Left, De'Andre's 8-person sports' cheering section, including yours truly, far left
Above and below, the winning game with De'Andre 41 the highest scorer
Below, daughter Stephanie with old friend Allison and niece Suzanne with De'Andre at dimly lit family gathering dinner
First, a
big shout-out to Wanda Johnson, born
in Egypt, but living most of her life in rural Vermont with her late husband,
with whom she raised 3 children and whom I’ve known since childhood. Miss Wanda
just celebrated her 102nd
birthday! She lives independently in her own house located right next door to
that of her daughter, so she gets lots of companionship and support throughout
the day from family members. Every year, I send her a big gift of goodies that
can be enjoyed by someone with dentures, as well as by her numerous birthday
guests.
Second,
the Washington Times, a rightwing
on-line publication, says that President Obama has the poorest record ever in
the number of legislative achievements he was able to get through: “Obama scores the worst legislative record
in history.” From the moment of his inauguration, congressional Republicans
vowed to obstruct absolutely everything he proposed, so it’s pretty amazing
that he even got as much done as he did. Maybe he should or could have been
friendlier (he did try, but was rebuffed) or maybe he should have done more
backroom deals? He did do some things without consulting Congress, which would
have put up roadblocks if they could. He made mistakes, but, overall, he
actually did pretty well. Let’s see how much of it the Republicans manage to
dismantle.
Now that
the Republican Party has both houses of Congress and the presidency, they are
talking national unity and that Democrats should go along to get along for the
sake of the nation. For Democrats to come together with Republicans, the latter
would have to meet us half-way, not require us to give in 100%. I would like to
see Democrats unify among themselves and breech their own ideological
differences to give the Republicans the same treatment that they have been
dishing out. To add insult to injury to us here in DC, the Republican Congress
wants to intervene in many of our laws, including gun laws, and overturn the
voters’ will so that they can tell their districts that they imposed certain
restrictions on the national capital and Donald Trump won’t veto any such
attempts, as Hillary Clinton would have done. So, for starters, how about not meddling in DC’s domestic affairs
and voter approved policies, as some are trying to do—pay attention to your own
district who voted for you—we didn’t.
Message from a friend: You can fool some people some of the time, but you can fool Trump
voters all of the time. ~Abe Lincoln
I replied: Very
apt, and if you are Vladimir Putin, you can fool Donald Trump all of the time
as well.
Since it happened during my lunchtime, I did
turn on the radio while Pence and Trump were being sworn in a few blocks away. It
gave me
This lady, like me, is a DC resident who remembers MLKing's "Dream" speech of over 50 years ago.
Pink pussy hats were everywhere.
About our women’s march, I imagined Trump saying later something
like: "What women's march? Hardly anyone showed up, sad, so sad. Not like
my own enormous crowd, the biggest ever in history. Just like my yuge popular
vote tally, the biggest ever. And my hands are not so small either." The
man needs a therapist to help him figure out why he has so much self-doubt that
he has to keep inflating himself. He might have done better by admitting, “Our
inaugural crowd wasn’t as big as we had hoped, but we’re going to win over the
support of all the American people.” He seems to be “winging it” through life. If
his decisions and rhetoric weren’t so harmful to the rest of Americans and the
rest of humankind, I would actually feel sorry for the guy. He’s awkward, his
tie is too long (sometimes down his crotch), he has a ridiculous-looking
comb-over, his fascination with gold trim (now also in the White House) is
cheap and superficial, and many women find him repulsive, one reason he grabs
women (I won’t say where) against their will. In photos, at least, of him
dancing with Melania, he leans forward, smirking, and she seems to be leaning
away from him. He reminds me of a guy who,in my younger days, might have persuaded
me to dance with him and I could hardly wait for the dance to be over and freed
of his grip.
