“...Whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...”
You’ve heard these words before, but I doubt very many of us can know how it felt to be British when they were first delivered. Almost all of continental Europe had been conquered by the Nazis and the Fascists, with the final act of that conquest being a desperate and ignoble evacuation of defeated British forces from France. All the evidence indicated that Hitler was unstoppable, and his relatively easy victory over France was a clear indication that there was no hope for the UK, the last major stronghold of democracy in the Old World.
Nonetheless, Churchill vowed to fight on, retreating to the English hills if necessary, because in the face of defeat and the terrifying possibility of further defeats, neither Churchill nor the British people ever lost their resolve, for the simple reason that they did not consider surrender an option.
But they were not struggling with the intention of fighting to the last person, because despair was also not an option. As Churchill also said
You ask, what is our aim?
I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. ...But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, “come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.”
Now we face a struggle nearly as momentous in its consequences for democracy. We are up against fascists once more, some of them actual card-carrying Nazis, and we have suffered a series of devastating defeats. Today it may seem to some that they are unstoppable. They are not, and in fact they will be stopped. We will suffer more setbacks, and there will be casualties, but I firmly believe in the end we will prevail. And if some of us, being older, face the prospect of not seeing that final victory ourselves, we struggle anyway, for our children, our grandchildren, and our younger brothers and sisters in the human community.
I want you to stop now and go check out GNR's posting of Dan Rather’s comments on this dark time. And while you do, here’s some appropriate music from The Weavers.
Welcome back.
I said earlier that the struggle may take long enough that some of us old folks will not be privileged to see the final victory, but I also believe that there’s a good chance that we will. One thing we have going for us that the soldiers at Valley Forge and the British in 1941 did not is that, even as we reel from the bad news this week, we have several victories to take encouragement from. We know that we are the majority, and we face a ludicrously incompetent enemy that has backed into several victories through dumb luck. But dumb luck never lasts and evil never triumphs for very long.
So let’s take a look at what we, the majority, have accomplished in the past few days, and at the signs that we, the majority, will prevail after our D-Day comes on November 6.
Resistance To Trump’s Immigration Horror Continues And Strengthens
There are a lot of stories of blowback to Trump’s child abduction policy, which has turned into his biggest blunder as well as one of his worst acts. Perhaps his biggest defeat was Tuesday’s court order requiring that families be reunited, as recounted in yesterday’s Roundup. And there is more coming every day.
“I told them absolutely not. I think it’s wrong,” Wiles said of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy that resulted in the forced separations of families. “It’s not consistent with the values of the sheriff’s office.”
Wiles knew that if he agreed to allow his office to help the federal government at this site, the “El Paso community would have an understanding that we support that policy, which we don’t.”
With an average donation of $60, Clinton has raised money for the American Civil Liberties Union, the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and seven other organizations—all of which are fighting tooth in nail to protect children and families separated by President Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. Half of the donations alone have come from Twitter, with email, Instagram, and Facebook following behind.
- A no-bid $1 billion dollar contract to expand the concentration camp in Tornillo, TX was rejected by the only two Texas companies qualified to do the work.
- Protestors continue to besiege ICE and DHS facilities across the country. The Portland, OR office is still closed, and the Detroit office was briefly shut down on Monday. Actions have also taken place in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Richmond, CA, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York City, as well as at ICE headquarters in Washington. Protestors blocked buses transporting abducted children in McAllen, Texas. #OccupyICE
- And we haven’t even had the Families Belong Together marches yet; those will happen Saturday in cities and towns in all 50 states.
Trump’s Attempt To Get The Country Behind Him In Hatred Of Immigrants Isn’t Working
Trump and his enablers have been attempting to demonize immigrants—documented as well as undocumented--for some time in an attempt to unify the country around him. It's not working.
A record-high 75% of Americans, including majorities of all party groups, think immigration is a good thing for the U.S. -- up slightly from 71% last year. Just 19% of the public considers immigration a bad thing.
This doesn't seem to be working that well. 75% of Americans think immigration is a good thing. Because that's the American way.
In fact, the latest manifestation of the Trumpanzees attempt at ethnic cleansing may go down as one of the great political blunders of all time, as it seems to be awakening the country to the full extent of the mistake it made in 2016.
