Donald Trump’s Most Vile Tweets Yet Deserve Global Condemnation | The Nation

Donald Trump’s Most Vile Tweets Yet Deserve Global Condemnation | The Nation

John Nichols writes in The Nation Magazine:

"After Trump shared posts from Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of the racist Britain First organization (who features an image of Trump at the top of her Twitter feed), the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the president’s embrace of a political movement that is so aggressive in its rabidly anti-Islamic advocacy that Fransen has been charged with hate speech.

"The statement from No. 10 was blunt:

"'Britain First seeks to divide communities by their use of hateful narratives that peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people.

"'British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values this country represents, decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this.'

"British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was even blunter, describing Trump’s retweets as 'abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.' London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared that 'Britain First is a vile, hate-fueled organisation whose views should be condemned, not amplified.'

"Those were powerful statements of condemnation for a president who, in his crude combination of bigotry and ignorance of recent history, has created another international incident."

Honoring the great principles of the U.S. democracy ...

When I stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance and when I stand during a performance of the "Star-Spangled Banner," I am not honoring the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces. As much as I appreciate their service, when I stand with my hand over my heart, I am honoring the great principles of the U.S. democracy, as symbolized by the flag I salute in the pledge and in the national anthem.

I accept that people salute our flag -- or salute our flag in differing ways -- for a variety of reasons, a variety of beliefs, and a variety of feelings. I may not see eye to eye with all those actions, reasons, beliefs, and feelings -- in fact, some of them bug me, a lot. But I also know I must accept them because each of us has our own attitudes, experiences, and perspectives in how and why we express our patriotism.

I will not accept, however, the words and behavior of people who act as though their expression of patriotism is the only one that's appropriate and acceptable. They are wrong.

List of plain English words and phrases - Wikipedia

Plain English (sometimes referred to more broadly as plain language) is a generic term for communicating in English that emphasizes clarity, brevity, and avoiding technical language—particularly relating to official government or business communication. It uses simple, familiar words instead of lengthy, formal words, avoids jargon, prefers positive words to negative words, and prefers strong verbs to be verbs.

This is a list of plain English words and phrases and the more lengthy, formal words for which they are recommended as replacements in writing guides. The problem word is listed first; the plain English alternative follows.

From Bias and Blame to Balance: Sensitive Style for Covering Sexual Violence | Conscious Style Guide

Karen Yin writes in the Conscious Style Guide:

"When misconceptions prevail about what constitutes rape, who can be raped, who rapes, and who can prevent rape, editors can minimize unfair and inaccurate media coverage of sexual assault by flagging biased reporting and words that shift blame to the victim."

Woman Breaks Down Arguments Against Gender Neutral They

Woman Breaks Down Arguments Against Gender Neutral They

31 Words and Phrases You No Longer Need | Grammarly

Here’s a list of thirty-one words and phrases you need to take off your payroll this year.

Hell no.

Eight years ago, I was filled with hope about our country after we elected our first black president. But mostly because of Republican intransigence on accepting any compromise, Barack Obama did not accomplish as much as I had hoped beyond certain significant successes he achieved without their involvement.

So I am outraged by Republican politicos and Trump supporters who say Democrats and progressives should turn the other cheek and let Trump be president.

Hell no. Not only am I still pissed at the unethical, unamerican actions of the Republican Party, I also detest everything Trump and his party stand for. Until he and his party show respect for and compromise with people different from them and less rich than them, I will fight their every move.

I continue to remember that Obama twice earned a majority of the votes in his elections, a fact neither the Republicans nor Trump respected and recognized. On the other hand, Trump got less than half the votes in his first-ever election, yet his deceitful apologists call it a mandate. Bullshit.

Words in the Age of Trump | The Nation

Leslie Savan writes in The Nation Magazine:

"It’s a given that politicians distort language. But—as writers from Masha Gessen to Roger Cohen suggest—by stripping words of meaning, Trump attempts to claim power over reality itself and take the necessary steps toward authoritarian rule.

"The following is a glossary of terms that will no doubt grow in tandem with the president’s fits and fixations, and the world’s response to them. First is Trumpspeak, the language that he and his wordsmiths have introduced or popularized, much of it since the inauguration. Next are the words of resistance, used to grasp and combat Trumpism, some working out better than others. Contributing to this second set of terms are voters, activists, progressive media, and, this time around, mainstream media, which the Trumpists have been trying discredit as 'fake news' and 'the opposition party.'"

The complete list of all 33 false things Donald Trump has said as president so far | Toronto Star

The complete list of all 33 false things Donald Trump has said as president so far | Toronto Star

Leaked Draft of Trump’s Religious Freedom Order Reveals Sweeping Plans to Legalize Discrimination | The Nation

Sarah Posner writes in The Nation Magazine:

"The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act. The White House did not respond to requests for comment, but when asked Monday about whether a religious freedom executive order was in the works, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters, 'I’m not getting ahead of the executive orders that we may or may not issue. There is a lot of executive orders, a lot of things that the president has talked about and will continue to fulfill, but we have nothing on that front now.'

"Language in the draft document specifically protects the tax-exempt status of any organization that 'believes, speaks, or acts (or declines to act) in accordance with the belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, sexual relations are properly reserved for such a marriage, male and female and their equivalents refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy, physiology, or genetics at or before birth, and that human life begins at conception and merits protection at all stages of life.'"

Protests Are Putting Trump on Notice: You’re in for a Fight | The Nation

Mark Hertsgaard writes in The Nation:

"Trump, Bannon, and the rest are proving to be as hateful and dangerous as suspected, but the grassroots backlash they’ve provoked could be their undoing. Shrewd rulers never like to see large numbers of people turning out in the streets against them, and for good reason. It creates all kinds of problems; if continued, it can even help bring them down. Just ask Richard Nixon, or the old communist bosses of Eastern Europe, or tyrants throughout history. In Trump’s case, the massive, self-confident resistance now unfolding is precisely the kind of thing that gets under his notoriously thin skin. It’s also the kind of thing that, if sustained, can push a rookie president into making mistakes—overreaching, getting distracted, and alienating allies or the undecided."