Trump Takes to the World Stage, Democrats’ Leftward Turn, Asylum Seekers, Catholic Church Scandals, On-Line Political Fund Appeals, Medicare for All, Nicaragua

Donald Trump’s abject deference to Vladimir Putin at the Helsinki summit, which he himself had requested (why?), makes one wonder what Putin has on him. His further invitation to Putin to come to DC only compounds the problem. If Trump is trying to disprove his collusion with Russia, this is a strange way of showing it.  He accused his critics not only of spreading “fake news” (i.e., anything he doesn’t like), but of Trump Derangement Syndrome, a phrase first coined by Rand Paul, but more than applicable to Trump himself. Before that, he made a fool of himself (and of us all) with European leaders. The poor guy is way, way out of his depth but seems ever more confident of his own intellect and less inclined than ever to listen to advisers. I don’t know the legalities of whether the interpreter can be questioned about what was said in Trump’s meeting with Putin, but speaking as an interpreter myself, we normally would not reveal what was said and really don’t commit it to memory or take notes, just go along with conveying the conversation so that the parties can communicate.

Reportedly, many Republican voters approve of Russian meddling in our elections if it helps Donald Trump and other Republican candidates to win.

Not surprisingly, Trump’s voter fraud commission has found no fraud in the 2016 vote, as the president had alleged.

Here's what Robert Epstein, a psychologist and former editor of Psychology Today, says in an article in USA Today trying to figure out how Donald Trump makes decisions that are so unexpected and shocking even to his closest associates. He doesn't look back or forward, just decides to say or do something in the moment. Epstein says: And if I’m right, Trump will continue to function this way — blindly, erratically and reactively, without principle or direction — for the rest of his life. 

Trump has given me and many other Americans a continuing low-level case of vertigo and PTSD. However, Trump and his minions do lend themselves to satire and humor, which serves as an antidote. And I am not sorry to see Ivanka having to give up her clothing and jewelry business. If any members of the Trump family expected that the presidency would bring them fame and fortune, they are finding, after an initial surge, that the Trump brand has become toxic.

Very sneaky, really, for Trump to offer relief to mid-west farmers after deliberately starting a harmful trade war. To keep increasing deficits to cover up his mistakes is scary, but Trump will be out of office or dead before the bill actually comes due. He also seems to have strategy, perhaps first used in real estate, of making an outrageous proposal, then pulling back a little, so that his opponents (or associates) then feel a sense of relief.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker apparently cautiously and with sufficient flattery manipulated Trump into a “deal” on some tariffs with Europe. Trump was ready to deal after feeling the sting of criticism over his trade war and after behind-the-scenes pressure from beleaguered mid-west Republican candidates. If Republicans lose Congress, what protection will Trump have?  

It’s hard to imagine a major world leader who is not smarter than Trump, a leader who isn’t able to manipulate him through flattery and misinformation. His advisers hold their breath every time Trump tweets or speaks publicly. Sometimes when he goes over the top, as with his invitation to Putin, then even Putin wisely pulled back.

Heaven help me, Donald Trump has even invaded my dreams! He was standing in my living room wearing long pants and an undershirt with his belly hanging out, talking loudly on a cell phone. A notebook was left behind after his departure and I had a hard time calling people at the White House to find out where to send it.

Although I understand the anger fueling it in reaction to Trump’s outrages, I feel wary about the Democratic Party moving more to the left for fear of alienating and abandoning the large middle cohort of voters and increasing political polarization. Also, some far-left positions are not well thought out. That’s one reason I did not support Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid, besides the fact that he was not even a Democrat, but still running to represent the party. Additionally, I feel aggrieved by the fact that his state of Vermont, with a smaller population than DC, has two senators and a congressman while we have no voting representation. Also, as volunteer Caribbean Coordinator for Amnesty Int’l USA, I considered Vermont’s Senator Patrick Leahy much too accommodating to the Castro brothers and the Cuban military, to the point of facilitating the artificial insemination of the wife of a Cuban spy imprisoned in the US, later released, Gerardo Hernandez.

I don’t know a lot about Mass. Congressman Joe Kennedy, with a fairly low profile nationally. Of course, the Kennedy name is an old one, but Joe seems like a young, fresh face, yet someone with some government experience who might be a good presidential candidate. He’s also quite good looking, which is a help. I’m more inclined to have the Democratic Party field someone new against the 2020 Republican candidate, whether that be Trump, Pence, or someone else.

