Thank you, Pres. Obama. The first president of my generation, our first biracial president, a man of intelligence and integrity and honor. You have shown us what the best of America can be. I'm sorry to say goodbye.
I never particularly thought of President Obama's generation; I am about the same age as DT, HRC, and Howard Dean, and a bit younger than Bernie Sanders. Psychologically, because of my upbringing, I empathize with and admire Bernie more than any of the rest. I grew up on stories of not just the Great Depression, but of the hard times before that, and how (much of) the country worked its way out of them. But there were and are still plenty of hard times and hard places. Feeding the horse more oats isn't the way to give the sheep more food.
Hang onto your hats, folks; we're bound to have a wild ride today in the USA! This comes via Liane (from the original Dean blog) and is still unverified.
We do have to wait on confirmation of the validity of the document, of course. But! I would think it's treasonous to be in cahoots with a foreign government to win an election, and this (at best) highlights DT's character. I suppose there's an off chance it's "just" fog from Russia, but assuming it's found to be accurate, what happens next? Wouldn't we need a whole new election? Who's in charge meanwhile? It's crazy time in the USA!
Hmmmmm..... what happens if Trump is cast out into the wilderness? Mike Pence would become President. At least he has government executive experience. But he would be starting under such a cloud--he would probably want to re-do the Cabinet, for instance.
Mike Pence is a religious zealot. He is anti-gay, anti-woman, etc. He is a hateful man under that waxy veneer and he would be just as bad, though not as insane as babyhands. The people of Indiana were thrilled that babyhands picked him for VEEP because they couldn't wait to get him out of Indiana.
Well, it looks like the validity of the document is not able to be substantiated (one way or the other). America is a cart or sled bumping down an icy hill with a faulty or absent steering mechanism.
I'm watching the news conference. Interesting that the details need to conveyed by others, not DT. Could we have that woman who described DT's business plans instead of him? She was coherent! Ha! I don't know that I believe there will be no conflict of interest (!!!) but it's good to see there has been some careful consideration and action by intelligent people. Still, the only thing more scary than President Wingnut Caligula is same with smart people who know how to cover his tracks.
Hi, everyone. Wanted to let you know that I'll be leaving for Boston (Arisia science fiction convention) tonight and won't be back until next Wednesday morning.
Being depressed is not self-indulgence. It's a natural response to trauma and terrible events, and to be respected. It is one way that the body takes the mind to the shadow side of ourselves, where much creativity is hidden. Being depressed in doses appropriate to the situation can be a way of accessing what matters most to us, and coming to articulation. That is necessary before the emergence of fresh idears and action are possible. Staying depressed beyond usefulness is a sign that we need help to come through the pain. But I think we shouldn't judge ourselves too harshly.
Well, I shared what I said when I called my Congresspeople and I had also previously written to each of them saying:
"What I need to know is, given the now-confirmed Russian interference in our election, why are we going forward with the Inauguration? Wouldn't that mean "it worked" and encourage more of the same?
"The President-elect says that the CIA is wrong and Russia is fine. How is that not a form of treason?
"I am not asking rhetorically and I am not just blowing off steam. I am truly concerned about this and need some way to comprehend why the Inauguration isn't being stopped."
Today I received a response from Rep. Peter Welch. I love his first sentence! And I appreciate his hard efforts in our behalf. But he did not answer my question. Here's his good letter:
"I share your deep dismay with November’s election results, especially in light of the fact that Hillary Clinton received nearly three million more votes than Donald Trump, yet lost the presidency due to the antiquated Electoral College.
"Equally difficult is that Mr. Trump and his appointees, many of whom are hostile to the mission of the agencies they will lead, seem intent on unravelling many of President Obama’s accomplishments.
"Here is my approach to this new reality.
"Where Mr. Trump, as president, resurrects the alarming, inflammatory, and threatening rhetoric of his campaign, I will fight back fiercely. I hope you will too. We cannot condone incitement to violence, the targeting of religious or ethnic minorities, or a curtailment of civil liberties. Doing so would, in my view, threaten the foundation of our democracy.
"Where he proposes policies that intensify income inequality, deny climate change, or shred the social safety net, I will vigorously oppose them while proposing constructive alternatives that rebuild the middle class, fix the Affordable Care Act, protect our environment, and shore up Medicare and Social Security.
"And where he follows through on campaign promises that I believe are good for the country and the middle class—an ambitious infrastructure program, cutting prescription drug costs, or eliminating wasteful Pentagon spending – I will work with him to get the job done.
"You and other Vermonters can join me in this approach. And you can also do something else extremely important to the well-being of our democracy. You can act locally. Be engaged in your community and its challenges. Listen to your neighbors. Find ways to resolve disagreements and ways to cooperate that make our state stronger. We can renew our faith in our democracy by acting to protect and strengthen it.
