We Resist: Day 560

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.

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Earlier today by me: What a Discovery! Tad Devine Is Shady AF and Quote of the Day and This, Too, Is Collusion.

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

Ivanka Trump gave an interview or whatever, so now I'm seeing a bunch of headlines starting "Ivanka Trump Says..." Yeah. Here is all I have to say about that:

I don't GAF what Ivanka Trump has to say about anything. The absurd claim that this grifter was qualified for a high-level WH job because she would "moderate" her father has long been exposed as a farce. To the contrary, she endeavors to put a nicer face on his vile agenda. NOPE.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 2, 2018

She is irrelevant. The only thing she can do is provide "hope" to fools that Trump won't be a genocidal monster. And the only way she can do that is if the media pays attention to her. Which is why they shouldn't.

P.S. Ivanka Trump definitely isn't against her father being a genocidal monster.

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Diana Olick at CNBC: Housing Demand Sees Biggest drop in More Than 2 Years. "The long list of housing headwinds is finally taking its toll on potential buyers. Housing demand fell 9.6 percent in June, compared with June 2017, according to a monthly index from Redfin. That is the largest decline since April 2016. Red-hot home prices, rising mortgage interest rates, very few listings at the entry level, and a high rate of student loan debt have weighed on buyers for a while, but a strong economy and growing employment had mitigated those factors. Now, however, a market stalemate is developing as rates and prices continue to rise, further weakening affordability."

[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link] David Goldman at CNN Money: Two Recession Warning Signs Are Here.

Home sales have declined in four of the past five months as housing prices have grown — but paychecks have remained stagnant. Many people can't afford to buy homes, and those who can are taking on a lot of debt to get into them.

Piegza says that echoes what happened right before the Great Recession in 2008.

...Interest rates [are also] starting to become a bad omen.

The Federal Reserve, which is finishing up its two-day meeting Wednesday, is expected to raise its target rate two more times this year. Higher rates have boosted short-term U.S. Treasury bond rates. But the longer-term bond rates haven't risen along with the shorter-term rates, because investors are growing wary about the economy over the long haul.

With two more interest rate hikes planned, the Fed could boost short-term rates higher than long-term ones, inverting the so-called yield curve. An inverted yield curve has preceded every recession in modern history.

Recently, I noted and now will reiterate for obvious reasons: "A recession, inflation, and a trade war. Anyone who needs big-ticket items in the near future, especially anything with steel or aluminum — a new car, major repairs, replacement windows, new kitchen or laundry appliances — and can afford to get them now might want to do it. I fear prices are going to go through the roof very soon." For whatever that's worth.

On a related subject: Jessica M. Goldstein at ThinkProgress: The 'Feel-Good' Horror of Late-Stage Capitalism. "In the feel-good feel-bad story, irrefutable proof of an institutional failure is sold as a celebration of individual triumph. And it's the desperate, cloying attempts to trumpet the latter as a means of obscuring the former that gives these pieces their distinct, acrid aftertaste. These headlines, and the stories beneath them, attempt to distract you by shouting, 'Look over here at this shiny act of kindness, bravery, and fortitude!' so that you do not turn to your left to notice and question the structures that made such kindness, bravery, and fortitude necessary in the first place."

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Barbara Starr and Ryan Browne at CNN: Iran Readying Massive Military Exercise in Persian Gulf, Officials Say. "Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard is expected to soon begin a major naval exercise that could demonstrate its ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial conduit for global energy supplies, U.S. officials say. The exercise in the Persian Gulf could begin as soon as the next two days, according to two US officials directly familiar with the latest assessment of the Revolutionary Guard's troop movements." Okay, but are U.S. officials saying that because it's true and also presenting a real danger, or because the president wants a war with Iran?

Denis Pinchuk and Tom Balmforth at Reuters: Russia to Deploy Military Police on Golan Heights. "Russia will deploy its military police on the Golan Heights frontier between Syria and Israel, its defense ministry said on Thursday, after weeks of mounting volatility in the area. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's sweeping away of rebels in southwestern Syria has worried Israel, which believes it could allow his Iranian backers to entrench their troops close to the frontier. Underlining the tensions, Israel killed seven militants in an overnight air strike on the Syrian-held part of the Golan Heights, Israeli radio said on Thursday. Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian defense ministry official, said that Russian military police had on Thursday begun patrolling in the Golan Heights and planned to set up eight observation posts in the area."

"Concern among Russian elite that a new Iron Curtain, reminiscent of travel restrictions during Soviet times, has begun to descend." https://t.co/8cW8vWSv3q

— Andrea Chalupa (@AndreaChalupa) August 1, 2018

Everything is fine. (Everything is not fine.)

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[CN: Nativism. Covers entire section.]

Richard Luscombe at the Guardian: 'It's Heartbreaking': Military Family Shattered as Wife of Decorated U.S. Marine Deported to Mexico. "On Friday, [nine-year-old Estela Juarez], an American citizen, will leave the only country she has ever known and board a plane to Mexico as U.S. officials enforce a deportation order against her mother, Alejandra. Her father, a former U.S. marine, national guardsman, and decorated combat veteran, will stay in Florida with Juarez's 16-year-old sister, Pamela. The breaking apart of American military families marks a new low point in Trump's war on immigration, some White House critics believe." Some White House critics and all decent people.

