The Speech

DEFENDING AMERICA’S SOUL

My husband and I watched President Biden’s speech last night at Constitution Hall in Philadelphia.  It is so fitting he chose this location to speak, and we are so glad he is finally coming out with a non-sugar-coated truth:  our democracy is in danger from the fascist words and actions of tRump and MAGAs.  I sure hope other politicians are inspired to begin speaking out against the evil pervading our country.  We must begin to make our opposition to the nefarious actions by MAGAs much more vocally and frequently.

He tried to delineate most Repubs from those he was actually targeting.  He said that they didn’t agree with what TFG (tRump) and the MAGA legislators were doing but were afraid to speak out.  I suppose they were thinking of the career-ended representatives and/or senators who publicly disagreed with TFG or voted to impeach him.  Those politicians were “primaried” and others just simply retired, knowing they were going to lose because of TFG’s vengeful nature and power.  Those are the honorable Repubs, to be honest.  The ones who sit on their hands and say nothing are complicit with their silence.  Sorry, that’s the way I feel.

President Biden referred several times to saving America’s soul and mentioned God once.  I am spiritual and connected with that.  But even those who are atheist, agnostic, or of another religion can certainly relate to the soul.  Scientifically, it would be what makes us uniquely us.  It’s our life force, which is why once we’re gone, we look so phony lying on display in a coffin.  I have been to wakes many times in my lifetime and never have any of my loved ones looked like themselves.  That’s because their energy has gone, leaving an empty shell.

Well, America has a soul too.  It’s made up of us all and right now, it’s infected with disease.  The only way to save it is to respond and react to the disease.  If America was a body, we would take her to the doctor to check her over.  If the infection was a bad one or spreading, we’d give her an antibiotic and help her get well.  America is not a single human body though.  America is all of us.  I refer to America as “her”, thinking of the Statue of Liberty, welcoming everyone to the country.

It's not enough to grumble about what the MAGAs have been doing.  Too many were afraid of retaliation or disapproval to say anything even as the infection began to spread.  Think of an infected appendix about to rupture.  Wait too long to see the surgeon and it ruptures, sending poison all through what used to be a healthier body.  We’re just about at that point and so it was so important that President Biden step in now and speak up.  Hopefully it was in time to stop the rupture and irrevocable poisoning of America.

TFG and MAGAs are throwing a big hissy fit about the speech.  They are whining that the President has declared war on conservatives (no, he didn’t) and that he is being divisive.  They seem to be conveniently forgetful that they are the masters of divisiveness.  They are either incredibly ignorant or clever hypocrites.

I don’t want to make it seem like all we need to do is vote out the MAGAs.  America’s soul needs more TLC because of the injuries done to Blacks, indigenous peoples, and people of different colors, faiths or sexualities/gender.  If the MAGAs/GQPers take control, those injustices will become greater.  Every time there’s been strides forward, it’s been with a Democratic administration under Presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy/Johnson, and Obama.

There’s a lot of possibilities for the Biden administration and not just with the legislations that were passed this year.  Just yesterday, I read that sixty high schools in this country will be offering advanced placement African-American studies—but obviously not in the repressive, fascist red states.  This is a wonderful idea and I would hope that eventually all high schools would implement it.  Younger children would benefit from learning a truthful history, one that was taught age-appropriately.

Now is the time to speak up and keep speaking up.  MAGAs are eager to talk about rioting in the streets if TFG is charged or convicted for any of the crimes he’s committed.  Don’t fear the violence.  Fear the danger that silence causes.  Hiding won’t stop the violence of bad people.  So be vocal.  Contact your representatives and let them know how you feel.  Volunteer for phone banks to elect Democrats.  Above all, VOTE.  For the sake of our country, VOTE.

Remember "An Inconvenient Truth?"

I sit in the comfort of my air-conditioned room, hiding from the bright sun, and gloomily read the 10-day forecast.  North east of us, residents might experience a rain storm.  We’re not supposed to be so lucky.  It’s supposed to be hot, humid and miserable all next week.  Our front windows face west, so every afternoon I have to close the drapes to keep the sun from beating in.  We have special drapes that are made to reduce the hot sun’s rays.

It seems that each year, the summer gets longer and hotter.  TB’s been looking at the lawn, wondering if he’ll ever have to mow it again.  We haven’t had much rain to keep the grass growing and green.  It’s mostly dried up brown stuff and some kind of crab grass.  I water my flowers less frequently than I have in years gone by because of the potential of the aquifer’s level falling too low.

Imagine!

