THE WOMEN'S MARCH - 2018: ON THE ROAD TO RESISTANCE, ACTION, AND EQUALITY.

Once again, all around the globe - WOMEN STOOD UP, SPOKE OUT, AND MARCHED ON!  

From the streets of Woodstock, Hudson, and Albany, to New York City, Chicago, LA, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, and many places in between, and sister-marches in places like London, Frankfurt, Melbourne, Paris, and Warsaw.  Rather than a long-winded description, you will get the picture and feel the energy and the commitment from the photos taken in NYC and in sister marches across the nation and throughout the world....  Rather than label them all by location, know that this outpouring of outrage seemed like a spontaneous combustion in reaction to the Trump agenda, actions, and attitudes displayed in policy, press conferences and presidential tweets.  It has truly been a shocking year and one that challenges all of us to STAND UP... TO SPEAK OUT....  AND TO MARCH ON!  Over this past year we have taken our cause to the streets.  This year - 2018 - will be the year that we take back our country through the ballot box.  

Here is a list of some of the sister march locations in the US and around the world :  Albany, Austin, Atlanta, Anchorage, and Ajijic, Athens, Amsterdam, and Auckland; Boston, Buffalo, Boise, and Bangkok, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Bogota, Brasilia, and Brussels; Chicago, Chattanooga, and Capetown; Dallas, Denver, Dublin and Durban; Fairbanks, Fargo, and Frankfort; Glens Falls, Guam, and Geneva; Houston, Hudson, Heidelberg, and Helsinki; Jackson and Jackson Hole; Key West, and Knoxville; Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Lima, and Lisbon; Memphis, Miami, Mobile, Macau, Madrid, Mexico City, and Montreal; Napa, New Orleans, Newark, New York City, and Nairobi; Omaha and Oslo; Palm Beach, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Paris, and Prague; Raleigh, Richmond, and Rome; San Diego, San Francisco, Savannah, Sedona, Spokane, Steamboat Springs, Sidney, and Stockholm; Trenton, Tel Aviv, Tbilisi, and Toronto; Washington, DC, Wichita, Woodstock, and Warsaw.  Dozens of other sites hosted sister marches as well that are not listed here.  Still, you need to see just how wide-spread the protests and marches against Trump were this month.  The messages, in addition to those expressing disapproval of the Trump administration and the president himself, were in support of Women's Rights, Human Rights, Free Speech, Science, Black Lives, the Environment, Health Care, Income Equality, Immigrants and DACA, sanity in foreign policy, against war and the waste of lives, against corporate greed, and much more.  The "line of march" stretched coast-to-cost, border-to-border, and around the globe.  All together, estimates are that some 4-5 million marched this past weekend, all with a renewed commitment to RESIST... INSIST... PERSIST... AND VOTE! 

Photos follow.... 

 

 

 

 

           
          STAND UP!  SPEAK OUT!  RESIST!  INSIST!  PERSIST!  AND, MARCH ON!!!!!

Bobby J

AMERICA'S DARKEST HOUR: THE DEMOLITION MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE...

Recently, I visited our local theater for a viewing of the latest movie about World War II era Great Britain, "Darkest Hour." The film portrays Winston Churchill's first 2 months as British Prime Minister in the dark days of May and June, 1940.  That was a time when the Nazi juggernaut was streaming across Western Europe, sweeping through the Scandinavian countries, Belgium, and, finally, France, capturing the entirety of the West, but for England. Great Britain, a powerhouse and the most significant nation of the 19th and early 20th Centuries, stood at the precipice of destruction by the German war machine. When Winston Churchill took the reins as Prime Minister, it surely was England's "darkest hour." With the entire British Army trapped at Dunkirk on the Channel Coast, and England facing imminent invasion by the German Army with their "shock troops", long-range artillery, the Luftwaffe controlling the skies, and Nazi submarines controlling Channel waters, a complete collapse was certainly possible if not altogether likely.

History tells us that Churchill and the British people persevered, and Germany invaded Russia opening up a 2-front war.  The US later entered the war on the side of the Allies 18 months later after  Pearl Harbor. Great Britain was never invaded though they did suffer substantial destruction and the loss of many lives due to the constant Luftwaffe bomb attacks on major British cities. Still, 1940 was certainly their "darkest hour." The government of Great Britain, if not their entire way of life, was at existential risk. In 2018, the United States faces a similar existential risk - all due to one person - Donald Trump. The danger does not come from bombs and bullets but from bombast and bullshit - all from a single source.  And, that source - Donald Trump - must be excised from our body politic.

