[Occupymendocino] Fw: Sign the petition: Bannon off the National Security Council

[Ann Rennacker]

________________________________
From: William Winters, Courage Campaign <info at couragecampaign.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 4:17 PM
To: Ann Rennacker
Subject: Sign the petition: Bannon off the National Security Council

Unvetted and unconfirmed.

Dear Ann,

Stephen Bannon, the white nationalist who has become one of Donald Trump’s top advisors, has effectively appointed himself to the National Security Council (NSC), the country’s highest national security body.(1)

Even military and national security experts find this alarming.(2) Bannon has no national security experience, but he does have an extreme ideological agenda -- and national security should be driven by facts, not ideology or politics.

It’s becoming clear: Donald Trump may be the President of the United States, but Bannon is really running the show at the White House. Bannon’s power grab is unprecedented, dangerous, and must be stopped.

There’s bipartisan concern over Bannon’s self-appointment to the National Security Council, and, in an effort to block it, two bills have been introduced to give Congress the power to approve National Security Council appointees. There’s real momentum -- now is the time to rein in Bannon before he puts the safety and integrity of the American people at further risk.

Tell Congress to stop Steve Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council!<http://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/bannon_nsc/?source=org_em_p_bannon_nsc&t=1&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>

The executive order elevating Bannon -- a political hack with no national security experience -- to the National Security Council also downgrades the roles traditionally played by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s top military body, and the director of national intelligence.

This is a big deal. These roles have been so prominent on the NSC because their judgments are based on facts, not calculations of political or electoral gain. But for Bannon, every move he makes is based on pushing forward his agenda.

And that’s scary, because Bannon’s agenda has historically involved elevating the voices of white supremacist and nationalist movements in the United States and abroad.(3) His publications have trashed women, people of color, and LGBTQ folks.(4) And a close examination of his beliefs indicates a cartoonishly bleak view of the world steeped in wild conspiracy theories -- including a morbid obsession with the idea that World War III is about to happen.(5) Bannon shouldn’t have the power to help start it.

Tell Congress to stop Steve Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council!<http://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/bannon_nsc/?source=org_em_p_bannon_nsc&t=2&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>

To make matters worse, news reports indicate that when Trump signed the executive order changing the structure of the National Security Council to include Bannon, he didn’t even realize what he was signing.(6)

It’s no wonder that both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed deep concerns about Bannon’s appointment. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates called it a “big mistake,” Senator John McCain called it a “radical departure,” and retired Admiral Michael Mullen -- who served on the NSC under Presidents Bush and Obama -- is calling for Bannon’s removal from the council altogether.(7)

Two separate bills have been introduced that would bring appointments to the National Security Council under Congressional oversight. In the current climate -- with the last National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, resigning under a cloud of suspicion and lingering questions about Trump’s aides’ relationship with the Russian government -- there’s a real chance for bipartisan agreement about reining in Bannon’s power grab.

Tell Congress to stop Steve Bannon’s appointment to the National Security Council!<http://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/bannon_nsc/?source=org_em_p_bannon_nsc&t=3&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>

Yours in the fight,

William, along with Annie, Brenna, Caitlin, Eddie, Emma, Kelsey, Lindsay, Raquel, Scottie, and Tim (the Courage team)

Footnotes:
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/us/politics/trump-white-house-aides-strategy.html?_r=0<https://couragecampaign.actionkit.com/go/4634?t=4&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/06/opinion/i-was-on-the-national-security-council-bannon-doesnt-belong-there.html?smid=tw-nytopinion&smtyp=cur<https://couragecampaign.actionkit.com/go/4635?t=5&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>
3. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-alt-right-breitbart-news<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4636?t=6&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>
4. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/stephen-bannon-breitbart-words.html<https://couragecampaign.actionkit.com/go/4637?t=7&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>
5. https://www.thenation.com/article/steve-bannon-wants-to-start-world-war-iii/<https://couragecampaign.actionkit.com/go/4638?t=8&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/steve-bannon-apocalypse-third-world-war-coming-white-house-donald-trump-historian-claim-film-david-a7570631.html<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4639?t=9&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-apocalypse_us_5898f02ee4b040613138a951<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4640?t=10&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>, &
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/31/bannon-odds-islam-china-decades-us-foreign-policy-doctrine/97292068/<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4641?t=11&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>
6. http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-not-fully-briefed-executive-action-steve-bannon-national-security-council-2017-2<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4642?t=12&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU> & see reference 1
7. http://www.businessinsider.com/mullen-trump-steve-bannon-nsc-2017-2<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4643?t=13&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU> &
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steve-bannon-national-security-council-2017-1<http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/4644?t=14&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>

[https://couragecampaign.actionkit.com/o.gif?akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU]
Like what we do? Chip in to help fund the fight for a more progressive nation. Or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

[Donate Today]<https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/stopbannon?refcode=org_em_fr_StopBannon_NSC_CA&akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>


Courage Campaign fights for a more progressive California and country. We are an online community powered by more than 1.3 million members.

http://www.couragecampaign.org?akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.<http://act.couragecampaign.org/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?akid=3859.596066.Zt5LXU>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.mcn.org/pipermail/occupymendocino/attachments/20170225/b3ef07b9/attachment.html