Friday Open Thread

14 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

1. HR9495 would have taken away tax exempt status of nonprofits who “support terrorists”, i.e. advocate for marginalized people. It has been referred back to the House for another vote. 

   if passed, This fbill could immediately take away funding for organizations such as MoveOn. org the ACLU, immigrant rights, coalition,  racial justice groups, such as Black Lives Matter, reproductive rights, organizations, etc. it all depends on who is defining “terrorist”. 

   It was presented as though it would outlaw any support for any organization supporting Palestinians. I know that several people on here on this forum would agree with that as a knee-jerk reaction without even thinking it through.

   Representative Caraveo voted for it along with 13 other Democrats. This is how the incoming Trump administration is trying to lay the groundwork for weakening the resistance  to its autocracy. 

   Call representative Caraveo or your own representative and affirm that we are not in favor of any preemptive defunding of progressive nonprofits.

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   1. Yes, let's not vote for our own destruction please.

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   2. HR 9495 has passed the House. Not much point in calling reps' offices to voice opposition now. (Hey, at least the number of Dem "yea" votes was down from the 52 the last time, when the bill didn't quite make the 2/3 supermajority it needed then.)

      This one brings back ugly memories of the Shrub "war on terror" days, when prominent Dems like Diane Feinstein regularly and repeatedly rolled over and submitted at the mere mention of "terrorism." It's up to the Senate now. Time to contact Hick's and Bennet's offices.

      I'm not finding anything on whether Biden intends to veto, but that'll onlt delay things. If it doesn't become law now, it'll be back as HR 1 or 2 in the 119th Congress.

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2. Call for funding independent journalist websites. 

   In these difficult days, please make sure you have subscriptions to your favorite news sites and stack-exchange writers. I'm investing in Talking Points Memo, Colorado Sun, Rachel Bitecofer.

   Who are you investing in?

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3. The Three Horseman Of The Trump II Apocalypse

   David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo:

   The three central themes of Trump II for Morning Memo, and for TPM more broadly, are shaping up to be: retribution, corruption, and destruction.

   Those play off of and reinforce each other in fascinating and alarming ways, but they each represent a different slice of what Trump has promised, has begun to deliver, and seems likely to continue to be animated by throughout his term.

   If you look back over the last two weeks of post-election Morning Memos, you’ll see that they are largely organized around these three themes. We’ll continue to use them as a prism through which to understand what is happening, how to think about it, and why the old constructs of political journalism in particular are not entirely up to the challenge of covering Trump II.

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   1. I guess that just leaves Wilfull Ignorance to round out and complete Tlump’s (un)stable?

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   2. Trump wants to use the Justice Department as a centerpiece of his retribution, corruption, and destruction jihad. It doesn’t much matter who is the figurehead for that effort. The fact that it will no longer be Gaetz doesn’t dramatically change the analysis. Trump is the problem. The president-elect is the source, instigator, and prime mover of the malfeasance.

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      1. I get that Trump bad, but an we stop distinguishing him from the "reasonable" republicans now, and just focus on a progressive populist message from a non-corporatist/non-fascist party? I'm so sick of the democrats playing footsie with the less naughty fascists.

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         1. That “progressive, populist” message didn’t do real well on November 5, in case you’ve already forgotten.

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            1. You mean the one delivered on stages with Liz Cheney? Or the one ceding the immigration argument to the republicans? Or was it the four years of foolishly distinguishing MAGA republicans from "the good ones" (who, surprise!, all voted republican)? Which message are you referring to? Maybe you should go back and work on your own party; this country doesn't need to have republican and republican-lite. If you haven't noticed we are sliding into fascism. The antidote to that is not a kinder gentler service to corporatism and capital.

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               1. Nope. The message from The Squad. Or the messages from the House Progressive Caucus. Or the pro-Hamas demonstrations. Start there. 

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                  1. And, likewise, the “message” from the Republican Party always starts with Trump (on his crapper at 4:00 a.m.)??

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      2. I'd disagree … Trump's approach to retribution, corruption, and destruction is profoundly narcissistic. 

         It is the people AROUND Trump, convincing him that he will be seen as "strong" or a "savior of America" if he does something.  That is where the societal disruption and danger emerge.  For example, I can't see Trump caring about transsexual individuals in American — until someone pointed out that opposing rights for transsexuals and making their lives more difficult is a step toward "saving" American families.  I doubt Trump has a personal stake in abortion policy — until he was convinced that if he acted to appoint judges that would overturn Roe, he would be able to get more support from the Evangelicals that were so crucial to putting him in power.

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         1. According to The Week magazine a few issues ago, the Russians began cultivating Trump in the late 1980s. It's all about flattering his narcissistic ego and lining his pockets with other peoples' cash. Fast forward 30+ years and he's the same, if not worse.

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