Today's Best Joke

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have thought he was mocking those he has railed against when posing with a handmade snowflake. However, its hidden message showed that he was the subject of the joke.

In an image that has gone viral, the Republican seemed unaware of the word "fascist" that appeared in the framed gift handed to him at a GOP political rally in Davenport, Iowa. Steven Goffman of The Washington Post tweeted that the state's Republican Governor Kim Reynolds had also been given the gift.

"My friend makes snowflakes to give to politicians who come to Iowa—there are special messages for odious Republicans—please look at the snowflake carefully," tweeted Iowa Captive of the image. As of Saturday, it had been viewed more than 1 million times, prompting wry comments.

"If the snowflake fits," tweeted the Democratic Senator Bob Duff, who is majority leader, of the Connecticut Senate. Right-wing commentator Laura Loomer wrote on Twitter: "DeSantis got trolled in Iowa. Read the snowflake."

The term fascist has been bandied around to describe some of the actions of DeSantis in running the Sunshine State.

Earlier this March, Florida Democratic congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost said that DeSantis's policies targeting Black, transgender and LGBTQ people smacked of "fascism."

In 2022, DeSantis signed into law the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. It stopped sexual orientation or gender identity being discussed in kindergarten through third grade and limited such instruction in other age groups.

DeSantis was also criticized for barring the teaching of an Advanced Placement African American studies course in the state-school curriculum.

The Washington Post reported that GOP lawmakers in Florida have proposed legislation that includes requiring teachers to use pronouns of children's sex as assigned at birth.

Although he has not declared his intentions, DeSantis is considered a key contender to be the GOP nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

However, a leading expert on fascism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, from New York University, warned this month that DeSantis would "destroy our democracy" if he were to take the White House.

DeSantis's Iowa trip faced another glitch when a video truck appeared outside the event, playing clips that showed his conflicting statements on social security. He has distanced himself from his previous support for privatizing the program and raising retirement age.

A DeSantis run for president would involve a clash with Donald Trump, who mocked the Florida governor's visit to Iowa on his Truth Social account. "Very small crowds for Ron DeSanctimonious in Iowa," wrote the former president.

"He's against farmers, Social Security, and Medicare, so why would people show up—other than fake stories from the fake news!"

Say What?

So I'm coming out of Lowe's, and I see a guy asking a lady to sign his petition, in support of strict Voter ID laws.

Her: Do you need to see my ID for this?

Him: Nope.

Her: So how do you know I'm a real voter?

Him: We verify it with the voter registration rolls down at the county building.

Her: You just explained why Voter ID is totally unnecessary.

Turnout

I was a little worried that this year's Women's March numbers might be down, and it would indicate that we're sliding into normalization due to Trump Fatigue.

Looks like I didn't have to be concerned at all - except that I haven't seen a great level of solid confirmation, but that could be a priority conflict with the Press Poodles having to decide between the protests and the shutdown.

Still, marches went off as planned, and (apparently) exceeded my expectations.

Vox:

Crowd estimates from Women’s Marches on Saturday now tally over 4 million and political scientists think we may have just witnessed the largest day of demonstrations in American history.

According to data collected by Erica Chenoweth at the University of Denver and Jeremy Pressman at the University of Connecticut, marches held in more than 600 US cities were attended by at least 4.2 million people.

- and -

The turnout at events outside the US was significant, too. Chenoweth and Pressman have recorded over 200 international Women’s Marches with an estimated attendance of more than 307,000.

Half the town of Stanley, Idaho (pop. 63) came out in a snowstorm to march in peace & solidarity w/ men, women, & children on 7 continents. pic.twitter.com/tLPCognu2t

— Carole King (@Carole_King) January 22, 2017

The Nation, John Nichols (pay wall):

A review of the president’s approval ratings from the states that provided Trump with the narrow margin he gained in the Electoral College found across-the-board evidence of decay in enthusiasm. With 55 percent disapproval of Trump in Michigan, 53 percent disapproval in Wisconsin, and 51 percent disapproval in Pennsylvania, a credible case could be made that, were Trump on the ballot today, he would lose both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote by considerable margins.

But Trump is not on the ballot today, or even this year.

If Trump is ever on the ballot again, it will not be until 2020.

