{"id":30770,"date":"2016-12-24T14:49:58","date_gmt":"2016-12-24T19:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=30770"},"modified":"2016-12-24T14:49:58","modified_gmt":"2016-12-24T19:49:58","slug":"a-ten-point-call-to-arms-preparing-for-president-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=30770","title":{"rendered":"A ten point call to arms: “Preparing for President Trump”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many Americans would not be surprised if on Jan. 20 Vladimir Putin\u00a0administers\u00a0the oath of office to Donald Trump,\u00a0the Ku Klux Klan youth choir regales\u00a0the inaugural crowd with a stirring rendition of \u201cDixie,\u201d the Chamber of Commerce orchestra performs\u00a0\u201cHail to the \u2026 Continue reading<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Source, Peter Dreier: Preparing for President Trump – BillMoyers.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A terrific article in the what-do-we-do-now? category from Peter Dreier<\/a> on BillMoyers.com. Really, you should read the whole thing and not trust my minimal excerpts; they do not deliver everything you need and want to know.<\/p>\n

Dreier offers ten points:<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t forget: Trump does\u00a0not\u00a0have a mandate.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

2. Challenge Trump\u2019s Nominees.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t Normalize Trump.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

4. Focus on Real People.<\/strong> Reporters should focus on how Trump\u2019s rhetoric and policy ideas affect real people.<\/em><\/p>\n

…They also should maintain a\u00a0running count of hate crimes and violence triggered around the country by Trump\u2019s election and rhetoric…They should not, as\u00a0Boston Globe\u00a0columnist Michael Cohen suggested<\/a>,\u00a0\u201ctreat Trump\u2019s actions\u00a0as a topic of political debate\u201d but instead \u201cas evidence of his derangement.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Protest and Engage in Civil Disobedience.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

6. Oppose Trump\u2019s infrastructure plan.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

…As Nobel Prize-winning economist and\u00a0New York\u00a0Times columnist\u00a0Paul Krugman wrote<\/a>, the Trump plan is \u201cbasically fraudulent,\u201d a scam that would \u201cenrich a few well-connected people at taxpayers\u2019 expense while doing very little to cure our investment shortfall. Progressives should not associate themselves with this exercise in crony capitalism.\u201d Trump\u2019s plan\u00a0involves\u00a0\u201chuge tax credits: billions of dollars in checks written to private companies that invest in approved projects, which they would end up owning.\u201d\u00a0Krugman also points out the Trump plan won\u2019t address infrastructure needs that can\u2019t be turned into profit centers. \u201cOur top priorities should include things like repairing levees and cleaning up hazardous waste; where\u2019s the revenue stream?\u201d Krugman calls the Trump scheme a \u201cgratuitous handout to select investors.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Me again: coincidentally, today’s New York Times has a startling and ominous story<\/a> about what happens to real people–see Dreier’s Point 4, above–when private investment takes over public works, in this case, Bayonne, New Jersey’s water works. (Short summary: nothing good.)<\/p>\n

Years ago, I sharply separated the province of government–providing us all with vital services–from profit-making companies’ province: selling us stuff that, apart from food, is usually superfluous.<\/p>\n

I’ll do a separate post on vital services. Mr. Dreier’s piece is too important to interrupt further. So, more of his points:<\/p>\n

7. Obstruct Trump\u2019s Presidency.<\/strong> People who live in\u00a0large\u00a0blue states\u00a0like California, New York,\u00a0Washington, Minnesota\u00a0and\u00a0Illinois have a particular opportunity and\u00a0responsibility to obstruct Trump\u2019s presidency.<\/em><\/p>\n

8. Exploit Republican Infighting.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

9. Mobilize for the Next Elections.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

10. Start Presidential Vetting Now.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Inspiring.<\/p>\n

And hook yourself up to BillMoyers.com<\/a>, which will deliver a number of important articles to your in-box every week. It’s free and exciting journalism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many Americans would not be surprised if on Jan. 20 Vladimir Putin\u00a0administers\u00a0the oath of office to Donald Trump,\u00a0the Ku Klux Klan youth choir regales\u00a0the inaugural crowd with a stirring rendition of \u201cDixie,\u201d the Chamber of Commerce orchestra performs\u00a0\u201cHail to the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1175],"tags":[1096,1172,1220],"class_list":["post-30770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-facts-of-life","tag-politics","tag-trump","tag-what-do-we-do-now"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t