Tag: Donald Trump

“Hello, I Am Not a Soldier” by Abby E. Murray

Rattle Magazine has an ongoing series called Poets Respond which publishes at least one poem a week based on something that happened in the news in the last week.

Today, Rattle published a powerful poem from Abby E. Murray. I happen to know Abby because they did their doctoral work at Binghamton University where they served as director of the Binghamton Poetry Project when I first became involved with it.

The poem “Hello, I Am Not a Soldier” comes from Abby’s reaction to the incoming Trump administration’s nomination for various positions, especially defense secretary. You can read the poem at the link above, as well as hear Abby read it.

The lines that are resonating particularly with me this morning are

… I ration false comfort by knowing

it has never not been this way

What about this poem resonates with you?

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash. Due to Instagram requirements, I needed an image to go with this post and opted for my standard Vote for Democary ’24 image. Tags are also broken at WordPress right now; I hope to add some later when that function is fixed.)

Vote for Democracy ’24 #19

closing arguments

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

With Election Day only a few days away, the two major party candidates for the US presidency have made their closing arguments to the American people. Because of the availability of early voting, vote-by-mail, and absentee ballots, millions have already cast their ballots, but many more millions will vote on Tuesday, November 5, and some eligible voters will not vote at all. The United States does not usually have high voter turnout and it will be interesting to see if this year is different. Levels of early voting have been very high, so perhaps election-day voting will be, too.

Vice President Kamala Harris gave her speech in front of a crowd of about 75,000 at the Ellipse in Washington DC, with the White House behind her, the same location where Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Jan.6, 2021, calling on his supporters to march to the Capitol where a violent mob broke in and tried to stop Congress from certifying the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

In contrast to Trump’s diviseness, Harris gave a message of unity, explaining how she would be a president for all the people who would listen to differing viewpoints. She talked about her policy proposals for the economy and health care, including reproductive rights and elder care, and shared her biography and experience prior to the vice-presidency. While she was making a contrast with Trump, she was concentrating on a positive, unifying message, which is important as she has been reaching out to Republicans and other conservatives who are dedicated to the Constitution and the rule of law and are repulsed by Trump’s attacks on those principles.

Trump’s closing argument rally was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City which was at its capacity of 19,500. The rally went on for hours; the video link I shared here is the final 3 1/4 hours, which includes all of Trump’s 78-minute speech. The event was designed for Trump’s base of supporters and was quite openly racist, misogynistic, anti-immigrant, and divisive. Trump and the other speakers continued to vilify Trump’s opponents, attacking them personally in often vulgar terms and lying about them and their positions. There is no sense of working together to solve problems, only of seeking vengeance on anyone who disagrees with Trump.

It’s terrifying, especially because so much of Trump’s rhetoric is violent and we all know what happened four years ago when Trump tried to steal an election he had lost.

Donald Trump’s vision of America is dark place of grievance where a few rich and powerful men rule. Instead, I embrace Kamala Harris’s vision of the United States as nation of people of good will who work together within the structures of our laws and government to solve problems and uphold the common good, as the Preamble to our Constitution terms it to “promote the general welfare.”

I hope that all eligible voters will look to those values as they vote not only for president but for other federal, state, and local offices. We must vote to protect our rights and our democratic principles so we can continue to build vibrant, caring, and responsible communities.

Together, we can do this!

Vote!

One-Liner Wednesday: John Kelly on Trump’s fascism

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Retired US Marine general and longest serving chief of staff to Donald Trump when he was president “said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.” Source: New York Times (gift link to article) which backs up my recent post on this subject

This timely warning comes to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays, which is usually much lighter or inspiring than this. To join us, visit here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/10/23/one-liner-wednesday-no-better-time/

Vote for Democracy #17

Trump and the f-word

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Donald Trump’s rhetoric has become even more and more extreme, to the point that some in the media and politics have moved from characterizing it as authoritarian to calling it fascist. Historians, such as Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Heather Cox Richardson, have written columns and done interviews about this, as well as economist, professor, and former Cabinet secretary Robert Reich and many others.

They aren’t wrong.

While Trump has long demonized immigrants, he is now vowing to deport not only undocumented immigrants but also some immigrants who have legal status, such as temporary protected status or pending asylum claims, and even naturalized citizens and children of immigrants born in the United States who are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment of our Constitution. He plans to round up millions of immigrants, place them in detention camps, and send them to other countries. Not only would this devastate these individuals and families, it would also tear apart many communities and devastate certain employment sectors with large numbers of immigrant-workers, such as agriculture, hospitality, construction, and food processing.

