We Resist: Day 782

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: What the F#@k Is Even Happening and Nancy Pelosi: "I'm Not for Impeachment." and Bernie Sanders, Where Are Your Taxes?

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

Let's start out with some good news. Rebekah Entralgo at ThinkProgress: Democrats Introduce Latest Version of DREAM Act, Offering Protection to More Young Immigrants.

Eighteen years after the original Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, was introduced, House Democrats formally unveiled their new-and-improved version Tuesday.

While previous iterations of the bill focused narrowly on providing a path to citizenship only for undocumented youth brought to the United States as children, the new version does this in addition to expanding it to include immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). With the inclusion of TPS and DED recipients, the DREAM Act has rebranded to the Dream and Promise Act of 2019, to reflect the government's longtime goal to make good on its promise of providing permanent solutions to legal immigrants who have been living at the whims of the federal government for decades.

Like the DREAM Acts that came before it, the Dream and Promise Act would grant undocumented immigrant youth — known as "Dreamers" — conditional permanent resident status for 10 years and cancel any removal proceedings so long as they: have been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding the date of the enactment of the bill, were 17 years or younger when they first arrived in United States, pass a background check, have a clean criminal record, and graduate from high school or an academic equivalent.

...The bones of the DREAM Act have largely remained the same since 2001, when the bill was first introduced in the House by former Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) and in the Senate by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). What makes the Dream and Promise Act different, however, is that it for the first time includes protections for TPS and DED holders.

There's an unprecedented level of urgency with this version of the DREAM Act because the Trump administration has pulled the legal rug out from under thousands of immigrant families.

I know I'm the brokenest of broken records, but I'll say once more: Regardless of the chances of this legislation becoming law during the Trump administration, this is worth doing, because it's the right and necessary thing to do.

Donald Trump may reject this legislation, because of his vile nativist agenda, but that very agenda is what obligates the attempt.

Speaking of which...

Travis Gettys at Raw Story: Trump Administration 'Very Seriously' Considering Plan to Designate Some Mexicans as Terrorists. "The president told Breitbart News that his administration was 'very seriously' considering a policy change that would label Mexican drug cartels or some of their factions as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. 'We are, we are,' Trump told the website. 'We're thinking about doing it very seriously. In fact, we've been thinking about it for a long time.' The president appeared to admit the change was intended to gin up fear of Mexican immigrants to justify his proposed border wall and other controversial anti-immigration policies. 'It's psychological, but it's also economic,' Trump said. 'As terrorists — as terrorist organizations, the answer is yes. They are.' Trump then cited an inflated statistic to justify his fear-mongering about gang violence across the border."

Absolutely chilling.

Fabiola Sanchez and Scott Smith at the AP: U.S. Pulling Last Diplomats from Venezuela Amid Power Crisis.

The U.S. said late Monday that it is pulling its last remaining diplomats from Venezuela, saying their continued presence at the country's embassy in Caracas had become a "constraint" on U.S. policy as the Trump administration aggressively looks to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The announcement came from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a tweet shortly before midnight comes as Venezuela struggles to restore electricity following four days of blackouts around the country.

...Pompeo said the remaining diplomats would be out of Venezuela by the end of the week but gave no indication of future policy steps despite past warnings that "all options" — including the use of military force — are on the table for removing Maduro.

Fucking hell. Unless I'm somehow misreading this, it sounds like the Secretary of State is ordering the removal of diplomats because they are trying to stop the administration from taking extreme measures, including the possibility of military force, in pursuit of regime change. That blows my mind. The Trump Regime is truly out of fucking control.

To wit:

This is absolute filth. https://t.co/s47P7CDvTT

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) March 11, 2019

Meanwhile...

William Booth and Karla Adam at the Washington Post: Ahead of Crucial Brexit Vote, Key Lawmakers Won't Support Theresa May's Plan. "Prime Minister Theresa May presented a Brexit deal with some new add-on language to a skeptical Parliament for a landmark vote on Tuesday. But the British leader faced strong headwinds, as crucial blocs of lawmakers signaled they will not support her withdrawal agreement. Before May rose to speak, Britain's attorney general told lawmakers that May's hard-fought changes might not go far enough — an assessment that increased the odds that her Brexit deal will fail again and that the nation won't depart on schedule on March 29."

Ridiculous! Russia sends note to Ukraine of a list of violations and accuses Ukraine of targeting Russian speakers. Russia always uses the excuse of protecting Russians as means to conduct their incursions and attacks. Russia is the one in violations https://t.co/7LvprmHzmm

— Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) March 12, 2019

Nicholas Nehamas and Lily Dobrovolskaya at the Miami Herald: Wanted in Russia, He Partied at Mar-a-Lago — and Invested in Cheap South Florida Homes.

Last year, [Donald] Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club hosted a black-tie 'Safari Night' fundraiser for a favorite charity of one of his older sisters. The event included Chinese dancers, a silent art auction, and one unusual guest: Sergey Danilochkin, a Russian real estate investor who had settled in South Florida after authorities in his home country accused him of taking part in a massive tax fraud linked to the most contentious corruption case of the 21st century.

Party-goers had no idea they were rubbing shoulders with a wanted man. While the guests sipped cocktails and studied photos of African wildlife, Danilochkin, who is also an aspiring journalist, filmed the bustling ballroom on a smartphone and posted the footage on YouTube. Holding a flute of champagne and wearing a dark suit, the Russian émigré addressed the camera in his native tongue, alluding to the uncanny way Russians seem to turn up in the president’s orbit.

"The most interesting thing," Danilochkin said, "is that we met a lot of people here who speak Russian."

* * *

[Content Note: White supremacy] Madeline Peltz at MediaMatters: Unearthed Audio Shows Tucker Carlson Using White Nationalist Rhetoric and Making Racist Remarks. I'm sure we're all shocked that a toxic chauvinist is also a white supremacist.

[CN: Abduction; sexual assault] Melanie Eversley at the Grio: Ohio Police Officer Indicted for Sexually Assaulting Women. "Andrew Mitchell, 55, a 31-year-veteran of the police force in Ohio's state capital, is charged with holding two women against their will and demanding sexual favors in exchange for their freedom, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Mitchell is charged with three counts of deprivation of rights while using his police authority — with two of those counts involving one woman — two counts of witness tampering, and one count each of obstruction of justice, as well as making false statements, the Dispatch reports."

Ryan Mac at BuzzFeed: Facebook Removed Elizabeth Warren's Ads Calling for Its Breakup; Then It Put Them Back Up. "Facebook briefly removed and then restored four ads on Monday from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, which advocated for the breaking up big technology companies, for violating its terms of service. On Monday, the social networking company confirmed that it had removed the ads, all of which featured a video with a thumbnail image incorporating Facebook's logo. 'We removed the ads because they violated our policies against use of our corporate logo,' a Facebook spokesperson said. 'In the interest of allowing robust debate, we are restoring the ads.'" Shady.

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