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!
INVESTIGATE SCROTUS NOW!!! IMPEACH SCROTUS NOW!!! PROSECUTE SCROTUS NOW!!! And take SESSIONS, too!
SPECIAL ELECTION NOW!!!!! TRUMP'S ACTIONS ARE UNACCEPTABLE!!!!! REPUBLICANS' RULE-BREAKING IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!! DEMOCRATS' CAVING IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!! SHUT IT ALL DOWN NOW!!!!!
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.
STAY WOKE!!!!!
NOW!!!!!
***** ***** ***** **** ***** ***** *****
2 March update
Friends, we have a lot to cover this evening, so let's jump right in!
For as much as I hate all the evil that the chump administration is and does, I love it when they get called on the carpet for their lies, misdeeds, and villainy.
This morning, I heard a teeny tiny little sound-bite on NPR regarding Jefferson Beauregard Sessions's illicit, lied-about communications with the Russian ambassador--you know, one of Russia's top spy recruiters--during the campaign, when Sessions was one of chump's earliest and most fervent supporters and surrogates.
To be fair, we can't be sure yet that Sessions actually lied, but it seems awfully likely that he did.
So I call bullshit on Sessions: methinks he doth protest too much.
But I'm not done yet.
When Senator Al Franken asked Jeff Sessions during his confirmation hearing for Attorney General--which is the people's attorney, NOT chump's attorney--what he'd do in the case of Russian contact with the trump campaign, Sessions REFUSED to answer the question. Instead, he merely replied that he didn't know of any.
Friends, this is a Very Big Deal--Sessions was ON the campaign and CANNOT be impartial. At the very least, he must recuse himself COMPLETELY from ALL investigations regarding his orange overlord and master (so far, he's only promised to do so partially, so, with a nod to Ford Prefect, I don't trust Sessions as far as I could comfortably spit a rat).
Nancy Pelosi rightly called for Sessions to resign. If that lying mofo Jefferson Beauregard Sessions had had an ounce of integrity, he would never have accepter the position as AG. And if Jefferson Beauregard had HALF an ounce of integrity, he WOULD resign. The fact that he won't resign without a huge fight shows that he has no integrity. Same goes for professional piece of shit Paul Ryan and the rest of the Teathuglikkkant chump apologists. Similarly, if chump had ANY integrity, he'd fire Sessions's ass. And the fact that chump won't fire Sessions without a huge fight just confirms what we already knew: chump can't even spell "integrity" and probably can't even read it off a teleprompter.
I dunno about you, but I want a special prosecutor appointed, a full investigation made of the entire trump campaign and administration's ties to Russia--including collusion to hijack OUR election, which I understand constitutes an act of war--and I want to see donald john trump, Michael Flynn, Rex Tillerson, Wilbur Ross, Jeff Sessions, and the rest of the swamp monsters investigated to within an inch of their lives and prosecuted to the full extent of the law if found guilty. LOCK THEM UP! And if they're found guilty of treason--STRING THEM UP!!!!!
I was trying to wrangle a good bad pun about court in Sessions, but alas--I just couldn't get there from here. Your mileage may vary.
Scroll down for moar links to articles.
***** They call General Mattis "Mad Dog" for a reason. He wanted to invade Iran while we were still in the thick of Iraq. When the administration refused, Mad Dog got mad... he picked up his bone and went home. *****
So.
Braindead Ben Carson and Prick Perry both won easy confirmation to destroy head their respective agencies: Housing and Urban Development and Department of Energy.
Senate DEMOCRATS voted FOR Carson and Perry--both of whom are grossly incompetent and neither of whom has any idea what his respective agency does!
Looks like we'll be PRIMARYING a crap-ton of these fascist DINOs (like MARK WARNER, HEIDI HEITKAMP, and JOE MANCHIN to name a few of the nasties)!!!
I saw a comment on The Guardian, asking Carson and Perry, "How long are you going to wait before eliminating your agency?"
***** Rep. Barbara Comstock LIED to her constituents by claiming that the U.S. has one of the highest corporate tax rates. According to The Guardian, the U.S. isn't even in the top 30 for highest corporate tax rates. So go suck on that, Babs! *****
STATIC
I've recently started reading "STATIC" by Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!"--a treasured gift from Dot Calm herself.
As it turns out, the timing could not have been more...appropriate.
Isn't it interesting that that stinking little cockroach George W. Bush came out from under his rock (or was he working on one of the two coloring books in his preznidential liberry?) recently to chide cheeto benito for attacking the media?
In his elation to hand off the title of WORST PREZNIT EVAR, chimpie seems to have conveniently forgotten his own adversarial relationship with the media and with the truth.
Remember "embedded" reporters, allowed to tell us only what the government told them to when it came to the invasion of Iraq--a war based entirely on lies?
Remember the Bush junta's desperate efforts to manufacture consent to their little oil raid?
Remember Bush's oh-so-Christlike little tantrum: "If you're not with us, you're against us"?
Remember his decree that the media was verboten to show the steady stream of flag-draped coffins coming home?
Or the devastation and carnage on the ground in Iraq?
Or the failure to investigate all the incompetence and corruption--like when a cool $9 BILLION in cash...that's your and my hard-earned tax money, friends...went missing in Iraq?
The New York Times still hasn't recovered its trust relationship with the American public after shilling for Bush's war for fun and profit.
But then...came Hurricane Katrina...and the media went in and did its actual job, showing dead Black bodies floating, floating, floating...floating along like so many discarded, disregarded logs.
The media showed Black people climbing onto their rooftops, waiting for rescue, trying to survive without food, water, or medical aid...and the failed Bush junta fiddled while New Orleans drowned.
To be fair, in Bush's case, he wasn't pickin' and grinnin'--he was strummin' and grinnin' at a birthday party in California. "Wish you were here"...that's the song chimpie sang and the devout wish to him from every poor and Black person fighting to survive in the storm's deadly aftermath.
Like Cheney avoiding military service in the 1960s, the rest of the failed bush junta had "other priorities," too.
Condo was shoe-shopping for $600 Ferragamos in New York.
Dick Cheney (before he dicks you) was fly-fishing in Montana.
Chertov, who apparently didn't realize he was in charge, stayed home that day, revealing to incredulous reporters that they had better intel on Katrina on the ground than he did!
And who could ever forget failed FEMA chief Michael "Heckuvajob" Brown(ie)!
Apparently, the victims were too Black and too poor for chimpco to give a shit about.
The human tragedy was so horrific and raw that even fellow Republicans were aghast, rebuking chimpco that the disaster wasn't only predictable--it was predicted, and it was predicted days ahead of time.
Instead of, as some wished, Haiti becoming more like New Orleans, thanks to George W. Bush and his administration, New Orleans had become like Haiti!
Just remember that, friends, when that piece of shit chimp comes skulking back into the limelight pretending he was somehow upstanding and accountable.
Let's not forget: chimpco was the first American administration that we know of to use psyops and propaganda against its own citizens...and let's also not forget that it's ILLEGAL for the American government to use propaganda against its own citizens...and let's also not forget their egregious profiteering (cough-Halliburton-cough).
You'd think that at least someone in the chump junta would recognize that, when obvious war criminals like bush and cheney come out and tell you that you're going too far in suppressing the media, then you're really going too far to suppress the media.
It bears repeating: if piece of shit WAR CRIMINALS like bush and cheney are saying "smh" and telling you to tone it down when you attack the media, it's probably in your best interest to think about whether maybe they have a point.
The best chimpie and dickhead could possibly do is reach the trumpkins, like my Tea Party Christian friend, who eat chump's bullshit like it's candy but who think that the chimp was teh Best Preznit Evar.
But do you really think that will happen? Do you really think there's any way to penetrate those poor rubes' thick skulls with actual truth? Ever?
I wish, but I wouldn't bet a plugged nickel.
***** Remember when Jefferson Beauregard Sessions chided Bill Clinton for lying under oath, citing principles and rule of law? chump's job application for cabinet positions must include checkboxes: [ ] Must be ignorant [ ]Must hate everyone [ ]Must be criminal scum [ ]Must be YUGE hypocrite *****
Friends, I'm apparently doing a fire-resign-investigate Jeff Sessions petition bomb. Care to join me?
