Trump's America

[Lalaith]

I don't think people here are missing the bigger picture. I think we're well aware of what Trump's election to president reveals about our country, or we're at least beginning to evaluate it to see all that it may mean. However, I don't see the need to separate Trump the person from Trump the bigger picture for our country. Both are frightening, dismaying, and infuriating, all at the same time. And Trump is the embodiment of the sick state of this country. Could it have been someone else? Sure. But, again, I think it's perfectly fine and justifiable to both be afraid of the person and what he or she symbolizes, as well as to speak out against both the person and the deeper implications behind his/her rise to power.

If someone who was better behaved publicly made all the same policy and personnel choices that Trump made, would people still be up in arms?

Yes, some would be. It might not register quite so much with a larger population, though. That is true.

It seems the brutality of Republican policy wasn't enough to really upset people.

Again, yes, it did upset people. It upset me, as a Republican and has pushed me toward the Left. On the other hand, it has also not upset other Republicans and has pushed them to vote for someone like Trump. I hear it from some of the people I work with. They love how brash he is, how outspoken, how unabashed and unafraid to speak his mind. They like his "policies" and his promises. It's quite dismaying to me to hear this.

I had this conversation last night at my parents' dinner table, and I know that my dad at least voted for Trump. I believe my mom did, too, though she tried to deny it. I looked her dead in the eye and said, "You had a Trump sign in your front yard. If you didn't vote for him, then you are still responsible for his election."

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Good for you, Lali. I don't know that I would have been able to do that.

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[River]

It sounds almost like people are converging on the hypothesis that Trump is the embodiment of what's in a fair number of people's hearts.

If this is true...what Lali said.

That said, there're Republicans and then there are Trump voters. There's a guy at my workplace who is a lifetime, habitual Republican. You know, punches the ticket because there's an R by the name and doesn't think twice (and I know Democrats come in the same variety so please don't think I'm generalizing). But he just couldn't do Trump. I'm not sure who he voted for, but the whole "Grab them by the pussy" thing was just so over this person's line that he just couldn't. Nor can he understand those who could. And yet it looks like the Republican party machinery is falling in behind the President-Elect. I wonder what people like my coworker are going to do as this continues. I wonder.

Meanwhile, I wonder what's going to happen to states that legalized marijuana. If the Justice Department goes all drug warrior that's going to put some real hurt on the Colorado economy.

[Primula Baggins]

On a lighter note (I think):

The top five words trending on Merriam-Webster online today:

salacious
"Arousing or appealing to sexual desire”
recuse
From the Anglo-French word 'recuser' (“to refuse”)
nepotism
From the Latin word for 'nephew'
disparage, disparagement
“to speak slightingly about”
sycophant
"a servile self-seeking flatterer"

Hmmmm. . . .

[Lalaith]

Jewel, please, please, start this chant while you are marching in DC:

http://www.someecards.com/entertainment ... rump-song/

(NSFW, really.)

[Frelga]

‘Learning Curve’ as Rick Perry Pursues a Job He Initially Misunderstood

When President-elect Donald J. Trump offered Rick Perry the job of energy secretary five weeks ago, Mr. Perry gladly accepted, believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry that he had long championed in his home state.

In the days after, Mr. Perry, the former Texas governor, discovered that he would be no such thing — that in fact, if confirmed by the Senate, he would become the steward of a vast national security complex he knew almost nothing about, caring for the most fearsome weapons on the planet, the United States’ nuclear arsenal.

I highly recommend reading the entire article.

[yovargas]

(The link is to an NYT article from 2015.)

[Frelga]

Sorry, here's the correct link https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/u ... ml?referer

[Túrin Turambar]

President Trump's inaugural address

Fairly brief and to the point. A few things I picked up on:
He thanked the Obamas graciously for their help in the transition and drew loud cheers from the audience.
"For too long a small group of people in Washington D.C. have reaped the rewards of government while the people have born the costs...their victories have not been your victories."
"What truly matters is not which party controls government, but whether government is controlled by the people."
The education system flushed with cash but not delivering results (which is a fair call, as the U.S. spends more per capita on education than almost any other country with mixed results).
"We are one nation, their dreams are our dreams, and their success will be our success."
"We defended other nations' borders while refusing to defend our own."
A lot of talk about infrastructure again, mirroring his victory speech.
He will eradicate radical Islamic terrorism (a very big call!).
"When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice."
Going into space to free humanity?
And the crowd-pleasing "make America great again" at the end.

