Rebel Girl, Sally Yates, You are the Queen of My World

Full disclosure: I've been fan-girling over Sally Yates ever since she stood up for actual American values protected by the Constitution by telling Justice Department Attorneys not to defend the controversial "Muslim ban" that, to many, is tantamount to religious profiling.

I'll admit, I never paid much attention to who the Attorney General was until yesterday, and I feel badly about that. As I was discussing the incoming news with my husband, I had to do a quick shift from referring to Yates as "he" to "she" as I read more details. Once I made this shift in my head and chastised myself for making that assumption, my favorite song from from circa fifteen year-old me started running though my head over and over again.  

If memory serves me correctly, I actually owned two copies of Bikini Kill's Pussywhipped because I legit listened to one CD until it wore out. And without question, Rebel Girl was my favorite song. And without question, on Monday night Sally Yates became the queen of my world.

Yates had been acting as deputy Attorney General since she was confirmed by an 84-12 Senate vote in May of 2015 until she was asked to serve as acting Attorney General in January 2015 by the Trump administration, until Trump's nominee could be confirmed by the Senate.

However, on January 30th, she was abruptly fired for "refusing to protect a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States." 

The official White House statement reads as follows:

“The acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States. This order was approved as to form and legality by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.

Ms. Yates is an Obama Administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.

It is time to get serious about protecting our country. Calling for tougher vetting for individuals travelling from seven dangerous places is not extreme. It is reasonable and necessary to protect our country.

Tonight, President Trump relieved Ms. Yates of her duties and subsequently named Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as Acting Attorney General until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate, where he is being wrongly held up by Democrat senators for strictly political reasons.

So much wow. Many unstable. Sad.

First of all, aside from the this letter being pure theatrics (In theory, Yates only had a few more days to serve and she was notified of her termination by hand delivered letter), the grandiose, inflammatory language seems to be an indicator of less than good things to come. The use of "betrayed," "Obama Administration appointee who is weak on borders," and "wrongly held up by Democratic senators for strictly political reasons" is the type of unnecessarily inflammatory language that makes me shudder at the thought of what American diplomacy has degenerated into. I guess after hearing "bad hombres" being bandied about like it's not a racial slur, I shouldn't be surprised. Horrified, yes. But surprised, no. 

So, after Ms. Yates stood up and took one for the team, it's our turn to return the favor. The candidate for her permanent replacement, Jeff Sessions (who is so awful he will now be referred to as the "future attorney general who will not be named or FAGWWNBN for short.) was deemed too racially insensitive by a Republican majority Senate to serve as a federal judge in 1986. 

No, that was not a typo. Thirty years ago, the FAGWWNBN was considered too racially insensitive to serve as a federal judge and he's currently one vote away from becoming the U.S. Attorney General. Now, you might be saying, "That was thirty years ago. Maybe his little grinchy heart grew three sizes in the meantime?" Well, despite the setbacks, FAGWWNBN did go on to be elected as an Alabama Senator. So, we can look back at his voting record and see that, although he's hasn't been embroiled in scandal like he was in the 80s, he's not exactly had a stellar record when it comes to protecting civil rights.  Even though he's rolled back his stance on harsher penalties for crimes involving crack cocaine, in the meantime he's voted against reauthorizing the Violence against Women Act, and for a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. It's hard not to see his softening stance on drug crimes as a political PR play to try and distance himself from the accusations of racism that have plagued him for the past thirty years, especially if you consider the entirety of his voting record in regards to civil rights. 

Admittedly, stopping the confirmation of FAGWWNBN is a long shot, especially considering how the Republicans love changing the rules of the game when it suits them. However, the ACLU has a petition going on their website urging the Senate to take a comprehensive look at the FAGWWNBN's voting record to ensure that he will act in the best interest of the American people.  Click here to sign.

Also, call your Senators and let them know that you do not approve of the appointment of the FAGWWNBN. Or, if you're like me, new to Twitter, and still marveling at the novelty, a barrage of #stopsessions directed at them can't hurt either. 

No One's Leaving (Unless You're Muslim and Trump gets his way)

I've been having one of those weeks where the idea of a Kefka-esque bad guy swooping in and doing his whole "rebirth through destruction" bit might just be an appropriate response to the way people have been handling this whole "humanity" thing.

