not apply to duals, and have reconfirmed
All good at Fort Fumble! I'm liking this narrative of gross incompetence; it has corrosive power.
posted by Devonian at 4:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
At the Kingston solidarity protest, there were reminders while it's good to email/call your MPs, letters work better (also, it's free to send letters to your MPs so no postage required). Shepherd is sending out his letters this morning. There are calls for the Trudeau government to revoke Canada's Safe Third Country agreement. I hope we do.
And good on the government calling what happened in Quebec last night for what it is: terrorism.
posted by Kitteh at 5:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
And good on the government calling what happened in Quebec last night for what it is: terrorism.
posted by Kitteh at 5:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Richard Burr & Thom Tillis both have default messages that their vmail inboxes are full at all office locations. And both are listed as being Silent on the Muslim Ban.
Saturday ended with a migraine because I'm so stressed about all this shit going down. Like others I was going to take a break, but we can't afford to. We really can't.
Now I'm back to full alarm mode and would like to re-surface this BEHIND-THE-NOISE alert:
removal of the judicial branch from the whitehouse.gov website.
posted by yoga at 5:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
Saturday ended with a migraine because I'm so stressed about all this shit going down. Like others I was going to take a break, but we can't afford to. We really can't.
Now I'm back to full alarm mode and would like to re-surface this BEHIND-THE-NOISE alert:
removal of the judicial branch from the whitehouse.gov website.
posted by yoga at 5:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
The president, this morning, is claiming that the biggest problems this weekend were:
- the Delta computer issue last night
- protestors
- the tears of Senator Schumer, when speaking about the Muslim ban.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
- the Delta computer issue last night
- protestors
- the tears of Senator Schumer, when speaking about the Muslim ban.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Trial Balloon for a coup ? :"the administration is testing the extent to which the DHS (and other executive agencies) can act and ignore orders from the other branches of government. This is as serious as it can possibly get: all of the arguments about whether order X or Y is unconstitutional mean nothing if elements of the government are executing them and the courts are being ignored."
posted by dhruva at 5:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by dhruva at 5:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
Is this still the thread or are we moving over to this one?
posted by rabbitrabbit at 5:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 5:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
For those UK citizens writing to their MPs, please may I suggest advocating for an increase in the number of Syrian refugees we take into the UK?
The current quota is 20,000 by 2020, plus 3,000 children. This is too low, and too slow, and does not reflect the harmful effects of discrimination from the United States, which we should attempt to offset, or the wealth of our country. We have only taken around 4-5,000 people so far.
Here are a couple of links to send them:
Amnesty International: The UK government must do more.
Oxfam: "Less than 3 per cent of 5 million Syrian refugees resettled in rich countries"
Refugee Council: "UK turning a blind eye to suffering on its doorstep".
See also this Oxfam PDF: the UK's "fair share" should be over 25,000 people. We have settled only 18% of this. Canada has taken 248%. Norway has taken 144%. This is a national embarrassment. Too low, too slow.
posted by Quagkapi at 5:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
The current quota is 20,000 by 2020, plus 3,000 children. This is too low, and too slow, and does not reflect the harmful effects of discrimination from the United States, which we should attempt to offset, or the wealth of our country. We have only taken around 4-5,000 people so far.
Here are a couple of links to send them:
Amnesty International: The UK government must do more.
Oxfam: "Less than 3 per cent of 5 million Syrian refugees resettled in rich countries"
Refugee Council: "UK turning a blind eye to suffering on its doorstep".
See also this Oxfam PDF: the UK's "fair share" should be over 25,000 people. We have settled only 18% of this. Canada has taken 248%. Norway has taken 144%. This is a national embarrassment. Too low, too slow.
posted by Quagkapi at 5:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted. If you want to give Sotonohito advice about packing, better to do that via mefi mail / email. If they want advice from members, Ask Me is the spot for that. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 5:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 5:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Is this still the thread or are we moving over to this one?
teh mods were deleting non-NSC/Bannon material there; so, this is the thread I guess
posted by thelonius at 5:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
teh mods were deleting non-NSC/Bannon material there; so, this is the thread I guess
posted by thelonius at 5:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
We're trying to keep that one more directed to the specific post topic; if someone wants to make a new administration-news-roundup type post, that will be fine.
posted by taz at 5:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by taz at 5:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
OK. Cortex's note on it was completely unclear.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 5:30 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by rabbitrabbit at 5:30 AM on January 30, 2017
Yesterday was the trial balloon for a coup d’état against the United States. It gave them useful information.
What “Things Going Wrong” Can Look Like
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
What “Things Going Wrong” Can Look Like
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Trump's tweet that if he gave a week warning that all the bad dudes would rush in during that week. That's not how this works. That is not how any of this works. He needs to study the world.
posted by drezdn at 5:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 5:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
@ReutersWorld
JUST IN: EU Parliament's chief #Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt says Donald Trump is a threat to the European Union
posted by melissasaurus at 5:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
JUST IN: EU Parliament's chief #Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt says Donald Trump is a threat to the European Union
posted by melissasaurus at 5:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
That SFGate article is something. They have the nerve to blame CNN for all the confusion about the EO yet that very "presss conference" gave out conflicting information not to mention all the lies and the omissions. I'm particularly stunned by so childishly playing the "would you rather" game-- as though it comes down to a black and white choice between banning people from those 7 countries or having a major terrorist act on American soil.
It's also very telling that the anonymous speaker (Jason Miller) stressed the vast numbers and complexity of the immigration system in America. I think they're still coming to grips with how big a job running the Executive Branch particularly under the direction of a weak, unprepared, inexperienced leader. What a shit show. I'm still trying to find something that sums up everything that happened this weekend as a result of the EO.
I keep hearing that he will keep all of his campaign promises. One promise he hammered over and over was that he would lock Hillary up. He has backtracked on that since winning but now l fully expect to see it happen. I'm guessing he will do it because the idea was so popular at his rallies.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
It's also very telling that the anonymous speaker (Jason Miller) stressed the vast numbers and complexity of the immigration system in America. I think they're still coming to grips with how big a job running the Executive Branch particularly under the direction of a weak, unprepared, inexperienced leader. What a shit show. I'm still trying to find something that sums up everything that happened this weekend as a result of the EO.
I keep hearing that he will keep all of his campaign promises. One promise he hammered over and over was that he would lock Hillary up. He has backtracked on that since winning but now l fully expect to see it happen. I'm guessing he will do it because the idea was so popular at his rallies.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
roomthreeseventeen said the gist of it but I feel compelled to post the full text of his morning's EO-related tweets so that those who need to bear witness don't avert their gaze.
"Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage, protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world! If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad 'dudes' out there!"
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
"Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage, protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world! If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad 'dudes' out there!"
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
But in December 2016, Donald Trump put the whole project in doubt with a single tweet. He criticized the project for being too expensive and called for Boeing, Lockheed Martin’s main rival, to bring him plans for a different plane.
So...countering pork...with pork...how...exactly...does this help?
posted by saysthis at 5:48 AM on January 30, 2017
So...countering pork...with pork...how...exactly...does this help?
posted by saysthis at 5:48 AM on January 30, 2017
A small thing that's been niggling at me: if even dual citizens are/could be detained even if they're traveling on the NON-barred country's passport, how are those countries (Canada, UK, etc.) not flipping the fuck out that the US is denying entry to THEIR CITIZENS? At that point, it shouldn't matter what other citizenships they may have.
posted by nakedmolerats at 5:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by nakedmolerats at 5:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The president, this morning, is claiming that the biggest problems this weekend were...
Didn't make the cut:
- Mosque burned to the ground in TX? No big deal.
- Mass shooting in a Canadian mosque? Not our problem.
- Extreme vetting of 5-year-olds? Great again!
- Already reached a majority unpopularity rating by Gallup? Fake news.
- Lawsuits stacking up against the EO? We're working on the judge appointments.
Nothing out of the ordinary. So much winning. Bad dudes losing.
posted by p3t3 at 5:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]
Didn't make the cut:
- Mosque burned to the ground in TX? No big deal.
- Mass shooting in a Canadian mosque? Not our problem.
- Extreme vetting of 5-year-olds? Great again!
- Already reached a majority unpopularity rating by Gallup? Fake news.
- Lawsuits stacking up against the EO? We're working on the judge appointments.
Nothing out of the ordinary. So much winning. Bad dudes losing.
posted by p3t3 at 5:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]
So...countering pork...with pork...how...exactly...does this help?
either way it's offensive to muslims so that's a win in trump's book
posted by murphy slaw at 5:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
either way it's offensive to muslims so that's a win in trump's book
posted by murphy slaw at 5:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
tired of winning
posted by localhuman at 5:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by localhuman at 5:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
IOW, I guess my point is, other countries should be approaching it as "if you ban our dual citizens then you are banning us all. Citizens are citizens". Why is that not happening?
posted by nakedmolerats at 5:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by nakedmolerats at 5:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
ARE YOU A BAD ENOUGH "DUDE" TO SAVE US FROM THE PRESIDENT
posted by murphy slaw at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
This poem by Danny Bryck has been going around on Facebook. I searched for it and don't think it's been posted yet.
I know, I know
If you could go back you
would walk with Jesus
You would march with King
Maybe assassinate Hitler
At least hide Jews in your basement
It would all be clear to you
But people then, just like you
were baffled, had bills
to pay and children they didn’t
understand and they too
were so desperate for normalcy
they made anything normal
Even turning everything inside out
Even killing, and killing, and it’s easy
for turning the other cheek
to be looking the other way, for walking
to be talking, and they hid
in their houses
and watched it on television, when they had television,
and wrung their hands
or didn’t, and your hands
are just like theirs. Lined, permeable,
small, and you
would follow Caesar, and quote McCarthy, and Hoover, and you would want
to make Germany great again
Because you are afraid, and your
parents are sick, and your
job pays shit and where’s your
dignity? Just a little dignity and those kids sitting down in the highway,
and chaining themselves to
buildings, what’s their fucking problem? And that kid
That’s King. And this is Selma. And Berlin. And Jerusalem. And now
is when they need you to be brave.
Now
is when we need you to go back
and forget everything you know
and give up the things you’re chained to
and make it look so easy in your
grandkids’ history books (they should still have them, kinehora)
Now
is when it will all be clear to them.
posted by galaxy rise at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [83 favorites]
I know, I know
If you could go back you
would walk with Jesus
You would march with King
Maybe assassinate Hitler
At least hide Jews in your basement
It would all be clear to you
But people then, just like you
were baffled, had bills
to pay and children they didn’t
understand and they too
were so desperate for normalcy
they made anything normal
Even turning everything inside out
Even killing, and killing, and it’s easy
for turning the other cheek
to be looking the other way, for walking
to be talking, and they hid
in their houses
and watched it on television, when they had television,
and wrung their hands
or didn’t, and your hands
are just like theirs. Lined, permeable,
small, and you
would follow Caesar, and quote McCarthy, and Hoover, and you would want
to make Germany great again
Because you are afraid, and your
parents are sick, and your
job pays shit and where’s your
dignity? Just a little dignity and those kids sitting down in the highway,
and chaining themselves to
buildings, what’s their fucking problem? And that kid
That’s King. And this is Selma. And Berlin. And Jerusalem. And now
is when they need you to be brave.
Now
is when we need you to go back
and forget everything you know
and give up the things you’re chained to
and make it look so easy in your
grandkids’ history books (they should still have them, kinehora)
Now
is when it will all be clear to them.
posted by galaxy rise at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [83 favorites]
NakedMolerats: A small thing that's been niggling at me: if even dual citizens are/could be detained even if they're traveling on the NON-barred country's passport, how are those countries (Canada, UK, etc.) not flipping the fuck out that the US is denying entry to THEIR CITIZENS? At that point, it shouldn't matter what other citizenships they may have.
We're inviting him to meet the Queen and Prince Philip instead. I can only hope that it's at Balmoral, and Phil mistakes the rodent on his head for some sort of wild game.
posted by MattWPBS at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
We're inviting him to meet the Queen and Prince Philip instead. I can only hope that it's at Balmoral, and Phil mistakes the rodent on his head for some sort of wild game.
posted by MattWPBS at 5:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
tired of winning
I can only hope I'm tired of reasonable people winning legal challenges against Trump's stupid shit.
posted by Talez at 5:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I can only hope I'm tired of reasonable people winning legal challenges against Trump's stupid shit.
posted by Talez at 5:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
A small thing that's been niggling at me: if even dual citizens are/could be detained even if they're traveling on the NON-barred country's passport, how are those countries (Canada, UK, etc.) not flipping the fuck out that the US is denying entry to THEIR CITIZENS? At that point, it shouldn't matter what other citizenships they may have.
I suspect that they in fact are flipping the fuck out internally. But, like, whatareyagonnado? For both the countires you just mentioned, visibly flipping the fuck out at the US is politically complicated even at the best of times. This is really uncharted territory.
posted by generichuman at 5:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
I suspect that they in fact are flipping the fuck out internally. But, like, whatareyagonnado? For both the countires you just mentioned, visibly flipping the fuck out at the US is politically complicated even at the best of times. This is really uncharted territory.
posted by generichuman at 5:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
when he said "you're gonna get tired of winning! you're gonna come to me and say mister trump please, no more winning I can't take more winning!" I think he was just mispronouncing "the threat of dying via nuclear war or at the hands of paramilitary death squads" as "winning"
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 5:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Trumpisms for enemies of the state:
Bad Hombres
Bad Dudes
Nasty Women
I also think it's interesting to note that there is a realization at work in EU capitals that the Trump administration is going to be an active danger to the EU. I wonder how long before intelligence starts to leak from various European intelligence agencies concerning Trump and his associates. What if the Germans for instance start looking into his financial dealings with Deutsche Bank to see if there are payments from various Russian shell corporations.
posted by vuron at 6:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Bad Hombres
Bad Dudes
Nasty Women
I also think it's interesting to note that there is a realization at work in EU capitals that the Trump administration is going to be an active danger to the EU. I wonder how long before intelligence starts to leak from various European intelligence agencies concerning Trump and his associates. What if the Germans for instance start looking into his financial dealings with Deutsche Bank to see if there are payments from various Russian shell corporations.
posted by vuron at 6:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
From Lawfare: Litigation Documents & Resources Related to Trump Executive Order
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
BEHIND-THE-NOISE ALERT
Does anyone have any updated info on Erik Prince? CorpWatchlisting for Blackwater
posted by yoga at 6:07 AM on January 30, 2017
Does anyone have any updated info on Erik Prince? CorpWatchlisting for Blackwater
posted by yoga at 6:07 AM on January 30, 2017
2013
@realDonaldTrump:
Be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into World War III.
posted by chris24 at 6:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
@realDonaldTrump:
Be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into World War III.
posted by chris24 at 6:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Sorry Mr. President, The Obama Administration Did Nothing Similar To Your Immigration Ban
posted by schoolgirl report at 6:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by schoolgirl report at 6:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
In order to direct our attention away from this weekend's horrors, he said he will be announcing his Supreme Court pick "live" at 8:00 pm Tuesday. Live-- like a fuckin reality TV show.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Man this got kinda personal for me much faster than I thought it would. I'm privileged out the wazoo, but I'm not, you know, a monster so I care deeply about shit that doesn't effect me.
This citizenship stuff, though. I'm a dual citizen and will soon have two passports. My dad is a LPR. The travel ban right now doesn't effect either of us, of course, but our citizenship status just went from "permanent, legal and rock-solid, something we don't even think about ever" to "how is Donnie feeling about Justin Trudeau's tweets today and how sandy are the asscracks of CPB?"
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
This citizenship stuff, though. I'm a dual citizen and will soon have two passports. My dad is a LPR. The travel ban right now doesn't effect either of us, of course, but our citizenship status just went from "permanent, legal and rock-solid, something we don't even think about ever" to "how is Donnie feeling about Justin Trudeau's tweets today and how sandy are the asscracks of CPB?"
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Somewhat on point, today's Google Doodle celebrates the 98th birthday of Fred Korematsu, who fought the Japanese internment order in 1942 (Executive Order 9066). He lost, but in 1976 President Ford finally rescinded the order and issued an apology. Korematsu himself died in 2005. California now celebrates today (January 30) as Fred Korematsu day, as does Hawaii, Virginia and Florida.
posted by foonly at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by foonly at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
I can only imagine how much teeth-gritting Trudeau has to do now and in the future when meeting with Asshat.
Also I bet Asshat can't wait to use today's terrorist attack as a personal cudgel against our Liberal government.
posted by Kitteh at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also I bet Asshat can't wait to use today's terrorist attack as a personal cudgel against our Liberal government.
posted by Kitteh at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Government officials do not get to anonymously toot their own horns, ever, let alone when the stakes are this high. If you want to brag about how successful your administration is, you attach your name.
They always have before. This is normal. If we can use the current administration's crimes to make it seem shocking and abnormal to people who have no idea how the press and press access work, that will be great and I support it but speaking about non-secret public policy decisions on background is A. unenforceable, they're asking for a favor that the press freely chooses to grant, and B. NORMAL.
[I have never worked in government, but what I have done is run editing, production and quality control for the company that used to be the reputable source of accurate transcripts for major newspapers and press agencies. I probably should not go on about this in public but fuck it, the company's been dead for a couple years. This means I dialed into probably a few hundred press calls to record them (you get on a mailing list, they send you the number and the passcode to be on the call. it's easy.) Transcribers always asked "how do we distinguish the speakers if we're not allowed to use their names?" (answer: you don't. it's SR. ADMIN OFFICIAL: all the way down.) and how do you transcribe it when the press people say their names, like "Steve, can you clarify how long you've been a Nazi" and he says "No, and it's Mr. Bannon to you." (answer: [REDACTED], can you... and he replies "No, and it's Mr. [REDACTED] to you.)
and the most urgent question was always, what do we do if we fuck up and include a name and it goes out on the wire before we can fix it? and the answer to that one is, fix it real quick and republish but don't worry about it because everybody knows who these people are anyway, who cares.
of course, I had this job during the Obama years, so I said Who cares because even the Defense Department press secretary would do no worse than call up my boss and yell at him if we fucked it up. nobody lived in fear of being deported or killed if we set somebody off.]
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
They always have before. This is normal. If we can use the current administration's crimes to make it seem shocking and abnormal to people who have no idea how the press and press access work, that will be great and I support it but speaking about non-secret public policy decisions on background is A. unenforceable, they're asking for a favor that the press freely chooses to grant, and B. NORMAL.
[I have never worked in government, but what I have done is run editing, production and quality control for the company that used to be the reputable source of accurate transcripts for major newspapers and press agencies. I probably should not go on about this in public but fuck it, the company's been dead for a couple years. This means I dialed into probably a few hundred press calls to record them (you get on a mailing list, they send you the number and the passcode to be on the call. it's easy.) Transcribers always asked "how do we distinguish the speakers if we're not allowed to use their names?" (answer: you don't. it's SR. ADMIN OFFICIAL: all the way down.) and how do you transcribe it when the press people say their names, like "Steve, can you clarify how long you've been a Nazi" and he says "No, and it's Mr. Bannon to you." (answer: [REDACTED], can you... and he replies "No, and it's Mr. [REDACTED] to you.)
and the most urgent question was always, what do we do if we fuck up and include a name and it goes out on the wire before we can fix it? and the answer to that one is, fix it real quick and republish but don't worry about it because everybody knows who these people are anyway, who cares.
of course, I had this job during the Obama years, so I said Who cares because even the Defense Department press secretary would do no worse than call up my boss and yell at him if we fucked it up. nobody lived in fear of being deported or killed if we set somebody off.]
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am 100% confident that the "unnamed white house official" is Donald Trump himself. He has a long-standing history of calling reporters either "on background" or using a pseudonym to toot his own horn. The quotes that NPR gave this morning sound 100% like Donald Trump, and I could almost believe that the NPR News knew it was true and wanted to say something.
posted by muddgirl at 6:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 6:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
A small thing that's been niggling at me: if even dual citizens are/could be detained even if they're traveling on the NON-barred country's passport, how are those countries (Canada, UK, etc.) not flipping the fuck out that the US is denying entry to THEIR CITIZENS? At that point, it shouldn't matter what other citizenships they may have.
In Canada the word seems to be that there is no problem with dual Canadian citizens. There were a question at first and then that was apparently sorted out. Dunno, it light of the UK confusion maybe it's not.
If there is still confusion it's likely being sorted out behind the scenes. The major news here now is the terror attack. Plus as generichuman suggested flipping out publicly at Trump right now is a problem knowing what he is like. We still have no word about what he is going to do with NAFTA. And as much as I want my PM to be screaming from the anti-Trump roof-tops about everything until we find out what Trump is planning with NAFTA being quieter is warranted.
It sucks but that is reality. Trade with the US is essential right now and if goes off kilter then are economy goes off kilter then people get upset and freaked and then the political arena up here becomes more open to right-wing shit.
posted by Jalliah at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
sources tell me it was actually white house insider john barron
posted by murphy slaw at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
(after posting - aw damn, didn't see that at least one journalist was principled enough to name the source. I shouldn't be surprised that Trump would be attracted to underlings that sound exactly like he does.)
posted by muddgirl at 6:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by muddgirl at 6:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
white house insider beezlebub
posted by entropicamericana at 6:32 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 6:32 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
if you poked steve bannon in the stomach really hard how long do you think it would take for the stream of blowflies to stop
posted by murphy slaw at 6:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 6:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
I've seen at least one claim that the "insider" stating that everything is hunky-dory is Miller. Which would make sense as he's undoubtedly one of the main architects of the immigration EO.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by soundguy99 at 6:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is it totally ghastly and alarmist of me to fear that Bannon et al would orchestrate a covert attack at the Super Bowl this weekend to gin up a crisis that requires a national state of emergency and martial law?
posted by Tevin at 6:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 6:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump- Slaanesh
Bannon- Nurgle
Flynn- Khorne naturally
Not sure I can figure out who the Champion of Tzeentch is currently. Priebus? Kushner?
posted by vuron at 6:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Bannon- Nurgle
Flynn- Khorne naturally
Not sure I can figure out who the Champion of Tzeentch is currently. Priebus? Kushner?
posted by vuron at 6:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Full Text of Draft Dissent Channel Memo on Trump Refugee and Visa Order
Consider this a major bureaucratic uprising on the part of career foreign service officers against the President on his executive order on refugees.posted by zombieflanders at 6:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Numerous Foreign Service officers and other diplomats have drafted a dissent memo expressing opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States. ABC reported this morning on the draft, which is likely to be submitted today.
Here’s a copy of the actual draft. We are hearing that literally hundreds of foreign service officers are planning to be party to the dissent memo; it’s still unclear exactly how many.
I tried to detach from the news this weekend. I heard about the Muslim ban EO (primarily thanks to Trevor Noah) - is there any bite-size summary of what else went on this weekend?
posted by INFJ at 6:39 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by INFJ at 6:39 AM on January 30, 2017
I can only imagine how much teeth-gritting Trudeau has to do now and in the future when meeting with Asshat.
Also I bet Asshat can't wait to use today's terrorist attack as a personal cudgel against our Liberal government.
Gah. I didn't think about how Trump (Bannon) could use it to freak out about Canada 'habouring terrorists' and all that.
posted by Jalliah at 6:39 AM on January 30, 2017
Also I bet Asshat can't wait to use today's terrorist attack as a personal cudgel against our Liberal government.
Gah. I didn't think about how Trump (Bannon) could use it to freak out about Canada 'habouring terrorists' and all that.
posted by Jalliah at 6:39 AM on January 30, 2017
Oh hey, so it occurred to me that because Trump has already filed for his 2020 candidacy, they may come after federal employees under the Hatch Act if they openly criticize him.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by C'est la D.C. at 6:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Ugh I got the wrong Miller--sorry. To clear up any confusion it was Stephen Miller who was outed as the anonymous State Department speaker in the SFGate article. Got my Millers mixed up.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:41 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:41 AM on January 30, 2017
I think this is Bannon - I think that this stuff is intended as a brutal attack on us in order to subdue. I think he's 100% okay with ruling as a bloody-handed tyrant and that's what this is supposed to be - tyranny as an example for the people.
Guys, I have been thinking about this for a couple of days and I'm sorry if it's too disgusting but the thing is they are already accusing us of fake news, so if any journalists or media people could maybe start making it look like Bannon is the puppet master and Trump is the Igor, to the point where Trump feels threatened and mocked I feel like we could break up that partnership very easily.
Divide and conquer that's all I'm saying.
posted by Tarumba at 6:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Guys, I have been thinking about this for a couple of days and I'm sorry if it's too disgusting but the thing is they are already accusing us of fake news, so if any journalists or media people could maybe start making it look like Bannon is the puppet master and Trump is the Igor, to the point where Trump feels threatened and mocked I feel like we could break up that partnership very easily.
Divide and conquer that's all I'm saying.
posted by Tarumba at 6:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Of course it was a Steve.
posted by Etrigan at 6:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 6:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
I know that processing times are long and there are tons more applicants who are worthy than I am, but I can't wait until I am able to vote here too. I do not want Kellie Leitch or Kevin O'Leary in power.
posted by Kitteh at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Is it totally ghastly and alarmist of me to fear that Bannon et al would orchestrate a covert attack at the Super Bowl this weekend to gin up a crisis that requires a national state of emergency and martial law?
The trouble with a Reichstag fire is that there's already been a Reichstag fire. If Bannon inciteded a terrorist attack on American soil in which Americans died, I think it might very well come out, and even the craven Republicans could not help but arrest and jail the whole administration. I'm much more worried about their NSC people willfully ignoring information about an outside attack.
posted by Frowner at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
The trouble with a Reichstag fire is that there's already been a Reichstag fire. If Bannon inciteded a terrorist attack on American soil in which Americans died, I think it might very well come out, and even the craven Republicans could not help but arrest and jail the whole administration. I'm much more worried about their NSC people willfully ignoring information about an outside attack.
posted by Frowner at 6:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
"If we're nice to the bully maybe he won't beat us up!" Fuck that. I'm really not a huge fan of Trudeau, but the idea that he should mute any public dissent or criticism of Trump's actions and policies because he might have a tantrum is horribly wrong.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
So I just called my senator about Bannon, and the very nice young intern said that the Senator has no oversight on the NSC and can't do anything about Bannon. I said "I know that he has no formal oversight, but I want him to know that this is not normal, it is not right, and it is putting our troops and our national security at risk." He basically did the auditory equivalent of rolling his eyes, which makes me wonder. Is it worth it to waste a phone call on that? I'm assuming that it matters that elected officials know that we care, even if there's nothing to vote on?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
so if any journalists or media people could maybe start making it look like Bannon is the puppet master and Trump is the Igor, to the point where Trump feels threatened and mocked I feel like we could break up that partnership very easily.
I can't remember who said it but on Saturday some journalist/columnist/pol tweeted that if every Dem went on the Sunday shows and talked about Bannon pulling Trump's strings he might be gone pretty quickly. And today Krugman tweeted:
@paulkrugman
You know, maybe I should stop calling this the Trump-Putin administration, and start calling it Bannon-Putin instead.
---
And #PresidentBannon has trended at times. Bannon's biggest liability with Trump may be the success he's having pushing Trump's buttons.
posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]
I can't remember who said it but on Saturday some journalist/columnist/pol tweeted that if every Dem went on the Sunday shows and talked about Bannon pulling Trump's strings he might be gone pretty quickly. And today Krugman tweeted:
@paulkrugman
You know, maybe I should stop calling this the Trump-Putin administration, and start calling it Bannon-Putin instead.
---
And #PresidentBannon has trended at times. Bannon's biggest liability with Trump may be the success he's having pushing Trump's buttons.
posted by chris24 at 6:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]
I've been using Facebook and Twitter (and MetaFilter, of course) as my basic news sources this last 10 days. What happens to all of the march planning and the resistance movement and real time information sharing, should the US government shut down social media?
Since CBP has demonstrated that they do not feel that they are subject to court orders and the Republicans in Congress are virtually all happy to go along with this insanity, who's going to stop a China-esque clamp down on social media?
If there is a coup, how will we even know?
posted by jindc at 6:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Since CBP has demonstrated that they do not feel that they are subject to court orders and the Republicans in Congress are virtually all happy to go along with this insanity, who's going to stop a China-esque clamp down on social media?
If there is a coup, how will we even know?
posted by jindc at 6:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is it worth it to waste a phone call on that? I'm assuming that it matters that elected officials know that we care, even if there's nothing to vote on?
There are two things a politician understands: money and pain. If we can't inflict money upon them, we can shower them with pain. Call them. Spam their Facebook walls. Show up. Do whatever you can. It might not be the best possible thing, but it's something, and what Bannon and Miller and the rest of them want us to do most of all is nothing.
posted by Etrigan at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
There are two things a politician understands: money and pain. If we can't inflict money upon them, we can shower them with pain. Call them. Spam their Facebook walls. Show up. Do whatever you can. It might not be the best possible thing, but it's something, and what Bannon and Miller and the rest of them want us to do most of all is nothing.
posted by Etrigan at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
the very nice young intern said that the Senator has no oversight on the NSC and can't do anything about Bannon.
he can talk directly to the fucking president and all the other senators on behalf of his constituents. (maybe the president won't take his calls but all of Congress can talk to each other face to face, which none of us can.) jesus. you would think the nice young intern would know this but I assume nothing. can't hurt to tell them.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
he can talk directly to the fucking president and all the other senators on behalf of his constituents. (maybe the president won't take his calls but all of Congress can talk to each other face to face, which none of us can.) jesus. you would think the nice young intern would know this but I assume nothing. can't hurt to tell them.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Donald Trump's first US military raid 'kills 30 civilians, including 10 women and children'
He now has the blood of innocent human beings on his hands. It won't be limited to foreign countries.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
He now has the blood of innocent human beings on his hands. It won't be limited to foreign countries.
posted by Rust Moranis at 6:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
Tarumba: could maybe start making it look like Bannon is the puppet master and Trump is the Igor,
Like #StopPresidentBannon trending on Twitter?
posted by slipthought at 6:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Like #StopPresidentBannon trending on Twitter?
posted by slipthought at 6:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
jindc: the great thing about resistance is that it's going to find a way even if the current way is blocked. He'd have to shut down the whole internet and text-messaging.
posted by INFJ at 6:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by INFJ at 6:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Guys, I have been thinking about this for a couple of days and I'm sorry if it's too disgusting but the thing is they are already accusing us of fake news, so if any journalists or media people could maybe start making it look like Bannon is the puppet master and Trump is the Igor, to the point where Trump feels threatened and mocked I feel like we could break up that partnership very easily.
Divide and conquer that's all I'm saying.
It's not disgusting. And I think the seeds of this narrative have been planted this weekend. It sure is the narrative going around social media. Bannon is the puppet-master and he has to go. Reps are getting calls about it.
I also don't think you're wrong. If Trump starts. hearing that he's not really the big guy calling the shots he isn't going to like it and it will cause resentment. The problems I see are that he has to actually see this being said on the TV he watches and that it would likely only work if it was something he heard over and over for and extended period of time. This is because each time he hears it and freaks then Bannon just swoops in and manipulates his fears away. It would have to become a main narrative (on CNN) and in the headlines of NYTs for it to work. Fox isn't going to ever do it.
Elsewhere, in more mixed groups I have started using President Bannon instead of Trump.
posted by Jalliah at 6:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Divide and conquer that's all I'm saying.
It's not disgusting. And I think the seeds of this narrative have been planted this weekend. It sure is the narrative going around social media. Bannon is the puppet-master and he has to go. Reps are getting calls about it.
I also don't think you're wrong. If Trump starts. hearing that he's not really the big guy calling the shots he isn't going to like it and it will cause resentment. The problems I see are that he has to actually see this being said on the TV he watches and that it would likely only work if it was something he heard over and over for and extended period of time. This is because each time he hears it and freaks then Bannon just swoops in and manipulates his fears away. It would have to become a main narrative (on CNN) and in the headlines of NYTs for it to work. Fox isn't going to ever do it.
Elsewhere, in more mixed groups I have started using President Bannon instead of Trump.
posted by Jalliah at 6:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Donald Trump speech uploaded to PornHub as 'rich white man f***s the entire country at once'
posted by porn in the woods at 6:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [48 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 6:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [48 favorites]
Primary her.
@NateSilver538
We're tracking which members of Congress vote in support of Trump most often. Congratulations, @SenFeinstein! --> http://53eig.ht/2jNoNGp
posted by chris24 at 6:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]
@NateSilver538
We're tracking which members of Congress vote in support of Trump most often. Congratulations, @SenFeinstein! --> http://53eig.ht/2jNoNGp
posted by chris24 at 6:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]
Well, it's Monday morning let's see what the judge does about their court order being brazenly defied.
Fascism, authoritarianism, whatever you want to call it, is creeping steadily closer and I'm glad to see so many people openly calling it for what it is. If Trump can get away with this I'm terrified about what his next order will be.
Also, are all CBP people total fucking racists or did Trump manage to get his team into place there really quickly? I'm surprised that they were so openly defiant of a court order and so seemingly eager to enforce Trump's EO. Were they already hardcore white nationalist/supremacist scum before or what?
posted by sotonohito at 6:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Fascism, authoritarianism, whatever you want to call it, is creeping steadily closer and I'm glad to see so many people openly calling it for what it is. If Trump can get away with this I'm terrified about what his next order will be.
Also, are all CBP people total fucking racists or did Trump manage to get his team into place there really quickly? I'm surprised that they were so openly defiant of a court order and so seemingly eager to enforce Trump's EO. Were they already hardcore white nationalist/supremacist scum before or what?
posted by sotonohito at 6:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'd written a long comment and then erased it, but the upshot is that on one side of my family, my grandmother fled as a refugee with her young son when the Communists murdered her husband, her father-in-law, and her brother-in-law in one day. My other grandmother fled as a refugee for similar reasons, bringing her two young children and her mother-in-law, the last of whom was in a wheelbarrow because her feet were bound, as was common for a lot of middle class women of her generation, and if she managed 100 steps a day, that was considered remarkable.
In short: the fuck I'm not walking two blocks to attend Tuesdays with Toomey from now until whenever it takes for his coward, "run as centrist, party with the Kochs, advance extremist positions on immigration and refugees" ass to show up and be accountable to his constituents.
Thanks, everyone else in the thread who is fighting the good fight in PA. I wouldn't have known about TwT without you.
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [45 favorites]
In short: the fuck I'm not walking two blocks to attend Tuesdays with Toomey from now until whenever it takes for his coward, "run as centrist, party with the Kochs, advance extremist positions on immigration and refugees" ass to show up and be accountable to his constituents.
Thanks, everyone else in the thread who is fighting the good fight in PA. I wouldn't have known about TwT without you.
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [45 favorites]
So I just called my senator about Bannon, and the very nice young intern said that the Senator has no oversight on the NSC and can't do anything about Bannon. I said "I know that he has no formal oversight, but I want him to know that this is not normal, it is not right, and it is putting our troops and our national security at risk." He basically did the auditory equivalent of rolling his eyes, which makes me wonder. Is it worth it to waste a phone call on that? I'm assuming that it matters that elected officials know that we care, even if there's nothing to vote on?
Something I've found to be pretty successful when getting a reaction: compare them to their peers. McCain has spoken out against Bannon, why can't other Senators?
Also comparing them to up-and-comers that might be running for their Senate seat.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]
Something I've found to be pretty successful when getting a reaction: compare them to their peers. McCain has spoken out against Bannon, why can't other Senators?
Also comparing them to up-and-comers that might be running for their Senate seat.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]
Primary her.