On the other hand, younger first-time voters now seem entranced by “socialism,” never having experienced what it has actually meant in practice. They want something new and, though socialism is actually old, it’s new to them. Of course, I’m in favor of promoting greater economic and social equity and recognize that income disparities between the top 1% and the rest of us have only grown over the last couple of years. But I am cautious about embracing socialism, depending on how it is defined. I would certainly support a basic minimum income which gives everyone purchasing power and helps level the economic playing field, especially at a time when automation is making employees more productive and actually less necessary. The basic needs of life for everyone can be produced with the efforts of just a few. Still, everyone, whether child, middle-aged adult, or long-lived senior, wants, in the words of my mentors at the occupational therapy association, to engage in “purposeful activity,” as subjectively defined, whether that’s play, art, volunteerism, or a paid job. I foresee a time when paid jobs will become premium activities, even more than today, and not because of monetary rewards, but because of being so scarce and valued.

Our gun culture has unfortunately crept over the border into Canada. And here in the US, we are getting blasé about mass shootings, with recent ones in New Orleans and Texas. Being able to create guns with 3-D printers is really scary and must be stopped, but for how long? Not only can they be made without a trace, but would evade metal detectors. However, as I mention in my book Triumph & Hope, Hondurans were able to assemble homemade single-shot guns, probably not unlike these 3-D guns. There us no great mystery about how a gun works. Just take one apart.

And I do worry that Trump is going to create a stock market crash, especially with his trade policies and criticism of the Federal Reserve, as well as the huge federal deficit accruing. In a trade war with China, not only are Chinese leaders much smarter and more strategic than Trump, but they don’t have to worry much about public opinion under their dictatorial system. The current strong US economy is all that Trump has going for him and it started under Obama. He brags about it and takes credit, but does not understand economic and trade policy any more than he understands anything else (including, most recently, even about buying groceries). You or I would be a more competent president. The contrast between the cerebral, articulate, and thoughtful Barack Obama and Trump’s crude, bumbling and confused utterances is breathtaking. Trump has left the nation feeling rudderless; even his advisers don’t know what to expect next. Like a naughty child, he likes to ignore and surprise them. The main (false) charge that Trump could think to level at Obama was that he was born in Kenya. Yet, for his small, solid cohort of cult-like followers, whatever Trump says is gospel.

Bernie Sanders has been touting single-payer, government-run health care, “Medicare for All.” An attractive idea, it would take a lot politically and logistically to get there, with winners and losers, as with any huge governmental change. Losers would be health insurance companies, drug companies, and even doctors and nurses, who would probably have salaries and lower incomes, no longer being paid per procedure, as they are now, which gives them an incentive to do more procedures. Patients would have leaner care, but probably less invasive and risky. Kaiser, to which I belong, would be the likely model. Patients at Kaiser face more bureaucracy, longer waits, and internet rather than phone calls with practitioners, but lower costs, including for Rx drugs. Kaiser requires some modest co-pays, a good idea to prevent hypochondriacs from abusing the system. Obamacare was moving in that direction, but the Trump administration has reversed course, going backward, as in so many areas.

It looks like Cuba is moving ever-so-slightly toward recognizing more non-government-employment, but mostly in the form of individual self-employment, so not nearly to the same extent as Russia, China, and Vietnam.

Déjà vu is what I'm feeling about Nicaragua these days. It's like a replay of the 1980's and the 1990 election where I was an observer. Ortega started out slowly in his second presidential round, even allowing the Peace Corps, but he wasn't content with just one or two presidential terms, he wanted to keep carrying on. The Cubans are advising him as usual.  

On another subject, in a case was brought by a number of asylum seekers who were contesting their detention, the DC district court judge ruled in their favor. There is no reason to hold asylum seekers in detention at all unless they are deemed flight risks or threats to the community. See aiusa-refugee-and-asylum-work@googlegroups.com  Meanwhile, there is a bill before the DC Council to cover legal costs for asylum seekers. A child released from immigration detention has died and 500 fathers in detention have announced a hunger strike. The problems of the Trump policy multiply as Ivanka declares her opposition to separating parents and children. Trump has stoked anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-black, and anti-Hispanic fears, now also, apparently, anti-Asian starting with Chinese.

Amnesty International USA urges Committee to Reject Increased Funding for CBP/ICE

Amnesty International USA Submission DHS FY19 Markup

Meanwhile, Amnesty is not immune to hacking.

