Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Second rate reporter says what?

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

We still have time to mess this up!

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / You Can’t Stop The Signal: UPDATE

Reader Interactions

65Comments

  1. 1.

    Alain the site fixer

    Tamara – quick question – what process did you use to paste in the tweets? What did you do in/on Twitter, and what option/control did you use to get it into your post?

  2. 2.

    TaMara (HFG)

    I used their main URL and pasted it into Text box instead of the visual box. Did I break something and should I slink away and hide now?

    I do the same thing with non-youtube videos – it’s usually the only way to get them to embed properly.

    I have a WP blog, so I’m used to all the FYWP issues.

  5. 5.

    Alain the site fixer

    Wait – can you embed live videos? Can you embed this doing whatever you do?

    I’m trying to help Adam and in general make this whole process easier. I suspect folks like you know more than lots of us others who don’t do this day-in, day-out.

    site: http://www.ustream.tv/petespond
    I’m clicking embed then copying the code into text box and it just shows the URL/text. I’ve even tried changing the Post type to Video as per instructions on the theme website and all I ever get is a URL. Youtube works great, but I was trying this, KKTV’s embed for live tv, etc. Basically we need to be able to embed live video from anywhere, not just YouTube and I can see some plugins that might work, this is supposed to work now!

  7. 7.

    Alain the site fixer

    @TaMara (HFG): That’s great info. Allegedly, we should be able to do many more than just YT,FB, and Vimeo. I’ll research after lunch.

    I did update the WordPress version and so I’m going to tackle the theme and then formatting/functionality fixes once the update’s done. Just to let you and other readers know.

    But not now. Now is the time for lunch.

  8. 8.

    Yarrow

    The Twitter feed above in the post keeps adding new tweets. Is that what you intended it to do? Or was it supposed to be one or a couple of tweets?

  10. 10.

    MomSense

    Take screen shots of everything you can and retweet, email, text. Keep the info alive.

    Man we are going to have to don our pu_syhats and go to our nearest National Parks.

    Why is Donald Trump so afraid of facts?

    Why is Donald Trump so afraid of science?

    Let’s ask him.

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    Trump is going to use Chicago to test drive a plan to break cities with military force. They’re going to try to normalize racist violence.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    It will look like the Red Summer of 1919. Like Black Wall Street in Tulsa. And they will claim they did it to save the city.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    He won’t mobilize the Guard units in the city. Those are full of POC who live in the areas you keep being told are war zones.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    I live on the South Side. There are occasional shootings in my neighborhood. But this is far from a warzone. Trump wants to make it one.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    No talk of fighting actual domestic terrorists, but you’re being sold a bill of goods about Chicago & we tried to tell you that for years.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    When it starts, because I expect no resistance from our useless governor & mayor, remember that the South & West side were full of families

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    That the people fighting lived & loved & told you stories on Twitter & had people they loved. Remember that, not the lies.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    This is my home, I won’t let it go. Won’t let my kids & their futures be destroyed without a fight. We are a city that fights. Know that.

    Mikki Kendall Verified account
    ‏@Karnythia

    And listen, stop pretending a president threatening military intervention in a city is normal. Stop lying to yourself about what’s happening

  14. 14.

    maurinsky

    If you’re in Connecticut, Action Together Connecticut is organizing resistance related activities. I’m an administrator for Hartford County, I’m doing some activist training this weekend and hosting a meeting next weekend for people who want to take action.

    My intent for Hartford region is to make sure we have someone present for every meeting held by our members of Congress and our state legislators; to make sure we are responding to bills that harm our progressive state and vulnerable populations. And we will work with other organizations to support their missions as well – have representation at Moral Monday events, folks at our Congresscritters offices every Tuesday for lunch, and other events as they come up. And we will network outside of CT to support our friends in states where they don’t have Congresscritters that can be thanked for their efforts.

  15. 15.

    pamelabrown53

    @Jordan Rules: #3

    re:”Power it up”. While I think it’s awesome sauce for Greenpeace to have engaged in a non violent, high profile act of civil disobedience, I think the impact would be greater from some rogue employees of the National Park Service or NASA!

  17. 17.

    elm

    @rikyrah: This! This! This!

    Trump just told us all he plans mass murder in Chicago. He plans to liquidate people in Chicago soon. Don’t get hung up on the specific laws and mechanics that will be involved. He and his associates want to make an example of Chicago. This will happen. It will happen soon.

  19. 19.

    El Caganer

    When Trump talks about using ‘the National Guard,’ I don’t think he’s referring to what has historically been our National Guard. I think he envisions a new National Guard under his direct command, organized and recruited by Erik Prince.

  20. 20.

