Trump 153* or How to Block the Narcissist and his Sycophants from Inflicting More Damage on the World
- The number 153*: from the number category called narcissistic; narcissistic numbers are equal to the sum of the cubes of its own digits (Thanks to The World of Trotter Math).
- Narcissistic: having an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance; vain, self-obsessed, egotistic, conceited, self-centered.
- Sycophant: a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe what’s happened to our country in the wake of the last presidential election. But, that said, we have to face what is happening, act, and support and be a part of the opposition and protestation of the deconstruction of America and its relationship with the rest of the world.
The Authoritarian, aka, the narcissist, painted a dark picture of the world as soon as he opened his mouth on January 20, 2017. He continues to repeat this mantra of the presidential campaign, not only within the White House, but especially when he goes on the road like he did Saturday night (the 100th day) in front of his deplorables (hat tip to HRC) in PA. As one Republican advisor to Ronald Reagan put it, last’s night speech by Trump was the ‘most divisive’ ever by a President.
So what is Trump 153 about. It’s not an advanced course by any means, but it is an introductory one, perhaps the most important type of course offered at university because if they are taught interestingly, these courses will inspire students to take action and pursue a degree in that area of study. These courses should taught by the best teachers.
So Trump 157 are some ideas about an online course exploring how we can “build a wall” of resistance against the Trump administration and at the same time provide resources to fight the good fight.
In this post, a few key events, most of which were “yuge” rallies and marches by people, not only in the U.S., but more than 180 countries.
Inauguration
Course 153 is based on the work that has already been accomplished in the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
Yes, that’s right. The first action was no action. Not many people showed up on January 20 to watch the affair, although the narcissist claims the media was wrong, even when one of his own government agencies took pictures of the crowds at his and Obama’s first inauguration, clearly how massive Obama’s inauguration was, and Trump’s was not. Sad.
However, Trump can take credit for the fact that hundreds of demonstrations were held across the U.S. On the same day protesting the very nature of Trump’s existence.
The Women’s March
The second, and perhaps most important action to confront and block Trump’s world was the Woman’s March, on January 21, 2017. The numbers, world wide, are staggering. 500,000 people marched in Washington, D.C. More than 2 million marched in other U.S. cities. World wide, 81 countries held marches in 168 locations. Organizers reported after the marches that at least 5 million people participated, with 673 marches held worldwide. In the U.S. the only protest that rivaled the Woman’s March, were marches held in protest of the Vietnam War.
Executive Orders
Over the next 99 days, although no Congressional laws were enacted, the authoritarian highlighted his signature on a slew of Executive Orders aimed to carry out his “campaign promises.” Trump assumed he was chairman of the board, and that his orders would be carried out. That didn’t happen.
Executive Order 5: The Muslim Ban. When his 5th Executive order was signed on Friday, January 27, 2017, all hell broke loose. The order suspended the entry of immigrants from seven Muslin nations and stoped all refugees from entering the the country for 120 days. Within hours of his signature, thousands of people joined waiting family members at airports around the country to protest this racist order.
On Saturday, January 28, US Judge Ann M. Donnelly issued an order that read:
“There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations subject to the January 27, 2017, Executive Order.”
This was the first of many court decisions that essentially blocked Trump’s Muslim ban.
On February 3, U.S. District Judge James Robert blocked the entirety of Trump’s “de facto Muslim ban.” After the appellate court ruled 3-0 against Trump’s lawyers, Judge Robert’s ruled that all cases against any immigrant banned could go forward. This was a striking blow to the White House.
It continues to this day.
Rogue Twitter Sites
One of the first Rogue Twitter groups to open an account was the AltBadlandsNatPark @AltBadlandsPark out of fear that the Trump administration would inflict damage to this national park’s website. Would Trump’s minions block or remove data that is available to all of us?
Employees at EPA, and departments of Anterior, Agriculture and Human Services had reported that notices appeared instructing them to take down certain pages, and to watch what is said to the media, and in papers that are written by department employees, should be checked before being published in any form. The muzzling of information is a huge problem for us, and is not unprecedented. The Bush administration was a champion of the Muzzle Award.
What followed was a large number of rogue accounts, some of which claimed to be authored by employees of the various government agencies. As it is with any source, you must have your crap detector at work because the authenticity of the authors can not be determined. But, the sites do a service by highlighting the discontent that exists across the Federal government. Here are a few for you to explore:
The March for Science
On April 22, Earth Day, more than 600 cities across the world held rallies and marches called the March for Science. It initially was called, “scientists march on Washington.” The significance of the March for Science was a rebuttal to the Trump administration’s lies, Fake News obsession, and the “unimaginable impact on human health and the environment. ”
The EPA, for example, could be cut by 30% which would mean that thousands of people will lose their jobs, and dozens of programs that are carried out by the states would be abolished. Recently, I talked with parents of a young woman, who is an environmental lawyer, who works with a non-profit in the D.C. area which works with companies to help them move towards clean energy usage. I asked these parents what their daughter thought of Trump’s EPA budget cuts. Their daughter said she just couldn’t talk about it, and spent a lot of time crying, before getting on with her important task. I told these parents that their daughter is one of many lawyers who are using their knowledge and experience to fight the good fight against Trump and his minions.
The March for Science showed that science should be nonpartisan. However, it also showed that scientists, with non-scientists, can protest together to question the Trump administration’s view of science, and to call out a Congress that ignores science in the face of its integrity and effect on the citizenry.
It also showed that there is a very large segment of the world’s population that believes government policy should be “evidence-based” and accepts, for example the scientific communities consensus on climate change and evolution.
The People’s Climate March
On April 29th, the 100th day of Trump’s administration, people marched in Washington, D.C. and many locations in cities around the U.S. This was a direct protest to the Trump administration’s disregard for climate science and its disregard for environmental policies designed to protect human health and the environment.
The People’s Climate March couldn’t be any more timely with regard to the EPA website. If you follow the link, “climate change” on EPA’s list of Environmental Topics, its written, “This page is being updated.” It then states that the page is being updated to fall in line with EPA priorities under Pruitt and Trump. So, right now, the climate change page is down, and they redirect you to a snapshot of the page taken on January 19, 2017, when Obama was still President.
This is what you see when link to the “climate change” page at epa.gov
This was the last “climate change” page when Obama was president. It isn’t there anymore.
In the next installment of Trump 153, we’ll explore other aspects of the resistance, and also uncover troubling activities in Trump’s administration.
References:
Slate Staff. “These 80 People and Institutions Have Kept Trump in Check-for Now.” Slate Magazine. N.p., 26 Apr. 2017. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
Stern, Mark Joseph. “Why Judge Robart Blocked the Muslim Ban: There’s No Legal Way to Implement an Illegal Order.” Slate Magazine. February 04, 2017. Accessed April 30, 2017. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/02/why_judge_robart_blocked_trump_s_muslim_ban.html.
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