IS VOTING ALONE ENOUGH?

Sorry for a lot of what appears to be radio silence on a busy news week. I had a long week at the paying job and didn't really have the time to comment on a lot of things.

By now you've heard more than enough people telling you that it's necessary to get as many people to vote in the midterms coming up in about nine days. Some go further in saying you should vote a straight party ticket regardless of who's on the ballot. In the meantime we've had a week that included mail bombs being sent to Democratic politicians and some other people important enough to be on electoral vote winner Donny's (a/k/a" the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago) enemies list, which ended with the capture of Cesar Sayoc Jr in Florida (whose van was covered with a mix of Trump stickers and certain liberals with crosshairs on their faces) as well as yesterday's horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Add to this Donny's implication that the media brought this on themselves by treating the right wing badly as well as voter suppression efforts hell bent on helping the Repubs and it seems that many of us are facing an uphill struggle.

It's in this framework that many on the liberal to left leaning side are focusing on the electoral side of things. While I agree that this election is important (we are not anywhere remotely near normal times) I do fear that the focus on elections overlooks the need for protesting the injustices around us. Yes, I get (and accept to a point) those who want to focus on turning out the vote. In this go round it's necessary to get as many people as possible to completely blindside the chance for stealing the election on the homefront. However, it's also necessary for people to peacefully protest and take to the streets since those in power aren't willing to listen to their constituents.

As for those claiming people need to suck it up and go Democratic, even volunteering to get out the vote for them, it's a noble thing to do but it's hard for some people given that the establishment Democrats are not making it easy given their tendency to cut deals with Repubs (such as Schumer agreeing to fast track conservative judges just around the time the Kavanaugh hearings happened) rather than do the work of fighting every little thing Donny wants (y'know - what the Repubs did under Obama). That's not to say that both parties are the same but people do want someone to vote for rather than against and that's something the Democrats should take into account in 2020 and beyond.

So should people vote if they're able to? Of course they should. Should they protest the policies of electoral vote winner Donny and his minions? Of course. What should be avoided is the impression that merely working on elections is more important and imply that there shouldn't be people protesting. That doesn't help anyone in these times.

SO KAVANAUGH'S A SCOTUS JUSTICE NOW - WHAT WE CAN SEE FROM ALL THIS

As you already know by now the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court with Sen. Susan Collins (R, ME) being one of the two deciding votes along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D - WV).  Even after a week where it was delayed due to an FBI background check related to multiple sexual assault allegations, he managed to squeak through despite being unpopular with the majority of the American people.  He was officially confirmed Saturday night with a ceremonial swearing in by electoral vote winner Donny Monday.  There are some things that have come to light in the aftermath that we should remember going forward.

First, with Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court expect things to take a scary turn in this country, especially as it relates to the rights of women, racial minorities, workers - basically anyone who isn't a wealthy whit econservative christian with a penis.  Pro forced childbirth types are celebrating Bart O'Kav's being on the court hoping it will strip women of reproductive autonomy in not only the right to have an abortion but also the right to access contraception as well.  Kavanaugh's pro business stances means that odds are labor will be in for a rough go and the environment is probably going to get varying degreees of shittier as time goes forward.  I know some people have been saying that things might not be that bad but if Kavanaugh (or JOhn Roberts0 suddenly goes moderate it will definitely be a surprise - and it would be dishonest to assume otherwise.
However there are some things that I do find interesting in the wake of all this.  While the future is still uncertain with theese developments I do feel they should be noted.

First, I'm very curious about which Democrat will step into the well funded opposition slot against Susan Collins in Maine.  With her vote for Bretty Brett she's pretty much choked any proof she was a moderate Repub and left it for dead in a DC alley to choose the increasingly rightward tilt of the GOP against the American people.  Her refusal to understand that people are following through in anger to fund any opposition against her and acting like it's indignant or a form aof bribery is esecially ironic since she's been in office over 20 years and knows damn well how donors work (and what string lay with taking the cash).  Some say formed Obama administration official Susan Rice will step up, but since Collins isn't up for re-election until 2020 it's anyone's guess what will happen.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, it may be too late now but Manchin's vote for Bretty Brett is proof that someone whould've primaried the living shit out of him.  The Senator form West Virignia has voted with Donny's ideas over half the time and, while the fact he was allowed to getaway with it also doesn't help the establishment Democrats, his current vote is a definite knife in the back to the party he claims to stand with.  The fact that his vote may take the Supreme Court and turn it into a hard righ tpartisan attack dog shows why not just Democrats but anyone who should be aware of what's going on should be angry - and rightfully so.

