August flowers

Trump and his henchmen tried to link the Ohio shooter to the Democratic Party, but the shooter was hardly a hardcore Democrat. He attended a KKK rally, for one thing. And can Democrats be accused of goading supporters to attack others? There is no moral equivalency. Republicans just make themselves look foolish. Trump claimed that local people in Dayton and El Paso “loved” him, so what’s the complaint? Republican office holders and spokespersons seem to be running scared and acting overly defensive. While many Trumpers still remain in love with him, his support had never reached a majority level. If the economy starts slowing down, in part because of Trump’s trade war with China, can the guy survive that?

It looks like mass shootings may finally have turned more voters against the NRA. And certainly Trump and his wall and his constant talk about an invasion from south of the border conveniently forgets that much of Texas and the southwest was once Mexican territory. Who invaded whom?

“Mental illness” now seems the scapegoat favored by Republicans for mass shootings. Guns don’t kill people, mental illness does. If mass shooters are being defined as mentally ill, then, of course, mental illness is the culprit—anything to avoid blaming gun proliferation. And what is the remedy? Mental illness treatment is not being expanded and is not necessarily effective. Is a white supremacist going to submit to mental health treatment and become less dangerous as a result? But if you curb his (or her) access to firearms, it may have a practical effect. Was the recent killing of motorists after an accident on a Texas highway a case of “mental Illness” or the result of the killer becoming upset and having an assault rifle at his disposal? The NRA and gun advocates fear the “slippery slope” of allowing even completely obvious common-sense firearms restrictions. You’d better believe it; those of us who want to see fewer guns in circulation will keep pressing on, especially until, empirically, gun deaths are reduced. And as for Trump’s idea of bringing back insane asylums, again, his thinking is mired in the 1960’s and ‘70’s when he was launching his casino, hotel, and golf course empire.

Those who facilitate gun violence short of pulling the trigger also need to be held responsible for not reporting the danger. The Ohio shooter’s friend, who had obtained high powered weapons and body armor for him so his parents wouldn’t notice, has culpability. And now those parents have lost two of their children (the shooter and his sister) in a crime that might have been prevented.

Trump’s teleprompter words about “white supremacy” having no place in our country were counteracted by the most massive immigration raid ever conducted. The ICE raids in Mississippi have devastated communities and made some Trump supporters there rethink their allegiance. The governor has declared that people should always enter the country “legally,” but I can say from long experience that none of those picked up in that raid would ever have been granted a US visa. “Legal” is a flexible concept, dependent on citizen consensus. Laws can be changed; they are not the Ten Commandments handed down from on high, as I have argued in my books. Unfortunately, as much as he can by presidential fiat, bypassing Congress, Trump and his staff are attacking immigrants, even legal ones. Non-citizen parents or even foreign-born citizens may hesitate to seek legally authorized benefits for themselves and their citizen children because of the administration’s stance. When immigrants first arrive, they may need help temporarily until they get on their feet.

Nancy Pelosi led a Congressional delegation to the Central American triangle countries.

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Pelosi is trying to keep Democrats on track while presidential wannabes vie for public attention, banking that a majority of voters will support any Democrat over Trump. But front-runner Joe Biden, who might appeal to independents and middle-of-the-roaders, has been screwing up, making Trump-like gaffes. Is he up to the task? But Democrats are worried about choosing a female candidate after Hillary’s failure and fear of turning off white male voters.

The Washington Post on-line for Sunday, Aug. 11, showed a graphic, changing display of photos of Guatemalan deportees before, during, and after their flight “home.” Guatemala is hardly a safe country for these deportees or for other asylum seekers, but is the US a safe country either?

How many times have I seen similarly dejected deportees disembarking from such flights at the airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, though not last Feb. as I was told that such flights now arrive at San Pedro Sula, to the north. I always chat with Honduran taxi drivers and find that most have enjoyed a few years working in the US until they were deported, some still nostalgic about those years until it all came to an abrupt end. And many American born children were deported with their parents.

Amnesty International issues travel warning for U.S. visitors over “high levels of gun violence,” On 7 August 2019, AI issued a global travel warning for the USA because of rampant gun violence. This announcement comes on the heels of a series of deadly mass shootings in several parts of the USA. Over one hundred people die every day in the USA because of gun violence, and the situation has amounted to a human rights crisis. Check AI websites for the travel advisory, sample press releases and tweets. A report by AI, “In the Line of Fire: Human Rights and the U.S. Gun Violence Crisis” examined how all aspects of American life have been compromised in some way by the unfettered access to guns, with no attempts at meaningful national regulation. Last month, AI published a report examining how survivors of gun violence in the United States suffer years of trauma and pain due to a destructive combination of government policies which ignore their needs.

Trump has threatened unspecified retaliation against nations and organizations that have issued travel advisories against the US because of gun violence.

In Cuba, Granma, the official newspaper, has chided comics for making fun of public servants.

Meanwhile, the trade war with China unleashed by Mr. Trump is threatening to devastate the national and world economy. The stock market has been jumping up and down, according to Trump’s whims. Will Trump, the self-described great deal-maker, try to make a deal in time? Any final agreement will be touted by him as “a great deal.” Or is China’s leadership simply waiting for Trump to be gone from office? (Iran maybe doing the same.)

