The Crumbling Presidency

The Crumbling Presidency

The unraveling of the D’s Presidency is playing out in real time before our eyes.  It is ugly.  It is unseemly.  It is sad.  Recent events alone would have toppled any other President of the modern era–yet, these are clearly not normal times.

We are in unprecedented territory: the D has admitted to paying-off two mistresses for the purpose of buying their silence during his campaign–in direct contradiction of his former statements on the matter, in violation of campaign finance laws, and in violation of common decency. In 1998 Congress initiated impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton for lying about a sexual dalliance he had with an intern; as unsavory as that was – it did NOT include pay-offs to buy the intern’s silence during a campaign. Buying the silence of those who have the ‘goods’ on him appears to be business as usual to the D.

The Trump Administration reminds me of a Ponzi or pyramid scheme:  built on bold, brash promises, a shiny facade, a charismatic (to many) leader, and a cult-like appeal to those who want to believe that their investments of money and support will return huge dividends–despite all evidence to the contrary. Like all pyramid schemes, the Trump Administration is not built on a solid foundation that can deliver on its promises: there is only rot in its core, fueled by greed and corruption, and it is crumbling before our eyes.

Several former close associates have been found guilty of criminal charges or lying to the FBI (Manafort, Cohen, Flynn);  and others are making plea deals (Gates) or seeking immunity (Weisselberg) as they provide testimony to Mueller, who is no doubt seeking  ‘bigger fish’ in his investigation; including many lines of inquiry that point to Russia.

Other former associates (Comey, Bannon, Omarosa) are writing tell-all books about the madness of both the man and this White House.  While The D enjoys shaming and firing staff members in public, he has failed to take into account that they may seek revenge, and that their silence cannot always be bought.

The D’s long-term financial advisor and associate, Allen Weisselberg, and another white house counsel, McGahn, are cooperating with the Mueller investigation.  Every day seems to bring new revelations and body blows to The D–the question is how many blows will it take before we get a knock-out?

The D’s pugnacious and vengeful nature combined with a Congress that has lost its moral compass, ensures that there will be no quick or graceful ending to this unfolding debacle. Regardless of how it goes down–there will continue to be extensive collateral damage.

I remember the Nixon Watergate Hearings. I was a child, and did not understand what was at stake. Now I do – and I believe there is even more at stake this time.  Our current President is not only corrupt, but is incompetent; if left unchecked, he will continue to reverse decades of policies and laws that protect our environment, our economy, and our people.

There is no happy ending on this particular horizon.  There is only the hope and the belief that our country’s checks and balances will ultimately prevail.

For more information – please reference: 

Article about Cohen’s guilty plea  and  Allen Weisselberg’s immunity

CNN video about Manafort and Gates.  

 

Open Letter to American White Women

Open Letter to American White Women

This Fourth of July is a good time to issue congratulations to us for our important role in recent political events.  

Our Role in the 2016 Election: 

Although the majority of all women voters in 2016 voted for Hillary;  52% of us voted for Trump, undeterred by his pussy-grabbing ways. Some of us cited reasons such as:  “I  can’t vote for a woman that would stay with a cheating husband”;   ” I really like his style’; and Finally: “I dunno, I just don’t like Hillary or didn’t vote at all–citing a dislike of both candidates.

We broke ranks from our black and brown sisters, preferring to elect a serial philanderer rather than a woman who is married to one;  electing a man who regularly degrades women and minorities– because he is entertaining to watch;  we chose a man with zero experience or qualifications, because we just liked him better than the boring, staid, hard-working lady with the pantsuits.

In fact, we liked Trump so much, we helped give him a super-majority in Congress–effectively ensuring he could do whatever the heck he wants to, with few checks and balances in place.  What a fantastic turn of events for a man who openly admires dictators!

Reporting suspicious activities

Now that we have adequately reinforced that persistent glass ceiling;  what else have we been up to?  A few of us have been calling the police to report black people performing suspicious activities such as: sitting in Starbucks, sleeping in dorms, swimming at the pool, moving into apartments,  barbecuing at the parks, staying at AirBnBs, and  mowing the lawns of our neighbors.  Perhaps wearing  a “Make America Great” hat frees us to voice concerns that we may have been too embarrassed to articulate previously.

Yet, for all that:  we are not of one-mind.  There is an active resistance in our midst: several of us DID join our non-white sisters and brothers for the Women’s March in January 2017; and continue to protest the unprecedented amount of misinformation (formerly known as lies) and corruption that has infested our national politics.

Trump’s Trade Wars

Here in the Heartland, it is getting personal in a hurry.  Family members are already losing their jobs as companies move or go out of business due to the Trump-induced trade wars. But, perhaps knee-capping global trade and damaging our own economy is a small price to pay for putting America First!   We will be able to see more of our extended families as workers lose their jobs and are forced to move back in with their parents.