The petition to Congress reads: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied about his ties to Russia
during his confirmation hearing. Congress must demand his resignation,
demand that his successor immediately appoint a special prosecutor and
use all the tools at its disposal to conduct transparent, independent
investigations into Sessions’ and other Trump campaign and
administration connections to Russia.”
Add your name:
-----
The following sponsored email was sent to you by AlterNet on behalf of DCCC:
Washington Post: Attorney General Jeff Sessions failed to disclose meetings with Russian envoy
Attorney General Jeff Sessions secretly met with Russian officials twice while he was a Trump campaign surrogate. Then he lied about it, under oath to the American people and Congress!
As the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Sessions isn’t fit to serve. And if we join together quickly, we can force his resignation!
The White House is scrambling to protect Sessions, but top lawmakers are calling on him to step down right now. We need to act fast while the pressure is exploding. Add your name to the call below with one click -- it will be delivered today!
Yesterday, the Washington Post broke the news that Attorney
General Jeff Sessions spoke with Russian diplomats during the Trump
campaign and lied under oath about it.
As Attorney General, Sessions is charged with upholding and enforcing
the law. But he isn’t even following the law. Attorney General Sessions
has committed a felony, and the American people can no longer trust him
to do his job.
To make matters worse, Sessions has said he will not recuse himself
from Department of Justice investigations about Russian contacts with
Trump campaign officials. It seems he has something to hide.
We deserve to know the truth about Russia’s full influence on our election.
Thank you for all you do to Resist. We are fighting back - and winning.
Regards,
~Diane Russell
Portland, Maine
-----
Last night, it was revealed that Attorney General Sessions failed to
disclose during his confirmation hearings that he had multiple meetings
with the Russian ambassador during Trump's presidential campaign.
This is deeply concerning. When Senator Al Franken and I asked him
directly, under oath, if he had any contact with Russian officials, he
misled the Senate Judiciary Committee and the American people.
While Sessions just announced that he would recuse himself from
any investigation into Trump’s presidential campaign, this is not
enough. I am calling on Attorney General Sessions to immediately appoint a special prosecutor to fully investigate Russian interference.
We know Russia actively worked to undermine our Presidential
election. Now we must have a full accounting of anyone working with or
for the Trump campaign who had contact with Russian officials or their
affiliates. This may not stop at Attorney General Sessions.
Breaking
-- Attorney General Jeff Sessions just held a press conference where he
said that he would recuse himself from any investigations related to the
Trump campaign and involvement with Russian officials. That's not good
enough. Saying his testimony under oath during his hearing was as
"honest and correct as I understood it at the time" isn't good enough.
Sessions lied to the Committee. He MUST resign from his post as Attorney General.
Jeff Sessions' anti-choice and anti-woman agenda was enough for us to staunchly oppose him from Day One.
Now, explosive new evidence has been released that he may have perjured himself during his confirmation hearings.
So we're renewing our opposition to him and doubling down on what we've always known to be true: Jeff Sessions is unfit to be attorney general. Sign the petition to demand Jeff Sessions immediately resign as head of the Department of Justice.
-----
Did you hear?
Last night, the news broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the
most recent member of the Trump administration to get busted for ties to
Russia. And not only that -- he LIED about it during his confirmation
hearing!
Jeff Sessions met with the Russian ambassador twice during
Trump's campaign -- and lied about it under oath during his confirmation
hearing to become Attorney General.
This morning, after learning that Attorney General Jeff Sessions misled
Congress during his confirmation hearings about meetings with Russian
officials, I called on him to resign his post immediately.
For weeks now, I have been saying that Jeff Sessions should recuse
himself from the investigation into Russian connections with the Trump
campaign. Based on strong evidence, his official role on the campaign
impairs his ability to be impartial on this critical national security
matter.
But his offer to recuse himself – “if necessary” – is not even close to enough. Sessions
has done irreparable damage to his integrity and it makes him
ineligible to serve as our top law enforcement official. We need your
voice in this fight:
Faith in our democracy has been fundamentally damaged, and we need a
full accounting of the facts. I cannot stress to you enough how
important it is to have an honest, unbiased investigation.
Having Jeff Sessions as our Attorney General is a roadblock to that
goal. In the best interest of our country and our democracy, he should
resign as Attorney General immediately.
No matter who is in the White House, our national security and our
sovereignty must never be influenced by partisanship. Thank you for
joining me in this critical fight.
The
Washington Post reported last night that Attorney General Jeff Sessions
spoke with a Russian official TWICE while he was a surrogate for and
adviser to the Trump campaign -- something he explicitly denied during
his Senate confirmation hearing.
If Sessions lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee he must RESIGN without delay!
PFAW
immediately called for Sessions to resign last night. Democratic leaders
in Congress including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Nancy Pelosi and
Elijah Cummings also are calling for Sessions's resignation.
If
Sessions lied to senators during his confirmation hearing, his
credibility is nonexistent and he cannot continue as the country's top
law enforcement official -- period.
During
his hearing, Sen. Al Franken asked what Sessions would do if he
learned that Trump campaign officials had spoken with the Russian
government. Sessions responded:
“I’m
not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate
at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications
with the Russians.”
The Post
also reports that Sessions denied discussing the election with the
Russians in written statements to the Judiciary Committee.
We had
already called for Sessions to recuse himself from investigations into
entanglements between Russia and the Trump campaign/administration.
We're now far beyond the need for simple recusal. Sessions must RESIGN.
Don't forget to CALL your Senators and demand Sessions's resignation! -- Dot Calm's shadow
Attorney General Jeff Sessions appears to have committed perjury and
lied under oath about meetings with Russian officials, according to a
new report in The Washington Post.1
Since taking office, Sessions has attacked the transgender community2
and stated that a recent increase in violent crime stems from increased
scrutiny of law enforcement officers, many of whom have been captured
on cellphones while engaging in violence against communities of color.3
In his first major speech, he said the Justice Department would “pull
back” from Obama-era investigations into these kinds of abuses.4
Thanks for speaking out.
Candace, Sandy and the rest of the Free Press Action Fund team freepress.net
The Guardian: How defunding Planned Parenthood could wipe out transgender healthcare
...Friends, this is a serious issue. Trans people have unique health care needs that many doctors are either unprepared or unwilling to deal with. News flash, Republicans: trans people are NOT going to go away, and neither are their allies!
The Guardian: Nervous system birth defects 20 times likelier for Zika-hit mothers, study finds
...As the article says, chump wants to cut NIH funding by 10%, and the company licensing the vaccine is likely to price it out of reach of the most vulnerable. And you wonder why I call Republicans cruel, pro-DEATH monsters...
The Guardian: If the cap fits: Vietnam absentee Donald Trump's military look raises eyebrows
...I wonder how many X's he needed of X...L to fit his fat ass in the jacket...! Now all he needs is to wear his codpiece backwards and stand in front of a "mission accomplished" banner...! One comment really nailed it: the only jacket he should be wearing is a straight jacket!!
The Guardian: Sessions takes himself off Russia case … sort of
...Friends, THIS is what I mean when I say that Sessions has NOT recused himself fully and lacks the integrity to do so. Mofo needs his ass fired NOW!!!!!
We
have endured 40 years of creeping authoritarianism and it now appears
that it may run right over democracy. We must resist and act in
solidarity. READ MORE»
If
Democrats are going to be an agent of change that takes the country
back from financial and corporate elites, they're going to have to think
differently. READ MORE»
A
new report from Médecins Sans Frontières shows how African migrants are
paying far too heavy of a price for looking for new opportunities. READ MORE»
The
Trump administration is facing a new scandal as the Justice Department
has acknowledged Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with
Russia's ... Read More →
As
President Trump vows to deport "bad hombres," we look at the shocking
case of an asylum seeker from El Salvador who is being detained as she
battles a brain ... Read More →
The New York Times
reports that the Obama administration scrambled during its final days
in office to preserve evidence of Russia's collusion with the ... Read More →
Following President Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Vermont senator and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie ... Read More →
During
President Trump's speech to the joint session of Congress last night,
he announced plans to create a new office called VOICE—that's Victims of
Immigration ... Read More →
In
his first speech to a joint session of Congress, Donald Trump vowed to
greatly expand the Pentagon's budget, to repeal and replace Obamacare,
to build a wall along ... Read More →
During
President Trump's speech to Congress last night, he also honored Navy
SEAL Ryan Owens, who was killed in a botched raid on a Yemeni village
that also left 25 ... Read More →
On Tuesday
night, President Trump suggested the United States should transition to
a merit-based immigration system. He also vowed to build a wall ... Read More →
President
Trump has proposed increasing the military budget to just over $600
billion—a 10 percent increase—while deeply slashing the budgets of other
agencies, ... Read More →
Following President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, many media outlets began to cast his presidency in a new, more moderate light. ... Read More →
President
Trump opened his speech to Congress by condemning the five nationwide
waves of bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers, the
desecration of ... Read More →
During his speech before Congress on Tuesday night, Donald Trump called on Congress to address the "imploding Obamacare disaster." "Tonight, I am also ... Read More →
28 February entry Greetings, fellow Dot Calm Readers, Freedom Fighters, and Truth Crusaders!
Friends, the Resistance is like singing in the choir: we can't sing the note without breathing, but, if we all breathe at different times, the chorus remains steady and strong. And we all have our parts to sing--strengths and not-so-strengths that complement each other.
If you've been paying attention, you know that the onslaught of preznit ban'em via orange twAtler has been like standing in front of an overfilled sewer that just burst. The stench and the in-yer-face horror of everything they are doing and are trying to do is so overwhelming and repulsive on so many levels that it's hard to keep one's footing. There are just too many disgusting, insane, un-American things being done to our nation, its citizens, our democracy, and our planet in such a blindingly quick pace that it's impossible to keep up with it all.
All I can say is do your best, breathe when you have to, and do whatever you have to do to keep running this marathon because--if the people-hating, planet-destroying, money-god-and-gun-humping Teathuglikkkants get their way--great swaths of damage will be wreaked, and it-snot going to be easy or quick to stop the rolling, spreading disaster.
Especially with fascist DINOs like Mark Warner on "our" side...urk.
I have some information for y'all today along with a few headlines and a bunch of m00bies, so sit down, strap on in, and get ready to roll...then get angry and GET BUSY!!!
Vive la Resistance!!!!!!
*****
Remember Ike's 90% income tax rate
on our nation's highest earners?
THAT was how we built
the interstates,
public schools that were
the envy of the world,
the space program,
and a democracy
that was NOT for sale.
***
Remember unions?
THAT was how we had a strong middle class
with decent salaries
where a family of four
could live on one income,
vacations,
weekends and holidays,
workplace safety,
and a fighting chance
for the individual
to have representation
against the rich and powerful. *** Remember how Nixon stood up the EPA to battle "smog"? THAT was how we returned to clean air and clean water after decades of unchecked corporate pollution.
***
Republicans want us to FORGET
how we could and SHOULD live...
They don't want us to have nice things.
They want to keep all the goodies
for their fat, bloated, greedy, rich
selves.
DON'T LET THEM!!!!!
*****
Get Active!
Justice Democrats Update
Today, with the election of Tom Perez as DNC chair, the DNC
establishment chose once again to ignore the political opportunity
presented to them to unite a fired up and progressive base.
What the establishment doesn’t understand is that the momentum
is behind our movement. When you look at the millions of people who
joined the women’s march and the Bernie Sanders campaign, you can see
what we’re talking about.
As a Democratic Party, we cannot succeed if we continue to marginalize
and ignore working people in the interest of pleasing corporate donors.
Yet today at the DNC forum, just moments before electing Tom Perez, the
establishment voted to keep taking corporate lobbyist cash.
These are massive blunders — and the American people are watching. Our
work at Justice Democrats to overhaul the party is even more important
now. We need to run a full slate of progressive candidates to replace
the corporate Democrats in charge right now.
The Democratic Party has been limping along for years. They’ve
marginalized young voters, silenced progressive voices, catered to the
mega-wealthy, and established a platform that is — at times — barely
discernable from the Republican Party’s.
My promise to you is simple: we will fight, ceaselessly, to repair and
rebuild this broken party. Justice Democrats will fight tooth and nail
to ensure that the working families of this country are represented by
their elected officials. Fight with us today:
Today, the Democratic establishment said loud and clear that they don’t
care about the will of the base. Now it’s our turn to send a message
back: we will not forget this betrayal.
The Northern Virginia contingent of the SOPROUD Rapid Response Resistance Team has been busy during Recess Resistance! As you saw last time, our NoVA rapid responder attended Rep. Barbara Comstock's teleconference town hall and provided commentary.
Here are a few highlights of activity since then (quite the understatement, we hear).
Today, our rapid responder called Comstock's office, demanding a FULL investigation of orange twAtler, his ties to Russia, his collusion with Russia to rig the election, his debts to Russia, his conflicts of interest--including violations of the Emoluments Clause--AND his TAX RETURNS.
Our rapid responder also mentioned Ms. Comstock's insane support of moar oil pipelines, reminding the aide that oil pipelines LEAK...it's only a matter of time...and they leave columns of death...dead zones in land and water...WHEN they do. Our responder pointed out that we are at a crossroads regarding clean energy and asked a pointed question: do we take our rightful role as world leader by creating and keeping tens of thousands of long-term, high-paying, clean energy jobs here in the U.S., or do we kiss Big Oil's ass, abdicate our clean energy leadership role to China, and buy sustainable energy technology from them instead of making it here? Our rapid responder also asked whether Comstock is a climate science denier and demanded answers to these questions in writing.
The aide was polite but clearly not pleased.
Similarly, our SOPROUD rapid responder contacted Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
Mr. Kaine seems to be aware of his high visibility after having run with Hillary successfully enough to win the popular vote by 3 million; thus, he has been voting against chump's swamp dregs like Rexxon Tillerson, DeVos, Pruitt, Price, and (the latest) Wilbur Ross.
Mr. Warner, on the other hand, is a fascist DINO who seems eager to be primaried by TRUE Democrats: he voted FOR Rexxon and Ross.
Our rapid responder reminded the Senators of the same points made to Rep. Comstock's office: pipelines bad, chump investigation good.
***
PEWtin wants to rebuild the USSR, but his economy, built solely on oil and gas, was collapsing. trump admired PEWtin but had so much debt that he wasn't nearly rich enough to play in mega-multi-billionaire PEWtin's sand-box. So PEWtin had to get trump elected so that trump would have the power PEWtin craved to weaken NATO, bend America to his will, and push our government to turn a blind eye if/when PEWtin invades his neighbors. But now that word has leaked out,
PEWtin has to jail, murder, or disappear all the operatives who brought trump to power in the U.S. Hence so many dead Russians recently.
***
Fer the love of Pete, sign a petition, will ya?!
We continue to learn more about the disturbing connections between Trump and the Russian government.
First, it was confirmed that Putin ordered an influence campaign
to help Trump win the 2016 election. Then, Trump's National Security
Advisor resigned after it was discovered he lied about conversations
with Russia's ambassador. Shortly after, it was revealed that multiple
Trump staffers had contact with senior Russian intelligence officials
throughout the campaign -- and it just recently came to light that the
White House attempted to pressure the FBI to suppress news reports of
this story in a gross abuse of power.
The American people must have answers: What is the full
extent of Russian influence in the White House today and throughout
Trump's campaign for President of the United States?
I am calling on Attorney General Sessions to step aside and
immediately appoint a Special Counsel to mount an independent
investigation into the connections between Russia and Trump.
Our national security demands a full and fair investigation,
free of political interest -- and Trump's administration has already
demonstrated an alarming commitment to obfuscating the truth.
The Justice Department's recusal standards on these matters are quite clear:
"no employee shall participate in a criminal investigation or
prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with ...
[a]ny person or organization substantially involved in the conduct that
is the subject of the investigation."
Throughout the campaign, Attorney General, then Senator,
Sessions was a central figure in Trump's campaign, vigorously
campaigning alongside Trump and shaping his policies. It should be
obvious to all that he lacks the necessary independence to impartially
investigate the very campaign he was a part of.
