Happy Martin Luther King Day!!! Celebrate Civil Rights!
Posted: January 16, 2017 Filed under: Afternoon Reads, anonymous, The Bonus Class | Tags: RESIST 33 Comments
Today is the day to think about the sacrifices that were made by Civil Rights leaders and activists under the leadership of Nobel Peace Prize winner Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Today is the day we celebrate his birthday and the struggle that committed our country to fully addressing the promise of equality for all of us including those Black Americans who built this great nation under the yoke of slavery and the oppression of Jim Crow. #BLACKLIVESMATTER
I want to share this op ed written in WAPO by Michael Gerson today on why the attack on Congressman Lewis on the eve of our celebration of King’s birthday and legacy is “the essence of narcissism”. Gerson correctly characterizes Trump’s problem as
“Trump seems to have no feel for, no interest in, the American story he is about to enter. He will lead a nation that accommodated a cruel exception to its founding creed; that bled and nearly died to recover its ideals; and that was only fully redeemed by the courage and moral clarity of the very people it had oppressed. People like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. People like John Lewis.”
Trump has no appreciation for our roots as a nation and the sacrifice made by many men and women to bring it to where it is today. Many of us had ancestors who did not make these sacrifices on their own terms or with consent or with recognition of their humanity which is an extremely important history to embrace. This includes the endless humiliation and suffering of slaves and the atrocities committed against indigenous peoples. It includes not extending the vote to woman until quite recently. It includes not recognizing the dignity of all forms of love and being. We’ve struggled to get here and we struggle still. Understanding the roads of our shared history is something we ask of our leaders. This shallow man who doesn’t read or appear to learn much of anything at all is preoccupied with himself alone.
A broader conception of the American story — a respect for the heroes and ghosts of our history — is absent in Trump’s public voice. He seems to be in the thrall of an eternal now. To some, the whole idea of a historical imagination will sound nebulous. Abraham Lincoln called it the “mystic chords of memory.” He hung his hopes for unity on the existence of a shared national experience that transcended regional differences. Today our divisions are more along lines of class and culture, but we also need to hear our story as one people.
Not every citizen shares this sense of history. It is a minority of Americans who visit Antietam and feel oppressed by the immense weight of collective death; or go to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and feel sickened by the scale of such a loss; or walk across that bridge in Selma and hear the echoes of snarling dogs and nightsticks against bone.
But we need a president who respects and evokes this story — or at least does not peevishly attack its heroes.
Shepard Fairey has painted the faces of the Resistance that starts in earnest this weekend with the Woman’s March on Washington . The faces of resistance grace today’s post along with the man who must be our role model for change.
Shepard has created three portraits for the campaign; two other artists, Colombian American muralist Jessica Sabogal and and Chicano graphic artist Ernesto Yerena, have each made one more. Together, they hope the faces of “We the People” — standing in for traditionally marginalized groups or those specifically targeted during Trump’s presidential campaign — will flood Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day.
Fairey is collaborating with the Amplifier Foundation, a nonprofit that works to amplify grassroots movements and which commissioned the project. After learning that large-sized signs were prohibited at Inauguration, Amplifier came up with a hack to distribute the posters. Their plan: to buy full-page ads in the Washington Post on Jan. 20 that feature the “We the People” images, which can be torn out and carried as placards, or hung and posted around town. The posters will also be distributed at metro stops, from moving vans and other drop spots on Inauguration Day, as well as posted online for free download. A Kickstarter campaign for “We the People” has raised more than $148,000 since it was launched Tuesday night.
Today, his future press secretary has done the same thing that White House Mommy 
has said. Do not be mean to Kremlin Caligula with the implication that some Russian Goon will visit us with brass knuckles if we continue not to accept his mocking of the disabled, his horrible treatment of Gold Star Parents who are Muslim and immigrants, his history of serial sexual assault and degradation of women and his fixation with SNL. The talk is that the White House Press will be sent to some far off administration building and out of their newly built offices in the White House. Spicer wants Acosta and CNN to apologize for not treating the Toddler headed to the White House like an adult capable of answering questions germane to his job.
