Yesterday, as Parkland students held “die-ins” at Publix supermarkets, the popular Florida-based grocery chain announced that it was suspending all political campaign donations. This is huge fucking deal. Publix is Florida’s largest employer. It had donated more than $600K to self-proclaimed “NRA sellout” Adam Putnam’s campaign for governor.
Putnam has been a fixture in the FL GOP for ages and currently is the state’s commissioner of agriculture. I think most folks expected him to skate to the GOP gubernatorial nomination, but Trump stuck his big fat snout into the race by endorsing a Republican congressman, and now all the Republican contenders are trying to out-wingnut each other by humping guns and huffing Dear Leader’s farts. Putnam will likely still win, but it’s not a sure thing.
Anyway, the capitulation of Publix is a big relief for me personally since I shop there and was not looking forward to boycotting it over the holiday weekend. Gonna make a big pot of red sauce since we’re on the dirty side of a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and thus will not be able to cook out.
In other news, it looks like Ireland threw off the shackles of the Catholic Church and decisively defeated the abortion ban in yesterday’s referendum. Well done, Ireland! Aside from robbing women of their autonomy, the ban had led to needless deaths, such as that of Indian national Savita Halappanavar.
From what I heard on NPR, no one saw the amendment going down by a big margin, which it seems has happened. May oppressors worldwide — and here at home! — continue to be surprised by an active citizenry!
Speaking of which, maybe call your senators and congresscritters about the hideous, shameful Nazi-like behavior of ICE?
This morning, Trump is absurdly trying to gaslight people about a cruel initiative publicly announced by his own minions to appease Trump:
Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
What a fucking lunatic, but the silver lining may be that even that amoral cockroach dimly senses that Americans are ashamed of the way ICE is treating families who are seeking asylum.
Anyhoo, open thread!
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
This makes me so furious, I am incoherent. Here be monsters.
schrodingers_cat
Fucking DHS just announced additional 15,000 H2-B visas for this year, the kind the Orange Despot uses at his various properties. Can some journalist find out how many H2-B visas his businesses used last year?
germy
Lizzy L
Personal update: Juicers, my family and I can use your thoughts and prayers. Last week my brother had surgery for cancer, which required, among other things, removal of a kidney. Yesterday they saw signs of internal bleeding. They took him back to surgery and discovered a laceration in his liver, which they tried unsuccessfully to repair. They then tried a radiological procedure repair. They do not know if it worked. He is in ICU on a ventilator — something which he did not want, but since he did not bother to give the hospital his Advance Directive paperwork, they didn’t know.
I am flying this morning to Phoenix to help support my niece as she makes the difficult decision: to keep him on machines in hope that he will regain consciousness and that his brain is undamaged, or to remove the breathing tube. He is my only brother. She is a lovely responsible person, but she is only in her twenties, her mother died of cancer 3 years ago, and she adores her dad. As do I.
FFS, make an Advance Directive, friends, and if you go into the hospital, make sure they have it!
ArchTeryx
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Here be the modern, American Gestapo. Today they’re “just” being unleashed on immigrants and the occasional brown citizen. Tomorrow, they could easily be unleashed on you. They’re as lawless as any Cossack death squad and just as dangerous.
Luthe
Define “Americans.” Also, “shame.” Because at least 30% of this country are out there in the cheering for ICE’s depravity and another 10-15% don’t care that much.
Shame is for people who give a shit to begin with.
zhena gogolia
@Lizzy L:
Oh, I’m sorry. that’s terrible.
JPL
@Lizzy L: I’m so sorry, and will be thinking of you and your family.
Anotherlurker
This is off topic, but for the last 2 or 3 days, as I have been reading articles and comments here, something weird happens. The page will suddely send me to a video at the bottom of the page. It is making it difficult for me to read the content.
I am not very tech savvy. Could this be a problem with my computer (MacBook Lite, 10.13.4 High Sierra) or does everything tech hate me?
JPL
Trump wants to insure that his base understands that it’s not his fault. Parents have to be outraged.
MattF
How many lies are there in that one tweet? Srsly.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Anotherlurker: The ad is doing that. A similar ad drove me to install adblocker and write whoever the ad was for about what was happening, telling them that after that ad, I would never ever buy their product.
kingweasil
“from there parents”… sigh. president moron
ArchTeryx
@Luthe: Funny, those are damn close to exactly the same numbers that polled support for the Nazi Party in 1930s Germany, with the same percentage being indifferent to who was running the country. I think crazy reactionary right wingers seem to be the same percentage of a democracy throughout history. They certainly have always been with us.
PPCLI
That might be the most gaslighting Trump tweet yet. Words fail me. Stand by for Brit Hume to tell us all that this is totally normal.
How deep into Trump’s Alice-in-Wonderland-on-the-bad-brown-acid reality are the Republicans and Fox Newsites prepared to dive?
Mike in DC
Why is there little to no tracking of public opinion among Latino and Hispanic-Americans on all this stuff? I mean, I’m sure that there must be, but MSM reporting on it is effectively nil.
eclare
@Lizzy L: I’m so sorry to hear about your brother and niece. Strength to you for the coming days. And keep us posted.
Mike J
Day two of sailing class today. No intentional capsizes scheduled, but with students at the helm you never know.
MattF
@Mike in DC: The media is beating the bushes for the one Hispanic guy with a MAGA cap.
TaMara (HFG)
@Lizzy L: Sending good energy and I hope by the time you arrive, you’ll have answers that will help. Praying for the good outcome.
TaMara (HFG)
@Anotherlurker: If you email Alain, he might be able to address it. Sometimes they sneak in.
Lapassionara
@Lizzy L: how awful. My condolences.
Ruviana
@Lizzy L: I am not your family or anyone of note, but this sounds like it might be okay to aid his recovery. ICU and heroic measures to let someone recover are, I think, appropriate. I’ll hope for his very best outcome so that he recovers and resumes his life. You hopefully won’t have the decision to make and the complex treatment will have been appropriate.
SiubhanDuinne
@Lizzy L:
Oh, Lizzy, I’m so terribly sorry. Holding you, your niece, and your brother in my heart and sending light to you all.
MattF
@Mike J: Today, you learn how to not hit things. So, you’re going to hit many things.
The rule, fwiw, is that you should never keep a constant bearing to any object. Because if you do, you will hit it.
Lapassionara
I hope someone can sort out the story of the lost children. Some are blaming Obama, others are saying not lost, but hiding. Is there a law Trump is referencing, or is he making things up. I try to sift fact from fiction, but it is getting harder and harder.
JPL
Joy is talking about the policy of ripping families apart. Although I had previously read the book, it was the movie version of Sophie’s Choice that still haunts me. The scene where she gives up her child and the cries that followed will never leave my soul. How are we allowing this to happen.
schrodingers_cat
@Mike in DC: MSM caters to Republicans. Everyone else can go pound sand. Hence the elebenty billion articles about T voters.
Josie
The GOP has done many terrible things in following Trump down the rat hole, but this is the most horrible and truly proves how debased they are. There are parents and children who will never recover from these actions by our government.
schrodingers_cat
@Mike J: What type of sailing vessels does the class use?
ArchTeryx
@schrodingers_cat: Not Thistles I hope. I learned on a Flying Scotsman (minus the spinnaker) and it was a really fun and very forgiving boat to learn on. Big enough for an instructor and up to two students, small enough for easy maneuvering, and a big enough sail area to maintain steerage even with almost calm winds, without being so big as to let the boat get away from you.
Thistles (a racing boat) and single-person sailboats are the devil’s own work to sail if you don’t know what you are doing. There’s no room for supercargo on those.
Chyron HR
@JPL:
Our Revolution never said that dismantling the neoliberal status quo would be easy.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Of course…
Republicans control both houses of congress. Trump has twice (IIRC) torpedoed immigration compromises reached by the Senate, including after that big show he made of “I’ll take the heat, I don’t care…” Then Kelly got him all riled up and we got the whole “shitholes” thing. And even if a bill gets out of the Senate, Sweet Paulie Blue Eyes will never force his membership to go on record voting on the issue.
kattails
Thanks for the Chris Hayes video, I’ll be sharing it and talking with my representatives. An acquaintance’s son was in ICE last I heard. He was always an asshole. Then there was the killing of a poor 20-year old young woman from Guatemala who just wanted to further her education. Shot in the head.
I was entertaining the idea of throwing Trump into the Hawaiian volcano, see if it stopped the eruption. What I hate most are the evil thoughts that spring up in my own mind as I try to process and counter the monstrous behaviors at play in this country right now.
