America, My America - Part 3

Part 3: Let America Be America Again

Talking to my fellow activists this week, there were many who felt as we had reached an inflection or a stepping-off place; a door had closed behind us and we’d entered a new section of the maze that is America under Trumpism. It would be easy to attribute this vertiginous sensation to the lack of clear outcome in the Mueller hearings, but we’d already minimized our expectations. There are stories we could tell the causes, about fatigue or burnout, or our disappointment that Democratic control of the House has led to few concrete gains or cessation to the harms that Trumpism is causing people every day. But, more than any single thing, it was the collective realization that no matter how bad things are right now, it is entirely rational to expect that they will get worse. 

And that is where we start.

First, we need to recognize that the only way to absolutely guarantee that Trump and Trumpism retain power is for people to give up. We must understand that ceding power is not an option. Historian Timothy Snyder’s first rule in his Twenty Lessons on Tyranny is “Do not obey in advance.” Tyranny thrives when people are quiet, perhaps complaining in private, but otherwise passive and disengaged.

Moreover, there is nothing that Trump, the GOP, and Trump’s supporters would like more than for “the libs” to quit complaining. Those “complaints” saved the ACA and have kept the spotlight on abuses of immigrant families by CBP and ICE. When we call out or stand up to racist bullying, it forces Trump supporters to exercise their defense mechanisms (see Part 2), pushing them to confront their own internal contradictions and waste their energy in ranting. It also emboldens those who are on the sidelines (yes, still) because no matter how quiet they’ve been, they know it is wrong to yell “send her back” to a U.S. citizen, much less a sitting congresswoman. Remember that your speech and actions will have a positive effect on others.

[A brief note on self care is appropriate here. For any sort of emergency or disaster situation, first responders are taught that their number one priority is to keep themselves safe. They must survey the scene and understand the residual danger before helping someone. In much the same way, we have to survey the scene (our lives and our America) and understand what is safe (possible and sustainable) to do. We are each human, with human limitations. Acknowledging those limits and working within them will benefit us all in the long run.]

Where we go next depends upon whether one believes that America is facing an existential crisis or if this is just business as usual – another political struggle in which there are two sides having a reasonable disagreement about how to best achieve American goals. In fact, there is a debate on this topic currently ongoing within the Democratic part, and amongst progressive activists and strategists and media pundits.

The "business as usual" theory says that we must focus on persuading voters using a moderate policy agenda to peel off independents and Dems who voted for Trump. They assert that if we instead headline the racism and white supremacy that underpins Trumpism, we will drive away or discourage those independents and more-conservative Democrats (e.g., Obama-Trump voters). There are three inherent problems with that approach. The first is that experts in authoritarian governments, or those with experience in countries taken over by similar populist movements have noted that normal political tactics and strategies frequently are insufficient to remove the authoritarian from power and retire that movement from a position of influence in politics. In other words, “business as usual” politics will not suffice. 

The second is that soft-pedaling the GOP's racist agenda will be seen as acquiescence. It also centers the conversation on concern for the feelings of white people who might be made uncomfortable by open and forthright discussions of race, instead of centering on those bearing the brunt of racist speech, policy, and actions. Such timidity will only discourage minority voters, and drive down turnout. (It seems relevant to note that soft-pedaling or denying racism is both a GOP strategy and one adopted by Russian trolls on social media). In an excellent pair of twitter threads, Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) makes the case for using anti-racism as the unifying theme, based on his own experience with campaigns against David Duke in 1990’s Louisiana. He also dispenses with the idea of beating such a candidate on the conventional issues. In such a defeat, the white supremacist side simply regroups and tries again, because its basic premise remains intact. (Links to both threads can be found below.)

The third reason is the simplest.

It’s wrong. No, not incorrect. Immoral. Intolerable and incongruent with the ideas that make America our America.

