I am pleased to share this link: http://ragazine.cc/2016/11/by-the-seats-of-our-pantscreative-nonfiction/ to a piece of creative non-fiction by my friend Wendy Stewart.
Wendy and I share in two local poet groups. This piece began as a prompt in Sappho’s Circle, a women’s poetry workshop convened by Heather Dorn. It has been my privilege to see Wendy’s piece evolve from those beginnings to its publication in Ragazine.
Enjoy!
I tell people that, as much as I would like it to be, hope is not one of my better virtues.
Anyone who has any exposure to the loooooooong campaign season in the US knows that hope has been in short supply among the vitriol. I have been finding hope where I can, though, in the glimmer of the few positive ads and in some of the progressive positions of candidates. As a former Sanders support, I appreciate how many of the issues I care most about made it into the Democratic platform.
Hope is easier to maintain with personal issues. As some of you know, my mom, known here as Nana, recently returned home from NYC where she had an aortic valve replacement that wound up necessitating a bonus pacemaker. Recovery will be slower than we had hoped, but there is still hope there, as she is improving every day and able to be up and about in their apartment.
Next step, walking down to the Village Center for dinner! We aren’t sure what day that will happen, but soon, we hope.
Hmmm…Maybe I am better at hope than I thought.
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “ho”. Join us! Find out how here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/10/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-2216/
I am finding it increasingly difficult not to be discouraged about the upcoming US elections.
The attack ads have gotten ridiculous. I happen to know one of the candidates in our Congressional district and would laugh at the distortions being used against her in ads, were it not so serious. To her credit, her own ads tend to be positive ones, but there is a lot of outside money getting thrown into this race, which tends to make it nasty. Our current representative, who is a Republican, is retiring, so the parties are being very aggressive in trying to get the seat, and there is an independent in the race, too.
This pales in comparison to the presidential ads. Because we live right next to swing state Pennsylvania, our television programs are filled with ads, most of them from political action committees or super-PACs who have no qualms whatsoever about slinging mud at the opposition, even if they have no evidence to back up their claims.
Unfortunately, the behavior of some of the guests on news programs isn’t much better. It has been particularly hurtful to me to see the Trump campaign be so demeaning and dismissive toward women. Even as a 59-year-old, Donald Trump appears not to have understood what “consent” means, which is totally unacceptable. What is even worse is that candidate Trump, who has bragged for years about his extramarital affairs and his sense of entitlement toward women sexually, refuses to admit that he has ever done anything wrong in regards to his treatment of women.
He says that no one respects women more than he does and he often adds, “Believe me.”
I don’t believe you, Donald.
There are years of evidence to back me up.
And I know plenty of people who exhibit true respect toward women – and all people – and have behaved in accord with that respect for decades.
I have been dutifully watching the debates, but I am not sure I can make myself watch another one. The lies are sickening.
Just a few more weeks…
“Meltdown” seems to be the word most being used this weekend to describe the Trump campaign and its relationship with leading Republicans.
I admit to being puzzled.
Yes, a lewd recording of Donald Trump from ten years ago is now public, but there have been many other reports and recordings chronicling his horrid behavior and opinions about women readily available for decades. I don’t understand how anyone could be surprised by this new recording.
Supporters were apparently willing to ignore Trump’s sexual behavior and sexist attitudes until now; some still are.
I think that those who are now withdrawing their support are doing so because the recording shows predatory behavior and the attitude that, as a rich man, Trump feels entitled to sexual access to any woman he finds attractive, regardless of her own feelings. I am glad that people are finally standing up for women’s rights to be free from harassment and from being judged solely for their physical attributes. But why were they willing to look the other way for so many months?
Trump’s plan to fight back is apparently to attack Hillary Clinton over her reaction to her husband’s affairs at the debate tonight.
This is a bad idea.
Any spouse who has ever been cheated on will likely be offended by Trump’s attempts to hold Hillary responsible for having a cheating spouse. People who have been faithful to their spouse will not appreciate him denigrating her for staying in her marriage. Trump would also be calling attention to his own divorces, public affairs while still married, repeated treatment of women as trophies or pretty accessories on his arm, repeated mean, dismissive, offensive, and sexist comments, and his apparent inability to take responsibility for his own actions and attitudes.
Many of Trump’s advisers and Republican officeholders are warning him not to attack Hillary over Bill’s behavior, but Trump is not especially inclined to take advice.
I will be watching the debate tonight, although it may make me sick to my stomach.
The first of the US presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is tomorrow night.
What I would like is for the moderators of each debate to ask for specific policy positions on various topics from each candidate.
No generalities. No characterizing the opponent. No personality comments.
If a candidate strays from addressing the topic at hand, the microphone is cut off and they forfeit the rest of their time on that topic.
