But I thought I'd take this opportunity to predict some of what he will say in just a few minutes from now (writing this with 30 minutes to go!). He will say our Great Country is:
A mess that he inherited
A scary, dark, dangerous place
Over-run by leftist liberals
Fraught with too many paid protesters (oops; "fraught" is a 6th grade word -- edit to: bigly paid protesters)
Burdened by too many federal agencies
Needing more police or military presence within the borders
"No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body." --Margaret Sanger
My second protest last week, after Saturday's United We Stand march, was a rally on Tuesday in support of Planned Parenthood.
There were a few hundred people gathered at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden for a short rally. Several speakers spoke to the crowd.
A half-dozen or so members of the clergy from around the area stood with Planned Parenthood and spoke about the importance of the healthcare that women receive there, from STD testing, to contraception, to safe abortion and general healthcare.
Various denominations of clergy stood with PP
Congressman Salud Carbajal was again on hand to stand with Planned Parenthood and spoke in support of the organization and a woman's right to make her own decisions about her reproductive health.
Congressman Salud Carbajal speaks to the crowd
I was proud to be among my fellow citizens fighting for the freedom for women to make their own decisions. My body, my choice!
"Lord, Lord, how subject we old men are to this vice of lying!" --Falstaff, Henry IV Part 2, William Shakespeare
More lies.... It's getting ridiculous. It's getting complex. It is getting surreal.
It was reported that the Whitewash House actually produced a fake news story in order to smear a reporter who reported factually and truthfully but that the Cheeto Musselini Regime didn't like.
It's complex, but Spicey is at the center of it. You can read about the incident in the Washington Post.
Here is the meat of the matter from the article linked above:
Annie Karni and Alex Isenstadt of Politico publish a piece about how Spicer has been investigating alleged leaks from within his own staff:
Last week, after Spicer became aware that information had leaked out of a planning meeting with about a dozen of his communications staffers, he reconvened the group in his office to express his frustration over the number of private conversations and meetings that were showing up in unflattering news stories, according to sources in the room.
Upon entering Spicer’s office for what one person briefed on the gathering described as “an emergency meeting,” staffers were told to dump their phones on a table for a “phone check,” to prove they had nothing to hide.
Those details are chilling though not surprising, given what we know about the zeal of President Trump to always be seeking and punishing leakers. Though he seems to love leakers when they’re helping him. In any case, the Karni-Isenstadt story made the rounds today, including on CNN and other outlets.
Bad news always places White House handlers in a bind. How to respond? Keep quiet? Issue an apology? Deny? Make a pledge to dismantle the surveillance state descending on your colleauges? Nah, better to ring up the Washington Examiner and have it smear Isenstadt.
Voila! “Claim: Reporter laughs at Trump aide’s emotion over SEAL death,” reads the headline of Examiner reporter Paul Bedard’s piece posted early Sunday evening. Note the wording — with its “claim” construction, the Washington Examiner is placing no institutional credibility in the story that follows. Rather, it’s signaling that it’ll be carrying the water for a media-hating White House.
Scattered and poorly executed, the story appears to represent the assertion by anonymous White House officials that Isenstadt, while reporting the Spicer-leak-investigation piece, did something offensive. The alleged moment arose as Isenstadt was asking Spicer in an interview about a staffer at the White House press office. Here’s how Karni and Isenstadt reported out the scenario:
Within the communications office, the mood has grown tense. During a recent staff meeting, Spicer harshly criticized some of the work deputy communications director Jessica Ditto had done, causing her to cry, according to two people familiar with the incident. “The only time Jessica recalls almost getting emotional is when we had to relay the information on the death of Chief Ryan Owens,” Spicer said, referring to the Navy SEAL killed recently in action in Yemen. What fresh material was the Washington Examiner adding to this matter? Well, its anonymous White House sources whisper that Isenstadt laughed inappropriately when discussing the Ditto issue.
“He started laughing about that SEAL,” the Washington Examiner quotes “one informed official” as saying. Politico spokesman Brad Dayspring denied any such characterization. Asked how he justified using anonymous sourcing for such an allegation, the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard responded, “I thought Brad had a good response as did the anon Politico who characterized Spicer.”
