Sometimes I wake up frightened. Yes, I do listen to podcasts, read newspapers and watch the news but I believe we have to. We cannot ignore what is going on because it is too horrible or too overwhelming, but it won’t change anything. Everyone who understands what is going on and how it will affect us for years to come, need to do something. That “something” might be writing a letter, making a phone call, going to a protest, signing a petition and, more importantly, being loud about what you think. If you never post anything on your Facebook page because you don’t want people to know what you think, I would call it cowardice. Yes, that is a very strong word, but I am convinced that everyone who understands the evilness of what is going on, needs to participate to stop it. It doesn’t go away by itself and you shouldn’t be so selfish to think that others will take care of it. We need everyone.
I also believe that I don’t have anything to lose with this battle–I can only gain. Gain in terms of my integrity, my passion, my mission, my family, my advocacy for those in need and so many other things.
Don’t get me wrong, there are things I am afraid of, but it is not what people think of me or my views. I am afraid of so so many things. Foremost I am afraid for my daughter who is gay and for her partner who is trans. Oddly enough, I am afraid of not being able to travel abroad, because this administration might decide I should not. I am afraid for those in need worldwide who we are hurting because we stopped US Aid. I am afraid that we are cutting medical research that might help friends of mine suffering with cancer and depend on new drugs. I am afraid that the people running the government are lunatics [and that is a mild statement]. The cabinet is a hodgepodge of people who are loyalists to Trump. No independent thinking: only loyalty to a man who is a liar, felon, rapist and grifter. The grifter comes out every day: selling Teslas on the White House lawn, putting out a coin a day before you are inaugurated and taking money from all foreign governments no matter what they believe; using tariffs against countries like Brasil for putting Bolsonaro in jail for a coup. Using FEMA funds to. upgrade a plane gift from Qatar.
Don’t believe that you don’t matter–because you do matter. And what you say and what you do, does matter. Sending letters and making phone calls to your representatives should not be frightening. It is part of the process that has existed for years–you just might not have taken advantage of it. But now it the time to take advantage.
Right now, I am willing to get arrested at a protest, I am willing to be loud and let everyone know what I think and why I think the opposition is wrong and will hurt us. The GOP are cowards and have lost every bit of integrity they might have had. They are in a Trumpian Trance. Our democracy is ending and if you think that is a strong statement, it is not.
Here is a list of why we cannot be afraid. It is definitely not everything but it might help you understand that being afraid helps the opposition.
Medicaid will be cut, children, disabled and low income folks will be hurt;
Transgender people will be disappeared
Diversity and initiatives to bring people together will be abandoned and criminalized
Our health and welfare are endangered through people in charge
Books are banned
Standard education is eliminated and banned and universities are threatened for their free thought.
We now reward those who invaded our Capitol on Jan 6 with jobs in the DOJ.
Trump is rewriting history. The Library of Congress said it had a coding error that eliminated the section that talks about Habeas Corpus. Oh sure, it was a coding error.
You need to be very afraid, and very vocal. I do not accept the excuse that “I don’t use FB for political stuff”, “I don’t want people to know how I feel,” “I don’t think anything will happen to me,” or so many other excuses not to be loud in a time when you can. By next year, being loud might get you a jail sentence.
We need everyone to do the work in any way you can.
As your GOP reps flaunt the Big Beautiful [BS] Bill, they would like to pass before the 4th of July, they tout that it will increase the budget of ICE by $8million. That is the money they will use to put masked armed men in the streets to disappear people. Yes, that is exactly what they have been doing. The undocumented father of 3 marines in Los Angeles was detained and beaten. There have been mothers dragged from the safety of their homes.
Here are the stats on this as of June 15:
56,397 immigrants in detention.
72% have no criminal record
Many of the 30%’s crime were minor offenses such as traffic violations
80% of the immigrant population are no threat to the population
7% of the detained population are violent criminals
And now Alligator Alcatraz.
Yesterday the Trump administration sank to new depths of cruelty to humans. Trump went to Florida with his sycophant Kristi Noem to look over a tent prison in Florida’s alligator alley that will house undocumented people.
These poor people were landscapers, farmers, bodega owners, waiters, doctors, students, health care workers, professors, and I can go on and on. Some of their crimes were to speak out. Another was to go to the courts to check in on their status [which you are required to do by law]. At that point they are snatched up and their families might never see them again.
Firstly let’s talk about the corruption involved. The two contractors who worked to build what they are referring to as “Alligator Alcatraz” are significant donors to DeSantis and Trump. They have donated over $1 million to both men’s campaigns under various PACs. This is the beginning of privatizing prisons to make Trump’s friends rich.
DeSantis and the Florida state party Republicans tout the deadly alligators and pythons that will pose danger to those detained. The state GOP has a merch shop selling disturbing swamp-themed merchandise. Amazon is selling it as well.
Trump said about the prison ” . . .very soon, this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.” He is talking about our neighbors, people who have lived in our neighborhoods for many years, whose children attended school with our children, who go to parent teacher meetings to assure their children are doing well. They are not menacing and they are not vicious.
