I wanted to start your week off right with another batch of photos. So here we go.
Satby sent these from South Bend:
two special photos I wanted to share. The first sign was held by the youngest girl in a family and the other was my own, representing the people who couldn’t get out to march today. It was a great, diverse crowd and spirits were high.
From Aaron – 10K+ in Reno:
First time emailer. First time marcher. My wife and two daughters joined friends, family and 10K+ others this morning. News coverage here.
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA):
Walking back to the bus this evening after the march in DC, I saw this discarded sign: decency on the opposite side of the fence from the Capitol building.
A nice link from Gelfling 545 with some terrific photos from Buffalo – click here.
I’ve put some NSFW photos below the fold, at the bottom of the post.
vheidi sends in one from NYC:
DC March from Marge:
Major, Major, Major, Major sent in these from San Francisco:
From PJ, DC March photos:
They are from the Hirshhorn at 7th and Independence. Everyone, from Metro workers to cops, was supportive. Crowds were big league everywhere. Our morning metro trip only took an hour (normally 20 minutes) but I heard of waits of more than 2 hours from some people. People are fired up.
That’s it for now…more to come. Thanks again for sharing these with us.
Open Thread!
Patricia Kayden
No doubt that the marches around the world on Saturday were a rousing success. Whether Trump and his supporters want to admit it or not, he’s not a popular President and there is no reservoir of good will he can draw on to do stupid things like initiate unnecessary wars. This is unprecedented.
Elizabelle
I think pink, especially hot pink, will be 2017’s navy blue.** We should wear lots of it.
** apologies to the late Diana Vreeland, who said something like “pink is the navy blue of India.”
Yoda Dog
DECENCY sign pic gave me chills.
Onwards, Comrades.
satby
@Elizabelle:
It kind if is based on my trips there, obviously I’m no expert. And it’s so not my color, but even I got so caught up in the vibrancy of the environment I bought a long, hot pink kurta. Which I will wear to the next march, assuming the weather gets a bit warmer by then.
Though almost 60 in January was pretty feckin nice for the march!
satby
All of them have been great pictures, but the tiny girl holding the flag above moves me very much. The future, captured in a beautiful shot.
Iowa Old Lady
Not to upset the good vibes, but is Trump now living in the WH? Did he actually move in? Or is he still commuting from NYC?
geg6
Great story in WaPo.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/shes-54-white-rural-and-a-lifelong-republican-why-is-she-protesting-donald-trump/2017/01/21/6457ac02-df41-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-bignews4_marchbus-1220p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f79965b90df2
O. Felix Culpa
@satby: Good morning! I’m glad you were able to march in South Bend – with much warmer weather than we had. I like your sign for the BJ commenters who couldn’t march. We too marched for those who couldn’t make it, but were with us in spirit. Several of us went out to eat after the rally and our waitress excitedly asked about the event. She was one among who knows how many vicarious supporters.
ET
If you are wanting so more picturs from DC a local blog Prince of Petworth is good and Capitol Hill Corner has a some as well.
cosima
Thanks for adding me to your sign. I was with you in spirit, truly! My mother & aunt flew to DC from AK, and my oldest marched in Montpelier.
Love the photos. The one of the little one wrapped in grey standing in the middle of the street really grabbed my heart. So much of what has me down about this whole shitgibbon (and Russia) thing is the feeling that they have stolen the futures of my daughters, the one in the US and the one here in the UK. Every now & then that really really kicks me in the guts.
EZSmirkzz
I shot a Trident in the air
it landed in a field,
it may have hit the wrong continent
but at least it had no yield!
If I May, I may not
inform the Parliament,
some secrets are best kept
between me and the President.
oldster
If I were on Twitter, which I am not, I would try to spread the hashtag
#mandateToResign
As in, the only “mandate” that Trump has received from the people is a mandate to resign.
or, Trump has a #mandateToResign
I am still feeling happy about being in DC all day Saturday. It was a great day. I’m going to be calling my (horrible, Republican) Congressman today to blast him about Medicaid, which Swamp Barbie says they are going to destroy via “block grants” to the states, i.e. destroy Medicaid and let the states give the money to millionaires. Then I’ll phone my (excellent, Democratic) senators and tell them to keep fighting Sessions and every other nominee that comes in front of them. No compromise, no cooperation, no cover.
Betty Cracker
@geg6: Read that yesterday on the way home from the march. Great story. For weeks, media folks have been overturning stones to provide a platform to and magnify the wails of whiny Trump voters so that we might “understand” them. I wondered if they might now be arsed to investigate the sea of female humanity that showed up this weekend to say NO to Sunkist Stalin. Glad at least one has.
satby
@cosima: My pleasure. I didn’t picture the front of the sign, it was the quote about “Human rights are women’s rights and…(etc)”
But going to the metric comment I made in the previous thread, now that I count the names on my sign, that’s 11 people I stood for, plus myself. We need to hammer that with reps, with media, with everyone. Because any public serving business knows that statistic. And they need to be more afraid of us than the Teahadis.
Elizabelle
@geg6: saw that article. Proud of that woman. She made a tougher journey than we did. Would love to see a follow up story.
She manages a hardware store. We could send her “atta girl” notes.
Catherine D.
Ithaca police department estimates the crowd at 10,000, which is pretty good considering that the entire county’s population is just over 100,000.
satby
@O. Felix Culpa: Good morning!
Wait, it was colder in New Mexico?
satby
@Aaron up top, if that’s your little one, she’s beautiful! I just want to frame that, because it captures what we all are going to be working for: protecting her and making a better future for all the other girls and young women coming after us.
bemused
@O. Felix Culpa:
I wish her all the best on her journey out of the dark side.
O. Felix Culpa
@satby: Oh yeah! It was snowing and in the 30’s and roads were bad getting into town. The owner of a local hardware store sent someone around to distribute free handwarmers and gloves to the marchers. Sun finally came out around noon. Attendance exceeded all expectations at 10,000-15,000, but I bet we would have had even more if the weather had been better.
O. Felix Culpa
@geg6: Great story! Thanks for the link. Reality does have a way of reshaping received ideology sometimes.
bemused
Where did the pic of bald eagle with hat come from. I have a space on my fridge for a magnet of that.
