Category Archives: Uncategorized

Two Kids from Queens

Posted on May 10, 2024 | Leave a comment

Donald Trump was born and raised in Queens, NY, in a very nice neighborhood and went to private schools. He was desperate to get out and take over the Manhattan real estate industry and be accepted by the elite society folk. He didn’t, and he wasn’t.

When he looked for a lawyer he didn’t look for a Roy Cohn, he got THE Roy Cohn. Accountants? How about Borgers, who his media empire just had to fire because the SEC has them on the hook for massive fraud. Choosing an accounting firm because of their willingness to commit fraud should be a major red flag for doing business with or buying this new meme stock.

I know another guy, born about fifteen years before Mr. Trump, in Ridgewood, Queens. Ridgewood was then a neighborhood of German immigrants. My grandfather fled the Hitler’s Brownshirts in the 1920’s, illegally entered the US where he met and married a Swiss emigré and they had my Dad, who grew up speaking only German in the home. Dad attended public grade school and Grover Cleveland High School and dreamed of being the first in his family to ever go to college.

He did that, played his fiddle and called square dances to get through college, got out of Queens and achieved a Masters and Doctorate, became a college president and nationally known non-profit leader. When he started his own consulting business at age sixty, his lawyer was a decent one who could help with client contracts and special projects, and his accountant was my Mom, who became a CPA having graduated college the same year I did. She graduated Summa cum Laude, me just Deans’ List. They raised four kids who do OK.

There are a lot of good people in Queens. People who live normal lives, teach school or work for the fire department, or own a local business. Their lives are lived on the up-and-up, crossing at the crosswalk, paying their taxes and raising families.

The so-called hush money trial going on in lower Manhattan the past few weeks is somewhat of a comeuppance for a guy who got too big for his britches and who, unfortunately, has never paid the price for a single misdeed. The details are so sordid and tawdry that it makes me blush, no, it makes me want to take a long, hot shower. A gentleman doesn’t ask a lady to dinner and answer the door in silk pyjamas. Ick. He doesn’t get undressed while she’s in the bathroom and block her from leaving, with his bodyguard outside the door, or seduce/coerce her into sleeping with him to get out of the trailer park. In the end, she didn’t even get dinner, just seventeen years of paying for one stupid mistake.

Lies, cheating, cover-ups, hush money. It’s no way to live a life. It’s no example to set for one’s children, and certainly not “qualities” that should define the president of the free (at least for now) world. Sad to say, I’m not shocked or surprised at Donald Trump’s panoply of nefarious deeds. I spent a couple of years in the NYC real estate industry (trade group) in the 80’s and no-one had anything good to say about Trump even back then. And these were his peers.

What hurts me, as a woman who grew up in the era of ERA and reproductive rights is the imperiousness, the intended cruelty, the derogation of ALL women by this deeply flawed, weak bully. To think that his misogynistic attitude has become mainstream and that all the rights women have earned are on the chopping block (abortion, contraception, interstate travel, privacy, no-fault divorce) even by the Supreme Court is unconscionable.

My German grandfather was an illegal immigrant, a fleer of Hitler’s upcoming dictatorship. My mother, a Canadian citizen and US Green Card holder for her last fifty years, has left me an option. I’d like to fight for my country and womens’ and voting rights but if we lose, I suppose I can learn all the lyrics to O Canada.

Just because I’m not shocked by Trump’s sordid deeds or gilt-encrusted life, doesn’t mean I understand or condone it. After all, what would my Auntie L say, the lady who reinforced etiquette and assured that I could walk across the room with a dictionary balanced upon my head? To simpler days… ahead. Cheers! Dee

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Judging Trump?

Posted on April 15, 2024 | Leave a comment

Could you do it? Could I? It’s not something to ordinarily take time thinking about.

I first became aware of Donald Trump in the 1980’s. I recall being impressed when he was able to re-open the Wollman Ice Rink in Central Park. Then chagrined when he took out full page ads in NYC papers calling for death for the “Central Park Five,” five young people who then spent over a decade in jail before DNA evidence found them all innocent. Since their exoneration, he has not recanted, perhaps because of the Trumpian “never apologize” modus operandum.

I have never voted for and will never vote for Donald Trump for president because I believe he is a crook and a danger to our democracy, our national security and to women especially. I also believe that the many indictments in multiple jurisdictions he is facing now are a kind of karma for his yet-to-be accounted for lies, scams and stiffing of regular Joes, employees and contractors for his entire business life.

