Jewish cemetery vandalized; Muslims fundraise repair. Make Trump toast.
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN NEWSLETTER #37 FEB. 27, 2017
So much to fight for and against. Happily, Americans are no longer asking, "What can I do?" they're organizing, committing acts of conscience and finding hundreds of ways to protest, resist and repair.
ACTIVISM
Everything you need to know in one place. The Action Alliance is "a collaboration of call-to-action websites and apps" that makes it easy to survey the options and decide which is right for you.
"Do These 10 Things and Trump Will Be Toast." Advice from revolutionary maven, Michael Moore
The Statue of Liberty acquired a caption:
Creative disruptors surreptitiously unfurled their REFUGEES WELCOME banner then emailed CNN: "Immigrants and refugees make this country great... Muslims are welcome here and immigrants are welcome here." Park Rangers quickly confiscated banner but not before its image went viral.
Memory lane detour: 45 years ago Lady Liberty carried a different (but still relevant) message:
On Aug 10, 1972, a stealthy band of feminists unfurled their WOMEN OF THE WORLD UNITE! banner to celebrate Congressional passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Four years later, though ratified by 35 states, the ERA fell three states short of the minimum needed to be amend the Constitution. But there's a new effort underway right now and you can help make it happen. Join the ERA Coalition
Muslim activists fundraise for repair of vandalized Jewish cemetery. Linda Sansour (above) one of the organizers of the Washington Women's March, & Tarek ElMessidi launched this crowd-funding initiative with a goal of $20,000. They raised more than $100,000 in 24 hours -- and still counting.
POLITICS
In Bannon's world, "deconstruct" means detonate. At last week's CPAC conference, Trump's chief strategist admitted the President's nominees were selected to destroy their agencies.
Memo to Trump voters. You keep saying he's just doing what he promised in the campaign. But look closely and you'll see you're being scammed.
Elect this young man to Congress & make Trumpniks furious. No need to wait until 2018 for the first Democratic win. With our help, Jon Ossoff (above) could flip a Georgia seat from red to blue in the special election being held April 18th to replace Tom Price (now Secy of HHS). Donate now.
Nose-diving American values & global reputation translate to big money losses. "... all of America will suffer if Trump’s war on the undocumented continues unabated, “with one study suggesting that removing all of them would cost the economy as much as $5 trillion over 10 years.”
Learning from the past. A reader strong suggests George Paxton's new book, Nonviolent Resistance To the Nazis, turns out to be a primer for effective forms of rescue & resistance in today's political climate.
WOMEN
The spirit of the Women's March marches on. More than 500 partner organizations are "still plotting" and pushing back. Keep up with their "10 Actions in 100 Days"
Women Workers Rising. On March 8, International Women's Day, women & allies will surround the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. to perform, speak, & testify for dignity equality & respect.
Contraception under attack: Trump & Tom Price (HHS) to determine fate of birth control mandate.
Barbara Jatta (left) Dir. of Vatican Museums, & Alessandra Di Castro, head of Rome's Jewish Museum
Unprecedented art exhibit. Two women create a joint Catholic/Jewish exhibit on the menorah. From May 15 to July 23. Simultaneously on display in St. Peter's Square & The Jewish Museum of Rome.
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Wasn't the Jewish State supposed to be "a light unto the nations?" Israel had to apologize last week for detaining & interrogating an American Jewish leader at Ben Gurion airport. Then they refused a visa to a Human Rights Watch official --and had to rescind that too. Why is Bibl's government so afraid of people who support minorities' interests or monitor human rights? What does Israel have to hide? Is this behavior worthy of "the only Democracy in the Middle East?"
RACISM & ANTISEMITISM
Timeline of silence.Trump was asked about racism & antiSemitism 11 times before he said something.
[The Atlantic Magazine]
Ivanka: tone deaf or part of the problem? The First Daughter, an observant Jew, responded to last week's threats against Jewish community centers with this Tweet. "America is a nation built on the principle of religious tolerance. We must protect our houses of worship & religious centers." Not only did she fail to mention Jews or antiSemitism, she tried to make it all about religion though it's clear many bigots hate Jews who aren't religious at all. Twitter lit up with calls to "Go tell your Dad."
Trump finally mentions antiSemitism -- during his appearance at the African-American museum. "You don't know where it's coming from, but I hope they catch the people," he says. Come on. He knows exactly where it's coming from. He knows "the people" to catch are home grown Jew-hating terrorists. And he knows "they" -- the ones who are supposed to catch them -- are his own domestic security agencies. DT and James Comey, do your jobs!
Too little, too late. Steven Goldstein, head of the Anne Frank Center called POTUS' belated response, "a pathetic asterisk of condescension." Sean Spicer counterattacked with a coded antiSemitic dog whistle: "No matter how many times [the President] talks about this, it's never good enough." (Those demanding Jews; so pushy; so demanding; never satisfied.)
[A statue of pioneer Clara Brown, born a slave in Virginia around 1800] LMoreLater that morning POTUS used the occasion of his visit to the African American Museum to speak out. "I think it's terrible," Trump said of the escalating number of anti-Semitic bomb threats. "I think it's horrible. Whether it's anti-Semitism or racism or any — anything you wanna think about having to do with the divide. Anti-Semitism is, likewise, it's just terrible."Too little, too late. Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, called it a "pathetic asterisk of condescension after weeks in which he and his staff have committed grotesque acts and omissions reflecting Anti-Semitism."
