No new "thought" posts from me tonight. Instead, I have spent the better part of the evening updating the content of this blog to more fully reflect its mission and increase its effectiveness as a weapon in the fight against Trump and Trumpism. New features include:
* A way to contact me so that external content, submissions and posts, reflecting the breadth of the national anti-Trump movement, can be shared through this blog.
* Information regarding current local and national, direct-action campaigns against Trump and his administration.
* Information regarding the Impeachment process and contact information for Congressional Representatives.
* A list of groups and organizations that are working towards resisting and removing Trump.
* Multimedia relevant and related to the anti-Trump movement.
The overall idea of this blog is to serve as a kind of Resistance pamphlet, to bring together the disparate movements and coalitions against Trump and Trumpism into one voice. For now, I will (probably) be putting up most of the content, but I really encourage others to submit, so that this little blog can help drive momentum towards a world without a Trump presidency.
Back to regularly-scheduled content postings tomorrow.
In the meantime, a couple of parting thoughts:
1. "fascist loofa-faced shit-gibbon" is my new favorite insult directed at Trump. Kudos to PA State Senator Daylin Leach for coining the term. I challenge any inclined programmer to create a web-based program that can locate and replace the terms "Donald Trump" and "President Trump" with "fascist loofa-faced shit-gibbon" any time they appear online in print.
2. If you have Twitter, I encourage tweeting directly at @realDonaldTrump, the infamous Twitter account of POTUS. Trolling can be a great stress-reliever, and since we *know* he actually interacts with it, there is a chance he might see our posts. And its a great way to blow off steam. Obviously, be smart: no threats or anything that could be reasonably construed as a threat. Barbs and cattiness should suffice quite nicely. Ditto for the Twitter accounts of any of his lackeys and minions. Happy h(a)unting!
Friday, February 10, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Now with Twitter
Getting with the 21st Century over here. Follow The Concerned Citizen on Twitter @cncrncitznvoice.
Principles of Organization Against Trump
Fighting Trump, Trumpism, and its creeping authoritarianism requires a coordinated and sustained movement. It is not enough to post on Facebook, or even attend marches, though these are important. The resistance against Trump has been growing, but its main weakness is its decentralization. Different groups organize marches, (some) politicians in Washington and elsewhere do what they can, lawsuits are filed. Trump and the coalition he has built around him, however, are stubborn and will be impervious to change unless it is forced on them. As President, Trump has significant resources at his disposal to counter any resistance against his style of "governing." In order to be effective, resistance must be nationally coordinated and unrelenting. It must make no small gestures, but moves calculated to stop any more consolidation of his authority and power. Ultimately, it must seek the removal of Trump from office before his natural term is up.
As such, Trump Resistance must seek the following things:
1. National and centralized organization -- and governing body, if you will -- that can bring together the disparate entities -- political, social, legal -- that are currently fighting him. Resistance actions on all fronts must be in direct dialogue and support of one another, so that Trumpism can be hit from all sides on a particular issue, with a particular, defined goal in mind. Trumpism must be overwhelmed. It takes organization to pull this off, and these efforts must be somewhat centrally-directed vis-a-vis the creation of an organized coalition with a unified governing body that can drive strategy. Furthermore, undirected resistance has the high likelihood of devolving into chaos and anarchy, and ultimately, futility.
2. Ultimately, the movement must seek Trump's removal. The damage he can do to our system of government, our national security, and international stability demands that he not be allowed to continue. The Constitution provides two mechanisms to remove an unfit President: Impeachment, and the invocation of Article 25 of the Constitution. Currently, there are a number of petitions circulating demanding the former. But in order to get Congress, the majority of whom has shown itself spineless against Trump, to do its national duty, we must consolidate all of the disparate voices into one voice and demand that cannot be ignored. This is why Point 1 is so important: we have to present a unified front. The Trump people will seek to divide us along political and identity lines so that resistance cannot grow into an effective mechanism for change and for the removal of Trump from office. If Congress won't take it upon itself to remove this dangerous man from office, We the People must take up the mantel.
