The Not Dead Freds

The moment we all have been waiting for! 

“That’s my little sister! Congrats on 23, you mean the world to me!” - Venus Williams on Serena

The vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Sec of Education was delayed. The hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will now be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 31, according to an advisory from the committee. And now to act (esp my ME, GA, NC and SC friends)! Betsy DeVos is up for confirmation as U.S. Education Secretary, and many, many educators have expressed strongly that she is not qualified to ensure quality education in this country.

Please consider calling one of the following Republican Senators (key in the confirmation vote) to express your opinion on the appointment. At least 3 of these need to be convinced in order to block DeVos’ nomination. Don’t email. Don’t tweet. Don’t complain on Facebook. Call them!

Then, PLEASE SHARE WIDELY:

If you live in one of the states represented below, PLEASE call YOUR Senator, If you don’t, pick one and call him/her:

Rep. Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R-NC-3] Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] Rep. Smith, Jason [R-MO-8] Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] Rep. Duncan, John J., Jr. [R-TN-2] Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1]

Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5]:  202-225-2635 

Rep. Smith, Jason [R-MO-8]:  202-225-4404 

Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4]:  202-225-3465

Rep. Duncan, John J., Jr. [R-TN-2]:  202-225-5435

America First Energy Plan

America First Foreign Policy

Bringing Back Jobs And Growth

Making Our Military Strong Again

Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community

Trade Deals Working For All Americans

Just those headings should be terrifying enough: between the focus on state violence and the coded “America First” white ultranationalism, this is an unabashedly, literally fascist platform. But when you dive into the content, it becomes even more clear:

“Peace through strength will be at the center of that foreign policy.”

“[W]e will rebuild the American military.”

“President Trump is committed to reversing this trend [of a military that is marginally smaller in some areas than it was in 1991], because he knows that our military dominance must be unquestioned.”

“The world will be more peaceful and more prosperous with a stronger and more respected America.”

“Our military needs every asset at its disposal to defend America. We cannot allow other nations to surpass our military capability. The Trump Administration will pursue the highest level of military readiness.”

“For too long, Americans have been forced to accept trade deals that put the interests of insiders and the Washington elite over the hard-working men and women of this country.”

“The Trump Administration will be a law and order administration.”

“Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter.”

“President Trump is committed to building a border wall[.]”

“[Trump] is dedicated to enforcing our border laws, ending sanctuary cities, and stemming the tide of lawlessness associated with illegal immigration.”

“The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it.”

This is fascism. This is literally, unhyperbolically fascism. If you do not find this utterly terrifying down to the marrow of your bones, it is because either you do not think fascism will come for you and the people you love, or you have paid absolutely no attention to historical precedent about how these people operate and what their ultimate goals are.

Fascism does not stomp up to you, shouting its five-point plan for how it’s going to get rid of the Jews and the Muslims and the queers the Black people and the disabled people and the (”wrong kind of”) immigrants and and everybody else who stands in the way of a white nationalist state. It sidles up. It puts its arm around your shoulder. It says, “I am going to make you strong.” It says, “I am going to make you proud.” It says, “I am going to make you succeed, because I know exactly who’s been keeping you from all the things you know you deserve.”

This administration is telling us exactly who they are.

Via ProPublica: The Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau seems to have recently/hastily put up a link for public to download all its files en masse.

Women’s Marches: Millions of Protestors Around the Country Vow To Defeat Donald Trump 

Estimated number of participants, per Washington Post: 500,000

Demonstrators Rally in Boston after Trump’s Inauguration

Estimated number of participants, per Boston Globe: 100,000

Thousands March Through Loop as Part of Women’s March after Rally Draws 250,000

Estimated number of participants, per Chicago Tribune: 250,000

Hundreds of Thousands Stream into Downton L.A. for Massive Women’s March

Estimated number of participants, per L. A. Times: not sure, but they think it’s maybe bigger than the 500,000-strong post-election protest march

Women’s March on Denver Swells to More Than 100,000

This is nearly 1.5 million people and that’s a fraction of the marches out there. 

Go look at the pictures and download them and look at them next time you feel afraid. There has never been a mobilization of women like this in my adult lifetime. NEVER. I have seen the future and it is intersectional.

I went to the one in my city. It was 3X larger than expected. That’s the story for ALL of them. Twice or three times or even more times the number of people the organizers were expecting. The resistance is uncountable and uncontainable. 

And Trump has not actually DONE most of what he has planned to do yet.

I have never seen protest on this scale before. Never.