John Oliver Presents "Harding"

YouTube

Thanks, Marc

NYT | Reality-Checking DT's First Month In Office

Quoctrung Bui | Claire Cain Miller | Kevin Quealy

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From The Upshot:

It’s understandable if President Trump’s first month in office has left your head spinning, given the pace of news, the middle-of-the-night Twitter posts and the vows to upend Washington.

To help us get our bearings, we asked experts across the ideological spectrum — people who have served in government or studied the way governments work — to rate 20 news events for importance and abnormality. More often than not, the administration’s actions have been both highly unusual and highly consequential, The Upshot’s 15 survey panelists said.

We asked our panelists: Was the event normal, like the veto of a bill in a prior administration? Or was it highly unusual in contemporary American democracy, like ordering newspapers to suspend publication of the Pentagon Papers? Also, was it unimportant, with limited or no consequences for federal policy, like the menu for a state dinner? Or was it important, creating lasting and significant changes in policy, like the establishment of Social Security?

On average, more than half the events were rated abnormal and important. The most extreme instances, they said, were the immigration ban; the use of falsehoods; and the president’s business conflicts of interest. The Supreme Court nomination and immigration raids were on average considered normal but important. The experts thought just two of the events would have limited or no policy consequences: the firing of the acting attorney general and Kellyanne Conway’s promotion of Ivanka Trump’s products.

Click here to review all 20 items, grouped by their quadrant on [the NYT's] reality-check matrix.

From Ms. Lanny-yap's FB Feed

Theodore Geisel | 1941

Damien Love | Sunday Herald | Scotland | 16 Jan 2017

March For Science | 22 April 2017

 

What started as offhand comments on social media have spiraled into the beginnings of a potentially large nationwide protest in support of empirical science. 

Inspired by the success of Women's Marches held worldwide in support of women's rights and other causes, and in light of numerous moves apparently aimed at silencing, minimizing, defunding, or discrediting the work of scientists during President Trump's first week in office, numerous groups and individuals have proposed holding a "March for Science" or "Scientists' March on Washington".  

As reported by the Washington Post, the idea went viral almost immediately after it was conceived:

In short order, the march had a Facebook page (whose membership swelled [overnight] from 200 people to more than 150,000 by ]the following afternoon]), a Twitter handle, a web site, two co-chairs, [postdoc Jonathan] Berman and science writer and public health researcher Caroline Weinberg, and a Google form through which interested researchers could sign up to help.  

In response to our inquiry, organizers told us that things were moving quickly and that they plan on releasing both a date for the event and a platform statement by 30 January. In terms of the group’s ability to handle such a rapidly growing concept proposed by a diffuse group of different individuals, they said in an e-mail:

At present we have around 10 people spending a truly horrifying amount of time working to pull this off and around 30 contributing wherever they can. We also have, at present count, 9000 people who have reached out to volunteer to help.  

Though their platform is not finalized, they told us that their motivation was both non-partisan and straightforward: 

Scientists worldwide have been alarmed by the clear anti-science actions taken by the Trump administration. It has been less than a week and there have already been funding freezes and efforts to restrict scientists from communicating their findings (from tax-funded research!) with the public. These actions are absurd and cannot be allowed to stand as policy. This is not a partisan issue — people from all parts of the political spectrum should be alarmed by these efforts to deny scientific progress. Scientific research moves us forward and we should not allow asinine policies to thwart it. 

According to the Scientists' March on Washington web site, the event will be open to “anyone who believes in empirical science” and not restricted to scientists specifically.

Snopes! Now more than ever! 

Source: snopes.com

28 Jan 2917 - Updated to reflect organizer's choice of title for the march.

Declassified | Millions Of Pages Of Material Released By CIA

Since 2000, CIA has installed and maintained an electronic full-text searchable system named CREST (the CIA Records Search Tool), ... in College Park, Maryland. The CREST system is the publicly accessible repository of the subset of CIA records reviewed under the 25-year program in electronic format (manually reviewed and released records are accessioned directly into the National Archives in their original format). Over 11 million pages have been released in electronic format and reside on the CREST database, from which researchers have printed about 1.1 million pages.

Previously, in order to directly access CREST, a researcher was required to visit the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. [The] CIA recognized that such visits were inconvenient and presented an obstacle to many researchers. Therefore, in January 2017, the CIA published the records of the CREST collection online.

Declassified material includes information on The Family Jewels, Project Stargate, UFOs: Fact or Fiction, Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, Atomic Spies: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and POW MIA.

Wired published The Best of the CIA's 12M Pages of Files Online. Start Here on 19 February 2017.

Link to CREST online.

"And The White House Will Be Occupied By A Downright Fool And Complete Narcissistic Idiot"

Click here to see how cartoonists from around the world are showing their feelings about the incoming administration.

