It's one I've made plenty of times before, but, given the rounds and rounds of "Democrats are doomed from playing identity politics!" garbage going around, I am going to make it again.
Hillary Clinton did not "play identity politics" by treating people other than straight, white, cis, Christian, able-bodied men as human beings.
The person playing identity politics in this election was Donald Trump.
And the only reason that it's not viewed precisely so is because we regard privilege identities as the norm from which all others deviate.
An Observation
Stay Engaged
[Content Note: Anti-Semitism.]
Last night, Donald Trump continued his hostility toward the press and circumvented them entirely by releasing a video online detailing his First 100 Days agenda.
And he described that agenda as "a list of executive actions we can take on day one," which is "based on a simple core principle—putting America first."
"America First" is a phrase with anti-Semitic roots, which the Anti-Defamation League has repeatedly urged him to stop using. Instead of removing it from his lexicon, he's now using it to define a "core principle" of his agenda.
Meanwhile, CNN convened a panel last night to discuss the views of a white supremacist who isn't sure "if Jews are people."
Here is the segment. That chryon. These times. pic.twitter.com/5vXn5GM7ll
— Colin Jones (@colinjones) November 21, 2016
Y'all realize all the media calls for "understanding" Trump supporters was laying the groundwork for running segments like that one, right?
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 22, 2016
See, now it's their duty to hold panels in which is discussed the views of someone who doesn't believe Jews are human.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 22, 2016
As a result, Twitter's trending topics were a horrifying nightmare.
Cool trending topics. And by "cool," I mean horrifying. pic.twitter.com/yFqKhBKHRj
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 22, 2016
And that was before they ran yet another panel later in the evening on white supremacy featuring four white men.
I dig CNN's diverse panel discussing white supremacy. pic.twitter.com/gKNGaK9p6S
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 22, 2016
Some of these men may be Jewish, but it is nonetheless concerning that CNN feels it's fine to exclude people of color and/or women from a panel on white supremacy (which, as I will continue to observe, is deeply and inextricably tied to patriarchy).
We are in scary times. And we need to continue to pay attention to these details. They are important. Critically so.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Odalis Aiza: "What has been your most life-changing paradigm shift (as in when a popular myth is convincingly debunked)?"
Shaker Gourmet
Whatcha been cooking up in your kitchen lately, Shakers?
Share your favorite recipes, solicit good recipes, share recipes you've recently tried, want to try, are trying to perfect, whatever! Whether they're your own creation, or something you found elsewhere, share away.
Also welcome: Recipes you've seen recently that you'd love to try, but haven't yet!
* * *
Y'all.
[Recipe here. Video autoplays at link.]
WHO IS GOING TO MAKE THIS FOR ME RIGHT NOW OM NOM NOM NOM.
Sounds Terrific!
[Content Note: Video may autoplay at link.]
Everything is going great!
Executives and anchors from the country's five biggest television networks are meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Monday afternoon.Cool. I'm sure they won't be discussing anything we'd want or need to know about. Transparency is for losers who don't reflexively trust people with power to always do the right thing!
The meeting was organized by Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who is now a senior adviser to Trump.
NBC's Chuck Todd and Lester Holt; CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett; CBS's Norah O'Donnell, Charlie Rose, John Dickerson, and Gayle King; and ABC's George Stephanopoulos were some of the anchors who were seen entering Trump Tower shortly before 1 p.m.
A source said ABC's David Muir and Martha Raddatz were expected to attend.
Sources said the meeting would involve Trump, Conway and representatives from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News. (NBC's cable news channel MSNBC is included in the NBC invitation, Conway noted.)
The substance of the meeting is intended to be off the record, meaning the participants will not divulge what is said.
In other news that's totes not related: "Over the weekend, there were a flurry of stories about how Donald Trump and his family are already using the presidency to leverage his overseas businesses as well as his new DC hotel. Well, now there's more. This time in Argentina. ...According to a report out of Argentina, when Argentine President Mauricio Macri called President-Elect Trump to congratulate him on his election, Trump asked Macri to deal with the permitting issues that are currently holding up the project."