Mike E
The San Antonio Spurs need to win another NBA championship
Elizabelle
@O. Felix Culpa: That’s great to hear. Kudos to that hardware store owner.
rikyrah
People Will Notice That Trump Can’t Do This Job
by Martin Longman
January 23, 2017 9:02 AM
The New York Times is feeling feisty this morning, going out of their way to point out that the Trump administration’s alternative facts about the inauguration are false in every particular. They also hit the administration with a terrible review of Trump’s own top aides. For good measure, they trashed Sean Spicer, the new press secretary, slapped the president around for not releasing his tax returns, highlighted a new legal challenge that will claim that all foreign payments to Trump-owned companies are violations of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, and provided more coverage of the massive, global, anti-Trump women’s marches.
There will be no honeymoon for Trump with the Establishment media and that’s not a bad thing. Early kid’s gloves coverage of new administrations is usually as ritualistic as the inauguration ceremony, more done in politeness and respect for the office than for any genuine news purpose. It’s best to dispense with all the fluff pieces and get down to business, and never more so than with this bumbling insulting mess.
There’s no need to single out Sean Spicer to blame for this as Margaret Sullivan did in the Washington Post this morning. She said that Spicer’s Saturday evening press statement “should be seen for what it is: Remarks made over the casket at the funeral of access journalism.” But she then observed that Donald Trump “intends to make the American media his foremost enemy” and that he “wants a flat-out war with the nation’s media for one well-calculated reason: Because he believes it will continue to serve his political purposes, as it has for months.”
rikyrah
His Opposition Was White: How Republican Racism Fueled Their Desire to See Barack Obama Fail
Trevor LaFauci
January 22, 2017
Trailblazers have to meet unrealistic expectations.
It has been the same throughout history. The first person to do something is always under a large amount of scrutiny. He or she is under the microscope for a number of reasons, primarily because they are viewed as someone who is representative of a larger group of people. As unfair as it might be, it is the burden these trailblazers face and it is a burden they take on, sometimes by chance and sometimes by choice. For those who take on this burden by choice, they are often forced to compromise themselves or their values in order to appear acceptable to those who might be openly rooting for their failure.
One example that comes to mind is that of Jackie Robinson. In the late 1940s, African-American athletes were in no way seen as equals to their White peers and American sports remained segregated. To sow the seed in the American public’s mind that African-Americans could be seen as equals, Brooklyn Dodgers club president and general manager Branch Rickey interviewed a number of Negro League players who could potentially be that trailblazer. For Rickey, talent was one consideration but another one was the player’s demeanor. He knew that this baseball player would be subjected to unprecedented levels of hatred and racial slurs. Rickey famously said he wanted a player “with guts enough not to fight back” and it was Jackie Robinson who ultimately was deemed to have the combination of talent and character needed to succeed.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Flash forward sixty years to a biracial senator from Illinois. A skinny kid with big ears and a funny name as they say. Barack Hussein Obama was not the first African-American to run for president. He was far from it. So early on, when Obama was down 30 points in the polls ahead of the Iowa caucus in 2008, nobody paid him much attention. But then something funny happened. An African-American man somehow won over the White working-class of America’s heartland and won the Iowa caucus. Not only that but then he continued winning at the expense of Hillary Clinton and the vaunted Clinton machine. At this point, for the first time in our nation’s history, it appeared that there was a chance that for the first time we might have an African-American at the top of the presidential ticket of a major political party.
So what happened? Why accusations of Barack Obama being an extreme radical of course!
rikyrah
Is Shawn Spicer Gaslighting the Press?
by Mike Lofgren
January 22, 2017 6:04 PM
In his first official performance as press secretary for a new president barely 24 hours after his inauguration, Sean Spicer delivered a performance that would have made Baghdad Bob look like Diogenes. Looking sour and petulant, Spicer lashed out at the media for supposedly making fraudulent underestimates of the crowds at President Trump’s inauguration compared to those of President Obama’s. He also took vehement issue with the attendance estimates for the Women’s March on Washington that was concluding as he spoke.
After delivering his angry jeremiad to the White House press corps, Spicer strode away from the lectern without taking questions. To find anything as surreal, one would have to go back to Nixon’s press secretary, Ron Ziegler, as Watergate unfolded — albeit Ziegler merely looked hapless at having to deliver balderdash with a straight face, rather than ready to bite off the heads of the reporters.
Given the marvels of aerial photography and cameras placed in tall buildings, estimates of crowds at a given venue, while never exact, are accurate in comparative terms. And since the overwhelming majority of attendees at special events on the Washington Mall arrives by Metro, the local transit authority has an exact count of the number of people who use the system on a given day. In view of those factors, Spicer might just as well have been arguing that two plus two equals five. Beyond that, the sheer pettiness of berating the press over a basically insignificant issue one day into a new administration, when presidencies traditionally seek – and generally find – at least a modicum of good will from the fourth estate, is mystifying. Why did he do it?
rikyrah
The Enemy One Cannot Negotiate With
by D.R. Tucker
January 22, 2017 11:00 AM
Back in November, I noted that former Secretary of State John Kerry has been promoted as a potential candidate to challenge Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker, and that Setti Warren, a former aide to Kerry who is now the mayor of Newton, Massachusetts, is also contemplating a challenge to Baker. Warren is regarded as having solid progressive credentials, but a recent op-ed about the Democratic Party’s alleged need to reach out to Trump voters displays a critical flaw in Warren’s thinking:
…………………………………….
Give me a damn break.
Warren is sadly mistaken if he thinks the folks who voted for the bigoted billionaire seek common ground with anyone even slightly to the political left, their manners in restaurants notwithstanding. As I read this bizarre piece, I thought back to the compelling ad Warren ran during his aborted challenge to then-Sen. Scott Brown in 2011, an ad mentioning his late sister’s struggle with severe asthma. Frankly, I cannot understand why Warren thinks Democrats can reason with folks who willfully and deliberately voted for a man who seeks to deprive millions of Americans of the health care they need to fight asthma and other life-threatening diseases.
