Have I told you how much I hate these people? - Mike Malloy. It is every thinking person’s responsibility not to side with his or her executioners. - Albert Camus. Popular democracy anywhere threatens fascism everywhere. - The Scallion. A fascist junta of neocons using George W. Bush as its shill has taken over America by bloodless coup. What will it take for us to stage a revolution and take our country back? - Dot Calm. Drive a hybrid. Leave a lighter footprint on the planet. - Dot Calm.
Like Granny D, I have watched my own beloved country change, and I am angry beyond words about what I see. I grew up seeing America as the equivalent of the movie good guy, the hero in the white hat who came to the rescue of those in need around the world. I have watched in silent horror as the corporations, the captains and the kings of industry, used a comparatively small outlay of cash to buy the Republicans to use as their shills. George W. Bush is the puppet cowboy-king of shills, the proverbial emperor with no clothes. Every day, I watch these evil men legalize, legitimize, and institutionalize robbing the poor to pay the rich. They are carving up America like a giant carcass and doling out choice chunks of its meat to themselves and their cronies. Since the Democrats have been sipping at the same corporate teat where the Republicans have been gorging for the past generation, the fascists are free to do their worst; there is no longer any opposition. There is no one left to stand up for the rights of the American people, the Constitution, or the democracy, which I fear will be replaced by a fascist dictatorship in my lifetime. Wake up, America: we need a REVOLUTION NOW!
Open letter to the electors: DO NOT elect donald john trump!!!!!
Sunday update: friends, this is our last chance to communicate with the Electoral College before they vote tomorrow. I just wrote short message and sent it off to http://asktheelectors.org/--feel free to use it for inspiration and do the same:
Donald Trump is clearly unfit to be president.
Russia's Mr. Putin has interfered in our election so that he can move
forward with the $500 Billion Exxon oil deal set up by Rex Tillerson,
and Trump's many buildings and business partners provide our enemies
with a multitude of soft targets to attack--like Turkey's Mr. Erdogan
imprisoning Trump's Turkish building partners to blackmail Trump to
extradite imam Muhammet
Fethullah Gülen. Republicans, such as Trump's cabinet picks, seem intent
on enriching the top 1% at the expense of those of us who are already
struggling to make ends meet. They are already discussing how to
dismantle the Social Security and Medicare that my dad paid into his
whole life and that are his sole mans of survival now that he's 85. From the repeal of Obamacare alone, the
top 1% will each see a yearly tax break of $197,000.00--which is more
than I make in a year...probably more than you do, too.
Please
do what's right for those of us who are hurting, struggling, and
vulnerable: elect Bernie Sanders president and Tulsi Gabbard vice
president. The American people and the environment are depending on you.
Thank you for your consideration--and thanks for voting your conscience.
*****
THIS IS NOT NORMAL NEVER LET IT BECOME NORMAL EVER!
DON'T GIVE UP DON'T GIVE IN STAY ANGRY trump voters stayed angry for eight years, which is why we are having this conversation.
*****
An open letter to the Electors of the Electoral College:
The Constitution of the United States of America allows for
electors of the Electoral College to use their own discretion to override
popular vote counts in their states in the election of the president. I would
enjoin them that, however rare such an action might be, now is the time for
electors to use their discretion to stop Donald John Trump from becoming the
45th president of the United States.
In Federalist paper No.
68, Alexander Hamilton wrote that the electors would stop demagogues from
being elected by preventing those with “[t]alents for low intrigue, and the
little arts of popularity” from becoming president. Hamilton further said that
the electors would also stop anyone who would “convulse the community with any
extraordinary or violent movements.” Merriam-Webster defines a demagogue
as “a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises
in order to gain power.“ This definition exactly describes Donald John Trump.