Trump is threatening to imprison law-abiding political opponents and members of the independent media, solely on the basis of their opposing viewpoints and truthful reporting. He repeatedly refers to them as “the enemy within.” This is chilling not only for public officials but also for lowly bloggers like me and people with Harris-Walz signs on their lawns. Will Trump-inspired vigillantes come after people like me?

Trump is threatening to use the military inside the United States to squelch protests and arrest people. It is illegal for the US military to operate in this way within the borders of the US, though they can help with things like disaster relief when cleared by state governors. He has even threatened to try civilians before military tribunals rather than in the courts, which is also unconstitutional.

Besides demonizing immigrants, especially people of color, Trump has scapegoated people of certain faiths, such as Muslims and Jews. He has a long history of denigrating Black people, dating from his early days in New York CIty real estate. His mistreatment of women is well-known from his decades of philandering and sexual abuse to his disregard for women’s right to bodily autonomy in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade which he made possible. White male superiority is seen as the center of power, which gives those with fascist ideas cover to demean women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, religious minorities, immigrants, or anyone they feel does not fit the strongman mold.

Fascism is not democratic. The United States is. It’s time for all eligible voters to stand up for democracy on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5th, or before if early voting or vote-by-mail are available in your state. If you value our democracy, do not vote for Donald Trump or for any Republican who is not publicly opposing his hateful, fascist policies. Do not write in the name of your spouse or next-door neighbor. Do vote for Kamala Harris and the Democrats who value democracy and want to govern for the common good, not just those who voted for them.

Many Republican and former Republican elected officials and staff members have endorsed Vice President Harris because our democractic principles and the rule of law are much more important than particular policy disagreements. They know that, if Trump is elected, he will expand executive power and carry out the violent, fascistic threats he has been making.

Join them and all those who value our freedoms to Vote for Democracy!

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.

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/

Vote for Democracy #15

presidential debate wrap-up

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Last night was the first – and perhaps only – debate between US presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.

The two had never met in-person and Harris made a point of walking over to Trump to introduce herself and shake hands. She introduced herself by name, which was interesting in that Trump frequently mispronounces it. She had to cross over to his side of the stage as Trump made no move to meet in the middle for a handshake as is customary for presidential debates.

Harris proceeded to answer questions and explain her policy ideas while also correcting some of Trump’s erroneous assertions.

Trump had a lot of trouble staying on topic and lied about a bunch of things. When either the moderators or Harris corrected him, he often doubled down on the lies. For example, he said that immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets in a certain city, which is not true at all according to the police and government officials there. For Trump to claim such an outlandish thing in a presidential debate is just absurd and out of touch with reality.

Trump spent most of the debate looking glum. Harris sometimes looked at Trump with pity, sometimes with incredulity.

Harris came across as an intelligent, experienced leader, while Trump appeared to be confused and combative. Trump’s mode of thought and expression reminded me uncomfortably of some family members when they were developing Alzheimer’s. This is particularly concerning because Trump’s father suffered from Alzheimer’s disease at a similar age and it tends to run in families.

To learn more about Kamala Harris’s positions on issues and proposals for her presidency, visit the issues page on her website here. There are numerous drop-down sections with specific policies. By contrast, Donald Trump’s Agenda 47 page is more a series of statements than an explanation of how he might implement them.

There is not currently an agreement for a second debate. I can’t imagine the Trump campaign wanting him to try this again.

One-Liner Wednesday: Project 2025 and taxes

Project 2025, the lengthy document spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation to lay out plans for the “conservative president” they expect to be elected this year and which mirrors Trump’s Agenda 47 and the Republican party platform, would raise middle class taxes by thousands of dollars per year per household while lowering taxes by over a million dollars per year per household for those making over $10 million.

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/09/04/one-liner-wednesday-whee/

One-Liner Wednesday: superseding indictment

After presenting evidence to a new grand jury, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed this superseding indictment against Donald Trump in the 2020 election interference case before Judge Tanya Chutkan, charging Trump as a candidate in conspiracy with other private citizens, thus avoiding any evidence that could be thought of as part of his “official duties” after the controversial Supreme Court decision bestowing broad presidential immunity for official acts and evidence related to executive branch communications, including the Department of Justice.

This post brought to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/08/28/one-liner-wednesday-take-a-guess/