Can America survive?
Greetings, fellow Dot Calm Readers, Freedom Fighters, and Truth Crusaders!
If you follow the blawg, you realize that, like many concerned Americans, I think that the upcoming election is the most important one in living memory--from my perspective as an over-50. The Bush years hurt us so badly that we're still recovering...we simply can't afford another Republican onslaught like that. I don't want to be sitting here four or eight years from now reeling at how much poorer I've become and how much bleaker my future is. I really might have to take my dad and move to one of the other countries where my company does business. Drastic words, I know, but Donald Trump represents an America I don't want to live in. Worse--even if we do have the good fortune of defeating him, he has opened the door to an upcoming genre of politicians who think like he does...world-class haters and bigots, white supremacists, reactionaries, .... If Hillary wins, it won't likely be by the sort of landslide we'd need to drive those cockroaches back under their rocks. I wonder what it will take to restore civility to our society.
Another concern I have stems less from Trump than from the right-wing machine of which he is merely the symptom. I wonder sometimes whether Rupert Murdoch deliberately designed FOX News as a wedge from which to destroy America from within--if so, he's certainly succeeding; if not you coulda fooled me. I read a Vox article recently (and posted the headline) that said that both sides of the aisle are firmly convinced that each other's ideas are dangerous for the country. Often, both doubt each other's patriotism. I know for a fact that my life was a lot worse under baby Bush than it's been under Obama...even if it did take Obama a good chunk of time to turn the ship around and even though things aren't perfect yet because Bush-Cheney did just that much damage. When Republicans are running the show, you can't just switch off and promise yourself to wake up and vote blue in the next election. Their policies are just too damaging to us fiscally, and their bigotry and eagerness to deny equal citizens their equal rights under the law are just too damaging to us socially. And I'm sure that, if you were to ask my Tea Party Christian friend, he'd say the exact opposite. It doesn't matter that he gets his news from the Alex Joneses of the world--what matters are his perceptions. One side of the country is grounded in evidence and reality; the other side only thinks it is, but it is 1000% convinced...and it has guns. Lots and lots of guns.
Methinks we are at an impasse.
Our defunct sister blog, a satirical news site named "The Scallion," posted an article on Tuesday, March 04, 2003, titled "Unamerica to Secede from America," in which the Christo-fascists got to keep "America" while the rest of us stood up "Unamerica." For some reason, teh Google refuses to find it. I had to search within the blog for it and am posting it in its entirety below todaze m00bies--Google can suck it. But I digress. The point is that the article brings up an interesting point: maybe it is time for the country to split. Republicans would rather die than let a Democratic president accomplish anything in office--no matter how beneficial to the public or the world at large. Republicans have proven themselves willing to take our tax money in exchange for obstructing any and all progress. Republicans believe--or, at least, act as if--that the world is 6,000 years old, that evolution is a conspiracy, and that global warming doesn't happen. Many of them may also be gravity-denying, geocentric-universe-believing flat-earthers. They have rewritten our history to whitewash all of our wrongdoing, and they have reinterpreted the Constitution to mean exactly the opposite of what it says--especially regarding the separation of church and state. They clamor for theocracy and lust to implement Christian Sharia. They're blind to the fact that the Christian theocracy they would institute would be no better and no freer than the Muslim theocracies they rightly abhor. Many of them eagerly await being bodily raptured away by Jesus to heaven within their lifetimes--vowing that, if they don't see the apocalypse happening quickly enough for their tastes, they will bring it on. They live in a completely different reality than the rest of us, who base our beliefs on evidence and who trust science over superstition.
My Tea Party Christian friend is living proof that these people are impervious to facts. And yet, like it or not, we live in a world of facts. Reality doesn't give a shit whether you believe it or not--it inexorably continues being what it is. This is why these people are so dangerous. It's why we must protect ourselves from them--we cannot let them drag us down with them. How we do that--given how broken our election process, political system, and government are thanks to Republican big money and obstructionism--is a mystery. Usually, I favor fighting injustice from within the system, but the Republicans have broken the system so badly that we really may need to start our own system. At least then, we could wall them in...we could physically constrain them by building Donald Trump's big beautiful wall...we could deny them the use of our tax money and our resources to do evil...keep all the nukes and other weapons out of their reach, telling them it's good for business for them to start from scratch and build their own...punish them with trade tariffs and isolate them financially...and maybe, just maybe, we could finally start putting a lid on all the damage they're doing. Let them think they're the most powerful thing around but limit any real power they have to harm the rest of us.
And they'll be happier than pigs in shit.
