Tag Archives: donald-trump

The Price of Eggs

Since Trump II began less than a week ago, have you heard anything about lowering the price of eggs from inside the Beltway (Washington D.C. insiders, natch)? I’ve only heard rumblings from fellow shoppers, and my m-i-l when I told her that the brown, cage-free eggs were $1.50 less than the regular eggs. Shocking, indeed!

Instead we’ve had over 1,500 criminals let loose, persons who attacked police officers during an attempt to thwart Constitutionally mandated procedure of certifying votes of the Electoral College in 2020, and those who’ve physically harmed women and others from entering abortion clinics. Oh, and raids that scooped up legal and legal immigrants, American citizens and military personnel just to sort them out as to official status later. Oopsie!

I thought Trump II was about lowering prices and easing the lives of everyday Americans, like the campaign pledged to do On Day One. Yet all I hear about are about how excited we should be to have a drunk, sexual offender who mismanages small veterans’ organization budgets as our DOD chief.

If MAGA=GOP=Party Of The People, why is Rep. Andy Barr (R.. KY) demanding that his constituents, instead of getting cheaper eggs, get better tax treatment for depreciation of racehorses?

Now, I know that’s a valid concern for a majority of Americans. After all, if I can’t depreciate my racehorses fast enough, I might have to resort to polo again, and put off the Learjet upgrade I had my heart set on.

If you don’t think this is an oligarchy, with Elon Musk now peeing inside the tent rather than outside (inside he has access to all government data on all Americans, and perhaps other countries as well, that is not classified) I’ve a bridge to sell you.

Who wins in the end? Certainly not rural farmers counting on the CDC to let them know what’s happening with bird flu and their chickens, as well as potential spread of the virus to people. Not hushing it up like Trump I tried in vain to do with COVID.

The winners of this Trump specialty, the Zero Sum Billionaire Tax Cut Game, will certainly not help the working poor who already live in healthcare deserts and will now not have Medicaid. Or Seniors who depend on Social Security and Medicare. Or Veterans, for that matter, quitcher complainin’, all you did was lose your leg in the military action. It wasn’t a war, and also burn pits are nothing serious. Promise.

Wake up, America. It’s up to us to fix this mess. I don’t want a king in the White House. I certainly don’t want Donald Trump to have a third term handed to him on a silver platter. Congress might help a little if they realize that when their districts lose the Biden infrastructure funds they voted against but have taken credit for, their seats aren’t safe anymore. Ditto when Senators vote for completely inept leaders of key government institutions and a disaster strikes, as it inevitably will (nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition), and their response is unsurprisingly insppropriate… you get the picture.

Strap on your work boots (thought I was going to say gun, didn’t you?) and get involved. It’s now or never, folks. Nearly fifty years ago when my US/Canada family celebrated July 4, 1976, I never would have thought we could end up with our favorite pastime being hating other Americans or immigrants who want what we, as immigrants ourselves, have today. Hating people for worshipping another God or loving someone the hater deems “wrong.” Get involved. Tens of millions of eligible Americans are not registered to vote. That’s something positive to do. Register, and vote! Dee

Erasing Biden

It started long before Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, but the plan is in full swing now. I fully expect the House Investigations Committee, and perhaps the Senate as well, to investigate Joe Biden from his vice-presidency onward, perhaps even his days in the U.S. Senate. For what, exactly?

Senescence. In order for Trump II to succeed, he has to make it seem like the life-changing legislation passed and implemented during the Biden administration happened under Trump I. We knew individual Republican candidates started taking credit for the Inflation Reduction Act as soon as their districts started getting the money. Now they can’t exactly repeal that and the Chips and Science Act just because they were Biden’s ideas. Why? Because red districts across the U.S. are raking in bucks for infrastructure, IT and solar projects.

Jm Comey’s Biden impeachment efforts garnered no smoke, much less fire, so the GOP needs to make sure Americans know that everything positive that was accomplished by the Biden administration was instead done by Trump 1 and then Trump II. Time to wipe Joe Biden from the U.S. history books, along with slavery and anything else that peeves white supremacists.

Let’s see what SCOTUS does when Trump II accuses Joe Biden, his family and White House staff of a multitude of purported sins/crimes. Trump has indemnity, and Supreme Court decisions are supposed to be apolitical and last beyond one administration, so is MAGA going to take this particular decision out for a spin?