Am I the only one who thinks it odd that when Trump finally chose to mention attacks against Jews he did it at a museum featuring bigotry against African-Americans? Maybe it's my Steve Bannon-induced paranoia but that venue makes no sense unless the goal is to dilute black suffering by diverting the spotlight to Jewish suffering, thereby reviving a "competition of tears" between two historically aggrieved populations. It wouldn't be the first time the ruling class stirred dissension among minority groups who must each struggle to have their experiences acknowledged and end up fighting amongst themselves for crumbs of public attention or official protection. It's called divide & conquer.
Vile graffiti. Whether this disgusting act of vandalism was meant to terrorize Jews or transgender people, it underscores the depravity of those who hate.
MEDIA
"How Trump’s obsession with the media endangers his presidency — and all of us." A tell-tale look back at his fixation and patterns of behavior.
Trump's "enemy of the people" attack on media takes a page from Russian dictators' playbook. David Remnick contextualizes what was a favored political tactic in the Soviet Union. "To be branded an enemy of the people was to face nearly inevitable doom; such a fate was soon followed by a knock on the door in the middle of the night, a prison cell, the Gulag, an icy ditch—a variety of dismal ends." Are we next?
NYTimes runs new video ad, "The Truth is more important now than ever." Support fact-based news-gathering organizations. Take out subscriptions for family and friends, don't just read free; good reporting costs money. Mainstream media need our support to resist Trump's disinformation's campaign.
CULTURE
"Moonlight" and more. Last night's unprecedented mixup at the Academy Awards brought an extra dash of well-deserved attention to Barry Jenkins' powerful film which took top honors once the cards were straightened out. Like "Moonlight," many of the best movies around right now -- "Hidden Figures," (so fantastic!) "Fences," "Loving," 13th" -- happen to be about black lives. So is "Jitney," the current Broadway revival of August Wilson's play, staring Denzel Washington. Hope the trend continues.
VIDEOS
Every movement needs its music. Noel Paul Stookey (one-third of Peter, Paul and Mary) performs his terrific new song "Impeachable" to the tune of "Unforgettable." What's truly unforgettable are Stookey's clever lyrics. Who else could rhyme "Scrutiny" with "Putin, he"
How to fact check Trump without repeating his lies. Frame first. Put the truth out first, says George Lakoff, prof. of sognitive science and linguistics on CNN. Great strategies here.
Thanks for making Sweden Second. Fun Swedish video shows Trump what's really happening there. (Though his accusations have emboldened their nativists, too.)
Father-daughter dance class. Philly Dads try to emulate their soaring ballerina daughters. Hilarious!
He's black, Jewish, gay, married to a rabbi, and records songs in Yiddish. Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell has a fascinating life story and a gorgeous voice.
Another way of looking at everything. Thanks to Susan Keller for this fresh assessment of Trump:
I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks like Trump is actually making America great again. Just look at the progress made since the election:
1. Unprecedented levels of ongoing civic engagement.
2. Millions of Americans now know who their state and federal representatives are without having to Google.
3. Millions of Americans are exercising more. They're holding signs and marching every week.
4. Alec Baldwin is great again. Everyone's forgotten he's kind of a jerk.
5. The Postal Service is enjoying the influx cash due to stamps purchased by millions of people for letter and postcard campaigns.
6. Likewise, the pharmaceutical industry is enjoying record growth in sales of anti-depressants.
7. Millions of Americans now know how to call their elected officials and know exactly what to say to be effective.
8. Footage of town hall meetings is now entertaining.
9. Tens of millions of people are now correctly spelling words like emoluments, narcissist, fascist, misogynist, holocaust and cognitive dissonance.
10. Everyone knows more about the rise of Hitler than they did last year.
11. Everyone knows more about legislation, branches of government and how checks and balances work.
12. Marginalized groups are experiencing a surge in white allies.
13. White people in record numbers have just learned that racism is not dead. (See #6)
14. White people in record numbers also finally understand that Obamacare IS the Affordable Care Act.
15. Stephen Colbert's "Late Night" finally gained the elusive #1 spot in late night talk shows, and Seth Meyers is finding his footing as today's Jon Stewart.
16. "Mike Pence" has donated millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood since Nov. 9th.
17. Melissa FREAKING McCarthy.
18. Travel ban protesters put $24 million into ACLU coffers in just 48 hours, enabling them to hire 200 more attorneys. Lawyers are now heroes.
19. As people seek veracity in their news sources, respected news outlets are happily reporting a substantial increase in subscriptions, a boon to a struggling industry vital to our democracy.
20. Live streaming court cases and congressional sessions are now as popular as the Kardashians.
21. Massive cleanup of Facebook friend lists.
22. People are reading classic literature again. Sales of George Orwell's "1984" increased by 10,000% after the inauguration. (Yes, that is true. 10,000%. 9th grade Lit teachers all over the country are now rock stars.)
23. More than ever before, Americans are aware that education is important. Like, super important.
24. Now, more than any time in history, everyone believes that anyone can be President. Seriously, anyone.
- Susan Keller (Copy and paste to share.)HAVE A GREAT WEEK.