Tag: vote

Vote for Democracy #14

your vote and gun safety

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

It’s another sad “day after” here in the United States.

Yesterday, a 14-year-old student, just a few weeks into his high school years, opened fire at Apalachee High School in Georgia with an AR-style assault weapon, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others. The school resource officer (police officer assigned to the school) confronted him and he surrendered and was arrested. It’s already been announced that he will be tried as an adult.

Only in America.

It’s telling that I have already written about guns and violence three times in the prior 13 posts, after the mass shooting at Donald Trump’s rally, on Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declaring firearm violence a public health crisis, and on political violence.

It was good that during the Biden presidency there was a bipartisan gun safety bill passed and signed into law, but there is much more to be done that has widespread public support. Stronger universal background checks. Age restrictions for gun ownership. Safe storage rules. Red flag laws, which remove firearms from places where there is a risk of violence or mental health difficulties. Stronger laws against gun trafficking. Banning ghost guns which do not have serial numbers. Restrictions on carrying guns in public, both openly and under concealment. Banning military-style assault weapons, such as the AR-15, which are designed to kill people as quickly and brutally as possible. Banning bump stocks and large-capacity magazines. These laws need to be national to avoid what we have now, where guns, gun accesories, and ammunition get into a state with stricter gun laws from neighboring states with more lax laws. For example, my state, New York, has much stricter gun laws than our neighbor, Pennsylvania. The teen-aged perpetrator in the Buffalo supermarket mass murder, who lived in my county, purchsed large clips of ammunition from Pennsylvania becuase New York only allows clips up to ten rounds.

The shooting in Georgia is even more tragic in that it could have been prevented. As an eigthth-grader, the student had allegedly threatened a school shooting online and there was an investigation but no action. More immediately, that morning, there was a telephone threat received of a series of five school shootings, beginning with Apalachee. This child was suffering from mental illness and did not receive treatment that would have helped him and prevented him from gaining access to his father’s gun and killing and injuring people.

I do not agree with the decision to try a 14-year-old as an adult. Adolescents, especially young adolescents, do not have the brain development and judgement of adults. They also aren’t as able to recognize changes that may be symptoms of mental health problems. Yes, this is a horrible crime, but it was carried out by a mentally ill child. Charging and trying him as an adult does not make him one.

After these tragedies, there are always calls for “thoughts and prayers” for the victims and affected communities. There are often calls for action in terms of legislation, but these seldom make it through legislatures.

This post is part of my Vote for Democrary ’24 series to remind all eligible US voters to look at local, state, and national candidates’ position on firearms and public safety and only vote for those who will stand up for protecting public health and safety. While we certainly want to prevent murder, we also want to protect people from taking their own lives, which is the most prevalent kind of gun death. The vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, want these protections in place.

Vote as if your life and the lives of your loved ones depend on it.

It may literally be true.

Vote for Democracy #13

a changed landscape

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

There has been a torrent of presidential election news since I posted Vote for Democracy #12 the day after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump. For those who may not follow United States election news, this post will try to fill you in on what has happened to change the presidential election so massively since then.

The Republican party held their convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 15th-18th. While it had been billed as being unifying in the wake of the assassination attempt, the message seemed to be welcoming only to those ready to believe the lies about the 2020 election being “stolen” and a lot of other lies about crime rates, immigration, the economy, and a host of other issues. Ohio Senator JD Vance became the vice-presidential nominee. At age 39, he is literally half Donald Trump’s age. He has only served in office for a year and a half and is better known as an author and venture capitalist. Trump gave the longest televised nomination acceptance speech ever at about 92 minutes. He started by recounting the assassination attempt but then veered off the prepared remarks into a version of his rally speech with a lot of rambling.

Meanwhile, President Biden was under increasing pressure to step aside from the presidential campaign, which he did on July 21st, putting his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination. It is unusual for a US president to decide not to seek an additional term, especially this close to an election and there are reams of commentary about it.

Like Joe Biden, I’m Catholic and think about his decision to step aside as an example of servant leadership, a model that is exemplified by Christ. Too often, leadership in the Church has been dominated by clericalism and in government by authoritarianism, oligarchy, or other forms of being power- or wealth-hungry. Biden did what he thought would be best for the country, not seeking re-election to concentrate on his presidential duties for this last six months of his term or one-eighth of his presidency.

About half an hour after announcing his decision, President Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination. He asked the delegates pledged to him for the Democratic party’s convention to vote for her, although they were no obligated to do so. Harris declared her candidacy shortly thereafter. Because the campaign had previously been the Biden-Harris campaign, she was entitled to use the resources, including funds, on hand.

There was a groundswell of support for her candidacy. In the first 24 hours, her campaign raised $81 million. Within the first week, there was $200 million, 66% of it from first-time donors. Over 170,000 people had volunteered to help the campaign. Tens of thousands had registered to vote. Funds have also poured into political action committees to support her candidacy.

Meanwhile, Harris has gained endorsements from leading political figures, unions, and organizations. Importantly, the convention delegates have been meeting online to pursue a virtual role call for the nomination. This was the procedure they used last time due to the pandemic; they are using it this year because their convention isn’t until Aug. 19-22 due to the timing of the Republican convention and the Olympics. Some states have deadlines for ballot access earlier in August, so the nomination is being finalized online before the physical gathering in Chicago. In order to be placed into nomination, a candidate needed to have 300 delegates pledged to them. Harris is the only candidate to meet that threshold. She hasn’t yet chosen a running mate, but we expect that announcement soon.

While Harris has been joyfully and skillfully doing numerous speeches, fundraisers, and official appearances, such as greeting the American hostages returning from Russia, the Trump campaign has been confounded. They had apparently centered their strategy around attacking Joe Biden, which is now moot. The Trump campaign and Republicans have engaged in attacks on Harris that come across as misogynistic, racist, and anti-immigrant. They fault Harris for not having given birth, although she is an actively engaged stepmom to Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s two children. They mock her laugh. The daughter of a Jamaican immigrant father and Indian immigrant mother, Kamala Harris has always celebrated both her Black and Asian roots. Somehow, Trump can’t seem to wrap his head around that fact, which is bizarre to most of us who are or have family and friends who are multi-racial/ethnic. Trump has even tried to characterize Harris as anti-Semitic, although she is married to a Jewish man.

I appreciate Harris’s political savvy in being able to briefly address the lies about her but then carry on with her own skills, history, and policy provisions, defining herself for the public rather than letting her opponents put her in a box.

The contrasts between her and the Trump/Vance ticket are stark. Trump and Vance have 5 1/2 years of public service in elected office between them. Harris has held elected office since 2004 as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, United States senator, and vice president, giving her twenty years of experience across three branches of government. Harris is an experienced prosecutor who brought cases against fraud and sexual abuse while Trump is a convicted felon who has also been found libel for financial fraud and sexual abuse. If elected, Harris would make history as the first woman and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the US presidency. If Trump is elected, he would be the oldest president at the time of election and the first convicted criminal in the office. Harris is committed to the Constitution and the rule of law and wants to uphold democracy at home and among our allies. Trump has espoused authoritarian ideas, tried to stay in office after he lost the 2020 election, fomented an insurrection, stolen classified documents and other presidential papers, and admires autocrats.

Trump uses lies and manipulation to spread a message of fear and grievance. Harris uses her experience and intelligence to bring a message of hope and strength.

She has earned my support.

I urge all eligible Americans to make sure they are registered and look at the facts and the positions of the candidates for president, Congress, and any other elections and propositions that may be on their ballots in November.

Vote for democracy ’24!

Vote for Democracy ’24 #11

a week after the first debate

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

I watched the first presidential debate on June 27 with my family.

To me, the clear loser in the debate was Donald Trump because he told dozens of easily identifiable lies and didn’t answer many of the questions. He also tried to take credit for some accomplishments of President Biden.

As soon as President Biden started speaking, it was obvious to me that he was ill. He also was rushing his answers, probably in an attempt to pack as much information as possible into the two-minute allowed response time. As Trump threw around lies and accusations, Biden tried to respond to those plus answering the given question and his well-known, long-standing problems with stuttering kicked in, making some of his answers a jumble.