And Schumer and the rest of them if they don't stand up to him.
posted by chris24 at 6:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
And Schumer and the rest of them if they don't stand up to him.
posted by chris24 at 6:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
Terrifying Thought of the Day™
So, I was reflecting on the chaos surrounding Trump's EO and I read this:
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]
So, I was reflecting on the chaos surrounding Trump's EO and I read this:
Perhaps the only political certainty in the Nazi state was Adolf Hitler’s status as its supreme decision-maker. According to the Nazi doctrine of fuhrerprinzip, all power and sovereignty was vested in the leader; he would use that power to create a Nazi state that would serve the needs of Germany and its people. Hitler certainly possessed far more power than another other individual or agency in the Nazi state – but he was also a lazy and sometimes vague ruler who left much of the work up to others. Hitler was not an experienced politician, nor was he much interested in administration or organisation, developing long-term planning or detailed policies. He instead preferred to dictate grandiose visions and vague orders, leaving the details and specifics to be devised by his subordinates. Those who pleased Hitler by presenting him with good suggestions or policies were praised and rewarded; some were welcomed into his inner circle, the highest accolade of all. This created a culture of competition and sycophancy, as leading Nazis competed against each other to impress the fuhrer.Trump's disorganisation and grandiosity might not work against him. So far it has forced his aides to do whatever it takes to be on the right side, even contradicting themselves from one day to the next. You can see the same attitude in his his followers, yea, down to the lowliest rube in a MAGA hat. Chaos is Donald's friend; don't think it will bring him down.
posted by Joe in Australia at 6:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]
Schumer was just reelected. We're stuck with him for the duration of the Trump years.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:01 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:01 AM on January 30, 2017
Also, are all CBP people total fucking racists or did Trump manage to get his team into place there really quickly? I'm surprised that they were so openly defiant of a court order and so seemingly eager to enforce Trump's EO. Were they already hardcore white nationalist/supremacist scum before or what?
Very possibly. There are reports that the visas of people from the affected countries have been getting revoked for weeks.
We didn't know, but someone has been pulling their strings and they've been going along with it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Very possibly. There are reports that the visas of people from the affected countries have been getting revoked for weeks.
We didn't know, but someone has been pulling their strings and they've been going along with it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Okay I am counting this as a win.
On Saturday I called my State Rep and Senators' voicemails (both Democrats, both utterly silent in their social media re Trump and Trumpism since November, not a single peep) and asked them to PLEASE, even though federal law is not their purview, to say something to let us know that they are with us, that they recognize this is not normal and that they oppose the EO.
Today (Fontana is my State Senator):
Wayne D. Fontana @WayneDFontana 38m38 minutes ago
#TrumpBan We are better than this. This is not what our commonwealth and our country stand for
Wayne D. Fontana @WayneDFontana 40m40 minutes ago
Thank you @GovernorTomWolf @billpeduto for your leadership on #TrumpBan
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]
On Saturday I called my State Rep and Senators' voicemails (both Democrats, both utterly silent in their social media re Trump and Trumpism since November, not a single peep) and asked them to PLEASE, even though federal law is not their purview, to say something to let us know that they are with us, that they recognize this is not normal and that they oppose the EO.
Today (Fontana is my State Senator):
Wayne D. Fontana @WayneDFontana 38m38 minutes ago
#TrumpBan We are better than this. This is not what our commonwealth and our country stand for
Wayne D. Fontana @WayneDFontana 40m40 minutes ago
Thank you @GovernorTomWolf @billpeduto for your leadership on #TrumpBan
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]
Since CBP has demonstrated that they do not feel that they are subject to court orders and the Republicans in Congress are virtually all happy to go along with this insanity, who's going to stop a China-esque clamp down on social media?
Doing this would be like planting a bomb in the American economy and affect so many businesses bottom line from the Mom and Pops to the Mega Business that the outcry would be unheard of. I seriously doubt that FB is going to sit by and let their business be destroyed. China did there clamping as the internet was forming and coming in so the Chinese economy hasn't integrated it the same ways as the American economy has. It has embraced it and formed entire economic systems around it.
I expect that they will set up more monitoring and spying on social media but not clamp it like China.
posted by Jalliah at 7:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Schumer was just reelected. We're stuck with him for the duration of the Trump years.
Good. Six years is enough time to install a spine.
posted by Etrigan at 7:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Good. Six years is enough time to install a spine.
posted by Etrigan at 7:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
why we're seeing zero pushback from any elected Republican
Hey look, this is both technically wrong (Vance, Sasse, Flake, McCain, Collins, etc) and tactically wrong if you want to make it easier for people who don't already agree with you to resist that shit. When you say or imply that no Republicans disagree with this on moral grounds- which also happens to be untrue- you are forcing the higher bar of "leaving the tribe" to come before the lower bar of "resisting Trump".
Resistance to Trump cannot involve just the same people who opposed Bush, or it will be just as ineffective. It needs to be a coalition.
posted by corb at 7:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
Hey look, this is both technically wrong (Vance, Sasse, Flake, McCain, Collins, etc) and tactically wrong if you want to make it easier for people who don't already agree with you to resist that shit. When you say or imply that no Republicans disagree with this on moral grounds- which also happens to be untrue- you are forcing the higher bar of "leaving the tribe" to come before the lower bar of "resisting Trump".
Resistance to Trump cannot involve just the same people who opposed Bush, or it will be just as ineffective. It needs to be a coalition.
posted by corb at 7:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
In one thing I agree with Evan McMullin: the fight right now is left v. right, it's fascist v. anti-fascist. After we get rid of the fascists we can go back to arguing about the marginal tax rate. If there are Republicans out there who are anti-fascist, I want to welcome them to this fight, with the understanding that when this is all over, we will definitely go back to pissing each other off.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:12 AM on January 30, 2017 [92 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:12 AM on January 30, 2017 [92 favorites]
Is it worth it to waste a phone call on that? I'm assuming that it matters that elected officials know that we care, even if there's nothing to vote on?
Suggestions from last night's Indivisible Denver meeting - for those of us trying to get their position on record for future media use:
1. Be scrupulously polite if you reach a live person. You're very sorry the senator hasn't given their staffers the resources they need to handle this volume of calls.
2. Don't identify your party affiliation, directly or indirectly.
3. Your ask is that you want to know the senator's position on $topic. (Building a wall on the southern border, reorg of the NSC, etc). Pin them to responding without knowing your position. They won't want to do this.
4. They don't know the senator's position? Can they transfer you? You're happy to be put on hold while they find someone who does. Don't take no for an answer. If they really are about to hang up on you, tell them you'll call back in an hour.
5. When they tell you they can't guess the senator's position: ask them their personal opinion.
6. When they refuse you again: ask them if the senator's constituents deserve better.
7. Start alerting local media to how nonresponsive your senator (or rep) is being to their constituents.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [105 favorites]
Suggestions from last night's Indivisible Denver meeting - for those of us trying to get their position on record for future media use:
1. Be scrupulously polite if you reach a live person. You're very sorry the senator hasn't given their staffers the resources they need to handle this volume of calls.
2. Don't identify your party affiliation, directly or indirectly.
3. Your ask is that you want to know the senator's position on $topic. (Building a wall on the southern border, reorg of the NSC, etc). Pin them to responding without knowing your position. They won't want to do this.
4. They don't know the senator's position? Can they transfer you? You're happy to be put on hold while they find someone who does. Don't take no for an answer. If they really are about to hang up on you, tell them you'll call back in an hour.
5. When they tell you they can't guess the senator's position: ask them their personal opinion.
6. When they refuse you again: ask them if the senator's constituents deserve better.
7. Start alerting local media to how nonresponsive your senator (or rep) is being to their constituents.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [105 favorites]
And #PresidentBannon has trended at times. Bannon's biggest liability with Trump may be the success he's having pushing Trump's buttons.
President Bannon and his orange megaphone.
posted by Killick at 7:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
President Bannon and his orange megaphone.
posted by Killick at 7:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Trump's disorganisation and grandiosity might not work against him. So far it has forced his aides to do whatever it takes to be on the right side, even contradicting themselves from one day to the next. You can see the same attitude in his his followers, yea, down to the lowliest rube in a MAGA hat
Kershaw's "Working Towards the Führer" concept has been mentioned by more than one historian on Twitter today, as an explanation for e.g. the willingness of CBP to go much further than their explicit directives supported.
posted by effbot at 7:17 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
Kershaw's "Working Towards the Führer" concept has been mentioned by more than one historian on Twitter today, as an explanation for e.g. the willingness of CBP to go much further than their explicit directives supported.
posted by effbot at 7:17 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
Hey look, this is both technically wrong (Vance, Sasse, Flake, McCain, Collins, etc) and tactically wrong if you want to make it easier for people who don't already agree with you to resist that shit.
I don't count Lucy with the football tut-tutting in the media as pushback. We've seen that time, and time, and time again. It's the same game they always play, and we're never buying it again.
Call me when there's a vote on the record, and any of those people votes against him. I'll be waiting.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
I don't count Lucy with the football tut-tutting in the media as pushback. We've seen that time, and time, and time again. It's the same game they always play, and we're never buying it again.
Call me when there's a vote on the record, and any of those people votes against him. I'll be waiting.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
In one thing I agree with Evan McMullin: the fight right now is left v. right, it's fascist v. anti-fascist. After we get rid of the fascists we can go back to arguing about the marginal tax rate. If there are Republicans out there who are anti-fascist, I want to welcome them to this fight, with the understanding that when this is all over, we will definitely go back to pissing each other off.
It's about a temporary group, fighting a specific goal. I understand why people don't like the idea but having done this sort of thing myself to get something really important done I can attest that in no way means letting anyone off the hook, or implying that you agree on anything beyond the specific issue at hand. And it's not like people on the other side don't know this as well. You get it done and then you say, alright back at, carry on.
posted by Jalliah at 7:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's about a temporary group, fighting a specific goal. I understand why people don't like the idea but having done this sort of thing myself to get something really important done I can attest that in no way means letting anyone off the hook, or implying that you agree on anything beyond the specific issue at hand. And it's not like people on the other side don't know this as well. You get it done and then you say, alright back at, carry on.
posted by Jalliah at 7:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
I just called my republican congresswoman to thank her for issuing a statement against the executive order. She's an attorney who both understands and appreciates the rule of law. I don't agree with many of her positions, but I appreciate her taking a stand on the side of sanity.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 7:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
*shakes fist at edit window*
The fight right now isn't left v. right, it's fascist v. anti-fascist. ]
Dammit.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The fight right now isn't left v. right, it's fascist v. anti-fascist. ]
Dammit.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I posted this in the Bannon/NSC thread, but it's just as relevant here:
That's it. Who's a big boy, now?
I'M a big boy!
posted by zakur at 7:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
That's it. Who's a big boy, now?
I'M a big boy!
posted by zakur at 7:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
...and I was about to make the obvious "Working towards the Donald" joke when I noticed an article with that name from last year: "It’s all-too-easy to imagine an American chauvinist version of 'working towards the Führer' unfolding in the United States, as hate-mongers and thugs act on what they presume to be Trump’s wishes. We’ve already seen attacks by Trump supporters on mosques and black Baptist churches. I’m not saying Trump is directly ordering such violence. What I’m saying is that he doesn’t have to."
posted by effbot at 7:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]
posted by effbot at 7:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]
> This is how much undecided voters didn't want to have a female president.
Yeah, we really dodged a bullet there, didn't we? I shudder to think of all the emails she could have sent by now.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [33 favorites]
Yeah, we really dodged a bullet there, didn't we? I shudder to think of all the emails she could have sent by now.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [33 favorites]
So I wondered why #BoycottStarbucks is trending. (Disclosure: self-twitter-link)
posted by INFJ at 7:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by INFJ at 7:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Hey look, this is both technically wrong (Vance, Sasse, Flake, McCain, Collins, etc) and tactically wrong if you want to make it easier for people who don't already agree with you to resist that shit. When you say or imply that no Republicans disagree with this on moral grounds- which also happens to be untrue- you are forcing the higher bar of "leaving the tribe" to come before the lower bar of "resisting Trump".
Collins is my Senator, and in my call to her this morning I noted to her staffer that she's easily the most popular elected official in the state. (This is true: Collins (2014) 413,505; King (2012) 370,580; Clinton (2016) 357,735; Trump (2016) 335,593; Lepage (2014) 294,533 -- she won every single county, even true blue Cumberland county). I thanked her for speaking out against the travel ban, and reminded her staffer that her huge voting block has her back.
"I suspect she wants to speak out more than she has. Although she might get pushback from the party, I want to remind her that we here in Maine have her back. We elected to speak for us, and I'm sure she can hear what we are saying today. In the words of her great Republican predecessor in the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith: "The right way is not always the popular and easy way." I urge the Senator to continue do the right thing for the country and the people of Maine by speaking even more loudly and clearly against the president and his cronies, before they destroy not only her party, but this great nation."
We have to publicly reward them when they do the right thing. Positive reinforcement is the only way to get them to continue to do the right thing.
posted by anastasiav at 7:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
Collins is my Senator, and in my call to her this morning I noted to her staffer that she's easily the most popular elected official in the state. (This is true: Collins (2014) 413,505; King (2012) 370,580; Clinton (2016) 357,735; Trump (2016) 335,593; Lepage (2014) 294,533 -- she won every single county, even true blue Cumberland county). I thanked her for speaking out against the travel ban, and reminded her staffer that her huge voting block has her back.
"I suspect she wants to speak out more than she has. Although she might get pushback from the party, I want to remind her that we here in Maine have her back. We elected to speak for us, and I'm sure she can hear what we are saying today. In the words of her great Republican predecessor in the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith: "The right way is not always the popular and easy way." I urge the Senator to continue do the right thing for the country and the people of Maine by speaking even more loudly and clearly against the president and his cronies, before they destroy not only her party, but this great nation."
We have to publicly reward them when they do the right thing. Positive reinforcement is the only way to get them to continue to do the right thing.
posted by anastasiav at 7:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
Trump is ruling America with the Agenda of Europe's Far Right (Washington Post link)
posted by gudrun at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by gudrun at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2017
CNBC: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aiming to kickstart campaign pledges to slash regulations.
The measure will expand regulatory review with the goal of revoking two regulations for every new regulation put forward, according to a senior administration official. Under the order, federal agencies will propose rules they want to drop and the White House will review them.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The measure will expand regulatory review with the goal of revoking two regulations for every new regulation put forward, according to a senior administration official. Under the order, federal agencies will propose rules they want to drop and the White House will review them.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Trump: “I noticed Chuck Schumer yesterday with fake tears” over immigration ban/refugees; “I'm gonna ask him who is his acting coach”
Fuck this guy.
posted by Talez at 7:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]
Fuck this guy.
posted by Talez at 7:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [52 favorites]
Call me when there's a vote on the record, and any of those people votes against him. I'll be waiting.
I hope that will happen, and I hope I can soon! But it's a mistake to assume that publicly speaking up against someone who shows every evidence of ruling as a dictator, and who has issued threats against the home states of legislators and elected officials who don't follow his rules, is a neutral act without consequences.
It's why, from a tactical standpoint, it is important to praise those legislators taking even tiny baby steps, even if in your mind you're like "are you fucking kidding me? that's all you can do?" Not because they necessarily all deserve to receive that praise (though some, I think, do) but because that praise is the mechanism by which you pressure them into doing more against the fascist threat currently at our door.
posted by corb at 7:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
I hope that will happen, and I hope I can soon! But it's a mistake to assume that publicly speaking up against someone who shows every evidence of ruling as a dictator, and who has issued threats against the home states of legislators and elected officials who don't follow his rules, is a neutral act without consequences.
It's why, from a tactical standpoint, it is important to praise those legislators taking even tiny baby steps, even if in your mind you're like "are you fucking kidding me? that's all you can do?" Not because they necessarily all deserve to receive that praise (though some, I think, do) but because that praise is the mechanism by which you pressure them into doing more against the fascist threat currently at our door.
posted by corb at 7:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
He's not telling people to do bad things, because he doesn't have to - fine. Why aren't people asking him why he isn't denouncing the hate crimes and illegal over-reaching? isn't it his job to provide moral guidance?
Yes, i know. But these questions should be high on the press agenda.
posted by Devonian at 7:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yes, i know. But these questions should be high on the press agenda.
posted by Devonian at 7:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Quick question on this EO before I run to class: must two regulations be repealed for every new regulation proposed, or for every new regulation actually implemented?
Either way, Trump fails to understand that "regulation" is not an amorphous mass of red tape, the only purpose of which is to frustrate. His next movie screening should be a film adaptation of The Jungle. (I don't know if there is one, but I sure don't trust his reading comprehension.)
posted by Leslie Knope at 7:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Either way, Trump fails to understand that "regulation" is not an amorphous mass of red tape, the only purpose of which is to frustrate. His next movie screening should be a film adaptation of The Jungle. (I don't know if there is one, but I sure don't trust his reading comprehension.)
posted by Leslie Knope at 7:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Anyone who opposes fascism is welcome to join the resistance, but I also don't think it's unwise to question the commitment of many of the Republicans who are making statements that dissent from Trump. Many of them are notorious for furrowing their brow and expressing concern right up until they vote for the thing they said they were concerned about. Aside from Flake and maybe Sasse (hard to say with such a short record) I wouldn't feel comfortable with any of them being the deciding votes for legislation to, say, stop the Muslim ban. With their record of offering "compromises" that give the bad guys 99% of what they want, I'd want a much larger margin that doesn't count on them to be the difference.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 7:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
We're inviting him to meet the Queen and Prince Philip instead.
Maybe not.
Not a monarchy fan. But royalty would be one group I wouldn't want to risk pissing off if I'm going to visit.
posted by Smedleyman at 7:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Maybe not.
Not a monarchy fan. But royalty would be one group I wouldn't want to risk pissing off if I'm going to visit.
posted by Smedleyman at 7:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's why, from a tactical standpoint, it is important to praise those legislators taking even tiny baby steps, even if in your mind you're like "are you fucking kidding me? that's all you can do?"
Just out of curiosity, when you were in Basic, and you managed to get over an obstacle, did your DI tell you "Good job! Here's a cookie!" or "AT FUCKING LAST NOW MOVE TO THE NEXT GODDAMN OBSTACLE YOU LOWLY PIECE OF WORM SHIT"? 'Cause I remember the pendulum going a lot more toward the latter, and I got over all the goddamn obstacles at fucking last despite being a lowly piece of worm shit, with no cookies.
posted by Etrigan at 7:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Just out of curiosity, when you were in Basic, and you managed to get over an obstacle, did your DI tell you "Good job! Here's a cookie!" or "AT FUCKING LAST NOW MOVE TO THE NEXT GODDAMN OBSTACLE YOU LOWLY PIECE OF WORM SHIT"? 'Cause I remember the pendulum going a lot more toward the latter, and I got over all the goddamn obstacles at fucking last despite being a lowly piece of worm shit, with no cookies.
posted by Etrigan at 7:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Jumping to the end to say that Ive never done it before, but thanks in no small part to these threads I finally wrote to my senators (NJ), both of whom have taken strong stands against the Muslim ban:
"I wanted to thank you profoundly for taking a stand against Steve Bannon and Donald Trump's Muslim ban. Please take up the call to impeach him NOW based on his failure to uphold the Constitution.
All weekend Ive been reading recounts of holocaust survivors, refugees from all over the world, and the fears of my fellow Americans. Especially considering President Trumps actions to remove the Director of National Intelligence and Chairman of Joint Chiefs from regular National Security Council meetings and Steve Bannon's appointment to those meetings, a well documented white supremacist, you need to act now to stop the increasingly terrifying and destructive actions of this illegitimate president. Please - we are ALL relying on you and our other senators. Right now you stand between a vulnerable nation and its fall into fascist dictatorship."
posted by Illusory contour at 7:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
"I wanted to thank you profoundly for taking a stand against Steve Bannon and Donald Trump's Muslim ban. Please take up the call to impeach him NOW based on his failure to uphold the Constitution.
All weekend Ive been reading recounts of holocaust survivors, refugees from all over the world, and the fears of my fellow Americans. Especially considering President Trumps actions to remove the Director of National Intelligence and Chairman of Joint Chiefs from regular National Security Council meetings and Steve Bannon's appointment to those meetings, a well documented white supremacist, you need to act now to stop the increasingly terrifying and destructive actions of this illegitimate president. Please - we are ALL relying on you and our other senators. Right now you stand between a vulnerable nation and its fall into fascist dictatorship."
posted by Illusory contour at 7:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
The measure will expand regulatory review with the goal of revoking two regulations for every new regulation put forward
This is maybe the best news in two weeks. It'll hamstring his ability to make his own executive policy, and without actual Trump people in place, it'll leave the discretion to career agency people as to what gets 'cut'.
Also it makes no sense, what counts as a "regulation"? Is it a 1 in 2 out for new CFR sections? For agency interpretations? Internal policies? Subregulatory publications? Website changes? It's a fundamental misunderstanding of how the government works.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
This is maybe the best news in two weeks. It'll hamstring his ability to make his own executive policy, and without actual Trump people in place, it'll leave the discretion to career agency people as to what gets 'cut'.
Also it makes no sense, what counts as a "regulation"? Is it a 1 in 2 out for new CFR sections? For agency interpretations? Internal policies? Subregulatory publications? Website changes? It's a fundamental misunderstanding of how the government works.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
I can't find much about the regulation EO (because, of course, it doesn't seem like the text of the EO has been made public). But from what I can tell, they have to say which two they will cut for any new one. Like, the proposal has to be "we would like to have regulation A, and if we implement it, we will cut regulations B & C."
It's a fast-track to 1) getting courts to strike down the repeal of any regulation on that basis (changes in agency policies and regulations can't be arbitrary and capricious, and forcing it this way is pretty obviously arbitrary), and/or 2) making regulations more like legislation, with ridiculous unrelated riders so that new regulation A also happens to includes topics D, E & F for no other reason that it's "one" regulation. Way to make regulation more confusing, not less!
posted by alligatorpear at 7:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
It's a fast-track to 1) getting courts to strike down the repeal of any regulation on that basis (changes in agency policies and regulations can't be arbitrary and capricious, and forcing it this way is pretty obviously arbitrary), and/or 2) making regulations more like legislation, with ridiculous unrelated riders so that new regulation A also happens to includes topics D, E & F for no other reason that it's "one" regulation. Way to make regulation more confusing, not less!
posted by alligatorpear at 7:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Yeah, I think common cause with Republicans is essential at this point. In realism and truth, the next two years at least are going to be a shitty one for our agenda no matter what: there is no way, short of complete destruction of the nation's governmental structure, that we avoid Republican dominance of the executive and legislative branches of government. Within those parameters, we can still work to mitigate the worst of the shittiness and we will have allies in doing so.
We have seen this unhinged, domineering executive. That is much, much worse than bog-standard Republicanism and will be an absolute disaster on both the domestic and international fronts. I'm sure there are some accelerationists who think letting them run wild will give us a nice powerful backlash, but don't think that is either an existentially or morally justified gamble. First order of business is bringing back a more moderated executive. I have no love for Pence, but he is if anything going to be overcautious if we put him up top.
If we make our voices heard, and if we succeed in our immediate goal, things might not go so very badly on some fronts. Our worst legislative fears are looking increasingly like political kryptonite: trashing the ACA is already losing steam, and changes to Medicare and Social Security are likewise peril-fraught and will probably not gain traction among the more timid, unpopular and centrist Republicans. Abortion I think they want to keep as a perpetual issue to motivate their base, so they will make all the appropriately outraged noises and nibble at the edge of eroding away our rights but never actually move too decisively.
Yes, it's going to suck on a number of fronts. LGBT equality particularly is likely going to get some bad setbacks. But with the right messaging, and with a strong pushback against the imminent crisis of an out-of-control executive, this storm might be weatherable.
posted by jackbishop at 7:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
We have seen this unhinged, domineering executive. That is much, much worse than bog-standard Republicanism and will be an absolute disaster on both the domestic and international fronts. I'm sure there are some accelerationists who think letting them run wild will give us a nice powerful backlash, but don't think that is either an existentially or morally justified gamble. First order of business is bringing back a more moderated executive. I have no love for Pence, but he is if anything going to be overcautious if we put him up top.
If we make our voices heard, and if we succeed in our immediate goal, things might not go so very badly on some fronts. Our worst legislative fears are looking increasingly like political kryptonite: trashing the ACA is already losing steam, and changes to Medicare and Social Security are likewise peril-fraught and will probably not gain traction among the more timid, unpopular and centrist Republicans. Abortion I think they want to keep as a perpetual issue to motivate their base, so they will make all the appropriately outraged noises and nibble at the edge of eroding away our rights but never actually move too decisively.
Yes, it's going to suck on a number of fronts. LGBT equality particularly is likely going to get some bad setbacks. But with the right messaging, and with a strong pushback against the imminent crisis of an out-of-control executive, this storm might be weatherable.
posted by jackbishop at 7:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
the Great Semicolon Insertion Order of 2017, as it came to be known
posted by murphy slaw at 7:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 7:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Also it makes no sense, what counts as a "regulation"? Is it a 1 in 2 out for new CFR sections? For agency interpretations? Internal policies? Subregulatory publications? Website changes? It's a fundamental misunderstanding of how the government works.
I know, right? I sure look forward to our future even more dense and impenetrable regulations as bureaucrats try to cram two items into every one paragraph.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I know, right? I sure look forward to our future even more dense and impenetrable regulations as bureaucrats try to cram two items into every one paragraph.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Jinx, murphy slaw.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:51 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by deludingmyself at 7:51 AM on January 30, 2017
Anyone who opposes fascism is welcome to join the resistance, but I also don't think it's unwise to question the commitment of many of the Republicans who are making statements that dissent from Trump.
Because crazy shit like this is happening now.
Koch network could serve as potent resistance in Trump era
In their first formal break with the administration, top network officials on Sunday condemned Trump’s travel ban on some refugees and immigrants, calling it “the wrong approach.” Some here expressed alarm that Trump has staked out positions anathema to the network’s libertarian principles, targeting individual companies that produce goods abroad and indicating possible support for a border tax on imports. And the network’s chief patron, billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, who pointedly declined to back Trump in the presidential campaign, warned in stark terms of the potential perils of the anti-establishment mood that gave rise to Trump.
“We have a tremendous danger because we can go the authoritarian route . . . or we can move toward a free and open society,” he told a packed ballroom Sunday afternoon.
Which is playing big time politics for their own self interest. They could be playing the 'give us what WE want or we'll oppose you game' get it and stand on their side. But they could also be seeing a long term threat to bajillions that a Trump type authoritarism could lead too. I'm sure they've been doing the calculations and running the numbers.
I do think how the oligarchs and 'capital' responds to Trump is one of the wild cards in play right now.
If people like the Koch's start playing against him then that's a big problem for Bannon.
posted by Jalliah at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Because crazy shit like this is happening now.
Koch network could serve as potent resistance in Trump era
In their first formal break with the administration, top network officials on Sunday condemned Trump’s travel ban on some refugees and immigrants, calling it “the wrong approach.” Some here expressed alarm that Trump has staked out positions anathema to the network’s libertarian principles, targeting individual companies that produce goods abroad and indicating possible support for a border tax on imports. And the network’s chief patron, billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, who pointedly declined to back Trump in the presidential campaign, warned in stark terms of the potential perils of the anti-establishment mood that gave rise to Trump.
“We have a tremendous danger because we can go the authoritarian route . . . or we can move toward a free and open society,” he told a packed ballroom Sunday afternoon.
Which is playing big time politics for their own self interest. They could be playing the 'give us what WE want or we'll oppose you game' get it and stand on their side. But they could also be seeing a long term threat to bajillions that a Trump type authoritarism could lead too. I'm sure they've been doing the calculations and running the numbers.
I do think how the oligarchs and 'capital' responds to Trump is one of the wild cards in play right now.
If people like the Koch's start playing against him then that's a big problem for Bannon.
posted by Jalliah at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Hey, you! Yeah, you. Andy Kaufman. Wearing the Steve Bannon mask. At least wink at the crowd and have Tony Clifton give a press conference so some of us know it's you.
posted by delfin at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by delfin at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
but don't worry, i'm sure the text of the order will have the same pellucid clarity we've come to expect from this administration
posted by murphy slaw at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 7:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Again, without having read the EO, I can't guarantee anything, but if it uses the word "regulation," that's a very specific, understood meaning that I don't think would be subject to much interpretation. A regulation is not the same things as an interpretation, or agency publications, or administrative determinations (even ones published in the Federal Register), or guideline, or website. It's a very settled area of administrative law. (In contrast, say, to using the word "entry" on the immigration EO, which I understand has no definition in immigration statutes or law.)
I mean, yes, the way this is sold to the Trump/Republican base is predicated on the general public having no idea how many layers of administrative decisions there are separate from regulations, but I'm honestly not sure if that misunderstanding is shared by whoever wrote this EO or simply being exploited by them for the PR spin.
posted by alligatorpear at 7:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I mean, yes, the way this is sold to the Trump/Republican base is predicated on the general public having no idea how many layers of administrative decisions there are separate from regulations, but I'm honestly not sure if that misunderstanding is shared by whoever wrote this EO or simply being exploited by them for the PR spin.
posted by alligatorpear at 7:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Politico: Trump signs executive order requiring that for every one new regulation, two must be revoked
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am watching with bated breath (and not even a sense of sinking dread, because I have a feeling this is going to be pure farce) to see how the stupid "regulation" thing ends up beig implemented. Is it going to be on an agency-by-agency basis or can separate departments swap regulation credits with each other? What is the level of granularity that's called "a regulation"? What stops them from revoking distinct regulations A and B, and then implementing a regulation whose text is the entirety of A and B, together with some unrelated extra text which they wanted to have as a new regulation (this last one becomes a bit of a problem once any administrative unit manages to whittle their entire regulatory apparatus down to one enormous regulation)?
posted by jackbishop at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
> If people like the Koch's start playing against him then that's a big problem for Bannon.
The other night I was talking about this sort of thing with a friend and he said something about how ironic it would be if Capitalism wound up staving off Fascism because it would be bad for business.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
The other night I was talking about this sort of thing with a friend and he said something about how ironic it would be if Capitalism wound up staving off Fascism because it would be bad for business.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
If they literally mean final published regulations in the federal register, that's going to only impede their own ability to make policy without congress. Especially if they're leaving it to the agencies to 'recommend' what can get cut. Sorry Mr. Trump, we can't find anything that can be cut, therefore we cannot implement the "No Darkies Order of 2017"
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Caught a snippet of _rump on MSNBC this morning talking right after his meeting with small business leaders. He went on a long ramble about what a tremendous job he did with the F-35 and making deals with Boeing & Lockheed (most definitely NOT small businesses), and then veered off onto a tangent about the Dakota access pipeline and something about China making giant pipes then cutting them up to be able to put them on big ships. I had to turn it off.
posted by zakur at 8:02 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by zakur at 8:02 AM on January 30, 2017
That new anti-regulation EO is completely bullshit.
The reality is that it's easy to be anti-regulation as a concept but it gets really difficult to justify repealing most regulations because for the most part people want them.
Nobody really wants a factory dumping toxic waste into the local river. Nobody really wants to see reduced consumer safety. etc.
For the most part Americans like the regulations that they have they've just been trained by decades of propaganda to equate regulations with job losses. However most voters really don't want to have the US enter a race to the bottom where the US becomes as unlivable as various parts of China have become.
posted by vuron at 8:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The reality is that it's easy to be anti-regulation as a concept but it gets really difficult to justify repealing most regulations because for the most part people want them.
Nobody really wants a factory dumping toxic waste into the local river. Nobody really wants to see reduced consumer safety. etc.
For the most part Americans like the regulations that they have they've just been trained by decades of propaganda to equate regulations with job losses. However most voters really don't want to have the US enter a race to the bottom where the US becomes as unlivable as various parts of China have become.
posted by vuron at 8:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Just out of curiosity, when you were in Basic, and you managed to get over an obstacle, did your DI tell you "Good job! Here's a cookie!" or "AT FUCKING LAST NOW MOVE TO THE NEXT GODDAMN OBSTACLE YOU LOWLY PIECE OF WORM SHIT"? 'Cause I remember the pendulum going a lot more toward the latter, and I got over all the goddamn obstacles at fucking last despite being a lowly piece of worm shit, with no cookies.
I think either your memory may be failing you, or I had a very different experience in Basic than you did. It's a useful thing to study, as the US military spends a really, really long time and a lot of money researching morale and how to motivate people to do really shitty, hard things.
Military motivation in Basic, from my understanding, is in fact built on providing strong negative external pressure to get you moving. But it is built on that only with the understanding that the strict rules provide an artificial external enemy that allows the internal platoon to function as a unit, using positive motivation to help each other. For every drill sergeant shouting "Why are you so slow? Hurry it the fuck up!" there's a fellow soldier shouting, "You can do it! Come on, here's my hand! I've got you!"
In this situation, we already have the external enemy. He's basically a cartoon of an external enemy. There's no need for any more negative motivation. He's basically blotting out the sun. And so now, I think, is the time for, "Just a little further! You can do it! I believe in you!"
posted by corb at 8:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [68 favorites]
I think either your memory may be failing you, or I had a very different experience in Basic than you did. It's a useful thing to study, as the US military spends a really, really long time and a lot of money researching morale and how to motivate people to do really shitty, hard things.
Military motivation in Basic, from my understanding, is in fact built on providing strong negative external pressure to get you moving. But it is built on that only with the understanding that the strict rules provide an artificial external enemy that allows the internal platoon to function as a unit, using positive motivation to help each other. For every drill sergeant shouting "Why are you so slow? Hurry it the fuck up!" there's a fellow soldier shouting, "You can do it! Come on, here's my hand! I've got you!"
In this situation, we already have the external enemy. He's basically a cartoon of an external enemy. There's no need for any more negative motivation. He's basically blotting out the sun. And so now, I think, is the time for, "Just a little further! You can do it! I believe in you!"
posted by corb at 8:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [68 favorites]
The measure will expand regulatory review with the goal of revoking two regulations for every new regulation put forward, according to a senior administration official. Under the order, federal agencies will propose rules they want to drop and the White House will review them.
The stupidity is fucking searing, not only from a practical and basic governance standpoint (do these people have any idea how many federal regs they are????? have they even seen what the CFR looks like or how technical it gets???????????), but a tactical one. Like, requiring individual approval directly from the White House to drop rules?
Dead children due after the White House approves reduction of car safety regulations? Hundreds of people in the hospital with food poisoning after the White House approve dropping regulations on USDA inspections? Explosive scandal about millions in shadily-awarded contracts after the White House approved reduction in regulations on procurement procedure? The mind fucking reels.
I mean, Trump's adminstration is a dumpster fire every single day, so there's a chance any individual scandal will get lost in the forest fire, but what about the one that gets through? What about the one that breaks the day before a long weekend, and the entire fucking weekend is nothing besides that? The political risk involved is fucking staggering and a violation of Politics 101, where you always seek to the credit, and avoid, avoid, avoid having your fingerprints anywhere near the downside. And if that report is to be believed, the White House is going to be approving every single fucking regulation that gets cut.
If you needed proof number 12890740198723091782 that these people are bumbling fucking amateurs doing enormous harm, and not n-dimension evil chessplayers -- there you fucking go.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
The stupidity is fucking searing, not only from a practical and basic governance standpoint (do these people have any idea how many federal regs they are????? have they even seen what the CFR looks like or how technical it gets???????????), but a tactical one. Like, requiring individual approval directly from the White House to drop rules?
Dead children due after the White House approves reduction of car safety regulations? Hundreds of people in the hospital with food poisoning after the White House approve dropping regulations on USDA inspections? Explosive scandal about millions in shadily-awarded contracts after the White House approved reduction in regulations on procurement procedure? The mind fucking reels.
I mean, Trump's adminstration is a dumpster fire every single day, so there's a chance any individual scandal will get lost in the forest fire, but what about the one that gets through? What about the one that breaks the day before a long weekend, and the entire fucking weekend is nothing besides that? The political risk involved is fucking staggering and a violation of Politics 101, where you always seek to the credit, and avoid, avoid, avoid having your fingerprints anywhere near the downside. And if that report is to be believed, the White House is going to be approving every single fucking regulation that gets cut.