Don't worry. Trump and Marci say it never happened. Good to know! Therefore, there's definitely no reason to be concerned that "no one knew anything about the visit from Trump's Indian business partners until it appeared in the Indian press either. It seems like this is likely happening on many fronts. It's just being hidden from the American press. We only hear about it when it bubbles to the surface in the countries where Trump is pushing his business deals."
Obviously, there's nothing to even know! Secrecy is fine. They'll let us know if there's anything about which to worry.
*jumps into Christmas tree*
Recommended Reading
[Content Note: White supremacy] Joseph Goldstein for the New York Times: "Alt-Right Exults in Donald Trump's Election with a Salute: 'Heil Victory'."
David Cole in the New York Review of Books: "What James Comey Did."
[CN: Misogynoir; white supremacy] Morgan Parker for the New York Times: "How to Stay Sane While Black."
[CN: Bigotry; references to Holocaust] Arizona Bell for The Establishment: "Expatriatism in the Time of Trump: Why I Refuse to Stay in America."
Matt Shuham for Talking Points Memo: "Sanders Urges Supporters: Ditch Identity Politics and Embrace the Working Class."
There was also a ton of good stuff at Shareblue over the weekend:
Ginger McKnight-Chavers: "Trump reverses course and settles three lawsuits against his university."
Katie Paris: "#NotWithHim: Lack of support for Trump breaks new records."
Me: "Republican state legislator to propose sweeping abortion ban in Indiana."
Dianne E. Anderson: "State legislatures already clamping down on dissent and religious minorities."
Matthew Chapman: "Trump's picks for key positions hold dangerously intolerant views."
Me: "Heed the warning: Hamilton is the spectacle to conceal the scandal."
Tommy Christopher: "Lewandowski Q&A derails to audience jeers and laughter."
Dianna E. Anderson: "Romney reverses course from Trump critic to Trump crony."
Me: "Trump is really hoping you won't pay attention to this."
Matthew Chapman: "Trump is already poised to commit an impeachable offense on day one."
Me: "Priebus will not rule out Muslim registry; says aspects of Islam 'are problematic'" and "Pence refuses to rule out torture during Trump administration."
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Believe This: Donald Trump Is Who He Says He Is
Along the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton often quoted Maya Angelou: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
Donald Trump has shown us who he is. He has told us who he is.
He is not a closet moderate. Nor is he a man without an ideology. Going back to the 1970s, he was engaging in racist housing discrimination. Throughout his entire public career, he has engaged in overt misogyny.
Now that he is on the precipice of assuming the presidency, with a Republican Congressional majority and a Supreme Court vacancy, a number of commentators and politicians continue to urge us to "give him a chance" and to predict he will not fulfill his most chilling policy proposals and live up to his worst potential.
This is foolish advice.
When have you ever heard of Trump being given a chance, any time in his whole life, that he didn't use to abuse or exploit people?
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 15, 2016
When you have you ever heard of an abusive and exploitative person being given exponentially more power and becoming kinder and more decent?
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 15, 2016
If there is any hope of reigning in Trump, it is not by acquiescence and hoping for the best. To the absolute contrary, it is in treating him as though he will govern precisely the way he has threatened, with precisely the same bigotry with which he campaigned.
Throughout his entire candidacy, we were admonished to wait for a pivot that never came. And now we are in the same place yet again. There is no pivot. There is only Trump.
Every fresh chance he is given comes at the expense of the lives and safety of the people who will be most grievously harmed by his proposed policies.
Our focused compassion should be given to them, not to our president-elect who has not done a single thing to earn it.
We must believe him when he shows and tells us who he is—and respond accordingly.
Blog Note
As some of you may have seen already on Twitter, Peter Daou has resigned from his leadership position at Shareblue, and I have been promoted to Editor-in-Chief.
I am very excited—and overwhelmed—by this challenge. It is an enormous responsibility, and I am going to endeavor mightily to do justice to all the work Peter did leading the team to lay the foundation on which we hope to build.
For most of the past year, I've been working two full-time jobs—here and at Shareblue, as their content strategist. This new position will require most of my time, and something has to give, lest I completely flame out. So my role at Shakesville will be reduced.