It’s disturbing that Warren embraces this sort of adolescent reasoning. Harsh as it might sound to some, the folks who voted for Trump–the folks who actually think White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is honest–did so with malice aforethought, specifically intending to use government power to bring suffering to those they regard as members of a lesser order. Warren is fooling himself if he thinks folks who have been propagandized into viewing the Democratic Party as America’s home for welfare dependency, inner-city crime, racial quotas and political correctness will ever give the party a second look. Future Democratic victories can only come from turning out as much of the party’s base as possible on a consistent basis, not by bending over backwards to attract those sympathetic to wingnuts.
The Trump voters Warren spoke to voted for a man whose nominee for Attorney General, if confirmed, will ignore police brutality committed against those who share Warren’s background. Does Warren seriously believe these voters can be reasoned with? To rework a Biblical phrase, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for someone who embraced Trump to ever again consider a vote for a Democrat.
Those who voted for Trump are Warren’s enemies, whether he knows it or not. Those who voted for Trump are the enemies of Democrats, whether Democrats know it or not. Trumpism cannot be negotiated with, and it damn sure can’t be reasoned with. It can only be conquered via a massive turnout of Democratic troops on the battlefield of ideas–and if that doesn’t happen, Trumpism will continue to prevail politically.
MomSense
Can’t link to an IG photo but I saw a sign I love carried by a young boy.
Ruviana
@Betty Cracker: Hey Betty, how are you feeling this morning?
Major Major Major Major
@geg6: Good article, thanks.
This little part struck me, the last quote is what it felt like for me when the bottom really fell out:
Gator90
@rikyrah: Why did he do it?
It was a display of dominance. (I say two plus two equals five! What are you losers gonna do about it?!?)
OzarkHillbilly
@MomSense: A guy I was with was chanting, “FACTS AND SCIENCE. ON THESE I HAVE RELIANCE.”
Betty Cracker
@Ruviana: Much better, thanks! We got home very late because of the horrible weather in SC, GA and Northern FL, but we made it back safely, and whatever bug I picked up seems to have dissipated! :)
Spanky
@Gator90: Why did Spicer do what he did? Quoted tweets from last night’s Open Thread:
Major Major Major Major
@rikyrah: Donald Trump turns everything he touches into garbage. Negotiating with Trumpism turns you into garbage. Resist.
geg6
@Major Major Major Major:
Agreed. That was how I felt that night.
I am really heartened by this article. One, the media is finally taking notice of the people who didn’t vote for That Man, who aren’t “elites” and who are white working class (because a huge proportion of the white working class are single women). Two, three fucking buses from Williamsport? I know Williamsport well. That they managed to fill three buses with people from Williamsport who aren’t enamored with That Man is amazing. That means people who have been quiet and hiding in shadows in towns like that came out of the woodwork and went public. That’s amazing. Really, truly amazing.
Betty Cracker
@MomSense: Saw that too on Twitter. Thought it was from the Boston march, so I briefly wondered if it was Tom L’s son, but I think his boy is older. In any case, great sign! I saw so many wonderful signs this weekend — another thing that struck me as unique about this march, the homemade signs and homemade hats. Did you see where Trump’s idiot lawyer commented on the hats, asking if they were made in America? Yeah, asshole — we made ’em ourselves!
Yoda Dog
@rikyrah: Kudos to them but the NYT is still garbage.
O. Felix Culpa
@Elizabelle: Yes, kudos to him and to so many other generous people at the march, some who gave away pussyhats they’d made and others who brought blank signboards and markers to share. I wonder if this was typical of other marches as well? (My guess is yes.)
MomSense
@OzarkHillbilly:
That’s good. What’s so frustrating about this whole mess we find ourselves in, is that there are a lot more of us than the anti-science/anti civil rights GOP. It’s only because of gerrymandering, the undemocratic EC, the corporate owned media, FBI, and Russian interference that we ended up with an administration full of idiots and sociopaths.
We have to stop feeling like this isn’t our country and start talking about how we’ve been hijacked.
ETA I almost forgot the thing that had me furiously knitting pink hats- our votes were stolen by Crosscheck voter purging, ID laws, broken voting machines and too few machines/hours to vote. This has to be the cause of and for our lives. We have to secure our right to vote.
Major Major Major Major
@geg6: Now let’s do everything we can to make sure she stays involved, and women like her start running for office!
zhena gogolia
Sobbing once again. How did so much love and decency get overwhelmed on Nov. 8? How? Why are we in this mess? Hillary would have kept a steady hand on the tiller and helped us move forward, building on Obama’s achievements. Now we’re in this catastrophe.
Josie
This organization is providing a way to help us find swing districts that need help in 2018. Worth looking into.
OzarkHillbilly
@MomSense:
I am sick to death of people who wrap themselves in the flag, acting as though they get to define who and what is or is not American. As I was heading out the door I stopped myself, went back in and got a flag. Wrapped myself in it for the parade, just saying, “We’re Americans too.”
tobie
Orangemandias intends to sign an executive order withdrawing the US from TPP. Parts of the left will celebrate the return to isolationism and protectionism. I for one am bummed. Bye-bye US Asian pivot. Hello Chinese dominance in the Pacific rim.
schrodingers_cat
@satby: Traditional Indian women’s clothes tend to be colorful and bright, men’s clothes on the other hand are head to toe white. Not just hot pink, but every color of the rainbow. My personal favorite is peacock blue.
zhena gogolia
@MomSense:
So witty!
I hope someone does a book of the signs at this march.
But then I get depressed. Our side is smarter, nicer, more ethical, and RIGHT. How did we lose?
O. Felix Culpa
@Spanky:
Then we have to stand for truth all the more. Social media is a double-edged sword and we can wield it too. Just think, the march started with one woman’s FB post shortly after the election, inviting 40 people to protest. At least 2.6 million of her closest friends responded!
MomSense
@Betty Cracker:
I think we demonstrated how creative we are with our signs and hats.
I did see the Cohen tweet. There’s also a Soros hat truthers conspiracy. So pathetic.
Betty Cracker
@tobie: Yeah. I think back on when I objected to the lack of labor representation on PBO’s US negotiating team and complained about corporations being over-represented. I don’t think I was wrong. But it sure seems quaint now, that particular concern. Le sigh.
Kay
Just to recap the lies on this one- Trump promised he would release taxes, then Trump’s mouthpiece said yesterday he would not release taxes, then today we’re back to will release taxes.
