What Now?

[RoseWilder]

3 hours ago, formergothardite said:

I typically avoid talking politics on FB, but have decided sitting quietly clearly isn't helping.

That's the conclusion I came to last night. I tossed and turned for most of the night, trying to figure out a way to respond to this nightmare in a way that won't make me go insane. And I think I've been silent too long. I talk about politics on here a lot, but I don't really talk about it other places. I think I'm going to start now. 

I think I'm going to start a blog and start talking about some of the things we've been talking about on here. That feels like a small thing to do in the midst of the avalanche of hate that's occurring in our country right now. But I've always wanted to be a writer and I'm starting to feel like I have a moral obligation to use my voice to speak up now. 

4 minutes ago, AuntK said:

The Trump supporters would start an all out civil war. It would rip this nation apart.

I think the nation is already ripping apart as we speak. 

[Terrie]

10 hours ago, Mercer said:

I can't think of any mechanism by which Trump has the power to personally roll back marriage equality even with a Republican-controlled Congress, but the problem is that he has the ability to nominate Supreme Court justices and Congress has the power to confirm them, and the Supremes can. So while I don't think the path to taking away marriage equality is as direct as Trump just deciding it and doing it, he has the ability to set that ball rolling, so I think it's best for couples and allies to prepare to fight for their rights.

Can, but not very likley to. The Supreme Court rarely overrules its previous decisions. And even if it does, it's not as simple as "No more same-sex marriage anywhere." Even then, it only negates federal recognition and we go back to state-by-state recognition, which, I will remind people, was gaining momentum -- that was a huge factor in federal recognition. 

We're going to lose ground. I have no doubt of that. But we will not lose all of it. And we will still have a foundation on which to rebuild. The key of the next four years is stengthening that foundation and making sure we minimize the ground lost. 

[Audrey2]

11 hours ago, Snarkylark said:

I totally agree. Many of them can't think past pro-life. But a lot of them wanted a shake-up, like you said. And many of them didn't like Trump but voted for him to get conservative SC justices and to secure our borders and increase our national security.  Many said "vote the platform, not the person." I truly don't know how to educate them. A conversation I had with one of them went like this: "if we give people easy and affordable access to BC there will be fewer abortions."

"No! If they can't afford BC they shouldn't be having sex! Why should I pay for someone else to have premarital (or something) sex!? People shouldn't be looking for a hand out but a hand up!" All this coming from a person who fundraised her childrens' adoption costs and got several grants. Ridiculous. 

So, I have this fantasy, because I know it will never be a reality. I wish these abstinence only advocators, who don't think birth control should be covered by insurance and that people should have to pay for their own birth control, would get a taste of their own medicine. I'd love to see their wives (for the ones who are married- the others are celibate as we know) refuse to have sex with them unless they are willing to welcome a child. Birth control isn't only for single people, as they'd love for us to believe. How are married couples supposed to avoid having eleventy children. Most conservatives don't have 6+ kids.

[danvillebelle]

I joined the Green Party and am looking forward to getting involved at the local level.  So many people in my neck of the woods don't even know it EXISTS.

I am so proud of my children this week.  They are doing nothing but making sure their friends, their colleagues, everyone around them knows they won't stand for this shit and they will stand up for and protect the people who are being attacked. 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

9 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

@hoipolloi: What absolute morons. So they want Trump to "turn around the economy? Well good news, President Obama already did that. 

And what do they want President Obama to be arrested for? What crime are they claiming he has committed? 

Silly, silly @RoseWilder, he should be arrested for daring to be President while simultaneously being black. At least in the alt-right moronic view...

 

1 hour ago, AuntK said:

If you or your children have any kind of bonds issued by the US, US Savings bonds, Treasury bonds, you probably should think about redeeming them as soon as you can. Trump said during the campaign that one way he would reduce the deficit was that he would "renegotiate" interest rates on bonds issued by the US government, paying "pennies on the dollar."  

I don't know how he can legally do this, but I don't think the law will matter to him. I bought US Savings bonds for years through payroll deduction, a relatively painless way to save, thinking I was putting aside a little nest egg for my old age.  So, I'm cashing them in before it's too late and advising my nieces and nephews who I have gifted with bonds over the years for graduations and other events to redeem them NOW.

Thank you for this reminder. I have a lot of bonds. I need to look into redeeming them before 1/20/2017.

[zygote373]

The kindle edition of Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: An Organizing Guide is free today. I haven't had a chance to look through it, but it may have some useful tips for what to do next.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UCF3U0A/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

[RoseWilder]

Another great blog entry from John Pavlovitz: 

http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/03/02/good-and-loud/

Quote

At times like these it can seem like the darkness is winning.

You can look around and simply be overtaken by all that seems so not right in the world; the hatred and bitterness and the steady, rising tide of discord creeping just above the reach of your craned neck, as you tread frantically, seeking in quick, shallow breaths the last bit of air left.

You can begin to sink beneath it all, wondering whether or not there are any good people still here. You can easily drown in that despair.

Take heart, dear friend.

It is not that good people are gone, it is just that too many of them have gone silent.

