What Now?

[GreyhoundFan]

Cartoonists are creating a newspaper to protest Agent Orange's view of women.

Quote

THE NEW YORKER magazine’s art editor is helping to launch a political newspaper in direct response to the election of Donald Trump.

Françoise Mouly, who has been the magazine’s art director since 1993, and daughter Nadja Spiegelman will edit Resist!, a comics tabloid that calls upon artists to communicate through illustration how they feel about a Trump presidency. The newspaper, which the editors say has already received hundreds of submissions, is scheduled to publish by Jan. 20, timed to the presidential inauguration and the Women’s March on Washington the next day.

“For me, it is a wake-up call from complacency,” Mouly says of Trump’s political ascendance. And so she characterizes the artistic response as a recommitment to progressive change after “the shock” of Election Day.

“I haven’t lost hope — I just have to be more forceful in my affirmation of it,” says Mouly, who for years edited the influential indie comics publication RAW with her husband, Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman.

“My generation has always taken it for granted that women have voices, have value beyond their superficial beauty, and deserve to be respected and listened to,” Nadja Spiegelman tells The Post’s Comic Riffs. “Trump’s attitude toward women — and the fact that [his attitude has] been condoned by such a large part of America — is nauseating and dizzying to me.

“It doesn’t even feel like a step backward,” adds Spiegelman, noting that she was looking forward to the election of the nation’s first female president. “I’ve never known a world that could possibly condone this.”

The idea for the project began with New York bookstore owner Gabe Fowler, who will publish Resist! as part of his comics periodical Smoke Signal.

“This presidential election was a real slap in the face, and I immediately began grasping for any response which could properly channel my rage and disbelief,” says Fowler, whose Smoke Signal has received an Eisner Award nomination for best anthology. “A lot of women in my life are particularly hurting from the insult of Trump’s election, and it seemed appropriate to give over an issue of my publication Smoke Signal to women artists.”

“My first choice for guest-editor was my hero and inspiration, Françoise Mouly. Françoise singlehandedly changed the landscape of comics and illustration — much in the way Patti Smith changed the boys’ club of punk rock in the ’70s,” says Fowler of Mouly’s influence since launching RAW four decades ago. He notes that the project’s title, named by Mouly’s husband, reflects the special issue’s theme: “resistance by women.”

The editors say they have received more than 500 submissions for the 40-page tabloid. Contributors so far include such noted cartoonists as Roz Chast and Carol Lay. (Submissions can be made at www.resistsubmission.com.)

“With this project, I knew that there must be people who felt as crushed as we were, and that they needed to not just say it but shout it, and make it into a physical object,” says Mouly, who previously teamed with her daughter on the Blown Covers blog. “That howl of protest needed to be gathered, preserved, and therefore vindicated — the first step toward building a future where we can feel more included.”

I plan to order it.  The daily images on the website (listed in the quote) are excellent, and frequently sobering.

[RoseWilder]

Donald Trump's legal team is trying to fight the Michigan recount. 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/donald-trump-michigan-recount-blocked-232076

Quote

The recount, scheduled to begin Friday in Ingham and Oakland counties, is now awaiting a Board of State Canvassers ruling on the objection. The board, which must resolve the objection within five days according to state law, is scheduled to meet Friday to consider the matter. If the board fails to adopt the objection, the recount will go forward, but if the board does adopt it, the recount will cease.

I found this on Facebook: 

I don't know if emailing will have any effect, but I went ahead and sent one just in case it might make a difference. It took me about a minute to do it. 

[Childless]

3 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

Donald Trump's legal team is trying to fight the Michigan recount. 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/donald-trump-michigan-recount-blocked-232076

I found this on Facebook: 

I don't know if emailing will have any effect, but I went ahead and sent one just in case it might make a difference. It took me about a minute to do it. 

What is Trump so afraid of?  He said himself he would have won the popular vote if not for voter fraud.  You'd think he'd support the recounts as a way to prove he's right.  Unless, of course, he's worried conservative voter fraud may be revealed that could cost him his win or give HRC even more of the popular vote.  Sounds like he's running scared.

[Howl]

Well, we know Trump is a litigious guy, so this shouldn't be surprising.  If the recount shows that Hillary won in one or more of those states, it opens up a Huuuuuuge can o' worms*.  I'm telling you, huuuuuge,  the biggest.  

I certainly hope the recounts can proceed; the outcome either way should be of interest to us all.  The winning margins in some of those states are razor thin relative to the total number of votes cast. Makes me think of the NPR Car Talk guys Staff Statistician: Marge Innovera.  