Gee, that's pretty good, listener. We don't have a representative in Congress. The person with that title is a right-wing extremist who refuses to respond to constituents, does not do town halls, and hardly ever even visits the district. He is elected from a district gerrymandered (by the Dems) to elect only Republicans; he and his predecessors don't even have to campaign, and the state and national Democratic organizations refuse to spend a dime on the Democratic nominees. The Fresno metropolitan area is big enough to have its own US Representative, but is divided up among multiple neighboring areas to weaken it. Other cities in the San Joaquin Valley are divided similarly; it may not be quite as bad as it was before Gov. Schwartzenegger's redistricting commission, but it's bad enough.
On a lighter note, I had hoped that someone would josh me about where I found the link to my cell phone-- The Nokia Museum! [Click]
Listener, thee seems to be a lot of advice going around, all of it sound IMO, of getting local, finding out about and getting involved with one's community. Maybe none of us as individuals can do anything to change the national nightmare, but each of us can, at least potentially, impact our own little corner of the world.
Oh, and, the Electoral College isn't antiquated, it simply did not work according to specs. On the other hand, it sort of can't work properly until American citizens become adequately educated on what exactly it means to be a citizen and exactly how the U.S. governmental and electoral systems are designed to work. Not that that's going to happen in the foreseeable future.
Trump's trainwreck press conference ushers in a clueless presidency [Click] Richard Wolffe "It’s safe to say that the Trump administration is already in shambles – and it hasn’t even started yet" It's also safe to say that this is a good read, and ultimately reassuring.
I read the BBC's account of the press conference and couldn't quite decide whether to laugh or barf. Also, I feel deep compassion for those at the press conference as well as the press corps sentenced to cover the Trump White House.
Our normal annual rainfall here in Fresno is 11.5 inches; normal to date is 4.2 inches; season to date was 7 inches yesterday afternoon, and there has been rain since then, with more on the way. Accumulated snow in the mountains is less than normal, though.
I never particularly thought of President Obama's generation; I am about the same age as DT, HRC, and Howard Dean, and a bit younger than Bernie Sanders. Psychologically, because of my upbringing, I empathize with and admire Bernie more than any of the rest. I grew up on stories of not just the Great Depression, but of the hard times before that, and how (much of) the country worked its way out of them. But there were and are still plenty of hard times and hard places. Feeding the horse more oats isn't the way to give the sheep more food.
ReplyDeleteAlan
Hang onto your hats, folks; we're bound to have a wild ride today in the USA! This comes via Liane (from the original Dean blog) and is still unverified.
ReplyDeleteWe do have to wait on confirmation of the validity of the document, of course. But! I would think it's treasonous to be in cahoots with a foreign government to win an election, and this (at best) highlights DT's character. I suppose there's an off chance it's "just" fog from Russia, but assuming it's found to be accurate, what happens next? Wouldn't we need a whole new election? Who's in charge meanwhile? It's crazy time in the USA!
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984-Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.html
Hmmmmm..... what happens if Trump is cast out into the wilderness? Mike Pence would become President. At least he has government executive experience. But he would be starting under such a cloud--he would probably want to re-do the Cabinet, for instance.
ReplyDeleteAlan
Mike Pence is a religious zealot. He is anti-gay, anti-woman, etc. He is a hateful man under that waxy veneer and he would be just as bad, though not as insane as babyhands. The people of Indiana were thrilled that babyhands picked him for VEEP because they couldn't wait to get him out of Indiana.
DeleteWell, it looks like the validity of the document is not able to be substantiated (one way or the other). America is a cart or sled bumping down an icy hill with a faulty or absent steering mechanism.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching the news conference. Interesting that the details need to conveyed by others, not DT. Could we have that woman who described DT's business plans instead of him? She was coherent! Ha! I don't know that I believe there will be no conflict of interest (!!!) but it's good to see there has been some careful consideration and action by intelligent people. Still, the only thing more scary than President Wingnut Caligula is same with smart people who know how to cover his tracks.
Hi, everyone. Wanted to let you know that I'll be leaving for Boston (Arisia science fiction convention) tonight and won't be back until next Wednesday morning.
ReplyDeleteHave a good trip, Bill!
DeleteThanks.
DeleteTraveling Mercies, Bill! Have fun!!
DeleteFrom US Labor Against The War's FB page:
ReplyDelete"Being depressed is a self-indulgence we can't afford in the face of tyranny."
I hadn't looked at it in quite that light.
Being depressed is not self-indulgence. It's a natural response to trauma and terrible events, and to be respected. It is one way that the body takes the mind to the shadow side of ourselves, where much creativity is hidden. Being depressed in doses appropriate to the situation can be a way of accessing what matters most to us, and coming to articulation. That is necessary before the emergence of fresh idears and action are possible. Staying depressed beyond usefulness is a sign that we need help to come through the pain. But I think we shouldn't judge ourselves too harshly.
DeleteDid you know that DT's law firm has a branch in Moscow and won an award last April/May?