Trump appealed to the baser factions within American society by falsely
denouncing Mexicans as rapists and criminals (with a weak exception for some,
whom he assumed were good people) [1]. He delegitimized our first Black
president by starting birtherism (despite his recent denial) [2]. He bragged
about sexually assaulting women [3], grades them solely on their appearance,
and denigrates them wholesale by claiming that, “you have to treat [women] like
sh_t.” [5] Trump further inflames his base’s prejudices against Muslims. He
said, "Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of
Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can
figure out what the hell is going on," a statement which his surrogates
justify by comparing such an unconstitutional discrimination against religion
to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s internment of Japanese Americans during World
War II [6]--not our nation's finest hour. Trump further called for a Muslim
database [6] and to torture—even if it is not effective in producing actionable
intelligence—and kill not only terrorism suspects but their families [7]. If
these samples aren’t textbook examples of Trump’s demagoguery, I look forward
to your explanation to the American people why not.
In Federalist paper No. 68, Hamilton wrote that one major
function of the Electoral College was to prevent the “desire in foreign powers
to gain an improper ascendant in our councils.” Hamilton further said that the
college would “[g]uard against all danger of this sort … with the most
provident and judicious attention” from the electors.” And yet a Russian
diplomat admits Russian involvement with the Trump campaign in an effort to him
elected [8], not to mention that the office of the Director of National
Intelligence confirmed Russia as the source of the hacks that leaked
information on Hillary Clinton’s e-mails to WikiLeaks [9].
These should be reasons enough to disqualify Donald John
Trump from the highest office in the land and in the free world, but there are
many more.
As an engineer who has worked the last 26 years of a 29-year
career in the Department of Defense (DoD), I am gravely concerned about the
threat that a Trump presidency poses to national security. Let me elaborate. We
in DoD receive annual security training that alerts us to watch for the
following behaviors, which constitute security risks:
--Disloyalty to the United States. Both Trump and Pence have
praised Russian president Vladimir Putin as “strong” while denouncing our own
President Obama [10]. Do they not realize that such words at home disempower
our sitting president in the eyes of the world?
--Foreign influence. Trump is a prime example of bending to
foreign influence, not only from Putin but from whomever else cares to
manipulate him. Case in point: although Trump loudly denounced Muslims (which
necessarily includes Pakistan, as a Muslim nation) on the campaign trail, he
gushed nothing but praise after Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz
Sharif praised him during their recent phone call [11]. What must the
government of India, where he has business partners [12], think of his remarks?
--Foreign contacts. Trump has business partners and business
interests all over the world [12]. This puts him at grave risk for conflicts of
interest, since he shows no sign of truly divesting (despite a Twitter campaign
by the Office of Government Ethics to encourage him to do so [13]). Since his
transition team inquired into security clearances for his children [14], his
thinking seems to preclude his children’s running his business affairs for him
separately from his running the government. Aggravating this concern is Trump’s
own statement about why running his business from the Oval Office is not a huge
conflict of interest by fiat rather than in reality: “'The law’s totally on my
side,' the president-elect told the [New York] Times. 'The president can’t have
a conflict of interest.'” [15] Mr. Trump seems to have no concept of the
importance of conflicts of interest and why they matter to ordinary Americans.
For example, how would we know that his decision from the Oval Office not to
allow workers at his hotel in Las Vegas to unionize [16] is not because he just
wants to save himself money? How would we know that his conversation with
Argentine president Macri isn’t just to get a building permit there? Or with
Taiwanese leader Ing-wen isn’t just to grease the skids for him to build hotels
and resorts there? If he sends our men and women in uniform--our own family
members and friends--into war abroad, how will we know that it isn't just to
protect or promote his buildings or business interests there?
--Psychological and mental health issues. Donald John Trump
has been informally diagnosed as a narcissist by several mental health
professionals [e.g., 17-19]. One of the key features of narcissism is lack of
empathy. This means that we are looking at a president who cannot, despite his
fine populist words on the campaign trail, feel the pain of those he intends to
govern—as evidenced by his cabinet choices, who are anti-populist to the last
man. If this facet of Mr. Trump’s personality isn’t alone more than enough to
disqualify him as president, I look forward to your explanation to the American
people why not.
