Published on Portside (https://portside.org/)

Tidbits – Nov. 21 – Reader Comments: Trump 2.0; Resistance 2.0 and Community Organizing; Myths About Kamala Harris’s Loss; Scoundrel Time – Lessons From the McCarthy Period for Today; Your Help Needed – Cubans Needs Our Help More Than Ever; Cartoons

https://portside.org/2024-11-21/tidbits-nov-21-reader-comments-trump-20-resistance-20-and-community-organizing-myths
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Your Help Needed:

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For Now, Here's A Big Hug

 


 

Posted on Facebook by
Jon Colburn,
Congregation President at Smithfield United Church of Christ

 

Trump to Lady Liberty: ‘Hasta La Vista, B****!’  --  Cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz

 


 

Lalo Alcaraz
November 15, 2024
https://www.pocho.com

 

Re: The 2017 Trump Resistance Playbook Is Out. Community Organizing Is In.
 

The Women’s March is now the People’s March, and groups working to oppose Trump’s agenda are highlighting specific actions volunteers can take.

Taylor Salditch, the executive director of Supermajority, a group that organizes young low-propensity voters around progressive issues, said she also thinks now is the time for listening and not reacting.

She said what feels necessary right now is the understanding that when it comes to talking to and about women, diversity of thought — and issues — matters.  “If you are reaching for contempt over curiosity, you’re doing bad organizing,” Salditch said.

Mary-Alice Strom
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Resistance 2.0
 

Both the circumstances and tactics will necessarily be different from the anti-Trump resistance of 2017, and there is little room for error.

Bernard Sampson
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Pandora's Box  --  Cartoon by Rob Rogers

 

Each of Trump's cabinet choices is scarier than the last. I keep thinking of that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Nazis open the Ark and their faces begin to melt.

Rob Rogers
November 19, 2024
Tiny View

 

Re: Four Myths About Kamala Harris’s Loss
 

All the reasons given for Harris’s loss ignore the 900-pound elephant in the room: the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

If this were a “normal” election — meaning a battle between two politicians of reasonable stature — the reasons given for the loss of one of them would be worthy of consideration. But what occurred on Jan. 6 should have not only smashed Donald Trump's future ambitions, but should have sent him to jail. That horror of Jan. 6, and the candidate responsible for it, should have been in the forefront of the Democratic campaign.

The loopholes our legal system unfortunately contain, provide wily lawyers the opportunities to delay a case, as they’ve been able to do for three years. That delay, coupled with the Jan. 6 horror being all but overlooked in the subsequent years by the Democrats and the media, permitted Trump to not only be selected by the GOP as their nominee but to win the election.

I believe that since it was not an issue in the campaign, Donald Trump’s criminality was not in the forefront of the electorate’s reasoning. They would have realized that this is a man who cannot be trusted to aid them in any way. That is a tragedy whose outcome will be decided in the next four years.

Seymour Joseph

 

Re: What’s the Deal With the Latine Vote?
 

The diverse Latine experience, shaped by factors like immigration status, race, and class, is too often oversimplified—both by outsiders and within our own communities

Latine people come from colonized, Catholic-majority countries with deeply rooted casta systems, horrific track records on femicide, some of the most restrictive abortion laws on the books, assimilationist policies of mestizaje, denaturalization laws most notoriously seen in the Dominican Republican against Dominicans of Haitian descent, legacies of slavery that in some cases continue today, political violence against land defenders, dispossession, sexual violence, and genocide enacted against Black and Indigenous communities. In short, we come here ready-made for MAGA. The racism and bigotries of Latine communities are deeply rooted in our colonial histories. Race, anti-Blackness, and whiteness are not new concepts to us just because the language around these subjects might differ.

