Can't Stop the Signal (in bullet points)
May. 17th, 2017 10:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drwexAll of the following are things rattling around in my brain that I might develop into posts but likely not. So I'm going to write down some thoughts and see what I think of them in a few days:
What thoughts are occupying your brain-space these days?
- The Trump Administration has yet to suffer a crisis that was not of its own making. I am actually terrified of what's going to happen when they have to deal with a serious external issue. The closest thing is the Soviet violation of the INF treaty, which started at least as far back as 2014 but since the Russians aren't launching missiles at anyone we care about it's been swept under the rug by two administrations now. Reports shortly after Drumph took office indicated that Russia had deployed the treaty-breaking missiles but that story has fallen so far below the WTF level I don't think anyone remembers it now. This Administration appears incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time; heaven help us when they have to manage external crises and govern at the same time.
- The almost blase' attitude that the major media has taken to the WannaCry ransomware attack contrasts strongly with the massive freak-outs that we (collectively) have to Islamic terrorist attacks, even when both things happen in the same not-US countries. I feel there's a current of racism here. Islamic people often have brown skins and are clearly not like us. Crackers are often white kids from the US or Europe (though fingers are pointing at North Korea this time) so we imagine them as being more like us. Objectively, the attacks on medical and other important records poses a much greater threat to life and safety than any terrorist shooting. But we hand-wave it. Yes, there are elements of "technology is complicated and explosions are easy to understand" but I fear that unexamined racism plays a large part in these disparate reactions.
- "Can't stop the signal" (Firefly) has been in my head the last few weeks. Every attempt to quash the story leads to more revelations. It's not just a Streisand effect where more people know about a thing because someone tried to suppress it. But, like, if Comey had never been fired would we even know that Trump had asked him to stop investigating Flynn? That said, it's wise to remember that this view is not universal. For shits and grins try flipping back and forth to, say, Faux News. They seem neither to know nor care about this story. I think "bubbles" is too simplistic a way to talk about this. Maybe Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant" is better - people have these built-up frames and those things structure all of reality. In Reality Frame A, the administration is in crashing disarray and discussion of impeachment is reasonable. In Reality Frame B those things don't exist or aren't important and some other narrative dominates. Lakoff had some ideas for how to work with people who have very different or incompatible reality frames but I don't see anyone trying to apply that seriously today.
- I am being reminded how much I prefer the question "Did we do the right thing?" to the question "Did we do things the right way?"
What thoughts are occupying your brain-space these days?
no subject
Date: 2017-05-18 04:25 am (UTC)As far as thoughts? Am I making enough art often enough? Am I smart enough to do the best I can for my patients? Maybe even be better than others at my level of practice? And I was jazzed to hear Sheldon got married IRL last week. (This coincided with me seeing those episodes where he and Amy were having issues, ironically.)
Yes, all of those things!
Date: 2017-05-19 12:14 pm (UTC)Now that a special Prosecuter has been appointed, can he just say "Please tell me/send me everything you have!"
Then it would go back to the equally depressing, but less redundant news.
Re: Yes, all of those things!
Date: 2017-05-19 01:31 pm (UTC)Yes... ish. Also, he'll have to get in line with everyone else who is demanding All The Things, not least of them the House and Senate committees.
First, he's special "counsel" not "prosecutor." People play fast and loose with the terms but they do mean slightly different things. Second, in either role the most important part of his job will be to determine if a crime has been committed and if so what to do about it. Importantly, part of his job is NOT informing the public. The work will likely be done in at least mostly secret and we'll only know the results not the details.
That said, appointing Mueller has to have Trump sweating bullets. He former FBI, meaning he knows people and knows how things get done at the Bureau. Mueller, you may remember, was about a week into his job when the 9/11 attacks happened and he was the guy at the top during the FBI pivot that happened afterward - he stayed in that job for 12 years, which I think makes him second only to JEH in duration.
Mueller and Comey have also together faced down one president already - Bush Jr, over the secret wiretapping. I don't think Comey could have a better ally at this point.
It's worth noting that Trump could also fire THIS guy if he gets too close. I think Mueller is smart enough to play it close to the vest and protect his job until he's ready to make a final announcement - that's his reputation and how he's handled other cases - but I'm not sure he can keep a lid on all the leaks.
Re: Yes, all of those things!
Date: 2017-05-19 01:34 pm (UTC)Rosenstein has (had?) a high rep and a lot of credibility in Washington, which has just been massively damaged. I am slightly surprised he hasn't resigned yet but maybe he thinks he can do more from the inside, in which case picking the guy with the experience and knowledge most suited to standing up against Trump makes sense.
Re: Yes, all of those things!
Date: 2017-05-19 03:05 pm (UTC)Thank you Nominal Aphasia for short circuiting my brain.
It seems that both sides of the aisle have good things to say about Mueller. Perhaps his working in "private" will spare us some of the news overload. I am cautiously optimistic that he will get to the bottom of all this.
Crossing my fingers that the orange one will leave him alone and let him do his job. I suspect firing him would not make for "good optics"... But I am not sure this POTUS cares.
Re: Yes, all of those things!
Date: 2017-05-23 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 01:30 pm (UTC)What thoughts are occupying your brain-space these days?
not quite enough. Did 2 rounds of phone banking for texas lgbtq folx - that whole 45ish bills that've come up that are discriminatory is rather a huge deal. Inevitably some of that will stick. So, we call allies who then call their reps. Except last night was 88 calls and fewer than 10 connections to people actually home. That was a very rough 2 1/2 hours.
It all feels overwhelming. Not enough on my part too much to quench on the opposition's side. feh
no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 02:00 pm (UTC)ACLU People Power doesn't call - they text and it's annoying in that you can reply to the text but there's no conversation. If you get a response it's hours later. I'm very disheartened by this whole thing.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 02:11 pm (UTC)http://www.theneat.org/volunteer.html -- also, they are working with the ACLU, so in a way, you *are* doing for Power People. Ish.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 02:46 pm (UTC)People Power is ACLU's intended new ground game. It seems to be working well in a lot of places; just not my home town.