Amnesty International staff targeted with malicious spyware 1 August 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/08/staff-targeted-with-malicious-spyware/

Nicaragua: Government’s shameful denial of human rights violations is part of its strategy of repression

22 June 2018,

In response to the government of President Daniel Ortega’s outright rejection of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ report on grave human rights violations committed in the context of the recent protests in Nicaragua, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

“It’s shameful that the government of President Ortega is denying the undeniable. There is a wealth of evidence, including thousands of testimonies, to show that the Nicaraguan state has committed terrible human rights violations and continues to do so on a daily basis. This has to stop before more lives are lost.

“The government’s reaction to today’s findings by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights demonstrates that the rhetoric of denial and division form part of its strategy of repression of the Nicaraguan people. We remind the state that it has an obligation under international law to protect the human rights of everyone, without distinction or discrimination.”

Forget the wall already, it's time for the U.S. to have open borders

Jeffrey Miron, Opinion contributor

The author is affiliated with the right-leaning CATO Institute and while his proposal is an intriguing way to spark a dialogue, I would not consider it a serious proposal.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/07/31/open-borders-help-economy-combat-

When horrific deaths occur, as after mass shootings or an accident like the recent duck-boat sinking where one survivor lost her children, husband, and other family members, people rush to contribute money. That’s fine to help defray funeral and burial costs and also shows support for the survivor. But all of us who have ever lost someone we love—unfortunately, probably universal experience—know that no amount of money in the world can compensate for the loss of a love one’s very life. The two are not equivalent, yet that’s what is most often offered and even sought by survivors of a tragic personal loss. Since nothing can bring back the missing person, we often accept money as the next best thing and the only alternative, or we ask for contributions to a charity supported by us or our loved one, as I did when I lost my son Andrew. However, what might offer a smidgen of comfort to the grieving person might be just sitting down with them, holding their hand, bringing them something to eat or a flowering plant, and avoiding saying “I know just how you feel,” because you really don’t. Their grief is unique and the person lost is not like anyone else.

A tragedy just waiting to happen was the drowning of 2-year-old twins is the backyard pool of a daycare worker. Apparently, she was not licensed—and speaking here as a former daycare licensing worker and friend of a woman who lost her small daughter in a pool drowning—I hasten to say that a swimming pool poses an existential threat to children, whether to one’s own children or others who are visiting or being cared for. An adult dares not take eyes off a child in the vicinity of a pool. Aware of so many drowning accidents involving kids, including the daughter of a friend, and sometimes even of older kids who have scaled a chain-link fence, I would advise anyone who wants children to have a swimming experience to enroll them in classes in a public pool with a lifeguard on duty. And if adults want to have a personal pool for their own use, that pool should be located indoors behind a locked door or, if outside, surrounded by a high fence with a locked gate and topped with razor wire. That may seem draconian, but many child drownings could then be prevented.

After my Bhutan visitors have now left and after I quoted to them a passage in my Confessions book about Bhutan’s discrimination against ethnic Nepalis, I looked up Bhutan on Amnesty International’s website: Since the early 1990s, over 100,000 refugees of ethnic Nepalese origin from southern Bhutan have been living in camps in eastern Nepal after they were arbitrarily stripped of their nationality and forced to flee Bhutan. These 100,000 people constitute about one-sixth of the population of Bhutan. The Bhutanese refugee situation has become one of the most protracted and neglected refugee crises in the world. Despite many rounds of bilateral talks between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan, a durable, rights-respecting solution to the plight of the Bhutanese refugees does not seem close. Amnesty International also remains concerned about continuing reports of discrimination against ethnic Nepalese living in Bhutan.

My one-time loyalty to the Catholic church has faded in the wake of continuing sex scandals (including in Honduras), especially those involving minors. Pope Francis has said and done many admirable things, including supporting migrants and denouncing the death penalty, but has not really come to grips with this festering problem. Now, to compound matters, nuns are becoming part of the “met-too” movement, calling out male clergy who have raped or molested them. Meanwhile, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who has presided over masses that I have attended in Washington, DC, now seems to have been a prime offender regarding underage boys. A photo of him smiling and wearing a bathing suit with his arm around the naked waist of a similarly clad very uncomfortable looking youth is chilling. As I have advocated in my book Triumph & Hope, the priest shortage and these recurrent and pervasive sex scandals could be greatly reduced through allowing both married and female priests, a position I and many others have been calling for now for decades. The largest and longest-established Christian church in the world cannot afford to allow this to continue. Pope Francis, for all his good deeds and fine utterances, needs to firmly confront this situation, even if it involves sanctioning some of his fellow Jesuits.

