#be the ones affirmatively voting for trump this election season | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

demiaroacefrieren · 7 months ago

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Before I get on with this post, I want to put out a disclaimer. I am not a Biden supporter by any means. I think the fact that he's supporting and funding Israel is awful and that it should be called out on. But this is something that has been bothering me ever since the feedback Biden has received after the first debate for the 2024 election season.

I find it so hypocritical and ableist that people want Biden to step down because people think he could have some sort of mental condition that affects his cognitive skills like Dementia or Alzheimer's. Meanwhile, those same people who want Biden to step down are staying silent at the fact that Trump is somehow allowed to run for president after being thrown with over 30 charges and is planning on "going full dictator" on day one, which is a huge red flag.

The whole thing with trying to put a diagnosis on Biden's hypothetical "mental illness" is known as Armchair Diagnosing. Armchair Diagnosis or Armchair Psychology is when someone who doesn't have any experience in the psychology field tries to put a diagnosis on someone or themselves. For example, someone trying to call themselves OCD because they're simply neat or someone calling someone else Autistic (especially if that person is neurotypical) for having certain quirks.

People who want Biden to step down while having no problem with Trump, a now convicted felon, running for president, goes to show that both political parties have an ableism issues. Abled Leftists who came they support disabled people but want Biden to step down because they think he has a mental illness is ableist. People who think that Biden is not mentally fit to be president are saying that they're okay with Trump being president because he's more "mentally fit" compared to Biden, despite the fact he's responsible for the January 6th riot, has been hit with over 30 charges, and has no problem with his cronies pushing laws that will decriminalize bigotry towards certain marginalized groups and push laws that will ban Drag performances, access to gender affirming care to all Trans people of all ages, and throwing any woman, Trans man, and AFAB Nonbinary person into prison for seeking abortion care.

To finish this post, I'm not telling anyone that they need to vote for Biden, but I wanted to give my point of view of the whole thing of people wanting Biden to step down as someone whose disabled. If a young neurodivergent person was running for president, Abled people (especially on both sides of the political aisle) would want that person to down for the same reasons they want Biden to step down. This includes if that said neurodivergent person is running against someone that's similar to Trump. On top of that, it's ableist to say that disabled people are not capable of having a job, especially a job of high importance.

I don't care if people don't vote for Biden, but there are actual reasons to call him out on. Not debate if he has some sort of mental condition.

#joe biden #anti donald trump #leftist #ableism #armchair diagnosing #armchair psychology #anti republican #anti conservative #leftism

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dfantom · 3 months ago

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On a whole this absolutely is an embarrassment. The majority of people in this country decided we wanted to rehire the felon who led a literal attempted coup, killed thousands of people with his policies, decisions, and rhetoric, possibly stole National Security secrets with the intention of sharing/selling them to the highest bidder, and is suspected of heinous crimes against underage girls; just to name a few.

Sure there are things Kamala and democrats should/could have done better but the choice was literally crazy fascist puppet vs the VP of one of the most effective presidents in recent history (like him or not, Biden’s been incredibly effective stabilizing things in a post-Covid era). It doesn’t excuse her whole platform being: “Hey, at least I’m not this motherfucker”, but to be fair it was an incredibly popular message until a month ago.

Honestly I’ve lost a lot of faith in my fellow Americans. I thought we learned our lesson the first time around. But apparently we care more about a dozen eggs costing 50cents more than we do protecting women, trans people, immigrants, and many others.

Yes I know many middle and lower class people are hurting and didn’t see the wage increases that others saw over the last 4 years. Plus things like rent/housing, food, healthcare, and childcare have all gotten more expensive. But Trump has no plan to help those people, his plan is basically to pass more costs and tax burdens into them while doing what he can to help his rich buddies through tax cuts and rolling back corporate regulations.

The increased food recalls the last few years? The sudden increase in taxes that many working class people owed this last tax season? The overturning of Roe v Wade, getting rid of Affirmative Action, the erosion of the Clean Water Act? All thanks to Trump policies and appointed federal and Supreme Court justices from the first time he was elected. I shudder to think what he can do the second time around and how the impacts from his actions will last for decades.

At this point I’m well aware I’m just rambling and yelling into the void. But I can only hope that Democrats completely overhaul their strategy at voter engagement, messaging, policy plans, and platform in general. And I hope that voters finally have a memory longer than that of a goldfish and don’t vote for whatever Trump platform clone they run out for 2028.

In the meantime I’m going to keep fighting for the vulnerable people in my unfortunately Red state. Donating to LGBTQ+ charities, helping campaign against the far right wing politicians in my state, helping get people registered to vote and helping inform them of what is on the ballot, and fighting against the injustices in my community. And maybe, just maybe Democrats will realize there is a presidential election coming up more than just 6 months in advance of Election Day.

#personal #too long #rant

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schraubd · 5 years ago

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What We Owe To Each Other: Democratic Unity Edition

The vast majority of Bernie Sanders primary voters intend to vote for Joe Biden in the general. Indeed, it isn't even all that begrudging: a majority of Sanders supporters view Joe Biden favorably. It is easy to be mislead by a loud, raucous, but ultimately small online minority. Still, as the primary season concludes and we pivot to the general, we are seeing claims and counterclaims from the erstwhile Sanders and Biden camps regarding what each one now expects from the other. Sanders backers are demanding to be courted and that their vote be "earned". Bidenites are crowing about how they won and that anyone who doesn't back Joe come November is a fascist enabler. As it stands, this is not a productive conversation. But as we emerge from another harsh primary, we should be think about what we owe each other in the service of unity and making Trump a one term president. To that end, I suggest the following things we can reasonably expect out of each camp: From Biden Supporters

Do not promote the baseline expectation that Sanders voters will not end up voting for Biden in November. For one, as noted above it's not true. For two, it tends to create its own reality--the more the message is communicated that there is a gaping rift between Sanders voters and Biden voters, the more it becomes the truth. The more rhetoric we put out in the world that communicates mistrust and suspicion, the more the relationship will be characterized by mistrust and suspicion.

Following on that, treat everyone who voted in the Democratic primary -- no matter for which candidate -- as being presumptively all on the same team, with everyone's contributions welcome.

Do not gloat. Do not crow. Do not take joy in the defeat of Sanders or his faction. I don't care if it's to someone who two months ago was telling you to "bend the knee". Don't do it.

Promote those elements of the Democratic platform that demonstrate the influence of the progressive wing and common ground within the party. This is a good example. Use it as outreach to the extent Sanders backers say they want an affirmative reason to vote for Biden. Things like paid family leave, universal healthcare with a public option, rejoining the Paris Accords, and the $15 minimum wage are all part of the Biden campaign now, and we should credit progressive activists for laying the foundation that made those mainstream in the Democratic Party.

Do not run against Sanders. The primary is over. There is no good reason, particularly given whom Biden is running against, for why Biden or his supporters should engage in any performative hippie-punching.

Nominate a VP who reasonably will be perceived as extending an olive branch to the Sanders faction. It doesn't have to be Nina Turner (and in fact it almost assuredly should not and will not be). But Stacey Abrams remains a good choice. There are, presumably, others. But don't double-down on a "moderate".

From Sanders Supporters

Vote for Biden. Obviously. That's starkly put, but there really isn't room for hedging or caveating around this.

Don't publicly mope about it. We know he wasn't your first (or likely, third) choice. But public expressions of sourness and unhappiness are contagious and depress turnout, and the corollary of "vote for Biden" is "do what you can to make sure Biden wins the race". Think of it this way: the only thing worse than having to vote for Biden to become President is having to vote for Biden and Trump still being President anyway.

Following on the above: find something to be enthusiastic and cheerful about. It doesn't have to be Biden himself. It can be "Trump doesn't replace RBG". It can be the $15 minimum wage. It can be something else. Worst case scenario -- fake it. But find something, anything, that you can be passionate about that compliments the agenda of electing Joe Biden

Do not impose "conditions" on your vote that boil down to "Biden must become Sanders". Instead, look for the elements of Biden's platform that are most likely to be harmonious with or complimentary to Sanders agenda, and focus on locking those down.

