Political

WE OR THEY?

| ERA

trump papers #3

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.

Help me understand

| ERA

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.

I need to understand, maybe you can help.

I love you my friend

| ERA

BUT BEING CONSERVATIVE DOESN’T MEAN VOTING FOR TRUMP

We have known each other a very long time, since high school and we are in our 70s now. We weren’t always connected at the hip but we have seen each other and loved each other without close contact.

A few years back we went to a high school reunion and went for a drink afterwards. You mentioned at that time that you couldn’t see me on Facebook anymore and whether I was still on. I said yes and added, honestly, that I had blocked you. You were surprised. I certainly didn’t block you because I didn’t like you–I blocked you because I loved you. I didn’t want to read your favorable posts about Trump. It hurt me to think you were not the person I thought you were, but I thought if I didn’t see your posts, I could still manage to love you. Afterall, I know you are a really good person–a strong person, a hardworking person, a good mother and a good grandmother.

This is why I am writing this letter to you. It is a love letter to a friend. Friends made in high school can be forever and are made at a time in our lives where we are just seeing who we are. A lot of our friendships have been that way. Over the years, the two of us searched for others to attend reunions and felt terrible when we couldn’t get in touch–or worse yet, when we were rebuked. And felt terrible that some friends did not want to know us anymore. This is probably the way you felt when I blocked you–but know this, it was my action to keep you as a friend.

So, here is my pitch to a woman who says she is a conservative.

Real conservatives: Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, the Bushes, Mike Pence and so many others who have given up their offices because they could not support Trump are true conservatives. The never-Trumpers who were Republican and Conservatives walked away in 2016 because they understood clearly that Trump had no ideology at all. And many followed their lead after experiencing his administration. His military men were horrified by his disrespect for those who serve. Trump cannot understand public service; he cannot understand how someone might do something without getting something in return. He believes democracy is disposable since he doesn’t believe in public service.

Trump actions against the justice department and the judges who have angered him would affect you deeply. Those judges, no matter what their political beliefs are, rule justly. You know that. You know that judges do their very best to be fair and impartial. I know you do not want to see their integrity questioned and demeaned.

People always say that it depends on what media you watch to determine who you support. I don’t believe that for a minute. If you are hearing and listening to Trump, you know exactly what he thinks and believes-and it is nothing good or consistent. His only ideology is to get ahead, make money and reduce the tax laws to benefit the rich. That is not conservatism–it is narcissism. I know you know this stuff.

I am unsure why anyone who respects law enforcement would support Trump. At the debate he sided with the invaders of the Capitol and touted that the only person that died was Ashely Babbit–that is a lie. Yes, she was shot by a police officer as she was barging through the doors of the Capitol threatening the lives of the representatives we elected as well as crushing the head of a police officer in a door. Police officers died that day and after that day, defending the Capitol and the politicians, some who now have trashed their reputation.

I love you my friend and would love to debate policy with you. Policy is a “thing” it does not insult, kill or pit people against each other. Policy debates are acceptable and are part of a democracy. One side wins and one side loses, but we are still a people who can love each other. You can want to close the borders and I will tell you all the reasons why people should be let in. You can be against abortion and I will tell you all the reasons why God gave us decision making power in our lives.

Debating policy is not about calling people names, degrading those who may not agree with you, endangering the lives of transgenders and others who are different than you. Debating policy is not lying to people but convincing them through facts and conversation. Discussing policy is not about hate, it is about love.

I urge you to vote your conservatism by not voting for Trump. He is an evil man who has manipulated millions into a cult with no regrets about losing friends. I care deeply about losing friends–I love you my friend.

THE TRUMP PAPERS

| ERA

JULY 15, 2024 — mixed emotions

Trump is alive and well, how do we feel about that?

I was in the car driving home from pizza Saturday when I heard that Trump was shot. I was immediately told he was not dead. I sighed–I was immediately sorry that was my first emotion, but this is a truthful post.

I think a lot of people felt the same emotion–one that was mixed. I write when I need to sort through emotions. I feel it is the best way to be truthful with myself. I would not put anything in writing that was not accurate in my eye.

My immediate thought was “the shooter missed.” I immediately thought: “oh wow that was not the emotion I wanted to feel.” But really, that was the emotion I felt. Emotions are defined as a “naturally instinctive state of mind.” And that thought was my state of mind at the time.

Can you combat emotions? I am unsure at this point. I thought I was able to combat those emotions as not the ones I wanted to have, but alas, they still cross my mind today.

I went to mass on Sunday and wondered if they would mention this shooting. They did but it was in the Prayer of the Faithful or General Intercessions which is a collection of short prayers of petition. After each petition is spoken the congregation responds by saying, “Lord, hear our prayer” or something similar. It was the last petition and I immediately thought would I say the response. I did because it included the people who took the bullets that were meant for Trump and I am indeed sorry that those people died or were injured.

