CHANGE OF FUTURE

by Ruth A. Sheets

We need a very different future than was on the drawing board before COVID19 hit.  Our representatives and fellow Americans need to take a variety of actions to change the trajectory of this nation and the world.  COVID19 has clearly pointed out problems our leaders have chosen to ignore in the past.  The time of ignorance is now gone and we must step up to meet the challenges facing us.

The following are some actions we can take to reshape the future in ways that will benefit everyone.

1. Global warming will move front and center in our thinking and every action.
a. we must become less of a super consumer society and more a reduce, reuse, and recycle kind of folks, with recycling plants all over the place.
b. Everyone will need solar panels and electric vehicles should become the standard.
c. Burning coal, except at limited levels will be outlawed,
d. Massive funding of renewable energy sources will take place, like the “man on the moon” efforts of the 1960s.

2. The flora and fauna that share our planet will have a more prominent place in our thinking and planning.  –

3. Our oceans must stop being our dumping place and our places for drilling and destruction.

4. Health care in this nation should be universal and supervised by the government.  No one should be making money on the suffering of others beyond salaries and general expenses.

5. Education should be funded at levels sufficient to provide children and young adults with the knowledge they will need to effectively maintain a career, participate actively in the life of the community in which they live, and be active informed citizens in the society.

6. The United States Postal Service, which is called for in the Constitution should be appropriately funded and should be able to perform basic banking  activities, particularly for lower income persons who may not be able to afford a bank.

7. Our prison system needs to be revamped so rehabilitation and treatment are the goals rather than just hiding away people of color in private for profit institutions.  No prison should be run by any entity but the local, state, or federal government who sentenced the prisoners.

8. Immigration will be addressed.  We need the general public to understand that refugees would not
be leaving their homes unless circumstances forced them to do so.
a. There should be a path to citizenship for all who were brought to or came to this country as children and it should not cost them a fortune.
b. The detention/concentration camps for immigrants will be closed and those imprisoned in them will be quickly and properly processed, most allowed to stay here.
c. Anyone who is a parent of US citizen children should have a path to citizenship too so they can stay and provide for those children.
d. In short, deportations need to stop.
e. Bans on citizens of other nations unless we are specifically at war with that nation or face a pandemic must stop permanently and not be allowed to be manipulated by a president or political party for its own edification.

9. Voting at all levels should involve automatic registration upon reaching 18 and mail-in options for anyone who chooses that, particularly during a natural disaster.
a. Voting security will be a priority.
b. voter suppression and gerrymandering will be permanently disallowed.  

10. Congressional procedures must change.
a. No one person in Congress should be able to block all legislation and votes on issues critical to the people of the nation and use extortion as Mr. McConnell has done for the past 5 years.
b. There should be a 60 vote majority in the Senate or a +5 votes to the number of senators in the majority to approve anyone for a lifetime appointment to a court.
c. Lobbyists must be removed from central positions in our government and lobbying should be a volunteer activity in which no favors or gifts can be passed to or from government officials.  Corporations and individuals with huge money pots should not be able to have more governmental influence than less wealthy individuals and groups.

11.  -Women and men will be legally recognized as equals and people will be respected and heard no matter their race, age, gender, LGTB status, political party, or any other factor.
a. Women will have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies
b. All kinds of reproductive health care will be available to all persons on request, including contraception and pregnancy services.  
c. LGTBQ citizens will have the full rights of any citizen without exception.
d. A committee will be assembled to begin addressing issues of reparation for African-Americans related to slavery and the racism that followed.

12. Workers will have basic rights and a living wage through a “workers’ bill of rights which will include paid sick leave, child care, and other needed services and protections.

13. Taxes on the wealthiest will be considerably higher than pre-COVID19, after companies are up and running and workers are back on the job, perhaps, a 2-year window after the crisis is past).

14. We will become more prepared for everything including natural disasters, pandemics, and more through appropriate funding.