We must all use our voices to call on Sessions to step aside
and appoint a Special Counsel -- the integrity of our democracy depends
on it.
Right now, the Republican-led Congress and the Trump administration
are preparing another big gift for the fossil fuel industry. This one
would give oil and gas companies a never-ending pass to pollute our air
and waste our tax dollars. Tell your Senator, Mark Warner, to side with clean air and public health, not corporate polluters! Call now: 1-888-454-0483.
Under the Obama administration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
finalized protections last year that would require companies extracting
oil and gas from public lands to reduce their methane emissions. These standards are not only a big win for public health and the climate, but also for taxpayer savings and job creation.
When companies extract oil and gas from public lands, the BLM collects
revenue on the public's behalf. Inefficient practices that allow leaking
of gas cost taxpayers revenue that the BLM could be collecting. The
installation of technology to plug these leaks can also help to boost US
manufacturing and create jobs.
But now, Congress is using a dangerous and powerful tool to rollback these important protections to satisfy their fossil fuel backers.
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress to override recently
issued rules, going back months under President Obama. The CRA would
not only block the current standards, but would also prevent any similar standards to ever be issued -- letting the oil and gas industry off the hook indefinitely.
The House of Representatives has already voted to overturn these
important safeguards. Next, the Senate will be voting this week, which
is the final chance to stop this rollback before it heads to the White House for Trump's signature.
We must speak out to demand
our Senators reject this reckless proposal. Urge Senator Warner to vote
NO on the Methane CRA, and to stop any further rollbacks on our
environmental and public health protections. Call now: 1-888-454-0483.
Our members of Congress work for the people, not for corporate polluters. It's up to us to remind them of that every day.
Thank you for making your voice heard,
Lena Moffitt
Director, Beyond Dirty Fuels
Sierra Club
Despite overwhelming public support for him to do so, Donald Trump has consistently refused to release his tax returns.
So one Democratic Congressman (Bill Pascrell) who serves on the House
Ways & Means Committee had an idea. Under a 1924 law, members of the
Committee can privately examine the President's tax returns to determine if there are conflicts of interest or constitutional violations.
Pascrell introduced an amendment to request that, but 23 Republicans on
the committee voted it down—keeping those taxes hidden, and thwarting
the attempt at transparency. These 23 Republicans were:
Kevin Brady, Sam Johnson & Kenny Marchant of Texas, Pat Tiberi
& Jim Renacci of Ohio, Dave Reichert of Washington, Peter Roskam of
Illinois, Vern Buchanan & Carlos Curbelo of Florida, Adrian Smith of
Nebraska, Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, Erik Paulsen of Minnesota, Diane
Black of Tennessee, Tom Reed of New York, Mike Kelly & Pat Meehan of
Pennsylvania, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, George Holding of North
Carolina, Jason Smith of Missouri, Tom Rice of South Carolina, Dave
Schweikert of Arizona, Jackie Walorksi of Indiana.
Back
in September, MUUSJA: The Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social
Justice Alliance invited the Rev. Karen Van Fossan, minister to the
Unitarian Universalist Church & Fellowship of Bismarck/Mandan
(UUFCBM), to join us for our monthly statewide Convening Call to
speak about the ongoing battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline at
Standing Rock. At that time, the UU congregation of 60 members and one
half-time minister--one of only three in North Dakota, and the only one
with professional clergy - had already been building deep relationships
with the Water Protectors since April. Rev. Van Fossan spoke of her
people’s deep sense of calling in this work of service, followership,
and solidarity. At that point they were already offering concrete
solidarity by hosting travelers, serving as a through-point for supply
donations, and taking a bold public stance with the #NoDAPL movement in a
region in which virtually no other religious group would risk speaking
out for indigenous people, or the earth that stood to be harmed by the
pipeline. Standing Rock was only beginning to get national media
coverage at that point, and the story of our UU kin showing up in such a
faithful, prophetic way inspired all of us in
Minnesota.
Shortly
following that Convening Call, Rev. Van Fossan and I spoke again about
what a broader, nation-wide UU response to Standing Rock might look
like--and how we, as a religious people, might better support the
congregation in sustaining their faithful support of the Water
Protectors as representatives of our entire faith. More conversations
followed, with representatives from the UUA, MidAmerica Region, Standing
on the Side of Love, the UU College of Social Justice, and others. As a
result of these collaborations, a broad network of UUs from a wide
variety of our organizations and congregations mobilized a nimble,
accountable rapid response to directly support the Bismarck
congregation, and the Water Protectors. Together, by leveraging our
relationships and our institutional resources, we supported hundreds of
Unitarian Universalist clergy and lay people traveling to North Dakota
to attend nationwide calls for physical presence at the camps. We
schemed together to get the “Interfaith Living yUUrt” transported from
Minnesota to Oceti Sakowin camp, and made that space available to both
indigenous folks and people of faith who needed a place to stay. We
raised funds to support Rev. Van Fossan’s ministry, and the work of the
congregation. And when the needs shifted and the weather changed, we
created the Ministry in Residence Program, sending a series of Unitarian
Universalist clergypeople for a week at a time to be with Rev. Van
Fossan and the UUs in Bismarck, adding to their capacity and
representing our solidarity in an embodied way.
The
seventh Minister in Residence arrives in Bismarck this week. These
clergy people, who have come from all over the country, and have
volunteered their service without compensation, have been critical to
supporting our congregation there in sustaining their direct solidarity
work with the Water Protectors. From Rev. Jill Cowie:
A
few weeks after the election I attended a conference entitled "The
Next Four Years: Building our Movements in Dangerous Times." I left
resolved to do what I can to protect our most targeted communities and
our most vulnerable
activists. With this pledge in mind, I said "yes" to being the minister
in residence to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and Church of
Bismarck-Mandan for a week. The "yes" didn't come easily, it meant not
meeting commitments I had made. The beautiful thing is that my
supervisor at the hospital for which I was working said, "go, this is
important." My family concurred. While
there I made over 60 calls to people asking them to help clean up the
camp. I helped hang pictures, bulletin boards and organized. I created
flyers, attended the UU women's
lunch, and an interfaith meeting to plan a training on multicultural
competencies. Everywhere I went, I was a visual reminder that this small
congregation was not alone in standing for Standing Rock, though they
are the only church to do so in the state. On Wednesday,
I joined Karen Van Fossan, the congregation's minister at a bond
hearing for a water protector who had been in jail since his arrest in
September. We both wore our ministerial collars as a visible reminder
that standing up for Standing Rock is a moral issue. The water
protector was released because
Karen and the congregation found him a local place to live with a couple
who agreed to be his sponsor while he awaits his trial. Tears of joy
and gratitude flowed among his family and advocates. You too were there
in spirit for your support of this program enables the ongoing
spiritual nurturance and care for Karen and her congregation who may
otherwise feel isolated and alone in this important ministry. Thank you
for making this ministry possible. - Jill Cowie, minister in residence
We
are grateful to all the congregations and organizations who have
blessed their ministers to go and serve in this way. We are thankful to
the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association and the UU College of
Social Justice, who have each underwritten a week of this
ministry. And we are also indebted to the UUA, MUUSJA, Standing on the
Side of Love, MidAmerica Region, the UUSC, and the UUCSJ, each of which
has donated sign ificant staff time and infrastructural support to our
solidarity efforts.
But
now, beloveds, it is the responsibility of our broader faith to support
the ongoing Ministry in Residence program at the UUFCBM. While
clergy are not compensated for their time, we provide airfare, lodging,
food, and local transportation, which average $1,500-2,000 a week. Our
UU siblings in Bismarck have told us that this ministry is a crucial
part of their
ability to keep doing solidarity work on behalf of our broader faith,
and they have asked us to ensure that it continues as long as it is
needed.
Today,
as we write to you, the #NoDAPL struggle is entering a new phase.
Several of the camps have been forcibly evacuated since Wednesday, and
Water Protectors have been arrested en masse. New
camps are being built farther away from the river. The legal and
spiritual battle is far
from over, and our Unitarian Universalist siblings in Bismarck have
committed to working in solidarity with the Water Protectors until the
fight has been won. As
Unitarian Universalists, it is our spiritual and moral obligation to
support their ministry, and to do whatever we can to ensure that the
UUFCBM can say “yes” to whatever requests come their way from the Water
Protectors.
