By James Howard Kunstler for Clusterfuck Nation – Entropy never sleeps. It works remorselessly to transform things of value into useless, dissipated waste and heat. Complexity stokes it especially as the law of diminishing returns multiplies the wheels of futility spinning down to zero. Hence, the intellectual decay of American life in which spin is everything, anything goes, and nothing matters. The latest manifestation of this dynamic is the curious movement that styles itself The Resistance, lately adopted by the grotesque handmaiden of the Deep State that the Democratic Party became in the regency of Hillary Clinton. Its mission is to undo the results of the last national election by claiming that Russia undid it. It pretends to seek the restoration of something — but what? Of dissipated power relations within the Deep State itself? President Trump is actually taking care of that by turning government management over to hisgenerals and the minions of Goldman Sachs. The generals are reinvesting in the strategic black hole of our military adventures overseas. The Goldman Sachs appointees are making Wall Street safe for the continued asset-stripping of the USA. The last time I checked, Hillary’s gang did not oppose either of these endeavors.
By Danny Haiphong for Black Agenda Report. The 2017 Left Forum made “resistance” the central theme of the annual gathering of left thinkers, activists, and organizers. The term has become increasingly relevant in the midst of the instability surrounding the Trump Administration. “Resistance” has become the catch-all phrase for any force that opposes Trump. Only a small segment of those who attended the Left Forum attempted to spell out the dangers of such “resistance.” Yet an important task of any self-proclaimed “left” movement is to define what the word resistance actually means in this period of confusion and crisis.” Any conversation about “resistance” must start with the state. The state, better known as the interconnected institutions of governance, is the central force that manages oppression in society.
By Douglas Williams for The Guardian – Pundits say Donald Trump is “undermining democracy”. But their concern is often just about elite institutions: the media, the judiciary, the electoral system. What is ignored is the effect that the Trump administration will have on the social movements, which serve as pillars of the resistance. If these fall, our democracy will be irreparably harmed. Democracy extends far beyond the ballot box – it includes the active participation of labor and racial justice movements in civil society. People tend to think that voting and electioneering are the sum total of democracy. It makes sense in a way; media influences public opinion, and the eyes of the media are trained on the horse-race aspects of American politics. But thinking this way misses the bigger picture. When we see Black Lives Matter rallying for racial equality, or when the Water Protectors at Standing Rock camp out for weeks to protect their water supply, that’s democracy.
By Les Leopold for Common Dreams – Resistance is breaking out all over: the women’s marches, the immigration airport protests and the defiant Sally Yates, the State Department mass dissents, the battle for the Supreme Court, with much more to come. But where are we going? Are we simply calling for a return to the pre-Trump status quo of runaway inequality, the largest prison population in the world, inadequate and costly health care, unjust immigration policies and accelerating climate change? Or do we have a new vision for America? If so, what is it and how do we fight for it? Resisting Trump is protest by spontaneous combustion triggered by Tweets and Facebook posts. Too often, however, such uprisings lack staying power.
By Nancy Scola for Politico – Trump has yet to tweet a response to all the needling. But his team may be realizing months too late that it’s up against a foe it didn’t reckon with. Donald Trump may be a master of combat on Twitter, but he’s suddenly run into a growing digital uprising — anonymous federal workers who are using social media to tweak the president even as his agencies crack down on information-sharing. This Twitter rebellion, apparently centered at the National Park Service, is winning cheers from liberal activists who seize on every 140-character outburst for signs of anti-Trump resistance.
By Staff of Socialist Worker – THE UNITED States has just experienced a corporate hijacking. If Trump’s inaugural speech did not alert you to the fact that they intend to come after all of us, then you are not paying attention. The scale of the attack is as deep as it is wide, and this means that we will need a mass movement to confront it. To organize such a movement necessarily means that it will involve the previously uninitiated–those who are new to activism and organizing. We have to welcome those people and stop the arrogant and moralistic chastising of anyone who is not as “woke.” The women’s marches in Washington, D.C., and around the country were stunning, inspiring and the first of a million steps that will be needed to build the resistance to Trump.