I decided I am allowed to have mixed emotions–emotions that help me find a path for me to move forward. I think the initial emotions help me move to the emotions that will stay with me.

Former President Trump is alive and well. Today two days after this shooting, I am OK with that. I never want to wish people harm, not even those who wish harm on many.

What I worry about is that people don’t always sort their emotions and think they feel so sorry for former President Trump that they now need to support him. Hell no, I can never support a man who talks shit about people in every single rally. Trump had the wherewithall to push the Secret Service people so he could push up his fist in triumph and yell “fight, fight, fight.” That was his first response….before the unity statement. What was first in his mind, was “fight” not “unity.”

His first statement was about unity in the country. We are smart people; we all know Trump is not looking for unity in the country, but this is a good opportunity for him to look like a martyr shot by a young man who we do not know enough about. I did hear the shooter was bullied in high school. We will need to wait to know, or maybe never know why this young man decided to take a AK-15 and attempt to shoot Trump.

I was slightly pissed off that MSNBC changed their Monday morning coverage and put on NBC correspondents and not Morning Joe. Why was that? What is the media thinking? I could understand on Sunday that coverage was picked up from NBC, but why Monday. It scared me that the media is looking at this as an attempt on a former President’s life. Well sort of and sort of not. The man refused to graciously transfer power to Joe Biden as president. He has intimidated all of his followers to conform to his alternate reality that he won the election. He did not. Most of us understand that. Believe me, Jamie Dimon knows that and Elon Musk know that, but they will benefit from a Trump presidency so they are OK with him in a second term.

Trump is alive and well and I am OK with that–I wish no one harm. What I am not OK with is with Trump in a second term as president. Project 2025 is his manifesto. He has tried to move away from that document but most of us understand that the people who wrote that document are Trump people who worked in his administration and people he admires. The authors of Project 2025 understand that Trump might need to move away from them in the short term to win the election, but they also understand that Trump will move to endorse and legislate that manifesto. After all Trump has no ideology other than power and money. If the Democratic party had policies that tempted his base, he would do that. He is publicly moving away from a strict abortion ban because he knows that might be the GOP’s folly. Though he really doesn’t care about women’s health or care, he cares about winning an election.

I just heard he selected JD Vance to be his vice president. I was actually surprised….I thought it would be Doug Burgum. Of course the first statement from JD Vance after the shooting was “Today is not just some isolated incident, . . . The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Of course, there was no mention of Trump’s calls for violence at every rally for anyone that opposes him. There was no mention that there were at least 3 manifestos from mass shooters who mentioned Trump as their reason for violence. Unfortunately Vance’s statement will be relied upon by the GOP to win the election.

I disagree. I believe we need to continue to call out Trump’s authoritarian’s tendencies. We need too assure that this man does not become President again. There are too many people at risk in the scenario that he is president.

So former President Trump is not dead and we, who believe in democracy and freedom, need to keep vigilant and work hard to assure he does not win in November. We do that by going to vote against him. I think we can beat him. I think there are enough people who understand that Trump would be a disaster for this country….and the world.

Mariupol

| ERA

How would we know such evil existed
should we have known such evil existed?

I heard them shout
we must help Ukraine;
I heard them debate
how can we help Ukraine;
I heard them whisper
there is no way to help Ukraine.

20,000 dead in Mariupol

Are we allowed to grieve
how can we mourn; we did not dwell with them 

20,000 dead in Mariupol

I had to pay some pennies more
each time I filled up the tank, but

20,000 dead in Mariupol

We arm; we sent aid
we raise our voices in outrage to such a tragedy, but still

20,000 dead in Mariupol

We send rockets; we fly drones
ammunition is abundant, but yet

20,000 dead in Mariupol

They hid in a steel plant with no light of day
Babies and children with moms
Abandoned by dads in war and so

20,000 dead in Mariupol

The night they left home

| ERA

They turned and looked at their home as they closed the door. I can hear the swish and the double-click of the lock.

Best they lock the door that would not be opened again—maybe never—or at least never by this family.

Footsteps are light on the walkway to the main street. Of course, it is silent at 2 am and they are light on their feet. 

They have backpacks—even the 4 year old is sporting a new backpack. There is a cartoon character—possibly Spider Man–adorning its zippered pocket. He looks like a little man following his papa and in front of his mama with light footsteps walking between them.

He is excited to be out after midnight but wary of the silence of the night. He was told the family would make a long journey and he imagined it would be an adventure. He has new sneakers with a double knot his mama insisted on tying. She did not want him to be able to take them off. 