Which reminds me: hubs watches Outrageous Acts of Science and related shows.   One had a top ten count down of weird science that involved many giant round masses of earthworms of unusual size escaping rain soaked soil, all of which ended up in the center of a highway.   It was awesome.  

[GreyhoundFan]

5 hours ago, Childless said:

What is Trump so afraid of?  He said himself he would have won the popular vote if not for voter fraud.  You'd think he'd support the recounts as a way to prove he's right.  Unless, of course, he's worried conservative voter fraud may be revealed that could cost him his win or give HRC even more of the popular vote.  Sounds like he's running scared.

I'm wondering if he is using this to distract from the fact that he really has no idea how to be President. He used distraction many times during the primaries and general election campaign, so I could see him continuing to do so. Just like a little kid who tries to get out of admitting he broke mommy's lamp by saying, "but Timmy got dirt on the carpet".

[RoseWilder]

6 hours ago, Childless said:

What is Trump so afraid of?  He said himself he would have won the popular vote if not for voter fraud.  You'd think he'd support the recounts as a way to prove he's right.  Unless, of course, he's worried conservative voter fraud may be revealed that could cost him his win or give HRC even more of the popular vote.  Sounds like he's running scared.

It's amazing to me that he even has the gall to now file that petition that says there's no evidence that the election was invalid when he was just whining about how the results weren't accurate 4 days ago. What a fucking moron. 

[Mercer]

I fully support the recount. I don't expect it to change the outcome of Trump being president, but we need to know the truth about the election with as much transparency as possible, for the sake of making future voting as fair as it can be.

[RoseWilder]

 

[RoseWilder]

Nancy Pelosi has a plan for taking on the Republicans: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nancy-pelosi-democrats-trump_us_5841b293e4b0c68e04808045

Quote

Fresh on the heels of being re-elected House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi’s strategy for preventing Republicans from erasing President Barack Obama’s accomplishments over the next two to four years ― at a time when her party has next to no leverage ― is coming into focus. It looks a lot like 2006.

“When people told us it was time for a Republican majority … around now, in 2004 as we got ready for 2005, we had our plan,” she told The Huffington Post in a Monday interview. “We stuck together. We were unified, strategic, and really it was a beautiful sight to behold.”

“And we won.”

 

[clueliss]

League of Women Voters petition to STOP voter suppression

http://participate.lwv.org/c/10065/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12567

[ALM7]

The new firm launched by the Koch brothers, In Pursuit Of,  is par for the course Koch. However, the disturbing element is the i360 data collection company. 

charles-koch-launches-marketing-firm   [excerpt from USA Today article below...]

The new firm, In Pursuit Of, will handle marketing and communications for the network of conservative advocacy groups funded Koch and hundreds of like-minded donors. The agency also may take on paying clients, in the mold of another Koch venture, a data giant called i360, which has amassed hundreds of bits of information about every American voter in an effort to shape elections.

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

The link below  is very disturbing.  I've not found a venture by the Democratic Party that's remotely comparable to this i360 program. Technology-wise, the DNC needs to move into the 21st century.  The i360 is at least 2-3 years old, the DNC has some catching up to do.  

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/koch-brothers-rnc-113359  [excerpts from Politico article below...]

“Right now, we’re talking about and building things that you won’t see in 2016, because it’s not going to be ready until 2018,”

The Koch brothers and their allies are pumping tens of millions of dollars into a data company that’s developing detailed, state-of-the-art profiles of 250 million Americans, giving the brothers’ political operation all the earmarks of a national party. 

[GreyhoundFan]

10 minutes ago, ALM7 said:

The new firm launched by the Koch brothers, In Pursuit Of,  is par for the course Koch. However, the disturbing element is the i360 data collection company. 

charles-koch-launches-marketing-firm   [excerpt from USA Today article below...]

The new firm, In Pursuit Of, will handle marketing and communications for the network of conservative advocacy groups funded Koch and hundreds of like-minded donors. The agency also may take on paying clients, in the mold of another Koch venture, a data giant called i360, which has amassed hundreds of bits of information about every American voter in an effort to shape elections.

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

The link below  is very disturbing.  I've not found a venture by the Democratic Party that's remotely comparable to this i360 program. Technology-wise, the DNC needs to move into the 21st century.  The i360 is at least 2-3 years old, the DNC has some catching up to do.  

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/koch-brothers-rnc-113359  [excerpts from Politico article below...]