That said, I’ve been called to jury duty twice in my life, in two different states 35 years apart. I’ve found it to be a sobering experience, one that is also awe-inspiring and evokes the duties of citizenship as few things can do. Voting is an overt act of citizenship but being led as a group from nondescript government hallways into a solemn wood-paneled courtroom tells a citizen that this is serious business. If my dear Auntie L was still with us, she would have me wear a hat and white cotton gloves as I did in Mass decades ago!

I was kicked out both times in voir dire, once because a question prompted me to divulge that I was staff to a committee that was in the process of writing landmark crime victim legislation of the sort that created a fund for victims and assured that they would not have to sit next to the accused in the aforementioned hallway if at all possible. The second time, I was prompted to speak of anything had happened to me that formed an early opinion of law enforcement officers and I told the court that a high-school friend of mine was murdered by a group of ex-duty cops on his way home from work one night (the cops were coming from a bachelor party). Yeah, I was a goner on both of those trials, but for the right reasons, as I didn’t try to get out of either for work or illness, though I could have.

Back in the 80’s and more recently, I’d like to think that I could compartmentalize my feelings about the defendant, pro or con, and concentrate on the facts to render a fair decision. I believe that I care enough for the truth and fairness and have much respect for the judicial system to give any defendant a fair chance.

Something about the weight of that courtroom. it’s a different kind of awe than seeing Michelangelo’s Pièta for the first time but it summons the best that is in us. It makes one want to be the best citizen one can be. I’d be interested in your thoughts. Dee

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Alert The Nest

Posted on April 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

My husband jokes with me that I always need a “nest,” a home base that is warm and comforting. Familiar pictures on the walls, the smell of focaccia fresh from the oven, and a home-cooked meal on the table. He says he could live comfortably in a hotel room without a scrap of his own “stuff” around save clothing and shoes.

There is power in a nesting instinct, ladies. We protect our own, perhaps even ourselves, God willing.

The writing is on the wall. Mitch McConnell can leave Washington forever with his legacy intact, messing with the Supreme Court so that for the next fifty years women and gays will lose their right to exist equally in the USA.

There’s a difference between politicians and true believers. Now that the conservative movement has “caught the car” in the reversal of Roe, the true believers are driving the car right off the cliff while the vote-desperate Republicans are yelling “Whoa, nelly” to no avail.

Historically, the conservative movement relied on racism to feed its base, until overt racism became politically unacceptable. Then they came up with a new issue, abortion, and proceeded to persuade the evangelicals (think Jerry Falwell) to get on board, making abortion a divisive political and now religious issue.

The Federalist Society Judge Mill fed candidates into the system but politicians only thought the fight for “pro-life” (which is nothing of the sort because they don’t care for babies or the women who birth and mother them at all) would be an eternal quest to gain money and political power. Not that they’d win.

Until Dobbs. Now come the true believers, some of whom have lifetime appointments to Federal courts. They don’t want abortion, mefipristone, IVF, or contraception. They want to erase our 250-year separation of church and state and don’t care if women die, are not permitted interstate travel (just in case an abortion is on the agenda this family vacation) or are sent to jail for having a miscarriage. They don’t even care if neighbors get bounties for telling on suspected violators of abortion laws.

Politicians like Donald Trump and Kari Lake are running around like chickens without their heads this week after Arizona resurrected an anti-abortion law from 1864. Heavens to murgatroid, we didn’t want that, in an election year! Just wait, Trump’s “keep it in the states” position today will turn into a national ban on abortion the second week in November if he’s re-elected. All he needs to do is get you to pull the lever his way thinking you know he no longer wants an abortion ban, to kill Obamacare and whatever his version is of “election integrity” which is just lots of goons at the polls intimidating voters and suing anyone at the polls who looks like they might vote for Biden as an illegal voter.

The politicians would like to get elected then vote against women every day of the week. The judges (Supreme Court Justices, supremely) lie to Congress during confirmation about precedent and settled law, then the latest three immediately reversed 49 years of a sacred civil right. Boom, done. What’s next? Contraception and same-sex marriage.

Politicians have found catching the car a liability in getting elected/re-elected. True believers won’t stop until women are back in the dark ages. Gone is a woman’s ability to choose for herself about her body, finances, travel, everything we assumed we had will be gone.