Then there's the FBI background check.  Called by Jeff Flake late on a Friday afternoon, it was given a week to wrap everything up.  While the time may or may not be an issue, the fact that electoral vote winner Donny and his minions set paramaters that wouldn't allow for a full investigation on the allegations of sexual assault - and didn't contact either Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford - give this the appear of a sham to provide cover for Repubs to vote and claim their nominee was innocent (Flake's pretty much final act in the Senate showed his so-called never Trump stance to be media optics more than any real convictions).  While the FBI has done horrific things in the past (look up COINTELPRO for a big example), in this case it's up in the ari whether they were in the tank for Donny and his team in support for their candidate or had their hands tied (the fact they couldn't take info from people walking in with information only adds to the murkiness).

As for the establishment Democrats it's reaffirmed that they really should stop being so wishy washy.  Their tendency for decorum and civility had them holding back on questioning Kavanaugh on his stance on issues (especially in terms of lack of follow up questions) before the allegations hit.  In addition the fact that too many in that party are paid by the same donors means that some of them tend to dive when they should stand.  This is even more evident by seeming to refuse to fight fire with fire when Sen. Chuckles Grassley (R - IA) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R - SC - and who seems to really want Attorney General Jeffy's job) got all indignant over Dems questions over lack of access to Bretty Brett's paper - and that was before Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations were released.  

This also makes some wonder how good establishment Dems are at deal making when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D - NY) to fast track a numebr of judges.  Normally a deal should imply that both sides get something but it appears that this time the Dems got screwed big time.  I hope I'm wrong about this but I fear I'm not.

At this point there is one thing that appears indisputable - any semblance that there are moderate Repubs is pretty much gone with this vote.  Even the people the mainstream media want to call opposition to Donny tend to vote with him almost all the damn time.  With this vote they've proved that they don't believe sexual assault providers and will choose any odious candidate or nominee who'll enforce their agenda regardless of whether it benefits the American people or not.  It also shows once again that the GOP seems to be incapable of acting in good faith and should be seen as incapable of doing so both by the media and the public.  Their complaints abotu obstruction over Kavanaugh when they refused to give Merrick Garlansd a hearing shows they still care more about their power and try ing to achieve Karl Rove (or as Dubay called him "Turdblossom")'s plan for a permanent Repub supermajority by any means necessary over anything that might actually help those people who aren't rich white conservative men, white conservative christians, or white supremacists.  
So far the Repubs are whining about "angry left wing mobs" (while overlooking hwo the Tea Party acted under Obama) and a lack of civility.  Sen. Majority Leader Mitch NcConnell (or Addison the Turtle, R- KY) thinks the anger will blow over.  If people really want change it shouldn't - and musn't blow over.

Will this lead to a blue wave in the midterm elections next month?  Some polls say yes but others claim Kavanaugh reaffirmed the Repub base.  Also, given that the Repubs use of voter suppression tactics shows they're perfectly willing to lie, cheat, and steal to win elections means Democrats and independents who are pissed over the GOP pushing Kavanaugh through in this way need to get out and vote in numbers.  They can't afford to take things for granted.


So Brett Kavanaugh is in the Supreme Court now?  While that will likely lead this country to some ugly places, we also have to take in the lessons we now have and do the political equivalent of fighting fire with fire.  That means voting but also watching politicians like hawks (even the ones you like) to make sure they're serving the public good, not th egood of their wealthy donors.  

Kavanaugh Scandals - BREAKING!!!!

Updated with the correct spelling of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's name.

Normally to say it's been a wild week and a half would be a statement of exaggeration at points.  However, with the recent news in the confirmation hearings and scandals of electoral vote winner Donny's SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh it might be understating things.