“Right now, we’re talking about and building things that you won’t see in 2016, because it’s not going to be ready until 2018,”

The Koch brothers and their allies are pumping tens of millions of dollars into a data company that’s developing detailed, state-of-the-art profiles of 250 million Americans, giving the brothers’ political operation all the earmarks of a national party. 

That's terrifying. The Koch brothers were bad enough before, but this takes them to a different level.

[Childless]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

That's terrifying. The Koch brothers were bad enough before, but this takes them to a different level.

When are they going to do the world a favor and kick off already?

[GreyhoundFan]

32 minutes ago, Childless said:

When are they going to do the world a favor and kick off already?

Yesterday would not be soon enough.

[ALM7]

The Trump EPA pick, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt, is obviously disturbing.  However, Harold Hamm, an Oklahoma billionaire oilman is the main concern.  Hamm and Trump have close ties, Hamm is in a position to choose any cabinet position he desires. I really doubt Hamm would want to be tied down to a cabinet job, when in a single-handed manner he could control the EPA, Dept. of Energy, as well as the Dept. of Interior. 

In Oklahoma, it's well known Attorney General Pruitt is a Hamm lap dog. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, has a stellar track record of implementing Hamms policies.  If as rumored, Fallin is selected as Trumps Sec. of Interior, Hamm will not have to groom her, she already knows who calls the shots. If Trump goes with someone else, no problem, they will figure out real quick that Hamm is in charge. 

The D.O.E. Secretary doesn't implement or enforce drilling operations, however, this nominee will  be of interest to Hamm and cronies, specifically  due to the Sec. of Fossil Energy, that's under the D.O.E.   

I must say, it was a masterful move, appoint Fallin as vice-chair of transition team, select Pruitt as EPA Secretary, nominate a Sec. of Interior that meets Hamms approval, throw in a Sec. of Energy that will tow the Hamm/crony line, and proceed to undo three decades of lose regulations.  Only thing missing is a Sec. of State with ties to oil and gas, oh wait, rumored pick Exxon/Mobil CEO Tillerson would be the cherry on top!  We are sooo screwed...

On a lighter note...The ex-wife of Hamm received a billion dollar divorce settlement, lol.

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

nytimes.com scott-pruitt-epa-trump   [excerpts from article below...]

The close ties have paid off for Mr. Pruitt politically: Harold G. Hamm, the chief executive of Continental Energy, an Oklahoma oil and gas company, was a co-chairman of Mr. Pruitt’s 2013 re-election campaign.

“It’s a safe assumption that Pruitt could be the most hostile E.P.A. administrator toward clean air and safe drinking water in history,” he added.

Mr. Pruitt, 48, is a hero to conservative activists, one of a group of Republican attorneys general who formed an alliance with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda. Fossil fuel interests greeted Mr. Trump’s selection with elation.

 

[RoseWilder]

Trump plans on continuing as executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice while in office. 

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/donald-trump-mark-burnett-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producer-1201937420/

Quote

The fact that a sitting president will be on the payroll of a current TV show is another example of the thicket of potential conflicts of interest raised by Trump’s segue from private businessman and TV star to commander-in-chief. 

Here's NBC's contact information for people who want to call and complain: 

http://www.nbc.com/contact-us

If you have twitter, you could also tweet them. 

 

[Childless]

7 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

Trump plans on continuing as executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice while in office. 

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/donald-trump-mark-burnett-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producer-1201937420/

Here's NBC's contact information for people who want to call and complain: 

http://www.nbc.com/contact-us

If you have twitter, you could also tweet them. 

 

If Trump has time to run a reality TV show, then he isn't working hard enough as president.

[Ali]

11 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

Trump plans on continuing as executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice while in office. 

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/donald-trump-mark-burnett-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producer-1201937420/

Here's NBC's contact information for people who want to call and complain: 

http://www.nbc.com/contact-us

If you have twitter, you could also tweet them. 

 

I am willing to boycott NBC until he is no longer involved with the show. I will miss watching "Grimm" and "This is Us." However, this should not be tolerated. Does anyone know of an organized boycott yet?

[Howl]

19 hours ago, ALM7 said:

The Trump EPA pick, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt, is obviously disturbing.  However, Harold Hamm, an Oklahoma billionaire oilman is the main concern.  Hamm and Trump have close ties, Hamm is in a position to choose any cabinet position he desires. I really doubt Hamm would want to be tied down to a cabinet job, when in a single-handed manner he could control the EPA, Dept. of Energy, as well as the Dept. of Interior.....<snip>

Although it is horrible news, thanks so much for this clarification.  Although it's crude as can be, what you've described is the perfect crony-capitalism circle jerk.  

