OPEN LETTER TO Senator Patrick J. Toomey

Pat Toomey, career politician  

by Ruth A. Sheets

Dear Senator Toomey,

I know you care nothing for the global warming that is taking over our planet, but I thought I would try to convince you to support the Paris Climate agreement along with the entire rest of the world.  The U.S. is really not looking good when it is the only nation standing outside the agreement, and doing nothing nationally to stop global warming.  Knowing this and that the rest of Republican America is with you, I can’t help but think Republicans care nothing for their children, grandchildren, and into the future.  What would make anyone think otherwise? 

Global warming is the greatest crisis in our lifetime.  It needs your attention.  One way to address this crisis would be passing a law stating the United States will remain in the Paris climate agreement despite what Mr. Trump wants.  (who by the way knows nothing about global warming).

A difficult, but meaningful way to do this would be to cosponsor S.Res.404, a resolution sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland. This resolution would ensure  the U.S. officially remains in the Paris Climate Agreement, accelerate U.S. efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage our leadership in making the agreement more than just pieces of paper.

We really don’t have much time to act, yet  instead of moving forward the United States is stepping back from any leadership we could have had in saving our planet.  You and other Republican Senators have allowed Mr. McConnell to decide for you that nothing will be done to protect our air, land, and water or to cut greenhouse emissions.  This, of course, means you are in agreement with him.  Letting the EPA reduce protections for our air, water, and land puts us all at risk, yes, even you wealthy folks.  You ultimately have to breathe the same air and drink the same water.  (Oh wait, you think bottled water won’t be affected don’t you?) 

I get it, Republicans standing against Donald Trump is really hard.  I honestly have no idea what he has over you, and I know he would throw you under the bus if you cross him, but it is time you stand up for yourself and for the people of Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world.  Think about the future generations of your own family if you can’t summon caring for anyone else.

Thank you, 
Ruth Sheets

MOSCOW MITCH

by Ruth A. Sheets

Moscow Mitch is the best handle I’ve heard so far for Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.  Mr. McConnell is self-seeking, profiteering, and willing to betray the Constitution for power and money. There are those who think Russian leaders fit this description too.

I do not write these words glibly.  Mr. McConnell has been working for years to undermine the government of the United States through his leadership in the Senate.  I suspect this is why he was elected to this position in the first place (Minority Leader first). 

As the Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell pledged to stop any legislation President Obama proposed.  Why?  Is it because he wanted to obstruct justice, or all Democrats?  Was it racism?  It is hard to tell, but it was clearly self-aggrandizing behavior.  It made him the darling of the Tea Party, you remember, those ultra-right Republicans who simply hate our government (as long as it is helping people other than themselves.

How does this self-aggrandizing behavior manifest itself?  It does in many ways.

Mr. McConnell glibly commented that of course, he would hold hearings and a vote for a Supreme Court nominee if needed next year even though it is an election year.  Why is this problematic?  He claimed election year was the reason he would not hold hearings for a President Obama nominee in 2016.  Therefore, he stood against the Constitution when it was a Black, Democratic president, but won’t when it is a White Republican one. For him, the Constitution is conditional.

He pushes through totally inappropriate nominees for judgeships around the nation to implant some kind of ultra conservative judiciary.  To what purpose, not certain, but he seems to think his racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic, mega Christians will somehow benefit.  And, who cares about the rest of the country!

In addition, as Majority Leader, he refuses to bring bills from the House to discussion in the Senate nor to a vote, then pushes through bills that no one has properly read, on party lines that serve the very wealthy and huge corporations.  He ignores the fact that large numbers of Americans are in favor, for example, of sensible gun control, but he refuses a vote on a measure from the House of Representatives or any other proposal.

He is benefiting financially too.  He uses his influence to get special contracts from foreign entities (Some Russian) for Kentucky, his state.  His wife’s in on it too, and she holds a cabinet position.

To me all this makes Mitch McConnell a traitor to his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.

McConnell believes, and acts like, as "The Grim Reaper" he has the right to do whatever he wants, Constitution or no Constitution.  Is that treason?  It is when he refuses to bring up legislation that could make our elections safer from foreign interference as happened in the 2016 election.  It's also what one might expect of leaders in Russia.  Moscow Mitch.  Yep, that’s him! 

THE LINE

by Ruth A. Sheets

I just finished reading the novel Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen.  It is  about the holocaust in Poland.  As I read, I could not help but think we now have concentration camps here in America.  We permit our president to malign people of color, to drag children away from parents for indefinite periods, just because.  And, Mr. Trump’s (that president)  followers accept this as well.

It is not that I can't believe it is happening here, I do.  I have watched the fear mongering by Republican candidates and government operatives since 9/11 and beyond.  This has caused many conservatives to jump into fear in ways that can set aside their humanity.  It is that I don’t want  it to be happening here.

Ms. Nielsen’s book describes some of the atrocities perpetrated on Polish Jews and others during WWII.   They were done by people who were racists but would not have tortured and shot children in the streets before the flood of fear overtook them.  We know now that what  happened to them is the fear part of the brain, the amygdala took over and they saw only animals, cockroaches needing to be stepped on before they were destroyed.  These fear-drowned people would then go with their kids to ride the merry-go-round while people down the street were being massacred. 

When and how did the crossover happen for those Germans and Poles?  When will the crossover happen to conservatives here? 

It was not a wide line they had to cross.  It began slowly with shunning Jews, just not talking to or doing business with them anymore.  The next steps were also rather small, but inevitable for a lot of people, turning their backs on cruelties done by others, stealing Jewish property, tossing rocks through windows, gossiping to neighbors about some imagined action one of them did.  Ultimately, they "got off on" the hurting and killing through a steady escalation. 

What about here?  Well, there are already many who would prefer dead migrants in the desert to living ones asking for refuge or asylum.  That is a first line.  A worker will face another trial in Arizona because he helped 2 migrants with some water and a temporary place to sleep.  The first trial ended in a hung jury, so instead of dismissing these ridiculous charges, they are going to go through it again, hoping to find enough conservatives at the line, willing to cross it to make a point.  A man faces jail time for living his CHRISTIAN faith while people who CLAIM to be Christian, refuse to do the things asked of Christians according to scripture.  That moves us just a bit closer to the line of no return, where excuses are made “we were just following the law/orders, he shouldn’t have done that/been here anyway.”  These folks, someone’s neighbors, will still think themselves righteous as the numbers of dead and lives destroyed mount. 

Mr. Trump regularly uses racial insults, and he and his tight group of cronies defend his comments as OK, what those people deserve  because they dared to challenge his appalling behavior.  Now instead of just 4 congresswomen of color, refugees and asylum seekers on the border, and immigrants of color, he is targeting other legislators of color and their entire districts too.  He throws in a few general Democrat insults so he thinks he can claim that this really isn't racism.   This resonates with his cult followers.  They don't want to be called out for the racists they are.  I don’t understand why.  It would seem their actions and inactions would indicate their pride in the positions they have taken and will continue to take.  Why not be called racist or xenophobic?   

Some of the susceptible  conservatives have crossed the line already, sending fake bombs to Democrats, actors and others he had been told to hate.  Shooters enter a variety of venues and open fire.  The survivors are told they should have no  voice in any analysis of what happened.  That might let some truth encroach on the story.  Consider how the Parkland students and Sandy Hook parents were treated by conservatives. 

We must keep as many people as we can from crossing the line into inhumanity.  This will not be easy because the media desperately wants to report every detail of everything these line walkers do and say with the statement that they think people ought to know.

Every detail?  Is that what we need to know?  Perhaps, we need to know that this person will not be permitted to spread more lies and that racism and white supremacy as well as the lies will be called out for what each is without quibbling over whether this was just a little racist or maybe not really white supremacy (even though all involved were white and the actions were against people of color).
Inciting violence against a targeted group is not free speech.  It is hate speech, troubling speech and needs to be called what it is, every time. 