Democrats wishing to run on the ACA, Covid stimuli packages, Chips and Science and infrastructure would be wise to credit Joe Biden for making the impossible possible due to his long tenure in the Senate and trust built over decades with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Let’s not deny the man the credit he’s due for over fifty years of service to our country.

I hope there are still some surprises up Joe Biden’s sleeve during the last few weeks of his presidency. I’ve a feeling he’s far from being down for the count so, don’t count him out just yet. Cheers! Dee

The Sky is Falling?

Imagine a hungry person steals a loaf of bread. Then someone who has no interest in the store, the bread or the thief demands immediate death by firing squad otherwise the town’s entire police department will be sacked. That’s what Elon Musk just did to the U.S. House of Representatives and its leader, Speaker Mike Johnson. Donald Trump isn’t even president yet, and Elon Musk is throwing his weight around, publicly calling out fellow Republican members and saying he’ll pay for primary challenges against anyone who doesn’t do his bidding.

Elon Musk didn’t get a single vote for president this year. He cannot, because he is South African. But he of billions of U.S. government contracts and companies regulated by the federal government, is dictating to Congress how to vote and whom to hire in the Trump administration. And Trump is letting him get away with it.

The federal workers who create cancer cures, predict the weather, or protect regular folks from financial scams are now the “deep state” but Donald Trump wants U.S. policy to be set by unelected billionaires who wouldn’t know how to find their way around a grocery store or how to put that nozzle in the gas tank of one of their luxury vehicles they’ve never driven because they have drivers and chefs for those menial tasks that are a part of our everyday lives.

President-elect Trump is using private emails (remember when he tried to put Hillary in jail for that?) and not allowing FBI background checks, so that prior to taking office, he is negotiating with foreign leaders on non-secure phones with potential staff who we don’t even know will pass necessary security clearances.

There is only one president at a time, and for the next several weeks that is Joe Biden. But Elon Musk has just endorsed a pro-Nazi political group in Germany, and wants to put as much as $100 million into an extreme right wing party in the UK to control the politics over there as well. Is this official U.S. policy? Is it Trump’s policy? Or is Elon just throwing his weight around because he can.

Like the supposed, alleged bread thief, the shop owner might have seen the criminal and describe the theft to the police. Or the police might have witnesses and begin an investigation, that may result in an indictment, hiring of counsel, a trial and potential conviction. People don’t just get the firing squad in the parking lot, with or without the evidence, the aforementioned loaf of bread.

If Elon Musk starts threatening to fund primaries with the first piece of legislation that comes up, before Trump is even president, what’s he going to threaten next? Sounds a lot like the sky is falling. There’s strength in numbers, Congresspeople. You have a job to do for your constituents. If you do it to their satisfaction, they might vote you back in no matter how much money Elon Musk throws at your opponent. Show some backbone. You get paid to fix your constituents’ problems. Do it. You’ve been able to just say no to Democrats for years. That’s easy. Governing is hard.

Step back and think. Does the average Trump voter have any idea yet that he’s going to strip us of our Social Security and Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, reignite inflation and cost us enough in lost benefits and higher prices that will make the Biden years look positively Edenic.

The news will settle in slowly, but it might actually “take” this time, because these tariffs and tax cuts for the ultra-rich will impact all of us 99% in different ways. In rural areas where Trump support runs strong, cuts to health care and public education, combined with repercussions of trade wars, will hit especially hard. As an added bonus, the deficit will grow by trillions leaving our kids with the burden and a federal government staffed by Boss Tweed’s toadies will have to be remedied by a future administration, if there ever is one.

The best places for apolitical professionals are our military, our professional administrative agency staff, and most importantly our judges. After all, these mistakes have been made before, and historically things do not end well when democracies turn into broligarchies. And if you think Elon Musk incapable of the duties of POTUS, as a neophyte who doesn’t even know how a bill becomes a law, try adding the UK and Germany concurrently to his dictatorships and see what happens. Ah, isn’t politics fun? Dee

Positive Solutions

The time for crying and blame are over. It’s time to plan for the future and save our precious democracy. We have a major birthday (250) coming up and don’t want to let down our founders.

Much will change in our country due to the perceived economic circumstances that re-elected Donald Trump. When all the votes are counted, he will not win the popular vote by more than 2% so this is NOT any type of mandate.