If you needed proof number 12890740198723091782 that these people are bumbling fucking amateurs doing enormous harm, and not n-dimension evil chessplayers -- there you fucking go.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
Hey Pennsylvanians: Toomey just released his weasel-wordy mealy-mouthed support for the ban. Let him have it.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [39 favorites]
I said "I know that he has no formal oversight, but I want him to know that this is not normal, it is not right, and it is putting our troops and our national security at risk." He basically did the auditory equivalent of rolling his eyes, which makes me wonder. Is it worth it to waste a phone call on that?
"Well I think if the Senator truly feels he has no power to do anything in the face of the President refusing to acknowledge the authority of the Judicial Branch and putting Americans in danger by gutting the National Security Council that he should think long and hard about that."
posted by threeturtles at 8:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
"Well I think if the Senator truly feels he has no power to do anything in the face of the President refusing to acknowledge the authority of the Judicial Branch and putting Americans in danger by gutting the National Security Council that he should think long and hard about that."
posted by threeturtles at 8:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
When CHARLES FUCKING KOCH is criticizing you from the left, you done fucked up real good.
I wonder if he even realizes that his own private pool of wealth is not in fact infinite, and that he's going to right and truly fucked if he bites the hand that feeds his own populist propaganda machine.
posted by Mayor West at 8:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
I wonder if he even realizes that his own private pool of wealth is not in fact infinite, and that he's going to right and truly fucked if he bites the hand that feeds his own populist propaganda machine.
posted by Mayor West at 8:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Charlie Pierce: This Is a Gut Check for Our Nation
After this weekend, there can be no doubt that the Democrats in Congress now have to form a solid bloc against any and all nominations until such time as the Executive Branch regains a modicum of sanity. And even if they do, denying unanimous consent at all turns seems to be the only real club they have in the bag. And the Republicans have to decide, once and for all, if they stand for the republic or for one man's ghastly view of his fellow humans and the world they've created.posted by zombieflanders at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [67 favorites]
Paul Ryan has made it clear that he would support Caligula if Caligula's horse promised to vote in the Senate to cut the estate tax, so he's hopeless. Saying, as did Senators Ben Sasse and Susan Collins, that the problem with the president*'s order is that it's "too broad" is mushy nonsense. Senator Bob Corker's lament that it was badly drawn will not do, either. The problem is that the order is a moral and political abomination, not that it's badly worded. Jesus H. Christ on an oxcart, syntax is the least of our problems.
This is a gut check on the Constitution and on our identity as a nation for all concerned. People bled on the bricks where people walked in Boston on Sunday. Then they came back the next year to run, and the next year after that, and they will be there again this April, from all over the world, god willing.
i wonder what the "take trump seriously, but not literally" crowd has to say now that he appears to be trying to implement his stump speech via executive order
i'm sort of glad for the total lack of nuance because if the administration were any more sophisticated this stuff would be much harder to oppose
posted by murphy slaw at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
i'm sort of glad for the total lack of nuance because if the administration were any more sophisticated this stuff would be much harder to oppose
posted by murphy slaw at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Ha! I just finished faxing my letter of complaint to all 8 of Toomeys offices.
Edit - I misread the link and thought he came out against it
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Edit - I misread the link and thought he came out against it
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
So now we have an executive branch that's ignoring the judicial branch and paralyzing the legislative branch. My government teacher would be all over this
posted by scrowdid at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by scrowdid at 8:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
My government teacher would be all over a bottle of Johnnie Walker over this, I think
posted by saturday_morning at 8:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 8:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
The march to war is happening very fast... Rep. Hastings (D-FL) introduced this bill on January 3rd, and it's been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
"Authorization of Use of Force Against Iran"
The bill specifically authorizes the president to launch a pre-emptive war on Iran at any time of his choosing and without any further Congressional oversight or input.
I'm very frightened that we're going to war with Iran. Does anyone have more insight as to how likely this is to make it out of committee, or what the best pressure points to stop it are?
(also, WTF, Rep. Hastings??)
posted by aka burlap at 8:12 AM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
"Authorization of Use of Force Against Iran"
The bill specifically authorizes the president to launch a pre-emptive war on Iran at any time of his choosing and without any further Congressional oversight or input.
I'm very frightened that we're going to war with Iran. Does anyone have more insight as to how likely this is to make it out of committee, or what the best pressure points to stop it are?
(also, WTF, Rep. Hastings??)
posted by aka burlap at 8:12 AM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Politico: Trump signs executive order requiring that for every one new regulation, two must be revoked
This.. this makes no sense? What does it mean? I don't understand.
posted by INFJ at 8:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
This.. this makes no sense? What does it mean? I don't understand.
posted by INFJ at 8:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Correct.
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by Rust Moranis at 8:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
(also, WTF, Rep. Hastings??)
b) anyone live in "the majority-black precincts in and around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach" (ugh gerrymandering) and feel like making some phone calls?
posted by saturday_morning at 8:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
In 1988, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives took up the case, and Hastings was impeached for bribery and perjury by a vote of 413-3. He was then convicted in 1989 by the United States Senate becoming the sixth federal judge in the history of the United States to be removed from office by the Senate. The Senate, in two hours of roll calls, voted on 11 of the 17 articles of impeachment. It convicted Hastings of eight of the 11 articles. The vote on the first article was 69 for and 26 opposed.a) who is this clown
b) anyone live in "the majority-black precincts in and around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach" (ugh gerrymandering) and feel like making some phone calls?
posted by saturday_morning at 8:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Primary her.
@NateSilver538
We're tracking which members of Congress vote in support of Trump most often. Congratulations, @SenFeinstein! --> http://53eig.ht/2jNoNGp
Apparently 538 counts her non-vote on the ACA repeal bill as a "yes". IIRC she was having heart surgery at the time, so... nice job, 538. So really she's in the esteemed company of Schumer, Kaine et al which is more a sign that they, too, suck at Democrating than anything nice to say about Feinstein.
posted by indubitable at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
@NateSilver538
We're tracking which members of Congress vote in support of Trump most often. Congratulations, @SenFeinstein! --> http://53eig.ht/2jNoNGp
Apparently 538 counts her non-vote on the ACA repeal bill as a "yes". IIRC she was having heart surgery at the time, so... nice job, 538. So really she's in the esteemed company of Schumer, Kaine et al which is more a sign that they, too, suck at Democrating than anything nice to say about Feinstein.
posted by indubitable at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
For every drill sergeant shouting "Why are you so slow? Hurry it the fuck up!" there's a fellow soldier shouting, "You can do it! Come on, here's my hand! I've got you!"
You and I tried being fellow soldiers to the #nevertrump movement, and all our brave fellow soldiers in the Republican Party machinery and in Congress and in the Electoral College assumed the dead cockroach position. Maybe we're not the problem here.
posted by Etrigan at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
You and I tried being fellow soldiers to the #nevertrump movement, and all our brave fellow soldiers in the Republican Party machinery and in Congress and in the Electoral College assumed the dead cockroach position. Maybe we're not the problem here.
posted by Etrigan at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
Ah, the joys of logic:
"This new regulation requires that you drop two regulations for every new one you adopt"
"OK, got it. Now, what exactly do you mean by regulation?"
"We'll specify it in a new regulation"
"We can't adopt that until we know what you mean by regulation, so we can drop two."
On the plus side, if the WH is requiring every regulatory move to be approved BY the WH, I hope the agencies start shipping regulations to them by the fucking terabyte, every day.The more technical, the better. Some nice chewy telecomms standards, a few organic chemical reagent handling specs, some of the FAA's more esoteric items...
posted by Devonian at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]
"This new regulation requires that you drop two regulations for every new one you adopt"
"OK, got it. Now, what exactly do you mean by regulation?"
"We'll specify it in a new regulation"
"We can't adopt that until we know what you mean by regulation, so we can drop two."
On the plus side, if the WH is requiring every regulatory move to be approved BY the WH, I hope the agencies start shipping regulations to them by the fucking terabyte, every day.The more technical, the better. Some nice chewy telecomms standards, a few organic chemical reagent handling specs, some of the FAA's more esoteric items...
posted by Devonian at 8:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]
he's basically taking policy ideas from the opinion page of the springfield shopper
posted by entropicamericana at 8:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 8:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Rogue POTUS Staff @RoguePOTUSStaff
Bannon suggested reaching out to Gorsuch and Hardiman to gauge willingness to back #MuslimBan EO in court. Pence dissuades, but barely.
In the unlikely event that this is not fanfic, this is illegal, correct?
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Bannon suggested reaching out to Gorsuch and Hardiman to gauge willingness to back #MuslimBan EO in court. Pence dissuades, but barely.
In the unlikely event that this is not fanfic, this is illegal, correct?
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
From the Politico piece on the regulation EO:
“If you have a regulation you want, number one, we’re not gonna approve it because it’s already been approved probably in 17 different forms,” Trump said. “But if we do, the only way you have a chance is we have to knock out two regulations for every new regulation. So if there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two.”
Who is the "you" and who is the "we" in this statement?? If "you" is an agency and "we" is the White House, does he have any clue that the White House literally does not have authority to "approve" or "knock out" a specific regulation because the power is almost always statutorily given to the head of the agency? (I know the answer is "no"....) Sure, the WH certainly influences agency policy and can direct agencies to do certain things, on the threat of firing the head of the agency, and that'll affect whether regulations are made or not, but one of the few things it cannot do is make the literal final call on a regulation when the statute says, "The Secretary shall promulgate regulations concerning X," because it's a frickin' legislative power delegated by Congress to the executive branch agency, not an executive power that the President has unitary power over. Micromanaging is not only stupidly impracticable, and a political nightmare for having WH fingerprints on bad outcomes, but it's also contrary to the Constitutional underpinnings of having agency regulations at all.
It's called the separations of powers. [Said with mock innocence/sincerity:] I thought Republicans cared about that?
posted by alligatorpear at 8:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
“If you have a regulation you want, number one, we’re not gonna approve it because it’s already been approved probably in 17 different forms,” Trump said. “But if we do, the only way you have a chance is we have to knock out two regulations for every new regulation. So if there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two.”
Who is the "you" and who is the "we" in this statement?? If "you" is an agency and "we" is the White House, does he have any clue that the White House literally does not have authority to "approve" or "knock out" a specific regulation because the power is almost always statutorily given to the head of the agency? (I know the answer is "no"....) Sure, the WH certainly influences agency policy and can direct agencies to do certain things, on the threat of firing the head of the agency, and that'll affect whether regulations are made or not, but one of the few things it cannot do is make the literal final call on a regulation when the statute says, "The Secretary shall promulgate regulations concerning X," because it's a frickin' legislative power delegated by Congress to the executive branch agency, not an executive power that the President has unitary power over. Micromanaging is not only stupidly impracticable, and a political nightmare for having WH fingerprints on bad outcomes, but it's also contrary to the Constitutional underpinnings of having agency regulations at all.
It's called the separations of powers. [Said with mock innocence/sincerity:] I thought Republicans cared about that?
posted by alligatorpear at 8:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
The thinking behind the "get one, kill two" rule for regulations seems to be that the world keeps getting simpler and easier as time goes on, and regulations have failed to keep up with that.
This is fundamentally not my understanding of how reality works.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 8:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]
This is fundamentally not my understanding of how reality works.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 8:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]
The regulation thing isn't supposed to make sense, it's meant to thrill idiots and paralyze the government.
posted by theodolite at 8:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [72 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 8:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [72 favorites]
It's okay, his policy of not actually appointing any people to any of places he's supposed to appoint people to will mean there's no one around to try and implement any new regulations anyway.
posted by dng at 8:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by dng at 8:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Caligula' horse would likely be an ally with the Democrats at this point since he only ever votes "Nay" SORRY NOT SORRY.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [36 favorites]
The travel ban is obviously a big issue, but I'm wondering why Senate Democrats aren't getting out in front of Trump's Supreme Court nomination. Undercutting his announcement tomorrow night by saying "Garland or nobody" ASAP would be such an easy win... it's a message that is simple to understand, Republican talking points against it are easily refuted, and it would provide visible, ongoing opposition to Trump that would fire up the base.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
What happens to all of the march planning and the resistance movement and real time information sharing, should the US government shut down social media?
How? Per an interview a few years ago on a tech podcast Facebook has 75% of the population on it, with 50% of the people who are on it checking in once a week. Twitter at one point had 20% of the population subscribed was a claim.
If Facebook/twitter is smashed - more than a few people have email addresses of those outside the walled gardens of social media.
So "the government" is gonna smash email? How's THAT gonna work?
If the decision is to take out the meetpoints, ok. What happens to all the businesses that rely on email and VOIP if that traffic can't be routed?
Instead of some kind of magical internet blocking - why not just pop off EMPs?
Really tho - It is better to have a list of who is active and to what extent on "social media" then use THAT list to round people up for 'vacations'. Trumpist Alex Jones has went on and on about how such an operation is to be run based on whatever planning documents he'd got his hands on or wild fever dreams. There was some kind of "look for a colored dot on your mailbox" a few years back for examples of the idea of a round up list. Someone has thought such a plan out - and odds are Trumpists have the steps for a round-up plan.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
How? Per an interview a few years ago on a tech podcast Facebook has 75% of the population on it, with 50% of the people who are on it checking in once a week. Twitter at one point had 20% of the population subscribed was a claim.
If Facebook/twitter is smashed - more than a few people have email addresses of those outside the walled gardens of social media.
So "the government" is gonna smash email? How's THAT gonna work?
If the decision is to take out the meetpoints, ok. What happens to all the businesses that rely on email and VOIP if that traffic can't be routed?
Instead of some kind of magical internet blocking - why not just pop off EMPs?
Really tho - It is better to have a list of who is active and to what extent on "social media" then use THAT list to round people up for 'vacations'. Trumpist Alex Jones has went on and on about how such an operation is to be run based on whatever planning documents he'd got his hands on or wild fever dreams. There was some kind of "look for a colored dot on your mailbox" a few years back for examples of the idea of a round up list. Someone has thought such a plan out - and odds are Trumpists have the steps for a round-up plan.
posted by rough ashlar at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Just got an email:
"Vigil to Oppose Trump's Executive Orders
Join refugees, immigrants, and House & Senate Democrats to call on Donald Trump to rescind his hateful, anti-refugee, anti-immigrant executive orders.
Monday, January 30th
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Steps of the Supreme Court
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20003"
posted by a fiendish thingy at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
"Vigil to Oppose Trump's Executive Orders
Join refugees, immigrants, and House & Senate Democrats to call on Donald Trump to rescind his hateful, anti-refugee, anti-immigrant executive orders.
Monday, January 30th
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Steps of the Supreme Court
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20003"
posted by a fiendish thingy at 8:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
@NathanBomey
ALERT: Ford becomes first major U.S. automaker to criticize Trump immigration ban. CEO Mark Fields, Chairman Bill Ford say they oppose it.
posted by chris24 at 8:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [62 favorites]
ALERT: Ford becomes first major U.S. automaker to criticize Trump immigration ban. CEO Mark Fields, Chairman Bill Ford say they oppose it.
posted by chris24 at 8:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [62 favorites]
I think we need to stop reacting and start attacking. Yes, I said attack. Every legal move should be on the table at this point. Fuck waiting for 2018, find out who isn't registered and get them registered and keep in contact with them. Do block parties if you have to, ones that clearly telegraph coming together and having a good time and voting when the time comes.
Keep funding the shit out of the ACLU, so they can keep lawyering up and pulling every legal attack they can.
Organize protests in front of Congresscritters office, so they know what the deal is. Either they're down to stop this crap or they're targeted for being voted out.
Do outreach to Trump voters so we can bring them aboard when it's time to vote at least.
Lots of reminders aimed at the President about who lost the popular vote. Keep pointing out to other billionaires how he's profiting, which is money they're losing.
Attack, attack, attack, as group. We don't agree on everything, but we'll agree this fucker has got to go. Bonus: when he goes that leaves things in place to combat the VP too. Because that fucker lost the popular vote also.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Keep funding the shit out of the ACLU, so they can keep lawyering up and pulling every legal attack they can.
Organize protests in front of Congresscritters office, so they know what the deal is. Either they're down to stop this crap or they're targeted for being voted out.
Do outreach to Trump voters so we can bring them aboard when it's time to vote at least.
Lots of reminders aimed at the President about who lost the popular vote. Keep pointing out to other billionaires how he's profiting, which is money they're losing.
Attack, attack, attack, as group. We don't agree on everything, but we'll agree this fucker has got to go. Bonus: when he goes that leaves things in place to combat the VP too. Because that fucker lost the popular vote also.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Before the elections, we had really useful interactive visualizations of data, I feel like this stopped abruptly when the elections were over. As someone with ADHD and terrible memory I really miss those tools. Is anyone else having a hard time formulating a general, bird's eye view of everything that is going on? I cannot be the only person who feels this way, I mean, I am fairly educated and have average intelligence (I think) but politics right now is starting to feel like reading a mash up of A Hundred Years of Solitude (the similar names made things really complicated for me) and Dostoevsky (pick any of his books) while drunk.
I don't have the mental power to keep track of all the issues and their developments, and I feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on, and I was wondering if there are any resources? I went to the Virginia Democratic party website hoping to find at least some of this info, but it's pretty useless. I am kind of disappointed that they are not making an effort to inform the public, frankly. Or maybe they are just not userfriendly enough. They have one website which seems like a good start (Trump 4 Gov), but there is very little actual information on the issues.
In my dreams, the resource I need would compile and present:
a) Comprehensive concern/issue list, updated as they develop (with documented sources), sorted by urgency/degree of impending-doom-ness
b) Clear map of every issue's potential real life consequences, short and long term (maybe color coded for probability)
c) Who is involved and in what capacity (where I could see where my Senators stand, for example)
d) A couple of suggestions on what I can do (in person or remotely) about it
Are there any projects like this? If not but someone out there is interested in picking this up, I would volunteer to translate and help with refugee related updates (it's my professional area).
posted by Tarumba at 8:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't have the mental power to keep track of all the issues and their developments, and I feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on, and I was wondering if there are any resources? I went to the Virginia Democratic party website hoping to find at least some of this info, but it's pretty useless. I am kind of disappointed that they are not making an effort to inform the public, frankly. Or maybe they are just not userfriendly enough. They have one website which seems like a good start (Trump 4 Gov), but there is very little actual information on the issues.
In my dreams, the resource I need would compile and present:
a) Comprehensive concern/issue list, updated as they develop (with documented sources), sorted by urgency/degree of impending-doom-ness
b) Clear map of every issue's potential real life consequences, short and long term (maybe color coded for probability)
c) Who is involved and in what capacity (where I could see where my Senators stand, for example)
d) A couple of suggestions on what I can do (in person or remotely) about it
Are there any projects like this? If not but someone out there is interested in picking this up, I would volunteer to translate and help with refugee related updates (it's my professional area).
posted by Tarumba at 8:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Vigil to Oppose Trump's Executive Orders
Monday, January 30th
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Steps of the Supreme Court
Sounds awesome but oh man wouldn't it be better to do this tomorrow from 6-9 while the new Supreme Court nomination gets announced?
"I am nominating William Pryor, a fantastic judge, just a terrific judge, you're gonna get tired of"
*cut to chanting, angry crowd outside Supreme Court*
posted by saturday_morning at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Monday, January 30th
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Steps of the Supreme Court
Sounds awesome but oh man wouldn't it be better to do this tomorrow from 6-9 while the new Supreme Court nomination gets announced?
"I am nominating William Pryor, a fantastic judge, just a terrific judge, you're gonna get tired of"
*cut to chanting, angry crowd outside Supreme Court*
posted by saturday_morning at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
> What happens to all of the march planning and the resistance movement and real time information sharing, should the US government shut down social media?
Because everyone who has been holding meetings and organizing has been circulating a sign-in sheet requesting emails and phone numbers right? RIGHT?!
posted by Tevin at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Because everyone who has been holding meetings and organizing has been circulating a sign-in sheet requesting emails and phone numbers right? RIGHT?!
posted by Tevin at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
rough ashler: I mean that the "walled gardens" are where the organizing and connections seem to be. I'm not aware of email lists that can be used to contact and rally people in the same way that Facebook and Twitter have been used. Without social media, how do people get specific info about "rally here", "lawyers needed there", etc.?
posted by jindc at 8:34 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by jindc at 8:34 AM on January 30, 2017
Dow is down almost 200 points. So much for that "Trump rally" over 20,000.
posted by chris24 at 8:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 8:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. speaks out against the immigration ban (sorta)
posted by anastasiav at 8:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by anastasiav at 8:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Because everyone who has been holding meetings and organizing has been circulating a sign-in sheet requesting emails and phone numbers right? RIGHT?!
As the person responsible for deciphering people's handwriting and entering this data into spreadsheets: yes. And also: PLEASE WRITE LEGIBLY
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:36 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Let's say there were 1.2 million people in DC at the March. Who's got the email list?
posted by jindc at 8:38 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by jindc at 8:38 AM on January 30, 2017
I suspect things need to get really local and focused. Who are your Congresscritters and where to they stand on reigning in Trump? If they're not down for that, make it a point to work to get them defeated in the primary. The goal should be to get House of Representatives converted to a body willing to actively put the brakes on Trump.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017
Buzzfeed: The Pentagon Is Making A List Of Iraqis Who Are Still Able To Enter The US
Among those being considered for an exemption includes pilots training to fly F-16s and interpreters, a defense official tells BuzzFeed News.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017
Among those being considered for an exemption includes pilots training to fly F-16s and interpreters, a defense official tells BuzzFeed News.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017
wait a minute, are executive orders "regulations"
people, i think they have just hosted themselves by their own petard
[fake], sadly
posted by murphy slaw at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
people, i think they have just hosted themselves by their own petard
[fake], sadly
posted by murphy slaw at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
I would like there to be an app or website that takes my zip code and gives me a vcard of my representatives' contact info, which I can import easily into my contacts, be it in my email client or phone.
I would like to hand this website to my non-tech savvy friends and family and say, "Please put your senator's numbers in your phone today so there is less barrier for you calling tomorrow. Just click this link from your phone and it will ask if you want to add this to your contacts."
Does such a service exist, scraping current house/senate websites, or similar?
posted by enfa at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I would like to hand this website to my non-tech savvy friends and family and say, "Please put your senator's numbers in your phone today so there is less barrier for you calling tomorrow. Just click this link from your phone and it will ask if you want to add this to your contacts."
Does such a service exist, scraping current house/senate websites, or similar?
posted by enfa at 8:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Let's say there were 1.2 million people in DC at the March. Who's got the email list?
Probably the groups who arranged the 1500 buses that went to DC.
This stuff is local.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Probably the groups who arranged the 1500 buses that went to DC.
This stuff is local.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Minnesota folks: There's a protest planned for the Minneapolis federal building on Tuesday afternoon. I've sent MeMail to a couple posters in this thread to make sure folks know; if you're interested in meeting up drop me note. If you weren't one of the folks, my apologies - I was doing a very quick scan in a very long thread.
I don't know of anything happening in town today - does anyone else?
posted by nickmark at 8:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't know of anything happening in town today - does anyone else?
posted by nickmark at 8:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Let's say there were 1.2 million people in DC at the March. Who's got the email list?
It's a distributed list. I could tell you exactly who went to the march from our area, and I have their contact info. It's like that all over.
On preview, jinx soren_lorenson!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's a distributed list. I could tell you exactly who went to the march from our area, and I have their contact info. It's like that all over.
On preview, jinx soren_lorenson!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Meaning...a website where you enter your cell number and then it texts you the actual 'contact' doohickey for all your representatives that you can then click and add to your phone
posted by ian1977 at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by ian1977 at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017
Look, I'm not saying that life won't be made much, much more difficult if there was a cut off of social media. But you get a group of folks who show up at a local place, like, say a statehouse, at the same day every week or who just don't leave? People will get the picture whether they can get on FB or not. Unless sm is turned off, curfews are instated, and public gatherings are no longer legal than it will be a temporary pain in the ass.
They did it before the Internet, we certainly can do it now.
posted by Tevin at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
They did it before the Internet, we certainly can do it now.
posted by Tevin at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'll be there nickmark!
posted by ian1977 at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 8:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Enjoying" Boris Johnson being like "everything's okay, this is fine, we've got UK citizens sorted, nothing to see here" in Parliament.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:44 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:44 AM on January 30, 2017
From Carnegie Mellon's Student Affairs office:
posted by tonycpsu at 8:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Presidential Executive Orders help the administration implemendt policy. For more information or historical context, you can read Executive Orders 101(Emphasis mine.)
President Trump has signed a number of Executive Orders during his first week with more expected in the weeks to come. When an Executive Order is issued, there often is a period of uncertainty as the responsible agencies move to implement the order. That may necessitate issuing regulations, which can take time. There may also be legal challenges to Executive Orders. While people who are impacted by an Executive Order should pay attention to the order, there may be periods of time when there are questions but no definitive answers.
OIE will attempt to keep up with the pace of these announcements but the current President works a bit faster than we may be able to.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
soren_lorensen: 1500 buses X 50 passengers=75,000 people. which is great...and I'm sure there are thousands of other people who have registered with an organizing group, which is also great.
I'm not trying to diminish the scope of the organizing that has been done, I'm genuinely worried that social media has been the prime mover in getting the word out and wonder how the massive scale can be replicated should Twitter and Facebook organizing be limited somehow.
posted by jindc at 8:46 AM on January 30, 2017
I'm not trying to diminish the scope of the organizing that has been done, I'm genuinely worried that social media has been the prime mover in getting the word out and wonder how the massive scale can be replicated should Twitter and Facebook organizing be limited somehow.
posted by jindc at 8:46 AM on January 30, 2017
Rogue POTUS Staff @RoguePOTUSStaff
Bannon suggested reaching out to Gorsuch and Hardiman to gauge willingness to back #MuslimBan EO in court. Pence dissuades, but barely.
In the unlikely event that this is not fanfic, this is illegal, correct?
posted by soren_lorensen
I don't think it's technically illegal (though someone can correct me if I'm wrong), but it's definitely unethical for the judge (not the person attempting to talk to the judge) and would potentially be grounds for seeking to have the judge/justice recused from the issue in the future. It's why judges can, should, and do consistently refuse to comment on pending or future cases.
Depending on the context and what was asked, I think you could also argue this particular instance would be against court rules against what's called "ex parte communciations" -- one side of a current or impending case (ie, the government in this case) can't talk to the judge about a case without the other side present. Even though this isn't an issue in any case currently before either judge, it's arguably "impending." Ex parte communications aren't technically "illegal" because court rules don't have the force of law, but courts and judges take it very seriously. It could be grounds for a finding of judicial misconduct and disciplinary measures. For example, the Tenth Circuit's rules (pdf) (where Judge Gorsuch sits) lists "having improper discussions with parties or counsel for one side of a case" as judicial misconduct.
Long story short, I 100% believe neither judge would be fool enough to have this discussion even if Bannon had reached out.
posted by alligatorpear at 8:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Bannon suggested reaching out to Gorsuch and Hardiman to gauge willingness to back #MuslimBan EO in court. Pence dissuades, but barely.
In the unlikely event that this is not fanfic, this is illegal, correct?
posted by soren_lorensen
I don't think it's technically illegal (though someone can correct me if I'm wrong), but it's definitely unethical for the judge (not the person attempting to talk to the judge) and would potentially be grounds for seeking to have the judge/justice recused from the issue in the future. It's why judges can, should, and do consistently refuse to comment on pending or future cases.
Depending on the context and what was asked, I think you could also argue this particular instance would be against court rules against what's called "ex parte communciations" -- one side of a current or impending case (ie, the government in this case) can't talk to the judge about a case without the other side present. Even though this isn't an issue in any case currently before either judge, it's arguably "impending." Ex parte communications aren't technically "illegal" because court rules don't have the force of law, but courts and judges take it very seriously. It could be grounds for a finding of judicial misconduct and disciplinary measures. For example, the Tenth Circuit's rules (pdf) (where Judge Gorsuch sits) lists "having improper discussions with parties or counsel for one side of a case" as judicial misconduct.
Long story short, I 100% believe neither judge would be fool enough to have this discussion even if Bannon had reached out.
posted by alligatorpear at 8:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Johnson, the odious blob, is gibbering in defence of the order. Tories in general seem to be trying to decide whether to be Chamberlain or Quisling.
posted by Grangousier at 8:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 8:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
It's tempting to complain about what other regular people aren't doing, but I hope each complaint is matched with action: every time we say, "why aren't people doing xyz?" we should follow that with an action, donation, call to a politician, call to a conservative relative, creation of an art piece, something...
posted by latkes at 8:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by latkes at 8:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Actually, that's unfair - there was just a Tory condemning it. But someone should slap Jacob Rees-Mogg.
posted by Grangousier at 8:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 8:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Re: the regulations EO, many times when agencies make rules they are doing so because the law specifically says they must. For instance, every five years EPA has to do rulemaking on the air quality standards for ozone, NO2, and other pollutants, and decide whether to tighten them or extend the existing limits for another five years. The Clean Air Act says "do it," not "do it as long as you can find something else to cut." And they sure as hell can't withdraw those standards to make room for something else. This is, yet again, ordering the agencies to defy federal law, and daring the courts to stop them.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Boris Johnson demonstrating the Peter principle in the Commons right now. To think he was in the running for PM... *shudder*
posted by mushhushshu at 8:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mushhushshu at 8:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
They did it before the Internet, we certainly can do it now.You know, I am genuinely not convinced that this is true. I don't think that the basically-spontaneous protests to the immigration ban on Saturday would have happened before the internet. Whether that matters is an open question: Twitter fueled the Arab Spring, and we all saw how that turned out. But I do think that social media is a pretty potent organizing tool.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
If you are having trouble getting through to your members of congress, you can fax them for free at faxzero.com
They even have the numbers for senators and congresspeople all ready to go.
posted by mcduff at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
They even have the numbers for senators and congresspeople all ready to go.
posted by mcduff at 8:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
I think that if the government took peoples' facetweets away, there'd be rioting in the streets spontaneously. People love their Farmville.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
As for the supposed #neverTrumpers, I'm sorry corb, but they were #neverReal.
I'll work with whatever allies I can find against Fascism, but it is far, far, too early and with far, far, too little done to claim any Congressional Republican is an ally. A couple of mealymouthed, not really criticisms, is insufficient to be counted as anything but yet another Quisling trying to put on a mask.
Are they still supporting his Fascist nominees? Then they aren't allies against Fascism.
Are they still voting for his Fascist bills? Then they aren't allies against Fascism.
As far as the Republican laity goes, their ally status now depends on marching and voting. Assuming we have elections in 2018, will they vote against Republicans who supported Trump? Primary challenges are nice, but if Ted Cruz (to pick an example survives his primary challenge will they vote against him? If not, then they aren't really allies. They just want a cookie with no work, no sacrifice.
Are they out marching with us? If so then I'll count them provisionally as allies until they fail to do their job in the voting booth. But they aren't.
I remember the Women's March, there were no #neverTrump Republicans there. I've seen video and stills of the protests over his Muslim ban, I don't recall seeing any #neverTrump Republican signs there.
It seems to me that, just as before the election, the extent of their commitment is empty words and a stab in the back when the real work is needed.
I'm open to Republican allies against Trump. But I'm not going to be so desperate for them that I'm a sucker either. Because we really don't need them.
Yes, it'd be nice to siphon off some Republican votes, but it clearly isn't happening. And we can win without doing so, it just needs motivating the non-voters. That seems more likely to happen than getting the Republicans to vote against him.
The time for the Republicans to have stood against Trump was yesterday, and they collectively sat on their asses and let the Democrats to the work. They are not allies yet.
posted by sotonohito at 8:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
I'll work with whatever allies I can find against Fascism, but it is far, far, too early and with far, far, too little done to claim any Congressional Republican is an ally. A couple of mealymouthed, not really criticisms, is insufficient to be counted as anything but yet another Quisling trying to put on a mask.
Are they still supporting his Fascist nominees? Then they aren't allies against Fascism.
Are they still voting for his Fascist bills? Then they aren't allies against Fascism.
As far as the Republican laity goes, their ally status now depends on marching and voting. Assuming we have elections in 2018, will they vote against Republicans who supported Trump? Primary challenges are nice, but if Ted Cruz (to pick an example survives his primary challenge will they vote against him? If not, then they aren't really allies. They just want a cookie with no work, no sacrifice.
Are they out marching with us? If so then I'll count them provisionally as allies until they fail to do their job in the voting booth. But they aren't.
I remember the Women's March, there were no #neverTrump Republicans there. I've seen video and stills of the protests over his Muslim ban, I don't recall seeing any #neverTrump Republican signs there.
It seems to me that, just as before the election, the extent of their commitment is empty words and a stab in the back when the real work is needed.
I'm open to Republican allies against Trump. But I'm not going to be so desperate for them that I'm a sucker either. Because we really don't need them.
Yes, it'd be nice to siphon off some Republican votes, but it clearly isn't happening. And we can win without doing so, it just needs motivating the non-voters. That seems more likely to happen than getting the Republicans to vote against him.
The time for the Republicans to have stood against Trump was yesterday, and they collectively sat on their asses and let the Democrats to the work. They are not allies yet.
posted by sotonohito at 8:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Boris Johnson demonstrating the Peter principle in the Commons right now. To think he was in the running for PM... *shudder*
he's surpassed the peter principle at this point, he rose to the level of his own incompetence and then just kept going
posted by murphy slaw at 8:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
he's surpassed the peter principle at this point, he rose to the level of his own incompetence and then just kept going
posted by murphy slaw at 8:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I think that if the government took peoples' facetweets away, there'd be rioting in the streets spontaneously. People love their Farmville.
I think if they took away facetweets, tech billionaires who've been passive to supportive of Trump would maybe find their spines buried deep in their lightened wallets.
posted by chris24 at 8:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
I think if they took away facetweets, tech billionaires who've been passive to supportive of Trump would maybe find their spines buried deep in their lightened wallets.
posted by chris24 at 8:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Seeing the word "facetweets" makes me react the same way I do when I see people use the word "sheeple"
posted by MysticMCJ at 8:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]
posted by MysticMCJ at 8:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]
the regulations EO, many times when agencies make rules they are doing so because the law specifically says they must.
Yes, exactly. This new EO is blisteringly stupid. For example, what if an agency is sued and forced to complete a regulation on a statutory deadline? Do they still have to ax two other regulations? You're going to have to take notice and comment on axing those regulations. You also run the risk of being boxed into a corner and forced to cut regulation you don't want to because of the numbers game.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 8:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Yes, exactly. This new EO is blisteringly stupid. For example, what if an agency is sued and forced to complete a regulation on a statutory deadline? Do they still have to ax two other regulations? You're going to have to take notice and comment on axing those regulations. You also run the risk of being boxed into a corner and forced to cut regulation you don't want to because of the numbers game.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 8:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
As for the supposed #neverTrumpers, I'm sorry corb, but they were #neverReal.
Frankly, while I appreciate the spirit behind that movement, I couldn't get behind it because the idea of Ted Cruz even knowing where the White House IS LOCATED gives me runny shits.
posted by delfin at 8:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Frankly, while I appreciate the spirit behind that movement, I couldn't get behind it because the idea of Ted Cruz even knowing where the White House IS LOCATED gives me runny shits.
posted by delfin at 8:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
But someone should slap Jacob Rees-Mogg.
This has the same moral imperative as punching a fascist. The Hon. Member For The 18th Century was on the wireless last night, running out the 'But Obama banned Iraquis too!' line, which went unfortunately unchallenged (not by the denizens of Devonian Mansions, who yelled lustily at the set at this point, but I don't think he heard us).
