Peace Corps Honduras: Reunion, Celebration, Flaunting Presidential Power, Nigeria, Cuba, Nicaragua, Kilauea Watch, High Profile Suicides, Juneteenth

My childhood friend Erika was in town, arriving with a big group from Florida and other states pressing their elected reps to take action to prevent further climate change. Of course, I am envious because we have no voting members of Congress here in DC and are unlikely to get any as long as Republicans dominate the government. Other than donate money (and I’m not sure where that money actually goes), I feel helpless. I certainly hope to live to see the day when Trump is no longer in the presidency and Republicans no longer dominate Congress. It’s time for the political pendulum to start oscillating in the other direction now, but that will require an uphill battle. While we were having dinner together, I snapped this photo of my friend Erika, but she looks unnaturally grim, perhaps because of the task ahead.

At my local Catholic mass, we recently celebrated the 68^th wedding anniversary of a couple who are long-time members and also parents, whose now middle-aged children were on hand for the event. They were married in 1950. I was married in 1959, but did not fare so well. My husband divorced me after 24 years, remarried, and died in 1999. So, kudos to this long- lived couple and to their long-lived marriage.

[Sorry for changes in spacing and font--that seems to be out of my control.]

Americans reportedly own 400 million personal firearms, 40% of the world’s total with only 4% of world population. And many of the firearms used in Latin America come from our country.

When I worked for the occupational therapy association and was in Romania after Ceausescu helping evaluation children's institutions, which were mostly terrible, I urged child care workers, if possible, to pick up babies when giving them a bottle, rather than just propping up the bottle. Of course, part of the problem was the sheer lack of caregivers for so many children. I also encouraged caregivers, when they had a weekend break, to take one or more of the kids home with them for that period and some did so. Now is it true that the Trump administration is forbidding caregivers in the immigration child detention facilities from picking up crying children to comfort them? The whole idea of separating children from parents is gratuitously cruel, but further forbidding holding them when they cry is excessive. In other child care situations in this country, caregivers routinely pick up the kids. And for all Sessions’ talk of obeying the law and punishing law breakers, immigration and other laws can always be changed—they are not decreed in the Bible-- and, at least now, unauthorized border crossing is only a misdemeanor and asking for asylum is not even that.

I am put in mind of my post-Ceausescu visit to Romanian children’s institutions when I worked for the occupational therapy association. It was quite distressful to observe the situation there. Part of the problem was sheer lack of personnel and resources. To my surprise, because Romanian is a Romance language, if people spoke slowly, I could get the gist of what they were saying, but since they didn't make the same effort for me when I spoke Spanish slowly, they couldn't understand me. I wrote an article for our weekly OT magazine when I came back, using a photo of a little girl named Gabriela. A couple in Minnesota saw her photo and adopted her and I have been in touch with her via Facebook. Once she left the orphanage, she refused to speak Romanian. She received OT services and spoke out bravely to a whole room of conference goers at one of our national conferences when she was still a child. In college, she studied Spanish and sometimes she writes to me in Spanish. I mention her in my Confessions book.

Although the Sessions-Trump policy of separating children and parents at the border has critics within the Republican Party, apparently a bare majority of Republican voters actually do support it. Republican lawmakers are loath to stand up to Trump, especially after Mark Sanford’s primary defeat in South Carolina.

Are there any limits to presidential power? Is a president above the law? Does the president get to decide whatever the law is and how it applies? Can he pardon himself? If so, why didn’t Nixon do that? Donald Trump and his spokespersons, especially Rudy Giuliani, seem to be insisting that he has supreme kingly or dictatorial powers above all written and legislated law, above even the courts, and also the right to even define truth. He cannot lie, because the truth is whatever he says it is at the time. The president cannot obstruct justice either because he defines justice. Giuliani insists that Trump could even shoot James Comey and get away with it. Is Giuliani trying to even out-Trump Donald Trump? Is he sending a signal to those now in legal cross-hairs, like Manafort, not to spill the beans because Trump will save him with a pardon. Trump has declared asbestos to be safe, so nothing to worry about there. No global warming either. Canada burned down the White House; sea levels are not rising. Trump had the biggest inaugural crowd ever, and “I am very smart.” A stubbornly loyal core of Trump supporters seems ready to worship their guy, even if he says the earth is flat.

