Trump Craziness

Corruption

| ERA

follow the money

The country that was built by immigrants is now being sold to oligarchs.

IT’S A PAY TO PLAY GOVERNMENT

If you pay dearly, you may have your status as a US resident fast-tracked. 

Trump signed an Executive Order in September 2025 which created a GOLD CARD and PLATINUM CARD visa program.

Any foreign national who makes a $1 million gift to the Commerce Department you will be fast-tracked for residency here. In the case of a corporations $2 million does the trick.

There is a Platinum visa program as well where a $5 million contribution allows you extended stays without US tax liability on foreign income. 

Sweet sweet deal. As of June 2025 more than 70,000 people have joined the list for this program. 

What you get for your money:

  • Unlimited right of residence in the U.S., similar to a green card
  • A possible path to U.S. citizenship, what Trump calls “privileges plus”
  • Legal residency without the need to invest in specific businesses or projects, as is the case with the existing EB-5 program
  • Faster and more direct path to residency compared to other immigration programs
  • Opportunity for oligarchs and other wealthy foreigners to immigrate to the U.S. more easily
  • Potential attractiveness for companies looking to bring highly skilled workers to the U.S.
  • Tax exemption for up to 270 days with the Trump Platinum Card

Wonder what type of vetting is being done. We accept oligarchs but not immigrants or those fleeing violence. The country that was built by immigrants is now being sold to oligarchs.

Authoritarianism creeps up on you

| ERA

Trump sends National Guard to clean up crime in Washington DC

There is crime in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, etc etc. Those are all Democratically-governed cities. But there is crime in every other major city in America.

Crime in all those cities are at record lows. We have mentally ill people living in the streets of every major city. Homeless people are not criminals, they are homeless. I don’t believe those words are defined the same.

A Republican strategist on CNN just mentioned that he sees men and women peeing near the Union Station in DC–and he is afraid. [shaking head emoji here]. Because one of Musk’s DOGE kids was mugged [sorry about that] and took great photos of how beat up he was, Trump has decided that he is going to send the National Guard to take over DC and clean up all the crime.

Scenario: man pees in the street. National Guards does what exactly? If the man has no where to pee, the problem will continue to exist. Trump has no idea what is needed to fix what is wrong with the cities.

If people are hungry,

if mental illness is not addressed,

if people have no where to pee,

the problem continues.

Trump needs distractions to avert people’s attention from the Epstein files. Every day the distraction moves us closer to authoritarianism. Today Trump declares “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people,”  The police will have authority to do “whatever the hell they want,” says Trump in a press conference. The National Guard will be taking over the policing of the District of Columbia.

The irony of this: the people who committed crimes on January 6th were pardoned by the man who wants to clean up crime in DC. Seems like peeing is a crime but attacking the capitol is not.

AI defines authoritarianism as a political system where power is concentrated in a leader or a small group, and individual freedoms are limited in favor of state control. It’s characterized by a lack of checks and balances on those in power, with little to no accountability to the people. 

#thisiswhereweare #theauthoritariancreep #beloud

On Being Afraid

| ERA

DON’T BE FRIGHTENED — BE LOUD!

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.

CABINET OF CLOWNS Part I

| ERA

WE HAVE BEEN CLOWN-I-FIED

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.

I woke up this morning

| ERA

THE DOWNSIDE TO NOT WATCHING THE NEWS

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.

Election Day Flight Cross the Atlantic

| ERA

Mid-Atlantic Nightmare

8:15 New York City Time

2:15 Barcelona Time

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.

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.