Biden is the consummate party man -- his instincts are to do whatever is the conventional wisdom of the median Democrat. Take advantage of that by making your agenda items part of that conventional wisdom. It won't all happen at once, but there is a lot of room for real progress here.

Do not look for reasons why efforts at outreach from the Biden camp are dishonest, disingenuous, or otherwise insufficient. Politics is the strong and slow boring of hard boards. Collect the carrots offered and lay the groundwork so that they can be cashed in come 2021.

On a lighter note, the need for Democrats to be cheerful and enthusiastic and united and optimistic brought to mind some old Boondocks comic strips way back from 2004.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/2V1oiNP

#Bernie Sanders #Democrats #Election 2020 #Joe Biden #progressives

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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Analysis: The anxieties looming over Black Americans on Election Day

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/analysis-the-anxieties-looming-over-black-americans-on-election-day/

Analysis: The anxieties looming over Black Americans on Election Day

President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden’s radically different visions of America aren’t the only things on the ballot. Fundamental rights are subject to the vote, too, more than half a century after the struggle for Black freedom.

America is at a time of crisis: a nationwide reckoning on race, police brutality and what justice looks like, a crippling pandemic and an increasingly economically divided citizenry.

Despite the protests that jolted the country throughout the summer in the wake of the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and the current unrest in Philadelphia following the police shooting of a Black man, Walter Wallace Jr., Black Americans are among those showing up at the polls in record numbers.

In fact, it may well be because of those horrific incidents that so many Black Americans are turning out — even as fear stalks the once simple act of voting.

“Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key,” the congressman and civil rights lion John Lewis wrote in a New York Times op-ed printed after his death in July. “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”

And indeed, the vote is under siege in this election.

Voter suppression

Trump has spent months trying to delegitimize the electoral system and he has threatened lawsuits against states well before Election Day. Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has urged voters to create an outcome so unassailable that Trump can’t steal a second term via litigation before a Republican-friendly Supreme Court.

Tuesday’s contest isn’t a mere duel between two parties. It’s a battle between two categorically different approaches to governance. The Democrats want to mobilize as many voters as possible; the Republicans — the political minority — want to go in the exact opposite direction.

Overwhelmingly, Black voters, the backbone of the Democratic Party, are on the receiving end of Republican chicanery: voter ID laws, shuttered polling stations, purged voter rolls, the disenfranchisement of incarcerated people, voter intimidation.

It isn’t a stretch to say that such underhanded maneuvering mirrors the political landscape of the 1960s, when activists such as Lewis fought against a system that had directed its full powers against Black Americans.

“Sometimes I wake up and I think we are paralleling the ’60s all over again,” Joanne Bland, who as an 11-year-old joined hundreds of activists in the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” voting rights march in Selma, Alabama, told Appradab’s Fredreka Schouten in September. “The laws that they passed to prevent African Americans from voting were insurmountable, and states could make up their own rules. That’s pretty much where this is going now.”

Sure enough, on Monday, a federal judge in Texas rejected a Republican attempt to invalidate some 127,000 drive-through ballots cast in the Democratic-leaning Houston area.

“When you balance the harms, you’ve got to weigh in favor of that — in counting the votes,” Judge Andrew Hanen ruled after a nearly three-hour hearing.

In a November op-ed for The Washington Post, the lawyer Benjamin L. Ginsberg, who for decades represented a variety of Republican campaigns, sharply condemned the autocratic jockeying of Trump and his yes-men.

“This is as un-American as it gets. It returns the Republican Party to the bad old days of ‘voter suppression’ that landed it under a court order to stop such tactics — an order lifted before this election. It puts the party on the wrong side of demographic changes in this country that threaten to make the GOP a permanent minority,” he wrote. “Absent being able to articulate a cogent plan for a second term or find an attack against Joe Biden that will stick, disenfranchising enough voters has become key to (Trump’s) reelection strategy.”

Police brutality

High-profile shooting deaths of Black Americans have occurred with seasonal regularity this year.

In particular, the police killings of Taylor and Floyd sparked sustained uprisings throughout the summer.

Some Black Americans have used the repeated devastation of police violence as a means of motivating others to vote out a President overflowing with anti-Black animus — who views a movement that simply affirms that Black lives matter as a “symbol of hate.”

“We need to get somebody in office that’s going to work on our behalf,” Bianca Austin, the aunt of Taylor, who in March was killed during a botched police raid in Louisville, Kentucky, told Appradab’s Harmeet Kaur in October, adding that “a lot of people are just sick and tired.”

Taylor’s family received a sizable settlement — $12 million — and the city agreed to reforms such as offering a housing program to incentivize officers to live in the areas where they serve and tightening the process of issuing search warrants.

Still, a grand jury decided not to indict any officers in connection with Taylor’s death. Some members of the panel later said that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron hadn’t really given them any other option and that he’d made misleading public comments about the case.

In October, Taylor’s family launched a foundation both to keep the 26-year-old’s memory alive and to fuel political change. One of the foundation’s ambitions on the latter front: shuttling Louisville voters to polling sites, free of charge.

“Please, if you don’t have a candidate in mind, just vote because Breonna can’t vote,” Austin told Kaur.

To the vast majority of Black Americans, it seems impossible to survive another four years under Trump — under a President who can’t even explicitly acknowledge the systemic racism of an institution rooted in the slave patrols of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Covid-19’s uneven toll

Far from being the “great equalizer,” the novel coronavirus pandemic has only deepened persistent disparities — in employment, in housing, in access to high-quality doctors.

“The virus is layering over an infrastructure where people of color have been living with so many disparities that affect their ability to deal with an economic crisis and a public-health crisis,” Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of its program on Medicare policy, told Appradab in April.

And yet, as it’s become clear over the past eight months that Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, poses a disproportionate threat to people of color, the catastrophe has grown less urgent in some political leaders’ eyes.

“White Americans are also suffering,” The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer wrote in May, “but the perception that the coronavirus is largely a Black and brown problem licenses elites to dismiss its impact. In America, the racial contract has shaped the terms of class war for centuries; the Covid contract shapes it here.”

Black voters have noted this neglect in more recent weeks, too.

“We have a President who is totally tearing apart our whole democratic Constitution,” Wilburn Wilkins told Appradab in October. “Many people are dying because (Trump) is ignoring the Covid pandemic, ignoring the fact that people are unemployed, need financial resources. We need a change.”

Wilkins sees how the Trump White House’s decisions have uniquely harmed people of color — and will likely have consequences far into the future.

“The nomination of a conservative to the Supreme Court, stacking of lower courts in order to have cronies to carry out conservative ideas, most likely will affect Black and brown people,” Wilkins said. “They’ll affect things such as civil rights, Obamacare — all of these things have the potential to negatively impact minorities.”

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arcticdementor · 4 years ago

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At this time four years ago, the “Never Trump” movement was alive and well. Birthed in earnest by National Review in its infamous “Against Trump” issue in February 2016, Never Trump consisted of conservatives and Republicans who vowed, even if he were to become the GOP presidential standard-bearer for the general election, to never, ever support Donald Trump. Never Trumpers supported other candidates throughout the presidential primary season, pushed to “free” committed delegates away from Trump at the Republican National Convention and continued to oppose his candidacy through Election Day. The hashtag #NeverTrump became ubiquitous on Twitter as a mark of protest against the unorthodox candidate.

I would know because I was a part of the Never Trump movement. And, much to my shame, I was not a silent but, at times, a vocal and quite brash part. In retrospect, four years later, (hopefully) four years more mature and with the benefit of knowing what we now know about how Trump has governed, I will gladly fall on my sword: I was mistaken. Never Trump’s concerns largely did not materialize, and the president has pleasantly surprised his erstwhile skeptics in a myriad of ways. Whatever purported “conservative case against Trump” may (or may not) have existed in 2016 has completely and unequivocally dissipated.

