The Resistance (signs of hope)

[RoseWilder]

Dan Rather has started a Facebook newsgroup to counter fake news: 

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/24/1620059/-Dan-Rather-launches-FB-newsgroup-to-counter-fake-news-alternative-facts-and-it-s-taking-flight

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American journalist and esteemed news anchor Dan Rather announced a new social media page in the midst of January’s flying fake news and alternative facts. The Facebook news page is called  “News and Guts” and if it’s anything like Dan Rather’s posts this past year, it’s going to be a sledge-hammer on the new administration. 

Here's a link to the Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/newsandguts/

[RoseWilder]

This isn't directly Trump related, but it's related to the rise of white supremacy that Trump enabled. 

Simon & Schuster are publishing a book by Milo Yiannopoulos (a white supremacist who got kicked off twitter for his offensive posts and for trolling Leslie Jones.) 

In response, Roxane Gay has pulled her book from that publishing company: 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/roxane-gay-pulls-book-from-simon-schuster-in-response-to-mil?utm_term=.xgoQqLLxQ#.qvDmWwwEm

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Gay told BuzzFeed News that she asked her agent, Maria Massie, to pull the project from Simon & Schuster last weekend.

"I can’t in good conscience let them publish it while they also publish Milo. So I told my agent over the weekend to pull the project."

 

[RoseWilder]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/25/1625277/-Number-of-alt-and-rogue-Twitter-accounts-now-dozens-March-for-Science-nabs-100k-followers-in-1-day

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As Donald Trump clamps down ever harder on federal agencies’ ability to communicate with the nation they serve, brave and enterprising public servants at those agencies are finding creative ways to circumvent the Blackout Wall in order that the truth may live. 

Yesterday four tweets from Badlands National Park in South Dakota went viral for the rather innocuous reason that they said some very correct things about climate change. But such facts are not allowed in the bizzaro world of “alternate facts” that the Ministry of Propaganda has decreed, and were quickly deleted. 

Within less than an hour, a fake account for Badlands National Park was created. And a movement was born.

As of this moment, there a couple of dozen alt- and “rogue” twitter accounts for various units of the Federal government, and the sample is heavily skewed toward science and environmental agencies. Alice Stollmeyer (a Belgian!) is keeping track under the listname “twistance”. 

Also: 

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The Science March they’re talking about is @ScienceMarchDC. Formed just a day ago, they’re already above 100,000 followers — and they don’t even have a date planned for their march yet. There is so much interest worldwide that, like the Women’s March, multiple cities around the world will likely see demonstrations.

 

[RoseWilder]

I hope I'm not overdoing it with the posts in this thread, but I've found so many great articles that have made me feel hopeful lately, and I know how scared and depressed people are, so I wanted to share as many as possible. 

This article was fantastic: 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/1/24/1624588/-Wow-People-across-the-USA-marched-from-the-streets-right-into-their-elected-rep-s-offices-today

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Fresh off the historic women’s march, which was possibly the largest protest in world history, the men and women of the movement followed up on their promise to take action. In the first of many planned actions from the people Indivisible Guide (in partnership with MoveOn.org, Working Family Party and even your friends here at Daily Kos), constituents around the country visited their local Senate offices and WOW! From Kansas to Texas, California to New York, constituents turned out in force to back the Affordable Care Act and express opposition to Trump Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price. Check out the images and note the camera crews from local coverage around the country. When people show up, our elected representatives have to sit up and take notice.

 

[RoseWilder]

Wonderful news!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-gore-climate-health-cdc_us_588a6a2be4b0303c0752b0bc?7pzxrmhigvz33di&

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Former Vice President Al Gore is hosting his own climate change summit after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly canceled the one it had been planning for months.

“They tried to cancel this conference but it is going forward anyway,” Gore said in a statement announcing the meeting. “Today we face a challenging political climate, but climate shouldn’t be a political issue. Health professionals urgently need the very best science in order to protect the public, and climate science has increasingly critical implications for their day-to-day work. With more and more hot days, which exacerbate the proliferation of the Zika virus and other public health threats, we cannot afford to waste any time.”

 

[Terrie]

The ACLU got 6x their annual donations just over this past weekend! 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/30/the-aclu-says-it-got-24-million-in-donations-this-weekend-six-times-its-yearly-average/?utm_term=.92a6bb804f81

[GreyhoundFan]

Charges have been dropped against more of the journalists arrested during the Inauguration.

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WASHINGTON — Prosecutors in D.C. Monday moved to dismiss rioting charges against three journalists arrested after a violent outburst by protesters shortly before the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Felony rioting charges were dropped Monday against RT America reporter Alex Rubinstein, documentary producer Jack Keller and independent journalist Matt Hopard.

