These are extraordinary times. You thought it could never happen here, didn’t you? Since the Tiny-fingered Groper-in-Chief swore to uphold the constitution, he has gone on a tear to undo everything the former duly elected — the scary black man — accomplished. We now know that he plans to make America great again at the expense of marginalized communities. Here’s just some of what he’s done so far:
1. Advocated for torture of human beings while they are helpless, powerless, and harmless
2. Set the stage for denying millions of Americans access to life-saving healthcare — and thus sending them to early graves
3. Nominated the racist Jeff Sessions for Attorney-General
4. Scrubbed the White House website of its civil rights page
5. Scrubbed the White House website of all mention of LGBT rights
6. Scrubbed the White House website of its disability page
7. Put the lives and health of thousands of Sioux Indians at risk by authorizing the resumption of the Dakota Access Pipeline
8. Inspired and encouraged the House to expand the Hyde Amendment
9. Put the lives of millions of women in danger by reinstituting the global gag rule.
10. Bore false witness against millions of undocumented workers, accusing them of voter fraud — a felony that could see them spending up to a year in prison
11. Continue the process of traumatizing and terrorizing innocent children and their parents by threatening Sanctuary Cities. Already one city has caved. I can only imagine the mind-numbing fear people in Miami are going through right now.
12. Nominated a totally unqualified billionaire to see to the education of our children
As James Baldwin said some long time ago —and as Sis Denise reminded us:
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
Damn, the man was a soothsayer, as this is precisely where we find ourselves. Mealy-mouthed equivocation is not going to defeat this enemy of justice.
Action
1. Protest marches
Back in 2009, the Koch Brothers and others in the moneyed class funded the astroturfed "tea party movement." Say what you will about the teabaggers, but the fact is that they have been successful beyond even their wildest dreams. Just look at who's sitting in the WH. Protest works, especially when the mainstream media offers life-sustaining coverage. I remember seeing a CNN broadcast from a teabagger protest with less than a hundred people. Everywhere the teabaggers went, the media followed, thus serving to amplify their voices and multiply the effect of their actions. Our challenge will be how to force the media to cover us. Any suggestions as to how to accomplish that task?
Protest marches are popping up all over the place; both planned and spontaneous. I now travel with a pair of sneakers, markers, poster boards, a ruler, and a case of water. I am prepared. The next big march will be on April 15.
While last weekend’s marches focused on women’s rights, activists on social media are hoping to use a rally on April 15 to pressure the president into releasing his tax returns.
2. Freedom of Information Act
A cabinet stacked with billionaires and megamillionaires many of whom have yet to release their tax returns; many of whom have never known what it means to serve others; most of them having lived up to and exceeded the definition of rapacious capitalists will need the klieg lights to be trained on them 24/7.
The FOIA is a finely tuned weapon to be used in the search for truth so that justice can prevail. It is a torchlight to be used to illuminate the dark murky corners where greedy vultures reside. Let's use it.
The law requires every Federal agency "upon any request for records which ... reasonably describes such records" to make them "promptly available to any person." If the agency ignores the request, a lawsuit can be filed in Federal District Court.
You can request emails and text messages. The agency can require you to pay a reasonable fee to search for the records and for copying great volumes of documents.
3. #StopSessions
The NAACP is leading a determined fight against the confirmation of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. They could use our help. Call your Senators at (877)959-6082.
4. The fight for our Scientists
It’s a sad state of affairs when our scientists feel like they are under attack and they are forced to take measures to protect themselves and their work from Trump and his henchmen. According to The Guardian, the Trump team has gone as far as contacting department managers asking for the names of those who have attended climate change conferences over the past five years. This shit is serious.
We stand with our Scientific Community by:
a) Donating to help them save Climate Data. Thus far they have raised $18,000.00 of the $31,000 goal.
b) Screengrab and save web pages
c) Joining them on their March on Washington...date yet to be determined
5. Rachel Maddow
My last recommendation on this action list is this:Watch Rachel Maddow’s show or visit her blog if and when you can. No, seriously. I promise that you won’t regret it. I have had major problems with Rachel’s longwindedness and often just change the channel as she starts her nightly trek around the globe using the most circuitous route she can find. Not anymore. Since the election of the Tiny-fingered Groper-in-Chief I have sat through almost every one of her shows and what I have learned is truly frightening. She has the only show on TV that’s doing this kind of investigative journalism. She has done some award-winning pieces on Russia, Rex Tillerson, and Trump himself. We need to let her know that we appreciate the work she’s doing. In the Era of Trump, Rachel is showing the media world how to do their jobs.
And finally, please do share your ideas for resisting Donald Trump and his billionaire club in the comments. Together we can make a difference.