Robert Kuttner has sage advice for those who oppose Trumpism, white supremacy, Proud Boys, and racism: Stay home during the demonstrations associated with Joe Biden’s inauguration.
| Lefties: Stay Away From This Weekend’s Disruptions |
| The left got very lucky when the far right laid siege to the U.S. Capitol. The whole thing unfolded so fast that there was no time to organize counterprotests. We should be thankful for that. There was no muddling of what occurred. Trump and his right-wing marauders reaped the blame. This was a neofascist attempted coup, pure and simple. It was not left-wingers street-fighting with right-wingers. Even the brief attempt by some on far-right media to blame antifa (if antifa even exists) fell flat. Next weekend, there will be violent, disruptive actions at state capitols. Law enforcement, massively embarrassed by the security failure at the U.S. Capitol, will be out in force. The spectacle, and the story, will be right-wing thugs versus the police, getting busted. It just doesn’t get any better than that. And we should keep it that way. The last thing we need is left protesters challenging the right, or trying to help law enforcement, or just showing up to make a point—and becoming a target when armed thugs are kept away from government buildings. This can degenerate all too quickly into a mutual riot, with culpability diffused and confused. The story is simple, and needs to stay that way—right-wing militias mounting more failed insurrections. A few far-left groups will relish the moment to heighten the contradictions, bash the right, or provoke the cops. Please, no. Napoleon put it well: “Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.” There are times to insist on our right to “take back the streets.” This is not one of those times. So stay home, follow it on TV or social media, and watch the far right overreach, get arrested, and take all the blame. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Trump’s 2024 campaign song announced:
I’m A Loser (Remastered 2009)
Jun 17, 2018
The Beatles
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LOL! Perfect for the guy in the Orange Clown Makeup!
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I love it.
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Great advice. Don’t help them. Stay home and spend the time calling your Senators and representative to investigate and censure every elected official who perpetrates the lie that the election was stolen.
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Well, it’s a good thing I was sitting down when I read this! This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been saying for four years: let the right-wing nuts show who they are – don’t try to confront them on their own playing field. But when I say things like that, I get “But silence equals consent!!!” Maybe what I’ve been saying for so long is finally sinking in.
And, perhaps off-topic, but in honor of Martin Luther King Day, I am trying to promote lesser-known, marginalized Black voices: https://progressivemartialartist.substack.com/p/embrace-mlk-reject-barack-obama-why?r=egujw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=twitter
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I really don’t think you want anyone digging into what you’ve been saying here for years. And here’s a word to add to your vocabulary: context (n), the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning; the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs.
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Yes! I have no idea how anyone gets from “don’t engage with violent pro-Trump protesters who want to end democracy” to “how dare you verbally criticize the horrible things Trump is doing because it is no different than what Democrats do” or “how dare the Democrats in Congress impeach Trump”.
“Don’t engage with violent protesters” is not the same thing as insisting that the most horrible things that Trump does as president should be enabled by totally ignoring them in order to normalize Trump’s most reprehensible actions.
I wonder why these people don’t take their own advice. Why don’t they remain silent and ignore democrats instead of rabidly criticizing Democrats and accusing democrats of corrupt and criminal behavior? Why do they insist that the way to oppose what Trump is doing is to ignore it and remain silent, but the way to oppose Democrats is to never shut up with your attacks that democrats are evil?
Hypocrites?
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It was pretty absurd to argue that we should ignore the terrible things Trump did these past four years. Ignore his gutting of the EPA? Ignore his withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord? Ignore the caged babies at the border who will never see their parents again? Ignore the sale of drilling rights in Arctic Preserve?
That’s very bad citizenship, at the very least. Citizens are supposed to care. Willful ignorance. You can ignore (I.e. ignorance) but I can’t and won’t.
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Yes, and it is suspiciously absurd for the person who is lecturing us to ignore the terrible things Trump has done these past four years to be the very same person who loudly condemns every bad thing that democrat presidents have done for the last 30 years!
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Great advice.
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“Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
Love it!
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The actual quote:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/06/never-interfere/
I like the one that says “Never interfere with your enemy while he is destroying himself.
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Thanks, Diane!
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I heard this one years ago, and it’s lovely:
“Do not correct a fool, he will hate you. Correct a wise man, and he will appreciate you.”