I’m going to use my age and wisdom garnered over a lifetime of work and living to think positive thoughts and solve problems with pro-active solutions. Here are two thoughts.

To the United States Senate:

Do your job. Read your oath of office. Honor it. The founders made you alone responsible for advice and consent to the president’s cabinet and other picks. Use it. Do not let Donald Trump skip background checks and public hearings for these critical staff positions.

Why would I, a longtime Democrat, tell you this? It looks like Trump will make good on his worst campaign promises. As a woman, that really bothers me. As a woman with a brain who was as good or better than any man I ever worked alongside, the incoming president’s plans to blow up our government from the inside and make us vulnerable to attacks from foreign enemies and even our own military, there is much about which to be fearful.

Trump was elected to bring down the price of eggs (and bacon), keep the border safe and to make white men feel better about themselves not being “replaced.” When his voters realize, very soon, that tax cuts are only going to the rich, and none of us will have health insurance, vaccines, and that inflation will go through the roof, they’re not gonna be happy with the bait and switch we dems warned them about.

If you, Senators, allow these ludicrous picks for AG, DOD. HHS and National Security go through without vetting or public scrutiny of any kind, you will bear the brunt of that anger and will not be re-elected. Advise and consent was a good idea for 250 years, as was FBI background checks. If these folks can’t get a job at a local McDonalds, they shouldn’t be in charge of nearly three million soldiers, for example.

Just do your job and let the chips fall where they may. Some may pass public scrutiny, others may not. Let the people know what you’re doing and don’t skip town and call it recess. Same with the House. Let the Ethics Committee’s report out, and don’t help Trump engineer a recess so he can dupe the American people yet again. You have to run every two years and midterms have already started.

To Disillusioned Young Men:

I’m an older woman who was in my teens and twenties from 1975 to 1985. It was a chaotic time but I grew up OK and don’t remember any horrific things that scarred me for life. That said, I do not know the realities you are facing in today’s world with omnipresent social media and anonymous judgements that can hurt young hearts and souls.

I would ask you to look to your own father, perhaps grandfather or uncle, for inspiration as to what kind of man you’d like to be. If those are not inspiring choices, look to a teacher, coach or religious leader as a mentor. Often a busy person will make time to help mold a young mind and help you get started on your life’s journey. If you’re concerned about your life’s work, the library is a great choice. Reading helped me understand a lot about the world and my place in it.

That said, I’ve always abided by the golden rule of doing unto others. Be interested in the world around you. Put down your phone and smell the roses. If you have dangerous thoughts, talk to an adult and get help. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.

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Positive thoughts. We must try to hold on to our rights with tenacity, vigor, steadfastness and belief that we’re doing what we need to do to save our nation. That means also being there for disillusioned Trump voters who will soon realize that he only wanted the job for power, to stay out of prison and to reward his rich friends and punish his enemies. There is no thought given to seniors on Social Security and Medicare, the poor on Medicaid and food stamps, or especially women who miscarry and are blithely left to die in hospital parking lots. There’s a lot to do and moping and finger-pointing are useless at this point. We all need to work together and be useful to get out of this mess. Cheers! Dee

Legacy or Malevolence?

‘Tis a sad week for backers of the U.S. Constition and rule of law. Depending on the House results Trump may be blessed with a trifecta plus SCOTUS, all of whom clearly care more for Dear Leader than their oaths or constituency. SCOTUS no longer opines for the ages, but for one man. All I can say is, it’s our own da** fault, voters. Apparently, this is what the American people want. At least until the spotlight turns its evil eye upon them, which it certainly will. Beware what you signed up for, Elon Musk.

As Kamala Harris said, there remain stars in our upcoming dark world. Let me share a few of them.

First of all, Donald Trump is swayed by attention (good or bad, apparently) and popularity (crowd size, anyone?) He’s already about to get the biggest gift of his presidency, a get-out-of-jail-free card. Phew. He could possibly be convinced that burning down the house may not be best for his precious legacy. Of course he’ll still deport a slew of immigrants (but not nearly as many as he promised, remember the wall?) and treat all women like second-class citizens. But he may be dissuaded from following his evangelical base to the nth degree on reproductive rights. Why? Because he can’t run again, and if he wants to build a legacy he can’t have half the nation marching against him every week of his presidency.