Yep, within 10 or so days Kavanaugh's hearings went from seeming clean and wrapped up to a mountain of drama as several women have accused Kavanaugh of attempting to sexually assault them back in the 80s.  First, it was Christine Blasey (now Dr. Christine Blasey Ford) and her claim that in high school Kavanaugh and his friend (conservative writer Mark Judge) reportedly corralled her into a bedroom where they put on loud music as Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth while trying to take her clothes off and get on top of her.  The reported assault was foiled only when Judge reportedly jumped in and toppled all three of them to the floor, giving her a chance to escape.  First mentioned by Dr. Ford during a therapy session with her husband in 2012 she had reported it to her Senator (who happened to be CA Senator Dianne Feinstein, currently on the Senate Judiciary Committee) and her Congressperson when his nomination was announced but decided not to go public until the media somehow found out through leaks and tracked her down.  Upon hiring a lawyer she had taken and passed a lie detector test.

Over the weekend an article in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer reported that while in college at Yale Kavanaugh reportedly took off his pants and tried to shove his genatalia into the face of a female student named Deborah Ramirez, who was forced to touch it as she pushed him away.  While Ramirez admits she doesn't remember all the details there are some people who remember it happening and others who knew her back them who claim she was always truthful, almost to an fault.,. In addition, the story came to Farrow and Mayer's attention because their mutual classmates at Yale were e-mailing about the incident in July.

ON top of that there was Michael Avenatti's claim that he's representing a third woman who may have a similar claim to Ford and Ramirez., as well as reports of possibly a fourth woman coming forward on a similar topic.

Meanwhile Repubs in the Senate are almost hell bent on pushing Kavanaugh through with the Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, IA) calling for a committee nomination vote on Friday morning, less than a day after Ford's scheduled testimony.  Democrats on the Committee would like the FBI to reopen an investigation but the Repubs are adamant that it's unnecessary.

The sad thing is that, while the Repubs and Kavanaugh talk lip service about getting to the truth their actions make them appear to have made up their minds in favor of Kavanaugh and not  even having the appearance of caring about sexual assault as an issue.  This is made even more clear by electoral vote winner Donny's doubling down in support of Brett while claiming he wants to get to the truth.

The latter is especially twisted given that Donny has the power to ask the FBI to reopen the background check.  Him and the Senate could say to slow down the process and let the investigation occur.  They did it for the accusations made by Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991 and it reportedly took three days.  By not doing this, the Repubs are giving the appearance of caring more about getting a conservative majority on the Supreme Court in case the blue wave of the Democrats gets them out of power in one or both houses of Congress in the midterm elections than any desire for the truth.

Why is Donny doubling down and not asking for an investigation, even if it could prove that Kavanaugh is telling the truth?  A whole post can be written on that but I have a feeling it's a combination of his lust for unchecked power via a Justice who'll give that to him as well as his antipathy towards the FBI playing as much of a role as anything.

What's sad though is in their quest to push Kavanaugh into a lifetime appointment on the US Supreme Court it appears that things got overlooked (case in point; Kavanaugh's recent admission that he had a calendar form 1982.  If that's the case why the fuck wasn't that in the vetting?), if not corners being cut.  Given the gravity of this position a just and remotely sane world would do the smart thing and delay the hearings until they can (to steal a quote from electoral vote winner Donny) "find out what the hell is going on."

However, the Repubs don't wan to do that.  They've hired a "female prosecutor" for the questions to ask Ford Thursday (even though she and her lawyer requested that there not be a special questioner here, which has some wondering if she'll show up or not) rather than own up to the stuff they want to ask as they thinly veil their plan to protect Kavanaugh at any cost (they even refuse to let Deborah Ramirez appear at a hearing).  While we don't know the truth it appears that the GOP Senators don't care and would rather rally around their judge than do what's best for the people.

And by not investigating we may never really know the truth - and that's the saddest, asn most nauseating part of all this.

The Brett Kavanaugh Debacle - or Why the Democrats Need Decisiveness Now INstead

Sorry for not getting to this sooner but I've been busy with the paying job et al but since time is of the essence here it needs to be done now.

Tomorrow is an important and scary day in terms of what will happen in the U.S. Senate.  It is the day when electoral vote winner Donny's latest Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh faces the first day of hearings over whether he will be confirmed to be a SCOTUS justice - a lifetime appointment.  Since Donny announced him in July, shortly after the sudden retirement of justice Anthony Kennedy (a retirement that may have been engineered behind the scenes according to some sources) we have learned about some of his ruling and have a glimpse of where he could lead SCOTUS for decades to come.  From what the Senate and news reports have been able to decipher, Kavanaugh's appointment could sway the Court in a hard right direction in terms of business issues against labor and towards allowing employers to use religious beliefs as an excuse to deny goods and services to people due whether it be denying employees access to birth control or the possibility of using religious liberty as a tool to discriminate against LGBTQ people.  However, it is what we don't know that's most troubling.

