The Tipping Point

Nasty, ugly racism. Out of the closet and in our faces.

Racism is as American as apple pie, and now the KKK's poster child has has crawled once again out of his stinking, rotten hidey hole to spout his nonsense and embolden other scum like him. And the others of his party are complicit in their silence.

I can't count how many times on these pages I have written, "As if things can't get more outrageous..." And yet...

A few days ago, 45 sent out a heinous tweet, below (click to see the whole thread of the tweet)

So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly......

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019

This one has hit a primal part in us. After this tweet, I've seen more people who are usually quiet on politics, speaking out against this. I'm gratified for people doing what is right.

"Go back where you came from" is a tired trope, and a transparent one. The tweet is a detestable, xenophobic, racist rant. This kind of rhetoric is reprehensible in our hearts, reprehensible in our heads, and reprehensible in our courts.

It doesn't matter that three of the four members of Congress that this was directed were born in the United States. That's beside the point. As Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said in a tweet,

Only one of the Members of Congress pictured below was born outside the United States.

It’s me, also the only one who was not the subject of a racist tweet by the President today. All of us — including those like @Ilhan and me born elsewhere — are proud Americans. pic.twitter.com/EOUCCj7Ldx

— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) July 14, 2019

And in fact, 23 of the 435 duly-elected members of the House of Representatives (including Salud Carbajal, who represents me well) and five of the 100 members of the Senate were born outside the United States. We are a nation of immigrants, from North to South, from East to West, from the strawberry fields to the halls of Congress.

SCROTUS's tweet is racist, but more than that: it's misogynistic. He is threatened deeply by these strong, young, outspoken women who were elected in their districts as a direct response to his existence in our government. His most vicious attacks are on race and on gender.

We just cannot stand for a racist president. It's been more than obvious for years that he is racist to his core. We're all aware of plenty of examples.


His ugly racism was apparent before he was "elected":

1973: The United States Justice Department brought charges against the Trump Management Company alleging discrimination against black tenant applicants.

1989: He bought a full-page ad in all four major New York City newspapers, demanding "Bring back the death penalty" a couple weeks after the arrest of the "Central Park Five." The five black and Latino teenagers arrested for rape and later found to be falsely accused, after spending years in prison. Since then, he hasn't backed down, refusing to apologize and saying as late as a few weeks ago: "You have people on both sides of that."

1993: He had a disagreement with some Native American casinos that were in competition with his casinos, and he went off on a disgusting racist rant in front of the United States House Subcommittee investigating a modification of legislation surrounding Indian casinos (watch the video in that link). Among other things, he said, "They don't look like Indians to me." He and Roger Stone also concocted some hateful attack ads.

2004-2005: He treated African-American contestants on The Apprentice differently and even had the idea to do a season of white vs. black contestants. He allegedly used racist language to Michael Cohen about black contestants on his show, as well black voters being "too stupid" to vote.

2011: He started the odious birtherism claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

Here is an excellent summary from first-hand witnesses to his racist actions. Trump's Racism: An Oral History.

And there are so, so, so many examples after his election, with the whole world's cameras and Twitter feeds trained on him. Just a few below:

• Asserting that a "Mexican judge" (who happened to be born in the United States) could not rule fairly on his goddam wall
• Calling Mexicans "drug dealers, criminals, and rapists" 
• Wanting more immigrants from "countries like Finland" and not from "shithole countries," by which he meant Haiti and African nations
• Referring to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas" ad nauseum
• The Muslim travel ban
• Using the term "the blacks"
• Embracing the KKK and calling them "very fine people" after the deadly violence in Charlottesville.
• Withholding aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and mocking them with his fake accent pronunciation
• Taking brown babies from their mothers and putting them in cages
• Saying over and over "I've got great genes" and even having the White House physician assert that as fact after his physical exam. "Great genes" is a white supremacist dog-whistle.
• Calling football player Colin Kaepernick "un-American" while ignoring the reasons for his one-knee protest

....and, most contemptible of all, this week's tweet. And doubling down on this tweet. And tripling down on this tweet.

And basking in his supporters' support of the tweet. At a rally in North Carolina, he railed on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for a full five minutes, whistling to his supporters with charged language, "If they don’t love it, tell them to leave it." And then he basked in their chants of "Send her back!" for at least 12 long seconds.

He also disparaged seven other women in his speech. He hates women. He hates people of color. He detests women of color, especially if they have power. He fears them.

In defense of his garbage, he has said "A lot of people love it." And that, my friend, is the problem.

There was of course widespread condemnation his comments around the country. The Democrat-majority House of Representatives promptly voted to condemn the remarks.

The Republican response?

Crickets.

Defense.

And this. This outrageous statement from Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA): "I'm a person of color. I'm white."


45 is pandering to his base, which is obviously more and more abhorrent. My attitude and words in an open letter to Trump supporters right after the election were: "I, like most of us on the Left, don’t think that all of you on the Right are racist, homophobic, or misogynist as individuals. I don’t think you are a racist...."

