Saturday, February 11, 2017

Trump Administration, Week Three: "Nevertheless, She Persisted"

These are all things that happened this week. They will persist in our memories.

  1. Melania is so impressed by Michelle Obama's tenure as the First Lady that she wanted to turn it into a Business Opportunity. The shoes! The dresses! The moisturizer! The glamor! It is so completely unfair that the media claimed that she used to be a sex worker. Even though the media didn't claim that she used to be a sex worker. Wow, this is quite confusing.
  2.  Of course, it gets better because there was The Ivanka Tweet (which is not replicated here – even I have my standards). But basically the Mean People at Nordstroms made the business decision to stop carrying Ivanka's clothing lines. Which should not be a thing, since the most excellent Plan to Shield the Trump Administration From Ethical Conflicts is already in place right? So the President doesn't get mad when a business makes a business decision and try to (for example) knock down said business's stock price.

    Anyway you'd think he'd understand business decisions completely, since he is such an excellent businessperson himself, right? And also he completely understands the need for fairness and level playing fields and such.

  3. Of course, we can't just stop there. Kellyanne Conway decided to help out. Presented without comment.

  4. Trump Cabinet picks are being approved. Here's the current scorecard:
    5. Nominee Position Conf. Vote Date
    John F. Kelly Secretary of Homeland Security 88-11 20-Jan-2017
    James Mattis Secretary of Defense 98-1 20-Jan-2017
    Elaine Chao Secretary of Transportation 93–6 31-Jan-2017
    Rex Tillerson Secretary of State 56-43 02-Feb-2017
    Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education 51-50 07-Feb-2017
    Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III Attorney General 52–47 08-Feb-2017

    Betsy DeVos has the distinction of being the only Cabinet member ever to require the Vice President to break a tie vote in the Senate - this because two GOP senators decided to vote against DeVos, leading to a 50-50 tie. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AL) took this potentially principled step. We might want to pay attention to whether there is any retaliation by the Trump Administration, or if this was just a bit of Kabuki theater designed to keep constituents in ME and AL voting right. I was also concerned about what this meant for education in our country
  5. Meanwhile, the White Southern Gentleman from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell decided he'd heard quite enough from Nasty Woman Elizabeth Warren and invoked Senate Rule 19. This was during a debate about Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III and his fitness (or lack thereof) to be Attorney General of the United States. Warren was reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King that spoke of Session's racist actions, and opined that he lacked "the temperament, fairness and judgement to be a federal judge." Although Warren was silenced in the Senate Chamber, McConnell would have better off handing her a megaphone.  
    She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.
    Let me make a prediction: Mitch McConnell will hear those words many many times before the next election. Hmm...What do you know?
  6. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed the Trump Administration another setback in their attempt to save us from a largely non-existent threat at the cost of disrupting legitimate travel, or saving women and children who've waited for over a year to flee the Syrian conflict. The NY Times has a good summary, but this is not the last we'll hear of the Ban. 
    And yes, this is in reference to a court decision - as in, a decision made in a court. But volume over details like meaning, I suppose.
  7. The Bowling Green Massacre. Yes, this really happened. Of course, assuming the Trump Administration is learning from their mistakes, the next fake "massacre" may be more carefully thought out. Since the players here seem to have a loose relationship at best with truth of any kind, we will do well to pay attention.
  8. Rep. Gregg Harper (MS-3, GOP) introduced H.R.634 - The Election Assistance Commission Termination Act. This odious piece of business is unlikely to even make it to the floor of the House, much less become a law. But it is yet another warning that we must not take the voting rights of all Americans for granted. I invite you to consider what the current actions by the GOP look like to some.
  9. You may find this an intemperate statement, nevertheless, I will persist. Custom and Border Patrol agents seem to be auditioning to be our new Gestapo.
    1. Exhibit A is the experience of ACLU attorney
    2. Exhibit B is from the Baltimore Sun 
    3. Exhibit C is from Canada 
  10. The real danger is not foreign terrorists - it's the home-brew variety. (Discerning readers will note that i'm making you read this article twice. It's good for you. And stop slouching!)
  11. History really is something you should consider.
  12. The Lies. The Lies. The Lies. 
  13. This may well be remembered as the week when the GOP Congress realized that there might be a problem with the Trump Administration and the GOP agenda as a whole, and that snowflakes are far more worrisome when they show up in large, peaceful, articulate, and politely unyielding groups. Kinda like a gentle snowfall that quietly deposits 30 inches overnight, suddenly making your morning commute completely impossible.
    1. Jason Chaffetz's Town Hall and others have not been safe spaces for the GOP.
    2. Rep. John J. "Jimmy" Duncan is apparently disturbed by groups of orderly constituents who wish to confer with their representative in Congress, and reverts to namecalling.
  14. ICE Raids begin nationwide. Local officials are noting a lack of transparency. Whether or not this is the start of a significant effort to round up undocumented immigrants remains to be seen.

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