For the first time in my lifetime, elected leadership of my country is actively and openly spewing rhetoric that helps white people feel comfortable with their racism. In past decades (pre-Tea Party), the Republican party had used white identity politics and racist tropes to win elections, but had also (usually) abided by civil rights laws and had (usually) publicly disavowed racists, keeping them on the fringes. Their cynical strategy was to do just enough to keep the white supremacists energized and voting, but deny them any real access to power. Because GOP leadership has since abdicated to the Tea Party / Trumpist wing (and the Kochs, Mercers, and other billionaires who fund them), and because the Democrats were complicit by their silence in all too many cases, and because white people in general treated white supremacy as taboo, or invisible, or just another political issue are all part of how we have arrived at this particularly dangerous juncture.

We can no longer wait and fix this later. To my fellow white men and women, I say that we cannot tell black and brown people to be patient and wait until the arc of history bends back to where it should be; the clock has run out. We must now do the work that white people in my father’s and grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s generation failed to do — to fulfill the promises of America to all Americans. If that is a bridge too far, if white “moderates” cannot bear to own the fact that the past injustices are not all past and forgotten and that they must work to do right by their brothers and sisters, then the rest of us must move forward and hope they catch up.

At this time, in this crisis, we have the painful gains of the past 150 years of American history as a platform and as moral leverage. It is time to stand up for the unequivocal fact that white supremacy deserves no place at the American table, and that the sins and horrors visited by systemic racism on our own citizens and those of other countries are the opposite of what we want our America to be.

We must be clear that, in our America, there is no excuse for allowing a white supremacy to set the public agenda, and that such an ideology is antithetical to the Constitution and the very idea of America.

We must confront white supremacy directly. In 1861, the white supremacist-controlled states seceded from the Union, turning their back on the idea of America. Half a million Americans died in the battles to keep that idea alive. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, black Americans and their allies. tired of the unfulfilled promises of the American ideal, forced the national conversation on racism and white supremacy that resulted in the Voting Rights Act. Most Americans look back on those events as being part of American progress — because they represented America being America. 

Today we face our original sin of white supremacy again. Trump has made it clear that he will be unswerving in his dedication to denying even our most accomplished and skilled Americans of color full participation in the life of our nation. And while there are real policy disagreements between the right and left, the underlying, fundamental source of those disagreements is whether or not we will treat all our citizens, regardless of race, as full participants in America. Our founding documents, our 24 decades of American progress, and the very idea of America all say that we must let America be America again.

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!
– Langston Hughes (1935)

Threads by Tim Wise:

1. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1152930670093787141.htm
2. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1154158572407808002.html

America, My America - Part 2

Part 2: America Besieged

Today, the idea of America is under assault.

This is not new, in and of itself. There are always people and ideologies that seek to erode the idea of America for their own profit or power. But today, as we approach third decade of the 21st century, the nexus of that assault is Trumpism and the common belief that binds its not-so diverse coalition together is white supremacy. Born out of reactionary, nativist talk radio and other media, enabled by lack of transparency into the political contributions of billionaires and corporations, and metastasizing in the fake-grassroots Tea Party movement, takeovers of state governments and a series of national elections in 2010-2016, Trumpism holds most of the power in our national government today. In the chaos that is Trump’s amateurish, unskilled approach to leadership and management, the one consistent thread is a nativist, racist, misogynist message that informs the words, policy, and actions of the Trump Administration, the GOP, and the GOP-controlled Supreme Court.

White supremacy is the password, the secret handshake that identifies a fellow member of the Trumpist clan, whether true believer or cynical opportunist. A dedication to white supremacy is the qualification that enables Stephen Miller to set policy on immigration for the US. John McCain’s refusal to embrace it and Trump is why, upon the death of the Senator, the White House had to be shamed into lowering their flag to half-mast. It is why Trump and the Tea Party embraced the juvenile, absurd conspiracy theory that President Obama had been born outside the U.S., and why so many members of the media and ordinary citizens gave it credence. It is the why behind the Muslim Ban, the forced, deliberate, and permanent separation of families seeking refuge in America, and the nativist bile and hatred directed at Congresswomen who are black or brown and have the courage to speak forthrightly in defense of both their constituents and vulnerable refugees.

Every day the evidence piles up. Today, July 27th, 2019, it was the story that Trump had once again used the language of disease and rot to refer to person of color and their neighbors. Yesterday it was stories about three-year-old girl who the Chief of Law Enforcement Operations of CBP indicated might be a threat to national security by dint of her brown skin and desire to return to her mother. Before, it was the 18-year old American citizen who was held for a month and starved by CPB because they didn’t like his brown skin and dark hair and eyes. 

It plays out in national policy decisions, when welfare for billionaires and corporations are prioritized because they will benefit “all” (or at least the deserving), when both historical and current data indicate they benefit the 1%. Meanwhile programs that measurably, historically keep Americans out of poverty or help them escape are denigrated as being giveaways to the undeserving (who, we are to understand, mostly have brown or black faces) by the GOP and propaganda outlets like Fox. 

It affects our foreign policy and our standing in the world. Trumpism’s focus on white supremacy has led us to begin rapprochement with Russia and to damage our ties to the democracies of Europe that share key ideals with a Constitutional America. It leads to cuts in foreign aid to Central American countries that are struggling in no small measure due to American interference. These countries are a significant source of immigration - and are fleeing because of the conditions in their home countries. A clear-eyed view would suggest that if we wanted decreased migration, then improvements in their home countries would decrease the number of people who need to flee. It is the annealing force of white supremacy and racism that keeps the Trumpist in line in the face of this kind of contradiction and irrationality.

Our governmental structure itself is visibly eroding. The simplest and most straightforward measure of that erosion is the frightening and unprecedented number of open or acting leadership positions in the Trump Government and the turnover in those positions. Notably, Homeland Security, Custom and Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs enforcement are all run by acting directors. Only 41% of the key positions in the entire DHS structure are filled, about 30% having acting managers, and another 30% are unfilled. Yet no one in the Republican Party seems sufficiently concerned to make this an issue, and Trump’s supporters are unruffled. This despite the fact that national security and our borders are described as major policy concerns by the GOP and its supporters. Again, the cognitive dissonance and accompanying discomfort this should create is overridden by the solidarity of a shared fear and hatred of people who are different. To the Trump voter, Trump is an ideological kinsman because of the shared bond of white insecurity. And that is more important than a functioning government.

That this bond is unspoken and implicit gives it more power, as do cultural mores that have come to place racism in the column of bad, wrong, or evil things. To the Trump voter, deflecting criticism of Trumpism as “socialist” or “liberal” is a defense mechanism used to avoid confrontation with the underlying racial (or misogynistic) prejudices. The recent labeling of Representatives Tlaib and Omar as anti-semitic is another example of this inherently defensive reaction. 

The dissonance between between Trumpism’s ideological roots (white supremacy) and the American ideals of equality, integrity, and generosity also results in the curious over-identification with the symbology of America. This is part self-reassurance and part attempt to co-opt the appearance of the true America as a camouflage for the GOP's underlying lack of a coherent, positive  ideology. Think of Trump’s bizarre embrace of the American flag onstage at CPAC. If I love the flag then I am a patriot (and therefore good), so I cannot possibly be a racists because racists are bad and I am good. Whether it is the flag, the 2nd Amendment, adherence to the law (e.g., against unauthorized border crossing), or the unsupported belief in a magical past golden age of America, virtue by association is used for self-reassurance or to bash as unpatriotic (and therefore bad) anyone who is insufficiently enthusiastic or points out the verifiably mixed history of those symbols and their interpretations. 