I wonder how many pro-war, big-money Democrats would rather live in the new theocracy than in its secular American counterpart.
I have a vivid imagination, but I really can't see any way to resolve the current terrible imbalances or heal the growing divisions without admitting the fundamental split between us and perhaps institutionalizing it. Perhaps Dot Calm would have a practical solution, if she were here. Retired, she had the time to research and understand many more issues than I can with my day job. Dot researched and understood Hillary Clinton and was a great admirer of her as a result, including voting for Hillary in the 2008 primary. Me, it's taken that much longer to see the goodness in Hillary that Dot Calm saw way back then. So, yeah--I wonder what Dot Calm would have proposed to solve the terrible divisions between red and blue America. If there is an answer, Dot Calm would have figured it out. That's just how she rolled.
Getting back to my original point, Unamerica to secede from America? The "Unamerica" name reflected the times in which the article was written, but maybe "America to secede from Jesusland" would better reflect today's zeitgeist. I can imagine how much more peaceful it would be to live in a secular nation that tolerates religion and lack thereof without foisting it on anyone. I can imagine how much better it would be to live in a nation where our votes are counted fairly, and the politicians represent us and do our bidding. I can imagine how much brighter our future would be if we regulated business properly, stopping it from profiting by maiming or killing people or the environment. And I'd love to live in a country that is a true force for good in the world rather than an empire that merely pretends it's a responsible rather than murderous, rapacious citizen of the world.
It's worth thinking about.
Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:
Daily Kos
AlterNet
Peas, friends. Take care of yourselves for me--and let's all take care of each other by voting blue down the line. Voting blue honors the fallen in 9/11 and in Bush-Cheney's disastrous invasions afterward by preventing Republicans from exploiting our dead as political tokens and using Islamophobia as an excuse to start the next round of gratuitous invasions. Fuck, Donald Trump would nuke the next country what looked at him funny if he had the codes.
VOTE BLUE
DOWN THE LINE!!!!!
The ass you save may be your own.
- Dot Calm's shadow
Consider the preemptive Blogger phuqued-up phormatting disclaimer to be in effect. Grrr.
-- Dot Calm's shadow
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Many people are saying
Deadbeat Donald Trump
stiffs his workers
just like he wants to stiff YOU
Deadbeat Donald Trump
stiffs his workers
just like he wants to stiff YOU
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How healthy IS Hillary Clinton? Or Donald Trump?
No choo-choo time today, friends, so I'll just rant about corporate media for a moment, shall I?
Yesterday evening, my dad and I were watching the local NBC evening news. They breathlessly opened with screaming headlines about Hillary coming down with pneumonia and launched straight into Donald Trump's assertions that she has some secret weird medical condition or conditions--a conspiracy straight out of Breitbart, which people like my Tea Party Christian friend lap up and believe without question.
On top of that, they claimed that the Clinton campaign was engaging in a cover-up because she fell ill Saturday and didn't release the diagnosis of pneumonia until Sunday.
With each new sensationalist statement, NBC proved itself incapable of honest, factual journalism.
In other words, they covered the Breitbart story with straight faces, as if it were a piece of serious news that deserves our thoughtful consideration instead of pointing and laughing and treating it as what it is: right-wingnut bullshit.
Furthermore, the story was clearly geared toward undermining confidence in Hillary's overall health, playing right into Trump's claims that she isn't physically fit enough for the presidency when, per Politifact, Hillary "'is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as president of the United States,' wrote Dr. Lisa Bardack, an internist and chairwoman of the Department of Medicine at the 500-doctor CareMount Medical group practice in New York."
It's like I said last time, folks: the corporate media REALLY REALLY REALLY want Trump to win!
Excuse me, but I've known people who had pneumonia. It's not a diagnosis that is done visually, on the spot. Doctors typically take x-rays, take sputum cultures, and so on--these things take a minute for results to come back. It's not a big phuquen deal...unless you REALLY REALLY REALLY want Trump to win.
Which, by feeding the conspiracy theories, NBC clearly does.
Let's find out once and for all how healthy our two candidates are, shall we?
Here's the rest of the Politifact article I quoted above:
What we know about the health of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton
Is Donald Trump a narcissist? A sociopath? Something worse?Is Hillary Clinton suffering from epilepsy? The aftermath of a stroke? Dementia?
The Internet is peppered with videos and articles questioning the physical and mental health of the two major candidates.
Trump seemed to touch on the theme during an Aug. 15 rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he said Clinton "lacks the mental and physical stamina" to take on the nation's adversaries.
Is any of this true?