Alert the nest. Only women can change this. We have to vote for Democrats for the foreseeable future to right this ship for our families, for the future of our children. We have to convince our non-nester spouses to do the same. I’ve an idea. Perhaps a nationwide sex strike. No sex until you men fix this. You caused it. Fix it. Because the mess we’re in now really has nothing to do with abortion per se, it’s all about power and control. And men are still reeling from women who fought for the right to vote in the early 1900’s to the sixties and the sexual revolution brought about by the likes of Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and Erica Jong. This is payback. We must let them know that going back to 1864 is not in our playbook.

Joe Biden is a good man. No, he doesn’t send out provocative tweets at 2:00 a.m. or entertain us with fantastical lies at rallies. He’s Grandpa Joe, a solid, work-behind-the-scenes and get s*it done kind of guy. We forget how Grandpa Joe got us over COVID and back from the brink economically. How chaotic were the four years before Joe, years he’s had to clean up for with his predecessor as the eternal backseat driver telling his minions how to vote in Congress. Let’s take over Greenland! Drink bleach! Hate your neighbor! American carnage! Retribution for disloyalty!

Let’s get four more years of sanity with enough leverage to allow the righting of the ship that is our United States of America. Fix the Supreme Court, ban dark money in elections and resume ERIC to prevent interstate voter fraud, fix the abortion/IVF/contraception and same-sex marriage mess for good. Eliminate the Electoral College or find a way around it. Help reintroduce bi-partisanship and end siloing of ideas and communities. Begin to trust each other again. There’s so much that can be done that’s good.

I’m 65 and would like to keep my newly-acquired Social Security and Medicare (unused yet). I remain committed to my country and believe in its people. There is hope, if we mind the nest and help others to do the same, we women can make a huge difference. Cheers! Dee

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Second-Class Citizen

Posted on April 11, 2024 | Leave a comment

When Roe was decided in 1073, I was 14 and had just “become a woman,” whatever that meant to a young girl who didn’t even like boys yet. Well, I liked them to hang out with, play ghost-man softball games, build sandcastles and beat at ping pong (and Algebra). But dating was a far-off thing.

As an adult, my political philosophies started to gel, based on knowledge learned at home, school and, yes, Mass. There are certain things that need to be regulated by the government, such as rape, murder and thievery are bad. Sometimes there is a need to support equal opportunity/human and civil rights, and perhaps ban civilian purchase of assault weapons.

And then there are moral questions where as far as I’m concerned, live your life as you see fit, but don’t force everyone else to fit in your mold. I fear that’s what this faux-“Christian” nationalism, a pseudo-theocracy based on assuring permanent ruling of our realm by rich white men, is attempting to assert.

This is not a debate about abortion at all. If one looks at the goals, they are to do as Arizona just did this week, go back to the ’60’s, the 1860’s.

Supreme Court Justices Alito and Thomas already asked for cases to strike down the right to same-sex marriage and even contraception. The far “religious” right adds in the end of no-fault divorce and laws that prohibit a pregnant woman from getting a divorce at all, and these mysogynistic men have us right where they want us. Back in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, probably having lost the right to vote and work outside the home, and unable to get a proper education because there are only expensive all-male religious schools (public schools have been stripped of funding). And there are no more libraries where we could borrow books to gain knowledge because they’re not allowed to let us have any book the Book Nazis had deemed inappropriate.

Think about what the 2024 election means to this nation which has survived nearly 250 years until one man came along and tried to mess with everything its citizens hold dear. I’m not afraid of Donald Trump. All he can do is audit me or throw me in jail. And that’s only if we’re dumb enough to give him the keys to the White House for a second stab at ending democracy.

The rich men who are now kissing the flashy gold ring don’t know that if there’s a scintilla of disloyalty, say an ancient email, found by the new Goon Squad you’ll lose your business and reputation and all your money. Donald Trump doesn’t care who you are or that you gave to his campaign or bailed him out of jail. Are you willing to lose everything, including our democracy, for a few more years of big tax breaks? Know that Donald Trump cares for no-one but himself. Anyone who thought Covid was nothing because it would only infect the “blue states” is not presidential material.