On Friday, January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order banning nationals travelling from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia from entering the United States for at least 90 days. Refugees fleeing war-torn Syria have been banned indefinitely

What makes this all the more confusing, is when you consider the countries that weren't included. This executive action makes no sense if we are to believe that this was done purely in the name of security. If we look at the statistics, we can see that since 9/11/2001 no terrorist attack has been carried out from nationals of any of the countries included in the ban. However, there have been no additional travel restrictions placed on citizens of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Lebanon, even though these are the countries from which the 9/11 hijackers originated, and the 9/11 attacks are mentioned specifically in the executive order. The other frightening statistic highlighted here is that since 9/11/2001 Americans seem to be the biggest threat to American safety.

I'm assuming by now a lot of you are going, "Sooooooo...why are these countries being targeted?" Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this. But, there has been a lot of conjecture! YAY!?

For starters, the pretty obvious questions of conflicts of interest between the travel ban and places where the Trump Organization does business are hard to ignore. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all have definite ties to terrorism, but are also places where, according to Trump's presidential financial disclosure forms, the Trump Organization has business ties.

As cut and dry as that seems, it's not quite that simple. This whole conflict of interest things takes a really weird turn if you look at the law Obama signed in December 2015 placing restrictions on certain travelers who had visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria, and adding Libya, Somalia, and Sudan to that list a few months later. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is claiming that Trump is just following Obama's lead in these matters. However, Trump's executive order is much broader in scope, banning all citizens from these countries from travelling to the US, even as the humanitarian crisis in Syria is threatening the lives of millions of people, which leads us down the road of conjecture even further. There is plenty of speculation that this whole "Muslim-ban" thing is just a smoke screen to distract the masses from an even greater evil.

If you're playing along at home, now's the time to ask, "What could possibly be worse than throwing millions of innocent refugees, including children, under the proverbial bus, thus undermining one of our founding principles as a nation, the separation of church and state, as a distraction technique?"

Apparently, you are not familiar with the "alt-right" (aka neo-nazi) superstar, and who some consider to be Trump's final form, Steve Bannon. 

Over the weekend, while the nation was out being awesome and doing the whole #nobannowall thing at airports across the country, Bannon was being promoted from mere henchman to full on raid boss. That's right, in an unprecedented move, chief strategist Steve Bannon was elevated to the National Security Council's principals committee, while the director of National Intelligence and the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff got a demotion. So what does all this mean? In short, Bannon will get to sit in on White House meetings alongside members of the State Department and Pentagon in order to advise the president on matters of national security.

This all doesn't sound like such a big deal if you know absolutely nothing about Steve Bannon. Just in case you are unfamiliar with Bannon's, let's say, "interesting" rise to fame, and you want to keep following me down this rabbit hole of nightmares, he became executive chairman of Breitbart news in 2012 following the death of its founder, Andrew Breitbart. If you have a racist uncle that you just can't seem to bring yourself to unfollow on Facebook, then you are probably familiar this publication. If you are not, here are some highlights:

• Would you Rather Your Child had Feminism or Cancer?
• Data: Young Muslims in the West are a Ticking Timebomb...
• How Donald Trump Made it Cool to be Gay Again
• NAACP Joins Soros Army Plotting DC Disruptions, Civil Disobedience,...

So, this is basically how this weekend played out - while the good people of the world were out practicing political triage, back in Washington, DC (aka. Mordor) Trump was rearranging the National Security council so that a man who refers to the media as "the opposition party" and thinks that it should "just keep its mouth shut" can have more influence over matters of national security. Swell.

As depressing as this all seems, there has been a tiny spec of light at the end of the tunnel. Our briefcase-toting heroes over at the ACLU have managed to successfully secure a temporary injunction that will block those stranded at airports from being deported under Trump's Musim-ban. Lawsuits are ongoing trying to determine the legality of the executive order, questioning whether or not it constitutes religious discrimination, and thus a direct violation of the constitution.

Now, with all the back and forth going on about immigration and our identity as a nation, I couldn't help but to think of one of my favorite songs. "No One's Leaving" by Jane's Addiction is three minutes and one second of completely sound advice for these crazy times. If we have any hope of this crazy experiment in anti-tribalism we call America succeeding, ain't nobody leavin'. And that's the way it should be! 

