January 29, 2017

What are we going to do? What are we going to do? Are we going to accept the breakdown of due process to people based on their religion? What's next?
  • So far, it would seem that the response to this situation has been good. The statement from Kamala Harris, for example, is good. My concern is that there will be a compromise bill/order that will be completely unacceptable, but Democrats will largely accept because it is better than what is happening now. And then whatever version of this religious exclusion passes will become acceptable. That is my concern.
    I have a couple of friends who I know to be Republicans who are not too extreme. I imagine they will be okay ("let's wait and see what happens") with this. I am going to try to pin them down on what hypothetical Trump action might be unacceptable in the future (proof of coordination with Russia for the election, proof of future lies, arresting/banning of the press, etc.), and then remind them of their words in the future. It is not much of a plan, but the only thing I know to do is to help turn public opinion against him. It has been my experience that they just generally repeat talking points to justify the realities of the present. I want to get them to commit to some position before they are told what to say/think about it.
    I share your despair. This is amazing that this is happening. If we resisted doing this in 2001, why in the world we even be considering such a thing now?
  • I dunno, my plans mostly seem to involve sending money to certain organizations (ACLU, SPLC, refugee resettlement services) and then curling up into a ball in a corner somewhere. But my Congress members are all very conservative and do not care what I think.
  • You could buy a t-shirt.
    It's not much, but.
  • It seems inconceivable that anyone would walk around calling him/herself a nazi in today's age, but I can imagine a scenario that it might happen. As more and more people refer to Bannon or Trump as nazis, I can imagine the Trump followers publicly adopting the label. They did this when Hillary Clinton called them deplorable. At the time, it was common for people at his rallies and online to call themselves "deplorable." I can see them doing that with the word "nazi." That will be fucking crazy if that happens.
  • I have one Republican friend who tries to understand things from the liberal perspective. Every now and then, we talk for three to four minutes about some political issue. When we are finished, he seems to have moved to my side a bit. Then he watches FoxNews and listens to talk radio, and I get a text from him two or three days later that indicate my efforts have failed. We are planning to have lunch. I want to be able to talk to him for 45 minutes. Maybe it will help? It can't hurt.
  • I had that talk with the friend I mentioned in the comment above. At the conclusion of it all (he disagreed with nearly nothing I said), he said something like the following:
    "Maybe it's just because I am getting older, but what is wrong with making America first? The wall won't cost that much. He's actually doing something. Maybe I'm a racist...I don't know. I just know that what has been going on hasn't been working. I like that he says what we are all thinking."
    My friend was pretty reasonable and not lashing back at me at all. In his case, I think he feels that life should be going better for him, so why not try something radical to fix it? All was not lost, however, as I was able to teach him what a shitgibbon is.
  • I remember when the news first broke that Russia was behind the DNC emails. A friend of mine mocked Hillary Clinton, "Did you hear she is blaming Russia?" Her (my friend) tone totally indicated she thought Clinton was lying to deflect attention from the content of the emails. Then it became clear that there was evidence that it was Russia. My friend said, "I haven't seen any proof." Then it was acknowledged even by the Trump team that Russia was responsible. Now my friend's position is, "Whatever. She lost." This particular friend of mine is not that much of a crazy conservative. I think she really, really just wants to be able to not have to think critically.
  • That whole thing the other day about keeping the press out of the gaggle is a fine example of why it is everyone should try to make Republicans they know state clearly what would be a line too far to cross.
    I can promise you that a week ago many a Republican would have put "ban the press from briefings/press conferences" as a line too far to cross. Now, of course, they think it is perfectly reasonable or not really a big deal.
  • Well, now I just want to cry. That same Republican friend of mine asked me yesterday why we (the US) limit how much money people can make in this country. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about and pointed out that eight of the ten wealthiest people in the world live here. He then said he didn't understand why everyone thinks they should get healthcare, and why it should be cheap. After all, he went for years without having insurance. Why can't other people?