Having replied to requests for moral support or money from some early anti-Trump appeals, of course they have now metastasized to the point that I can no longer even read them all. How do I know which are legit and which are just fishing expeditions for my e-mail address and/or money?  One recurrent appeal comes from a woman who must be of Mexican heritage whose first name is the exotic Xochitl. Somehow, some rightwing appeals have also crept in there.

I am amused and also appalled that both sides in on-line appeals for funds for the midterms use similar alarmist language, though the right’s rhetoric is more extreme and they ask for larger sums, not a mere $1 or $5, but $50 or $100. Here from the Democratic side is an exaggerated appeal: Your support will make these GOP seats FLIP. And here is something from a right-wing site: “Save our president’s majority, triple-matched. More than 60 conservative candidates got out-raised by radical leftist sponsored candidates.” And still another: “I’m sick and tired of the left’s radically FAKE NEWS media spreading lies about me, our president, and other Conservatives around the country.” Newt Gingrich makes this appeal: Please contribute $20.18 or more to help our Republican campaigns unseat radical liberals. Does all it take to change votes is more money? Money does allow candidate forums and also buys political ads, but ads alone won’t change minds if voters have an ounce of sense. Same with Russian interference, voters need to be able to discern real “fake news.”

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has reportedly said, “We should not burden a sitting president with civil suits, criminal investigations, or criminal prosecutions.” 

Trump is endorsing Republican midterm candidates right and left, a gamble for him, but if they win, they owe him his much-prized “loyalty.” That means supporting him publicly and slavishly, right or wrong, however outlandish whatever he says or does.

Although I have expressed mixed feelings about the “right” to an abortion, trying to ban the morning-after pill or any other early medical abortifacient is a complete non-starter because women are going to find and use such means if they want to end their pregnancy, whether or not doing so is technically legal. (Coat hangers are not the future, even with a repeal of Roe.) Pills or other chemical non-surgical pregnancy terminations will take place privately without visible medical intervention, thus taking them out of the contentious and visible realm of Planned Parenthood or any other freestanding clinics that now provide most abortions. Only when women have passed the early stages will they consult such a clinic, so the issue will fade, at least that is my prediction, regardless of what happens to Roe vs. Wade.

And while most frozen embryos would develop into a baby/person if implanted, then born and raised, that’s not going to happen to most; they are only potential individuals and do not have the same rights in the real world as actual people. Many pregnancies are lost through miscarriage in the first three months, unfortunately, but something not considered a major tragedy. And the availability of abortion does level the playing field between men and woman in terms of the consequences of a sexual encounter. Surveys have shown that a portion of Democrats actually consider themselves pro-life, while a number of Republicans identify as pro-choice.

I would draw the line for protection of the fetus sometime after 3 months and certainly after 20 weeks when viability is possible. Most Americans, according to polls, would agree. Arriving at consensus on this question is within our grasp.

Early Fireworks, GAO Graduation, Cuba, Nicaragua, Avoiding Military Service, Empathy, Breast Milk, Heat Wave, Abortion

On July 3, with my son Jon (now living in West Va.) and a long-time friend. I watched early fireworks in Berkeley Springs, W. Va, where my friend has a vacation house.

I can see why rural, small-town life appeals to my son. It offers a nice respite from the bustle of city life.

My visitors from Bhutan graduated from the GAO program. 

A Saudi woman in the program was very excited about being able to drive when she returned, expecting her husband to surprise her with a new car. She had already learned to drive outside the kingdom. 

An Indiana man was cleaning his gun when it fired and killed his 6-year-old daughter. Enough said.

Cuban environmentalist Ariel Ruiz, recently hospitalized after a hunger strike, has been released, thanks to everyone's efforts. Our Caribbean person stationed in Mexico City has spoken to him by phone, where he is recovering at his sister's home. Amnesty International was able to speak with Ariel Ruiz Urquiola, who has been released from prison and is with his sister. We have yet to review the document which sets out the terms of his release. Ariel said: “Thank you (Amnesty International) for all the help you have given my family, and me, to achieve this. Without you I don’t think this would have been possible.”

The dire clash in Nicaragua continues with over 300 deaths, including of a 10-year-old, but has aroused little international attention and next to nothing has been heard from the Trump administration. Perhaps Trump fears encouraging Nicaraguan refugees?

The Trump administration has suspended the 20,000 annual US immigrant visas available by lottery, closing off even that small door of hope in a big blow to Cuban citizens’ aspirations.

