We Resist: Day 78

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Friday, April 07, 2017
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One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

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Here are some things in the news today:

The Guardian has live updates on the diplomatic fallout from the Syrian bombing. A couple of important points of interest from their ongoing coverage:


Further to that: "The chair of the United Nations Association UK has questioned the wisdom of the US hit on Shayrat airbase. Stewart Wood said: 'It's unclear how US air strikes will make civilians safer.' In a blog post, Lord Wood of Anfield wrote: 'Unilateral action without broad international backing through the UN, without a clear strategy for safeguarding civilians, and through military escalation risks further deepening and exacerbating an already protracted and horrific conflict, leaving civilians at greater, not lesser, risk of atrocities.'"

Additionally: "The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has appealed to parties involved in the Syrian conflict for restraint to avoid adding to the suffering of Syria's people. 'Mindful of the risk of escalation, I appeal for restraint to avoid any acts that could deepen the suffering of the Syrian people,' he said in a statement."

This is all very concerning. As is this:


If you can't view the embedded screencap, it reads:
Russia said later Friday that it would also help the Syrian military bolster its air defenses in response to the attack on Shayrat.

"To protect the most sensitive facilities of the Syrian infrastructure, a set of measures will be taken in the immediate future to reinforce and raise the effectiveness of the Syrian armed forces' air defense system," Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said.

There were reports later that a Russian warship was sailing to the Mediterranean and expected to dock at the Russian base in Tartus, on Syria's coast.
That sounds unsettlingly like preparation for a proxy war.

Meanwhile, at home, as Republicans continue to see no problem with Trump acting without Congressional authorization, a number of Democrats are not so sanguine about it.


There is significantly more news, of course, about the strike on Syria. As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share what you've been reading and recommend in comments.

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Neil Gorsuch has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. Mike Pence presided over the confirmation, because everything is terrible.

Here is Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell getting as giddy as he gets ahead of the confirmation today, which his party only needed a simple majority to do, after he invoked the nuclear option and destroyed the Senate:

Of course my colleagues back me up. The American people spoke. And today we will confirm the nominee that the new president has selected. I think as we all know, this is a person of extraordinary credentials, who will bring honor to the Supreme Court for many, many years to come. So it is indeed a proud day.
Gross.

There's nothing insightful I can say about this. I am despondent. It sucks.

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Nelson D. Schwartz at the New York Times: Job Growth Loses Steam as U.S. Adds 98,000 in March. "Job growth turned in a disappointing showing in March, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. It is the latest official snapshot of the state of the American economy. 98,000 jobs were added last month. Economists had been anticipating a gain of about 180,000." So much winning.

Jennifer A. Dlouhy at Bloomberg: Trump Preparing Order to Expand Offshore Oil Drilling. "Donald Trump is preparing to issue an executive order with the goal of giving oil companies more opportunities to drill offshore, reversing Obama-era policies that restricted the activity. The offshore drilling directive is set to be issued soon, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told an industry conference in Washington on Thursday, according to three attendees who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a session closed to the press. ...The order is also expected to begin the process of revoking former President Barack Obama's decision to indefinitely withdraw most U.S. Arctic waters and some Atlantic Ocean acreage from future leasing. Environmentalists say it would be unprecedented for any president to rescind such a designation, and the reversal would almost certainly be challenged in court." Fucking hell.

Mike Allen at Axios: Trump Eyes New Chief of Staff. "Trump is considering a broad shakeup of his White House that could include the replacement of White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and the departure of chief strategist Steve Bannon, aides and advisers tell us." Honestly, who the fuck even cares. I mean, don't get me wrong, it would be great to get Bannon out of the White House, but it's not like I expect anyone who ends up in the Trump White House is going to be anything but an aggressive garbage nightmare.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?
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