This nation has already used a lot of “legal” means to keep people of color isolated from white people, often forcing people of color to live in neglected buildings with absentee landlords, to receive inferior services, to attend schools with limited resources.  Then, these people are blamed because they are poor, which means, they must be inferior people, you know, not worthy.

Sound familiar.  This is similar to the way Jews were forced into ghettos in many European nations, given access to few of the opportunities of the Christian population.  They too, were blamed for their poverty and lies were regularly told about them. 

Were the survivors of the holocaust correct when they cried “never again?”  If so, they and those of us who don’t want the hatred anywhere need to stand up all the time and shout it from the highest and lowest places, NEVER AGAIN  and NOT HERE!  Instead of blaming the conservatives specifically, we need to find ways as a society to keep them and others away from that line, the line no one should ever cross.

PRESIDENT BULLY

by Ruth A. Sheets

The American founders could not  have anticipated  the New Bully.  He has at his disposal resources they could not have imagined:  Twitter, teleprompters, instant communication, a gigantic military stationed all over the world, an enormous economy run by massive corporations:  banks, conglomerates with financial holdings larger than most countries of the world. 

They did understand hatred and distrust of immigrants, ignorant followers, bullying, bombast, lying about one’s opponents, insults and name calling. 

They did not anticipate a president who would cozy up to foreign leaders who had proven themselves anti-American while dismissing long-time allies.  They could not anticipate a president who dropped out of world-wide negotiated deals made under a previous administration because that president wasn’t white.     

The founders lived in a world ruled by kings and small-time leaders.  Conquering or defending with national armies is how one scored points and gained or lost territory.  The common people were pawns in this military show.  Companies and individuals traded with whomever they wanted to with an occasional nod from the leader.  

Two-and-a-half centuries on, Royalty has little power, though some influence.  Armies usually march off with some kind of cause, no matter that it is often a cause trumped up and usually has a bad outcome.  Most people today don’t  expect to be used as pawns or appreciate it either. 

In this new world, a bully can easily arise since he (nearly always he) can bluster and blow his stuff to huge audiences on television, radio, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, giant venues, and so many other places.  The new bully can target his message and attacks to just the right people, those who are angry, frustrated, afraid, feel ignored, but who don’t really understand exactly what they are experiencing.  They want to blame someone.  The new bully can give them people to blame and hate.  Who cares if his targets are not the actual source of their troubles.     No problem, create the lie and jam it home.

Another tactic is to shout a lot.  It is no longer necessary to shout with the new sound systems, but it works for the bully.  He can yell at the audience telling them in so many ways there is something wrong with them if they don’t see the world the way he does.  He gets live audiences chanting 3 or 4-word slogans that everyone can get into, even if they don’t make sense.  Of course, legal or not, the bully can keep people he does not like from his rallies, so the chants go on uninterrupted.
The new bully avoids the press when possible, stands in front of a noisy helicopter to make himself seem more powerful while being “interviewed,” even calls the work of excellent journalists “fake news” and blames them for keeping him from doing the “wonderful” things he wants to do for the people.

The new bully lies almost all the time, about almost everything, with no check.  His followers, like a religious cult, are totally OK with it, or they say “I wish he wouldn’t do that, but it’s for a good cause.”  Besides, the other side is doing it too. (usually not true, but, who’s counting?)
The new bully in power surrounds himself only with people who are totally loyal to him.  He will regularly test their loyalty.  He will make them do things for him that are on the edge of legality, sometimes going over the line.  They will lie for him, affirm anything he says and defend anything he does.  They will insult those he needs insulted.  In short, if they had any integrity they are expected to jettison it before coming into service, and they do.  If they are caught showing any, they are fired.  So, after a short time, no one around the new bully has an independent thought. 

As if that were not bad enough, he puts into positions of government authority, people who are completely incompetent, at least for the positions they are to enter.  The confirming body (Senate(, approves everyone even when they know the person should not have been nominated.  This means the bully will not be challenged over any of the undermining actions he takes to destroy the department, agency, or program they work for.

Threats are his best weapon.  He threatens duly elected officials either having incriminating information on them, obtained from whatever nefarious source he can get, or by primarying them.  That effectively removes them from among those who could challenge his actions or position in the future. 

There’s more!  The new bully uses his economic and military power to threaten anyone who gets in the way of his efforts.  It works best to bully poorer nations whose economies depend on trading with his country.  Order that country to do whatever you want, and usually, they will comply out of desperation.  When that is successful, the threats move to larger countries who are not as dependent.  When they don’t immediately comply, he moves ships and troops in with the obvious intent to do some military damage to their country:  their infrastructure, their economy, or create some other havoc. 

Anyone in his own country who dares to oppose him is treated to verbal abuse, sometimes interference by law enforcement and other organizations under the bully’s thumb.  The bully is usually racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and xenophobic.  He uses these stances to court other bullies, while he claims to be none of these.

The new bully calls opposition leaders names, gets his rally crowds to malign them, lies about them and their positions, even disparaging the cities they come from.  The bully will threaten to take away citizenship of true citizens and otherwise arbitrarily change the nation’s Constitution.

OK, you get it, I am talking about Donald Trump, however, he is not the only one.  The leaders of The Philippines, Russia, Brazil, India, Hungary, China, and Poland are also new bullies.  I suspect there are a bunch of others too.  They each were “elected” even if the popular vote was not with them.  They have enough of a following that they can do pretty much anything they want with impunity.  For example, in The Philippines, Mr. Duterte has been responsible for thousands of extra-judicial killings under the guise of controlling drugs.  Mr. Xi of China has imprisoned at least a million of its citizens in concentration “reeducation camps.” (A rose by any other name . .)  

It is clear that Mr. Trump and his cronies love the role he is playing and would like to extend it into the next decade.  In fact, they would like it if Mr. Trump never had to leave office at all, a bully they can control forever.

If there were a kid at a school with the children of any of Mr. Trump’s followers who demanded unconditional loyalty, asked the kids to lie for him, took their money and gave it to the well-off kids on the playground, lied to them all the time, pushed struggling kids out of the way, those parents would be at the school screaming and yelling that the bully be stopped.

Well, why aren’t they yelling now to stop Mr. Trump’s bullying?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Death Penalty, Again?

by Ruth A. Sheets 

On Thursday, July 25, 2019, the Justice Department decided to reinstate the Federal death penalty. They laid out a timeline for killing the first five folks starting in December.  Attorney General Barr’s stated reason, he owes it to the families to carry out the death penalty.

How Is it we never seem to get the message that the death penalty is not a deterrent?  People have known this for a very long time, so why do Mr. Trump's cronies NEED to reinstate the Federal death penalty?  For the families?  Really?  

I suspect it is to give Mr. Trump and his allies a tool they think they will need to use as they consolidate their power, perhaps toward some type of dictatorship.  They will need to be able to kill the dissenters.  That is a scary scenario and very little that I have seen lately deters me from this feeling.  

This move to dictatorship was again made clear to me earlier this week when I heard pieces of Mr. Trump's speech to the group I now think of as today's "Hitler Youth,"  Those young people cheered at Mr. Trump's hate speech about a lot of anti-American topics, but mostly toward the 4 duly-elected congresswomen he has been focusing on.  No president should be speaking such hate about anyone, and Mr. Trump is doing it regularly with impunity.  If this does not scare you as an American, it should.  

Many Germans in the early 1930s didn't get what was going on either.  They loved the enthusiasm, the giant crowds all in sync.  They were OK with putting blame for their troubles on someone (not them, of course).  It made life a little more bearable. 

The over-the-top rhetoric cast a spell on just enough of the population that they could rise up in support of whatever the ruler, Hitler, wanted.  The nationalized media blasted out the words of the Leader.  Eventually, the rest of the population was overtaken by the hatred and fear.  By then, they felt helpless to do anything about it, so went along or tried to remain invisible.  Some resisted, but not enough.   

