Happy Holidays, Son Jon’s Visit, Honduran Elections, Cuban Student, Trump (Alas, Still with Us), Alabama Election, Sexual Harassment (Also Still Pervasive), Catholic Voters. Abortion Wars Compromise?

Happy holidays, let’s try our best to find something to be happy about.

(Having a very hard time posting now because blog is on an alternate gmail account and every time I try to post something, it reverts to the main gmail account where I don't have a blog. Readers, please bear with me. I'm trying)

The new tax “relief” bill is not something to celebrate. It will help some businesses and business people, as well as large estates, Republican donors, and high-end taxpayers, but do little for the rest of us, in fact, increasing the deficit for the benefit of those high-end folks. States like New York and California—and also Washington, DC—where state and local taxes can no longer be deducted will be punished for voting against Trump. The rich get richer, as the saying goes. If the tax system had been just left alone, the economy would have hummed along nicely if not spectacularly with already almost full employment, or possibly the corporate rate alone could have been lowered or tweaked somewhat without tampering with the whole system. If it ain’t broke, why try to fix it? Even if Democrats pick up seats in the mid-terms, it’s hard to undo damage once it’s been done.

In short, the tax bill, in my opinion, is another Trump-supported initiative that is at best a huge gamble, likely to result in a big collective loss, as well as short-term gains for some of the electorate and long-term benefits for the Trump family and the super-rich. But by the time the longer-term negatives fall on voters, many of the original lawmakers who supported it will be out of office or perhaps have gained seniority and will be able to deflect the blame.  (I would love to be wrong.) 

I had a visit from my son Jonathan (with me above), who recently moved from Hawaii to Winchester, Va., from Honolulu. While he was here, he was thrilled to see snow again, but not so much. It melted immediately. That was reportedly the first snow fall in DC in December in 4 years.

Here below is a rather unflattering profile of the challenger in the contested Honduran election, not that the incumbent president seeking reelection is someone to admire either, but he is a known quantity.  http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/tv-host-dubbed-lord-of-tv-could-become-next-president/news-story/ea4d0e05c24e95dcfd91ee43fd1a0185

Honduras: police refuse to obey government as post-election chaos deepens | World news | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/04/honduras-election-board-refrains-from-declaring-winner-as-violence-continues

OK to criticize Venezuela, but turn a blind eye on Honduras? Not really

BY ANDRÉS OPPENHEIMER, Miami Herald, 12-8-2017 www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article188808974.html

The State Dept. has issued a travel advisory for Honduras, but I hope order will be restored before my Feb. trip. So far, I’m still planning to go.

A few folks in Honduras have given me their opinions, with the consensus being that neither presidential candidate is particularly desirable; it’s been a matter, as is so often the case, of trying to choose the lesser of evils. If you read Spanish, here are a few comments:

1.Nasralla + Mel Zelaya + Juan Orlando Hernandez = Insuficiente para el Presidente que Honduras necesita en los próximos 4 años. Si gana Nasralla = Gobierno INCIERTO por la incompatibilidad ideológica de Nasralla con Zelaya. Gobierno del aceite con vinagre.

Si gana JOH = Gobierno INGOBERNABLE  por inconstitucional y porque la mayoría de los 

hondureños votantes estan en contra.

POSIBLE Solucion: Segunda vuelta  solo para la eleccion Presidencial (que no esta en la Constitucion Hondureña) encabezada por un Tribunal Supremo Electoral INTERNACIONAL

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2.La mejor opción es JOHA pues de quedar Nasrala seremos igual a Venezuela.