The Washington Examiner’s treatment makes it utterly impossible to determine just who leaked details of a conversation involving Sean Spicer and Politico.
Since Spicer apparently has a thing for investigating leaks, however, we call upon him to investigate this one.
Politico Editor Carrie Budoff Brown tweeted:
Reporter writes story WH doesn't like/disputes. WH anonymously plants false story about reporter. https://t.co/2ZGue3uxfz — Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) February 27, 2017
Before assuming his role as press secretary, Spicer was downright Trumpian regarding his feelings for Politico. Appearing at a December event with Politico “Playbook” reporters Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, Spicer brandished a binder, saying, “This is every story that Politico has done on the RNC and GOP this year,” said Spicer. “I do have a problem with how Politico has engaged in covering politics, especially on our side. I think it is tweet-happy, it is clickbait in many cases and it’s devoid of facts.”
Spicer didn’t respond to questions via email. But here’s a good one for him: What’s next?
It was the week of the Town Hall meeting from Coast to Coast. Congress was in recess this week, and Members of Congress went home to their districts. And some went into hiding.
Their constituents showed up.
I was gratified to see Democracy in action this week. From coast to coast, Members of Congress faced the wrath of theiir Constituents. Citizens asked pointed questions about the Affordable Care Act; about the environment; immigrants and refugees; the Cabinet appointees; reproductive rights; and important issues across the spectrum. They stood up in real, legitimate anger (not "so-called anger," SCROTUS!) and spoke their minds, demanding to be heard. There are clips from town halls coast to coast all over the internet. I've posted a few below for reference, but my favorites are here.
One of my favorites was earlier this month when those rowdy Elitist Liberal Leftists in UTAH confronted Representative Jason Chaffetz.
(Side note, as House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman, Chaffetz deserves a phone call or two -- here is is contact info -- from folks around the country as to his mounting some certain investigations. [and no I'm not talking about Rogue Tweets from those rapscallion Rangers!])
<ifr
But the very best one? Toby in Arkansas, speaking to Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK)
Go, Little Brother Resister!
Here is a summary news report from ABC about the Town Halls around the country:
In many districts where the Member of Congress were missing, constituants showed up anyway. They held empty-chair town halls. They asked for their representatives' presence, sometimes in angry but humorous ways. Democracy will continue, and these representatives will find out the full brunt in 2018 and 2020.
....And so what about SCROTUS's tweet?
Let's look at these 140 characters, shall we?
"So-called angry crowds?" No, you Twitiot, they were factually angry, REALly angry, legitimately angry. Millions of us, from the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream waters.
"Some Republicans?" He got that right, actually! Of 247 Republican Members of Congress, more than 200 have avoided or cancelled traditional town hall meetings, according to reports.
"Are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists"YES! It's called Democracy, Bitch! Organize and plan. Motivate and activate! Go out in numbers! That's what it's all about. A version of Democracy got you to (sometimes) occupy the Whitewash House, so get used to the FULL power of Democracy, in all of its organized ways, to take. you. down.
"Sad!" Wrong. You are witnessing wonderful, gratifying Democratic action. The only one "Sad" is you. You are a Sad sack of ****.
“To the wrongs that need resistance, To the right that needs assistance, To the future in the distance, Give yourselves" -- Carrie Chapman Catt
On Saturday I took part in the "United We Stand" President's Day rally and march in downtown Santa Barbara.
It was inspirational! The speakers were wonderful, from Susan Epstein on the Goleta School Board, to Mayor Helene Schnieder, city council member Cathy Murillo, Assembly member Monique Limón, State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson, on up to Congressman Salud Carbajal. Hannah Beth Jackson was especially inspirational, and reminded us that not only is California the leader in the resistance, we in Santa Barbara County are strong to lead the way to resist and persist. She got us fired up, and I got all verklempt when she recited the words at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
I am happy to feel well-represented in all levels of Government! I know that they have Progressive Minds and will work hard in the Resistance. It's a realllly good feeling, and lets me focus on other actions, knowing that our government officials are truly leaders. They are leading the Resistance. After our leaders spoke, we marched! We marched up State Street for a few blocks, then back down Anacapa to De La Guerra Plaza. Our fine police department was on hand to made sure streets were safe for us and watched over our peaceful demonstration. I took the sign that I used at the Women's March. I was happy to march with my friends J and E. Thanks to E for the photo!