15. We need to employ experts to get these actions going and share findings with everyone who can help.

16. We need to set ethical standards for whom we will nominate for public office and hold them to those standards.  The “lesser of two evils” should no longer be an acceptable means for judging a person’s ability to govern.  This one can’t be legislated, but it can be promoted through all media.

17. Dividers among us need to take a back seat for a while so others can succeed in bringing us together to accomplish this work.

This is an ambitious agenda, but we will need an ambitious agenda if we are to have a prosperous nation and a livable world, and we are running out of time to get this going.  This time of “sheltering in place” may give us all time to think about how we will live the next few years, what kind of world we will leave our children and grandchildren, what kind of people we will become through and beyond this crisis.  We have the time, let’s use it wisely.

THE McCONNELL-TRUMP TEAM, DICTATOR & ASSISTANT

by Ruth A. Sheets

Mitch McConnell has declared himself, through his actions, Assistant dictator of the United States.  That means anything the Senate, therefore Congress approves has to be cleared by himself.  This fool was elected only by a tiny fraction of the American people and should have no right to decide what the American people will get from Congress, but he has jumped into the role with enthusiasm and abundant cruelty.

I keep waiting for the Senate to rise up as one and declare they will vote on the issues that matter to the American people no matter what Mr. McConnell wants, but it has not happened yet and probably won’t.

In case they should rise and Mr. McConnell is not willing to share the nearly 300 pending bills he has from the House with them, they can get those bills directly from the House where some have been waiting for months, but they won’t.  Without McConnell, the risen Senate could put a next relief bill together with House members and pass it over any possible veto of Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell’s partner in crime, but they won’t.

Senate and House Republicans are not only cowards, but they have given up their souls so they could be Republicans.  That is sad because some Republicans in the past have had the needs of Americans at heart.  However, since Nixon, and his racist sexist xenophobic “Southern Strategy,” those Republicans are as rare as hen's teeth (cliché but apt).  And Mr. McConnell and Mr. Trump have joined forces to do as much as they can to make the rich richer and ignore the poor or blame the poor for the rich not becoming as rich as they could be.

Mr. McConnell and Mr. Trump are very much alike in many ways.  They are both obsessed with money and are in constant competition to acquire more, never able to give up the quest.  They are both nearly completely self-absorbed and have been, probably for their entire lives.  They do what is expedient in support of the self no matter who is hurt.  They have had minimal education and have not let that education get in the way of their self-promotion.

Their one political gift is the ability to identify those people who are easily manipulated  by money and promises, then proceed to determine which promises and for how much.  They both speak the language (albeit poorly) of caring and appreciation for the people they work with, but their affect is flat when those words are spoken.

Both Mr. McConnell and Mr. Trump love power and the trappings of power, the fact that everyone around them says “Sir” and wants/needs to bask in their light is almost orgasmic for them.  Neither believes he needs to be informed beyond some basic talking points that let him seem in charge to his followers and donors.  Those followers sit panting for the drippings from the huge quantities of bacon the McConnell-Trump Team is amassing.  The donors get some big chunks:  cuts in regulations, big money contracts, government positions with authority, and more, while The Team makes sure that if some of those drippings just happen to fall to the unworthy, those unintended recipients will pay through:  cutting SNAP, diminishing Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, ordering ICE to pick up and deport young people who are Americans in all but name, upon turning 18, bankrupting the post office and possibly the states, etc.

Someone looking at the COVID19 fiasco in the United States would see a president and Senate majority leader who are OK with the unnecessary deaths of American citizens,  especially since most of the deaths now are among people who would not be voting for Trump/McConnell anyway.  Even the media often find excuses for the Team’s bad behavior, their dismissal of the Constitution, the proposed destruction of our environment, the lack of equipment to properly protect first line workers of all kinds.

Since the Team members have not contracted the virus and are not at risk, they must be protected by God, thus deserving of laud from every American as well as re-election.