--Law violations, criminal conduct, and ethics violations.
Kellyanne Conway admitted that Trump broke the law by violating the embargo
with Cuba [20]. Trump also broke the law by violating the embargo with Iran by
collecting rent from Bank Melli, an Iranian bank later connected to terrorism
[21]. Trump’s foundation operated without proper certification [22], committed
illegal self dealing [23], and has several legal complaints against it,
including the Foundation’s questionable “campaign contribution” to Pam Bondi
while she was considering investigating complaints from students regarding
Trump University [24]. Trump University itself is an acknowledged scam [25],
with Trump settling out of court for $25 million [26]. Arguably, pathological
lying also constitutes a grave ethical violation [27]. Trump’s behavior since
the election alone is cause for grave concern. He scammed American taxpayers
into ponying up $7 million for Carrier to build robots [28] to replace workers in
order to “save” 800 American jobs, with the other intended 1300 being moved to
Mexico as planned [29]. He manipulated Boeing’s stock to plunge by tweeting the
cancellation of the Air Force One upgrade in response, as the timing suggests,
to criticism from Boeing the company's CEO, Dennis Muilenberg [30]. Trump’s
brand of corruption, which rewards loyalty, like granting loyal businesses our tax
money and light regulation, while punishing disloyalty, like shutting down the
media and punishing disloyal businesses with heavy taxes and onerous
regulations, will set fascist wheels in motion that our country may never
recover from.
I firmly believe that there is more than enough evidence for
any reasonable person to conclude that Donald John Trump is unfit in every
sense to serve as president of the United States. If you do not agree with this
conclusion, I look forward to your explanation why not—as do the rest of the
American people.
Friends, feel free to use any or all of the above to write to http://asktheelectors.org/ like I did. Most people seem to be writing very short messages, like a paragraph or so. The electors vote Monday, which means that, come Tuesday, we'll know if we have a country or not. FSM help us all! Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:
Peas, friends. Take care of yourselves for me. Trust me--you're worth it! Tomorrow is Friday, so don't forget to pour yourself a snort of Fireball, indulge in some dark chocolate, and bounce your boobies!
- Dot Calm's shadow
Consider the preemptive Blogger phuqued-up phormatting disclaimer to be in effect. Grrr. -- Dot Calm's shadow
********************************************
Choo-choo Time Headlines
The New York Times: The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.
...Friends, if you read nothing else, READ THIS ARTICLE. It gives the history behind PEWtin's bloodless coup of our election and why the situation is so god-fugly.
How Trump's White House Could Mess With Government Data
...Yes, a trump administration can delete data or misrepresent it to distort reality--not that their minions would give a shit either way, since they're so post-truth. Worse, a trump administration could and probably will just cut funding so severely that our agencies can no longer collect data. One way we have to fight back is bureaucracy, believe it or not...you'd be amazed, the article says, at just how easy it is for a federal career employee to lose a request or slow-walk it or whatever. Heh, I hope every fed is reading this right now!!
The Government Finally Has A Realistic Estimate Of Killings By Police
...Roughly 1200 in a twelve-month period, disproportionately more Blacks than whites. I wonder if my Tea Party Christian friend would get himself up in arms if I took the ~80% of those Blacks and referred to them only as Christians (since ~80% of Blacks are Christian) killed by police.
...Flynn is a real piece of shit...and a real piece of work. He was the one screaming to string up Hillary--as usual for a Republican, for crimes HE committed! Sometimes, I wish I did still believe in hell so that I could send people like Flynn, trump, and the rest of the Republicans there.
Make a call today to urge Pres. Obama to declassify the CIA
assessment that determined that Russia intervened in the presidential
election to help Donald Trump win and hold special briefings to make
sure that all of the electors have this crucial information before the
Electoral College votes next week.