As I write this column, efforts are underway in both houses of Congress to clean up the mess that Trump has created over the past year.  Republican Senator Flake of Arizona took to the Senate Floor to castigate the president over his constant lying, and his attacks on the legitimate media as, "fake news."  Of course, his remarks were right on the money....  Trump is a disaster... and the damage that he does to our nation every day is awful.  Whether rolling back environmental protections (90% of the National Parks Advisory Panel recently resigned in disgust), or the EPA jerk Zinke suspending 200 scientific advisory panels and dismissing half of the board's scientific advisers.  Here are a few other "accomplishments" of the Year of Trump:

    * The news from the State Department that 60% of the senior career diplomats and staff  have resigned from the Dept. of State over the past 6 months, not to mention Trump's rapid retreat from America's leadership role in the world in both policy, democracy, and economic strength. This retreat from global leadership and growing isolation led by our "great leader" has created a void that is rapidly being filled by China, Russia, Germany, and others. 

  


 * Constant saber-rattling, threats, and taunts via twitter aimed at the unstable and unpredictable regime of Kim Jong-Un, threatening "fire and fury like the world has never seen" raining down on North Korea.  The response from Kim included launching ballistic missiles which North Korea claims can reach major cities in the US.  "Little Rocket Man", as Trump refers to North Korea's Leader, also escalated his own threats to our allies in the region, Guam, Hawaii, and sites on the US Mainland.  Negotiation seems out of the picture for the author of "The Art of the Deal" - but for the playground boast of "mine is bigger than yours!"  Such banter brings us ever closer nuclear Armageddon.  Some "deal."



  * President Trump continuously signs orders to repeal hundreds of regulations designed to protect our environment - air, water, and natural resources - and smiling while he unleashes polluters from the science-based rules that protect our health and our heritage. In one year, Trump has inflicted massive damage on our political system, our body politic, our institutions, our governmental structures and their component parts, and has called into question the issue as to whether we are rapidly becoming a banana republic!  If all of this sounds "alarmist" to you... it is!  The American "sky" IS falling....  and quickly!  If this pace continues, it may take decades to repair the damage being inflicted by The Donald and his minions..... From the constant threats to deport the 800,000 "Dreamers", to laughing all the way to the bank with his new "make-the-rich-richer" tax cut on wealth and large corporations, our self-proclaimed "genius" - every day - sets person against person, group against group, and divides the American society and electorate more and more. 

Before the end of the month, our resident "stable genius" will deliver the annual "State of the Union" address to Congress.  I am certain that it will be quite the "show."  Look for the usual self-praise and bragging.... No doubt, you will hear how GREAT our LEADER is - likely, the greatest and smartest in the history of the planet....  And, of course, he has a "button" bigger and better than Kim Jong-Un.  Watch for his attack on immigrants - especially those from "S*#thole countries" with dark skin....  Maybe he will add the travel bans for those of a different faith than the Evangelical Christians he pretends to represent (just ask the prostitute that was paid $130,000 for her silence in 2016) - the dreaded Muslims!  In any case, he will again attack and divide - one set of Americans from another... and one class of citizens from the rest, building "walls" between our own citizens noting, as he did at Charlottesville, that there are "good people on both sides."  Trump is well practiced in "divide and conquer" - a strategy that he has employed since the announcement of his seemingly quixotic run for the presidency in 2015.  And, all the while, the 800,000 DACA recipients - innocent and contributing citizens all, but for one piece of paper - a naturalization certificate - presently serving our nation as cops, firemen, college students, tax paying residents, members of the military, teachers, lawyers and more - are left twisting in the wind as the Donald moves pieces around the political chess board - and he doesn't even know the rules of chess!  This is truly our "darkest hour" - an existential threat to our democracy, our culture, and our community. Some "stable genius".... 