Trump's grandfather 'kicked out of Germany for avoiding military service'

https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/politics/trump-grandfather-germany-friedrich/index.html

Sounds like avoidance of military service runs in the family.

Fortunately, after at first refusing to order flag lowering for the victims of the Annapolis newsroom shooting [fake news!], someone must have talked Trump out of that petty decision and so he was convinced (by the outcry? By Ivanka?) that those victims deserve recognition after all. But the US still apposed an international measure promoting breast milk, that most basic of infant foods, I suppose to promote the purchase of formula, which in developing countries has led to infant malnutrition and death. For Trump, breasts are for pinching, not for nourishing babies. In the Peace Corps, we promoted exclusive breast feeding for at least the first year. Trump’s administration is not only cruel, but incompetent, unable to reunite all the kids summarily taken away from their parents.

Trump is basically a shallow showman, a shock jock, putting on a wild and crazy performance for the headlines, then pulling back to a more tenable position, leaving his advisers to pick up the pieces. Maybe that’s a tactic that often worked for him in his business life. Republican lawmakers don’t know how to deal with him. They certainly are worried about his tariffs and some of his other decisions, but fear upsetting his base.

After Trump’s disastrous private meeting with Putin, who knows what he gave away?—only the interpreter may know. He trashed Britain and Europe, glorying Putin, perhaps even thanking him for helping him get elected.

If mental illness is a reason for gun deaths, how about making more and better mental health treatment available, as well as drug treatment instead of sabotaging Obamacare?

Trump and Sessions have both warned parents not to cross the US border illegally if they don’t want to be separated from their kids. But crossing to ask for asylum is not illegal. They talk about obeying the law, citing the Bible. What about having them start obeying the law on asylum? Now the administration is blocking ports of entry where asylum seekers must submit their requests. And all those talking about borders, as if they were sacrosanct, forget that Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and much of California was once united with Mexico.

Trump and his supporters are outliers nationally and internationally, folks whose beliefs, bullying, and rapacious behavior are at odds with those of most civilized people, repugnant to the majority, so it should be no great surprise that Trump and his officials are repudiated and heckled when they appear in public and when Trump himself is mocked, as with the baby Trump balloon floated over London. They act shocked and call for civility but don’t offer to change their own actions to merit civil treatment. I keep looking for something within this administration to support to encourage them to continue along those lines, but have yet to find it. I am hoping that big money is not everything in the mid-terms and that Democrats and independents turn out to vote against the Republicans, recognizing that Trump himself is the main conveyor of “fake news.”

A report on NPR highlighted research showing that people who acquire wealth and power are less generous and empathetic than poorer, less well known, folks. That has certainly been my own experience, both in the US and abroad. Honduran rural people are the most generous, offering you a tortilla, a cup of coffee, or their last soft drink. Trump has been very far removed from feeling any empathy with others, including with his own family and staff, who can be dismissed or disregarded on a whim. My Confessions book actually started after an argument with a Trump-like friend who denied the existence of empathy and denigrated my charitable impulses. As for Trump’s continuing popularity within his base, it must be based on identification with someone who can lob all manner of outrageous and prejudiced insults at others and get away with it.

But thank goodness that Scott Pruitt is finally out, after taking all he could get. All his appointees whose last names begin with Pr (Priebus, Pruitt, Price) have been especially problematic. Most Trump officials and Trump himself seem to have no inner conscience or empathy, only unfettered greed and lust for money, power, and praise. The man himself is gratuitously cruel and thoughtless, as well as incompetent and intellectually challenged. Taking migrant children away from their parents and summarily discharging non-citizens and transgender recruits from the military (which desperately needs more recruits!) are efforts to punish people simply for being who they are. His tariff war, decimation of Obamacare, and even opposition to the promotion of breast feeding, of all things, show a deliberately cruel and destructive side, but fearful Republicans mostly dare not oppose him. Since his base adores him no matter what, Trump could really afford to be a tad kinder without losing support. “Why did so many working-class voters choose a selfish, thin-skinned, petulant, lying, narcissistic, boastful, megalomaniac for president?” asks Robert Reich in Salon, (July 7, 2018). He really doesn’t have an answer. Trump and his underlings complain about the public’s “viciousness” toward them, but what about their own viciousness toward the majority of their fellow Americans, including Democrats, women, children, immigrants, Muslims, LGBT folks? The rest of us should just meekly and politely bow down to their assaults in the name of civility? Isn’t civility a two-way street?