Then I could be wrong. I certainly was wrong to even dare to bask in the brief glimmer of hope brought to us by Joe Biden for over three years and Kamala Harris for 107 days.

Even if the House and Senate go Republican, these folks still have to run for re-election and can’t afford to indulge the most evil of Trump’s whims. As soon as he publicly tries to disenfranchise half the population because we have wombs, or tanks the economy through his precious and scattershot tariffs, he could be held in check by realists on both sides of the aisle. Why do you think Congress never bit the third rail for fifty years and enshrined abortion rights into law? We wouldn’t be in this mess today if, in the 1970’s, Congress did one brave act that was made “OK” by prior SCOTUS intervention. Then again, Congress never adopts a budget either, waiting for the last minute to stave off catastrophe again again as in the Perils of Pauline.

Those of us with grand thoughts about protecting our nation through its Constitution and rule of law, we have a lot to do over the next two years to turn Congress and State houses. Let’s not let malaise set in, and instead roll up our sleeves, corral our neighbors and friends and get to work.

All I can say for now is let’s hope Trump lives another four years, more if it’s possible for him to actually pay for some of the myriad crimes he’s committed. Why? Trump’s merely a useful idiot, a dim bulb with motivation only to enrich himself. J.D. Vance, on the other hand, is smart and has drunk a ton of Theocracy Tea. Add to that, he truly despises women (wonder what Usha thinks of that, or is she really a Stepford Wife?) and then we’d be even worse off.

Keep your spirits up, once more into the breach, ladies! Cheers, Dee

Dear Billionaires

To the newspaper owners who chickened out of endorsements in the 2024 Presidential election:

No, I’m not one of you. I am a customer who reads your content or buys whatever you sell. I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for ages. I’m also a taxpayer who pays for the government contracts you’re afraid of losing if Donald Trump wins the presidency.

If yours was a reasoned decision arrived at a year ago, that’s one thing. But waiting until a week before the election and weaseling out is so incredibly cowardly and it defies any other description.

I think of Shay Moss and Ruby Freeman who have feared for their lives for the past four years since Donald Trump singled them out for simply doing their election jobs in Georgia. They had guts and a heck of a lot to lose.

With such a cruel and ephemeral temper as has one Donald Trump, even sucking up to him now doesn’t guarantee for one minute that you won’t be next on his hit list. At least you have excess material wealth to fall back on. Most of the rest of us don’t.

Just because Kamala Harris will uphold the Constitution and rule of law, doesn’t mean that this doesn’t sting. No, she won’t shut down the free press or single you out for retribution, but that’s no reason to be an ultimate weenie. I might go to prison for all the reasoned, anti-Trump posts I’ve penned but I still write of the wrongs Mr. Trump has done and the more he can inflict from the Oval Office toward women, immigrants and other enemies from within.

I stand behind the red, white and blue. Your flag seems only to be green. Given a choice between 250 years of democracy or a new autocracy led by a cruel, inhumane idiot surrounded by sycophants I’ll choose democracy every day and twice on Sunday.

The economy will burst under the grand tariff plan and Trump’s daily mood swings will lead to the polar opposite of economic stability. Thanks for that. Staying on the fence gets awfully uncomfortable. Enjoy it. I voted for democracy and hope others will as well. Dee

A Few Things…

that have been on my mind of late. I’ve been quite busy, moving from a tower in a bustling northern city (swing state) placing our lives in storage, and driving south to a small (slightly under 1,000 acres) cattle ranch in Trump Country.

It’s temporary, and quite an ordeal to find out that my drivers license expires on my birthday next month and the state of Texas requires everyone to prove they’re a US citizen for everything, presumably so that all those millions of “illegal” rapists and murderers can’t vote for Kamala Harris. They did it backwards, though. In order to get a drivers license for a new resident one needs to register their car in the state and in order to get proof of address in a hurry, one must have something like… a voter registration card (!!!) to prove it. So yes, I’m registered to vote here and early voting started today. No, I didn’t have to get a certified copy of my birth certificate because a US Passport is sufficient but most of the folks here don’t have passports and are mighty upset that they have to go back to vital records in the town where they were born for a certified copy. Especially older folks, and especially since many of these elderly courthouses have burned over the years and lost many records.