There are a number of things we can do in the short-term. I propose the following:
1. Show up to rallies and protests
2. Contact your representatives, both state and national. In face of the federal Congress's fecklessness and aiding and abetting the Trump regime, the States have done a good job stepping up to the plate to resist. Let's encourage them to keep at it
3. In addition to protesting on April 15, Tax Day, I propose that everyone who is able -- individuals doing their own taxes, corporate payroll people, local and state governments -- withhold paying federal taxes. If the Trump regime won't listen to the people, then it has no right to expect anything from the people. And since Trump likes to use the threat of pulling federal money from people who disagree with him, or people/entities he does not like, let us respond in kind. Since Trump only seems to care about money and the influence it buys, let's speak his language. While IRS consequences for individuals can be steep, the government cannot punish people en masse. If even 1/6 of the country's population did not pay their federal taxes, that is roughly 50 million people. The government cannot punish 50 million people at once; the resulting outcry would be enough to topple it.
As such, Trump Resistance must seek the following things:
1. National and centralized organization -- and governing body, if you will -- that can bring together the disparate entities -- political, social, legal -- that are currently fighting him. Resistance actions on all fronts must be in direct dialogue and support of one another, so that Trumpism can be hit from all sides on a particular issue, with a particular, defined goal in mind. Trumpism must be overwhelmed. It takes organization to pull this off, and these efforts must be somewhat centrally-directed vis-a-vis the creation of an organized coalition with a unified governing body that can drive strategy. Furthermore, undirected resistance has the high likelihood of devolving into chaos and anarchy, and ultimately, futility.
2. Ultimately, the movement must seek Trump's removal. The damage he can do to our system of government, our national security, and international stability demands that he not be allowed to continue. The Constitution provides two mechanisms to remove an unfit President: Impeachment, and the invocation of Article 25 of the Constitution. Currently, there are a number of petitions circulating demanding the former. But in order to get Congress, the majority of whom has shown itself spineless against Trump, to do its national duty, we must consolidate all of the disparate voices into one voice and demand that cannot be ignored. This is why Point 1 is so important: we have to present a unified front. The Trump people will seek to divide us along political and identity lines so that resistance cannot grow into an effective mechanism for change and for the removal of Trump from office. If Congress won't take it upon itself to remove this dangerous man from office, We the People must take up the mantel.
There are a number of things we can do in the short-term. I propose the following:
1. Show up to rallies and protests
2. Contact your representatives, both state and national. In face of the federal Congress's fecklessness and aiding and abetting the Trump regime, the States have done a good job stepping up to the plate to resist. Let's encourage them to keep at it
3. In addition to protesting on April 15, Tax Day, I propose that everyone who is able -- individuals doing their own taxes, corporate payroll people, local and state governments -- withhold paying federal taxes. If the Trump regime won't listen to the people, then it has no right to expect anything from the people. And since Trump likes to use the threat of pulling federal money from people who disagree with him, or people/entities he does not like, let us respond in kind. Since Trump only seems to care about money and the influence it buys, let's speak his language. While IRS consequences for individuals can be steep, the government cannot punish people en masse. If even 1/6 of the country's population did not pay their federal taxes, that is roughly 50 million people. The government cannot punish 50 million people at once; the resulting outcry would be enough to topple it.
Facebook Post 2-8-17: A Reprimand to Congress
Truth. Congress is abdicating its duty to country at this point. The majority is acting less like a check-and-balance on the executive and more like Trump's lackey. Or perhaps a sinister puppet master. No matter, regardless of the reason, those who blindly support Trump and his sick consolidation of authoritarian power, are effectively committing treason against the country. And the majority of the GOP has become morally bankrupt, a mockery of the values it once claimed, a decaying and rancid shadow of what once was a legitimate counter-narrative to a liberal reflection on the state of the world. History will not forget how, instead of rising to the occasion to excise the malignant cancer that was growing within its ranks, the Republican Party let it utterly consume it.