But now, in their overt support of blatant and overbearing racism and misogyny, I have to say today: Yes. Yes, you are racist and misogynist if you support this man. The Republicans in their silence and their complicity have demonstrated that they are the Racist Party. There is absolutely no white-washing (pun intended) it now. They've earned the nickname ROP. Racist Old Party.

What gives me hope: The majority of Americans are not racist and they are not Republican. We hear cries of condemnation from all corners. The majority of Americans will NOT stand for it, and that shall be borne out now and on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.


Lastly, here is Stephen Colbert, in his witty, truthful, brutal way, to explain it all to you.












"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stand up, speak out, take a stand. It's up to each of us.

#Resist!

Atrocities at the border: who is profiting?

"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." – George Orwell


Atrocities. Hear me: The United States is committing atrocities at the border. And perhaps the worst part: people are profiting from them. Perhaps even you and me.

Let's reach back into my blog-hopper. I've had this topic as a draft since June, 2018. This was the article that caught my eye a year ago, when we were in the midst of learning about children ripped from mothers' arms and put in cages. Someone is making money here.

You've recently heard about us taxpayers – every one of us – paying $750 per day, per bed for holding children in cages without soap or toothbrushes. Is this true or just overblown snowflake bullshit? It's true. Your family of four? A cool $90,000 per month. What the hell is happening here?

Private prisons and immigration detention centers is a multi-billion (with a "B") dollar industry. Corporations are profiting from holding people and not letting them leave, at the behest of the United States Government.

The story of for-profit detention is long and complex. It isn't new by any means. For-profit immigrant detention started with for-profit prisons, which is a whole 'nother topic, disturbing in itself, and one that you can -- and should -- explore by watching the Netflix documentary "13th" about the 13th Amendment and the American criminal criminal justice system. No, that's not a typo. Our criminal justice system is criminal. So much wrong, and perhaps I'll tackle that topic someday.

Yes, it's a long and sordid story, and one that has me overwhelmed in bringing this piece to you. I'm not an investigative journalist; I'm just trying to make sense of the things that will never make sense in our Orwellian world. And this one is tough. It's complex, and it's emotionally wrenching.

The for-profit immigrant detention centers were established in the 1980s, and have now reached crisis numbers of detainees, held in crowded conditions for longer and longer periods of time. Here is a disturbing set of data about them. We have a complex web of detention centers, medical services, transportation services, and food services, all for-profit and all working at the government's expense to increase their bottom line. Their mission is money, NOT providing an appropriate level of care for the detainees. When you have "customers" who are powerless to complain, murky standards, few inspections, and a government that just doesn't care, it is a recipe for Atrocity.

There are various and many facilities for adults, for families, for unaccompanied minors, and for young children separated from their families, which, by the way, is still happening today.

There are a few companies that run and profit from the detention centers. Caliburn International, the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, operates a huge "temporary" (read: tent city) detention site in Homestead, Florida. Caliburn runs the only for-profit operator of youth migrant centers. Ex-TЯUMP chief of staff John Kelly sits on the board of Caliburn, and before he joined the administration, he sat on the board of the private equity firm that owns Caliburn. Homestead is one of the most heinous of the facilities, and has continued to collect millions of federal dollars, in quiet agreements as late as two months ago.

Two others own facilities at the border. One is CoreCivic, previously known as Corrections Corporation of America, has its roots in private prisons and has a dark past.

Another corporation is GEO Group, which runs immigration detention centers as well as prisons and community reentry facilities in Texas and throughout the United States, to the tune of 96,000 beds.

And not only are these corporations making billions of dollars from us tax-payers, GEO Group, for one, is using the detainees as cheap labor and charging them outrageous sums for basic necessities.


The corporations and their shareholders are not the only ones profiting from imprisoning people seeking a better life. GEO Group was recently found to have donated to Texas congressmen for their election campaigns. During the last election cycle, plenty of Members of Congress have received money from these corporations. Here is a 2015 exposé that outlines the money from for-profit prisons making its way into congresspeople's pockets.

Plenty of Wall Street biggies are profiting, too.

And I hate to break it to you, but you and I may be profiting as well. If you have a 401(k), there is a good chance that one of your funds is invested in these corporations. According to The Baffler, "The fund that owns the most private prison stock is innocuously called the Vanguard REIT Index Fund. As of the end of May it owned 7.5 percent of CoreCivic’s market value and 7.4 percent of GEO Group’s." What you can do: look into the funds that your 401(k) has invested in. Write letters to the fund manager, to your company's HR department. Bring it to light and insist on divestment. If you have your own mutual funds, look at their stocks and divest. Invest in more socially conscious funds.