The guy has a distorted sense of reality. It does seem that his
bizarre pronouncements and contradictory actions would have a destabilizing
effect on the country and the world--and maybe on the Republican Party? Why
would the press--so many independent entities all over the country--be
conspiring against him? I live near the capitol and my daughter Stephanie (here
from Hawaii for that purpose) and I were at the women's march where police were
turning people away because too many were funneling into the so-called march
route. How could we actually march when there was such a crush? We mostly just stood
still. I admit that I couldn't see or hear the speakers, I just cheered when
others did. I met people from all over the US and even a woman from Japan. Many
women were wearing pink "pussy hats" with pointy ears. I saw a sign
saying "Pussy grabs back." Both Amnesty International and returned
Peace Corps volunteers had a presence at the march.
Unofficial estimates were that we had 500,000 and that Trump
had only 250,000 at his inauguration the day before, one of the smallest
inaugural crowds in recent times, but maybe bigger than George Washington's? The
rightwing Washington Times speculates
that Trump may even win the Nobel Peace Prize.
I started out with a breakfast at my neighbor’s house, with her visitors
who came from out-of-town. I ended up at the Amnesty office near my house,
where we drank cider and ate raw broccoli and other healthy snacks. My daughter
Stephanie ended up with her own friends. We did feel empowered by being part of
what seems to be larger, even worldwide solidarity, making all Trump’s lies
about how popular he is just seem absurd. If Hillary had taken office, we would
have been complacent, expecting her to take care of things. Now, with Trump, we
realize that we need to keep active and engaged because he cannot be trusted.
Trump reportedly had only 2 inaugural balls--even Jimmy Carter had
4 or 5--I was at one of the latter, not a pleasant experience being crushed
among so many people waiting to see the president and first lady make a brief
appearance from a raised podium. Fewer people crushed together to see Trump,
but what his supporters lack in numbers, they make up for in enthusiasm for
their guy. If and when he fails to deliver, they will be especially
disappointed as their expectations were so high.
Republicans
have come up with an alternative to AARP for older folks called AMAC.
AMAC represents the Real America and stands for
traditional values, fiscal responsibility and true financial security for
those who have earned it.
|
Together we can make
a difference. Tell the AARP,
"No More!" |
If I were one of Trump’s advisers (or his
therapist), I would advise him not to
react on Twitter or otherwise to every little criticism or implied slight, even
though that gives him more publicity—because it’s negative publicity. Maybe his base loves his angry and defensive
tweets, but his base may well be shrinking. Donald Trump—you need to get a
grip—stop acting like a spoiled child, like such a big, fat crybaby! Be more
presidential! His children and staff keep having to explain away his behavior.
Who’s in charge now anyway? I suspect there are some nasty skeletons in his
closet that he’s well aware might come out, including some from Russia, hence
his defensiveness. He might do better to make fun of his detractors, sort of
like Obama did when Trump accused him of being born in Kenya. Of course, when
the Russian tapes do come out, he will again cry “fake news!”
Spanish publisher Sapristi (Roca
Editorial) has released President
Trump: God Forgive America by
Pablo Rios, the author of two previous graphic novels. Spanish Agency
SalmaiaLit controls all rights, and French rights have been sold to Steinkis
Groupe. The satiric graphic novel imagines what is going on in Trump’s head as
he is about to enter the White House and deal with pressing world issues. Trump
has ignited a new round of worldwide anti-American sentiment, something that
Obama did much to counteract.
Trump’s cabinet
and staff picks are a mixed bag. Some are terrible, but some may even have a
moderating influence on him if he listens to them. He lies so much that it’s
hard to know when he’s telling the truth. Does he believe his own lies? It
would great if Trump himself would decide to resign, feeling he is not being
treated fairly by the press. Pence, the arch-conservative, could take over
then, but, at least with him, others would know where they stand. Governing by
“gotcha” and temper-tantrum tweets, sometimes with misspellings and poor
grammar, is no way to lead a country or the world. I’m sure Republicans wedded
to the idea of “small government” gritted their teeth when Trump promised to
replace Obamacare with a revised health insurance system covering “everybody”
and with lower premiums. Ryan has also said people want lower health care
costs. Good luck on that!