If you want to get involved and help fund the legal fights that are sure to be coming the next few months and years, consider donating to the ACLU. A number of celebrities and business owners have pledged to match donations if share your donation receipts with them.

If you're more inclined to get out and protest, Peace for Iran is hosting a rally in front of the White House on Saturday, February 4th. If you can't make it to D.C., but still want to participate consider looking for (or even organizing) a sister rally in your area.

If shoptavism is more your thing, Starbucks has committed to hiring 10,000 refugees over the next five years. Help offset the boycott that has resulted from a pledge to hire refugees (why. is. this. even. a. thing?) by treating yo'self to an orange mocha frappucino*.

*may not be an actual drink

A Throwback to My Misspent Reagan Youth

Jesus was a communist, 

Jesus was a pacifist, 

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus didn't like the rich.

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus was a pacifist,

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus didn't like the rich.

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus was a pacifist,

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus didn't like the rich.

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus was a pacifist,

Jesus was a communist,

Jesus saw through your head.

-Reagan Youth

Just Another Brick in the Wall (That We're Going to Pay For)

Never having been one for the great outdoors, I generally consider walls to be a good thing. They keep the bugs out and the air conditioning in. They're fun to paint and hang things on. My very extensive collection of color swatches and tattered Nirvana posters is a testament to my love of things wall related.

Yet, somehow, people have managed to turn something as simple as a wall into a monument of hate, wastefulness, and ego. Will we ever learn? Probably not if Betsy DeVos gets a confirmation, but let's just focus on one horror at time here.

In recent developments from the How to be On the Wrong Side of History Handbook, talks of building the U.S.-Mexico border wall have resumed. For, perhaps the first time ever, a politician threatening to actually follow through with a core campaign promise has managed to set off alarm bells.

First, let's pretend that Trump's reasons for wanting to build this wall aren't as nefarious as Ramsay Bolton's motivations for pet adoption. Just from a practical standpoint, this wall is gonna cost us. Big time.

So, remember all that talk about Mexico paying for the wall? Well, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, was having none of that. Which, in turn, led to two grown men (who are in charge of nations of people) having a war of "Nuh uh...I totally cancelled first. You didn't break up with me, I totes broke up with you," in response to a breakdown in relations that prompted the scrapping of a face to face meeting scheduled for January 31st.

So, if Mexico won't agree to just go ahead and pay for the wall to keep out all the drugs dealers, criminals, and rapists out of our great nation, we will just tax the money out of them. They will have no choice except to bow down and cower in fear at the threat of a 20% import tax that in no way will adversely effect the US population.  Makes total sense, except for the fact that it in no way does.

Now, with my amazing powers of research and super sleuthing skills (aka. googling junk), it's pretty obvious that we kinda need (or have at least grown accustom to) imported Mexican goods.  In fact, Mexico is our third largest trading partner, and we import more from them than we export. It doesn't take a financial genius assume that the Mexican government will just pass this tax directly onto the consumer by imposing the same tax on US exports. In fact, that's exactly what former Mexican president Vincente Fox Quesada tweeted:

Trump,please don't be stubborn.By taxing 20%,again American people pays for the f..wall. You know MX will impose same tax to US exports.

— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) January 27, 2017

Let me put this is laymen's terms. Tequila and guacamole is about to cost us about 20% more so that we can pay for this stupid wall, if the import tax plan is implemented. If it isn't and there's no backup, the American taxpayers will just foot the bill directly. You know, in the name of expediency.

I'm hoping that by now you are wondering, "What can I do about this?! I hate pointless walls and love margaritas. There must be something that can be done?"

Since Congress must first approve the spending of taxpayer money on a border wall, the first line of defense is to contact your representatives and voice your concerns directly.

If you want to try and work with more directly with border advocacy groups check out this list and consider donating either money or time.

Finally, check Facebook, Twitter, and local print publications for marches and rallies in support of sane border and immigration policies. If you do attend a march or rally, consider celebrating after with a Nasty Woman cocktail, while they are still 20% more affordable.

Songs That I Wish Weren't Still Relevant: Seriously, What's Going On?!