Thanks to the GOP tax cut, we can now afford that Costco membership we’ve always wanted.  Those discounts will come in handy as we continue the long wait for the promised ‘trickle-down’ benefits of slashing taxes for the ultra-rich; and as our Social Security and Medicare benefits are re-directed to fund those same tax cuts.  It’s a good thing that we are a hard-working group–who really wants to retire anyway?

White Women and the 2018 Mid-Term Elections

So ladies;  the 2018 mid-term elections are coming up.  Some of you may be experiencing buyer’s-remorse with the Trump Presidency.   After all, those images of young children in cages at the border are pretty disturbing.  Maybe, just maybe, a more balanced Congress would be a good idea.  More Democrats in office would force an actual debate before Trump’s next erratic rant or tweet becomes law. 

Ladies, the time is now.  Our Democracy depends on us.

Sources:  This Washington Post article  and  Quartz article about voting demographics

Joy and Sorrow

Joy and Sorrow

Dan and I are babysitting our five-year old grand girls this week while their parents enjoy a well-deserved vacation.   It has been a marvelous and joyous stay-cation.  So far, we have gone to a splash pad, the library, a local ‘Mallards”  baseball game (it was super hero night!) , the children’s museum, picked strawberries at a local farm, ran through the sprinkler in the backyard, and visited the zoo — and the week is only half over.

Grandpa Dan keeps the girls giggling!  At the splash pad, the girls filled up their cups with water and would sweetly ask Grandpa to pick them up; when he did, they would ‘surprise’ him by dumping the water on his head.  It was hysterical EVERY time, and Grandpa never seemed to catch on!

We have taken oodles of pictures on our phones during the week; we know how quickly this week will pass and how precious those memories will be.

One picture from the zoo  haunts me. The zoo has a photo opportunity for children to appear as if they are in an exhibit.  As a result,  I have a picture of my two precious, Mexican-American grand-daughters peering out from behind bars–in a cage. This picture (attached to this post with their faces purposely blurred out) feels like a punch in the gut every time I look at it.  It is a close-to-the-heart reminder of our inhuman treatment of families who seek asylum within our borders.

Zero Tolerance – Children in Cages

I am saddened and ashamed to live in a country where our leaders simply do not care about ‘others’.  This horrific lack-of-humanity has manifested itself with this Administration’s self-righteous eagerness to rip children, including nursing infants, from their parents arms.

The D’s Administration created this nightmare of a policy, and are now trying to look like heroes for changing it. You can’t have it both ways – you can’t set the fire and then receive a medal for ceasing to pour more fuel on the flames, especially after it has already scorched so much earth and ruined so many  lives.

Sadly, it is not a surprise that The D, an admirer of cruel and ruthless dictators, has absolutely no regard for the life or welfare of others, particularly if those ‘others’ happen to be brown or black.

Tonight, Dan, the girls and I ate strawberry shortcake with strawberries we picked this afternoon.  I gave the girls a bath, there were many giggles while we wrestled them into their PJs; we brushed their hair and their teeth, we read them books, and lovingly tucked them into bed.  They are with family that loves them and they are safe. Yet, my heart aches knowing that so many children are needlessly terrified and among strangers tonight.

 

 

 

 

Making America Great

Making America Great

As I write this, Dan and I are wrapping up a wonderful vacation in Memphis–where we soaked in a lot of live music, ate some great BBQ, and immersed ourselves in Memphis’ rich blues culture.  We also spent an afternoon in the Civil Rights Museum, which is adjacent to the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King was killed 50 years ago. It gave me much to ponder.

MLK was in Memphis to support local black sanitation workers, who toiled for poverty wages in dangerous conditions. After two black sanitation workers were crushed to death on the job, the workers went on strike, protesting for a living wage and benefits. They marched with signs stating “I Am A Man”.  That simple statement enraged many whites who viewed blacks as less than fully human–a shamefully acceptable point of view ‘in the day’.

Fast forward to the modern era when the “Black Lives Matter” slogan is eerily reminiscent of “I am a Man”.   It is a simple declaration of humanity that once again provokes outrage–at least by some.

We’ve all seen the pervasive red hats that shout “Make America Great Again“.  Yet–The D and his base cannot articulate the exact era of greatness they miss so much–even they recognize the political danger in waxing poetic over any era that openly disenfranchised so many of its citizens.  In their pined-for era, it would be inconceivable that a black man would be President; let alone a woman.

I am not alone in interpreting ‘MAGA’ as a thinly veiled slogan for white supremacy; a sentiment that sadly paved the way for an overt racist to sit in the White house.

The notion of a specific point in time in which American was GREAT for all is fiction, a mirage, a myth, fake-news; yet it has proven to be a powerful rallying cry for the D’s base, who believe that they have been victimized and displaced by blacks, immigrants, women and other minorities.   Their hate-filled, win-lose agenda polarizes us against each other in a zero-sum game.