Many feared that Trump, who had spent little time as a registered Republican or a traveler in the labyrinth of hoary institutions constituting Conservatism Inc., might govern as a Manchurian candidate liberal; in reality, the 45th president has presided over one of the most dynamically conservative administrations in a century. Many feared that Trump, the bull in a china shop brimming with machismo and braggadocio, might inadvertently start World War III; instead, the president has overseen a wildly successful foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, premised around the time-tested, common-sense principle that it is best to punish one’s enemies and reward one’s friends. Many feared that Trump, who had once graced the Playboy magazine cover, might accelerate a hegemonic cultural progressivism; actually, he has been a consistently courageous, stalwart friend of religious and traditionalist Americans.

Given Trump’s record, given how much the left has become utterly radicalized over the past four years — Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, the Women’s March anti-Semitism, anarchist antifa, Marxist Black Lives Matter, the toxicity of intersectionality and cancel culture — and given Trumpian heterodoxies’ “sunk cost” effects upon the American presidency’s putative institutional norms, the “conservative” case against Trump has simply not withstood the test of time. Prudence and humility suggest that one must be willing to acknowledge error and change course; the Never Trumpers of 2016 are perfect archetypes. In 2020, the only viable “conservative” vote is an affirmative vote for a second Trump presidential term.

#josh hammer #american greatness #never trumpers

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cksmart-world · 4 years ago

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The completely unnecessary news analysis

by Christopher Smart

August 18, 2020

TRUMP'S WATERLOO

President Donald Trump can joke about sex assaults. But it doesn't seem to matter. He can lie about healthcare. It doesn't matter. He can prevaricate about blackmailing the president of Ukraine. Doesn't matter. But when the college football season is canceled due to his mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic — well, that's just too much. The PAC 12 and Big Ten have locked up their stadiums for the season and that includes Rice-Eccles at the University of Utah and fans are livid. Football lovers in the Midwest are beside themselves, too, in the battleground states of Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania and the others in the Big 10. THIS MATTERS. Exactly what are people going to do in Columbus when the Ohio State Buckeyes aren't on the gridiron in autumn? They'll spend Saturdays cursing Trump and wondering, what if. The rest of the Power Five Conferences — the SEC, ACC and Big 12 — have yet to throw in the towel. But the NCAA has warned them “they are playing with fire.” When they do call it off, imagine what will happen across the South in places like Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when the Crimson Tide doesn't roll. Down there football is RELIGION and blasphemers are burned at the stake. Let's see Trump try to punt on this one.

WHY MIKE PENCE WANTS TO DEBATE KAMALA HARRIS IN UTAH

1- He loves green Jell-O with little marshmallows in it.

2- There is no Democratic Party here.

3- Lawmakers in Zion never drink alcohol or hot-tub with young girls.

4- Polls show Utahns love Trump more than Romney.

5- Kamala can't hold the LDS Priesthood.

6- Masks are unconstitutional in Utah County and cause for stoning.

7- Men make the decisions behind closed doors at church and the Legislature.

8- The Mormon Tabernacle Choir provides the soundtrack for life: “Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam.”

9- Utah women wear pioneer dresses and have that swirly Liberace hair.

10- It's one of the few places left where, like him, some men still call their wives, “mother.”

FACISM? NAH, WE'RE JUST FIXING THE POSTAL SYSTEM

So, like, what is all the handwringing about just because the president and his little helper are streamlining the U.S. Postal Service. Not to worry, nobody is gonna mess with the election. It's just coincidence that its happening right now. President Trump is just trying to save this country from becoming “the laughing stock of the world” — so he's got one of his mega-fundraisers and new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, to help by removing mail-sorting machines and mailboxes and eliminating overtime for postal workers so the mail will be more efficient and stack up at the Post Office. Old people worry because their medications through Express Scripts aren't arriving on time. But do they really need all those pills? Look, if the Postal Service is fully funded, then states will want to use the mail for voting so people won't contract Covid-19 by casting ballots in person. But if the USPS does not get funded, then the largest fraud ever in history will be thwarted and Trump will win reelection. And really, in the end how important is the Postal Service, anyway — or voting, for that matter. Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chris Stuart of Utah don’t seem to care.

Post script — Well mask-wearers, we live in scary times. You've heard of affirmative action: that's where minorities get everything and white people get the shaft. If Kamala Harris is elected only people of a certain color — and it ain't white — will get vaccinated against Covid-19. That's what Tucker Carlson told his millions-strong audience of patriots on Fox News. And if Joe Biden is elected, he will move the inner-city slums filled with minorities into your suburban neighborhood. President Trump said so. Of course, some, like Wilson and the band, fear suburbia will come to the city, but that's another matter altogether. One-time Republican strategist and media consultant Stuart Stevens explains in his new book, “It Was All A Lie,” that the Republican Party is now not much more than The Party of White Grievance. “[Trump] is the logical conclusion of what the Republican Party became over the last 50 or so years,” Stevens writes, “a natural product of the seeds of race, self-deception, and anger... ” And by the way, did you know that Black Lives Matter is a global communist plot by pedophiles who drink the blood of their victims? Oh yeah, and they're zombies, too.

OK Wilson, get the guys out the bar and ask them to give us a little Elvis for our sojourn through Zombieland to the Post Office:

You better not mess with the U.S. Male my friend The U.S. Male gets mad, he's gonna do you in You know what's good for yourself son You better find somebody else son Don't tamper with the property of the U.S. Male

(U.S. Male — Elvis Presley)

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go-redgirl · 5 years ago

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U.S. President Donald Trump prays as he takes part in a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov. 19, 2019. (MandelNgan/AFP via Getty Images)

Timelines are so important. We, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for life, and Evangelist Dr. Alveda C. King, along with many friends and supporters have dedicated our time, our prayers, our energy and our hearts to ending the terrible scourge of abortion.

As we invite all people to pray for and with us, we wanted to share this snapshot of our efforts, which we believe reveals a significant element of this election season.

On July 22, we were both asked to lead a national interfaith prayer call.

Beginning at 6 p.m. EDT, we led the participants in prayer. It was simple, heartfelt, and lasted about 20 minutes, fulfilling the biblical mandate "that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity" (1 Tim 2:1-2).

Two days later, Fr. Pavone and other clergy helped lead a group of believers nationwide in reciting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on another prayer call, and the next day, led some political activists in the recitation of the rosary on a prayer call.

And these are just a few of the prayer events both of us have led at the request of the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC).

We have both interacted with political campaigns for decades, but never has either of us seen a campaign leading with prayer like the Trump campaign and the RNC are doing this year. They are organizing these prayer events online and on the phone for believers who support the president and his team and who realize the real protections this administration has provided for religious freedom not only in America but around the world.

The campaign does not "blow a trumpet" (Matthew 6:2) in front of them about these events; most of them are behind the scenes.

They flow from a sincere conviction that prayer makes a difference, and that this nation would not have been founded or survived so long without being rooted in faith. As the president has repeated in speech after speech, "We rely not on government, but on God."

Both of us were privileged to be asked by the campaign to serve various grassroots coalitions, which anyone can join, that enable citizens to spread the good news about how the president’s global view and policies serve different demographics. (We urge interested citizens to join the coalitions of their choice.) And both of us, by serving in this way, do so on the platform of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some see this simply as political advocacy; we see it as advocacy of spiritual and moral imperatives to protect life, freedom, family, justice, equality, civil rights and peace. Dr. Alveda C. King directs the Civil Rights for the Unborn outreach of Priests for Life.

To secure civil rights today — and this was equally true in the 1960’s — we have to be involved with our civic leaders, and we have to affirm those policies that advance human rights, decry those policies that destroy them, and encourage citizens to be politically involved and to vote pro-life.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his "I’ve Been to the Mountaintop" speech (April 3, 1968) the night before he died in Memphis, Tennessee, “I'm always happy to see a relevant ministry . . . It's alright to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preacher must talk about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee."