Rumour has it he's in the running for Speaker, which would mean a lot more of his voice - to the delight of fop-fanciers everywhere - but, mercifully, would remove him from opining on policies.
posted by Devonian at 8:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
This has the same moral imperative as punching a fascist. The Hon. Member For The 18th Century was on the wireless last night, running out the 'But Obama banned Iraquis too!' line, which went unfortunately unchallenged (not by the denizens of Devonian Mansions, who yelled lustily at the set at this point, but I don't think he heard us).
Rumour has it he's in the running for Speaker, which would mean a lot more of his voice - to the delight of fop-fanciers everywhere - but, mercifully, would remove him from opining on policies.
posted by Devonian at 8:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
"[M]any times when agencies make rules they are doing so because the law specifically says they must. . . . This is, yet again, ordering the agencies to defy federal law, and daring the courts to stop them."
Exactly, Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish. They are daring either Congress or the courts to try to make them stop.
posted by alligatorpear at 8:59 AM on January 30, 2017
Exactly, Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish. They are daring either Congress or the courts to try to make them stop.
posted by alligatorpear at 8:59 AM on January 30, 2017
Cause I remember the pendulum going a lot more toward the latter, and I got over all the goddamn obstacles at fucking last despite being a lowly piece of worm shit
Not having served, I can't comment about that or corb's response. But this is a basic issue in any sort of training or conditioning.
Do you want to see more of the behavior you just saw and see similar novel behaviors be offered? Reward it.
Do you want to see less of that behavior and not see similar ? Ignore it.
Do you want to see much less of that behavior, or more realistically to have that behavior continue but be hidden from you? Punish it.
Unless you think that politicians literally do not have a nervous system and are not capable of voluntary actions, this is utterly basic.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:00 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Not having served, I can't comment about that or corb's response. But this is a basic issue in any sort of training or conditioning.
Do you want to see more of the behavior you just saw and see similar novel behaviors be offered? Reward it.
Do you want to see less of that behavior and not see similar ? Ignore it.
Do you want to see much less of that behavior, or more realistically to have that behavior continue but be hidden from you? Punish it.
Unless you think that politicians literally do not have a nervous system and are not capable of voluntary actions, this is utterly basic.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:00 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
They did it before the Internet, we certainly can do it now.
You know, I am genuinely not convinced that this is true. I don't think that the basically-spontaneous protests to the immigration ban on Saturday would have happened before the internet.
I think social media makes it easier to get the word out to a larger audience, and it definitely makes it easier to get media attention, which may be more important. But anyone Gen X or older can remember how quickly "hey, I heard Jen's parents are out of town tonight" turned into a huge insane blowout just by good old-fashioned word of mouth. Social media works because people are social.
That having been said, I think they're more likely to do a China-style purge of keywords and content than by outright taking platforms away - people won't see what they're not seeing, so it will just look like indifference. Which is far harder to fight.
posted by Mchelly at 9:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
You know, I am genuinely not convinced that this is true. I don't think that the basically-spontaneous protests to the immigration ban on Saturday would have happened before the internet.
I think social media makes it easier to get the word out to a larger audience, and it definitely makes it easier to get media attention, which may be more important. But anyone Gen X or older can remember how quickly "hey, I heard Jen's parents are out of town tonight" turned into a huge insane blowout just by good old-fashioned word of mouth. Social media works because people are social.
That having been said, I think they're more likely to do a China-style purge of keywords and content than by outright taking platforms away - people won't see what they're not seeing, so it will just look like indifference. Which is far harder to fight.
posted by Mchelly at 9:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Seeing the word "facetweets" makes me react the same way I do when I see people use the word "sheeple"
facetweeting is how I share my thoughts about sportsball!
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]
facetweeting is how I share my thoughts about sportsball!
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]
He Left For A Gay Cruise, But Returned To An Immigration Ban
Last week, the cruise ship Allure of the Seas was host to an Atlantis Gay Cruise for LGBT folks. When the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, at least one passenger was detained for 3 hours, though he's since been released.
posted by dnash at 9:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Last week, the cruise ship Allure of the Seas was host to an Atlantis Gay Cruise for LGBT folks. When the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, at least one passenger was detained for 3 hours, though he's since been released.
posted by dnash at 9:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
This piece in the NYT pretty much lays everything out there for Democratic MOCs.
But the fury is also spurring liberal voters to demand uncompromising confrontation and resistance from their elected officials to a president they believe poses an existential threat to the country. The Democrats’ increasingly assertive base wants the party’s leaders to eschew any cooperation with Mr. Trump: They are already expressing rage at some senators for confirming the president’s cabinet appointees, and for their willingness to allow a vote on his pick for a vacant Supreme Court seat.posted by threeturtles at 9:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
azuresunday: Buzzfeed now reporting that even a Koch official is speaking against the immigration ban.
The Koch brothers were against _rump in he heady, optimistic days of Summer 2016, but lots of Koch-affiliated people are working inside the _rump administration, at least as of Nov. 28, per Politico. Also, a Koch-funded scientific project confirmed global warming is real back in 2012, which is to say the Koch brothers have varied and diverse agendas, which include directions counter to those from the Angry Orange.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:02 AM on January 30, 2017
The Koch brothers were against _rump in he heady, optimistic days of Summer 2016, but lots of Koch-affiliated people are working inside the _rump administration, at least as of Nov. 28, per Politico. Also, a Koch-funded scientific project confirmed global warming is real back in 2012, which is to say the Koch brothers have varied and diverse agendas, which include directions counter to those from the Angry Orange.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:02 AM on January 30, 2017
Rogue POTUS Staff @RoguePOTUSStaff
Bannon suggested reaching out to Gorsuch and Hardiman to gauge willingness to back #MuslimBan EO in court. Pence dissuades, but barely.
In the unlikely event that this is not fanfic, this is illegal, correct?
posted by soren_lorensen
I don't think it's technically illegal (though someone can correct me if I'm wrong)
Pretty sure it's not illegal. In the second half of the 20th century we developed this illusion that the Supremes should not be political appointees but rather impartial, valueless divine oracles of constitutionality, because that was the best strategy to get them through the Senate, and so it became gauche to ask them "litmus test" questions. It's instructive to look back at Robert's confirmation hearings, where he basically refused to say that he believed in anything besides the rule of law, as if he were merely a prism through which the rays of legal truth are refracted into jurisprudence. This of course was bullshit. The Supremes, at least since Marshall, have always been chosen for policy reasons, and there's no reason why you can't pin them down on specific decisions.
posted by dis_integration at 9:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
You know, I am genuinely not convinced that this is true. I don't think that the basically-spontaneous protests to the immigration ban on Saturday would have happened before the internet. Whether that matters is an open question: Twitter fueled the Arab Spring, and we all saw how that turned out. But I do think that social media is a pretty potent organizing tool.
It's the speed that's changed, plus the ability to get information out without having to depend on the media.
Also if they did try to take out social media, like twitter and facebook, it would hurt at first. But then they'd have to take out places like reddit, private discussion boards which still exists. Then once those types of things are taken out people could move to things like slack and hipchat. So those would have to go. They'd have to fight off all the new communication resistance phone apps that would start popping up all over the place.. They'd have to take out Google cloud, because you could use Drive and email links to organize. Probably Microsoft cloud too. Heck any cloud. And with all that gone they'd have to take out things like Yelp and Amazon comments cause people could just use those sorts of things to communicate.
posted by Jalliah at 9:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
It's the speed that's changed, plus the ability to get information out without having to depend on the media.
Also if they did try to take out social media, like twitter and facebook, it would hurt at first. But then they'd have to take out places like reddit, private discussion boards which still exists. Then once those types of things are taken out people could move to things like slack and hipchat. So those would have to go. They'd have to fight off all the new communication resistance phone apps that would start popping up all over the place.. They'd have to take out Google cloud, because you could use Drive and email links to organize. Probably Microsoft cloud too. Heck any cloud. And with all that gone they'd have to take out things like Yelp and Amazon comments cause people could just use those sorts of things to communicate.
posted by Jalliah at 9:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
An essay/presentation from 2008: Ethan Zuckerman's Cute Cat Theory Talk at ETech:
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Web 1.0 was invented to allow physicists to share research papers.Censoring Facebook and Twitter would (1) rouse the ire of literally millions of people who "do not care about politics" but are going to be damned annoyed that they didn't get their hourly dose of Cats With Cute Things On Their Heads, and (2) rouse the ire of Silicon Valley's tech industry, which tries to stay "vaguely apolitical pro-corporate," but has been known to dabble in politics... remember SOPA?
Web 2.0 was created to allow people to share pictures of cute cats.
...any sufficiently advanced read/write technology will get used for two purposes: pornography and activism. Porn is a weak test for the success of participatory media – it’s like tapping a mike and asking, “Is it on?” If you’re not getting porn in your system, it doesn’t work. Activism is a stronger test – if activists are using your tools, it’s a pretty good indication that your tools are useful and usable.
Cute cats are collateral damage when governments block sites. And even those who could care less about presidential shenanigans are made aware that their government fears online speech so much that they’re willing to censor the millions of banal videos on DailyMotion to block a few political ones.
Every time you force a government to block a web 2.0 site – cutting off people’s access to cute cats – you spend political capital. Our job as online advocates is to raise that cost of censorship as high as possible.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
This piece in the NYT pretty much lays everything out there for Democratic MOCs.
Ach dammit threeturtles, I'm outta favourites (for the first time ever) but I tried to give you one anyway, because this is awesome.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ach dammit threeturtles, I'm outta favourites (for the first time ever) but I tried to give you one anyway, because this is awesome.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Confederate Flag Burned
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
My contention to you today is that [the Confederate] flag represents racism. It represents oppression. It is no different than the swastika. It is a symbol of hate, and quite frankly, people who think that represents them are hatemongers. -- Rev. C. D. WitherspoonAlthough this video is from 2015, the message is still applicable today. #BurnTheRebelFlag
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
Per discussions earlier, I'm ignoring @RoguePOTUSstaff as bad faith interference...
posted by Devonian at 9:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Devonian at 9:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Among the children killed was Anwaar, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girl's grandfather."
"Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Anwaar was visiting her mother when the raid took place. She was shot in the neck and bled for two hours before she died, he said."
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:09 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Anwaar was visiting her mother when the raid took place. She was shot in the neck and bled for two hours before she died, he said."
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:09 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
China has an effective model for locking down social media, controlling dissent and the flow of information. I expect Thiel and co will happily deploy our own equivalent system as part of "cyber defense." You'll still get cute cat pictures at least.
posted by polyhedron at 9:09 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by polyhedron at 9:09 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
If you are having trouble getting through to your members of congress, you can fax them for free at faxzero.com
They even have the numbers for senators and congresspeople all ready to go.
Thank you so much for pointing this out, mcduff! Faxes are way harder to ignore than emails or tweets, or even postcards for that matter. Think I'll fax my congresscritters daily for the duration.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
They even have the numbers for senators and congresspeople all ready to go.
Thank you so much for pointing this out, mcduff! Faxes are way harder to ignore than emails or tweets, or even postcards for that matter. Think I'll fax my congresscritters daily for the duration.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 9:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
AlterNet.org: An Open Letter to Jared Kushner, from Your NYU Law School Classmates
"Tens of thousands of Syrian children—children no different than your grandmother, whose lives have been marred by a war they did not choose—rely on your sense of compassion."posted by ZeusHumms at 9:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
The Supremes, at least since Marshall, have always been chosen for policy reasons, and there's no reason why you can't pin them down on specific decisions.
I think general policy reasons are qualitatively different from asking for a commitment (or *nudge* *nudge* understanding) to a specific decision on upholding a specific government action. The line can get blurry (see, all discussions about overturning Roe v. Wade) but that doesn't mean there's no ethical difference between recognizing that judges rule in predictable political ways and conditioning a judicial nomination on a specific promise to rule in your favor on something.
posted by alligatorpear at 9:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think general policy reasons are qualitatively different from asking for a commitment (or *nudge* *nudge* understanding) to a specific decision on upholding a specific government action. The line can get blurry (see, all discussions about overturning Roe v. Wade) but that doesn't mean there's no ethical difference between recognizing that judges rule in predictable political ways and conditioning a judicial nomination on a specific promise to rule in your favor on something.
posted by alligatorpear at 9:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Mchelly: I think they're more likely to do a China-style purge of keywords and content than by outright taking platforms away - people won't see what they're not seeing, so it will just look like indifference. Which is far harder to fight.
And I think that the US is far too diverse in terms of service providers and social media platforms at all levels to make this work. If one or two defy government requests, the whole thing fails, because then word of the (likely) secret government request would be leaked and distributed, or people would search for, recognize and publicize the "missing" words, as they have done for China (previously, via MeFi Projects).
Because the internet is international and there are people around the world interested in spreading free speech and democracy, there are numerous tools to recognize, publicize and route around censorship already developed for numerous real-world scenarios. The fact we have to think about applying such tools in the US is appalling, and when we survive this, could help the country do a better job of discussing what "network neutrality" can really mean.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
And I think that the US is far too diverse in terms of service providers and social media platforms at all levels to make this work. If one or two defy government requests, the whole thing fails, because then word of the (likely) secret government request would be leaked and distributed, or people would search for, recognize and publicize the "missing" words, as they have done for China (previously, via MeFi Projects).
Because the internet is international and there are people around the world interested in spreading free speech and democracy, there are numerous tools to recognize, publicize and route around censorship already developed for numerous real-world scenarios. The fact we have to think about applying such tools in the US is appalling, and when we survive this, could help the country do a better job of discussing what "network neutrality" can really mean.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Faxes are worth a try, but more often than not, the recipient's machine is out of paper, or "out of paper".
I ditched my fax machine long ago. And after too many email bounces I'm going back to snail mail, though I have no way of knowing if the letters actually get opened.
posted by tel3path at 9:17 AM on January 30, 2017
I ditched my fax machine long ago. And after too many email bounces I'm going back to snail mail, though I have no way of knowing if the letters actually get opened.
posted by tel3path at 9:17 AM on January 30, 2017
things are turning interesting for scandinavia.
posted by xcasex at 9:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by xcasex at 9:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Full text of the regulation EO.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
It's an important point that China restricted the internet from the get-go (I was living there in 95 and the only way I could email back home was to go to a special building and use a special terminal, and it would take days for my emails to reach the recipient because they were being re-routed and read by so many people). The Great Firewall is business as usual (though it's not like millions of Chinese don't skirt around it anyway--they totally do). For Americans it would be imposing draconian restrictions where there were none before. People would notice. It would impact business. It would not be a small thing.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
For keeping track of things, accessing MOC.
Try Countable for tracking legislation.
Try Democracy.io For automatically writing letters.
Try Common Cause for a list of all your elected officials and their DC contact info (have to click through to their sites for local offices.)
Try 5 Calls to automatically make calls to your reps on chosen issues with scripts in front of you.
posted by threeturtles at 9:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]
Try Countable for tracking legislation.
Try Democracy.io For automatically writing letters.
Try Common Cause for a list of all your elected officials and their DC contact info (have to click through to their sites for local offices.)
Try 5 Calls to automatically make calls to your reps on chosen issues with scripts in front of you.
posted by threeturtles at 9:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]
It's true that fax machines can be "out of paper," however I think we need to use every available means to get our message across:
-- phone calls
-- faxes
-- emails
-- letters and postcards through the mail
-- letters and postcards delivered by hand
-- requests for meetings
-- protesting outside of offices
-- letters to the editor
-- news articles
-- tweets
Let there be no outlet that isn't flooded with our resistance.
posted by mcduff at 9:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
-- phone calls
-- faxes
-- emails
-- letters and postcards through the mail
-- letters and postcards delivered by hand
-- requests for meetings
-- protesting outside of offices
-- letters to the editor
-- news articles
-- tweets
Let there be no outlet that isn't flooded with our resistance.
posted by mcduff at 9:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
The rationale for delaying a vote on Garland was to let the next president decide, and that next president was ~200 days away, correct?
The Dems should delay a vote on any SCOTUS nominee on those same grounds: the toddler will be led out of the adults' room room quite soon, clearly, and it's the next POTUS whose nominee should be considered.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
posted by Dashy at 9:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
The Dems should delay a vote on any SCOTUS nominee on those same grounds: the toddler will be led out of the adults' room room quite soon, clearly, and it's the next POTUS whose nominee should be considered.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
posted by Dashy at 9:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
That regulation EO makes me so nervous. My environmental scientist job depends on the regulations forcing companies to do things like, not dump toxic waste into the groundwater among lots of other things. So many people are employed in fields directly related to regulations. If he goes on a regulations killing spree, this is going to definitely cause a lot of us to lose our jobs. My company has already been emailing around things about his stances on environmental protection because I think the higher ups are nervous for our company and the work we do. I can only hope I continue to have a fucking job as this shitshow gets worse. I'm really scared.
posted by FireFountain at 9:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by FireFountain at 9:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
From Guardian's live updates:
posted by byanyothername at 9:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Trump just signed another new executive order, this one on the theme of cutting regulation.He really has no idea what he's doing at all. And if he did, he would still do it out of active malice.
The purpose of the order states that:
for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination, and that the cost of planned regulations be prudently managed and controlled through a budgeting process.
It’s being done as a cost-cutting measure, although it’s not yet clear the practicalities of cutting two regulations for every new regulation to be implemented.
posted by byanyothername at 9:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Boris Johnson unwittingly associating Trump with both Robert Mugabe and Nicolae Ceaușescu, there.
posted by mushhushshu at 9:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by mushhushshu at 9:26 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
oh please oh please
"With Trump prepared to announce his nominee on Tuesday evening, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in an interview on Monday morning that he will filibuster any pick that is not Merrick Garland and that the vast majority of his caucus will oppose Trump’s nomination. That means Trump's nominee will need 60 votes to be confirmed by the Senate."
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [106 favorites]
"With Trump prepared to announce his nominee on Tuesday evening, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in an interview on Monday morning that he will filibuster any pick that is not Merrick Garland and that the vast majority of his caucus will oppose Trump’s nomination. That means Trump's nominee will need 60 votes to be confirmed by the Senate."
posted by Rust Moranis at 9:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [106 favorites]
and start calling it Bannon-Putin instead.
yep.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 9:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
yep.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 9:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
law, policy, and regulation primer. courtesy of the epa. don't blink.
tl;dr laws require corresponding policy at an executive agency. regulations implement policy.
KISS: don't like the regs? change the legislation.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
tl;dr laws require corresponding policy at an executive agency. regulations implement policy.
KISS: don't like the regs? change the legislation.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Senate Dems will filibuster Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
We'll see. But good.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]
We'll see. But good.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]
The Hon. Member For The 18th Century was on the wireless last night, running out the 'But Obama banned Iraqis too!' line, which went unfortunately unchallenged (not by the denizens of Devonian Mansions, who yelled lustily at the set at this point, but I don't think he heard us).
Radio 4 just had a Trumpkin on telling the same lie - and didnt challenge it this time either.
posted by Flitcraft at 9:30 AM on January 30, 2017
Radio 4 just had a Trumpkin on telling the same lie - and didnt challenge it this time either.
posted by Flitcraft at 9:30 AM on January 30, 2017
Time to Call Yer Dems and let them know we heard about this filibuster plan and support it wholeheartedly.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
U$ h4ck3rz h4\/3 b33n A\/0ID|NG |\|3T c3n¢0r$h1p 4 y34rz.
It's a lot harder to censor an alphabet than a syllabary - and to make it even partially effective, they'd need either cooperation or takeovers of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (yeah, nobody thinks of tumblr for activism because tumblr is a hot mess of incoherence - but squeeze the other two and suddenly its random-finding and private-messaging systems will be assets) - and probably Google, as whatever gets set up after the squeeze is going to be searched there.
We also have thousands, maybe millions of quiet other-purpose social sites that nobody uses for political activism because FB and Twitter are big. (LJ and its clones are only dying because people moved to FB - the tools are still there, still usable. Nothing's stopping a migration back to Myspace other than a preference for better tech. For that matter, Steam has forums. Anyone with an account can make a Steam community; it can be public or private. )
A hundred startups are eager to be "the next Facebook;" a hint of censorship of FB will give them all that chance. The gov't would be playing digital whack-a-mole across three major and eight dozen minor ISPs.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
It's a lot harder to censor an alphabet than a syllabary - and to make it even partially effective, they'd need either cooperation or takeovers of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (yeah, nobody thinks of tumblr for activism because tumblr is a hot mess of incoherence - but squeeze the other two and suddenly its random-finding and private-messaging systems will be assets) - and probably Google, as whatever gets set up after the squeeze is going to be searched there.
We also have thousands, maybe millions of quiet other-purpose social sites that nobody uses for political activism because FB and Twitter are big. (LJ and its clones are only dying because people moved to FB - the tools are still there, still usable. Nothing's stopping a migration back to Myspace other than a preference for better tech. For that matter, Steam has forums. Anyone with an account can make a Steam community; it can be public or private. )
A hundred startups are eager to be "the next Facebook;" a hint of censorship of FB will give them all that chance. The gov't would be playing digital whack-a-mole across three major and eight dozen minor ISPs.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
things are turning interesting for scandinavia.
And here's an update from another front: 41 Ukrainian casualties over the past 2 days. Guess why.
posted by effbot at 9:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
And here's an update from another front: 41 Ukrainian casualties over the past 2 days. Guess why.
posted by effbot at 9:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The regulation thing isn't supposed to make sense, it's meant to thrill idiots and paralyze the government.
But I also think they simply don't understand what regs are and how they are promulgated. The APA is very clear about the process, which can be arduous and persnickety. And the APA applies just as much to the repeal of a regulation as to the promulgation of one.
That regulation EO makes me so nervous. My environmental scientist job depends on the regulations forcing companies to do things like, not dump toxic waste into the groundwater among lots of other things. So many people are employed in fields directly related to regulations.
Which is something politicians on the right seem not to understand. These are JOBS.
But that said, repealing the regulatory structure underlying CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, etc -- that will take years. Cannot happen overnight.*
It's still horrifying, but it's much less immediately terrifying than the business with the NSC, I think.
* Unless they get the Administrative Procedures Act repealed...
posted by suelac at 9:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
But I also think they simply don't understand what regs are and how they are promulgated. The APA is very clear about the process, which can be arduous and persnickety. And the APA applies just as much to the repeal of a regulation as to the promulgation of one.
That regulation EO makes me so nervous. My environmental scientist job depends on the regulations forcing companies to do things like, not dump toxic waste into the groundwater among lots of other things. So many people are employed in fields directly related to regulations.
Which is something politicians on the right seem not to understand. These are JOBS.
But that said, repealing the regulatory structure underlying CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, etc -- that will take years. Cannot happen overnight.*
It's still horrifying, but it's much less immediately terrifying than the business with the NSC, I think.
* Unless they get the Administrative Procedures Act repealed...
posted by suelac at 9:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Wait, WHAT!? From the Trial Balloon article linked by several above:
(5) On Inauguration Day, Trump apparently filed his candidacy for 2020. Beyond being unusual, this opens up the ability for him to start accepting “campaign contributions” right away.
posted by yoga at 9:36 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
(5) On Inauguration Day, Trump apparently filed his candidacy for 2020. Beyond being unusual, this opens up the ability for him to start accepting “campaign contributions” right away.
posted by yoga at 9:36 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
A hundred startups are eager to be "the next Facebook;" a hint of censorship of FB will give them all that chance.
Concur. The internet perceives censorship as a bug and reroutes around the damage.
posted by suelac at 9:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Concur. The internet perceives censorship as a bug and reroutes around the damage.
posted by suelac at 9:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
From the text of the EO: For fiscal year 2017, which is in progress, the heads of all agencies are directed that the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, to be finalized this year shall be no greater than zero
HAHAHA, sorry guys. Hope you weren't planning on EPA doing anything ever again.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
HAHAHA, sorry guys. Hope you weren't planning on EPA doing anything ever again.
posted by C'est la D.C. at 9:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well, I'm a bit blah today (can't imagine why), so altho I had free time, I didn't attend an Obamacare protest at my (R) U.S. Rep's office. But at the time of scheduled event I called. Rather dismayed that "Austin," the staffer, didn't sound too harried. (This is a gerrymandered-to-shit district that twists all around - an image of it looks like a big claw hanging above the more progressive parts of my metro area.)
I said my piece about me and the ACA. Then I gave my name and town, and went on to state my concern re: this administration overall. I told young master Austin that my father fought fascists in WWII, now I see Klan and Nazi sympathizers in seats of power here. Mentioned Bannon and the Natl. Sec. Council, and discrimination taking place based solely on religion. Said it's time for Republicans to decide how they will be viewed some years down the road, whether they chose party over morality. (I should've said morality and liberty. Hit those phonies with both the things they fake-care about.)
I am one of those who (even though I've been a performer and worked in PR) is at heart an introvert, so anything other than *writing* is a slight personal challenge for me. (I have emailed this guy a lot, along with my (D) US Senators.) But if you're like that too - YOU CAN DO IT!
Now it's time, as a few others also have noted, to let the (R) state legislators know I haven't forgotten about them (and how their party has turned Michigan into a regressive teapublican horrorshow).
posted by NorthernLite at 9:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
I said my piece about me and the ACA. Then I gave my name and town, and went on to state my concern re: this administration overall. I told young master Austin that my father fought fascists in WWII, now I see Klan and Nazi sympathizers in seats of power here. Mentioned Bannon and the Natl. Sec. Council, and discrimination taking place based solely on religion. Said it's time for Republicans to decide how they will be viewed some years down the road, whether they chose party over morality. (I should've said morality and liberty. Hit those phonies with both the things they fake-care about.)
I am one of those who (even though I've been a performer and worked in PR) is at heart an introvert, so anything other than *writing* is a slight personal challenge for me. (I have emailed this guy a lot, along with my (D) US Senators.) But if you're like that too - YOU CAN DO IT!
Now it's time, as a few others also have noted, to let the (R) state legislators know I haven't forgotten about them (and how their party has turned Michigan into a regressive teapublican horrorshow).
posted by NorthernLite at 9:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
Yeah I enjoyed this bit from the NYT article I posted earlier:
posted by threeturtles at 9:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [110 favorites]
"When it comes to the Supreme Court, eight is enough,” said Representative Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat who is one of the top contenders to be the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “They literally stole a Supreme Court justice from President Obama, so I see no reason why we should facilitate them putting in some right-wing extremist.”Ellison is my guy. My quiet approval of him has become full on cheerleading.
posted by threeturtles at 9:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [110 favorites]
Hope you weren't planning on EPA doing anything ever again.
Trump transition leader’s goal is two-thirds cut in EPA employees
posted by peeedro at 9:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Trump transition leader’s goal is two-thirds cut in EPA employees
posted by peeedro at 9:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
But that said, repealing the regulatory structure underlying CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, etc -- that will take years. Cannot happen overnight.*
I sure hope you are right. But with his administration just blatantly not following judges orders, and the CBP doing whatever the fuck they want right now, the rule of law doesn't seem to mean much to them. They might just say, fuck it, and decide those laws also aren't worth following. I guess that's ultimately what I'm worried about. Like someone said upthread,"if the president can, without consulting the courts or Congress, banish U.S. lawful permanent residents, then he can do anything. If there is no rule of law for some people, there is no rule of law for anyone."
posted by FireFountain at 9:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
I sure hope you are right. But with his administration just blatantly not following judges orders, and the CBP doing whatever the fuck they want right now, the rule of law doesn't seem to mean much to them. They might just say, fuck it, and decide those laws also aren't worth following. I guess that's ultimately what I'm worried about. Like someone said upthread,"if the president can, without consulting the courts or Congress, banish U.S. lawful permanent residents, then he can do anything. If there is no rule of law for some people, there is no rule of law for anyone."
posted by FireFountain at 9:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Are there regulations about the space over the white house being a no-fly zone, and how close to the white house protestors can get, and such? Can they repeal those regulations?
How about repealing regulations about what people can carry into courtrooms - remove the time-consuming, costly search procedures. While we're at it, remove them from the white house; that'll save the gov't a lot of money!
Oh, but he wants to focus on the regulations that restrict businesses. How about removing the regulations about how close to a school a porn shop can be? Or how old you have to be to buy certain picture books and magazines. I bet I could get rich selling Hustler to teenagers. Oh wait - how about removing the embargoed countries restrictions - there's a BIG set of business opportunities!
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:43 AM on January 30, 2017
How about repealing regulations about what people can carry into courtrooms - remove the time-consuming, costly search procedures. While we're at it, remove them from the white house; that'll save the gov't a lot of money!
Oh, but he wants to focus on the regulations that restrict businesses. How about removing the regulations about how close to a school a porn shop can be? Or how old you have to be to buy certain picture books and magazines. I bet I could get rich selling Hustler to teenagers. Oh wait - how about removing the embargoed countries restrictions - there's a BIG set of business opportunities!
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:43 AM on January 30, 2017
Boris Johnson getting grilled by Parliament right now over the EO [live video].
posted by melissasaurus at 9:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by melissasaurus at 9:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I take it back on the regulation EO -- They managed to make even the simple part ("what is a regulation?") confusing:
For purposes of this order the term "regulation" or "rule" means an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or to describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency
Huh?
posted by alligatorpear at 9:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
For purposes of this order the term "regulation" or "rule" means an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or to describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency
Huh?
posted by alligatorpear at 9:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
@Evan_McMullin: "If Trump disregards the courts and Congress fails to check him when necessary, the only thing left will be old fashioned civil disobedience"
posted by corb at 9:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [64 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [64 favorites]
We're way ahead of you Egg
posted by saturday_morning at 9:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 9:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
They managed to make even the simple part ("what is a regulation?") confusing:
They don't intend to do anything, they just want to say they did.
posted by Etrigan at 9:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
They don't intend to do anything, they just want to say they did.
posted by Etrigan at 9:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
QFT: If there is no rule of law for some people, there is no rule of law for anyone.
This is off the rails. This is not normal, and we're not following the playbook any longer. They've already shown that they think things like "laws" are optional.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
This is off the rails. This is not normal, and we're not following the playbook any longer. They've already shown that they think things like "laws" are optional.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
I wonder if @RoguePOTUSStaff' tweet here is connected to the review ordered by Mattis?
posted by generichuman at 9:50 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by generichuman at 9:50 AM on January 30, 2017
Yeah I'm a lawyer who uses the CFR pretty regularly and I have no clue how that definition of a regulation could possibly be used in practice. Fortunately, I work with disabled kids and Betsy DeVos doesn't know the IDEA is federal law, so maybe they won't go looking to axe our regulations.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Tried calling Mitch McConnell's DC office, but no luck. I had to wait through a good 10 seconds of dead air before a brief message from a staffer, more silence, an automated voice saying "Thanks for calling, goodbye!" then another 20 seconds of silence before an autodisconnect. The American people deserve better from the Senate majority leader.
On the brighter side, I called and wrote my Federal and State Congresscritters to oppose this so-called administration's immoral and offensive EO.
Talking points for your use (particularly with Dem legislators):
* I oppose the EO because it's and immoral, offensive, and unconstitutional religious test
* I want reprimands, punishment, and accountability for officials who refuse to abide by lawfully issues court orders
* I want elected leaders out in the streets with the people demonstration in support of immigrants and refugees
* Seeing officials out with the people is heartening and increases our willingness to keep showing up
* Failing to show up endangers their chances for reelection.
* Because of this EO, all votes should be NO on any nominee for any position until this "administration" nominates people with OUR values
Now I'm all dressed up for a demonstration that I'm headed to in a couple of hours.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
On the brighter side, I called and wrote my Federal and State Congresscritters to oppose this so-called administration's immoral and offensive EO.
Talking points for your use (particularly with Dem legislators):
* I oppose the EO because it's and immoral, offensive, and unconstitutional religious test
* I want reprimands, punishment, and accountability for officials who refuse to abide by lawfully issues court orders
* I want elected leaders out in the streets with the people demonstration in support of immigrants and refugees
* Seeing officials out with the people is heartening and increases our willingness to keep showing up
* Failing to show up endangers their chances for reelection.
* Because of this EO, all votes should be NO on any nominee for any position until this "administration" nominates people with OUR values
Now I'm all dressed up for a demonstration that I'm headed to in a couple of hours.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
Sorry Mr. President, The Obama Administration Did Nothing Similar To Your Immigration Ban
So basically they couldn't figure out any way to make vetting more "extreme" than it was under Obama, or knew they were too incompetent to successfully make any sort of fine-tuning changes, so they just gave up on vetting entirely and went with completely banning everyone all the way down to the toddlers.
posted by XMLicious at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Another thank you, mcduff, for the faxzero.com info! Feinstein's office has been impossible to get through to this morning (good) so I sent two faxes, one about Bannon and one about Sessions, and it appears that both went through. (Don't be like me - remember to include your zip code. I did include my phone number with 415 area code, and at this point I'd be surprised if they didn't see my name and go "Ugh, HER again")
In return I offer these printable postcard templates. The images are of old tweets by Paul Ryan and Mike Pence saying a Muslim ban is unconstitutional. You may print them, mark them up in red Sharpie (I suggest "HYPOCRITE" or "COWARD"), and send them to Ryan and Pence (contact info is included).
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
In return I offer these printable postcard templates. The images are of old tweets by Paul Ryan and Mike Pence saying a Muslim ban is unconstitutional. You may print them, mark them up in red Sharpie (I suggest "HYPOCRITE" or "COWARD"), and send them to Ryan and Pence (contact info is included).
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
And here's an update from another front: 41 Ukrainian casualties over the past 2 days. Guess why.
I guessed right! (before looking) That seemed pretty fucking sinister on Saturday; sad to discover it was with good reason.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017
I guessed right! (before looking) That seemed pretty fucking sinister on Saturday; sad to discover it was with good reason.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:52 AM on January 30, 2017
dhruva: Trial Balloon for a coup ? :"the administration is testing the extent to which the DHS (and other executive agencies) can act and ignore orders from the other branches of government.
People have pulled bits from this, but this is a good, long read, and includes this:
posted by filthy light thief at 9:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
People have pulled bits from this, but this is a good, long read, and includes this:
Finally, I want to highlight a story that many people haven’t noticed. On Wednesday, Reuters reported (in great detail) how 19.5% of Rosneft, Russia’s state oil company, has been sold to parties unknown. This was done through a dizzying array of shell companies, so that the most that can be said with certainty now is that the money “paying” for it was originally loaned out to the shell layers by VTB (the government’s official bank), even though it’s highly unclear who, if anyone, would be paying that loan back; and the recipients have been traced as far as some Cayman Islands shell companies.And I think this is really big:
Why is this interesting? Because the much-maligned Steele Dossier (the one with the golden showers in it) included the statement that Putin had offered Trump 19% of Rosneft if he became president and removed sanctions. The reason this is so interesting is that the dossier said this in July, and the sale didn’t happen until early December. And 19.5% sounds an awful lot like “19% plus a brokerage commission.”
Conclusive? No. But it raises some very interesting questions for journalists to investigate.
I see a few key patterns here. First, the decision to first block, and then allow, green card holders was meant to create chaos and pull out opposition; they never intended to hold it for too long. 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.(Emphasis mine.) This is actually really scary - _rump is going full shock and awe, overwhelm not only those who resist but those who pay attention to the resistances, the rallies and push-back.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
My contention to you today is that [the Confederate] flag represents racism. It represents oppression. It is no different than the swastika.
Nothing says "proud of my Southern heritage" like electing a billionaire shyster racist from New York that sleeps in a golden room and hates dogs.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [51 favorites]
Nothing says "proud of my Southern heritage" like electing a billionaire shyster racist from New York that sleeps in a golden room and hates dogs.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [51 favorites]
They don't intend to do anything, they just want to say they did.
I think (hope) you're right, Etrigan. The EO says that it's subject to existing law and even that the Director of the OMB can exempt any class of regulations he or she chooses. I guess that means they just want to score points with their base and to have the existing civil service (and us) to run around saying the sky is falling and trying to figure out what the hell this is supposed to mean. And then they can say we were being hysterical and overreacting when nothing happens, in that time-honored gaslighting tradition they adore.