Didn’t know where it came from until recently (thanks Google). Proverbs 9:8:
“Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.”
Very useful these days!
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Curious to learn if Antifa has a website, I found this from the BBC.
“According to James Anderson, one of a group of people who run the popular anti-fascist and anarchist news site, It’s Going Down, interest has spiked since Mr Trump’s election.
The It’s Going Down website, which received around 300 hits daily in 2015, now garners between 10-20,000 hits a day.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40930831
Anyone interested, here’s the link to It’s Going Down’s About page:
“Who we are:
“It’s Going Down is a digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements across so-called North America. Our mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action.
‘What we do:
“We publish original content alongside anonymous submissions as well as repost articles from websites which share our perspectives.
“We host a weekly radio show every Friday at 12 PM (PST) on KPFA, 94.1FM across Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, 88.1 in Fresno, and 97.5 in Santa Cruz.
“We create several podcast series
“We maintain active Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon social media accounts.
‘We offer this website through Tor Hidden Services@ http://IGDNEWSdjfmg7kxu.onion (Please download and use Tor Browser).
https://itsgoingdown.org/about/
When I visited their Twitter page, I found a Tweet calling for a march in Sacramento to counter the facisit Trumpists.
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Thanks, LLOYD, I googled and searched for an anti-fascist website but couldn’t find one.
I have been thinking of starting a group like “Senior Citizens Against Fascism” or “Women Against Fascism,” but I haven’t got around to it.
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Sign me up, Diane!
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I just finished watching some great journalism. I have previously posted on facebook the divisions in America. This program offers hope even as it recognizes the humongous task that lies before not only Biden but all of us as Americans. I truly hope that many of you will watch it and gain what I believe is vitally important perspective. Go to
“America Reckoning/PBS”
That and the other program I pushed: Th United States of Conspiracy” PBS may well be the two most important hours that people who care about Democracy and our Country will spend.
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American Reckoning – A PBS NewsHour Special Report
Following the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, “American Reckoning – A PBS NewsHour Special Report” looks at the economic and racial history that led to a political divide between Americans, the impact of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric throughout his presidency and the next steps for the nation to heal from the recent attack on American democracy.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/american-reckoning-a-pbs-newshour-special-report
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Thank goodness lefties were not involved with the insurrection of Jan. 6th, that is fighting with the Trump zombie apocalypse. They should stay home and let right wing nuts self-immolate. That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t engage in peaceful protests separate from the neo-Nazis. The right wing scum will still blame Antifa or BLM for the violence at the Capitol no matter what leftists do or don’t do.
From the Ny Post: One of the 5 people killed in the DC riots was a pro-Trump protester who was trampled to death, according to her friend.
Rosanne Boyland, of Kennesaw, Ga., died as the mob stormed the Capitol building, squaring off with police Wednesday.
The friend she was with, Justin Winchell, recalled her final moments as protesters began falling over one another.
“I put my arm underneath her and was pulling her out and then another guy fell on top of her, and another guy was just walking [on top of her],” Winchell told CBS46. “There were people stacked two, three deep … people just crushed.” end citation
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There is no organized left in the U.S.
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This disorganized left elected AOC and Biden.
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Eales is right. There is no organized left.
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It’s really, really sad that because of Trump morons, in addition to the pandemic-related precautions, the whole country has to be in lockdown and practically an armed camp during the Inaugural, especially given the importance of this moment, the throwing over of arguably the worst presidency in history.
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How sad that Trump has cast his vicious shadow over the election of a good man.
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Wow, Diane! So perfectly said.
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Nah, I think it’s not casting a shadow but sharpening a contrast.
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Imagine having had the opportunity that Donald Trump had, to serve as President of the United States, and to have so completely, so utterly trashed it. Nothing but shame will follow him down through history.
What a Loser.
And as the world hoots this pathetic cretin of the stage, he has ARRANGED FOR HIMSELF a super-duper military sendoff, one last stroke of his pathologically inflated ego at taxpayer expense. And, of course, he is too stupid and self-absorbed to have a clue that this is just one last embarrassment.
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We didn’t know that his inaugural address, when he spoke of “American carnage,” was not a description but a prediction.
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Perfect, Diane!
