We Resist: Day 581

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Thursday, August 23, 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 me: Trump's Aggressive Contempt for the Rule of Law and Why Did a Lone Manafort Juror Hold Out?

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

In good news, the reported cyberattack on the DNC was actually just a security test.

[Content Note: Carcerality; abuse] In an update on the prison strike, prisoners have begun hunger striking. I take up space in solidarity with them, and I grieve that their requests for humane treatment have been so thoroughly ignored that they have had to resort to refusing food. Please be sure to share this news and help raise awareness of their plight and protest.

[CN: White supremacy; apartheid. Covers next two items.] Isaac Stanley-Becker at the Washington Post: Trump Tweets the Word 'Africa' for First Time as President — in Defense of Whites in South Africa.
Trump on Wednesday night said he was directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures," as well as the "killing of farmers."

He then quoted Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, who earlier Wednesday had railed against plans by South Africa's ruling party to pursue constitutional changes allowing the government to redistribute land without compensation. The measure is designed to redress racial inequalities that have persisted nearly a quarter-century after the end of apartheid in 1994.

The episode represented a case study in how the president runs his administration. The apparent basis of Trump's directions to the nation's top diplomat were accusations leveled by Fox — accusations that echo talking points used by white-nationalist groups, including an organization that has referred to "the so-called apartheid" and the "so-called 'historical injustices of the past.'"
[continued CN] Andy Towle at Towleroad: Trump Rebuked by South Africa; Praised by David Duke After Tweeting Neo-Nazi Talking Point About White Farmers. "Donald Trump was praised by former Klan leader David Duke on Wednesday for a tweet announcing that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would 'closely study the South Africa land and farm seizure and large scale killing of farmers'... The South African government also bluntly responded to Trump's tweet: 'South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past… South Africa will speed up the pace of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide our nation.'"

[CN: White supremacy; violence; death] The president's actions do not happen in a vacuum. Such visible and powerful white supremacy has deadly consequences.


My sincerest condolences to Dulane Cameron Jr.'s family, friends, and community.

* * *

Katie Lobosco at CNN: Trade War: The U.S. and China Just Slapped New Tariffs on Each Other. "The United States imposed 25% tariffs on another $16 billion of Chinese goods just after midnight ET Thursday — midday in Beijing. The tax affects 279 Chinese products, including chemical products, motorcycles, speedometers, and antennas. China responded immediately with 25% tariffs on an equal amount of American goods, such as chemical products and diesel fuel. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that China 'has to continue to make necessary counterattacks.' It added that it plans to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization."

[CN: Guns] Erica L. Green at the New York Times: Betsy DeVos Is Said to Weigh Letting School Districts Use Federal Funds to Buy Guns. "Such a move appears to be unprecedented, reversing a longstanding position taken by the federal government that it should not pay to outfit schools with weapons. And it would also undermine efforts by Congress to restrict the use of federal funding on guns." This plan is bad enough on its own, but the approach is yet another example of the escalating authoritarianism of the Trump Regime: "Department officials acknowledged that should the Education Department carry out the proposal, it would appear to be the first time that a federal agency has authorized the purchase of weapons without a congressional mandate, according to people familiar with the discussions."

Speaking of escalating authoritarianism...


* * *

[CN: Racism; class warfare] Ayana Byrd at Colorlines: After Natural Disasters, Whites Accumulate Wealth While People of Color Lose It. "Black and Latinx people in the United States disproportionately live in areas that tend to be hit by natural disasters such as floods. A new study shows that they are not just geographically disadvantaged in the face of climate disasters, but also economically disadvantaged. ...The study pinpointed several reasons behind this wealth inequality. One is that Whites tend to live in areas that have higher levels of reinvestment via infrastructure projects after natural disasters. Second, areas that receive more financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have a greater increase in wealth inequality."

[CN: Misogyny; sexual harassment]


[CN: War on agency] Lauren Holter at Rewire.News: The Future of Abortion Rights May Lie in the Fate of These Gubernatorial Races. "The possibility that, if confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh could help dismantle Roe v. Wade raises the stakes in gubernatorial races across the country this year. That's because if Roe is overturned, access to abortion will be determined by state law, giving both governors and legislatures enormous power over the rights and health of women everywhere. People in nearly half the states would be at risk of losing access to abortion, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, due to anti-abortion laws already on the books. Four states have enacted 'trigger bans' that would immediately outlaw abortion if Roe were overturned. An additional 10 states have pre-Roe bans (also known as 'zombie laws') still on the books — and Louisiana has both."

[CN: Misogyny; domestic violence] Diana Moskovitz at Deadspin: This Is How You Erase a Woman from Her Own Story. "Courtney Smith has said, repeatedly, that she feared her ex-husband, Zach. She said he physically and emotionally abused her, in court documents, to police officers in two different states, to two reporters, including one interview on camera, and now to Ohio State investigators. All this became public knowledge because she went to court to get a restraining order; in her request, Courtney Smith wrote that Zach Smith stalked her, threatened her, and hacked her email. What Courtney Smith wanted was something every human being craves: to feel safe. But the entire narrative around the Smiths and Ohio State and Zach Smith's former boss, head football coach Urban Meyer, long ago stopped being about what Courtney Smith wants and needs."

* * *

And finally...

In case you didn't already have enough to worry about, how about a SUPERSNAKE? "What started out as a straightforward genetic study of Florida's invasive python population has turned up a surprising plot twist: a small number of crossbred Burmese and Indian pythons with the potential to become a kind of Everglades super snake."

At the link is video of a dude rescuing an alligator "from the attack of a 10-foot python in the Everglades on Saturday. This is the third alligator he's personally rescued from the invasive species."

Blink.

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