“After a review of evidence presented to us by law enforcement, we have concluded that we will not proceed with the charges against the three defendants, who are journalists,” Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for D.C., said in a statement Monday.

Prosecutors are continuing to work with D.C. to review evidence, Miller said.

“As in all our cases, we are always willing to consider additional information that people bring forward,” he said in the statement.

In all, six journalists were among the 230 people arrested after a group of protesters began smashing windows in downtown D.C. and later clashed with police on Jan. 20.

Last week, the U.S. attorney’s office announced it was dropping charges against another of the journalists, Evan Engel with the online news site Vocativ.

As of Monday afternoon, felony rioting charges had not yet been dropped against independent journalists Shay Horse and Aaron Cantu.

The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about the journalists’ arrests and police conduct during the inauguration.

Monica Hopkins-Maxwell, the executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said last week the group reviewing whether police indiscriminately corralled protesters including journalists.

In a response to a previous WTOP inquiry, a D.C. police spokesman said police are directed to try to identify journalists and not arrest them during protests. Journalists who were initially detained in downtown D.C. on Inauguration Day who could provide media credentials were released, the spokesman said in the statement.

“Information regarding all other individuals arrested at that time was presented to the US Attorney’s Office, which made the determination to charge those detained with felony rioting,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Currently, the investigation is being carried out by the US Attorney’s Office.”

 

 

The grassroots group of organizations named Indivisible apparently has an active group in my area. They are organizing phone campaigns to Senators and House Members, protests at local airports, and other resistance activities. There are already 150 groups within a 100 mile radius of my location! Here is the national site, where you can search for local groups.  At 9PM Eastern tonight, there is a live stream of the emergency call between Indivisible, the ACLU, and other organizations about the travel ban, accessible at the link I just posted.

[RoseWilder]

Breitbart has plans to expand in Europe. They were planning on expanding to France because they have an upcoming election. So someone did this: 

 

[Childless]

1 hour ago, RoseWilder said:

Breitbart has plans to expand in Europe. They were planning on expanding to France because they have an upcoming election. So someone did this: 

 

Another new hero for me.  He can join the ballsy woman who infiltrated Dr. Evil's lair to secretly record the Repubs second guessing the wisdom of their nefarious plans.

[RoseWilder]

I just read a really encouraging diary on Daily Kos: 

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/29/1627185/-Resistance-in-the-Heart-of-Dixie

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No one expects to find Democrats — especially liberal, progressive Democrats — in Alabama. We know we’re here, and we might even spot a bumper sticker every now and then or have a few blue friends we commiserate with, but we’re quiet. We know we’re outnumbered, and we know to keep our heads down for the sake of living a peaceful existence. 

Trump carried the state on a 60/40 split, but we are here. And now we’re angry. And we’re not keeping our heads down any longer.

Some of you may have seen the quick mention on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee that the tiny town of Mentone, Alabama, had its own sister March on Washington, bringing out 50 of its 360-ish residents to oppose Trumpism. Birmingham had over 5000 marchers.  Even Mobile, which takes the blame as the city that gave Trump his big ego boost in the primary, gathered at least 1000 to march. 

My presence in DC for the main march was met with surprise by pretty much everyone I met, but Alabama sent nine charter buses to the DC march — nearly 500 marchers. Those nine buses were organized by the official state chapter of the WMW. All sold out and ran waiting lists. Many more AL residents organized their own transportation.  

In just the last week, we’ve had WMW postcard gatherings, grown our Facebook groups and organized within them to coordinate phone calls to our CongressCritters and arrange meetings with members of the state legislature. We’re vetting Democratic candidates for 2018. Sen. Shelby’s office has already let it be known to us that he won’t “have the time” to meet with constituents during February (snort), and we’ve inundated Sessions’ office with calls to protest his AG appointment.

There was a protest against the not-really-a-Muslim-ban-I-promise-EO at the Birmingham airport today and no international flights even land there.

All over Alabama, we are organizing. We are resisting.

But tonight… wow.

Tonight was the kickoff meeting to organize resistance in AL-5 using the Indivisible handbook. Organizers expected maybe 50 or so attendees. 

Nearly 400 people showed up. 

AL-5 was reliably blue from Reconstruction until the Tea Party revolution of 2010. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center is here. So is Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and Northrop-Grumman. It’s heavily military, defense, and high-tech. UAH is one of the top engineering schools. We have a lot of foreign nationals, a lot of veterans, and a lot of government workers. 

Mo Brooks’ seat isn’t that safe.  Riding on Trump’s anti-science, xenophobic, burn-down-the-government wagon is a risky play here. Four hundred people showed up tonight and vowed to make the next two years really painful for poor Mo.