The one-year cost of running the facility is $450 million, which will come from FEMA’s shelter and services program. So when a horrible storm hits Florida, I’m unsure whether FEMA will have any funds to house those who need temporary housing.
You might be watching a cable show who have hosts who are laughing about detainees trying to escape and being torn to pieces by alligators. The GOP certainly have Senators and Representatives joking about it. This is what has become of America. Cruelty to those less fortunate, cruelty to those who are black and brown, cruelty to those who have stolen food to feed their children; cruelty to those who are here to make a better life for their families–the same reason our families came here.
The cruelty continues as Trump and his authoritarian government takes shape. The GOP are all in on this–there is no doubt about that. When my rep Nicole Malliotakis posts, it is always about the criminal immigrants and how increased funding of ICE will imprison all of them. She is complicit in the cruelty as are the rest of the GOP.
If I look at each of the appointments for Trump’s cabinet I start to fully realize this country is being run by clowns. Each of the appointees [confirmed by Senate GOP] adds a certain amount of clownishness to our government. I write this to detail the chaos of our situation and to familiarize others with the clown car.
Clowns can be defined as many things: funny and scary are the first two that come to mind. There is nothing funny about his article but there is plenty to be frightened about.
THE CLOWN CAR OF APPOINTMENTS
As we started to see and hear the results of the confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet positions, I thought I would start to understand what those people have to do with the program that Trump has in mind for our country. I could not.
Fox News host Pete Hegseth was nominated for the Secretary of Defense. Some believe that defense of our country is the most important issue, then I wonder why Trump would select someone with no experience in that position. He was a TV commentator and now he will run the largest employer in the world. It manages just under 3 million people. In addition to lack of experience which probably is the most disqualifying aspect, he has mis-managed two small veteran groups, allowing one to go bankrupt. He was also accused by many at FOX that he was a drunk. Pete also paid $50,000 to silence a woman he raped. That does not surprise me since the majority of people in Trump’s circle have abused and raped women. But now during this very dangerous time, we have Pete Hegseth in charge. He is a terrifying clown for sure.
Tulsi Gabbard was selected as Director of National Intelligence. Former Representative Gabbard has met and associated with Syrian’s Bashar al-Assad, considered one of the most violent men in the world and Putin who easily manipulates Trump daily. She has no business handling our National Intelligence. We must have someone who cannot be manipulated–as she was with both al-Assad and Putin. Ukraine’s defense will not be forthcoming in a Gabbard world since she has consistently been a Putin advocate. Clowns are intelligent folks, this though was a clown-y appointment without the laughs or the smarts.
Robert Kennedy Jr., was nominated for Secretary for Health and Human Services. He is a conspiracist and an anti-vaccine activist. The HHS secretary overseas 11 agencies all concerned with the health and welfare of Americans. If RFK Jr were HHS secretary when the polio vaccine or measles/mumps vaccines were instituted, we would not have them. All our children would still be at risk for these diseases, but the vaccines have eliminated most of the infections in the world. After a widespread vaccination effort polio has been eradicated in most of the world. RFK Jr. insists that vaccines cause autism. This belief has been debunked for years. If RFK Jr. was HHS Secretary during COVID, the vaccine would not have been developed because the Secretary does not believe in vaccines. This alone should disqualify him from this position. In the last four years, RFK Jr. has spoken more than 100 times on the inefficacy of vaccines. But of course there is more. Some personality traits are telltale signs of who a person is. We should know that in the case of RFK Jr. there are many of those signs. To be brief, he stopped on the NYS Thruway and picked up a bear that was hit by a car. He drove to NYC, got busy with something else, and dumped the bear in Central Park. I will leave this link here for those who need to see additional reasons why this man should not be confirmed because the bear incident is certainly not the only telltale sign of his total incompetence to run this agency. [https://theweek.com/2024-presidential-election/1025265/a-running-list-of-rfk-jrs-controversies]
Pam Bondi was nominated as Attorney General. Pam Bondi was the Attorney General for the State of Florida as well as a personal lawyer for Trump. She is a Trump sycophant. She took a $25,000 contribution to her local campaign for AG office in Florida from a Trump PAC and then ruled to end a lawsuit against Trump University for lack of evidence–clearly a conflict of interest here. Pam Bondi then ran the Trump’s Super Pac. As AG she has gone after anyone Trump considers an enemy. She is not an independent AG working for us; she works for Trump alone. Her appearances on FOX news touting all the people she is investigating is against every tenet in the FBI where no one being investigated is named before there is some indictment against that person. And even then, the information is not shared with the press.
There will be a Part 2 Cabinet of Clowns–there are a lot of them.