Thousands of pages regarding Kavanaugh's court rulings and positions were blocked from release by the Senate Judiciary Committee (and Sen. Chuck Grassley [R, IA] in particular).  Because of thisthe Senate doesn't have access to a full range of where Kavanaugh stands in order to see if he could be a good fit on the US Supreme Court or whether his appointment (which, let us remember, is for life) would be good for the country.  Lawsuits have been filed to try and gain access but insult to injury was added when the White House withheld access to over 100,000 pages of records from Kavanaugh's time as a White House lawyer under former President George W/ Bush, citing executive privilege.  These records could reveal more of how he helped guide Dubya's administration as well as where he would stand on issues like torture and the like.

Now some people may be reading this and say, "Executive privilege is good.  Some things should probably be secret from teh public, even from a past administration."  However, during the Obama administration the Senate wanted as many records as possible regarding the appointment of SCOTUS justice Sonia Sottemayor and got around 90% of them in the process.  Add to this the desire by the Repubs to push the nomination and get Kavanaugh in before the midterm elections and it's clear that what we don't know about the guy is potentially what makes him dangerous on the Federal bench.

Thus, if there's ever a time when the Democrats as a whole need to suddenly grow a fucking spine and actually act like the opposition party it's at a time like this.

However, some people reading this may see that last sentence and go, "Wait a minute.  A President has a right to his Supreme Court nominees getting approved."  Some may even go further and say that Neil Gorsuch didn't have this problem and that the Repubs didn't treat Obama nominees like this.  With that in mind, let's overcome the selective memory here and prove this is a massive pile of horseshit with two words: Merrick Garland.

Yep, you remember Garland.  A judge that reportedly was respected by both sides and was rumored to be an easy confirmation - all the way until Obama nominated him and them the Repubs in the Senate refused to even give him a hearing.  Their excuse - Obama was a lame duck and SCOTUS appointment didn't normally happen in the last year of a President's term.  \However, Presidents have done so in the past with some nominees withdrawn (LBJ's nominations of Abe Fortus and Homer Thornberry) and some approved (Hoover's success nomination of Benjamin Cardozo in 1932). 

Also, the term lame duck applies to the last months in office after either losing re-election or after your two terms are up and the next election took place.  It doesn't apply nearly a year before the fucking election happens (in Obama's case the nomination was made in March 2016, eight months before the election).  In other words,the bastards lied and moved the goalposts.  While it can be debated whether it was merely for partisan bullshit power play or racism, the result is Obama was denied his Supreme Court pick due to some power play bullshit. 

Which leads us to now.  As with Gorsuch, the Repubs want the nomination pushed through and confirmed - preferably with no protests whatsoever..   This is rooted in something further back than Donny but in Karl Rove's strategy in making sure the Repubs remain a supermajority in both houses of Congress in spite of what the people want.  While electorally they may not have succeeded right away, their attitude is to rule as if the other side doesn't matter and is only there as a participation trophy. 

This, as well as the attempt to push Kavanaugh through without access to all his records or the time to study where he could lead this nation to, is proof that Democrats should stand strong and deny Kavanaugh the Supreme Court confirmation.  It won't be pretty and there will be an adverse reaction, especially in the corporate owned media which is still more into cocktail parties than the people they're supposed to be a watchdog for.  However, Kavanugh's hard right stance would turn this country down a path that would be anti labor, anti woman, and make life more difficult and unfair for anyone who isn't a white conservative christian with a penis

In other words if there's a time for the Democrats in the Senate (as well as those alleged never Trump Repubs) to grow a spine and say this shit won't fly it's now.

Whoa! That Was a Double Whammy - Jury Verdict and Plea Deal Edition!

Sometimes it seems that news comes at us fast and furious, especially in the current political landscape.  It almost seems that those in power want to throw everything at us at once in hopes that we get overwhelmed and give up trying to find out the truth.  This is especially true in terms of the Mueller probe, reports of possible Russian interference (though the mainstream media seems to overlook that there was a home grown element that wanted to steal the election for Donny as well).  This means there are moments when it's best to take things in and get as much information as possible before writing or posting something.  However, today events happened that require immediate posting.