When the McConnell-Trump Team loses members, it is not their fault, not the fault of these two amazing leaders who just LOVE the American people and all the things the Constitution stands for.  It must be the fault of, well, let’s see, China, the Democrats, President Obama, the Democratic governors, the “fact” that “no one could have imagined COVID19 would get this bad.”  Blaming is what they do very well.  They probably have a group whose only job it is to come up with excuses and people other than the Trump-McConnell  Team to blame.  

So, where do we go from here.  The Trump-McConnell Team and Republicans in general claim to be channeling the founders, but there is no way the founders would have approved of Mr. McConnell, Mr. Trump, or the pathetic performance of Republicans across the country.  One can’t help but be surprised that Republicans are seen as the patriotic folks.  I guess that is because they wave the flag back and forth with more vigor.  Or, it could be because Republicans can say “Thank you for your service” more quickly and loudly to every service person they meet than anyone else while yelling for more war.  In reality, it is probably because Republicans as individuals and PACs (Political Action committees) have more money than anyone else and will do everything they can (lying, cheating, deception are not off the table), to keep what they have and get lots more.  A recent example is the “hidden” gift in the CARES Act that will allow the 1% to get away with paying billions less in taxes, snuck in around page 200, by guess who.

The McConnell-Trump Team knows how to tap into an amazing money stream, truly a gift that keeps on giving, but only if the McConnell-Trump Team and their followers will keep working for the moneybags who periodically open the dam to let a little of the “water” to flow downstream.  Of course, they will.

And the American people?  We will need to get help elsewhere.

COVID19 AND A POSSIBLE LEGACY

by Ruth A. Sheets

Sitting at home nearly all day gives one time to listen, read, and think.  A deadly virus has struck every part of the world, yet warmongering governments and other militarized groups had to be begged to stop fighting, and as one might expect, many have chosen to keep up the fight.  I suppose the hope is they can make some ground while the virus is causing harm and distracting folks.  Alas, they might be right.

Perhaps, at this moment, we all should use this pause in normality to begin to take a good look at war and conflict in general.  Disagreement among people is probably endemic, so the chance that interpersonal conflict will end any time soon is not great.  But that does not mean we can’t use the time out during this pandemic to rethink what we are doing related to war and why.

First of all, war is a stupid, wasteful, disgusting, hateful, expensive practice.  One can’t help but notice that it is clearly a male activity.  Of course some women participate, usually as the victims, but we all can name women who have served in some capacity, usually honorably, but war is predominantly male and males often shape their lives by war.  Why do so many men depend on, even crave war?

Let’s face it, a lot of males need to prove their manhood.  It does not seem enough that male voices deepen, they develop facial hair and have other physical changes as they enter adulthood.  They must prove they are bigger, stronger, smarter, more clever than other men, and of course they must be better than women in all categories.  It is indeed a reminder that human beings are mammals and experience the impulses that other animals have.  On the other hand, we humans can do things other mammals can’t do, like thinking through things, making personal decisions, and more.

It seems in this time of COVID19, when we are in a kind of pause, we can come up with ways to cut the need for men to prove their manhood by destroying others.  We can dial down the ridiculous nationalism that also promotes male quest for manhood, while dragging whole societies down with them.

The whole concept of having to prove one's manhood is outrageous and sad.  Can't being human be enough, whether male or female or whatever one chooses to identify oneself as?  Parents, both mothers AND fathers need to raise their boys and girls to believe in gender equality rather than that boys are superior to girls and that being male is the highest achievement of humanity.  It isn't, but our cultures drip with testosterone.  Most major sports are male.  Most people in authority are male, even in professions like teaching where more women than men are employed.  Male voices are louder, so are seen as having more weight.  Most first responders in the field are men.  The military  has respect in communities far beyond other professions and the military (as mentioned above) is seen as male.  Men run the banks, the corporations, the economy at all levels.  Men run most religious institutions which of course, proclaim male as God and female as inferior, in need of male guidance at every level.

