Fox News has been a mess for as long as I can remember

But I will never forget that Shepard Smith has stood up repeatedly to the Trump administration about the honesty and reliability of the press.  This is the type of action that can save our country.  When non-conservative news sources say the same thing, people write it off as "whiny liberals", but what are they going to say when one of their own is saying it?  Remember this man's actions:

This man is so broken

The lies he tells about things that don't matter almost concern me more than the lies that he tells about things that do matter.  When the things do matter, at least there's a reason for the lie.  But he just lies about things that don't matter at all on a regular basis.  This says that he's fundamentally broken and truly does not understand the importance of telling the truth.

Rumi Quote

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.  Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."

Trump's war on the media

It's the most upsetting thing he's done so far.  When Fox News and prominent Republicans are calling you out, there's a real issue.  If you don't understand why Trump's media attacks are such a tremendous problem, you really need to educate yourself, and soon.  This is a good place to start:

If Fox News is saying this, maybe we're getting somewhere

Shepard Smith.

Deconstructing a comparison

Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With"

Glenn McCoy's version

Conservative cartoonist, Glenn McCoy attempted to make a statement about our country with a cartoon.  I think he did a good job of that, but I don't think it was the statement he intended to make.  The artist had this to say:

"My cartoon was about how, in this day and age, decades beyond the civil rights protests, it's sad that people are still being denied the right to speak freely or do their jobs or enter public buildings because others disagree with who they are or how they think," he said in the statement. "I'm surprised that some readers see 'hate' in this cartoon when I thought I was speaking out against hate."

So, for anyone who doesn't know what's going on in the two pictures, a synopsis:
The original art depicts Ruby Bridges as she desegregated a New Orleans school in 1960.  The second version depicts Betsy DeVos as she prepares to start working as Secretary of Education.

People on the internet are upset with the comparison.  There are multiple difficulties with McCoy's depiction, but for me, the main issue is the comparison itself.

By making the comparison, McCoy shows he doesn't really understand what's going on in the original artwork.  It's a painting that shows a courageous young girl standing up for what's right, with the whole culture fighting against her, even though she's done nothing wrong.  This is where the comparison to DeVos breaks down.  DeVos is a person of wealth and power who has consistently worked against public schools and kids like Ruby Bridges.  That's a very good reason for people to be upset with her.  DeVos is no victim of hate.  She's actively working against the very system that gave Ruby the right to an "equal" education.

Further, McCoy states that it's sad that people are "being denied...because others disagree with who they are or how they think".  Ruby Bridges was being denied for who she was, a young, black girl.  That's not acceptable.  Betsy DeVos isn't being denied anything, but she's being spoken against for how she thinks, not who she is, because how she thinks leads her to actions that many believe are not in the best interest of this country.  It's exactly what Americans are supposed to do when participating in democracy.

Further again, most of the African Americans I know could break all that down for Mr. McCoy in about one minute.  That's because living with this reality of racism brings it home in a way that not living with it does not.  Watching white people who have never dealt with these issues of race in any meaningful way comment on topics that they've clearly spent very little time trying to understand, is offensive. The next time Glenn McCoy wants to talk about race in America, he should educate himself first, so that what he has to say isn't so ignorant.

A bad day for Trump

is a good day for the rest of us.  More good days, please!

Consequences

The Trump administration is angling to delay one of their court cases on the Muslim ban because they want to take that case to the Supreme Court and they want their nominee to already be seated on the court, so that he'll sway the outcome in favor of allowing the President to do what he wants, Constitution be damned.

If that happens, Trump will be in complete control and our country will be in serious jeopardy.

Something to remember.  This goes back to President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court after Antonin Scalia's death and Congressional Republicans refusing to consider his nomination for a whole year for political reasons.  Had they done what was right and what was normally done, Garland would be sitting on the bench for the Supreme Court right now and our country would be in a much safer position.  So never forget that this sickening human being bears an incredible amount of responsibility for our current troubles:

Mitch McConnell

This is concerning

If the counterintelligence community doesn't trust the President, is that bad?  I think it might be.

Be aware of this man

Senior Adviser Stephen Miller

His ability to lie without concern for the consequences will bring him to our attention again very soon.

Watch this video!

It's at the end of the article.  Yes, that's top policy adviser, Stephen Miller, again making unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud.  He also said, "we're going to protect innocent men, women, and children from violent, criminal, illegal immigrants that need to be removed from this country".  I'm pretty sure that this administration has enough people who are willing to lie for it already.  We don't need this guy too.  Unbelievable.

Surprising Update:  It's not surprising, I was joking.

The Muslim Ban

From the Washington Post article and the court:

The administration made the argument that the case was not even reviewable, despite ample precedent from the George W. Bush years. In its most memorable line of the opinion the judges held, “There is no precedent to support this claimed unreviewability, which runs contrary to the fundamental structure of our constitutional democracy.”

From the article:

This is a humiliating defeat for the White House, revealing just how amateurish the president and his advisers are. The frightful part is that if they cannot handle a simple executive order, what makes anyone think they can handle far more difficult challenges?

"The Blessed Ban"

Wow.  ISIS is calling Trump's Muslim ban, "the blessed ban" because they believe it "proves that the West is at war with Islam."  Great job, Mr. President.

How to act

President Obama's photographer is making a point, or 10.

Quote: Rosie Ayliffe

"This vilification of whole nation states and their people based on religion is a terrifying reminder of the horror that can ensue when we allow ourselves to be led by ignorant people into darkness and hatred," said Rosie Ayliffe, a woman whose daughter's murder was falsely claimed to be an act of terrorism by President Trump.