Let's start with the news the media was awaiting but wondering what would happen.  This afternoon Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight counts of financial crimes in a Federal courthouse in Virginia.  These counts include five charges of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of hiding a foreign bank account.  The jury was deadlocked on the other 10 charges electoral vote winner Donny's former campaign manager faced so the judge declared a mistrial. 

Manafort's attorney says he's currently considering his options and is disapointed in the verdict.  However, this part of the story isn't over yet as Manafort could possibly appeal the conviction.  However, Manafort is also facing another trial in Washington D.C. later this fall from other charges related to the Russia probe.  What that means is there's the possibility of a plea deal in exchange for cooperating with investigators (which may not be more of a possibility given Paul Manafort faces 80 years in Federal prison [i.e.: a life sentence basically]).  There's also the possibility that electoral vote winner Donny would suddenly pardon Manafort.  However, while Donny has been pardoning quite a few horrible people this instance could be a case where the optics would be so bad that blowback would be inevitable and fairly swift. 

Then there's the news about Michael Cohen, electoral vote winner Donny's former lawyer and "fixer," who today reached a plea deal and plead guilty to eight criminal counts.  Among these counts are tax fraud and false statements to a bank.  In that sense there is some similarity to the charges Manafort was convicted of a few states southward.  However Cohen's plea has a unique twist in that he plead guilty to campaign finance violations.  The latter refers to his admission that he made payments to two women "at the direction of a candidate,"

Yes, apparently Cohen admitted that he arranged the payouts to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal at electoral vote winner Donny's direction.  He told the judge that the payments were "for the principal purpose of influencing the election."  To add a strange layer of the bizarre to these news reports news broke of them occurring at pretty much exactly the same time.. giving news organizations a double whammy to report on.  As part of the plea deal Cohen faces far less time than Manafort (46-53 months in prison) but this plea is a sign that Mueller has something. 

It's also a sign that, for the first time since news of possible Russian interference and other assorted election meddling broke, reports of electoral vote winner Donny being complicit in this shit show has gone from a conjecture that many people felt was possible to Michael Cohen telling a judge under oath that he was involved.

So where does that leave electoral vote winner Donny?  Hard to say.  So far Donny's claiming that Manafort's conviction has nothing to do with him though one has to wonder why he didn't ask questions that he would run Donny's campaign without pay).  However, since he now almost definitely has prison time ahead Paul Manafort might see this as a chance to reach some deal on other charges and cooperate.  If that happens this could lead to a lot of heat on those around Donny from those we know about (Donny's son Little Donny, his son in law Jared et al in the meeting with the Russian attorney at Trump Tower) to maybe even someone who has so far escaped scrutiny (people seem to overlook that Manafort picked co-electoral vote winner Mikey and made the arrangements for Mikey and Donny to meet and cement the deal). 

Will this be the beginning of the end for Donny and Mikey and their minions?  Will electoral vote winner Donny start a war as a diversion (which can also help him quash any dissent against his tremendous reign, bigly)?  Will the Democrats slowly plot to impeach Donny and co if they win the midterms?  While it does appear that there's something that fits the high crimes and misdemeanors here time will tell what goes down.  What can be said here though is that we now have proof that Donny's paying off women he cheated on his wife fits a campaign finance violation and that his fixer has flipped (proving what many have suggested when he hired long time Bill and Hillary Clinton ally Lanny Davis as his attorney).

That Manfort's conviction and Cohen's plea deal happened isn't necessarily a big deal (though some worried that jurors may have been influenced by Donny's tweets and may get a mistrial for Manafort on all counts).  However, that both went down at the same time reveals that today was a big day for the Mueller probe and the various tentacles that have spun off to other courts and the like.  This may not be a smoking gun but the barrel is beginning to simmer a little on these fronts.

Attacking A Nation;s Free Press is Playing With Fire

Today over 300 newspapers in the U.S. have joined together, publishing editorials fighting back against electoral vote winner Donny's frequent smear of the media as "the enemy of the people."  Donny has pushed this line of nauseating garbage in numerous tweets and speeches, even continuing to use it after five journalists from the Capital Gazette newspaper in the Anapolis, MD are on June 28, 2018.  Boasting the importance of a free press, they seek to fight against  our electoral vote winner's role in emboldening increasingly dangerous situations for those working in the news and the work they do.  While we agree with the sentiment of these editorials, we at TTWN wondering how many of them are going to state one obvious fact the mainstream media seems to overlook:  why Donny's calling the media the enemy of the people (or sometimes the true enemy of the people) is playing with fire and downright dangerous.

First, let's look at what makes this dangerous.  By making this smear electoral vote winner Donny is implying that the media and those who work in it are against the American people if they write or report on anything that puts him in a bad light.  Part of the goal is for Donny to get attention (like almost every time he tweets way too early in the morning).  However, there is also a more deliberate reason, as when 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl was told after the GOP primary when she asked him why he continues to attack the press and he replied that he did it so that when they publish something, the public won't believe them.   Now let's put aside why they didn't immediately report that to the public once he said it (off the record or not, the people should have the right to know that shit), a politicians creating a situation where the media is treated as an opposing force that must be stopped emboldens some in said politician's fan base to commit acts of violence against the media (most recently in the Capital Gazette shooting) as well as scenarios where they face increasing verbal (if not physical) violence while doing their jobs (way too many stories of attacks from those at Donny's rallies to count).  While some would say the latter is like professional wrestling and those doing it may be viewing a journalist like a wrestling vilain.  However, pro wrestling is scripted to some degree in terms of characters and this is real life so that alone should be cause for alarm.

This leads to something even more disturbing.  An Ipsos public opinion survey published earlier this month found that 43% of Repubs believe the President should have the power to "shut down news outlets engaged in bad behavior." The question that arises from this is what constitutes bad behavior worthy of something being shut down?  While some may claim it would be something in bad faith, judging form electoral vote winner Donny's words if he had the power he'd likely use it to shut down those who say bad things about him or report on something he's trying to cover up.  That is dangerous on a number of levels.

That danger also overlooks something that Americans should know but likely don't these days - journalism is the only profession protected under the First Amendment.  This means that they're supposed to speak truth to power and call out politicians when they fuck up.  Yes there are laws against slander and libel but this means the government cannot impinge on the media's freedom to do their jobs and hold people accountable just like they can't interfere with an individuals'freedom of speech.

At this point there may be a Repub or two reading this wanting to mock it with some Donny approved talking points.  They may want to shout, "You need to accept that Trump won?" or make some disparaging remarks about liberals ( or libtards as some would call them) while asking what the big deal is with the media whining.  For those people I have this to say, if Donny sets a precedent where the President can shut down news outlets, let's say a Democratic candidate wins in 2020 or later.  What's to keep the Democratic leader from shutting down conservative media outlets?

If thos eon the right are really sincere about freedom of speech (and not just merely wanting it for the right wing and oppression for everyone else) then they need to stand against this whether it';s their guy or not.

Yes there are legitimate criticisms of the mainstream media and their establishment bias.  However, they are not the enemy of the people and anyone who says otherwise is playing with a fire that, if not fought immediately and consistently, could burn down one of the few pillars of our society that should be upheld across the board.

One Year After Charlottesville

Today marks the first anniversary of the horrific extreme right rally in Charlottesville, VA that made news as participants arrived armed, some with Nazi flags (including one asshat brandishing a semi automatic weapon while wearing a shirt with a Hitler quote on it) and attacks on counter protesters that culminated in the murder of Heather Heyer by a neo Nazi who I won't name here.  We all know about the violence as well as electoral vote winner Donny's back and forth on supposedly disavowing the white supremacists and Nazis (remember "on both sides").

Today it will be marked on the right by rallies in both Charlottesville, VA as well as in Washington, DC (the latter organized by the main guy behind the first horrifying rally).  In the case of DC, reports indicate that counterprotesters may be outnumbering the Nazis but since it's still happening it's hard to tell for sure. 

A live feed from Truthdig reported that the rally marchers from the "alt right" were between 30 and 50 with more counter protesters.  While this is a good sign =(as is the live feed from AJ+) things are still in progress so who knows what will unfold later on. 

As for us at TTWN we're in solidarity with those marching against hate in DC, Charlottesville, and NYC.  Here's hoping things remain safe.  There will be more to report on this later so we'll be exploring it when we can and get back to you,