Caught Up In The Covfefe

Caught Up In The Covfefe

 by C.A. Matthews

"Trump did it again," my husband said to me as I sat half-awake at the breakfast table.

My first thought was that he'd insulted another European leader and even now the nukes were being launched and headed our way. Oh, well, at least we don't have to worry ourselves about mowing the lawn this week.

"Did he push another world leader so he could get his photo taken first?" I wondered aloud. "He'd be in the time out chair until lunchtime if he acted out like this in kindergarten."

"No, he's doing those late night tweets which make no sense again."

I sighed. "Do any of his tweets ever make sense?"

I mean, how can saying one thing on the campaign trail and then doing the total opposite ever make sense in the sane person sense of the word? Trump stretches the definition of sanity on most days since taking office. Many heads of states have announced they won't do business with him--this after less than five months in office. There has to be a world record for disapproval being broken here, right? Even Nixon had high approval ratings in 1972 before his world came crashing in upon him in the Watergate Scandal, ending in his leaving office in August of 1974.

"He's made up a nonsense word and everyone is tweeting it and making fun of him for the past eight hours," my hubby informed me. "Take a look." 

My husband showed me his Facebook feed on his tablet, and soon I was engulfed in the growing frenzy of covfefe memes and postings. 

What did it mean, covfefe? Your guess is as good as any I was told, a mysterious nonsense word coined by a nonsensical president who feels it's more important to tweet like a teen than sleep nights or catch up on his security briefings reading.

In the end, we discovered that Trump meant to say coverage as in press coverage, but, that if he meant to type it c-o-v-f-e-f-e, then he had every right and duty to do so as president. 

Mystery solved, but another one begins. Why did this one typo take off with such energy across the interwebs? Are we all so in desperate need of a good laugh, and a brief respite from the constant worry Trump imparts to all of mankind, that we are willing to spend time and energy making endless jokes about his poor typing skills?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: We are all acknowledging each other's anxiety and fears, and in a show of unity, we all came together to perpetuate one big comedic masterpiece of surreal brilliance to take some of the pressure off our troubled minds.

So, relax and enjoy some of the funnier memes I collected and sing along with The Official Covfefe Song (composed and recorded mere hours after the initial tweet). And may the covfefe be with you… always.

I can hear Paul McCartney crooning it now...

Activism on Parade

photos by Adrian Matthews and others

Now, that we've all relaxed a bit, it's time to get back to actively working to make the world a safer, more Trump-free place.  This means we have to get outside our comfort zones and interact with the public from time to time. What better way than by showing your activism colors at a local fair or festival? (And who doesn't love a parade?)

Enjoy these photos of the Lucas County (Ohio) Green Party, the local Berners' group, Our Revolution in Northwest Ohio,  and Ohio SPAN (Single Payer Action Network) marching side by side in the annual King Wamba Parade through the Old West End of Toledo. (Think of it as Mardi Gras in June in the Great Lakes without fear of snow.) Local progressive groups manned tables and talked to many concerned citizens during this friendly festival of food, music and good ol' fashion flea markets on front lawns. By having a presence in the parade and festival, we demonstrated progressives aren't rare in our area (as mainstream media may cause some to believe) and that we're welcoming new members to join us in the fight.

Can you think of a better way to inform others about what's happening to their health care, to our banking system and to the move to amend the Constitution and rid it of Citizens United forever? Go and do likewise and send us your photos and report on how successful you were.

Email photos to the blog at thebernieblog2016@gmail.com

We love hearing from progressives fighting to build a future to believe in around the country and around the world .

Berners unite! 

 

***

More ways to become involved in progressive causes this week...
From Really American--and announcing the 22 winners of this week's C.R.A.P. Award (feel free to Chastise these Rich Arrogant Pricks).


 22 GOP Senators, who received $10 Million from the fossil fuel industry, wrote a letter to Trump, urging him to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement... and he did!

Click here to add your name if you want to help expose these corrupt Senators for who they are so they get booted out of office!  

"Twenty-two senators wrote a letter to the president when he was said to be on the fence about backing out. They received more than $10M from oil, gas and coal companies the past three election cycles," according to The Guardian.