Today I saw Dan Rather’s newsletter about “An Inconvenient Truth”.  It was a film and book by former Vice President Al Gore.  He knew his stuff and was right on the money with his predictions.  I remember being concerned when the film was released 16 years ago.  I also remembered the first Earth Day in 1970, when we were all supposed to be more conscious of taking care of the Earth.  We didn’t do it in the 36 years between 1970 and 2006, and Gore warned of dire consequences if we didn’t start addressing climate change sixteen years ago.

Of course, nothing was done.  Oh, people like my husband and I tried to conserve and recycle but legislators didn’t  do anything about the environment until now – and maybe it’s too late.  They were under the impression that Americans didn’t care about the environment.  Maybe we were at fault for that belief.  We didn’t make enough noise.  We were too busy being concerned with work, raising families, and the economy.  Maybe even if we had spoken up, Big Oil and other polluting corporations would have paid the legislators to keep postponing doing anything to help the Earth.

All that is changing, and it’s because the weather has become wilder and more unpredictable over the last few years.  I remember four seasons as a child.  Now there just seems to be two, summer and winter, with short days or a week of spring and fall.  The summers have been unbearably hot with multiple and prolonged heat waves.  Winters have been ridiculously mild.  I can’t remember the last time we had a good snow storm.

How do you feel in a heat wave?  It affects me negatively now that I'm older.  I get very fatigued and cross.  Even with the air on, the house gets hot inside because of our energy in-sufficient windows.  Any outdoor activity has to be done before the sun comes up.  Katie Couric posted an article about how extended hot weather affects us here and abroad.

I believe all the wild fires in the west and all the flash flooding/heavy downpours across the country finally inspired Congress to pass a bill President Biden could sign to address climate change.  It doesn’t go far enough, of course, but it’s the first major piece of environmental legislation in years and years.  It’s a start.

Now, as uncomfortable as I am here in New Jersey, it’s hotter than Hades in the West.  Next week, in celebration of Labor Day and that week, temperatures there may go up to 110 degrees.  I know it’s usually warmer in the western states but isn’t 110 close to what temperatures would be in Death Valley?

There have been incidents of flash flooding and other problems caused by torrential rains recently.  There is no potable water in Jackson, MS.  I guess you could say it was a perfect storm of an aging infrastructure that was never fixed properly and a sudden onslaught on heavy rain.  Residents are told not to drink the water.  The National Guard is supposed to help get drinkable water out to the communities in Jackson.  So far it's been an epic fail.  They haven't been able to supply all the water that's needed.  People waited for like 2 hours in the hot sun for a case of water and the National Guard quickly ran out.  It's freaking summer, people, and it's HOT.  Those people need more than a case of water!

Other states that experienced devastation after exceptionally heavy rainfall recently were Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois.

It’ll probably get a lot worse before it gets better in spite of the environmental piece of the Inflation Reduction Act.  It’s going to take time to implement.  It’s a shame because we sure need to do something NOW.   

Semi-Fascists

 

Last week Thursday, President Biden finally called out the Rethuglicans, calling them “semi-fascists.”  Of course, the Rethugs and GQP went berserk, whining about how awful it was for the President to say such a thing about them.  Of course, they forget all the names and insults they’ve thrown not only at President Biden but Democrats too.  I think the Rethugs “doth protest too much.”

They’ve proven again and again and again that they are, at the very least, “semi” fascist.  Frankly, I’d call them full-blown.  You need look no further than what some of these characters have said and done.  Most recently, it was Senator Lindsay Graham, who went on Fox News to announce that if 45 was charged with anything, there would be rioting in the streets.  Maybe it was incitement; maybe not.  Definitely, though, it fits in with fascist SOP.  They use threats of violence to keep people in line.

Then there’s Governor Death Santis in FL.  He’s the guy that went into covid-denial overdrive and then out of left field into the subspace.  He fought with Disney (and lost) over his “Don’t Say Gay” law.  Not only are teachers and students not allowed to talk about different sexuality and genders, the original had teachers ratting kids out to their parents.  Definitely trying to turn teachers into secret police and dropped like a hot potato (I hope).   He went after corporations that would give classes regarding critical race theory with a law called Stop Woke Act.  Fortunately, I recently read a judge stopped him in his tracks there.  Even before SCOTUS betrayed us on Roe v. Wade, he was championing legislation severely restricting access to abortion.