    Shell

    God, it hasn’t even been a week. What does Trump have to do next before we really say out loud that this man is mentally ill.

    After he launches his major investigation into voter fraud, will he help O.J. find the real killer?

  21. 21.

    elm

    @El Caganer: Correct. Don’t assume that existing laws and chain of command in the military will prevent him from assaulting Chicago. Their evil will find a way.

  22. 22.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    Lake County went Democrat this year. I honestly don’t see how this even works without people in the surrounding area getting super pissed.

    “Sorry, kids, no trip to the Museum of Science and Industry for you — the National Guard says it’s too dangerous.”

  23. 23.

    Butch

    The last Q&A – essentially do you know that your logo includes a typo – got me in their corner right away. The ability to admit mistakes is something we don’t see on “the other side.”

  25. 25.

    Cacti

    Hmmm…

    1. Merger of corporate and state power
    2. Obsession with external threats
    3. Stoking of continuous sense of grievance for real and imagined slights
    4. Hostility toward free press
    5. Hostility toward intellectuals and artists
    6. Hostility toward racial, religious, and ethnic minorities
    7. Veneration of an authoritarian leader who will right all wrongs

    Can we call it fascism yet?

    Better yet, can the librul media call it fascism yet?

  27. 27.

    Boussinesque

    Planning on attending this–joined the FB group last night. Not sure if I should be saving for a trip to DC, or just go to a local sister march (SF Bay Area). Local would be more convenient, but I’m quite taken with the idea of continually enraging Lord Smallgloves with repeated demonstrations that are undeniably bigger than his inauguration right on his front lawn.

  28. 28.

    hovercraft

    @rikyrah:
    This is so scary, but the headlines are so bland. Ugh. STOP NORMALIZING THIS SHIT !!!!!

    Vichy Times:
    Trump Threatens Federal Intervention in Chicago, Citing ‘Carnage’

    WaPost:
    Trump threatens to ‘send in the feds’ to address Chicago ‘carnage …

    He is threatening the third largest city in the country with invasion, that is the story, not his reason for doing so. Shouldn’t there be something in those headlines about not using the military on US soil against it’s own citizens? Useless fuckers.

    This one is the worst of all:
    Can Trump Fix the Carnage That Is Chicago? | RealClearPolitics

  30. 30.

    James Powell

    @El Caganer:

    I think he envisions a new National Guard under his direct command, organized and recruited by Erik Prince.

    Perhaps with new uniforms. And colorful armbands bearing a Trump logo.

  32. 32.

    pamelabrown53

    @Woodrow/asim: #16

    Thanks. I signed up. Not only has the war against facts/science been going on too long. Trump is ramping it up epically. #Resist!

  33. 33.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    As a federal employee, it’s great to see the Park Service folks going way out on a limb here. Given what Twitler and more importantly, fed-hating people like Chaffatz in Congress, are going to do to civil service protections, I wouldn’t put it past them to simply fire everybody there and let god sort em out.

  34. 34.

    Origuy

    The Facebook group March for Science has over 120,000 members and the Twitter account @ScienceMarchOnDC has 40K followers. This in about a day or two. This is building fast.

  35. 35.

    hovercraft

    11 stories from President Trump’s first 100 hours that deserve more attention
    By James Hohmann January 25 at 10:52 AM

    THE BIG IDEA: Donald Trump is quadrupling down on his lie that millions of ballots were illegally cast in the November election. This morning he ensured that the mainstream media will spend another day focused on this issue by calling for an investigation:

    Donald J. Trump
    ‎@realDonaldTrump

    I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and….

    7:10 AM – 25 Jan 2017

    17,290 17,290 Retweets

    75,002 75,002 likes

    Donald J. Trump
    ‎@realDonaldTrump

    even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!

    7:13 AM – 25 Jan 2017

    12,720 12,720 Retweets

    62,529 62,529 likes

    That the president of the United States is challenging, with no credible evidence, the integrity of an election he won is extraordinarily reckless.

    As Dan Balz explains this morning: “There is no benign explanation.… It is either a deliberate attempt to undermine faith in the democratic process, an exhortation to those who favor new restrictions on access to the ballot box or the worrisome trait of someone with immense power willing to make wild statements without any credible evidence. By repeating as president what he had said as a candidate, for whatever purpose, Trump is now striking at the foundation of a democratic society. This is yet another example of Trump being willing to cast doubt on information, individuals or institutions that he believes threaten his legitimacy, challenge his authority or question his actions…. This is not a debate about the size of the crowd at last week’s presidential inauguration. That is a piddling controversy compared to his claim that the election system overseen by the states is somehow riddled with fraud. Trump prefers his own reality, even if that damages the very system of government atop which he now sits.”