Since then, there has been a large-scale, public freak-out about whether Biden is too old to seek another term, even though Trump is only three years younger and doesn’t lead a healthy lifestyle. Biden’s latest annual physical exam report, dated Feb. 28, 2024, shows that he has no major neurological conditions and that his gait issues are from arthritis in his back and hip, along with some neuropathy in his feet. There is no comparably detailed health report from Trump.

Some of the criticism of Biden makes me wonder if those voicing it spend time with elders. For example, collagen levels decrease with age and this makes one’s face look older. So, yes, at 81 and a healthy weight, Biden’s face looks like he’s 81. It doesn’t mean he is cognitively impaired. Yes, he moves more slowly, as you would expect from someone with that level of arthritis. The presidency is not a footrace. If it were, Franklin Roosevelt would never have been elected.

I appreciate Biden’s wisdom, experience in government, decency, empathy, and compassion. His life journey has been long and he has faced more than the usual share of personal tragedy. He has assembled a very good team of advisors and Cabinet officials. It’s true that his debate performance was terrible but, as President, one is always surrounded by policy experts, advisors, and research documents and doesn’t have to answer questions with a time limit and no notes while trying to rebut lies.

I don’t know what will happen at this point. Biden is determined today to stay in the race but, if he does step aside, Vice-president Harris or whomever the Democrats nominate will have my support and vote.

It will be a vote for democracy.

I won’t vote for Trump because he is an immoral, lying, convicted felon who doesn’t care about our country and its laws. I also won’t vote for anyone who supports him or puts their political party above the laws and the people of the United States. This is especially important after recent decisions by a corrupted Supreme Court. That’s a post for another day.

Today, as we celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, let’s renew our commitment to each other, to democracy, to our Constitution and laws, and to our highest ideals. Let’s resolve to vote only for candidates who share those ideals and seek to serve the country, not those who seek only to enhance their own power and wealth and that of their rich cronies.

Together, we can keep our democracy vibrant and ready to add more centuries to the 248 years the United States celebrates today.

Vote for Democracy ’24 #9

On the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

I’ve written several posts dealing with abortion – after the leak of the Dobbs decision, about the aftermath of the first month after it was handed down, and about a year later in a post about the out-sized influence of the Catholic Church with conservative members of the Supreme Court and some governors.

Today is the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which overturned the national right to abortion recognized by the decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Some of the worst fears of the public have already occurred. With many states imposing total or near-total bans, people with a problem pregnancy have been forced to flee to distant states to receive care. This has even happened when the mother’s life, health, and/or future fertility are under threat or when the fetus has a problem that is so severe it is “incompatible with life.” Women have even been refused treatment when they are clearly in the process of suffering a miscarriage, the commonly used term to describe a spontaneous abortion. Unfortunately, some of these women will go on to develop sepsis or life-threatening hemorrhage which could have been avoided by performing a timely D&C.

Remember also that abortion is safer than pregnancy and childbirth. This is especially true for girls and for women of color, who face higher risks of life-altering complications and death. Mifepristone, one of the most-used drugs for medication abortions, has a lower rate of complications than acetaminophen (Tylenol).

It has become clear that some state and national level elected officials want to make all or nearly all abortions illegal in the United States. Additionally, there are threats against the legality of contraceptives. Fertility clinics that offer IVF face uncertainty in states that want to recognize that life begins at conception, bestowing personhood rights on fertilized eggs.

I find this argument particularly unconvincing, given that, in the course of a woman’s life, a substantial number of fertilized eggs don’t even implant and cause a pregnancy. Conception seems to be much too early a marker of life. A common rejoinder if one is unconvinced of personhood beginning at conception is to ask when does life begin. I think that life begins when one can breathe, which is already part of our legal definition. If a baby is born but never takes a breath, it is recorded as a stillbirth, not a birth and a death. People die after they take their last breath. Interestingly, the legal framework for abortion under Roe v. Wade relied on viability; given that the lungs are the last major organ to develop fully, the ability to breathe is inherent in the definition of viability.

The person who is definitely breathing and alive and a person through all this is the person who is pregnant. Their life and their rights should be clearly recognized and respected. No government official should be able to dictate their medical care. Period.