3. aqui estan ocurriendo muchas cosas en lo politico las autoridades estan siendo prudentes con dar los resultados finales de la eleccion presidencial por obias razones , nosotros no pudimos votar por que martin se enfermo y estuvo hospitalizado todo el domingo. espero que esta situacin en mi pais se calme y podamos seguir trabajando como siempre

4. Hola Bárbara... Ninguno de los dos es lo mejor...pero el menos peor es el actual Presidente JOH, pues Nasralla es un títere del ex presidente Manuel Zelaya y ahorita en las elecciones volvimos a ver los mismos actores y seguidores de Zelaya que meses y años atras habían desaparecido y de ganar Nasralla volverían a posiciones importantes dentro del Gobierno...haciéndonos recordar el Gobierno de Zelaya. El Tribunal Superior de Elecciones acaba de declarar a JOH como presidente electo... Nasralla viajó hoy a Washington a denunciar el fraude ante la OEA y otras organizaciones...   creo que al final nada cambiará y luego de algunas semanas de protestas , todo volverá a la calma, similar a lo que pasó despues de la destitución de Zelaya en el 2009.

(Hernandez’s sister was recently killed in a Honduran helicopter crash.)

The following article provides a good summary on Cuba. I have long contended that lack of food production is major problem there—as per my article:  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/peace-corps-in-cuba-you-h_b_6581182.html

 Change Is Coming to Cuba http://nationalinterest.org/feature/change-coming-cuba-23679?page=2

More than 37,000 Cubans face deportation orders. As volunteer Caribbean coordinator for Amnesty Int’l USA, I’ve helped a handful with pro-bono lawyers obtain asylum, but most will be sent back.

Miami Herald,  https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/045d4c58-f7aa-3e69-a48d-ede2629f0f62/ss_more-than-37%2C000-cubans-face.html

Some arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border only a few hours after the sudden change in immigration policy on Jan. 12. Others have been in the United States since much earlier. The majority face possible deportation. According to official figures, the number of Cubans with final orders of deportation has increased this year. Through Dec. 9, there were 37,218 facing final deportation orders. Meanwhile, the number of Cuban migrants currently in detention centers now exceeds 1,600. “As of December 9, 2017, there were 1,686 Cuban nationals in ICE detention,” Brendan Raedy, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stated in an email.

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What does the news of election postponement in Cuba means? That Diaz-Canel is out?  

Raul Castro to remain in office until April, elections postponed By Katherine Lam | Fox News (Dec. 21. 2017)

Cuban leader Raul Castro will remain in power until at least April 19, 2018 after the government postponed the historic presidential elections, citing impacts from Hurricane Irma, the official Communist Party newspaper announced Thursday. Castro, 86, had initially said he would retire at the end of his two terms on Feb. 24, Miami Herald reported. The election for the new National Assembly was also scheduled to be held then.

The official Communist Party newspaper Granma published the announcement and said the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, which struck the island in September, forced the delay of Cuba's political cycle.  Some analysts predicted Castro would extend his time in power because of recent events, including its economy in recession and the diplomatic crisis involving health attacks on U.S. diplomats in the city’s capital Havana, according to the Miami Herald. It’s still unclear who would succeed Castro, who took power in 2008 and replaced late leader and brother Fidel Castro. Cuban first vice president Miguel Diaz-Canel has been seen as a potential candidate.

The upcoming election is the first since Fidel Castro, who died in November 2016, reintroduced a limited election in 1976, the Miami Herald reported. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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We in Amnesty Int’l have a new series of illustrated vignettes of stories of ordinary Cuba migrants now stopped at the US-Mexico border and available to be interviewed by staff who otherwise cannot go to Cuba.

 “Your mind is in prison” Cuba’s web of control over free expression and its chilling effect on everyday life

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr25/7299/2017/en/

[Individual stories can be found by scrolling down past the mid-point of the report.]

English and Spanish versions are available on the following lightbox on ADAM: https://adam.amnesty.org/asset-bank/images/assetbox/57f79ad3-42d5-4b57-94c3-b3652f1780d7/assetbox.html

The first comic of our series Cubans Lives/Unas vidas cubanas is now available in ADAM under the tag “Cuba: your mind is in prison”. Created by Mexican artist Joan X. Vázquez, this first “Cuban Live” depicts the story of Graciela, a champion weightlifter, who was excluded from her sport because of criticism she expressed during a TV interview that was never aired.

The second comic of our ‘Cuban Lives’ series, depicting life in today’s Cuba: the story of Nadia. Although she was never involved in politics, Nadia was friends with people considered dissidents. For that, she was increasingly harassed by authorities and ended in prison for “dangerousness”.