The real answer to whether Trump will release taxes is “who knows?” They all lie all the time so nothing they say means anything.
laura
@Betty Cracker: I hope you get a chance to rest on your laurels today after a great journey!
I got back from Ft. Lauderdale Thursday afternoon and participated on a one-woman (me)March on the Saputo Dairy Strike picket line from midnight to 6am. Got home by 9 and slept. When I got up and out it was nothing but pink pssyhats on the streets of Sacramento.
zhena gogolia
@MomSense:
That enraged me. These people have no conception of doing anything they don’t get (over)paid for. Cohen should join Conway in whatever circle of Hell is the worst, I can never remember which it is.
MomSense
@tobie:
Yeah it’s really dumb. I’m bummed that our burgeoning solar and wind industry will be undercut by Chinese products.
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: Distribution of electoral college votes.
OzarkHillbilly
@zhena gogolia:
Ummm, they still let Republicans vote?
Immanentize
@MomSense: Hey neighbor — I saw on the previous thread that you need more threads (yearn)? I believe the Arlington sewing shop has some nice pink yarn — shall I get some for you?
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Why wait for the media, why don’t we do it here on Balloon Juice. Instead of the daily scheduled hand wringing, why not one post daily about why you marched. You can start it and anyone who reads this blog or comments on it can send in their essay along with pictures. Just a thought.
ETA: Knitters can also contribute, how many hats they knit and why they chose to do it.
And thanks BC for marching.
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: The worst circle of hell is reserved for the very special few, like Judas, in which you are forever frozen in the mouth of Satan. That level?
MomSense
@zhena gogolia:
They stole our votes. Intentionally.
rikyrah
@Major Major Major Major:
I couldn’t agree with you more. There’s nothing where I feel we need to meet him halfway.
NOTHING.
Not.one.damn.thing.
OzarkHillbilly
Dreher has his panties in a bunch.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
People spent their own money and their own time making the signs and the hats. That made it personal.
They’re so used to having things bought and paid for by the Koch Brothers, that they are not used to something genuine and organic popping up.
schrodingers_cat
@Immanentize: I am not Christian, so I don’t believe in hell or heaven for that matter. I think we make our own heaven or hell here on earth. And those people, zg mentions are already in hell and want the rest of us to join them.
Major Major Major Major
@Kay: I saw your comment and thought, damn it, I just don’t care about the taxes any more.
In other words, it’s working.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
You bet your ass this is our country. And, we have to fight for it. And, fight for the voting rights of our fellow citizens.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
Let me check out Joanns and knitpicjs online first. It probably costs more to mail the yarn than the yarn costs!
Do people here want hats? If we make a list I’ll start making more.
rikyrah
@zhena gogolia:
White woman and purity trolls stupid enough to believe that there was no difference between Hillary and Ferret Head.
schrodingers_cat
@OzarkHillbilly: He is an idiot. He changes religions like I change handbags.
tobie
@Kay: this is interesting. It shows that public pressure does work. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get him to do something but it demonstrates you can break his bluster.
@Betty Cracker: People I know who are involved in these sorts of things tell me that negotiating trade deals is even more complicated than finalizing climate agreements. I feel like we got distracted with TPP. Slogans took over…and yes I’m pointing a finger at Elisabeth Warren among others, whose politics are not always as pure as the virgin snow.
EDIT: To end on a more positive note, off to call my senators to tell them to vote no on Tillerson. Today’s the day. Do it, folks.
O. Felix Culpa
@schrodingers_cat:
AMEN!!! Let’s post about why we marched and how we’re remaining active post-march. Folks, go watch (or re-watch) Selma and Malcom X and Hidden Figures for a little lesson on how to be strong in the face of oppression. It’s scary, but if those brave people did it (with far less protections than most of us have), we can do it too.
Any other book or movie recommendations for encouragement and strength?
schrodingers_cat
@MomSense: I can always use a hat. I at least lose one per season.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: Isn’t it funny how the response to the amazing display of solidarity is to patrol the tone of the people (actually, only a few of the people) at the marches? This is “hippies are dirty” all over again, but upgraded for the moment (woman swore).
schrodingers_cat
@O. Felix Culpa: Gandhi, although it is a sanitized British man’s version of the Indian freedom struggle.
O. Felix Culpa
@MomSense:
I’d love one! Well, maybe two for Ms. O and myself, if that’s not asking too much. :)
ETA: Pippin the Dog would look fetching in a pussyhat, but he objects to headgear.
Spanky
@zhena gogolia:
It’s an opportunity.
Let’s grab it.
Courage.
Immanentize
@MomSense: I am XY, but I would certainly wear a black hat like foul mouthed Madonna’s! By the way, driving back home from dropping my son at the train this morning, I saw a young girl — maybe 10 or 11? — wearing her pink p-hat waiting for the bus. It was very inspiring!
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: It was as predictable as the rising of the sun.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
That doesn’t sound quite painful enough.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
I would love a hat! Want to contribute some $ to you. Thanks!
Quinerly
@MomSense: @MomSense:
I would love a hat! Want to contribute some $ to you. Thanks!
O. Felix Culpa
@O. Felix Culpa: Reposting, since my earlier comment was consigned to moderation:
I’d love one! Well, maybe two for Ms. O and myself, if that’s not asking too much. :)
ETA: Pippin the Dog would look fetching in a pussyhat, but he objects to headgear.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
Thank you, satby, and thank you all who marched.
I have a friend who is making pu$4y hats for whoever wants one; I’ve got one on the way.
Major Major Major Major
@O. Felix Culpa: How To Survive a Plague
schrodingers_cat
@MomSense: @Quinerly: What Quinerly said!
O. Felix Culpa
Dear Person With BJ Power, please release my comment regarding those nice pink hats from moderation and delete the follow-up attempt to repost. Thank you.
ETA: To Mnem, yes please. And if it’s not too much too ask, would love one for Ms. O as well. I’ll gladly contribute for yarn and postage.
MomSense
Here’s something we all can do. 877-959-6082 connects you with the stop Sessions campaign. They will ask for your zip code and then connect you to your Senator. The vote in Sessions will likely be tomorrow so we have to call today.
Here’s a message from Greenpeace and the NAACP.
You will like their fashion sense
Major Major Major Major
@MomSense: I would love a hat! Do you take bitcoin?