By Staff of Z Communications Daily Commentary – At first glance it is a factory: heavy machinery, crates, palettes, industrial barrels and men doing manual labor. Little catches the eye, except maybe the homemade banners hanging up around the warehouse. They’re in Greek, so you might not be able to read them, but you can tell these are not the stock decorations from the ‘IKEA industrial chic’ catalog. Over a couple of days, you might also notice that you’re unlikely to see those men doing the same specific jobs, day after day, as you would in most factories. They seem to rotate their roles, mixing up batches of soap, pouring them into frames and cutting it into bars, but also cleaning toilets, taking product orders and coordinating distribution.
By John K. Wilson for Truthout – The events will feature a wide array of writers ranging from Syrian exile (and Chicago cab driver) Osama Alomar to former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. On the steps of the New York Public Library at 2 pm, PEN America is hosting the biggest of the Writers Resist events, featuring Pinsky, Belieu and a wide range of writers united “to defend free expression, reject hatred, and uphold truth in the face of lies and misinformation.” More than 60 writers are scheduled to speak, including Rita Dove, Andrew Solomon, Masha Gessen, Laurie Anderson, Rosanne Cash, Jeff Eugenides, Amy Goodman, Jacqueline Woodson, Monica Youn, A.M. Homes, Moustafa Bayoumi, Alexander Chee, Art Spiegelman and Michael Cunningham.
By Nika Knight for Common Dreams – Many of those getting involved on the local level are entirely new to political organizing, testifying to the powerful and frightening shift represented by the ascendance of an administration that critics describe as neofascist. Some have been inspired to form local resistance groups by national efforts such as the Indivisible Guide, a call-to-action by former congressional staffers, and the Refuse Fascism campaign, while other organizations formed independently in response to the election results. One of the groups formed immediately after November’s election was Forward Action Michigan (FAM)
By Nan Levinson for Waging Nonviolence – 20 Dec 2016 – “War is merely the continuation of politics by other means,” wrote the Prussian Gen. Carl von Clausewitz. Lately, it’s been sounding like the other way around. That’s not likely to change soon, since the language of warfare and violence pervades Americans’ discourse, even when we’re not talking about war. But as we struggle to come to terms with what wasn’t heard during the campaign, we need also to reckon with what was. “The country has descended into full partisan battle mode,” proclaimed the Washington Post in typical campaign coverage, while journalism sites warned against relying on such warlike clichés.
By George Takei for The Advocate – In the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, many have written to me asking how to move forward. It is understandably difficult for our community to accept this setback, from the risk of our hard-won rights being eroded to the fear that dark forces of hatred and intolerance are now emboldened and have begun to strike. Our concerns are not diminished by the president-elect’s reassurances over marriage equality, particularly as he continues to name some of the most outspoken bigots to important posts within his cabinet and inner circle — and as we consider the record of his vice president, Mike Pence, while governor of Indiana…
By Chris McGreal for The Guardian – The rhetoric is familiar: the demands to take the country back. The railing against an out-of-touch elite. The anger at a rigged economic system. But now the insurgent cries that propelled Donald Trump to the White House have been taken up by stunned opponents as they try to galvanise anger and fear over his election into a strategy to resist his policies and remake the left as a credible political alternative.
By Mark Hand for DC Media Group – Protesters gathered at the Washington, DC, headquarters of Donald Trump’s transition team on Nov. 17 to denounce the hatred and anti-Semitism they believe the president-elect and his close adviser Steve Bannon stirred up during the Republican’s presidential campaign. The protesters, many affiliated with a group called IfNotNow, urged Trump to fire his soon-to-be top strategist Bannon, who also serves as executive chairman of the far right-wing news site Breitbart News.
By Anthony Cody for Living In Dialogue – This week a Trump surrogate, Carl Higbie, cited the unconstitutional internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two as “precedent” for how potentially disloyal Muslims might be dealt with. Last summer, Newt Gingrich, now in Trump’s inner circle of advisors, and a possible choice for Secretary of State, proposed reactivating the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Teachers are being told that they must not exhibit “anti-Trump bias,” in an effort to normalize the aberration that has occurred.
By Staff of Tele Sur – The activists returned to organizing the yearly “March of Resistance” due to constant clashes with the new government in power. The Argentine human rights organization Mothers of Plaza de Mayo organized a 24-hour sit-in against the government of Mauricio Macri that ended on Saturday afternoon with the support of thousands in the capital city of Buenos Aires.
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