Whether Trump’s image of infallibility holds up probably will depend on the outcome of the midterms and whether Republicans maintain their majority. Trump & Co. know that very well and are doing their level best to make sure it happens either by hook or by crook and by pouring in lots of money. Likewise, incumbent Republicans mostly seem to feel obliged to allay themselves with Trump, whatever their private beliefs and inclinations. Full employment, although wages have not risen, will help their side. So will ongoing North Korea negotiations, even though no definitive conclusions will be actually reached there. Will we be stuck with Trump and Trumpism for another 2 years? Or even longer?? Historians will later analyze ad infinitum everything that went wrong during the Trump administration, but relief right in the here and now looks pretty iffy. It will take years for present-day Trump supporters to mercifully pass on. It seems that for legislators, keeping their job trumps everything else, so they will take whatever position they estimate will gain them the most votes. The only Republican lawmakers with any principles are those not running again. The Chinese may have not conspired to bring Trump into office, but they certainly are taking maximum advantage by stepping into the vacuum created by his withdrawal of American leadership. This may not have been what Russia had originally envisioned. Both Xi and Putin are authoritarian leaders whom Trump much admires and strives to emulate. It seems unlikely that Trump will press Kim on human rights, since human rights are not a big issue for him here at home.

Liberty University, the Christian college started by the late Jerry Falwell, is enlisting its students and staff to produce a movie suggesting that God actually chose Donald Trump to become president. "The Trump Prophecy," which is expected to screen in more than 1,000 theaters, features a retired Florida firefighter who claims God told him in 2011 that "I will use this man to bring honor, respect and restoration to America."

The Trump administration and Jeff Sessions have wanted to make a big public splash with recent mass immigration arrests in meatpacking and landscaping companies. If these enterprises have so many undocumented workers, they must need those workers. Company executives were apparently not charged. Sessions has also decreed, contrary to long established practice, that fear of gang violence or domestic abuse are not grounds for asylum. As both a human rights activist and a Spanish interpreter, I regard his small-minded pronouncements with dismay.

If trust and reciprocity are the basis of lasting agreements, “deal-maker” Trump has certainly smashed prospects of agreement with Canada and the European Union on trade. He seems to think having temper tantrums, insulting potential partners, trying to scare them, and walking away will bring them to heel, make them grovel at his feet, as may have happened sometimes with his real estate deals. But such behavior may have only hardened our former allies’ resolve to unite against him, to the net detriment of the American people. Yes, a few lucky steel workers have recovered their jobs, and 250 workers’ jobs were saved at the one US lumber processing plant in Washington State, but how many more potential voters have lost jobs and income? America First is becoming America Alone. And will such tactics work with North Korea? That’s doubtful. Although lately, Trump has been playing nice with Kim Jong Un, can Kim really trust a guy like Trump? Can anyone? Trump can turn on you on a dime—just ask some folks who have gotten the ax. And Kim is quite capable of playing the same game. Trump’s survival in office may hinge on the perceived success of his North Korea engagement. It was a starting point, but, as Trump himself likes to say, we’ll see what happens.

Having heard Trump’s North Korea summit speech, where he ad-libbed only slightly while mainly following the scrip, he sounded OK, and he did not do too badly at the press conference afterword. I did not see how, as he argued, a young American’s death after being on North Korean custody had sparked the denuclearization process. And it was apparent that human rights are not going to be part of this equation, though even with a more rights-oriented US president, that issue is rarely pressed anywhere in the world. It was apparently news to South Korea that joint military exercises would be suspended. Kim must have left the summit puzzled by Trump, but happy about the outcome and Trump’s apparent warm embrace. Unfortunately, Trump’s domestic standing has been enhanced by his mere appearance at the summit with Kim and may have helped some Trump candidates in the primaries.

If former President Obama has actually referred to Donald Trump as a “cartoon character,” as has been reported, then he’s no longer a funny cartoon.

There has been much speculation about Melania’s long public absence and continuing lack of appearances. It’s probably a combination of health problems and just being fed up with Donald and this whole presidential thing. Some think she may have had more plastic surgery while in the hospital, taking advantage of her stay there. Or her medical problems may have been more serious than reported. We may never know, but let’s grant Melania her privacy.

I’m trying to be evenhanded by allowing rightwing as well as more moderate political messages to reach me, but I was taken aback when I was invited to enter a drawing for a free $3,000+ tactical combat gun used by the military and law enforcement. Does the second amendment along with the right of self-protection support the possession and use of such a weapon? May I still enter this drawing (and win?) if I am a crook or former felon or mentally ill?

My own local Amnesty International Group 211 has a campaign underway pressing for an apology, cleanup, and reparations from Shell Oil now 20 years after a massive and damaging oil spill in Nigeria, including a twitter campaign #oilinthefishbasket

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr44/8530/2018/en/

Eduardo Cardet - Human rights defender Dr. Eduardo Cardet Concepción was arrested in Holguín, Cuba, in November 2016 and charged with attacking a state official after he publicly criticized Fidel Castro a few days after the former leader’s death. Cardet has been declared a prisoner of conscience, sentenced to remain in prison until 20 March 2020. He is also a medical doctor who has been the leader since 2014 of the pro-democracy Christian Liberation Movement. Amnesty International is calling for his immediate and unconditional release, but also encourages use of this case to promote its new Human Rights Agenda for Cuba, which includes a petition that highlights the need for all prisoners of conscience in the country to be released immediately.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2018/04/cuba-2018-transform-confrontation-into-dialogue/

Also see Amnistía Internacional Américas by Amnistía Internacional Américas on iTunes.