I read that the The Heritage Foundation (one and the same as Project 2025) did a study over several years of over a billion voters and found that fewer than ONE HUNDRED had voted as an unregistered immigrant, and most of those were accidental. So red states are going nuts about immigration and murderers and insane people descending on communities, taking their jobs and eating their pets…for nothing.

A Criminal Oligarchy

If Trump wins, we’ll definitely have the first but in my mind, not the last part of that description. Why? An emboldened Trump will try to break all the rules, including the Constitution. And he will grift every day in office like he’s doing now and did throughout his first term. Jared and Ivanka will be in charge of foreign grift (laundering money for favors, see how much he’s returned to his $2 billion investors, ZERO), and Eric and Junior domestic through crypto and other schemes. Elon will be cast aside after his $75 million is spent, because Trump is notoriously transactional and has no friends to prove it. And Elon gets as much press as Donald. Donald won’t share power, or limelight, with anyone. But the White House will definitely be for sale, look for high prices on Lincoln Bedroom stays and signed photos of Breakfast with Barron.

The Politics of Less

All my life I’ve strived to be more, more than others expect and more than I expect for myself. I joined public service to actually serve the public, and non-profits because I believed in their missions and wanted to help them grow to better serve their niche whether it be education for the poor, theatre, and other worthy causes even spaying/neutering of feral cats.

Donald Trump works on the philosophy of less. Fewer voters, only appeal to the base, deny emergency funding to states that didn’t vote for him. Deny the oath of office and stay past his welcome using every ruse possible, including the violence of January 6.

A few weeks ago I read that one voter is casting his vote for Trump because “he hates all the right people.” Funny (not), politicians are supposed to add to their voter base, identify and pose solutions to the problems of everyday Americans. Running on proud hatred of women, Jews, Muslims, immigrants (legal as well), African-Americans, Latinos and anyone who’s not at least a millionaire. Not to mention that Democrats and anyone Republican or Independent who doesn’t vote for Trump are now the “enemy within” and may be thrown in the gulag with no legal rights or hope of reprieve.

Perhaps I’m just naive. But I never wanted to join a club whose motto is “hating all the right people.” I don’t like book banners or people who patronize women posing as “protectors” while they take away our Constitutional rights.

Another Person’s Shoes

Have I led a charmed life? Maybe. I grew up in an upwardly mobile, middle class family and always knew I’d go to college. I had good jobs, not the best paying but post-college they were challenging and interesting. Now we’re living temporarily in a town of about 5,000 people, many quite poor. It’s a shock to go to the grocery store, which is nothing like my local Whole Foods Market.

It’s an historic town, that manufacturing left perhaps fifty years ago, so it’s an older community. Very conservative and religious. My husband was born and raised in Texas and retains a hint of the regional accent but I’m definitely a Yank and a Democrat to boot. It’s temporary, so I’ll vote but not make a stink about it.

I’ve always thought it would be advantageous for every American to go to a foreign country and meet the people and see that even if we dress a bit differently, worship a different faith and speak a language we may not understand in the end everything is familiar. We all have family, friends, like to eat good food so there’s always something to talk about. Same with Americans meeting Americans from different regions and socio-economic realms. Republicans still try to make rural folk hate city folk. There’s no difference except there’s a heck of a lot more space out here and in this particular place there may actually be more cows than people. It’s a taste of another world, one which I truly appreciate while I might not choose it for myself on a full-time basis.

Do unto others. It’s always been my philosophy. Political leaders, especially presidents, must serve all the people, lifting them up instead of beating them down. We have a choice before us that will determine the future of our nation, our 250-year experiment in democracy. Vote wisely. Our lives literally depend upon it. Cheers! Dee

A Great Leader

I made the mistake, once, of counting out Joe Biden. It was 1988 and he had a brain aneurysm that nearly killed him. I recall thinking, this guy could be a great President.

Finally, he got the chance to do so. Today, he gave up that chance for the good of the nation, its people, and his party. And he was a great President, up there with the best, especially as he was given an impossible task of getting us out of a worldwide pandemic, stopping the economy from spiraling into a depression (instead making it the envy of the world) and being sworn in just two weeks after his predecessor instigated an insurrection to remain in office despite a free and fair election.

I know that I couldn’t have done all those things in one term, not to even think of re-upping for another four years! But to Joe Biden’s credit, he did. For us. All of us.

There is no way that Donald Trump can ever hold a candle to the man Joe Biden is and has been for his Senate constituents then the nation for the past fifty years. I thank Jill and his family for allowing us to borrow him for most of his life and wish them a long and happy post-presidency.