The physicians of both candidates say their patients are healthy enough to serve as president.
Clinton, 68, released a letter from her doctor in July 2015 saying she is healthy, has seasonal allergies and an underactive thyroid gland, a common condition, especially among people over 60.
She experienced a concussion and blood clot to the brain in December 2012, after hitting her head because she fainted due to a stomach virus. The double vision she experienced as a result cleared up within two months. By 2013, testing showed that the clot had completely dissolved. She is still taking anticoagulation medicine as a precaution, along with thyroid and allergy medicine, and vitamin B12.
She shows no signs of heart disease or cancer. The report also lists a normal blood pressure and heart rate, along with her cholesterol levels. "She is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as president of the United States," wrote Dr. Lisa Bardack, an internist and chairwoman of the Department of Medicine at the 500-doctor CareMount Medical group practice in New York.
The health report from Trump's doctor, dated Dec. 4, 2015, is less detailed and is a bit unusual because it sounds like parts could have been dictated by Trump himself. But it shows that he is also in good health.
It says Trump's blood pressure and most recent laboratory results "were astonishingly excellent" and his physical examination "showed only positive results," the latter phrase being a bit unusual because, in conventional medical parlance, a positive result usually indicates a problem. But that's clearly not the case here.
Trump is taking a statin drug, which is typically given to prevent heart disease (his cholesterol values are not listed), and a baby aspirin each day (another heart-healthy precaution standard for a 70-year-old man).
The letter says his heart, lungs and circulatory system are excellent, his strength and stamina "are extraordinary," and he has never had any form of cancer. His doctor, Harold Bornstein, a gastroenterologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, says Trump has never smoked or used alcohol.
"If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency," Dr. Bornstein concludes. It seems unlikely the doctor was able to get medical records of all previous presidents to make that comparison using actual evidence.
If elected, Trump (born June 14, 1946) would be the oldest person to assume the presidency — still 70 on Inauguration Day. Clinton (born Oct. 26, 1947) would be 69 in January and, if elected, the second-oldest person to assume the presidency. Ronald Reagan is the current record holder. He was just 16 days shy of his 70th birthday when he was sworn in on Jan. 20, 1981.
And what about the claims on the Internet?
One letter purporting to be from Dr. Bardack, Clinton's doctor, and dated Feb. 5, 2014, says Clinton suffers from seizures and dementia that both are getting worse.
Dr. Bardack released a statement Aug. 16, 2016, saying the document is a fraud.
They "were not written by me and are not based on any medical facts," Dr. Bardack wrote. "To reiterate what I said in my previous statement, Secretary Clinton is in excellent health and fit to serve as President of the United States."
Other memes trying to suggest that Clinton is unfit show her reacting in childlike awe as the balloons were dropped after her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and her make-believe astonishment on June 10 when a group of reporters standing on her right suddenly hit her with a question.
In the latter case, conspiracy theorists sometimes cut out the sound and don't show the complete video in an effort to accentuate the sense that Clinton's behavior was bizarre.
Sean Hannity has picked up on the speculation, using several segments of his Fox News program to try to raise questions about Clinton's health. He depicted the June 10 episode as "seizuresque" and "violent out of control movements."
As Kurt Eichenwald, who has epilepsy, wrote Aug. 15, 2016, in Newsweek, "People do not smile during a seizure while standing upright and then immediately launch into a coherent sentence."
And Lisa Lerer of the Associated Press, one of the reporters featured prominently in the video, said Clinton may have been eager to avoid the shouted questions "or maybe just taken aback by our volume." Talking about some Trump supporters, she said, "where I saw evasiveness, they see seizures."
On the Republican side, liberal commentator Keith Olbermann released a 21-minute video on July 21, 2016, asking, "Can Donald Trump Pass A Sanity Test?" Some commentators have tried to pin a variety of labels onto Trump based on his public statements and videos.
As the New York Times noted on Aug. 15, 2016, that can be risky, if not downright unfair.
Consider the 1,189 professionals who called the Republican candidate unfit for office, labeling him paranoid or having a godlike self-image.
That candidate wasn't Trump.
It was Barry Goldwater, who ran a failed campaign against Lyndon Johnson and also had his mental capacity questioned.
Since 1973, the American Psychiatric Association has had its Goldwater Rule, which says, "It is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion (on a public figure) unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement."
Concern over the urge to slap a label onto Trump promoted APA President Dr. Maria Oquendo to release a statement reminding psychiatrists why breaking the rule is "unethical and irresponsible."
A "diagnosis" can be politically motivated. Or just plain wrong.