Everyone keeps lamenting that no one is concentrating on the issues, so let’s make all the debates issue-only zones.
Issues like climate change. Immigration reform. Health care. Trade policy. Diplomacy. Syria. Indigenous rights. Job creation. Income inequality. Education. Military spending. Veterans’ affairs. War and peace. Civil rights. Justice system reform. Education. Social Security.
Each candidate giving his/her positions and plans. Period.
It would be a huge public service as we prepare to vote in this historic election.
Yesterday was the fifteenth anniversary of the the terrorist attacks by plane which cost over 3,000 lives in New York City, Arlington, Virginia and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The attacks have cost additional lives as those who were exposed to debris and air pollution in the following months went on to develop serious health issues.
Many, many more lives were destroyed – and continue to be destroyed – by the fifteen years of war which have followed.
On Friday at Binghamton University, there was a presentation on the aftermath of the attacks entitled “9/11: What have we learned? Where do we go from here?” Featured speakers were Ray McGovern and Donna Marsh O’Connor. Video is available here. The theme was building peace, not war. Donna Marsh O’Connor, who lost her daughter who was pregnant with her grandchild, spoke movingly about not wanting the death of her daughter to be an excuse for violence and war. Ray McGovern, who was once a CIA analyst, recounted the way that the situation after the attacks was manipuated to spread the war to Iraq. Mr. McGovern is now a peace activist.
Peace.
Something that I want desperately.
For all of us.
Wherever we are.
Whoever we are.
At church on Sunday, we sang, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” I cried.
Adding to the emotion is a local anniversary. Five years ago, we were suffering from a historic flood after the remnants of tropical storm Lee dropped about ten inches of rain. Parts of my town were underwater, as were other nearby towns along the Susquehanna River. At my home, we had no power and only avoided a flooded basement because we had a generator to keep our sump pump operating. There were flooded homes and standing water three blocks away. In the five years since, we have seen some neighborhoods decmiated as homes were torn down, unable to be replaced as the land was considered too high-risk to inhabit.
Every time there is a flood in the news, we have a good idea what those people are going to go through and how long the process is.
As we watch coverage of floods, blizzards, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and other weather-related disasters, we are painfully aware that their increased frequency and severity is related to global comate change. There is a new website that shows how much impact global warming has on weather events. It does a good job showing how particular events are tied to changes in the atmosphere brought on by global warming.
It is sobering but a good tool to help explain the science.
Which leads to a third – and significantly happier – anniversary.
This is the fiftieth anniversary of Star Trek. There have been marathons of episodes of the original series and interviews about it and its cultural impact as a franchise that spawned many television shows and movies. In their version of the future, earth is a peaceful place with a thriving natural environment. Poverty has been eliminated. There is racial and ethnic equality, although, while improved from the 1960’s reality, they still have a ways to go on sexual and gender issues.
In an odd way, though it is fiction, it does highlight that we can improve lives and health through science, knowledge, learning from past mistakes, ingenuity, co-operation, and good will.
Let’s get to work on that.
During the primaries, I supported Senator Bernie Sanders, as his views aligned most closely with my own. Although he didn’t win the nomination, many of his views are reflected in the Democratic party platform. I now support Secretary Hillary Clinton for the presidency.
Due to family health issues, I haven’t written a political post since before the conventions, so I am going to use this post to catch up a bit.
In brief: The Republican convention was dark and scary and portrayed the United States in a way that I couldn’t recognize. The Democratic convention was much more hopeful and positive with some amazing speeches. It was also historic as the United States finally has a woman nominated by a major party for the presidency, 96 years after women gained the right to vote nationally.
I had thought – or maybe it was more hope than thought – that the campaign in the general election phase would be more focused on policy and debate. Secretary Clinton does have policy papers on her website and does regularly speak on policy, but a lot of the press coverage is swallowed up by more subjective things, such as likability – and whatever nonsense has just been propelled from the mouth of Donald Trump.
I am very disheartened by the hatefulness and the bullying and the crudeness of Donald Trump, which is too often echoed by his staff and supporters. I am also disturbed that facts don’t seem to matter. Although the press is finally being more consistent in pointing out when Trump’s rhetoric doesn’t line up with fact, there are now millions of people who believe the lies and cannot be convinced by factual evidence.
I do find some comfort in the polls which show that in state-by-state match-ups, Secretary Clinton is leading. I hope that the upcoming one-on-one debates will clarify for voters that only Clinton has serious plans to move the country forward and deal with the very real problems that our country and the world face.
It’s odd how stream of consciousness writing takes over. Linda’s prompt this week is “view” and I wasn’t intending to participate, but as I wrote the first paragraph of this post, the word “views” appeared and I decided I would run with stream of consciousness rather than a planned, edited post.