Our
collective Unitarian Universalist response to Standing Rock is exactly
the kind of ongoing, multivalent, nimble response to social,
environmental, and spiritual crisis is exactly what will be required of
Unitarian
Universalists in the coming months and years. We have deep faith that
among us, there is incredible abundance, and that we can adopt a
“posture of yes,” knowing we will come up with the money and human
resources required to act quickly when we are called upon. Will you
make a donation today to support the UU Ministry in Residence in solidarity with Standing Rock?
And as you do, will you also make a donation to the Women's Council - a
grassroots organization that relies solely on public support and
primarily assists women, children and elders. Your support will assist
with rooms, gas cards, and bus tickets to evacuate
remaining people from camp. Donate directly to Melanie Stoneman's paypal
using
Our
UU congregation in Augusta, Maine commissioned their minister Rev.
Carie Johnson to serve as minister in residence the Sunday before she
left. They said “In
sending Rev. Carie to North Dakota we generously share the gifts of
ministry with our sister congregation and their minister. In doing so,
we are intentionally engaging in the act of shared ministry with the
wider Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, with the
native and non-native water protectors at Standing Rock, and ultimately
with Mother Earth....We celebrate our ability to be a living
manifestation of our centuries old covenant: rooted in both the autonomy
of our communities and a clear commitment to our congregations
supporting one another in concrete ways, as an embodiment of our shared
faith and work for justice.”
We are grateful for your commitment, your faith, and your
generosity. Mni Wiconi -- Water is Life!
In faith and solidarity,
Rev. Ashley Horan, Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen & Nora Rasman The Standing Rock Ministry-in-Residence organizing team
Rev. Marisol Caballero, Austin, TX Rev. Julie Taylor, St. Louis, MO Rev. Carie Johnson, Augusta, ME Rev. Jill Cowie, Boston, MA
So, ya think petitions don't work? WAND says they do! -- Dot Calm's shadow
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Last week we alerted you to President Trump’s lax information security standards, which were on full display as he responded to North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test from his table in the middle of the packed dining room of his private club, Mar-a-Lago.
Security experts were quick to note that classified information could have been discussed within earshot of waiters and club members, and that the cell phones White House staffers used as flashlights could have been transmitting information to hackers.
Perhaps most stunning is that not only were high-dollar club members eating dinner next to a seemingly ad hoc Situation Room, but some snapped pictures and posted them to Facebook! One man even posted a picture of himself and the military officer who carries the “nuclear football” -- and included the officer’s name.
Here at WAND, we were horrified to learn about Trump’s gross disregard for securing sensitive information. We quickly put together 19 questions we believed deserved answers and tweeted them rapid-fire to the House Oversight Committee. And we asked you to sign a petition demanding the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), investigate the White House’s security practices. More than 2,500 of you signed the petition immediately.
And you know what?
Within 24 hours Congressman Chaffetz sent a letter to the White House asking for answers to many of the questions we raised.
That’s what I call a win.
As we have seen in the first month of the Trump administration, we have to be able to respond quickly and with strength if we are going to protect the values and security we hold dear. So thank you for stepping up last week -- and thank you in advance for the times you will step up in the future.
Sincerely,
Ansley Lacitis
Field Director
PS: If you want to help us hold Chaffetz’s feet to the fire about this investigation, you can still sign the petition.
Please, call your representative. Democrat or republican, it's the most important thing you can do.
Please, call your representative. Democrat or republican, it's the most important thing you can do.
Find Your Representative · House.gov
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Five takeaways from the leaked Republican bill to repeal Obamacare
Harold Jacobs
Boca Raton, FL
Feb 27, 2017 — Five takeaways from the leaked Republican bill to repeal Obamacare
BY DYLAN SCOTT, STAT February 26, 2017 at 2:14 PM EST
WASHINGTON — A formal draft of the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act leaked out on Friday.
The
final version is likely to be different — how much different, it’s hard
to say. The draft obtained by Politico is dated two weeks ago, and
rumors have been swirling here that Republicans received an unfavorable
analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, the official scorekeepers
on the cost and coverage implications of legislation.
But this
is nonetheless an important milestone — real legislative text, prepared
with an eye toward the complex parliamentary procedures needed to pass
ACA repeal with only Republican votes, and presumably with the
endorsement of House leadership.
Much attention will be paid to
the proposed tax credits offered for people to buy health insurance and
the changes to the tax treatment of employer-based insurance. Here are
five provisions with big implications for health and medicine.
It would dramatically overhaul Medicaid.
The
bill would phase out by 2020 the Medicaid expansion that has covered
millions of people under Obamacare. Instead, states would begin to
receive a set dollar amount for each person covered by the program —
with variations based on health status; more money would be allocated
for the disabled — a change from the open-ended entitlement the program
is now.
These proposals, long a goal of the GOP, have spurred
a number of concerns. People with complex medical needs worry that, if
spending is capped and states have more flexibility to decide what to
cover, they could be at risk. There appear to be very few exclusions
from the spending caps — some have theorized that if the plan exempted
certain services from the caps, that could help mitigate the risks for
high-cost patients.
The changes could also make it more difficult
for the program to afford new breakthrough treatments, a challenge that
the current iteration of Medicaid has already faced with the expensive
hepatitis C drugs.
It would repeal Obamacare’s requirements for what health insurance must cover.
The
legislation would repeal the ACA’s essential health benefits
requirements, which mandated that health plans cover 10 categories of
health care services. It would instead leave decisions about what
coverage to require to the states, starting in 2020.
Among the
services that the law required plans to cover were mental health and
substance abuse treatment. In the midst of the opioid crisis, recovery
advocates in Washington had been hoping to save that provision. It
appears that that decision would now be in state officials’ hands, and
the fear is plans might look to limit that coverage because people with
addiction issues are expensive to treat and therefore cover.
It would repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
The
bill would repeal this funding stream, intended to support various
prevention and public health activities, in 2019. Congress initially
provided $15 billion over the fund’s first 10 years, and it was
eventually suppose to increase to $2 billion per year in perpetuity.
The
fund has been at perennial risk since its passage in 2010, pilfered at
times for other programs, but it nonetheless remains an important source
of public health funding. It has become an essential part of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s budget — accounting for 12
percent of the agency’s funding by some estimates — and there would be
no obvious replacement for those dollars without further congressional
action.
It would repeal the tax on pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The
drug industry has not agitated to have its manufacturer tax repealed,
in the same way that the medical device and health insurance industries
have. But the Republican bill would nonetheless nix the tax starting in
2017. The industry still had $4 billion to left to pay in 2017, $4.1
billion in 2018, and $2.8 billion per year after that.
The taxes
on medical devices, health insurance plans, and even tanning beds would
also be repealed. Those revenue streams help to cover the cost of the
ACA. Republicans are instead proposing changing the tax treatment of
employer-based health insurance, which is currently not taxed, to pay
for their plan. It is an idea popular with economists, but politically
perilous. Major employer groups are already aligning against it.
It loosens restrictions on health plans’ ability to charge older people more.
One
thing the bill doesn’t do is repeal the ACA provision that prohibits
health plans from discriminating against people with preexisting
conditions. That may be because it would be hard to justify under the
procedural rules that Republicans need to use to pass the bill — plus
that policy is among the law’s most popular elements and even President
Trump has said it should be maintained.
But another key insurance
reform meant to protect sicker people takes a hit: The GOP bill would
allow insurers to charge older people five times more than younger
people; the ACA had limited the difference to three times as much. The
powerful AARP is already mobilizing against such a change, long expected
to be part of the plan.
The bill appears to try to mitigate that
change by basing its tax credits for purchasing insurance on age: Older
people would receive a bigger tax credit.
Is that sufficient to
keep people covered, as Trump and other Republicans have pledged to do?
That’s one of the questions that the scorekeepers at the CBO will be
expected to answer.
This article is reproduced with permission from STAT. It was first published on Feb. 24, 2017. Find the original story here.
