We Resist: Day 698

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 Fannie: A Journey of Artistic Comrades. And by me: Michael Flynn to Be Sentenced Today and The Abusive Artist Doesn't Want to Be Separated from His Art. And ICYMI late yesterday: Cassandra's Lament, Part Wev in an Endless Series.

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

I'm going to start out with some good news, care of one of our longtime favorites, Idris Elba. Yohana Desta at Vanity Fair: Idris Elba on the #MeToo Movement. "In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the actor was asked if it's hard to be a man in Hollywood now due to the #MeToo movement, which has led to a broader reckoning against sexual misconduct. Plenty of actors have been asked something similar, and many have responded with statements that ended up necessitating apologies — from Matt Damon to Henry Cavill. But Elba? He had this to say in response: "It's only difficult if you're a man with something to hide." Simple as that." BOOM.

Because we deserve it, here is a screenshot of Idris Elba and Tom Hardy from RocknRolla. You're welcome!

IrRESISTible. See what I did there?
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[Content Note: Nativism. Covers entire section.]

Hamed Aleaziz at BuzzFeed: The Trump Administration Is Slowing the Asylum Process to Discourage Applicants, an Official Told Congress.

A high-ranking Customs and Border Protection official told Congress earlier this month that border agents were limiting asylum applications along the border because allowing too many migrants to apply would inspire more migrants to come, according to a letter written by senior House Democrats on Monday.

The statement by Jud Murdock, CBP's acting assistant commissioner, contradicted official claims that the practice of "metering" — when officials limit the number of individuals who can make asylum claims at ports of entry on any given day — was due to resource constraints, including a lack of detention space and personnel. When asked about the practice at a Senate hearing last week, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that it was not meant as a deterrent.

But on Dec. 6, Murdock said in a closed congressional briefing that CBP had chosen to limit asylum-seekers at ports of entries because "[t]he more we process, the more will come," according to the letter.

Murdock's answers to follow-up questions "clearly indicated, given the context, that the Department's decision to limit processing was primarily motivated by its desire to deter migrants from seeking asylum at ports of entry" generally, according to the letter, which was signed by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Bennie Thompson, and Jerrold Nadler, the ranking Democrats on the Immigration Subcommittee, the Homeland Security Committee, and the Judiciary Committee, respectively.

Particularly in light of that confirmation of one of the many observable cruel practices being employed as disincentive, this piece from Tina Vasquez at Rewire.News is so important: Migrants Share Their Vision for a World That Honors and Respects Them. "[N]o matter the deterrents used by governments, no matter the anti-immigrant rhetoric deployed, no matter the risk or cost, people have always migrated and will continue to migrate globally. This is because their lives depend on their ability to move from one place to another — for family, for work, and in many cases for safety."

Maxwell Tani at the Daily Beast: Advertisers Ditch Fox News' Tucker Carlson for Saying Immigration Makes U.S. 'Dirtier'. "Last Thursday, Carlson ran a segment arguing against the economic benefits of immigration in which he claimed the influx of low-skilled workers 'makes our own country poor and dirtier and more divided.' ...At least four advertisers were not pleased with Carlson's comments. ...During his show on Monday, Carlson defended his comments, saying various government statistics showed that illegal immigration has damaged natural landscape in the American Southwest. 'We're not intimidated,' he said. 'We plan to try to say what's true until the last day. And the truth is unregulated mass immigration has badly hurt this country's natural landscape.'" This fucking guy.

It's tough to believe that any advertiser has been willing to associate themselves with anyone or anything on Fox News up until this point, but I'm glad that these advertisers finally drew a line somewhere.