It took several hours after the announcement for me to shed tears for what we’ve had and what we’re about to lose. Let’s hope Joe Biden’s selfless move will jump-start the Democrats into fighting for our lives to save our democracy, because it is the fight of our lives. It matters, it’s our future.

Joe Biden is a leader, a statesman, a true patriot with integrity, and an all-around stand-up guy who has been in it for us all along. He deserves our best as we voters strive to keep our democracy from the grimy hands of Donald Trump, the Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society and people who have in common a deep hatred of the USA and its people.

Donald Trump hates America and Americans. All he wants is power, money and revenge and there’s nothing in any of that for we, the people. Losing our Constitution for a felonious carnival barker, scammer, rapist, hater and even golf cheat is a choice I could never comprehend. Trump can just as easily turn on his wealthy benefactors as his avowed enemies as the list grows and grows.

Remember, a minimum 20 million immigrants will be deported, but who will populate the new military-run camps once they’re gone? Us. Think Nazis. He may not be after you today, but can change his mind in a heartbeat and our military will show up at your door and take you to the camps. Teachers, librarians, judges, doctors and nurses, attorneys general, prosecutors, members of the media. Women who cross state lines to get an abortion. Married couples who use IVF to have a baby or contraception to prevent it. That’s who the camps are for. We, the people.

Joe Biden was the right President for the right time. We needed steady, even boring at the helm. He didn’t need air time every day, or to take credit for everything. He works things out with all the parties quietly and only announces the result and takes credit with all participants and “the team.”

Joe Biden employs the best at what they do and expects results, not bootlicking and unnecessary toadying. He listens to expert government medical researchers for cancer cures and meteorologists for climate change. He cares about the poor and middle class, and doesn’t just reward rich individuals and corporations. He cares about regular folks having health insurance despite pre-existing conditions. He cares about voting rights and how they’re being destroyed by election deniers and the Supreme Court.

As Joe Biden says, and I paraphrase, we’re Americans, and there’s nothing we can’t do if we work together. Historians will judge him kindly. The Republican nominee and all those seduced by Trumpism, less so. I know that because I’ve been around a while and know a bit about the American people. Time to get on the Freedom Train, America. Let’s double down on democracy to save ourselves before we lose our freedoms. Dee

Listen To Grandpa Joe

Dear Democrats,

Our President has just made the greatest sacrifice he could for the sake of our country. Listen to Joe Biden.

For the past few weeks, Democratic leadership and politicians have treated our President with a profound lack of respect, with many being solely concerned with themselves and their individual races, and oblivious to the 14 million Democrats who voted to renominate Joe Biden for the presidency. Shame on you.

Joe Biden is a statesman, a patriot, and has been exactly what the doctor ordered to cure us of Trump in 2020. He is still all of these things and will be so as our President until January 20, 2025.

Democrats have one chance to get this right and beat Donald Trump in 2024. Listen to Grandpa Joe and coalesce around Kamala Harris and her pick for VP. Do not fall all over yourselves at the convention trying to give freshman House members their 15 minutes of fame.

Unity (and not the Republican kind of cult membership for Trump’s “in” crowd) for our nation, our Constitution and representative democracy must rule the day. Get your act together, bring in Independents and Never Trumpers, all while treating your VOTERS with due respect. We all need to be rowing the boat in the same direction if we are to win this election.

I want voters and women to gain back the ground we’ve lost, and that includes reforming an overtly political Supreme Court and federal judges as well. We can’t afford to have posse comitatus overturned so the military has to remain on tap for world affairs, not peaceful locel demonstrations or Operation Wetback II. The Justice Department must be quasi-independent and not be weaponized against Trump’s enemies.

Abortion, gay marriage and contraception must be enshrined in law, along with the right of women to interstate travel, no-fault divorce and privacy of woment’s menstrual cycles . We need transparency of big (now dark) political money via the John Lewis Act. We must make sure the Federal Election Commission acts and has teeth, and is non-political. Perhaps another run at the ERA would be practicable, along with more political parties and perhaps states choosing ranked choice voting to open things up to communication and collaboration.