Hong Kong citizens have been fighting valiantly for their political life, because they know what’s at stake. But it’s hard to see how they can prevail against overwhelming Chinese government might. Their only weapon is world public opinion and the Chinese government’s desire not to threaten the economic engine of Hong Kong. But now China seems to be getting tired of the protests and the example they are setting for the mainland, so is bringing on the heavy equipment in echoes of Tiananmen. Why did Britain ever agree to return the territory to China? The Trump administration seems more than ready to challenge China’s growing economic power, but has few comments about its encroachments on land and sea beyond its traditional borders and no comment at all on its human rights record toward its citizens, including those in Hong Kong.

It looks like Trump’s intervention into Israeli affairs has blown up in his face and that of his pal Netanyahu as well. At least, that’s how I see it. Both look weak attacking Muslim American Congresswomen. Of course, Netanyahu dare not go against the advice of his big supporter and great financial benefactor Donald Trump, who is also playing to his evangelical base which supports Israel, right or wrong. The formation of Israel grew out of understandable sympathy for the terrible horrors of the Holocaust and in support of Zionists who had been pressing for a mid-east Jewish homeland for several decades before World War II. While anti-Semitism still exists, many, if not most, Jews now to choose to live outside Israel. Israel, enjoying unusually high economic and political support from the US, now finds itself in a paradoxical situation as a self-declared democracy that also appears to discriminate against non-Jews, especially Palestinians, who are still aggrieved over being ejected from their ancestral lands. Is it anti-Semitic to advocate for Palestinians and to urge a boycott of Israel? Trump and Netanyahu make that case. Will the Israeli action against the Congresswomen reduce the boycott pressures or increase them?

On NPR, I just heard an interview with Sister Helen Prejean, a woman about my age, whom I met in 1993 when her book Dead Man Walking came out. I have a signed copy somewhere in my vast library. She told me to simply call her “Helen.” Since then, after all the revelations of child sex abuse by priests, I have cooled on the Catholic church and certainly agree with Helen that women need a stronger voice there.

As a young girl, I had considered becoming a nun myself, but my desire to be a mother was stronger. Motherhood won out in spades. Not only have I been a mother and foster mother, but have hosted and mentored many young people in my home, in Honduras, through Amnesty International and other organizations, and via my interpretation work. So, I’m glad to have chosen that path, just as Sister Helen is satisfied with the path she has chosen. However, right now, I am feeling a bout of compassion fatigue, so am taking a time out on hosting and mentoring, though still continuing with interpretation, human rights volunteer work, and plans for Honduras next Feb. Some neighbors have expressed concern that I am living “alone.” Would they be as concerned if I were younger or a man?

Mr. Trump is an accidental president, a cruel, impulsive liar, in office only due to the freak alignment of rare forces, as per chaos theory. Let’s make sure that the same accident doesn’t happen again. The plethora of Democratic wannabes surfacing now is a little disconcerting. While it allows an airing of policy options, it also risks sharpening divisions and possibly allowing another minority win for Trump. Whoever his opponent may be, Democrats and independents must vote for that person and not opt for a third candidate or sit out the vote as some did in 2016 because they did particularly like Hillary. Do they like Trump any better? Our election system offers only a binary choice. Trump is a real-life Forrest Gump, but lacking the film character’s charm and humility.

For his part, if he loses reelection, Trump can always blame “fake news” and the deep state. He could still hold rallies when his ego needs stoking. I feel sorry for a guy so lacking in self-awareness, likability, intelligence, and basic humanity, but he seems unable to change, so may he live out his life where he can do minimal damage, no longer in the American presidency. And if he loses, may the Republican Party see the light and return to sanity. Won’t it be nice when we don’t have to worry about what that man will do next? If his plan for the US to buy Greenland should pan out, maybe he anticipates building a hotel there?

I do have a personal issue that Mr. Trump might correctly be inclined to cite as a case of regulation overreach. Any adult working in DC schools, including interpreters like me, must have a current TB test and fingerprint clearance, fair enough. Usually fingerprints take 10 days to clear. I had mine taken on July 11, more than a month ago, but they were blurry, so needed additional vetting. Some teachers in daily contact with kids were given extra time to renew their clearances, so I asked for the same consideration, especially since I am usually working with Spanish-speaking parents, not directly with their kids. No other duly vetted interpreter was available recently. But my agency and I did not want to give the service if we would not get paid. Finally, after much pressure, I was re-approved.

Congressman King is probably right that millennia ago, our ancient ancestors produced some offspring via rape and incest, even as some still do today. It’s possible to imagine a caveman dragging a woman off by her hair before assaulting her, not to mention ancient peoples killing each other with clubs and rocks, even as today, they use bombs and guns. Some living people may have snips of DNA passed down from cave people, but does that mean they still have to act like cave people? Apart from inheritance, there is also evolution, socialization, and change.

The world has not yet adjusted to the internet, its promise and its perils, a technological revolution that’s still evolving.