They, like you have watched this tragic chapter unfolding and feel they are powerless to do anything. They, like you feel alone and hopeless and outnumbered. They too are holding their breath and covering their eyes and waiting for the good people to show up and twist the plot.

Stop. Freaking. Waiting. Already.

You are the good people.

You are the one who can step from the shadows and tell the darkness that it has had the run of the house for long enough. You can send the brilliant floodlight of hope streaming into the places where it had been vanquished.

It is only a matter of opening your mouth and releasing the truest of your truth without fear or hesitation or decorum.

Whenever our world has lost its way and lost its humanity and succumbed to terror, it has happened when people of decency and compassion refused to raise their voices, when they believed the lie that their silence was of no consequence, when they became saddened but complicit spectators.

These are such days, friend.

In these days it is not enough to be good. You must be both good andloud.

You must risk the slings and arrows of both strangers and of siblings, and speak directly into the bloated, contorted face of hatred until it hears you and cannot ignore you.

 

[SpurgeonSquarepants]

17 hours ago, Lillybee said:

When will this crazyness stop? Today a student handed out letters of deportation, made on his computer, to some Latino students at our local highschool.

Wow.

I have wondered about this. I read a great piece done by the SPLC...

https://www.splcenter.org/20160413/trump-effect-impact-presidential-campaign-our-nations-schools

My 8 year old cried when she woke up the other day and I had to tell her who won. I'm pregnant with my 2nd daughter, my 3rd.

My 3 year old son regularly chants "Naughty naughty Donald Trump".

How will any of this help the bullying and racism. I can't remembe where I heard/read it, but America has really taken its hood off.

OMG, my sadness is quickly turning to anger.

[Toothfairy]

11 hours ago, Destiny said:

I know that now, but the misinformation among prolifers is real. What @formergothardite mentioned as what she was told about abortion closely mirrors what was taught as well. I will grant you that today, there is no excuse for people to BELIEVE the misinformation since there is so much real information readily available on the internet, but they do.

I know. I wish people would research. I don't blame most antichoicers for being stupid. Some actually know the truth bit still spew out bs. 

[VelociRapture]

Someone on Facebook posted that if every Hillary voter donated $1.00 a month to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, national wildlife foundation, or any group working for clean energy - that would be around $720 million a year.

I think it's a great idea for those who are able to. I donated $24.00 to the ACLU on behalf of myself and my husband. I have a feeling they're going to need money in the years ahead.

[Toothfairy]

21 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

Someone on Facebook posted that if every Hillary voter donated $1.00 a month to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, national wildlife foundation, or any group working for clean energy - that would be around $720 million a year.

I think it's a great idea for those who are able to. I donated $24.00 to the ACLU on behalf of myself and my husband. I have a feeling they're going to need money in the years ahead.

PP are also being funded by private doners already. Trump can't touch PP. 

[RoseWilder]

44 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

Someone on Facebook posted that if every Hillary voter donated $1.00 a month to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, national wildlife foundation, or any group working for clean energy - that would be around $720 million a year.

I think it's a great idea for those who are able to. I donated $24.00 to the ACLU on behalf of myself and my husband. I have a feeling they're going to need money in the years ahead.

That's a great idea. Do you know of any names of the groups working for clean energy? I don't know a lot about it, so I don't know who to donate to. 

[RoseWilder]

I think in addition to finding ways to fight against the bigots, we also need to find ways to show up for the marginalized. Here's a beautiful example of that in action: 

https://www.facebook.com/Islamic-Center-of-Nashville-245442595491338/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

 

[SilverBeach]

One positive outcome of this negative event is that apathy has taken a hit. Many more people see the dangers of apathy. I put senate and house.gov on the desktop/main page of all my devices. I will be watching and messaging. A lot. I was never truly apathetic, but I'm committed to being heard now. Hopefully, along with millions of other good and decent people.

[VelociRapture]

11 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

That's a great idea. Do you know of any names of the groups working for clean energy? I don't know a lot about it, so I don't know who to donate to. 

Unfortunately I don't. I did a google search and got some hits, but I don't know which are good options and which aren't. I don't want to give a bad recommendation. Maybe check out the website for the Environmental Defense Fund? Even if they don't do that type of work they may have resources to guide you.

9 minutes ago, SilverBeach said:

One positive outcome of this negative event is that apathy has taken a hit. Many more people see the dangers of apathy. I put senate and house.gov on the desktop/main page of all my devices. I will be watching and messaging. A lot. I was never truly apathetic, but I'm committed to being heard now. Hopefully, along with millions of other good and decent people.

Excellent idea! I just added them as well to my home page.

[VelociRapture]

1 hour ago, Toothfairy said:

PP are also being funded by private doners already. Trump can't touch PP. 

 I know Obama was trying to get protections for PP through Title X funding. But it hasn't gone into law yet and, according to Snopes, the Department of Health and Human Services needs to review public comments first.

http://www.snopes.com/obama-permanently-protected-planned-parenthood-from-defunding/

I'm not entirely sure what that means. Can the Department prevent the rule change? Or will it go into law regardless of how long the review takes?