Robert Reich wrote an opinion piece about whether this guy is a fascist and got some heat for it.  What I found most interesting was Reich’s explanation of the difference between an authoritarian and a fascist.  They’re about the same but a fascist is filled with hatred toward one or more groups.  Death Santis definitely has it in for people who are other than straight, deliberately targeting and hurting LBGTQ kids especially.

The whole formerly respectable GOP has become a hateful Rethuglican/GQP organization.

Governor Abbott in TX does not like immigrants.  Rethugs there call people trying to escape poverty and gangs further south “invaders.”  His response to the Uvalde mass killing was just appalling.  He didn’t go to any of the funerals.  Most of the children and teachers killed were not white.  Abbott doesn’t particularly care for women either, apparently.  A tale of two women: one, a woman that learned that not only would her baby not survive, she might die too.  She needed an abortion but wasn’t allowed one so she had to go out of state.  Apparently, TX was ok not only with her baby dying soon after birth, but her too.  The other example is of the woman who started to have a miscarriage when she was 18 weeks pregnant.  After losing so much amniotic fluid, doctors weren’t hopeful the baby would survive—but they were not allowed to perform an abortion even though the woman could and did become very ill with an infection.  This nightmare goes on in other red states with outlawed or severely restricted abortion laws.

Oklahoma has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.  They also don’t like their students to learn about diverse people and sexualities.  They have joined FL, TX and other red states banning books.  Recently, they fired a teacher whose crime was to provide a link to a library that would loan a banned book to any student in the country. 

I know that white supremacy is alive and well in the “Christian” nationalists, extreme right wing militias, KKK, Nazis in America and other outrageous groups but this completely floored me:  Mississippi appeals court upholds an old Jim Crow law that would keep Black people from voting.  WTAF?  The case will be appealed up to the Supreme Court but who knows what will happen there?  After all, conservatives are in control and they all seem to be TFG supporters.

We all know HE is a fascist.  He is filled with hatred, only having love for himself.

This is why it's so important that every Democrat of voting age VOTES this November!  We want to save our democracy. 

 

Killers of the Flower Moon

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON BY DAVID GRANN

Here is another book I saw offered on an eBook list. I was attracted to it by “the birth of the FBI” and was interested in learning more about it. I have always had an interest in true crime stories. I got a lot more than I bargained for. In the 1920s, there was a mass murder of Osage indigenous people in Oklahoma. When I began reading, I thought I was going to be in for another very heavy book as I learned things I never knew before.

I knew that indigenous people were cheated out of and forced off their land. The Osage people in Oklahoma were no exception. They were given what was thought to be a crappy area but turned out to be a place that made them millionaires. They’d been given a massive oil field to live on and once the oil was discovered, they began leasing to drillers. They began to receive large incomes from the successes of the oil wells. Of course, the success of the oil wells drew all kinds of people to the area, good and bad.

It wasn’t too long before some began to be annoyed at Osage prosperity and began to scheme ways of cheating them out of their royalties. Some of the plots were so soulless it would chill your blood to read about them. Most of the time, a white would marry an Osage and in this way would gain control by becoming a guardian to his or her spouse’s royalties. That happened because another way the Osage would be deprived of their rights was to declare them incompetent, incapable of managing their finances. That was true no matter how educated they were.

In the early 1920s, several Osage were murdered. Many others began dying mysteriously of sudden illnesses. Local authorities didn’t seem particularly interested in investigating and so the tribe appealed to the newly formed Bureau of Investigation. The first investigators weren’t successful, meeting several dead ends and blockades. The director was replaced with a young J. Edgar Hoover, who decided to assign a former Texas Ranger, Tom White, to the case. Instead of choosing among the newer agents, White picked a team of characters who would blend in well with the community in and around the oil wells.

What they alone learned about the cold-blooded plot to murder Osage for their leases and royalties should horrify you. What the author learned on his own conducting his own research years later will increase it. I did appreciate reading the book, learning more history that was never taught in school. Grann’s writing style is compelling and keeps the pages turning. It’s also very emotionally gut wrenching so time is needed sometimes to process it all.

I definitely would recommend the book but, again, it’s not for the faint hearted.

The above is what I wrote for Good Reads and a book group I belong to on FaceBook.  I had a lot of extra thoughts that I'll share here.

First of all, this is another reason we need to have CRT in schools.  Despite what the Rethugs claim, it isn't in the curriculum at public schools and now colleges in some states are afraid to offer thoughtful true-history courses.  I was out of high school before I learned a lot of our sorry history, like how indigenous people were cheated of their land.  Where did I learn it? From James Michener's book, Centennial , and from the TV series of the same name.