(Editor's note: no link! -- Dot Calm's shadow)
My response from Senator Marco Rubio. , warning cover your clothing not to get it stained from BS.
My response from the senator is below. PLEASE Call his office to tell them the truth. 202-224-3041.
Yes, they'll allow for pre existing conditions, the operative word is
"allow", but at what cost. Can you imagine what an insurance company
will charge people to buy insurance with a pre existing condition? I
can, I've been there. It's not affordable - very, very costly at best.
Thank you !...
Hey, alt-right! The trump administration thinks you're LEFTist. You know what that means... They want you to vote for DEMOCRATS from now on!
*****
Headlines
Choo choo time
Vox: Futura: the font that escaped the Nazis and landed on the moon
...Dot Calm, this one's for you, given your career in commercial arts and truly fine typography. Oh, how you loved fonts as an art form uniquely expressive, uniquely their own...thanks to you, I love them, too.
Vox: Trump fans were waving tiny Russian flags until CPAC staff
...Lolololololol--photos of grinning trumpkin delegates at CPAC proudly waving red, white, and blue Russian flags with "TRUMP" on them...! So, what's the actual deal here? Who handed out those flags: Teathuglikkants or trollster Democrats? Are the trumpkins so st00pit that they didn't know that the flags were Russian, or are the trumpkins so st00pit that they're proud of being hijacked by a foreign dictator who murders his own people? Either way you slice it, 2+2 = "trumpkins are st00pit."
“I’m
a Leninist,” Bannon reportedly said. “Lenin… 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.” READ MORE»
In
interview with Fox, president says—without evidence—his predecessor "is
behind" demonstrations over travel ban and national security leaks. READ MORE»
In
scholarly articles, blogs and conferences, professors lend their
prestige to the lobbying blitz, without always disclosing their
corporate ties. READ MORE»
February
27 is the anniversary of the fire that destroyed the Reichstag and gave
Hitler a pretext to seize total power. Could this happen in the U.S. READ MORE»
In
addition to the attendees waving Russian flags, journalist Sarah Posner
reports at least one attendee was spotted wearing a “Make Russia Great
Again” t-shirt. READ MORE»
A
panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference suggests America
can have walls, gates and extreme vetting because heaven does. Come
again? READ MORE»
President Trump is heading to Capitol Hill tonight and is expected to outline part of his budget plan before a joint session of Congress. On Monday, Trump proposed ... Read More →
President
Donald Trump is slated to give his first presidential address to
Congress today. Democratic lawmakers have begun giving their tickets
away to ... Read More →
Are
you Muslim? Where did you get your name from? Those were the questions
posed by immigration officials to the son of the late boxing legend ... Read More →
On Friday,
the White House took the unprecedented act of barring The New York
Times, CNN, Politico, the Los Angeles Times, the BBC and several other
news... Read More →
Former
Labor Secretary Tom Perez has been elected to lead the Democratic
National Committee, beating out Minnesota Congressmember Keith Ellison
in a ... Read More →
In
Philadelphia, some 500 headstones at a Jewish cemetery were toppled or
damaged in the second apparent incident of vandalism at a Jewish
cemetery in ... Read More →
The
NAACP has announced it would not hold its convention in North Carolina
and urged an international boycott of the state to protest North
Carolina's anti-trans ... Read More →
The
Southern Poverty Law Center recently revealed the number of hate groups
in the United States has tripled in the past year in part due to Donald
Trump's candidacy ... Read More →
...or, if you just want something mindless and fun, try Tested
Peas, friends. Take care of yourselves for me. Trust me--you're worth it! And go have a Fireball and some chocolate while you still can, will ya? Time is short now that the mouth of trump hell has opened...
- Dot Calm's shadow
Consider the preemptive Blogger phuqued-up phormatting disclaimer to be in effect. Grrr. -- Dot Calm's shadow
***** Many people are saying donald john trump is a Russian agent *****
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 teathuglikkkants 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 teathuglikkkants take over. Men, get yourself snipped while you still can, too.
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, do your daily actions, make your daily calls, and do the rest...
Here's a list of short-term actions you can take right now!
1. If you can, sign up for the 29 April 2017 People's Climate March. I called into the telecon Monday evening and found it very useful. Two things stuck out: People's Climate Movement is rather new, so it's small and not yet well funded. However, they're working with the other climate organizations to build the movement and fight trump's disastrous Big Oil, Big Destruction, Big Money, Big Death agenda.
2. If you can't make the climate march but can come out a week earlier--Earch Day, 22 April 2017--then please sign up for the March for Science. The climate telecon had nearly a thousand callers-in, some of whom lamented that it would be really difficult to attend both marches. I know it took me a week to recover from the Women's March, and I'm local. PCM suggested combining with the science march, but the science march wasn't interested, seeing the protection of science as a separate issue. I disagree in the sense that we have trump's disastrous Big Oil, Big Destruction, Big Money, Big Death agenda BECAUSE of all the climate SCIENCE DENIAL. So, I'll be one of the many PCM callers-in contacting the science march people to try to get them to combine with the climate march.
3. Go help NASA archive their data--wiki wiki! (Read about it here and click through to the links if you're too lazy to check the archive of this blawg for a direct link.)
4. Go call trump's businesses and make them pass along your comments to him! Here's the link: https://whitehouseinc.org/...have fun, kidz!
5. Contact Nordstrom's and Neiman Marcus and THANK them for dumping trump! Amazon may be caving, too, to pressure to ditch Breitbart, so keep bugging Amazon and the rest of 'em to do what's in EVERYONE's best interests--not just in the best interests of white supremacists, haters, bigots, and racists--by signing this petition and boycotting the offending advertisers: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/amazon-stop-investing-in-hate/?source=taf
6. If you haven't already, go check out the Indivisible guide: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/. As always, the very best thing you can do is GO IN PERSON to your elected officials' offices and TALK to them. Failing that, PHONE them. If you can do neither, then FAX them--better, if it-snot urgent, then WRITE them a personal, signed letter. Failing all of those, then e-mail them. The guide has moar ways to get involved and stop trump the chump!
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 and demand they block trump's cabinet of swamp monsters in its entirety (from The New York Times):
A senior member of the White House staff who serves as a confidant in the president’s inner circle.
Jared Kushner Mr. Trump has named his son-in-law to a senior White House role. The appointment of Mr. Kushner, a major real estate developer in New York who is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka, could test anti-nepotism laws.He's being/been pushed out by Alcoholic Steve Ban'em, and we hear he's pretty pissed about being denied the reins of power....
Director of National Intelligence
Requires Senate confirmation
The person who holds this post is the president’s principal adviser on intelligence and oversees the entire military and civilian intelligence apparatus. The coordination between the intelligence agencies of the military and civilian wings will be vital for the war on the Islamic State.
Dan Coats Mr. Trump has picked the former Indiana senator. Mr. Coats, who served on the Senate intelligence and armed services committees, would be stepping into a position that some in Mr. Trump’s orbit believe is superfluous.
U.S. Trade Representative
Requires Senate confirmation
The president’s chief trade negotiator will have the odd role of opposing new trade deals, trying to rewrite old ones and bolstering the enforcement of what Mr. Trump sees as unfair trade, especially with China.
Robert Lighthizer Mr. Trump has chosen the international lawyer who served as a trade official under President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Lighthizer has been harshly critical of China, and in a 2010 Op-Ed article in The New York Times, he presaged some of Mr. Trump’s talk on trade.
Homeland Security Adviser
Appointed
A position that will be equal in status to national security adviser, it will focus on homeland security and counterterrorism.
Thomas P. BossertMr. Trump’s choice was a top national security aide to President George W. Bush. Mr. Bossert runs a risk management consulting firm in Washington and is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council research institution, working on its Cyber Statecraft Initiative.
Counselor
Appointed
A close adviser who will help set the president’s agenda and formulate his message.
Kellyanne ConwayMr. Trump’s choice is his former campaign manager, confidante and spokeswoman. Ms. Conway also has a pollster background and therefore may rely on this skill set to keep tabs on public sentiment.--Sewer Rat Propaganda Barbie looks like a barely-revived corpse lately...all that lying must be taking a toll on what little is left of her dying humanity....