After joining and working with a new organization called Staten Island Action Coalition I have been involved in street protests, highway visibility events and working with like-minded women and men [not many men if I am honest about this] to change the course of events in this country. It is daunting to say the least. You basically understand you are working with a small group compared to our population to make greatly needed changes in our country. We live in a Trump era where disenchanted people either have to do something or need to step back. I am one who feels it is necessary to do something–march, scream, organize, encourage and basically let it be known that I will not accept the status quo.
After working for a few months I felt it necessary to step away for a bit. I flew away and went to Italy for about two weeks. I am writing this on a flight home after about 15 days in Italy.
I usually travel alone or with a group of women friends but I convinced my husband that he should return with me to Italy. There was a Caravaggio exhibit in Rome and I knew he could not say no to that. There is an entirely different story in me about traveling with your husband after you have been traveling alone, but that is for another time.
We spent 6 days in Rome visiting every museum we could and just eating good food and drinking martinis or good wine. This works for getting your mind away from heavy thoughts. Being political at this time is bearing the responsibility of heavy thoughts. It is impossible to forget those thoughts, but being away makes it possible to analyze them in a fashion that helps understand the awesome responsibility you hold and the consequence of no action.
After a week we left Rome and went to a spa in Tuscany. Adler Thermal spa is in a town called Bagno Vignoni where there are volcanic thermal pools that are advertised to heal both body and spirit. There are a few saunas built into the mountainside that are infused with eucalyptus or a variety of other herbs that burn over the coals. You sit naked [bathing suits or wrap around towels not allowed] and look over the hills of Tuscany. It is a magnificent feeling. The volcanic pools are dress events and you wear your bathing suit–it is not a nudity camp. There is also a spa which includes all sorts of massages, facials and bodily treatments meant to heal and revive.
One day while sitting on a lounge chair in the Tuscan sun, I thought about never coming back and doing this [define “this” as nothing] for the rest of my time–after all, I am 77 years old and every once in a while you think about not being here at all.
As I watched the clouds move slowly across the sky and sat perfectly still in the lounge chair, I realized this could be everything. Sitting and watching everything around you with a passionate love of all that is nature is something you can embrace–possibly forever. I thought about this for quite a while and the idea of never returning to the US became enticing [more so when you are in a spa in Tuscany].
But really I could think clearly in this place. I thought about the history of Europe, what made it what it is today, what were the effects of two World Wars that engulfed every part of the continent where death and destruction reigned. And I thought of America’s part in those wars–why did we participate, why did we think it was OK to sacrifice lives of young men and women for a far away place. As I did a mental dive into the reasons we joined those wars, I came to the conclusion that I would have to go back to the US if even to assure that we would risk young lives again possibly.
A lot of my friends care deeply about what is going on in the US; but a lot of my friends don’t march. I use the word “march” in the activist sense; it means many things. It means doing the work: some of it simple, contacting your representatives, signing a petition, making a phone call or writing postcards. Some of it harder: organizing people to march, creating events that catch the attention of a few or many, trying to get the media to cover your event, making signs, writing content, being loud, being truthful, being consistent to your beliefs, doing fact checking and being able to convince disbelievers that what you do is righteous. My husband sometimes says to me “don’t be so self-righteous.” I try not to be but I do mean to be righteous. For fighting for democracy is a righteous cause.
I will arrive back in Staten Island after this short but informative respite knowing that I must do this. I must spend time in the streets with women who are as righteous as me and smart and conscious that someone must do this. If there is anything I know, it is that we must do this now and I am also confident we will succeed. America will not lose its democracy to a narcissist bully–at least, not on my watch.
After Trump’s victory in the 2024 election I tuned out. It was too much, way too much. But this morning I realized that you miss a lot by tuning out. First, who knew of Trump’s plan to make Canada the United States’ 51st state. Obviously not Justin Trudeau who said it will be “a snowball’s chance in hell” before Canada becomes part of the US. I certainly hope the Prime Minister is correct, but if you have been paying attention you have seen many elite institutions and rich powerful men bow down to this grifter. This is out of fear of economic reprisal for their company or just being on the wrong side of Trump. Disney paid Trump $16 million for a statement made by George Stephanopoulos on his news program. It was not Stephanopoulos’ idea; he was repeating a quote from the judge in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case. The federal judge on the defamation case went to great lengths to explain why Trump was convicted of the rape of E. Jean Carroll. Disney would not have lost the case in court, but bowed down to the grifter and paid a very large sum.
Trump finally realized that being President of the US makes you the most powerful person in the world. [That should scare the bejesus out of you.] He didn’t understand that when he was 45 but as 47 he definitely understands. He believes he can do anything if he sees a benefit to him, and secondary to the United States. No matter the cost to others. I am sure the largest oil resources on the planet in Canada are attractive to him; probably as well as screwing all the people that moved to Canada because he won.
I still have a hard time believing that 77+ million people voted for this man. Most of those people will not be helped by his presidency. His campaign promises, even if met, do not help his voters.