Two birds with one stone…
*****
Join us for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Find out how here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/09/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-1016/.
A guest viewpoint that I wrote has appeared in the Sunday edition of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. It is available here: http://www.pressconnects.com/story/opinion/2016/07/29/guest-viewpoint-gun-control/87703872/. I will also copy the text at the end of this post because there is a paywall after a certain number of free articles per month.
I did not write the headline. I am not going to read comments, which, thankfully appear on a separate page on the web. I am sure some of them will be nasty; there are even a few people from my facktivist days who make it a point not agree with me about anything, including if I write that grass is green.
Regular readers here at Top of JC’s Mind will not be surprised at the content.
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Congress Should Act on Gun Control
On June 15, Sen. Christopher Murphy, of Connecticut, took to the Senate floor to lead a 15-hour marathon talk on the need for the Senate to vote on gun control measures.
While some amendment votes were held the following week, none passed; currently under consideration is a bipartisan bill, authored by Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, on preventing those on the no-fly and selectees lists from buying guns.
On June 22, the Democrats of the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Katherine Clark, of Massachusetts, and John Lewis, of Georgia, held a sit-in with the goal of bringing gun violence prevention legislation to a vote in the House. During the 25-hour sit-in, many members told stories from their districts of those affected by gun violence; some shared personal stories, as well. Many held signs with the names of those killed by guns as they gathered on the House floor.
Speaker Paul Ryan adjourned the House early for the Independence Day break rather than hold a vote.
Many polls show that the vast majority of Americans — and of American gunowners — favor legislation to keep potential terrorists, domestic abusers, those whose mental illness predisposes them to violence, and criminals from obtaining guns. Many also oppose selling military-style weapons and ammunition clips to the public. Yet, Congress has not acted.
Some say that enacting any gun control measure violates the Second Amendment, but it does not. The Second Amendment was enacted at a time when there was no standing army; it clearly labels the context by beginning with “A well-regulated militia … .” The courts recognize this.
The Supreme Court recently upheld a federal law keeping domestic abusers from owning firearms. The ban against owning fully automatic weapons has stood for decades. No one expects to have a private anti-aircraft battery or missile silo in the backyard.
None of our freedoms is absolute. The right to free speech and freedom of the press are not license to libel or slander. The free exercise of religion does not permit human sacrifice or physical assault.
When the House reconvenes, the Democrats plan to continue their efforts to pass gun control measures. I call on my representative, Richard Hanna, to speak on the floor in remembrance of the victims of gun violence in our district, especially those who died or were injured in the American Civic Association shooting. Perhaps the fact that he is retiring will give him courage to break with the Republican leadership and vote to protect the safety of the public in accord with the will of the people, acting as a final legacy to his career as a public servant.
Our most fundamental right is the right to life. No perceived right to bear arms should trump another person’s right to live.
Joanne Corey, of Vestal, is a member of the Catholic Peace Community of the Southern Tier.
Update: While on the perssconnects website there is a photo of guns accompanying my piece, in the print edition there is a photo of Paul Ryan waving the Constitution at a press conference on why the Republicans oppose voting on gun measures. I would not have chosen either of those. A photo of the House sit-in or of Rep. Lewis would have been more appropriate to the content of the piece.
I am taking a second while it is still Saturday to slip in an under-the-wire SoCS post before I go to bed.
I hope everyone has had a good week. It has been a strange week here in the US with the Republican convention, but I want to assure readers in other countries that the US is not the dangerous place that the speakers at the convention make it out to be. Crime is actually down.
I think we need less fear and suspicion and more love and empathy.
That goes for all nations.
Good night. Wishing you all peace.
JC
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “second.” Come join us! Find out how here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/07/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-2316/
I have posted several times about what I, as a supporter of Bernie Sanders, wanted as the formal nomination of Hillary Clinton approached.
Of course, there was a lot of public commentary/handwringing on what it would take for Sanders to put his support behind Clinton.
The Democratic party platform talks unfolded with Sanders’ supporters making the case for a more progressive approach on several major issues.
Amazingly, they prevailed in a number of areas and, last Tuesday, Senator Sanders appeared at a rally with Clinton and gave his support for her to win the presidency and for the implementation of this more progressive agenda.
Importantly, the Democratic platform addresses many of the problems of lower and middle class folks, while the Republican platform still relies on “trickle-down” policies.
As the Clinton campaign slogan states, we really are “stronger together.”
That togetherness is not meant to be about Democrats, but about those of all political affiliations and those who aren’t voters. It’s meant for all races and all spiritual beliefs. It’s meant for all genders, all ages, all areas of the country.
We need togetherness now more than ever.
Joanne Corey 