From Ms. Lanny-yap's FB Feed

Dame Judi Dench, 81

2017 | The Pit Of Man's Fears

Via FB

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

Amy Dickinson Nails It

Ask Amy column

Baltimore Sun | 28 Nov 16

And, similarly:

Attributed to actress Deborah Messing on Twitter | Via FB

How to Effectively Lobby Your Congressperson

Emily Ellswoth in Jezebel:

It’s been almost a week since the election, and maybe you’re ready to throw off the sackcloth and ashes and get to work. Combining the anger, bargaining, and depression stages of grief can lead to powerful actions, and now is the time to channel that energy into specific activism that will serve as a barrier between you and whatever legislation and policies come down in the next four years.

I worked for Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Congressman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) from 2009 to 2014 as a state office-staffer. My full-time job was to listen to constituents and make sure their voices were heard by their elected officials. After nearly six years on the job, I got a good idea of what types of activism worked and what didn’t. I learned that a coordinated effort with a large group of people goes a long way toward influencing change. Here’s how to make that happen.

Recognize how congressional representatives and their staffs work

Members of the House of Representatives have small budgets and a small staff of a dozen or so people and a handful of interns. Senators have much larger budgets and staff, but they also represent a larger constituency, meaning they run into similar problems with trying to listen to everyone in their state.

Because elected officials represent hundreds of thousands and even millions of people, they rely on a few systems to try to prioritize and respond to constituent correspondence in many forms. Social media is not as powerful because it’s easy to ignore and impossible to tell if you live in their district or state. Emails and letters are usually grouped by topic and counted, and mass mailings of form letters that address the topic generally are sent in response.

This is why responses rarely respond directly to your concerns and feel often feel impersonal. Your messages are tracked and put into reports for the representative to read, and a few are selected by staffers for the representative to look at individually. With hundreds of letters and emails coming in every day, it’s impossible for staff to always recognize which are most important or for the representative to read them.

Understand why phone calls and in-person meetings are more effective

Because emails and other written correspondence is so easily batched by computer programs, a hundred or a thousand emails on a subject both require the same amount of effort by staff. Phone calls are more effective because they require a staffer to be on the phone with someone and respond to questions immediately.

Calling your representative’s DC office might feel more natural because they are the office primarily responsible for managing legislation. However, the state office staffers are usually from your state and part of the community you live in—they are truly local. Also, state office numbers are less likely to be busy or have a long hold. Significant volumes of calls in a state office also require coordination by the DC and district office staff and get noticed right away.

From time to time, I had large groups of people come into our state office by appointment and share their stories. This was particularly effective with immigration and climate change groups who brought in experts to answer questions. They gave perspective and knowledge we would not have had otherwise. It is easy to get an appointment with a local staffer or a DC staffer, and these relationships pay off.

For those who are unable to make phone calls or in-person visits for any reason, that’s okay. It doesn’t mean your voice goes unheard. Most constituents have never contacted their representative, so you’re miles ahead of your neighbors. Sending emails and letters as part of a coordinated effort make a difference and send a message.

Get involved with local advocacy groups

Advocacy groups do more than spend money on lobbying in Washington, DC. Many of them have local chapters organize and make connections with members of congress and their staff. The most effective ones understand that a direct connection with the staff is just as important as meeting with the representative.

Advocacy groups research the most important pieces of legislation and where they are in Congress. They know who is on which committees and can organize phone trees, email campaigns, and in-person meetings to put pressure on elected officials. They organize and activate so you don’t have to be an expert on everything and you can be as involved as you’d like.

These groups also present an opportunity for those who live in districts or states where they largely agree with their representatives. They need your volunteer and monetary support for areas where there is more work to be done.

Know who to call and what to talk about

As angry as you might be about the election, the electoral college, or the president-elect’s tweets, your member of congress does not have control over these things. Be informed about who your member of congress is and what role they play in the federal government. Do not call your House of Representatives member asking for Supreme Court confirmation hearings, because those hearings happen in the Senate—call your senator instead.

Similarly, do not bother calling a representative’s office if you do not live in their district. Most offices ask where you live and do not record opinions from outside their districts and states. Instead, focus on encouraging your own representative when you agree with them or pushing for more action.

Keep your phone calls brief and ask questions that a staffer must answer. For instance, rather than calling in with a rant about obstructionist policies (completely legitimate, but easy to ignore), come up with a natural script with specifics such as bill numbers and it’s place on the schedule so the staff knows you know what you’re talking about.

Make sure you ask your question in a way that is respectful and requires an answer. If they dodge the question, you can ask it again, voice your opinion, and then ask that it be recorded. If the staffer doesn’t know enough about the issue (often an intern), you can ask to speak to a senior staffer or the legislative director who will know more about the policy and the representative’s position.

Now is the time to begin grassroots organization. Get involved in a few key issues that are relevant in your state and that are important to you. Reach out to groups that already have networks and begin volunteering. Put your representatives’ numbers in your phone. You’ll be ready now and on January 22nd.

Read the series tweets that prompted this article here.