Our communities have been some of the hardest hit by the economic downturn, and “economic anxiety” is what led many to vote Republican. While it’s true that we are experiencing higher unemployment rates than the national average, African Americans are experiencing an even higher unemployment rate. They also experience generational structural violence and inequality due to their unique history with the U.S. and because anti-Blackness is enshrined in every aspect of American life—the worst of which is felt by African American women. Yet this heightened economic anxiety did not cause them to vote Republican.

David Berger
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Arizona Immigrants Fear Return to Mass Arrests As State Passes ‘Secure Our Border’ Act
 

A generation of Arizonans revolted against hardline immigration policies and won important battles. This year, the state voted to bring those policies back

Roberto E. Vargas
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Take Us To Your Leader  --  Cartoon by Dan Piraro

 


 

Unfortunately, this will probably not be happening. #CantHaveEverything

Dan Piraro
June 30, 2017
Dan Piraro Bizarro Comics

 

Re: Elon Musk’s Takeover
 

Trump said he knew nothing about Project 2025 and yet he just appointed Brendan Carr, the author of the Project 2025 chapter on the FCC, to the FCC. Just what Elon Musk wanted: government subsidies for Starlink for internet service which is more expensive than typical broadband and less competition.

Gregory Kestel
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Putin's Mouthpiece  --  Cartoon by Nick Anderson

 


 

Matt Gaetz is getting most of the attention right now, but please don't forget this useful idiot. She is dangerous to national security.

Nick Anderson
November 19, 2024
Pen Strokes

 

Re: Randy Newman's Genius for Political Irony
 

I'm a fan of Randy Newman, too. But I don't think appreciating him necessitates trashing all other political songwriters active today. I'm a member of People's Music Network, and regularly see on their listserv a gamut of songs--ironic, sincere, powerful and, admittedly, less-than-successful --to get us laughing, crying, singing along, thinking.

Peace,
Vicki Rovere

 

Re: Blue Collar Empire

(posting on Portside Labor)
 

Good review of book I just read

Joel Shufro

      =====

The transformation of the many US labor unions  into allies of government & corporations, among other things, welded the unions to US foreign policy. AFL-CIO antics in support of CIA & USAID projects directly harmed union movement efforts in other counties. Thanks to Ruth Needleman and Portside for this careful review of a new study documenting those terrible times.

Daniel Millstone
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Sanders Says US Complicity in Gaza ‘Must End’ Ahead of Senate Vote To Block Arms to Israel
 

"The United States government is currently in violation of the law, and every member of the U.S. Senate who believes in the rule of law should vote for these resolutions," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Regina Kelly
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: Israeli Ethnic Cleansing Nears Completion in Northern Gaza
 

An IDF general admitted that their goal was to expel residents and provide no options for return. Netanyahu’s cabinet changes means he is content to remain reliant not only on the ultra-Orthodox parties, but also extremists, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Netanyahu’s cabinet changes means he is content to remain reliant not only on the ultra-Orthodox parties who favor preserving a draft exemption that Gallant opposed, but also on extremists, such as national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who have been explicit in calling for a Gaza with Jewish settlers and no Palestinians.

Israel will become more of an international pariah as its actions become ever farther removed from anything that can plausibly be considered a just and appropriate response to the attack by Hamas last year. To the extent that the United States associates itself with those actions, through continued provision of arms and diplomatic cover, it will increasingly be a target of the international opprobrium. Specific consequences range from boycotts of U.S. businesses to terrorism against U.S. interests and citizens.

Mary-Alice Strom
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Hate Never Made Any Nation Great  --  Charlie Brown and Rerun

 

 

Re: Framed: Innocents in U.S. Prisons
 

Our problem with “innocents in U. S. prisons” shows more signs of increasing rather than diminishing.

Ebony Wallace
Posted on Portside's Facebook page

 

Re: In 1949, a Union Official Invited Colleagues to His Englewood Home. Some Were Black. Violence Ensued.
 

Violent racism is as American as cherry pie (to amend Rap Brown's words). It's important to keep in mind our history of struggle and the violence the racist right has imposed on us. Here, via Portside, Ron Grossman recalls an anti-Black, anti-communist riot in a Chicago neighborhood (about which I knew nothing til this morning).

