cupidsbower:

I’ve seen a few people on my dash asking why Obama, Clinton and Sanders are suddenly saying they want Trump to succeed, when he’s obviously still unfit for the presidency. And I actually have an explanation for this, so thought I’d share.

You know how all of them have been saying that the peaceful transition of power is essential to a democracy? That is at the heart of what’s happening here.

You see, once you’re an elected representative, you have certain duties than come with the role which are not about your personal preferences or your party. They are about maintaining the democracy. For quite a while now, a significant number of the Republicans have not been doing these essential duties – that’s why the government had to shut down for a while in 2013. The Republicans refused to do the job they were elected to do.

When you have elected officials refusing to do their jobs, and/or ignoring the rule of law, it undermines democracy. It makes it dysfunctional and fragile, and for people to want to get rid of the things that aren’t working. That’s very dangerous, because if done in haste, it’s is likely to destabilise the whole system and its checks and balances. It can open the way for dictatorships and monopolies and other threats to the state.

Now Trump is elected, and he’s elected without a majority or even a plurality vote. He’s elected via the Electoral College only, which many people have seen as problematic since Gore’s loss to Bush. With this new outcome – which many see as undemocratic (quite rightly, but that is another post, and more complex that it seems on the surface) – people are calling for the Electoral College to be dismantled. Further, Trump was elected on a platform which promised to sweep out a lot of the old political ways of doing things, which is worrying in this kind of climate.

What this means is that America is facing a very real threat to its democracy right now. And it puts Obama in a very difficult position. While he’s still President, he has a lot of power, and he has a voice, and he could easily foment unrest or revolution. It wouldn’t be hard given the current situation. But to deny the peaceful transition of power right now would very likely break the union, break the democracy, and create an even bigger disaster than Trump could. Once you stop the elected representative from taking power, and/or cast official doubt on the outcome, the democracy is irrevocably damaged.

That is not to say Trump’s Presidency isn’t a real danger – it is. But there are still checks and balanced in place right now. Even the Electoral College is one of those checks and balances, for all that it’s not working very well – but that has a lot to do with it now being a party-focused institution instead of an independent one. It’s not actually working as it was designed to, because if it was, they would not endorse Trump. Stopping demagogues was part of its purpose.

Anyway, the point is, Obama is being very conscientious, in order to make sure there are no further cracks in the democratic process that Trump, or more realistically, Pence, can use to destroy or destabilise America’s democracy. No-one wants Dictator Trump or Pence, except perhaps Pence.

Once Obama is out of office, I think you’ll see a significant shift in what he says. He will be more free to speak as a private citizen than he is now, while wearing the responsibilities of President. And once the Electoral College have done their thing and the inauguration has taken pace, I think you will see a shift in Sanders and Clinton as well. This fragile moment will have passed, and there will be other battles to fight to keep Trump and Pence in check.

When we live in long-established democracies, it’s easy to forget that they are just a system we built. They can be broken, and very quickly if we do not take care of them. The outcome of such breakdowns has always been disastrous. Obama is taking care. Clinton and Sanders are taking care. Their hands are tied on this, if they want to maintain America’s democracy, but they will be untied soon enough.

That said, all three of them are speaking in code if you listen carefully. They say “if” a lot, and speak in the general about potential problems without naming names. This is the language of aware politicians who understand that there are fragile faultlines even in a robust democracy.

It’s actually quite terrifying that they are all being so very, very careful.

perplexistan:

Using this spreadsheet:

1. All election cycle, Donald Trump has been our problem. Now, we’re HIS PROBLEM, and since Congress serves us, SO ARE THEY. Let’s use the best tool at our disposal (our elected representation) to show Donald once and for all that, in our America, LOVE TRUMPS HATE.