President Donald John Trump, the most anti-abortion president America has ever had, prays. He gets things done. He defends the church against unjust mandates, established a federal office for Conscience and Religious Freedom, has taken executive-level action to protect students' rights to pray and speak their mind in school and on campus and pastors' rights to speak their mind in the pulpit, makes religious freedom in other countries a centerpiece of foreign policy, and much, much more.

He translates beli

We are convinced that the church, and believers everywhere, should be able to recognize this kind of leadership, express their gratitude for it, and support our leaders when they support and defend, in concrete action, the faith and values the Gospel embodies. As Evangelist Kenneth Copeland related, at a State dinner in August of 2018, the president was asked what he wanted to be remembered for. President Trump answered, "I want to be remembered as the president who prayed more than any other" (Stephen Strang, "God, Trump and the 2020 Election," p. 113).Certainly, his campaign and political party will also be remembered as the ones that prayed more than any other.

__________________________________________________

OPINION: May Almighty God bless President Donald John Trump and his family and all of his supporters.

AMEN!

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nancydhooper · 5 years ago

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Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year.

It isn’t news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories—from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration’s attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few.

Here are some of our attorneys’ takes on 2019 and the year ahead—what’s changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will affect the fight for civil rights and liberties in years to come.

Chase Strangio

Deputy Director for Transgender Justice, LGBT and HIV Project

What was your favorite moment of 2019?

A lot happened so it’s hard to pick just one moment, but for me one of the most memorable was the October 8 argument for the Aimee Stephens case at the Supreme Court. Obviously the moment itself was historic. Working on the case was pivotal in my life and my work. But even more than the hearing itself, I’ll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to Aimee while we walked across the plaza. It’s a special reminder that it’s not about what happens in court, it’s about how we move forward.

What was the biggest challenge?

This was a challenging year. Two things stand out: The Supreme Court taking on the Title VII cases and the increasing attacks on trans people in sports.

When we heard about the Title VII cases in April, it was a devastating blow. Aimee had already won in the lower court, and we didn’t want the Supreme Court to undo her win. It’s difficult existing in this political context with so many attacks on the trans community and going up to the Court knowing that no matter what, something would be lost—whether something rhetorical or in the public discourse or in the legal outcome of the case itself.

There’s also been a rise in attacks on the idea of trans people participating in sports. It’s disappointing seeing people we’d expect to be allies side with our opponents. It’s just another context that’s being leveraged in public conversations and policy debates to argue that trans people aren’t “real” and that we don’t deserve to participate equally in society. It’s painful and the people who are going to be the most hurt are the trans youth who are being singled out and demeaned by the adult lawmakers who are supposed to protect them.

How will the outcome of the 2020 election affect trans rights?

There’s a long way to go no matter who’s in the White House. But for trans rights, the shift from Obama to Trump was drastic. If Trump loses, we’ll continue to sue the government because the government will continue to discriminate, and it will take a lot of work to undo the anti-trans agenda of the last three years. But hopefully we will have a president that is less concerned with decimating us and our lives and we can work towards rebuilding some protections. No matter what happens, our resolve to fight and defend our communities will persist.

How do you unwind after preparing for a big case?

I operate at a constant state of stress, so it’s always a struggle. Maybe I haven’t done a good job of unwinding. I do love theatre, going to shows, engaging in creative processes to get me out of my head.

What got you into this work?

As a queer, trans person with access to resources I felt that I could serve my community by working within systems of power to disrupt and distribute power. It isn’t always easy and I don’t always do it perfectly but I could never imagine doing any other work.

Brigitte Amiri

Deputy Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project

What was the biggest challenge of 2019?

2019 was the year of the abortion ban, so it’s not so much one challenge in particular but the onslaught—we’re fighting battles at the federal and state level in a rapid succession. The states have been emboldened by the Trump administration and by changes in the judiciary, and it’s been a breathless fight against their attacks on abortion and access to contraception. Some of our most important victories of the year included blocking the abortion bans in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah.

Still, in 2019 there were also some great legislative victories for reproductive rights. A number of states have passed proactive measures that expand access. A perfect example is Maine, where the reproductive rights and justice movement got the state to pass a law expanding who can provide abortions and not just limit provision to doctors but to expand it to advanced practice clinicians. Another new law in Maine ensures that people can access abortion with Medicaid as insurance if they qualify. States like Maine will be a haven for abortion access if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned.

What will 2020 look like for abortion rights?

The attacks on abortion will continue in 2020, unfortunately. The states restricting access have been doing so for decades. And even if there’s a change in the presidential administration, the federal judiciary has now been changed for generations, so states that want to pass restrictions are still going to do so in an aggressive manner, in hopes that the courts will uphold their restrictions. So I think 2020 will be very busy.

Most people in this country support reproductive freedom, but anti-abortion politicians have their own agenda and refuse to listen to the majority of their constituents. Restricting abortion has always been used as a political tool that has been wielded by some politicians regardless of what the public wants.

What got you interested in reproductive freedom?

Ever since I was a little girl, I was always interested in fighting for what was fair. My mom was a feminist and a stay-at-home mom who took me to political rallies, and I used to babysit for a mom who worked at Planned Parenthood. These strong women instilled in me the idea that people should be able to make decisions about their own bodies and everyone should be treated equally in society. Eventually I went to law school because I wanted to use the law to promote social justice.

Is there a particular client from 2019 who stands out?

The staff at the EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Kentucky. Dr. Marshall, who owns it, and staff are amazing people and our heroes. They make sure patients get the care they need with compassion and dignity. They’ve endured so much in addition to the legal onslaught—including anti-abortion people blockading the clinic doors and vandalizing the clinic. They are my heroes.

Personally, my favorite moment of 2019 was calling the clinic and telling them the good news that the judge blocked the state abortion ban.

Dale Ho

Director of the Voting Rights Project

What was your favorite moment of 2019?

The census win. From the beginning I thought we had the better argument, but there were so many predictions that we would lose. I understand why we got those predictions, because we were the underdog, but it was hard not to let that seep in and affect my outlook. When we won, I felt vindicated.

What was the most important legal win?

Again I’d say the census case. If we lost, representation would have shifted away from diverse states and areas, and many communities would have lost their fair share of federal funding. It was a massive case of major significance.

No one believed that the Trump administration wanted to add the citizenship question to support voting rights. The Court’s decision affirmed how much we need honesty from the government on why it’s doing what it’s doing. And the case was a test for the Supreme Court, to see whether it would stand up to the kind of lawlessness that has become standard in this administration. It was nerve-inducing that four justices were willing to go along, but the center held.

The census case was also litigated at a breakneck pace—from a trial decision to the Supreme Court in only three months. It was maybe the most significant challenge in my professional life. I’m still recovering.

How do you handle stress when you’re on the road?

I always, always buy WiFi on planes, and take my noise canceling headphones with me. Sometimes I’ll get a Bloody Mary (virgin!) so I can work throughout the flight. When I’m flying out of New York, I get the same bad Italian hoagie from the CEBO Express in the airport—something I probably wouldn’t eat anywhere else.

How will the presidential election affect the Voting Rights Project?

I don’t think the outcome of 2020 will affect our work, because most of our work is in the states. We need to modernize our states’ antiquated registration and voting systems. Those are bad now and they’re going to be bad no matter who wins in 2020. We’re going to have to do that work and also focus on redistricting after the census happens, as local, state, and federal districts get redrawn all around the country. So we have a busy 2020 and a busy 2021 ahead of us, regardless.

What do you look forward to in 2020?

Election season is always an exciting time to be a voting rights lawyer. It can be challenging because you know in advance that it’s going to be very busy. But there’s a lot you don’t know that’s going to pop up—you know things will pop up but you don’t know what. It’s challenging to stay ready for that but I feel like every election I’ve been here, we’ve done some of our best work in that emergency, rapid response posture. I’m looking forward to it.

Omar Jadwat

Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project

What is one moment from 2019 that stands out to you?