ReplyDelete⚖💰⚖Russia Law Firm of the Year ⚖💰⚖ (You can't make this stuff up!)
https://www.morganlewis.com/news/chambers-partners-names-morgan-lewis-as-russia-law-firm-of-the-year
I want to wake up.
ReplyDeleteTell me about it!
Delete"Trump approval 37 per cent."
ReplyDeleteOh, sure, NOW they get it.
Well, I shared what I said when I called my Congresspeople and I had also previously written to each of them saying:
ReplyDelete"What I need to know is, given the now-confirmed Russian interference in our election, why are we going forward with the Inauguration? Wouldn't that mean "it worked" and encourage more of the same?
"The President-elect says that the CIA is wrong and Russia is fine. How is that not a form of treason?
"I am not asking rhetorically and I am not just blowing off steam. I am truly concerned about this and need some way to comprehend why the Inauguration isn't being stopped."
Today I received a response from Rep. Peter Welch. I love his first sentence! And I appreciate his hard efforts in our behalf. But he did not answer my question. Here's his good letter:
"I share your deep dismay with November’s election results, especially in light of the fact that Hillary Clinton received nearly three million more votes than Donald Trump, yet lost the presidency due to the antiquated Electoral College.
"Equally difficult is that Mr. Trump and his appointees, many of whom are hostile to the mission of the agencies they will lead, seem intent on unravelling many of President Obama’s accomplishments.
"Here is my approach to this new reality.
"Where Mr. Trump, as president, resurrects the alarming, inflammatory, and threatening rhetoric of his campaign, I will fight back fiercely. I hope you will too. We cannot condone incitement to violence, the targeting of religious or ethnic minorities, or a curtailment of civil liberties. Doing so would, in my view, threaten the foundation of our democracy.
"Where he proposes policies that intensify income inequality, deny climate change, or shred the social safety net, I will vigorously oppose them while proposing constructive alternatives that rebuild the middle class, fix the Affordable Care Act, protect our environment, and shore up Medicare and Social Security.
"And where he follows through on campaign promises that I believe are good for the country and the middle class—an ambitious infrastructure program, cutting prescription drug costs, or eliminating wasteful Pentagon spending – I will work with him to get the job done.
"You and other Vermonters can join me in this approach. And you can also do something else extremely important to the well-being of our democracy. You can act locally. Be engaged in your community and its challenges. Listen to your neighbors. Find ways to resolve disagreements and ways to cooperate that make our state stronger. We can renew our faith in our democracy by acting to protect and strengthen it.
Sincerely,
PETER WELCH
Member of Congress"
Gee, that's pretty good, listener. We don't have a representative in Congress. The person with that title is a right-wing extremist who refuses to respond to constituents, does not do town halls, and hardly ever even visits the district. He is elected from a district gerrymandered (by the Dems) to elect only Republicans; he and his predecessors don't even have to campaign, and the state and national Democratic organizations refuse to spend a dime on the Democratic nominees. The Fresno metropolitan area is big enough to have its own US Representative, but is divided up among multiple neighboring areas to weaken it. Other cities in the San Joaquin Valley are divided similarly; it may not be quite as bad as it was before Gov. Schwartzenegger's redistricting commission, but it's bad enough.
DeleteOn a lighter note, I had hoped that someone would josh me about where I found the link to my cell phone-- The Nokia Museum! [Click]
--Alan
I did wonder, but was hesitant to make fun.
DeleteListener, thee seems to be a lot of advice going around, all of it sound IMO, of getting local, finding out about and getting involved with one's community. Maybe none of us as individuals can do anything to change the national nightmare, but each of us can, at least potentially, impact our own little corner of the world.
DeleteOh, and, the Electoral College isn't antiquated, it simply did not work according to specs. On the other hand, it sort of can't work properly until American citizens become adequately educated on what exactly it means to be a citizen and exactly how the U.S. governmental and electoral systems are designed to work. Not that that's going to happen in the foreseeable future.
DeleteTrump's trainwreck press conference ushers in a clueless presidency [Click] Richard Wolffe
ReplyDelete"It’s safe to say that the Trump administration is already in shambles – and it hasn’t even started yet"
It's also safe to say that this is a good read, and ultimately reassuring.
--Alan
I read the BBC's account of the press conference and couldn't quite decide whether to laugh or barf. Also, I feel deep compassion for those at the press conference as well as the press corps sentenced to cover the Trump White House.
DeleteThat high, huh?
ReplyDeleteRecord snowfall this year in Portland, OR. [Click]
ReplyDeleteOur normal annual rainfall here in Fresno is 11.5 inches; normal to date is 4.2 inches; season to date was 7 inches yesterday afternoon, and there has been rain since then, with more on the way. Accumulated snow in the mountains is less than normal, though.
--Alan
Finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman, a lovely read for those who enjoy quests through Faerie, as I do.
ReplyDelete