Blog – Top of JC’s Mind

Nuns on the Bus & Friends in Ithaca!

Be a multi-issue voter!

Yesterday, spouse B, daughter T, and I were able to meet up with NETWORK’s Nuns on the Bus & Friends in Ithaca, New York, about an hour from our home. Ithaca is also home to Cornell University, T’s undergrad alma mater.

The Nuns on the Bus 2024 tour began September 30 in Philadelphia and is slated to end in San Francisco on October 18, with events in eleven states along the way. The focus of the tour is Vote Our Future, an opportunity for us to use our votes to build thriving communities and an inclusive democracy. The events are non-partisan, focused on issues rather than specific candidates.

rally sign showing some of the important issues that the Nuns on the Bus highlight


In Ithaca, the Nuns on the Bus & Friends made a visit to Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County, a volunteer-powered program which has provided “free meals, hospitality, companionship, and advocacy for those in need, regardless of their faith, beliefs, or circumstances” since 1983. At the public press event/rally in Dewitt Park following lunch, we heard from the executive director of Loaves & Fishes and their volunteer coordinator about their work in creating a welcoming, inclusive community for all.

We also heard from several of the Bus riders, two who are Catholic sisters and others who are friends involved in working for justice and an inclusive democracy. From them, we learned that the Congressional district we are in, New York’s 19th, has become the most expensive race in the country. Unfortunately, some of the rhetoric has been anti-immigrant, trying to stoke fear and create grievance. In reality, our area includes generations’ worth of immigrants, including recent arrivals.

The speakers reminded us that our votes are important to express our values across a range of issues. NETWORK Advocates provides resources that can help voters evaluate candidates across a range of issues, including the Equally Sacred checklist which, while grounded in Catholic social justice doctrine, is applicable to all people of good will, whether or not they follow a particular faith or spiritual practice. The checklist is helpful to evaluate candidates for all levels of government, as local and state entities are also responsible for implementing programs impacting health, justice, the environment, violence prevention, and more.

Our votes are important! As a sign of our commitment to be multi-issue voters, we were invited to add our signatures to the bus, joining those from previous stops on the tour, leaving space for those who will sign in upcoming events.

Even if the Bus won’t be visiting a location near you, you can join in the commitment to be a multi-issue voter. If you are a registered voter in the United States, review the candidates’ positions on a range of issues that reflect your values and carry out your plan to vote!

My thanks to those of you who have already cast your ballots through early voting or absentee ballots. Let’s all Vote Our Future on or before Tuesday, November 5, 2024!

One-Liner Wednesday: Vance vs. Walz

In the US vice-predential debate last night, Republican JD Vance, though slick, lied a lot and refused to say that Trump lost the 2020 election, which automatically makes him the loser in my eyes and Democrat Tim Walz, who was much more plain-spoken and factual, the winner.

This US campaign update comes to you through Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/10/02/one-liner-wednesday-that-second-one/

Vote for Democracy #16

the consequences of lying about the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

When I wrote my short post after the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, I mentioned that Trump had made an outlandish claim about immigrants eating their neighbors’ pets in a certain city.

The city was Springfield, Ohio. The immigrants who were implicated were from Haiti. Most of the recent Haitian immigrants are there with temporary protected status, which gives them legal standing to live and work in the US for a period of time. They fled Haiti due to the aftermath of an earthquake, damaging storms, and the collapse of the government, leading to gang violence and lawlessness.

Springfield, like many industrial cities, had lost a lot of its population when factories closed decades ago. They have been welcoming immigrants to the area to take jobs that they no longer had the local workers to fill. While there were some tensions locally, for example, about needing more teachers to help new students learn English and better instruction in teaching adults how to drive safely in the US, the Haitian immigrants were accepted as hard-working, good neighbors.

By the way, Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, JD Vance, is a US senator representing Ohio, elected in 2022. Before the presidential debate, Vance started telling this lie about what he termed as “illegal” Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield. It has since come to light that he and Trump knew this was a lie before they started spreading it. Apparently, the lie started from a social media post from a Springfield woman whose cat had gone missing and who suggested that her Haitian neighbors might have eaten it; the cat was found trapped in her own basement a few days later. Government officials and police had debunked the claim publicly before Trump’s debate, but he spread the lie anyway.

The consequences have been serious. There have been dozens of bomb threats and other threats of violence, causing evacuations, lockdowns, closures, and cancellations at municipal buildings, schools, colleges, and community events. The immigrant community and other Black residents are living in fear. There have been white-supremacist and neo-Nazi marches in Springfield. All based on a lie spread by the Republican presidential and vice-presidential nominees.

