Sometimes when I am writing I have re-runs of Planet Earth on the background for hours at a time.
Nature cinematography has come a long way since mom and I watched Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom on Sunday nights in my childhood.
The natural world has many interesting examples of how a smaller animal can triumph over a larger one.
I now have a new understanding of the phrase “nipping at their heels”.
I can’t find a clip because these BBC shows are not on YouTube for the most part. But I remember one show where a small predator like a wolf brought down some enormous animal like a musk ox, five or six times its size.
And she began by nipping at the heels.
Running alongside for a while, taking advantage of stamina, trading places with others in the pack. Then as the musk ox began to tire, a few bites to the leg. Didn’t appear to have any effect at first. But after a few more nips you could see blood on the muzzle and blood on the leg. Something was beginning to happen.
They kept after the animal, continually nipping, but did not seem to be getting anywhere. Eventually the musk ox turned on the wolves with its big horns and scared them all away for a while. The hunt “ended” without them bringing the animal down.
Or so it seemed.
In fact, the larger animal had lost a significant amount of blood, and was limping, so it did not go far from the watering hole.
And in a day or so, an infection of some kind set in on the back leg and that weakened the animal further.
Eventually it just collapsed. Not the day of the chase and the nipping, but after being wearied over a period of time.
This is a strategy to bring down the current Rcon regime.
We keep after them on several different fronts. We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages, rotating through several different areas of attack and several different attackers. We don’t know which bite will strike deepest and start the slow loss of blood. We don’t know where the opportunistic infection will set in. But the nips have already slowed their roll. We have already made them stumble and the herd is panicking. This is a life and death situation. At some point their size differential is counteracted by our persistence.
Gorsuch 1: We filibuster Gorsuch. Keep calling your Senators even if you think they are already in favor of the filibuster. Keep the phones ringing and the pressure on. This is not a time to give up in advance just because Rs threaten us with taking the filibuster away. Call their bluff. Make them show their cards. They can read the demographic handwriting on the wall and it is possible they will not want to rob the minority party of all its power because they will be in the minority soon enough. Maybe not in 2018, since they have only 8 seats to defend and we have 23. But in 2020 we have 11 seats at stake and they have 22. If they eliminate the filibuster we can make them regret it in several ways. There would be nothing stopping us for example, once we get the majority again, from another try at court packing.
Gorsuch 2: This is NOT about the educational qualifications or judicial experience of the nominee. This is about the morality of the stolen seat. Rs keep talking about Gorsuch and his integrity, but people of integrity do not accept stolen property. His very willingness to be appointed under these circumstances shows inferior judgment and inappropriate temperament. If he were involved with stolen property in any other area of his life, he would be considered unfit for the Court. So he should definitely be disqualified when the unethical taking benefits him and his career directly.
Gorsuch 3: This is NOT about the educational qualifications or judicial experience of the nominee, this is about Russian interference with our election and whether any actions of this president can be considered legitimate. We must investigate whether his campaign colluded with a foreign government to help a hostile foreign leader gain control of our democratic process. Rcons blocked the will of the people who duly elected President Obama in 2012, thereby entrusting him with filling S.Ct. vacancies through 2016. There is no Biden Rule. Rs held the seat open to let Putin’s Puppet shape the Supreme Court for the next generation. They threatened to keep the seat open for four whole years if Hillary had been elected. This behavior should not be rewarded.
Nunez 1: He cannot claim to be independent when he is not giving his colleagues equal access to briefing material, as has been done by every other chair of the intelligence committee before him. Any reasonable person can see that he is behaving in a partisan manner, and Nunes cannot be trusted.
Nunez 2: Cancelling the open hearing in order to prevent Sally Yates from testifying is another blatant partisan act. White House claims of executive privilege are an obvious attempt to silence someone who has more credibility than the entire DJT administration combined. Shutting down the committee hearing at the request of the White House, after unethically briefing the president about details of the investigation, is further proof that Nunez is acting in concert with DJT and his staff in a massive cover up. That itself needs to be investigated!
Nunez 3: If Nunes will not recuse himself, if Ryan will not remove Nunes from his committee chairmanship, and if there is no call from the Speaker for an independent bipartisan commission to investigate these matters, Ryan is complicit in the Russia influence scheme and Ryan cannot be trusted.
If you think you are too small to make a difference, you’ve never been in a tent with a mosquito. (If you remember who used to have that sig line, please let me know!)
This is the time to keep nipping at their heels about Gorsuch and Russia while they are still trying to regroup from last week’s OCare mega-embarassment.
Don’t let up. Be a nuisance. Keep the pressure on.
We outnumber them. We will wear them down. They are already faltering.
All the energy and momentum is with us right now, and we have the stamina to see this through.
Resist. Persist.
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: Ribbons: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: Ribbons: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: Blue Ribbon Winners—Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: True Blue Ribbons: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: Blue Ribbon Winners—Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: Blue Ribbon Winners—Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: Blue Ribbon Winners—Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: Blue Ribbon Winners—Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense