Tag: United States

Vote for Democracy #18

I voted!

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

While I traditionally vote in person on Election Day, due to the unpredictability of my health these past months, I decided to vote this morning at a polling place in my local library.

Prior to the pandemic, New York State did not have early in-person voting available. Absentee voting was restricted to those with health problems, those who would be travelling out of the county on Election Day, or those temporarily living away from home, such as college students. One could return ballots by mail or drop them off at the county election office. The pandemic brought in early in-person voting, although in a condensed timeframe (this year, October 26-November 3), and no-excuse absentee ballots. Still, New York’s ballot access is still more restrictive than many other states.

I feel relieved to have my ballot safely cast and ready to be added to the tally that will be announced after the polls close on November 5th, Election Day. It was important to me to have my vote counted with those cast in person on Election Day. Absentee ballots in New York are not counted until days later and I prefer to have my vote included in the tally reported on election night.

I voted to uphold democratic values and the common good and hope that all eligible voters will do the same, whether they already have voted, are getting ready to vote early in-person or by mail, or are voting on Election Day.

Democracy works best when we elect serious, thoughtful, principled people to office who will enact policies that help all people to thrive. This applies to local, state, and national offices.

Vote for Democracy in 2024!

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/

SoCS: what I knew today

I knew I wouldn’t have the brainpower to write in stream of consciousness what I needed to say today about the upcoming election in the US, so I wisely wrote that post in the conventional way – and am shamelessly sharing it here.

Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is to use a word that starts with kn. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/10/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-19-2024/

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!

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.

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/

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!