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“Trump may emerge as a brazen grifter who, by aspiring to the White House like a wizened, soiled version of Icarus, flew beyond the boundaries of his own luck and abilities and delivered his business, children and well-being into the hands of prosecutors.”https://t.co/3ixzKPjUEI

— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath) December 17, 2018

Trump may (or may not) have delivered himself into the hands of prosecutors, but, in either case, he's plowing ahead with his 2020 reelection bid. Alex Isenstadt at Politico: Trump Launches Unprecedented Reelection Machine. "Donald Trump is planning to roll out an unprecedented structure for his 2020 reelection, a streamlined organization that incorporates the Republican National Committee and the president's campaign into a single entity. It's a stark expression of Trump's stranglehold over the Republican Party: Traditionally, a presidential reelection committee has worked in tandem with the national party committee, not subsumed it. Under the plan, which has been in the works for several weeks, the Trump reelection campaign and the RNC will merge their field and fundraising programs into a joint outfit dubbed Trump Victory. The two teams will also share office space rather than operate out of separate buildings, as has been custom." Yikes.

David A. Fahrenthold at the Washington Post: Trump Agrees to Shut Down His Charity Amid Allegations That He Used It for Personal and Political Benefit.

[Donald] Trump has agreed to shut down his embattled personal charity and to give away its remaining money amid allegations that he used the foundation for his personal and political benefit, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced Tuesday.

Underwood said that the Donald J. Trump Foundation is dissolving as her office pursues its lawsuit against the charity, Trump, and his three eldest children.

The suit, filed in June, alleged "persistently illegal conduct" at the foundation and sought to have it shut down. Underwood is continuing to seek more than $2.8 million in restitution and has asked a judge to ban the Trumps temporarily from serving on the boards of other New York nonprofit organizations.

Underwood said Tuesday that her investigation found "a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more."

A small but important victory.

Speaking of which... Nicole Lafond at TPM: Stone Forced to Run Apology Ads in Papers as Part of Defamation Settlement. "Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone — who faces scrutiny for his lack of credibility in the Russia probe — has been forced to run apology advertisements in national newspapers as part of a settlement agreement for making false statements on InfoWars, the Wall Street Journal reported. Stone was sued for $100 million for false claims about Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who is known as a dissident of Beijing. Guo filed the lawsuit in March, after Stone suggested he was convicted of crimes in the U.S. and China and claimed Guo donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign, which is illegal for a foreign national, as the WSJ notes. Stone will also have to retract his comments on social media. He won't have to pay any damages if he complies."

Bill Chappell at NPR: U.S. Space Command Is Revived, as Vice President Pence Unveils Plan in Florida.

America's military operations in space are now back under a single unified command, as the Trump administration revived the once-retired U.S. Space Command on Tuesday. Vice President Mike Pence outlined the plan during his visit to the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday.

"Today, there are more than 18,000 military and civilian personnel working in space operations for our national security, all across the Department of Defense," Pence said.

The vice president added that under [Donald] Trump's order, Space Command will "integrate space capabilities across all branches of the military; it will develop the space doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures that will enable our warfighters to defend our nation in this new era."

"A new era of American national security in space begins today," Pence said.

Okay. Still super thrilled (NOT THRILLED) about the idea of Donald Trump and Mike Pence launching nukes from space. Christ.

[CN: Misogyny; racism; harassment]

"Female politicians & journalists were abused on Twitter every 30 seconds in 2017, according to the largest-ever study into how women are targeted w/hate speech online. ...Black women were almost twice as likely as their white counterparts to be targeted." https://t.co/ukthh89EJb

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) December 18, 2018

[CN: Wildfires; carcerality; injuries] Yessenia Funes at Earther: Two California Inmates Suffered Severe Burns Fighting the Camp Fire. Why Were They There at All? "No firefighters' lives were lost fighting the Camp Fire, but five suffered serious burn injuries on November 8... Among those injured were two incarcerated people, who suffered burns to the face and neck. ...These incidents once again raise the question of how ethical and just this conservation camp program — which bills itself as voluntary — really is. California has 44 conservation camps sprinkled throughout the state that house nearly 4,300 incarcerated people. At these camps, prisoners earn a mere $2 a day with an additional dollar per hour when they're fighting an active fire — which is higher than other prison jobs but dramatically lower than the $40,000 to $56,00 annual salary firefighters outside prison earn."

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