I'm thinking people included PP because it's a well-known organization that provides much needed care to women - one of the groups Trump insulted and belittled. 

[FlamingFundie]

As a more long-term solution, any chance this country could get away from this two-party system?

(From a third-party voter who is sick and tired of people saying I wasted my vote.)

Because, let's get real, neither Hillary or Donald were spectacular candidates. I think if Bernie was able to run third-party, he might very well have won it all. What say you?

[ALM7]

@Destiny, thank you for creating this topic category.  With everything moving so fast in D.C. , it's helpful to have a thread to post info/tools etc.  

-------------------------------------------

There's a site I reference, I've found it to be well sourced, accurate, and kept very current.  An additional plus is easy navigation.

For example: Stephen Hadley's name was leaked today, he may be in consideration for Sec. of Defense. This site provides a very accurate detailed profile.  http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/hadley_stephen/

 

General Home Link: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/

About Right Web

Right Web is an independent online publishing project that assesses the work of prominent organizations and individuals—both in and out of government—who promote aggressive or militaristic U.S. foreign and defense policies, with a special focus on the “war on terror” and the Middle East. Right Web aims to foster informed public debate about these policies by producing articles and profiles about individuals and organizations that examine political discourses and institutional allegiances over time.

Efforts to push interventionist U.S. policies often cross party lines and can lead to seemingly unlikely alliances, thus Right Web examines individuals and organizations across the political spectrum, as well as influential “nonpartisan” and “apolitical” actors who collaborate closely with groups that push a hawkish agenda. Reporters, researchers, and analysts have come to rely on Right Web for its well-documented research and analysis.

[Childless]

2 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

Someone on Facebook posted that if every Hillary voter donated $1.00 a month to Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, national wildlife foundation, or any group working for clean energy - that would be around $720 million a year.

I think it's a great idea for those who are able to. I donated $24.00 to the ACLU on behalf of myself and my husband. I have a feeling they're going to need money in the years ahead.

Just gave to both PP and the ACLU.  Good idea!

[mausi]

Organise. 

The Electoral College meets on 19 December.

Here is a website with constantly updating contact information for Faithless Electors: http://www.faithlessnow.com/

Here is a list of every member of the 2016 Electoral College, divided by state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_electors,_2016

Write, Tweet, Call. 

Protest.

 

[hoipolloi]

44 minutes ago, FlamingFundie said:

As a more long-term solution, any chance this country could get away from this two-party system?

(From a third-party voter who is sick and tired of people saying I wasted my vote.)

Because, let's get real, neither Hillary or Donald were spectacular candidates. I think if Bernie was able to run third-party, he might very well have won it all. What say you?

I'd personally love it if we switched to a parliamentary system yesterday. DH grew up in a country with one and used to say that G.W. Bush would NEVER have gotten away with so much if he'd had to go before Parliament every day for the question period.

Will a third party be viable here? I just don't know. There's a long record of third parties and a number of them were on the ballot this time in many states -- Greens, Libertarians, Constitution. Sanders was and is now again an Independent as is King from ME. But it's hard to see how they'll break the lock on US politics and political $$ that the Ds & Rs hold.

[candygirl200413]

@hoipolloi I was also thinking about switching to a parliamentary system after talking to my parents (come from Africa with British rule growing up).

Again when people bring up Bernie, yes he was popular, but majorly only popular with minorities millennials as well as men millennials. If America wasn't ready for a white women then I HIGHLY doubt they would be ready for a culturally Jewish man, especially with seeing the rise of swastikas and young children in middle school throwing up the salute like neo nazi times.

 

I still wonder about third parties because everyone (re: media) kept talking about how this election would be the election that third party would be heard and their game would be stepped up. Jill Stein got 1% while Gary Johnson got 3%, neither got the 5% that they would be guaranteed money to fund for their next presidential election.

[Snarkylark]

Even as a #nevertrumper, I don't think that messing with the electoral college voters is a good idea. Now that that's out of the way, back along the lines of anti-choicers, pro-lifers, and how to educate them. They believe that life begins at conception and that abortion is murder. How do you respond when they say that it's illegal to kill someone so why is it ok to kill the unborn? Using the argument that it is the mother's right to choose because it's her body and the fetus depends on her doesn't work because, really, all infants and children require someone else to be able to survive. 

[FlamingFundie]

11 minutes ago, candygirl200413 said:

Again when people bring up Bernie, yes he was popular, but majorly only popular with minorities millennials as well as men millennials. If America wasn't ready for a white women then I HIGHLY doubt they would be ready for a culturally Jewish man, especially with seeing the rise of swastikas and young children in middle school throwing up the salute like neo nazi times.

I don't think America wasn't ready necessarily for a woman president-- I think they just didn't want THAT PARTICULAR woman, if that makes sense. I live in Trump Land it seems, so perhaps I am jaded. (Which I am slowly seeing might be the case because there is just so.much.unrest all over social media right now.)

[Snarkylark]

There may have been some men who would never vote for a woman. I know Lutherans don't allow female pastors or women to vote in church matters. But that isn't what I saw as the reason people I know wouldn't vote for Hillary.