Over the past week, ever since the administration*’s crimes against humanity along the southern border were revealed, there became an edge to the political opposition that has not been there through all the marches and the rhetoric that have attended this government since the president* was inaugurated. Up until now, all of the #Resistance has contained a barely acknowledged undercurrent of futility. It was not that the opposition was empty. It was that it generally broke like a wave on a seawall when it collided with the immutable fact that the president*’s party controlled every lever of political power at the federal level, as well as a great number of them out in the states, too.
The country’s head is clearing. The country’s vision is coming back into focus and it can see for the first time the length and breadth of the damage it has done to itself. The country is hearing the voices that the cacophony of fear and anger had drowned out for almost three years. The spell, such as it was, and in most places, may be wearing off at last. The hallucinatory effect of a reality-show presidency* is dispersing like a foul, smoky mist over a muddy battlefield.
There is a lot of racism in America, but, in typical Republican fashion, the Toddler-In-Chief massively overreached when he ordered the zero-tolerance immigration policy, and the perception many had of his immunity to scandal and opposition is gone.
For all his constant talk about strength, Trump came off weak and depleted. After he went to Capitol Hill to sell his version of the immigration bill, it failed. And his intervention in the furor over Melania’s jacket—in which he contradicted her office’s explanation of what the jacket slogan meant—came off as doddering and hopeless.
For three years now we’ve been told that nothing bad sticks to Trump, that his mind games and double-talk make him invulnerable to the protestations of the righteous. That no matter how tight his detractors tie the knot, he’ll always slip out of it. This week we learned differently. Trump can reliably win the battle if it’s fought with words. But against images and descriptions of distraught and traumatized children and parents, Trump’s superpowers fail. If you want to beat Trump, hit him in the heart because he doesn’t seem to have one. He’s a man with zero emotional intelligence.
As I have long said, one of the most effective weapons we have in the fight against Trump is Trump. If he is a would-be Hitler, he is even more incompetent than the original.
Imagine, for a second, what a meticulously competent and policy-focused Trump administration might have been able to do, not just on the border but across multiple fronts. As Jonah Goldberg has joked, Donald Trump isn’t Hitler—and one way you can tell is that Hitler would have been able to repeal Obamacare.
...for those who are worried the fragility of liberal democracy, it’s important to be realistic about why this is the case: Trump’s incompetence is a big reason.
I remember someone asking, after Nixon was forced out, if the system would have worked if Nixon had been a master criminal rather than a tired used-car salesman. It doesn’t look like we’re about to get the answer to that question just yet.
We Are The Majority—Trump And GOP Polling Is Still Terrible
As has been widely discussed, Gallup had some bad news for the Trump Crime Ring this week, in what is apparently an early indicator of the effects of their major miscalculation on immigration. The broader 538 composites of Trump's popularity and Congressional party preference appear to be just beginning to react, but by now it is surely clear even to the worst pessimists (and to the New York Times) that the polls are not narrowing, and all the deranged tweets and phony peace conferences in the world aren’t going to change that.
I Mean, GOP Polling Is Really Terrible
- From Texas comes news that a new UT/Texas Tribune poll shows Beto O’Rourke within 5 points of Ted “Zodiac Killer” Cruz. Two results of that poll bode well for Beto. First 17% still have no preference for Senate, indicating that a good number of people don’t like Cruz but still don’t know Beto well enough. This is supported by the fact that 24% say they don’t know enough about him to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him (his approval is 37-24 favorable).
The other result which is encouraging is that most people do know Cruz, and they don’t like him. His favorability rating is 42-41 negative, and his job approvaloval is 41-39 negative.
- In a pleasant surprise, the same poll shows the race for attorney general to be a virtual dead heat, probably due to the fact that Republican Ken Paxton is under a felony fraud indictment.
- An NBC/Marist poll is showing Democratic senatorial candidates with solid leads in Ohio and Arizona and a narrow lead in Florida. One hesitates to say there is a really good chance to take the Senate, but with vulnerable Democrats looking better all the time and a good possibility of flipping Arizona (at least), one cannot rationally say there is no chance.
Now let’s round up the other positive developments of the day.
Trump’s Unpopularity Spans The Ocean: A Hostile Reception Awaits Him In London
The Commander Of Cheese’s upcoming visit to London, already scaled back from an official state visit and now being called “a working visit,” will be met by tens of thousands of angry British subjects--and a huge orange baby with his face.