Oversight? What oversight? I'm in healthcare, and Medicare dollars indirectly pay my salary. You can bet that there are frequent surveys and inspections and tons of rules and regulations that Medicare requires of facilities and agencies to ensure that their money is well spent and the patients are getting the care they require. Didn't cross a "t" or dot an "i"? Medicare will take its money back. I could find very little information on the regulations, oversight, and accountability in these detention facilities. It's because there is very little accountability. And we all know what happens when there is no oversight to a situation when there is a lot of money to be had and greed rears its ugly head. It's a story as old as time. When human beings are at their mercy? Even worse. Atrocity.

It's only now, when there are found to be ATROCIOUS conditions, and children especially are hurting, that we even beginning to think about it.

So let's think about it. What is happening inside these private detention centers?

Here is a 2011 investigative piece by NPR about GEO Group's private prisons, which was quite concerning back then (Part 2 here). Things weren't improving by 2016, when an audit by Obama's Department of Justice found several alarming conditions. Since then, things have gotten worse, particularly in the immigration detention facilities. The population in the immigration detention facilities has soared, from about 6,800 in 1994 to more than 52,000 today.

Several of GEO Group's immigration detention facilities throughout the country were inspected over a few months late 2018 - mid 2019. They were found to have major deficiencies in many areas, including food safety, sanitation, and health safety. Read the report by the Inspector General's office, published last month.

What is most upsetting is the abuse that the children have seen. A year ago, we learned of 45's policy of "zero tolerance" whereby children were taken from their families. When it was brought to light, an injunction was placed. But GEO Group continued to commit family separations after the injunction. The "temporary" shelter at Homestead, where government regulations under the Flores agreement require releasing or placing a child within 20 days, has been holding children for as long as five months. It's ugly at Homestead.

Simply being separated from their parents wreaks havoc on a child's developing brain. And the children continue to be traumatized to this day, not only by being separated, not only by not having the basic necessities, but by having cruel rules imposed upon them, such as a rule against hugging each other or even touching each other. Even family members are prohibited from hugging each other. This alone is extremely dangerous to a growing child. The psychological trauma continues when they have to sleep over-crowded on the floor with flimsy mylar blankets with the lights on at all times. They aren't allowed to bathe, they have no clean clothes, they don't have toothbrushes, they are inadequately fed. They aren't being educated, and they don't get to go outside to play. The abuse goes on and on. We must not turn away from the atrocities that the little children are facing.

There have been deaths. Twenty-four adult immigrants have died in U.S. custody in the last two years as well as six migrant children. Is this ok with you?

What is being done? And what can we do as citizens?

We've had animal facilities more swiftly raided and dismantled for inhumane conditions. Right now, there are still hardly any inspections or oversight, but this is slowly changing.

Awareness is being raised, which is the first step. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and now that the stink of this multi-billion-dollar human detention business has been brought to light, there is more action coming.

There have been some inspections. A quasi-inspection allowed to journalists had the facility in tip-top condition in a carefully staged visit after an earlier visit by lawyers and a pediatrician. But under the shiny veneer, hints of the stink arose.

I mentioned the Inspector General's report on adult facilities above, but even more shocking were the inspections of facilities holding families. Most alarming is the Office of the Inspector General's report from July 2, 2019. The report includes some shocking photos. Below are some of the U.S. Government's official photos of the conditions at the facilities:

Some Members of Congress have been allowed in to inspect. Last year, they were refused entry and left standing at the gates. Think about it. Members of the United States Congress -- disallowed entry into a government facility, a facility accused of housing babies in cages. Finally, a couple weeks ago, several members of Congress toured two Border Patrol facilities and found horrible conditions, which were no doubt an improvement over the usual conditions, given the stature of the planned visitors. Please read that link. There is no way for me to summarize what the members of Congress experienced.

Breaking: just today Vice President Mike Pence visited a detention facility in Texas. It's the first time video cameras have been allowed in. Report on his visit starts at about 1:19.




Pence said later that conditions are "unacceptable" and asked Congress to pass a bill to send billions to Customs and Border Protection to stop the inflow. This makes me cheer and moan. Yes, he is right that it is unacceptable, and the right needs to hear that from him to believe it. But how about forcing the companies who already have our billions to account for the $750 per child per day and shape up? How about calling on Congress to pass some regulatory bills? How about organizing a task force to figure out real solutions right NOW for the people who are hurting?

Democratic presidential candidates are making it a core issue. Several candidates have visited facilities and have called for the outright abolishment of for-profit detention.

Last year, Mexico asked the United Nations to step in. And just last last week, the New York Times reported the the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile, was "shocked" at the reported conditions at the facilities holding children. Such shame upon us that the U.N. has to become involved in policing our treatment of human beings. Do we need other countries to step in and do the job we should do? If this were in another country, would the U.S. step in? Should we expect action from other countries?

These Kansas children sold lemonade as a humanitarian act to send money to the border to help their fellow children. Where is our government?