Another Scott
@schrodingers_cat: VOX (from February):
Presumably it’s only gotten worse.
There’s plenty of GOP blame to go around. McClatchyDC from July 2017:
They all need to go.
Of course.
Cheers,
Scott.
kattails
@Lizzy L: Our thoughts are flying with you with hopes for the best outcome.
tobie
@Lizzy L: I’m so sorry to hear about your brother. The strain on you and your niece must be unbearable. Hold each other a lot in the next few days. I’lll be thinking of the two of you and your brother and wishing for the best.
chopper
“please stop me before i kill again”
trollhattan
@Lizzy L:
What a horrid situation–my heart goes out to you all. FWIW I’m with Ruviana that investing in an even slender chance of recovery is a viable path, and would fend off future bouts of self-doubt for your niece. Best wishes.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Here are the details and the history, the most relevant bits, for me:
Tenar Arha
@Lizzy L: My heart goes out to you & your brother, your niece & her father. My condolences in this difficult time.
Another Scott
@Lizzy L: Others have said it better than I can. Fingers crossed. Best wishes to you and yours.
Hang in there,
Scott.
Woodrowfan
@Lizzy L: I am so sorry….My condolences
MomSense
@Lizzy L:
Oh Lizzy, I’m so sorry. Sending support to you.
Mike J
@schrodingers_cat:
This is our small boat class. We have
4 RS Visions
1 RS Quest
1 Catalina Capri
We also have a Hunter 17 and a Ranger 20 we don’t use in the class.
Our keel boat classes use either our Ranger 24 or our Catalina 27.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: thanks for the link. I tweeted it and shared to FB
Denali
Thanks, Jim,Fl, for some background on this story. Because it is so shocking, it is easy to go down the rabbithole, like the misled followers of the Pizzagate fiction. Let’s demand Hearings from our Congress. I know Bob Corker was very active on sex trafficing and slavery. He should be very responsive – if not, we need to know why not.
ixnay
A thought: an all-or-nothing gofundme account with some large goal, to go to the first performer at a national sportsball event who sings the lyrics of Masters of War to the tune of the anthem. A la The Roots or Leon Russell. (Sorry no linkee, do not know how on the Kindle.)
Mandalay
An interesting opinion piece in the NYT today titled “Are We Really Still Calling This Shirt a ‘Wife Beater’“:
Now if we can only get Bill Maher to stop gleefully calling Trump a “whiny little bitch” at every opportunity while his “liberal” audience cheers wildly….
evap
Currently in Ireland and have been following the referendum vote (which was yesterday). Big turnout among the young and a lot of first-time voters. The US could learn from the Irish system: the polls are open 7 am – 10 pm here and there is a moratorium on election coverage by the media starting the day before the election. From the broadcasting authority:
Brachiator
Probably already noted, but there is a spelling error. Or are pundits still pushing the bullshit that Trump deliberately looks stupid to appeal to his base.
Possibly also already noted is how Trump uses the language and rationalization of a man who beats his wife, only here the spouse is the Democratic Party.
“Baby, you made me hurt these immigrant children. If you would just act right, I would not have to separate them from their parents, or have border agents kill some of them.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Kind of OT, kind of not, trump is railing about a “phony story” from the NYT, so Yashar Ali called his bluff. I’m not sure how big a deal this is in journalism, but it feels like at least a minor instance of the administration, as a whole, being held accountable
And can we assume that Mr Pottinger is now on the job market?
sukabi
@Brachiator: speaking of beaten wives…Melania hasn’t been spotted in 2 weeks…
sukabi
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: what does he know? He’s just the coffee boy….in 3….2….1….
Brachiator
@Lizzy L: My deepest sympathies to you and your family.
Peace
dww44
@Lizzy L:What a difficult and tragic situation. The best to you and your niece as you navigate a difficult terrain. I, too, hold out hope that another route opens for your brother.
Aleta
@Lizzy L: Sending love to you and your brother and family.
Barbara
@Lizzy L: Sending you and your family best wishes as you deal with these sad developments. My heart goes out to your poor niece.
Aleta
@sukabi: Witness protection program I hope. Wore a wire and turned over files I fantasize.
gbbalto
@Lizzy L: Tragic – I hope your brother recovers. My thoughts are with you.
