This is exactly what I've been struggling with. Is it stupidity or is it evil genius? If it's the former, he's just sorta ruining the world. If it's the latter he's planning to take it over. Both are horrific though.
I'm usually an optimistic person - but given the magnitude of what's at stake and his actions to date, I think we need to assume the worst.
H/t Tomas Puig
(Link to article: “Weak and incompetent leaders act like strong leaders”)
When does engagement become appeasement? When does optimism become naiveté?
The ability to predict anything has gone out the window. It might seem like internet comment hyperbole but the only historical analogue is Hitler and Mussolini. We had a fairly stable, global equilibrium for a short while - most of our childhood - but that is gone. We're now falling to the right. Who knows what hitting the ground will look like.
I'm seriously spending time contemplating escape routes and timing.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE, yesterday Trump removed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence from the National Security Council. He replaced them with Steve Bannon. Bannon has no government, intelligence, or high-level military experience; his experience is leading a propaganda outlet (Breitbart News) that peddles nationalist and white nationalist viewpoints.
This would be deeply concerning in and of itself. But one of the jobs of the NSC is to oversee a secret panel that authorizes the assassination of “enemies of the United States Government” – including American citizens. These targeted killings are fully authorized by law under the Congressional military authorization act following 9/11. There is no trial, no due process, and no public record of the decision or the assassination itself.
Just to recap the absurdity: the President of the United States has appointed a known propagandist, nationalist, and white supremacist to replace the highest military advisor in the country on a council that authorizes secret, legal, targeted killings of American citizens (and others) without due process.
What You Can Do:
** Call your Senators and Congressperson this week and demand that they publicly and legislatively oppose Trump’s appointment of Steven Bannon to the NSC.
**Spread the word about this news to your networks, since this is not getting a lot of coverage right now. Please COPY AND PASTE this update as opposed to sharing the post
Another more accurate post. It doesn't specifically highlight the fact that the surge tweet came *after* the strike and was intended to help protestors and travelers get In and out of the airport, though.
(Link to article via BuzzFeed: “The Battle Between Uber And Lyft Has Become Political”)
As usual Vox is more accurate.
I'm still confused how a taxi strike at JFK helps protestors or the cause in general.
I'm also confused how turning off surge pricing AFTER the window of the strike (to avoid being accused of profiting from the crisis) is strike breaking.
I'm further confused how not engaging with trump directly (if you have the chance) helps anyone. If I had a chance to go confront him In person; I would.
People are so angry they want to feel like they're doing *something*
While people freak out, effective leadership is staying clear-eyed, thoughtful and understanding of the nuance of the situation. Obama taught us this. Trump is demonstrating the opposite. It's up to us to demonstrate the behavior we want to see in the world.
Last night at an after party the topic of Israel and Palestine came up.
Me: "These are a brutalized people who've been oppressed, slaughtered and dehumanized by the other side. They are lashing out with whatever they have at their disposal. Their enemy wants them eradicated off the face of the earth - wouldn't you want to defend yourself under these circumstances?"
Her: "Which side are you talking?"
Me: "Exactly..."
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Until we (globally) understand our shared humanity, and let go of our historical narratives, nothing can get better.
Watch the video embedded in this story.
The scariest thing in the world is to watch this man share his delusions about crowd size and voter fraud and then speak about how to best handle desperate immigrants and torture. The only way that he can up the stakes, is to start talking about war and nuclear weapons. That too, will inevitably come.
A sweet film about the family we choose and the family were born with and some of the love and loss that mark the moments of our lives.
I'd honestly love to stop sharing political posts. Every morning I promised myself to dial it down. I imagine I'm speaking only to my own filter bubble.
But as the news and analysis comes through my feed something inside tells me that to be silent is to be complicit.
What are your thoughts? Does anyone who disagrees with me actually read these posts? Does it refine your thinking even a little? Does that even matter? Is it enough just to arm allies with the latest information? Or maybe do most of you just tune it all out?
The most depressing thought of all is that after billions of dollars in ads and organizing, countless speeches, and the thoughtful articulation of the most effective orators of our time (Barack and Michelle Obama), people still don't understand. What could a few FB posts ever hope to accomplish.
I'm often reminded how deeply my thought process and morality is informed by my years programming and watching Star Trek.
Cause and Effect, systems and platform thinking, diagnosing root causes, organizing principles, patterns and primitives, making abstractions from a few data points and always - always - putting the truth above all else. Including trying to figure out the truth of my own mind, biases and inner most fears/desires.
Either that or programming + star trek appealed to me because that was my inherent interest/thought pattern. Who knows.
In either case, I recommend it for children everywhere.
The delegitimizing of real news sources (like CNN) and even of the term "fake news" is just part of an overall pattern of Trump weakening American democracy. Add to that, suggesting that the election might be rigged and undermining the credibility of the intelligence community.
Next I predict you will see him undermining the credibility of congress (although that's not hard) and/or the courts.
What's left? Trump's executive branch.
Here's the facts:
1. The existence of this dossier is news
2. The fact that the president and president-elect was briefed on it is news
3. The fact that buzzfeed published it was news
4. The fact that the CIA might be behind the leak about the existence of this dossier is scary. A war between the executive branch and the intelligence community.
5. If any part of this dossier is true (probably not), and if his actions have been influenced by the risk that it might be released, then Trump is guilty of treason.
Typically well executed liberal propaganda by Oliver Stone. And since I'm a liberal I loved it
This is how the Obama administration is going to influence the Trump agenda. Not through last minute politics, policies or pettiness (as the crazy right has claimed) but rather through examples and nostalgia. Reminding the electorate on the way out what it was like to live with a rational, hopeful and generous administration that got great things done. Then it's up to us to resist unhealthy breaks with norms and rationality we've seen demonstrated for us by Obama.
Regular reminder:
1. If you're terrorized (and worse, compromise your society or ideals due to that terror), the terrorists win. Instead, get educated.
2. The most dangerous extremists have always been those that claim to be on our side.
3. Overall, the world is getting fundamentally better. All the trends are heading in the right direction.
(Link to video shared via ThisIsZinc: “Fear of terrorism”)
So grateful for.....
- Being able to spend 3 weeks with my family
- Being able to skip some of winter in the warmth of Brisbane
- Being able to catch up (however briefly) with my long-time friends
- My awesome Christmas presents - especially the very first Gameboy!
- Being able to eat some of my favorite home cooked meals
- Being able to disconnect and take a breath after an intense year at work
- An easy and safe trip home
- Coming home to my amazing apartment and that feeling of seeing something familiar as somewhat new again
- Being able to select and order from the huge range on UberEats again
- Having all my favorite things in their place - perfectly designed for my lifestyle
- A hot shower after a cold plane ride
- The limitless potential of this new year with an awesome team building some amazing stuff
- The feeling of being refreshed and having renewed perspective - ready to take new challenges on
- Any and all health, wealth and wisdom that I can muster on a day-to-day basis
- Gratitude for who and what I have
- The ability to feel and articulate all of the above (meta)
As usual, VOX does a great job summarizing. This time how/why the media landscape is broken.
Showing my grandfather how the iPad Pro works. His mind was blown and he took to it like a duck to water and made a beautiful illustration!
Photo credit Mitchell Saad