....And I was on TV! The local news did a story on the event, and I was in their video footage! Read the story and see the video here! (I tried and tried but couldn't embed!) After the march, I and my friends made our way to La Casa de La Raza and joined a meeting of the Santa Barbara Progressive Coalition, a group that has been reborn out of the resistance. It was a wonderful turnout!
There were over 200 people in attendance, a standing-room-only packed room. Again I felt energized and inspired being among like-minded people. The large group divided into 10 sub-groups to discuss action plans on several important issues, such as women's health issues, immigrant issues, sustainability, healthcare. Though I wanted to divide myself into 10 people, I took part in the Healthcare group. We talked about action plans to help preserve the Affordable Care Act, as well as actions to support the single-payor heathcare bill that State Sen. Ricardo Lara, (D-Bell Gardens) introduced to the California legislature on Friday.
One action that I will undertake, and you can, too: call and send postcards to the White House and to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and ask that the Affordable Care Act be preserved.
Contact Information for Tom Price: HHS Office of the Secretary 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 E-mail Address: Secretary@HHS.gov PHONE NUMBERS: 202-690-7000 Toll Free Call Center: 1-877-696-6775
And of course, Contact Information for SCROTUS: The Whitewash House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 PHONE NUMBERS: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 Other action items: Learn and get involved with Heaclthcare for All-California: healthcareforall.org or Physicians for a National Health Program.
Fix It - Healthcare at the Tipping Point. You can watch the film here:
I will report back on actions we can undertake on this issue and others. Whew! I heard there are paid protesters taking part in these rallies and marches. Aw, heck! I am still waiting for my paycheck! Despite that, I will continue to resist. And I will persist.
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!” --Dolly Parton
It continues to rain in America.
My anxiety spiked this week with all of the revelations about the Russia situation. I woke up Wednesday with the deepest dread and anxiety -- more than at any time since November 8. It's horrible to be so worried about the country you love and the country that has truly been the greatest in the world.
The Russia Situation deepened. Mike Flynn resigned. Well, the official line is that SCROTUS fired him. That's all fine and good. The Republican leadership's reaction to this scandal? Rand Paul: "I think it makes no sense" to have Republicans investigate other Republicans. Huh? Mike Flynn is just the tip of the iceberg in the Titanic Fiasco that is this SCROTUS administration. There better be some freaking investigations!
This scandal has the potential to be calamitous. Dan Rather wrote a good essay comparing the Russia scandal to Watergate.
"In light of this, and out of worries about the White House’s ability to keep secrets, some of our spy agencies have begun withholding intelligence from the Oval Office. Why risk your most sensitive information if the president may ignore it anyway? A senior National Security Agency official explained that NSA was systematically holding back some of the “good stuff” from the White House, in an unprecedented move. For decades, NSA has prepared special reports for the president’s eyes only, containing enormously sensitive intelligence. In the last three weeks, however, NSA has ceased doing this, fearing Trump and his staff cannot keep their best SIGINT secrets.
Since NSA provides something like 80 percent of the actionable intelligence in our government, what’s being kept from the White House may be very significant indeed. However, such concerns are widely shared across the IC, and NSA doesn’t appear to be the only agency withholding intelligence from the administration out of security fears.
What’s going on was explained lucidly by a senior Pentagon intelligence official, who stated that “since January 20, we’ve assumed that the Kremlin has ears inside the SITROOM,” meaning the White House Situation Room, the 5,500 square-foot conference room in the West Wing where the president and his top staffers get intelligence briefings. “There’s not much the Russians don’t know at this point,” the official added in wry frustration."
The situation is unpresidented. The implications not only of SCROTUS colluding with Russia, but of the erosion of trust from the Intelligence Community, are huge. How will that play in the minds of foreign leaders, both friendly and foe? It is really difficult to wrap my head around the far-reaching implications. It's a dangerous world we are steering through.