A 20-foot-tall inflatable orange baby with the face of President Donald Trump could float over Britain’s parliament next month, one of many acts of protest planned to coincide with Trump's first visit to the U.K. since taking office.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to march in London, Scotland and elsewhere during his trip, which takes place amid a growing transatlantic trade war and global dismay at the treatment of immigrant families at the U.S. border.
Mass anti-Trump marches have been more than a year in the planning, after May first extended an invitation for Trump to visit the U.K. in early 2017.
The largest are planned in London, where organizers of Together Against Trump estimate up to 100,000 people, including labor unions and rights groups, will march through the center of the city to Trafalgar Square.
The people behind last year’s successful Women’s March are staging a Bring The Noise rally earlier on the same day to end in Parliament Square, opposite the House of Commons. (You can already buy the t-shirt.)
“We’re planning a proper British welcome for Trump,” said Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, 42, a co-organizer of the march and founder of Women in Leadership.
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott Confirms: The Race For Senate Is “Very Tight”
You don’t have to believe the poll I mentioned earlier. Just listen to what Gregg Abbott has to say.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke will be "very tight" and could affect candidates in November who have a lower spot on the ballot.
In a telephone town hall Tuesday with supporters, Abbott warned that Republican leaders in Texas should not take their re-election for granted because Democrats are energized and eyeing Texas as a potential target.
"It's going to be very tough, very tight," Abbott said of the race between Cruz and O'Rourke
Rhode Island Senate Passes Bill Requiring Presidential Candidates To Reveal Tax Returns
If Trump somehow makes it to the 2020 elections, there’s a good chance he won't be on the ballot in Rhode Island unless he releases his tax returns. The bill passed the state Senate 34-3 and appears to have a good chance of passing the House.
As Usual, Tuesday’s Elections Brought Good News
- In Oklahoma’s Republican primary, state legislators paid the price for voting against teacher pay increases. Two were defeated outright and seven were forced into runoffs. Four other GOP incumbents also lost their re-election bids, one to a teacher from Elgin
- Oklahoma voters also voted to legalize medical marijuana, as has been mentioned in an earlier Roundup.
Roseanne Barr Brings The Tears While Attempting To Defend Herself Again
Roseanne Barr cried and apologized “anyone who thought, or felt offended” while defending herself on the grounds that she was on drugs and incredibly ignorant when she tweeted about Valerie Jarrett. She didn’t mention her long history of racist statements or the fact that ABC offered to keep her on if she deleted her Twitter account.
And that seems like a good place for our next musical break for today, with apologies to Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
In Their Haste To Pass Their Tax Scam, Republicans Accidentally Impose First-Ever Taxes On Churches
The strangest things happen when you vote for a clumsily constructed bill nobody has read in your haste to whore yourself out to your rich supporters. It seems that the GOP’s one major achievement, it’s big tax bill, will impose a hefty new tax on many churches and other non-profits for the first time, and many of their evangelical supporters are pissed.
Their recent tax-code rewrite requires churches, hospitals, colleges, orchestras and other historically tax-exempt organizations to begin paying a 21 percent tax on some types of fringe benefits they provide their employees.
That could force thousands of groups that have long had little contact with the IRS to suddenly begin filing returns and paying taxes for the first time.
Though many organizations are still unaware of the tax, more than 600 churches and other groups have already signed a petition demanding it be repealed.
“There’s going to be huge headaches,” said Galen Carey, vice president of government relations at the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group of evangelical Christian organizations. “The cost of compliance, especially for churches that have small staffs or maybe volunteer accountants and bookkeepers — we don’t need this kind of hassle.”
Whomp whomp.
Kentucky Legislature’s Attack On Teacher Pensions Ruled Unconstitutional
The Kentucky Legislature’s last-minute lightning vote to cut teacher pensions was ruled unconstitutional by a state judge yesterday and the governor was enjoined from implementing it.
In a 34-page ruling, the judge said the Republican-led General Assembly violated the Kentucky Constitution when it passed a surprise pension bill only six hours after introducing the legislation.
The legislature violated Section 46 of the Constitution in two ways, Shepherd ruled. First, it failed to give the bill three readings on three separate days in each chamber, as the Constitution requires, he ruled.
Second, he said the bill appropriates money, and therefore needed the support of a majority of all members in the House to pass. The bill was approved with only 49 votes, which is two shy of a constitutional majority in the 100-member chamber.