The same source provided this list:

James Inhofe, Oklahoma 
Oil & gas: $465,950
Coal: $63,600
Total: $529,550

John Barrasso, Wyoming 
Oil & gas: $458,466
Coal: $127,356
Total: $585,822

Mitch McConnell, Kentucky 
Oil & gas: $1,180,384
Coal: $361,700
Total: $1,542,084

John Cornyn, Texas 
Oil & gas: $1,101,456
Coal: $33,050
Total: $1,134,506

Roy Blunt, Missouri 
Oil & gas: $353,864
Coal: $96,000
Total: $449,864

Roger Wicker, Mississippi 
Oil & gas: $198,816
Coal: $25,376
Total: $224,192

Michael Enzi, Wyoming 
Oil & gas: $211,083
Coal: $63,300
Total: $274,383

Mike Crapo, Idaho 
Oil & gas: $110,250
Coal: $26,756
Total: $137,006

Jim Risch, Idaho 
Oil & gas: $123,850
Coal: $25,680
Total: $149,530

Thad Cochran, Mississippi 
Oil & gas: $276,905
Coal: $15,000
Total: $291,905

Mike Rounds, South Dakota 
Oil & gas: $201,900
Coal: none
Total: $201,900

Rand Paul, Kentucky 
Oil & gas: $170,215
Coal: $82,571
Total: $252,786

John Boozman, Arkansas 
Oil & gas: $147,930
Coal: $2,000
Total: $149,930

Richard Shelby, Alabama 
Oil & gas: $60,150
Coal: $2,500
Total: $62,650

Luther Strange, Alabama 
(Appointed in 2017, running in 2017 special election)
Total: NA

Orrin Hatch, Utah 
Oil & gas: $446,250
Coal: $25,000
Total: $471,250

Mike Lee, Utah 
Oil & gas: $231,520
Coal: $21,895
Total: $253,415

Ted Cruz, Texas 
Oil & gas: $2,465,910
Coal: $103,900
Total: $2,569,810

David Perdue, Georgia 
Oil & gas: $184,250
Coal: $0
Total: $184,250

Thom Tillis, North Carolina 
Oil & gas: $263,400
Coal: $0
Total: $263,400

Tim Scott, South Carolina 
Oil & gas: $490,076
Coal: $58,200
Total: $548,276

Pat Roberts, Kansas 
Oil & gas: $388,950
Coal: $28,825
Total: $417,775

Sum total for all 22 Republican signatories: $10,694,284

Don't you want the whole nation to know about this?

Then click here and add your name to ask three of the largest media organizations in America: CNN, NBC, CBS, to cover this, so that the country's voters will boot these senators from office when they come up for reelection!

Thank you for helping to hold these corrupt fossil fuel politicians accountable for selling out!
​​​​​​​
Peace,

Nathan Brown
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Really ​​​​​​​American Founder

***

From the Draft Bernie for a People's Party:

Draft Bernie is in the business of collaborating with other progressive groups. Bernie already built the infrastructure of collaboration. We need a people’s party and we are at that precipice moment when this can happen. It is doable. It might even be easier than we think since we are receiving so much help from the “Business Party” of Democrats and Republicans. We need to reach out to other progressive groups and political parties to unify our base.

Draft Bernie has friends. Nina Turner said recently that people are losing confidence in the Democratic Party. People in Ohio are not talking about Russia, but about the very progressive ideas of Bernie’s platform that will positively affect all of our families. Also, Dr. Cornell West sent his love and support for our call. His message was: “Thank you and stay strong.”
 

Two weeks of exciting events are happening!

• Stop by the Left Forum this weekend in NYC. We will livestream a Draft Bernie panel led by Nick on Sunday, June 4, at 10:00 AM EDT. The audio will be posted on the Draft Bernie FB page.
• The People’s Summit is happening in Chicago, June 9-11. There will be over fifty Draft Berners in attendance! Join up on FB or on our event page to stay involved!
• Nick just did an interview with Jimmy Dore, which will air early next week, right before the People's Summit. Don't miss it!

Get involved!