[yovargas]

I've been ignoring the news the best I can for, well, months now, really, but I've got to say, I am finding the sight of these massive protests everywhere heartening.

[Primula Baggins]

Many seem to have been much bigger than expected. The one in Eugene had 10,000 people, which is a lot for a city of 150,000 in steady cold rain. I couldn't go—had to work—but I want to go to the next one. Which there will surely be.

ETA adorable fact: Some of the police officers monitoring the march in Portland, Oregon, including men, were wearing pussy hats. Protesters kept hugging them.

[River]

DC transit is saying they had more riders today than yesterday, which is an indicator of a larger crowd.

My mom went to the Seattle march and almost didn't make it home. Massive breakdown in the Seattle public transit. 3 times more people showed up for the march than anticipated and the Seattle Metro just couldn't handle it.

I didn't go to the Denver march. I wanted to but then my common sense kicked in. I do not do well in crowds and I've got enough pent-up anxiety over other stuff that going to an event like that *would* trigger full-on pulse-pounding, face-flushing, feels-like-I'm-inhaling-cloth anxiety attack. But I'll try and catch another one. Because there will be another one. Of this I am sure.

[narya]

I went to the Oakland California march. Oakland is old hat at being mobbed by large numbers of people so the metro system worked extremely well, dumping all 60,000 to 80,000 people at the beginning of the march, and picking them all up at the end of the march. Everyone politely stood around for an hour or two in the park next to the metro station, waiting for the march to start, doing tai chi, drumming, chanting, chatting, waiting in really long toilet queues, or just hanging out, then shuffled along the parade route at a fairly slow pace because we were so packed together. At no time did I feel unsafe. Despite tha fact that this was Oakland, I heard no news of violence during the march today. The mood of the crowd was loving, sharing, caring, politely assertive, and hopeful. It was a big kum-bai-yah group of all ages, races, orientations, genders, and key issues. I just hope it motivates people to take the next step: work for the disenfranchised for 4 years. By disenfranchised, I mean just about everyone, because 50% of the voters did not vote, 25% voted for Hillary, and 25% voted for a set of promises that I guarantee aren't going to turn out the way they expected.

[anthriel]

I do not do well in crowds and I've got enough pent-up anxiety over other stuff that going to an event like that *would* trigger full-on pulse-pounding, face-flushing, feels-like-I'm-inhaling-cloth anxiety attack.

[total aside comment] River, that is the best description of a panic attack I have ever seen. "Inhaling cloth"... yes. Yes, that is just it! [/total aside comment]

[River]

inorite? It's like the air turns into a sweatshirt. Fun times.

[Impenitent]

Americans, do you think there are any legs on the report that Caroline Kennedy is stepping up? That would be A New Hope.

I've seen the report on a couple of sites but I don’t know how credible they are.

http://bipartisanreport.com/2017/01/22/ ... get-ready/

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[Cerin]

As I recall, Caroline Kennedy launched a very short-lived bid for a New York Senate seat a short time ago, and withered quickly under the scrutiny and criticism. My impression was that she does not have the stomach for hard ball politics.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That article cites the NY Post as its source. Unless and until I see something from a source I consider more reliable than that, I would not take it seriously.

Of course, other people's mileage may vary.

What Cerin is referring to is that when Hillary Clinton was appointed Secretary of State, Kennedy expressed interested in being appointed by then Gov. David Patterson (who himself was a replacement for Eliott Spitzer after Spitzer resigned because of his prostitution scandal) and was supported by a number of prominent politicians. However, Kennedy was criticized for not voting in a number of Democratic primaries and general elections since and for not providing details about her political views, and did poorly in interviews. She subsequently withdrew from consideration. Four years later she was appointed by President Obama to be ambassador to Japan. Whether that experience would help her do a better job expressing herself in interviews remain to be seen (assuming there is any truth to the Post report).

[Impenitent]

I see. I have not followed American politics with enough zeal to have background on her. The Kennedy name has a certain cache which caught my attention, but it's not worth much without substance and passion.

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[Primula Baggins]

I think the left needs to get out of the habit of looking for a charismatic person to follow and into the habit of looking to themselves and each other. We're not going to get out of this hole unless we're all climbing.