And if you don’t care about that, what about our daughters? Thanks to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, they already have fewer rights than I did when I got my first period in 1973. Republican elected officials are saying it’s “no big deal” for a woman to get on a bus and travel to another state to pursue needed medical care. They would never say that to a man. Hey, dude, can’t get your ED pills in your state? Hop on a bus for 14 hours two states away to get a few. It’s not an inconvenience at all. Quit yer bellyachin’.

These men are trying to disenfranchise people because of color, religion, and nation of origin. They’re now disenfranchising 1/2 of the population, women. And we keep electing them! Why? Frankly, I’d rather pay taxes and have that money used to further democracy here and abroad, feed the hungry, house the homeless, run free and fair elections and provide incentives for individuals to start businesses that help us all.

I don’t want to be a second-class citizen. We must not let fear get in the way of making our opinions known in our families, communities and at the polls. We worked hard to get where we are. We deserve the choice to live our lives and care for our bodies as we see fit. Think about it, and whatever you do, please VOTE! Cheers! Dee

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Weekend Round-Up

Posted on February 10, 2024 | Leave a comment

Wake Up!!!

We started, this morning, now 5 year-old dog Lulu and I, at 6:00 a.m. Her buddy Solly, a year-old pup was already out and about. He was already off leash and jumping on Lu so I dropped her leash so they wouldn’t keep getting tangled. First they ran 100 feet away and came right back. Then Lu clambered down a 50′ hill to a rail trail and they both disappeared.

So, it was an interesting adventure with both owners going around the long way to the rail trail, plus the involvement of a runner on said trail, and our security guard who stood on the bridge and pointed out to us where the dogs had gone. All is well but we’re not doing that again. When Lulu saw me she came running, and Solly followed her so we got them back just a few hundred feet from where they clambered down. Phew!

Unnecessary Things

I heard this week, unfortunately, that Hallmark is going to venture into Jane Austen territory. Frightful, indeed. I’ll stick to the originals, thanks very much.

Also, I’ve a library dedicated to cooking with the best of the best volumes from Julia Child, James Beard, Simca Beck, and many other chef/authors. Now I hear that Chuck E. Cheese is coming out with a cookbook. Is that really necessary?

The book club has taken a new turn. Go somewhere with a book, and read it. Be quiet, and don’t discuss it with others in the group because they’re all reading another book of their own choosing. One wonders the point of this exercise, OK if the purpose is just to set aside some quiet time to read. Otherwise it sounds bizarre and unnecessary to me.

Comey Redux?

OK, there will be no charges filed against Joe Biden for having some classified files in an office and a home garage. He cooperated, gave the Special Counsel his time, returned the files immediately and even came up with suggestions so this doesn’t happen to other officials leaving high public office. But no, the Special Counsel had to protect his MAGA-ness for a potential job if #47 happens to be Donald Trump. He offered unnecessary and over-the-top socio-psychological analysis of President Biden stating that he was old and forgetful, and worse. There was no cause for this verbal diarrhea except to cause harm. It was unprofessional and partisan for a non-partisan endeavor.

Enjoy your weekend. Cheers! Dee

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Trump’s Greatest Threat

Posted on January 31, 2024 | Leave a comment

Have you ever been called to jury duty? I have only been called twice, over thirty years apart. The first time I was in my mid-twenties and actively writing ground-breaking legislation to assist crime victims so of course the defense kicked me out right off the bat. I think I would be a good juror as I am able to sift through and distill information and judge whether someone is telling the truth by the evidence presented. Maybe not, perhaps I’ll never know.

Walking into a courtroom is impressive and awe-inspiring. When the judge walks into the room, it’s a spectacle. You want to be on your best behavior and ready to obey his/her commands. It’s a sobering experience and makes one think of the importance of civic duty, and the reality of right and wrong.

The second time I was out of options to delay, because I was right out of the hospital after a traumatic brain injury and still, as my husband says, “rebooting.” They probably wouldn’t have gotten the benefit of my full deductive reasoning in that trial, but in voir dire I was asked if I’d ever had a bad experience with the police. I had, a group of off-duty cops killed my friend in high school and never paid the price for their wanton cruelty to a seventeen year-old kid. So the prosecution kicked me off first chance they got, even though I have a healthy respect for police in general.

Some think that if one gets a “New York” jury or one from a significantly “red” state the verdict will go a particular way. That’s not the case. Even in a high profile trial, many questions are asked to assure that the juror will be impartial, even if they have been exposed to information about the defendant or alleged crime.