Director of Trade and Industrial Policy
Appointed
A new position that will oversee trade and industrial policy in the White House and direct an internal council that will run alongside the National Security Council, the National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council.
Peter NavarroMr. Trump’s choice is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who holds a doctorate from Harvard and is the only credentialed economist in Mr. Trump’s inner circle. Mr. Navarro has been a staunch critic of current Chinese economic policies.
Special Adviser on Regulatory Reform
Appointed
This new position will oversee the president’s promised effort to unwind as many regulations on business as he can.
Carl Icahn Mr. Trump has appointed Mr. Icahn, a billionaire investor and famed “corporate raider” who buys large stakes in companies and then forces policy changes to benefit shareholders. Mr. Icahn, who was an economic adviser during the campaign, is a longtime friend of Mr. Trump.
Press Secretary and Special Assistant to the President
Appointed
The press secretary is the face of the White House and representative for the president, framing messaging, responding to stories of the day and briefing the press.
Sean Spicer Mr. Trump chose the longtime spokesman for the Republican National Committee and top aide to Reince Priebus, who is the incoming chief of staff and pressed for his selection. While Mr. Spicer will be the face of the communications team, he will work with Jason Miller, director of communications, and Hope Hicks, director of strategic communications.--Spicey Sphincter (owie!) will never live down the fact that we'll only ever think of Melissa McCarthy whenever we see his mug, hehe!
Secretary of State
Requires Senate confirmation
Whether Mr. Trump picks an ideologue or a seasoned foreign policy hand from past Republican administrations, his challenge will be that the State Department is the centerpiece of the post-1945 experiment of alliance-building and globalism, which Mr. Trump said he would dismantle.
Rex W. Tillerson Mr. Trump’s choice is the president and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, whose ties with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin may draw scrutiny during the confirmation process.--We MUST PRIMARY Senator Mark Warner and all the other fascist DINOs who voted TO CONFIRM this fascist piece of shit!
Interior Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The Interior Department manages the nation’s public lands and waters. The next secretary will decide the fate of Obama-era rules that stop public land development; curb the exploration of oil, coal and gas; and promote wind and solar power on public lands.
Ryan Zinke Mr. Trump has selected Montana’s freshman representative, a former Navy SEAL commander who was an early supporter of the president-elect and ran for office largely on a national security platform.
Energy Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
Despite its name, the primary purview of the Energy Department is to protect and manage the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Rick Perry Mr. Trump has selected the former Texas governor, who in 2011 proposed scrapping the Energy Department while he was seeking the Republican nomination for president.--What a mor00n! Will someone please tell this jerk that glasses do NOT make him c-a-t smart?!?? If you're not abjectly terrified that THIS gormless buffoon is in charge of the nuclear arsenal, you should be!!!!!
Labor Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The Labor Department enforces rules that protect the nation’s workers, distributes benefits to the unemployed and publishes economic data like the monthly jobs report. The new secretary will be in charge of keeping Mr. Trump’s promise to dismantle many Obama-era rules covering the vast work force of federal contractors.
Andrew F. Puzder Mr. Trump’s expected choice is the chief executive of CKE Restaurants — and a donor to his campaign — who has criticized the Obama administration’s labor policies.HAHA, PUZDER YOU LOSER! We won, you lost! You DON'T get to fuck with American workers and give OUR hard-earned money to your richie-rich asshole buds, Puzder you gutter slime! Too bad you're such a hateful abuser. I'm glad for your ex-wife that she kicked your sorry ass to the curb, asshole. I'm only sorry you felt the need to be such an abusive bully about it, you stinking asswipe shitstain. Good riddance!!!
Small Business Administration
Requires Senate confirmation
The agency guarantees loans for small businesses, helps them get government contracts and supports their interests on Capitol Hill.
Linda McMahon Mr. Trump has selected the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment to lead the agency. Ms. McMahon, a failed Senate candidate from Connecticut, was with her husband, Vince, one of Mr. Trump’s biggest donors.
E.P.A. Administrator
Requires Senate confirmation
The Environmental Protection Agency, which issues and oversees environmental regulations, is under threat from the president-elect, who has vowed to dismantle the agency “in almost every form.”
Scott Pruitt Mr. Trump has selected the Oklahoma attorney general, who is a close ally of the fossil fuel industry.--These greedy fucking idiots think that their money will somehow protect them from the wrath of a hurting, angry planet trying to get itself back into balance...
Homeland Security Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The hodgepodge agency, formed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has one key role in the Trump administration: guarding the United States’ borders. If Mr. Trump makes good on his promises of widespread deportations and building a wall, this secretary will have to carry them out.
John F. Kelly Mr. Trump has named theretired four-star Marine general, whose son was killed in combat in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The incoming secretary will shape the fight against the Islamic State while overseeing a military that is struggling to put in place two Obama-era initiatives: integrating women into combat roles and allowing transgender people to serve openly. Both could be rolled back.
James N. Mattis Mr. Trump announced at a rally that he had selected General Mattis, who led a Marine division to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and led the United States Central Command from 2010-13. General Mattis, now retired, has been a critic of the Obama administration. He would need a waiver from Congress to lead the Pentagon because he has been out of uniform for less than seven years.--Being arguably the best of a bad lot isn't saying much. Mattis committed WAR CRIMES. They call him "mad dog" for a reason, duh.
Treasury Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The secretary will be responsible for government borrowing in financial markets, assisting in any rewrite of the tax code and overseeing the Internal Revenue Service. The Treasury Department also carries out or lifts financial sanctions against foreign enemies — which are crucial to President Obama’s Iran deal and rapprochement with Cuba.
Steven Mnuchin Mr. Trump has selected Mr. Mnuchin, who served as his campaign finance chairman. Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, has deep roots in Hollywood but no government experience.--Hey, trumpkins--how's that swampy drainy thing working for ya?
Transportation Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The next transportation secretary will oversee Mr. Trump’s campaign pledge to increase infrastructure funding to rebuild America's roads, bridges, airports and transit systems.
Elaine L. Chao Mr. Trump has selected Ms. Chao, the labor secretary under President George W. Bush. Ms. Chao, who is married to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has been a fixture of the Republican establishment in Washington.--Way to bribe/blackmail TURDleman, preznit ban'em--just give his wifey a plum job!
Health and Human Services Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The secretary will help Mr. Trump achieve one of his central campaign promises: to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The department approves new drugs, regulates the food supply, operates biomedical research, and runs Medicare and Medicaid, which insure more than 100 million people.
Tom Price Mr. Trump has selected Mr. Price, a six-term Republican congressman from Georgia and orthopedic surgeon who has led opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Price has said the law interferes with the ability of patients and doctors to make medical decisions.--If you ever had any doubt that orange twAtler hates women, sick people, and poor people, Tom Price is your answer. Friends, we MUST PRIMARY ANY Democratic senator who voted to confirm this--or any other--twAtler piece of shit nominee!
White House Counsel
Appointed
As the president’s adviser on legal matters, the White House counsel may have an unusually daunting job in the Trump administration, given Mr. Trump’s far-reaching business empire and potential conflicts of interest.
Donald F. McGahn II Mr. Trump has chosen Mr. McGahn, who served as general counsel for the Trump campaign. Mr. McGahn, a Washington lawyer who pushed to deregulate campaign finance and election laws, served on the Federal Election Commission for five years.
Commerce Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
The Commerce Department has been a perennial target for budget cuts, but the secretary oversees a diverse portfolio, including the census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Wilbur Ross Mr. Trump has selected Mr. Ross, an investor whose fortune is estimated by Forbes to be $2.9 billion. Mr. Ross has said the United States must free itself from the “bondage” of “bad trade agreements,” and has advocated threats to impose steep tariffs on China.--PRIMARY Senator Mark Warner and all the other fascist DINOs who voted TO CONFIRM this fascist piece of shit!
Education Secretary
Requires Senate confirmation
Mr. Trump has said he wants to drastically shrink the Education Department and shift responsibilities for curriculum research, development and educational aid to state and local governments.