I mean, that's a shitty thing to do, but not as bad as if they are actually trying to do this one reg in/two regs out nonsense.
posted by alligatorpear at 9:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think (hope) you're right, Etrigan. The EO says that it's subject to existing law and even that the Director of the OMB can exempt any class of regulations he or she chooses. I guess that means they just want to score points with their base and to have the existing civil service (and us) to run around saying the sky is falling and trying to figure out what the hell this is supposed to mean. And then they can say we were being hysterical and overreacting when nothing happens, in that time-honored gaslighting tradition they adore.
I mean, that's a shitty thing to do, but not as bad as if they are actually trying to do this one reg in/two regs out nonsense.
posted by alligatorpear at 9:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I've said this before but Trump's Thundetdome-esque "2 regs enter, 1 reg leaves" EO is a dumb person's idea of being clever.
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 9:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
Is there a list somewhere just adding up all the specific laws Trump has broken with these EOs? I'm fighting constitutional conservatives on Twitter and could use some more ammo.
posted by corb at 9:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
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.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [77 favorites]
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.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [77 favorites]
A protest isn't civil disobedience. It's lawful. (At least it is now.)
Civil disobedience involves BREAKING the law.
I mean, if you have to, you have to, but the implications of the population's having to resort to that are not good.
posted by tel3path at 10:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Civil disobedience involves BREAKING the law.
I mean, if you have to, you have to, but the implications of the population's having to resort to that are not good.
posted by tel3path at 10:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
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.
Yeah, being out in a crowd of like-minded people is a net positive even for a leans-introvert like me. As I told my wife (it was her turn to be on "spouse is out marching" toddler duty this weekend), I ended the day feeling more positive than I started it. Being out with thousands of others who also cared enough to show up feels good.
posted by phearlez at 10:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yeah, being out in a crowd of like-minded people is a net positive even for a leans-introvert like me. As I told my wife (it was her turn to be on "spouse is out marching" toddler duty this weekend), I ended the day feeling more positive than I started it. Being out with thousands of others who also cared enough to show up feels good.
posted by phearlez at 10:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Every legal move should be on the table at this point.
The problem is you have lawyers wanting to claim they are the only one who can move the 11th dimensional chess pieces on the board. And that just isn't true for some moves depending on where the board is.
So when things like Art. 11.12. WHO MAY PRESENT PETITION. Either the party for whose relief the writ is intended, or any person for him, may present a petition to the proper authority for the purpose of obtaining relief. are the text of how a haebus is presented in a State like Texas.
Go read your local laws. Some States have a duty to report crimes and if you don't you are a criminal.
An example - if you are a PI:
(b) Whoever violates sub. (2) (b) is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and is subject to discipline under s. 440.26 (6).
(b) Any person licensed as a private detective or granted a private security permit under s. 440.26 who has reasonable grounds to believe that a crime is being committed or has been committed shall notify promptly an appropriate law enforcement agency of the facts which form the basis for this belief.
posted by rough ashlar at 10:03 AM on January 30, 2017
The problem is you have lawyers wanting to claim they are the only one who can move the 11th dimensional chess pieces on the board. And that just isn't true for some moves depending on where the board is.
So when things like Art. 11.12. WHO MAY PRESENT PETITION. Either the party for whose relief the writ is intended, or any person for him, may present a petition to the proper authority for the purpose of obtaining relief. are the text of how a haebus is presented in a State like Texas.
Go read your local laws. Some States have a duty to report crimes and if you don't you are a criminal.
An example - if you are a PI:
(b) Whoever violates sub. (2) (b) is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and is subject to discipline under s. 440.26 (6).
(b) Any person licensed as a private detective or granted a private security permit under s. 440.26 who has reasonable grounds to believe that a crime is being committed or has been committed shall notify promptly an appropriate law enforcement agency of the facts which form the basis for this belief.
posted by rough ashlar at 10:03 AM on January 30, 2017
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.
Someone pointed out (secondhand, maybe?) at some point here on the Blue that the Right learned this at least by 2010 -- that the "political capital" you lose by being obstructionist even when you're in the minority is more than made up for by invigorating your base. Some Democrat is going to realize that very soon and jump on the tiger's back.
posted by Etrigan at 10:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
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.
Someone pointed out (secondhand, maybe?) at some point here on the Blue that the Right learned this at least by 2010 -- that the "political capital" you lose by being obstructionist even when you're in the minority is more than made up for by invigorating your base. Some Democrat is going to realize that very soon and jump on the tiger's back.
posted by Etrigan at 10:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Tried calling Mitch McConnell's DC office, but no luck. I had to wait through a good 10 seconds of dead air before a brief message from a staffer, more silence, an automated voice saying "Thanks for calling, goodbye!" then another 20 seconds of silence before an autodisconnect. The American people deserve better from the Senate majority leader.
Would he be more responsive to complaints/comments routed through his top campaign donors?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Would he be more responsive to complaints/comments routed through his top campaign donors?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
I can't favorite saturday_morning's comment enough.
Plus, the timing is fucking SHITTY if that's the case. What, start the Muslim ban on the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance, let protestors flood airports and public spaces in 20+ cities all weekend, followed by a Monday where the news is all the fuck about a number of small victories that the protestors and the ACLU have won and oh yes, PS, this horrible thing that happened at a mosque to our neighbor just north, and mounting international outrage over said ban
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand place announce your Supreme Court pick on Tuesday, so that the newly fired-up Dems and the press can spend the entire rest of the week savaging you?
posted by joyceanmachine at 10:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Plus, the timing is fucking SHITTY if that's the case. What, start the Muslim ban on the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance, let protestors flood airports and public spaces in 20+ cities all weekend, followed by a Monday where the news is all the fuck about a number of small victories that the protestors and the ACLU have won and oh yes, PS, this horrible thing that happened at a mosque to our neighbor just north, and mounting international outrage over said ban
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand place announce your Supreme Court pick on Tuesday, so that the newly fired-up Dems and the press can spend the entire rest of the week savaging you?
posted by joyceanmachine at 10:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
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.
Unfortunately for them, activism is damn near California's state sport. There's a whole lot of white liberal guilt, "shouldn't we be... helping someone? Somehow?" that loves to attend marches and rallies, especially daylight ones in places like airports and courthouses.
What we learned from the Occupy movement: You can get six months of daily activism, with support from nearby businesses and workers who won't directly get involved but will happily donate food, money, and resources, without any stated goals.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]
Unfortunately for them, activism is damn near California's state sport. There's a whole lot of white liberal guilt, "shouldn't we be... helping someone? Somehow?" that loves to attend marches and rallies, especially daylight ones in places like airports and courthouses.
What we learned from the Occupy movement: You can get six months of daily activism, with support from nearby businesses and workers who won't directly get involved but will happily donate food, money, and resources, without any stated goals.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]
I would be fascinated to know what two DHS regulations they plan on axing to make room for the travel ban.
posted by Copronymus at 10:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by Copronymus at 10:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
corb, I can't refer you to a list, but if you have questions or they are pushing back on anything about the regulations EO, you can memail me. I speak constitutional conservative.
posted by alligatorpear at 10:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by alligatorpear at 10:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
@Evan_McMullin: "If Trump disregards the courts and Congress fails to check him when necessary, the only thing left will be old fashioned civil disobedience"
It's pretty remarkable that McMullin is on the verge of telling us to take to the streets.
And my Senators are getting close too. This morning, Markey posted .@realDonaldTrump's #MuslimBan is unconstitutional. We will fight it! #NoBanNoWall above a picture of the street protest in Boston yesterday.
posted by diogenes at 10:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
It's pretty remarkable that McMullin is on the verge of telling us to take to the streets.
And my Senators are getting close too. This morning, Markey posted .@realDonaldTrump's #MuslimBan is unconstitutional. We will fight it! #NoBanNoWall above a picture of the street protest in Boston yesterday.
posted by diogenes at 10:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Can someone smart debunk the Trial Balloon Coup theory? Asking for my mental health
posted by R.F.Simpson at 10:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by R.F.Simpson at 10:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
Is there a place where you can buy Confederate flags for burning that doesn't support people who would be inclined to make Confederate flags for other reasons? Should somebody start this as a company? (Someone brave or who can keep it well-hidden.)
Because, burning Confederate flags is a fine commentary on treason.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Because, burning Confederate flags is a fine commentary on treason.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm honest to god worried what will happen if Turnbull turns to China if forced to decide between alliances with China and the US. Australia does three times the trade with China that it does with the US so the "but you're a white country!" racist angle is going to be a much harder sell.
posted by Talez at 10:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Talez at 10:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
In terms of "protest fatigue" - protest fatigue hits career activists who go to six meetings a week, etc, more than it does people to whom it's new, especially if there's social rewards for protesting. A lot of people are lonely and don't have a sense that they're part of history - the decline of unions and churches, etc - and any kind of protest that isn't just crawling through tear gas is going to fill some emotional gaps for people.
Back in 2008 when I got involved with the anti-RNC stuff (after a few years of very light volunteering and activism and before that some more active involvement) I made a bunch of new friends and did a bunch of new stuff. I'd say I tripled my friend-group inside six months.
Also, protest fatigue hits people who are being personally injured by the regime, which is why those of us with relative privilege need to step up as much as possible given our various situations. It's less fatiguing for me to do racial justice activism, for instance, because I am not also subject to racism on a daily basis.
posted by Frowner at 10:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [63 favorites]
Back in 2008 when I got involved with the anti-RNC stuff (after a few years of very light volunteering and activism and before that some more active involvement) I made a bunch of new friends and did a bunch of new stuff. I'd say I tripled my friend-group inside six months.
Also, protest fatigue hits people who are being personally injured by the regime, which is why those of us with relative privilege need to step up as much as possible given our various situations. It's less fatiguing for me to do racial justice activism, for instance, because I am not also subject to racism on a daily basis.
posted by Frowner at 10:14 AM on January 30, 2017 [63 favorites]
I'm no expert, but then neither is Annoying Orange.
From a distance, and with no knowledge of US civics whatsoever... to me, it seems really really obvious. I can see no other possible interpretation than the Trial Balloon Coup theory. None.
posted by tel3path at 10:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
From a distance, and with no knowledge of US civics whatsoever... to me, it seems really really obvious. I can see no other possible interpretation than the Trial Balloon Coup theory. None.
posted by tel3path at 10:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Tying up phone lines, passing on the right message, these are tiny acts that help fill the river of action and descent - it's the least we can do."
"Faxes are worth a try, but more often than not, the recipient's machine is out of paper, or "out of paper". "
Exactly.
"Meaning...a website where you enter your cell number and then it texts you the actual 'contact' doohickey for all your representatives that you can then click and add to your phone"
This service would need to drive off of zip code. I could be registered in one state but have a cell number from another location. But I like the implementation idea.
"Try 5 Calls to automatically make calls to your reps on chosen issues with scripts in front of you."
threeturtles: 5 calls is BRILLIANT. Thank you. Techies: If you're familiar with or want to learn JavaScript with Choo and Go on the backend, the site code lives on GitHub.
posted by enfa at 10:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
"Faxes are worth a try, but more often than not, the recipient's machine is out of paper, or "out of paper". "
Exactly.
"Meaning...a website where you enter your cell number and then it texts you the actual 'contact' doohickey for all your representatives that you can then click and add to your phone"
This service would need to drive off of zip code. I could be registered in one state but have a cell number from another location. But I like the implementation idea.
"Try 5 Calls to automatically make calls to your reps on chosen issues with scripts in front of you."
threeturtles: 5 calls is BRILLIANT. Thank you. Techies: If you're familiar with or want to learn JavaScript with Choo and Go on the backend, the site code lives on GitHub.
posted by enfa at 10:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
@Evan_McMullin: "If Trump disregards the courts and Congress fails to check him when necessary, the only thing left will be old fashioned civil disobedience"
I'm pretty into McMullin, actually. He has more spine and principle than any ten Democratic legislators at this point. (Secretly, we still call him "Egg" at our house, but with fondness.)
posted by Frowner at 10:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
You know what people need to do with the Trial Balloon theory - spread it far and wide, all over these great internets.
It's a lot harder to do a coup when everyone has been saying "these people are going to do a coup and here's how". I'm not saying it's impossible, but we can reframe all this stuff.
Put that story on your social media, tweet it, make it trend - get people thinking "coup" when they think "Bannon".
posted by Frowner at 10:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
It's a lot harder to do a coup when everyone has been saying "these people are going to do a coup and here's how". I'm not saying it's impossible, but we can reframe all this stuff.
Put that story on your social media, tweet it, make it trend - get people thinking "coup" when they think "Bannon".
posted by Frowner at 10:18 AM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
White House Daily Briefing now live (awaiting Spicer, scheduled for 1:30)
posted by slipthought at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by slipthought at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017
Mostly tech, but here is a list of companies' reactions to the ban (so far).
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
diogenes: @Evan_McMullin: "If Trump disregards the courts and Congress fails to check him when necessary, the only thing left will be old fashioned civil disobedience"Markey's speech was also very heavily laced with a call towards "non-cooperation" with the current administration. Which, coming from a progressive, feels like a dog whistle for "general strike".
It's pretty remarkable that McMullin is on the verge of telling us to take to the streets.
And my Senators are getting close too. This morning, Markey posted .@realDonaldTrump's #MuslimBan is unconstitutional. We will fight it! #NoBanNoWall above a picture of the street protest in Boston yesterday.
posted by bl1nk at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
A former climate change adviser to Donald Trump has said the US President will pull America out of the landmark Paris agreement and an executive order on the issue could come within “days”.
Myron Ebell, who took charge of Mr Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team, said the President was determined to undo policies pushed by Barack Obama to restrict greenhouse gas emissions.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Myron Ebell, who took charge of Mr Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team, said the President was determined to undo policies pushed by Barack Obama to restrict greenhouse gas emissions.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The other thing I want to keep saying: martial law is difficult, especially in a county the size of ours. This place is really fucking big, you guys, and the National Guard is controlled by the states. I'm not saying that the Trump administration can't establish martial law, but it will stretch the resources of this country. You'll need lots of soldiers and lots of police, and they will have to be loyal, because you're going to have to police every liberal part of the country at a very high level. Listen, when we had the Republican convention here in 2008, just heavily policing the downtown required drawing in cops from all over the state and some from elsewhere. Declaring martial law would take a lot more people, and they'd have to be ready to shoot to kill their fellow citizens on the street every day. This country has plenty of violent cops and soldiers, but that's not the same as having well-organized military forces ready to kill peaceful protesters in the streets. I imagine they'd recruit civilians, thinking that their fascist rural base would be useful.
I shared this 2nd hand anecdote before, but it seems all the more appropriate now.
my dad recently told me about this young muscly dude at his gym who was as vocally racist and homophobic as you could could imagine, and how he talked about being so happy to leave Southern California for Idaho. He left, but then came back two weeks later and said nothing about his trip.
My dad and I were trying to guess whether Idaho was scarier than he had imagined, or not as welcoming to his racist viewpoints. Either way, I'd like to believe that _rump will burn enough bridges that by the time he starts handing out Christian Soldier armbands that he finds less welcome and support than he would imagine in the rural regions.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
I shared this 2nd hand anecdote before, but it seems all the more appropriate now.
my dad recently told me about this young muscly dude at his gym who was as vocally racist and homophobic as you could could imagine, and how he talked about being so happy to leave Southern California for Idaho. He left, but then came back two weeks later and said nothing about his trip.
My dad and I were trying to guess whether Idaho was scarier than he had imagined, or not as welcoming to his racist viewpoints. Either way, I'd like to believe that _rump will burn enough bridges that by the time he starts handing out Christian Soldier armbands that he finds less welcome and support than he would imagine in the rural regions.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Also, you guys, martial law is unpopular.
Especially amongst the people who have spent the last decade and a half enforcing it on people they didn't particularly care about in the first place.
posted by Etrigan at 10:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Especially amongst the people who have spent the last decade and a half enforcing it on people they didn't particularly care about in the first place.
posted by Etrigan at 10:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
"If Steve Mnuchin were the Captain of the Titanic, he’d deny ever hitting the iceberg."
I'm thinking that Warren is going to be a "no" on Mnuchin.
posted by diogenes at 10:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]
I'm thinking that Warren is going to be a "no" on Mnuchin.
posted by diogenes at 10:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [28 favorites]
[frowner]: The other thing I want to keep saying: martial law is difficult, especially in a county the size of ours. This place is really fucking big, you guys, and the National Guard is controlled by the states. I'm not saying that the Trump administration can't establish martial law, but it will stretch the resources of this country. You'll need lots of soldiers and lots of police, and they will have to be loyal, because you're going to have to police every liberal part of the country at a very high level.
Some have speculated that one goal of all the travel bans was to see how well DHS and CBP would enforce orders.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:32 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Some have speculated that one goal of all the travel bans was to see how well DHS and CBP would enforce orders.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:32 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
This post has been pinging around my corner of Facebook, and seemed worth sharing:
The single most effective way that you can "REGISTER AS MUSLIM" is to donate to Muslim civic and civil rights organizations.
Breitbart is already framing the protests as CAIR stirring up chaos and unrest in America. The marginalization of Muslims will be accomplished in part by demonizing and dismantling the organizations that serve and represent Muslims when the rubber hits the road. Here are some options:
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) National
CAIR in your state
Muslim Advocates
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Islamic Networks Group
American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee
Muslim Legal Fund of America
Your donation makes it more difficult for our government to use these organizations' lists of donors to isolate and target Muslims. Register today. #RESIST (when you share, please also copy and paste so folks read this)
posted by neroli at 10:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]
The single most effective way that you can "REGISTER AS MUSLIM" is to donate to Muslim civic and civil rights organizations.
Breitbart is already framing the protests as CAIR stirring up chaos and unrest in America. The marginalization of Muslims will be accomplished in part by demonizing and dismantling the organizations that serve and represent Muslims when the rubber hits the road. Here are some options:
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) National
CAIR in your state
Muslim Advocates
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Islamic Networks Group
American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee
Muslim Legal Fund of America
Your donation makes it more difficult for our government to use these organizations' lists of donors to isolate and target Muslims. Register today. #RESIST (when you share, please also copy and paste so folks read this)
posted by neroli at 10:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [31 favorites]
Is there a place where you can buy Confederate flags for burning that doesn't support people who would be inclined to make Confederate flags for other reasons?
It's not like you buy Nazi faces in order to punch them.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 10:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
It's not like you buy Nazi faces in order to punch them.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 10:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
I work in biotech and our CEO sent an internal memo about the ban, with some pointed words about how it does not reflect our values as a company and offering legal aid to any employees who are affected. Biotech is similar to the tech industry generally in that many employees are immigrants. I can only imagine that other biotech companies are doing the same.
posted by zenzicube at 10:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by zenzicube at 10:38 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
You can always print your own flag on a large piece of paper. Will burn too quickly to fully enjoy, though. Doubtless there are Chinese flag printers on Ali Baba who'll sell you thousands, but then you have to weigh up the environmental and karmic costs of that too.
(A sufficiently powerful hand laser could ignite someone else's flag from a distance, but this is all kinds of wrong and I'm sorry I even mentioned it.)
posted by Devonian at 10:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
(A sufficiently powerful hand laser could ignite someone else's flag from a distance, but this is all kinds of wrong and I'm sorry I even mentioned it.)
posted by Devonian at 10:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I called Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker (or rather their offices) on my lunch break today. I said their statements on the ban EO were encouraging but I would ask them to seriously consider Sen. Feinstein's bills (like they would, but I can ask). Also asked them to vote no on DeVos (fat chance with Alexander, but again, I can ask) and Sessions.
It's not enough. It's not enough. But it's a start. I just wish I had started sooner.
posted by pianoblack at 10:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's not enough. It's not enough. But it's a start. I just wish I had started sooner.
posted by pianoblack at 10:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The only thing that makes me skeptical about the trial balloon theory is that it requires a level of forethought and organization that the Trump administration hasn't demonstrated anywhere else.
posted by diogenes at 10:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 10:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
Bears repeating:
You know what people need to do with the Trial Balloon theory - spread it far and wide, all over these great internets.
It's a lot harder to do a coup when everyone has been saying "these people are going to do a coup and here's how". I'm not saying it's impossible, but we can reframe all this stuff.
Put that story on your social media, tweet it, make it trend - get people thinking "coup" when they think "Bannon".
posted by Frowner
One question I have: what if the next shitglob gets slung on a weekday? Will we still turn out in force?
posted by yoga at 10:43 AM on January 30, 2017
You know what people need to do with the Trial Balloon theory - spread it far and wide, all over these great internets.
It's a lot harder to do a coup when everyone has been saying "these people are going to do a coup and here's how". I'm not saying it's impossible, but we can reframe all this stuff.
Put that story on your social media, tweet it, make it trend - get people thinking "coup" when they think "Bannon".
posted by Frowner
One question I have: what if the next shitglob gets slung on a weekday? Will we still turn out in force?
posted by yoga at 10:43 AM on January 30, 2017
(A sufficiently powerful hand laser could ignite someone else's flag from a distance, but this is all kinds of wrong and I'm sorry I even mentioned it.)
Just to be clear this kind of laser would also blind people in the crowd so, real talk, don't do it.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Just to be clear this kind of laser would also blind people in the crowd so, real talk, don't do it.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
The single most effective way that you can "REGISTER AS MUSLIM" is to donate to Muslim civic and civil rights organizations.
I went to look at my state's CAIR page, clicked on the "donate" link - they prefer checks mailed to them over credit card donations (there are no fees for checks), and I noted that there's a checkbox: "This donation is intended as Zakat."
I had no idea what that was; apparently it's (loosely) the Muslim version of tithing: an obligatory amount, after your expenses are met, due to the needy in your community. (Apologies if I've misunderstood or explained badly.) My question is: Should I check that box, to be more likely to be "registered as a Muslim," or not, because this isn't really my religion?
My religion doesn't have a specific "you should donate $$ to the needy" obligation, but it does certainly have a "you should pay forward what you have gained from your community" obligation.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
I went to look at my state's CAIR page, clicked on the "donate" link - they prefer checks mailed to them over credit card donations (there are no fees for checks), and I noted that there's a checkbox: "This donation is intended as Zakat."
I had no idea what that was; apparently it's (loosely) the Muslim version of tithing: an obligatory amount, after your expenses are met, due to the needy in your community. (Apologies if I've misunderstood or explained badly.) My question is: Should I check that box, to be more likely to be "registered as a Muslim," or not, because this isn't really my religion?
My religion doesn't have a specific "you should donate $$ to the needy" obligation, but it does certainly have a "you should pay forward what you have gained from your community" obligation.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
It's a lot harder to censor an alphabet than a syllabary
Except it really isn't. First off, Chinese isn't a syllabary it's logosyllabic, the Japanese katakana and hiragana are syllabaries (each character corresponds to one syllable).
Just as in a language written with the Roman alphabet you can make human readable, but machine difficult, text by substituting symbols that vaguely look like letters, so to you can make human readable, but machine difficult, text in a language like Chinese by substituting similar characters, or phonetically spelling a word using semi-random characters. It's not really any more difficult than doing 1337 5p3@k is in English.
and to make it even partially effective, they'd need either cooperation or takeovers of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (yeah, nobody thinks of tumblr for activism because tumblr is a hot mess of incoherence
Yup, that's where Trump is going to run into problems. In China the censorship was baked in from the outset, in the USA they're going to be trying to censor an already robust and distributed system. Where lots of stuff is already end to end encrypted.
It wouldn't be impossible to impose a censorship regime, but it'd be more difficult here simply because of the vast informational ecosystem that already exists. I have no idea how many Americans use a VPN (if you don't, now's a damn fine time to get one), but the more of us who do the harder it will be to stop, and the less anyone using one will stand out as a likely subversive.
I'm far from an infosec expert, I'm a dabbler like any other tech is but I've not studied it in depth (I am starting now though), but even with what little I know I can see that trying to lock down the US internet without crippling the economy is going to be a nightmare.
And that's leaving out truly last ditch stuff like Freenet.
posted by sotonohito at 10:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Except it really isn't. First off, Chinese isn't a syllabary it's logosyllabic, the Japanese katakana and hiragana are syllabaries (each character corresponds to one syllable).
Just as in a language written with the Roman alphabet you can make human readable, but machine difficult, text by substituting symbols that vaguely look like letters, so to you can make human readable, but machine difficult, text in a language like Chinese by substituting similar characters, or phonetically spelling a word using semi-random characters. It's not really any more difficult than doing 1337 5p3@k is in English.
and to make it even partially effective, they'd need either cooperation or takeovers of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (yeah, nobody thinks of tumblr for activism because tumblr is a hot mess of incoherence
Yup, that's where Trump is going to run into problems. In China the censorship was baked in from the outset, in the USA they're going to be trying to censor an already robust and distributed system. Where lots of stuff is already end to end encrypted.
It wouldn't be impossible to impose a censorship regime, but it'd be more difficult here simply because of the vast informational ecosystem that already exists. I have no idea how many Americans use a VPN (if you don't, now's a damn fine time to get one), but the more of us who do the harder it will be to stop, and the less anyone using one will stand out as a likely subversive.
I'm far from an infosec expert, I'm a dabbler like any other tech is but I've not studied it in depth (I am starting now though), but even with what little I know I can see that trying to lock down the US internet without crippling the economy is going to be a nightmare.
And that's leaving out truly last ditch stuff like Freenet.
posted by sotonohito at 10:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
One question I have: what if the next shitglob gets slung on a weekday? Will we still turn out in force?
For those of us who are basically healthy, that's what we can use all our unused sick days for.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
For those of us who are basically healthy, that's what we can use all our unused sick days for.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Spicer is comparing NSC to George W. Bush and Obama, calling it "identical." .... other than the Director of National Intelligence, a position that didn't exist in 2001. Says it's identical to Obama's.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was just able to successfully send anti-DeVos faxes via FaxZero to NC Senators Tillis and Burr. I've heard their phones are jammed but for any other NC mefites, faxing seems to be working for now.
posted by azuresunday at 10:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 10:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Spicer seems like a disorganized middle schooler trying to explain his half-assed science fair project.
posted by LiteOpera at 10:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by LiteOpera at 10:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Labour MP Dennis Skinner condemns President Trump as a "fascist" and calls for the state visit to the UK to be cancelled.
posted by porn in the woods at 10:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 10:50 AM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
Really you shouldn't burn any Nazi/Confederate flags unless you have paid the knuckle price for it.
posted by Artw at 10:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Yeah, really - don't go playing with lasers if there's any danger of hitting people - and that includes via reflections glancing off surfaces. and where people includes yourself.
As always, know the facts.
posted by Devonian at 10:52 AM on January 30, 2017
As always, know the facts.
posted by Devonian at 10:52 AM on January 30, 2017
azuresunday faxing worked for me also to Tillis & Burr. yay!
posted by yoga at 10:52 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by yoga at 10:52 AM on January 30, 2017
(Shinning up a flagpole also acceptable)
posted by Artw at 10:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Artw at 10:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Look "trial balloon" sounds all fancy and strategic, would it be more believable if we phrased it "seeing what he can get away with"?
People think narcissists are really clever because they're really good at manipulating. I can't remember if I read this somewhere else it's so lost in the mists of time, but... no.
Angler fish aren't intellectuals either. They're just really good at doing the thing they do in order to survive, because all God's creatures are and so are some of the rest of the creatures.
It doesn't take being really really clever and strategic, to do something outrageous and probably unconstitutional to see if you can get away with it.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, there seem to have been no successful impeachments in living memory, especially when there aren't any opposition party members in a position to do the impeaching, like there aren't now. Short of impeachment, what has Annoying Orange got to be worried about? And he has every reason to think he won't get impeached.
On the other hand, if people do "take to the streets" in a civil disobedience kind of way, I would bet Annoying Orange would see that as a breakdown of law and order that perfectly suited his purposes one way or another, and whether or not that interpretation was justified.
posted by tel3path at 10:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
People think narcissists are really clever because they're really good at manipulating. I can't remember if I read this somewhere else it's so lost in the mists of time, but... no.
Angler fish aren't intellectuals either. They're just really good at doing the thing they do in order to survive, because all God's creatures are and so are some of the rest of the creatures.
It doesn't take being really really clever and strategic, to do something outrageous and probably unconstitutional to see if you can get away with it.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, there seem to have been no successful impeachments in living memory, especially when there aren't any opposition party members in a position to do the impeaching, like there aren't now. Short of impeachment, what has Annoying Orange got to be worried about? And he has every reason to think he won't get impeached.
On the other hand, if people do "take to the streets" in a civil disobedience kind of way, I would bet Annoying Orange would see that as a breakdown of law and order that perfectly suited his purposes one way or another, and whether or not that interpretation was justified.
posted by tel3path at 10:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
@AriMelber Explanation Spicer offering about this memo is traditioanlly what admins do in advance, to make their case before first stories are written.
posted by slipthought at 10:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by slipthought at 10:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
so we're at the "laser war with Nazis" stage. I guess ten year old me had a pretty solid idea of what the future would hold after all
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [75 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [75 favorites]
Also just donated $30 to the national CAIR.
posted by azuresunday at 10:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by azuresunday at 10:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
The thing about regulations is all of them have 1) some terrible backstory that made someone write it down or 2)caused moral outrage for a group of people large enough for someone to bother to write it down.
So any actual deregulation will have pushback and the easiest regulations to remove are those with moral outrage which will more likely impact his base.
posted by AlexiaSky at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
So any actual deregulation will have pushback and the easiest regulations to remove are those with moral outrage which will more likely impact his base.
posted by AlexiaSky at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
there seem to have been no successful impeachments in living memory
Nixon didn't need to be impeached because he (and his staff) recognized it as a valid threat.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nixon didn't need to be impeached because he (and his staff) recognized it as a valid threat.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Every new regulation will need to eliminate two existing regulations. WTF.
per George Lakoff, we should be calling "regulations" what they are: "protections".
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 10:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]
per George Lakoff, we should be calling "regulations" what they are: "protections".
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 10:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [25 favorites]
Apparently the White House is letting Mattis, at his request, write up a list of exemptions for Iraqis to the travel ban. This is why cabinet picks - especially for Secretary of State! - are so important.
posted by corb at 10:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by corb at 10:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
I'm pretty into McMullin, actually. He has more spine and principle than any ten Democratic legislators at this point. (Secretly, we still call him "Egg" at our house, but with fondness.)
I would caution you that McMullin is no friend of progressives. He might align with you on this specific issue but he will turn around and stab you in the back the instant issues change.
For example:
McMullin has pledged to appoint Supreme Court judges "in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas."
McMullin supports keeping open the Guantanamo detention camp.
McMullin opposes the Iranian nuclear agreement.
McMullin supports NAFTA and the TPP.
McMullin supports eliminating corporate income taxes.
McMullin supports eliminating the estate tax.
McMullin wants to cut Social Security and Medicare and raise the retirement age.
McMullin supports overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating all abortions.
Sorry but I'm not jumping on board the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" train.
posted by JackFlash at 10:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
I would caution you that McMullin is no friend of progressives. He might align with you on this specific issue but he will turn around and stab you in the back the instant issues change.
For example:
McMullin has pledged to appoint Supreme Court judges "in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas."
McMullin supports keeping open the Guantanamo detention camp.
McMullin opposes the Iranian nuclear agreement.
McMullin supports NAFTA and the TPP.
McMullin supports eliminating corporate income taxes.
McMullin supports eliminating the estate tax.
McMullin wants to cut Social Security and Medicare and raise the retirement age.
McMullin supports overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating all abortions.
Sorry but I'm not jumping on board the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" train.
posted by JackFlash at 10:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
per George Lakoff, we should be calling "regulations" what they are: "protections".
per me a month or so ago, the opposite of "regulation" is not "freedom", it's "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory".
posted by Etrigan at 11:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [64 favorites]
per me a month or so ago, the opposite of "regulation" is not "freedom", it's "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory".
posted by Etrigan at 11:01 AM on January 30, 2017 [64 favorites]
> Apparently the White House is letting Mattis, at his request, write up a list of exemptions for Iraqis to the travel ban. This is why cabinet picks - especially for Secretary of State! - are so important.
No, no, no, no, NO! You do not fight an unacceptable policy by granting exceptions for the "good ones." This just normalizes the cruelty.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [92 favorites]
No, no, no, no, NO! You do not fight an unacceptable policy by granting exceptions for the "good ones." This just normalizes the cruelty.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:02 AM on January 30, 2017 [92 favorites]
Sorry but I'm not jumping on board the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" train.
Well, no, but the last time we had to defeat fascism we teamed up with Stalin.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]
Well, no, but the last time we had to defeat fascism we teamed up with Stalin.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [38 favorites]
I realized today that the reason why McMullin, like Pence, makes me feel more comfortable is that it gives me something to fight that I can understand. We've been fighting assholes like them for decades.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
This is why cabinet picks - especially for Secretary of State! - are so important.
Because they help add a sheen of legitimacy to otherwise unconscionable policies?
posted by contraption at 11:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Because they help add a sheen of legitimacy to otherwise unconscionable policies?
posted by contraption at 11:03 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Secret Life of Gravy: "In order to direct our attention away from this weekend's horrors, he said he will be announcing his Supreme Court pick "live" at 8:00 pm Tuesday. Live-- like a fuckin reality TV show."
Just yet another return to the "good old days" when people only had three channels and when the president was on your evening was hooped.
Kitteh: "I can only imagine how much teeth-gritting Trudeau has to do now and in the future when meeting with Asshat."
I so hope Justin gets a "worse things by better people" moment in on Trump; preferably several.
jindc: "I'm not trying to diminish the scope of the organizing that has been done, I'm genuinely worried that social media has been the prime mover in getting the word out and wonder how the massive scale can be replicated should Twitter and Facebook organizing be limited somehow."
LISTSERVs can handle this without much trouble. The US government is going to find it difficult to effectively limit email.
posted by Mitheral at 11:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Just yet another return to the "good old days" when people only had three channels and when the president was on your evening was hooped.
Kitteh: "I can only imagine how much teeth-gritting Trudeau has to do now and in the future when meeting with Asshat."
I so hope Justin gets a "worse things by better people" moment in on Trump; preferably several.
jindc: "I'm not trying to diminish the scope of the organizing that has been done, I'm genuinely worried that social media has been the prime mover in getting the word out and wonder how the massive scale can be replicated should Twitter and Facebook organizing be limited somehow."
LISTSERVs can handle this without much trouble. The US government is going to find it difficult to effectively limit email.
posted by Mitheral at 11:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sorry but I'm not jumping on board the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" train.
I'm on board with "the enemy of my enemy is useful", though.
posted by winna at 11:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
I'm on board with "the enemy of my enemy is useful", though.
posted by winna at 11:04 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
Thanks to you all, I've not only changed my ACLU donation to monthly, but I've donated to the local CAIR as well. I'm also going to budget in an extra two hours for airport security after doing this...
posted by MysticMCJ at 11:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by MysticMCJ at 11:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
This donation is intended as Zakat.
As I understand it, Zakat is meant to aid a somewhat narrower range of goals than just "good works" in general, so checking that box has an effect of earmarking your donation for a specific subset of their activities, so that you can be certain your donation is actually being used for purposes which can be justified as zakat. My grasp of the concept isn't strong enough to know exactly how this limits the scope/utility of your donation, though.
posted by jackbishop at 11:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
As I understand it, Zakat is meant to aid a somewhat narrower range of goals than just "good works" in general, so checking that box has an effect of earmarking your donation for a specific subset of their activities, so that you can be certain your donation is actually being used for purposes which can be justified as zakat. My grasp of the concept isn't strong enough to know exactly how this limits the scope/utility of your donation, though.
posted by jackbishop at 11:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is there a place where you can buy Confederate flags for burning
This is my one-per-thread exhortation for everyone to join me in calling it "the traitor flag" at every opportunity. People who wish to go on about heritage not hate need to have to heft the fact that it's a testament to betraying the United States of America. Let em reconcile that with their accompanying obsession with the pledge of allegiance and star spangled banner.
posted by phearlez at 11:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
This is my one-per-thread exhortation for everyone to join me in calling it "the traitor flag" at every opportunity. People who wish to go on about heritage not hate need to have to heft the fact that it's a testament to betraying the United States of America. Let em reconcile that with their accompanying obsession with the pledge of allegiance and star spangled banner.
posted by phearlez at 11:05 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
Artw Really you shouldn't burn any Nazi/Confederate flags unless you have paid the knuckle price for it.
