In case you missed it. Liberty is coming back.
In case you missed it, a few things of note happened this weekend. Among them was the decision by the President Trump to ban certain muslim refugees from entering the U.S. The ban was for muslims from all middle eastern countries that he doesn’t have business ties with and didn’t include any of the countries responsible for 9/11.
In case you missed it, this didn’t go over well with the American people. Protest descended upon major airports all over the country and within hours after the American Civil Liberties Union suing Trump for violating the Constitution a stay was issued by U.S. district judge Ann Donnelly and a temporary victory was declared.
In case you missed it, shortly after Trump appointed a controversial accused right wing propagandist with zero political experience to his National Security Council in a prominent role, while demoting the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence.
In case you missed it, shortly after these events, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that they would enforce the executive order Trump had issued and that they would ignore the Constitution of the United States, The Federal Judge’s stay and the outcry of thousands of citizens protesting around the country as muslim’s returning home were detained and left on the tarmac or flown back to their country of origin.
In case you missed it, The official white house website only listed 2 branches of government, Executive and Legislative, while apparently scrubbing any mention of the Judicial Branch, where the stay came from. edit: after the outcry the branch reappeared.
In case you missed it, this was a weekend of firsts for Trump. 1. He lost to the courts and to the constitution. 2. He achieved a majority disapproval rate after just 8 days. For reference these are the last 5 Presidents and how long it took them to achieve that dubious distinction:
Reagan: 727 days
H.W. Bush: 1336 days
Clinton: 573 days
W. Bush: 1205 days
Obama: 936 days
TRUMP : 8
All in all it was a whirlwind of a weekend, and some of us didn’t even get to see the meme magic that Winona Ryder has apparently gifted us.
The ACLU accomplished something incredible in standing up to the President and handing him his first defeat after just 8 days in office. In return the public rewarded them. They raised over 24 million dollars in two days. The average amount of money they receive in donations is approximately 4 million dollars a year. they raised 24 million in 2 days. Why? Because they fought for the civil liberties of every American that knew Trump’s hastily put together executive order was unconstitutional. Because they helped all muslims trying to get back into the country find lawyers. Because celebrities such as Chris Sacca, Rosie O’Donnell, Sia, Judd Apatow, and many more tweeted that they would match donations. Over 350,000 people donated, many for the first time. The donated because they saw that Trump’s jingoistic populism turning into a global problem that isn’t going away any time soon.
American saw Trump walk back from his threats to force a sovereign nation to pay for something as preposterous as a wall and when the executive order banning a specific religion was signed, they had had enough. In just 8 days they erupted in yet another national display of true unity, that will probably repeat itself from now on every time his policies rears it ugly head.
And it will. There are many promised fundamentalist executive orders coming as Trump tries to double down on his promise to make his white-washed version of America great again, but for every signature on an executive order the rest of America will be ready to defend their civil liberties, united behind the ACLU and their resources. There a millions and millions of people who will continue to stand up for equal rights for all. All genders, all races and all religions. And now there a millions and millions of dollars to fund this fight.
If you’re a fan of liberty and justice for all, check out the ACLU and consider becoming a member.
In case you missed it, Liberty is coming back.
Disclosure: I’m a member, because I love an America for all.