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A prediction and a promise
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Should Trump Pardon Himself? 68% Of Americans Say ‘No’
A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump should not pardon himself for any criminal liabilities he may face after President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Wednesday.
At least 68% of Americans oppose Trump using his executive clemency powers to pardon himself to evade possible legal jeopardies at the end of his term as president, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Friday.
The survey also showed that 58% of Americans are in favor of Twitter’s recent ban on Trump’s account after he posted several ominous messages amid the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Two-thirds or 71% of the poll’s respondents also said president Trump bears some responsibility for the siege at the Capitol that left four civilians and one police officer dead. Among Republicans, 42% blame Trump for the violence. The number rises sharply to 93% among Democrats and 72% among independents.
The survey, which was produced by Langer Research Associates, found that Trump’s approval rating among Democratic voters has fallen to 4%, while his rating among independents or swing voters dropped to 35%.
The poll also showed that 56% of Americans are in favor of Congress barring Trump from holding office again, while 42% said lawmakers should not convict the president despite accusations that he incited the deadly riot at the Capitol…
https://www.ibtimes.com/should-trump-pardon-himself-68-americans-say-no-3124284
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Trump has been advised to not pardon himself or the people who rioted against the Capitol building. BUT nobody knows what he will do. He can pardon anyone until noon on Jan. 6. I’m sure he will pardon people who will owe him favors when he’s out.
………………………..
CNN previously reported there has been a crush of pardon requests during Trump’s final days in office from allies, lobbyists and others hoping to cash in on their loyalty to Trump. The New York Times reported Sunday some of those people were getting paid tens of thousands of dollars to lobby on behalf of felons hoping for pardons.
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I was reading comments on one NYT article and came across this gem from someone in Oakland,, California. Thought it was worth repeating:
Your glass-half-full optimism reminded me of a sign I saw while strolling through my neighborhood: Trump lost the House. Then he lost the Presidency. Then he lost the Senate. In two years, Trump made America great again.
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Indeed, this is not the time to die.
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LOL. Yes.
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It’s funny how polls tell different percentages to the same question. This is a poll that I can agree with. Trump is definitely the worst president in history. How can ANYONE ever comparatively be so bad as to encourage people to storm the Capitol building and kill or maim members of Congress just because he didn’t win the votes necessary to continue as president?
NPR:
**Poll: Most Americans Think Trump Will Be Remembered As A Subpar President*
By a 60%-to-27% margin, Americans said they thought Trump would go down as either one of the worst presidents in history or below average. President-elect Joe Biden is viewed more positively.
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Well, there are a few contenders.
Herbert Hoover, who made the Great Depression much, much worse by not dealing with it. See: Hoovervilles
Andrew Johnson, who opposed Reconstruction and the 14th Amendment
James Buchanan, who encouraged the expansion of slavery and did nothing to oppose the secessionist movement
Rutherford B. Hayes, who laid the foundation for continuing systemic racism in the US by ending Reconstruction
Richard Nixon, who have us the War on Drugs and propped up horrific dictatorial regimes around the world
George Bush, Jr., who have us the disastrous war in Iraq
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Bob,
I don’t think any of these are close to Trump. I don’t know about Buchanan or Hayes, but the rest actually had an interest in governing and, while they made some awful decisions, they were many more intelligent than Trump and didn’t actually try to destroy the government of which they were president.
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Excellent point, Diane! And Nixon, at least, gave us the EPA and instituted price controls when they were needed, and he had the grace to resign. If one does this calculation of “Worst President” by US body count, Trump might well be the clear winner, for his lying about and refusal to take positive steps to address the pandemic has resulted in enormous numbers of unnecessary American deaths. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he has earned the sobriquets “Donnie Do-Little” and “Donnie Death.”
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Maybe their stone-cold empty brains will recognize something is wrong when money from campaign contributors dries up.
……………………………..
The Washington Post
News Alert
Jan. 19, 10:39 a.m. EST
Lawmakers who objected to election results have been cut off from 20 of their 30 biggest corporate PAC donors
The 147 Republican lawmakers who opposed certification of the presidential election this month have lost the support of 20 of their largest corporate backers, as companies continue to grapple with the recent political turmoil. Meanwhile, nine companies among the 30 largest donors to those lawmakers have not pledged a specific action, according to a Washington Post survey.
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