See comic nº 3 of our series ‘Cuban Lives’, depicting life in today’s Cuba: the story of Carlos, trained in the military, he became a spy and infiltrated different job categories to report on workers. Many of his friends are in prison due to information he passed to state security.

Comic nº 4 of our series ‘Cuban Lives’, depicting life in today’s Cuba: the story of Elias, after he complained of lack of support for carrying out his job as a nurse in a hospital, he started to be harassed by his employers and was forced to leave his job. Despite moving to another city he was denied new nurse job because he was seen as "untruth-worthy".

Comic nº 5 of our series ‘Cuban Lives’, depicting life in today’s Cuba: the story of Maritza, professor of medicine at the University she had no interest in politics, but soon was pressured to do propaganda with her students and to join the state’s mass organizations. Due to this pressure, and despite this being her dream job, she resigned after a year.

The sixth (and last) comic in our series, Cubans Lives / Unas vidas cubanas will be available between 14 and 15 December on ADAM under the tag “Cuba: your mind is in prison” and on the lightbox. Created by Mexican artist Joan X. Vázquez, and inspired from real stories, this sixth “Cuban Live” depicts the story of Julio, a secondary school English teacher, he started to be harassed when his sister’s activism was discovered. He was accused of promoting enemy propaganda after asking his pupils to check the international English-speaking press for their school work. His salary was cut in half, he was demoted and finally offered a job as gardener at the school

I recently served as interpreter for Felix Llerena, a 21-year-old Cuban student expelled from the university for his religious and other opinions, at a meeting with an overflow audience of students from George Washington University here in DC. Llerena, a supporter of the Varela Project, was arrested in front of his mother and accused of having terrorist links, also of “pre-delinquency.” A copy of the US constitution and a book by Jose Marti were confiscated in his home and he said that the security forces encouraged neighbors to attack him with machetes if he tried talking to others about his beliefs. He was prevented from attending a Latin America youth network meeting in Mexico by being removed from the aircraft. He was arrested again in July and 4 European Union diplomats traveled to his hometown to see him there. After that, charges against him were dropped and he was allowed to leave. He plans to return to Cuba in January and encourages young people to stay in Cuba, not leave as so many try to do.

DC Amnesty Int’l members met at a local establishment for a Write-A-Thon, when we blitz certain governments with letters on behalf of selected prisoners or victims. Among the letters we wrote related to my volunteer work as Caribbean Coordinator for AI USA was one to the Jamaican government asking for justice for Shackelia Jackson whose brother was killed by police. 

  Write-A-Thon photos.

                                                        Write-A-Thon photos above

Above, Jamaica panelists on police killings, including Shackelia Jackson, center. 

Getting Mugabe to retire, though cheered by many Zim citizens, is not going to result in any improvement or change, according to fellow Amnesty members in the know. The guy who replaced Mugabe and his wife is reportedly just another anti-democratic self-promoting guy who was once part of their inner circle and decided to seize power when it looked like the wife was planning to do the same. He is like Mugabe, just 20 years younger. 

do.

Turnabout is fair play—Trump’s NYC motorcade was greeted by “Lock him up!”

Trump, who describes himself as “very intelligent,” has been advised to use spell-check, but he just misspelled one of his favorite whipping boys “Meadia” on a tweet. He also seems to have deliberately tried to put salt in the wounds of Sandy Hook bereaved parents by inviting the NRA veep to the White House on the anniversary of their murder. As for the tax bill, which he has been celebrating, as with anything, there are winners and losers, but it’s not so clear who they all are. Certainly corporations and high bracket taxpayers will benefit, also red states over blue states.