Facebook Post 2-8-17: A Call to Action and a Question to America
"Now it is time for us to decide who we are" The stakes are pretty clear at this point. Where do you stand and what will you do? You can either work towards averting the impending disaster and fight for the ideals, however imperfectly pursued in daily life, of our nation, or stand by and "hope" things get better, or don't get worse. Or lie to yourself that authoritarianism isn't that bad as long as things are going OK for you. But to quote a currently popular musical: America, "history has its eyes on you." And I ask you all to remember: how does history remember those in Germany who, while not members of the Nazi party or even particularly on board with National Socialism, nevertheless stood to the side, never took a side, shrugged their shoulders and hunkered down into the concerns of their own lives, and let it happen? So I ask again, where do you stand and what will you do?
Facebook Post 2-8-17: On Congress Censuring Sen. Elizabeth Warren
I just don't understand how a politician can lack so much self-awareness? Particularly in these charged times, how could McConnell *not* know this would blow up in his face? A man from the majority, in-power party telling a woman from the minority party to basically shut up while she was voicing dissent. And he did so in a particularly condescending manner. The optics of the situation alone would make a PR person cringe. I'm no Warren fan girl, but she is an elected representative of The People, and as such, she has the right to speak in The People's representative assembly.
Facebook Post 2-8-17: On the Appropriateness of Forceful Resistance If Necessary
Disagree. Of course it is always better to work things out without violence and force, and those options should always be resorted to as a last full measure. But sometimes they have to be resorted to. The fallacy of the peaceful protest idea is the assumption that those one is entreating actually care about the pressure from the masses. And the great majority of the time, this is the case. Yet certain individuals and entities are pathologically incapable of responding normally and logically to resistance and disagreement. Once these individuals and entities hold power, they will not release it unless forced. And in those circumstances, the only force that they will respond to is physical. Of course a physical response can't just be random rioting in the streets; this is counter-productive, as the original post explained. It would have to be organized and directed towards a specific desired result. But every major social change to wrest power away from those who hold it, or wish to hold it, unilaterally, has involved some kind of force. I doubt George III would have released the Colonies if all we did was continue to petition or dump tea into the sea. Even way back in the Middle Ages, King John had to be kidnapped before he would agree to sign the Magna Carta. If you would like a Biblical reference, Moses, through the power of god, had to reign down a fairly drastic show of force before pharaoh agreed to let his people go... people like that are bullies, and bullies only respond to force.
Facebook Post 2-8-17: A Call for Economic Protest and Boycott Against Trump
Since this government doesn't want to listen to the people, I think it does not have the right to ask anything of the people. So I think everyone, in addition to protesting on tax day, should withhold paying their federal taxes. Since the only language Trump seems to understand is money. This would be an economic protest even he would have to notice.
[In response to follow-up conversation on my Facebook wall]
So really it would have to be business owners and government payroll people who would have to decline to automatically take out the certain taxes. And certain business people and local/state governments are already (rightly, in my mind) defying Herr Trump's bullshit, so why not this as well? If even 1/6 of the population declined to pay their federal taxes, that's 50 million people. You can't try to fine or imprison 50 million people en masse; there would be (justified) riots and insurrection.
[In response to follow-up conversation on my Facebook wall]
So really it would have to be business owners and government payroll people who would have to decline to automatically take out the certain taxes. And certain business people and local/state governments are already (rightly, in my mind) defying Herr Trump's bullshit, so why not this as well? If even 1/6 of the population declined to pay their federal taxes, that's 50 million people. You can't try to fine or imprison 50 million people en masse; there would be (justified) riots and insurrection.
Facebook Post 2-8-17: On the Voice and Power of Women
Yup. I may not always agree with Sen Warren, but the statement is apt for any woman. We are not obligated to sit down and shut up because you don't like what we are saying and it goes against the perceived "proper" behavior of a woman to be polite and demure and agreeable. And the more you try to silence us, the louder we get.
Glennon Doyle Melton
OR... so that the Congress can be more comfortable.