Daniel Millstone
Post on Facebook

 

Kool Fluoride  --  Cartoon and Commentary by Clay Jones

RFK Jr and Kool-Aid doesn't mix well
 


 

Clay Jones
November 16, 2024
Claytoonz

Donald Trump is nominating Robert F Kennedy Jr to be the director of the Department of Health and Human Services. Much like Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Doug Burgum, Doug Collins (there was a special on Dougs), Chris Wright, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Stephen “Baby Goebbels” Miller, Little Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Kristi “Dog Killer” Noem, John Ratcliffe, Lee Zeldin, Elise (principles for sale) Stefanik, and JD Couch “Flipper” Vance, RFK Jr has zero experience to be the head of a $3 trillion health agency.

Remember the movie, Major League? An evil rich showgirl inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband except she doesn’t like Cleveland, so she tries to use an escape clause that would allow her to move the team if attendance falls below a certain level, so she stocks it with shitty players played by Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheene, Dennis Haysbert, Corbin Bernsen, and Wesley Snipes. I think Donald Trump is attempting to stock the government with enough shitweasels that they’ll do such a godawful job that he’ll be able to move the government to Florida. He’s going to Major League it except it’s not going to be funny.

Kennedy, who is not a doctor but did watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy once, has proposed tighter regulation of the pesticides farmers use, a reexamination of vaccine safety data, a ban on highly processed foods in schools, and a remaking of the agencies making the rules around health and nutrition. RFK Jr is a conspiracy theorist who opposes vaccines. He may help Trump get rid of Obamacare and bring back leeches (which is a creature that’s been used to describe his cabinet).

Aiono Prof Alec Ekeroma, the director general of health for Samoa’s Health Ministry told The Washington Post that Kennedy “will be directly responsible for killing thousands of children around the world by allowing preventable infectious diseases to run rampant.”

RFK visited Samoa in 2019 and discouraged the government from using vaccines. Four months later, there was a major outbreak of measles. More than 5,700 out of Samoa’s population of 200,000 were infected and 83 died, with many of them being children. Hospitals were overrun, and the nation declared a state of emergency. Samoa launched a massive vaccination campaign to stop the outbreak, and unvaccinated families were asked to hang red flags outside their homes.

Kennedy later described the outbreak as “mild,” much in the same way Trump claimed Covid wasn’t serious and would “disappear” like a “miracle” before he told the nation to ingest bleach.

If we lost the same percentage of our population that Samoa did due to RFK Jr’s ineptitude, over ten million Americans would die. Donald Trump is not taking any of this seriously. For him, this position is a payback for RFK Jr’s endorsement, not because he’s qualified for the job.

Those who don’t die because of RFK Jr will probably lose their teeth because he’s looking to remove fluoride from drinking water. This is going to suck.

We saw what happens with a health crisis with Donald Trump in charge but now, we’re going to get Doctor Dumbass joining him in Shitler 2.0.

Creative note: This was drawn on a train between Washington, DC and Fredericksburg.

 

Scoundrel Time
 

Bruce Hartford

[Opening remarks to Indivisible San Francisco membership meeting, November 17, 2024]

Civil Rights Movement Archive

Today I begin by acknowledging that our grievous defeat in the election has left me discouraged and deeply apprehensive.

I grew up under 1950s McCarthyism — an era of authoritarianism and political terror. That was the social environment in which I became politically active. Playwright Lillian Hellman referred to the McCarthy era as the "Scoundrel Time" because selfishness, cruelty, corruption, and fear ruled and dominated our government and our society.

As some of you know, I was active in the Civil Rights Movement. I'm very proud of the role that movement played in ending Jim Crow segregation and winning voting rights for nonwhite Americans — victories that today are under immediate threat of being rolled back and dismantled.