MomSense
Ok hats it is.
I think we should post pictures wearing hats while making phone calls or acting as escorts at BLM and fight for $15 and Planned Parenthood marches.
pamelabrown53
@MomSense: #67
I would love a hat for both me and my grand daughter. Certainly plan to pay you and donate extra so that anyone who can’t pay might still get one. What a magnanimous gesture; hope you don’t regret making it!
zhena gogolia
The mailboxes for both my senators in DC are full. I got through to the Hartford office, and Murphy is definitely voting no on Tillerson. The Blumenthal person wasn’t sure but thinks he is too.
schrodingers_cat
@O. Felix Culpa: Not exactly encouragement but a window into what happens when people start believing toxic rumors and turn against their neighbors.
Deepa Mehta’s 1947 Earth and Govind Nihlani’s miniseries Tamas (Darkness). Both based on books on British India’s partition.
MomSense
@Major Major Major Major:
You are too funny. Let me find some yarn and then we’ll figure this out. Maybe a distribution juicer. We’ll have to find Mnem, Fearhers, and Seaboogie for stitching help.
LAO
@zhena gogolia:
Apparently, a coffee table book is on it’s way. Which I expect will be awesome.
Elizabelle
@MomSense: I would love a hat, please.
Am going to ask Mnemo to make me a hat too. Then I will have one to wear and one to give away.
Thank you, tricoteuses! Knitting women rock!
AxelFoley
@Patricia Kayden:
I see what you did there.
LAO
@MomSense: I would love a hat. I was agnostic about them until the day of the march. It was an amazing sight to see — all those handmade pink hats.
ETA: Money, yarn or both — just let me know where to send them.
Yoda Dog
@Josie: I signed up. We’ll see if they contact me. Still waiting patiently for my first OFA meeting. It was supposed to happen Sunday but got rescheduled. I did get to speak to the person in charge and she seems great so I am optimistic.
Betty Cracker
Regarding the hats, I first heard about them here, and I can’t tell you how cool it was when we arrived at our Metro station Saturday morning and saw busloads of women streaming into the building wearing those hats. And it blew me away when I emerged from the L’Enfant Plaza station and saw a sea of those hats. I didn’t wear one myself (not a hat person), but I love the idea. And, as someone pointed out, the presence of those hats will make it more difficult for Trump’s minions to Photoshop crowd shots to claim as their own.
Ruviana
@Betty Cracker: Excellent. Glad you could go and get back safely too.
O. Felix Culpa
@schrodingers_cat: @Major Major Major Major: Thanks!
So, in the Inspiration for the Struggle Ahead Department, we have so far:
Gandhi
Hidden Figures
How to Survive a Plague
Malcolm X
Selma
I’m sure there are more. Keep them coming! And make those phone calls! NO to Tillerson. NO to Sessions. &c. &c. &c.
Quinerly
@OzarkHillbilly:
#33. And he was chanting it at breakfast too.?
Major Major Major Major
@Betty Cracker: I’ve spent more time playing Fallout 3 than I have actually in DC so that’s where my mind first goes when I hear all these locations. May it not come true!
bemused
@OzarkHillbilly:
What a prissy little prude. I don’t read the guy but has he ever gotten this hysterical over disgusting, misogynist verbal abuse women get every day? He probably doesn’t get that this was turning the tables on crappy men.
Kay
“Official” The first bizarre lie-fest was not “official”
Special rules for special snowflakes. The soft bigotry of low expectations for white men is really a problem.
SWMBO
@zhena gogolia: All of them. They should have to clean all of them. With their tongues.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@schrodingers_cat:
Actually, a major part of the problem is Christianity as it is distorted through the American evangelical, marginally Protestant and Calvinist lens. Cheap mercy is brought about by the muttering of “I believe”, and no reparations to the victims of your sins are necessary, as a deity will right all the wrongs you’ve perpetrated in the promised afterlife.
It is sickening in application. Most of the traditional Christianity of Europe has the notion of justice and real repentance at least as a stated goal.
Kay
@GrandJury:
Propublica are beefing up investigative reporting but their (excellent) stuff doesn’t matter because commercial outlets don’t pick it up. They debunked the whole “the IRS is going after Tea Partiers” nonsense, exhaustively, with documents, and major media ignored it. It was really disturbing to watch. They didn’t even have to do any work. They could have simply read the Propublica piece.
Another Scott
@MomSense: I’d like a hat, also too, please. I’d also want to contribute to the cause. Keeping this meme going is very important, I think.
Cheers,
Scott.
O. Felix Culpa
A grannies’ book club marched in Chicago:http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-grannies-at-chicago-womens-march-balancing-0121-20170122-story.html.
Some of these women were not woke before, but they are now. We’ll be seeing more and more of this.
Elizabelle
@LAO: And little pink booties for Maggie. Maybe a hoodie, too.
schrodingers_cat
@O. Felix Culpa: For women standing up to patriarchy and pu$$y grabbing petty tyrants.
Ketan Mehta’s Mirch Masala.
Major Major Major Major
@MomSense: or PayPal but do we really want to use a Peter Thiel product?
Gin & Tonic
So little Marco Rubio, like the good little lapdog we knew him to be, rolls over obediently and says he’ll vote for Tillerson. More spine in the linguine I overcooked last night.
LAO
@Elizabelle: LOL. Maggie is not a fan of the booties! Or so I’ve noticed since the injury. She’s doing much better now, though.
schrodingers_cat
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I am not too familiar with Protestant version of Christianity and its different off shoots. Catholicism is what I know more about, since I went to a Catholic school from kindergarten to grade 10.
ETA: I knew a couple of fundie evangelical Koreans in college. Oh you Hindus so funny, believe in Gods with 10 arms, ha, ha. My response, you Christians so funny, believe in immaculate conception.
SiubhanDuinne
@MomSense:
What a nice offer! I would absolutely love a hat! And I can provide a few skeins of pink yarn to help the cause.
Didn’t ask for or try to find a pussyhat last week, as I knew I wouldn’t be marching Saturday. But I expect there will be more events down the pike, and I’d like to be sartorially (haberdasherally) prepared :-)
bemused
@MomSense:
Me too. I’m having a blast checking out out all the awesome women’s march signs. One of my favorite signs is “Made in ‘Gina”.