Donald Trump has reason to be afraid. His second E. Jean Carroll jury was mostly male, mostly white. They judged him by his actions, including his antics in the courtroom where his arrogance and lack of respect for judge and jury were evident. He will pay the price, a steep one.

Voir dire. Juries. Right and wrong. Justice. Weighty subjects. Regular people who know right from wrong, lies from truth, will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Think back to who brought you back in line when you strayed even a little. Parents, a stern aunt, grandparents leading from example, a teacher who saw potential in you even when you didn’t. Tell the truth. Don’t gossip or say bad things about your neighbor. Be as nice to the store clerk as you are to the manager. Always say please and thank you. Respect your elders. Don’t talk during Mass, and how did you lose your gloves? Quick, take one of your sister’s and hold it so it’ll look like you each have a pair.

We were motivated to stay on the straight and narrow to earn the respect of our parents, priests (I don’t know if anyone ever got on a nun’s good side. tee hee), teachers and friends. Motivation is individual, but as a lapsed Catholic, shame was a great motivator as a child. That and being the eldest sibling, always setting a good example. Man, that was a pain but I did it, because it was expected of me.

My two juror experiences are the only ones I’ve had with the justice system as a whole. I did get one speeding violation for trying to get to class on time, when in college, but that was just a small fine so I didn’t have to go to court or anything.

When it comes to the civil trials of Donald Trump, the wheels of justice grind slowly, but grind they do. Donald Trump has shown disdain for the American justice system and all who serve it, and seeks to bend the law to his will. In my mind, and as I’m not a juror I can say this, he has gotten away with wanton lawlessness for decades in the real estate business and in life. Karma has been waiting around the corner, but never this close, so he’s lashing out.

If he becomes president again, heaven forbid, he will inflict his hatred of American democracy further on we, the people. There are 91 criminal charges remaining to be litigated, and it’s not just money he’ll lose in these trials. He could lose his freedom for defrauding the American people and placing our national security at risk by illegally maintaining classified government documents.

Picture yourself in a courtroom as a potential juror about to be selected and being given the awesome responsibility of deeming a defendant innocent or guilty. It’ll bring you back to the childhood dinner table and learning right from wrong. School days, Bible study. It makes one think about what it means to be an American citizen, the duties it entails and the benefits it brings by virtue of our Constitution.

I see voting in that light, as well. Who we vote for matters. As a government policy analyst I joined a women’s political group. Come election time we interviewed local candidates. There was much debate over our biggest race, for state senate or assembly, I think. The male candidate checked the box on all our positions. The woman, few boxes and was actively anti- in several important aspects such as women’s bodily autonomy. The majority voted to endorse the woman simply because we were a women’s group. My colleague and I quit the group then and there. We found the policies more important than the gender of the candidate and made our stand. It’s those kinds of decisions that make me, me.

In this polarized political climate, courage has been in short supply, especially by elected officials (Congress, that’s you). In my humble opinion, if one has a moral compass and knows right from wrong, truth from lies, going along to get along from adoration or fear is no excuse.

Trump went down legally and owes nearly $90 million so far not because of partisan witch hunts or crooked judges. He lost fair and square because regular people who became jurors weighed the evidence and did their job. The more regular people who go back to basics, the moral compass that has steered them through life and work, and apply it to the voting booth, the more votes Trump will lose. That’s what he’s afraid of. That, and prison. And my policy position is that presidents are elected to do the people’s business, not use the nation’s highest office to absolve themselves of wrongdoing, make money on the side, and punish anyone who ever stood up to them.

My thoughts on a warming Wednesday morning, perhaps we’ll even see a bit of sun for a change! Lulu the dog would like that as she misses her buds. Cheers! Dee

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Bullies III – A Haiku

Posted on January 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

Ms. E. Jean Carroll

Stopped the bully in his tracks

Congress needs you now

Trump says no border deal? That’s not his decision to make. Get Ms. Carroll that red cape she so clearly earned, and send her in. Where Congress fears to tread, let everywoman, everyman, your regular Joe who sits on a jury to use common sense and slay the bully who has terrorized the US of A for nearly a decade.

If you’re planning to follow Trump over whatever cliff he heads for next, think about this. Would you let your own daughter get anywhere near this man? Would you buy a used car from this man, who will send out goons to threaten you if you get a better deal from the other guy down the street?

Does Congress really have a 15% approval rating? At this point, fixing the border and providing needed aid to Ukraine and Israel can only help those numbers go up. No matter what Trump tells you to do. Think about it.

As a matter of fact, Congress doesn’t deserve this caped crusader, as it has refused any sane action when it comes to the misdeeds of 45. You’re on your own. Readers, our only choice is to vote out all the election deniers and mysogynists. Start with a blank slate and together we can fix the problems and let the “outs” figure out where they went wrong before running to represent “the people” again. Dee

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A “Goonies” Adventure

Posted on January 22, 2024 | 1 comment

What a week. In a few days my husband and I will celebrate 21 years of marriage. Where did the time go? I can tell you the symbol of our enduring relationship is on my finger, where it’s been 24/7 since the day we exchanged vows in a eucalyptus grove overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Fond memories of our elopement and the friends we shared it with.

It’s been incredibly cold this past week, with highs around 3-5 degrees and lows between -20 and below with wind chill. What is usually a quick comb of the hair, jacket, shoes (for me) and a leash and ready to go out the door, became much more complicated. Harness, winter coat (for the dog) and Muttluks, paw protectors which she immediately shook off and I raced around to find. It hasn’t been fun for her or for me.

On Thursday it went up to a balmy 13 degrees so we decided we’d all go to the Park before the sun went down. Winter coat for Lulu the dog (above with her birthday gift from another Lulu, a neighbor) but no booties. I took a glove off when we were playing tug with a big stick, got the snow off the stick and flicked my wrist to shake off the snow when, oops, there went my wedding band. It immediately disappeared into the snow.

We looked around to no avail, went home and deliberated alternatives. What would the Goonies kids do? It wasn’t like One-Eyed Willy left a treasure map behind, and retracing our steps was a bust.

My idea was to take a couple of kitchen sieves, because the snow was so cold it was the consistency of sand and we could mark the spot where we were standing and methodically sieve patch after patch until we found the gold ring. That didn’t work either.

Time for stronger measures. Shortly after sun-up, my husband found a solution, a metal detector. We didn’t want to buy one. Renting one could be an option. Then he came across one that we could check out for free at a Public Library ten miles away, if he only went in to renew his library card!

That’s how we became acquainted with The Bounty Hunter, yep, that’s the brand! A quick stop at the drugstore for two D batteries and we were on our way. He measured from the tree (triangulated, of course, he is a physicist by education) turned on The Bounty Hunter, placed it on the snow and got a “beep beep beep. in seconds! I stepped in with my handy scoop and sieve and voilà, my golden wedding band!

So, we got our treasure and everyone lived happily ever after. Starting Monday morning it’ll go all the way up to 20 degrees and during the week it’ll be near 40 so all the ice will melt and we’ll be back to normal. Won’t it be nice to go back to boring walks and perhaps either snow or dry grass (no mud, please) in which to chase a Chuck-It tennis ball with fellow neighbor dogs. Let’s banish the deep freeze and enforced cabin fever for Winter 2023-24. Cheers! Dee

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Bullies and The Cardinal Rule

Posted on January 20, 2024 | Leave a comment

You can’t let a bully get away with it!

You might not be able to protect your lunch money from the bully on day one, but you’d better have a plan for day two, otherwise he’ll steal it every day and for the entire school year until you grow 6″ taller and are recruited as a tackle for the football team.

Two bullies took my winter hat (I was eight years old) on the bus and teased me all the way to school before ripping my hat in two. I was sobbing when I got off the bus and was taken to the principal’s office to identify the brothers who did it. The offenders’ family didn’t have a phone and any mail notice that was sent, including their grades, never made it home to Mom. Suffice it to say, even the principal was afraid of them. Today, I’d opine that both of them are in jail and their elderly mother sits on what’s left of a rickety front porch with an AR-15 that she’d use on the mailman if he ever got close enough.

Lo and behold, two families down the country road owned a dairy, each family had 8 kids, 12 of which were school age. Some of the boys were older than the two offenders. I never knew this for sure but something tells me they faced up to the offenders and the mean boys never so much as talked to me again, much less laid a finger on me. Dee 1, Bullies 1, plus Dee is guaranteed protection through high school. Win!