I can't help but wonder who the specific targets of the revived death penalty will be.  It is almost certain they will be predominantly people of color, disabled persons (with mental illness or addiction), or some other social reject.  Sound familiar?    

The truth is that more and more people in this country are turning against the death penalty while Mr. Trump’s cult is embracing it.  Getting revenge for “the families” is not a reason to keep it.  Neither is political power or pandering to a base that does not even begin to understand the complexities of the issues related to the death penalty, let alone the broader challenges facing the world today.  

It is hoped members of Congress, no matter the party, will support and vote to abolish the death penalty.  We just don't need capital punishment as it is not a deterrent and it is dangerous to have it, especially in the hands of people who will not be honest about why they want it.  Who will be targeted? 

Donald Trump wants to be a dictator.  That’s how he conducted his businesses and he likes that style.  That’s been clear since he rode down his golden escalator in 2015.  He erroneously believes he already knows and understands everything and has surrounded himself with massive corruption that insulates him from the impacts of his actions.  He can control who attends his “rallies.”  His helicopter speeches separate him from the press, and, he thinks, make him look strong and in control.  He lies nearly incessantly these days.  He can spew his vial words and insults to children who are already being brainwashed as to their own superiority.   

He is constructing a wall of power toward his dictatorship.  Let’s see which bricks are in his wall so far  

First, he has surrounded himself with extremely loyal people whom he controls through information he has over them, money that can primary them if they are seeking office again, and a set of shared beliefs that rich white men are the target of all kinds of P.C. actions against them.  

Second, the Senate is controlled by a man, Mitch McConnell, who wants to be the dictator’s right-hand, who disregards the Constitution when it suits him, who has kept important legislation from coming to the floor, just because Mr. Trump doesn’t like it.  The Senate, with its Republican majority,  also approves every inappropriate candidate that comes before them for every department and judgeship in the government, a possible goal, to destroy the norms that keep the government operating effectively.  He is also a shield for his wife (the Secretary of the Department of Transportation), Elaine Chao’s corruption.  Wow, that’s a big brick! 

Third, Mr. Trump right and left, delivers “Executive Orders” which have to be challenged in time-consuming actions in the courts.   Then, sometimes, the best they can do to stop the actions is to put a temporary stay, since the Supreme Court, with its 5-4 conservative majority tends to approve whatever Mr. Trump wants, whether the argument has merit or not.     

Fourth, Mr. Trump openly admires and talks up dictators around the world, telling us how much he loves them and wants to work with them.  Mr. Putin of Russia and Mr. Kim of North Korea come to mind immediately, but the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is right up there too.  In addition, Mr. Trump is trying to employ the trappings of dictatorhood like military parades, pardoning war criminals he thinks he can use later, and using his “bully pulpit” disparaging anyone in the government or military who does not agree with him.

Fifth, He has lied about his opponents, used hate speech against them, even to the point of encouraging a set-up chant at a rally, “send her bck” directed toward a duly-elected congresswoman, the old “love it or leave it” BS.  That is while he is talking about how bad America is.  Hmmm!  

Sixth, the death penalty reinstatement on the Federal level is one more brick in the wall, Trump’s “real” wall, the one that makes him dictator.  The southern border wall he wants is just one way to keep out anyone who isn’t the right color and might stand against his dictatorship.  He has empowered ICE and the border patrol to do unspeakable things like set up concentration camps, isolate parents from children, conduct raids that tear families apart and deport parents, deny entrance or even due process to asylum-seekers and refugees.  He blames the poor countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador for all America’s problems while conveniently forgetting that Republican president, St. Ronnie Reagan caused a lot of those problems by supporting gangs of thugs in those countries who killed, just because, and completely ignored what the people wanted in favor of what the U.S. supported corporations wanted. 

The question now is, how high are we going to allow Mr. trump’s wall to rise?  Will we continue to dismiss Mr. Trump’s constant lies as “Oh, that’s just Donald Trump?”  How long will we continue to allow sitting members of congress and respected leaders in this country to be maligned for Mr. Trump’s pleasure and move toward power?  Will we continue to allow  a Department of Justice “policy” to determine that no president can be indicted while in office, a POLICY?  Will the death penalty restoration be the first step toward killing off the opposition, calling them/us criminals? 

It seems to me we Americans who still give a damn need to knock that wall down before the mortar dries and hardens, when it will be much harder and more people will be swept up in the brainwashing, and spread of disinformation and ignorance.  

OK American demolition squad, it’s time we go after that wall, the “real” wall.

WHAT ABOUT THE CLIMATE!

by Ruth A. Sheets

We really need climate leaders.  We actually are all in this together and will all go down together if we don't stand up NOW!  What are we waiting for?  Well, we need leaders who can provide coordinated direction.  Change may be scary, but in this case, it is happening whether we want or believe it or not.  It is essential that we behave as though it is happening.

The Trump administration's replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan is appalling and should have been immediately rejected by Congress.  Ha! Lessening regulations on clean air, water, power plant emissions, etc. is really near-sighted and stupid!  There is no other way to describe it, but Mr. Trump does not care.  He is trying to appease fossil fuel corporations, who by the way also know their industries are largely responsible for global warming. 

With all the research telling us we need to act immediately to avert climate catastrophe, we're counting on states to lead the way.  The Federal Government is pretty much absent as Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnel pretend they are still living in the 1950s.  

We need ALL the states in this.  Even though we have a lot of backward thinking legislators all over the country, we need our governors  and other state officials to step up and constantly stand for a green future.  They must motivate the less informed to want to participate with those of us already working on this crisis. 

Below are some recommendations every state and governor can work for, with dedication and effort. 

1. Set a strong statewide emission reduction goal.  That can take many forms from gas emission standards to getting more vehicles off the roads.

2. Set strong clean energy use and energy reduction goals that people can implement.  This can include encouraging people to raise their thermostats to 79 or 80 degrees on hot days and to 70 on cold days.  Making sure people have low energy light bulbs, turning off lights not being used, reusing materials when possible, setting energy reduction goals for one’s household, etc. can make a difference.

3. Set goals for electric vehicles.  Provide financial incentives for buying electric vehicles and be sure that there are sufficient recharging stations either at people’s homes or in public spaces.   

4. Set a waste reduction goal.  Encourage households to use less disposable material.  Use more reusable products like straws, shopping bags, storage containers, etc.

5. Direct state agencies to support and deploy clean energy, renewable resources.  Leaders need to make it clear that this is a public good and that supporting wind farms, the solar industry, and sustainable agriculture are priorities.

6. Develop an industry that effectively handles waste and recycling.  Build or repurpose plants for sorting materials and using the products to make other things we need.  We sent stuff to China for a long time, the time when we should have been processing our own trash and recycling.

7. Set strong energy building codes.  No home should have a new roof without solar panels and the structure to use the electricity generated from those panels.  Subsidies should be available to help with this.

8. Shift transportation spending and policies to support low-carbon modes.  Support public transportation in a more substantial way, making public transportation more comfortable, easily accessible, and user friendly so more people will choose it.  Tax breaks might be employed to help low-income people choose public transit.

9. Limit new fossil-fuel infrastructure.  It is critical that we move those resources to renewable energy sources.

10. Collaborate on regional and national climate initiatives, whatever is possible to ease our carbon footprints.

11. Research and support should be made available for enhancing sustainable agriculture including verticle farms, hydroponics, genetic research, and more.

12. Traffic patterns including traffic lights should be studied to see how they can be better synched to ease rush hour stress and to help cars to be more efficient getting from place to place.

13. Research money should be put into turning roads, parking lots, and other public spaces  into solar farms so all that heat could be transformed into usable energy.  In addition research on buildings could help develop glass that can allow heat from the sun into buildings on cold days and not on hot days.

14. Efforts should be made to plant more trees and create more green spaces.  This can have a cooling effect, particularly on cities.  

