"We will give him a family and he will be our brother"

Remember this?

"Dear President Obama,
Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria? Can you please go get him and bring him to [my home]? Park in the driveway or on the street and we will be waiting for you guys with flags, flowers, and balloons. We will give him a family and he will be our brother..."

(At this point, I cannot read this caption without tears coming to my eyes.)

(Ref: https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/09/six-year-olds-letter/501203/)


[Originally published Feb 3, 2017 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/fapk4NdA9Re]

Why We Do Not Punch Nazis And We Oppose Those Who Do

On punching Nazis: It is NOT OK to punch Nazis in the street. Stop it. Anyone who is doing this is hurting the cause. Everyone who cares about the civil rights needs to yell at people doing this, stop them where possible, and allow the police to arrest them.

I hope that position is clear. If you want to argue against this, or you want arguments for this position, please read on.

Why We Do Not Punch Nazis And We Oppose Those Who Do

1. We stand for civil rights. One of those rights is to anyone regardless of their beliefs to be able to walk in public and not be punched. This reason is sufficient.

2. It is a stupid and self defeating strategy. It gives talking points to the Nazis and lets them be victims (even if they were using "fighting words" and inciting violence). This reason is also sufficient, so even if you disagree with me on #1, please seriously consider #2.

Here's some ridiculous stuff I've heard on the Internet and why it's ridiculous.

Argument: "But We Punched Hitler!"

Yes we did, when we declared war against the Axis and defended the free world from fascism last time around. (And thank you, Greatest Generation, once again.)

But we are NOT at war and you do NOT want to open that door. Know why? Because in a war, you don't punch Nazis, you shoot them and kill them, preferably from a long distance with lots of technology to multiply your effectiveness. And they will be doing the same thing to you. You want a second Civil War? No? OK, good, you're sane.

Argument: "But I Want to Take Action!"

Awesome! Take action. Start with calling everybody in Congress you can get ahold of starting with you representatives. Write letters. March. Talk to people and convince them that there is a clear and present danger to the Constitution. Resist fascists and yell at them and make them mentally uncomfortable. Put your body on the line when necessary. Nonviolent resistance has a proven track record.

If you really, really, really want to punch a Nazi after all this, go ahead and challenge one to a boxing match in a ring with legal waivers. If they accept, put it on YouTube and contribute the ad proceeds to the ACLU, OK?

(Side note: This is all playing out in front a big audience. If only 5% of the eligible voters WHO DID NOT VOTE in the recent election become mobilized and voted on our side, we will have a totally different government.)

Argument: "But Protests Alone Didn't Work Against Nazis Last Time"

Studying history, excellent. Please read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire. Punching Nazis didn't work last time. Now read about the history of the Civil Rights movement, especially the nonviolent resistance. This month is a good one for it. It appears that the current administration doesn't know anything about this history, so we can crib from it and it will surprise them.

"None of These Arguments Convince Me, I Want to Punch Nazis and Burn Things"

OK. It's a free country and you have every right to have those feelings and thoughts. If you take action on those feelings and thoughts, I will do my best to stop you and hand you over to the police, because those things are wrong and they are hurting the cause of civil rights. You're not part of my cause.

Argument: "None of These Arguments Convince Me, I'm Actually a False Flag Operative Trying to Delegitimize Your Cause"

Hi there! Thought you might show up. Yep, you can try, but you'll be unmasked by your own actions and if possible handed over to the police (see above). Enjoy your night in jail.
---
Addendum: As always self defense is perfectly acceptable. If Nazis are punching YOU then you have every right to defend yourself with appropriate force.

[Originally published Feb 2, 2017 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/5jgzZL3Gcnu]

Walter Shaub blasts Trump's 'meaningless' plan to avoid Emoluments Clause violations

See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/01/11/federal-ethics-chief-blasts-trumps-plan-to-break-from-businesses-calling-it-meaningless/?utm_term=.49c762a3b828

Federal ethics chief blasts Trump's plan to break from businesses, calling it 'meaningless'.

NPR called it "smoke and mirrors".  Sounds about right.

[Originally published Jan 11, 2017 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/aL75cKz3qRP]

Paper ballots are critical election security infrastructure

Why voter-verified paper audit trail is so important. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter-verified_paper_audit_trail)

From the 1/6/16 intelligence assessment: "Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards. DHS assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying."

So either (a) the Kremlin tried to compromise vote tallying systems but didn't succeed or (b) they were after something else having to do with "state or local electoral boards", and maybe succeeded.

Both of these possibilities are terrible and we should block this kind of election fraud.

The security of most electronic voting systems without paper trails can plausibly be compromised by state level actors. (This is the consensus view of the software engineering professionals.) The best practice to defend against this is a paper trail and automatic recounts.

