Phantom Flowers, New Household Member, Trump Parade Postponed, Truth?, Immigration, Amnesty International, Catholic Church’s Continuing Scandal, High-Profile Murders, Free Range Kids

Below is a red bud bush/tree in front of my house that normally has pink blossoms in the spring, but is now shooting up a white-blossomed branch, a little hard to see in this photo, very mysterious. 

Here below is my grandniece Samantha, recently arrived from California to study ballet here at the Kirov school, quite an honor.

Events surrounding her arrival have delayed posting of this blog.

Whew!! Trump military parade has been “postponed” (indefinitely?) thank goodness! What a waste it would be, what an egregious, vulgar anti-American display of militarism! Such a parade would have brought out a righteous avalanche of counter-protesters.

And if mainstream news reporting is so “fake,” let Donald show us just what exactly is fake about it. Name calling alone doesn’t disqualify information. Trump thinks he is still on his TV show The Apprentice where he could make outrageous statements and fire people at will. Let’s fire the guy himself ASAP before he does even more damage, then let the pundits and historians mull over all that went wrong. How to gauge how much of his errors and boorish behavior are Trump’s own fault? That’s always a question in judging anyone’s actions. The Donald may have been raised by flawed parents, may have had access to too much money too young, or may have dementia. So send him out to pasture to play golf and make angry speeches to his adoring followers to his heart’s content. Just stop mucking up the rest of the country and the world.

The latest version of the Trump administration’s “alternative facts” has been Giuliani’s “Truth isn’t truth.”

Now we have another unflattering, but credible, book about the Trump administration, but one read only by those who already agree with its finding, while hardcore Trump supporters will echo his own dismissal of it as “fake.”  Stormy Daniels is also throwing her own Trump memoir into the ring—why not rake in a few dollars while she can? Every president has detractors, but I don’t recall so many “anti” books and articles being written about another president so early on. And if the anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, reportedly written by someone in his inner circle, is just more “fake news,” why is Trump getting so riled up about it? Trump’s saving grace is the good economy and job numbers, mostly not attributable to him, but very lucky, just as his election was a lucky fluke. The huge deficit and service cuts are worrisome but they have given the economy a short-term boost. If Hillary had been president, we wouldn’t have had the tax cuts, but she would be given credit for a good economy. And while I and many others would support the Dreamers and the expansion of legal immigration, of course there must be limits as no country or otherwise defined territory can just open its doors to all comers. But we don’t need to slam the door shut either, as seems to be happening now.

Another mass shooting, about which we are becoming blasé. Anyone who has a grievance, real or imagined, just takes a gun and shoots people and if our turn comes, that’s fate? Is that what the Founding Fathers envisioned in their statement that a “well-regulated militia” has the right to carry arms? Individual gun rights only appeared in our own lifetime.

Mr. Trump is tone-deaf on ethnicity, imagining that all African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians actually know each other. And he recently introduced a Hispanic ICE agent by saying that he “speaks perfect English,” which is more than you can say of the Donald. As for NAFTA, if Mexicans (and Canadians) have good jobs in their home countries, they are less likely try to come to the US, And Trump, the big champion of the American flag, in a coloring session with school kids, colored the flag with one red stripe and one blue one, something captured on-camera. Since when did our flag have a blue stripe?

We should be worrying now about the joint Russian/Chinese military exercises, but nary an official word is being said.

The guy complains about the “national disgrace” of the Mueller investigation, when the national disgrace is actually himself as our president. And he demonstrated his sympathy toward Nixon by referring to John Dean as a “rat,” saying that he hopes his own White House Counsel McGahn is not of the same ilk. He loudly declared on Fox that he would pardon Manafort to make sure the guy got that message but now it looks like Manafort may have “flipped.”  Trump has also been warning that his own impeachment would tank the economy. If any news outlet reports verbatim what Trump says and mentions the negative fallout from his remarks, he calls that “fake news” and “bias.” Is no one allowed to comment on the comments of the commander-in-chief unless they are actually praising him? Is criticism just the “deep state” attacking him? Republican incumbents, especially those running for reelection dare not alienate Trump loyalists, so they are in a bind trying to counter Trump on any ussie, even when their constituents are negatively affected—i.e. by tariffs.

