From ads in the Super Bowl to president Trump equating Vladimir Putin’s crimes with US Presidents’ actions, to the largest companies in the US (and world) sending a court brief opposing the Muslim ban, to people marching in the streets, the mood in the US ranges from confused to chaotic.
High-tech firms and more oppose ban
Ninety-seven of the world’s largest companies have filed a legal brief known as amicus curiae, or friend of the court, which is a legal opinion given to a judge considering some case. It can either support the defendant or, in this case, the plaintiff (several States and more).
An amicus curiae brief will state how other lawyers see the merits of the case and express opinions of the people or companies signing the brief as to how the outcome would affect them.
Among the companies citing potential damage to their business, their employees, and their customers from travel ban are:
Airbnb, Inc.
Ancestry.com
Apple
Autodesk (graphics software)
eBay
Google.
GoPro
Kickstarter
Levi Strauss (denim clothing)
Microsoft
Mozilla (Firefox browser)
Netflix
PayPal
Shutterstock
Spotify
Uber Technologies
Wikimedia Foundation
and
Yelp
Super Bowl
While the game was very exciting - it was the first Super Bowl to go into overtime as it was tied at the end of regular play due to the Patriots staging an amazing comeback in the second half - many people watch as much for the commercials as for the game.
There were no really spectacular commercials this year but from the Anheuser–Busch (Budweiser) commercial that usually includes the famous Clydesdale horses or even a chorus of frogs, we got a strong pro-immigration story about co-founder German immigrant Adolphus Bush that was reportedly in production even before the election.
Most of the Super Bowl ads had subtle or blatant hints that the companies were opposed to the Muslim ban even though they probably expected backlash from Trump supporters (Budweiser is already facing a boycott).
Bill O’Reilly Trump interview
In a pre-Super Bowl interview with conservative icon Bill O’Reilly, President Trump was asked about his support of President Putin.
When Trump said he “respected” him, O’Reilly said “Putin’s a “killer” (Russia is now demanding a retraction and apology for that) but President Trump’s response wasn’t a defense of the country he now leads; instead he equated Putin’s crimes (including making opponents disappear and jailing reporters) with actions of US Presidents, saying, "We have a lot of killers, got a lot of killers. What, you think our country is so innocent?"
Suggesting a moral equivalency between Russia's Putin and the US is not exactly a rousing defence of the country Trump is now sworn “to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," which has led even Republicans to ask, is that “the best of his ability?”
Since 2000 when Putin came to power, 34 journalists, all of whom wrote negative stories about Putin, have been assassinated in Russia.
President Trump also made news by saying the repeal of “Obama” care would probably take at least another year. During his campaign, he insisted he would repeal it on day one.
During the past 8 years, during which Trump insisted President Obama wasn’t born in the US, he also complained almost weekly about Obama taking too much time off to play golf. Obama’s first partial day off and relaxing golf came three months into his Administration; Trump spent his third weekend on vacation, reportedly playing golf.