In the upcoming state and federal elections, when looking at candidates’ positions on issues, evaluate their stance on abortion and contraception. Do they allow each person to make medical choices regarding these issues, relying on their own judgement after consulting medical practitioners, family members, faith leaders, etc., or do they favor laws that substitute their preferences and beliefs over yours?

On the presidential side, it is clear that the Biden/Harris ticket advocates for the right of the individual to make personal medical decisions unencumbered by government. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been bragging about his Supreme Court appointees overturning Roe. Project 2025, a blueprint for a second Trump administration, reveals ways it would impose abortion restrictions throughout the US.

Also consider how candidates regard women’s rights. For some candidates, attacking abortion and reproductive rights goes along with the idea that women should go back to “traditional” roles where they didn’t work outside the home. A few have even suggested that women should not be allowed to vote!

So, vote like your rights – and the rights of your family, friends, and neighbors – depend on it.

That may very well be literally true.

Vote for Democracy ’24 #8

34 felony convictions, 54 counts waiting for trial dates.

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Late afternoon yesterday, May 30, 2024, a former president of the United States, Donald Trump, was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case brought by the state of New York by the elected district attorney of New York County, Alvin Bragg, after a grand jury of citizens voted to bring the charges.

This is the first time a US president has been charged with felonies and found guilty. President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon before any charges could be brought.

The State of New York has jurisdiction to bring the charges because the business records in question were in the state. Falsification of business records is usually a misdemeanor but was raised to a felony here because it was being done with the intent to commit another crime, in this case, violation of New York State election law. This case relates to the 2016 election, when Donald Trump authorized paying a woman to keep her from going to the press with a story about a sexual encounter that would have been potentially damaging to his campaign in the final weeks, shortly after the release of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Donald Trump made light of his habit of sexually assaulting women. The business records were falsified in a scheme to conceal the payment.

The prosecution spent several weeks presenting documents and other evidence and testimony from twenty witnesses. Trump’s defense was much briefer, only two witnesses. The jury deliberated for about nine and a half hours over two days and returned a guilty verdict on all 34 counts.

This is the way the criminal justice system should work in the United States. It’s not the elected or appointed officials who decide the case. It’s a jury of one’s peers. Jurors are sworn to consider only the evidence presented and the law in reaching their verdict. While Trump’s followers made it seem that a New York jury would be made exclusively of Democrats with a grudge against him, we know that the jurors had a range of news sources, including one who got their news from Trump’s social media site, Truth Social. All the jurors swore, though, to set aside any preconceived notions and deliberate together to reach a unanimous verdict.

Sentencing is set for July 11. The sentence will be decided by the presiding judge, Juan Merchan. It could include up to four years in prison but could be probation, instead. After sentencing, there will likely be an appeal. The Republican party convention, which is expected to nominate Trump as their presidential choice for the November election, begins July 15.

Meanwhile, Trump is awaiting trial on 54 more felonies in three cases, a State of Georgia election interference conspiracy case, a federal case of mishandling sensitive presidential documents in Florida, and the federal case around the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

I will not vote for a convicted felon who has not served their sentence and taken responsibility for their actions.

I hope that most Americans also hold that view.

Many prominent Republicans are attacking the judicial system rather than affirming the verdict of twelve sworn jurors in New York. I also will not vote for a candidate for any office that does not respect the rule of law. Public officials are sworn to uphold and defend our Constitution and laws. The transcript of the NY trial is available and demonstrates that the law was being followed and applied. For an elected official to attack the US justice system as being worse than those in countries like Cuba is disqualifying for me as a voter.

Applying the law “without fear or favor” is a hallmark of the United States judicial system. All voters should pay attention to the views of candidates toward the rule of law when deciding for whom to vote.

Vote for Democracy #7

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

Over the last several decades, it’s become customary to ask the electorate in the run-up to presidential elections if they were better off four years ago.

I can safely say that our family is much better off now than four years ago.

During Trump’s last year in office, we spent a lot of time in either complete COVID isolation or significant restrictions. There were shortages of many consumer goods. While we were fortunate that B’s job could be done remotely, our finances had been negatively impacted by the Trump/Republican tax cuts, which saved wealthy individuals and corporations millions of dollars but raised federal income taxes for those of us who live in states with higher property and state income taxes by restricting our ability to itemize. (Republican Claudia Tenney was our representative at the time and put out an illustration of how much a family with three children under 14 would save in federal income tax, ignoring that the vast majority of her constituents didn’t fit that model and certainly a household like ours, older couple with no dependents, had a significant tax increase, not a cut.) Our retirement savings took a hit as both stocks and bonds were suffering from the disruption of the world economy due to the pandemic.

While we were fortunate to have a stable home and employment, 2020 was generally a scary time. Many in our community had job losses and health problems, including serious COVID cases. Too many people suffered lasting health consequences or death from the pandemic. While our state government did their best to deal with those early pandemic months, President Trump was a hindrance rather than a help in safeguarding our well-being.

In this final year of President Biden’s first term, things are much better for our family. With federal support for vaccines and treatments and with our own precautions, we have only had one relatively mild COVID case in our household. While inflation has raised some of our household costs, wages have gone up, too. We have appreciated higher interest rates on our savings and the record levels of the stock market have helped our retirement savings to recover and grow. The current unemployment rate in Broome County NY, where I live, is 4.5%, slightly higher than the national average of 3.9%. By contrast, in April 2020, our county set its record high unemployment rate at 15.2%.

While I know there are individuals who were better off four years ago, the majority of people are healthier and in a more stable situation than they were in 2020.

Still, many people feel differently. Perhaps, the trauma of the early part of the pandemic caused them to forget the fear, illness, job losses, shortages, and isolation we experienced. Perhaps, their personal income wasn’t able to compensate for inflation. (For the record, the supply chain problems that caused some of the inflation surge have resolved but the extra profit-taking by companies has not, especially with products that have only a handful of suppliers. The blame for price gouging should fall on greedy corporations, not on the administration.) Perhaps, some people are victims of fear-mongering or misinformation about the economy and public policy.

Admittedly, as I decide which candidates to support, I prefer to look at the broader picture of my local community and the country rather than the small picture of my household. In my area, there are lots of infrastructure improvements underway, especially with our roads. The local hospital just opened a new building. There is lots of government and private support for new and expanding business because we are a nationally recognized center for battery technology. Old factory buildings that were sitting vacant for decades are being renovated for housing and business use. Our regional airport is undergoing enhancements.

Many other counties around the country have similar stories of positive change.

I hope that voters will look honestly at their own past and present when evaluating the economic and health aspects of deciding among candidates. Don’t let other people or the media tell you what you should think. It’s also helpful to look at how government helped or hindered the economy or public health. The United States economy, including employment and inflation, has recovered much more quickly from the shock of the pandemic than other countries with advanced economies. The actions of the Biden administration are a factor in this economic strength.

An example of how public sentiment diverges from legislation and statistics is this poll from late April which finds that, when asked whether Biden or Trump did “more to promote infrastructure and job creation,” the results were 40% Biden, 37% Trump, 12% both equally, 12% don’t know. The fact is that no major infrastructure bills passed during the Trump administration while the Biden administration was heavily involved in crafting the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This law along with the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act have contributed to 15 million jobs added to the US economy under President Biden while the Trump presidency saw a loss of 2.9 million jobs. That the poll opinions deviate so dramatically from the legislative record and statistics suggests that other factors are at play, such as dis/misinformation, taking personal experience as universal, fear, and partisanship. Robert Reich had an interesting piece on his Substack yesterday exploring some of the facts, possible reasons they aren’t breaking through with the public, and possible ways to address the disparity.

When I look at this question of how my family, community, state, and country are doing during the Biden presidency and contrast it with the Trump presidency, it’s clear that Biden has the better record and plans for the future. I will vote for Biden and for Congressional candidates who will support Biden’s agenda.

I hope that all voters will evaluate the facts on the economy as they make decisions about voting.

Vote for Democracy #4

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

The United States is not a “Christian nation.”

In the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment makes clear that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It is the first freedom listed in the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights, which was considered so vital that the states required it to be added before they would adopt the Constitution.

While some of the colonies had originally had an established religion, others, such as Rhode Island, had been founded explicitly without a government-sanctioned religion. At the time of the founding, the majority of United States residents were Christian, which is still true today, but the country was explicitly founded to be non-sectarian.

That’s why it’s so disturbing to me to see so many Republicans pushing the concept that the United States either is or should be a “Christian nation,” ignoring both the First Amendment and our history.

A particularly disturbing example of this is that this week, observed by the majority of Christian denominations as Holy Week leading to the celebration of Easter on Sunday, Donald Trump is selling the God Bless the USA bible, which includes the King James version of the Bible along with the US Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Pledge of Allegiance. Trump’s message is “Let’s Make America Pray Again.” He thinks every home should have a (this/his) Bible.

This flies in the face of the First Amendment, which is, one assumes, included in this volume.

As a United States citizen and a Roman Catholic Christian, I am appalled that Trump is raising money in this blatant attempt to appeal to “Christian nationalists,” who want the United States to become a Christian nation, most of whom intend it to be a white Christian nation.

No.

The United States is a pluralistic nation and that is one of its strengths. It has certainly been an imperfect union with egregious examples of discrimination, bigotry, and injustice over the centuries, but we are working to move in a direction closer to equality for all people. Favoring one religion over another in our government must not be allowed.

Our government is a secular one and must remain so, as the Founders and generations of Americans intended.

When we vote, we should keep this principle in mind and reject any candidate who thinks the US is or should be a “Christian nation.”

Vote for Democracy ’24 #2

Back in September, I published a post about the age and health of President Biden and former President Trump. In it, I wrote:

On the other hand, when Donald Trump was president, he was not known to keep a very rigorous schedule of official duties. He didn’t seem to understand the complexities of the job, such as dealing with classified materials. He was volatile and resorted to bullying, name calling, and lying to try to get his way, regardless of facts, laws, or policies. Sometimes, when he is speaking without a teleprompter, he doesn’t seem able to construct cogent sentences. I don’t know if there is a medical diagnosis that elucidates these behaviors or not, but I don’t think his age is the salient factor.

While there are some in the media who have been talking about these things for years, Trump’s recent behavior has pushed these topics into the mainstream, both in the press and among some politicians. A few days ago, Trump repeatedly referred to his primary opponent, Nikki Haley, when he seemingly meant to say Nancy Pelosi. When campaigning, he has sometimes been confused about where he is. He has repeatedly said that he ran against President Obama, which he did not. He doesn’t seem to have much control over his emotional reactions and speech, for example, when he went on a rant at the New York trial over damages for fraud regarding his real estate businesses. His victory speech after the New Hampshire primary featured rambling, repetition, threats, and vitriol.

It seems that some of the tendencies he had during his presidency have heightened. What is even more alarming to me and to some observers is that Trump’s cognition and control seem to have slipped. I’ve been exposed to numerous people as dementia was developing and observed how their language skills eroded and how they struggled with self-control. It makes Trump’s recent behavior seem eerily familiar. That others are pointing it out confirms that it is not just a personal bias.

Donald Trump’s father, Fred, had dementia from Alzheimer’s disease for years before his death. Alzheimer’s disease is known to run in families and Donald’s age does become salient on this point, given that he is now 77 years old and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s increases with age. It’s also frequently not diagnosed in its early stages. While Fred Trump was diagnosed in his 80s, it’s likely that cognitive decline began years earlier, which would put Donald in the same age bracket as his father was when symptoms started to develop.

Despite all this, many Republican elected officials are currently endorsing Trump for the nomination and the presidency. They don’t seem to recognize the danger of having someone in cognitive decline and with poor impulse control exercising the powers of the presidency. Things could go very badly very quickly.

There is no health test to run for president. I do hope that, at the very least, there will be pressure for Trump to debate Nikki Haley so that potential voters can see how he answers questions and reacts to issues in real time. This would also reveal to other Republican party leaders what his current capabilities are so they could assess if he is fit to serve for the next presidential term. I don’t know whether or not they can set aside their own hunger for power or not but, perhaps, it will scare them enough to act to safeguard the country from the disaster of having a mentally incompetent person in charge.

Trump has been using increasingly authoritarian language and issuing threats against opponents and even other Republicans who disagree with him. He should not ever again be in a position where he can carry out these threats, many of which are illegal and would threaten the stability of our democratic institutions. Oh, and Trump is insisting a president should enjoy total immunity from prosecution, no matter what he does.

Please consider these things before you vote. Look at what each candidate says, does, and believes. Don’t just look at their party or family name.
*****
Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/26/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-26th-2024/

Vote for Democracy ’24 #1

The first major event in preparation for the November ’24 United States presidential election took place last night. Former president Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses, which will give him twenty delegates in the Republican party nominating convention in the summer. The other twenty delegates were awarded among DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy; Ramaswamy left the race and endorsed Trump after the results were announced. (The Democrats decided to use mail-in ballots with results announced on March 5th.)

Although the nominating conventions won’t be until summer, it is widely expected that the November election will be a contest between current president, Democrat Joe Biden, and the former president, Republican Donald Trump, along with several independent/small party challengers.

That all sounds normal, but it isn’t. Donald Trump is under 91 felony indictments, some in federal cases and others in the states of Georgia and New York. A lot of evidence of his conduct is already publicly available, through government reports, recordings of speeches and phone calls, public comments, interviews, testimony at hearings and trials, and the media. There is also a lot of evidence of other Republicans cooperating with criminal activity or excusing it.

This election is widely considered to be a test of American democracy and values. I’ve struggled with what my role should be in standing up for our Constitution, democracy, and the common good. I do a lot of behind-the-scenes actions, such as writing to my elected officials and other government leaders and donating to political candidates, lobbying organizations, and charities that express my values. I frequently post my views on political topics here at Top of JC’s Mind. In this late November post, I made clear how dangerous I think a second Trump administration would be.

Although I’m painfully aware of my lack of reach, I want to add my voice to those fighting to preserve democracy and promote a national government that serves the common good rather than just the rich and powerful. So, I’ve decided to start an election year series here at Top of JC’s Mind, “Vote for Democracy ’24”, to provide more visibility to these posts.

I plan for these posts to be informative, factual, and reflective of my views. Readers are welcome to add their own views in comments but there are two requirements. Comments must be respectful; I do not allow vulgarity, name calling, or threats on my blog. (I remind those who use “freedom of speech” as an excuse to say whatever they want, wherever they want that the First Amendment is about the government’s actions regarding speech, not private individuals.) Comments must also be based in fact. I will not allow my platform to amplify lies, conspiracy theories, or hatefulness. I will exercise my right to delete comments that violate these requirements. I will respectfully reply to people across the range of opinions if they do follow these requirements. I hope not to do this, but I will block particular people, if needed, or close comments, if things get out of hand.

In November ’23, I wrote:

I know that I will not vote for Trump or any candidate for office at any level who supports him and his dangerous ideas. I will try to get the word out as best I can what those dangerous ideas are because some of the people who support Trump only hear his rhetoric and not the countervailing facts. For example, I encourage people to read the indictments against Trump, which lay out a lot of the underlying evidence. It’s also helpful to read the report of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, as well as the Mueller Report. I also am supporting voices and organizations that are working to uphold democracy, the rule of law, and the common good.

I’m also worried and scared about violence, oppression, and losing my free, if flawed, country to demagogues, authoritarians, and fascists.

While I tend to pay attention to politics and public affairs all the time, many in the United States don’t notice what is going on with government except in presidential election years. I hope to encourage people to look at facts and evidence and draw their own conclusions rather than just following along with a candidate or party by inertia. I have never joined a political party and have a history of voting for candidates from multiple parties. I value my right as a citizen to vote and want others to retain their freedom to do so without obstacles or intimidation. I hope that others in the United States hold similar values regarding voting and that those in other countries stay informed and are able to freely participate in their own governance, although I realize that is an impossibility in some places.

2024 will be a momentous year in US history. Pay attention.
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One-Liner Wednesday: Speaker-less

Yesterday, for the first time in a hundred years, the United States House of Representatives failed to choose a Speaker on the first day of the new Congress, when Kevin McCarthy failed to get a majority of votes on three attempts, despite the fact that his Republican party holds a slim majority.

This update to my post from yesterday is brought to you by Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays and Just Jot It January. Join us! Details here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/04/one-liner-wednesday-jusjojan-the-4th-2023-courage/