I like that! The honor you get, the prize you get, the glory you get, for taking a Swastika (Southern or otherwise) off a Nazi/Klansman is the right to burn it. You'd know anyone you see burning one was a serious hardass, a genuine fighter for what's right, if that rule were widely followed.
And, of course, as a bonus it encourages Nazi/KKK hunting so the bold can claim their prize and the attendant glory of burning it.
I'm too old to really bash the fash, but I'll cheer anyone who does.
posted by sotonohito at 11:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
I like that! The honor you get, the prize you get, the glory you get, for taking a Swastika (Southern or otherwise) off a Nazi/Klansman is the right to burn it. You'd know anyone you see burning one was a serious hardass, a genuine fighter for what's right, if that rule were widely followed.
And, of course, as a bonus it encourages Nazi/KKK hunting so the bold can claim their prize and the attendant glory of burning it.
I'm too old to really bash the fash, but I'll cheer anyone who does.
posted by sotonohito at 11:06 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Apparently the White House is letting Mattis, at his request, write up a list of exemptions for Iraqis to the travel ban. This is why cabinet picks - especially for Secretary of State! - are so important.
Schindler's Mattis' List should never have been needed and will never be long enough.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Apparently the White House is letting Mattis, at his request, write up a list of exemptions for Iraqis to the travel ban. This is why cabinet picks - especially for Secretary of State! - are so important.
No, no, no, no, NO! You do not fight an unacceptable policy by granting exceptions for the "good ones." This just normalizes the cruelty.
@emptywheel: Wow appointing a fierce general really resulted in someone willing to stand on principle, didn't it.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
No, no, no, no, NO! You do not fight an unacceptable policy by granting exceptions for the "good ones." This just normalizes the cruelty.
@emptywheel: Wow appointing a fierce general really resulted in someone willing to stand on principle, didn't it.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
I'm too old to really bash the fash, but I'll cheer anyone who does.
Or impede those who would try to chase the antifa puncher. They also serve who only stand and get in the way of pursuit.
posted by phearlez at 11:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Or impede those who would try to chase the antifa puncher. They also serve who only stand and get in the way of pursuit.
posted by phearlez at 11:07 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Sorry but I'm not jumping on board the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" train.This is truly not about making friends. I have no idea whether I want to be friends with Egg McMuffin: we're not talking about hanging out and going to barbecues. Right now, he's my ally in the fight against no-long-creeping fascism. If that changes at some point in the future, then I will rethink our alliance. This is not about our feelings. This is about making smart strategic decisions.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:08 AM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
I thought this was an interesting essay responding to "Trial Balloon for a Coup?": Weak and Incompetent Leaders act like Strong Leaders. In short, leaders who are actually strong can just be sort of indifferent, while weak leaders are constantly trying to make themselves look strong, and so trying to tease out actual strength by observing actions is difficult:
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 zachlipton at 11:09 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
When reading commentary on contemporary U.S. politics, it is best to recognize any attempt to establish a Coherent Theory of the Trump Presidency based on public outputs for the Kremlinology that it is. The hot takes of “I have a theory that makes sense of all of this!” are the qualitative equivalent of curve-fitting. Don’t ignore these hot takes; one of them is probably right, after all. But understand what is missing. From my view, the conclusion to draw from the past ten days is just how little power this president is able to exert over national politics.
"The president has largely been praised" for his statement on the Holocaust
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:10 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:10 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Oh my god, I cannot believe Spicer got up there and used the Quebec massacre as an example of why Trump "needs to do everything necessary to protect the Homeland and its people." The fucking chutzpah of these goons.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:10 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:10 AM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
Oh, how nice, he "went out of his way" by releasing a press statement.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:11 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Oh my god, I cannot believe Spicer got up there and used the Quebec massacre as an example of why Trump "needs to do everything necessary to protect the Homeland and its people." The fucking chutzpah of these goons.
Especially since the police have recently stated that the guy with the "foreign" name was actually a witness, and the shooter was a right-wing anti-Muslim and "men's rights" troll.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:12 AM on January 30, 2017 [59 favorites]
Especially since the police have recently stated that the guy with the "foreign" name was actually a witness, and the shooter was a right-wing anti-Muslim and "men's rights" troll.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:12 AM on January 30, 2017 [59 favorites]
On the question of whether to say you are making a donation as zakat: I wouldn't. I know you are thinking about it with the intention of solidarity and protecting people from persecution, but it's also potentially trivializing a deeply held belief. I'm not Muslim, but I am relatively devout in the religion I do have and I would be offended if others started pretending to be my religion and insincerely copying things that I do sincerely. Even if it were "for my protection." Please don't think this is the equivalent of standing up and saying "No, I'm Sparactus!" Donate by all means, but don't say you consider it a religious obligation when it really isn't to you.
posted by alligatorpear at 11:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by alligatorpear at 11:13 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Oh my god, I cannot believe Spicer got up there and used the Quebec massacre as an example of why Trump "needs to do everything necessary to protect the Homeland and its people." The fucking chutzpah of these goons.
This is where my feed cut out and spared me the rest of the press conference, which was pretty close to an answer to a prayer at the time.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is where my feed cut out and spared me the rest of the press conference, which was pretty close to an answer to a prayer at the time.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
President Obama's office released a statement:
posted by zachlipton at 11:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [88 favorites]
President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. The president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion. Citizens exercising their Const'l right to assemble..exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stakeThat's step one. We need him.
posted by zachlipton at 11:15 AM on January 30, 2017 [88 favorites]
So Mattis is busy writing immigration regulation... What is he going to appeal? How is he going to make it revenue neutral?
posted by AlexiaSky at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Westminster is very very busy I'll try and Instagram some pics later. But data networks are overload. Suffice to say, no one is keen on trump here
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
>Sorry but I'm not jumping on board the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" train.
>Well, no, but the last time we had to defeat fascism we teamed up with Stalin.
Just remember, never forget, that he is still effing Stalin. From the original quote they spoke of McMullin with "fondness." I wouldn't speak of Stalin with "fondness" nor would I McMullin.
posted by JackFlash at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
>Well, no, but the last time we had to defeat fascism we teamed up with Stalin.
Just remember, never forget, that he is still effing Stalin. From the original quote they spoke of McMullin with "fondness." I wouldn't speak of Stalin with "fondness" nor would I McMullin.
posted by JackFlash at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
somehow Sparactus is actually a cooler name
posted by scrowdid at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by scrowdid at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
That's what I get for typing in between tasks at work.
posted by alligatorpear at 11:18 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by alligatorpear at 11:18 AM on January 30, 2017
Spicer's faux outrage over people being offended by the Holocaust statement is disgusting.
posted by diogenes at 11:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 11:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
Devonian: "You can always print your own flag on a large piece of paper. Will burn too quickly to fully enjoy, though."
Theconfederatetraitor flag is pretty simple to draw; at least for effigy purposes. 10 minutes with a rectangle of white sheet, a magic marker and a star stencil and you have something suitable for burning.
AlexiaSky: "The thing about regulations is all of them have 1) some terrible backstory that made someone write it down or 2)caused moral outrage for a group of people large enough for someone to bother to write it down. "
Electrical code has the format #.(A).(#).(a).(i) "Text of the rule". I've often thought they ought to add the name of the person who was killed who inspired the rule in between the number and the text. Well known rules would be referenced by name instead of number like they do with court cases.
posted by Mitheral at 11:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
The
AlexiaSky: "The thing about regulations is all of them have 1) some terrible backstory that made someone write it down or 2)caused moral outrage for a group of people large enough for someone to bother to write it down. "
Electrical code has the format #.(A).(#).(a).(i) "Text of the rule". I've often thought they ought to add the name of the person who was killed who inspired the rule in between the number and the text. Well known rules would be referenced by name instead of number like they do with court cases.
posted by Mitheral at 11:19 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
"How dare you suggest we would do such a thing?"
Oh, but you would do such a thing, and now we're calling you on it.
posted by Donald Trump Sex Nightmare at 11:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Oh, but you would do such a thing, and now we're calling you on it.
posted by Donald Trump Sex Nightmare at 11:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Spicer: reaction of American Jews is "pathetic, ridiculous." Also, criticism of calling Christ "the King" is "offensive" despite of, oh, our Constitution.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
In case you're wondering what it looks like to conflate remembering the Holocaust with political actions about the State of Israel, Sean Spicer just showed you. It's incredibly gross.
posted by zachlipton at 11:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:20 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
On the question of whether to say you are making a donation as zakat: I wouldn't. I know you are thinking about it with the intention of solidarity and protecting people from persecution, but it's also potentially trivializing a deeply held belief.
Thanks.
I've looked into it a bit more, and it seems that Zakat, among other details, marks the donation for very specific purposes (broad purposes - there are 8 categories of "help the needy" that are involved) and since (1) I don't want to trivialize or offend, and (2) I don't want to create extra accounting work, I am happy to make a general donation of the "just spend it wherever you think it's most useful" variety.
I want to contact CAIR or another organization to ask how those donations get recorded and whether it would be offensive for a non-Muslim to donate Zakat (or "as Zakat;" I'm unsure of the terminology) in order to potentially confuse anyone who's looking for lists of Muslims.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:21 AM on January 30, 2017
Thanks.
I've looked into it a bit more, and it seems that Zakat, among other details, marks the donation for very specific purposes (broad purposes - there are 8 categories of "help the needy" that are involved) and since (1) I don't want to trivialize or offend, and (2) I don't want to create extra accounting work, I am happy to make a general donation of the "just spend it wherever you think it's most useful" variety.
I want to contact CAIR or another organization to ask how those donations get recorded and whether it would be offensive for a non-Muslim to donate Zakat (or "as Zakat;" I'm unsure of the terminology) in order to potentially confuse anyone who's looking for lists of Muslims.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:21 AM on January 30, 2017
This is America. We have no King but Elvis.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
Whip count on Reublican Senators re: Trump's Muslim ban.
If accurate, if they really do vote in opposition (two big ifs) then maybe some do deserve the title of temporary ally.
The enemy of my enemy is the enemy of my enemy. And sometimes that's good enough.
posted by sotonohito at 11:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
If accurate, if they really do vote in opposition (two big ifs) then maybe some do deserve the title of temporary ally.
The enemy of my enemy is the enemy of my enemy. And sometimes that's good enough.
posted by sotonohito at 11:21 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
Does anybody have a source on the majority of Americans supporting the EO on immigration?
posted by birdheist at 11:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by birdheist at 11:22 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been quite surprised that there is a #BanTrump protest going on in the small town in Cornwall, England where I live. They look to have got a few hundred people out at short notice, which is not bad for a town of 20,000 where the largest protest I've seen before was ~50. London looks a bit busier. Will be interesting to see the scope of any protest if they decide to go ahead with the state visit.
posted by biffa at 11:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by biffa at 11:23 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The best Spicer has to say about people held this weekend is: "It's a shame that people were inconvenienced," but it's better than the President having to call someone because they were killed in a terrorist attack.
Go fuck yourself Sean.
posted by zachlipton at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
Go fuck yourself Sean.
posted by zachlipton at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
You guys, "it's a shame that people were inconvenienced."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Olivia Nuzzi: Can't overstate how incompetent you have to be to fuck up Holocaust Remembrance Day.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
Just remember, never forget, that he is still effing Stalin. From the original quote they spoke of McMullin with "fondness." I wouldn't speak of Stalin with "fondness" nor would I McMullin.
That's fine. What bothers me is this idea that people will just forget all the other things and become all buddy buddy with 'enemy' forever and all time. This is complete and utter bullshit and not how 'alliances with normally the enemy' (for lack of a better descriptor) go. Stalin is also a good example of this.
posted by Jalliah at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
That's fine. What bothers me is this idea that people will just forget all the other things and become all buddy buddy with 'enemy' forever and all time. This is complete and utter bullshit and not how 'alliances with normally the enemy' (for lack of a better descriptor) go. Stalin is also a good example of this.
posted by Jalliah at 11:24 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Keep up the pressure on Dulles International. Just called CBP there, but had to leave a message. I called operations as well since customs didn't answer, where the agent kept saying he'd transfer me to CBP and they had no control over federal programs. That'd have been fine, except that the little snot ended the call with "Thanks for wasting everyone's time."
So yeah, if you're feeling particularly pugnacious, give them a call and tie up their lines, so they have to put pressure on CBP. Ask them why they aren't protesting this unlawful detention. Ask them why they support such unconstitutional policies. Make them pissed at CBP.
Thanks to nightrecordings for posting Dulles' contact information earlier in the thread:
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 11:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
So yeah, if you're feeling particularly pugnacious, give them a call and tie up their lines, so they have to put pressure on CBP. Ask them why they aren't protesting this unlawful detention. Ask them why they support such unconstitutional policies. Make them pissed at CBP.
Thanks to nightrecordings for posting Dulles' contact information earlier in the thread:
- Dulles customs: 202-732-4242 (you will probably have to leave a vm but do it anyway)Okay, headed out to demonstrate.
- Dulles operations: 703-572-2730 (where I got through to a human being earlier)
Tell them you disapprove and that the public is aware that they are violating a federal court order.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 11:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
Confederate Flag images: GIF, JPG, PNG, AI, EPS, SVG, PDF. From a general flags-of-everywhere site, not supporting any particular politics.
Print & burn.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:25 AM on January 30, 2017
Print & burn.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:25 AM on January 30, 2017
Oh it gets worse. Now he compared what people went through this weekend to the fact that sometimes he has to wait in line at TSA.
posted by zachlipton at 11:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:25 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
The best Spicer has to say about people held this weekend is: "It's a shame that people were inconvenienced," but it's better than the President having to call someone because they were killed in a terrorist attack.
I'm imagining how badly Trump would fuck up that call, and I kind of agree with him.
posted by Etrigan at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
I'm imagining how badly Trump would fuck up that call, and I kind of agree with him.
posted by Etrigan at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Just got an email from MI Dems:
Sixteen state's attorneys general are condemning Donald Trump's anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, un-American travel ban. They promised to "use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order and preserve our nation's national security and core values."
As we're sure you can guess, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette was not among those with the political courage or morality to stand up to Trump.
So I called his office. Couldn't get through to the Lansing #, called Detroit, she transferred me. I asked the next person what he is doing to protect the basic rights of his citizens being affected by the ban.
She told me right now they're just taking information on whether people support or oppose the President's ban. And he (Bill) hasn't made a statement yet.
$*@&%!#*%@*1
As if I didn't already hate this fucking guy. That's right, people from Dearborn can't leave the country, can't get in. And this weasly piece of shit is taking a SURVEY to see which way the wind blows before he decides if he goes with the fascists or goes with the Constitution of Michigan and the United States.
I responded, "NO STATEMENT, LET ALONE ACTION?" In a voice both dry and testy she replied, "I'll put you down as opposed. Now I have another call."
The contact info is:
Lansing: Ph. 517-373-1110, Fax 517-373-3042
Detroit: Ph. 313-456-0240, Fax313-456-0241
posted by NorthernLite at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Sixteen state's attorneys general are condemning Donald Trump's anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, un-American travel ban. They promised to "use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order and preserve our nation's national security and core values."
As we're sure you can guess, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette was not among those with the political courage or morality to stand up to Trump.
So I called his office. Couldn't get through to the Lansing #, called Detroit, she transferred me. I asked the next person what he is doing to protect the basic rights of his citizens being affected by the ban.
She told me right now they're just taking information on whether people support or oppose the President's ban. And he (Bill) hasn't made a statement yet.
$*@&%!#*%@*1
As if I didn't already hate this fucking guy. That's right, people from Dearborn can't leave the country, can't get in. And this weasly piece of shit is taking a SURVEY to see which way the wind blows before he decides if he goes with the fascists or goes with the Constitution of Michigan and the United States.
I responded, "NO STATEMENT, LET ALONE ACTION?" In a voice both dry and testy she replied, "I'll put you down as opposed. Now I have another call."
The contact info is:
Lansing: Ph. 517-373-1110, Fax 517-373-3042
Detroit: Ph. 313-456-0240, Fax313-456-0241
posted by NorthernLite at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
He likes to focus on the "small" number of people detained. As though the constitutionality of an action is related to the number of people it impacts.
posted by diogenes at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
Republican senators are criticizing Trump’s immigration order but not doing anything about it
It would only take three Republican senators joining them to force Mitch McConnell to give in and grant this request. That would create an opportunity for senators to get the designated secretary of state to clarify the order, and one for the Trump administration to alter the substance of the order to smooth things over. It would also lay the groundwork for potential tripwires on future Trump nominees to undersecretary positions.posted by tonycpsu at 11:27 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
Some Senate Republicans, of course, face the problem of being less popular with their own constituents than Trump is. But anti-order Republicans John McCain and Rob Portman were just reelected by much wider margins in their states than Trump secured. Susan Collins has criticized the order and represents a state Trump lost. Orrin Hatch, also critical, is from Utah, where Trump’s performance was catastrophically bad for a Republican.
The presidency is, at the end of the day, both the most powerful political office we have and one whose formal powers are rather circumscribed. The president can’t even staff his own administration without the Senate’s say-so. If the Republican senators who say they want Trump to modify this order insist that he modify it, he would ultimately have no choice but to do so. So far, though, they haven’t chosen to use the leverage they have. And once Trump’s team is in place, that leverage will diminish.
McMullin has pledged to appoint Supreme Court judges "in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas."
McMullin supports keeping open the Guantanamo detention camp.
McMullin opposes the Iranian nuclear agreement.
McMullin supports NAFTA and the TPP.
McMullin supports eliminating corporate income taxes.
McMullin supports eliminating the estate tax.
McMullin wants to cut Social Security and Medicare and raise the retirement age.
McMullin supports overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating all abortions.
Yes, and even though he and Trump administration have many of those things in common, he is still willing to stand up publicly and staunchly oppose Trump's authoritarianism, nativism, racism, and incipient fascism -- even at a political cost to himself. He's interested in advancing those things (most of which I oppose) through Constitutional means. Seriously, there's a difference between a political and ideological adversary and a threat to the republic and planet. You bet your ass I'm fond of McMullin.
Meanwhile, Spicer is still standing at the podium scolding the press about how Trump is the only possible savior who can safeguard the nation, which is frankly terrifying.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]
McMullin supports keeping open the Guantanamo detention camp.
McMullin opposes the Iranian nuclear agreement.
McMullin supports NAFTA and the TPP.
McMullin supports eliminating corporate income taxes.
McMullin supports eliminating the estate tax.
McMullin wants to cut Social Security and Medicare and raise the retirement age.
McMullin supports overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating all abortions.
Yes, and even though he and Trump administration have many of those things in common, he is still willing to stand up publicly and staunchly oppose Trump's authoritarianism, nativism, racism, and incipient fascism -- even at a political cost to himself. He's interested in advancing those things (most of which I oppose) through Constitutional means. Seriously, there's a difference between a political and ideological adversary and a threat to the republic and planet. You bet your ass I'm fond of McMullin.
Meanwhile, Spicer is still standing at the podium scolding the press about how Trump is the only possible savior who can safeguard the nation, which is frankly terrifying.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:28 AM on January 30, 2017 [41 favorites]
Buy Donald Trump toilet paper. Leave in airport restrooms.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Where are Senator Schumer's tears for the homeless?"
o:
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
o:
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:29 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
So is 109 the confirmed number of detainees?
posted by birdheist at 11:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by birdheist at 11:30 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
What's your level of concern that you're a worthless human being soon to lose his job and never get another one?
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
He also keeps talking up how it's 109 people like we're making a big deal out of a handful of cases and is ignoring the hundreds of thousands of people who still can't get on a plane. The 109 were just those caught in limbo because they implemented the thing while people were still in the air. Everyone else is still stuck where they are.
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [43 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:31 AM on January 30, 2017 [43 favorites]
On Bannon/NSC: "David Axelrod walked in and out of NSC meetings quite frequently." (not really true AFAIK)
Boy, for an admin that based its entire campaign on the total rejection of the Obama administration, they sure do cite it to justify a lot of things.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:32 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
Boy, for an admin that based its entire campaign on the total rejection of the Obama administration, they sure do cite it to justify a lot of things.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:32 AM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
Spicer said of career diplomats writing a dissent memo: "They can get with the program, or they can go."
posted by diogenes at 11:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 11:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Such bullshit. They're moving up the SCOTUS pick to try to cram this stuff down our throats, and the upcoming Hillary email hearings are meant to distract from that confirmation once the nomination outrage passes.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:33 AM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
You do not fight an unacceptable policy by granting exceptions for the "good ones."
No. But that's how you try to get as many as possible in alive.
posted by corb at 11:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
No. But that's how you try to get as many as possible in alive.
posted by corb at 11:34 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
As if I didn't already hate this fucking guy. That's right, people from Dearborn can't leave the country, can't get in. And this weasly piece of shit is taking a SURVEY to see which way the wind blows before he decides if he goes with the fascists or goes with the Constitution of Michigan and the United States.
If we learned anything about the Paul Ryan ACA fiasco, people really like being able to call a number to take a survey and voice their concern. Tweet that, send it to a couple Michigan based action groups, and make his life hell.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
If we learned anything about the Paul Ryan ACA fiasco, people really like being able to call a number to take a survey and voice their concern. Tweet that, send it to a couple Michigan based action groups, and make his life hell.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
lol.. so i guess it was "rolled out properly". These guys are assholes and I'm scared by how many people accept it.
posted by birdheist at 11:35 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by birdheist at 11:35 AM on January 30, 2017
Did he just threaten to fire all the FSOs who signed today's letter? They're going to clean out the entire State department?
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:35 AM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
@ExcommunicatedCardinal - thank you so much for calling Dulles (and thank you to anyone else calling Dulles, as well- I just had an opportunity to jump back into the thread, am on cell phone during work lunch,thread is a bit unstable on my mobile device now due to comment length,BUT HA I love it that the operations guy at Dulles is being inconvenienced- he was just as snotty to me - unless he or a loved one is currently being held in detention by CBP then I don't think he can even begin to understand "inconvenience." So if he doesn't like the calls we're making to him, maybe it's time for him to walk over to customs and tell them to answer their damn phone when the public calls.
KEEP CALLING DULLES!! Love you all!
posted by nightrecordings at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
KEEP CALLING DULLES!! Love you all!
posted by nightrecordings at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
That's why we can't let them distract us. We have to stay focused firmly on Bannon, Trump, and their circle. We can fight more effectively if we can see through what they're trying to do.
And I can't believe anyone would still care about the effing emails at this stage. Especially since it came out that Trump was using a private email server himself, the hypocrite.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
And I can't believe anyone would still care about the effing emails at this stage. Especially since it came out that Trump was using a private email server himself, the hypocrite.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
No. But that's how you try to get as many as possible in alive.
posted by corb at 11:34 AM
Is it time to start looking out for and supporting the Sugihara types in our new facist regime already?
posted by azuresunday at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by corb at 11:34 AM
Is it time to start looking out for and supporting the Sugihara types in our new facist regime already?
posted by azuresunday at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Spicer says they had to rush the EO or bad guys would hear about it and "flood in" before it went into effect. That doesn't make any sense! We're talking about refugees who had already been vetted!
posted by diogenes at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by diogenes at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
it's better than the President having to call someone because they were killed
The afterlife sucks because you can get a call from Donald Trump.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
The afterlife sucks because you can get a call from Donald Trump.
posted by rough ashlar at 11:37 AM on January 30, 2017 [24 favorites]
The Go Fund Me for the mosque that burned this weekend in Victoria, Tx, has surpassed its revised goal of $850K. The imam there has said very clearly that there is no known cause for the fire yet, and that it would be unwise to jump to conclusions. Arson or accident, I'm happy that the campaign was successful.
posted by megancita at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by megancita at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Spicer believes that the president has the right to have his nominee taken up for a vote. :) :) :) :)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
(Is someone working on the #nextpost? One could, for example, build a perfectly nice single-link post with just this: Screaming About Trump Into a Well: A Text Adventure.)
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by RedOrGreen at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Man, he sure leaves in a hurry.
posted by mochapickle at 11:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:40 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Holy shit, the President has a right to have his nominee taken up, no more questions taken because laughably indefensible, bye.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
The DHS has an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties headed by Veronica Venture. You can contact them by phone, fax, email, and mail. Would it do any good to start calling them too?
posted by brainwane at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Spicer claimed "by and large, he's been praised for it" about the Holocaust statement. AFAIK, the only folks praising that statement are avowed white supremacists.
posted by zachlipton at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [40 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [40 favorites]
There are no tanks in Baghdad.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Side note and reminder that in addition to urgent fires, there are longer, slower-burning problems we must attend to: I was trying to look up who were the representatives of some friends/family that I'm asking to call their Congresspeople (so I can provide phones numbers with my ask to lower the barrier to action), and I was reminded just how terrible the gerrymandering is in NC. Seriously, how is this a congressional district?
posted by alligatorpear at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by alligatorpear at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Zakat: skipping to the end here to say I asked a devout Muslim at work about this. He says it is a donation specifically earmarked "for the poor", and depending on how the group interprets this, it might include refugees. But not checking it allows the group to use at their complete discretion.
He also looked like he was going to cry and he says thank you to everyone who is talking about/doing this.
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]
He also looked like he was going to cry and he says thank you to everyone who is talking about/doing this.
posted by obliquity of the ecliptic at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]
You do not fight an unacceptable policy by granting exceptions for the "good ones."
Sometimes you do. What is your main goal? What is you most important short term goal? You ask, if we don't fight this major obstacle to you long term goals? If this major thing your fighting wins will you even be able to work towards your long term goals? When faced with an all or nothing obstacle, winner takes all situation you do. Why? It's strategic and only strategic until that all or nothing obstacle goes down.
posted by Jalliah at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sometimes you do. What is your main goal? What is you most important short term goal? You ask, if we don't fight this major obstacle to you long term goals? If this major thing your fighting wins will you even be able to work towards your long term goals? When faced with an all or nothing obstacle, winner takes all situation you do. Why? It's strategic and only strategic until that all or nothing obstacle goes down.
posted by Jalliah at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
So, Spicer just seriously claimed that a five year old kid was held that long to make sure they weren't a threat. Pardon me, what?
posted by Enturbulated at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by Enturbulated at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
Spicer says they had to rush the EO or bad guys would hear about it and "flood in" before it went into effect. That doesn't make any sense!
I'm pretty sure that's because it's a fucking baldfaced lie, like most of the stuff that comes out of this rage-y little pisher's mouth.
President Trump clearly has the "anger translator" position covered, for the moment.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that's because it's a fucking baldfaced lie, like most of the stuff that comes out of this rage-y little pisher's mouth.
President Trump clearly has the "anger translator" position covered, for the moment.
posted by FelliniBlank at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
it's better than the President having to call someone because they were killed in a terrorist attack
donnie can talk to dead people?
Ooh, and there's a Hillary email hearing coming up? I do hope some Dem will grow a spine & a pair and ask about donnie's Samsung S3 and the staff gmails.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
donnie can talk to dead people?
Ooh, and there's a Hillary email hearing coming up? I do hope some Dem will grow a spine & a pair and ask about donnie's Samsung S3 and the staff gmails.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:42 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
They are emphasizing how the 5 year old they cuffed is some kind of legitimate threat.
posted by Artw at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Spencer Ackerman: "Freedom from reprisal for Dissent Channel users is strictly enforced" per State Dept rules, btw https://fam.state.gov/fam/02fam/02fam0070.html
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
> No. But that's how you try to get as many as possible in alive.
This harm reduction logic might be valid if it were a sure thing that this policy is going to remain, but at a time when there are hundreds of lawsuits attacking it on many different Constitutional grounds and prominent members of the President's own party going on record against it, it is a strategic error to give in by accepting Trump's blood money. It takes away any leverage one might have to oppose it, and will only help a tiny fraction of those affected when so many more could be helped by killing the EO, or at least the provisions that target on the basis of religion.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
This harm reduction logic might be valid if it were a sure thing that this policy is going to remain, but at a time when there are hundreds of lawsuits attacking it on many different Constitutional grounds and prominent members of the President's own party going on record against it, it is a strategic error to give in by accepting Trump's blood money. It takes away any leverage one might have to oppose it, and will only help a tiny fraction of those affected when so many more could be helped by killing the EO, or at least the provisions that target on the basis of religion.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The Intercept_: Obama Killed a 16-Year-Old American in Yemen. Trump Just Killed His 8-Year-Old Sister.
posted by XMLicious at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
"Freedom from reprisal for Dissent Channel users is strictly enforced"
Well, apparently they are free to "get with the program or go."
posted by diogenes at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017
Well, apparently they are free to "get with the program or go."
posted by diogenes at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017
donnie can talk to dead people?
Maybe he has connections to Nancy Reagan's people.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Maybe he has connections to Nancy Reagan's people.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ooh, and there's a Hillary email hearing coming up?
Here's the Oversight Committee's demand for the FBI's records. This is /r/the_donald's latest wankfest.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Here's the Oversight Committee's demand for the FBI's records. This is /r/the_donald's latest wankfest.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:44 AM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
"Saving the most people" is not a thing for Mattis here. This policy will cost American soldier's lives when they can never get interpreters in the future, when the locals reflexively kill them because it is the safest thing to do. He has made a terrible, terrible error. We can argue about whether or not he made it out of good or bad intentions. But in this case, at least, Mattis has revealed that he will not fight obviously bad and dangerous policy, which makes him highly suspect as an ally.
posted by TypographicalError at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by TypographicalError at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
It's not a Muslim Ban, it's a Muslim Banalogue! It's not a Muslim Ban, it's a Muslim Non-Ban (or "Bannon")! It's not a Muslim Ban, it's a Muslim Bangbus!
Hey, whatever happened to that presidential investigation into voter fraud? I thought that was super important?
posted by SpaceBass at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey, whatever happened to that presidential investigation into voter fraud? I thought that was super important?
posted by SpaceBass at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is it time to start looking out for and supporting the Sugihara types in our new facist regime already?
I mean last night I tried to run the numbers on where I could get a job to do the most good, so, yes? I think we need to prepare that it might be.
tonycpsu makes good points, but right now I'm wondering if we can in fact stop this.
posted by corb at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017
I mean last night I tried to run the numbers on where I could get a job to do the most good, so, yes? I think we need to prepare that it might be.
tonycpsu makes good points, but right now I'm wondering if we can in fact stop this.
posted by corb at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017
Rumors are true. Expect by end of the week. @RoguePOTUSStaff there are rumors of anti LGBT EO coming. Can you shed light on that?
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:45 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Olivia Nuzzi: Can't overstate how incompetent you have to be to fuck up Holocaust Remembrance Day.
It's not incompetence. "Other people died too!" is true and important and should not be forgotten, but insisting on that point is a classic antisemitic trope.
posted by theodolite at 11:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
It's not incompetence. "Other people died too!" is true and important and should not be forgotten, but insisting on that point is a classic antisemitic trope.
posted by theodolite at 11:46 AM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
It's the Holocaust version of #all lives matter.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:47 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
I would caution you that McMullin is no friend of progressives. He might align with you on this specific issue but he will turn around and stab you in the back the instant issues change.
I should say that for "fond" you could read "certain values of fond". Not, for instance, "voting for" fond.
posted by Frowner at 11:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
I should say that for "fond" you could read "certain values of fond". Not, for instance, "voting for" fond.
posted by Frowner at 11:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Yeah. Fucking up Holocaust Remembrance Day would be spelling Holocaust with two H's or something. When you do it in a way that actual neo-Nazis who want to kill Jews are cheering as a sign that you're on their side, you're passed fucked up.
posted by zachlipton at 11:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 11:48 AM on January 30, 2017 [49 favorites]
I don't think that press conference is going to play very well as people have time to process it and write about it. (Not that it matters. It will all be washed away by the outrages of the next 24 hours.)
posted by diogenes at 11:48 AM on January 30, 2017
posted by diogenes at 11:48 AM on January 30, 2017
Rumors are true. Expect by end of the week. @RoguePOTUSStaff there are rumors of anti LGBT EO coming. Can you shed light on that?
Jesus fucking CHRIST. My boyfriend and I talked about getting married while we still can not two days ago. We decided to wait and see, but...if there's any truth to this, he and I might just have to start planning an escape ALREADY. Unbelievable.
posted by azuresunday at 11:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Jesus fucking CHRIST. My boyfriend and I talked about getting married while we still can not two days ago. We decided to wait and see, but...if there's any truth to this, he and I might just have to start planning an escape ALREADY. Unbelievable.
posted by azuresunday at 11:49 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
"This is /r/the_donald's latest wankfest."
Yeah, I've been going there now in the past weekend and scrolling past the top comments and seeing that, yeah, even people on there are catching on to which way the wind is blowing.
posted by I-baLL at 11:50 AM on January 30, 2017
Yeah, I've been going there now in the past weekend and scrolling past the top comments and seeing that, yeah, even people on there are catching on to which way the wind is blowing.
posted by I-baLL at 11:50 AM on January 30, 2017
I have a feeling the LGBT EO is going to be of the RFRA variety. So you can still get married, but watch who you ask to make the cake.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:51 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Here is what's expected. Repeal of Obama's protections for federal employees and federal contractors, and/or a RFRA.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:52 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm seeing a lot of references to @RoguePOTUSStaff... Is there any evidence that this is a trustworthy account? If not I don't think I'm comfortable with the comments here since they cause a lot of distress.
posted by selfnoise at 11:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by selfnoise at 11:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [13 favorites]
If that is true, I hope opposition to the anti-LGBT executive order comes out in full force as it did for the Muslim ban. Standing up for and defending people who are threatened by Trump is key to fighting this.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 11:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 11:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Yeah. Fucking up Holocaust Remembrance Day would be spelling Holocaust with two H's or something.
The use of two Hs (or 8s) has been a fundamental part of neo-Nazi identification for decades.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
The use of two Hs (or 8s) has been a fundamental part of neo-Nazi identification for decades.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:53 AM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
A national RFRA will get challenged and slammed down in courts all over the place - expect more drama of the courts vs exec branch, only unlike DHS and Customs, the people insisting "we can ignore court rulings" won't be armed, and they will be subject to local lawsuits & wage garnishments to pay for damages.
Lower possibility of violence & lives shattered; more local chaos.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Lower possibility of violence & lives shattered; more local chaos.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:54 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
strong words from @NYTWA in new statement on Uber
posted by porn in the woods at 11:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by porn in the woods at 11:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Well, that tweet up there is just them commenting on an article that is already in several LGBTQ publications. I've been hearing about possible anti-LGBTQ EO since this morning.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
If anyone lives in CA-45, we're having large protest tomorrow at Mimi Walters' office and we're expecting 500+ people to show. I've also contacted several media organizations. She's been completely silent, refusing to issue any statements about what's going on. This is of concern because she is the republican with the most constituents effected by the executive order in the entire country. Please share with your friends and family in the district.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:55 AM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
The Intercept_: Obama Killed a 16-Year-Old American in Yemen. Trump Just Killed His 8-Year-Old Sister.
Ah, The Intercept, always trolling everyone.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Ah, The Intercept, always trolling everyone.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
The use of two Hs (or 8s) has been a fundamental part of neo-Nazi identification for decades.