Betsy DeVos Mr. Trump has selected Ms. DeVos, a former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party and an education activist who is a passionate believer in school choice, as his nominee.--If you ever doubted that the BEST way to get a job in cheeto benito's so-called administration is to BUY it and all the Republican senators on the committee, this mor00n is proof. There's a rumor that chump, spicy sphincter, and the rest of the blithering idiots were all home schooled by this brainless god-botherer. No wonder they're all inarticulate and illiterate...no wonder chump can't read! (Hehe!) For some humor that's almost too true to be funny, go check out...this:https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/betsy-devos-delivers-the-morning-announcements
U.N. Ambassador
Requires Senate confirmation
Second to the secretary of state, the United States ambassador to the United Nations will be the primary face of America to the world, representing the country’s interests at the Security Council on a host of issues, from Middle East peace to nuclear proliferation.
Nikki R. Haley Mr. Trump has selected Ms. Haley, the governor of South Carolina, as his nominee. The daughter of immigrants from India, she was a prominent and frequent critic of Mr. Trump early in his run.
Secretary ofHousing and Urban Development
Requires Senate confirmation
The secretary oversees fair-housing laws, the development of affordable housing and access to mortgage insurance. As a real estate developer, Mr. Trump is attuned to the tax breaks for housing development.
Ben Carson Mr. Trump has selected the former neurosurgeon and presidential candidate to be his nominee to lead HUD. Mr. Carson had previously said he did not want to work in government.--Good ol' Indiana Carson, who thinks that the biblical Joseph built the pyramids to store grain during the famine and who said himself that he's NOT qualified for a cabinet post! What on FSM's green earth made him think he'd be qualified to be PRESIDENT if he knows he's too st00pit to run a lowly cabinet?!?? Not to mention...Carson's a total hypocrite for denying his JEEzus by acting as if the brain is the seat of thinking and emotion when the bible CLEARLY says that it's the HEART. At least Carson's not a hypocrite in one sense: he's a true Republican in that, once he got HIS help from the system, he now wants to burn the ladder behind him so that no one else who needs such help can get it. Friends, these people are cruel, hateful pieces of shit...no matter how pious they pretend to be.
C.I.A. Director
Requires Senate confirmation
Mr. Trump takes over at a time of diverse and complex threats to American security. The new C.I.A. director will have to decide whether to undo a C.I.A. “modernization” plan put in place this year by Director John O. Brennan, and how to proceed if the president-elect orders a resumption of harsh interrogation tactics — critics have described the tactics as torture — for terrorism suspects.
Mike Pompeo Mr. Trump has selected Mr. Pompeo, representative of Kansas and a former Army officer, as his nominee. Mr. Pompeo is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and was a sharp critic of Hillary Clinton during the congressional investigation into the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.
Attorney General
Requires Senate confirmation
The nation's top law enforcement official will have the authority for carrying out Mr. Trump's “law and order” platform. The nominee can change how civil rights laws are enforced.
Jeff Sessions Mr. Trump has selected Senator Sessions,of Alabama, as his nominee. Mr. Sessions is a strong proponent of strict immigration enforcement, reduced spending and tough-on-crime measures. His nomination for a federal judgeship in 1986 was rejected because of racially charged comments and actions, which are very likely to become an issue as he faces another set of Senate confirmation hearings.--I wonder what all the actual Blacks who voted for chump think about this. Are they glad that chump was the last vote they'd ever be allowed to make?
National Security Adviser
Appointed
The national security adviser, although not a member of the cabinet, is a critical gatekeeper for policy proposals from the State Department, the Pentagon and other agencies, a function that takes on more importance given Mr. Trump's lack of experience in elective office.
Michael T. Flynn Mr. Trump has selected the retired Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. General Flynn has been outspoken about his view of the threat posed by Islamist militancy and was an ardent supporter of Mr. Trump during the campaign.This TRAITOR, who sold America out to PEWtin, was fired/resigned IN SCANDAL and DISGRACE, February 2017!!!
White House Chief of Staff
Appointed
The chief of staff manages the work and personnel of the West Wing, steering the president's agenda and tending to important relationships. The role will take on outsize importance in a White House run by Mr. Trump, who has no experience in policy making and little in the way of connections to critical players in Washington.
Reince Priebus Mr. Trump announced on Nov. 13 that he had chosen Mr. Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee.--Some call him "rancid penis." That works. If you're in a more polite mewd, you can call him "blather, reince, repeat."
Chief Strategist
Appointed
Stephen K. Bannon was also considered for chief of staff, but Mr. Trump instead named him chief strategist and senior counselor in the White House, saying that he and Mr. Priebus would be “working as equal partners” in the administration.
Stephen K. Bannon Also on Nov. 13, Mr. Trump announced the appointment of Mr. Bannon, a right-wing media executive and the chairman of the president-elect’s campaign. Many have denounced the move, warning that Mr. Bannon represents racist views.--Ah, yes...alcoholic voldemort himself. Many people are saying that ban'em, as the actual acting president, is PEWtin's American puppet master pulling the strings of the fat-assed, loofah-faced orange marionette.
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. Demand that your elected officials 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 nearly 3 million.
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.
6. DEMAND that they UPHOLD AND EXPAND on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Dodd-Frank legislation. BRING BACK Glass-Steagall!
7. DEMAND that trump undergo psychological evaluation for fitness for office. Known narcissist, Dr. Sam Vaknin, explains that trump is a narcissist--and that DISQUALIFIES him for the presidency--in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5he5hXp-rU.
8. DEMAND a SPECIAL PROSECUTOR to investigate FBI director James Comey and Donald trump for interfering with the election.
9. DEMAND the Army Corps of Engineers go to Flint to dig up and replace all the poisoned pipes.
10. PRIMARY ANY AND ALL fascist Democratic DINOs who vote FOR ANY of chump's nominees. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!
AND THE REST!!
SIGN UP for daily headlines from Daily Kos, AlterNet, and "Democracy Now!" SIGN petitions. ATTEND town halls and protests. The Guardian is independent news you can use; 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. Today, that means signing up for the JUSTICE DEMOCRATS and volunteering and donating whatever time and money you can!
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.
JOIN SOPROUD by joining organizations working to protect our future! SIGN UP at http://workingfamilies.org/ and find an emergency meeting near you! DOWNLOAD and FOLLOW the Indivisible Guide for instructions how best to resist trump by interacting with your elected officials in ways that will get their attention.
And don't forget to SUPPORT those in The Resistance who support YOU (like me)! If we all chip in a buck o' five, WE CAN DO THIS THING!!!!!
*****
Boycott List
Boycott media!
Don't bother with these media outlets any more unless you want trump propaganda--these media outlets have whored themselves out to trump for access for the low, low price of "fancy" cocktails and a "fancy" dinner, consisting of Donald's shriveled orange acorn dick, at chump's "fancy" (aka FAKE PLASTIC, just like everything else about trump and his FAKE PLASTIC family) "resort" in Florida. What an upstanding, responsible response to trump's denying press conferences since 27 July 2016...retch. So much for comforting the afflicted, afflicting the comfortable, and speaking truth to power to keep that power reined in and in check...!
MSNBC (includes Joe Scarborough, but Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes may still be OK as long as their corporate overlords allow it)
NBC (they also have the reality TV show conflict of interest--and they just hired a couple of FUX Noise escapees, so beware a hard swing to the far, far right)
POLITICO--their top editor(s) went and paid to party with trump, so now more and more trump propaganda has been showing up there, to my infinite disgust
Don't forget to contact these media outlets and their ADVERTISERS and TELL them all why you're boycotting them! So what if we spend a little less money overall? The money we save now may give us enough breathing room to jump ship before trump crashes the economy.
Boycott vendors that support trump, sell trump shit, and otherwise pander to hate!
Boycott Victoria's Secret--they kick out shoppers who are guilty of shopping while Black!
Here's a twofer: let's save our money for when dump tanks the economy and grab the trumpussy grabber-in-thief where it hurts most--by his wallet!
There's also a spreadsheet of trump supporters and vendors that carry trump merch that includes the vendors below.
Don't forget New Balance, who praised and supported trump: 1 (800) 595-9138.
Here's the list from Mindy Fischer, featuring 28 vendors that sell trump merchandise. BOYCOTT them all and TELL them why!
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