Other things made my heart bleed this week. It hurts simply that the Russia Situation has eclipsed all the other issues. The other stuff now feels like minor stuff.....but it is all big stuff! It is getting more and more overwhelming.
SCROTUS's pick for Flynn's replacement, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, declined the offer.
A potential crisis played out in front of club members at Mar-a-Lago. North Korea had launched a missile and the news came to SCROTUS while he was having dinner with the Japanese Prime Minister and other club members at his Florida resort. People witnessed his actions and reactions, and one even took selfies and posted them on Facebook, including a selfie with the soldier who carries the nuclear codes. SCROTUS's cavalier handling of national security issues should concern us all very much.
This man still holds the key to the briefcase holding those codes. This one concerns me every.single.day.
Though initially not officially directed by the Whitewash House, there have begun round-ups of undocumented immigrants around the country. The AP reported that SCROTUS has his fingers in a plan to pull in the National Guard to assist in large-scale roundups.
One bright spot, one might say a pot of gold. The stock market, amazingly, is holding its own. Historically, lesser events have brought it down. I can't believe it continues to grow. I do think there will be something that the Rabid Yam does that crashes it, though. It's already in a bubble. (That's your free Little Sister Resister Prediction for the week--worth all the pixels used to make it)
I hadn't heard before this week that SCROTUS had actually filed his re-election paperwork on election day. BIZARRE! But what is more bizarre is that he is planning a campaign rally tomorrow. Nevermind that his administration is in chaos and the country is hurting badly. No, no, go on, Li'l Adolph, go get your boner on in front of your adoring fans. We'll wait here.
That whole press conference yesterday was weird, wasn't it? Like other-worldy weird. I am still getting bizarre, surreal feelings four weeks into this crazy situation.
CNN has compliled some of the more bizarro clips from his press conference. And there are plenty. "You know what uranium is, don't you? It's bad stuff!" And "Can you set up a meeting with the Black Caucus since they must be friends of yours, Ms. Black Reporter?"
My favorite (favorite cuz the next four years are 1400 Opposite Days) "The leaks are real. You're the one that wrote about them and reported them. The leaks are real. You know what they said; you saw it. And the leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake." OK what universe are we occupying here?
If you have the time and the constitution (small "c" constitution, though you might also want to keep handy a copy of the big "C" Constitution), you can watch the whole press conference below. ...Or just wait for tomorrow's SNL treatment!
And then there was the press event on Wednesday with Netanyahu by his side. Some of the more bizarre ramblings ever.
"Hey, SCROTUS, what do you think about the rise in anti-semitic incidents?"
"I won bigly!"
What the hell was that? I have similar conversations with my dementia patients!
And his answer about the Israel-Palestine situation? The one-state / two-state answer? I don't think he even really understands what the issue is. It's not choosing a flavor of ice cream, Twidiot!
And yet! There were some rainbow moments this week!
There are signs that the LIE MACHINE may be starting to wear out some of its parts. Spicey himself found a time that he could not or would not defend SCROTUS's interminable charges of voter fraud. He conceded that the Cheeto Mussolini "believes what he believes." FINALLY someone in the administration who is calling it like it is! I think Spicey's days are numbered. Which is too bad, cuz Melissa McCarthy kills in her impression of him. Her second go-round last Saturday night:
And when your favorite fabrication-feeder turns on you, you know things are bad. Yay for FAUX News for taking a stand! Go, Shep!
Let's hope these are signs that the Earth is once again righting itself on its axis. Or at least making a little rainbow.
"Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a <country> every day?"
I can't bear to lend any legitimacy to SCROTUS's occupancy of such a vaulted domicile. So, for the current period until SCROTUS is terminated, it shall be known on this blog as the Whitewash House.
I've been thinking about how this Alternative Administration will end. Will SCROTUS occupy the White House for four years? Will he be impeached? Will he resign? Will he die? And when?
