We Resist: Day 270

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

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Here are some things in the news today:

Earlier today by me: This Is Nazi Sh1t. And by Fannie: We Walk Together: Thoughts on the Women's Convention.

Ashley Parker and Greg Jaffe at the Washington Post: Inside the 'Adult Daycare Center': How Aides Try to Control and Coerce Trump. "Some Trump aides spend a significant part of their time devising ways to rein in and control the impetuous president, angling to avoid outbursts that might work against him, according to interviews with 18 aides, confidants and outside advisers, most of whom insisted on anonymity to speak candidly." Apart from the bullshit that is having a president who needs to be managed in this way because he's got the temperament of a dumpster fire, think of the taxpayer money being wasted paying the salaries of aides who use most of their time being handlers for a petulant tyrant.

Speaking of which: Donald Trump is blowing up the Iran deal because he is certain that Iran is not complying with its requirements, despite the fact that everyone else believes that they are. Maybe he genuinely (if unaccountably) believes that he knows something everyone else doesn't, which would be in keeping with his usual megalomania, but I suspect it's more likely the pronouncement is simply the easiest pretext to justify his decision to blow up a deal struck by President Obama. [Content Note: Video autoplays at link.] In any case, John Oliver had an excellent segment on this mess last night.

[CN: Bigotry] And as a terrible reminder of how fucked we are even if by some stroke of good fortune Trump is no longer president:

This article is something. And somehow it still doesn't manage to encompass how truly terrifying Pence really is. https://t.co/qLCHYX6zCO

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 16, 2017

Like, it doesn't even include the name "Glenda Ritz." It does, however, include [CN: Homophobia] this horrendous passage, highlighted by Andy Towle:

"Trump thinks Pence is great," Bannon told me. But, according to a longtime associate, Trump also likes to "let Pence know who's boss." A staff member from Trump's campaign recalls him mocking Pence's religiosity. He said that, when people met with Trump after stopping by Pence's office, Trump would ask them, "Did Mike make you pray?" Two sources also recalled Trump needling Pence about his views on abortion and homosexuality. During a meeting with a legal scholar, Trump belittled Pence's determination to overturn Roe v. Wade. The legal scholar had said that, if the Supreme Court did so, many states would likely legalize abortion on their own. "You see?" Trump asked Pence. "You've wasted all this time and energy on it, and it's not going to end abortion anyway." When the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, "Don't ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!"

If that's even a figure of speech at all, it's just barely one. Because we are being governed by truly awful human beings.

On that note! Tarini Parti and Alexis Levinson at BuzzFeed: No One Knows What Steve Bannon's "War" Will Actually Look Like. "As the GOP appears to be on the verge of another civil war and reports of Bannon's 2018 plans dominate headlines, the big question Republicans are still trying to figure out is: Beyond a photo op, what does Bannon's support actually mean for Grimm and several other candidates he is backing? Asked that question directly, a close Bannon ally responded: 'It's actually still TBD.'" Sure. But we have a pretty good idea of what it will look like, given the Breitbart politics and funding from conservative extremists like the Mercers. And we're already getting a gander at the familiar strategies he is likely to employ, cough.

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A bunch of concerning foreign policy stuff today, starting with North Korea:

Tillerson on North Korea: "Those diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops." @CNNSotu

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) October 15, 2017

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] And in Austria. Angela Dewan, Atika Shubert, Nadine Schmidt, and Laura Goehler at CNN report: "Sebastian Kurz, a 31-year-old conservative, is set to become the next chancellor of Austria and Europe's youngest leader, though he will likely need to form a coalition to rule, early results from Sunday's election show. The People's Party (OVP), which Kurz has led since May, is widely expected to form an alliance with the Freedom Party (FPO), putting the far right in an Austrian governing coalition for the first time in more than 10 years."

[CN: Terrorism; injury and death] And in Somalia. Jason Burke at the Guardian reports:

The death toll in the bombing that hit the centre of Mogadishu on Saturday continues to rise, with more than 300 people now believed to have been killed and hundreds more seriously injured.

The scale of the loss makes the attack, which involved a truck packed with several hundred kilograms of military-grade and homemade explosives, one of the most lethal terrorist acts anywhere in the world for many years.

On Monday morning, Somalia's information minister announced that 276 people had died in the attack with at least 300 people injured. Within hours, however, Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin ambulances, said his service had confirmed that 300 people died in the blast.

"The death toll will still be higher because some people are still missing," Abdirahman told Reuters.

More victims continue to be dug from the rubble spread over an area hundreds of metres wide in the centre of the city.

Rescue workers said a definitive death toll may never be established because the intense heat generated by the blast meant the remains of many people would not be found.

...The bomb, which is thought to have targeted Somalia's foreign ministry, was concealed in a truck and exploded near a hotel, demolishing the building and several others.

Sources close to the Somali government said the truck had been stopped at a checkpoint and was about to be searched when the driver suddenly accelerated. It crashed through a barrier, then exploded. This ignited a fuel tanker parked nearby, creating a massive fireball.

Witnesses described bewildered families wandering among the rubble and wrecked vehicles, looking for missing relatives. Bodies were carried from the scene on makeshift stretchers made of blankets, as people tried to dig through the debris with their hands.

"There's nothing I can say. We have lost everything," said Zainab Sharif, a mother of four who lost her husband in the attack. She sat outside a hospital where he was pronounced dead after doctors tried for hours to save him from an arterial injury.

Muna Haj, 36, said: "Today, I lost my son who was dear to me. The oppressors have taken his life away from him. I hate them. May Allah give patience to all families who lost their loved ones in that tragic blast."

Absolutely heartbreaking. I take up space in solidarity with the people of Mogadishu, who have my grief, my anger, my condolences, and my support.

And a major story out of Iraq, which is getting shockingly little attention in the U.S. press:

"The Iraqi units went on the move toward Kirkuk around midnight local time in order to 'safeguard' the area." https://t.co/N7Wlxq86gR

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 16, 2017

I highly recommend both stories linked in those tweets to understand what's going on, and continues to unfold, as civilians have begun to flee Kirkuk. Fucking hell.

And finally, in Ireland, care of climate change: "Three people have been killed as tropical storm Ophelia batters Ireland with winds of more than 100mph. ...At least 360,000 electricity customers are without power amid scores of reports of fallen trees and power lines. The network operator warned that the majority of those already affected would be without power tonight and 5% to 10% could be without electricity for up to 10 days. Northern Ireland was also affected, with 18,000 customers suffering a loss of power, including the Stormont parliament. The force of Ophelia was such that it blew roofs of buildings in Cork. Douglas Community school saw the roof of its gym ripped off and the roof of Cork City football club’s stadium collapsed. A gust of 118mph was recorded off the coast of Ireland. ...Parts of the UK were covered by an eerie red/orange sky. Experts said the hue was caused by Hurricane Ophelia dragging in tropical air and dust from the Sahara."

It's incredibly important to bear in mind that extreme weather events are also political events — because they are intensified by climate change, about which governments make political decisions that can accelerate or decelerate its effects.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?