The COVID19 is raging and it is women who are on the front lines this time.  They are the nurses and doctors in the hospitals.  They are the family members who now minister to the entire family while everyone is shut in.  They are the outspoken politicians who are working hard to alleviate the suffering and develop plans of action.  It is the male leaders who are often incompetent, fearmongering, and unworthy of the positions they hold.

My concern is that when the virus has run its course, men will jump right back into war as though there had never been a break.  This should not be acceptable to anyone.

We need a plan to move quickly away from war, all over the world.  To begin, we all must elect more peace-loving women and men at every level of government.  Corporations that promote maleness as a prime virtue need to be either eliminated or made smaller and less powerful.  The military industrial complex (as Dwight Eisenhower called it) should be dismantled, redirecting weapons manufacturers into other production.  For example, we need no more tanks, no more battleships, no more bombs.   We have plenty of these.

Movement here will take a lot of effort, but with the COVID19 stalking, we could make some major changes immediately.

Such change will be especially hard with so many authoritarian governments led by men who just keep needing to prove how wonderful they are and how much better and stronger they are than anyone else.  We as a society need to stop trading with them, selling weapons to them, and start communicating peace with them and the need to work together on halting global warming, ending poverty, managing population growth, providing meaningful work for everyone, using as much creativity and commitment as we can muster.

Women and men who want something different need to stop encouraging manhood proving and participation in the war machine, the machine that manufactures weapons and hate, sends our children to fight and possibly die, allows our tax dollars to be siphoned off to rich warmongering manhood provers.

COVID19 is horrific and has taken many people around the world as its victims.  We could make a legacy of this pandemic, a worldwide commitment to ending war and learning to grow peace.

WHERE IS THEIR HUMANITY?

by Ruth A. Sheets

How is it the citizens of this country are allowing our government to turn our nation into a hateful, racist, uncaring place, that is, more than usual?  How is it a man who did not even receive a majority of the votes cast in the 2016 election gets to make rules that put so many people at risk with no approval by the American people or even our elected representatives?

A few racist liars should not be able to do this to us.  Why does Congress sit back and allow these racist liars to set us back more than 50 years in our human response?  Why aren't all Senators standing up to Mr. McConnell demanding votes come up on how we are dealing with immigrants, asylum-seekers, and even citizens who happen not to be white, rich, straight males?  Are Republicans that scared of everyone who does not fit those categories?  It is sure looking that way? 

The questions for Republicans and all of us, would you like to have members of your family treated the way we are treating asylum-seekers?  Would you like to be treated that way?  If either answer is "no," then you need to step up and change, not only your attitude, but your behavior.  Activate your humanity, if it is still possible.  It seems some people can dismiss their humanity rather quickly and find all kinds of excuses for it and their post-humanitarian stances.  Why do so many of us listen to these uncaring persons and allow them to act so horrifically?

Those Republicans and some others have forgotten that the U.S. has a long history of providing refuge to people fleeing violence or persecution in their home countries. Our Statue of Liberty stands for those people and acknowledges our commitment to potential immigrants, despite claims by members of Mr. Trump’s administration to the contrary. 

Emma Lazarus’s poem “The Great Colossus” was written in 1883 to help raise money for the pedestal that would hold the gift from France.  That is the poem that says “Give me your tired. your poor . . .Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me,” among other important words about who we as Americans are.  Check it out Trump administration members.

Currently, in our name, the Trump administration is stamping out our tradition of supporting asylum-seekers through various policies aimed at dismantling the asylum system, then, lying about the reasons.  The main reasons given, those people are criminals, those people are terrorists, those people are just coming here to have anchor babies.  None of these excuses is true beyond a few instances and carries much if any weight with Americans beyond Mr. Trump’s base.  But, Trump’s generally uninformed, often racist, misogynistic base is all that matters these days, so these become the “real” reasons.  Actually, those reasons are just more lies among the very many this administration has dished out.