Ultimately, the most destructive part of the inherent contradiction between white supremacy and the American ideal is that Trumpism absolutely must continue to violate our democratic norms and dismantle the institutions of democracy. No matter what rationale is provided (e.g., fiscal responsibility, libertarian values, the 2nd amendment), simple policy differences will not suffice to keep the Republican party and a reliably white supremacist agenda in power. A working democracy always relies on the will of the people, and Trump cannot hope to persuade much more than the current ~60% majority of white people who voted for him to adopt the white supremacist beliefs needed to provide him unwavering support. The coalition consisting of minorities and white people who reject white supremacy is too large (and growing). And however imperfectly and unevenly, the long-term trend has been toward a more diverse, more just, more equitable culture. In this current day, the degree of handwringing and angry defensiveness that accompanies even the calmest assertion of the fact of Trump’s or other GOP member’s racist behavior is clear evidence that even most Trump supporters see racism as a moral sin and as evil. 

And that is why we can return America to itself. 

America, My America - Part 1

Part 1: My America
I've got a lot on my mind these days. Any moderately conscious person knows that America is divided to an extent not seen since the civil war. And that the tone of our discourse, public, private, or political is less productive than it should be.
But there is one specific worry, one thread, one splinter under my thumbnail, one itch on the sole of my foot, one sharp pain behind my left eye that will. not. stop.
I'm losing my America.
My America, the one that stood, clear-eyed and fearless and said "give me your tired, your poor" and had the audacity to claim it was self-evident that all people were created equal – and then tried and failed and tried and failed and tried some more to live up to those impossible words – is slipping away each day. I can feel it.
There’s an America that built an economy on the backs of people kidnapped from Africa, and using stolen land; then granted those slaves their freedom but then selectively denied them the essential voice of the ballot for another hundred years and then enacted new laws to force racist white men and women to cease that form of oppression; that has now returned to it in the form of subtle and surgically precise methods used to deny the votes of black and brown men and women, and subsequently cured one outbreak of voter suppression in North Carolina and a second in Pennsylvania but allows others to persist in Georgia and Florida. But that’s not exactly my America.
I’m not losing the America of the scrubbed and sanitized histories I was taught in school, that told me about Europe’s “discovery” and (re)settlement of the Americas, but not of the genocide of 130 million indigenous men, women and children. And I’m not losing the taught America of westward expansion and manifest destiny that failed to mention of the Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee. Where I learned of the Civil War and the triumph of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the end of chattel slavery and their promise of full citizenship and civil rights for former slaves, but not the unforgivable failure to meet those promises in the terror, rape, and murder of Jim Crow. 
No, I’m thinking about my America. I understand the America of our true history, which documents the paradoxical country that defended of freedom against the tyranny of fascism and Naziism but also installed or supported dictators in Chile and Central America and Iran. I’m familiar with the America that refused a home to Jews fleeing the rise of Hitler but rescued Jews from concentration camps less that a decade later. I know the one that today hails Martin Luther King, Jr. as a hero in death but condemned him in life as a radical and an anti-American and assassinated him.
These things were all done by America the country, by America the nation. By the corporate and aggregate grouping of people under a flag and molded into a set of institutions that sometimes enact the will of the majority but too often the whim of the powerful. But I’m not speaking of that. And I’m not speaking of the American government, of institutions that have an unnerving tendency to choose their own preservation over the good of the people or ideals they are intended to serve.
None of those things are sufficient to be my America.
My America must be sought in these words:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Mine is the more perfect, perfectible Union. Mine is that dream to which we aspire, the ideals to which we must cling. It is made not of leaders and heroes, not of building or monuments, not even of national symbols like our flag. Because these are people and things. And no matter how good and how loved, they are still intrinsically flawed and transient. They can fail or be corrupted or fall short. They all pass away. Which is why the oath of office of the President does not say she will defend our institutions or preserve our government or protect our people or our actions or our history. Instead, it says he will “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Because the Constitution is not just the document carefully preserved in the National Archives. It is ideas expressed in word and given flesh and bone and concrete and steel by people who honor, apply, and live out those ideas.
My America is an idea.

Like any truly great idea it must be both shared and carefully tended if it is to survive, much less burgeon and prosper. Should we hoard it and build a high wall or fence of steel slats around it, it will wither. Should we hew only to its symbols and forget that they mean not just respect for the military but also mean the right to live without fear of mistreatment or murder by police, the idea of America will atrophy and fade. And when we discard its principles in the interest of expediency or gain, we tarnish and corrode the institutions that should reflect our ideal America.
That is where we begin, because my America is slipping away. Now.

