We Resist: Day 509

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Tuesday, June 12, 2018
a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) 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.

* * *

Earlier today by Fannie: Dispatches From the Queer Resistance (No. 7). And by me: Trump Makes Major Concession at Summit with North Korea; Gets Nothing in Return and New Federal Office Established to Strip Citizenship.

Here are some more things in the news today...


Transcript: He'll do it. I really believe that. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing this. Ah, I really believe, and it was really the engine testing site, in addition to all of the other things that they've agreed to do, it was the — they have a very powerful engine testing site. That, again, we're able to see, because of the heat that they — that it emits. And, ah, yeah. I'm able to, uh — I'm very happy. I'll tell you what — I'm very with those two points, the two points you mentioned, but I think you might be referring to the thing that's not in, which is the engine testing site. I think he's — I think, honestly, I think he's gonna do these things. I may be wrong. I mean, I may stand before you in six months and say, "Hey, I was wrong." I don't know that I'll ever admit that, but I'll find some kind of an excuse. Okay!

Blink. Blink.

And if that weren't enough whatthefuck presidenting for you, check this out...

Matt Novak at Gizmodo: Donald Trump Made a Fake Movie Trailer for Kim Jong Un with the Two Leaders as Heroes. "Trump played a video for Kim on his iPad. The video was created to look like a Hollywood movie trailer and it's honestly pretty bizarre. The fake trailer, complete with sweeping music and a dramatic voiceover, imagines a world where Trump and Kim have brought peace. And it even includes the phrase, 'Destiny Pictures presents...' as though it was a real movie trailer. ...The fake movie trailer was also played for reporters shortly before Trump took the stage for a press conference in Singapore earlier today. Movies are a universal language, but it really is a weird format for diplomacy. This is probably the first time that a global superpower has made a fake movie trailer to try and convince an adversary to make peace."

Gizmodo has the video and a complete transcript at the link.

YIKES.

And of course, the summit wouldn't have been complete without some presidential grifting:


Staff at the Daily Beast: Trump: If North Korea Denuclearizes, It Could Have the 'Best Hotels'. "Trump [emphasized] the nation's potential for economic development. 'As an example, they have great beaches,' Trump told the assembled reporters. 'You see that whenever they are exploding their cannons into the ocean. I said, boy, look at that view, wouldn't that make a great condo? And I explained it. I said, instead of doing that, you could have the best hotels in the world. Think of it from the real estate prospective. You have South Korea, you have China, and they own the land in the middle. How bad is that, right? It's great. ...[Kim] looked at that tape. He looked at that iPad. I'm telling you, they really enjoyed it, I believe. OK?'"

Blink.

* * *

[Content Note: Nativism] Elham Khatami at ThinkProgress: Woman May Be Jailed for Protesting Detention of Immigrant Children Outside GOP Congressman's Office.
"Stop putting kids in cages Ken Buck, love Jesus," is the message one Colorado woman wrote in chalk outside the Castle Rock office of Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO). For that, she's facing possible jail time.

According to a local ABC affiliate, Shauna Johnson had a meeting at the congressman's office Monday and wrote the message in front of the building on her way out, protesting the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children from their parents when they cross the U.S. border without documentation.

..."As an American, I have the right to free speech," Johnson, who later returned to the office and cleaned up the chalk message, told the news outlet. "And in all honesty, I feel like all they're trying to do is bully me into being quiet about a very serious issue."

Johnson is scheduled to head to court later this summer.
This is straight-up intimidation of dissidents. And who is the population most likely to protest the mistreatment of immigrants? Immigrant families. Which then puts them at risk of deportation or, potentially, having their citizenship revoked.

Meanwhile, Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen helping make bank at the intersection of immigration law and corporate corruption:


And speaking of corruption...

Amy Brittain, Ashley Parker, and Anu Narayanswamy at the Washington Post: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Made at Least $82 Million in Outside Income Last Year While Serving in the White House, Filings Show. "Trump earned $3.9 million from her stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington and more than $2 million in severance from the Trump Organization, while Kushner reported over $5 million in income from Quail Ridge, a Kushner Cos. apartment complex acquired last year in Plainsboro, N.J. The filings show how the couple are collecting immense sums from other enterprises while serving in the White House, an extraordinary income flow that ethics experts have warned could create potential conflicts of interests." Could. LOL.

Allegra Kirkland at TPM: Michigan Conservatives Ask Court to Allow Them to Keep Gerrymandering. "Despite a resounding court defeat last week, a Michigan business group is asking the state's top court to block a sweeping gerrymandering reform initiative from getting on the November ballot. And thanks in part to the business group's largesse in judicial races, there;s reason to think it could yet succeed in killing the reform measure. ...The measure's fate now rests in the hands of the Supreme Court, which has a five to two Republican majority. Two of the Republican judges up for election this year have received $15,000 each from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce — the same group that has pumped $185,000 into challenging the redistricting measure." Fucking hell.

Katelyn Burns at Rewire.News: Republicans Coordinate with Discredited Anti-Choice Group to Call for Planned Parenthood Investigation. "Members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and Steve King (R-IA), held a press conference Thursday to announce a letter signed by 56 GOP lawmakers calling for investigations into a report from discredited anti-choice group Live Action Network accusing Planned Parenthood of covering up child sexual abuse. Live Action Network founder Lila Rose and Laura Lederer, former senior advisor on trafficking in persons at the U.S. State Department, spoke at the press conference. The latest anti-choice campaign against Planned Parenthood follows a familiar game plan, including coordination between an anti-choice activist group and Republican lawmakers." Rage seethe boil.

And finally...


I need y'all to know that if 2020 is a three-way race between Trump, Sanders, and Alec Baldwin, I am for real crawling into a giant cannon and firing myself directly into the sun.

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

Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.

blog comments powered by Disqus