Call to Action for this week:

• Please join our Facebook Week of Action. Create your own Facebook Event on your personal Facebook page and invite your friends to invite their friends to sign the Draft Bernie petition! We have directions, a graphic, links,  and even a video showing you how to post FB events at Draft Bernie Facebook Week of Action for more information.
• Go to the March for Truth website to find out where this national event is happening near you this Saturday. This will be a perfect event for getting petition signatures. Just wear your Draft Bernie or Bernie t-shirt, bring a sign, some Draft Bernie business cards or flyers to pass out and the Draft Bernie petition sheets and you will be surprised at how many people will be interested in talking to you about Draft Bernie for a People’s Party. You can also do this at any community event, in front of a library, or on a busy street corner.

How to GET involved!
 

If you would like to get in touch with your Draft Bernie State Organizing team, the easiest way is to sign up to volunteer on the Draft Bernie website. You could also email us at organize@draftbernie.org and tell us what state you live in. We will send you the contact information for the Draft Bernie team in your state.
If you are interested in tracking Bernie events, please email your contact information to organize@draftbernie.org and we will contact you.
 
Good news! The Draft Bernie Events Map is up on the website. Post your Bernstorms, local, or national events on the event map.  Let’s cover this map with Draft Bernie events! (Also post your events on the State Draft Bernie FB groups and on your own personal pages!)

Thanks for volunteering to get involved and for the great questions and suggestions last night. We are already on the success track. The time has never been more ripe, the dissatisfaction so great, and the willingness for real change more intense. Let’s start now visualizing our Founding Convention!
 
Feel the Bern!
In solidarity,
Carol, Lynette, Marie, Nick, and Randi
National Organizing Team

***

From Rainforest Action Network:

There’s a fight brewing.

The issue: A tar sands pipeline called Trans Mountain — otherwise known as Dakota Access Pipeline North.

On one side: Indigenous peoples, local communities, and environmentalists.

On the other: Oil giant Kinder Morgan and big banks.

We’ve teamed up with a coalition of Indigenous organizations and environmental groups in a joint petition to banks. Tell banks: defund tar sands pipelines like Trans Mountain.

First Nations and Indigenous tribes including the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Coldwater Indian Band, and the Squamish Nation (whose lands are located along the route of Trans Mountain in Canada) have not given their consent for the pipeline. The pipeline threatens their land, water and and sovereignty.

Their fight is similar to that of the Standing Rock Sioux, who activated thousands of people to resist the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Banks like Citi are regretting their investments in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Citi chairman Mike O’Neill even said “We wish we could have a do-over on [the Dakota Access Pipeline].” Now is the chance for a do-over — banks must avoid funding Trans Mountain.

Tell banks like Citi: don’t get involved in financing the disastrous Trans Mountain pipeline.

Kinder Morgan is paying for Trans Mountain in two ways: selling shares of the pipeline and other Canadian assets and attempting to secure C$5 billion of credit specifically to fund Trans Mountain.

14 banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, are selling shares of the pipeline (and pocketing a big commission in the process). But there’s still time to stop them from giving Kinder Morgan a credit card for the remainder of the money.

Other banks like Citi, Wells Fargo, and BNP Paribas are current lenders to Kinder Morgan but haven’t yet committed to specifically lending to Trans Mountain.

Banks already faced massive resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Let them know they will face the same fight against Trans Mountain.

Tell banks to respect the the environment and the humanity and rights of Indigenous peoples.

The stakes are higher than ever. Trump just announced the U.S. will be pulling out of the Paris Accords, a global agreement to stop climate change. We can't count on a government ruled by corporate greed to protect the planet.

To curb global warming, we must get banks to stop funding tar sands projects — one of the dirtiest types of oil on the planet. We must protect our air and water from the shortsighted greed of fossil fuel corporations.

All of us who believe in a better world for our children must come together and send a powerful message to banks: stop banking on climate change and violations of human rights.

For the future,

Jason

Jason Opeña Disterhoft
Senior Climate Campaigner
Rainforest Action Network




Sources:

1. B.C. First Nations unite in fight against Trans Mountain pipeline, The Globe and Mail

2. Citi meeting protest prompts apology on pipeline finance steps, Reuters

3. Final long form prospectus - English, Kinder Morgan Canada Limited, p. 7