See https://medium.com/@jhalderm/want-to-know-if-the-election-was-hacked-look-at-the-ballots-c61a6113b0ba#.b25sz36l6, especially the following about how an attacker might accomplish this:

"First, the attackers would probe election offices well in advance in order to find ways to break into their computers. Closer to the election, when it was clear from polling data which states would have close electoral margins, the attackers might spread malware into voting machines in some of these states, rigging the machines to shift a few percent of the vote to favor their desired candidate."

It's very hard to say from the intelligence report whether this was the first part of an attempt or not. But it's very concerning, which is why every state that cares about the integrity of its election results should implement paper trail and automatic recounts.

(The other possibility is perhaps just as disturbing -- that the Kremlin was not targeting vote tallying but something else having to do with electoral boards not directly tied to vote tallying. Blackmail material?)

Back to the intelligence report, the next paragraph:

"We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their
election processes."

[Originally published Jan 7, 2017 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/NprmqKdEzY5.  Subsequently, I have seen many problems with the machine-generated "audit trails" sold by vendors and believe that we should minimize the use of machine printed ballots and maximize the use of hand marked ballots in order to have meaningful audits and defend against this kind of election fraud.]

How to Deal with Donald Trump

I don't know Donald Trump, but I've dealt with his specific cluster of personality traits before. I have some rules for dealing with them. You may find them useful the next few years.

1. If possible, do not engage

This may seem like useless advice, given Trump will be President in three weeks But keep it in mind. The best possible strategy for dealing with someone like Trump is: Don't. Go no contact, do not engage with him. Do something else more productive.

2. If you have to engage, be BIFF

If you are forced to engage with him, keep it Brief, Informative, Friendly, and Firm (BIFF). Don't get into Twitter wars. Don't antagonize him or try to set him off (he'll go off on his own anyway). Be impersonal but friendly.

Pick your battles carefully. But once you do pick a position and draw a line, do not waver from it no matter what Trump and his allies throw at you.

3. Believe actions, not words

Trump's words are meaningless -- or, worse, a distraction or smokescreen that obscures what's really going on. Don't pay a lot of attention to them; prioritize attention to actions. Don't over-analyze his words.

Never ever trade something in exchange for a promise from Trump. Demand payment up front if you must violate rule #1.

When Trump does one thing and says another, believe what he does and ignore the words.

4. Do not give the benefit of the doubt

We reflexively give the benefit of the doubt, especially to the President. Our political institutions codify this. The strong temptation is to give Trump chance after chance.

That makes no sense at this point. He had his chance after winning the election to turn over a new leaf and to demonstrate what kind of President he plans to be.

This means that him saying something has zero effect, for or against, on whether or not you should believe it.

5. Use positive reinforcement

You get what you reward. Sometimes Trump will say or do things that actually make sense. Positively reinforce when he does, while keeping in mind rules 2-4. Give praise for this, even if his other actions are terrible.

But don't reward him for words.

6. Don't normalize the abnormal

It's a slippery slope. A situation may not be changeable today, but that does not mean it cannot be changed. Simultaneously be realistic, while working towards a better tomorrow.

7. Be patient and proactive

"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
-- Mark Twain

"Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority."
-- Francis Bacon

Trump and his allies have enormous power right now. But it's fragile, based on reality distortion. In the long run, if we keep the record clear, this can be apparent.

Trump will do everything possible to muddy the record. Defend the record, make sure that the ground truth is available for those who want it.

8. Keep Reading and Learning

Keep informing yourself. Start with these excellent articles from the Atlantic and Teen Vogue if you haven't read them already:

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/11/a-reflexive-liar-in-command-guidelines-for-the-media/508832/

http://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america

[Originally published Jan 2, 2017 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/9YTq4MQd53o]

Russia hacked U.S. presidential election for Trump, says CIA

The US intelligence community concluded Russia hacked emails to get Trump elected. Nevertheless Trump will be president.

Reality is like that, sometimes.

But the future CAN be changed. Step 1 is recognizing and accepting reality. Step 2 is taking action.

Unlike Mitch McConnell, who discounted clear evidence of an attack on our democracy because it profited his party (this time). He's broken his oath of office, and should be recalled. This isn't even a partisan issue.

Quote:
It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to U.S. senators. “That’s the consensus view.”

https://boingboing.net/2016/12/09/russia-hacked-2016-u-s-presid.html

[Originally published Dec 10, 2016 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/aKey1XLRxx1.  Subsequently, this reporting was confirmed and expanded into a detailed intelligence assessment, which Trump has mostly rejected]

Actions, not words

Pay attention to actions. Appointing a radical climate change denier to head the EPA speaks far louder than all of the doubletalk, tweets, or meetings with Al Gore.

[Originally published Dec 7, 2016 at https://plus.google.com/115608553892438743738/posts/YrbN76nYjcj]