Maybe she should be heard

Dear Senator Thurmond:
I write to express my sincere opposition to the confirmation of Jefferson B. Sessions as a federal district court judge for the Southern District of Alabama. My professional and personal roots in Alabama are deep and lasting. Anyone who has used the power of his office as United States Attorney to intimidate and chill the free exercise of the ballot by citizens should not be elevated to our courts. Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters. For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship.
I regret that a long-standing commitment prevents me from appearing in person to testify against this nominee. However, I have attached a copy of my statement opposing Mr. Sessions’ confirmation and I request that my statement as well as this be made a part of the hearing record.
I do sincerely urge you to oppose the confirmation of Mr. Sessions.
Sincerely,
Coretta Scott King

Senator Elizabeth Warren was prevented from reading this on the Senate floor during the nomination debate of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.  What's wrong with this country?

Update:  "She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."

Never forget these names...

In a few years, the damage they've done will be more clear than it is now.  Truly shameful.

Today 50 freely elected Senators showed us who they were. They demonstrated, unequivocally, that they value campaign contributions over schoolchildren. They approved a person who plagiarized part of her responses to their questionnaire, who was not familiar with the most basic issues in education policy, and who is comfortable with guns in classrooms to lead the Education Department. These Senators ignored thousands of constituent calls, the advice of experts and the pleas of educators to vote against the confirmation of Betsy DeVos. They deserve no peace until their next election. This is wrong, and a generation of children may suffer for their cowardice. We need campaign finance reform now. Cabinet posts should not be for sale.  Gretchen Whitmer

Read this article

Don't let this happen to us: "Whataboutism at home, just like whataboutism abroad, could slowly but surely exhaust and frustrate the American public until we just throw up our hands."  Be on the look-out for "whataboutism".

When a president regularly and purposely obscures the lines between reality and fantasy, that president can not be trusted to lead the American people and needs to go.

"Hateful Things"

Last night, I went to a local public library to view a traveling exhibit and hear a talk. It was called "Hateful Things".  The topic was racism.  The theme was "Using Objects of Intolerance to teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice."  It was presented by Dr. David Pilgrim, the founder of the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University.

It was well done.  Dr. Pilgrim is a lively speaker with many important things to say. One of the more important of those things was that this is not just a historical problem.  The objects he has displayed in the exhibit and at the museum are still being created to this day.  So it's an on-going problem.  Especially in our current political climate, this is something about which we all need to be aware.  I intend to visit the full museum.  You should check it out.

The first paragraph of the article says it all

Holy cow:

Retired US Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey slammed President Donald Trump's defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, calling it "the most anti-American statement ever made by the president of the United States."

If there's a hell...

then this man is going to burn there for all of eternity for his role in justifying torture during the George W. Bush administration:

And even he thinks President Trump is going too far.

Oh, my gosh

Donald J. Trump 

✔@realDonaldTrump

Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting.

7:01 AM - 6 Feb 2017

This is truly upsetting. Where is the rest of the media right now? Every legitimate media source on the planet should be calling this out today.  "Any negative polls are fake news"?  Are you kidding me?

Yes, a picture really is worth a thousand words

Much credit goes to the creators:  Cynthia Sousa (@theamat) and Sam Machado (@samscenarist).  See more of their art at http://www.cartoonmovement.com/p/38690

Hate will not win

It's little events like this that give hope about the next four years.

Gregory Locke, on Facebook:

"I guess this is Trump's America," said one passenger. No sir, it's not. Not tonight and not ever. Not as long as stubborn New Yorkers have anything to say about it.

Americans Against Hate!

This President is ignorant and dangerous

Our President wrote this about a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush:  "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!"  "So-called" and "ridiculous" are clear attempts to undermine the authority of a federal judge.  It is unacceptable behavior from the President of the United States.

As people around the world march in protest of President Trump's Muslim ban, Patrick Leahy, a senior Democratic senator from Vermont, called Trump’s comments "embarrassing" and "dangerous".  He also said, "he seems intent on precipitating a Constitutional crisis," adding that the judge was under attack merely for "having the audacity to do his job".

Update:  I guess the judge wasn't "ridiculous" after all, since another federal judge agreed with him.  I can't say that I'm surprised.

Because the rich people of the world don't have enough money

Let the corruption run rampant:

"'It should be lost on no one that in less than 48 hours, the Republican-controlled Senate has confirmed the former head of ExxonMobil to serve as our secretary of state, and repealed a key anti-corruption rule that Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute have erroneously fought for years,' Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said, referring to the oil industry's trade group."

U.S. Navy SEAL dies in Trump's first military operation

It appears that preparation for the mission was not done properly.

A positive development

A federal judge from Seattle blocked President Trump's Muslim ban today.  Let's see what happens now.

She just made it up

At about the 2:50 mark in the video in the link, Kellyanne Conway says a complete lie because it supports her argument.  It has no basis in reality.  It did not happen. This is a spokesperson for our President.  Will she come out and apologize for spreading lies?  I won't be holding my breath.

Huh?

Not a man to be taken lightly.

So either the President of the United States and his Press Secretary don't know who Frederick Douglass was or maybe this is some twisted attempt to remove him from history, as they recently did with not mentioning the Jewish people who suffered and died in the Holocaust on Holocaust Remembrance Day?

Why am I in a position to even have to wonder about this?  What is wrong with this country?

Frederick Douglass is one of the most important people in the history of the United States.  If you are somehow as ignorant of him as our President apparently is, please educate yourself.  This will be a decent start.  Enjoy.