Yes.... the year ahead will be a challenge.  Infuriating, frustrating, and often disappointing, but  take heart.... judgment day is coming.  Whether by Special Council Mueller, a Grand Jury, a panel on Impeachment, or the American electorate, it IS coming.....  I will renew and reload my RESISTANCE energy at the WOMEN'S MARCH II - this time in NYC - on January 20th.  I'll be there this weekend with signs, banners, a loud voice and marching shoes...  not for exercise, but for the energy to continue the RESISTANCE until judgment day arrives.  And, on that day, when Donald Trump is no longer within inches of the nuclear football, and he can eat all the McDonald's in bed that he wants without being "bothered" by a staff interrupting "Executive Time" to call for a presidential decision or direction, I will celebrate.  I will cheer the re-birth of a nation, a people, a purpose, and a common bond with others in concert with freedom-loving people around the world.  All it will take, by one method or another, is to excise this Trump abomination that has infected our country and to close this unfortunate chapter in the nation's history.

Meanwhile, take heart... and join me and millions of others across the nation in re-committing to the tasks that will be required in the year ahead.  No "summer soldiers and sunshine patriots" as decried by Thomas Payne in "Common Sense", defeating this threat to our democracy will require sustained action.  As Thomas Jefferson described, there are times that call upon a generation of Americans to right the ship of state and to breathe new life into the Constitution.  We need to do this - now and together - as one voice and as one people. For, As Ben Franklin said when signing the Declaration of Independence launching the American Revolution, "we must, indeed, all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."  

March On!   Bobby J 

"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!" - The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Hmmmmm... the "man behind the curtain"....   Now, is that Steve Bannon?  Vladimir Putin?  Jared Kushner?  Donald Junior?  Or, King Trump himself? Who has the bigger button?

Are we witnessing the devolution of the world's most powerful - and potentially destructive - leader?  Can we tolerate or survive yet another year of this lunacy?  Will Trump continue to lose touch with reality.... and get fixated on Fox and Friends and Breitbart and other alt. right sites with their notions of conspiracy against America and, in particular, Donald J. Trump?  Will the attacks on our international allies around the globe continue or will someone like Rex Tillerson or General Kelly pull him back from the brinkmanship of insulting tweets, statements, and policy positions that have shocked and disappointed some of our most loyal allies?  Are the Republicans in Congress prepared to permanently damage our democratic republic and system of government and sacrifice their own reputations and dignity along with our freedoms and well-being on the altar of Trump?  Or, when will we - men and women of good will - both in office and average citizens - who know the risks and dangers that we are facing, stand up for the traditions that have nurtured our nation and brought us to the 20th century's as global champions of democratic and individual freedom, human rights, free political process and elections, and the rule of law - stand up and say "ENOUGH?"

In the famed "Wizard of Oz", an ordinary elderly man from Omaha who accidentally landed in Oz years earlier and couldn't find the way home - in other words, a befuddled old guy who was lost and confused - sets himself up as the mythical "Wizard" with bravado, stagecraft, and flashing lights and smoke, and tricks the populous of Oz into thinking that he was the "wonderful and powerful Oz." Of course, he was just a confused old guy.  Sound familiar?  When Wizard Trump is "exposed", whether in reporting his comments on the bus, his history with other women, his constant lying, and his habitual obsession with TV and tweeting nonsense without caring a wit for the consequences for the nation, our standing, our economic well-being, and/or our national health suffer. Trump's outrageous exaggeration of his successes and achievements are widely condemned as a complete distortion of reality and are littered with a long series of broken pledges and promises.  Just ask the 9 million + children across America who lost healthcare coverage this past month due to the expiration of CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program).  Or, you can ask the "dreamers" who Trump pledged never, ever to put at risk during his campaign for President, only to sign an Executive Order ending the program and calling on a recalcitrant congress to "fix the problem." Or, ask those on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security - who, just last week - heard Speaker Paul Ryan say that his 2018 goal was to "reform" these social programs because " given our substantial national debt, we cannot afford them anymore." This - after his giant tax "gift" to the nation's wealthiest folks and biggest corporations that cost the Treasury another 1 TRILLION DOLLARS IN ADDED DEBT.  So, we can afford to provide unnecessary tax "relief" for those who need it least....  and deny subsistence income (Social Security), and medical care for those who need it most (Medicare and Medicaid) because... WE CAN'T AFFORD THAT?  This is the world turned upside down....   If not "Oz", perhaps "Alice in Wonderland..." with the Mad Hatter (Bannon), the bloodthirsty "Queen of Hearts" (Ivanka), the "Knave of hearts" (Ryan), and the Cheshire Cat - or is it the Cheshire Turtle? - (McConnell) in the wings.