But I want to make abundantly clear that this community is not going anywhere.
I will still be a contributor here, and I am working with the rest of the team to strategize a way forward to free up some of my time while also maintaining this space, on which I know so many of you rely.
After the results of the election, please know that I am keenly aware that this community is more important for many of you than ever. It has always been, and remains, critically important to me.
I hope you will bear with us as we figure out this transition, and bear with me as I navigate my way through finding a workable balance.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
Belly up to the bar,
and be in this space together.
The Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by biscuits.
Recommended Reading:
Sean: Elizabeth Warren Eviscerates Trump on the Senate Floor: 'I Am Ready to Fight'
Jenn: [Content Note: Racism; internment; Islamophobia] Trump Supporter Cites Japanese American Incarceration to Justify Planned Muslim Registry
Sameer: [CN: Anti-immigrationism] #SanctuaryCampus Protests Demand Safe Havens for Undocumented Students Across Country
Fannie: [CN: Bigotry] Election Fallout Part 3: On the White Working Class
Diana: [CN: War on agency] The Day After the Election, I Went Back to Work as an Abortion Provider, and I Won't Stop
TLC: [CN: Transphobia] Identity Documents and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: What We Know, and What You Can Do
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Welp
📈 Top lookups: fascism, bigot, resurgence, diatribe, socialism, misogyny, xenophobe, communication, culture, racism. Welcome to Friday.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 18, 2016
Recommended Reading
Sarah Kendzior for The Correspondent: "We're Heading into Dark Times. This Is How to Be Your Own Light in the Age of Trump."
[Content Note: White supremacy] Jamil Smith for MTV News: "Ain't That America."
[CN: White supremacy] Ijeoma Oluo for The Establishment: "We Have to Create a Culture That Won't Vote for Trump."
Rinku Sen for Colorlines: "Trump Reminds Us the Racial Justice Movement Is Growing."
[CN: Hate crimes] Auditi Guha for Rewire: "A Preview of Trump's America? Hate-Based Incidents Spike Nationwide."
Eric Levitz for New York Magazine: "Trump Planning 'Victory Tour' of the States That Voted for Him."
Kenneth Vogel for Politico: "David Brock gathering donors to 'kick Donald Trump's ass.'"
David Corn for Mother Jones: "The NSA Chief Says Russia Hacked the 2016 Election. Congress Must Investigate."
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Yes, I'm Angry. Why Aren't You?
[Content Note: Emotional auditing.]
To the Ostensible Progressives Telling Us to Settle Down, to Get Over It, to Stop Being So Angry:
If you have even the merest capacity of imagination, it shouldn't be difficult for you to conjure your emotional reaction if you were a citizen, or resident, of a country that promised liberty and justice for all, and then that country elected (not by popular vote) a president who ruthlessly campaigned on myriad bigotries and relentlessly suggested that liberty and justice were really just for some, and those some didn't include you.
If you are indeed in possession of the capacity of imagination, you have no doubt concluded by this juncture that such a scenario, coupled with a lack of immediate recourse, might make you angry.
So the idea that a marginalized person exhibiting anger is somehow overreacting, or hysterical, or "crazy," or just plain wrong in some way, is actually quite indecent, not to mention rather daft.
Here's the other thing: If you are a person of privilege who fancies yourself capable and desirous of doing meaningful ally work, you will never, ever, criticize the tone of a person who does not share your privilege for being "too angry."
And you will never do this because, if you are indeed capable and desirous of doing meaningful ally work, not only will you have internalized an understanding of the perfect rationality of the anger expressed by marginalized people, but you will also share that anger.
How can any decent person look at a political and cultural landscape of increasingly violent hostility toward marginalized people and not be angry, right? Good, I'm glad we agree.
In which case, I presume you're actually glad for my anger, and that of other people targeted by this administration, because you know that the opposite of anger, for a progressive, is complacence—and there can be no progress if everyone is perfectly complacent with the way things are.
Progress is dependent on people who get angry, because anger—productive anger, motivating anger, directed anger, rational anger—is the root of much valuable progress.
