by Paula | Feb 19, 2017 | Paula Persists
By now it is hard to deny that The D is incompetent, bungling, delusional, and seemingly bat-shit crazy. (Editorial note, I have decided to use the moniker ‘The D’, since it takes too long to type and to read “He who shall not be named’.) Yet, Republicans in Congress appear to be too cowardly and opportunistic to interject any level of accountability to the mounting evidence of significant national security breaches and other shenanigans from an Administration that ‘will not be questioned’.
In politics it takes one set of skills to get the job and an entirely different set of skills to do the job. This has never been more true than in our current post-Citizens United reality; where enormous sums of money are needed to be a serious contender for high office or appointment. The D is a perfect example of someone who shines on the campaign and fund-raising trail, but is spectacularly unqualified for the job itself.
Only John McCain (so far) has the courage to break Republican ranks, and state publicly what is becoming increasingly obvious– The actions of The D and this Administration are uninformed, dangerous and threaten our very way of life. In McCain’s own words–this is how Dictators get started.
The process to confirm Cabinet members is designed to ensure that our country is served by qualified, experienced and dedicated public servants in important leadership positions. The process with this Administration and a Republican controlled Senate has become an auction and a farce. Kudos to the two Republican Senators who voted against DeVos as Secretary of Education: Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. DeVos is ridiculously and uniquely unqualified for her position–her one (and only) qualification was donating obscene amounts of money to those giving her the job.
We are in unchartered waters here – no previous president has so blatantly disregarded the other branches of government or long-standing protocols of the Executive branch. How bad does it need to get before the Republican Majority calls foul?
Heading the dishonorable nominee list is Paul Ryan–who tried to grow a pair for ten minutes last summer, as he oh-so-briefly withheld his support for The D; eventually succumbing to a tsunami of greed and power lust.
My second nominee for exceptional dishonor is the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz: who continues to be deaf and blind to his constituents and to the very purpose of the committee that he chairs by declining to investigate extremely serious allegations of blatant and treasonous security breaches within The D’s inner circle. Apparently, he is too busy obsessing over Hillary’s emails.
The Democrats are not blameless. Recent events have shown that they have lost touch with the concerns of many Americans–who feel disenfranchised and under-served. Cries of elitism and power-mongering are not undeserved or untrue for either party.
I won’t even go into my dismay at the millions of tax payer dollars that we are spending on security for the First Family to enable their lavish lifestyle. Although — just maybe, I would feel a little better about it if The D paid taxes too.
The silver lining in all of this is SNL… I hope I remembered to record it this week!
by Paula | Feb 10, 2017 | Paula Persists, Uncategorized
Who would have thought that Mitch McConnell would be the one to provide a great summary of women’s progress and a new feminist rallying cry:
She was warned, she was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.
For those of you that may have been in a coma for the last couple of days: This was McConnell’s ‘mansplanation’ for invoking an obscure and bizarre rule to ban Senator Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter from Coretta Scott King during the nomination hearing for Jeff Sessions as Attorney General: a decades-old letter which urged against naming him as a Federal judge due to his track record of blocking civil rights and voting rights. Although Senator Warren was banned–multiple male colleagues were inexplicably allowed to read the same letter.
I admire so many women for their ability to rise and persist in the face of adversity. In my own lifetime I have seen sexism become less institutionalized; yet it is still pervasive. In many ways I think it is even more difficult to raise a strong, confident woman in these days of hyper-sexualization and a social media that is both brutal and 24/7.
There are times in everyone’s lives where they face a decision as to whether to take a stand or submit to the prevailing winds. In my own life, I most regret the times I have not persisted in doing what I felt to be right. I recognize that not every issue is worth the fight – sometimes the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’. Yet, at some point, we need to say enough is enough. I will not let your sexist or racist statement go unchallenged; I will not allow my daughter to be treated that way; I will not allow my co-worker (or myself) to be treated disrespectfully; and I will NOT stand by quietly while our ‘so called president’ ravages our country.
I have long held that the definition of courage is standing up for what is right — even if the odds are against you. It is that brand of courage that won women the vote, desegregated our schools, gave us a 5 day work week, did away with Jim Crow and more. People have suffered, people have died. Nevertheless, we persist.
by Paula | Jan 22, 2017 | Paula Persists
We knew it was big. Towards the end of the rally, with legs rubbery from 5 hours of standing, I tried migrating to another vantage point; but I quickly ran into an absolute gridlock of humanity. From my perch, wedged in the middle of it all, it was hard to get a sense of the magnitude of the event.
Today, I have seen pictures, watched videos and read newspaper accounts of the DC March and the 600 plus ‘sister’ marches in cities across the country and the world. Wow!!! Many cities exceeded their estimates-including my home town of Madison, Wisonsin, where between 75,000 and 100,000 souls, incuding many good friends, filled State Street.
Early estimates are that 2.5 MILLION protesters around the world sent a powerful message that we will NOT be silent; we will notstand by quietly while our rights and the rights of our sisters and brothers, are trampled. Trump’s agenda of hate and willful, brash ignorance will be challenged, we will not simply go away or give up in despair.
Today, I am full of pride and hope. The sense of dread that descended on November 9th has dissipated in a sea of pussy hats and has been replaced with a renewed sense of empowerment and faith in our collective humanity.
I do feel bad about one thing — many plants outside the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum were mangled as several of us shorties sought higher ground for better viewing of the Jumbotron. At first we were careful of the vegetation, but eventually it just wasn’t possible to preserve the pansies. I have never been good with plants.. sorry!
Tonight, I pack away my March T-shirt, my pussy hat, my Nasty Woman pin, and my now blurry (I might have sat on it on the wet ground at some point) pillow-case sign. The sign may be a lost cause, but I suspect I will need the other items in the not too distant future.