All the holes punched in norms must be plugged, like potholes. No president should use the White House for a political convention, as Trump did. PAC’s should not be allowed to pay for candidate legal bills save for necessary recounts and actual fraud. The emoluments clause must be enforced, as well as time limits before top presidential aides can start raking in the bucks by lobbying or representing foreign entities after leaving office.

We must speak with one voice and defeat Trumpism as a danger to our freedoms and our national security. There is no alternative come November. Get your act together, Congress. We’re counting on you more than ever. Sincerely, a longtime voter, Dee

Freedom

Ask anyone who lives in the United States of America what they cherish most about this great nation and they inevitably say, “freedom.”

Thanks to Donald Trump, the RNC and its joined-at-the-hip Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, we are about to lose that freedom unless we get our act together and let the country and world know that America is the land of the free!

Joe Biden has told us many times that whenever Americans work together, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. I have believed in that can-do spirit for my 65 years as an American citizen, 47 of those years as a voter (since age 18). President Biden has gotten us over COVID, rescued our economy, is repairing our neglected infrastructure, respects the rights of women and other groups opponents are targeting, and has renewed the world’s respect of the USA through strengthening ties with NATO and other alliances.

He has garnered the vote of 85% of primary voters, who have sent his nomination to delegates who will meet in a few weeks at the Democratic National Convention to nominate him as the Democratic designee for President. He has asked us for our support and we voters gave it. Now party leaders and especially the press (that’s you, Gray Lady) are saying he’s not the one, that we should abandon the man who has given fifty years of his life to serving us, we, the people.

The choice should be clear. One side wants the US to be free, the other wants to tell all of us what to do. One side wants to continue our 248-year democracy, the other wishes to tear up our Constitution. For what? A sixteen-page campaign brochure that gives kingly powers to Donald Trump. To do what, exactly? Anything he wants.

This week, a decision must be made. From then on, every Democrat, Independent, Never Trumper and Undecided (but still yearning to breathe free) must go with the speed and strength of a freight train to save our democracy from Republican political hacks, christian nationalists, paramilitary organizations in Trump’s thrall, a broken Congress and now a MAGA Supreme Court. Because when we put our minds to it and work together, nothing is impossible.

When Tories in the UK fell the other day to Labour, it was to eliminate 14 years of conservative excess that has taken a toll on its economy. The French hemmed and hawed about Le Pen and a conservative takeover just this week and voila, the people heeded the call and turned the tables. What does the American free press say? Biden can’t win because Sunak and Macron are incumbents and voters hate incumbents these days. What?! Citizens want freedom and stable economies, not tyrants with an axe to grind. L’etat, c’est moi didn’t work in the French Revolution, and it didn’t work this week.

I’m sick of hearing that my country is a cesspool, about its downfall, third-world nation status and “American carnage.” That’s not where we live. We live in a land of plenty, of opportunity, of equal rights and talented immigrants. And yes, women who have yearned for equality, the right to vote, hold a good job with good pay, have say over their bodily functions, want affordable child care, want to be safe, along with their children, from gun violence and domestic abuse, and to be able to obtain a no-fault divorce.

The Christian right want to send women back to the fifties, the 1850’s. We’ve worked too hard for equality and freedom. Sorry, but no rich white guy is going to tell me I have to give up freedom and equality. What’s the big deal about abortion and only man/woman marriage in the “new and improved” Republican Platform that was passed in secret? The language hasn’t changed, it’s merely been removed. The 14th Amendment is still in there allowing for citizenship upon conception. And I’m sure that in order to get the evangelicals on board, they’re being told that it’s OK to merely remove language that’s been in the platform since Reagan, we’re not really doing anything, just leaving it out to pretend until after the election, see? Once Trump wins and gains control over the House and Senate, it’s back to business as usual and a national ban on abortion, contraception, IVF and everything else on the real wish list. The Platform is only a ruse to get moderates and independents to vote for Trump, it’ll be torn up on November 6 and vettings will begin in earnest for Heritage Foundation leaders to man (yes, to a man, men) the cabinet.

I’m just telling it like it is, folks. If you really believe Trump has no clue about Project 2025, even who the Heritage Foundation is, just look at the banners behind him at speaking events; the people who wrote Project 2025 also wrote the new RNC platform and most of them were on his staff when he was president. Read it and decide if you want democracy and freedom, or tyranny and oppression. Join the freedom train. I see Joe Biden waving us in at the station. Hi, Joe! We’re with you all the way. Vote! Dee