There’s no comparison between liberal and wingnut/teaparty signs/t-shirts. Rightwing signs use handful of mean-spirited themes repeated over and over, almost identical and disgusting. Not a bit humorous even though they think so
SWMBO
Can someone post a link to the pattern for making p-ussy hats? Thanks.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
Me!! I have a big head.
And, one for Peanut- she’s 8, but she’s got a ton of hair.
Just tell me how much.
Patricia Kayden
@OzarkHillbilly: Dreher is a horrible human being so if he’s unhappy, I’m ecstatic. For the next four years (or until Trump leaves office, whichever comes first), I’ll temper my reactions to news events by how my enemies react to them. In one of his recent posts, Dreher was openly baiting the Left and hoping that violence at the women’s marches would justify Trump using the police to crack down violently on liberals. Disgusting.
Patricia Kayden
@Gin & Tonic: Ditto McCain. They’re backbones finally gave out which is something we’re going to see over and over again. That’s why I scoff at suggestions that Trump is going to be impeached while Republicans are the majority in the Senate and the House. Not GONNA Happen.
randy khan
Fun fact: When you call the White House comment line, you get a message saying it’s not open for messages right now. Or maybe ever.
I was calling to tell them to rescind the ACA executive order. I think it would be a good thing to push them on that. Here’s the contact information:
Email: [email protected]
Through the website: Link
Phone (if you can get through): 202-456-1111
Larkspur
@MomSense: I would love a hat too. I can send money, or if you prefer, I can send yarn. How much yarn does the average hat take? PS: I have a big head. Not very feminine. Has everyone seen that news about Indiana state senator Jack Sandlin and how he re-posted a fat shaming meme on his Facebook wall? Now he says he doesn’t know how it got there. I think I am not so worried about being feminine-looking any more. I have a fat head; so what?
MomSense
@SWMBO:
Here’s the link to the website.
pu_syhat project
Ravelry has some more patterns for knitting it in the round.
The one I followed was for worsted. Size 6 needle CO 92 and join in round. K2 P2 for 3 3/4 inches then switch to Size 8 and knit stockinette until 7 1/2 inches from edge. Turn inside out and use 3 needle bind off.
MomSense
I better get busy!
dr. luba
@tobie: Cutting ourselves off from the world….how does that help the economy prosper? Donnie’s future is a huge American swap meet, with us selling old, used crap to one another. Or cooking meth.
Major Major Major Major
@Patricia Kayden: better be careful if your enemies list includes George Will and Jen Rubin.
schrodingers_cat
@dr. luba: This was a disaster, even the first time around
MomSense
@SWMBO:
My link is in moderation. Google the name of the hat plus project.
Alternative is to go ravelry and do a pattern search. There is the original pattern and then several other patterns for making them in the round instead of flat.
The hard part is finding the yarn!
celticdragonchick
@OzarkHillbilly: I saw that. Dreher still can’t believe liberals actually have opinions and express them in public.
cosima
@MomSense: If you are a prolific knitter (I can only seem to manage a bad cable), and are not burnt out on knitting, I would love to send you some beautiful Scottish yarn for a project for yourself. So if you’re compiling a list, if you add me to the distribution, I will put some lovely wool in the post for you. I try to avoid hats myself.
Immanentize
@MomSense: @Major Major Major Major:
Maybe Satby could help you set up an ETSY page?
manyakitty
@satby: Thank you.
schrodingers_cat
@OzarkHillbilly: @celticdragonchick: Why do you guys do this to yourselves, reading Dreher I mean. He is such a prissy puss.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
That’s a great idea. Ok let me figure this out.
O. Felix Culpa
@schrodingers_cat:
Thanks for this recommendation! A new one to me. I’ll make sure to watch it.
bemused senior
@MomSense: phone number is a fax machine atm.
zhena gogolia
I just put in my first Penzey’s order ever! It felt good!
sam
If anyone is interested, I got my pics edited and up on my own site fairly late last night: http://www.very-simple.com/blog/2017/01/22/3-years-364-days-to-go/
This may be a record for me – It usually takes me weeks to get through vacation photos, but I thought timing was of the essence, so I dragged my laptop with me to all of my sunday activities, including brunch with my family, so I could keep editing during the downtime :)
Calouste
@zhena gogolia: Traitors to their country? Ninth Circle, Round 2 – Antenora.
Please take the elevator on the left and push the button to go down. Enjoy your stay :)
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@schrodingers_cat:
Most misunderstand Immaculate Conception. Because sex is yucky, Mary was immaculately conceived by Joachim and Anna before God date raped her to render Jesus incarnate.
And after that, Mary remained chaste for life; no bean-flicking or rubbing one out for her, because female sexuality is yucky…
LAO
@OzarkHillbilly: In other words, it’s a day that ends in “y.” What a whinny ass baby he is.
MomSense
@bemused senior:
877-959-6082
O. Felix Culpa
@sam: Great post and great pix! Thank you! Ms. O is an introvert too, and she was highly energized by the march.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@schrodingers_cat:
Dreher blocked me ages ago on Twitter, and my commentary on his blog pieces never gets approval from him (which even includes the thoughtful, non profane things I say).
We would not be friendly in real life. If acquainted, I’d deem him a tool best avoided.
LAO
@sam: Hey Sam, your pictures came out great, thanks for the link.
bluegirlfromwyo
@OzarkHillbilly: WTAF? They’re protesting Trump’s behavior toward women. Really? Someone needs to hit him with a clue by four.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Uh huh
Uh huh
bemused
@Immanentize:
I liked Madonna’s hat too. I’m just not a pink person. If i ever did knit a pink hat it would be in a rose magenta shade which I think better fits a strong, don’t take ish woman than the little girly pink color.
bemused
@Larkspur:
Isn’t it amazing how often that happens with republicans and social media? What are the odds?
Spanky
You know who a trade war with China would destroy? WalMart. I cannot recall an instance where something I picked up there was NOT made in China.
And the People of WalMart are not going to be happy. At all. Oh no, Precious.
schrodingers_cat
@O. Felix Culpa: Here is the IMDB entry. I will see if a version with subtitles exists.
schrodingers_cat
@Spanky: A trade war is going to destroy everyone. Great Depression 2.0.
tobie
@dr. luba: When things get expensive at Walmart, people might have a change of heart but by then it will be too late. Massive economic contraction will destroy Americans’ purchasing power in any event.