Tomorrow:

Part 2: America Besieged

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

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

Thousands Spell 'Resist' On Ocean Beach https://t.co/TcXTzhQbR8 pic.twitter.com/Rdlz17iF4d

— SFist (@SFist) February 11, 2017

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.

   KellyAnne Conway Violated Federal Law with "Go buy Ivanka's stuff" 😱 CALL & COMPLAIN NOW! > @OfficeGovEthics #TheResistance #ReBrandMarALago pic.twitter.com/mTDLnJwu9y

   — Women Save USA 🇺🇸 (@WomenSaveUSA) February 9, 2017

   
   
4. Trump Cabinet picks are being approved. Here's the current scorecard:

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.
    
    
    
    

Book Review: Uprooting Racism

Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book for white people. It is about what they can and should be doing to further an America that is truly about liberty and justice for all. If you think that we're already there, then read no further. You ain't ready.

The book itself is structured in short chapters and is meant to be used as a workbook or guide for someone who is committed to working through his/her own prejudices and living and acting as an ally for people of color. The central point of the book is that the continued existence of a white supremacist structure to our country and its institutions is real, and can only be rectified through the actions of people of all colors, which necessarily includes white people.

The structure of white supremacy includes areas as diverse as business, culture, religion, politics, housing, education, the justice system, and environmental policy. As a white man, it was not an easy book to ready – despite the fact that I have been married to a black woman for 30 years, have four biracial children, have lived with their experiences, and live in a relatively racially diverse community in Los Angeles. While I am encouraged with the progress on racial issues that I've seen in the course of my lifetime, it is clear that there remains much work to do.

This book addresses an area that is rarely considered in the fight for racial justice: what white people need to do and how they need to change if we are to make any more progress on the toxic levels of racism that still exist in this country. If you're white (and you're still reading this) you will be tempted to discount what I'm saying. Because it is uncomfortable to deal with the idea that a system that you think of as normal and fair and merit-based is in fact harmful to people because they are not considered "white."

Our culture has fully embraced a set of practices and structures that keep white people from being made uncomfortable by their racist actions. It is the responsibility of white people and not anyone else to fix the problem. It is not the task of our black or brown friends, neighbors, or coworkers to explain it to us. In fact, we are blessed to have people of color who have pointed out the issues that flow from racism and white supremacy, often at no small risk to themselves. As white people, we must remove the beam that is firmly embedded in our eye so that we can see what's really happening, and begin to change it for the better.

Please don't misunderstand me. I don't hate the fact that I'm white, nor do I hate white people. I don't hate America. I can recognize that it has provided me with certain privileges that I didn't earn and still look myself in the mirror every morning. But I can't be content doing nothing about the injustices that remain. If you share a similar point of view, or if you want to do something about racism that you've witnessed or been confronted with (whether it's your own or someone else's), then this book is worth your time.

View all my reviews

Trump Administration, Week Two: Monday Night Massacre & White Supremacy Isn't So Bad

These are the things that happened this week. We shall remember:

1. President Trump fired the Acting Attorney General of the United States, Sally Hayes, in an emotional outburst over her refusal to have the Dept. of Justice defend the Executive Order closing our borders to seven Muslim-majority countries. The only recent parallel to this is the Nixon White House "Saturday Night Massacre," in which Nixon's firing of Independent Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox led to the resignations of both the Attorney General and his Deputy. But the WH statement on this did use all the best words.
   