What is this administration doing, forcing asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico, a country completely unable to support the numbers of people coming.  The forced return to Mexico policy is an appalling attack -- and as taxpayers, we're funding it. Because of this policy, tens of thousands of people are trapped in dangerous conditions while they await court dates inside the U.S., which may never come since there, in Mexico, they can face kidnapping, rape, and even murder. They often lack adequate access to water, food, and medical care. Our own policy has created a humanitarian crisis in northern Mexico.

I can't imagine our founders would have gone along with this.  Therefore, as Americans, human beings, we shouldn’t either, and must declare "it must stop!"  We can’t depend on Congress since Mr. McConnell cares only for his own power and money, so won’t even bring a bill to end the practice to the floor.  Alas, it seems the Supreme Court conservatives (Republicans) don’t care either.  There’s not enough money in moving people through the system more quickly.  It wouldn’t humiliate and “deter” asylum-seekers sufficiently. 

How sad we can’t depend on our elected or appointed officials to have a sense of human caring for anyone but themselves.  We need to do better when we elect people.  We need to go beyond party when choosing them because one of our parties, Republican, has decided that they have all pulled themselves up by “their own bootstraps.”  Anyone else who is struggling just doesn’t have what it takes and deserves whatever they get (nothing from our government).

We hear this argument discussed often when the challenges of poverty or the conditions under which people of color find themselves becomes the topic.  That is the excuse to drop one’s humanity in favor of self-serving actions and beliefs.

The reality, where did those guys (mostly men) get those boots and the straps they pulled themselves up by?  Who made them?  Who showed them how to put the boots on?  Who gave them the time to figure out how to even lace up the boots?  Who even noticed they were pulling on those straps?  Who held them up while they were only standing on one foot grasping the laces?  In short, not even those arrogant Republicans on the Supreme and other courts, in Congress and legislatures all across this nation can claim the “I did it all by myself” argument.  It is a myth or lie, depending on the point of view.

Asylum-seekers did not leave their homes, face harrowing challenges as they journeyed toward a better safer life because they just wanted some fun.  They do not bring their precious children into unbelievable danger because they want to teach their children resilience.  They want a chance for themselves and their children to survive and thrive.  Isn’t that what we all, even Republicans, want for ourselves and our kids?   

If that is the case, our human selves will want to give asylum-seekers relief by picking up the pace and scope of hearings, moving asylum-seekers into the United States where they can be safer and let caring Americans through a range of organizations help them.  This could relieve some of the crisis in Mexico, and reiterate that the United States does care and still honors the symbol of welcome, the Statue of Liberty.  

Do We Really WANT A Democracy?

by muon

Something extraordinary happened this past week in the US. I don't mean the impeachment trial. That's been rare in American history, but not extraordinary, except perhaps how the outcome of this one trial was reached. But let's go back to the night before the vote, when the chamber of the US House of Representatives sounded more like one of Hitler's rallies in the 1930s.

Every Congressperson in that chamber, whether senator or representative, knew that almost everything coming out of Trump mouth that night was an outright lie or exaggeration, even before the Associated Press came out with their official fact-check the next day, yet Republicans not only did their usual standing ovations, but they chanted aloud over and over, yelling "Four more years!" as if they were drunken teenagers at a school football game, cheering on their team.

In 2009, when Joe Wilson yelled "You lie!" at President Obama during the State of the Union, the entire audience gasped and Wilson received a formal rebuke by the House of Representatives. At last Tuesday's speech, the only person punished for yelling out was Fred Guttenberg, a father whose daughter had been murdered by gun violence at Parkland. Right now in America, we punish for grief and reward for lies, deception and cheating.

Which brings us back to the Senate vote the next day. Most senators have been to law school. They understand the law. They understand evidence, and they all knew there was enough of it to prove Trump guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, even without more witnesses and documents. Some GOP senators gave that as their reasoning for not voting for more witnesses. Yet all but one GOP senator voted Not Guilty on the both articles, and that one senator, stupidly, voted Not Guilty on the article of obstruction, the one most easily proved. Every one of them KNEW they were going against the law and against their oath of office. 