I’ve been trying to think of a simple way to explain this to people. At first it sounds so good just to say smack on tariffs on foreign goods but we know that never works out well. There are really only two possibilities if the US is hellbent on competing with, say, Bangladesh to produce socks: either the price of socks goes up massively or the cost of labor in the US goes down dramatically. Focusing on goods that we alone can manufacture is the only way to go.
rikyrah
Trump As An Agent of Chaos
by Nancy LeTourneau
January 23, 2017 9:59 AM
For years now Republicans have gotten a lot of mileage from their base by railing against the media – or as Sarah Palin says, “the lamestream media.” Throughout his campaign and transition, Donald Trump jumped right into that fray. More recently, during his remarks at the CIA this weekend, Trump talked about being at war with the media.
After Sean Spicer’s bizarre statement to the press on Saturday afternoon in which he lied about the size of the crowd at the inauguration, most of the reporting has been framed as part of that “war.” There is a way in which that frame is accurate. But it deserves some examination if, for no other reason, than because it is the frame Trump wants us to adopt.
The truth is that Trump loves media attention. Those who have watched him over the years point out that he revels in it – especially when it is rooted in conflict. His entire presidential campaign was able to forego spending much money because he soaked up all the media attention with inflammatory rhetoric. That is Trump’s lifeblood.
In a way, Kellyanne Conway’s remarks to Chuck Todd yesterday demonstrate that this is more than a war with the media. She labelled Spicer’s lies as “alternative facts.” In case you missed it, even the folks at Merriam Webster weighed in on that.
bemused
@O. Felix Culpa:
I like. A quote from a woman in there would be great on a sign, “Silence is Compliance”.
Yoda Dog
@sam: Beautiful pictures, Sam. Thanks for sharing.
Another Scott
@tobie: I could be wrong, but I think Donnie is in his “bluster” and “negotiate bigly” mode in his screaming about cutting regulations by 75% and imposing huge tariffs on goods at the border. He’s not going to get the votes in Congress to do all that, and he can’t do it all on his own.
He can only destroy things if our representatives and the courts let him. And I don’t think they well (they have different interests than he does) – at least not to the extent he wants.
He wants to scare everyone into giving him what he wants because that’s the way he thinks negotiation works.
We need to tell him “No” and we need to hold our Congresscritters’ feet to the fire to make sure that they don’t buckle under his bullying.
CBS News from 2009, updated in 2011:
Donnie has a very weak hand. He’s very insecure and brain damaged. He wasn’t elected King or Dictator. He has to work within The System. Other countries aren’t going to just roll over for him, and neither are the Courts or the Congress.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ridnik Chrome
@zhena gogolia: Eighth circle, second ditch, which is reserved for flatterers. They spend eternity immersed in excrement. Seems about right for Cohen and Conway.
bookdragon
@bemused: I second that. I’d love to use that picture in a sig, but don’t want to do it w/o permission and attribution.
les
@MomSense:
Don’t forget the 50% who can’t be assed to vote. My default for now is 75% of Americans are ignorant, uncaring assholes.
sukabi
@satby: rumblings that the next March will be April 15th… A “Release your Taxes” march
rikyrah
Trump’s Biggest Inaugural Lie
by Gilad Edelman
January 21, 2017
Donald Trump’s inaugural speech was filled, bizarrely and predictably, with dystopian falsehoods. His reference to “American carnage,” a reprise of his oft-repeated and utterly backwards claim that the country faces a violent crime epidemic, was an instant classic in authoritarian fear-mongering.
But that was not the most important moment in Trump’s inaugural. Singling out the most outrageous lie from any string of Donald Trump utterances is, of course, a bit like trying to pick the best Beatles album. But for my money, the heart of yesterday’s speech was Trump’s theory about why regular Americans aren’t prospering: because Washington politicians and foreign governments are stealing all their money. Here’s the key section:
A few moments later, he added:
This is a master class in scapegoating and misdirection, an astonishing example of chutzpah even by Trump’s historically awesome standards. There really is a group of people that has been sucking up the economic gains that should be going to the middle class, and the Trump Administration is basically its all-star team. Of the executive branch nominees picks so far announced, five are billionaires (as Trump claims to be himself, of course). At least a dozen more are multimillionaires. Andy Puzder, the fast-food magnate and Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, has talked openly about his plan to replace restaurant workers with robots. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary nominee, is a former Goldman Sachs partner who has already run into trouble for hiding $100 million in assets from the Senate Finance Committee. If middle and working class Americans watching Trump’s speech wanted to know who has been getting rich while they struggle to get by, they should have simply watched on mute. It’s the guy with his name on buildings.
sukabi
@tobie: republicans also introduced a bill to pull us out of the UN…
PJ
@sukabi: Please don’t forget the People’s Climate March on April 29th: https://peoplesclimate.org
O. Felix Culpa
@rikyrah: Preach.
I know that facing the major holidays with difficult family and friends are past (for now), but here’s a link to a helpful SPLC publication on how to respond to “everyday bigotry”: https://www.splcenter.org/20150126/speak-responding-everyday-bigotry.
Unfortunately that issue isn’t gone yet.
Immanentize
@Another Scott: Nice catch —
Trump signed a hiring freeze executive order today, except for Military and safety positions. Does this mean he cannot hire any more appointees in his administration?
dww44
Help. Can someone direct me to that spread sheet that shows all the marches from Saturday, the attendance, and the source for that number? I thought I had bookmarked it, but somehow must not have done so.
My local paper had 10,000 at the Atlanta one that I attended. And several sources attest attendance at 60,000.00. Before I call the reporter I want to be able to direct him to some reputable sources.
The Moar You Know
@Josie: I have a local GOP state rep that has run the last two cycles unopposed. So I’m pulling papers next year. I have no money and no name and will get no local Dem party support (they are a HUGE part of the problem in my district) but by God I’m doing this.
#NeverUnopposed
matryoshka
@O. Felix Culpa: Yes. This letter by Clarissa Pinkola Estes has become a go-to recently. It got me off my butt to march.
“My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement.
I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able vessels in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind.
Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.
In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.
