Category: Vote for Democracy

Voting challenges

Vote for Democracy #57


(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

The United States is facing even more serious challenges to our election system.

The US Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Callais has set off a spate of redistricting in southern states which, while they are being labeled as partisan, are effectively race-based, even though primary elections are very close, or, as in Louisiana, already underway. All of these states are looking to cut down the number of Democrats and Black elected officials.

This morning, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the April vote that would have redistricted that state and potentially added more Democrats to the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections in November.

It’s very discouraging because Trump and the Republicans are actively trying to stay in power through manipulating the electoral system, even though their policies are increasingly harmful and unpopular.

It’s time for citizens to take back their electoral power. Given that new district lines will make it more difficult for Democrats and people of color to elect their preferred candidates, voter turnout will be crucial. It may, though, not be sufficient to overcome these new obstacles. Voters who are registered as Republicans need to vote against all Republican nominees who favor these unfair and unconstitutional policies and help elect officials who believe in the principle of one person, one vote and who will uphold our civil liberties and rights.

I admit that this is a discouraging time in our efforts to uphold democracy but we must keep working on it. As Joyce Vance titled her recent book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable.

One-Liner Wednesday: what leads to strongmen

“Gross inequalities of income, wealth, and opportunity fuel the gross inequalities of political power that lead to strongmen who destroy both democracy and freedom.”
~~~Robert Reich

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/05/06/one-liner-wednesday-is-that-indiana-jones/

May Day!

Vote for Democrary #56

While May 1st is observed around the world as International Workers’ Day, it’s usually not a big thing in the United States, which observes Labor Day the first Monday in September.

This year is different.

Indivisible and other organizations are spearheading May Day Strong, calling for no work, no school, and no shopping today. There will be rallies in some places for those who are able with others, like me, participating from home. I’m wearing my “Presidents are not Kings” shirt and refraining from shopping today. (No work and no school are every day things for me.)

One of the messages today is “Workers over Billionaires.” The hope is that a show of economic power will draw attention to the unfair tax structure in the United States and the undue influence that wealthy individuals and corporations have over our government. This is also tied to current abuses of power by the government, trying to strip rights and protections under the law and interfere with elections.

As it happens, May 1st is also observed as Law Day in the United States. The Amercian Bar Association explains this year’s theme:

The 2026 Law Day theme is “The Rule of Law and the American Dream.” The rule of law—the idea that no person is above the law—is what ensures the rights of the people to live their lives as freely as possible and to pursue their dreams. The ABA encourages all Americans to recognize Law Day on May 1, 2026, and to reflect on how the rule of law ensures all Americans have the ability to fulfill their dreams.

This dovetails well with the May Day actions and No Kings, Hands Off, and other rallies that have been happening during Trump’s second term. Law Day seems even more urgent this year with the lawlessness of immigration enforcement and detention/deportation without due process, election interference, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and the decisions of the Supreme Court that fly in the face of precedence and the Constitution.

I don’t know what the impact of this May Day and Law Day will bring but I am looking at it as another step in the movement to restore the rights and freedoms of the American people, taking back the power from the corrupting influence of autocrats and oligarchs.

There is a third thing about May 1st that is important to me. It’s the first day of EDS & HSD Awareness Month. (EDS is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; HSD is the related diagnosis of Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder.) I was diagnosed with hypermobile EDS (hEDS) in January, although as a genetic connective tissue disorder, it has always been there. I hope to do several posts this month to continue to raise awareness and to update my readers about my current treatment trajectory.

Of course, there will be more posts in my Vote for Democracy series, too. The caveat is that there will never be as many posts as I would like, unless/until I can clear the brain fog and get more energy back. There will be other topics popping up, as well. You can never tell what might be at the top of JC’s Mind!

Or maybe you can….

One-Liner Wednesday: Congress, convene!

While I’m grateful that a partial ceasefire was declared in the Middle East yesterday, I call on the United States Congress to immediately return to Washington to remove Trump from office because he publicly threatend destruction of a civilization, also known as genocide, in violation of international and United States law.

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! While this particular post of mine is very serious, many of the posts in this series are more fun or have lovely photos. Learn more about the series here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/04/08/one-liner-wednesday-im-not-opening-up/

No to war and war crimes!

Vote for Democracy #55

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

I wanted to add my voice to the millions in the United States and around the world that I am opposed to Trump and Israel’s war against Iran.

In particular, I want to say that it is absolutely unacceptable to bomb infrastructure that civilians use, such as power plants, roads, bridges, and desalination plants. To do so is a war crime, as recogonized by both US and international law. Military leaders given such orders have a duty to refuse them because they are illegal.

I have long feared that Trump is mentally ill and it seems his condition is deteriorating. He should be removed from office by the 25th amendment which provides for the removal from office of a president who is unfit to serve.