15. More funds should be available for turning abandoned properties either into green spaces or affordable housing.  This could also include schools, warehouses, and other buildings no longer used for the purpose they were intended.  

In short, there is a lot we could be doing.  Of course a lot of it requires money, but so does cleaning up after hurricanes, tornados, floods.  Power outages cost money as does caring for people ill from the effects of heat.  Global warming is speeding up, so we need to act NOW. 

We need our leaders to speak about these issues ALL THE TIME, not just when it is convenient for a speech somewhere or at the ribbon cutting for a new plant.  We are RUNNING OUT OF TIME!  It really is a crisis.  

A QUESTION OF BALANCE

by Ruth A. Sheets

I recently read a “balanced” article (the author’s claim) about abortion, you know that subject that was pretty much a done deal by the mid-1970s.  But, some conservative Christians and Roman Catholics needed a cause to bring them together for political power.  Abortion was the only issue they found they had in common.

Like so many “balanced” (but actually conservative) articles, it started with the premise that people on both sides are guilty of some kind of extremism. (Uh huh, false equivalency? 

The anti-choicers ultimately want to ban all abortions.  But until then, in the case of incest and rape, and maybe for the health of the mother it might be OK.  We can gradually shorten the window for abortion:  NOT AFTER 20 weeks, then 16 weeks, then 6 weeks! when electrical impulses that will at some point turn into a heart start firing (HEARTBEAT), then maybe to conception. 

The pro-choicers are supposed to be guilty of wanting unlimited abortions, abortion on demand.  You can abort that fetus the day before it is due, and if you can’t quite get that done, you can have the nurse wrap the baby up and decide whether or not to do away with it as Donald Trump suggests.    

Of course, presented this way, the anti-choicer position seems reasonable (allowing some abortions with a few small restrictions), while the pro-choicer position seems heartless and appalling, untrue, but truth has little to do with this.

Anti-choicers have worked hard at seeming “reasonable, but with a quick thought, one can see their restrictions are not.”  A 72-hour waiting period because she might change her mind (it is hard for women to travel the many miles to a clinic twice, taking off work could cause  her to lose her job).  Forbid 3^rd trimester procedures (even though these are extremely rare and nearly always health-related).  Close clinics unless they have hospital-like physical plants (totally unnecessary for a very SAFE simple out-patient procedure).  Require invasive ultrasounds to show the “mommy her baby (the fetus is tiny and a vaginal ultrasound is completely unnecessary before an abortion – slut shaming). 

The problem, each time anti-choicers get their measures approved by the courts, they just have to take a next step, 20-week limits, requiring doctors to have hospital privileges in hospitals that don’t offer them that courtesy.  OK, we got that now, what’s next, six-week/heartbeat bans, ban on “morning after” pills, ban on the simplest safest abortion procedures.  Criminalize abortion, the women who get one and the doctors who perform them (99 years in jail).  Ridiculous, but each has been passed and signed into law in states of this union, despite the fact that abortion is legal in this country.  Anti-choicers seem so desperate to keep women under control that they will just ignore the law and pass whatever they want to punish those horrible sluts who just can’t keep their legs closed.

What has happened here is that anti-choicers discovered political power.  They often see themselves as the victims of something:  anti-Christian bias, anti-Christmas rules, anti-gun legislation, loss of phantom jobs to immigrants, anti-white bias, and a bunch of other imagined troubles that have been either drummed up or exacerbated by ultra-conservatives as a way of creating and arousing their base.

Abortion is the perfect issue for the anti-choicers because both men and women in a variety of cultures and religious groups have been brought up to believe that women are inferior as is anyone who is poor not white.  Men can sleep around because “boys will be boys.”  If a girl/woman gets pregnant, she was asking for it and is a slut.  Her punishment, carry that baby the whole nine months.  You can give it up for adoption or get your family to take care of you, you sinner.  This position has a lot of emotional appeal.  It allows for a smugness, a sense of empowerment, a chance to point fingers that a lot of people just love.  

Unfortunately, the pro-choicers’ message is a simple straight-forward one.  A woman should have bodily autonomy.  She, with whatever support she wants/needs, should determine what is best for herself and all safe options should be on the table.  You know, CHOICE.  That kind of thinking does not place enough controls on women and does not slut shame, important criteria for anti-choicers. 

Pro-choicers say all women should have access to whatever form of birth control is best for them, if they choose to use any.  In addition, they should have the right (as Roe v.  Wade says they do, to a safe legal abortion if that is their choice.  They should also have full support if they choose to carry a pregnancy to term.  Anti-choicers don’t even want birth control to be legal and widely available, so again, women lose. 

I am particularly sad for the anti-choice women who have drunk the Kool-Ade that tells them it is God's will that they became pregnant so "you get what you get; it's all in God's hands.  You get no choice, too bad for you."  Alas, that is not a very kind rendering of God in our world.  I think there is a special place in hell for women who stand against their sisters' choices and their right to choose.  They must get a thrill out of forcing pregnancy on their sisters, more slut shaming.  What bullies!

A bunch of people, mostly men, want to control women's lives because they fear women will actually take their rightful place in society as equal to men in every setting. SCARY for them!

Interesting though that the evangelicals and Roman Catholics manage to get their abortions, but under another name (like induced labor at 5 months, DNC, etc.) if they have the money to “take care of things.”  That is just too much like hypocrisy to let it pass.  These “lucky” women grieve and mourn over their decision to “end their pregnancy” (abort), while women who choose abortion are not supposed to feel relief and gratitude.  They should suffer life-long emotional problems for ending the existence of something the size of a fingernail. 

There is no “balance” here as I see it.  One side wants all pregnant women to be forced to carry pregnancies to birth because pregnancy is God’s will, no matter the consequences to mother or child.  The other side wants a woman to be able to choose for herself.  One eliminates choice (for the sake of the fetus – NOT!).  The other allows for more than one healthy outcome.

It’s time we get over the lies and insanity and look at some truths. 

-Women do not have an abortion on a lark.  They always have what they BELIEVE IS a good reason.

-Planned parenthood and other abortion clinics do not force anyone to have an abortion.  It is an option.

-Evangelicals and Roman Catholics are hypocrites caring more for a finger long fetus than they do a fully developed child born into the world.

-Most, if not all anti-choice inspired regulations are unnecessary or actually harmful to the pregnant woman, the fetus, or both.

Abortions will continue to take place no matter what regulations are passed.  They always have and they always will.  That is how one can tell that this whole issue is actually about controlling women and not about saving lives.  If it were the latter, women would be making their own reproductive decisions, just as men do.  There would be no anti-choice movement, and safe abortions would be available everywhere in this country without protest.  More women die from birth complications and other problems of pregnancy by far than die from abortion (abortion deaths, nearly 0).    

As abortion becomes harder and harder to obtain for many women in this country with increased restrictions, women and supportive men are going to have to step up to learn how to perform abortions that are safe and effective even if they ARE NOT ACTUALLY NURSES OR DOCTORS.  Women’s communities will have to purchase the equipment and train women to use it.  Such groups will have to stock up on “morning after” pills AS WELL AS ANTI-ABORTIVES and learn how to use them properly and safely.  Returning to back-alley abortions is not an option.

THE TRUMP VETTING PROCESS QUESTIONAIRE

by Ruth A. Sheets

The Trump administration has levels of corruption not seen since Ulysses Grant was president 150 years ago.  And this one is even worse because President Grant himself was not involved in the corruption.  Mr. Trump cannot say the same.

As prosecutor Alexander Acosta’s actions have captured the attention of the media, I started thinking about corruption.  Mr. Acosta “freed” a man credibly accused of sex trafficking because the man was a billionaire, yet still was nominated and approved for the position of Secretary of the Department of Labor that deals with sex trafficking.  I wondered, what is the vetting process like for this administration.

I imagine a series of questions with points for each that can help the FBI and other officials in Mr. Trump’s circle select people for offices and judgeships in the administration.