Emily Ellsworth is a freelance writer, editor, and social media marketer. She worked for Congressman Jason Chaffetz from 2009-2012 as his Provo district office manager and for Congressman Chris Stewart from 2013-2014 as his constituent services manager. During the 2016 election, she was a part of the group Republican Women for Hillary and ran a local chapter in Utah.

Source 

Getting Woke | The 7 Stages of White People Getting Woke

Urban Dictionary

Jamie Varon in Complex:

We all watched as Matt McGorry went from the cute prison guard in Orange is the New Black to that woke white guy who’s using his celebrity influence to raise awareness around injustice and inequality. Thanks to the Internet and the removal of media gatekeepers, we’ve seen a growing number of prominent celebrities ... wake up to the harsh realities that people of color face. Anyone who can access the web has a voice now, and while the Internet can be a breeding ground for hatred, it's also a place where we can learn from each others' experiences. 

I know I'm not alone in waking up to the subtle and insidious ways that racism permeates the lives of so many Americans. Although I doubt most white people believe we're living in a "post-racial America," hearing stories from POCs about their experiences with racism is eye-opening. From rampant police brutality and heightened incarceration rates to socioeconomic inequality and job discrimination, there's an entire segment of America that many white people are unaware of. 

At least, that's until they wake the hell up, and see what's going on around them. When white people go from oblivious to activist, there’s a certain pattern that emerges. Here are the seven stages of getting "woke" ...

Varon's seven stages are recognition, research, feel, connect, defend, purge, and dream.

Read the rest of the article here.

Safety-Pin Movement

Randall Aubrey in The Daily Kos:

In the wake of "Brexit," the UK's referendum to leave the European Union, hundreds of thousands of British citizens took to wearing a safety pin on their lapel, a quiet and dignified gesture intended to signal to their immigrant brothers and sisters that they stood in solidarity with them against the tide of fear and hate that drove the Brexit decision.

Simply put, I say that, in the wake of Trump's election, we repeat the practice here in the states. Too many reports have already flooded the airwaves indicating a sharp increase in racially-motivated violence and intimidation across the country, and while this simple act may not change that, it will demonstrate to those who are the targets of such aggression in your community that they have allies on the streets, and not just the Internet.

Importance Of Electing A Mentally Healthy Narcissist

This is a severely excerpted selection from an open letter by Craig Malkin, a psychologist who studies narcissism. The original letter was posted online in Psychology Today.

... As an expert on narcissism, I'm not especially worried that narcissists might make it to the White House. According to research, they've always been there. And that shouldn't scare us anyway, because, just to be clear: Being a narcissist is not a diagnosis. It never has been. Narcissists are people higher in narcissistic traits than the average person, and while they may or may not be disordered, they all share one thing in common: They feel special. Some feel special enough to lead a nation, in fact. What we should be far more concerned about is not whether politicians are narcissists -- most are -- but how healthy they are.

... Politicians are groomed by us -- by our applause, by our polls, by our votes. Whatever you seem to love or hate, they'll embrace or reject. So be careful what you applaud or attack. It matters what they-- and all the little future leaders watching them -- think you want in a leader.

1. Do applaud careful reflection.
2. Don't applaud insults.
3. Do applaud feelings.
4. Don't applaud manipulation.
5. Do applaud collaborative behavior.
6. Don't applaud black-and-white thinking.
7. Do applaud apologies.
8. Don't applaud evasiveness.
9. Do applaud curiosity.

Learn more at Dr. Malkin's FB page.

From Ms. L-y's Social Media

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Language Is Important

Via FB | Click image to enlarge

Game of American Thrones

Click image to enlarge | Via FB

HODOR!

Team DPE

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Via FB

15 March 2014 | The White Man March

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The White Man March is scheduled for March 15th, 2014, and will involve coordinated pro-white activity around the world. The purpose is to spread information through activism, but also to make a statement that White people are united in their love for their race and in their opposition to its destruction.

Can't find anything newsy online indicating that this actually happened today.


UPDATE: White Man March Happens, Nobody Cares | Gawker

Greetings From Penis Gun Freakyland

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America, as labeled by an Australian who's never been here.

Imgur via FB

iSideWith | How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

From the website:

iSideWith.com was started in March 2012 by two friends with two very different views of politics. Our goal is to save users time by providing an accurate and updated breakdown of which candidates they side with on the issues. We aim to educate voters and to boost voter turnout this election season.

Taylor Peck runs the editorial, research, and promotional aspects of the site. He is a marketing consultant and self described politics "crackhead" who needs political news to sustain daily life. Nick Boutelier is the web designer and programmer. A lifelong undecided voter, he was searching for an easier way to stay updated on the issues and candidates he sides with.

That’s it! We are not affiliated with any investors, shareholders, advertisers, political party or interest group. If you share our passion for this project and would like to support it, please help us out with a PayPal donation so we can educate more voters about your local and state representatives by Election Day (November 4th, 2014).

Via Dangerous Minds