We’re about to become the anathema of the free world. Interviews with Hair Furor have set off shivers from our allies. Here’s some analysis from Martin Longman writing for Washington Monthly.
If Donald Trump has the goal of destroying American power, breaking up the European Union, dismantling NATO, lifting Russian sanctions, and helping to elect a bunch of Russian-aligned far right fascist parties in Western Europe, at least he’s willing to tell us exactly that. There’s very little subtlety about it at this point, and the only fig leaf he’s going to offer is the prospect that Putin will agree to some kind of reduction in our respective nuclear arsenals.
Is that a fair trade?
I don’t think so.
Donald Trump called NATO obsolete, predicted that other European Union members would follow the U.K. in leaving the bloc…
…Trump predicted that Britain’s exit from the EU will be a success and portrayed the EU as an instrument of German domination designed with the purpose of beating the U.S. in international trade. For that reason, Trump said, he’s fairly indifferent to whether the EU stays together, according to Bild…
…The Times quoted Trump as saying he was interested in making “good deals with Russia,” floating the idea of lifting sanctions…
“…[NATO is] obsolete, first because it was designed many, many years ago,” Trump said in the Bild version of the interview. “Secondly, countries aren’t paying what they should” and NATO “didn’t deal with terrorism.” The Times quoted Trump saying that only five NATO members are paying their fair share…
…With Merkel facing an unprecedented challenge from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany as she seeks a fourth term this fall, Trump was asked whether he’d like to see her re-elected. He said he couldn’t say, adding that while he respects Merkel, who’s been in office for 11 years, he doesn’t know her and she has hurt Germany by letting “all these illegals” into the country.
Since when are Syrian refugees allowed into a country for the purpose of asylum “illegals”? NATO obsolete? Where the hell is this mad man taking us? Hey you … you’ve under an asterisk next to your name as president* the same way pumped up druggie athletes get one.
How long can our institutions endure these assaults? Trumps appointments are as compromised as he is and they’re all freaking crooks.
Here’s the latest in the ethics issues that we’re told aren’t happening/don’t exist.
A multi-million dollar expansion of President-elect Donald Trump’s golf resort in Scotland is reportedly underway just days after his attorneys said no new foreign deals would be made.
Expansion plans for the Trump International Golf Course Scotland in Aberdeenshire include a second 18-hole golf course and a new 450-room five-star hotel, timeshare complex and private housing estate, The Guardian reported Saturday.
Trump officials claim the venture does not conflict with the president-elect’s promise not to pursue new or “pending deals” during his presidency to avoid any conflicts of interest.
So, here’s something interesting. Anonymous is going after Trump.
The exchange began with Anonymous repeating accusations from sources that Trump has deep “financial and personal ties with Russian mobsters, child traffickers, and money launderers.”
The group’s twitter feed read worthy if you want to see every piece of dirt any one has ever dug up on the guy to date. I’m sure the hacktivists are working on more.
So, I’m still laying low and trying to figure things out. I’m looking into something that could me to an acreage on an island in the Puget Sound and it has lots of little cabins on it among other interesting things. I’m wondering how much brave I have left in these old bones.
I’m going to the NOLA protest activities on Friday. Maybe that will inspire me.
What’s on your reading and blogging list today?
peej
Carissa
dakinikat
ecocatwoman
grayslady
mablue2
NW Luna
peggysue22
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Excellent post, Dak. Trump has truly roiled the world this weekend. A minority of Americans managed to elect a madman and a traitor as president and we’re stuck with him for now. If only this nightmare would end.
I just don’t even know what strategy to develop here. I teach game theory and I’m at a loss to map anything out. Everything assumes you’re dealing with a sane person.
One of the reasons why this is so insidiously dangerous.
This is the woman Rachel Maddow has been talking up so enthusiastically.
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MSNBC has made a big mistake bringing Greta over from faux news. If we had wanted to tune into her program, we could have gone there. Rachel has had some informative segments, but when she starts off in a giddy state, I change channels. I’m watching NBC at 6 o’clock now.