Probably the main reason for Trump’s most recent Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh, is that he seems to consider the president above the law, at least when we are talking about a Republican president. “The law” is sacrosanct for everyone except Donald Trump. This would-be justice would also tip the court majority definitively to the right. When Bill Clinton was president, Kavanaugh pushed for impeachment, but now he has declared himself against the very idea of presidential impeachment. Hints are that Trump made this deal with Justice Anthony Kennedy when talking him into retiring, as Kavanaugh had apparently clerked for him. So interviews with other candidates, including a woman, were just for show. Kavanaugh was a done deal from the beginning and helped Kennedy to decide to retire now—or so it appears. The Democrats were outfoxed again. They/we need to become more devious and Machiavellian, just like the Republicans. Can Democrats’ anger and sense of grievance at “unfair play” overcome Republican gerrymandering, money, continuing Russian interference, and other electoral Republican advantages in the midterms?

The best current economic-political system, I believe, is that of the Nordic countries, a market economy and a strong social safety net (requiring substantial taxes)—the reverse of the direction we are going in the US under Trump.

On Monday, July 2, I had a 4 pm interpretation assignment at an office located about 12 blocks from my home, so decided to walk, having no other way of getting there. But it was 98 F in the shade and very humid. May I say that was longest 12 blocks I have ever walked and the same was waiting for me on the return. I stopped frequently in the shade along the way, caught my breath, and drank from a water bottle, but was still a bit shaky when arriving to do interpreting for a family. And when I got home, I collapsed and couldn’t even prepare or eat dinner.

Sometimes I find my foreign visitors annoying and vow to stop accepting them. But this message just came in from a former Nigerian visitor: I really miss your motherly care and rich experience-filled company. I always pray to have another opportunity to visit you soon.

Contrary to my “liberal” and certainly Democratic Party stance on most issues, my readers know I am lukewarm on “abortion rights” after the first trimester and especially after 20 weeks, when the fetus certainly can feel pain and might survive outside the womb. It seems cruel to dismember it and pierce its skull in the name of abortion rights. No one is talking about criminalizing women seeking abortions, no one except maybe Trump himself. Most Americans of all political persuasions would agree with me, according to polls. Although my Democratic Party has clung obsessively in support of Roe and of a woman’s “right to choose” at any point in her pregnancy and using the politically-correct term “anti-abortion rights” instead of “prolife,” I think abortion requires a more nuanced discussion and policy consideration. I have personal irons in the fire, being both a birth and an adoptive parent. Here is an article along the lines of my thinking by a Washington Post contributor, but whose article actually appeared in the Dallas News: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/07/05/time-let-roe-go

And here’s another one: heweek.com/articles/784193/im-prolife-woman-but-im-worried-about-postroe-america

Most Americans do support “abortion rights,” but only in the first trimester, so why not keep that firm, but allow changes—maybe made by states—after that? Of course, gestational age cannot always be precise. I’ve tried to put myself in the mindset of a woman unexpectedly pregnant, feeling, “I just cannot do this right now. This is a huge mistake.”

Bhutan Visitors, Border Policy, Justice Kennedy’s Retirement, Nicaragua, South Sudan Peace Efforts, Ghana Schools, Shrinking White Demographic

My Bhutan visitors wore their native dress for a cultural day at GAO, where they are taking a short course, shown here with couple of colleagues outside GAO headquarters. They tell me that the king of Bhutan has decreed that all residents, both men and women, wear native dress whenever they leave their home or go to the office. 

 They will soon be going back to Bhutan, back to their small, isolated, and protected kingdom, but not without extra luggage, as they have been on a shopping frenzy.

We also had a visit from California relatives, actually a niece and her family on my late ex-husband’s side, if you can follow that. My niece remembers being in my house when visiting DC as a child. Her husband, in addition to still being a dancer like her (that’s how they met and he has managed to prolong his career on a part-time basis unlike his wife because male dancers are in such short supply), is also a professor of Spanish and we sometimes speak and write to each other in Spanish. One of their daughters, my great-niece, is following in her parents’ footsteps by also training as a classical ballet dancer—she has been accepted into a 5-week course at the Kirov here in DC and so the family came to give her a good send-off. She is staying in a dorm near the school out by Catholic U and may be invited to come back for a longer period, in which case she may stay with me. She and other family members are vegan, so we ate at a vegan restaurant. One of my daughters was vegan for a time, as was a fellow PC volunteer in Honduras, so I know that can be challenging, but there are new vegan options being added to menus daily (i.e., vegan yogurt, milk, and cheese). A restaurant we chose was deliciously vegan.