Controversy arose after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the detention centers "concentration camps." The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum took offense to that charged label. Others disagree. Over 300 Holocaust scholars say that we should not stop comparing these facilities to concentration camps, writing in an open letter, "the very core of Holocaust education is to alert the public to dangerous developments that facilitate human rights violations and pain and suffering; pointing to similarities across time and space is essential for this task." I agree with them, and I agree with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg who wrote, "‘Never again’ means nothing if Holocaust analogies are always off limits." Former CIA Director Michael Hayden also asserted last month that there are similarities between the Nazi camps and SCROTUS's policies.

Many corporations are cutting ties with the prison corporations, including many major banks, Bank of America among them, and other businesses such as American Airlines. Some hotel chains, including Marriott and Choice, have stated that they will no longer act as back-up detention facilities. The city of Adelanto, CA cut ties -- and thus a layer of oversight -- with GEO Group and ICE. Other cities have similarly rocky relationships in their awkward go-between role.

Change may be coming. Some children have been moved from the abhorrent conditions at one Texas facility. But we must all act to change this system.

What we can do. Here is a great resource guide for what to do next. There are links there pointing us to action by protesting, donating, sharing information, boycotting, volunteering, writing to Congress, and supporting candidates who share your views. Please look at this excellent list, pick one – just one – and act. You have good ideas. Put them into motion.

We must not stand for these atrocities!


For you visual people, here are some good reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center:






And here is an interactive map to explore all the known Custom and Border Protection facilities in southern border states.

Resist! With all your might. #RESIST!

"Don't one of you fire until you see the whites of the landing lights!"

Last week on Independence Day at the "Salute to Me America" event on the National Mall, the president* proudly talked about the American Revolution, retelling the story of the great 1775 battle when, "Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do...."

You didn't know the Army took over the airports during the Revolution, didja? Yes. Yes it did.  View 45's remarks here.

....And then there was Twitter. There sprouted the hashtag to end all hashtags: #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories.

Here are some of my favorites. (Thanks also to my sister resisters Pagrs and BobBIE for some of the other memes)

“I perceive the necessity... the necessity for haste.” - George “Maverick” Washington #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/zVqMmvTSV3

— Ryan Chapline (@ryanchapline) July 5, 2019

Little known fact: An immense fog that rolled in off the Atlantic grounded all flights at Logan. Otherwise, Paul Revere would have been able to implement his original plan:#RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/Gg7T3EbMxC

— cosmo (@agpennypckr) July 5, 2019

George Jefferson. Who famously rammed the ramparts at the battle of LaGuardia International at Gettysburg. #4thofJuly #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/sourin13P5

— Liisa Lee 🦋 (@Liisabelle) July 5, 2019

We hold these truths to be self evident: that all seats must be returned to their original upright and locked position, and that your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories

— Cheeto Meltdown (@tomjuarez) July 5, 2019

“Give me Liberty, or give me a larger bag of peanuts.” - Patrick Henry #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/jB3cNglV2e

— Rick (@DidntSayRichard) July 5, 2019

This one brilliantly worked in the #unwantedivanka meme:

Ivanka discussing maintaining control of the airports w our founding fathers#RevolutionaryWarAirportStories#UninvitedIvanka pic.twitter.com/adrjkjATEI

— David Weiss (@WeissyDOT) July 5, 2019

That tea will be 6.99, credit card only. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/CHzLA1qpgw

— Mandy Kubik (@NDsweetheart) July 5, 2019

As the Red Coats advanced through the terminal, we knew our time was running short. Morale was depleted, boarding began in mere minutes. “Hold them at the Hudson [News]!” Washington commanded. The battle of Logan Intl had begun. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories

— Mark Riffenburg (@ItsJustMarkNV) July 5, 2019

Will my Emotional Support Animal require an extra seat? #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/ihgZ6A0Rca

— LionO*s_Jungle (@jungle_os) July 5, 2019

Attention Passengers:
Due to the recent government shutdown, our in-flight entertainment has been downgraded to two drummers and a fifer. Our flight attendants will be coming through the cabin shortly with a selection of hardtack and rum. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories pic.twitter.com/kigvnQfxST

— Laura E. Hess (@LauraEHess2) July 5, 2019

#RevolutionaryWarAirportStories "One if by sea, Two if by land and Three if by AIR"

— M A K (@MAK7591) July 5, 2019

And finally: the real story.

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." – Mark Twain

Here we are, on our most patriotic holiday, our hallowed Independence Day, when we not only celebrate the founding of our country, but all the freedoms that our founding fathers set forth. Last year, friends were quite broken-hearted, finding it hard to be patriotic in the face of the news that children were being separated from their families and held in cages. On these pages a year ago, I asked you to maintain your patriotism and optimism.