As bizarre, ridiculous, insensitive, and down-right mean as Donald Trump’s actions and polices have been, an article in The Atlantic argues that no matter what, he is unlikely to be impeached because Republican core voters have faithfully stuck by him through thick and thin, so their Republican reps will continue to do the same. Even if Democrats should gain some seats in 2018, enough Republicans will remain to block any impeachment effort, which takes a 2/3rds majority: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/trump-impeachment/547358/ 

So, we are probably stuck for the duration. Maybe Trump will quit after one term or be defeated if he runs again (fingers crossed) despite big Republican money, gerrymandering, and voter suppression. He doesn’t seem to be particularly enjoying his presidency (or the contempt with which he is held by most Americans and people all over the world. Melania certainly is not enjoying it.) I keep looking for his administration to do something fairly desirable, even neutral, but I’m still looking for a silver lining just for my own emotional relief. Maybe Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s replacement is OK, not someone to fume about, but there was no actual need to replace her.

Not surprisingly, Trump is reportedly pressuring bone-tired 83-year-old Sen. Orrin Hatch to seek re-election so that Mitt Romney won’t run in his place. Romney would like to wrest the Republican Party from the throes of Donald Trump and he just might be able to do that. Trump is like a bull in a china shop, destroying everything in his wake, including the Republican Party and the Supreme Court. It’s not only that Trump still has supporters as stingy, ignorant, mendacious, and nasty as he is but that he reinforces their own harmful and antisocial tendencies by giving them license to continue. It’s a vicious circle or a malign feedback loop, like an adult (is Trump really an adult?) prodding children to be bullies, liars, destructive, and greedy—promoting survivor of the fittest or most devious, winner take all and screw the rest. Is that the Republican philosophy?

“By telling so many lies, and so many that are mean-spirited, Trump is violating some of the most fundamental norms of human social interaction and human decency. Many of the rest of us, in turn, have abandoned a norm of our own — we no longer give Trump the benefit of the doubt that we usually give so readily.” Bella De Paulo, Washington Post, Dec. 8, 2017 (She’s a former professor who once did a study of lying and liars.)

Nazareth has reportedly cancelled Christmas celebrations because of Trump’s decision to name Jerusalem the capital of Israel, a provocative and unnecessary act in my opinion, just emphasizing the already strong US bias in favor of the Israeli government. Do we want to prevent attacks by Muslims in the US or Europe? Is this really the best way to do that? Or what about an action on the other side, like pressing Israel to stop settlements encroaching on Palestinian lands? This was a matter of appealing to the evangelical base and letting the chips fall where they may in terms of worldwide impact.

Speaking of Christmas, the official Trump Christmas portrait shows the presidential couple standing stiffly in a doorway without son Barron, rumored to be away at boarding school. The Pence holiday card, in contrast, shows that couple appearing in a more natural and friendly pose next to a home Christmas tree. Trump and his advisers simply do whatever he/they want and don’t have an instinct about how their efforts and communications will be received. Trump especially expresses himself however and whenever it strikes his fancy without anticipating or caring about the impact on others, though General Kelly has had some success in disciplining him.

At least Doug Jones won in Alabama, whew! despite Trump’s strong endorsement of Roy Moore, something he disavowed immediately afterward. He appropriately tweeted congratulations to Jones instead of fuming, so his handlers must have been able to calm him.

Because of the “Trump effect,” many organizations, including my own Amnesty International, have seen a surge in donations.  However, probably our moral authority in sending appeals to other governments, as we were doing at this recent “Write-a-Thon,” has been diminished with Trump leading our country, though we still go through the motions. Apparently mainstream media have also been boosted financially. The Trump administration may complain that “the media” is against them, but if they would actually do something that most citizens would approve of, they would find that being reported and being received more favorably.

At the same time, I confess to sometimes getting an inkling of why some white working-class Republicans might consider liberals “effete” and “holier-than-thou.” On some issues and at some more liberal gatherings, I do get a touch of that same feeling when people express something that “everyone knows” or if they oversimplify an issue when not everyone present actually knows or agrees. Sometimes I raise objections, sometimes I don’t.  I may have doubts on a specific point as very few ideas or policies don’t have any downsides or nuances. But it’s hard to go against the group consensus or even mention caveats without being shut down. And my experiences and family are completely atypical when compared with most white middle-class folks my age. Mine is really a multiracial, multi-ethnic family dealing with multiple other challenges, something most other people I meet simply don’t have, so when they speak authoritatively on certain issues, they don’t have my firsthand experience.