Bookies are pegging resignation or impeachment at 48%. Read more at Politico. Resignation. Not gonna happen, with this man's ego. There are good signs that SCROTUS should resign, however. The leaks from the first few weeks indicate that he is overwhelmed and out of touch. He has been overwhelmed from Day 1, when he met with President Obama. At that time, the reports were that he didn't quite understand the scope of the job, or even that he had to fill thousands of staffers' jobs. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Cream Faced Loon "seemed surprised by the scope," and his aides were also "unaware that the entire presidential staff working in the West Wing had to be replaced at the end of Mr. Obama's term." As was widely reported, President Obama offered extra help to ease the transition. Even today, three weeks in, there are reports of his being overwhelmed and out of touch. There are reports that he doesn't like being SCROTUS. The White House is chaotic and full of leaks. Even the Intelligence Community is keeping information from him because of security concerns.
There are plenty of reports that he just doesn't understand the workings of the government, the economy (Is a strong dollar the good one? Or a weak dollar? And who is the right person to ask?), foreign policy, or even international decorum. He doesn't seem to care to understand, either. He doesn't like to read briefs; he wants information presented to him in short bullet-point memos. He's learning on the job --if you can call steering a burning ship into a wall of rocks learning--and it's scary.
We all know that he is unfit for the job, but will there come a time when he throws up his hands and agrees? We could hope that he would recognize that he's just not cut out for it, but I just don't see that happening, given his massive ego. Though this may be the very way to bring him down: keep insulting his ego. we know that he is quite fragile. He is obsessed with polls and his perceived popularity. After just one week, there were reports that he was becoming demoralized already. If there is one way to force a resignation, it may be to keep chipping away at his ego until it breaks. (Enter the Resistance!)
Impeachment Nearly a year ago, even before he got the nomination, there was talk about impeachment of SCROTUS. This article by Politico from April, 2016 is on point with its prediction of the election results and the description of the early days of the Bigly Mistake's administration. The article quotes Rush Limbaugh as having the thought that talk of impeachment would take two days. Ha, ha. It didn't take two minutes. On Inaguration Day, there were calls to impeach.
Reality has brought impeachment a bit closer. Some call for impeachment for SCROTUS's violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prohibits a President from benefiting monetarily from a foreign leader or government. Given that we don't exactly know if he is, given that he won't release his tax returns, there is still strong evidence for this. He refuses to divest, and he has numerous businesses and hotels profiting around the world, possibly profiting from a foreign leader or government.
Here is an article from Huffington Post detailing the Emoluments Clause and concluding that it is probably not a very strong course of action to use it as a basis for impeachment with what we know at this time.
(Side note: I'm trying very hard to read and cite unbiased news sources, and Huffington Post has come out on many lists as biased too far to the left. However, I have found them to have good summary articles with links to more centered media. And, well, I'm biased to the Left, so I'll probably continue to cite them. For the record, I'm striving for unbiased news sources in general).
Undoubtedly as SCROTUS continues his ham-fisted style of Alternative Leadership, there will be other grounds for impeachment. I'd love to have his tax returns found. Wikileaks has vowed to find them. Maybe they'll rise to the challenge. The Russian thing will surely implode very soon and there may be good reason not only to impeach TЯUMP but to jail him. Congressmen are stepping up and pushing the impeachment issue, on other grounds. Indeed, last week on Tuesday, February 7, Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) filed a resolution, the first step toward a SCROTUS impeachment, after the Muslim Travel ban executive order. That order was overturned by our wonderful system of checks and balances, this time embodied by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Two days later, on Thursday, February 9, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) also filed a “resolution of inquiry” for impeachment. His gets closer to the meat of the matter, which is the Russia situation.
If more Members of Congress step forward, maybe one of their resolutions will progress and will stick. Impeachment may be a hard sell to the Republicans (Esquire figures the Republicans won't do it), but SCROTUS's ratings are falling fast, and the mid-term elections are just around the corner. Rebellion Could America be subject to a new Revolution?
Death That could happen. I'll leave it there as a possibility.
In an earlier post, I estimated 200 days before he is gone from office. I'll further predict it will be by impeachment. I think it makes political sense for Republicans to join our Democratic leaders to make it happen. The Republicans will be better able to get on to their business at hand under a President Pence <shudder> and their jobs will have a better chance of withstanding the next election.
President Nixon's own lawyer, John Dean, an expert in Presidential endings, has stated that it will end "in calamity." He doesn't specify the flavor of calamity, but I tend to agree. It's already been a calamity for our country. This Alternative Administration deserves to end in calamity. Then, we can exit stage Left and find our new entrance.