Now it's a year later. Children within our borders are still in cages. Crowded cages. Dirty, squalid cages. And we have the Ego-in-Chief planning an expensive, taxpayer-funded "Salute to Me America" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. We suspect that it will turn into a re-election rally, violating all kinds of laws and principles. America's supposed might will be on display in the form of tanks and jet fighters. Echos of communist China and the Soviet Union, revived more recently in Russia by Vladimir Putin. Such displays have not been desired or needed by proud Americans. It feels artificial, dictator-y, transparent. It feels like nationalism more than patriotism. In short, a military parade feels Un-American. This year, it's harder than ever to feel patriotic. Indeed, a Gallup poll this week found that American pride has hit a new low.

Bill Bramhall

I ask you again, please, dig deep and find your patriotism. Find that kind of patriotism that means supporting the country's ideals, its potential, its best. We know that over the last 243 years, we've made great progress. We have more progress to make, and we can't give up now. As James Bryce said, "Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

Patriotism means hope.
Patriotism means optimism.
Patriotism means participation.
Patriotism means effort.
Patriotism means resilience.
Patriotism means resistance.


What does patriotism mean to you?

As Adlai Stevenson II said, "Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." And so, let us be steadily patriotic today, and tomorrow, and the day after that. Let us support the country all the time, even when the government doesn't deserve it. It is our patriotism that WILL save the United States of America.

Engage in meaningful celebrations today. Do not watch the EgoFest. Do some self-care. Spend time with friends and family. Fly your flag today for the potential it holds. You know....

Ann Telnaes

Waves of a Fever

"Things come and go in the news cycle like waves of fever." – Adam Curtis

....though during the last two and a half years, our fever has not broken once.


One of my missions in this blog is to simply chronicle the goings-on in our nation, and I struggle to keep up. So here is a feverish news digest of a bunch of big stuff and some little stuff that would be big stuff if there weren't so much other big stuff.


This week in America's Drumpfster fire.


Our border crisis hit us all extremely hard when we viewed a photo of the death of a 25-year-old Óscar Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter Angie Valeria. They drowned, clinging to each other, in the Rio Grande, desperately trying to cross to seek asylum after they were turned away at a point of entry. Here is their story. My son is just a little older than Óscar, and his daughter is the same age as Angie Valeria. This image pierced my heart, as it did all of us. We all want to turn away from the image, but we mustn't.

Reports emerged of horrific conditions at the border facilities holding children. Hundreds of children are still separated from their families, held in cages in border detention facilities and are held without soap or toothbrushes, unbathed, sleeping on the concrete floor, and inadequately fed. Slightly older children as young as 7 and 8 years old are caring for the toddlers who don't have diapers. The babies are forced to soil their pants. There are not words adequate to describe the shame that Americans feel over this happening in our country. "Crisis" is inadequate to describe the situation.


The President* of the United States of America was accused of his 22nd rape. This time, it is a New Yorker writer and advice columnist who outlined her attack in an upcoming book. Her allegation is specific, credible, and corroborated, but the media yawned. SCROTUS's reaction? The repulsive "She isn't my type." Classic reptilian abuser language. One question, Mr. Baby Hands. Tell us about the type that you do rape. We must be outraged!  Don't let your outrage wane!


King Minus again called into his favorite friendly "news" outlet, FAUX News Business, to rant incoherently for 45 minutes. He ranted like a buffoon about everything and nothing. Mostly nothing, because although the host, Maria Bartiromo, pretended to understand what he was talking about, it was typical nonsense, in the true sense of the word. If you can't stomach the whole incoherent 45 minutes, there's video in this piece from Esquire.


Robert Mueller will speak to Congress in an open session on July 17. Mark your calendars and set your dial. Here is a chance to educate the 97% of Americans who have not yet read the full Mueller report, despite the report quickly reaching the top of best seller lists. People pay attention to the spoken word. I don't care if Mueller doesn't answer a single question about the report if he will just read his report out loud.


The Supreme Court has been busy with a flurry of end-of-session decisions. They handed a win to gerrymanderers. They struck down the census citizenship question that the Repugs wanted. And they also refused to hear a case that would restore an Alabama abortion ban.


TЯUMP is at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Deplorable behaviors are front and center, as usual. Particularly his and wink and nod to his Cutie Putie, joking and smiling, saying oh-by-the-way (wink, wink), "Don't meddle in the election." Watch the body language below. This is just grotesque.




I offer as contrast:

Pete Souza

We are on the brink of war with Iran. Like those arsonist firefighters who disable the smoke detectors and remove the extinguishers before throwing the match and coming back to save the day, the Demander-in-Chief has once again dug us into another crisis of his own making. In his quest to undo every action of Barack Obama, he had withdrawn from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement, leaving Iran angry and open to start aggressions, and now he wants to make a new deal. His G20 colleagues aren't having it. It's quite a pickle.


