cdeister

Everyone’s eye is off the ball*. Still.
(* the ball is in plain sight)

There are many reports about record call volume to congress. Some are literally ‘jamming’ the lines with calls to congresspeople about *resisting* President Trump.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/Constituent-calls-to-Congress-in-Philly-NJ-PA-about-Trump.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/people-swamp-congress-calls-era-trump-45240073

Civil engagement seems to be at its highest in recent memory. Awesome! But, the problem is that there are real (not perceived or imagined) and much larger threats to the fabric of our democracy that have been festering for decades. Below is a Vice report on surveillance that I think hits on many of these. In particular, towards the end, you will see a very fair description of how the CIA broke into the computers of their Senate oversight committee members to scrub documents related to their torture program.

Dianne Feinstein:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-inside-war

Ron Wyden:

Among many others, all tried to warn us. And, John O Brennan (then CIA director) lied (big surprise) about this flat-out.

So, if you are considering *resisting* Trump, then please consider the following.

This Stuff:

https://news.vice.com/article/heres-the-cias-letter-to-congress-saying-the-agency-was-quitting-the-torture-business

https://news.vice.com/story/james-mitchell-bruce-jessen-cia-torture-program

Should concern you enough to call your congresspeople and protest! It should freak you out!

This Stuff:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/executive-order-border-security-and-immigration-enforcement-improvements

https://grabyourwallet.org

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nordstrom-drops-ivanka-trump-branded-clothing-and-shoes/2017/02/02/3f395d10-e9b6-11e6-b82f-687d6e6a3e7c_story.html?utm_term=.ec0f57e0c99e

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/02/513133535/uber-ceo-leaves-business-council-after-criticism-from-trump-opponents

Is small and inconsequential by comparison (IMHO). The Uber walkout is just dumb. Why would anyone want reasonable people to walk away from influence over someone you don’t like? Elon Musk gets it:
http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/02/elon-musk-defends-trump-advisory-role.html

Any frustration you feel has been building for a long time and it has nothing to do with who the president is. Instead, your frustration comes from fear about what a bad president can do. This fear comes from the executive branch concentrating power for decades. If you want to effect real change consider channeling that effort into protecting the rights of all. Perhaps call your congressperson about reigning in the intelligence/defense complex instead of arbitrary Trump resistance. Even if you don’t care about CIA overreach, call to implore your congresspeople to reverse other executive power grabs. Don’t have them waste their time grandstanding and working to avoid “normalizing” a president. Congress should govern and not protest.

The Emmett Till lynching was a key point in the US civil rights movement. The lynching was a reaction to what was professed to be assault of an older white woman by a black boy. This case was an exemplar but not the only one. Emmett’s accuser was silent after the crime, but has just come forth and admitted to a Duke historian that Emmett had not harassed her.

Admissions like this are curious. It is obviously a good thing to have clarity, but lynchings are unjustifiable. This very human story is interesting and speaks a lot to forgiveness:

For his part, Mr. Parker, a pastor, said he harbors no ill will toward Ms. Donham, and hopes that her admission brings her peace.

“I can’t hate,” he said. “Hate destroys the hater, too. That’s a heavy burden to carry.”