What matters now is who else is on the ballot. The 2018 mid-term elections will be a critical test for the president’s Republican Party and, if patterns hold, they could see a turn in the electoral math sufficient to check and balance the president in Washington while removing his allies in the states. That’s an essential combination because it is not just Trump but Trumpism–as practiced by presidential allies such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker–that must be addressed if the crisis of conservative hegemony is going to ease.

Be Aware

Heading for some fun in the big city? Don't forget the big advice:

Notice what's going on around you, and don't act like a victim

Same goes with this fight against the Alt-Right assholes among us. We need to know what's up, and we need to know who's who.

Southern Poverty Law Center - The Hate Map:

1. Check the locations of these groups 
2. Compare with the map of your Congressional District
3. Call your Representative and make it known that you expect loud public condemnation of them

Approaching Overload

Here at the end of another long fucking day.

Trump had undisclosed hour-long meeting with Putin at G-20 summit

Donald Trump Jr. Met Russian Accused of Laundering $1.4 Billion

Present at the Destruction: How Rex Tillerson Is Wrecking the State Department

(this is from a coupla weeks ago - watch Rachel's last segment from last night if you want that knot in your stomach to get worse)

Republicans divided on debt ceiling strategy

House GOP aims to shut down federal election agency

Quick Survey

We now know Ms Veselnitskaya handed off some kind of file at the meeting in Trump Tower last year.  What was in that file?

a) Kompromat on Hillary

b) Kompromat on Trump(s)

c) both

d) Dammit - I shoulda built that survival bunker when I had the chance

One thing - overload is what these assholes are trying to achieve. They need to shock the system and get us back on our heels.

Get some ideas of what you've been in favor of recently - why you voted for Bernie or Hillary or whoever. Make a list, and bullet-point those ideas so you can rebut the recent bullshit narrative that Liberals are only about blocking Trump and they don't have anything to propose and blah blah blah (Daddy State Rule 1: every accusation is a confession, and sometimes they take the shit they've been guilty of for years and project it onto their opponents)

• Voting Rights and Campaign Finance Reform
• $15 minimum wage
• College tuition help
• Move towards single payer healthcare
• Infrastructure
• Renewable energy and Climate Change

Don't get nuts - keep it to 3 or 4 and always ALWAYS ALWAYS lead with your strongest point, and weave it into a statement of your values.

"I think every adult has the right and the duty to vote. We don't keep our democracy without free and fair elections, and we have to level the playing field so everybody has the same opportunity, and nobody gets to buy the means of making his voice count for more than anybody else's."

Take A Break And Stay At It

Chuck Wendig, terribleminds.com

My fave is #5.

These are dumb times and dumb times often call for tireless marathons of beer and donuts and naps — and definitely do those things from time to time! — but also, like, eat some fucking vegetables, get some exercise, get some rest. Trust me, I get it, pretty much every day I hit a period where I’m like, “The best thing I can do right now would be to drink whiskey until I stop recognizing the world,”

The Barny Frank Handbook

Barny Frank in Policy Mic:

After 32 years in the House of Representatives, here is my advice on how people opposed to President Donald Trump’s assault on our basic values — a majority of those who voted last November — can best influence members of Congress. Done the right way, communications from citizens can have a significant impact on legislators, even when they claim to be immune to “pressure.” (“Pressure,” in legislative jargon, is the expression of views with which legislators disagree, as opposed to “public opinion” — the term used for sentiments that reinforce their own.)

The key to doing it right is being clear about the goal, which is to persuade the Senator or Representative receiving the communication that how he or she votes on the issue in question will affect how the sender will vote the next time the legislator is on the ballot. 

This means the following:

Make sure you’re registered to vote — lawmakers check. 

Many office holders will check this, especially for people who write to them frequently. Elected officials pay as much attention to those who are not registered to vote as butchers do to the food preferences of vegetarians.

Lawmakers don’t care about people outside of their district. 

You can only have an impact on legislators for or against whom you will have a chance to vote the next time they run. In almost all cases, this means only people in whose state or district you live. Senators or representatives whose names will not be on the ballot you cast are immune to your pressure. There is a small set of exceptions — representatives who want to run for a statewide office in the next election will be sensitives of voters throughout their states. 