He would wear them for miles—many many miles.

THE DEPARTURE

| ERA

I awoke one morning to the shadows reflected on the wall from my curtains . . . and then I remembered Ukraine. 

They had curtains in their home . . .

Might have been a gingham check of red and white hung on a window looking out at toys in the yard. Satiny curtains in the living room kept it shady for the tomes on the bookshelves. A mahogany china closet held the glassware and china passed down from a grandmother. Adorning the mantel were the photos, so many photos, of all those they loved and revered. 

They had curtains in their home . . .

A cool breeze made the curtains blow in while they were eating breakfast, making sandwiches for the children’s lunchboxes, and peeling the carrots for the evening stew.

They had curtains in their home . . .

There were dresses hanging in the closet waiting to be passed on to the younger children—some handmade—others bought from the catalog.

They had curtains in their home . . .

Those red and white gingham check curtains are torn and charred now and frame a window with shattered glass. The toys in the yard are under the stones that fell from the roof when the bombs came. There are no dinners now—grandma’s china is broken in a million pieces that were once the thread that held their family together. The photos, although blackened by fire still remain to document those who had to leave without looking back.

They have no curtains . . . they have no home.

[Published at https://www.smerconish.com/exclusive-content/the-departure/ ]

Where’s the Beef?

| ERA

GOP 2020’s election strategy targeting Democrats’ proposals has begun. You might have heard innuendos already and possibly, they make you fearful.

Not surprisingly the GOP would rather fear monger its way to elected office then present a proposal that would counter the other proposals. 

Fear mongering is the most effective tactic used by Republicans and the administration—it predates Trump. But with Trump in office this tactic now echoes on a larger stage to an audience of millions—both nationally and internationally. Trump is a master at delivering and monitoring fear of his base—that is his grasp over them. He started his candidacy on fear with his famous 2015 escalator ride in Trump Tower talking about immigration with the words “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Trump was stoking fear to gain voters—those who can be intimidated by this tactic—a senseless fear.

Now, this enhanced technique is used as a weapon against the Green New Deal. Their innuendo is “meat” eaters will lose their right to eat meat if the Green New Deal is passed. [You would think that eating meat would make you fearless, but not so much.] 

Trump has terminated US participation in the Paris Climate Accord and the administration’s agenda and actions are guaranteed to make the environment worst by promoting the increased use of fossil fuels and eliminating regulations that protect us. For sure, coal mining is not our future. Climate change is happening with a profound negative consequence for our planet; but the GOP’s strategy might be to deny that humans are causing this change rather than have a plan. My assumption is the fear tactic is more appealing for them than addressing the climate change issues that we are now experiencing with a proposal.

Free pubic college tuition, free preschools, student loan debt relief, affordable health care for all, universal background checks on gun sales, etc—each of these programs has a GOP fear anchor attached: socialism is the standard bearer also “Dems will eliminate the 2nd amendment” has always been a Republican’s favorite.

Americans benefit from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and other social programs but the fear spread through the GOP universe will force loyal Republican partisans to vote against their own interests. I don’t think that “the huge deficit” conversation can hold any water anymore after the tax break given to corporations in 2018. The GOP is now evaluating how to pay for that tax decrease and what cuts they can make to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and Veterans’ benefits, to sustain the government’s loss of revenue.

So I ask the GOP “Where’s the beef” on proposals to protect our environment and our social benefits programs.

Find the Convincing Argument for 2020

| ERA

The 2020 presidential election is right around the corner — and in the realm of presidential campaigns the process has already started.

Let’s say you really don’t want Donald Trump to win again and you do have friends or family who have voted for him. Your goal might be formulating a conversation for your friends/family that might give them pause in voting for him. Really, it usually is one item that might make the difference but be assured, no one who voted for Trump thinks he is perfect. You really just need to find out what is the trigger for that person. What does Trump do for them that makes them loyal.

I started this for a friend…..a friend who said I can’t argue the points; I’m not good at convincing people they voted for Trump for the wrong reasons. Of course, many are thinking right now, those people who voted for him are idiots or so far to the right that I couldn’t even think of convincing them to vote for someone else in 2020. Not so. Trump is so imperfect that there are many many ways to carve a path for people not to vote for him. You need to be persistent and convincing. 

In this blog I will try to hit on various issues that might seem daunting to argue or convince someone, but they are views that interconnect and make it easy to give your point of view without making it seem like your target voted for the wrong person.

At this point I will put in a disclaimer. There are some people who voted for Trump who are racists, misogynists, homophobes or right wing lunatics. Those people are not worth the trouble for these arguments. If they are not misinformed, they are in the category of people who you probably don’t want to associate with. So leave those to the side.