We angry folks know that positive and needed progressive change comes by virtue of anger.
Progress ain't fueled by rainbows and gumdrops.
The fact is, if you're not angry, you're probably not helping. And if you're preoccupied with policing our anger, you're actively hurting us. And we've got plenty of that already, thanks.
Submitted Without Comment
LOL perfect. https://t.co/P5C0wZSv2H
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 18, 2016
Everything Is Fine. (Everything Is Not Fine.)
[Content Note: Islamophobia; anti-Semitism; racism; sexual assault.]
President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly offered the job of national security adviser, which does not require Senate confirmation, to former military intelligence chief Michael Flynn. You might remember him from the Republican National Convention, when he enthusiastically led a round of "Lock her up!" chanting, because he's super neat.
Flynn, 57, who served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has advised Trump on national security issues for months. Flynn broke from other national security experts who denounced Trump, joining the then-candidate on the campaign trail and leading chants against Hillary Clinton, including those that called for her to be locked up.An anonymous former National Security Council official told Politico that Flynn's appointment is "scary," and said: "There's been hope that despite what candidate Trump said on the trail that he was going to as president surround himself with folks that were more tempered in their views. But Mike Flynn, I mean, is definitely not in that same category."
As national security adviser, he would work in the White House and have frequent access to the president.
...A controversial figure, Flynn has been criticized for regularly appearing on RT, the Russian state-owned television station, and once attended an RT gala, sitting two seats from Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He later said his speaker's bureau had arranged the trip and that he saw no distinction between RT and TV news organizations like CNN.
Flynn, who wrote in his 2016 book, The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, that he was "not a devotee of so-called political correctness."
In February, the general posted on Twitter, "Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL." Then, in July, he retweeted an antisemitic post mocking the Clinton campaign's blaming of Russian hackers for leaked emails: "CNN implicated. 'The USSR is to blame!' Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore." Flynn later deleted his retweet and apologized, saying it was a mistake; the tweet about Muslims has not been deleted.
No shit.
* * *
In other news, Trump has also reportedly tapped Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General.
While serving as a United States prosecutor in Alabama, Mr. Sessions was nominated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan for a federal judgeship. But his nomination was rejected by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee because of racially charged comments and actions. At that time, he was one of two judicial nominees whose selections were halted by the panel in nearly 50 years.As Wesley Lowery noted on Twitter, President Obama's two Attorney Generals were the first Black man (Eric Holder) and the first Black woman (Loretta Lynch) to hold the job. Trump's pick thinks the NAACP is "un-American."
In testimony before the committee, former colleagues said that Mr. Sessions had referred to the N.A.A.C.P., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other civil rights groups as "un-American" and "Communist-inspired." An African-American federal prosecutor then, Thomas H. Figures, said Mr. Sessions had referred to him as "boy" and testified that Mr. Sessions said the Ku Klux Klan was fine "until I found out they smoked pot." Mr. Sessions dismissed that remark as a joke.
Mr. Sessions was also accused of speaking disparagingly of the Voting Rights Act and the stringent oversight it placed on Southern states.
And in addition to being racist, Sessions also defended Trump's "grab them" comment by saying that doesn't even constitute sexual assault.
One of the things I have been thinking about a lot is how many of the advancements we've made in anti-rape advocacy are dependent on the federal government. Title IX and campus sexual assault, for example. These strategies have been imperfect, but important. And now we're going to lose them. Say goodbye, for example, to federal grants to process backlogs of untested rape kits.
* * *
And finally: Trump has reportedly selected Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA director. He "gained prominence for his role in the congressional investigation into the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya." Pompeo is a big advocate of surveillance, and has accused American Muslim religious leaders of encouraging terrorism.
He is keen to roll back the Iran nuclear deal, tweeting yesterday: "I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism."
* * *
You know who knows Trump didn't win because of economic anxiety? Trump. He knows why he won. And that's why every pick so far is an openly racist white man. Being a rape apologist is an added bonus.
He is going to govern precisely as he campaigned. And anyone who ever thought otherwise was profoundly mistaken.
