News and Politics – Page 6

January 28, 2017

This is appalling and mind-blowingly stupid

Trump reorganized the National Security Council to, along with other changes, give Bannon a regular seat on the principals committee — the meetings of the most senior national security officials, including the secretaries of defense and state.

That memo also states that the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will sit on the principals committee only when the issues to be discussed pertain to their “responsibilities and expertise.”

Yeah why would you need the director of national intelligence sitting on the National Security Council. Waste of time. Clearly.

Trump orders ISIS plan, talks with Putin and gives Bannon national security role
The president held a series of calls Saturday with world leaders and restructured the National Security Council.

January 28, 2017

We are the bad guys

We are the empire, breaking apart families and driving innocents to despair.

We're the people with ridiculous make-up and hair in the Hunger Games.

We are the benign racists, who swear we don't hate people of color; we just can't be bothered to care when our choices will ruin their lives.

You can lie to yourself – and you will have to, to deny this – but it doesn't change the new reality.

We are the bad guys.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/woman-set-deportation-attempts-suicide-jfk-article-1.2958066

Woman set for deportation attempts suicide at JFK
A woman distraught over being forced back to her native country attempted to kill herself inside Kennedy Airport.

January 28, 2017January 28, 2017

2016 Election Statistics

White millennials voted for Trump 48% to 42%
White women voted for Trump 53% to 43%
White college graduates voted for Trump 49% to 45%

Black men voted Hillary 82% to 13%
Black women voted Hillary 94% to 4%

Latino men voted Hillary 63% to 32%
Latino women voted Hillary 69% to 25%

Black millennials voted Hillary 85% to 9%
Latinos millennials voted Hillary 68% to 26%

Non-white college graduates voted Hillary 72% to 22%

All of these numbers are from the same CNN exit poll.

It is hard to find a single white demographic that did not come up with a Trump majority (white college-graduated women come up 51% for Hillary) and there is not a single non-white demographic that came up with a Trump majority or came anywhere near the polling margin of error.

Statistically the strongest defining feature of the Trump supporter is whiteness.

Does this mean the majority of white people actively hate people of color and voted for Trump because they wanted a racist in charge?

No. That’s not how racism works.

What it means is that, as a result of unconscious racism, a LOT of white people who do not consider themselves racist ignored Trump’s racism and voted for him anyway.

They simply did not care about people of color enough to not vote for Trump.

That’s racism’s biggest effect: apathy to the point of allowing people to die because you can’t be bothered to keep them safe.

January 27, 2017

Historic Shame

A Trump administration order banned refugees from entering the United States on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

January 26, 2017January 27, 2017

The Resist Trump non-book Reading List

Books may be time-consuming or unavailable for some folks, and our ability to share them far and wide is limited. Here’s a list of online articles available for free, plus archive.org links.

“Ur-Fascism” by Umberto Eco [mirror link] – an essential description of what fascism looks like.
“Autocracy: Rules for Survival” by Masha Gessen [mirror link] – avoiding complacency and deceit.
“Forget ‘Why,’ It’s Time to Get to Work” by Anil Dash [mirror link] – activism and consistency
“Don’t Let Anyone Tell You It’ll Be Okay” by Craig Martin [mirror link] – a very important debunking of all the rationalization going on around us.
“A madman has been given the keys to the surveillance state” by Cory Doctorow [mirror link] – a good reminder of why, even if all you do is talk to your niece on Facebook, we need to protect our digital freedom.
“No, We Won’t Calm Down” by Robothugs [mirror link] – how to avoid shutting out our marginalized allies, and how to recognize when someone is doing it to you
“The White Flight of Derek Black” by Eli Saslow [mirror link] – a powerful read on what it takes for a person to leave white nationalism behind.
“How to Help the Cause When You Need Help Yourself” by Carrie Cutforth [mirror link] – helpful reminders for activists with chronic illnesses or mental health issues. Read Spoon Theory, too, if you haven’t, for a helpful framework.
“On Arguing with the Upper Class” by The Coquette [mirror link] – why arguing with your friends on Facebook isn’t activism and it isn’t like what happened to Derek Black.
“A People’s History of the Third Reich” by Megan Carpentier [mirror link] – on collective responsibility and commonplace evil.
This post on fascist tactics from @smarmyanarchist [mirror link] – how to identify white supremacist bullshit and engage with it effectively.

Via [Tumblr](http://thebatlord.com/post/153822227733/a-stop-trump-reading-list).

January 26, 2017

5calls.org

For me, the idea of calling people about the Issue of the Day is… daunting. Exhausting – also that – but just kind of overwhelming. Who do I even call? What do I say? What if I forget something important? What if I miss something I really wanted to do something about.

And… I'm a talker. I don't know how folks with anxiety do it at all.

Kate asked me about these exact same problems tonight, and I said "Hey let's check out this site 5calls."

And I have to tell you, after looking through what the site does to help you out with these kinds of things – to help you make a difference – I got really excited.

So I made a short video explaining the whole thing, because it's cool, and because I want you to know about it and maybe get excited too.

Check it out.

January 26, 2017January 26, 2017

What's the Most Secure Phone?

The answers range from 'not terribly useful' feature phone, to an iPod Touch with a bunch of options disabled (note: is not actually a PHONE), and wander into less secure territory from there.

"It's a security first-principles dilemma: the most secure device is likely to be the least useful to the average person."

Need a secure smartphone? Answer is simple, experts say | ZDNet
Making a good smartphone choice could be the difference between being hacked and keeping your data safe.