OK....   So, we are not in a fairy tale....  Or, are we?  In the just released book , "FIRE AND FURY", author Michael Wolff describes a White House in total chaos.  Juvenile elementary schoolyard behaviors, missed opportunities, dysfunction, staff in-fighting and sniping, and, of course, incessant leaking to the press - either to embarrass other staff members, display personal superior knowledge, or to create an emergency of sorts that could only be solved by the "leaker." And, then, there are the ever-present tweets..... Over the first year, senior staff were shuffled out the door - some without ceremony - and replaced by others viewed as more "loyal" to Trump himself. Still, the agenda of the Trump presidency is a mystery to most... and, perhaps to even Trump himself!  To discover that Trump doesn't read books or reports or policy papers, refuses to get detailed policy briefings, prefers to watch several TVs all at once rather than to debate policy options, and, in the judgment of many, is barely literate, is certainly shocking...but, believable. Seems that we are not in Kansas anymore Toto.

I guess that we will have to wait for the STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS to come later this month, to discover where we go from here.... Will it be San Juan?  Miami?  West Palm? The Yellow Brick Road? Down the Rabbit hole? Or, to North Korea via ballistic missile. When will this lunacy stop?  And, who will stand up for America?  How long will it take before this nightmare is over?  And, when can we get our country back? OMG!

A NATION AT RISK..... Washington, D.C., (1983)

Ok... so, it has been more than a month since I last published on this blog...  But, like many of you, I was distracted with other matters, far more urgent and requiring attention in the moment.  Trumpers - along with Trump himself - have been very active in their continuous and lamentable effort to erode our democracy and its normative traditions.  From the outset of the Trump campaign in 2016 to his most recent "tweets", our President has done more to dismantle our national institutions and call into question both the stability of our constitutional government as well as its institutions.

As a retired teacher, professor, and educational advocate, the current circumstance called to mind a commission report issued in 1983 - "A Nation at Risk."  This report, compiled by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, was released in 1983 in Washington, D.C.  The shocking conclusion of the report - some 34 years ago - was that the United States, as a nation, as an economy, and as a society, had experienced a decline in the quality of our educational institutions and, as a result, the equality of the education received by our young citizens.  Once the envy of the world, the quality of the American school system was eroding and was falling behind other educational systems around the globe.  The Commission stated that if such a condition was not addressed - and soon - the United States would fall further and further behind and would lose ground in the global economic competition of the future.  That 1983 report shocked the nation and sparked a series of educational debates and reforms that continue to this day.  From increased federal student aid to the more recent "No Student Left Behind" initiatives, focus on reform and getting back on track toward excellence became a major policy focus of administrations since that time.  My point is, that when a major existential threat to the future of our nation is identified, the time has come to act.

                "The penalty that good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled
                  by evil men."                               PLATO

                "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing."
                                                                      EDMUND BURKE

                "The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than
                  those who actually commit it."   ALBERT EINSTEIN


I write today, not to focus the mind on one specific topic, policy, proposal, or event, but to encourage good women and good men to act.  2018 is the time that - ALL OF US WHO CARE FOR AND CHERISH OUR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY - must stand up and be counted.  In this coming year of great consequence, we cannot afford to stand idly by, to be silent, and "do nothing."  Plato, Burke, and Einstein quoted above - from different periods in history and from different perspectives - all raise the same warning.  Inaction leads directly to the
"triumph of evil."
That evil is DONALD TRUMP.

Following the 2016 shock of learning that Trump received enough Electoral votes to lay claim to the American Presidency, the RESISTANCE was born.  From the WOMEN'S MARCH ON WASHINGTON on January 21, 2017 to the growth of "Indivisible" groups and chapters across the nation and the many protest marches and demonstrations that took place over the past year, the seeds of resistance have been sown.  Issues like women's rights, educational opportunity, provision of health care for our citizens, saber-rattling on the world stage and diminishing America's international standing as a global leader, discrimination in immigration based on religious preferences, appointing ultra-right judges at the Supreme Court and at other federal courts, re-shaping US Tax policy to favor the ultra-rich and wealthy corporations who need tax relief least and increasing the tax burden on those who can least afford to do so - working families and the middle class....  These, and many other actions - from shrinking the national park treasures held in trust for future generations and destroying environmental protections both at home as well as globally through the abandonment of the Paris Climate Accords - and much more, make DONALD TRUMP the greatest existential threat to our nation since the dawn of the nuclear age and the Cold War. 