Then to my surprise, Trump was talking about taking back the Panama Canal. It was gifted to the Panamanians by President Carter and they took over possession and operations in 1999. Trump believes that the US is owed the Panama Canal. He has stated unequivocally his territorial and expansionist aspirations. Greenland is the other country Trump thinks should be part of the US. The problem with these aspirations is Trump’s belief that he can use military force to make these expansions happen. This is why Trump has no problem with Russia invading Ukraine: his belief is if you are bigger and more powerful, you can do these things. It is the same way he feels about touching women’s genitalia evident in his statement: “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, grab ’em by the pussy.”
All these actions and acquisitions might have an upside to our defense or economy but those countries are self-governing and independent and it is their existential right to stay that way.
So in a day or so I caught up on the news. It is still too much but is probably necessary to understand what might go on in the next 4 years. These particular statements by Trump struck me as his new agenda. He has mentioned all of the above before, but now he means it.
Maybe I’ll watch again next week. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get into Greenland without a passport.
After years of searching for an apartment which met our requirements, we just moved to the neighborhood of St. George, on the north shore of Staten Island. That is the side of the Island where a lot of Democrats live and our representatives at the state and city level are all Democrats, with the exception of our congressional representative since that person is elected by the entire Island which is not a very blue community. I only mention this because since Trump was elected the first time, I have felt uncomfortable with the area I lived. The first sign came when I had to leave my parish after 44 years because the new pastor starting speaking like Trump. Also while soliciting donations from the surrounding neighborhoods to help the newly-arrived migrants I was harassed by some who got my flyer in their mailbox.
My neighbors were fine and good people and I in no way include them in this description of harassers but every time I met someone new and ran into someone in church, I thought to myself, this person might have voted for Trump. Voting for him, a second time, is inconceivable to me. The man has proven himself to be a liar, a fraudster, an abuser of women and a felon.
But this story is about moving and the challenges encountered in this adventure.
Our apartment is in this building at 5 Stuyvesant Place on the 7th Floor. It has floor to ceiling windows in every room and we overlook Manhattan. This picture was taken with my back toward the water. I can view the whole of Manhattan, parts of Brooklyn and New Jersey. I can see the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges as well as the Statue of Liberty.
We are a 5-minute walk to the NYC Fast Ferry and 7 minute walk to the Staten Island Ferry. We searched Manhattan for years: the upper West Side, the upper East Side, Battery Park City, the Financial District, Tribeca and the East and West Village. Well it turns out that in all that time, we didn’t find a place that checked all the boxes, and yes, we did have a lot of boxes.
We lived in our house since 1980 so about 44 years. I never thought I was a hoarder and I still don’t believe I am, but in 44 years you can collect a lot of stuff. If you’re my husband you have shopped daily for a number of years and catch sales of meats, canned goods and, lest I forget, toilet paper. We have a lot of toilet paper and no place to store it.
We moved into our new place before we sold our house so we didn’t have to move everything all at once. So now after one month living in our apartment we still have some things at the house. We are still traveling back to the house to pick up a roast or some chicken cutlets: all the items that still remain in my very large freezer. For those who read my stories, you know that my freezer could fit about 6 men standing up. It is very large and luckily we didn’t have to take it with us. We only need to empty it which is turning out to be a challenge. We will probably close on our house at the end of January so we will have to move everything by that time.
The advantage to this scenario is you can unpack boxes and bags a bit at a time. We sold most of our furniture so other than some bookcases my grandfather built and two comfortable chairs, we supported our economy by purchasing new furniture. I warn you it is not so easy to buy furniture anymore. If you choose to buy online, you will need to put it together when it comes. I have learned that there are apps where you can hire someone to do just about everything: even put things together. And who knew that pedestal tables are not good for people with big feet: I did not.
New modern apartments have few closets from the ones that I have viewed in the 10 years searching. I have learned they usually have a huge walk-in closet in the bedroom and maybe one or another depending how big your apartment is. We are in a two bedroom/two bathroom apartment with one large living space that accommodates living/dining and kitchen. I was always turned off by boxy rooms–and as you can see from the photos, I have few straight walls.
At this point most of everything is stored away and most of our furniture has been delivered, and yes, assembled. So I believe we are making progress. Big progress was made when I ran back to the house to get some Christmas decorations and lights. You know I had to hang lights in those big windows.
When we found the apartment and signed the lease for November 1st, we knew we couldn’t move on that date. I was leaving on a transatlantic cruise to Barcelona and wasn’t planning on coming home until mid November. As everything in life, plans changed and I arrived back home on Election Day, something I was trying to avoid at all costs. It was one of the reason I had planned the travel. I left on October 21 and returned on November 5th.
We put the house on the market in mid November and hoped it would sell quickly. As all real estate professionals, ours wanted us to keep the house neat and organized for viewing. They also like you to be out of the house when an appointment to view is made. This process occurs while you are packing boxes and trashing half your life in photos. I would pack some boxes on Monday and drive them over to the Salvation Army on Tuesday to eliminate any boxes in the house for viewings. This went on for one week. I finally decided that moving quickly is easier than slowly. Mike and I set a date–we would move on November 21. We hired the movers, and then for the next 10 days, packed and made decisions about what would fit in the apartment. It was like pulling off a bandaid quickly or so I thought. Pieces of the bandaid still remain at my old house. We still pick up items a few times a week.