Here's one thing I can diagnose about Donald J. Trump, friends: he is most definitely a liar. A big, fat liar. Literally.
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Many people are saying
Benedict Donald Trump
Benedict Donald Trump
loves Vladimir Putin
more than he'll ever love YOU
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Mailbag
From UltraViolet--CALL the Presidential Debate Commission and demand more women moderators! HURRY--we only have two weeks left!
...I say we get a do-over after Matt Lauer, and we get Rachel Maddow to replace the FUX Noise goon as moderator of the last debate!!!!! Friends, call and MAKE IT SO!
-- Dot Calm's shadow
Over 46,000 people have signed the petition
demanding that more women anchors should get to moderate the
presidential debates. Thank you!
This is the same commission that thinks all
the presidential debates this year should be moderated by men--and that
the lone woman moderator can't handle a debate on her own.1But after last week, when NBC's Matt Lauer completely botched the presidential forum with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the demand for women anchors who will keep the candidates accountable to women's issues has gotten louder.2 It's our chance to make sure the commission appoints more Rachel Maddows and fewer Matt Lauers to the debates.
Here's the phone number: (202) 872-1020
If you can't reach a person, leave a voicemail.
After you call, can you tell us how it went?
It's always best to speak in your own words, but here are some points to guide you:
- It's 2016. Women anchors are more than capable of moderating a presidential debate.
- Women's rights and issues of sexism play a big role in this presidential race. We need women to be involved in holding the presidential candidates accountable to those issues.
- There are plenty of women to choose from: Rachel Maddow, Gwen Ifill, Christiane Amanpour, and more. With so many qualified female journalists, the Commission missed a real opportunity to include more diverse and substantive perspectives.
- More than 46,000 people have signed the petition. Name more women to moderate the debates!
Thank you for speaking out.
--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kaili, Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Megan, Libby, and Emma, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. Presidential Debate Moderators Are Set, With Lester Holt for the First, New York Times, September 2, 2016
2. Matt Lauer Fields Storm of Criticism Over Clinton-Trump Forum, New York Times, September 8, 2016
3. Women's Group Dissects Sexism in Matt Lauer's Questioning of Hillary Clinton, Demands More Female Moderators for Presidential Debates, People Magazine, September 9, 2016
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From Change.org--Innovate air conditioning
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| Presidential debate moderators must call out Donald Trump’s lies | |
| Petition to the Commission on Presidential Debates:
"Instruct presidential debate moderators – Lester Holt of NBC, Martha Raddatz of ABC, Chris Wallace of Fox News, Elaine Quijano of CBS News, and Anderson Cooper of CNN – to call out candidates’ lies in real time during the debates."
Add your name:
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From Change.org--Stop Donald Trump's Ireland sea wall
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The federal government paused construction on the Dakota Access
Pipeline yesterday, but we cannot rest until we stop this illegal
pipeline once and for all.
Please sign our petition urging a permanent end to construction:
Please sign our petition urging a permanent end to construction:
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| Tuesday, Sept. 13: Attend a solidarity event near you to stop the Dakota Access pipeline | |
On Tuesday, September 13,
people around the country are taking part in a day of action in
solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux. Sign up to attend an event near
you.
|
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From Hillary for America--It's up to us to stop Trump's lies
Friend --
Welcome to the media’s version of “normal” -- where Donald Trump gets graded on a curve just for showing up, and there's no sustained effort to press him on the questions that deserve real answers.
On Wednesday night, at the Commander-in-Chief Forum, Trump said he stood by the idea that sexual assault is the price you pay for allowing men and women to serve together in the military. The response from the media at large? Mostly a shrug. Any effort to contextualize those remarks got lost in discussion about optics from the event.
At that same event, Trump lied about his opposition to the Iraq war, and the moderator for the night, Matt Lauer, never pushed back. It was the perfect example of the media's inability to even fact-check this guy.
In a normal election, just one moment like this -- an example of such casual misogyny or another repeated, unblinking lie -- would be the topic of a news story for days. For Trump, that's not the case.
So the responsibility shifts to us.
It's on this team to give voters the information they need about how to define these two candidates, and to meet that obligation, we need to resources to do things like hire enough organizers to blanket the country and run the kind of advertising program it takes to cut through the noise.
We need 57 donations in your area to make sure we can reach the voters we’ll need -- will you make one of those donations right now?
Thanks,
Christina
Christina Reynolds
Deputy Communications Director
Hillary for America
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From Hillary for America--It's up to us to hold Trump's feet to the fire for his many scandals
Friend --
The last few days have offered a concrete example of one major problem in this election: the trouble the media has in holding Trump accountable -- on his lies or what we now understand to be clearcut examples of corruption.
Take, for example, the narrative around two foundations.
You've probably heard a lot about the Clinton Foundation in the past month. That's because dedicated teams of reporters from news outlets all over the country have devoted major time and resources to unearthing some examples of wrongdoing in the charity's past. And the grand total of all those investigations? Nothing but confirmation that the foundation does unassailable, lifesaving work in countries across the globe.
On the other hand, you have the Trump Foundation. Back in 2013, they donated $25,000 to a committee associated with Pam Bondi’s re-election as Florida attorney general. At the time, Bondi's office was considering whether or not to join a lawsuit against Trump University. But after Bondi received that contribution, her office decided not to join the lawsuit. Bondi subsequently endorsed Trump's bid for president, then spoke at the Republican National Convention -- where she said Hillary Clinton should go to jail. Trump’s foundation also gave $100,000 to Citizens United to sue New York’s attorney general—after he’d started investigating Trump University.
This is blockbuster stuff -- but months after that story came out, there's been little sustained effort from the press to force Trump to address the charge that he bought off the top law enforcement official in Florida. And in the 59 days we have left in this election, we shouldn't expect such an effort to begin.
So holding Trump accountable is on our collective shoulders.
We're the team who has to give voters the information they need about the two candidates, and that means we’re going to have to hire enough organizers to blanket the country with volunteers and run ads on television and the internet often enough to make a real impression.
So we need 39 donations in Herndon to make sure we can reach the voters we’ll need -- will you make one of those donations right now?
Thank you,
Christina
Christina Reynolds
Deputy Communications Director
Hillary for America
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From Hillary for America--Who is Hillary Clinton?
Friend --
Let's be honest: we've all talked to people who wonder why Hillary is really in this race.
If I could show each and every one of those people just one thing, it would probably be this brand new video.
It's about how, over the course of the campaign, she's met and become friends with an incredible woman named Janelle, who recently battled -- and beat -- breast cancer.
I’ve traveled with Hillary every day of this campaign -- I'm there to make sure every event goes off without a hitch -- so I see this kind of thing happen all the time. She listens to people -- she gets to know them and makes a connection. And then, somehow, she finds the time to circle back, to follow up, to show a little love and kindness.
That’s exactly what happened with Janelle, and -- well, you just have to see the video for yourself:
The day they met, Hillary spent 30 minutes getting to know this woman and her two daughters. And ever since that chilly October afternoon, the two have stayed in touch -- in fact, Hillary even introduced her to her lifelong best friend, Betsy, who also survived cancer, and they're friends now, too. "Just to keep widening the circle of caring and love," Hillary told me.
I wish the whole world could see Hillary the way I do. That’s why I’m writing to you today -- because you can help make that possible just by watching and sharing this video of Janelle and Hillary’s friendship. It’s an incredible story about two brilliant, resilient women.
I hope you love this video as much as I do (and share it far and wide!):
Thanks so much,
Connolly
Connolly Keigher
Trip Director
Hillary for America
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From UltraViolet--Chip in to denounce Trump's misogyny re rape in the military with this ad!
On Wednesday night, Trump doubled down on blaming rape survivors for their sexual assault--implying that the solution is to take away women's right to serve in the military.1
Matt Lauer let him get away with it, but we're not going to.
Our ad team just created a rapid response TV spot calling out Trump's victim-blaming, and with your help, we can get it on the air THIS WEEKEND.2 Will you chip in $5?
Yes, I'll chip in $5 to help call out Trump for blaming survivors of rape in the military.
It was one of Trump's most sexist, violently misogynistic statements ever: "26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?"3
But when Matt Lauer asked him about it at Wednesday's Commander in Chief Forum, Trump refused to back down.
A man who repeatedly blames survivors and thinks the solution for sexual assault is to punish women can never be allowed near the White House.
But the really terrifying thing is that the latest polls show that Trump is catching up. Just a few weeks ago he was down by 8 points. Now he's within 2-3.4
That's why we can't let him get away with statements like the ones he made Wednesday blaming women for rape. This rapid-response ad is exactly what we need to keep the focus on the sexist, anti-woman views that only the most radical right-wing voters support. Will you chip in $5?
Yes, I'll chip in $5 to help call out Trump for blaming survivors of rape in the military.
Thanks for speaking out.