Click below for a sample script and the number to call:
*****
********************************************
Headlines from Democracy Now!, Daily Kos, and AlterNet
On Wednesday,
heads of the nation's top technology companies met with President-elect
Donald Trump at Trump Tower. Among those attending were Apple CEO ... Read More →
The New York Times
has just published investigation into a program called pretrial
diversion that's meant to give criminal offenders a break, but often
puts them in ... Read More →
At
least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen. That's the conclusion
of a report just published by the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF. The
report also found ... Read More →
California
Democratic Congressmember Mike Honda has been a longtime progressive
civil rights advocate. Last year, Honda tweeted a photo of him and his
... Read More →
With
the aid of Russian airstrikes, Syria has taken near full control of the
city of Aleppo in a major defeat for forces hoping to topple Syrian
President Bashar ... Read More →
Donald
Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry to be energy
secretary. Governor Perry famously attempted to propose to abolish the
Energy ... Read More →
We turn now to take a broader look at U.S.-Russian relations in the wake of Donald Trump's election. On Tuesday, Trump officially nominated Rex Tillerson, chair ... Read More →
It
makes no sense to continue relationship counselling in a therapist's
office – it is far better to do it in the more natural environment of
the home. READ MORE»
Bondage can be a scary subject to approach. Be respectful and be mindful of your partner! READ MORE»
********************************************
M00bies
RESIST FASCISM NOW!!!!! Bear with me...I'm going to keep running this for a while.
Sir David Attenborough on how climate change will affect the U.K. We are at a delicate, critical point right now. Obama didn't do a ton, but he did more than Republicans tried to stop him from doing. We need to continue in the same direction he was leading, not undo it all and throw the poor to the wolves, like I wrote last time.
TYT: repealing Obamacare will make the rich richer. Well, duh. But did you know that it will make them $197,000.00 richer? That's a crap-ton more than I make in a year...how about you? Aren't you glad that Republicans want to take away YOUR health care so that these poor, poor rich people can get a bigger discount on their taxes than any of us make in a year?!??
Amy Goodman interviews Bernie Sanders in Philly. Gawd, I so love them both!
Reich-Wing Watch: Peasants for Plutocracy. Just like my Tea Party Christian friend, they're all brainwashed
--they think that the only way they'll ever get rich is to give all the rich people all the money. Every Trump voter is a deluded victim of bad ideas. Like I said last time, I blame religion for indoctrinating people into believing more in their own desires than in the tangible reality under their noses. Welcome to post-truth America.
Randi Rhodes with an example of trump's weaponization of Twitter, as I posted about last time
Randi Rhodes on what we know so far about trump's relationship with Russia; Rick Perry for DoE. Isn't that a lark--a moron who can't count to three being put in charge of all the Ph.D.s, Nobel science laureates, and other people whose IQ is higher than Perry's weight with his cowboy boots on. DoE was the agency Perry couldn't remember that he wanted to shut down..."oops!" Everyone trump is appointing hates the agency and the work they're being given charge of. This is why I think trump will put Sarah Palin in charge of DARPA--or, even better, Franklin Graham, Jr.
Stephen doesn't come out and say it, even though it's the title of the clip on YouTube: congratulations to Russia for winning the cold war. Here's a pearl from the summary: "Forget Rex Tillerson, President-Elect Trump's choice for Secretary of State might be Vladimir Putin."
Seth Meyers on chump vs the CIA regarding PEWtin's hacking of our election
Samantha Bee on women-hating Ohio's heartbeat bill. I think that all the women in Ohio should just buy themselves dildos and tell all the men to go fuck themselves.
Keith Olbermann: the grave danger of chump's intelligence failure. I watched it three times in a row...but mebbe that's just me.
Hamilton's plan to keep chump from becoming president. Keith suggests that the real hero here could and should be...Hillary Clinton: she should tell her electors to team up and vote for a moderate Republican, like Mitt Romney, and use that as leverage to get enough Republican electors to defect from trump and vote for that moderate Republican and a Democratic veep. I'd take penis pence over trump, but Romney might even be less horrific than penis pence. It's a shame there isn't one good Republican whom I'd be comfortable, mebbe even proud, to have as president. *sigh*
Randi on how Russia can now blackmail trump, duh. Just like Turkey!