It is especially upsetting that Vance has been so egregious in promulgating this lie against immigrants in a city that he represents because it flies in the face of the teachings of the Catholic Church, to which he converted a few years ago. As I was reminded in the homily at my church this weekend, Sunday, September 29th was observed as the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. This reflects the first tenet of Catholic social justice doctrine, to uphold and respect the dignity of each person. In the United States, National Migration Week was observed September 23-29th and the Catholic bishops of Ohio have spoken out in support of the Haitians and other immigrants in their state. The rights of migrants are also reflected in US and international law.

Tomorrow, JD Vance will debate the Democratic candidate for vice president, Gov. Tim Walz. It will give him yet another opportunity to admit his lies about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio which have proven to be so dangerous.

Will he?

I’ll be listening.

SoCS: my new piece!

I’ve had a new piece published!

It’s a personal essay rather than my usual poetry.

I posted about it earlier and, yes, this is a way to get more views for Generations Today, who published this story of my relationship with nature and how that lead to my climate activism.

Enjoy!
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is to build the post around a word that has “i before e.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/09/27/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-28-2024/

One-Liner Wednesday: Trump’s threat to birthright citizenship

Donald Trump has pledged to end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants by executive order, if he is elected, which would be a clear violation of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

This fact is brought to you as my post in Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays series. Find out how to join us here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/09/25/one-liner-wednesday-flowers/

Boiler House Poets Collective at the Bear & Bee!

For North Adams, Massachusetts area folks, the Boiler House Poets Collective invites you to a reading at the Bear & Bee Bookshop, 28 Holden St., North Adams, on Wednesday, October 9, at 7 PM.

This is our only public event during our week as a workshop-in-residence at the Studios at MASS MoCA.

The reading will be a sampler of the work of our ten residents this year, lasting about an hour, followed by Q&A and light refreshments.

Bear & Bee will be selling books by our poets with the authors available to do signings.

Please join us for this free event!

SoCS: peace

Praying for peace.

Working for peace and reconciliation.

Trying to be a peacemaker in a world with way too much violence and destruction and devaluing of life.

My part in building peace is small, but, if enough of us are dedicated to peace, we can move closer to it.

Please join in the effort.
*****
Linda’a prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “piece/peace.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/09/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-21-2024/

Article in Generations Today!

I am thrilled to announce that I have an article in the September/October issue of Generations Today, the online magazine of American Society on Aging. Many thanks to Alison Biggar, editorial director, for the invitation to contribute and for the editorial assistance, titling, and attention to all the other little details that go into publication.

The theme of the issue is the relationship with nature and volunteerism among elders. My piece is “One Woman’s Evolution Into a Climate Warrior” – not a term that I would claim on my own, but one that I gratefully accept as bestowed by Alison.

The article traces my involvement with the natural world and renewable energy from my childhood up to the present time with shout-outs to the anti-fracking movement in New York, the Creation Care Team at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Binghamton, and Third Act.

There is even a link to Silver Birch Press, who first published my poem “How I Help Heal the Earth from Upstate New York” as part of their HOW TO HEAL THE EARTH series. The poem is reprinted in the article.

When Alison first approached me to contribute to this issue, she said they were looking for someon who could “wax poetic” about nature and volunteering for a climate change organization. I’m not sure she expected an actual poem to appear in the article but this “late-blooming” poet could not resist!

I hope you enjoy the article and the others in this issue of Generations Today and that they inspire you to reflect on your own relationship with nature and to volunteer if you are able, whatever your age, location, or circumstance. Together, we can make a difference!

(Photo credit: Brent Boivert)

One-Liner Wednesday: contrasting Project 2025 and social justice doctrine

NETWORK has assembled a non-partisan, educational resource contrasting Project 2025 and the tenets of Catholic social justice doctrine, which are shared by millions of Americans, whether or not they themselves follow a faith tradition.

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/09/18/one-liner-wednesday-you-know-you-need-coffee-when/

United States Voter Registration Day

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Today is Voter Registration Day in the United States.

If you are eligible to vote in the United States, visit vote.gov for instructions on how to register or update your registration in your state.

There are also helpful articles about how to vote if you are a new citizen, voter with a disability, active duty service member, US citizen living abroad, etc.

Voting is a privilege that comes with citizenship and registration is the first step to casting your ballot in November. Today is a great day to make sure you, your family, and your neighbors are ready to vote!