Nevertheless, She PERSISTED. So will we.
Thank you U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
#shepersisted #andsisterhood #lovewarrior
Nevertheless, She PERSISTED. So will we.
Thank you U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
#shepersisted #andsisterhood #lovewarrior
A Call for Organizing Resistance Against Trump
Activist-minded friends (or anyone deeply disturbed by the current "administration") listen up! Trump is a clear and present danger to our national security, to international stability, and to our system of government. It is quite clear that neither he nor those with whom he has surrounded himself care much for the delicate balances of power enshrined in our Constitution, nor do they seem concerned with responding to the desires of the majority of the American people. Further, his continued reckless behavior is a danger to us all. The Constitution provides two mechanisms to remove such an individual from office: the impeachment process and Article 25. Currently, there are a number of petitions going around the interwebs seeking impeachment. But in the face of our cowardly and do-nothing Congress, I believe it will take a sustained, coordinated effort to put on enough pressure to get Congress and the rest of the Executive to do their duty and remove him, either via Impeachment or Article 25. There needs to be a unified removal movement. I would like to start that movement. If anyone is interested in getting involved with an organized movement to call for Trump's removal, please message me. I would like to hold a meeting sometime soon. Answering Trump's disturbing behavior cannot wait until Midterm elections and the hope that new people will be elected to congress who can stand up to him. Something must be done now! #resist #riseup And if you know anyone who might be interested, please spread the word. There are a lot of Resist Trump movements and Facebook pages going around, but to fight this successfully, we need to coordinate efforts and present a unified front.
Facebook Post 2-6-17: Calling for the Impeachment of Donald Trump
YES! Trump needs to be GONE. And if Congress won't do its DUTY and oust Trump, then WE THE PEOPLE need to do it!
Facebook Post 2-8-17: Commenting on a "Meme" Photo
Resist! Resist with all your hearts and all your minds! Resist with your words, your actions, your votes, and, if necessary, your force. In this country, we live according to the freedoms and democracy hard-won by the original patriots and countless others after. Woe to him who awakens the Sleeping Giant, for he shall not long survive. It is on every citizen to defend the freedoms and ideals of this nation from enemies both foreign *and*domestic. And never, ever, ever be afraid to fight. Fighting, whether with votes, with words, with actions, with weapons, is what won us a country and is what will our country keep. "A shepherd must tend to his flock, and at times, fight off the wolves."
Facebook Response 2-6-17: On the Nature of Law, the Necessity for Disobedience and Rebellion
[This was part of a longer back-and-forth with someone on my Facebook wall]
It was more for the point that arrest is not always equated with social censure. And in fact, most people who have historically won change and/or fought against tyranny risked arrest or far worse. Fun fact: all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were risking trial and hanging for treason. The women who marched for the right to vote were often arrested. La Résistance in France during the 40s was not, strictly speaking, legal. Sometimes in history doing what is legal does not equate with doing what is right or necessary. The law is not inherent morality; it is at best an approximation of what society deems right or just. But that sometimes goes off the rails. And sometimes, ironically enough, to protect what is right and moral, or to protect the law even from those who are supposed to enforce it, requires deviating from it. And I admire the people who can recognize this and act accordingly. Even though I am a lawyer (for now), I am not a slave to "the law." If you recall Les Miserables (the novel more than the show, though the show is pretty truthful to the story), you will recall that blind fidelity to the law was Javert's fatal flaw. Law and legality are not ends in and of themselves, but rather hopefully means to an orderly and basically just society. If the law, or those tasks with meting out the law, fail in this, then following the law becomes secondary to ensuring that the ends are maintained.