2. Begin with the WEEKLY-CALL-TO ACTION. This is the #1 priority for calls.

3. Toward the end of the week, when you have made and followed up on the WEEKLY-CALL-TO-ACTION, make calls re: specific progressive issues that are important to you. Call about even-numbered issues on Thursdays and odd-numbered issues on Fridays. Try to avoid calling about an issue that is directly-related to the WEEKLY-CALL-TO-ACTION, since officials will likely receive lots of calls about this particular topic. If that issue is super important to you, just make extra follow-up calls using the WEEKLY-CALL-TO-ACTION script.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/174f0WBSVNSdcQ5_S6rWPGB3pNCsruyyM_ZRQ6QUhGmo/htmlview?usp=sharing&sle=true#

Do you care about: 

• Trump’s problematic, racist or otherwise inexperienced appointments?
  
• Health care?
• Immigration? 
• Reproductive rights?
• Civil liberties/First Amendment issues?
• Marriage equality?
• Police brutality/criminal justice?
• Refugees?
• Gun violence protection? 
• Climate change?

Then you need to open this Google doc now and read for tips, scripts and specific guidelines on how to make your voice heard to your reps and block Donald Trump’s harmful agenda. It will offer a weekly call-to-action, in addition to guidelines for specific issues you might care about that you can raise regularly.  

It can be difficult or anxiety-inducing to know what to do or even what to say when you’re taking action. This guide helps you with all those barriers. It has scripts on what to say whether your rep is a Democrat or Republican, how to tailor your message for specific issues, and even what days to call. PLEASE REBLOG AND SHARE WIDELY. 

political-cartoons:

For whatever reason, the Donald administration has put up a public survey about peoples’ priorities in his first 100 days.

So if you’re from the US, you should take it, and if I may–I suggest that (among many terrible options and ideas) you say that making childcare tax-deductible, lobbyist bans, and veterans’ healthcare are all very important, and that Keystone XL, offshore drilling, etc. are not important to you.

At worst, you waste 5 minutes of your time; at best, enough people take it and he gets steered into a less insane direction. The dude does not seem to have a good idea of what he’s doing, and you can imagine that public opinion is going to be very important to him because he is an insecure man-child, so maybe you can influence some public good, capisce? Throw me a reply if you end up doing it. Have fun!

pearwaldorf:

sashayed:

sashayed:

xlivvielockex:

Reposted from something I saw on Facebook

“I just called the House Oversight Committee (202-225-5074) to support the call for a bipartisan review of Trump’s financials and apparent conflicts of interest. It took me two minutes, and the woman on the phone said that they are absolutely tallying calls - the more they get, the more likely the Committee is to demand ALL of Trump’s financial information.

She said that there’s not much time left, as they are out of the office next week for Thanksgiving. And after that, they’re going to make a decision.

NOW is your chance to use what’s left of democracy to send a strong message and demand change. Please, do this ASAFP. If you get a “mailbox is full” message, call back in a minute or so - that seems to be the default when lines are busy.

That number again is (202-225-5074). Website here:

https://oversight.house.gov/

“Likes” feel nice in the short term. “Shares” get the word out. ACTUALLY CALLING ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING.”

NICE; GOOD; AS IMPORTANT AS CALLING YOUR REPS. I sometimes have an instinctive feeling that I have to stay focused on just one issue or lose the effectiveness of my voice. In some situations that might be true, but it’s just not the case when it comes to phone calls. Especially once you realize how easy they are. I have not gotten through yet, but I intend to keep trying!

We can also call committee members directly. Here’s a full list. If your own rep isn’t on there, I recommend going after the following two:

Jason Chaffetz, Chair
DC Office:  (202) 225-7751
UT Office: (801) 851-2500

and the amazing Elijah Cummings, ranking member:
DC Office: (202) 225-4741
Baltimore Office: (410) 685-9199

There’s a great sample script from @theworsthobby here.

“Hello, my name is _____ and I live in _____ and I would like to log my support of the bipartisan review of Donald Trump’s financials and conflicts of interest. Thanks! Have a great day.”