Like virtually all women, I’ve certainly experienced sexual harassment in my day and been demeaned and dismissed by men in the workplace, but I’ve also been employed mostly in professions dominated by women--social work and rehabilitation—and women bosses as a rule don’t sexually harass other women. (In the current “me/too” movement, a few alleged victims of women have emerged.)  I was also married for 24 years to a man who was blind and whom I helped tirelessly behind the scenes for decades, mostly on nights and weekends, while working only part-time myself as an editor and researcher for private clients, while also raising four kids. Other men with whom I came in contact who knew my husband (a very strategic, influential, and politically oriented thinker), so, whether out of respect or fear, dared not encroach on his “territory.” Thus, for quite a long time, I was somewhat protected. By the time my husband divorced me, I was already past the prime age for sexual harassment, though I still experience it in Honduras. The sexual harassment/groping/rape accusations are losing some of their punch because of being so widespread, but I really think that’s an expression of the pervasive culture, not a sign that many accusations are bogus.

Sorry to see Al Franken (and John Conyers) gone under pressure from fellow Democrats, in contrast to Republicans, who have supported both Roy Moore and Donald Trump. Garrison Keillor at NPR and Ryan Lizza at the New Yorker are also tough losses. Lizza wrote several articles critical of Trump, so maybe the Trump folks encouraged women to come forward against him. Democrats and liberals seem to be trying to lead by example in dismissing errant members from their fold in contrast to Republicans who continue to support gropers and harassers right up to the Oval Office itself. However, since Democrats’ transgressions seem less serious, perhaps those being ejected are sacrificial lambs?

It was exciting to see TIME acknowledging harassed women on its cover. They represent us all. Anita Hill, after being vilified, can finally feel vindicated. It took time and a convergence of women willing to speak out to bring this issue to the fore. Probably some men now being “outed” feel unfairly targeted, that the rules of the game suddenly changed, as their behavior at the time was accepted as “normal,” a perk of being male and of being in charge. For every woman harassed or assaulted, there is a man out there somewhere. Since sexual harassment has been so commonplace, there are many men who still have not been singled out (yet) and may be worried.

I’m a “cradle Catholic” and continue to identify with the religion, though less so than in my younger years. (I didn’t attend Catholic schools, my father was Presbyterian, but I was married in the church.) A scholar of my acquaintance connected with Catholic University recently conducted a study comparing Catholic Trump and Hillary voters on a large number of issues. There were some differences overall, but the divide was certainly not as great as I would have expected. (Perhaps this is because religion is compartmentalized and has increasingly less influence on everyday life?)  votershttps://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/us-catholics-weigh-2016-election-new-survey

The following on-line commentary seems to be a sensible olive branch extended by a self-identified anti-abortion advocate to the other side in the abortion wars and something that perhaps most Americans could agree on, though obviously it won’t satisfy those with strongly-held opinions on either side: 

Feminists would be wise, and more powerful, if they would be willing to take the lead on compromise and invite women like me to join their ranks to advocate for common goals without abortion clouding the discussion. Liberals are always going to lose voters on the right and in the middle by pushing so aggressively for abortion on demand all the way into the third trimester. And conservatives are always going to lose voters on the left and in the middle by refusing to consider legal abortion in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. But what if we agreed to first trimester abortion and morning after pills as a compromise? It doesn't square with my views completely, but would dramatically cut the number of abortions in this country and save many lives. It certainly doesn't square with the views of many liberals, but perhaps they could find it in their hearts to accept that if someone made a mistake, or is the victim of a crime, three months is sufficient time to find your way out of a resulting pregnancy. And we could certainly all agree that if a woman's life is at risk, the decision on carrying a pregnancy to term should stay between her and her doctor. If we could agree on this, then we could all move on. If abortion is no longer the only rallying cry for women, we can gather women of all stripes to fight for workplace fairness, equal pay, family leave and a host of issues that will change the lives of women every single day.https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2017-12-15/a-compromise-on-abortion-so-more-women-can-be-feminists