 

Trump apparently enjoys conflict so a trade war is right up his alley. However, the stakes are much higher than he is used to and involve almost the whole world, not just him and his family’s holdings.

Although the misguided policy of separating parents and children at the border has been officially rescinded, some parents have already been deported without their kids. What a political mess and humanitarian crisis that has been deliberately created by the Trump administration! Immigration problems need to be tackled in an orderly and lawful manner, not helter-skelter. Obama actually deported more people than Trump. And while crossing the border without authorization is illegal, it is a misdemeanor, like jaywalking. It is not a high crime and is now reportedly diverting resources from more serious drug and weapons smuggling. Instead of either separating or jailing families together, why not outfit parents with ankle bracelets, much cheaper and more humane? Of course, to the extent that refugees arrive at the border with the help of smugglers, family members in the US are paying.  

Trump engages in lots of show and bluster without actually doing anything, then brags about his accomplishments. If he is criticized, that’s fake news. And as for the bogeyman he has created with MS 13, I don’t deny the violence of that gang, but the threat is mostly concentrated on teenage Latino boys who may resist joining its ranks. It’s not some national organized crime syndicate.

FYI, according to the Washington Post, Trump’s grandfather came this country from Germany as unaccompanied minor

Damn, did Justice Kennedy have to retire right now? Does he have a terminal illness? Couldn't he have waited until November? Since he has always been a swing vote, he apparently decided to swing to the right. Reportedly, Trump administration advocates talked him into doing it now, very strategic. Also, his son apparently has financial ties to Trump enterprises. As my readers know, I am not averse to some modification of how Roe vs. Wade is applied especially after the first 3 months but am concerned more about a lot of other issues, such as immigration, health care, food stamps, social security, relations with Iran and Europe, a trade war, the deficit, climate change, national parks, public education, gerrymandering, and gun control, to name just a few. And, on the subject of abortion, if so-called pregnancy support centers are to inform women of where to get abortions, then likewise, abortion providers should be obligated to tell them about the pregnancy support centers. If “choice” is the key for pregnant women, it should work both ways, but I am pretty much alone in my efforts to bridge that gap.

Hannity of Fox News is now not blaming inadequate gun control or “fake news” accusations, but rather Maxine Waters, for the 5 recent gun deaths in Annapolis. “Lock her up,” let’s charge Maxine with murder. Of course, Fox itself is not fake news. I’m not crazy about Maxine because of her support of Fidel Castro and her shunning of Afro-Cuban dissidents, but that she has encouraged a public calling out of Trump officials has not been connected in any way to this most recent mass shooting. Now, let’s see if Trump picks up Fox’s cue. The incessant criticism of the mainstream media by Trump and Fox may well be involved. And with the proliferation of guns and no controls, we are all at risk.

I am not so anxious to impeach Trump, though it would be a great relief to get rid of him. The problem then would be that we’d be stuck with Mike Pence, a more normal politician with more savvy about how government really works and with more alliances in Congress. On the other hand, he is not as subject to adoration from the base as Trump.

More than 200 killed in Nicaragua—Daniel Ortega, you’ve overstayed your welcome once again, time’s up.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-06-24/how-ortega-has-stayed-in-power-in-nicaragua

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article214125179.html

Glad that at least for now, Kiir has patched things up with Machar in the South Sudan peace effort. Ethnic loyalties have proved destructive in the new nation of South Sudan, where I’ve felt a kinship ever since my mission there in 2006. When all southerners got behind getting independence from the north, ethnic loyalties took a back seat. Now they have reemerged, but let’s hope this agreement holds. South Sudan needs so much, it can hardly afford an internecine squabble. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-06-22/south-sudan-peace-deal-attempt-fails-as-kiir-rejects-machar

I heard in Ghana about an outside funded teaching experiment relying more on imagination and non-rote, non-punishment learning that was supported by parents and kids alike, but when funding ran out, it stopped and the school system reverted to its previous pattern. I have long opposed the rigid, unenjoyable, and ultimately less productive methods used in schools in most developing countries, including Honduras. It’s hard to change that system. Many kids survive into adulthood with apparently minimal damage. But those methods are so unnecessary, unproductive, and even painful, especially when kids are hit or publicly shamed. When I was a Peace Corps volunteer giving educational talks, I tried to make them fun, memorable, and full of useful information and I trained local women to help me, but my small contribution hardly changed the school system. If we can ever get a library going in El Triunfo, I’d like to give some talks to staff and patrons about how to benefit from a library and it’s not just by copying texts.

