Hilarious videos. Media madness. Trump family voter fraud. How to argue. Ivanka & Jared dispensation. Obama moments.
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN NEWSLETTER #32 JAN 27, 2017
What a week! Surreal, but also galvanizing. So much to read, absorb, digest and do. Today we begin with some much-needed humor. Then scroll down for significant news developments, analysis, action ideas, and a great video of highlights of the Obama presidency.
BREAKING NEWS.
Voter fraud starts with Trump family & associates!! Five of them are registered in two states each.
VIDEOS
Make The Netherlands Second! Hilarious open letter to Trump from satirical Dutch TV program. Among this tiny nation's many notable achievements, "We built an entire ocean between us and Mexico."
British reporter's epic rant on Trump's inaugural speech. Watch this clip if only to see this man rev himself up to high octane outrage and employ the Queen's English in its full and florid glory.
Obama Moments. So moving to see people's most memorable moments of the Obama presidency. Oh, what a time! Will the Oval Office ever again see such dignity, elegance and class?
Obama's funny, poignant farewell speech at his final White House correspondents' dinner. Will we ever laugh again? How will we tolerate Trump vulgarity after Pres. O's cool, sophisticated humor?
Flash mob choir. A West Coast singer called MILCK (above, right) rehearsed an ad hoc choir via Skype, then rendezvoused with them at the D.C. march where they performed her hauntingly beautiful new song "Quiet." In one week, it's become the anthem of active resistance & women's empowerment.
Delightful compendium of images, signs, slogans. I'm not done being nourished by the march. For a quick shot of adrenalin, click on this slide show. My fave: "I've seen smarter cabinets in Ikea."
MEDIA WATCH
Trump and his chief strategist Steve Bannon have launched a full-scale attack on the mainstream media. DT says he's in “a running war” with the news corps and calls journalists “among the most dishonest people on earth.” Bannon dubs the media "the opposition party." Our job is to join that party and defend the newsmen and women who are our last conduit to the truth. Media we've got your back!
Major British newspaper proposes collaborative plan to combat Trump's "alternative facts." The Guardian asks journalists to share their reporting, sources, and resources as they did on the story of the Panama Papers, Reporters: please surrender pride of authorship and work together to counter the President's falsehoods, unmask his convoluted financial interests, and expose threats to American democracy.
Tell broadcast media not to cover Trump events live! CNN "opted not to run the press conference live because it wasn't news—and a live broadcast would only give the Trump Administration license to spew lies without rebuttal.The rest of the media should follow suit. If Donald Trump and his aides are going to use press events to spread false information, they should not be broadcast live—but instead be given time for the media to verify if what they said is true." Sign petition here.
"HOW TO ARGUE" DEPARTMENT
(Stuff to help you educate people who just don't get it. It being a constantly morphing category.)
What to say to complacent women: Read Dina Leygerman's "You Are Not Equal" a clear-eyed summary of where women are today -- and a prima facie case for why we all need feminism.
What to say to people who criticize "identity politics." Read Katha Pollitt's article in The Nation which explains why particularist passion matters.
What cartoon to show to Trump admirers who still believe he's authentic:
ACTIVISM
Perform at least one act of resistance per day. Sign up for Daily Action Alerts to facilitate quick political action. They'll tell you each day's most critical issue & what to do about it. Register your information, and enter your zip code so you can be instantly connected to your own Senators.
Calls to legislators are far better than emails. Here's why, what to say, and how to say it.
Smart dos and don'ts! Lawyer Mira Curzer's survival guide -- "How to Stay Outraged Without Losing Your Mind -- contains practical advice. "Make activism fun," she says and tells us how.
U.S. POLITICS
New Yorkers are proud of our Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for voting against nearly all of Trump's nominees -- the most No votes of any Democrat in the Senate! Count on Kirsten to hold the line & push back.
Repeating last week's item: My husband Bert and I are hosting a fundraising party in our Upper West Side apartment for New York's indefatigable and highly effective Senator Kirsten Gillibrand who's been working so diligently for gun registration, first responders health care, LGBT rights, prevention of sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, and now fighting Trump's nominees. Among our co-hosts are Arlene and Alan Alda, Gloria Steinem, Janet Dewart Bell, Sarah Jones, Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue, and Anna Deveare Smith, all of whom hope to attend in person. Of course, the Senator will be here to speak and respond to your questions. Sun, Feb 26th at 5 PM.
The price of admission is not cheap: $1000 per person and above. This is because Kirsten has to raise $3 million in three months to stave off a challenge from a conservative Republican. (Rumor has it they're trying to convince a Trump son to run.) Let me know ASAP if you're interested.
Ever wonder how Ivanka and Jared got that mysterious dispensation? Orthodox Jews are not permitted to ride on the sabbath yet the Second Couple managed to get a pass from an anonymous rabbi so they could hop a limo last Friday night, Erev Shabbat. Read Tablet to learn why this seemingly trivial fact is relevant to your political future. (Where are Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax when we need them?)
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Many are mourning the death this week of Stephen P. Cohen, an intrepid voice for Mideast peace and an early and effective back-channel negotiator between Israelis and Palestinians. For those of us on the Zionist left, Steve was a guru and guidepost. We admired his 2009 book, Beyond America's Grasp: A Century of Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East, and we're glad he lived long enough to see his new one, The Go-Between: Memoir of a Mideast Intermediary, published this past fall. Condolences to his family.
Have a great weekend.