She’s a Scientology adherent, so a little daffy.
IMO, Scientology is major cra!
I’m not watch TV news. Haven’t done it since November 8, 2016. We’ll see how long this lasts.
We are going to have to trade in our boots for waders considering the amount of “bullshit” we will be exposed to when this idiot and his administration take over,
The ooze from all those lies will be up to our hips in a matter of months,
Will never forget, years ago, watching her refer to the people of Pakistan as the “Pakistanians”. Pronounced Pack-i-stain-ee-ans. She might have a law degree but she’s not very bright.
Add Comey to the rage list.
There’s an epidemic of it now.
Kremlin Caligula
I like that. It is fucking perfect.
lol.
Scalpers taking losses on tickets to Trump inauguration, as secondary market interest on the mogul’s swear-in wanes
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/scalpers-losing-money-tickets-trump-inauguration-article-1.2947620
he better eat some worms!! short one skinny ones!!!
Kremligula. Aves a syllable. 😊
Happy MLK Day………….hope you doin’ okay with Washington, you’ll love the change. The closer it comes to Friday, the more miserable I feel, like we are all under attack now. Fuck Greta……………..and the white horse she rode in on.
Thinking of hitting the movies…………..can we encourage CHINA to hack Trump’s taxes?
That would a big hit!
Same to you!!!
View at Medium.com
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2017/01/trump-endorses-american-geopolitical-suicide
TRUMP INTERVIEW
Full transcript of interview with Donald Trump
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/full-transcript-of-interview-with-donald-trump-5d39sr09d
That whole interview is simply run-on word salad! You can almost hear the reporters thinking “This guy is insane!”
Good post, dak. Love the posters of strong women!
Hope things work out for finding a place on the Liberal Coast. Let me know if there is anything I can do from here — I’d like to help.
Talk to me about Camano Island? I’m close to making a bid on five acres very down towards the bottom of it.
I’m not too familiar with it, but here’s my impression. Camano Island is nice because you can drive to/from it on a narrow land bridge. That way you’re not limited by a ferry system, which only lets you travel at certain times and which can get really busy in summer or on holidays so you have to wait for the 2nd or 3rd run because they fill up so fast. OTOH at the south end of Camano it would take ~20-25 min to drive off the island, and in total you’re about 1-1/4 hrs from Seattle, assuming not much traffic. Arlington, Marysville area on the mainland is pretty redneck though I think that’s changing. The Tulalip reservation area can look depressing — poverty is prevalent. OTOH you don’t need to be in those areas other than passing through on the freeway.
A lot will depend on what Camano Island and the southern half feels like to you. Something to consider is that with housing prices in Seattle and surrounding areas, people are getting pushed farther and farther out, driving up those prices …. Which means that property values are probably going to keep going up anywhere within a couple of hours from Seattle. And islands are in limited supply and considered desirable. So even in a somewhat remote part of Camano, and as long as it’s not in a swamp or next to a dumpsite, the property could most likely be sold in a few years for more than you paid for it, if you then decided to move elsewhere.
(I also sent you an email.)
Got this email recently from Emily’s List:
I remember a movie when I was much younger where the ‘bad guys’ infiltrated the ‘good guys’ government at every level but one; one that the bad guys didn’t see as important and that one little link lead to them being overcome. That storyline keeps popping into my head – clearly wishful thinking that I can’t seem to shake even though I know – it aint gonna happen.
WTF? Oh, figured it out. This way there’ll be no more pesky stories about how Rethug proposals will bankrupt the country and enrich the obscenely wealthy even more.
oy.just.oy.
I know this is not news on this site, but did you see this article? http://www.nationalobserver.com/2017/01/14/opinion/trumps-ill-begotten-victory-intel-dossier-says-putin-helped-sanders-stein
Also, Dak, cabins on an island in the Puget Sound? Sounds like the start of a community! I know someone who lives on Whidbey and I can ask a family member in Seattle…