For nearly 80 years, Donald Trump has never paid the price for any of his nefarious deeds, and there have been more than you and I will never know about. Finally, one person has stood up to him and won, an 80 year-old woman who he sexually assaulted, and also defamed not once, but repeatedly.

Trump used Russia to win in 2016. Result? Mueller investigation was DOA due to AG Bill Barr.

Trump blackmailed Ukraine for dirt on Joe Biden. Result? Senate Republicans didn’t have the guts to convict.

Trump used several means to commit treason, attempting to disenfranchise 82 million voters and prohibit a legal transfer of power to his legitimately elected successor, Joe Biden. Result? Once again, the Republican Senate didn’t have the guts to convict him. Now he claims total immunity for treason and is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump claims total immunity for everything illegal he and his cronies did before, during and after his presidency, and also claims that he has the right to be on the presidential ballot throughout the nation even though he has committed an insurrection. Result? We’ll see if our SCOTUS has the guts to do what needs to be done before Trump gets elected and becomes our first of many dictators, or loses and puts the country through hell by bullying his way back into the White House to pardon himself.

Bullies never stop of their own volition. They need to be stopped before the damage becomes too great to bear. BTW, these cases could be in court forever, because Trump’s not paying the price, his campaign donors are. Haven’t the American people had enough? Think about it before you vote. Dee

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Bullies and Rules

Posted on January 18, 2024 | Leave a comment

I felt for E. Jean Carroll yesterday as she recounted how her life’s work and dignity have been robbed by Donald Trump, with him breathing down her neck in the courtroom. He muttered aloud, overheard by the jury, and slammed his fists on the defense’s table in the courtroom.

Donald Trump is why New York State enacted significant changes in how crime victims are treated, back in the 1980’s. I know because I was a legislative analyst working on these laws way back then, from the “Son of Sam” law that uses proceeds of a convicted felon’s ill-gotten gains from book and movie deals to pay for crimes committed, to Victim Impact Statements and even making sure that a victim doesn’t have to sit on the same bench outside the courtroom indeterminately waiting with the alleged offender.

What Ms. Carroll went through yesterday was analogous to being sexually assaulted yet again by Mr. Trump, because he is, plain and simple, a bully.

On Monday 56,000 Iowans chose to put Donald Trump on the presidential ballot for the Republican Party. It’s a drop in the bucket as the contender needs well over 1,000 votes, and only 14% of eligible caucus-goers even voted in a small, conservative state. But fellow candidates, governors, senators and congress members all dropped everything to endorse the bully Mr. Trump before other states even get a chance to weigh in.

My adopted state fought Donald Trump and won when he tried to overturn the 2020 election here. His campaign actually paid for a recount of the offending counties of Dane and Milwaukee that didn’t vote for him, and he still lost. But he kept on calling State Assembly leader Robin Vos regularly, for years, to demand that he convene the legislature and “reinstate” him as President despite his loss in the State and nation. Just forget that just over half of the 3.3 million WI voters voted for Biden and put me back in the White House, who cares about millions of voters! I’m a bully and you have to do as I say.

Now two states have taken Trump off the ballot for having incited an insurrection. Guess what, he did. He was impeached for it and nearly convicted. But no, taking him off the ballot because of something as silly as the United States Constitution is “undemocratic.” The bully will try to win at any cost.

Look at the court cases. Ninety-one felony counts and myriad other cases against Donald Trump and they’re all “election interference” and “witch hunts.” Guys, I was in real estate law in the 1980’s and Trump was reviled even in the industry. I still remember the full page ad he took out in The NY Times calling for execution of five boys for a murder in Central Park. They were exonerated decades later when DNA proved their innocence, and very recently one of the men was elected to New York’s City Council.

Look at how many lives Donald Trump has ruined due to his lies and bullying. Now he wants to control the military and justice system to benefit one person, himself. Not to mention the myriad ways he can use the White House to axe the court cases against him and line his pockets while doing so.

Whether you’re a state election official, judge or voter, Donald Trump needs to face the rules that bind all the rest of us. He is no better and does not deserve any more consideration than us for criminal acts committed before, during or after his presidency. Until we hold him accountable, our democracy will remain on shaky ground. Think about that, Supreme Court, when you decide his immunity and illegal, despotic acts. Thanks for reading, folks! Whatever you do, vote! Dee

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