Until further notice, the purpose of this blog is to provide tools to help protect and preserve our rights, our liberties, and our country from the wrinkled fat orange clusterfuck that is Donald "dickless LOSER" trump. As I track down more information, I will continue to refine these tools.
If you value my work, please support me on Patreon: just point your browser to https://www.patreon.com/ and type "Dot Calm's shadow" into the search box at the top--thank you! Even a dollar a month from 20 people would really help right now--it would cover part of my Internet. Show me that there's more out there than just a lonely chorus of crickets!
Action List
PROTECT yourself financially, reproductively, and medically.
1. If you need a loan, get it NOW--rates have already gone up; they went up at least three times the first week or two after the election. MOVE your retirement out of the stock market and into a stable fund that is guaranteed NOT to lose your principal--if you're not risk averse, keep your money in stocks until after the inauguration...but move it out ASAP afterward because, once chump and the Rethuglikkkants deregulate Wall Street, we are in for a bust that makes chimp's Great Recession look like O'Bama's recovery. Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes, and their guest speakers agree that the Rethugs and chump will crash the economy by deregulating the stock market so quickly our haids will spin. The boom-bust cycle repeats every 80 years or so--as long as it takes for the last people who remember what a depression was like and fight the greedsters to die off. We're phuqued.
2. If you're a woman of reproductive age or a man who knows and loves women of reproductive age, stock up on as much "Plan B" (the "morning after" pill) as you can afford NOW. Plan to take one pill either immediately after unprotected sex or the morning after unprotected sex, and plan to take another pill 24 hours later. No matter what else you do, STOCK UP NOW on Plan B because even the best contraceptives fail, and you won't be able to get an abortion once chump and the Rethuglikkkants take over.
3. If you're a woman of reproductive age and don't already have an IUD or contraceptive implant, get yours NOW. Mirena has progestin, not estrogen, and can reduce your period; the copper ones without hormones (like Paragard) can cause cramping and heavy bleeding that doesn't go away until the device is removed (think having the second day of your period for a year at a clip). Of these two IUDs, women seem to prefer Mirena, but the device can still fall out. Cosmopolitan has a great discussion on these and other IUDs, what's involved with getting one (not a big deal, but you'll bleed for at least a week afterward), what's involved with having one removed (also not a big deal, but you'll bleed for at least a week after). "Managing Contraception" has an article on Mirena (not scary). If I were you, I'd skip the Skyla--it only lasts 3 years, so you wouldn't even be done with the orange fuckwad's first term if you get one. Planned Parenthood has a video about contraceptive implants and great information about all forms of contraception. And if you think you might need a do-it-yourself abortion some time in the future, go talk to Planned Parenthood NOW and see if you can stock up on mifepristone now--the options for DIY abortions at home using substances like vitamin C seem promising to desperate women but don't have any scientific backing. You can also try womenonwaves.org and womenonweb.org.
4. Don't take any new drugs approved after 2016 without doing your own research into whether they're safe and effective. Republicans are weakening the FDA to the point that it will no longer be able to verify that new drugs will work and not harm us.
Now, make your daily calls and do the rest...
DAILY CALLS!
CALL your U.S. Senators and Representatives DAILY at their LOCAL offices. SHOW UP in person if you can. Call each day with ONE issue--and KEEP CALLING. The staffers track your calls by issue, so don't give in to the temptation of giving them the whole laundry list all at once. Here is our list of demands:
0. Call your members of Congress now to ask them to denounce Stephen Bannon. And Jeff Sessions, and Mike Flynn, and Mike Pompeo, and MORON Ebell, and the rest of them. Just call and tell your elected representatives to denounce and block ALL of trump's appointments because they're all reality-denying bigots who hate so many actual Americans that they are unfit to serve all Americans.