Brachiator
@evap:
Wow. This is a big deal. What happens next? Does this change any actual laws?
Barbara
I used to participate from time to time in a recently discontinued blog aimed at Catholic intellectuals (think professors at somewhere like Fordham). One of the regular contributors was a law professor at a Catholic university and I remember her fretting that if a Catholic hospital in the United States let a woman die rather than allow the termination of a pregnancy, it would galvanize people to do something, either about Catholic hospitals or abortion more generally. I think Savita Halappanavar’s death galvanized a lot of people in Ireland. If you are not aware of the specific facts, the short version is that at 17 weeks gestation, she went to the hospital with symptoms of what turned out to be a late miscarriage with zero likelihood of survival of the fetus. The hospital admitted her but refused to intervene to in a way that would resolve the miscarriage, over a period of more than 48 hours, and during that time a fatal infection developed. A lot of anti-choicers console themselves that nothing bad will happen if you refuse women abortions. They don’t like these hard cases because it proves that their position is built on denial and lies.
MattF
@Brachiator: Via NYT:
zhena gogolia
@Mandalay:
My father wore those shirts every hot summer throughout my childhood, but I never heard it called a “wife-beater” until I grew up and moved East. I always thought it was an icky term.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
via tweeter Southpaw, trump wanted this. During his recent blow up at Nielsen, who almost resigned because trump hurt her feelings, but is A-OK with carrying out his vindictive, racist cruelty:
FlipYrWhig
@zhena gogolia: I had assumed that the “wife-beater” nickname arose from the heyday of that show “Cops.” I don’t remember hearing it before that.
MattF
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Trump demonstrates a truly malignant level of dishonesty and malice. He tries to keep it from showing, but his skirts are too short.
Brachiator
@Barbara:
There used to be a PBS show about ethics. They would have a question or a hypothetical that a diverse panel would react to.
One show I still remember presented a situation in which a pregnant mother became seriously ill and doctors had to decide between saving the mother or saving the baby.
A Catholic priest on the panel tried to suggest that human doctors could never be sure of the outcome despite their expertise. Divine mumbo jumbo. He went on to say that the baby should be saved over the mother because the baby was innocent life.
Also, I note that in this hypothetical the mother was in a comma, and could not make her wishes clear. The priest discounted the father’s wishes.
gene108
@Lizzy L:
Thoughts and prayers, at this time, seem appropriate. This is difficult. My uncle died in February of a sudden respiratory infection. He was in the hospital for two weeks. My mom went to help my cousin. Give your niece the support you can. I am so sorry you are going through this. I hope he can make a recovery.
trollhattan
@Brachiator:
IIUC it literally changes the Irish Constitution, nullifying an abortion ban it contains.
Suzanne
@Lizzy L: Hugs and best wishes to you and yours.
trollhattan
@zhena gogolia:
Guessing it goes back at least as far as Stanley Kowalski.
Geoduck
Something interesting I only just learned about the Ireland vote: the abortion ban is/was evidently not some long-standing Catholic-Church mandated thing, but was only put into the Irish Constitution in the 1980’s, by referendum, when the anti-abortion movement first really got stirred up.
Denali
What about the families that travelled north seeking asylum?
Steve on St. Simons Island
@Denali: the attractive females were offered jobs at trump properties; the rest were incarcerated.
Barbara
@Brachiator: She was reacting to a situation similar to that of Ms. Halappanavar that happened in an Arizona Catholic hospital, where a woman with what is called pulmonary hypertension was 11 weeks pregnant and on the verge of death. The hospital permitted physicians to terminate the pregnancy because otherwise everyone would die, and the husband and wife had given their consent. They already had three kids, and the wife had suffered this condition previously, but it kept getting worse. A doctor actually counseled her to get an abortion earlier, and she refused. The archbishop of Arizona excommunicated everyone connected with the procedure and revoked the Catholic charter of the hospital, saying that it was always wrong to terminate a viable pregnancy. It’s just hard to overstate how dehumanizing that statement is to pregnant women. It was after that that Catholic Health West, the large hospital system, withdrew from the USCC umbrella that gives all Catholic institutions their tax exempt status. There is no way they want to have their hospitals run by a prelate.
sixthdoctor
On Chris Hayes’s feed someone posted a link to an ActBlue page that supports groups fighting against the separation policy and helping those affected:
evap
@Brachiator: No laws are changed, it is a referendum to remove Amendment 8 from the Irish constitution, which states that there is an equal right to life for the mother and fetus. This means that no abortion is allowed unless it is to save the life of the mother. Removing the amendment means that a law legalizing abortion can be passed by the government and there is a such a law already written, waiting for the results of the referendum. Abortion was already illegal (by an 1861 la) when the amendment was passed in 1983, the point of it (for the anti-choice folks) was to make sure that the law could not be changed. With the removal, the law can and will be changed.
Kathleen
@Lizzy L: My heart goes out to you, your brother and niece. Prayers to all.
Elizabelle
@Barbara: Bring that one to Pope Francis’s attention, although I suspect others already have.
He is not down with that kind of behavior at all, and has removed a bunch of archconservative Scalia-type church leaders. That AZ archbishop needs to go. Maybe he should be sent to a prison ministry, or just plain be retired.
Ridiculous decision, and he was not forced to make it.
Do you have a link to that story?
Elizabelle
@Lizzy L: All the best to you and your family. I hope your brother has the strength to pull through and recover, and if not, wish extra strength for you and your niece.
Betty Cracker
@Lizzy L: So sorry you and your family are going through this. Peace and strength to you all. I’m sure your niece will be comforted by your presence.
Betty Cracker
@kattails: I feel the same way.
Kathleen
@sukabi: Viewers of Lifetime movies have collectively furrowed their brows.
Brachiator
@Brachiator:
Coma, dammit.
evap
@Brachiator: No laws are changed, it is a referendum to remove Amendment 8 from the Irish constitution, which states that there is an equal right to life for the mother and fetus. This means that no abortion is allowed unless it is to save the life of the mother. Removing the amendment means that a law legalizing abortion can be passed by the government and there is a such a law already written, waiting for the results of the referendum. Abortion was already illegal (by an 1861 law) when the amendment was passed in 1983, the point of it (for the anti-choice folks) was to make sure that the law could not be changed. With the removal, the law can and will be changed.
Zoey2020
@Lizzy L: Keeping you and your brother and your niece in our thoughts today. Please keep us posted, and hoping for a good outcome.
Suzanne
@Barbara: Just to follow up on that story, the nun was quietly un-excommunicated (whatever the technical term is), and she was restored to her position of leadership there. The hospital (along with others in the city) was purchased by Dignity Health, which is no longer under the Catholic Church anyway.
Full disclosure: that hospital is a client of my office and that nun is fucking awesome. She is a constant advocate for mission-driven healthcare. Love her.
Should also note that that whole case really pissed off people here in Phoenix, and I fully believe that cases like this alienate more people than they attract.
Brachiator
I’m just catching up on news stories, and photos, about this. Amazing.
These kids are great. And I love how they keep emphasizing voter registration.
Ella in New Mexico
I’m so fucking frustrated with the people of this country.
At least the ones in my Facebook feed who I know “don’t want to hear about politics it’s too stressful” and will completely ignore it when I post a news story about something like this but will like and comment on every single silly animal video or food meme I share. I have probably 3 that I can count on to comment or share, the rest just scroll on by. They’ve got things to do and this is just too ugly for Facebook which should be all silliness and celebrations of 5th grade graduations and margarita parties!!!
I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your Memorial Day Bar-B-Q where you’re enjoying time with your precious little darlings and family and friends with the news that your country is literally ripping children from the arms of their parents and keeping them separated 1500 miles apart for no reason but to “deter illegal immigration”.
I’d get rid of it but it’s still the only place I can hear about what’s going on in the lives of my family and friends. But Jesus, I’m getting there…
MomSense
@Ella in New Mexico:
I can’t believe this is not the front page, lead story in every paper and radio and television broadcast. Babies and children should not be used as deterrence. That’s the most cruel BS I’ve ever heard. Thank dog I don’t do the book of faces or I’d probably combust.
They are doing this to people seeking asylum, too. That’s not illegal immigration FFS!
MattF
@Barbara: The Arizona story is a reminder that many high-powered religious leaders are fanatics. Religious news is often covered as actions of groups of kindly old men in funny costumes– but in fact you’re often dealing with wild-eyed crazies who happen to have some gray hair.