    — While Trump’s claims of voter fraud are certainly newsworthy, they are also a distraction from an aggressive effort by this new White House to quickly transform the government and dramatically change the direction of public policy in ways that will directly impact tens of millions of Americans.

    As John Mitchell famously said when he became Richard Nixon’s attorney general, “Watch what we do, not what we say.”

    That maxim is truer now more than ever.

    We’ve all been drinking from a fire hose since noon last Friday. To help you not lose track, here are 11 moves by Team Trump that would lead the news in any ordinary time but have gotten relatively little public attention:

    1. MOVING TO LIFT THE BAN ON CIA BLACK SITES

    2. MUZZLING AGENCIES:

    3. AN ASSAULT ON CLIMATE SCIENCE:

    4. BLOCKING REGULATIONS, INCLUDING ONE TO PREVENT PLANE CRASHES:

    5. KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN TO ENTITLEMENT CUTS:

    6. DECLINING TO COMMIT THAT CONSUMERS WILL BE BETTER OFF UNDER OBAMACARE REPLACEMENT:

    7. RETAINING COMEY:

    8. SESSIONS REFUSING TO RECUSE HIMSELF:

    9. CURTAILING ABORTION:

    10. RENEGING ON PROMISES OF TRANSPARENCY

    11. TAKING THE OIL

  36. 36.

    pamelabrown53

    @Shell: #20

    Nah. After his investigation of voter fraud, he’ll track down those “thousands of Muslims in New Jersey” who cheered the fall of the Twin Towers. BTW, I think we should add battery operated cuckoo clocks to our signage at future protests. Doable?

  37. 37.

    Yarrow

    Evan McMullin isn’t a Democrat but he’s doing more standing up to Trump than most Dems. He and his running mate during his 2017 run for president, Mindy Finn, have created a new organization, Stand Up Republic, to stand up for American values and principles. They also put out this video asking what Donald Trump is hiding and why he never criticizes Putin.

    We may not agree with them on many things, but we do agree with him that Trump is a danger to our country. This is a crisis. All hands on deck.

  40. 40.

    Yarrow

    @hovercraft:
    He can start his investigation into voter fraud in his own White House with Bannon.

    A senior White House adviser to Donald Trump is registered to vote in two different states, a practice that the US president wrongly claimed amounted to electoral fraud on Wednesday as he called for an inquiry.

    Stephen Bannon registered to vote in New York shortly before the presidential election last year, after the Guardian disclosed that he was registered to vote at a vacant house in Florida where his ex-wife had once lived.

    Bannon, whose registration lists a rented apartment in Manhattan as his address, cast his ballot for Trump in New York, according to a source familiar with his arrangements, who was not authorized to speak to the media.

    Bannon, however, also remains registered to vote in Florida, according to state records. His registration lists as his address the home of Andy Badolato, a friend of Bannon’s who has worked on some of his political documentary films and written for Breitbart News, the far-right website that Bannon controlled before entering the White House as chief strategist and senior counselor to the president.

    His registration in Florida was moved to Badolato’s home shortly after the publication of the Guardian report in August. Bannon has not cast a ballot in Florida, according to state records. Badolato, who was also registered to vote at the home with his adult sons, declined at the time to answer questions on whether Bannon actually lived at the property, which is required under the registration rules of the Florida division of elections.

    In a pair of tweets early on Wednesday morning, Trump said that arrangements such as Bannon’s were unacceptable as he appeared to threaten a crackdown on access to the ballot box.

  41. 41.

    Spanky

    Interesting (but unsurprising) bit o’ data: Large Federal Agency here has blocked the scientistsmarchonwashington website.

    (Maybe they want me to get back to work, or something?)

  42. 42.

    TaMara (HFG)

    I have to run out to a meeting, but keep up the resistance. It would make my week if you filled this thread not with Trump atrocities, but with how you plan to resist…and fill it with links of places and people who are doing their part to resist.

  46. 46.

    Aleta

    @hovercraft: It all adds up to distorting reality to make a more perfect plate for serving propaganda to citizens. So that his propaganda becomes easier and faster to digest, and his control can increase.

  47. 47.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah: I saw your link on Caperscy (intentionally misspelled) in the earlier thread — my first thought is: “Are Trump people already burning our agents abroad?” I know its tinhatty, but inquiring minds want to know…

  49. 49.

    Yarrow

    The Anne Frank Center does not hold back.

    THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WEEPS
    AS PRESIDENT TRUMP TARGETS
    MEXICANS AND MUSLIMS

    Statement of Steven Goldstein, Executive Director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, the U.S. civil and human rights organization among Anne Frank organizations worldwide:

    As President Trump prepares orders to wall out Mexicans and shut out refugees from America, today marks one of the most hateful days in our nation’s history. Donald Trump is retracting the promise of American freedom to an extent we have not seen from a President since Franklin Roosevelt forced Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II. Today the Statue of Liberty weeps over President Trump’s discrimination.