1. Is this person a straight, rich, white male? 

a. If YES, 25 pts.

b. If NO but is willing to be a Black or Latino token, 10 pts.

c. If a woman married to someone useful to Mr. Trump, 10 pts.

d. If anyone else 0 pts.

2. Does Mr. Trump know this nominee personally?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, but you run a powerful fossil fuel corporation – particularly coal, PAC, or have a rich family,

10 pts. 

c. If NONE OF THE ABOVE, 0 pts.

3. Has this person ever criticized Mr. Trump?

a. If YES, 0 pts.

b. If NO, 15 pts.

4. Is this person ultra conservative or a claimed prosperity Evangelical/Catholic?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

5. Will this person be willing to sacrifice personal values and integrity for Mr. Trump?

a. If YES, 15 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

6. Does this person have ties with Russia?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

7. Does this person believe the United States needs no more immigrants, no asylum-seekers and that a border wall is great for keeping “those people” out?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

8. Does this person regard the Constitution as the most important framework for our nation and that it should be adhered to?

a. If YES, 0 pts.

b. If NO, 15 pts.

9. Does this person see women as objects to be used by males at will, and want the Government to have control over women’s bodies?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

10. Does this person regard the Government’s money as their own money to be spent for anything desired?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

11. Does this person believe no one is above the law?

a. If YES, 0 pts.

b. If NO, 10 pts.

12. Does this person believe Mr. Trump should be able to do anything he wants as president despite what the Constitution or laws say?

a. If YES, 50 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

13. Is this person willing to direct Government, taxpayer money for personal gain or for projects that will enrich family members?

a. If YES, 10 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

14. Does this person think it is not only acceptable, but expected that they lie to Congress?

a. If YES, 20 pts.

b. If NO, 0 pts.

15. Is this person in any way knowledgeable about or competent in the skills needed for the position being nominated for?

a.  If YES, 0 pts.

b. If NO, 20 pts.

Let’s look quickly at a couple of Mr. Trump’s Administration and how they add up.

Brett Kavanaugh (Supreme Court Justice) – 185 pts.

William Barr (Attorney General) – 190 pts.

 Elaine Chao (Secretary of Transportation) – 175 pts.

Betsy De Vos (Secretary of Education) 190 PTS.

Ben Carson (Secretary of Housing & Urban Development) – 180 pts. (he’d have gotten more, but alas, he’s not white)

NOTE:  These are only guesses since it is not always clear just how corrupt these people actually are.

Try this scoring system for any member of the administration.  They would all score above 150 pts.  This includes the judges given life-time appointments to the Federal courts.  Shame on the Senate for approving them, often without any kind of hearing.

Hey, You could use this for Senators and Representatives too.  What a thought!

The War President

The War President

by Ruth A. Sheets

June 18, 2019

In the past week or so, Mr. Trump has been tweeting and calling out to reporters over the usual background helicopter that he does not want a war with Iran.  How do I know this is not true, you know, a lie?  Nothing related to Mr. Trump’s presidency in any way indicates that he does not want war with Iran, in fact, everything he has done cries out for a fight.  He has just been scanning to find the place he wants to strike.

Mr. Trump has been itching for a war since he was a candidate.  He couldn't make himself go to war back during Vietnam (bone spurs, you know), but he will be OK sending others to war.  

Mr. Trump’s hatred of Barack Obama is legendary.  His primary goal upon election was to destroy everything Mr. Obama had put into place.  One of those points was the agreement with Iran and numerous other nations to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.  He disregarded the agreement unilaterally for no reason.  Iran was clearly complying.  Everyone said so, but of course, he could not take any information from his intelligence community as he had already informed America that they were no good and essentially didn’t know anything.  His military leaders’ information was dismissed also (as were most of his defense/military advisors).  

It is close to irrelevant what the “intelligence community says now about who did or did not cause the attacks on the oil ships in the Gulf off Iran.  They have become so influenced by Mr. Trump and his constant lying and his demands for intense loyalty that it is hard to know just who they are for.  Then, I pretty much don’t care if Iran did the deed as it relates to the United States going to war.  We definitely do not need another war.  We haven’t even gotten past the last two and have no business starting one. 

Another indicator of Mr. Trump’s bellicose intentions is that the people with whom he has surrounded himself, particularly Bolton and Pompeo, are totally on board with war.  Iran is convenient, but I suspect any “little” war would do. 

Mr. Trump wants to be a war president.  I suspect he thinks that if he gets a war started, people will vote him in again so he can “finish” the war.  Alas, that might actually work.  It did for George W. Bush who was only slightly more competent than Mr. Trump at the job.  If we actually look at what happened, both Mr. Bush’s wars were still going on when he had to leave office due to term limits.  He never did finish them even with the extra time. 

It seems to me Mr. Trump is trying to demonstrate his manhood.  But, as the 8-year-old school yard bully he keeps proving himself to be, he has a long way to go,  and dragging a bunch of folks into a useless stupid war will not do it.  Somehow, he just brought his petty grudge-making, racism, misogyny, xenophobia,   and resentments into adulthood without the ability to reason or think critically about any of them.

So, if Mr. Trump and his nutty cronies Bolton and Pompeo want war, they should play with plastic soldiers and weapons on the oval office desk.  It will be fun and everyone will be better off.  A win-win!  

THE CHILD PRESIDENT

THE CHILD PRESIDENT

Ruth A. Sheets

June 24, 2019

It has been clear from before Donald Trump took office that he despises immigrants, that is, immigrants of color.  He told his cult that he wanted all 11 million (or so) “illegal immigrants” gone.  That kind of a blanket statement is typical of a person who sees things in “black and white,” and cannot or will not consider the consequences of his actions.  That is expected of a little kid, but not of a 73-year-old man.

In this case, Mr. Trump has threatened to send his dogs, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into communities to drag undocumented immigrants out and ship them back to their original countries.  He knows ICE will do whatever he tells them to do because Congress decided in a fear fever after 9/11, that is their job.  He also knows they have let power go to their heads and seem to love this task.  Like so many in Mr. Trump’s administration, they seem to revel in the suffering of others and the power it brings them, and Mr. Trump, the Commander in Chief, revels in being able to order them about.

As a citizen and Christian minister, I am horrified at the threats this president is making.  He is using threats against the lives of thousands, perhaps millions of people to get his way.  He and his cult want a wall and they plan to get it any way they can.  Tell everyone he is releasing the dogs on Sunday to bring added fear to communities of color, then on the day before, tell everyone he will call off the dogs, but in return he expects to get from Congress the money for his wall.  Isn’t that extortion?  If Congress gives in, Mr. Trump will know that this tactic works and he will definitely use it again, this time in a more all-encompassing way.  

That kind of reasoning alas, is exactly what one would expect from an 8-year-old school yard bully.  And, that's what Mr. Trump is.  He never had to grow up and his emotional age is about that of an 8-year-old and he has the understanding of a kid about that age too.  Then, he is rich, which he believes, gives him even more weight, a bigger bully.  

Some unthinking people chose to put this child in the White House and hoped he would do stuff for them.  He has!  Not alone, though because there are a lot of people who benefit from allowing and encouraging this child’s tantrums and bullying.  Who benefits?  Corporations that produce fossil fuels love the acts that permit increasing the amount of pollution they can produce, the places like National Parks where they can do their dirty work, and the destruction they can wreak on the oceans and seaside communities (not Mr. Trump’s property at Mara Lago, though). 

Employers of undocumented immigrants benefit too because if they don’t want to pay their employees what they have earned, no problem.  They can always report them to ICE if they complain.

Evangelicals enjoy wallowing in their self-righteousness that “those people didn’t come in the right way.  They’re making ‘anchor babies’ who suck up our resources.  The sad thing, it doesn’t matter to Evangelicals if any of what they say is true.  It feels true!