I’ll cheat and tell you two. The first was when we blocked the Remain in Mexico policy (or Forced Return to Mexico, or Migrant Protection Protocols, as it goes by a lot of names). We knew the policy would be a disaster and we were really glad to block it. The second was when a higher court allowed the policy to be implemented while an appeal is pending. Under this stay roughly 60,000 people have been dumped in Mexico in awful conditions. Cartels are preying on them, waiting for people to get off the buses and kidnapping them immediately. It all goes to show what an awful policy it is and how important it was to challenge it. The fact that we were able to stop it briefly was an important victory. Now the litigation continues.

What was the biggest challenge?

Protecting the asylum system. The administration has a multi-pronged strategy to attack asylum and basically eradicate the system unilaterally. A major focus of our work in the last year has been taking on these policies—we’ve challenged the standard for asylum, gang violence exceptions, detention of asylum seekers. There’s the first asylum ban, the second asylum ban, Return to Mexico, and more. A whole set of cases.

How has IRP’s work changed this year?

Our team has built a new set of muscles as we adapt to new challenges—challenges that would have been extraordinary and unusual in the past, which are now the norm. The administration often announces drastic policy changes with little or no warning, and the pressure is on our team to figure out what they’re doing, to analyze it legally, and put together a lawsuit as quickly as possible if there’s a legal problem. The administration has been so aggressive with its immigration policies and the scale of what they’re trying to do is getting more ambitious. It’s caused us to be more aggressive in terms of taking them to court, and then if we win that causes them to move fast to try to get rid of our victories. Everything is happening much more quickly than usual.

What got you into immigrants’ rights?

I come from a family of immigrants, including people who struggled with getting and maintaining status. I took a class with Judy Rabinovitz in law school, and she inspired me to follow this professional path.

What do you look forward to in 2020?

The possibility of a new administration to deal with and a humane, respectful system in the future. It’s refreshing to see so much public disapproval of anti-immigrant policies, and that sentiment has strengthened in the last couple of years. I hope that the sympathy and support we’ve seen for immigrant communities will continue to carry through.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247012 https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year via http://www.rssmix.com/

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lodelss · 5 years ago

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ACLU: Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year.

Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year.

Chase Strangio

Deputy Director for Transgender Justice, LGBT and HIV Project

What was your favorite moment of 2019?

What was the biggest challenge?

This was a challenging year. Two things stand out: The Supreme Court taking on the Title VII cases and the increasing attacks on trans people in sports.

How will the outcome of the 2020 election affect trans rights?

How do you unwind after preparing for a big case?

What got you into this work?

Brigitte Amiri

Deputy Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project

What was the biggest challenge of 2019?

What will 2020 look like for abortion rights?

What got you interested in reproductive freedom?

Is there a particular client from 2019 who stands out?

Personally, my favorite moment of 2019 was calling the clinic and telling them the good news that the judge blocked the state abortion ban.

Dale Ho

Director of the Voting Rights Project

What was your favorite moment of 2019?

What was the most important legal win?

How do you handle stress when you’re on the road?

How will the presidential election affect the Voting Rights Project?

What do you look forward to in 2020?

Omar Jadwat

Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project

What is one moment from 2019 that stands out to you?

What was the biggest challenge?

How has IRP’s work changed this year?

What got you into immigrants’ rights?

What do you look forward to in 2020?

Published December 20, 2019 at 05:09PM via ACLU https://ift.tt/34DCIp7 from Blogger https://ift.tt/34NL3qo via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Blogger

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paulbenedictblog · 5 years ago

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%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Usa today Trump attacks FBI Director Christopher Wray over IG report, Russia investigation

Usa today

Residence Judiciary Committee receives a summing up of the impeachment case against President Donald Trump Monday as Democrats put together formal expenses against him. Trump and his allies lobbed new assaults on the complaints they brush off as a hoax. (Dec. 9) AP

WASHINGTON – Pushing his possess interpretation of a brand contemporary document on the origins of the Russia investigation, President Donald Trump on Tuesday looked as if it would possibly maybe perchance maybe threaten FBI Director Christopher Wray for drawing diversified conclusions.

"I don’t know what document contemporary Director of the FBI Christopher Wray turned into once finding out, nevertheless it definite wasn’t the one given to me," Trump tweeted about the Justice Department findings.

"With that fashion of attitude," Trump added, Wray "would possibly maybe maybe now not ever be in a way to repair the FBI, which is badly broken despite having one of the most ideal men & females working there!"

Responding to the document by the Justice Department's inspector widespread launched Monday, Wray implicitly disputed Trump's claims that federal authorities mounted a "coup" wrestle him by investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential marketing campaign.

“I mediate it’s necessary that the inspector widespread learned that, on this particular instance, the investigation turned into once opened with relevant predication and authorization,” Wray suggested ABC Recordsdata.

Requested if he belief Trump's marketing campaign turned into once unfairly focused in the Russia investigation, Wray acknowledged: “I enact now not.”

The FBI declined comment on Trump's remarks Tuesday.

Hours after Trump's broadside, Attorney Overall William Barr acknowledged he supported the FBI director, though he moreover stepped up his criticism of the inspector widespread's document, inserting forward – treasure Trump – that the Russia investigation turned into once now not justified. Barr, in an interview with NBC Recordsdata, then went extra to indicate the FBI would possibly maybe maybe delight in acted in “rotten faith” in pursuing the inquiry.

The attorney widespread's remarks now not most appealing establish him at odds with the inspector widespread, nonetheless moreover with Wray. On Monday, the FBI affirmed the inspector widespread's conclusions that there turned into once upright basis for opening the Russia investigation and that there turned into once "no evidence that political bias or rotten motivation impacted the opening of these investigations."

Barr acknowledged severe failures uncovered in FBI’s surveillance of Trump marketing campaign adviser Carter Online page "leaves commence the chance that there turned into once rotten faith” by the FBI.

Tranquil, Barr stood by Wray, asserting the director, who came about of job in 2017 following the abrupt dismissal of James Comey, "has been working laborious to address the problems in the previous"

"He is brought in a well suited team," Barr suggested NBC. "I delight in self assurance in that team. But we can’t ignore the abuses of the previous and seem to define them or decrease them."

Requested without delay whether or now not he soundless had self assurance in the FBI director, the attorney widespread acknowledged, "Sure."

The attorney widespread's vote of self assurance built on an identical toughen he expressed correct a day sooner than, following launch of the inspector widespread's document.

“I delight in pudgy self assurance in Director Wray and his team on the FBI, moreover the hundreds of dedicated line agents who work tirelessly to shield our nation,” Barr acknowledged Monday in a written assertion.

Barr famed that the FBI director is proposing a "complete way of proposed reforms" for the agency, and "I stay up for working with him to implement these and any diversified relevant measures.”

In the document issued Monday, Justice Department Inspector Overall Michael Horowitz sharply criticized the FBI's surveillance of Online page nonetheless moreover acknowledged the general investigation into Russian election interference turned into once justified.

The Russia investigation incorporated claims Trump sought to hinder justice in the investigation – in allotment by his 2017 decision to fireplace Comey.

The Horowitz document acknowledged prosecutors did now not attain a upright conclusion as to whether or now not Trump obstructed justice. But it did criticize lots of the president's actions as "unprecedented," and acknowledged that "lots of the president's acts directed at witnesses, including discouragement of cooperation with the government and suggestions of imaginable future pardons, took build in public scrutinize."

In the wake of the contemporary IG document, Trump and his allies delight in centered largely on huge criticism of the surveillance of Online page.

Barr namely faulted the FBI for "ignoring or withholding serious exculpatory records" as they justified surveillance of the old Trump aide.

Trump's critics, in the intervening time, pointed to Horowitz's finding that the FBI turned into once legally justified in launching its inquiry into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and that it turned into once now not driven by political bias against Trump.

I don’t know what document contemporary Director of the FBI Christopher Wray turned into once finding out, nevertheless it definite wasn’t the one given to me. With that fashion of attitude, he would possibly maybe maybe now not ever be in a way to repair the FBI, which is badly broken despite having one of the most ideal men & females working there!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019

There turned into once no "documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or rotten motivation influenced the FBI’s decision to habits these operations," the document acknowledged.