    President Trump is beyond the wrong side of history. He is driving our nation off a moral cliff.

    There’s more if you click through. It’s Facebook but public.

  50. 50.

    jackmac

    @hovercraft: The author of that Real Clear Politics Chicago “carnage” piece is a bitter right wing crank who used to waste space in the Chicago Tribune with his diatribes. He can be safely ignored.

  51. 51.

    hovercraft

    “Late Night” host Seth Meyers broke down the “stark contrasts” of the Trump era on Monday, three days after President Trump took office.

    The inauguration crowd rant even made its way into a speech President Trump gave two days later at the CIA Headquarters. So, it was high time Meyers offered a word of encouragement to the obviously wounded new leader.

    “Here’s the thing, Mr. President, it was a perfectly respectable crowd-full of people who love you and are excited you won. It’s just not a record breaking crowd,” Meyers noted.

    Meyers also showed a side-by-side comparison of Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration with former president Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration to prove his point.

    “It’s not your fault you had to follow [Barack Obama], people just really liked him. He won the electoral college and the popular vote,” Meyers added. “You’re still the most popular president since Obama.”

    Watch it here.

  52. 52.

    Jordan Rules

    I signed up at swingleft.org to focus on congressional district AZ-01!

    I’m really trying to think of creative new ways to resist. I love the suggestion to call Trump’s properties since you can’t call the former people’s house right now. I’m thinking at some point a human wall might make sense as huge protest tactic. A general strike should be considered too.

  53. 53.

    hovercraft

    Jason Kander
    ‎@JasonKander

    POTUS wants a bogus investigation that undermines our democracy instead of a necessary investigation into Russia undermining our democracy.

    9:06 AM – 25 Jan 2017

    2,169 2,169 Retweets

    3,952 3,952 likes

  54. 54.

    Yarrow

    @Jordan Rules: Someone (was it you?) suggested “street counselors” for people going into Trump hotel properties. Like the ones outside abortion clinics. You know, to ask them about their beliefs, hand out literature about Trump being a fascist.

    I’m not sure how well it would work since it’s probably private property where people drive up to be let off. Maybe in front of hotels in larger cities where there isn’t that kind of room?

  56. 56.

    Immanentize

    @Yarrow: Public sidewalks are public places — Supreme Court said so — even if it is in front of the Supreme Court. So one can always leaflet in front of hotels on public sidewalks.

  57. 57.

    Yarrow

    @Immanentize: Yes, but in some places the sidewalk would be way far away from where the actual entrance to the hotel is. The cars pull up to drop people off and “street counselors” would be way far away from that. In a city like NYC there’s probably less distance so it would be more effective there.

    The point of the person’s comment would be to “counsel” people walking into the Trump hotels, just like people going into abortion clinics get harassed.

  59. 59.

    zhena gogolia

    @Butch:

    It’s such a great Q&A and reminds me of all my scientist friends. They are the smartest, humblest, and wittiest people on any faculty.

  61. 61.

    catclub

    @Yarrow:

    I’m not sure how well it would work since it’s probably private property where people drive up to be let off.

    The ex post office is still owned by the federal government, which is public, but so are nuclear reservations, and they don’t exactly welcome visitors,
    or the public.

  62. 62.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @elm:

    Trump just told us all he plans mass murder in Chicago.

    Hmmm…I wouldn’t go there just yet. He plans dominance displays, big “impressive” military marches like the one the Pentagon wouldn’t give him for the inauguration. He’s targeted Chicago because it’s linked with Obama and is a big scary place full of blah people and other Not Real Americans™. But, remember how many showed up for the March in Chicago? He’ll get that kind of turnout and more if he tries to pull that shit.

    Which isn’t to say he wouldn’t like to hurt people. However, we’ve already seen his administration and the GOP back down due to public outcry. I personally will join the resistance to any efforts to occupy my (former) toddlin’ town.

  63. 63.

    catclub

    @Jordan Rules:

    I’m really trying to think of creative new ways to resist.

    this might be fun, but the only thing that really matters is getting enough votes. I would: Ask Barney Frank about that.

  64. 64.

    Butch

    @zhena gogolia: I thought it was great – I was on their side to begin with and that was a clincher. Thoughtfulness and humor win out over anger for me every time.

  65. 65.

    Yarrow

    I just heard about 5calls.org. You put in your location and it gives you the names of your reps and phone numbers. The issues are on the left. There’s a suggested script. Great help for people who feel shy about calling!

Comments are closed.