Systematic, repugnant misogynist racism reared its ugly head again in our favorite backwoods state, Alabama. A five-months-pregnant woman had an altercation with another woman. The pregnant woman, Marshae Jones, was shot. Her unborn baby was killed. Jones, the mother-to-be, was arrested and indicted on manslaughter charges in the death of her fetus, while her assaulter walked free. Tell me how this is America.


National treasure Jimmy Carter said he believes the 45th president is illegitimate. He's just saying out loud what most of us – including 45 himself – believe to be true.


The employees at Wayfair stood up for what is right and walked off the job. Our fellow sister and brother resisters protested their company's sales of furniture to the detention centers at the border. Americans on the right side of history! Let's hear it for them! Wayfair's response was tepid, sending $100,000 to the Red Cross, an organization that has nothing to do with assisting at the border. I think it's time to boycott to add pressure. (As an aside: I have had detention center profiteers as a draft post since the beginning of the year. I'll soon explore this topic further.)


We commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots yesterday. Happy Pride! We've come a long way in our civil rights fight for LGBT folks; we still have a ways to go.


And lastly, a bit of a positive:

The cavalry is coming. This week we had our first debates of the 2020 election cycle. Twenty Democrats faced off over two nights. I watched both and my first impression was "Yay!" There was a lot of progressive talk; all of the candidates had good ideas (except for that Marianne Williamson person. What is she all about?), and they all align with my thinking. We have a deep field of good people to choose from!

My winners from Night 1: Liz Warren and Julian Castro. Cory Booker looks good too. I like him.

My winners from Night 2: Kamala and Mayor Pete. What smart people! Uncle Joe looked tired, washed out, and unprepared. He sounded like just another old white male politician with nothing new to add, spouting the same old talking points. And Kamala was en fuego putting him on the defensive about his civil rights record. He was backing from the flames the whole time, and I would not be surprised if his end-of-three-minutes blank look saying, "My time is up" is turned into a meme, gif, or attack-ad soundbite. Like Rep. Swalwell (CA-15th) said, it's time to pass the torch. I am ready to put him on the back burner and throw my support to some of the others.

Liz and Kamala are by far my favorites of this talented cast!


Here is Stephen Colbert and his summaries of the debates. He does it better than I ever could.





and here is the amazing Kate McKinnon and her impression of Marianne Williamson.





Whew! That's a lot of outrage in one week! Let us channel the outrage into action. Find a candidate to support and SUPPORT her, with all you have. As the field changes, change your alliance, embrace another progressive, move this country back to its ideals. And while the campaigns roll on, contact your members of Congress TODAY. Express your outrage on these issues. Resistbot makes it easy. They'll fax a letter directly to your member of Congress, directly from your text or Messenger. Even if your representatives are progressive, write to them and express your outrage. Our leaders must hear that we will not stand for it!

Act with your dollars. Help at the border by donating to RAICES, the National Immigration Law Center, the National Bail Fund Network, or another charity working to help these unfortunate people.

Whatever you do, so SOMETHING! Get out your fire hoses.... It's up to us, Resisters!

Mike Luckovich

We are the change that we seek.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." – Barack Obama

Let's talk about racism and white privilege.

If there is one positive to our current set of circumstances in our country, it may be that people are talking more about insidious racism and white privilege. "White privilege" was not a phrase in my sphere before the last two years. Not that it hadn't been a part of my life, but the concept was not on my radar because, well, because I have white privilege.

What is white privilege? Simply, it's the ease with which white people move through the world and attain power. That's a simple description of a complex issue. Read What is White Privilege, Really? or this piece by Frances E. Kendall, PhD, for more insight.  Or, here is a simple video demonstration in the form of a race for $100, where some people get a head start.

I've written plenty in these posts about the increased expressions of overt racism and hate, but I've been understanding more about the subtle threads of racism and white privilege that run through all of us, and my eyes are opening.

This post will be woefully inadequate, and will probably illustrate how much I have yet to learn, but I am trying. I am genuinely trying to understand more so that I can be a part of the turn of the tides that we so desperately need. Bear with me while I take you on some of my journey.

A week ago, I attended a community event with my sister resister Patti called "Coffee with a Black Guy." It is what it sounds like. It was a group of more than 100 people, mostly white, some black, some Latinx, a few Asian, enjoying pastries and coffee, having a conversation with a black guy. It was an even mix of men and women, with ages ranging from college age to aging hippies. We were all there in an earnest desire to learn more and have some difficult discussions about race.

The conversation facilitator, James Joyce III, has led occasional meetings to just have a conversation. Questions were posed, experiences were shared, desires for action were expressed. It was inspiring and motivating. Mr. Joyce noted that for growth to occur, there must always be friction, just like a seedling must use great friction to break through the seed wall and make its way up through the rough soil. Friction and discomfort. Indeed, I have been feeling some as I think about myself and these issues.