In morning tweets, Trump moreover famed the origins of the Russia investigation are soundless being investigated by Connecticut federal prosecutor John Durham, whose work is being overseen by Barr. That review is now continuing as a criminal investigation.

On Monday, Barr acknowledged the scope of Durham's investigation is huge and at chance of continue by gradual spring or early summer season.

"Durham is having a watch at your entire waterfront," Barr acknowledged.

One after the other, Barr stopped making an strive joining Trump and his Republican allies in claiming that Ukraine, alongside with Russia, interfered in the 2016 election.

Barr acknowledged he turned into once confident of Russia's participation nonetheless had now not looked on the possible for Ukraine's involvement. The uncertainty of Ukraine's involvement moreover establish the attorney widespread at odds with the FBI director.

In his ABC interview, Wray flatly disputed the belief asserting there would possibly maybe be no evidence that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election the manner Russia did.

Trump's dealings with Ukraine are on the root of instant-intriguing impeachment investigation.

On Tuesday, Residence Democrats unveiled articles of impeachment, accusing Trump of abuse of energy and obstruction of Congress, setting up a constitutional conflict between the two branches of govt that has most appealing took build three instances sooner than.

The accusations carefully track the Intelligence Committee's findings that Trump withheld a gathering and military abet from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky while pressuring his counterpart to investigate his political rival, old Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump's unprecedented criticism of Wray comes as the director has been quietly intriguing to spice up morale and recruiting efforts in some unspecified time in the future of the agency in the previous two years.

Final year, the FBI bought 35,000 purposes from prospective agents and analysts, more than triple the amount in old years, basically basically based on bureau records.

An October watch measuring public belief in govt businesses by the Pew Learn Heart moreover ranked the FBI in the tip five of 16 businesses reviewed, indicating that 70% of these surveyed expressed a favorable scrutinize of the bureau.

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keywestlou · 5 years ago

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MODI-TRUMP MEETING WILL RESULT IN MODI WALKING AWAY WITH MAJOR CONCESSIONS

September is Key West’s quiet month. Few visitors. Some restaurants and shops closed.

Something was needed to fill in the blank month. Nine years ago a group of locals got together and decided a music festival of sorts for locals.

The Key West Musicians Festival was held this weekend. Local musicians showcasing local music. The event was held at Smokin’ Tuna. Afternoon and evening, saturday and sunday.

Big crowds! Boisterous! Enjoyable!

A portion of the proceeds are set aside for a local charity, the Sister Season Fund.

On this day in 1954, Hollywood producer Hal Wallis was in Key West. He was scouting for a place to shoot Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo.

Hallis settled on a house on Duncan Street. Two doors from Tennessee Williams’ home. One and a half blocks from Lisa’s home today.

The movie starred Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani. Magani won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.

Big event in Houston yesterday! India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump met at a rally at Houston’s NRG Stadium. Fifty thousand spectators. Not there for Trump. There for Modi.

Texas has 400,000 Indian-Americans living in Texas. The 50,000 at the stadium were Indian-Americans. Seats only by reservation. Sold out a month before the event.

Instead of the mountain going to Muhammed, Muhammed came to the mountain. Trump wants the Indian-American votes. Most are registered Democrats.

Modi and Trump walked around…..Holding hands! The crowd chanting Modi, Modi, Modi. Never once did the crowd yell Trump’s name.

There were 12,000-15,000 protestors outside.

Modi’s major accomplishment thus far is Modicare. Universal health care for all citizens. Free healthcare for the 500 million living in India.

The plan has only been in effect one year. Time will tell if it works.

I know little about it. Tried to learn. A lot of detail.

Modicare is privately owned. By one very wealthy Indian.

The U.S. is in a pissing match with India. The U.S. has levied tariffs on Indian products. India presently hurting economically otherwise also.

Why was Trump in Houston holding hands with Modi! Trump wants the large texan Indian-American vote. The vote that went to Hillary in 2016.

I suspect Modi may be a better politician than Trump. Modi has been reelected. He first was elected in 2014.

India’s economy was fast moving and on the rise till last year. Now slowing down. Dramatically. Battered by global and domestic forces.

It has been described as “fraying.”

Alan Greenspan is one of the world’s great economists. At one time Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He always said if you want to know where India’s economy is going, look at their sale of men’s underwear.

India is a major manufacturer of men’s underwear. Greenspan said when things get tough financially, the last thing men replace is their worn out underwear. No one can see it.

India is hurting. Men are not replacing their worn cotton briefs and tank tops. World wide. In one year, sales are down 50 percent. The briefs and tops lying on shelves in factories.

Car sales are down also. Thirty two percent. Car manufacturers expect to lay off 1 million in the next year.

Prices are rising. Lenders are skittish. Make it difficult to borrow money. The global economic slowdown is not helping. The spike in oil prices hurts. Again, Trump’s tariff battles with India not helping.

India’s unemployment rate has risen to 8 percent. It is expected to continue to rise.

Trump was courting when he went to Houston. He wants those Indian-American votes. Modi wants the tariffs off and everything else the U.S. can do to help India.

A marriage made in heaven. Modi will walk away with much more than Trump gets. This also evidences how Trump thinks. The trip, holding hands, etc. was for the personal good of Trump, not the U.S. He wants to be reelected President.

Trump understands little. Another area he has begun screwing around with is education. College education at the moment.

Duke University and the University of North Carolina share a joint program. Its purpose to remake a Middle east studies program so it reflects today.

The U.S. government supports the program with a grant of $235,000. An insignificant amount to the two large universities.

Secretary of Education Betsy De Vos has interjected herself into the program. She considers the curriculum as presently taught not teaching enough “positive” imagery of Judaism and Christianity in the Middle East. She claims “considerable emphasis placed on understanding the positive aspects of Islam as opposed to other religions.”

Sounds like some sort of twisted affirmative action program to me.

What happened to freedom of education? Have we reached a point where only that which the government permits can be taught? Looks like outright censorship to me.

Someone crazy here. Know the opposition. The opposition Islamism, not Judaism or Christianity.

Trump has been pushing a pro-Jewish philosophy since taking office. Too much anti-Semitism in the air the past 2 years. De Vos claims the present teachings of the 2 schools is anti-Israel.

I think also Trump wants to look good with his evangelical base. Now he can run to them and say look “…..What a good boy am I!”

The 3 day U.N. Summit begins today. Normally, every nation present. For various reasons, Russia, China and a few other countries will not be present.

The major thrust of this year’s Summit is climate change.

Trump is opposed to climate change. Does not buy it.

An important climate change meeting will take place during the 3 days. Trump in an embarrassing situation. I would assume he did not want to attend.

No problem. He is President of the U.S.

Word is Trump’s office called the U.N. last week and arranged for a “religious meeting” to be added to the schedule. The meeting to be chaired by Trump. And of course, scheduled at the same time as the climate change meeting.

So it has been done. The purpose of Trump’s meeting to protect “religious freedom.”

Many think Trump accomplishes a double header here. He gets a justifiable reason to miss the climate change meeting and instead chair a meeting that will have great approval of his Evangelical base.

Iran’s Rouhani will be present. No meeting between he and Trump planned. The President of the Ukraine will be there also. A meeting is scheduled for the two.

On the road tonight! Dueling Bartenders and dinner later at probably La Trattoria.

Enjoy your day!

MODI-TRUMP MEETING WILL RESULT IN MODI WALKING AWAY WITH MAJOR CONCESSIONS was originally published on Key West Lou

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feelingbluepolitics · 6 years ago

Link

This is an excellent article that speaks for many. In revisiting some of these more notorious stories, the article, as a finite endeavor, must leave out some others, equally as repulsive or worse, but this represents a good collection.

But there's no point in begging for cessation. These features generate controversy -- and that's really the motivation. This patterned deluge isn't a result of ongoing media mea culpas. Controversy gets attention, and media wants attention so as not to disappoint the only truly pertinent audience, which is, of course, advertisers.