Shame on all of them trying to extort concessions from Democrats and some Republicans in exchange for him getting his stupid useless, but very expensive wall.  The parents in the room must stand up and tell him no.  I am guessing Republicans, bad political parents that they are, just can't do it.  The neighbors will somehow have to step in, introducing some discipline. 

I get it that a child like Mr. Trump does not understand much, but he certainly does know how to manipulate his cult followers and the other Republicans and conservatives who enable his poor behavior.  It looks like the American communities will have to step forward to protect Mr. Trump’s targets, the people who work hard, raise families, and feel loyalty to this country even though they were born somewhere else.  They deserve a chance to become permanent residents or citizens if that is what they choose.  They do not deserve the constant threats and crippling fear that comes from not knowing if parents will still be here when a child gets home from school, the fear of being thrown back into the chaos and death of the countries they fled. 

Mr. Trump wants to be a hero to his cult.  He doesn’t truly understand that he already is.  He appointed Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and he will stop abortions.  That and his anti-immigrant stance are all it takes for them to cleave to him forever.  So whatever he says or does is OK with them. 

Pretty childish, huh? 

WHO’S NEXT?

WHO’S NEXT?

By Ruth A. Sheets

May 27, 2019

In recent months, many, perhaps as many as 400 bills have been passed in legislatures in the United States to restrict or eliminate abortion.  This is despite the fact that Roe vs Wade is the law of the land and has been for more than 46 years.  The states are passing “laws” that they know are against the Constitution, hoping the Supreme Court will fix things in their favor.

The anti-choice movement has sunk their teeth in to the idea that their personal lives will be better if only abortion is stopped and those dear little fetuses are born.  They become more and more restrictive in their demands on women to the point that in addition to eliminating abortion, they don’t want to allow any kinds of birth control either.

I can't help but wonder, if Rowe v Wade is overturned, who will the appalling anti-choicers go after next.  Whose rights will they then move to restrict or take away?

What we all need to understand is that when taking people's rights away, it does not stop with the stated purpose.  For example, one state started with stupid "Three Strikes" laws and the movement kept going until we had more than 2 million Americans incarcerated, many, perhaps even most for minor offenses or drug use crimes which then required life in prison.  What stupid, outrageous laws!  But a lot of people bought the fantasy that this would stop all crime and they would be safe in their little American dream houses.  Who cares what happened to those in prison, that was not their problem.  Then, they wanted to arm everyone and passed concealed and open carry laws.  Carrying around automatic weapons is now on the agenda of many of the “Three strikes” bunch.

The self-righteous do not stop with one issue.  They get their power and jollies from hurting other people to prove they are so much better, holier, more worthy than those people.  It is a guarantee this group will find new targets.  I am thinking Muslims, progressives, teachers, and a host of folks who make a positive difference by helping others.

We who care about human rights need to be getting this message out loud and clear.  The anti-choicers will not stop with abortion!!!  These currently anti-reproductive rights individuals can't stand not spouting their hatred of everyone who does not live, think, and do things that make them feel comfortable and "secure."

We must get the media on board to let people understand how the process works.  The genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda did not just happen.  They began with neighbors being told to hate neighbors for one reason or another, but primarily because they were not of the right group or didn’t act in the right way.

The Germans of the 1930s got this.  They didn’t go after all their enemies at one time.  They built up to it, little by little in one place at a time, restricting rights until people got used to the new normal they’d created.  When appalling atrocities were committed, it was pretty easy for most people to blame the victims whom they thought were working to destroy their community, culture, nation, etc.

Mr. Trump and his cult are introducing these same factors into American society and they are getting a lot of help from outlets like Fox News and Facebook.  They are also getting lots of support and cooperation from Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures, who of course, are mostly men, as it always is in movements to take away or restrict human rights.

I suspect this whole anti-choice movement is not about abortion at all.  To prove it, I have a modest proposal.  My sister gave me the idea and I think it’s a good one that should be seriously explored.

The stated goal of the anti-choicers is to end abortion.  Why do women need abortions?  They have had sex with fertile men.  So, I propose that at age 13, all boys have vasectomies.  This would be part of their coming-of-age ceremony and would be accompanied by a lot of pomp and circumstance as such a ceremony should be.  The pain would be a minor inconvenience for the joy of knowing they would not produce an “unwanted” pregnancy.

Then when the “man” is older and marries, he can get permission from his wife to have his vasectomy reversed so he can be responsible for the children the wife decides to allow him to father.  The rate of abortion would go down so far that it would truly be rare or perhaps, nonexistent.   

Of course, even though this would be a great way to stop abortions, it could never happen because men, in general, particularly the anti-choice men are not about stopping abortion really.  They are about keeping women from moving into the realms they believe are their own.  Many women have been so brainwashed  that they agree to the BS the men are spewing.  And they will buy whatever hate they can dump on the next targeted group.

So, sisters and men who believe in human rights, stand up and yell with your strongest voices to stop the anti-choicers and expose the fact that abortion is not the final phase to their quest.  There is even darker stuff ahead unless it gets stopped here.

WOMEN, THE MEDIA, 2016, AND 2020

WOMEN, THE MEDIA, 2016, AND 2020

by Ruth A. Sheets

May 30, 2019

At the beginning of the 2020 campaigns, it is necessary that the media, all the media cover female candidates with respect and honesty.  They deserve at least that much.  They are all , at least as qualified as the men in the group of candidates.  They should be judged by their proposals and their ability to address the needs of this nation.  NO mention of their hair, cute or otherwise.  There should be no comments on their perky outfits, whether or not they are perky.  They should not be told their voice is too strident or harsh.  Few people have a harsher , more strident voice than Donald Trump. 

In the 2016 election, most of the media covered nearly every one of Donald Trump's words and lies, but called them everything but lies.  Cameras focused on empty podiums while awaiting the mega (or MAGA) star.

In the interest of “equality” and “fairness,” they did cover Benghazi and emails when discussing Hillary Clinton (except, of course when Mr. Comey was inappropriately chastising her and after her mention of some of Mr. Trump’s followers being a “basket of deplorables).  Mr. Trump was shown shouting, yelling and egging on crowds with his lies and half-truths with no identification of those comments which were lies.  Perhaps the reporters and newscasters thought that would take up too much time.

Hillary had pneumonia, like many Americans each year, but was instantly described as unfit, not healthy enough, not strong enough, etc.  Mr. Trump dictated a note supposedly from his doctor describing him as the healthiest person ever to run for president, a man who could live to be 200.  That was shown over and over.

Mr. Trump was allowed to loom over Ms. Clinton in debates instead of being forced to stay at his own podium with the threat of ending the debate.  Mr. Trump is a bit taller, so for a lot of people, he seemed bigger, stronger, manly enough to be president, while poor pathetic Hillary Clinton just stood there trying to present her “ridiculous” platform.

Mr. Trump was and still is proud that he does not read and it is reported that he does not listen very much either.  Hillary Clinton was and is well informed about the world and the issues that directly impact the nation.  That fact was mentioned a few times, on MSNBC, but even more rarely on mainstream or other cable media outlets.     

Benghazi was thrown in Clinton’s face often as though she had gone in and single-handedly killed the Americans there.  Isn’t it interesting that Mr. Reagan and his Secretary of State were not held responsible for the more than 200 Marines killed in Lebanon in the 1980s, or George W. Bush not held responsible for 9/11, attacked embassies,  or the extreme recession of 2007?  But Hillary Clinton is forever associated with and blamed for Benghazi.

The private emails Hillary Clinton didn’t turn over to the government was the other issue.  If it was such a big deal, why is Donald Trump’s family allowed to keep private servers?  Why is Mr. Trump allowed to have an unsecured phone?  Oh, they’re men and Republicans.  As we are learning lately, Republicans don’t have to abide by the law, any law.

Hillary Clinton was blamed for her husband’s infidelities while the people who accused Mr. Clinton and led to his impeachment were cheating on their wives.  Mr. Trump was not blamed in the media for the way he treated his wives over the years either.  It was like a joke.   Boys will be boys!  And, the women are always responsible.   