If you call a member directly, you might do something like:

“Hello, my name is _____ and I live in _____ and I’m calling because Congressperson _____ is [chair/ranking member/a member] of the House Oversight Committee. I would like to log my support of the bipartisan review of Donald Trump’s financials and conflicts of interest. Thanks! Have a great day.”

Congressman Chaffetz’s mailboxes (DC and UT) are both full, so it seems the people want to be heard. I faxed a letter to Congressman Cummings’s office. 

innerbrat:

animatedamerican:

sci-fantasy:

ekjohnston:

drst:

writerdarkflamespyre:

brethewriter:

hanz-whoa:

ficcyshit:

adobe-outdesign:

love-god-herself:

xmemorabilia:

spikespiegelfanclub:

candycoatedfury:

jayspeakswords:

resistanceposterboy:

i dont really like country but i do love those country songs where the women murder their abusers

Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks fuck yea

isn’t that like the only one bc if there is more i need to hear them

i haven’t listened to country since i was a kid but this one’s for the girls by martina mcbride is iconic and i get it stuck in my head sometimes

Gunpowder and Lead by Miranda Lambert.
She shoots her abuser with a shotgun 💕

“Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood is about a woman letting her abusive, alcoholic dad die in a tornado.

Carrie Underwood is the queen of this genre: Some other great ones:

• Church Bells - Carrie Underwood: A woman poisons her abusive husband and gets away with it after being beaten.
• Two Black Cadillacs  - Carrie Underwood: A woman meets the other woman her husband was cheating on and they team up to murder him, then attend the funeral with no remorse.
• The Thunder Rolls (Extended version) - Garth Brooks: Hard to find the extended cut, but in the full version the woman grabs a pistol and goes off to shoot her cheating husband.
• The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Reba McEntire: A man leaves town for a bit only to discover his best friend cheated on him with his wife. The friend is then shot by the man’s little sister and he is tried and sent to jail for it.
  

And no murder in these ones, but still contain women being amazing:

• Girl in a Country Song - Maddie and Tae: A song that name-drops or references every single country song that uses derogatory language about women, then chews them out for it. The “your country is music is problematic“ song basically.
  
• Shut Up and Fish - Maddie and Tae: A girl goes on a fishing song with a guy who will not stop talking and trying to hit on her, so she dumps him in the lake.
  
• Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood: A woman totally trashes her boyfriend’s car after he cheats on her to teach him a lesson.
• Dirty Laundry - Carrie Underwood: A woman figures out her husband is cheating by the stains on his clothes, then proceeds to tell all the neighbors and hang the shirt out front in case he dares to show back up again.

“Independence Day” by Martina McBride: the mom burns down the house to escape her abusive husband.

And Miranda Lambert has a lot of “fuck you/this” sounding songs about revenge and cheating:
- “Kerosene”: it’s heavily implied by the lyrics and video that she’s burning down her ex’s house for cheating.
- “Mama’s Broken Heart”: is more about her mom trying to shame her for falling apart after a break-up, and the video is a wild bird-flipping romp around the house making herself up to look “crazy” and “hysterical” to spite her.

Adding to this: “Something bad” A duet by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood where two girls run off to have a night on the town- presumably after the one ran away from her own wedding and took her entire life’s savings with her.

Back to the original murder theme, I highly recommend “Looking Back Now” (originally titled “Whiskey and a Gun”) by Maggie Rose. Woman shoots her cheating boyfriend/husband, goes to jail, ends up shooting the prison guard who rapes her. (Okay, so she dies by lethal injection at the end, but still, awesome song.)

Maggie McCall by Sandi Thom… O.o

Adele covered “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” which was about killing a girlfriend and switched the pronouns to be about killing a male ex. *eg*

I’m usually against pronoun switching in covers, but this is my exception, I think.

“Country Song” by Seanan McGuire fits in here too–if you add in the part where it’s a retelling of the movie Slither.

Slightly off to one side of the main theme, but: Dar Williams’s “Flinty Kind of Woman” is about the women of a small New England town who band together to hunt down (and, it is implied, kill) a child molester.

So I made this a Spotify playlist.