So don’t write Alabama off just yet. I’m not saying we’ll turn the whole state blue in the next election, but the resistance is rising here, too. 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This was on Sleeping Giants' Twitter: "Nordstrom Said to Wind Down Ivanka Trump Brand Partnership"

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Nordstrom Inc. is winding down its relationship with the controversial Ivanka Trump brand, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, a move that follows boycott threats and concerns about the first daughter’s conflicts of interest.

The department-store chain is reducing the amount of Ivanka Trump merchandise it stocks, though some inventory may remain for now, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the decision isn’t yet public. Representatives for Nordstrom and Ivanka Trump’s collection both declined to comment.

Nordstrom has come under fire from the Grab Your Wallet campaign, a critic of the administration that is asking shoppers to boycott retailers that carry Ivanka Trump or Donald Trump goods. Ivanka’s business also has drawn criticism for blurring the lines between brand promotion and politics. Her company sent a “style alert” to journalists in November promoting a gold bracelet that she wore during an interview on CBS Corp.’s “60 Minutes.”

Ivanka Trump is no longer listed among brands on Nordstrom’s website, but the company still lists some items on its Rack site, the department store’s value-focused chain. The Racked fashion website reported earlier Thursday that the products had begun disappearing from Nordstrom’s e-commerce selection.

“I am absolutely thrilled, and I know the vast majority of Grab Your Wallet participants will be as well,” said Shannon Coulter, a co-founder of Grab Your Wallet.

Early Partner

Nordstrom was one of the first retail partnerships for Ivanka Trump’s footwear after it was launched in 2011. Marc Fisher Footwear, a closely held shoe company, is the licensee for the products. Despite the Nordstrom setback, Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to push into new categories: It recently added baby bedding and fashion jewelry.

Co-President Pete Nordstrom addressed the controversy surrounding the partnership in a November e-mail to employees, according to Fortune. He said the company had heard from customers threatening to boycott the chain if they continued or discontinued its relationship with Trump.

“This is a sharply divisive subject,” he said. “No matter what we do, we are going to end up disappointing some of our customers. Every single brand we offer is evaluated on their results -- if people don’t buy it, we won’t sell it.”

In November, the company posted a response on Twitter to a shopper’s open letter calling for Nordstrom to stop selling the brand.

“We hope that offering a vendor’s products isn’t misunderstood as us taking a political position; we’re not,” the company said at the time. “We recognize our customers can make choices about what they purchase based on personal views and we’ll continue to give them options.”

Good, hopefully more stores will follow suit.

[RoseWilder]

3 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

This was on Sleeping Giants' Twitter: "Nordstrom Said to Wind Down Ivanka Trump Brand Partnership"

Good, hopefully more stores will follow suit.

I was just coming here to post that! It's so exciting. Grab Your Wallet (the boycott that I believe was responsible for pulling off this accomplishment) had other exciting news today as well: 

 

[RoseWilder]

Well, sadly, the CEO of Disney hasn't resigned: 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

8 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

Well, sadly, the CEO of Disney hasn't resigned: 

 

Thank you for posting that. I was considering a Disney vacation. I need to call and tell them why that's not going to happen.

[RoseWilder]

The Sleeping Giant campaign has an update: 

And the Grab Your Wallet boycott has had more success: 

 

[RoseWilder]

T.J. Maxx appears to be on the verge of dropping Ivanka: 

 

[LeftCoastLurker]

OK everyone...here's another one to boycott:  Under Armour.

As a proud Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry fan, I would bet he makes the right decision.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/09/news/stephen-curry-trump-under-armour-asset/index.html

"Ass or asset? Stephen Curry confronts Under Armour CEO..."

[RoseWilder]

So exciting: 

 

[candygirl200413]

y'all not my wegmans

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/02/15/wegmans-faces-boycott-over-trump-wines/97936304/

[onekidanddone]

12 minutes ago, candygirl200413 said:

y'all not my wegmans

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/02/15/wegmans-faces-boycott-over-trump-wines/97936304/

Noooooooo.  Not Wegmans.  Where else am I supposed to shop? 

[fraurosena]

I love it when people think outside the boxes. If impeachment isn't probable, then go after his businesses.

Now that's gonna hit where it really hurts. 

The non-profit advocacy group Free Speech for People has asked New York’s attorney general to investigate whether to file a lawsuit to revoke the charter of The Trump Organization for violating state business laws.

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In an FAQ document, Free Speech for People and attorneys Jonathan S. Abady, Andrew G. Celli, Jr., Ben T. Clements, and Fordham University School of Law Professor Jed Shugerman explain how Schneiderman could bring about a lawsuit.