Detailed plans for improving conditions for all Americans were laid out by the Clinton campaign, but what was covered concerning them, she told coal miners they would be losing their jobs and that everyone had a responsibility to help them find quality jobs.  That was seen as a slap in the face for miners and other white working men.  Mr. Trump shouted that he would keep coal mining jobs and he would make coal great again.  Miners are still losing their jobs, but there is no strong federal program to help them.   Coal is a losing proposition, but Mr. Trump had no clue.  Ms. Clinton did.

The media was markedly unfair to Ms. Clinton in 2016.  More than the media led to her electoral college defeat, but media coverage definitely tipped the balance.  Already the female candidates running for the 2020 election are receiving comments about their hair, their clothes, the way they walk, their voices, and on and on.  The “b” word has also been employed.  (Maybe the “b” means brilliant, brave, balanced.)  I have heard no similar comments about the men.  Of course, conservatives and Republicans make disparaging comments about male candidates, but mostly political, not gender or appearance related.

In 2016 we expected more from journalists, but got garbage and a pathetic childish president who “hates” the media OK, that’s not exactly true, though, every time Mr. Trump says something disparaging about the media, he laughs because he knows what the media did for him and what he thinks he can make them do for him again in 2020.

Unless some serious changes in the media are made related to the women in the race, 2020 will be a repeat of 2016.  With Russia helping out, Mr. Trump could be allowed to trample any candidate, particularly women who might run against him.  That would be bad for all of us.

LYSISTRATA IN AMERICA

by Ruth A. Sheets

American women are facing a crisis that should have been settled more than 46 years ago when Rowe V. Wade was correctly ruled on by the Supreme Court.  The ruling stated that women have a right to abortion in the United States.   Since that time, conservatives and people who call themselves “Right to Life” have been doing everything possible to overturn this Supreme Court decision.  Why?  They want women put back in their place, back where “God” decides on pregnancy and men rule the home and everything in it, or think they do. 

One can understand why men would like this.  It allows a man to remain a juvenile who can boss a woman and children around, treat them just as he wants to, and be sure “his” woman does nothing he does not approve.  The confusion for me is that women go along with this.  One of the media darlings on this issue was a woman named Phyllis Schlafly, a lawyer whose purpose in life was to tell other women they should not have what she had.  Being a stay-at-home mom was a glorious thing, something all girls should aspire to. 

With her help, over time, vitriol against abortion and the women who had one became vicious.  A fetus was a person for many of them, even to the point of having more rights than the woman who carried it. 

When the “pro-life” prayerful protests didn’t work, their actions became louder and more extreme.  The movement encouraged bombing clinics where abortions were performed, killing abortion providers (it would save a lot of baby lives), passing draconian laws to make simple unimposing, safe, clean facilities unacceptable and require instead, unnecessary, unbelievably expensive surgical centers to perform a simple 5-minute procedure. 

When these actions  didn’t have the desired results, the movement got help from mega conservative organizations that designed bills for Republican legislatures all over the country that would ban abortions after some period into a pregnancy (20 weeks at first, then 8, then 6 weeks),  forced ultrasounds on pregnant women, forced women to get male permission, enforced extremely inconvenient long waiting times, threatened doctors with prison.  None of these helped any women because, of course, they were not meant to.  They were meant to send us back to the good old days when women had to seek back-alley abortions, often dying as a result.  For the pro-lifers, that was OK because those women deserved what they got for daring to end a pregnancy. 

Since the pro-lifers love fetuses so much, one might wonder if they care what happens after the all-sacred birth.  The answer is, of course not.  That’s the mother’s responsibility now.  Pro-lifers just got the baby born.  Now, you’re on your own.  Good luck!

No  matter how hard we who are pro-choice examine the problem, we just can’t seem to understand a few things (OK, anything about the pro-life position). 

- First of all, how does a man, any man (especially old white men) have a say regarding women's reproduction?  Men will never know what it means to be pregnant let alone pregnant as a teen, as a rape victim, as a victim of incest, as a college person trying to get life started, as a desperate carrier of a severely compromised fetus, you know, the things that could lead a woman to choose abortion.

- Then, how can a politician have a say in women's reproduction?  These guys not only are mostly not women, they are not doctors, and they really don’t care to learn about women’s needs.  Men are often pathetic hypocrites who don't want government in their business but are more than OK if government is in women's vaginas and uteruses.  

- Furthermore, How is it religious fanatics have any say regarding women's reproduction beyond FaceBook comments?  This country was built on the separation of church and state.  The right to abortion does not mean you must have an abortion, just that you can choose to have one. 

How should the thinking women of America respond?  We should pull a Lysistrata on the men of America.  Refuse all sexual contact with any man who does not 100% stand behind women's right to choose.

Men think that because they are loud and strong physically that they have a right to tell women anything they want about everything.  They don't and perhaps it is time we take a hint from the Ancient Greek play and kick disrespectful men out of our beds, possibly, our lives. 

Then we need to work on the women who are so afraid of men and what they think that they will betray their sisters and claim it is OK for women to be treated like little kids with no rights and no control over their own bodies.  Perhaps these women need to be pushed back a bit until they grow up and stand up for themselves and for their sisters. 
 
In the Greek play “Lysistrata,” the women refuse their beds to their men until the men stop the war that has been raging.  Well, this is a war against women.  It’s time we women follow the heroine Lysistrata and kick men out of our beds until they grow up and get out of women's reproductive decisions. 

Come on sisters and supporters.  Lysistrata has come to America and is showing us the way to get what we need! 

OPEN NOTE TO REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS

Dear Republicans & Conservatives in Congress,

Where do you stand on global warming?  Yes, I call it global warming because that is what is happening.  Climate change sounds so innocent and natural even though what our planet is now experiencing is neither.  We, human beings are doing it.

Barack Obama (Oh God, I just wrote that name you are trying so hard to obliterate) helped to negotiate the Paris Climate Treaty which nearly every country in the world signed in good faith.  That is shocking because nearly every country just doesn’t agree on anything, yet they did on this one.  Mr. Trump can’t stand that a Black man could do anything for this country, so is working to nullify anything that was passed by Congress or set up by executive order during the 8 years he was in office.  Mr. Trump still feels the sting of not actually having won the popular vote, so is doubling down with his “base” to try to go back to some past time when America was great and white men ruled with impunity.  He should be ashamed.

I get it, though, that Mr. Trump has no shame.  He cares nothing for this country as long as he keeps whatever wealth he has and is allowed to get as much more as he possibly can.  Just because this appalling human being got into the White House must not mean that you Republicans should fall before him like bowling pins or nobodies, kowtowing to an emperor.  Where is your pride?  You Republicans as well as Democrats should be standing behind and totally supporting the Paris Climate Agreement, no matter who in this country helped negotiate it.  Shame on you if you betray your constituents because you are scared and must bow to an incompetent fool who has no regard for you or anyone else. 

When your constituents are losing their homes, businesses, and communities, you will probably be dead, but your children and grandchildren will have to answer for what you have not done, that is, if they survive the floods, fires, and lack of food that you  could have helped stop. 

Take a deep breath, face Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell and tell them that you fully support the Paris Climate Agreement and that you demand a vote to support it.  If Mr. McConnell will not bring the bill of support to the floor, threaten to remove Mr. McConnell from his post.  You should have done that a long time ago in the service of the Constitution, but alas, that is for a different letter.

Mr. Trump talks a lot about loyalty, but he only really cares about loyalty of others to himself.  You swore an oath of loyalty to the United States of America and our Constitution.  It is time you start acting like that oath means something to you.

Sincerely,
R.Sheets  

DEFAULT SETTINGS

by Ruth A. Sheets

My computer and I are at a near constant tug of war to see who or what will become master.  Sometimes I win and can get my computer to cooperate to do the many tasks I need it to do.  I use a screen reader which adds an additional layer to the challenges and the sense of victory I feel when I complete an article, a lesson plan, or an activity for use with my students.

Sometimes the computer “wins.”  Its little victories come daily when my screen reader just stops talking to me, requiring some extra keystrokes to get things going again.  The big victory happened last November when my hard drive crashed.  I was truly lucky because I had backed up most of the material and the folks at Geek Squad were able to retrieve the rest after about 10 days of computer vacation. 

When I got my computer back home, I discovered it had been returned to its default settings. These settings reflect the actions the manufacturer assumes most users would want as automatic.  I had changed most of the problem actions on my pre-crash computer, but now had very annoying settings adding to the usual challenges.  I had forgotten that numbering can be automatic even if I don’t want it.  Autocorrect has its own time-consuming moments.  I had to relearn the arrangement of the toolbars and still can’t find some of the things I need. 

I suppose default settings are necessary for computers, but I am noticing that there are default settings in other places in our lives. These settings generally aren’t noticed until they affect us in some way or are brought to our attention. 

Lately, I have been thinking about the kinds of questions reporters and pollsters ask interviewees.  “How does it feel to be an immigrant in America?  What kinds of challenges have you encountered as a woman in engineering (or physics, or aeronautics)?”  There are numerous books and articles about what it’s like to be Black or Hispanic, or Asian in America.  

We have been exposed to these perspectives for so long that we rarely, if ever, hear anyone asking “What is it like to be male or White or rich in America or in any specific type of business."  If we stop to consider why this is, it becomes clear that the default setting for America is White in general and male in particular and their goal is to be rich. 

It is possible to change the computer default settings if you know the menus that cover each one, but changing the American default setting will be much more difficult.

On the computer it is assumed that people might not like or be able to use the factory settings, so changing them is not too hard.  In America, many forces are in play to make sure that the default remains as it is.  Efforts to limit everyone else’s power and influence work behind the scenes all day and pop into the spotlight often enough to be sure we all know How things are supposed to be. 

Our various government entities have worked hard over time to ensure that African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have few opportunities to succeed and are regularly blamed for the high levels of poverty they face. Educational opportunities for them in no way come close to matching what white males receive.  Women are regularly undermined and victimized, the result being low self-worth and frequent denigration of women by other women as well as by men.    

Immigrants are maligned as criminals, rapists, invaders even though fewer are coming here than in the past and have a much lower crime rate than non-immigrants.  They contribute extensively to our society as well.

It is hard to change this default setting when an entire political party, Republicans, depends on it for their existence.  Republicans point out the token women and people of color they include, but revel in their whiteness and maleness.  Their leaders find often ingenious ways of blaming our nation’s problems on “the other.”  They state directly that when racists go for a “reset” to default, and people protest, there are “fine people on both sides.”  Those White men who are afraid people will move from “factory settings” to something else will do whatever they can to keep that from happening.  Fear is one of their most effective weapons and they have had generations to learn just how to wield it with the greatest impact. And, there is a lot of money and power spreading fear far and wide. 
We don’t need to breathe in the fear.  We can become more vigilant and pay more attention to how we are being treated, what we are being called.  Who is speaking?  Who is listening?  Who is taking us seriously?  

So, perhaps just as I had to change settings to make my computer usable, we who believe in diversity and the value of immigration must enter the settings of inclusion we want for our nation.  It will be hard.  We may face a crash of our hard drive (our democracy) and experience new efforts to reinstall White male settings (white supremacy, repression of women,  etc.).  We will have to work together to find the right “menus” that  help us get to equality and appreciation of all persons.  We must  make our society work for all, not just the default.  

EMERGENCY??

by Ruth A. Sheets

On Friday, February 15, 2019, Donald Trump declared a national emergency.  He claimed the United States desperately needs a wall on our southern border, you know, the one with Mexico.  He told us he really didn’t need to do it now, but he was going to do it anyway.  He didn’t get the money he wanted for his wall.  Boo Hoo!

I realize Mr. Trump’s knowledge is severely limited, but one would expect a 72-year-old man would know what an emergency is.  For a situation to be an emergency, there must be an actual impending or ongoing disaster where many lives and property are in jeopardy.

No one should be able to declare An emergency unless there is actually a bombing, a missile coming in our direction, an earthquake shaking America, a volcano erupting, a flood happening, a tornado forming, a hurricane barreling down on our coast, a blizzard overwhelming territory, wildfires spreading, or climate change threatening to destroy our planet.  There are a few other things that MIGHT be considered emergencies, very few.  A stupid destructive, racist unnecessary wall on our southern border does not fit the criteria.

It seems to me the only emergency here is a child-man president who constantly throws tantrums that Republicans/conservatives feel they need to respond to by giving him what he wants.  Every parent knows this is not the way to deal with a spoiled whiny child. 

Republicans know our southern border is not a crisis or any kind of emergency in the traditional, English language definition.  It is, however, a way of energizing white people who have been immersed in thoughts/beliefs that non-white people are bad, well, dangerous and those people are coming across our southern border in hordes.

Reality, of course, is quite different.  People are not swarming across the border and for the most part, are crossing at actual border crossings and requesting asylum.  They are mostly families desperate to get away from the death threats and destruction in their own countries.  For those people, getting to the border is an emergency.  They need help.  They have travelled a thousand miles or more to find safety.  The US border is just one more barrier to safety for those families.

Mr. Trump has been informed of these facts, but he does not care.  Truth does not penetrate his wall obsession, a “beautiful wall, the biggest, most beautiful wall ever.” 

He visited the border states, but saw only what his handlers wanted him to see.  What did they want Mr. Trump to see, the parts of the wall that exist and the crowds of people in groups that have been forced to wait for their asylum pleas to be heard.  Did Mr. Trump hear the people who are suffering?  Of course not!  Did he talk to the land owners whose land will be stolen through eminent domain?  Of course not!  Did he get to see kids in cages?  Of course not!

When you don’t see the actual problems, and you are as limited in ability to understand as Mr. Trump is, you cannot imagine the true suffering that is occurring.  A “simple” wall seems the solution to a problem that does not even exist.  That is, for anyone beyond the scared white people who rarely have contact with people of color, in other words, Mr. Trump’s base.       

This poorly informed group of people forget they will be paying for a wall Mr. Trump told them Mexico would pay for.  Those scared followers of Mr. Trump assume he will take care of them and protect them from the brown hordes at the border, so they are OK paying for it.  Or, they are until they see their taxes go up, then whine about taxes.  Their Republican, white representatives passed that tax deal one dark night after midnight in December 2017.  They are only now reaping the fruits of the ridiculous tax law, not even read by those who voted for it.

Tell me again, what is the emergency?  Are people from all over the United states rushing to help build the wall as they rushed to New Orleans after Katrina or California during and after the wildfires?  Is Mr. Trump deputizing everyone on the border to stop people and drugs?  The answer to both is “NO.” 

That makes this “crisis” an emergency only in Mr. Trump’s childish mind.  That is true, but someone is benefiting from encouraging this insanity. 

We can and should speculate who that is.  Perhaps it is just Mr. Trump’s scared white supporters.  Maybe it’s the contractors who will build the wall.  It could be the agencies that will gain all that land on the border taken from the people who have lived there and owned the land for generations.  Maybe it’s all of the above and more. 

The media should be looking for the beneficiaries of this emergency declaration.  Investigating them would be worth our trouble because clearly these people/corporations have too much power and influence on our government. 

Strong laws to protect our nation from presidential caprice would also help.  I suspect Republicans in Congress currently don’t want to do anything to make the man-child in the White House angry with them.  Who knows what he might do in his next tantrum?  He could take money from their pet state projects as Mr. Trump proposes to do to California, stopping their high-speed railway development. 

It is not acceptable that this nation be ruled by fear of a childish president, but it seems there are just not enough Republican adults in the room, and Democrats can’t do it alone.