   
   
2. A terrorist attack on a Quebec City mosque left six people dead on Sunday, Jan. 30th. The next day, the White House said this kind of incident was why we must be "proactive rather than reactive when it comes to our nation's security," perhaps because Fox News initially reported the suspected shooter was Muslim.  The terrorist was a white man who had recently worried that "the white race would be marginalized by immigration." The Trump Administration has responded by deciding to refocus a program aimed at countering all violent ideologies so it addresses Islamist extremism and ignores white supremacists like Dylann Roof or the Kansas "Crusaders." See also this recent Newsweek report.
3. Holocaust Remembrance Day (which happened last week) was accompanied by the announcement of the ban on travel seven Muslim nations (see next item). It was also accompanied by a White House statement that failed to mention Jews. This made Richard Spencer happy - it's never a good idea to give aid and comfort to Nazis. The National Holocaust Museum and the Merriam-Webster dictionary found it necessary to remind us that the White House was taking a point of view that is not informed by history and convention.

   📈'Holocaust' is trending again. It is understood to refer especially to the Nazis' mass murder of European Jews. https://t.co/SpAZ9kiKrn

   — Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) January 30, 2017

    
4. Many things happened related to the ill-planned and maliciously executed Executive Order banning travel from seven Muslim countries
1. Protests at airports continued across the country over the weekend and into the week, in an unplanned but robust demonstration of public outrage. 
2. Lawyers simply showed up because they saw the need, and pitched in (watch the video). 
3. Several federal courts issued stays of parts of the Executive Order, but compliance was often lacking. 
4. US District Judge James Robart (a Bush appointee) ruled Friday that against the travel ban, suspending it and ordering enforcement to cease
5. The Department of Homeland Security announced it would comply, and ordered Customs and Border Patrol agents to resume "standard policies and procedures." 
6. The Trump Administration will seek to stay the judge's order, and noted the President's pique via a series of Saturday morning tweets. Stay tuned.
5. The announcement of Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court seat that has been vacant for almost one year was turned into a reality TV show event by the President of the United States.
   
   
   
   
6. Reuters News Service has instructed their reporters and editors to cover the Trump Administration using the same methods applied to authoritarian regimes. Many people and organizations took note.
7. The Trump White House marked Black History Month with a speech that was more about the President and his handful of black supporters than the history of African Americans. At one point he did not appear to be cognizant of the fact that Frederick Douglass is a historical figure, having died in 1895. In his remarks, he used a total of 53 words to praise Martin Luther King, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks, or about 13 words apiece. He used 51 words of his speech to praise Omarosa Manigault. Omarosa gave a notable quote about Trump to PBS's Frontline several months ago: 
   
8. The Trump kids continue to show up at official government functions despite the conflicts of interest inherent in their ties to Trump's business. There is no indication that anything has or will change in terms of Trump's multiple financial conflicts of interest or in the appearance that White House decisions are influenced by Trump financial interests.
1. At the Supreme Court announcement
2. In the WH, meeting with Sen. Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
3. At other official US government functions
4. NYTimes article on Trump's sham "trust" -- it does nothing to mitigate conflicts of interest between Trump's wealth and the good of the United States.
9. The first military action of Trump's administration suffered from inadequate planning and resulted in deaths of US military personnel and civilians, including an 8 year old girl.
1. Reuters article on the raid in Yemen
2. NYT article on the raid
10. Sanctions imposed in light of Russian hacking targeted the Russian security services (the FSB, successor to the KGB). The Trump Administration has lifted them with no announcement or rationale. [Note added after publishing: Consensus is that the changes to sanctions are not material and only serve to allow American businesses to obtain licenses needed to sell electronics - but not to the FSB. Expect more overreactions brought on by justifiable lack of trust in the Trump Administration's actions] Nancy Pelosi represented some of our outrage:

    Vladimir Putin’s thugs meddle with an American election, and President Trump gives them a thank you present. https://t.co/ID01aS21nM pic.twitter.com/vAiGYWNbIu

    — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 2, 2017

11. As of February 1st, Diane Feinstein indicated her offices had received 55,000 phone calls urging her to vote against Jefferson Beauregard Session's appointment as the next Attorney General.
12. The Trump Administration has announced that the Dakota Access Pipeline is to move forward despite ongoing issues of water contamination and tribal sovereignty. 

Trump Administration, Week One: Alternative Facts and Muslim Bans

These are things that have happened this week. We will remember.