Mexico Poised To Elect Progressive, Anti-Corruption President
It looks like the third time is the charm of leftist Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. With the election coming up on Sunday, he is heavily favored over candidates from the PRI and PAN, which are the only two parties to have held power in Mexico’s history. The two establishment parties’ attempts to red-bait Obrador appear to have failed spectacularly.
NASCAR Race Team Hires Colombian Immigrant Woman As A Top Executive
Hendrick Motorsports, the home of four top-division drivers including superstar Jimmie Johnson, announced the hiring of Alba Colon, a Colombiam immigrant with 23 years experience at General Motors, as their new director of competition systems, a top-level executive position in the company.
Before we close out today, I would like to repost the list of action items I ran last week. Please feel free to distribute this as widely as possible, with updates and changes as needed.
What You Can Do To Help The Children And Their Families
Here’s how you can go out and make some good news of your own.
Volunteer
- If you live near an ICE detention center (see map here) you can volunteer for the Freedom for Immigrants Visitation program. You would visit detained persons and interact with them directly. The organization also has other volunteer opportunities.
- If you live in a border area and have some legal training, The Texas Civil Rights Project and the Immigration Justice Campaign are looking for volunteers. TCRP is especially interested in people with paralegal or legal assistant training who speak Spanish, Mam, Q’eqchi’ or K’iche.
- The Northwest Immigrant Rights Organization works with those confined in the large detention facility near Sea-Tac. They need translators and interpreters.
- The Florence Project and Refugee Rights Project is seeking pro bono attorneys in Arizona.
- Catholic Charities of Fort Worth is housing some of the children taken from their families. If you live in that area, they could use volunteers.
- The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights needs child advocates for unaccompanied minors in Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Harlingen, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
- American Gateways is providing legal services for separated parents. They can use volunteer attorneys and non-attorneys.
- There are undoubtedly countless volunteer opportunities available in this effort. If you know of any, please supply them in the comments.
Become A Foster Parent
- If you’re really ready to go big, this may be a way you could help. It’s likely that many children will be separated from their families for some time, and, as horrifying as it is, record keeping has been so sloppy that it may be impossible to reunite some families. If you think you could provide a temporary home to one of these children, contact the US Conference of Catholic Bishops or Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services. This will require extensive training and licensing, but as a former foster parent I can tell you that it is a richly rewarding endeavor if you are able to do it.
Donate
Financial assistance is still one of the best ways to help, and the good news is that there are dozens of organizations working to assist children and adults with immediate needs including legal care, as well as fighting to end the horrific caging of children. Here is a partial list of worthy organizations.
- Donate to the effort by RAICES to raise bond money for detained adults and provide legal services to adults and children. (This is a Facebook page). They have already raised over $15 million.
- Together Rising is currently providing legal assistance in Arizona for 60 children who were taken from their families and are in detention. You can donate here.
- The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights supplies child advocates for young immigrants and is currently working on separation issues.
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is providing "immediate shelter and beds, medical services, counseling and therapy to help (children) deal with the trauma of family separation."
- Comfort Cases needs donations to provide backpacks to separated children. Each backpack contains items like blankets, toiletries, a book, a stuffed animal, etc.
- The Fronterizo Fianza Fund raises bond money for detained immigrants, and to provide small commissary and phone fund deposits for those in detention.
- Kids In Need Of Defense provides pro bono attorneys to immigrant children.
- The National Immigrant Justice Center also provides legal representation for separated immigrants and advises federal public defenders.
- If you would like your donation to be distributed among several organizations, including some on this list, go to ActBlue’s Support Kids At The Border page.
- The Casa Cornelia Law Center is also providing legal representation for separated immigrants
- Don’t forget the ACLU.
Keep Calling Your Senators And Representative
This probably goes without saying around here, but a little reminder never hurts. Congressional staffers have said that they are being flooded with more calls than they have received since the health care debate. We need to let them know that we’re not fooled by Trump’s phony Executive Order, and that we’re still watching them.
If you haven’t made a call before, or would like to help someone else with their first call, here's a handy guide to how it’s done.
Plan On Hitting The Streets On June 30
It looks like we’re marching again. The Families Belong Together march will take place on the last day of this month in Washington and in cities and towns in all 50 states. You can find information and a map of rallies nationwide right here. It would be great if we could make this as big as the 2017 Women’s March, wouldn’t it?
Remember, despite all the terrible news this week, we are not beaten. Take it from someone who has experienced setbacks in his life.
If this isn’t enough good news, go out and make some of your own.
Play us out, boys.