One thing that Mr. Joyce said that struck me was that that not acknowledging white privilege is "willful ignorance." I was taken aback by that phrase, as I understand "willful ignorance" to mean stupidity and an unwillingness to learn, which is not me at all. In fact I've taken pride in my ability to be introspective and willing to do the hard work of growth in many areas of my life.

But for me, yes, it is absolutely ignorance, but willful ignorance, maybe not. I grew up in a white, upper middle class town, from the beginning, I was immersed in white privilege. I didn't know it was white privilege, but I did know that the town I grew up in was an anomaly of the area. The surrounding areas are financially depressed, Hispanic and Native American rural communities. I always had the sense that the rest of the state hated us on "the hill." I always felt hesitant to acknowledge to new friends in other parts of the state that I lived in my town. I was embarrassed. Today, in thinking about it, it hit me that this was my first inkling that the reason was white privilege. I was in a bubble. I never felt that there was outright racism there. But there was privilege. Lots of it.

After high school, I moved to another wealthy lily-white town. Another comfortable, privileged bubble. I didn't see outright racism. My friends and I didn't hate others of a different skin color or culture. I was liberal; in word and deed. I believed in equality through and through. But then, I didn't have a lot of friends of different colors. Some, not a lot.

My bristle at "willful ignorance" is perhaps part of my discomfort with the friction – my cognitive dissonance about my belief that I was truly not racist vs. the part of me that has subtly embraced my white privilege. I "knew" racism was out there, but it always seemed somewhere else and, thanks to the Civil Rights Act (thinking I), was on its way out. Like the white people that Scott Woods describes below, I never had to notice racism or truly care about it, having only lived surrounded by people who look like me. White privilege.

Racism is much more insidious. From Scott Woods:

The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything. 

More anecdotes of my personal ignorance and my developing understanding in the last couple of years:

The deep racism within the criminal justice system has shocked me.

I was truly awakened this year to blatant racism in the criminal justice system in this country when I heard the podcast In the Dark, Season Two, which followed the Curtis Flowers case. Curtis Flowers is a black man in Mississippi who was charged with the murder of four people at a furniture store that he had recently been fired from. The District Attorney has tried this man six times. Six times! Flowers has been on death row for 22 years. Just yesterday, as I was writing this piece, I learned that the United States Supreme Court overturned his last conviction based on the fact that the jury was systemically skewed to be white. The D.A. had rejected black jurors based on race, and the podcast laid out the facts quite elegantly. The way the D.A. handled juries was shocking and maddening, but I was shocked and angry about the whole system – top to bottom – that put Flowers in jail and on trial. It was institutionalized racism that worked to finger him as a suspect, intimidate and coerce black witnesses, as well as systematically reject black jurors, resulting in six trials ending with hung juries or convictions overturned on appeal. My shock was a manifestation of my white privilege. I've never been exposed to such racism. I haven't had to think about wrongful convictions or witness intimidation or all-white juries.

Season Three of Serial, also deepened my understanding of institutionalized racism. This podcast examines the criminal justice system in Cleveland, which is just one city of many U.S. cities. The stories were just outrageous and sickening. Yet the stories outlined just a few people in just one American city. Racism is absolutely rampant in our criminal justice system which I was "kinda sorta" aware of, but not truly concerned with, thanks to my white privilege. I was comfortably ignorant of it.

Another eye-opening piece is the Netflix documentary 13th which looks at the 13th Amendment and its codified re-definition of slavery in America. It's sobering and outrageous. When you are finished with it, watch the Netflix docudrama When They See Us, about the Central Park Five.

Watch and listen to these pieces. Absorb them, learn from them, get uncomfortable, get angry, and act.

I've had a couple of times when my own white privilege and ignorance confronted me in my face.

A Facebook friend who also happens to be a speech pathologist and a lover of language, posted a question about code-switching and a use of language. She pointedly posed the question to her friends of color, but I commented to the language use aspect. I was chastised, rightfully so, for asserting my white privilege in answering a question that was not directed to me. I was abashed and took it as a learning moment. Sometimes a white person needs to be quiet.

But sometimes a white person needs to stand up and say something.

Last year I visited Maui, and I had the chance to speak up but failed. Mostly because I didn't realize until after the encounter that it had been a racist rant. My daughter and I were on the road to Hana, admiring a waterfall near one of the notoriously narrow bridges on hairpin turns, when there was a traffic jam. The driver of a tour van stuck at another curve just up the road was honking frustratingly and ranting. Finally cars inched this way and that and people murmured about the frustrated van driver. When he approached the place where we were standing with several other people, he rolled down his window and *went off* on a guy just next to us, the only black person in the group viewing the waterfall. He never used the N-word, but he was foaming at the mouth and turning red, screaming for a while at the guy that he had better "move his fucking car - you're fucking parked illegally!" It was confusing to me because that man had been there before us, and how the heck could the van driver know who was the owner of the car supposedly blocking the road? Well, it was neither, as I found out. We walked out behind the man and his companion, and I realized that his car was not blocking the road. In fact, there was no car blocking the road! The black man's car was parked alongside the road, just like all the others who had stopped to enjoy the view. I realized then that the Australian driver had no basis; he simply singled out the one black person there. I felt ashamed that I hadn't spoken up. The black man himself had been calm and just said, "Keep driving, man." I wish I had recognized it and said something. Now, I am more aware and I will speak up next time.