It was more for the point that arrest is not always equated with social censure. And in fact, most people who have historically won change and/or fought against tyranny risked arrest or far worse. Fun fact: all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were risking trial and hanging for treason. The women who marched for the right to vote were often arrested. La Résistance in France during the 40s was not, strictly speaking, legal. Sometimes in history doing what is legal does not equate with doing what is right or necessary. The law is not inherent morality; it is at best an approximation of what society deems right or just. But that sometimes goes off the rails. And sometimes, ironically enough, to protect what is right and moral, or to protect the law even from those who are supposed to enforce it, requires deviating from it. And I admire the people who can recognize this and act accordingly. Even though I am a lawyer (for now), I am not a slave to "the law." If you recall Les Miserables (the novel more than the show, though the show is pretty truthful to the story), you will recall that blind fidelity to the law was Javert's fatal flaw. Law and legality are not ends in and of themselves, but rather hopefully means to an orderly and basically just society. If the law, or those tasks with meting out the law, fail in this, then following the law becomes secondary to ensuring that the ends are maintained.
Facebook Post 2-6-17: Reaction to Yahoo Article
To share an old refrain, this is not normal. Trump speaks and comports himself like a tinpot dictator from some failed state, and not a president of the United States. How long before his actions begin to follow his demeanor? In some ways, it has already begun: how much governing has Congress done, versus Trump and his executive orders, just "decreeing" things to be so? Wake up, America, before it is too late. Something must be done to stop him. You know how people look back on history with hindsight and are like, "something should have been done about X before it got out of control"? This is one of those moments. Where do you stand, and what will you do?
Facebook Post 2-6-17: Reaction to Article in The Atlantic, with Translation
Translation of my response: To arms, citizens! Form your battalions! March, March! Let impure blood water our farrows! [the chorus to the French national anthem, La Marseillaise] It is necessary to resist Trump! Who has the courage to resist him? With Constitutional methods would be best, but if Trump acts like a king, like Putin, like a dictator, it will be necessary to fight him like one fights tyrants across history: with force, and perhaps against a law [meaning the legal system, The Law] which will have become in service of tyranny. Who will have the courage? And you who say, no, violence never resolves anything, I would like to remind you of the American Colonies: violence against George III and the English Throne worked well, did it not? And it was a war, was it not? Remember: every instance of change, of action against tyranny, against those who suppress the rights of man, it is almost always against "the law." The people who change history, they do so in face of the law, always against the state. Regularly, they spend time in prison, or worse. That is the price of change, of liberty. Don't be afraid! Courage! Do what you must! In the instance where one must change the world against tyranny, the law, it does not matter.
Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos battalions! Marchons, marchons! Qu'un sang impur/Abreuve nos sillons! Il faut la résistance contre Trump! Qui a le courage d'agir contre lui? Avec les moyens constitutionnels seraient mieux, mais si Trump fait comme un roi, comme Putin, comme un dictateur, il faudra le combattre comme on combat les tyrants à travers l'histoire: avec la force, et peut être contre une loi qui sera devenue en service de la tyrannie. Qui aura le courage?? Et vous qui dites, non, la violence ne resolve jamais rien, je veux vous rappeler aux Colonies Américaines: la violence contre George III et la throne d'Angleterre marchait bien, non? Et c'était une guerre, non? Rappellez-vous: chaque instance de change, d'action contre la tyrannie, contre ceux qui suppriment les droits des hommes, c'est presque toujours contre "la loi." Les gens qui changent l'histoire, ils le font en face de la loi, toujours contre l'état. Regularlement, ils passent quelque temps en prison, ou pire. C'est le prix de la change, de la liberté. N'avez pas de peur! Courage! Faites ce qu'on doit! En moment où on doit changer le monde contre la tyrannie, la loi, c'est n'importe quoi.
Facebook Post 2-5-17: Reaction to Business Insider Article
No shit. Being elected is a necessary condition for a legitimate government, but it is not a *sufficient* condition. Also, Hitler never received a majority vote the entire time he came to and was in power. Procedural mechanisms and compromises within the German democratic system largely got him to where he was. Sound familiar?
Facebook Post 2-3-17: Reaction to Fortune Article
And that, my friends, is pretty much the definition of crony capitalism...
He wants to cut Dodd-Frank (which protects all of us) because his friends can't get loans : “We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank, because frankly I ...
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