POLITICS

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.

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.