Just making
promises (“health care for everybody”) or saying things like “Jobs, jobs, jobs”
and “America First” is not a plan or a program.
Perhaps as a goodwill
gesture to Trump, Russia is considering lifting its ban on adoptions
of Russian kids by American families. The ban was imposed in response to criticism
of Russian human rights policies and arrests.
A NYTimes article credits or blames Julian Assange for trying to disrupt the political system
and actually succeeding. Yes, he certainly has succeeded beyond his wildest
dreams. May he continue to live and die in the Ecuadoran Embassy, a prison of
his own making. Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, another leaker,
was granted a last-minute commutation by President Obama. Based on what Manning
did and the damage done to our country, such a commutation may seem
unjustified, as Manning, as far as I know, started the whole chain of leaks
that also involved Snowden and Assange. Obama may have felt pressured by
Manning’s many advocates, including among LGBT folks, as well as two suicide
attempts and sex reassignment treatment, awkward to carry out in prison,
especially for an inmate in a men’s prison, where Manning was an outlier and
probably subject to attack by fellow prisoners.
On Martin
Luther King’s birthday, I recalled hearing his original “I have a dream
speech” with my late former husband. I also attended Obama’s commemoration 50
years later.
As for King’s associate Congressman John Lewis, now being attacked by
Trump, I credit him with breaking with the Congressional Black Caucus and their
knee-jerk fidelity to Fidel by receiving former Cuban Amnesty International
prisoner of conscience Jose Luis Garcia Perez (“Antunez”) in his office in
January, 2015. And, although I am not his constituent, he sent me a signed
thank-you letter when I sent him a copy of my Confessions book.
El
Salvador went 24 hours without single murder, a welcome respite.
Honduras (and Chicago) should follow suit. El Salvador has something over 6
million people, one-third of them under age 15, which does not bode well for
crime reduction in the long run. In area, it is a little smaller than
Massachusetts, my home state. By comparison, Honduras, the largest country geographically in Central America, has
about 8 million+ people, again, one-third under 15, and is more than 5 times
bigger—about the size of Louisiana. In both countries, as in those elsewhere in
the world, including our own, more boys than girls are born, but their
percentage of the population steadily diminishes as the population ages.
I would recommend an article about Salvadoran
deportees in the New Yorker (Jan.
21), “Called Away,” estimating that half of call centers employees in that
country are deportees because they speak fluent American English. Some also
teach English.
Mexican authorities have arrested a member of the Honduran military wanted
in connection with the murder of Honduran environmental activist Berta (or
Bertha) Caceres: https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/c404baa7-4d6b-3a36-9d55-54e739b23534/ss_mexico-arrests-man-linked-to.html
Well,
finally, after Rangel’s retirement, Adriano
Espaillat, cousin of my Espaillat DR friends, profiled in my Confessions book, has made it to
Congress.
Jamaica
is another of my Caribbean Amnesty Int’l countries and here’s
article about some of our concerns that appeared in International Business
Times http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jamaicas-killer-cops-how-families-police-victims-face-intimidation-violence-1601928.
Nat Hentoff, iconoclastic journalist, has died
in NYC at age 91. Though he wrote for the Village
Voice and was considered a liberal, even a radical, he easily saw through the
subterfuge and hypocrisy of the Cuban leadership and was openly critical of
western apologists for the regime. He frequently railed against Fidel Castro and Cuba’s human rights
abuses, including book burning and book censorship. I cite him in my Confessions book.
The Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, Office of the Special Rapporteur Expresses Concern
over the detention in Cuba of artist Danilo
Maldonado, known as “El Sexto”
El Sexto has now
been released but is prohibited from leaving Cuba.