These stories are not going to stop. These stories are likely to multiply as election season picks up, as the shut down continues, as the trade wars continue, as crops and markets and stocks crash, as Mueller's findings are revealed, and so on.

If you can't escape these stories, consider savoring them.

I do. I love them. Back in early days, as with all the sad Carrier employees who discovered that trump talked a lot but would not actually save their jobs, there was admittedly a vindictive element mixed with the pleasure. Well, okay. That's still there. But mostly, the more recorded recipients of backwashed karma, the happier I am.

If these stories really intend to tug at the heartstrings of sympathy, then whose?

Not the hurt and broken hearts still aching every day because somehow many people could actually vote for trump. Not the diseased and shriveled hearts, or the heartless, who still love him no matter what.

If the point is to generate sympathy, these stories are too foolish to matter. I see them more as morality plays and cautionary tales, or fables with lessons aimed at childish bullies old enough to vote.

Meanwhile, I'm happy every time a trump voter acknowledges the error of their ways. I'm pleased every time one of them reveals their repulsive character to the world, with all the honest criticism that plentifully ensues. I'm delighted whenever malicious people in business fret they may have ruined themselves, especially if jobs for their former employees are plentiful elsewhere.

In the battles of good versus evil, smart versus stupid, humane versus selfish or malicious, I find these sad trump voter stories affirming. Think about it. They screwed up so horribly that, even if it's the last thing people like this are likely to do, they are forced to acknowledge it and regret it. Even if it's still only for selfish reasons, that's a step.

As far as I'm concerned, these are happy endings. More, please. If media is actually trying to document most of them, we are still about 62 million sobbing regret stories short of having our part of the world become a trustworthy better place.

Your favorite media outlets—you know, the ones that insist that there are “good people on both sides”—have spent the better part of two years trying to understand the Trump voter. We’ve all been subjected to the results: dozens, even hundreds, of articles detailing the lives and thoughts of the poor, aggrieved white people who’ve allegedly been “left behind” by forces such as “globalization” and “Democrats.”

Now that Donald Trump’s policies are starting to ravage the very core of his base, we’re starting to see the follow-up to these experiments in aggrievement normalization. From The New York Times to CNN, we’re being treated to deep dives on the white people who voted for Trump, found it hasn’t paid off, and are now questioning their choices.

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allaboveall · 8 years ago

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Silver Linings Review: Top Badass Moments of 2016 to Inspire You in 2017

This week is going to be tough one - full of Trump foolishness, nominations nonsense, and who knows what else. To inspire you in the face of all this, here are some of the throwback moments I’m holding close from the last year. It’s easy to look back on 2016 with a pessimism: after all, the reality of Donald Trump as our next President has shaken many of us to our core. But we cannot let that erase the fact that in many ways, 2016 was a year of women kicking butt all over the place, whether it was with athletic prowess, astrophysics, policy, or musical brilliance:

10. Women shine at the Olympics.

It may seem like a long time ago now, but 2016 was the year of the Woman Olympian. They broke records: Simone Biles’ feats of gymnastic excellence made her the most decorated U.S. gymnast ever in a single Olympics, while Katie Ledecky brought in four golds and a silver medal as she broke not one but TWO world records. They also broke barriers: Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab. She also won a bronze medal in fencing. As Muhammad said to US Magazine, “A lot of people don’t believe that Muslim women have voices or that we participate in sport…I want to break cultural norms.”

From gymnastics, to swimming, to fencing, women Olympians inspired us all.

GIF credit: https://giphy.com/gifs/gymnastics-women-usa-PzCQrX9zzGLx6

9. Beyoncé’s Lemonade changes the game.

What do we say about King Bey’s Lemonade that hasn’t already been said in a million think pieces and tribute gifs? First came the surprise “Formation” video. Then the explosive Super Bowl performance. Then the transformative Lemonade. THEN, she capped it all off with that defiant and joyful performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the Dixie Chicks at the damn COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS.

Whatever else we say about 2016, it will go down as the year Beyoncé slayed. And slayed. And slayed. OK.

GIF credit: https://giphy.com/gifs/formation-black-power-section-12-6WbZfpAkmosgg

8. Latina Scientists discover Einstein’s gravitational waves.

This year, Argentina-born Dr. Gabriela Gonzalez and Mexican-American Dr. France A. Cordova accomplished the impressive feat of detecting gravitational waves from two black holes colliding, a discovery that confirms many of Albert Einstein’s theories about the universe. This discovery by these Latina scientists is one for the history books!

Image Credit: girabsas.com

7. Purvi Patel is released from jail.

In 2013, Purvi Patel was imprisoned and sentenced to 20 years for feticide and the neglect of a dependent—all because she ended a pregnancy on her own. The story is shocking – after all, no woman should fear arrest or jail for ending a pregnancy, losing a pregnancy, or seeking medical help. A small measure of justice was won for Purvi when she was released from prison in September. This case also creates an important precedent that strikes back against disturbingly widespread state laws that criminalize a woman for ending her pregnancy.

Image credit: SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective

6. Survivors shine light on sexual assault.

A major highlight from this year’s Oscars was Lady Gaga’s performance of her Oscar-nominated song, “Til It Happens To You.” She was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden and ultimately joined onstage by survivors of sexual assault. This was an important moment of visibility for survivors of sexual assault, who also made headlines later in the year when the #NotOkay hashtag moved women from around the world to share their stories of sexual assault and rape.

GIF credit: https://giphy.com/gifs/lady-gaga-till-it-happens-to-you-the-hunting-ground-SKIVBph41yAOk

5. Women bare it all at the RNC.

Back when it was just sinking in that Trump would be the Republican nominee, 100 women posed nude while holding mirrors as part of an art installation protesting the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. While their motives and politics were reportedly very diverse, there’s no question that the women’s agency over their bodies carried extra resonance this election season. Whatever their reasons, it was a powerful moment and brave demonstration.

Photo credit: Lindsey Byrnes.

4. Women strike against abortion ban in Poland.

This year saw women across the planet declaring their human rights and resisting schemes to take those rights away. Polish women organized a massive strike to protest an abortion ban. It was incredible to watch – and is a tactic we may need to learn from if Trump, Pence, and their cronies in Congress have their way.

Image Credit: The Guardian.

3. The Supreme Court declares that abortion must be accessible in real life.

Think back to late June: people gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court to hear the happy news – in a 5:3 decision, SCOTUS struck down Texas’ clinic shutdown law, HB 2. This landmark decision affirmed that a woman should be able to get an abortion with dignity, respect, and WITHOUT politicians standing in the way. In the wake of that decision, several other clinic shutdown laws fell. While there is still a lot to be done, this was a huge moment.

Photo credit: All* Above All (Flickr)

2. “This is not normal.” Michelle Obama responds to Trump’s videotaped admission and history of sexual violence.

When Michelle Obama took the stage in New Hampshire shortly after the video surfaced of our now President-elect bragging about sexually assaulting women, she articulated beautifully and painfully what so many of us had been feeling. It’s worth quoting at length:

“It's that feeling of terror and violation that too many women have felt when someone has grabbed them, or forced himself on them and they've said no but he didn't listen — something that we know happens on college campuses and countless other places every single day. It reminds us of stories we heard from our mothers and grandmothers about how, back in their day, the boss could say and do whatever he pleased to the women in the office, and even though they worked so hard, jumped over every hurdle to prove themselves, it was never enough.

We thought all of that was ancient history, didn't we? And so many have worked for so many years to end this kind of violence and abuse and disrespect, but here we are in 2016 and we're hearing these exact same things every day on the campaign trail. We are drowning in it…

This is not normal.”

With this speech, Michelle gave us the mantra we’ll need to get through the next four years, and face down the regressive policies Trump has promised. This. Is. Not. Normal.

Image Credit: The Nation.

1. A major party presidential candidate spoke out against the Hyde Amendment!

Even as we grieve, and cry, and even fear for our safety and the lives and well-being of those we love, we must remember this: More than 64 million Americans voted for a future where women are treated as human, and where the amount of money you have doesn’t determine whether you can get an abortion. Sixty-four million Americans voted to move forward, not backward, for love instead of hate, compassion instead of division. By a margin of more than 2 million, Americans voted for Secretary Hillary Clinton, the candidate who supported women’s health and rights and spoke out against the Hyde Amendment. While we won’t get to welcome her into the White House, we’ll always remember when she said:

“Any right that requires you to take extraordinary measures to access it is no right at all… [N]ot as long as we have laws on the book like the Hyde Amendment making it harder for low-income women to exercise their full rights.”

Here’s what I’ve learned from this year: women are STRONG AS HELL. We can do anything. We are resilient, we are talented, we are driven, and we resist. And that’s exactly what we’ll need to do to hold onto what we’ve won and keep fighting forward for as long as we have to.

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ladystylestores · 5 years ago

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Why Isn’t the ‘Southern Strategy’ Working?

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Good morning. There are long lines for coronavirus tests. Tech companies are pulling back from Hong Kong. And President Trump’s racial appeals don’t seem to be working.

The so-called Southern strategy — appealing to white voters by focusing on racial issues — has worked very well for the Republican Party. It has helped the party persuade many frustrated white working-class voters that the Democratic Party doesn’t care about them.

Richard Nixon’s campaign invented the strategy, and he won the presidency twice. Ronald Reagan praised “states’ rights” in a tiny Mississippi county known for a Ku Klux Klan triple murder. George H.W. Bush ran the notorious Willie Horton advertisement. The Southern strategy has been “the most successful strategy in the history of modern politics,” Cornell Belcher, a Democratic strategist, told me.

The basic bet has been that Republicans win when voters focus on race. Steve Bannon, who helped run President Trump’s campaign, described the flip side of the idea, in 2017: “The Democrats,” Bannon said, “I want them to talk about racism every day.”

Sure enough, Trump has put race at the center of his re-election message. He did so in two aggressive speeches over the weekend and defended the Confederate flag yesterday. “Almost every day in the last two weeks, Mr. Trump has sought to stoke white fear and resentment,” Maggie Haberman writes. (She’s also on today’s episode of The Daily.)

And yet this time seems different: The strategy isn’t working. Trump’s poll numbers are slumping, and some of his 2016 supporters cite racial issues as a reason they plan to vote for Joe Biden.

Why is the Southern strategy suddenly flailing? I count four main reasons:

The country is changing. It becomes more racially diverse each year. And most Americans under age 35 are quite liberal. The horror of the George Floyd video and the ensuing protest movement have also changed the minds of many Americans.

People are afraid. Historically, many white Americans didn’t see how racism hurt them, Belcher said. But he now hears white voters in focus groups say they’re worried that the country is coming apart. “They talk about, if we continue on this trajectory, it’s going to be dismal for our kids,” he said.

Trump has gone too far. Most white Americans remain moderate to conservative on immigration, affirmative action and more. But many also believe police departments are biased, and many don’t like symbols of slavery. Reagan offered an optimistic, patriotic message that let many voters downplay or overlook his racial appeals. Trump is practically forcing voters to take sides on racism, Terrance Woodbury, another Democratic strategist, told CNN’s Ron Brownstein.

Voters are simply too unhappy with Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. “As long as that’s true,” The Times’s Nate Cohn told me, “I don’t see how he has the freedom to employ wedge issues.”

Of course, the usual caveat applies: The campaign still has four months left.

For more: FiveThirtyEight’s Clare Malone has written a brief history of how the Republican Party “spent decades making itself white.” And The Times’s Emily Cochrane reports from Maine on Senator Susan Collins’s effort to win re-election despite Trump’s unpopularity there.

THREE MORE BIG STORIES

1. Testing troubles

As the United States nears three million coronavirus cases, many cities and states are still struggling with testing. Sites in New Orleans have run out of tests five minutes after doors open. In Phoenix, where temperatures have topped 100 degrees, residents have waited in cars for as long as eight hours to get tested.

While testing has increased considerably since April, it has not kept pace with the recent explosion of the virus. Some experts blame the lack of a federal system, which has led cities to compete for testing labs and supplies.

In other virus developments:

2. Plans for the fall semester

The fall semester is starting to take shape, with most colleges planning to open — but not with business as usual. Harvard will teach all courses remotely and no more than 40 percent of undergrads will live on campus. Georgia Tech plans to resume in-person classes without requiring face masks, leading more than 850 faculty members to sign a letter expressing concern.

One deterrent for going online-only: Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced yesterday that international students enrolled at universities without in-person classes would have to leave the country or transfer to another college. It’s part of the Trump administration’s continuing crackdown on immigration.

3. Unrest over Phoenix police shooting

Another video of a shooting by police — this time with officers in Phoenix fatally shooting a man in a parked car over the weekend — is leading to protests.

Police officials said the victim, James Porter Garcia, had pointed a handgun at one of the officers before he was shot. But a friend told local news media that Garcia was unarmed, and activists have demanded the release of body-camera footage from the officers who shot him.

IDEA OF THE DAY: Pop culture at the Supreme Court

In a unanimous Supreme Court decision yesterday — holding that members of the Electoral College cannot vote for whichever candidate they want — Justice Elena Kagan referred to both the musical “Hamilton” and to the television show “Veep.” We asked Adam Liptak, The Times’s Supreme Court reporter, for some context, and he replied:

The two best writers on the Supreme Court are generally thought to be Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Elena Kagan, and neither is a stranger to pop culture references.

In 2008, Chief Justice Roberts quoted (some say misquoted) Bob Dylan in explaining why the plaintiff lacked standing in a dispute between two phone companies. Instead of citing a case to back up a legal proposition, he cited a lyric: “When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.” (What Dylan actually sings, of course, is, “When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose.”)

The chief justice, 65, also drew on the classic rock canon at the argument of a copyright case in 2011. “What about Jimi Hendrix, right?” he asked. “He has a distinctive rendition of the national anthem.”

Justice Kagan, 60, has made her own contributions. In a 2013 case concerning signs on trucks, she gave a hypothetical example of one: “How am I driving? Call 213-867-5309.” That was a sly reference to “867-5309/Jenny,” Tommy Tutone’s indelible 1981 hit, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and will still get people of a certain age onto the dance floor at college reunions.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT, CHEER

Get baking

Maple-blueberry scones are “the perfect thing to bake when you’re looking to funnel some angst into something delicious,” writes the cookbook author Dorie Greenspan.

They are big and glazed and possess a unique texture — tender and flaky at the same time — thanks to a technique for mixing the butter with flour. Created by the chef Joanne Chang for her Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston, you can find the recipe here.

Read a timely new memoir

“The Beauty in Breaking,” written by Michele Harper, chronicles her life as an emergency room physician through the lens of the patients she has treated. Each chapter highlights a different case, like a newborn baby who isn’t breathing. Along the way, Harper tells her own story — of experiencing abuse, divorce, racism and sexism, and of becoming a doctor. Elisabeth Egan, an editor at The Times Book Review, called the book a “riveting, heartbreaking, sometimes difficult, always inspiring story.”

Baseball sets a date

Major League Baseball announced that its season would begin on July 23 with a game between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals. But will it actually happen? Some players and managers are skeptical.

At least four teams have canceled workouts this week because of virus-testing delays, and several players have already said they will sit out the season. “We haven’t done any of the things that other countries have done to bring sports back,” Sean Doolittle, the Nationals’ closer, told The Washington Post. “Sports are like the reward of a functioning society.”

Diversions

Games

Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Guacamole ingredient (five letters).

You can find all of our puzzles here.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David

P.S. Dana Canedy, the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and a former Times journalist, will run the namesake imprint at Simon & Schuster. It is one of the biggest jobs in book publishing, and she is the first Black person to hold it.

You can see today’s print front page here.

Today’s episode of “The Daily” is about Trump’s re-election campaign.

Subscribers help us report stories from around the world. Please consider subscribing today.

Ian Prasad Philbrick and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at [email protected].

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