Your signature — physical or electronic — on a mass petition will mean little.

You are trying to persuade the recipient of your communication that you care enough about an issue for it to motivate your voting behavior. Simply agreeing to put your name on a list does not convey this. I have had several experiences of writing back to the signer of a petition to give my view on an issue only to be answered by someone who wondered why I thought he or she cared. 

The communication must be individual. It can be an email, physical letter, a phone call or an office visit. It need not be elaborate or eloquent — it is an opinion to be counted, not an essay. But it will not have an impact unless it shows some individual initiative.

Know where your representative stands. 

If you have contact with an organization that is working on this issue, try to learn if the recipient of your opinion has taken a position on it. When I received letters from people urging me to vote for a bill of which I was the prominent main sponsor, I was skeptical that the writer would be watching how I voted.

Communicate — even if you and your representative disagree. 

On the other hand, even where you are represented by people whom you know oppose you on an issue, communicate anyway. Legislators do not simply vote yes or no on every issue. If enough people in a legislator’s voting constituency express strong opposition to a measure to which that legislator is ideologically or politically committed, it might lead him or her to ask the relevant leadership not to bring the bill up. Conflict avoidance is a cherished goal of many elected officials.

Say “thank you.” 

Even if your Representative and Senators are committed to your causes, you should write or call to thank them — not frequently, but enough for them to feel reinforced.

Enlist the help of friends in other districts. 

Your direct communication with legislators outside your voting area will have no impact. But you do have friends, relatives, associates etc. Find out who the potentially influenceable legislators are on issues of prime importance to you, think about people you may know in their constituencies, and ask those who share your views to communicate with those who represent them. On an extremely important issue, get out the list to who you mail holidays cards or important invitations and ask them to communicate with their legislators.

To repeat the essence of point 5, if a legislator who you might have expected to vote differently — e.g. a Republican who votes no on a Trump priority — votes as you have urged, send a thank you.

Dear President Bannon

Let's do this.

Resist

Robert Reich in AlterNet

As the era of Trump approaches, some of you are succumbing to the following four syndromes:

1. Normalizer Syndrome. You want to believe Trump will be just another president—more conservative and pompous than most, but one who will make rational decisions once in office.

You are under a grave delusion. Trump has a serious personality disorder and will pose a clear and present danger to America and the world.

2. Outrage Numbness Syndrome. You are no longer outraged by what Trump says or what he does—his incessant lies, his cabinet picks, his bullying, his hatefulness—because you’ve gone numb. You can’t conceive that someone like this is becoming president of the United States, so you’ve shut down emotionally. Maybe you’ve even stopped reading the news.

You need to get back in touch with your emotions and reengage with what’s happening.

3. Cynical Syndrome. You’ve become so cynical about the whole system—the Democrats who gave up on the working class and thereby opened the way for Trump, the Republicans who suppressed votes around the country, the media that gave Trump all the free time he wanted, the establishment that rigged the system—that you say the hell with it. Let Trump do his worst. How much worse can it get?

You need to wake up. It can get a lot worse.

4. Helpless Syndrome. You aren’t in denial. You know that nothing about this is normal; you haven’t become numb or stopped reading the news; you haven’t succumbed to cynicism. You desperately want to do something to prevent what’s about to occur.

But you don’t know what to do. You feel utterly powerless and immobilized.

Millions of others feel equally powerless. But taking action—demonstrating, resisting, objecting, demanding, speaking truth, joining with others, making a ruckus, and never ceasing to fight Trump’s pending tyranny—will empower you. And with that power you will not only minimize the damage that is about to occur, but also get this nation and the world back on the course it must be on.

If you find yourself falling into one or more of these syndromes, that’s understandable. Normalizing, numbing, becoming cynical, and feeling powerless are natural human responses to the gross absurdity and genuine peril posed by Trump.

But I urge you to pull yourself out. We need you in the peaceful resistance army, starting January 20.

Today's Tweet

Trans people should start dropping off jars filled with their urine at @PatMcCroryNC's office so his staff can oversee its safe disposal.

— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) May 9, 2016

Dan Savage is the kind of guerrilla activist we haven't seen in too long a time.