Here in the Good News Roundup we are on a constant search for the news that put the lie to right wing lunacy and gives hope and strength to the resistance. Since tRump gave his State of the Uniom speech last night much of this roundup will concern the response to the bald-faced, despicable lies and buffoonish posturing by teleprompter tRump. As long as we keep shining the light on our country’s bumper crop of conservative cockroaches, they’ll keep scurrying for the corners (screaming “It burns! It burns!).
But first, do you yearn for relief? We briefly interrupt our good news with a word from our sponsor — Preparation-T. Have you been suffering from the painful itch of tRump in the White House and Republicans controlling congress? Does their daily assault on decency, motherhood and apple pie get on your very last nerve? Are you pissed off every time one of their smarmy lying faces shows up on the TV box? If so, Preparation-T is for you.
Official Good News Roundup response to the State of the Union speech
When I volunteered to sit in for pr0gressivist I didn’t realize I’d be responsible for the GNR response to the SOTU. That meant I had to watch the current Occupant try to read the words of Miller’s speech without destroying my television. Donations of massive quantities of alcohol so I can forget the experience are welcome and appreciated.
Yesterday, I mentioned that Donald tRump never met a bar he couldn’t lower. He not only proved that again last night, he dug himself a well and threw the bar in. It boiled down to lies about disaster response, tell a story about a guest, lies about the economy, another guest, more lies, more guests while pretending to be all for bipartisan solutions until finishing up talking about what “the people” (not “our people”) can do. A few of the lowlights. He damn near broke his arm, patting himself on the back, while taking credit for Obama’s economy. He also joined in any applause given him by his lickspittle cohort and kept making a gesture that he wanted the enablers to rise and cheer. He took credit for a Chrysler plant that he had nothing to do with. There was a proposed 4 pillar compromise on immigration that has Stephen Miller spasming in delight. He wants to keep Gitmo open (at an insane cost) for all 41 detainees. He started slurring words about an hour into the speech. My favorite was “opiod ediction.” Surprisingly my TV survived. Not a word about Russian interference.
In Today’s Good News
There were a lot of place to find responses to the State of the Union address
Joseph P. Kennedy III gave the official Democratic response (should we start calling him Joey Three Sticks?)
Virginia delegate Virginia Del. Elizabeth Guzman gave the official Spanish language response
Bernie Sanders will give a direct response to the speech itself on his facebook page
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) will respond as part of a BET news special tonight.
former Maryland congresswoman Donna F. Edwards delivered a response on behalf of the Working Families Party
The comedians went after him instantly and did a better job of analysis than the network talking heads. Samantha Bee should have a great show tonight.
Stephen Colbert went live to give the official late night response
Jimmy Kimmel interviewed tRump’s daughter Stormy Daniels last night
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Opposition both taped live
The first episode of Our Cartoon President covers tRump preparing for and delivering the State of the Union
Finally Presidential Again: The President's State of the Union Response - The President Show
Politifact did one of many fact checks. WaPo and NYT have paywalled checks as well.
The Peoples State of the Union happened Monday night in NYC
People's State of the Union calls for resistance to the Trump administration
A star-studded cast of actors, entertainers and activists came together Monday to offer an alternative to President Donald Trump's first State of the Union speech.
Billed as a rally for the "resistance movement," the People's State of the Union featured anti-Trump celebs including Cynthia Nixon, Michael Moore, Rosie Perez and Mark Ruffalo.
And a different Peoples State of the Union returns
The 2018 People's State of the Union will take place from January 25-February 4, 2018.
In January of most years, the President delivers a State of the Union Address highlighting the past year and suggesting priorities for the coming year. It’s a broadcast from one to many. But democracy is a conversation, not a monologue. Understanding the state of our union takes We the People reflecting in our own communities on our challenges and opportunities locally, nationally, and globally.
The Republican Party is in trouble
How American democracy survived President Trump’s first year
Trump’s assaults on democracy have, for the most part, been repulsed. The courts, the federal bureaucracy, the states, and even large numbers of ordinary Americans have all played a vital role in restraining the president’s authoritarian tendencies.
“Despite clear cause for concern, little actual backsliding occurred in 2017,” Levitsky and Ziblatt conclude. “We did not cross the line into authoritarianism.”
Trump Turns GOP Into a Conspiracy of Dunces
The Republican Party’s head-first dive into breathless conspiratorial fantasies in defense of Donald Trump is a brand-defining moment as the Party of Lincoln morphs into the Party of LaRouche. Listening as members of Congress, the Fox News/talk-radio world and the constellation of batshit-crazy people drawn to Esoteric Trumpism adopt increasingly baroque theories to protect The Donald isn’t just depressing; it’s tragic. A diseased slurry of fake news, post-Truth Trumpism, and Russkie agitprop infects the Republican Party. It’s an ebola of wild-eyed MK-ULTRA paranoiac raving, spreading to every organ of the Republican body politic.
Devin Nunes’ Hometown Paper Ripped Him To Pieces
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is starting to rack up a fine collection of op-eds branding him a witless fool and a Trump admin lapdog. The latest comes from a newspaper in the heart of his district, The Fresno Bee, the editorial board of which sounds as exasperated with the Congressman’s antics as it is peeved. “What, pray tell, does Rep. Devin Nunes think he’s doing by waving around a secret memo attacking the FBI, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency?” the op-ed starts. “He certainly isn’t representing his Central Valley constituents or Californians, who care much more about health care, jobs and, yes, protecting Dreamers than about the latest conspiracy theory.”
The Hypocrisy cries out as RNC Refuses to Return Steve Wynn’s Donations
“Steve has denied these allegations, unlike Harvey Weinstein and Al Franken and others, Steve has denied them,” McDaniels said during an appearance on Fox News. “There is an investigation that is going to take place. He should be allowed due process. And if he is found [guilty] of any wrongdoing, we will absolutely return 100 percent of the money. But we’re going to let that process take place.”
The remarks are the RNC’s first response to mounting demands that it return all donations provided by Wynn, since the Wall Street Journal reported Friday on decades of sexual harassment claims against the billionaire casino mogul by women who worked for him. The slow response opened the party to charges of hypocrisy, with critics pointing to its very different response to sexual misconduct controversies involving Democrats.
Presidential Spokesliar’s father stepped in it (again).
Mike Huckabee Skewered Over ‘Despicable’ Joke About Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) tweeted a tasteless joke over the weekend about the 84-year-old justice’s decision not to attend President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday:
Needless to say, Huckabee’s barb did not go down well on Twitter. Even Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) called it “despicable” and “tasteless”:
Back to Obstruction
Would McCabe follow former FBI director James B. Comey in sharing damaging information with the media?
and Russia
There’s a second Trump-Russia dossier
But now it turns out that a second dossier exists — and it contains some of the same information as the first one.
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that the FBI is in possession of both dossiers and is looking into whether any of the information is true. The agency is in the midst of an investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.
Required Quote Section
Just one quote for you today. His words are as powerful now as they were over 50 years ago.
You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it. — Malcolm X
Sam Cooke recorded this on January 30th, 1964 shortly before his death at age 33. That’s 54 years to the day before tRump embarrassed the nation with his stupid speech, making this song yet another prescient response. It was originally released posthumously in December, 1964.
Resist. Vote. Impeach. Imprison.