Tag: vote

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!

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!

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.

Presidential Debate Bingo

NETWORK, a social justice lobbying organization founded over fifty years ago by a group of Catholic sisters, is currently embarked on their Nuns on the bus & Friends tour in the run-up to the November election.

They have provided a non-partisan tool to use during the September 10th presidential debate to keep track of which issues are mentioned during the debate. It’s a bingo card!

The page above puts it this way:

The 2024 election poses a critical choice to our country: will we choose a future where everyone thrives? You can use the bingo card to help you track what the candidates have to say on the issues, and discern how your vote will protect and expand a flourishing, multiracial, multi-faith democracy for all.

I know that many of us, whether or not we follow a faith tradition, want to see everyone thrive. Please feel free to use and share this bingo card and NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Multi-Issue Voter Checklist to help guide deliberations in choosing for whom to vote at all levels of government.

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.