Goddamnit I was just trying to come up with a random typo and there I go sticking a neo-Nazi symbol into the thing without thinking. Please substitute a generic version:
"Fucking up Holocaust Remembrance Day would be spelling Remembrance wrong or something."
posted by zachlipton at 11:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
Goddamnit I was just trying to come up with a random typo and there I go sticking a neo-Nazi symbol into the thing without thinking. Please substitute a generic version:
"Fucking up Holocaust Remembrance Day would be spelling Remembrance wrong or something."
posted by zachlipton at 11:56 AM on January 30, 2017 [15 favorites]
That's step one. We need [Obama]
I've only just begun to realize how angry I am at Obama and his "institutionalism." He spent most of his administration trying to work across the aisle with people who didn't accept his legitimacy and who actively attacked those institutions, and he wouldn't hit back, no matter how much we begged him to. Instead he expanded executive power while ignoring the dangers and then handed the keys to a mad man.
This didn't come out of nowhere. People saw. People warned him. The rot and the poison within our political institutions was VISIBLE.
And this all happened on his watch. I'm not sure he's the man for the hour. I don't think he has the temperament for it.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [37 favorites]
I've only just begun to realize how angry I am at Obama and his "institutionalism." He spent most of his administration trying to work across the aisle with people who didn't accept his legitimacy and who actively attacked those institutions, and he wouldn't hit back, no matter how much we begged him to. Instead he expanded executive power while ignoring the dangers and then handed the keys to a mad man.
This didn't come out of nowhere. People saw. People warned him. The rot and the poison within our political institutions was VISIBLE.
And this all happened on his watch. I'm not sure he's the man for the hour. I don't think he has the temperament for it.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [37 favorites]
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.
Also if you are putting a lot of people out of work, those people have extra time for protesting, and certainly a lot more motivation to do so.
posted by emjaybee at 11:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's possible that this is their goal. But if so, may I say, it is a stupid goal.
Also if you are putting a lot of people out of work, those people have extra time for protesting, and certainly a lot more motivation to do so.
posted by emjaybee at 11:57 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
I have a feeling the LGBT EO is going to be of the RFRA variety. So you can still get married, but watch who you ask to make the cake.
I honest to god expect Spicer to invoke the dead ghost of Plessy in his press conference about that EO.
posted by Talez at 11:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
I honest to god expect Spicer to invoke the dead ghost of Plessy in his press conference about that EO.
posted by Talez at 11:58 AM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
the people insisting "we can ignore court rulings" won't be armed
I have absolutely zero faith in this assumption, about anything. Armed bigots have only been emboldened by Trump, and they were already stalking women's groups, mosques, BLM protests, etc. well before he took power.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I have absolutely zero faith in this assumption, about anything. Armed bigots have only been emboldened by Trump, and they were already stalking women's groups, mosques, BLM protests, etc. well before he took power.
posted by zombieflanders at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Of course the GOP is responsible for what they have wrought. But I don't think Obama is the person I'd pick to lead us out of this, because I don't think he gets it.
posted by schadenfrau at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
88 is used throughout the entire white supremacist movement, not just neo-Nazis. One can find it as a tattoo or graphic symbol; as part of the name of a group, publication or website; or as part of a screenname or e-mail address.
Is this where I place my PSA explaining that I got the screenname from a song title?
posted by rocket88 at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
Is this where I place my PSA explaining that I got the screenname from a song title?
posted by rocket88 at 11:59 AM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
Also if you are putting a lot of people out of work, those people have extra time for protesting, and certainly a lot more motivation to do so.
At this point, I'm half expecting this administration to withhold unemployment payments, SSDI/SSI, and other benefits for those identified at protests.
posted by mochapickle at 12:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
At this point, I'm half expecting this administration to withhold unemployment payments, SSDI/SSI, and other benefits for those identified at protests.
posted by mochapickle at 12:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm seeing a lot of references to @RoguePOTUSStaff... Is there any evidence that this is a trustworthy account?
None that I've seen. I'm guessing that it's either an extended performance piece or some kind of troll.
I should say that for "fond" you could read "certain values of fond". Not, for instance, "voting for" fond.
I see no evidence to suggest that McMullen's opposition to Trump isn't sincere, however much I might disagree with him on any wide variety of issues. At the moment that makes me fond of him. He is useful especially as a club to beat red state legislators with.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
None that I've seen. I'm guessing that it's either an extended performance piece or some kind of troll.
I should say that for "fond" you could read "certain values of fond". Not, for instance, "voting for" fond.
I see no evidence to suggest that McMullen's opposition to Trump isn't sincere, however much I might disagree with him on any wide variety of issues. At the moment that makes me fond of him. He is useful especially as a club to beat red state legislators with.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm seeing a lot of references to @RoguePOTUSStaff... Is there any evidence that this is a trustworthy account? If not I don't think I'm comfortable with the comments here since they cause a lot of distress.
It's hard to tell. Not sure how it could be authenticated, so all we have are the validity of their tweets.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:05 PM on January 30, 2017
It's hard to tell. Not sure how it could be authenticated, so all we have are the validity of their tweets.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:05 PM on January 30, 2017
I love how they pretend that their erasure of Jewish suffering is because they so deeply care about the suffering of... people with disabilities, LGBT folk, and the Roma? You know, all friends of this new administration.
Fucking shameless denialism. What pieces of filth.
posted by lydhre at 12:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [39 favorites]
Fucking shameless denialism. What pieces of filth.
posted by lydhre at 12:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [39 favorites]
LGBT EO: Uh.. gay marriage was ruled constitutional by the supreme court, yes? What can his EO do to undermine that? SC has final say, yes?
(or am I just clinging to some vain hope that our supreme court still has power?)
posted by INFJ at 12:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
(or am I just clinging to some vain hope that our supreme court still has power?)
posted by INFJ at 12:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
ACLU-PA live presser going on now [FB]. They say that some detainees were transported from PHL to local jails.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 12:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
I love how they pretend that their erasure of Jewish suffering is because they so deeply care about the suffering of... people with disabilities, LGBT folk, and the Roma? You know, all friends of this new administration.
Yep. He used another word that wasn't "Roma" too, which is not the kind of thing you'd do if you, you know, cared.
posted by zachlipton at 12:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
Yep. He used another word that wasn't "Roma" too, which is not the kind of thing you'd do if you, you know, cared.
posted by zachlipton at 12:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [32 favorites]
I love how they pretend that their erasure of Jewish suffering is because they so deeply care about the suffering of... people with disabilities, LGBT folk, and the Roma? You know, all friends of this new administration.
"We didn't mention the Jews because we care so much about the suffering of [racial slur]." [paraphrased but real]
posted by melissasaurus at 12:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]
"We didn't mention the Jews because we care so much about the suffering of [racial slur]." [paraphrased but real]
posted by melissasaurus at 12:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [34 favorites]
No one ever stands up for alcoholics and work-shy individuals when they "all lives matter" Nazi victims
posted by thelonius at 12:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 12:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
There are all sorts of LGBT rights that aren't the right to marry.
posted by alligatorpear at 12:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by alligatorpear at 12:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [22 favorites]
I'm seeing a lot of references to @RoguePOTUSStaff... Is there any evidence that this is a trustworthy account?
A recent tweet claimed that Trump used a term which, according to the responses, has some usage as an anti-Muslim slur in the UK but is virtually unknown in the US, leading many of the responders to suspect a UK hoaxer is behind the account.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
A recent tweet claimed that Trump used a term which, according to the responses, has some usage as an anti-Muslim slur in the UK but is virtually unknown in the US, leading many of the responders to suspect a UK hoaxer is behind the account.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
I love how they pretend that their erasure of Jewish suffering is because they so deeply care about the suffering of... people with disabilities, LGBT folk, and the Roma?
If only there weren't that strict character limit on executive proclamations that made them have to squeeze the actual groups that were targeted into "victims of fascism". THANKS OBAMA.
posted by Etrigan at 12:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
If only there weren't that strict character limit on executive proclamations that made them have to squeeze the actual groups that were targeted into "victims of fascism". THANKS OBAMA.
posted by Etrigan at 12:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
(The ACLU-PA feed includes SUPER CUTE baby, if anybody needs additional incentive to watch.)
posted by joyceanmachine at 12:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by joyceanmachine at 12:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
What can his EO do to undermine that? SC has final say, yes?
The most likely LGBT move he might make via EO is to rollback any of the protections Obama offered for Transgendered people.
posted by drezdn at 12:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
The most likely LGBT move he might make via EO is to rollback any of the protections Obama offered for Transgendered people.
posted by drezdn at 12:11 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
I love that she just low key has a baby on this stream; babies (mostly my own, but also others) are a big part of my getting through stuff right now.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
With how EO are going, I would not be surprised if he declared LBGT a mental illnesses and pledged to open state sponsered "treatment facilities" in every state.
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
>> The use of two Hs (or 8s) has been a fundamental part of neo-Nazi identification for decades.
> zachlipton: Goddamnit I was just trying to come up with a random typo and there I go sticking a neo-Nazi symbol into the thing without thinking.
Oh I think "trying to come up with a random typo and ending up with a neo-Nazi symbol" works really well as an extended metaphor for the Trump administration.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
> zachlipton: Goddamnit I was just trying to come up with a random typo and there I go sticking a neo-Nazi symbol into the thing without thinking.
Oh I think "trying to come up with a random typo and ending up with a neo-Nazi symbol" works really well as an extended metaphor for the Trump administration.
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
This (claims to be) a sign in the Holocaust Museum shop. Looks like I've got a new protest sign.
posted by shothotbot at 12:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by shothotbot at 12:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
The DHS has an Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties headed by Veronica Venture. You can contact them by phone, fax, email, and mail. Would it do any good to start calling them too?
I just tried calling the numbers listed for them. I got a recording about filing a claim but no way to leave a message. So much for a government of the people and by the people.
posted by mcduff at 12:18 PM on January 30, 2017
I just tried calling the numbers listed for them. I got a recording about filing a claim but no way to leave a message. So much for a government of the people and by the people.
posted by mcduff at 12:18 PM on January 30, 2017
Border patrol and ICE come out in full throated support of the Trump EOs.
Brownshirts self-identifying.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [72 favorites]
Brownshirts self-identifying.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [72 favorites]
NYT headline in progress: "Open Dissent Erupts at State Department; Over 100 Sign Memo"
Also, "Travelers Stranded and Protests Swell Over Trump Order".
And "Rush to Enact Travel Ban Led to Chaos - Top Officials Were Left in Dark as Trump Signed Order".
Washington Post going with "Trump defends order amid upheaval - President seeks to minimize impact of his immigration order in a series of tweets" and "Democrats will attempt to rescind Trump’s immigration order".
Not good optics, eh? Maybe bit off a bit more than they could chew?
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Also, "Travelers Stranded and Protests Swell Over Trump Order".
And "Rush to Enact Travel Ban Led to Chaos - Top Officials Were Left in Dark as Trump Signed Order".
Washington Post going with "Trump defends order amid upheaval - President seeks to minimize impact of his immigration order in a series of tweets" and "Democrats will attempt to rescind Trump’s immigration order".
Not good optics, eh? Maybe bit off a bit more than they could chew?
posted by RedOrGreen at 12:22 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
A recent tweet claimed that Trump used a term which, according to the responses, has some usage as an anti-Muslim slur in the UK but is virtually unknown in the US, leading many of the responders to suspect a UK hoaxer is behind the account.
I'm from the US, and I've seen the term appear a number of times in the context of unmistakable anti-Muslim hate speech on Facebook; I reported each instance, only to have the Facebook moderation basically tell me "buck up, buttercup". My guess is that it may have been adopted by American racists parroting their UK/Euro counterparts. It's not inconceivable that it may have caught on in the circles that Trump's advisors run in, if not necessarily Trump himself.
That said, I still strongly doubt the authenticity of the Rogue POTUS Twitter account.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm from the US, and I've seen the term appear a number of times in the context of unmistakable anti-Muslim hate speech on Facebook; I reported each instance, only to have the Facebook moderation basically tell me "buck up, buttercup". My guess is that it may have been adopted by American racists parroting their UK/Euro counterparts. It's not inconceivable that it may have caught on in the circles that Trump's advisors run in, if not necessarily Trump himself.
That said, I still strongly doubt the authenticity of the Rogue POTUS Twitter account.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Border patrol and ICE come out in full throated support of the Trump EOs.
I am not even surprised by that. Of course they did.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I am not even surprised by that. Of course they did.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
> Border patrol and ICE come out in full throated support of the Trump EOs.
That reads like something out of North Korea.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
That reads like something out of North Korea.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
'Donald Trump is a pure fanny': Scotland hits the streets to protest President's 'Muslim ban'
Kinda hoping he gets the Farage special if he tries coming up here again...
posted by Buntix at 12:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Kinda hoping he gets the Farage special if he tries coming up here again...
posted by Buntix at 12:26 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Trump administration formally withdraws from Asia-Pacific trade deal
posted by futz at 12:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by futz at 12:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
North Americans should know that "fanny" is British English for "front bottom".
posted by tel3path at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
54 percent of registered voters in districts represented by Republicans viewed Mr. Trump favorably compared with only 42 percent who view him unfavorably. More important, people who identify with the party overwhelmingly view him favorably. In districts represented by Republicans, fully 87 percent of registered Republicans view Mr. Trump favorably.
Support for Mr. Trump in G.O.P. districts is even higher among registered Republicans who are extremely interested in politics (94 percent favorable), identify as strong Republicans (92 percent favorable) or say they are very conservative (94 percent favorable).
Tell me again about the Republican dissenters movement we're supposed to see any day now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
Support for Mr. Trump in G.O.P. districts is even higher among registered Republicans who are extremely interested in politics (94 percent favorable), identify as strong Republicans (92 percent favorable) or say they are very conservative (94 percent favorable).
Tell me again about the Republican dissenters movement we're supposed to see any day now.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [46 favorites]
I'm sorry to just ask this but I need moral guidance. Been at Sheffield march against Trump and came home to see on the FB meetup page an individual who espouses racist positions on their public FB page but also lists themselves as MD of a company. One of the statements he made is "Maybe another holocaust wouldn't be a bad thing". Now I'm not normally one for vengeance but since the fuckstick in question doesn't understand the value of Facebook privacy settings, would it be wrong for me to contact the clients of said business and advise them that the owner of said business wants to see another Holocaust?
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
posted by longbaugh at 12:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
posted by longbaugh at 12:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
He's off to Mar-a-Lago this weekend, so apparently two weeks is his limit before he needs a vacation. His visit will close the Lantana airport, one of the 10 busiest general aviation airports in the country.
posted by zachlipton at 12:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
What can his EO do to undermine that? SC has final say, yes?
It's one man down, currently.
posted by corb at 12:31 PM on January 30, 2017
It's one man down, currently.
posted by corb at 12:31 PM on January 30, 2017
Did Spicer say something about the executive order overriding the court order? I can't find a transcript.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:32 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:32 PM on January 30, 2017
Don't worry about the small fire in my apartment, it's just my quarterly earnings 401k statements I am burning so I forget the money I put away even existed.
FUCK.
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
FUCK.
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ok this isn't remotely creepy. Uber appears to be interest-targeting Facebook ads to people who like the ACLU:
posted by zachlipton at 12:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick published an internal memo about President Trump’s executive orders barring refugees, immigrants, and even legal US residents from seven Muslim-majority countries on the company’s website Saturday morning. That memo has also been published to Facebook, and Uber appears to have used Facebook’s interest-targeting tool to serve it with a preference for users who have expressed an interest in the ACLU.On the bright side, it seems like recent events have seriously spooked Uber.
posted by zachlipton at 12:32 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
Get screenshots first thing - that gives you options.
Don't go speak to him - you never know what a guy like that will do.
I think advocating for "another holocaust" puts someone outside the protections of regular civil discourse - telling people what he said is appropriate.
posted by Frowner at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]
Get screenshots first thing - that gives you options.
Don't go speak to him - you never know what a guy like that will do.
I think advocating for "another holocaust" puts someone outside the protections of regular civil discourse - telling people what he said is appropriate.
posted by Frowner at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [44 favorites]
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
I pretty much kept my sanity in the months leading up to the election by doing exactly this. No email is more satisfying to write than the one with a screenshot of some horrible racist screed, a deep link to the comments, and a faux-concerned "Are you sure this is the message you want your company to be putting forward?" when mailed to the perpetrator's boss.
posted by Mayor West at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
I pretty much kept my sanity in the months leading up to the election by doing exactly this. No email is more satisfying to write than the one with a screenshot of some horrible racist screed, a deep link to the comments, and a faux-concerned "Are you sure this is the message you want your company to be putting forward?" when mailed to the perpetrator's boss.
posted by Mayor West at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [29 favorites]
Don't do anything Batman would do.
posted by bq at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by bq at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
would it be wrong for me to contact the clients of said business and advise them that the owner of said business wants to see another Holocaust?
That's up to you, but while you're deciding, take some screenshots just in case.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
That's up to you, but while you're deciding, take some screenshots just in case.
posted by FelliniBlank at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
54 percent of registered voters in districts represented by Republicans viewed Mr. Trump favorably compared with only 42 percent who view him unfavorably. More important, people who identify with the party overwhelmingly view him favorably. In districts represented by Republicans, fully 87 percent of registered Republicans view Mr. Trump favorably
I'm afraid that this is what the run up to civil war might look like.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
I'm afraid that this is what the run up to civil war might look like.
posted by schadenfrau at 12:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
would it be wrong for me to contact the clients of said business and advise them that the owner of said business wants to see another Holocaust?
nope
posted by thelonius at 12:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
nope
posted by thelonius at 12:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I hear Imgur is a great place to host screenshots. Of anything, really. Not implying anything.
posted by delfin at 12:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by delfin at 12:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Already did. Not the first dozy right wing prick who doesn't understand how to keep their vile personal opinions to themselves.
posted by longbaugh at 12:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by longbaugh at 12:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Now I'm not normally one for vengeance but since the fuckstick in question doesn't understand the value of Facebook privacy settings, would it be wrong for me to contact the clients of said business and advise them that the owner of said business wants to see another Holocaust?
Not at all. They're talking about advocating genocide, feel free to light 'em up. Like Frowner said, make sure you get screenshots, but also make sure you save the current version to an archive site. After that, feel free to contact your local news station(s) and/or paper(s), they might do something with it.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Not at all. They're talking about advocating genocide, feel free to light 'em up. Like Frowner said, make sure you get screenshots, but also make sure you save the current version to an archive site. After that, feel free to contact your local news station(s) and/or paper(s), they might do something with it.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:35 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
I'm sorry to just ask this but I need moral guidance. Been at Sheffield march against Trump and came home to see on the FB meetup page an individual who espouses racist positions on their public FB page but also lists themselves as MD of a company. One of the statements he made is "Maybe another holocaust wouldn't be a bad thing". Now I'm not normally one for vengeance but since the fuckstick in question doesn't understand the value of Facebook privacy settings, would it be wrong for me to contact the clients of said business and advise them that the owner of said business wants to see another Holocaust?
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
Nope. This is fascism plain and simple. You'd be fighting it.
posted by Jalliah at 12:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
Nope. This is fascism plain and simple. You'd be fighting it.
posted by Jalliah at 12:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
would it be wrong for me to contact the clients of said business and advise them that the owner of said business wants to see another Holocaust?
In this case, they are, whether they want to or not, representing their company by listing their company on their Facebook page. A note to their company saying you are not interested in ever working with a company that employs a Nazi is in order.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
In this case, they are, whether they want to or not, representing their company by listing their company on their Facebook page. A note to their company saying you are not interested in ever working with a company that employs a Nazi is in order.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Border patrol and ICE come out in full throated support of the Trump EOs.
Wasn't there an issue years ago about dominionists coming out in droves to join law enforcement?
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Wasn't there an issue years ago about dominionists coming out in droves to join law enforcement?
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:37 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
@ChadPergram: "Schumer to ask the Senate for a vote on Feinstein's bill to overturn the immigration exec order at 5:15 pm et. Likely to be blocked"
It's also being reported that the Quebec City mosque shooter was a right-wing troll on a Facebook page devoted to welcoming refugees (article is in French).
This as the White House cites what happened in Quebec as justification for the EO.
posted by zachlipton at 12:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
It's also being reported that the Quebec City mosque shooter was a right-wing troll on a Facebook page devoted to welcoming refugees (article is in French).
This as the White House cites what happened in Quebec as justification for the EO.
posted by zachlipton at 12:38 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
The last time I was this angry was when I left the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust exhibition. I'm livid. I know where he lives, what he looks like, where he works, everything. I'm so fucking angry and I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this or whether I should just get in my car and go there myself to speak with him gently.
posted by longbaugh at 4:30 AM on January 31 [+] [!]
You should scream it from the rooftops and punch him right in the bottom line for it!
The industry I work for involves regular contact with some very public officials who say some pretty ugly things in semi-public places. At least in my circles, it's not even a question. If they want to be a prominent member of the community and enjoy public attention, they're responsible for what they say in public, and deserve no quarter when they say horrible stuff. Period. If you don't call it out, you normalize it.
posted by saysthis at 12:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by longbaugh at 4:30 AM on January 31 [+] [!]
You should scream it from the rooftops and punch him right in the bottom line for it!
The industry I work for involves regular contact with some very public officials who say some pretty ugly things in semi-public places. At least in my circles, it's not even a question. If they want to be a prominent member of the community and enjoy public attention, they're responsible for what they say in public, and deserve no quarter when they say horrible stuff. Period. If you don't call it out, you normalize it.
posted by saysthis at 12:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I believe there was a confused earlier identification of one of the witnesses as the shooter, and that guy wasn't white, so that may explain what the fuck Spicer is trying to do.
posted by Artw at 12:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
A note to their company saying you are not interested in ever working with a company that employs a Nazi is in order.
He's the MD.
posted by longbaugh at 12:40 PM on January 30, 2017
He's the MD.
posted by longbaugh at 12:40 PM on January 30, 2017
Bright hope from New Mexico: Senator Tom Udall (D) has a weekly phone call, and today there were over 1,000 people on the call, including local organizations and groups. Udall tried to stress how hard it is to change regulations and laws, and said even Democratic reps want more letters and emails and phone calls, because they can bring those constituent letters to the national level and say "here's all the people who are against this b.s."
He also stressed the importance of speaking out and acting against H.R. 621, Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act (Mens Journal!!), which was brought back by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
He also stressed the importance of speaking out and acting against H.R. 621, Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act (Mens Journal!!), which was brought back by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:40 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
Ok this isn't remotely creepy. Uber appears to be interest-targeting Facebook ads to people who like the ACLU:
This targeting has been around for a few years and is the next step in advertising. It was used to devastating effect in the recent election cycle.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
This targeting has been around for a few years and is the next step in advertising. It was used to devastating effect in the recent election cycle.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
A note to their company saying you are not interested in ever working with a company that employs a Nazi is in order.
He's the MD.
In that case, perhaps a note to the world that they should avoid doing business with a nazi and hi company is in order.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
He's the MD.
In that case, perhaps a note to the world that they should avoid doing business with a nazi and hi company is in order.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've already gotten the sense that Trump is some sort of unholy reincarnation of George Wallace and Charles Lindbergh, but leaving the Pacific trade deal is a spectacularly dense move and a way to break the good economy he was handed by Obama.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:43 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:43 PM on January 30, 2017
I would very much appreciate someone with a sound moral compass telling me whether I should do this
Consult a lawyer first. For instance, have you considered how you're going to establish that he posted this view, after he deletes his post and sues you for libel?
posted by Coventry at 12:45 PM on January 30, 2017
Consult a lawyer first. For instance, have you considered how you're going to establish that he posted this view, after he deletes his post and sues you for libel?
posted by Coventry at 12:45 PM on January 30, 2017
I just heard that Virginia's Sen Warner will be voting no on Mnuchin. (Email from Warner went out today)
posted by a fiendish thingy at 12:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 12:45 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Amazing Facebook post from Heather Richardson, a history professor (copied in full since many here don't use Facebook):
What Bannon is doing, most dramatically with last night's ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries-- is creating what is known as a "shock event." Such an event is unexpected and confusing and throws a society into chaos. People scramble to react to the event, usually along some fault line that those responsible for the event can widen by claiming that they alone know how to restore order. When opponents speak out, the authors of the shock event call them enemies. As society reels and tempers run high, those responsible for the shock event perform a sleight of hand to achieve their real goal, a goal they know to be hugely unpopular, but from which everyone has been distracted as they fight over the initial event. There is no longer concerted opposition to the real goal; opposition divides along the partisan lines established by the shock event.
Last night's Executive Order has all the hallmarks of a shock event. It was not reviewed by any governmental agencies or lawyers before it was released, and counterterrorism experts insist they did not ask for it. People charged with enforcing it got no instructions about how to do so. Courts immediately have declared parts of it unconstitutional, but border police in some airports are refusing to stop enforcing it.
Predictably, chaos has followed and tempers are hot.
My point today is this: unless you are the person setting it up, it is in no one's interest to play the shock event game. It is designed explicitly to divide people who might otherwise come together so they cannot stand against something its authors think they won't like. I don't know what Bannon is up to-- although I have some guesses-- but because I know Bannon's ideas well, I am positive that there is not a single person whom I consider a friend on either side of the aisle-- and my friends range pretty widely-- who will benefit from whatever it is. If the shock event strategy works, though, many of you will blame each other, rather than Bannon, for the fallout. And the country will have been tricked into accepting their real goal.
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. A successful shock event depends on speed and chaos because it requires knee-jerk reactions so that people divide along established lines. This, for example, is how Confederate leaders railroaded the initial southern states out of the Union. If people realize they are being played, though, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. This was Lincoln's strategy when he joined together Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, anti-Nebraska voters, and nativists into the new Republican Party to stand against the Slave Power. Five years before, such a coalition would have been unimaginable. Members of those groups agreed on very little other than that they wanted all Americans to have equal economic opportunity. Once they began to work together to promote a fair economic system, though, they found much common ground. They ended up rededicating the nation to a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Confederate leaders and Lincoln both knew about the political potential of a shock event. As we are in the midst of one, it seems worth noting that Lincoln seemed to have the better idea about how to use it.
posted by miyabo at 12:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [78 favorites]
What Bannon is doing, most dramatically with last night's ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries-- is creating what is known as a "shock event." Such an event is unexpected and confusing and throws a society into chaos. People scramble to react to the event, usually along some fault line that those responsible for the event can widen by claiming that they alone know how to restore order. When opponents speak out, the authors of the shock event call them enemies. As society reels and tempers run high, those responsible for the shock event perform a sleight of hand to achieve their real goal, a goal they know to be hugely unpopular, but from which everyone has been distracted as they fight over the initial event. There is no longer concerted opposition to the real goal; opposition divides along the partisan lines established by the shock event.
Last night's Executive Order has all the hallmarks of a shock event. It was not reviewed by any governmental agencies or lawyers before it was released, and counterterrorism experts insist they did not ask for it. People charged with enforcing it got no instructions about how to do so. Courts immediately have declared parts of it unconstitutional, but border police in some airports are refusing to stop enforcing it.
Predictably, chaos has followed and tempers are hot.
My point today is this: unless you are the person setting it up, it is in no one's interest to play the shock event game. It is designed explicitly to divide people who might otherwise come together so they cannot stand against something its authors think they won't like. I don't know what Bannon is up to-- although I have some guesses-- but because I know Bannon's ideas well, I am positive that there is not a single person whom I consider a friend on either side of the aisle-- and my friends range pretty widely-- who will benefit from whatever it is. If the shock event strategy works, though, many of you will blame each other, rather than Bannon, for the fallout. And the country will have been tricked into accepting their real goal.
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. A successful shock event depends on speed and chaos because it requires knee-jerk reactions so that people divide along established lines. This, for example, is how Confederate leaders railroaded the initial southern states out of the Union. If people realize they are being played, though, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. This was Lincoln's strategy when he joined together Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, anti-Nebraska voters, and nativists into the new Republican Party to stand against the Slave Power. Five years before, such a coalition would have been unimaginable. Members of those groups agreed on very little other than that they wanted all Americans to have equal economic opportunity. Once they began to work together to promote a fair economic system, though, they found much common ground. They ended up rededicating the nation to a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Confederate leaders and Lincoln both knew about the political potential of a shock event. As we are in the midst of one, it seems worth noting that Lincoln seemed to have the better idea about how to use it.
posted by miyabo at 12:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [78 favorites]
1.5 million UK people have now signed the "Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom" petition.
posted by adrianhon at 12:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by adrianhon at 12:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
However, 54 percent of registered voters in districts represented by Republicans viewed Mr. Trump favorably compared with only 42 percent who view him unfavorably.
That's the average for all of the Republican districts across the board. Two reasons for hope. Only, 54 per cent in Republican districts says there are going to be quite a few of those districts where Trump falls into the danger zone. Secondly, Trump is going to continue to fall. That's inevitable. His economic policies echo the worst of the Weimar Republic. Even Ben Stein knew you don't start a trade war. (Ferris Bueller)
Trump cannot succeed, not because he is reactionary. He can't succeed because he doesn't have a clue how anything operates.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
That's the average for all of the Republican districts across the board. Two reasons for hope. Only, 54 per cent in Republican districts says there are going to be quite a few of those districts where Trump falls into the danger zone. Secondly, Trump is going to continue to fall. That's inevitable. His economic policies echo the worst of the Weimar Republic. Even Ben Stein knew you don't start a trade war. (Ferris Bueller)
Trump cannot succeed, not because he is reactionary. He can't succeed because he doesn't have a clue how anything operates.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Boris Johnson on whether Trump should get a state visit (he also said of Trump, "his bark is far worse than his bite"):
posted by zachlipton at 12:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]
Tory MP Philip Davies notes that if the UK was to bar every foreign leader from a state visit on the grounds that they had done or said something the UK disagreed with, there would never be any visits in the future.Barely a week into it and our country is being compared, by our allies, to the regimes of Ceausescu and Mugabe.
Boris Johnson agrees, noting that both Nicolae Ceausescu and Robert Mugabe were granted state visits to the UK in the past.
Speaker John Bercow intervenes to say "what a relief that we didn't have to meet either of them".
posted by zachlipton at 12:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [42 favorites]
In a lengthy email, BANNON described Sessions as “the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy” in Trump’s admin. The senator lobbied for a “shock and awe” period of executive action that would rattle Congress, impress Trump’s base and catch his critics unaware, according to two officials involved in the transition planning. Trump opted for a slightly slower pace, these officials said, because he wanted to maximize news coverage by spreading out his directives over several weeks.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
after he deletes his post and sues you for libel?
These things can be done anonymously.
posted by futz at 12:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
These things can be done anonymously.
posted by futz at 12:50 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Barely a week into it and our country is being compared, by our allies, to the regimes of Ceausescu and Mugabe.
He was actually trying to be helpful and that was the best he could come up with.
posted by Artw at 12:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
He was actually trying to be helpful and that was the best he could come up with.
posted by Artw at 12:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
@AnthonyMKreis: The @WhiteHouse is literally trying to rewrite the Constitution.
No "person" v. no "citizen" is no small detail.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
No "person" v. no "citizen" is no small detail.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
North Americans should know that "fanny" is British English for "front bottom".
Shhh! Make him think it's something nice!
I once dated someone from the UK and had to explain why my parents had a dog named "Fanny".
posted by lagomorphius at 12:52 PM on January 30, 2017
Shhh! Make him think it's something nice!
I once dated someone from the UK and had to explain why my parents had a dog named "Fanny".
posted by lagomorphius at 12:52 PM on January 30, 2017
zombieflanders, it's pointed out in the thread below that that the language is copy/pasted from the Obama White House's language.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:53 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:53 PM on January 30, 2017
Consult a lawyer first. For instance, have you considered how you're going to establish that he posted this view, after he deletes his post and sues you for libel?
Take screenshot. Go to the public library. Open new FB account under fictitious name. Join some groups dedicated to social justice / wiping out antisemitism. Post screenshot. Watch it go viral.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 12:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
Take screenshot. Go to the public library. Open new FB account under fictitious name. Join some groups dedicated to social justice / wiping out antisemitism. Post screenshot. Watch it go viral.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 12:53 PM on January 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
In her statement about why she's voting no on Betsy DeVos, Heidi Heitkamp cited the fact that 95% of the 1400 North Dakotans who contacted her about DeVos opposed the nomination. I know that North Dakota is tiny, but still, you guys. That is really not that many people. Our phone calls and letters and emails can make a difference!
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [58 favorites]
No "person" v. no "citizen" is no small detail.
Especially since it goes against the ideas of rights that the founders were working off of.
posted by drezdn at 12:54 PM on January 30, 2017
Especially since it goes against the ideas of rights that the founders were working off of.
posted by drezdn at 12:54 PM on January 30, 2017
These things can be done anonymously.
Take screenshot. Go the the public library. Open new FB account under fictitious name.
For people who want to do this kind of thing, there's some good advice here.
posted by Coventry at 12:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Take screenshot. Go the the public library. Open new FB account under fictitious name.
For people who want to do this kind of thing, there's some good advice here.
posted by Coventry at 12:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
That's why I think we need to tie Bannon irrevocably as Trump's "brain", as Cheney was tied to Bush, since that's clearly what he's setting himself up to be. We need to focus our attention squarely on the enemy - we have to avoid infighting, since that's what they want us to do. We have to stand together to protect communities under attack, continue putting out the massive protests we've been seeing, and fight in any way we can.
We are all ultimately fighting on the same side. We have disagreements with each other, but Bannon is counting on the opposition tearing itself apart, and we cannot forget who the real enemy is.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
We are all ultimately fighting on the same side. We have disagreements with each other, but Bannon is counting on the opposition tearing itself apart, and we cannot forget who the real enemy is.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 12:57 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Uber must be sending out a request to its "partners" to speak out about using social media banning. This guy runs a company dedicated to using social media reviews and was more than happy to use social media on Nov 12th to do exactly what he's now saying no one should do to Uber.
posted by rough ashlar at 12:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by rough ashlar at 12:58 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Jeezum crow let us not yet yet yet again relitigate Clinton: yes or no? in here.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [19 favorites]
In a lengthy email, BANNON described Sessions as “the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy” in Trump’s admin.
Well that clears it up. Let's stop paying attention to Bannon, look over there!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well that clears it up. Let's stop paying attention to Bannon, look over there!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Boris Johnson on whether Trump should get a state visit
Doesn't Boris still hold dual nationality? How can we know whether he is acting in the UK's best interests or those of the US? The answer is neither of course. Boris is acting only in the best interests of Boris.
posted by biffa at 1:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Doesn't Boris still hold dual nationality? How can we know whether he is acting in the UK's best interests or those of the US? The answer is neither of course. Boris is acting only in the best interests of Boris.
posted by biffa at 1:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Bannon is vision, Sessions has the knowledge of the US Code to know what needs to be changed to make the vision come to life.
No Dem can vote to confirm him.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
No Dem can vote to confirm him.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
My point today is this: unless you are the person setting it up, it is in no one's interest to play the shock event game.
I've seen this make the rounds of facebook as well, and something about it bugs me. People are saying 'We're being played!' as if we shouldn't be protesting.
If people realize they are being played, though, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. - I think this is exactly what is happening.
Am I missing something?
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
I've seen this make the rounds of facebook as well, and something about it bugs me. People are saying 'We're being played!' as if we shouldn't be protesting.
If people realize they are being played, though, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. - I think this is exactly what is happening.
Am I missing something?
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:03 PM on January 30, 2017 [16 favorites]
Take screenshot. Go the the public library. Open new FB account under fictitious name.
Disclaimer: IANAL and some of my best ideas have historically turned into train wrecks.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Disclaimer: IANAL and some of my best ideas have historically turned into train wrecks.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm afraid that this is what the run up to civil war might look like.
That was exactly my thought when I saw that NYT piece.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
That was exactly my thought when I saw that NYT piece.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
With apologies--I have mostly tried to follow these threads but am behind on this one--I have a question that may already have been asked.