Here is my 7th
and latest Huffington Post Cuba
article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-e-joe/end-of-an-era_3_b_13695000.html
Now, just what Cuban rafters had feared has happened; it had
to happen abruptly as otherwise, there would have been a stampede at the
Mexican border:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-scrapping-wet-foot-dry-211551311.html
At least one Cuban exile friend thinks it was good idea to close
the border to Cubans. I have mixed feelings. It was lifeline of hope for many
Cubans, but also very dangerous and quite expensive if they came by land. Some
trekked for days through Panamanian jungles and some died there. Ending the
policy is just what anxious Cuban rafters and other migrants had long feared
and some Republicans (i.e. Rubio) supported ending it because migrants are not
screened and it also aligns with Trump’s anti-immigrant policy. There is a
school of thought that if things get bad enough in Cuba without that safety
valve, maybe change can occur there. I do feel sorry for those now en route,
either by boat or land, especially those already gathered at the Texas border,
some of them already on the bridge to the US, but turned back. It was so very hard
for them to get that far, such a big risk to life and limb. It seems that there
should be a way to allow entry to those who were already in line waiting. Some
may end up staying in Mexico, as more have been doing anyway.
Those
Cubans with visas arriving in the US by air are having a hard time.
Another friend, a former Peace Corps volunteer
who now lives in Panama, told me: Some
Cubans came by my village in the Darién, peninsula of Panamá next to Colombia.
No roads, just trails in the jungle. I made friends with the group, about 20 or
so. And my native Indians offered the Cubans water, some food, and basic medical
attention. I offered them coffee, my shower, and an extended hand. They were
making the journey to find freedom...nothing else. We gave the children some
toys and clothes...they too were walking to freedom. I was so proud of my
Indian friends, the Emberá. Somewhere, a Cuban making a journey for freedom has
a Peace Corps t- shirt on...Sarge
[Sargent Shriver] would be proud.
“Five Cubans seek
asylum in Texas, probably the first of many”
There
will be a further backlog in immigration detention facilities. If they have
struggled to get as far as Mexico, Cubans might decide to stay there or to take
a further gamble with asylum, though if they lose on asylum, they would be sent
back to Cuba and, having left everything behind, most would prefer almost any
other country than that.
Meanwhile,
many Cuban prison inmates forced out by Fidel Castro during the Mariel boatlift
(among them, my late then-16-year-old gay Cuban foster son Alex) will now be
returned to Cuba, which had refused to take them back previously.
"I think we
have to come up with a solution for the DACA
kids. And that's something we in Congress and the Trump transition team are
working on," Ryan added.
"What's a good humane solution?"
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/house-speaker-paul-ryan-says-trumps-mass-deportation-plan-not-happening
1601014?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=/rss/yahoous&yptr=yahoo
My
daughter Stephanie arrived from
Honolulu to participate with me in the Saturday anti-Trump women’s march on
Feb. 21. Some right-to-life women who otherwise oppose Trump have decided not
to participate, as the march apparently includes “right-to-choose” in its
platform. I did not even know there was
a formal platform; I thought we were just protesting Trump and his presidency.
As an adoptive parent, I don’t consider abortion rights my issue, but whatever
his position on that issue, I am against Trump and will join the march all the way.
Fiona
Apple released an aptly named song, “Tiny Hands,” (“We don’t want your tiny
hands anywhere near our underpants”) to be sung at the women’s march.
Trump’s
supporters, many of whom opposed Obama on every turn as an “illegitimate”
president not born in the US, bristle when that same label is applied to him.
Republicans both in Congress and volunteers in state campaigns are now touting
“unity” and “coming together” to make the Trump presidency successful on behalf
of our country. Should we support his policies and actions that we totally
oppose? That question answers itself. Obama is leaving the presidency with 60%
approval rating compared to Trump’s abysmal 40% as he enters.
Leaving
soon again for Honduras—will keep you posted.
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