To be honest, at this date there are only a few pieces of art, some rare books and some Ball jars left–and of course, some more packages of toilet paper. The books will be gone on January 5; the art is still up in the air, but I will take those Ball jars to the new place.
I was careful to make sure that some spaces in our new home would be similar to our old home. After all we are pretty set in our ways after 44 years in the house. We purchased a 94″ desk for Mike and I to share. In our old place we had a very large desk on our porch with a smaller desk next to it. Mike and I worked there in front of the windows and I knew we needed a similar arrangement. Our two small recliner chairs was the other constant between places. This decision was a good one, it gave us both some stability. I have learned that when you age, you need stability. It keeps you balanced and comfortable.
Another item I found important is you need a “junk” draw because no matter what, you will move junk. Junk you might never use, but most have. But other junk is used consistently but it is hard to sort out comfortable junk from junk you actually use. I have always been comforted by having a seam ripper in a close-by draw–I probably used it 44 times in 44 years, so I probably really didn’t need to move it. Alright this is a minor item but there are larger items that fit the same scenario: you have to have it, but you probably won’t use it. I am a quick learner so I will never make that mistake again.
Another lesson: you must know your limits. You should not pack boxes that you cannot move. Even if you have moving people, you will need to move those boxes at one point. And by the way, boxes are expensive. Staples was charging $12.00 for one box called the bankers box. I learned soon that it was probably worth the $12. It has handles and a cover–no tape required. I bought a variety of boxes and learned quickly that I did not want to deal with large boxes.
I did find that large soft bags were perfect for moving items that your mover was not moving because you hadn’t packed it yet. Imagine a slow cooker fits perfectly in one of these bags. These sturdy bags are worth their weight in gold, easy to pack, easy to carry. One was a reject RR Donnelley bag, if you notice the supplier left off the “y” and the other was a gift from a Morgan Stanley event I attended. I will never throw these away.
Meredith and Nelson moved from Seattle in July. They packed everything in a pod and shipped it across the country and then they drove here. At that time we did not know we were moving. For some reason Nelson saved bubble wrap and tissue paper from their move. I am unsure why, but will be forever grateful. You need a lot of bubble wrap and the rolls they sell would never be enough. I carry it in these bags back and forth, back and forth. They also lent me a dolly–also a God-sent item.
Since we officially moved with the movers on November 21, we drive to the old house, pack these soft bags and a box or two and bring them to the apartment. I unpack and find a spot for everything we move on the same day. It was a promise I made to myself: unpack daily. We have a spot in a garage under the building and an elevator from there to our place. I am sure my neighbors who have seen our routine of moving everything from the car to the elevator and then taking it up and moving out of the elevator and then to our front door think we are crazy. I do not believe that there are many people in this building who have spent 44 years in once place.
Christmas has come and gone, as well as New Year’s Day, but I continue to have a few items at the old place. Fortunately my closing will take place shortly and I will be forced to have everything out.
We have cooked and had company for dinner. It was difficult for me to find my place in the kitchen but Mike found his place sooner. We did eat frozen Smart Weight Watcher meals for a while. I had a Wolf stove that I loved but this is an all electric apartment [as it should be]. I burned pancakes the first time I made them and became shy about cooking. Mike quickly adjusted to the in house washer/dryer [thank goodness for little things or big ones I guess]. We both had challenges with the refrigerator, or really the freezer. It makes ice–lots of ice–and continues to make more ice. We could not figure out how to stop the ice making. We like ice, we drink, but we had more ice than we could possibly use. After a week, we succeeded on the ice making front. This is a new building and no one has ever lived in this apartment. [It was one of my check boxes: new not old.] So no one living here actually knows anything about the appliances. I have now downloaded manuals for washer/dryer, refrigerator and stove and saved for reference and I will gladly give advice to others if needed.
I found that a canned goods and clothing could be co-inhabitors of the same space and that walk in closets are actually enormous. I have never lived in a new house, let alone had a closet you could walk into.
I am sure you noticed the toilet paper on the top shelf. That is only a portion of it.
We had 20 pounds of pasta and at least 10 cans of tomatoes. This is what you do in a house–not so in an apartment. I am OK with this co-existence of clothes meeting canned goods
The one bit of advice I would give about moving: you need to take things you love. Never leave them. You will always find a spot for some knick knack that you have loved for many years. My elephants are to that point. Having so many windows that are floor to ceiling, I didn’t know where I could put plants, knick knacks, the dried bullrushes I have so loved from my garden, the ball jars that have solar lights and reflect the sea glass that a good friend collected and passed on to me–and many others. But I found the large sills on the bottom of the window do fine for these items.
During this move I have needed a chiropractor and an acupuncturist. I am still going to the chiropractor and will always go to my acupuncturist. She is a gem.