So what is happening in this country to make otherwise educated, (one would hope) intelligent, and yes, mostly well-to-do men and women blindly follow a man like Trump, who has no respect for the laws of our democracy or even for anything close to fairness and decency? Those senators had no second thoughts about taking on the mantle of that disrespect and lack of decency themselves.

I'd like to believe that at least some of those Congresspersons, even as they were chanting during the speech and especially as they were voting "Not Guilty" the next day, had little twinges of conscience way back in their brains, telling them "No, this isn't how a democracy is supposed to work." But in the face of all that blind Hitler-like devotion to their leader the last week, they seem to have become monsters before our eyes. 

Yet, I see an envy for that devotion on the Democratic side too. I think it's why the Democrats seem to be having such a difficult time sorting through candidates. It's not that they want someone so perfectly qualified that victory is assured. It's that they want someone who can be put on a pedestal, who inspires in them a willingness to follow the candidate off a cliff if necessary. They don't think anyone can defeat Trump unless their candidate is also like him. They want someone who'll make them "feel" a part of something bigger than themselves, the way Trump Nation seems to -- a charismatic golden idol who will fix everything single-handedly. Then all the voters have to do is sit back, wave flags and cheer.

Democracy doesn't work THAT way either. We seem to be gauging potential presidents by the size of the crowds or noise made at rallies. Rallies don't run a government. That's obvious from the last 3+ years. Yet everyone seems to now crave daily political drama on their newsfeeds more than a return to a sane functioning government of the people.

What I want in a president is someone sensible enough to appoint qualified, knowledgeable people to be in the cabinet and head the departments. People who we can trust to get us our tax refunds and Social Security checks. People who'll make sure our water is safe to drink and our interstate bridges are safe to drive across. People competent enough to quickly take care of Americans who've been through hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes and wildfires. People who'll care for separated refugee families with compassion as they do their best to reunite children with family members. People who'll revitalize our education system. People who'll actively work to reverse the human causes of climate change instead of shutting down every federal research facility studying it. People who can negotiate with foreign leaders without cooking up back-room deals that give a select few Americans more power or wealth. People who'll protect fair elections and keep them open to all US citizens.

I think any of the Democratic front-runners can do the job. We shouldn't stress over charisma, or even stress over differing policies right now. The task of putting back together the tattered shreds of the current government needs to be job one. Keep your eyes on the prize:  Democracy.

We don't need a president who inspires us to chant in ecstasy when he/she enters a room. That's not American. It's not Democracy. It's Fascism. But remember, when you're busy voting for a president who'll preserve our democracy next November, also vote out all the congresspeople who'd turn this country into a dictatorship. Don't sit back, complacently waving flags, while your power – the power of the people -- is being taken away.

LET’S PRETEND

by Ruth A. Sheets

As I followed the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives and the lead-up to and beginning of the Senate trial, one thing is crystal.  The Republicans as well as the Democrats know perfectly well that Donald J. Trump is guilty of the charges brought against him through impeachment, and probably of a lot more too.

I was pretty sure of this a month ago, but my thinking clarified as I listened to the rules set up by Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the Senate.  These rules were set to govern the proceedings of the trial.  None of the rules were designed in any way to promote fairness or justice.  They were carefully designed solely to protect Mr. Trump from accountability for his actions:  no witnesses, no documents, few reporters and those with no writing implements or recording devices, one set of cameras, etc.  When one sees this it is hard to imagine these moves are to learn the truth.

I wondered how this pretense could have been allowed to happen.  Then, I thought back over Mr. Trump’s behavior before and after his election to the presidency of the United States.  What did and does his behavior remind me of, that of an 8-year-old bully.  This is obvious to a lot of people and we can’t help but ponder why would any adult want to be governed by a childish bully.  I am coming to think it is because his childish behavior has triggered the natural human tendency to protect children.

Mr. Trump cannot give a coherent speech.  He yells a lot, then has to mumble something that either supports what he has just shouted or contradicts it.  None of it makes sense, but those listening feel compelled to reach out to help him to make sense, the way a parent does to a child who is being incoherent.

This feeling in Republicans, Evangelicals, and some other conservatives has essentially been unchallenged for more than four years.  The media and supporters act as though Mr. Trump’s behavior is “normal” and just shows Mr. Trump is a strong leader.  They have no real evidence of this strength, just the loud bullying, insulting, rude, trouble-making child who needs them to protect their Donnie from the big bad Democrats, Muslims, immigrants, left-wingers and anyone else who might criticize their child.  It sure reminds me of the parents who rush into a school to complain that a teacher who gave their child the grade he deserved, was picking on him.

When the Republicans senators sitting as a jury having taken a solemn oath vote to acquit Mr. Trump without witnesses, documents, or any of the other critical pieces necessary for a fair trial, Mr. Trump will claim victory and those Republicans will walk off knowing they did the wrong thing, but will go right on protecting their Donnie, the defenseless child, the one who started a trade war with China, then claimed victory when part of that war was stopped by himself.  This is the child-man who sets Iran up for war, then claims victory when Iran decides not to go to war directly with the United States.  This is the Donald Trump who sways with the winds of lobbyists and the swamp-dwellers with whom he surrounds himself.

Like so many child bullies, Mr. Trump breaks the rules (law), then claims not only that he did nothing wrong, but that the other person was at fault and he did everything just right (perfectly).  That person should be locked up, even killed for treason.

He is a child who was never told “no.”  Money lets a kid get away with that.  So, this child has lied to everyone all the time, more than 13,000 times in 3 years, losing no support from his protectors who can’t allow their child to be blamed for anything, and “they were only little, insignificant lies” after all,” the say.

Mr. Trump is a lot like the child kings that have periodically ruled.  These children have no idea the level or consequences of the power they wield, but are willingly used by others for their own purposes as long as they get what they want.  Like kids playing war, Mr. Trump slides into the role of leader and if the other kids don’t go along with what he wants, he smashes their toys and makes them leave.  Mr. Trump wants also to be like a Mafia Don who can order people to disappear and is furious when they don’t.  The child-Don keeps pushing the limits of his power and because his protectors are only focused on protecting him at any cost, they don’t realize that they too could be among those whom he will want to disappear.

One can’t help but ask what the protectors are getting from this.  Well, they are getting the good feeling that comes from protecting a child.  Then, they know they can use the child’s power to get what they want.  They got an extra Supreme Court justice.  They got all kinds of environmental regulations rolled back for the companies that support their campaigns.  They got lots of judges for lower courts whom they are sure will rule in their favor for decades.  They got a huge tax break for their wealthy selves and their friends.  They created groups to hate so their appalling behavior will be obscured by targeting those horrible people:  immigrants, Jews, Muslims, women, LGBT, abortionists, etc. and etc.    The child they are protecting may be aware of what they are doing, but he doesn’t care because he doesn’t even understand more than that he will be taken care of, and if he isn’t, he will destroy those who are in his way.

It is so embarrassing to hear “grown” men defending the obviously guilty Mr. Trump, then claiming that the Democrats don’t have a case.  These grown” men posture for the television, particularly Fox “News” that is also using and manipulating these men for their own purposes, and those vary over time.  They claim Mr. Trump’s poor playmates are not guilty, and even more, are falsely accused of the crimes they have actually committed.  

I know this is sexist, but I thought it was mostly women who were caught up in the almost blind desire to protect children, but in Donnie’s case, it is “grown” men who stand up, spreading as many lies and false accusations as they can on his behalf, pretending he is guilt-free.  They should be ashamed, but they have no shame.  If they did, they would have to admit they have been had by a child bully, Donald Trump.

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