--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly,
Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Megan, Libby, and Emma,
the UltraViolet Action team
Sources:
1. Donald Trump’s Remarks Show He’s Mistaken on Sexual Assault in Military, The New York Times, September 8, 20162. Donald Trump on military sexual assault, UltraVioletAction YouTube channel, September 8, 2016
3. Donald J. Trump, Twitter, May 7, 2013
4. General Election: Trump vs. Clinton, RealClearPolitics, accessed September 9, 2016
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We have about two months left. Two months left to organize. Two months
left to stop the most xenophobic, racist, sexist, and flat-out dangerous
presidential candidate in recent memory.
Donald Trump cannot be allowed to become the president. Sign our petition denouncing the Republican nominee. Just look at this list of ignorant things that Trump has said over the years.
We know better -- and we have two months to unite as Democrats and push back against Trump and the movement he has unleashed. This election is important, and we only have a few weeks left to do what needs to be done. Add your name to mine, and denounce Donald Trump. Thank you, Ed | ||
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With two months to go before Election Day and a slight lead in the polls, now is the time to ensure we’re doing everything we can to stop Donald Trump.
At VoteVets, we’ve run very large, seven-figure television ad buys in a number of swing states. We’ve organized Gold Star families to hold Trump accountable for insulting those who have lost loved ones in war. Hundreds of immigrant and Muslim-American veterans have made news by working with VoteVets to condemn Trump’s racist attacks.
And in the past forty-eight hours, we’ve received more than 1,000 individual contributions to support that work. But we need you to add yours to keep going.
Contribute $3 to VoteVets today and help us elevate the voices of veterans and military family members in the campaign to ensure Donald Trump never becomes our Commander in Chief.
Not only are we working hard to stop Donald Trump from ever becoming Commander in Chief, but we are leading the fight to stop ultra-conservative Koch-connected groups from privatizing veterans’ health care. And on top of that, we’re fighting to elect a new generation of progressive veterans to the House and the Senate.
We’ve got our hands full in these next two months, and it starts with stopping Trump. That’s why adding your $3 contribution to VoteVets today is just so important.
All our best,
- The team at VoteVets
CONTRIBUTE
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From 350.org--Native organizers, 1; Dakota pipeline, 0
For all of us who fight for a better world, it's been truly
inspiring to witness the political organizing carried out these past
weeks on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.
Their amazing work paid off in dramatic fashion yesterday afternoon.
Minutes after a federal court refused to stop construction on the
Dakota Access pipeline, the federal government announced that work would
be stopping anyway: in effect, there was a people's injunction, won by
the great courage and witness of tribes from across America.
This is good news. They've bought time,
and now it's our job to come to their support -- to turn this temporary
halt into a permanent stop to the pipeline. And more, to make
sure that nothing like this ever gets a federal permit again. That's why
there will be solidarity actions across America on Tuesday, and we need you at one of them.
The Obama administration announced months ago that new projects
would now have to pass a climate test before being approved--we need
that test applied to this pipeline. And we need to make sure than
anything in Indian country never gets built again without full tribal
consultation.
Let's make sure the President continues to feel the heat, and stops this pipeline for good: Attend a #nodapl action near you next week -- and if one doesn't exist yet, sign up to host an event on Sept 13th.
These are some of the greatest organizers on the continent.
We've fought side by side on the Keystone Pipeline and in a dozen other
fights. And now we've got a chance to do something really special.
After 500 years of being ignored by the federal government, native
Americans forced something special today: serious recognition of their
rights.
That should give all of us real hope for the future.
Bill McKibben for 350.org
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Many people are saying
Criminal Donald Trump thinks
stealing = making a good deal
Criminal Donald Trump thinks
stealing = making a good deal
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Democracy Now!
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Many people are saying
Lying Donald Trump
Lying Donald Trump
plays evangelicals
for the rubes they are
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Daily Kos
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Many people are saying
Baby-man Donald Trump
Baby-man Donald Trump
never took responsibility
for anything in his life
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AlterNet
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Many people are saying
Ignoramus Donald Trump
Ignoramus Donald Trump
lives in a fantasy world
that exists only in his own mind
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Movies!
Stephen Colbert takes Matt Lauer to task for being a complete disgrace to journalism
Ok, friends...I'm worried sick about the election, and I'm pissed at the media for favoring Trump so strongly at our potential great detriment. In other words, I'm ready to change the subject. Maybe you are, too.