Besides physical care because moving is hard and we made the boxes too heavy, you need a good mental outlook. Everyone said I might really miss my house. After all it took me 10 years to find a place. I was a gardener of flowers and veggies, I had an in-ground pool which I loved and an old house that sheltered us in good times and bad. Meredith was 3 when we moved there and I remember thinking I would need a staircase gate. We were coming from a house with no stairs to a house with many stairs and her bedroom was top of the stairs.
We entertained so many people and have wonderful memories from there and we will have wonderful memories here–I am sure of that.
I don’t miss my house. Change, for me, has always been a good thing. This is a big change so it is with big love that I will entertain in this place I now call home.
I am in the air flying home from Barcelona on Tuesday, November 5, Election Day. I was supposed to be in Europe for two additional weeks but a friend was not well and I flew home with her. Friendship is more important than anything else. And so I write this.
As I think about friendship, I realize how important my friends have been in my life. Always and steadfast. I have friends from grammar school and before that actually. My friend Regina and I have been friends since we were both one year olds. Sure we lost touch for a while but have reached out and grabbed the moment to refresh our friendship. And then of course my sister who was excited sitting in the hospital waiting room where I was born. She was slightly under 3 years old. She was really waiting for me to come to life. I am grateful.
But today is different. I might lose a friend or two. I clearly understand differences and that people have them. I have no problem with that—I believe it makes for a better world to live in.
But today is different—today might be a truly terrible day.
It is Election Day in the United States. There are two candidates: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. We know what havoc Trump can cause and we have also learned a lot about Kamala in the last few weeks. She seems decent and has policies. There is nothing comparable between these two choices. One is an evil man who has lied to Americans since he came on the scene in 2016. And the other is a woman who has served the last 4 years as Vice President. She held many elected offices and seems reasonable. Trump, on the other hand when he was President appointed 3 judges to the SCOTUS bench: justices that were confirmed by the Federalist Society to be pro-life. That action caused the overturn of Roe vs Wade and is known as the Dobbs decision—it grants states the right to make their own restrictions on health care for women. This one change has caused women to lose their lives. Literally lose their lives. Many states have restricted health care for women. They die while they wait for care in so many hospitals in Texas, Georgia, Idaho just to name a few.. These women have to actually bleed out before the doctors care for them. Doctors who do care for women in distress from pregnancy can go to jail or lose their license in some states. If a woman has an ectopic pregnancy which are never viable, must carry this tubal baby, who cannot survive to term or die before of a complication. They die in waiting rooms, in hospital rooms, in cars in the parking lot of the emergency rooms or at home. One man who was president for four years has caused the loss of our healthcare. He believes the states should decide what rights women have. That’s right, if you are a woman living in a conservative state, you might actually die if you become pregnant. I am unsure why in the United States of America, some women have more rights than others, for now. There are so many complications in health care of pregnancies and now some states refuse to treat women at all until they are nearly dead. The doctors literally have to wait until the last breath of the woman to help her. Sometimes she will lose the ability to have children or suffer irreparable harm to her organs or a million other situations that can go awry.
I am writing this because when I boarded the plane today I said something to a woman about Kamala winning. She turned on me and said she should not win. I said, oh no, she has to win. The woman nicely informed me that she liked Trump’s policies. I immediately retorted that Trump was an evil man and that I know that for a fact. I know it because he has been convicted of many felonies in addition to sexually assaulting a few women. This is one of the reasons I left the country: I could not deal with anyone telling me they liked his policies. HE HAS NO FUCKING POLICIES.
Was it a policy to lie to the America people during the worst pandemic many of us have experienced. How many people would be alive if Trump did the right thing from the beginning. Trump denied the pandemic was happening until the morgue trucks were double parked in New York City because of the overflow of dead people. Yes that is correct, morgues could not fit the dead. As the richest country in the world, we lost a tremendous amount of people: millions. It was not necessary. THIS IS NOT POLICY BUT INSANITY.
Do you believe that separating children from their parents at the border, without documenting their names and family names is policy. NO IT IS NOT POLICY. It is a violation of human rights. More than 1,400 children will probably never know who or where their parents are.
There are so many other non policies that have hurt Americans that I can document, but I can’t right now. I just know today I will lose some friends. I cannot understand their ignorance, for I can call it nothing else, to vote for someone who has been tried and convicted of so many things. The man has provoked violence in the streets on January 6th and has bred hate in others for so many people. Remember the temple in Pennsylvania where many Jews praying died from a mad shooter who quoted Trump in his manifesto. And what about El Paso shooting when some crazy man followed Trump’s “policy” about rapists and murderers crossing the border. Unfortunately he just randomly went into a Department Store and shot anyone who might look like a migrant. For the community in Buffalo who lost many in a supermarket shooting—a supermarket where the majority of the shoppers were black. For all the transpeople who suffer the hate and bullying of those who think that women’s sports is the FUCKING ISSUE. These are people who think that Trump is a Conservative Republican or that they have to vote for him because of his policy. Let me state clearly: HE HAS NO FUCKING POLICIES.. He has abandoned effectively those true Conservative Republicans who do have policies. I might not agree with those policies but I know they won’t kill me.
So many true conservatives and Republicans have come out against Trump. People who worked in his administration, Pence, his Vice President [since Trump’s insurrectionists failed to hang him], former and current justices, district attorneys, former Secretaries of State, Defense, Education and Attorney Generals. Reliable news sources of all persuasions have diligently documented the Trump abuses. NY Times actually documented his lies and that number is astronomical.
Not sure how many of my friends are voting for Trump [I don’t believe I have many that would]. but I know if they are celebrating his win, I cannot continue my friendship. There is too much information out there that they should know. I believe they have had enough time to evaluate a simple situation and move away from one-sided media stations but instead they consciously crossed a line. A line so injurious to others that I cannot conceive of speaking with them again.
I just must pray that Kamala wins—there really is no other choice. I am terrified of the alternative.
Media talks about “we” and “they” frequently now that Trump has been around for a decade. Yes, it has been a decade since he first came on the national/international scene. Before that he was just a celebrity host, a developer in New York and man who went bankrupt many times. What we are experiencing now is history developing and history revised in real time. I can hardly breathe as this is happening–everyday. It used to be a year or two before you could effectively change history…but now, give it a 24-hour news cycle.
In a recent interview Trump spoke about the January 6th insurrectionists and referred to them as “we” confirming that although he was not at the Capitol in person, he was definitely at the Capitol in spirit and in agreement with their plan. He said “we.”
Trump categorizes a lot. If you are not loyal to a fault, you are “they” if you consistently praise Trump you are a “we.” Let’s take the case of John Kelly. He was appointed by Trump as Secretary of Homeland Security. Trump liked the job he was doing with immigration and the border. He promoted him to Chief of Staff. He liked John Kelly. He thought John Kelly did a good job. John Kelly was a “we.” But, this week, John Kelly became a “they.” He was interviewed and spoke freely about Trump behavior and how it mirrored fascism. John Kelly is definitely a “they” in Trump world.
If you think that you could never have a status to be a “they” you should rethink that premise. Trump categorizes entire groups of people as “they.” Democrats are definitely “they”; Never Trumpers are “they”; LGBTQA+ people “they”; immigrants “they”; journalists a “they”; groups fighting for the freedom to have safe healthcare: “they”; someone who criticizes Trump, “they”; political opponents “they” as well and Capitol police are “they” I can go on and on. But I think the point is made. You are “for him or agin him” and that changes from day to day.
Then there is the language Trump employs when speaking of the “they’s”. He subcategorizes as well: if “they” are migrants they are “rapists, murderers or were in a mental institution”. If “they” are journalists they are “enemies of the people.” For politicians who are from a different party or from the Republican party but do not support Trump are “enemies from within.” Slight change of wording but always in a fear-evoking sense. Trump evokes hate for the press and in his administration journalists, broadcast networks and newspapers might lose their licenses. He also believes in prosecution for those brave journalists who have consistently brought the truth to the public. And, sometimes “they” are “vermin” using language that the Nazis used during World War II when referring to Jews. As I said–just a sampling.
Trump is not subtle in his choice of words. They are deliberate and have an underlying context to them. If speaking of migrants, “they” are invaders and need to be stopped, so let’s round them up into camps and deport them back to place of origin. That is possibly your neighbor’s dad who has been in this country for more than 50 years, but has no documentation. Or that might be the mom with two small children who came for asylum. Children will once again be separated from their parents. A Bush appointed judge ruled against the separation policy stating that it “represents one of the most shameful chapters in the history of our country.” There are still 1,400 children who have not been reunited to their parents after more than 5-6 years. These small children will not remember their parents. Trump’s policy was inhumane and does shed light on what will happen in the future. DACA children who were brought to the US as children continue to be considered non documented. There are no policies that allow them to become citizens. They have lived here for 40-50 years and some have never lived in their native country. They could be deported.
We are experiencing this “we”-“they” labeling game but the game becomes stark reality if Trump becomes President. If you are “we” today, you might be “they” tomorrow.
Put aside the hate and think politically about what a Trump presidency suggests. If he wins we stand to lose our health care [oh wait half of us have lost that already.] We will live under an economic system that includes oligarchs [yes we have them now but they will have overall power over us] When do we say enough is enough? If I had to point a finger at anyone or anything, top of the list would be Mitch McConnell and second would be FOX news.
Maybe if you get to see your representative this week [mine is Nicole Malliotakis], look them in the eye and ask them when they decided to lie to us and bring us to the brink of an authoritarian government. For Malliotakis it was on the 4th day of her being seated. She denied certification of electoral votes for President Biden in 2 states after 66 courts ruled that there was no evidence of voter fraud or the people bringing the case had no standing. Be honest and assured when you ask them. Don’t allow the liars who are looking to stay in power revise your history. You lived the history and are entitled to clearly see it as reality. What you saw on January 6th was not a peaceful gathering at the Capitol–it was a violent insurrection that took lives–that is our history unrevised.