...Today I had probably the biggest vowel movement ever. Have you ever noticed that in every picture of SCROTUS smiling he has the same look as a toddler when he's hiding behind the couch doing his business...?
This age of misinformation is truly perplexing. What a mind trip. It is so confusing and confounding. It is crazy-making. It comes right out of the story books, 1984, or Harry Potter's Office of Misinformation in the Ministry of Magic.
It's our New Orwellian Reality.
First came the fake news. Obvious satire like The Onion gave way to complex fake news sites from people who like to write and make up stuff. I guess there's money to be made there. As was true all along in the information age, people read and believe what they read on the internet. One such writer, who made a lot of money in the fake news industry, believes that due to his fake news, he may be irresponsible for the election results. See an article here.
What is also concerning, is that it appears that we can be manipulated into reading what others --potentially powerful others-- want us to read. Big data and psychometrics are being used to analyze us, practically down to the color of our socks. There is a lot of information out there about each of us, even without the obvious Silver Platter o' Personal Information that is Facebook. And people are using it to feed us stuff. This is a long article, but really worth digesting. Scary, scary shit.
(As an aside, I took part in the analysis the article linked to. The analysis they did with only 29 of my public Facebook "likes" pegged me to a "T" -- it was astounding)
And then there is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency of us all to search for, attend to. and interpret information that confirms our beliefs. Read about confirmation bias in this good article about it, or on Wikipedia. We are all influenced by confirmation bias, but my hope is that if we read and learn about it and become aware, we may be able to combat it in our attempts to become better informed citizens.
Add fake news to confirmation bias, mix in some disdain and dissatisfaction, top with a dollop of force-feeding by outside forces, and you have a recipe for disaster, served up hot on November 8, 2016.
And then..... And then.....
Most troubling of all......
The gas-lighting.
There are outright LIES. LIES from Bannon's Bitch and his minions. There is so much misinformation, deception, and fabrication flowing directly from that elvish-mark’d, abortive, rooting hog that it makes your ears bleed.
It's too depressing, and frankly overwhelming, to try to outline all the lies from just the first two weeks since Inauguration Day. (Gawd, as I write this, it's only been two weeks. TWO WEEKS. It feels like a lifetime.) There are plenty of sites that keep track. If you have a strong stomach, and a lot of time, you can read about Li'l Adolph's lies, including plenty of lies you don't even know about. Here are a few sites that keep track:
Since the election, TeenVogue has come into the role of media hero. Who knew?! Go, TeenVogue! Here is one excellent article about the gas-lighting of America by Hair Hitler. The writers at Teen Vogue are calling it like it is. Good for our girls. Good for us.
It is emotionally and psychologically exhausting to be confronted with lies at such frequency and intensity. SCROTUS really does want to discredit the Press. This is terrifying. People are starting to believe that all news is fake news. SCROTUS wants to smear responsible journalists. The Press is us, the public. They are our eyes and ears. By bashing the press, SCROTUS is attacking each of us. It is astounding and alarming.
Another Catch-22: Repeating a lie, even with the statement, "SCROTUS's claims of rainbows flying out of his butt has no evidence" gives the lie legitimacy and makes the lie easier to remember. So, how do we refute it? It's enough to make a person absolutely nuts. For an interesting analysis of this phonomenon and the psychology of being bombarded with lies, read this article from POLITICO.
But sometimes you really do gotta laugh to keep from crying. Or going crazy. Saturday Night Live to the rescue.
Buck Fuglie is not only challenging the veracity of the press (don't like the story or the poll numbers? Make up your own!), but even fact-checkers like Snopes.com are falling into the trap of "suspect" sites. Factcheck.org fact-checked allegations about snopes.com and found that snopes.com is on the up-and-up, apolitical, and unbiased. Yet, I see over and over comments on Facebook that say, "Snopes.com itself has a problem with the facts" -- from right-wingers. sigh. The nightmare Catch-22 continues. It is sickening.
Of course SCROTUS and the Office of Misinformation that want the public to mistrust even the trusted sources. It's a horrible, rising wave of ugly deception.