This is a depressing-as-hell documentary about the Heaven's Gate cult. I stumbled upon their website once some time before the mass suicide. I remember finding the website to be attractively designed and engaging, and I remember thinking that some of what they said made sense to someone with a Christian upbringing...until I scrolled down and my bullshit detectors went off. I pointed my finger, laughed, and clicked away to go do something else, secure in the "knowledge" that, as a Catholic, I had the correct world view. As an atheist today, I am bothered by how vanishingly fine the line is between what Heaven's Gate did and what devout Christians and Muslims do today, all in the name of god and faith. The less America focuses on good education and science literacy, the more ritual killings and suicides we will see. Why? Because this bullshit makes sense to you if you don't understand how the world works.
This is less upsetting than the Heaven's Gate documentary, but it's still plenty distressing: my Tea Party Christian friend believes this bullshit...! The last time he looked up in the sky and mentioned "chemtrails," at the risk of being screamed at and possibly slugged, I drily replied, "You're joking, right? You don't really believe that, do you?" I'm hoping his silence meant that he went home and looked up more information and didn't stop until he found some actual facts. Of course, we all believe he would do a little research so he could find the truth, right? Naaaah...!
Here's another type of bullshit my poor Tea Party Christian friend believes in heart and soul. Ya think I should show him this and tell him it's all a trick? Here's a link to the full video (from which the below is a clip).
More fun with Feynman! This is a fascinating lecture on the particle-wave duality of electrons and photons. Feynman is an amazing teacher--he shows you the concepts without using fancy math or jargon. You don't even need to have gone to college to understand this lecture. Enjoy!
Ugh--this will make you cringe if you're a Christian (or ex or recovering)!
So, what is a skeptic anyway?
Time for a giggle!
Ba-hahahahahaha!
'Til next time, check out these great channels:
...or, if you just want something mindless and fun, try Tested
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Many people are saying
Narcissist Donald Trump
Narcissist Donald Trump
is an orange, stubby-fingered
moron with fish lips
and a gherkin for a dick
...and he's fat and ugly, too!
(Did I miss anything?)
moron with fish lips
and a gherkin for a dick
...and he's fat and ugly, too!
(Did I miss anything?)
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From the "Google can suck it" Department via "The Scallion" (http://scallion.blogspot.com), Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Unamerica to Secede from America
February 28, 2003. In a desperate move to divorce themselves from the current administration and its supporters, a sizeable proportion of citizens who were once proud to call themselves “Americans” have chosen to secede from the old republic. Zoe Owens, the official spokeswoman of the new republic, offered her remarks on the stunning new development.
“It is a sad day when Americans no longer trust their votes to be counted fairly. It is a sad day when America no longer supports the precepts of democracy and fair play upon which it was founded. It is a sad day when so many Americans intimidate and threaten their own countrymen simply for having different opinions and beliefs from their own.
“Yet, out of this despair, we who choose to fight for freedom, justice, and what used to be the American way have founded a new republic—a ray of hope in these dark times. Because everything this new nation stands for is anathema to America, its parent nation, we have chosen to call our new nation ‘Unamerica.’
“But what is Unamerica? Simply put, Unamerica will be the nation of those of us who see what America has become and choose independence; it will be the nation that America’s founding fathers truly intended. Suppose you oppose Bush’s war on Iraq. According to many Americans, this makes you Unamerican. If you strive to publicize your opposition to the war, then these same Americans will not only label you as Unamerican but also as a traitor against America. Similarly, if you voice any opinions against Bush, you will be described as Unamerican. Maybe you think Bill Clinton was not Satan incarnate; maybe you think he was an intelligent, articulate president who strove to bring the world together and did a pretty good job in office. Perhaps you disagreed with some of his actions but respected him and rejoiced in the rights and protections he secured—until the current administration—for the average American. If so, then, face it, you’re Unamerican. If you think a woman should have the right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy, then you’re definitely Unamerican. Even if you hate SUVs, you’re Unamerican. If you favor fair treatment of women, the poor, and minorities over pandering to the rich and powerful, then you couldn’t be more Unamerican. In short, Unamerica is a nation for anyone who believes in fair play and who chooses to think for him or herself—anyone who refuses to be a sheep.
“How many people will live in Unamerica? Well, the census is still in progress; however, it is estimated that roughly 50% of those currently living in America already qualify as Unamerican. And the numbers are growing every day. For example, whenever someone violates the ‘don’t think-don’t talk’ rule and is declared ‘Unamerican’ and shown the door, we offer the opportunity to emigrate here. We make huge prospective population gains this way every day.
“There are several practical issues with starting a new nation, especially in a case like this where the two diametrically opposed populations of America and Unamerica coexist side by side and are not separated by any clear territorial lines. One of the easiest issues was choosing a flag. Since the French stand for the same ideals we stand for, we originally considered adapting the French flag with the emblem ‘Unamerica’; however, we ultimately chose to use what is essentially a negative of the American flag. This means that the white stars and stripes are now black; the red stripes are now green; and the blue field is now yellow. Since so many Unamericans are pro-environment, having green as a national color is rather fortunate.