But it's less well known that in order to achieve those victories we first had to defy, discredit, nullify, and to a significant degree defeat McCarthyism. I take great pride in that lesser-known victory too.

60 years ago people like me — and like you all in this room — beat McCarthyism, beat segregation, and won voting rights for nonwhite Americans.

At the time, though, we DID NOT KNOW we were going to win those victories. We knew there were risks, we knew there were dangers, we knew that there would be jail and violence and pain and sorrow and deep heartache. But we did not know if we would win or lose.

But we did know that we HAD to fight because to give in would be to surrender our humanity. To give in would be to betray all those who had fought for freedom, equality, and justice before us.

What I've learned from more than six decades of political activism is that on the long road towards social justice and human rights there are no final victories — nor are there final defeats — there are only milestones that we achieve in victory, or are knocked back to in defeat.

Out of recognition that the fight for freedom and justice is a long, stony road I chose "Sojourner" as my messaging handle. The road ahead of us all is going to be long, hard, and difficult. But I know that people like us can, and will, defeat the political forces of racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, greed, and selfishness.

Copyright © Bruce Hartford

[Thanks to the author for sending this to Portside]

 

Cubans Needs Our Help More Than Ever  (Global Links)

 

A week ago, Cuba suffered a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. Days before that, category 3 Hurricane Rafael slammed into western Cuba. As Global Links’ staff and delegation were leaving Cuba on October 18, the power grid collapsed. Then Hurricane Oscar hit eastern Cuba. 

Last month, during a visit to mark our 30 years of collaboration in Cuba, we witnessed first-hand the vulnerable conditions of the country's electrical and road infrastructure. The already weakened power grid collapsed several times since we left, increasing obstacles to healthcare delivery and survival.

However we also witnessed the strength and compassion of the Cuban people and their priority despite overwhelming challenges: preserve human lives.  Despite power outages, shortages of medical supplies, fuel shortages and loss of human resources, the resilient and dedicated workforce in Cuba continues to care for the health needs of the Cuban people.  

Global Links has one shipment on its way to the island as a follow up to our visit in October, and we are planning more shipments to provide essential medical supplies and equipment so desperately needed. 

Global Links is working with PAHO/WHO and the Ministry of Health to prioritize how we can best respond to the crisis and will focus on addressing two critical areas:

We are only limited by the dollars that we can raise. Can you make a donation to help us rush as much medical aid to the island as possible before the change in administration?


 

Natural disasters, injustice and inequity, political battles- it can be overwhelming in light of so much need.  But I know that Global Links CAN and MUST do what we have the ability and capacity to do to support the trained personnel who dedicate their lives to caring for others.  

Can you help us by making a donation today? Simply note “DISASTER” in the online note field or check memo. Global Links has the licensing and relationships built over our 30 years of collaboration to rush life-saving medical aid as long as we can.  Thank you for understanding the urgency and imperative.   Please contact me  to discuss if you have any questions.

Angela Garcia (She/Her)

Executive Director, Global Links

Connect with us:

globallinks.org

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Global Links was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1989 by three individuals who saw a way to connect useful surplus medical materials from US hospitals to the needs of public health systems in communities that lack resources.

We share our experience and technical knowledge with international and domestic partners, and educate our volunteers, donors and the community on issues of global health and environmental stewardship. Respect for all people and our planet guides our mission.

We collaborate with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), as well as with in-country Ministries of Health and the medical and administrative leadership of public health systems. These partnerships have allowed Global Links to acquire in-depth knowledge about the health conditions in the communities we serve, form collaborative relationships and develop valuable cultural competence.

Global Links https://globallinks.org/
700 Trumbull Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Monday – Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

(412) 361-3424
info@globallinks.org
Global Links is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization
Federal tax I.D. number: 52-1629060

Source URL: https://portside.org/2024-11-21/tidbits-nov-21-reader-comments-trump-20-resistance-20-and-community-organizing-myths