We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn’t you say you were a believer? Didn’t you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn’t you ask for grace? Don’t you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater?
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.
Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.
The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.”
By Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Stan
@OzarkHillbilly: I too brought a big US flag to the march, and for the same reason
Another Scott
@Immanentize: One would think that they would fall under some sort of “essential” position, but with these guys, who knows if they were smart enough to think that far ahead?!
On the other hand, if it does apply to them, they’ll argue that they have to hire contractors to do the work, and all sorts of mischief could result (NDAs, no clear line of supervision, etc., etc.) :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Sab
One of my neighbors up the street put a sign just like the one in the top picture in her yard the day of the march. Very brave since her new next door neighbor is a trumpguy. Surprisingly the sign is still there. It is very much needed because this is a diverse working class neighborhood. Some of the immigrants, especially the Muslim ones, have become increasingly withdrawn over the years since 9/11.
Another Scott
@dww44: Tweet from the UConn Prof who has it.
(via a Google search as follows: “site:balloon-juice.com spreadsheet women’s march”)
Click on the “google docs spreadsheet” linky under his profile picture on the left.
HTH!
Cheers,
Scott.
sam
@O. Felix Culpa, @LAO, @Yoda Dog: Thanks guys! I used my real camera and everything (except for the last pic, which was the obligatory selfie of myself and my friend Amy).
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
I’m wondering what Cohen’s office address is. It sounds like the poor dear is feeling neglected and needs to have a few hundred pink hats sent to him so he feels better. ?
dww44
@Another Scott: Thanks, I think the same spreadsheet is now posted at Vox.com.
O. Felix Culpa
@matryoshka: Wow. What a powerful statement. Thank you for sharing!
dww44
@MomSense: I was unable to secure one of the hats prior to the marches, but now I’d still like to secure a couple for my granddaughters. Can you direct me to a resource. Unfortunately, whatever talents I may possess I’ve never been creative with my hands.
glaukopis
@MomSense: Late to this thread as usual. Count me in as someone who will knit hats for others – I can volunteer for 3. No shortage of pink yarn here in Ohio that I noticed, unfortunately. Maybe you or one of the FPers can coordinate knitters and knittees (with sizes)? On the pussyhatproject site there were instructions for small (for children and people with small heads) and medium/large.
KnittyGal
@MomSense: I am a knitter, and I will gladly knit caps for any BJers. I knit 2 for myself and a friend, one while we were driving to DC. Please let me know how I can help!
Gelfling 545
@Spanky: What we have been hearing from the Trump “administration reminds me of the passage from The Thin Man about Mimi Jorgenson’s lies.
“The chief thing is not to let her wear you down….She keeps trying and you’ve got to be careful or you’ll find yourself believing her, not because she seems to be telling the truth, but simply because you’re tired of disbelieving her.”
O. Felix Culpa
Ok, so this might be worth a FP post. A little serious levity on the order of SNL from the Netherlands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELD2AwFN9Nc
SgrAstar
@rikyrah:
Bravo, rikyrah. No quarter.
Gelfling 545
@schrodingers_cat: I can tell you the main reason I (and my family) marched. My daughter and I were commenting on how many of our signs from previous protests were still appropriate for this march. Trump threatens nearly every cause we care about.
Gelfling 545
@rikyrah: Meet him half way be damned. Halfway to perdition is not a good place to be.
SgrAstar
@MomSense: momsense, I’d like a hat too! Let us know how to defray the expenses. Maybe we could even use some of the $- say, if you tack on an extra $5- for a collective BJ donation…NAACP? SLPC? PP? Thank you!
Annie
@O. Felix Culpa:
Further things to do:
I’ve set up l monthly donations to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and the NAACP. Mine are small but I figure they’re like votes; they add up. I’ve also signed up with SwingLeft.org to help turn a Republican congressional district near me to a Democrat. (I live in San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi is my Congress Person and she gets re-elected with close to 85 % of the vote, so I figure I can do more by helping in another district.)
I marched because I had hoped this country was making progress. I had hoped we had stopped going backwards, that the election of Mr. Obama meant we were starting to turn back in the right direction, back on the long road to make the promise of the Declaration of Independence into a reality that included everyone. I don’t want to go back and I’m furious that the reactionaries won. I’m furious that people who spent 8 years saying Obama wasn’t born here have elected someone unqualified by experience and temperament to hold the office. On a tangible level, I’m less than a decade short of retirement and I’m terrified about maybe losing my Social Security.
I just read Les Parisiennes, by Anne Sebba, about women in Paris during the German occupation. The ones who resisted — not enough but some — faced much worse obstacles and odds than we do. We do still have a living civic culture and the freedom to march and organize. I cannot stand the thought of looking back years from now and realizing I did not use the means available to me to try to stop this.
And before someone says, “that’s great but go vote,” I’m 61 years old, I registered to vote when I was 18 and I have never missed an election.
SgrAstar
@The Moar You Know: Brave of you to think about running. DKos has an excellent series on how to run for office; Lawton Chiles’ book about his successful shoestring campaign for governor of Florida is also worth a read. Act Blue is your friend. Good luck!
O. Felix Culpa
@Annie: Awesome actions all! Thank you!
I’m one year behind you and have voted since 18 too. Sexagenarians unite!
ETA: For you whippersnappers out there, being able to vote at 18 was new back in the day. An outgrowth of the Vietnam War. Before that, you couldn’t vote until 21. Thought was, if you’re old enough to die for your country, you’re old enough to vote. And the requisite “Fuck LBJ” for raven.
MomSense
I think what I’ll do is set up an Etsy site so we don’t have to go through paypal. Then people can place their orders there and pay for postage. The yarn isn’t expensive. I figure about 100 yards for a worsted weight hat. I’ll see how much the materials are but I’m thinking minimal. The other juicer knitters can help as we go along.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@sam:
Good work!
amygdala
@MomSense: It’s beyond fabulous that you and the other crafty juicers are willing to do this. PLEASE make sure the price covers your materials and time.
SFAW
@MomSense:
Good luck finding pink yarn. Mrs. SFAW says it’s pretty hard to come by recently. Not sure why that would be, of course.
Gemina13
TaMara, I’ve got some photos from the Seattle march that my friends and I took, if you’d still like them.