[CN: Death] Tina Vasquez at Rewire.News: A Child Is Among the Latest Migrants to Die Under Trump. "Over the span of several weeks, a senior woman and a child have died after being detained in federal immigration custody. These represent the latest in a series of deaths that have occurred since the Trump administration launched its "zero-tolerance" policy. The child's death was first reported on social media by Houston, Texas-based immigration attorney Mana Yegani, who tweeted that the child died after being released from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, which is run by the private prison company CoreCivic. Advocates and attorneys working in the state confirmed with Rewire.News that the child died after being released from the facility. ...Rewire.News could not confirm the child's age; however, the Washington Post reported Wednesday she was a toddler."

[CN: Self-harm] Lauren Weber at the Huffington Post: Detainee Attempts Suicide After Trump Administration Jams Migrants into Troubled Prison. "A controversial federal prison complex in Victorville, California, that is currently housing roughly 800 immigration detainees despite infectious disease outbreaks and workers' concerns about inadequate medical care, is now facing another danger: Detainees at risk of dying by suicide. In the last week, one detainee has tried to kill himself, saying he was terrified he would be deported back to Cuba. Another was put on suicide watch after staffers noticed he couldn't stop crying, according to multiple staff members who requested anonymity to protect their jobs after employees were told not to speak to the press. This was the first suicide attempt and suicide watch for detainees at Victorville. Prison workers had been warning since the detainees' arrival that inadequate staffing and the resulting lack of proper care meant such risks were increasing."

Amanda Holpuch at the Guardian: 500 Detained Fathers and Sons to Go on Strike After Being Separated. "More than 500 migrant fathers and sons detained in Texas after being separated from each other for weeks and months have launched a strike against unfair conditions. The fathers plan to resist orders and refuse food at three sites at Karnes detention center, while the sons are set to refuse to participate in school activities. The demonstrators are asking U.S. officials to expedite their immigration cases because of the unjust conditions they face."

Sob.

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Paul A. Eisenstein at NBC News: Trump Administration Revokes Obama-Era Fuel Economy Standards. "The White House announced Thursday that it is moving ahead on its much-anticipated plan to roll back the fuel economy mandate set by the Obama administration. The move is likely to mean fewer high-efficiency, zero-pollution cars on the road. The previous guidelines, which were reached during Obama's first term, call for automakers to each reach a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 — though with credits and other modifications, the actual figure is expected to wind up in the low to mid-40 mpg range. Thursday's announcement means the new standard is set at 37 mpg."

[CN: Wildfires] Oliver Milman at the Guardian: Wildfire Smoke: Experts Warn of 'Serious Health Effects' Across Western U.S.

As climate change helps push up the number of wildfires in the western U.S., communities face losing lives and properties to the flames. But another threat also looms large — dangerous exposure to wildfire smoke.

Huge wildfires in California have killed at least six people and razed hundreds of homes. A pall of smoke has shrouded much of California and has wafted eastwards, with NASA satellites showing fingers of smoke billowing as far as Salt Lake City, Utah.

Much of the smoke from the two fires — near the city of Redding and another close to Yosemite national park — has remained close to ground level, prompting air quality warnings.

"A big wildfire event not only impacts local communities but also people hundreds of miles away," said Richard Peltier, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts. "Even if your home isn't being destroyed, and you think 'this isn't my problem,' you could suffer serious health effects."

[CN: Sexual assault] Kate Riga at TPM: Ex-Ohio State Wrestling Coach Pushed Jordan Accusers to Retract Statements. "Retired Ohio State University wrestling coach Russ Hellickson texted two former wrestlers, pushing them to reverse their statements accusing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) of lying about his ignorance of rampant sexual assault on the team, according to a Wednesday NBC report. The two wrestlers — Dunyasha Yetts and Mike DiSabato — told NBC that the texts made it clear that Hellickson was acting at the behest of Jordan to shore up support."

[CN: Anti-Semitism; violence] David Ovalle at the Miami Herald: Nazi Enthusiast Who Tried to Torch Condo Committed Hate Crime Toward Jews, State Says. "Prosecutors have upgraded charges against an elderly man accused of trying to kill Jewish people by torching a Miami Beach condo building. Walter Edward Stolper, 72, was formally charged with attempted first-degree murder, arson, and possession of a destructive device. Because they believe he was acting with prejudice toward Jewish people, prosecutors added the 'hate-crime' enhancement, which means he faces stiffer penalties if convicted. Stolper faces life in prison if he is found guilty."

[CN: Anti-Blackness] Emily Williams at the Boston Globe: A Black Smith College Student Was Eating Her Lunch When an Employee Called Police. "The rising sophomore at Smith College was quietly eating her lunch in a campus common room when a police officer approached her Tuesday afternoon. A college employee had called police to report someone who 'seemed out of place' in a Smith building that was being used for a summer program. But when campus police arrived, they found a Smith student, taking a break from her campus job. There was 'nothing suspicious about the student's presence,' the school said in a statement released Wednesday about the incident, the latest example of police being called to investigate black people in everyday situations." STOP CALLING THE POLICE ON BLACK PEOPLE JUST LIVING THEIR LIVES FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!

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