I fear, though, that no one will intervene and Trump will perpetrate war crimes against the Iranian public. As a US citizen, this action is undertaken in my name but I am disavowing it here, not that I expect it to have any impact.

I appreciate Pope Leo speaking so forcefully and so often on behalf of peace. If only Trump would listen to him and the millions of others trying to avert any more war, death, and destruction.

SoCS: No Kings!

Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “portrait.”

The photo above is a new portrait of me today, dressed in honor of the third No Kings! Day held in the United States in Donald Trump’s second term.

There are over 3,300 marches, rallies, demonstrations, or other events planned across the country with a few being held in other countries in solidarity.

Due to my health issues, I won’t be able to be at any of them in person, so I am declaring my solidarity here on my blog.

I’m hoping to watch some of the coverage on television. This is the largest yet of the No Kings protests against the rising autocracy we are experiencing here in the US with Trump and his administration. The situation becomes more dire by the day, especially with the Iran war.

Of course, there are also the ongoing problems across many issues both domestically and internationally. The flagship protest for No Kings today is in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, where an alleged immigration crackdown early this year led to terror, including the deaths of two US citizen observers who were trying to assist their immigrant neighbors and other citizen observers.

There are also many organizations that are standing up for our Constitution, laws, ethics, values, and humanity and rights. Special shout-out to CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. They do a lot of legal work in trying to call attention to and file suits about the abuses of power in the nation’s capital. I ordered this shirt from them – in yellow, which is one of the colors associated with No Kings.

I also appreciate how the No Kings events are held. They are peaceful and designed for there to be safety and fun for participants. Some people even wear fun costumes, like inflatable animals.

Even while people are having fun, though, the cause is very serious.

Presidents are not Kings!

several things…

By rights, there are several posts I should write but I don’t have the brain to do it so this post will be short takes on different topics glommed together. Sorry about that.

I am horrified by the US and Israel attack on Iran which included the assassination of many of their leaders, including the Grand Aytollah. I am also horrified by the couterattacks of Iran against many of their Middle East neighbors. None of this had to happen. In his first term, Trump walked out on a multi-country agreement that was keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. If he had left it in place, there would not have been the pretense for these attacks now. I hope that Congress finds the courage to vote that this is not a valid use of presidential power; the US Constitution makes clear that only Congress has the power to declare war. Still, with the war underway, it will be difficult to stop it. I do think, though, that this constitutes grounds for impeachment. Unauthorized war certainly seems to fit the definition of a “high crime.”

If you need a brief break from the horror, you can visit my new (five-line) poem with Silver Birch Press. My blog post about it is here.

Yesterday, I got a COVID vaccine. Now that I am 65, I can choose to renew my protection more frequently. My last dose was in late August so that I had my strongest immunity for the Boiler House Poets Collective 10th anniversary residency several weeks later. Like all my other COVID vaccines, this was from Pfizer, which is fitting because B, T, and I all participated in the Phase III trial that led to its emergency authorization in the US in December, 2020. To my knowledge, T and I have never contracted COVID and I’d like to keep it that way, if I can. It is likely that I will be needing to travel to major medical centers in the coming months, so I thought it was prudent to re-up my resistance to COVID. While many people ignore the existence of COVID at this point, it is still out there infecting, sickening, and sometimes killing people, especially in the older demographic. I want to do everything I can to not be one of them, especially with so much else going on with my health.

While I can still get some reaction from the vaccine, it’s much milder than it was initially. I chose to have the shot in my right arm, which is already pretty severely affected by what appears to be thoracic outlet syndrome, so my right arm is very sore today. I’m also fatigued, but it’s hard to tell if the shot is contributing to that or not, as that has also been part of my hEDS symptoms for a couple years now.

There’s a lot more to say, but I don’t have the energy and focus to write more now. Wishing you as much peace and equanimity as you can find in the midst of all of this.

One-Liner Wednesday: fact-check

On “Morning Joe” today, commenting on Trump’s State of the Union address yesterday, Ed Luce, US National Editor for the Financial Times, said, “There were so many lies that at one point I thought should we fact-check whether, you know, the men’s hockey team really did win a gold because it was just sort of a flood the zone with it.”

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/02/25/one-liner-wednesday-plans/

Presidents’ Day


(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Today is observed as Presidents’ Day in the United States.

I am old enough to remember the days before the Monday Holiday Bill, which moved a lot of federal holiday dates to create long weekends.

At that time, February held the observance of two of our greatest presidents, George Washington on the 22nd and Abraham Lincoln on the 12th. These were combined to create Presidents’ Day, celebrated on the third Monday in February.

Therefore, Presidents’ Day is not intended to celebrate all the US presidents but, specifically, Washington and Lincoln.

May people reflect on the character and accomplishments of these two great presidents and use that reflection to inform their choices for public servants in the present and future.

One-Liner Wednesday: facts

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
~~~John Adams, second president of the United States

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/02/04/one-liner-wednesday-i-hates-the-bots/