Amnesty International issued Urgent Action AMR 25/8737/2018 on behalf of Cuban human rights defender Dr. Eduardo Cardet Concepción whose family visiting rights have been suspended by the authorities. He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.

The action is available here: http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr25/8537/2018/en/

Here’s another Amnesty International Urgent Action (AMR 25/8541/2018) issued on behalf of Cuban scientist and environmental activist, Dr. Ariel Ruiz Urquiola. He was sentenced to one-year imprisonment for contempt and is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.

The action is available here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr25/8541/2018/en/

You are also encouraged to sign Amnesty International’s petition to the new Cuban president supporting a new human rights agenda for Cuba: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2018/04/cuba-2018-transform-confrontation-into-dialogue/

Cardenal Miguel Obando has died, someone I remember meeting during his peace efforts in Nicaragua up to and after the 1990 presidential election, which Violeta Chamorro won and where I was an election observer.

OK, here’s a test of your Spanish, a New York-born man, named below [presumably of Nicaraguan heritage], was killed in Managua. Un ciudadano estadounidense, nueva víctima de la violencia en Nicaragua

Nacido en Nueva York, fue hallado muerto en una calle en Managua junto a dos vehículos quemados

Domingo, junio 3, 2018 | Agencias

As deaths among protesters continue in Nicaragua and electoral irregularities have been revealed, why have not the US and the OAS been more forceful in their condemnations? Deaths now are approaching 200 in what has turned out to be a mini-civil war. I am heartsick for my friends in Nicaragua. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-06-19/violence-flares-up-in-nicaragua-after-suspension-of-peace-talks

Although the Kilauea volcano has been continually erupting violently on Hawaii’s Big Island for more than a month, destroying forests, roads, and homes, remarkably, so far at least, despite some injuries, there has been no word of deaths, as in Guatemala. Of course, the volcano has actually been erupting for decades with a constant and predictable lava flow, a major tourist attraction which I’ve seen on occasion in the past. Now the volcano has gone haywire, with no end in sight. There seem to be endless stores of molten lava bubbling up from the earth’s core.

If anyone reading this has considered visiting the small isolated mountain kingdom of Bhutan, as my brother has done, you might make inquiries with the travel agency operated by the boyfriend of one of my Bhutan visitors. His name is Kinley Wangchuk and his company is called Bhutan Tourer, bhutantourer@gmal.com

http: //facebook.com/bhutantourer If you want to see the landscape there, here is a trailer for a rare Bhutanese film: Honey giver among the dogs https://vimeo.com/158453408

High profile suicides are not only losses in their own right, but suicide contagion may propel less well-known people to take their own lives too, thinking that if such much admired and successful folks cannot find life satisfaction, “what chance do I have?” Just recently, there have been designer Kate Spade, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, Inés Zorreguieta, sister of Netherlands Queen Maxima, and now even within our own Amnesty International Paris office staff, Gaëtan Mootoo, a 32-year veteran who handled difficult cases in West Africa. Why? Why indeed? Work pressures, image concerns, financial and legal losses, depression, pain and illness, addiction, envy and revenge, and relationship problems may all be involved, as well as impulsiveness and the example of others. There are moments when most of us have felt that everything is really just too much and we might contemplate leaving this “vale of tears.” It might be only a fleeting sensation or something longer term and recurrent. In my own case, my husband’s decision to divorce me after 24 years and the deaths of my son and Cuban foster son were low points in my life, when only my other children pulled me through. I’ve met other single parents who have lost their only child and I’ve wondered how they have had the strength to go on. In the US, suicides are on the rise and about half of suicides are committed with firearms.

Son Jonathan, after a series of setbacks, has just returned from a 30-day Amtrak pass around the US, having gone as far from the east coast as California, where he took a photo of my ez-husband’s/his father’s simple grave.

It does not surprise me that decades after Roe vs. Wade and abortion legalization in several countries that in the US, citizens are still about equally divided between opposing and approving legalization, between “abortion rights” and “right to life.” As much as I understand the distress of a woman finding herself unwilling and unexpectedly pregnant, it’s also hard for me to wrap my mind around terminating a pregnancy, especially after the early stages, as already mentioned on this blog. I have no quarrel with gay marriage or

Juneteenth greetings now on June 19, anniversary of the abolition of slavery, which I salute as a citizen and also as a grandmother and great-great grandmother of folks with slave ancestry. Here is a Mother’s Day photo from before my granddaughter and great-grandson’s move to Florida a year ago.