As happened with Roots, it was absolutely gut twisting to learn how abominably and cruelly whites treated people of color whether they be Black, Hispanic or Native American.  All of these people have had their rights trampled, their dignity and freedom decimated, and have suffered as a result for years and years.

I don't think it's going to irreparably harm a white child's self-esteem to learn the truth about our history instead of a white-washed version.  Sure, it might make the child uncomfortable and squirm, but shouldn't we all?  This is the kind of behavior that the so-called "Christian" nationalists support: a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant America, just like "the good old days."  Pardon me while I puke.

Do you think not?  Why not start with this.  Then research what red states are doing to disenfranchise the votes of people of color.

This has all happened before.  We silly believers in equality thought all of that was addressed well in the last 50-60 years.  I don't think we of that generation ever thought it could all be undone, just as even more of us ever thought it would be possible for a President to so betray our country.

Pay attention.  Those who pay attention to history note that it keeps repeating itself because too many have their heads in ostrich holes.

Added on: I just learned that Martin Scorsese will be directing a Film version of the book.  It will start Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.  I want to see it for sure 👍

We Are Hawkins

 

If you’re familiar with the popular series Stranger Things, then you know what I mean when I say the vines in the Upside Down grow deep and have been spreading.  If you’re not familiar, let me explain what the Upside Down is and about the vines: it is a place that seems very similar to our world but is sinister and peopled with evil creatures.  The Upside Down has a mind hive and one aspect of its evilness is the vines that grow and spread everywhere.  Hawkins is the town under attack from the Upside Down.

In real life, 45, his cult, his supporters, “Christian” nationalists, white supremacist militias, right wing conservative evangelicals and other extremists make up the Upside Down.  Their corruption is everywhere and easily influenced people fall under their power.  The rest of us are Hawkins, under siege but fighting back.

Another way to look at it is this: is tRump THE anti-Christ?  If he wasn’t so flat out stupid, I might think so as many real Christians have wondered.  But Jesus said that we would suffer through many “false prophets” – many anti-Christs – before THE real thing shows up.  I might be more likely to think Death Santis could be THE one but even he is probably just another of the false prophets.  Could it be Putin?  Possibly.  Jesus also said, by their deeds you shall know them.  It’s very clear now that TFG and all his followers are evil.  Just look at what they say and do.  Who the anti-Christ could be has been on my mind since reading an article in Daily Kos: Is Donald Trump The Anti-Christ?

Most recently regarding TFG, the DOJ has released a redacted affidavit the judge used to sign for the search of Mar-a-Lago by the FBI.  With each release about news regarding all the files tRump stole and hoarded, things just seem more horrifying.  As President, that man never read anything.  He wasn’t interested no matter how much his staff abridged or tried to spice it up.  So why did he take those files, many of which were of the highest security?  One: to use as blackmail.  Two: to sell to foreign agents.  Whatever the reason, they weren’t even secured.  Anyone could have accessed those files. Daily Kos ran an article not long ago wondering who actually packed the files and why?  Who else are involved?  What other “vines”?

Still thinking of those other “vines”, how about the GQP response to all these new evil revelations?  Their response that it sure looks like 45 was a treasonous foreign agent?    First Rand Paul of Kentucky suggested that the FBI planted the files and then called for repealing/doing away with the Espionage Act!

I read in another newsletter piece that TFG isn’t the source of the rot; he’s a symptom.  He didn’t create the racism, white supremacy, and right-wing extremist groups.  He just brought them into the open by embracing them.  There has always been a sickness in this country; we just weren’t so aware of it until tRump ascended.  Just look now at the governors of Florida and Texas and the fascist laws they are bringing to their states.  Look at the conservative right wing of the Supreme Court—all tRump appointees.  The white supremacist extremists and so-called “Christian” nationalists are openly plotting an overthrow of our government and creating a theocracy which is NOT based on the New Testament.  These groups and what is now the GQP/Rethuglicans have embraced violence as an acceptable way to get their way.

The vines have spread to the police and ordinary citizens.  No matter how many times there has been outrage about police violence against a person of color they have in custody, it just goes on and on.  Civility is out the window.  I just read NBC’s article about covid bullies .  There’s always been bullies and trolls online and off who take perverse pleasure in hurting people.  They didn’t seem as prevalent before.

The tentacles have spread far and wide. 

On the up side, there are enough of the Hawkins residents (us) to keep fighting off the Upside Down’s vines.  We just can’t give up because the Upside Down is a truly terrifying place in which to be trapped.