I know we are hopeful for relief from the courts on this whole shitshow. But that is such a slow-moving process, and it is heartbreaking to consider the world-wide chaos and displacement continuing as the ACLU and others make their heroic efforts.
There has been talk of Congressional action, and at least one or two Republicans have said it might be possible. But even if legislation could be introduced that would pass in both Republican-controlled chambers, there is no way it would pass with a veto-proof majority, is there? Can someone with better knowledge of counts of the congress critters and their views help me out here? I'm trying to cling to any avenue of hope, and wondering if that one is a complete non-starter. Or non-finisher, rather, I guess.
posted by torticat at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2017
I know we are hopeful for relief from the courts on this whole shitshow. But that is such a slow-moving process, and it is heartbreaking to consider the world-wide chaos and displacement continuing as the ACLU and others make their heroic efforts.
There has been talk of Congressional action, and at least one or two Republicans have said it might be possible. But even if legislation could be introduced that would pass in both Republican-controlled chambers, there is no way it would pass with a veto-proof majority, is there? Can someone with better knowledge of counts of the congress critters and their views help me out here? I'm trying to cling to any avenue of hope, and wondering if that one is a complete non-starter. Or non-finisher, rather, I guess.
posted by torticat at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2017
The senator lobbied for a “shock and awe” period of executive action that would rattle Congress, impress Trump’s base and catch his critics unaware, according to two officials involved in the transition planning
That doesn't work if you're doing what everyone expects you to do because you said you would. Nobody, particularly his critics, are particularly shocked or awed, and who cares if his base is impressed, the election is over. If anything, his critics are galvanized by the rapidity of his actions, whereas going slower might have boiled all of us frogs.
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
That doesn't work if you're doing what everyone expects you to do because you said you would. Nobody, particularly his critics, are particularly shocked or awed, and who cares if his base is impressed, the election is over. If anything, his critics are galvanized by the rapidity of his actions, whereas going slower might have boiled all of us frogs.
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [20 favorites]
Ok this isn't remotely creepy. Uber appears to be interest-targeting Facebook ads to people who like the ACLU:
They're totally doing this and if they keep it up their ads are going to get trolled hard.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2017
They're totally doing this and if they keep it up their ads are going to get trolled hard.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:06 PM on January 30, 2017
I'm surprised anyone is wondering at the authenticity of a twitter accounts called "RoguePOTUSstaff". Actual rogue staff would not name their account "RoguePOTUSstaff". It's too on-the-nose. It's like something an english-as-a-second-language person sort-of but not quite familiar with the culture would do. It's firmly in the uncanny valley.
It's obviously fake.
posted by Justinian at 1:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
It's obviously fake.
posted by Justinian at 1:07 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
just a reminder that the second amendment is still valid for the time being
posted by entropicamericana at 1:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by entropicamericana at 1:08 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Also, this thread is quite long and the week looks to be busy with awfulness, so if it were somehow in doubt let me emphasize that someone putting together a new catch-all post would be fine.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
> It's like something an english-as-a-second-language person sort-of but not quite familiar with the culture would do.
That would be totally unpresidented. Check out rogue tweets, bigly!
posted by tonycpsu at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
That would be totally unpresidented. Check out rogue tweets, bigly!
posted by tonycpsu at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
if they keep it up their ads are going to get trolled hard.
How do you troll a FB ad? (Not much of a FB person, but this sounds like a useful thing to know.)
posted by Coventry at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017
How do you troll a FB ad? (Not much of a FB person, but this sounds like a useful thing to know.)
posted by Coventry at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017
I'm surprised anyone is wondering at the authenticity of a twitter accounts called "RoguePOTUSstaff". Actual rogue staff would not name their account "RoguePOTUSstaff". It's too on-the-nose. It's like something an english-as-a-second-language person sort-of but not quite familiar with the culture would do. It's firmly in the uncanny valley.
It's obviously fake.
I dunno, I wouldn't expect an account called @POTUS to be Tweeting out announcements of his reality-show-cum-SCOTUS-nomination, but here we are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by Mayor West at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's obviously fake.
I dunno, I wouldn't expect an account called @POTUS to be Tweeting out announcements of his reality-show-cum-SCOTUS-nomination, but here we are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by Mayor West at 1:10 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ick. Just saw my 1st retweet of @realDonaldTrump via @POTUS.
posted by kingless at 1:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by kingless at 1:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have a question about today's (Monday's) new executive order. (Warning, if you follow the link you may be asked to sign up for Trump updates, but when I went the second time, I got the text of the EO. I did not sign up!) https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/30/presidential-executive-order-reducing-regulation-and-controlling
So the term regulation is defined at the bottom of the order, but seems to define only what constitutes a new regulation, and not an existing regulation that would presumably need to be cut to create a new one. Also, there did not seem to be any boundaries defined as to what regulations could be cut. So for example, it seems like Commerce could propose Environmental regulations to be cut.
I seems clear the language is weasel-worded on purpose, but I how would executive branch agencies actually make this work? In practical terms, how is this even feasible?
posted by blakewest at 1:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
So the term regulation is defined at the bottom of the order, but seems to define only what constitutes a new regulation, and not an existing regulation that would presumably need to be cut to create a new one. Also, there did not seem to be any boundaries defined as to what regulations could be cut. So for example, it seems like Commerce could propose Environmental regulations to be cut.
I seems clear the language is weasel-worded on purpose, but I how would executive branch agencies actually make this work? In practical terms, how is this even feasible?
posted by blakewest at 1:12 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
And yet only 433 have taken the Amnesty action to ask May to demand an end to the Muslim ban:
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/donald-trump-muslim-refugee-travel-ban?from=issue
That's probably a more realistic request than the petition to disinvite him from a state visit when the invitation has already been extended, on the grounds that it will offend a monarch who a) hasn't said anything on her own behalf, and probably can't; and b) has spent over 90 years being diplomatic towards odious people. Including Mrs. Thatcher whom the Queen was said to dislike and whose policies were arguably about as progressive as Annoying Orange's.
Asking her to make a specific demand seems a lot more plausible. They're going for 10,000. Doesn't seem like too many.
(I don't know if non-UK citizens are supposed to take this action though)
posted by tel3path at 1:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/donald-trump-muslim-refugee-travel-ban?from=issue
That's probably a more realistic request than the petition to disinvite him from a state visit when the invitation has already been extended, on the grounds that it will offend a monarch who a) hasn't said anything on her own behalf, and probably can't; and b) has spent over 90 years being diplomatic towards odious people. Including Mrs. Thatcher whom the Queen was said to dislike and whose policies were arguably about as progressive as Annoying Orange's.
Asking her to make a specific demand seems a lot more plausible. They're going for 10,000. Doesn't seem like too many.
(I don't know if non-UK citizens are supposed to take this action though)
posted by tel3path at 1:13 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
just a reminder that the second amendment is still valid for the time being
* offer not guaranteed to be valid for PoC, women, LGBTQ people, Muslims, etc...
posted by zombieflanders at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
* offer not guaranteed to be valid for PoC, women, LGBTQ people, Muslims, etc...
posted by zombieflanders at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
If anyone happens to creates a new thread can you please add the tags: usa, election ?
(makes it much ezer to find in long run).
posted by The_Auditor at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
(makes it much ezer to find in long run).
posted by The_Auditor at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 1:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 1:15 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seems to me if Trump & Co went the "slow boil" method, that would have allowed Republicans in the House & Senate to get enough of their agenda accomplished before ousting Trump. By the admin going quick & fast, to defy the coup is to lose that political capital.
posted by avalonian at 1:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by avalonian at 1:16 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think one of the biggest levers we have against Bannon is to make Trump think that having Bannon around makes him look like a weak puppet. If #presidentbannon keeps going and Bannon starts getting "credit" for the actions of the current regime, Trump's narcissism is going to cause him to lose his shit. I think it's how we get Trump to fire Bannon.
posted by mcduff at 1:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by mcduff at 1:17 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
@joshrogin
I'm told reliably there is a draft Executive order on LGBT issues including adoption. Details and timing unclear.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm told reliably there is a draft Executive order on LGBT issues including adoption. Details and timing unclear.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Oh and while this place is odds are not the best place to do it the LGBT community may want to start to make lists of local/state/national contact/donation along with being ready to spin up a referral service to pro-bono lawdogs. Same goes for whomever is expected to be the community targeted by the Bannon-Trump operation.
Too bad alternativefacts.com seems to be for the ha-ha's but this administration will be the gift that keeps on giving for someone to buy a domain based off what will become a meme and weaponize that meme with a wiki (or whatever) to provide the contact info for others who are gonna end up with the short brownshirt end of the stick.
posted by rough ashlar at 1:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Too bad alternativefacts.com seems to be for the ha-ha's but this administration will be the gift that keeps on giving for someone to buy a domain based off what will become a meme and weaponize that meme with a wiki (or whatever) to provide the contact info for others who are gonna end up with the short brownshirt end of the stick.
posted by rough ashlar at 1:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Adoption WTF
posted by angrycat at 1:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by angrycat at 1:21 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
About that rogue POTUS account, and that insightful post about the "shock event" above...
I wasn't gonna say this because I couldn't find a way to say it without sounding condescending, which is the furthest thing from my attitude. But...
I was SO wound up reading this thread and watching stuff unfold, and SO riled.
It would be really easy to follow a Pied Piper in that state of mind.
Also, it would be really easy for a wolf to get a stock photo of a sheep and start a Twitter account under the name of Billy Baa-Lamb.
And remember all that stuff about Russian interference? I don't know what it would take to get something actionable, but whatever it is, we still don't have it.
And the death toll in Ukraine rose over the weekend, which is basically what Uncle Vlad wants out of this: a free hand to fuck up Eastern Europe with NATO split, Europe destabilized and the USA at each other's throats.
I also have to think about that McDonald's Breakfast guy or whoever he is. Maybe he does draw the line at authoritarian misrule, or maybe he is just as bad as his other policies suggest and he is encouraging "civil disobedience" because he thinks it could get turned around on you.
I just found myself getting SO riled and SO wound up and SO emotional earlier that it couldn't be good for me. When I took a breath it seemed more like there were intelligent forces at work that wanted me to feel that way.
So yeah, the shock event post is good, really fantastic.
posted by tel3path at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
I wasn't gonna say this because I couldn't find a way to say it without sounding condescending, which is the furthest thing from my attitude. But...
I was SO wound up reading this thread and watching stuff unfold, and SO riled.
It would be really easy to follow a Pied Piper in that state of mind.
Also, it would be really easy for a wolf to get a stock photo of a sheep and start a Twitter account under the name of Billy Baa-Lamb.
And remember all that stuff about Russian interference? I don't know what it would take to get something actionable, but whatever it is, we still don't have it.
And the death toll in Ukraine rose over the weekend, which is basically what Uncle Vlad wants out of this: a free hand to fuck up Eastern Europe with NATO split, Europe destabilized and the USA at each other's throats.
I also have to think about that McDonald's Breakfast guy or whoever he is. Maybe he does draw the line at authoritarian misrule, or maybe he is just as bad as his other policies suggest and he is encouraging "civil disobedience" because he thinks it could get turned around on you.
I just found myself getting SO riled and SO wound up and SO emotional earlier that it couldn't be good for me. When I took a breath it seemed more like there were intelligent forces at work that wanted me to feel that way.
So yeah, the shock event post is good, really fantastic.
posted by tel3path at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
there is a draft Executive order on LGBT issues
Did Trump make any commitments on LGBT issues during his campaign?
posted by Coventry at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Did Trump make any commitments on LGBT issues during his campaign?
posted by Coventry at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't know if anyone else has already put dibs on the next post, but I'm starting to draft one if not.
posted by saturday_morning at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 1:23 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Did Trump make any commitments on LGBT issues during his campaign?
He said he would be the greatest friend to LGBT people in history, more or less.
posted by Justinian at 1:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
He said he would be the greatest friend to LGBT people in history, more or less.
posted by Justinian at 1:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Adoption WTF
Fighting adoptions by LGBT individuals and couples was one of Pence's bigoted pet projects in Indiana.
posted by jedicus at 1:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Fighting adoptions by LGBT individuals and couples was one of Pence's bigoted pet projects in Indiana.
posted by jedicus at 1:25 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Senate Dems object to UC, delay Committee vote on Steve Mnuchin's nomination to be Treasury Secretary til tomorrow
THANK YOU. I've been saying this from the beginning, Republicans should never again get the benefit of consent. Every day they waste using 30 hours of debate is another day America lives to see.
The Senate moves VERY slowly if they take up all the allotted time on every. single. motion.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]
THANK YOU. I've been saying this from the beginning, Republicans should never again get the benefit of consent. Every day they waste using 30 hours of debate is another day America lives to see.
The Senate moves VERY slowly if they take up all the allotted time on every. single. motion.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [35 favorites]
Adoption WTF
"If you liked families getting ripped apart in airports, you're going to LOVE this!"
posted by redsparkler at 1:27 PM on January 30, 2017 [23 favorites]
I'm currently working with my wife on IVF (IUI has failed) and if something happens to that I promise, there are going to be two angry want to be mammas on the front line.
posted by AlexiaSky at 1:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 1:28 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Reading material in case it doesn't feel like you're winning or if you're concerned your voice doesn't count.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 1:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 1:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Targeting adoption would (beyond being heartlessly cruel and bigoted) would further undercut the already laughable idea that the March for Life was about getting all children in loving homes instead of imposing one's religious will on others.
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:29 PM on January 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
NATO Shows Firepower in Poland as U.S. Allies Worry About Russia
Amid concerns that President Donald Trump's commitment to NATO is wavering, the tanks fired salvos that declared the 28-nation alliance a vital deterrent in a dangerous new world.
The tank rounds of "The Iron Brigade" of the 4th Infantry Division were not directed towards Russia, but the signal to the Kremlin was clear: "Don't mess with Poland, or any other NATO member — an attack on one, is an attack on all."
The 87 tanks, 144 armored vehicle and 3,500 troops represent the biggest U.S. deployment in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
posted by futz at 1:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Amid concerns that President Donald Trump's commitment to NATO is wavering, the tanks fired salvos that declared the 28-nation alliance a vital deterrent in a dangerous new world.
The tank rounds of "The Iron Brigade" of the 4th Infantry Division were not directed towards Russia, but the signal to the Kremlin was clear: "Don't mess with Poland, or any other NATO member — an attack on one, is an attack on all."
The 87 tanks, 144 armored vehicle and 3,500 troops represent the biggest U.S. deployment in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
posted by futz at 1:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Dumb question here: at least one of the court-ordered stays specifically tasked US Marshals with the enforcement of the order. It appears there are still CBP staff detaining people in direct violation of the order. Why are US Marshals not arresting said CBP staff right now?
posted by jackbishop at 1:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 1:30 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
The Senate moves VERY slowly if they take up all the allotted time on every. single. motion.
Let's hope there are enough Senate Rs to stop the nuclear option.
posted by Talez at 1:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Let's hope there are enough Senate Rs to stop the nuclear option.
posted by Talez at 1:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
In practical terms, how is this even feasible?
posted by blakewest at 1:12 PM on January 30
It's not.
But if we were to play along and pretend this can be implemented, the definition of "regulation" absolutely applies to both the regulations being implemented and the regulations being repealed. They are the same word in the same document. It can't mean different things in different parts of the same sentence. (Of course, I have no idea what the EO definition of regulation means, even though this is one of my areas of expertise.) Also, even though the EO doesn't clarify that one agency can't repeal the regulations of another, existing law does. Each agency has limited power, defined by the laws that created the agencies and gave them the power to implement regulations. If an agency tried to affect a regulation they don't have power over, they would be violating those laws. E.g., the SEC can't set clean air regulations. The corollary is it can't repeal them, either.
posted by alligatorpear at 1:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by blakewest at 1:12 PM on January 30
It's not.
But if we were to play along and pretend this can be implemented, the definition of "regulation" absolutely applies to both the regulations being implemented and the regulations being repealed. They are the same word in the same document. It can't mean different things in different parts of the same sentence. (Of course, I have no idea what the EO definition of regulation means, even though this is one of my areas of expertise.) Also, even though the EO doesn't clarify that one agency can't repeal the regulations of another, existing law does. Each agency has limited power, defined by the laws that created the agencies and gave them the power to implement regulations. If an agency tried to affect a regulation they don't have power over, they would be violating those laws. E.g., the SEC can't set clean air regulations. The corollary is it can't repeal them, either.
posted by alligatorpear at 1:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
Adoption WTF
They apparently want every even slightly blue person and a not-insignificant number of pinkish-reddish ones out in the street.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
They apparently want every even slightly blue person and a not-insignificant number of pinkish-reddish ones out in the street.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:31 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Where do I sign up now to fight the adoption ban when it comes? GLAAD? I feel like I pretty much missed the boat on the immigration effort.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:33 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:33 PM on January 30, 2017
(Not that a Federal adoption ban by executive order makes a drop of sense.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:34 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
snuffleupagus, I don't believe you can say that gay couples cannot adopt. What they would say in an Order is that federally funded adoption agencies have the right to turn gay couples away.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
What they would say in an Order is that federally funded adoption agencies have the right to turn gay couples away.
Would that mean not being able to adopt from foster care? (Also, I think it's important to note this rumored EO isn't confirmed.)
posted by megancita at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2017
Would that mean not being able to adopt from foster care? (Also, I think it's important to note this rumored EO isn't confirmed.)
posted by megancita at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2017
Reading material in case it doesn't feel like you're winning or if you're concerned your voice doesn't count.
Thanks for this!
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2017
Thanks for this!
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2017
Dumb question here: at least one of the court-ordered stays specifically tasked US Marshals with the enforcement of the order. It appears there are still CBP staff detaining people in direct violation of the order. Why are US Marshals not arresting said CBP staff right now?
A few different reasons. This isn't a familiar area for me, but there may need to be contempt proceedings first. There may be behind the scenes fights going on about jurisdiction -- CBP is already asserting these actions are being done on a national security basis. And finally, practical reality -- the CBP isn't going to submit to arrest and the US Marshals service isn't going to assault a secured CBP/ICE detention facility.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
A few different reasons. This isn't a familiar area for me, but there may need to be contempt proceedings first. There may be behind the scenes fights going on about jurisdiction -- CBP is already asserting these actions are being done on a national security basis. And finally, practical reality -- the CBP isn't going to submit to arrest and the US Marshals service isn't going to assault a secured CBP/ICE detention facility.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
megancita, it was confirmed by Josh Rogin of CNN/Washington Post to be in draft.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:40 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:40 PM on January 30, 2017
Adoption WTF
I know three separate queer couples that are trying to adopt. Not even from the same social group - one is from college, one is family, one is from work. Some of them have been in this process for years. It's thousands and thousands of dollars in legal fees. They have facebook pages, instagram accounts showing them going out and picking out Christmas trees and hugging their nieces and nephews to prove that they would be the best parents.
I simply cannot comprehend the hate that would say that they shouldn't be able to be parents. I can't comprehend any of what we're facing, really. Conservatives hate babies, including their own.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
I know three separate queer couples that are trying to adopt. Not even from the same social group - one is from college, one is family, one is from work. Some of them have been in this process for years. It's thousands and thousands of dollars in legal fees. They have facebook pages, instagram accounts showing them going out and picking out Christmas trees and hugging their nieces and nephews to prove that they would be the best parents.
I simply cannot comprehend the hate that would say that they shouldn't be able to be parents. I can't comprehend any of what we're facing, really. Conservatives hate babies, including their own.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:41 PM on January 30, 2017 [18 favorites]
NATO Shows Firepower in Poland as former U.S. Allies Worry About new U.S. Ally Russia
Fixed
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fixed
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:42 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Company says Price got exclusive discount on medical stock
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) was part of an exclusive group that was able to buy stock in a biotech company at a discount, the company told The Wall Street Journal.
Price, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, was among fewer than 20 people that received a 12 percent discount on shares of Innate Immunotherapeutics, the Journal reports.
The company's statement appears to contradict Price’s testimony to the Senate Finance Committee last week, when he said that the discounted shares “were available to every single individual that was an investor at the time.”
posted by futz at 1:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) was part of an exclusive group that was able to buy stock in a biotech company at a discount, the company told The Wall Street Journal.
Price, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, was among fewer than 20 people that received a 12 percent discount on shares of Innate Immunotherapeutics, the Journal reports.
The company's statement appears to contradict Price’s testimony to the Senate Finance Committee last week, when he said that the discounted shares “were available to every single individual that was an investor at the time.”
posted by futz at 1:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [21 favorites]
Here's something I (non-American) just don't understand about the whole shitshow. How it is even possible for the POTUS to wield so much power? The guy basically signs a bit of paper and the whole administration has no choice but to implement immediately those orders without any sort of vetting procedure, like making sure that the thing is legal, constitutional or even just feasible? The POTUS can micromanage the content of federal webpages, fire most of the State Department, take away green cards from people or have the country pull out of international treaties just like that? There's no concept of "continuity of the State/public services" found in other democracies? It looks like Trump and the gang have found a giant, gaping loophole in the system and are using it as fast as possible to turn the US in a dictature. Again I'm not American so my understanding of what's going on is limited and uninformed, but it's still jaw-dropping that all of this is possible in the first place.
posted by elgilito at 1:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
posted by elgilito at 1:43 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
How can the POTUS even get involved in adoption via an EO?
I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get something like allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against prospective LGBT parents and foster guardians but holy fuck that would be like setting off a hornets nest of epic proportions.
So yeah these are shock events but hopefully they are shock events that wake up all the "Oh he really doesn't mean that" Republicans into realizing that nope he really does intend to try to undo decades of progress in this country.
posted by vuron at 1:45 PM on January 30, 2017
I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get something like allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against prospective LGBT parents and foster guardians but holy fuck that would be like setting off a hornets nest of epic proportions.
So yeah these are shock events but hopefully they are shock events that wake up all the "Oh he really doesn't mean that" Republicans into realizing that nope he really does intend to try to undo decades of progress in this country.
posted by vuron at 1:45 PM on January 30, 2017
I think the continuity has been institutional to such a degree that nobody ever thought it needed to be codified. I expect that will probably change if our country survives this presidency.
posted by Tevin at 1:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Tevin at 1:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
the LGBT community may want to start to make lists of local/state/national contact/donation along with being ready to spin up a referral service to pro-bono lawdogs
Trans Law Help are awesome, but are literally just individuals and volunteers connecting individuals with each other. As noted above, the easiest initial anti-LGBT rollback will be to undo Obama's EOs affecting trans people, so TLH has focused on things that can be killed immediately like passports. There is a building list of resources for non-cis-hetero-white-dudely people going on here, too.
Re: Trump and LGBT issues, he once held a Pride flag (upside down) and has gotten super cozy with anti-LGBT hate groups, appointing a number of folks there into his his cabinet including Pence who pretty much wants to eradicate LGBT people completely.
posted by byanyothername at 1:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trans Law Help are awesome, but are literally just individuals and volunteers connecting individuals with each other. As noted above, the easiest initial anti-LGBT rollback will be to undo Obama's EOs affecting trans people, so TLH has focused on things that can be killed immediately like passports. There is a building list of resources for non-cis-hetero-white-dudely people going on here, too.
Re: Trump and LGBT issues, he once held a Pride flag (upside down) and has gotten super cozy with anti-LGBT hate groups, appointing a number of folks there into his his cabinet including Pence who pretty much wants to eradicate LGBT people completely.
posted by byanyothername at 1:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
How it is even possible for the POTUS to wield so much power?
Republicans put party and power before country. Of the two houses in Congress, the Senate provides undue representation by design and the House has been gerrymandered by the Republicans.
posted by entropicamericana at 1:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Republicans put party and power before country. Of the two houses in Congress, the Senate provides undue representation by design and the House has been gerrymandered by the Republicans.
posted by entropicamericana at 1:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [11 favorites]
Because usually you don't have to put safeguards in place against shit that's obviously doomed to painful failure. There's nothing to stop you from stabbing yourself in the neck with a steak knife, either. We wound up with a President who can be persuaded to do these things by people who don't care as long as they get the other things they want, or who have plans for the Aftermath.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [7 favorites]
Part of me wonders if he knows he's gonna ditch this job asap but he just wants to troll the world as much as possible in the meantime. mr toads wild ride
posted by ian1977 at 1:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 1:47 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
It looks like Trump and the gang have found a giant, gaping loophole in the system
That's exactly right. The loophole is doing things that no one even considered possible before by just chucking all previously accepted norms and historical standards out the window on day 1.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
That's exactly right. The loophole is doing things that no one even considered possible before by just chucking all previously accepted norms and historical standards out the window on day 1.
posted by soren_lorensen at 1:48 PM on January 30, 2017 [26 favorites]
Trump defiantly says ‘all is going well’ on immigration order amid chaos, while Obama backs protesters
posted by zachlipton at 1:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
They were given documents to sign and allegedly told that if they did not, they would be removed from the U.S. and barred from coming back for five years. They were not allowed to see attorneys.It very much sounds like people were treated the worst at Dulles, closest to CBP headquarters.
Under pressure, their attorneys say, they signed documents they did not understand, giving up their American visas, and agents stamped “cancelled” on those visas. Attorneys are asking for their visas to be returned, the forms they signed to be invalidated and for them to be returned to the United States.
Attorneys they believe it is possible many of 50 to 60 other legal permanent residents at Dulles were likewise tricked into giving up their status there. The lawyers say they hope to learn the identities of those individuals through the discovery process.
posted by zachlipton at 1:49 PM on January 30, 2017 [27 favorites]
How it is even possible for the POTUS to wield so much power?
The checks and balances we are so proud of don't work right now, because Congress has been broken for years. The Republicans are terrible, but even the Democrats can't be counted on right now.
posted by zutalors! at 1:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
The checks and balances we are so proud of don't work right now, because Congress has been broken for years. The Republicans are terrible, but even the Democrats can't be counted on right now.
posted by zutalors! at 1:51 PM on January 30, 2017 [14 favorites]
> How it is even possible for the POTUS to wield so much power?
It is the last true monarchy, even if it is an elected position.
What, you think this country didn't go to the dogs during 2010-2016 because the Republicans controlling the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court were exercising self-restraint? That was Obama's White House at work.
Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station: Presidency, House, Senate, and soon a majority on the Supreme Court.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
It is the last true monarchy, even if it is an elected position.
What, you think this country didn't go to the dogs during 2010-2016 because the Republicans controlling the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court were exercising self-restraint? That was Obama's White House at work.
Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station: Presidency, House, Senate, and soon a majority on the Supreme Court.
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [6 favorites]
Let's close this one up, folks -- for every new election post, two must be eliminated.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [55 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [55 favorites]
"Trump defiantly says ‘all is going well’ on immigration order amid chaos"
I assume because the chaos is itself the desired effect of the EO.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
I assume because the chaos is itself the desired effect of the EO.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 1:54 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Mod note: The server has asked me in less-than-polite words to emphasize that there is a new post.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:01 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
It very much sounds like people were treated the worst at Dulles, closest to CBP headquarters
I haven't looked up all of the statutory distinctions, but my assumption was that it was worse in DC because DC isn't a state and that that incurs bonus loopholes.
UPDATE: I'm dumb
posted by rhizome at 2:03 PM on January 30, 2017
I haven't looked up all of the statutory distinctions, but my assumption was that it was worse in DC because DC isn't a state and that that incurs bonus loopholes.
UPDATE: I'm dumb
posted by rhizome at 2:03 PM on January 30, 2017
DC isn't a state, but Dulles is actually in Virginia. The town Dulles, VA, to be precise.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 2:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 2:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
Britannica is also throwing shade on the Twitter.
The National Security Council est. 1947 was intended to coordinate between military & national security. #fact
posted by hilaryjade at 2:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
The National Security Council est. 1947 was intended to coordinate between military & national security. #fact
posted by hilaryjade at 2:06 PM on January 30, 2017 [9 favorites]
Oh crap, it's not just statutory distinctions I'm unclear on! I had carried "Dulles is the DC airport" for I guess my entire life. Nevermind!
posted by rhizome at 2:06 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by rhizome at 2:06 PM on January 30, 2017
Elgilito, the President has a lot of power in some things (foreign policy, national security) and less in others (anything that will cost money, like building a wall). Some of that power comes from Congress expressly giving the President that power in the past because it's generally been more efficacious -- but that means they could take it away. And normally there would be all sorts of vetting --from White House counsel, from Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, from experts at any potentially affected agencies, sometimes informally by particular members of Congress -- before issuing an executive order to make sure it's legal and understandable. But that's custom and good practices from people who actually are trying to do something effectively. It's not a process that's written down anywhere as required.
So the problem is he's just issuing these terrible, incoherent things and saying they are effective immediately and everyone's response is "wait, can he do that? What does 'that' even mean?" while the government employees on the front lines don't know who to listen to other than their own prejudices or maybe their bosses. That said, most of what is in these EOs will require people to sit down and figure out how and if they can be implemented. For the things that will take time to implement (say, taking money away from Sanctuary cities), there will be vetting as the executive branch tries to figure out how to do it. In parallel, I expect there will be lawsuits to try to invalidate them, but it's actually kind of hard to sue over part of an executive order that hasn't been implemented yet, because you have to show you've been injured. No one yet knows what will happen when someone at an agency says, "uh, this can't be done because it's illegal or unconstitutional or you don't actually have the authority to order this." Maybe it'll just quietly die because the desired mayhem and political points have already been scored. Maybe the President will insist and either Congress or the courts will have to say no. And if that happens, it remains to be seen if the President will still insist and those in the agencies will have to decide whether to go ahead and do the illegal thing or get fired.
posted by alligatorpear at 2:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
So the problem is he's just issuing these terrible, incoherent things and saying they are effective immediately and everyone's response is "wait, can he do that? What does 'that' even mean?" while the government employees on the front lines don't know who to listen to other than their own prejudices or maybe their bosses. That said, most of what is in these EOs will require people to sit down and figure out how and if they can be implemented. For the things that will take time to implement (say, taking money away from Sanctuary cities), there will be vetting as the executive branch tries to figure out how to do it. In parallel, I expect there will be lawsuits to try to invalidate them, but it's actually kind of hard to sue over part of an executive order that hasn't been implemented yet, because you have to show you've been injured. No one yet knows what will happen when someone at an agency says, "uh, this can't be done because it's illegal or unconstitutional or you don't actually have the authority to order this." Maybe it'll just quietly die because the desired mayhem and political points have already been scored. Maybe the President will insist and either Congress or the courts will have to say no. And if that happens, it remains to be seen if the President will still insist and those in the agencies will have to decide whether to go ahead and do the illegal thing or get fired.
posted by alligatorpear at 2:09 PM on January 30, 2017 [5 favorites]
there is a draft Executive order on LGBT issues
Bring it, cheese face.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Bring it, cheese face.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:18 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
P O S T
Now is not the time to be centrist.
posted by Mchelly at 2:20 PM on January 30, 2017 [70 favorites]
If by "DC airport" you mean "an airport within DC's borders," there isn't one. Reagan National Airport is closest but still in Arlington, VA, and like the name says it's only for flights within the US. Dulles is still in easy driving distance (says the guy who commutes from that Dulles' backyard to Arlington every day).
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:22 PM on January 30, 2017
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:22 PM on January 30, 2017
Now is the time for us all to come together in the new post.
posted by MattWPBS at 2:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by MattWPBS at 2:36 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
> I'm surprised anyone is wondering at the authenticity of a twitter accounts called "RoguePOTUSstaff". Actual rogue staff would not name their account "RoguePOTUSstaff". It's too on-the-nose. It's like something an english-as-a-second-language person sort-of but not quite familiar with the culture would do. It's firmly in the uncanny valley.wow looks like super intarnet detective squad is on the case then
It's obviously fake.
posted by indubitable at 2:46 PM on January 30, 2017 [4 favorites]
The town Dulles, VA, to be precise.
Dulles, Va is not a town, to be precise, but an unincorporated area also known as Sterling.
posted by peeedro at 2:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Dulles, Va is not a town, to be precise, but an unincorporated area also known as Sterling.
posted by peeedro at 2:52 PM on January 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
posted by MattWPBS at 2:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
New post. There is a new post.
posted by MattWPBS at 2:55 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
What are you trying to tell me, Matt?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:00 PM on January 30, 2017 [10 favorites]
Adoption WTF
They had just better fucking not.
posted by corb at 3:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
They had just better fucking not.
posted by corb at 3:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
So many terrible things happened in this post. If we delete it, will it make the bad things go away?
posted by zachlipton at 3:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 3:39 PM on January 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Reagan National Airport is closest but still in Arlington, VA, and like the name says it's only for flights within the US
Flights to Canada, also. Presumably they just don't have customs and immigration so can't do flights that require that. But since passengers on flights from some Canadian cities pass through customs and immigration before getting on the plane, so they can fly to Reagan.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:42 PM on January 30, 2017
Flights to Canada, also. Presumably they just don't have customs and immigration so can't do flights that require that. But since passengers on flights from some Canadian cities pass through customs and immigration before getting on the plane, so they can fly to Reagan.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:42 PM on January 30, 2017
Chilling:
It's about this thing getting struck down, then shifting the blame to lefties when the next attack comes.
posted by My Dad at 4:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's about this thing getting struck down, then shifting the blame to lefties when the next attack comes.
posted by My Dad at 4:05 PM on January 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's obviously fake.
Oh, whatever. I don't know about RoguePOTUS but I do know about a couple of the 80+ other "rogue" agency accounts, and those are real representations of staff, singly or in groups. There are a millon stories in the naked country, and be skeptical, but once agency staff realized (thanks to Badlands) that this was a way to be heard, they've embraced it readily. I wouldn't rush to call any of them fake. Just monitor and see what's borne ot.
posted by Miko at 8:09 PM on January 30, 2017
Oh, whatever. I don't know about RoguePOTUS but I do know about a couple of the 80+ other "rogue" agency accounts, and those are real representations of staff, singly or in groups. There are a millon stories in the naked country, and be skeptical, but once agency staff realized (thanks to Badlands) that this was a way to be heard, they've embraced it readily. I wouldn't rush to call any of them fake. Just monitor and see what's borne ot.
posted by Miko at 8:09 PM on January 30, 2017
Flights to Canada, also. Presumably they just don't have customs and immigration so can't do flights that require that. But since passengers on flights from some Canadian cities pass through customs and immigration before getting on the plane, so they can fly to Reagan.Correct. DCA* does not have immigration facilities for commercial flights.
Flights between the US and any international airport in Canada handle immigration on the Canadian side. (Way) fewer immigration facilities to maintain.
*Don't call it by the other name that nobody in DC or Arlington wanted.
posted by schmod at 7:22 AM on January 31, 2017 [4 favorites]
> Nobody Wanted to Take Us In: The Story of Jared Kushner’s Family, and Mine
It’s likely that we’ll never know the number, or full roster of names, of those refugees who sought and failed to find haven in the United States before and during the Holocaust. Yet one survivor whose story still reverberates is a woman named Rae Kushner.... [I]f it echoes a little more loudly these days, it’s because she also happened to be the grandmother of Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser
The author on Democracy Now: Lizzy Ratner: "Nobody Wanted to Take Us In: The Story of Jared Kushner's Family, and Mine"
posted by homunculus at 12:45 PM on February 2, 2017
It’s likely that we’ll never know the number, or full roster of names, of those refugees who sought and failed to find haven in the United States before and during the Holocaust. Yet one survivor whose story still reverberates is a woman named Rae Kushner.... [I]f it echoes a little more loudly these days, it’s because she also happened to be the grandmother of Jared Kushner, now a senior White House adviser
The author on Democracy Now: Lizzy Ratner: "Nobody Wanted to Take Us In: The Story of Jared Kushner's Family, and Mine"
posted by homunculus at 12:45 PM on February 2, 2017
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*golf clap*
Thank you Wordshore! Your FPP skeelz are truly mad
posted by petebest at 9:04 AM on January 27, 2017 [48 favorites]