I have testified telephonically many times in asylum cases, but, come to think of it, but a few months ago, though my written testimony was apparently accepted, I could not testify by phone. I was surprised, as this had never happened before. I don't recall the court or judge, but it was in NY State. Denial of telephonic expert witness testimony may be a new tactic being used against asylum applicants. I have also done interpreting for many “credible fear” interviews, both telephonically and in person.

If a wedding cake baker can refuse to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, I would think a restaurant could refuse to serve a Trump official.

Now for the first time, it appears not only that the native-born Caucasian percentage of the US population is shrinking, but that their/our sheer numbers are diminishing as deaths outnumber births. So the fears of Trump supporters of becoming a minority “in our own country” are real. I am one of those aging white persons of European descent who will soon disappear from the national scene, born in Boston of a mother of Swiss and German heritage and a father born in Canada of Scottish descent. But I have personally defied Trump norms by marrying a man of Korean background and raising mixed race children, including an adopted son born in Colombia, whose “23 & Me” profile shows him, like most Colombians, to have Spanish and indigenous heritage. And my grandchildren are of mixed ethnicities, including African American contributions. So, our family is the face of the nation’s future. Trump supporters, you’ve had your place in the sun for the last couple of years and have loudly expressed your desires and laments of frustration, but now it’s time to move over and accept reality—high time for you to stop inflicting suffering on the majority, To mix metaphors, too late to turn back the clock, the horse has already left the barn on the national complexion and orientation.

The writer below completely expresses my own views on the Trump administration: http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_47c2e08e-74d7-11e8-98ad-5bbd728c81a1.html

It looks like hardcore Trump supporters will -implacably resist changing their minds. Like cult members, their faith in their guy won’t budge, even if he tells them to drink the Kool aid. When their guy is attacked, they coalesce around him to defend him. They feel they have the only truth which the conspiratorial outside world, according to Trump, is deliberately trying to keep from them. They, in turn, give him validation at closed-door rallies in a mutually re-enforcing feedback loop. He and they are inextricably bound together, a self-isolated beleaguered minority confronting what they consider a hostile, unlawful, un-American outside world. Any attacks on Trump or his policies are considered proof of bias against him. There are calls for civility when Trump & Co. are being attacked, but how about a little civility from Trump, Sessions, Conway, etc.? While the majority should not tyrannize the minority, the minority should not tyrannize the majority either, as is happening right now. How did we and they get to this point? There is no longer any use in trying to meet the Trump side halfway or getting them to examine their arguments or to modify their position nor has Trump given the majority any reason for us to modify our position. Defeating them is the only way and too bad if they continue to feel misunderstood—they’ve already had their chance and we cannot allow them to take down our country and the world with them. Much remedial work will then lie ahead.

Barack Obama, though he achieved quite a lot despite implacable Congressional opposition, still deported a lot of people, too many, in my opinion—I saw them dejectedly deplaning every time I was at the Tegucigalpa airport and some were deported in error. He was simply in charge if a more competent government. Obviously, our nation cannot have open doors. There is a limit on how many refugees, asylum seekers, and even pre-authorized immigrants the country can accept and absorb, though with our falling birth rate and employment demands, in point of fact, more immigration, not less, is actually called for, preferably by legal means. Waiting 15 years for an authorized immigrant visa, as some have done, is too long. I know of applicants who have died while waiting. And I must also put in a plug for the continuance of the visa lottery, with which I have personal experience, as per my books.

There are reasonable fixes to immigration and other problems, but Trump and his slavish followers are diehards unwilling to sit down and try to work matters out. We need to feel sorry for Donald Trump and his followers. We are all flawed human beings, making mistakes in judgment and actions, but Trump has taken

personal failings to an unacceptable level. He is woefully deficient by almost any measure in character, intelligence, judgment, and empathy. So we do need to feel sorry for him and his supporters, but still to fight back. Whether his personal defects are due to a combination of nature, nurture, and accidental circumstances, they are not going to be remedied; now in his 70’s, he is never going to become Mr. Nice Guy. Negotiation and persuasion may have worked with someone like Gorbachev, but Trump shows little or no signs of becoming a reasonable leader or a normally thinking person, so he needs to be soundly defeated. 

If my ruminations here wander all over the map, that’s partly because my experience and imagination wander as well. I do appreciate the chance to express my various mental wonderings, thoughts, and frustrations, which I hope have some resonance with others.

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

See also

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/netherlands-more-than-50-lawsuits-loom-large-as-shell-holds-agm/

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. 

Americans repo

When I work