1. President Trump’s Inaugural Address included the words “carnage,” “bleed,” and “tombstones.” No other President ever found it necessary to use these words in an Inaugural Address. The President later threatened to “send in the Feds” if Chicago didn’t fix its “carnage.” This was a response to a segment on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show, indicating that the media has unusually large influence on Trump’s policy statements and emphasis.
2. Trump’s speech also included the phrase "When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.” This is dangerously flawed reasoning. The love of country as an abstract ideal is very different from the implicit bias against blacks, Muslims, or overly entitled rich white men. It is also chilling, in that “true patriots” will use it to insists that they cannot be racist in thought, word, or deed simply because all that love of America has left no room for hate in their hearts. Historically, ultra-patriotic groups have found abundant space to squeeze in their malice, their bitterness and contempt for the “other.
   
   
   
   
   
3. "The resistance to Trump is being led by Teen Vogue, Badlands, National Park, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary.” - Kitty Chandler 
4. The top two petitions on the WhiteHouse.gov site ask for the President to release his taxes and show compliance with the emoluments clause of the Constitution, and to either divest his assets or place them in a blind trust. Every other U.S. President for 50 years has dealt with these issues in advance of taking office (exception being Ford, who did not release his taxes - of course, he wasn’t elected either). 
   
   
5. A large crowd attended the Inauguration. An even larger crowd showed up the next day for the Women’s March. This was the largest protest event in American history, with the original march in Washington, DC and sister marches in every single U.S. state, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and dozens of other countries. Totals for the march are in the range of 3.2 to 5.2 million people in the US. You can find crowd size estimates (detailed and totals) in this Google spreadsheet.
6. The first (but “unofficial”) press conference of the Trump term featured a Press Secretary upbraiding the press for their accurate reporting of crowd sizes, the introduction of verifiably false information by the Press Secretary, and him walking out at the end without taking any questions. The followup on-air discussions notably included Kellyanne Conway’s use of the term “alternative facts” to describe some of this false information. This truly Orwellian moment occurred one day into Trump’s term and already has its own page in Wikipedia.
7. The Trump Administration then confirmed its obsession with size by insisting that 3-5 million cases of voter fraud occurred. This number bears an interesting similarity to the margin by which Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton (just shy of 3 million votes). I cannot possibly improve upon Jake Tapper’s response to this on CNN. 
8. Jared Kushner was cleared by the Justice Department to serve as an adviser to Trump, with an office in the White House despite concerns over anti-nepotism statutes, and unknown business connections both within the US and in multiple foreign countries. This kind of appointment is a time-honored tradition in authoritarian regimes, where a leader surrounds himself only with people he trusts and views as extensions of his will.
9. The White House has shut down the ability of important government departments to communicate with the public, including the Dept. of the Interior (later lifted), Health and Human Services, and the EPA. The Dept of Agriculture was also briefly affected. The attempt to prevent important scientific information being provided to the public crystallized concerns with the science community, and a March for Science on Washington is now being planned.
10. This happened.
11. The House Select Committee on Intelligence has opened a bipartisan investigation into Russian cyberattacks and influencing of the election.
12. Trump has stopped all immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries - unless immigrants are Christian. The ban excludes countries where Trump has business interests, creating the appearance of conflict of interest. This is something the Office of Government Ethics has warned about (and attempted to engage with the Administration in order to resolve). Late Breaking: A mosque in Victoria, Texas was set ablaze last night.
    
13. The ban explicitly stops Syrian refugees from entering the US - these are the people most in need. This action was taken on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is a clear signal to Nazis and anti-semites. It prompted the creation of a twitter account that provided names and pictures of hundred of Jews who were turned away in 1939. They reached the US onboard the St. Louis, but were denied entry. They later perished in concentration camps in Europe. The Cato Institute published data showing that there have been zero American fatalities caused by terrorist from these countries during the period 1975-2015. See the report for other useful information.
14. Additional point. No one has ever heard an American President speak to his country like this: