…. Speaking about Trump, Dean said, “He’s a complicated guy. He appoints a reasonable person [Reince Priebus], who’s much more conservative than I am, but for somebody who can talk to as chief of staff and then his senior advisory is a Nazi.”
Dean was referring to Bannon, the former Breitbart CEO, went on to accuse him of several discriminatory beliefs.
“He’s anti-Semitic, he’s anti-black and he’s anti-women,” Dean said. “It’s a big word, and I don’t usually use it unless somebody’s really anti-Semitic, really misogynist and really anti-black.”
Dean said Trump’s appointment of Bannon makes him “very nervous” and said it calls into question the president-elect’s judgement…
CAn’t say I agree about Priebus — although I’ve never met the man — but it’s inspiring to hear a Democrat call Bannon by the right name, isn’t it?
Apart from speaking blunt truths, what’s on the agenda for the day?
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Via universally respected commentor EFGoldman and the Atlantic’s Citylab, “The Activist Workout“:
… Laurel Eckhouse, a PhD student in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, noticed a surge of enthusiasm for civic activism, but also some trepidation about getting started. After the election, she observed some people feeling overwhelmed by decision fatigue, she says, yanked in a bunch of directions at once; others are concerned that small-scale efforts don’t add up to much. “People get worried that they’ll start getting involved and all of a sudden it will be three meetings a week, each of which is three hours long, and they won’t be able to do anything valuable unless it’s a huge time commitment,” Eckhouse says. Like exercise, she says, “some people think it’s not real if you’re not doing a marathon.”
In response, Eckhouse and seven other activist collaborators rolled out a newsletter that features a smattering of ways to get engaged, organized by the amount of time each action requires. Five minutes is enough to signal boost a cause by giving it a social media bump; in a half-hour, readers can compose letters to the editor of a publication.
The first installment of My Civic Workout went out [Monday]; another one, on Wednesday, will focus on the Standing Rock protests, and Friday’s digest will hinge on things to do during the holiday season…
The goal is to introduce folks to activism in an engaging and accessible way, balancing short-term interventions with an ongoing commitment to equality. By working their way through the exercises—the quick burpees, the longer relays, all a sort of civic calisthenics—readers build up stamina to flex their activist muscle. “Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist,” the newsletter reminds followers. Sign up here to start warming up.
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Call A Spade A Bloody ShovelPost + Comments (163)