White people, we have a responsibility to be advocates! We need to be allies.

I'm ashamed and uncomfortable admitting that it has taken fully 55 years of time on this planet to really start looking deeply and understanding more about the dangerous subtleties of racism. Am I as a white person entitled to feelings of discomfort and shame? I'm not the one who has suffered through my life. Is this "discomfort" racist in itself? Perhaps. This excellent essay from The New Yorker illustrates that I am not alone in my fretting. Many progressive white people express a "white fragility" when they are asked to face their own racism. In the end, though, emotions are neither right nor wrong. They just are. The after-effect of the emotion is what counts. Don't let your emotions keep you stuck; let them spur you toward action.

So let's act.

I've pointed here before to resources to use to combat hate, like this guide from the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is still important work, but I'm asking you to join me in digging deeper at the non-hateful threads of racism that are within each of us.


What I'm doing: reading, watching, learning, being outraged, donating, and committing to be an ally. What you can do: get uncomfortable, and also get outraged. Confront your ignorance, willful or otherwise, and acknowledge your white privilege. Recognize that "the civil rights era" wasn't 50 years ago. It's now. Join me in committing to be an ally. Have difficult conversations, be willing to stand up for things you didn't think you needed to. Just be the first.

Read this guide to find ways to combat your own racism. Talk to people of color, listen to them, challenge other white people, be willing to fix your mistakes.

When I get angry at the injustice, I donate to charities that work to help bring equality and justice, such as:

American Civil Liberties Union
Southern Poverty Law Center
Innocence Project
Fair Immigration Reform Movement
Black Lives Matter
NAACP
National Black Women's Justice Institute

(As always, please research any charity before donating money!)


And finally, because we have to laugh to keep from crying, here are Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock to give you more:









"You must be bold, brave, and courageous and find a way... to get in the way." – John Lewis

Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions.

"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions." – Blaise Pascal







Let's think about the people that make up most of SCROTUS's base: the evangelical right. I have recently had my eyes opened to the realities of the Christian Right in other parts of the country, and how this group is inexorably intertwined with the Political Right.

It is becoming obvious that both groups have a warped view of authority, specifically male authority, more specifically white male authority, and both groups are susceptible to the tactics of abusers. And scarier than that, they embrace this view and promote it as being a good thing. Both groups subscribe to Terror Management Theory, the psychological mechanism that stems from the anxiety and fear of death that drives people to gravitate toward others who share their worldviews and cultural groups, which includes insulating themselves with others who share the same prejudices.


These images have been popping up. These are real, not satire.

A good portion of the religious right also have this warped sense of a woman's "duty" to be servile to her husband. Here is another unapologetic Facebook post, not ironic and not satire. If you check out the page, you'll see she believes this horseshit.

I know that lots of Christian and right-leaning women believe this, and even educated women – I know a few – have preached this lifestyle.



This attitude in the above is alarming. It's allowing abuse. It's rapey. Someone has brainwashed her, and that is scary, for her and for the 91K who "like" the Transformed Wife page.

Take all of that, add it to the war on women, specifically with regard to the forced-pregnancy movement, and we have an alarming, abusive trend in our country.

A lightbulb went off that the ultra-conservative and ultra-Christian are so intertwined because of their basic victim mentality. They are OK with being emotionally abused, and so they further these attitudes along.

Indeed, the larger relationship with Jesus is of this abusive type. An abusive partner, like preachers who talk about Jesus, will tell you that you are nothing without him; you aren't worthy of his love; you need him to be whole; you need him to be happy; only he can save you; you must not leave him; you must think like him; threatens that your life will be much worse without him; uses guilt to manipulate; uses fear to manipulate.

And we have the Abuser-in-Chief. Like a domestic emotional abuser, he lies; he gaslights; he name-calls; he uses character assassination; he mocks you in public and then says "it was just a joke;" he insults your appearance; he belittles your accomplishments; he asserts that he has a right to your body without your consent; he threatens violence.

I submit that the people that are most devoted to SCROTUS are ripe for the abuse. They accept the abuse, and they perhaps feel that they deserve the abuse. It is part of their fabric.

I'm not sure what we can do to combat this set of attitudes, other than to be aware of it, ask questions of those who seem enthralled by SCROTUS and challenge them to think, and continue to be compassionate. And in 2020, we must work to stop the abuse and take back our country into the compassionate, caring, loving arms of the rest of us.

Keep up the resistance.


If you feel that you are being abused and need help to escape your situation, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233