History teaches us that to do nothing in the face of evil is not an option.  Like me, many of you have already taken a stand, participated in a march, demonstrated, made phone calls, sent letters, attended meetings, and crafted e-mails.  And, like me, you took some pride in the successful defense of the ACA.  However, the recent passage of the Trump Tax legislation, the suspension of DACA and the failure of the Congress to act on a replacement measure, the failure to adopt the necessary "fixes" for healthcare or to extend the CHIP program for 9 million youngsters dependent on this bi-partisan program for their health security, and the growing instability of our foreign policy - both in trade practices and in military-brinkmanship, all raise perilous warning signs about the future of our communities and their people. This cannot continue.....

Perhaps worst of all is the Trump and Alt. Right assault on the truth.  From the invention of "alternative facts" and "fake news", to the constant attacks on free press and free speech complete with threats of exclusion, retaliation, Congressional or Department of Justice investigations of those who do not follow the Trump "line" and/or heap praise of our "glorious leader," reliance in policy debate on actual facts, science, expert testimony and reasoned debate have been replaced by dogma, made-up "facts", and blind obedience to the pronouncements of the "leader" through ever-present tweets.  And, then there is his obvious racial animus as revealed in his comments regarding the White Supremacists and Nazi sympathizers after the outrage in Charlottesville.   

The core of Donald Trump is built on and littered with LIES.  The constant, daily LIES that come directly from Trump's warped view of the world - from the "birther" movement, to Ted Cruz father's role in the assassination of JFK, to lying about his businesses, collusion with Russia to influence the election by his campaign, to the more recent bold-faced lie that the tax bill that he signed last week would cost him and his family "a great deal of money!"  Trump claimed over and over that the bill would not benefit him at all - "believe me."  Yet, the measure saved him millions on his signature in Alternative Minimum taxes that would otherwise be due AND an estimated 4 BILLION DOLLARS for his heirs through the changes made to the Inheritance Tax.  He, his family and his donors are smiling all the way to the bank while average Americans wonder whether or not their health insurance will be there when they need it or if their taxes will go up in support of the cash give-away to the wealthy, or if they can count on Medicare and Social Security that Paul Ryan said would be his 2018 objective because "we can no longer afford to carry such a deficit in spending."  I guess that he is ignoring the fact that his tax legislation just added yet another $1.4 TRILLION to the deficit....  and he didn't even blink! 

Trump pledged to protect the environment.....  LIED.  He promised to never cut, Medicare, Social Security, or Medicaid.... LIED.  He swore that his tax cuts would be focused on the Middle Class.... instead as much as 80% of the benefits go to the top 1% of the wealthiest in the nation..... LIES. He promised to "drain the swamp".... instead he loaded up his cabinet with Wall Street leaders from Goldman Sachs and a Treasury Secretary who made his fortune through home foreclosures during the Bush crash.... LIES. After admitting his sexual harassment and assaults he now claims that the taped voice isn't his.... MORE LIES. He has obstructed justice through numerous lies and schemes including the firing of the Director of the FBI for failure to take a loyalty oath to Trump and promising to drop the investigation into General Flynn. He said that he would withdraw from his business interests to comply with the constitutional requirement, yet he has not done so..... LIES. 

The lies continue... and, now he has unleashed his minions to attack Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a life-long Republican and Bush appointee and the entire FBI because the Russia investigation is edging ever closer to the Oval Office. 

The time has come to stand up and    be counted.  2018 is the year that we can extinguish this administrative abomination through taking our nation back from the brink.  And, we accomplish that by RESISTANCE.  Organize, act, and win.  Move On, Indivisible, Women's March units, Flipable and many others will be engaged in a massive effort to save America from this Trump outrage. We have come a long way since the doldrums of fall, 2016.  With wins here and there across America in special elections and having elected a Democrat as US Senator from Alabama for the first time in 25 years, the mission can be accomplished.  But, it cannot be done without you.  Tired as you may be from the struggles of this past year, all of us need to re-commit to the 2018 effort.  We CAN take back the HOUSE... and, we are within 2 votes of taking the SENATE.  No, this will not be easy and the effort will need to be sustained from now through the November elections.  The stakes are high indeed.  Our future, the future of our children, and the very future of our country is at stake. We are indeed, A NATION AT RISK.  And, as observed by thinkers throughout history, in order to defeat evil, it will take good women and good men to engage, to march, to demonstrate, to speak out, to write and e-mail, and to MARCH ON!

HAPPY NEW YEAR.....  See you on the picket lines.....

Bobby J