“Under Section 1101 of New York’s Business Corporation Law, the attorney general can ‘bring an action for the dissolution of a corporation . . . [if] the corporation has exceeded the authority conferred upon it by law, or has violated any provision of law whereby it has forfeited its charter, or carried on, conducted or transacted its business in a persistently fraudulent or illegal manner, or by the abuse of its powers contrary to the public policy of the state has become liable to be dissolved.’

(...)

This lawsuit, known as a “Quo Warranto” proceeding, would allow a judge to determine whether the corporation is a conduit for illegal activity. New York is the ideal venue for such a lawsuit, as The Trump Organization is incorporated in the state. If Schneiderman were to succeed, the remedies under New York law could include “revoking or dissolving the corporate charter, enjoining it from exercising the illegal activity, and/or imposing a financial penalty on the corporation.”

 

[RoseWilder]

A Republicans explains what led him to join the resistance: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/im-a-proud-republican-and-im-joining-the-resistance_us_589ca0b6e4b0985224db5e53?yggs44p7u9x0d1v2t9&

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On Saturday morning over coffee I read a summary of Donald Trump’s executive order regarding refugees and immigrants. Then I read the order itself. And then I read it again.

And then I went online and my wife and I became members of the American Civil Liberties Union. Sunday night, for the first time in our lives, we became protestors, along with thousands of other Americans, joining a rally in Seattle’s Westlake Park.

Why would a lifelong Republican, who generally chafes at such activity, do such things? I feel guilty saying this, because millions of our neighbors are feeling real fear as a result of Trump’s words and deeds, but I did it because of what I see happening in my party.

Trump is in the process of turning the party of Reagan, who championed growth, free trade and active American leadership in the world, into the party of protectionism and isolationism. And now, with his immigration ban, he is turning the party of Lincoln into the modern-day anti-immigrant Know Nothing Party.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Thousands of demonstrators across US say ‘Not My President’". The article begins...

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Thousands of demonstrators turned out Monday across the U.S. to challenge Donald Trump in a Presidents Day protest dubbed Not My President’s Day.

The events on the federal holiday didn’t draw nearly as many people as the million-plus who thronged the streets following the Republican president’s inauguration a month earlier, but the message was similar.

Thousands of flag-waving protesters lined up outside Central Park in Manhattan. Many in the crowd chanted “No ban, no wall. The Trump regime has got to fall.” They held aloft signs saying “Uphold the Constitution Now” and “Impeach the Liar.”

A rally in downtown Los Angeles also drew thousands. Demonstrators there called attention to Trump’s crackdown on immigration and his party’s response to climate change and the environment. Organizers said they chose to rally on the holiday as a way to honor past presidents by exercising their constitutional right to assemble and peacefully protest.

In Chicago, several hundred rallied across the river from the Trump Tower, shouting “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

 

I wish I could have attended the one near here, but I had to work.

[RoseWilder]

A Republican ex-judge has called for Trump's impeachment: 

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/each-new-day-is-a-new-nightmare-gop-ex-judge-wants-trump-impeached-and-removed-with-all-haste/

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Mark P. Painter, a lifelong Republican and career judge, this week called for the immediate impeachment of President Donald Trump.

In a column for Cincinnati.com, the former Ohio Court of Appeals judge offers to help his congressman, Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), draft articles of impeachment.

“In any time except our post-factual era, no office holder, much less the president, could get away with any one of the dozens of dazzlingly illegal things Trump has already done,” Painter writes. “They would forfeit office immediately.”

“Each new day is a new nightmare. We are still trying to digest one breathtaking assault on America when another is signed, issued, or Tweeted. All this amid constant lies. Constant. Lies.”

Painter notes that he voted for Republican presidents for 36 years “but I have watched what once was a sane, center-right party go off the rails, first to the extreme right, then to wherever Trump is, which is in another universe.”

The hardcore Trump supporters are never going to open their eyes to how horrible he is, but I think it's an encouraging sign that the more moderate, saner Republicans are starting to speak out against Trump. 

ETA: I have no idea why some of this post ended up in bold type and I can't seem to get the problem fixed.  

[RoseWilder]

Clinton ex-staffers are part of the resistance: 

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/19/1635520/-Clinton-s-Ex-Staffers-are-fighting-back-and-are-part-of-the-Resistance

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Former Clinton deputy national press secretary Jesse Ferguson, senior adviser Leslie Dach and communications department chief of staff Lori Lodes are all consulting for Protect Our Care, the coalition fighting Trump and congressional Republicans over the future of the Affordable Care Act.