Be the “they” for we truly are the “we” as in “we the people.” Vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
When I booked this transatlantic cruise to Barcelona I was aware that I would be away for the election of 2024. Actually part of the reason I booked was to be away at this time and my desire to see Barcelona.
I knew if I went away I would come back and face either of two situations: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump would be President. I felt that it didn’t matter what I did, one of these two situations would be true on my return. Could I make a difference if I stayed home? I didn’t think so. Canvassing was out of the question, phone calls would be possible, but I thought what would help me the most and possible others is writing about this moment in time when our disbelief in what is happening is the reality. If you can use any of this information to convince a person on the fence about who to vote for, please do. The information is factual.
Please please help me understand
So you are watching this ad and thinking, look at what a regular guy this is, working the window of a MacDonald’s…..he’s just like me. I heard a few jokes he made at a rally—he was poking fun at the incident of Paul Pelosi being assaulted. I just realized I used the word “joke”—that kinda confirms my believe that Trump’s behavior has been normalized. Who would poke fun at someone else’s harm? I know it is definitely not 70 million people. No one would want their children to behave with that meanness and disregard of others welfare–that’s a given.
If you ask a Trump voter about this behavior they might say “that is just the way he talks—he will be a tough leader and I am in favor of his policies” [a bit more about policies later in the week].
Then you might add: does that include the content of the “talk”. Can you accept the content of the “way he talks”. Can you accept that the joke was about someone who was assaulted. Someone please tell me who the fuck thinks that is funny. Well in this moment there are more than 70 million people who will vote for Trump and probably have laughed at that “joke.” I step back for a moment to think maybe not all 70 million Trump voters thought the “joke” was funny—maybe some laughed because of their nervousness, or others because the person next to them did, or others who were surprised by the comment and, sadly, others who thought it was a “joke” and a “joke” that they thought was funny. So possibly about 22 million of our neighbors think poking fun at someone’s else harm is okay and funny. Trump thinks it is funny—that is who he is and I guess about 22 million of my countryfolk are as well.
Oh BTW, do some of those people go to church as well. What hypocrisy! Damn, I didn’t think I would get to this state of ranting but it is beyond all of my intellect to accept the polar opposites of Churchgoers and Trump on this particular issue of hateful jokes.
So what about the other 44 million citizens who don’t think Trump is funny—why would they vote for him.
Well there is Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House. He does not think that Trump is funny. When he was on CNN SOTU this past Sunday he avoided every question that was asked of him. Jake Tapper was following up on the Trump rally speech that focused a bit of time on Arnold Palmer’s “junk”. Tapper decided he would use the word “penis” so there be no misunderstanding. Johnson shied away from any talk of penises and put that sardonic smile on his face. His smile informs us that Mike is under the impression that his policies and ideas will carry over to a new Trump administration. It matters not that Trump’s behavior would never be normalized in his coterie. This is a man who tracks his son’s activity on the internet to keep him honest about how many times he visits a porn site—he is not now, nor never will be, a man who uses bad language or makes hateful jokes in public places. He is a confirmed card- carrying Christian Nationalist who makes no excuses for his ideology. After all Mike believes that as long as he smiles while mildly scolding his candidate about language and never admits that Trump did not win in 2020—his loyalty to Trump will not be questioned.
The Speaker believes his loyalty will be rewarded and abortion will be outlawed everywhere, and possibly that might happen. But, he will be surprised when Trump decides to abandon the abortion issue because it does not serve his pursuit of power. Trump cares nothing about whether women have self determination about their bodies, he cares about being on the right side of the issue. The “right side” is the side that brings the power to him. It is the “Mike Johnsons” who will put aside their distaste of Trump in pursuit of their ideology.
So let us assume that there are about 22 million “Mike Johnsons” out there.
And now to the last 22 million Trump voters. Who are they? I think they can be broken down into 3 or possibly 4 groups. There are the Elon Musks of the world—those who actually understand Trump and know he is their path to acquiring power and influence in his administration. A Trump administration would definitely reward those wealthy few with generous tax breaks. Possibly a second group are those who cannot under any circumstance vote against a Republican. This group has fallen into the “label” hole. Their attachment to the label “Republican” blinds them to the label change. Beware of those labelled Republicans–they are no longer Republicans.
A third group might be the misinformed, uninformed and I don’t really care enough about elections.
Oh indeed, talking about Arnold Palmer’s “junk” is such a fresh approach to attracting voters. Now for sure, this is the guy I want for President. This is the guy I want to represent American interests to the rest of the world.
The media has helped us transition to the normalization of Trump. When once there would be an uproar so loud, so forceful, so impactful to Trump’s behavior—we now talk “penises” on CNN SOTU.
I assure you that Trump and the action of 70 million+ voters is not normal and should never be considered normal for then it becomes true.