1. DEMAND they support Barbara Boxer's bill to ABOLISH the Electoral College--popular vote only. DEMAND paper ballots only, and DEMAND audit trails be published in local papers. DEMAND they LET ALL Americans vote (undo voter roll purges and other Black voter suppression) and MAKE Election Day a national holiday for all. And STOP gerrymandering.
2. FIGHT trump's personnel appointments and FILIBUSTER ALL trump's SCOTUS appointments. Supporting Citizens United or opposing the rights of women, immigrants, non-whites, non-Christians, LGBTQ+, and the poor are UNACCEPTABLE. This is NON-NEGOTIABLE.
3. DEMAND trump's impeachment--DEMAND he be investigated NOW for corruption and conflict of interest. DEMAND to see his taxes. trump has already committed impeachable offenses, so DEMAND that he be held accountable NOW.
4. REMIND them THEY'RE FIRED if they don't obstruct, obstruct, obstruct trump and the Republicans from Day 1. If they resist, REMIND them that Hillary WON the popular vote by over 2.25 million and climbing.
5. DEMAND restoration of the Fairness Doctrine--DEMAND fair, fact-based, accurate media free from the false equivalencies and unchecked free coverage that foisted trump on us.
CALL President Obama every day:
1. DEMAND a SPECIAL PROSECUTOR to investigate FBI director James Comey and Donald trump for interfering with the election.
2. DEMAND the Army Corps of Engineers go to Flint to dig up and replace all the poisoned pipes.
3. PARDON Edward Snowden and consider pardoning Hillary Clinton--even though she's innocent--to stop the Republican witch hunts, especially since one of trump's campaign promises was to jail her: Republicans hate her so much that, if she'd as so much as farted, Republicans would have had her in jail faster than Martha Stewart. The fact that Hillary isn't in jail is proof positive that she's innocent, which is proof positive that the Republicans will keep coming at her.
4. STOP DAPL. DOJ MUST investigate the atrocities being committed against peaceful, non-violent water protectors who just want clean water and tribal sovereignty over their own lands. MAKE Standing Rock a national monument. The US Army Corps of Engineers MUST revoke all permits to build DAPL. STOP the construction NOW, PERMANENTLY.
5. DEMAND that NSEERS be dismantled to make it harder for chump to set up his Muslim registry.
6. DEMAND that the government release ALL of its data before trump gets into office and lets the Republicans hide it all and make shit up.
7. DEMAND the immediate release of every wrongly-held prisoner and anyone else who will suffer unfairly if not pardoned.
AND THE REST!!
SIGN UP for daily headlines from Daily Kos, AlterNet, and "Democracy Now!" SIGN petitions. ATTEND town halls and protests. Jeremy Scahill's publication "The Intercept" is another high-quality resource of investigative reporting you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere. GET INFORMED and GET INVOLVED!
If or when trump really does set up his Muslim registry, SIGN UP! Trevor Noah suggested this to be funny, but it's gone viral because the racist bigoted assholes can't deport us all, now can they? If I can do it as a proud anti-theist atheist, then so can you as whatever religion or lack thereof that you are. Keystone Progress has a page where you can pledge to sign up: Pledge to register as a Muslim if Trump creates a registry.
VOLUNTEER for and DONATE to all the organizations that D. LOSER trump is targeting. Get on their mailing lists and donate as much time and money as you can to Planned Parenthood, NRDC, American Civil Liberties Union, and causes that matter to you. Change your cell phone carrier to CREDO, which is a Sprint re-seller that supports blue causes. Planned Parenthood is especially important to support right now--women will die if we don't. You can also donate to WomenOnWeb, who help women get safe abortions online.
ORGANIZE to TAKE OVER the Democratic Party: FIGHT trump and the Republicans, CLEAN UP Democratic Party failures, WIN the midterms, and apologize to Bernie and America for failing.
PROTEST all media that inflicted trump on us--BOYCOTT their advertisers and TELL them why. This includes FUX Noise.
GRAB the pussy-in-thief by the wallet: BOYCOTT businesses that sell trump products and TELL them why.
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