What can we do?
Consume Healthy Media. Be aware that there is "fake news" on both sides. There is a good source for sorting out bias and fake stuff. Look for the broccoli and beans of the media sources. Reject the Doritos and Cheez-Whiz. That stuff ain't healthy. Here are sources that can help sort out fake news:
This image made its rounds on Facebook. It may be a good starting point.
I submit that print journalism is a different kind of journalism than 24-hour news-ertainment, with it's churning vortex of spin, speculation and s'pundits. Turn off the TV and pick up a newspaper. OK, if you must, read a trusted newspaper on-line. But really. Go to the end of your driveway in the morning, pick up the newspaper, and read it. Every day. And go talk to your co-workers, friends, and neighbors about what your read.
The upside to this fiasco is that perhaps we'll have a better-informed populace in the end. If enough of us understand these issues and work to overcome them, maybe we'll have an improved collective knowledge. Maybe young people will be inspired to become journalists. Maybe print journalism will have a resurgence.
Given the complexity of this mix of fakery, bias, and lies, in addition to the fact that we are also fed information that tries to manipulate us, in the most pervasive ways, it is imperative that we stay alert, read and learn. We need to work hard to be open-minded enough to let many sources of information in.
Read. A lot. Question what you read. Be aware of the source of what you read. Check other sources. Check with fact-checking websites. Talk to people in real life about issues. Carefully consume information on the internet. Subscribe to a newspaper. Support the freedom of the press. Believe in science. Think critically. Step out of your comfort zone and read viewpoints from "the other side." Read for information, not confirmation. Be skeptical. THINK FOR YOURSELF.
And when confronted by untruths, speak up. Say it's hogwash. Give sources. Put them in their place.
Be a better citizen.
Oh. And that gorgeous woman at the top of this page? That's a man. Beautiful deception. I want more of that kind.
I truly believe that there is actually a lot of good that will come out of this fiasco in America. In this blog I hope to touch on the positives. I believe deeply that love and kindness WILL win, and if we keep the positive vibe in our hearts we will find a way through this, and actually come out stronger for it.
One huge positive: It is bringing out the best in us. Citizens are using their skills to contribute. We are energized and ready to apply our gifts to the resistance. Organizers are organizing; people with money are donating; writers are writing. And artists are making art.
Like during other movements in our history, such as the Civil Rights movement or the Vietnam era, visual and performing artists are using their art to give us a voice and a vision.
Here are a very few examples that have struck me just in the last week or so.
This artist is giving a face to the marginalized. Read the story also in The Huffington Post.
Here is an interesting article about California artists and their role in the resistance. Explore the links in the article for more wonderful art, including the posters that Shepard Fairey has shared for free.
These are some of my favorite from the collection. They all portray SCROTUS in his true light.
Even artists like the lovable Sarah Boynton are getting into the act.
I attended a wonderful performance by Sarah Jones at UCSB just a few days after the inauguration. Ms. Jones is an amazing actress. She is able to put on characters like the rest of us put on a jacket. She became the characters from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Some of her characters had been with her at the Women's March in Washington, DC, and their commentary on the event was wise, poignant, and touching. Please explore her website and her videos, and if you ever get to see her perform, GO!
We are going to need to escape from reality in the next four years. I think that we are on the brink of having a ton of wonderful films produced. Just like in the 40s, we will need to escape to other worlds. Hollywood will not only comment on current events, but will take us away from them. Here are a couple of film-lets. Budweiser created a touching ad:
And I will leave you with another film that inspires us to be at our best now and always. This week, at the opening night of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, they showed an ad made by the Anti-Defamation League. It was powerful in any circumstance, but particularly today when people's freedoms and safety are at stake. Imagine.
"If you can't answer a man's arguments, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names." --Elbert Hubbard
Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions for names for the Icky One.
For the primary name, I have decided to use one that I thought up! SCROTUS: Soft Corrupt Ruskie Oligarch of The United States
But in the end, I decided to use a grab-bag approach. Everyone was so creative, so I'll use names from my friends and me from this list as they fit!
From my imagination and borrowed from Shakespeare:
