Some of you may know that my 9yr old son Elijah died 16 months ago from DIPG, a rare pediatric brain cancer. Today my sister showed me this, a newly discovered thank you letter he wrote to his cousin Dylan (now 14) after his last Christmas in 2016. 1/9 It’s filled with all sorts of insider jokes about the things Elijah and his cousins did to torment his sister Genevieve, and special walks that Dylan took Elijah on during his last visit to San Diego. Elijah died less than four months after this. 2/9

It’s easy to note that Trump’s decision to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance smacks of pettiness and vindictiveness. Both true. Less clear is the extent to which it ‘damages’ national security. Yes, many top level intel officials retain security 1/

https://twitter.com/ReutersPolitics/status/1029803586270765059

Clearances so they can continue to consult with their successors. But more than 2 million private citizens have secret or top secret clearances. Brennan’s clearance level is more valuable as currency in the private sector and for the military and intelligence 2/

So now that Trump has begun moving the government bureaucracy to implement his insane idea for a Space Force, it’s time to talk about who might run it. Given Trump’s personality, here are a few ideas 1/4 Buzz Lightyear - Pros: loyal, manly in a blustery sort of way, invents his own reality, voiced by Mel Gibson, American exceptionalist, and appeals to white nationalist supporters. Cons: not@too bright 2/4

1/ As a circuit court judge, Brett Kavanaugh dissented in a 2011 case filed by Indonesian villagers in the province of Aceh who accused Exxon Mobil of letting private security forces murder, torture, and abuse local residents on company property. cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opini… 2/ The case was filed by the HR group International Rights Advocates in 2001, citing the 1789 Alien Tort Statute, a law used by other victims of HR abuses overseas to seek civil redress in US courts against corporations or individuals resident in the US. iradvocates.org/case/asia-indo…

1/ Barbara Deming explains nonviolent resistance best in a classic essay titled “On Revolution and Equilibrium”: “With one hand we say to one who is angry, or to an oppressor, or to an unjust system, ‘Stop what you are doing. I refuse to honor the role you are choosing to play, I refuse to obey you, I refuse to cooperate with your demands, I refuse to build the walls and the bombs. I refuse to pay for the guns. With this hand I will even interfere with the wrong you are doing. I want to disrupt the easy pattern of your life.’ 2/