“Another practical issue is territory. Since the two populations of America and Unamerica are so thoroughly superimposed, it really is impossible to separate the two physically. So, at least for now, within the territorial bounds of America, Unamerica will be wherever we hold property. That means that each of us potentially is a nation unto him or herself—Americans may find themselves surrounded by Unamericans or vice versa. As Unamerica evolves, we may find it necessary to establish a larger collective territory separate from America—a delicate prospect, given the saber-rattling social and political imperialism in America these days. So many Americans claim to want us out—they would annihilate us and our ideals if they could. It is truly shocking how many Americans would like to see so many who should rightfully be their own countrymen just go up in a puff of smoke. So, sadly, it may ultimately take a war to establish our new republic’s borders.
“We do foresee some issues with respect to a national language. Unlike our American cousins across the street, we of Unamerica have chosen to adopt Unamerican—a standardized version of American English—as our national language. We will use this language in all our business dealings and teach it in all our schools. While we acknowledge that a language is a living thing and must remain flexible, we intend to exercise great care in updating and maintaining the standard to ensure that all changes actually make sense and are not the product of hive-think. In other words, unlike America, Unamerica will not arbitrarily declare that which is wrong suddenly to be right just because some majority of people is consistently either lazy or incorrect. Because of our desire to preserve the language of our parent nation’s heritage as our own heritage, we do foresee communication difficulties as Unamerica conserves its national language and America recklessly vandalizes one of its more popular languages. Of course, Unamerica will support any number of second languages, just as long as people abide by the new national language standard.
“Speaking of standards, Unamerica will prefer the metric system but allow the English system to encourage trade and free exchange with America. Government and business will standardize on Linux and other open source software; use of Microsoft products will be subject to a duty tax to further the open source movement. Similarly, Unamerica will use duty taxes to discourage doing business with monopolies or any organizations that seek to become monopolies. Especially heavy duties will be levied on products of the entertainment industry to promote developments to thwart the MPAA, RIAA, and similar anti-consumer organizations. Products like gasoline, tobacco, meat, and junk food will also be subject to duty taxes at point of sale to fund the development of safer alternatives. So, in short, we will impose sales taxes and duties on products whose producers are anti-consumer in order to protect our consumers down the road. We have compared building standards around the world and will standardize on the most stringent applicable to each subclimate in the nation, and we will institute a duty tax on building practices which do not employ environmentally-friendly and/or recycled materials. Similarly, we plan to offer tax incentives to those who use public transportation and/or environmentally-friendly cars.
“But there are other interesting issues surrounding currency and taxation. While we initially debated using the American dollar as our only currency, we overwhelmingly decided to adopt a dual currency system with Unamerican money that is practical and attractive. Unamerican coins will comprise, in size order, five, ten, twenty five, fifty, and one hundred cent pieces. Bills will start at five dollars; each denomination will be a centimeter longer than its successor; the denominations will be different colors; and the engravings will represent Unamerican ideals of liberty and fairness interwoven with themes from nature. Once we are fully established, we intend to collect a simple flat income tax with no loopholes to favor one subpopulation over another. The tax will be proportional to income, and proportional deductions will be allowed for charitable donations to encourage our citizens to help the less fortunate. We intend to negotiate with our American counterparts regarding using this tax money to pay for any public services that fall outside our purview, for example, maintenance of some roads.
“In our brave new nation, there will be no room for hyphenated-Unamericans. All Unamericans are created equal regardless of income, physical appearance, or beliefs. As Lady Liberty once did, we will welcome all those who seek the freedom to think for themselves, determine the courses of their own lives, vote accordingly, and be heard fairly. Founding a new nation within a nation will be a complicated, difficult task in this political environment, where citizens are prized solely for what’s in their wallets, but, given the potential rewards, we can’t conceive of a more important project. If you are weary of arrogance, hegemony, and totalitarianism in a fundamentalist Christian plutocracy—if you like your church thoroughly divorced from your state—or if you want to embrace the world rather than condemn and hide from it, then come to Unamerica, where our motto is ‘Liberty, Equality, and Democracy.’”
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Many people are saying,
"Ugh, Donald.
Lose that gawd-awful beer gut
and all that junk in the trunk!
And quit spray-painting
yourself orange.
Have you no pride, man?
Have you no shame?"
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posted by Dot Calm @ 5:00 PM
