MORNING MESSAGE
On the Road From Protest to Power: A Rising Tide
Is the anti-Trump resistance evolving into a movement that produces leaders with a mandate to govern with a progressive, grassroots-based agenda? We are seeing evidence that the answer will be a resounding "yes."
Trans Soldiers Sue Over Trump Ban on Service
Transgender service members sue over planned ban on Trans people in military. NPR:“Five openly transgender members of the U.S. military are suing President Trump and other leaders of the U.S. government over Trump’s declaration, over Twitter, that trans people will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military. The suit alleges that Trump’s directive is “arbitrary and capricious,” unconstitutionally depriving the service members of due process.”>
Labor Dept. Seeks to Undermine Broker Rules
Trump seeks delay to requirement for brokers to defend clients. Bloomberg:“The Trump administration is moving to further delay part of an Obama-era rule to require brokers who offer retirement advice to put their customers’ interests ahead of their own. The U.S. Department of Labor said in a court filing Wednesday that it has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposal to postpone parts of the so-called fiduciary rule for an additional 18 months… The Labor Department measure, the first major overhaul of retirement savings rules since the 1970s, was released last year over strong objections from the financial industry and Republican lawmakers. President Barack Obama’s administration said at the time that requiring brokers to put customers first would help eliminate biased advice that costs retirement savers billions of dollars annually in high fees and commissions.”
Dem Wins Iowa State House Special Election
Democrat wins Iowa state legislative special election in district Trump swept. New York Magazine:“First, this district (in southeast Iowa) is pretty evenly divided between registered Democrats and Republicans, making it an interesting test case. It’s one of those rural/small town Midwestern areas that swung heavily to Donald Trump last year (he carried the district by a 58/37 margin; Obama won it by a narrow 50/48 margin in 2012). So there’s no sign of any fundamental partisan realignment underway, at least down ballot. Second, the GOP candidate tried to use transgender bathroom access as a cudgel against his opponent.”
The Rise of a Trump-Like Chicken?
Trump-like chicken at White House ruffles feathers on Twitter. BBC:“The 30 ft (9m) tall bird, referred to as ‘Chicken Don’, stands between the official residence of the US president and the famous Washington Monument. Owner Taran Singh Brar said the prop portrays a president who is ‘afraid’… In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, activist and documentary maker Mr Brar said he hoped to ‘bring awareness’ to what he said was a ‘bad and destabilising’ US president. ‘We are out here to criticise our president for being weak and ineffective as a leader,’ he said in the footage posted on Twitter, adding that Mr Trump also “seems afraid” to release his tax returns.’He seems afraid to stand up to Putin and now he’s playing a game of chicken with North Korea,’ Mr Brar said.”
Trump’s ‘Fire and Fury’ Cribbed From Bannon’s Video Game?
Bannon’s video-game past may have inspired ‘fire and fury’ comments. New York Magazine:“Steve Bannon, before helping run Breitbart News and eventually joining the Trump campaign and administration, had a checkered career in Hollywood… he also helped a company raise millions of dollars for a gold-mining venture. Specifically, mining gold in the online game World of Warcraft… What Bannon found was a world ‘populated by millions of intense young men’ who may have been socially maladroit, but were ‘smart, focused, relatively wealthy, and highly motivated about issues that mattered to them… These guys,’ said Bannon, ‘these rootless, white males, had monster power.’ Bannon would go on to aggressively court this audience when brought on to help Andrew Breitbart build out his ultra-right-wing news-and-entertainment site.”
Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action. more »
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