Sessions and Miller are relentless, Trump backs them up, but on his own, he doesn't really know how to attack immigration. He doesn’t have strategies or plans of any kind, just slogans and impulses. His staff has to pick up the pieces. I’m not surprised that Trump and Sessions are feuding—a pox on them both! What a relief it will be for most Americans when Trump is out of office! We are all wasting time and effort on these senseless, spurious fights. I hope to live to see the day when he is gone, sooner rather than later. DC’s lack of Congressional voting rights hurts more than ever now.

8,000 new ways the Trump administration is undermining immigration court independence | The Hill
http://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/402542-8000-new-ways-the-trump-administration-is-undermining-immigration-court 

How Trump is cracking down on legal immigrants – and how they are fighting back | US news | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/18/trump-legal-immigration-crackdown-legal-challenge

Yes, deported Hondurans (see link) really cannot go home again. Theoretically, they could start over in a completely new locale, but that takes resources and contacts they don’t have. Also, it’s a small country geographically and population-wise, so news travels. I’m a known person in much of the country. And I don’t feel safe either, but take as many precautions as possible and don’t reveal there that I am gringa unless I have to.
https://abcn.ws/2MZqdiN

Trump does seem to have sucked all the oxygen out of the Republican Party, requiring most incumbents or candidates to support him or quit. Republicans running for reelection dare not alienate Trump’s base by criticizing him. However, any hopes of his learning on the job have been dashed, as while Trump has learned a few superficial things, like how to read from a teleprompter, his learning curve is mostly on a downward trajectory.

Meanwhile, young insurgents seem to have thrived in the Democratic Party, which is one reason I think we need new faces in the 2020 race, especially as presidential contenders.

Preliminary 2020 matchups of Trump against possible rivals shows old favorites Biden and Sanders doing best, though, of course, Hillary Clinton also did well against Trump in 2016 polls and bested him by 3 million votes, so it’s not only a matter of the sheer number of votes under the outdated Electoral College system, but how they are distributed. While I would certainly vote for either Sanders or Biden if either were running against Trump (or Pence), I would prefer to see some new faces, even though currently they don’t have much traction. Democrats have 2 years to get into gear for the presidential race. Not that John McCain had control over the timing of his death, but now the Republican governor ph Arixona unfortunately had a chance to pick his successor.

Writing in the NYTimes, opinion writer Timothy Egan opines that Trump is eroding his own hardcore base not only by eviscerating Obamacare and imposing damaging tariffs, but by disrespecting them, as when he called AG Sessions a “dumb Southerner.” Let’s hope he continues to insult them. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/opinion/trump-base-polls.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

If I were Mueller, which obviously I’m not, I would wait until after the mid-terms when there might be a better political climate for “Lock him up!”

While I oppose Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh primarily on grounds other than abortion (though who knows his views on any issue as he has been very coy?), I don’t think sending thousands of coat hangers to female Senators is going to influence their vote. “Morning after” pills or self-administered early abortifacients, as well as more contraceptive use, mean there will never be a return to coat hangers and even fewer trips to abortion clinics. Even if Roe is overturned, early abortions will be self-administered and beyond the reach of any court—or so I would predict.

I’ve had a number of recent requests for help from families or friends of Cuban asylum seekers. Welcome to the club! Like everyone else, they will need to find pro bono layers to help them. I may be able back up their cases in general terms in court, but rarely would have information about a specific case in my Amnesty International role. (https://www.justice.gov/eoir/list-pro-bono-legal-service-providers)

Recent news reports have pointed to a possible Russian connection regarding the sonic attacks against US (and Canadian) Embassy staff in Havana, leading to reduction and shift of many embassy functions.

Here are some additional Amnesty International items about Cuba and other topics:

Cuba Frees Leading Dissident Charged With Attempted Murder https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-08-15/cuba-frees-leading-dissident-charged-with-attempted-murder

Cuban Dissident Says He's Been Released, Still Faces Charges https://www.usnews.com/news/bpredictorsest-states/florida/articles/2018-08-15/cuban-dissident-says-hes-been-released-still-faces-charges

Amnesty International Turkey Chair Released from Prison https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45194696

Amnesty International has asked South Sudan’s Kiir to release political prisoners, which he claims are just isolated cases,

Soon Nicaraguans will be seeking asylum in the US. Not only has Ortega overstayed his welcome once again as president, but a reduction in Venezuelan oil donations has hurt him.

The latest Catholic Church pedophile scandal not only is alienating me and many other Catholics, but reinforces my/our support—indeed, probably the support of most Catholics worldwide—for allowing married people of both genders to become priests. There is a serious priest shortage, so the pool would be expanded and marginal applicants would no longer need to be accepted. Additionally, while women can become sexual predators, it’s relatively rare. Finally, married people with other sexual outlets would be less motivated to prey on children and, as parents themselves, might feel more protective of kids and young people. A few married men converting from other Christian denominations have been allowed to become Catholic priests and have been well accepted by local parishioners Why not expand that? Of course, sexual predators must also be reported to civil authorities at the first offense, not protected. Pedophiles usually have a hard time reforming, but their chances of reform would increase if they no longer had ready access to young kids and sought future work outside the priesthood. The world’s largest, longest-lasting Christian church is losing major credibility and trust and is having to pay out millions in reparations. Is that what we contribute to in weekly collections? Pope Francis has taken some admirable stances, but he has not been able to get ahold of this continuing worldwide problem. Heard some of his remarks in Ireland—he was speaking in Spanish there. Sometimes, I’ve heard him speaking Italian or Latin.

Yes, an immigrant apparently killed the missing jogger (whether he was here legally is in dispute—he may have used a fake ID). His arrest is now eclipsing the arrest of an (unfaithful) husband who apparently killed his pregnant wife and two young daughters, then hid their bodies after making a TV appeal for their safe return. Assuming both guys are guilty, which seems likely, the murder committed by the immigrant will fuel more anti-immigrant sentiment, while that of the apparently unfaithful husband will not have great political impact. Can “love” or “lust” drive someone to the extremes this husband went to get rid of his wife and family? It’s happened many times. The man’s reputed lover is laying low. (Do apparent multiple murders by a border patrol agent mean all border patrol agents are murders? That’s Trumpian logic.)

And we are becoming used to mass shootings and the threat they pose to us all, the latest being six shooting deaths in Bakersfield, California. Is there nothing we can do as a nation to reduce vengeful and accidental shootings now and in the future? While people, not guns, kill people, if fewer guns were available, fewer people would have access to them to kill others, as has been demonstrated in many countries with stricter gun laws.

As a child, my siblings and I were “free-range,” playing outside all around the neighborhood with friends and only coming home for meals, especially during long summer days. Mostly, we lived in small towns or suburban neighborhoods, but I also spent part of my childhood in Latin America, where the risks were greater, but where I pretty much could come and go as I pleased, And my mother really never worked outside the home, so she usually was always there, but she didn’t hover. She had her own friends. Even though I raised my own kids in the city, they were basically free range as well, playing outside or going in and out of neighboring houses, and walking to school across busy streets, later traveling alone by metro to junior high and high school. Of course, all this only started at about 3^rd grade, which would have made them 8 or 9 years old. My great-grandson, until he moved to Florida with his mother over a year ago, at the same age, would play outside in his former Virginia neighborhood or on my own street in DC, though he was at school or in afterschool care or sports practice during school days. Is giving kids freedom to roam risky? There is always some risk. How much freedom? Walking to the park, taking the dog for a walk? They could always have an accident or be abducted (the latter pretty unlikely, but it happens). Still. they do have to learn gradually to fend for themselves. Of course, to lose a child is unbearable—I know too well—but my losses occurred after they were already grown up. At some point, protective parenting has to stop, but just when is open to debate. It may depend on the particular child, though if you have more than one kid and treat them differently, that’s also a problem. Was being a parent ever easy?