Trump understands there are major post-presidency kickbacks in his future, and hey, there are vast reservoirs of money just waiting to be tapped and he doesn't have to drill down very far to get to it.  Let's face it:  We're totally and completely fracked. 

[Audrey2]

@ALM7 Sadly, this appointment makes awful sense, to a President who is all about money and how he can exploit people and resources to increase his wealth. After all, Oklahoma does have working oil rigs on the grounds of their state capitol building. 

 

With scum like this in the cabinet, I'm dreading the day I go to a national park (Yellowstone or some place else) and see oil rigs or mining going on. I'm also dreading the day our National Forest Service lands are leased out for timber companies. 

[RoseWilder]

2 hours ago, Ali said:

I am willing to boycott NBC until he is no longer involved with the show. I will miss watching "Grimm" and "This is Us." However, this should not be tolerated. Does anyone know of an organized boycott yet?

The only NBC boycott I'm aware of it one Trump supporters are doing because they've decided that NBC news is too liberal. Yes, seriously. The mainstream media handed Trump this election and has gone totally soft on him, and yet they're upset because the media isn't kissing his ass 24/7. 

And let's not even get into how ridiculous it is when the Republicans boycott places they never shopped at or watched anyway. It's like all my relatives who keeping talking on Facebook about how they're never shopping at Target again. But they never shopped their in the first place. How many of the boycott-NBC Trump fans do you really believe got their news from any place but Fox News and Breitbart anyway. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess zero. Trump fans are horrible at boycotts anyway. Every time they boycott someone, their revenue goes up.

[RoseWilder]

The Women's March on Washington has been barred from protesting at the Lincoln Memorial:

http://time.com/4595399/women-march-washington-lincoln-memorial/?xid=tcoshare

 

[GeoBQn]

The National Park Service has released a statement:

Quote

STATEMENT REGARDING PERMITS ON THE NATIONAL MALL IN WASHINGTON, DC DURING THE INAUGURATION:

Providing the space required for the Presidential inauguration, while also accommodating the free speech rights of protesters and supporters, is a longstanding responsibility for the National Park Service. The National Park Service continues to work with the Gathering for Justice (also commonly referred to as the Women’s March on Washington) and has identified locations where the groupcan hold its event on January 21. The National Park Service has not denied their permit to use the Lincoln Memorial and will continue to work with all of those who have permit requests pending for that space on January 21.

The Lincoln Memorial may not be available for additional permitted events on January 21 because the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) and the American Constitution Society put in permits for that space before the Gathering for Justice group. When there is a conflict of time and location for events on the National Mall, precedence is established by the order in which the permit application was received. The PIC may choose to release the Lincoln Memorial space on January 21, and if that happens, the space could be made available for other permits.

It is the longstanding practice of the National Park Service to create an application on behalf of the PIC in advance of the inauguration, in order to start the complex planning process for inauguration. 

The Lincoln Memorial is among the sites permitted to the PIC to stage the inaugural opening celebration and the PIC permit would have been issued for this timeframe, regardless of which candidate had won the election.

 

[RoseWilder]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/12/9/1608932/-Trump-Donors-Blocking-Protesters-From-Lincoln-Memorial-And-DC-Mall-AFTER-The-Inauguration

Quote

Eager to avoid spoiling their Orange Cash Cow’s big Inauguration plans, a group made of up Trump’s Billionaire donors has thus far blocked access to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Mall, traditional site of citizen protests, not only on the day of the Inauguration, but for days and even weeks thereafter, effectively insulating their new Leader from the Women’s March on Washington, an event scheduled January 21—the day after the Inauguration—which hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of women around the country will attend to protest Trump’s misogynist campaign and highlight women’s issues.

The Park Service reserved most of the space a year ago, but it is up to the PIC to advise them what land they intend to actually use, in order to permit the Park Service to issue permits for the remainder, usually for purposes of protests or demonstrations. 

Conveniently, however, they have not done so, the practical effect of which is to block the Women’s March—or any other organized protests—anywhere near the traditional sites of public protests, the Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and Pennsylvania Avenue.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Cronyism is alive and well.

Quote

With his choice of restaurant executive Andrew Puzder to serve as his Labor secretary, President-elect Donald Trump has now tapped six big donors and fundraisers to serve in his administration, lining up an unprecedented concentration of wealthy backers for top posts.

Together with their families, Trump's nominees gave $11.6 million to support his presidential bid, his allied super PACs and the Republican National Committee, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal campaign filings.