I woke up on Wednesday, November 9th, after getting roughly two hours of restless sleep with a hope in my heart that was quickly dashed with just two words, "He won." That was literally the worst thing my husband has ever said to me. Which, I guess makes me lucky in some ways?

I stumbled out of bed, fed my dogs, hugged and kissed them, poured myself a glass of orange juice, and then ugly cried into it for the next two hours. Like at least three million other people, I just couldn't believe what had happened. Was I ever going to be able to use Facebook again without having a meltdown? What's going to happen if the Department of Education is dismantled? Was marriage equality going to be repealed? Was self-tanner going to be government subsidized or even mandatory?

Now, maybe it's because I spent most of teenage years not getting enough sleep because I was up watching MTV late into the night, but I tend to think in song. And the first song that popped into my head so perfectly summed up my shock and disbelief it was almost cathartic.

Everything that I was feeling was so perfectly encapsulated.  It literally asked the question "What's going on?"

4 Non Blonde's "What's Up" asks the question, that as time passes, I'm realizing is exactly the question we need to ask ourselves every time we wake up to horrifying news. As an added bonus, if you turn it up really loud and sing along it serves as a kind of primal scream therapy. Try it. Your neighbors can thank me later.

Joking aside, we can not let this become the new normal in America. Executive orders that prohibit scientific government agencies from communicating with the public, a backdoor ban on Muslim and refugee immigration, and an executive order that fast-tracks the Dakota Access Pipeline should not be normal. And that's not even the shortlist of horrifying things that have happened this week. We'll save those for other posts. The powers that be are counting on our complacency and waiting for us to get bored, distracted, or just used to the state of things. Everyday that I wake up to hatred, ignorance, or incompetency is another day to question the state of things.

If you too are wondering what exactly is going on, there are steps you can take. There is a petition on the whitehouse.gov to ungag the EPA. And while you're there check out the other petitions and sign those, too, if you feel so inclined.

Also, call or write your Senators and Representatives. Voice your concerns. Let them know that this is not the America that represents you and your values.

And finally, if you see or hear something that screams #thisisnotnormal say something! It is imperative that we don't become complacent. As it stands, there's a good chance we're going to have at least two years of #thisisnotnormal policy. If we're going to get through this, we need to stick together. We need to protect and give hope to those most vulnerable. We have to pick up the slack where leadership is failing us.

Just remember: THIS. IS. NOT. NORMAL. And it never should be.

And now back to serenading my dogs...

AND I SAY HEY YEAH, YEAH, YEAH...

Boring crap you should be doing instead of binge watching Gilmore Girls

Ugggghhhhhhh...
I *hate* running. I like the cute clothes, but, in my experience, 90% of the time running is pure torture. However...

Unfortunately, what is good for us isn't always the most pleasant. With that being said, the Women's March on Washington and worldwide sister marches were amazing. Early reports are speculating that it was the largest protest ever, spanning all seven continents (shout out to Antarctica for making sure that that happened). As far as protests go, this one trained in space and reached a power level of over 9,000. Which again, is cool. But, now what?

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the D.C. march and hear Madonna talk about blowing up the White House in person. And then I watched the clip over and over again at home. I sat at my computer and had a good chuckle over all the amazing, creative, and hilarious signs that people made. I got into Facebook arguments with people I don't even know about why the march was necessary. While all of this was entertaining and made me feel good, I have to admit that it wasn't actually accomplishing much. Guilt set in. I had the realization of "Oh crap, I actually should do something useful." 

Luckily for me, the organizers of the Women's March are amazing and much better at the "doing stuff" part than I am. Less boring crap that I have to figure out on my own is always good in my book. 

The 10 Actions / 100 Days Campaign is a great resource for all us faced with the "now what" aftermath of the marches. Added bonus: this first action can be done while binge watching Gilmore Girls.

The concept is simple: flood your Senators with postcards voicing your concerns. Let them know that this doesn't end with the march. Remind them that many of them are up for re-election in two years and you are paying attention. You are angry. Their incompetence and lack of compassion has awakened, horrified, and mobilized you in a way that is unprecedented. To get started click here to download or print your own postcards. For extra credit, try and make the paperwork portion less boring. Maybe host a beer, pizza, postcard writing night? Maybe invite me over? I do make a mean vegan meat lover's pizza.