I do not believe America can be great until we recognize and face our collective harsh history of systemic discrimination and terrorism against African Americans and other minorities.

A truly great society is inclusive and embraces diversity; while providing opportunities to all.  A ‘great’ America’ is not a melting pot that swirls us all together into a gray homogeneous goo–it is a delicious, complex stew with each of us providing our own unique flavors.

Perhaps I have food on my mind after spending 5 days in Memphis – the Music was GREAT, and the food was FANTASTIC!  Dan and I tried many new (to us) foods, and we ended up with a difference of opinion regarding which restaurant served the best BBQ ribs of our visit.  However, in keeping with the spirit of this post, after discussing our differences (at length), we ultimately respected each other’s choice and moved on.  After all – there’s room for more than one kind of flavor in a great relationship.

 

 

 

 

 

Children of the Corn

Children of the Corn

I joined my oldest daughter, Kelly, and her twin daughters (my adored nietas) on a recent girls-only weekend to Chicago.  We visited the Field Museum and spent a lot of quality time at the awesome Family Playlab, which is perfectly geared for the six-and-under set.  A favorite exhibit was a mock pueblo that reflected the importance of corn in the lives of the pueblo-dwellers.  The display included many plastic corn cobs that could be ‘grown’ (inserted within the plastic stalks), and subsequently harvested,  gathered into baskets, ground into meal (kind of), and put into the family cooking pot.

My little nietas had great fun scurrying about with corn cobs in the provided baskets along with many of their youngish peers.  Any squabbles were quickly resolved, and there was sufficient corn for all to enjoy. My daughter and I sat on a nearby bench, chatting happily within sight of the girls.

Another big hit was the adjacent family bathroom that had a child-sized toilet as well as an adult sized toilet.  Upon entering, Little X1 enthusiastically proclaimed: “What a WONDERFUL Potty!”  Her enthusiasm and ability to find joy in every-day things is inspiring.

We visited several more exhibits, and made a return visit to the Playlab  later in the day to get out some final wiggles.

We were dismayed to find a number of larger, older children careening around the pueblo exhibit.   Several larger boys were rambunctiously competing with each other to see who could gather the most corn cobs.  This resulted in a couple of the boys having ALL the corn– hoarding it for the single purpose of preventing others from having it.   The smaller children, which now included my little nietas, were left with no corn cobs to play with.

Enter Grandma. With X1 in hand, I approached one of the boys with a huge mountain of plastic corn cobs on the table in front of him.  I advised him that we were going to take some of the cobs for the other children to play with, and proceeded to put a few cobs into X1’s basket.   His mom was also at the table and she told me ‘thank you’, in an exasperated voice. It appears she had the same instincts, but lacked the energy (or possibly the parenting skills) to do anything about it.

During the remainder of our time at the pueblo, I kept a watchful eye on the corn distribution; but it just wasn’t as much fun as it had been in the morning;  the constant diligence necessary to maintain the hard-won cobs detracted from the fun.  Soon afterwards, little X1 moved on to a less contentious area in the playlab.

The contrast between our two visits to the pueblo was striking. In the morning, there was a natural ebb and flow of resources among all the kids, there was a sense of cooperation and mutual enjoyment.  During the second visit, the older kids leveraged their relative strength, speed and competitive natures to gather and hoard all the resources;  leaving the littler kids empty-handed.    I was only able to wrest away some of the corn due to the authority vested upon me as an adult.

Sadly, our second experience at the pueblo reflects America’s distribution of our vast resources.  Gathering and hoarding assets by the powerful and wealthy is the norm, encouraged and enabled by corporate welfare and tax breaks, leaving the majority of American’s without a slice of the proverbial pie.

America’s total net worth is in the neighborhood of $94.7 TRILLION which averages $760,000 per family–more than enough money to house, feed and clothe us all.  Yet, many working American families cannot afford a decent place to live.  It is a travesty.

An article by Scientific American advises that the average CEO makes 354 times more than an average worker in his / her company, and that 20% of Americans own 84% of its wealth.

It brings to mind a story I recently heard.  There are 12 cookies on a plate on a table.  Sitting at the table is the CEO of a large company, Donald Trump, and a teacher.  The CEO takes 11 of the cookies.  The teacher reaches for the last cookie.  Donald looks at the CEO and yells “She is trying to take your cookie”!

The sequel to this not-so-funny joke is that The D then goes on a Twitter and Fox News ranting about how awful it is that teachers expect to eat cookies at all.

In a few hours from now, Dan and I are going to our accountant to sign our tax forms, and I will write a check for $4,000 to the IRS.  It would sting less if I felt that the infamous 1% were also paying their fair share, or if our tax dollars would help those in need.   As it is, I will grit my teeth, write the check, return home and have a very large glass of wine;  while I can still afford to.

 

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