One single appointee — WWE co-founder Linda McMahon — contributed $7.5 million to back his White House run before Trump selected her to run the Small Business Administration this week. She and her husband Vince were also the top outside donors to Trump's private foundation.

It’s not unusual for top presidential donors and bundlers to land plum assignments after an election. Ambassadorships to sought-after locales, such as London and Paris, are usually reserved for big money players. In recent administrations, senior campaign fundraisers have been chosen for Commerce secretary: Penny Pritzker under President Obama, Don Evans under President George W. Bush, Ronald Brown under President Bill Clinton, and Robert Mosbacher under President George H.W. Bush.

But longtime watchers of money in politics cannot recall any president in recent history who has filled a Cabinet with so many major donors.

“In the past, they were a little hidden — they were sent overseas to be ambassadors,” said David Donnelly, president of Every Voice, an advocacy group that seeks to reduce the influence of wealthy donors on politics. “In this administration, they are going to be front and center making policy.”

Fred Wertheimer, president of the watchdog group Democracy 21, said Trump's choices raise questions about his pledge to “drain the swamp.”

“This is bound to result in all kinds of conflict and appearances of conflicts in terms of the financial interests of the people being appointed to high positions,” he said.

The president-elect's decision to put his major political backers in senior Cabinet positions is a jarring contrast with Trump's rhetoric through this year's campaign. He repeatedly declared himself independent of wealthy donors and predicted Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's benefactors would “have total control over everything she does.”

“Donald Trump gave his Foundation's largest donor a CABINET spot yesterday,” Clinton adviser Ronald Klain tweeted Thursday. “Did you see blaring headlines? Imagine if HRC had done that??”

Trump transition officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The president-elect has defended the backgrounds of his Cabinet picks, saying he is choosing “killers” who know how to win. “I want people that made a fortune,” he told supporters at a rally in Des Moines Thursday night. “Because now they are negotiating with you, okay?”

Here's a breakdown of the donors Trump has nominated to serve in his administration and how much they gave:

Small Business administrator: Linda McMahon, $7.5 million

McMahon, co-founder of the professional wrestling franchise WWE and a former Republican Senate candidate from Connecticut, was the third biggest financial backer of Trump’s presidential bid, giving $7.5 million to pro-Trump super PACs, the RNC and his campaign. Between 2007 and 2009, she and her husband Vince gave $5 million to Trump's charitable foundation.

Education secretary: Betsy DeVos, $1.8 million (contributed by the DeVos family)

The Michigan billionaire philanthropist and her husband, Richard, whose father was the co-founder of Amway, are major conservative donors and GOP contributors. The couple gave nearly $317,000 to the Republican National Committee this cycle. Altogether, the DeVos family contributed a total of $1.8 million this cycle to the party and Trump's campaign.

Deputy Commerce secretary: Todd Ricketts, $1.3 million (contributed by his parents)

TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts — the father of Todd, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs — helped finance Future45, a super PAC that spent lavishly for Trump in the final weeks of the campaign. Joe Ricketts gave the group $1 million. He and his wife, Marlene, also contributed nearly $343,000 to support Trump's campaign and the Republican Party.

Treasury secretary: Steven Mnuchin, $425,000

Mnuchin served as Trump's national finance chairman, helping organize dozens of high-dollar campaign fundraisers across the country. The former Goldman Sachs executive and hedge fund manager also personally contributed $425,000 to the campaign and party.

Labor secretary: Andrew Puzder, $332,000

Puzder, who runs CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., served on the Trump Victory committee as one of his top fundraisers in California. He and his wife together contributed $332,200.

Commerce secretary: Wilbur Ross, $200,000

The billionaire investor was an early financial supporter of Trump's campaign. Ross opened his Southampton, N.Y., estate for one of the campaign's first fundraisers, which cost $25,000 a head. Ross personally contributed $200,000.

It remains to be seen whether Trump will draw any other major contributors into his administration. New federal filings show his billionaire supporters poured millions more into pro-Trump super PACs in the final stretch of the race. His biggest supporters: casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, who gave a total of $21.2 million to support his run. They were followed by Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus ($7.6 million), McMahon ($7.5 million), Dallas banker Andy Beal ($4.4 million) and hedge fund executive Robert Mercer ($3.4 million).

One of Mercer's daughters, Rebekah Mercer, is close to three of Trump's top advisers: Stephen K. Bannon, Kellyanne Conway and David Bossie. She and her father are expected to be major boosters of a new group Conway is likely to lead that will serve as an outside political operation to support his agenda.

I agree with the author, can you imagine the howling if Hillary had appointed ONE person to the cabinet who had donated anything to the Clinton Foundation?