I'm F.I.N.E.

 If you are familiar with Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books, you will understand the title, "I'm F.I.N.E.  If not, I will explain later.

 Today is Tuesday, February 2, 2021

• It has been ten days since I deactivated my Facebook page.  It came down to self-care.

• I have read 51 books since I started hunkering down in March due to the pandemic. I am half way through my 52nd book, The Long Call by Ann Cleves. 
  

•  I am not an artist, but I have a garage art gallery consisting of 20 paintings, pretty much all mediocre.
  

• Not sure what number of my life reinventions I am at this point.
  

• I use to be addicted to cable news.  I am now clean and sober from hearing other people's opinions. I left CNN after the 2016 election and a year ago, I became more discerning about what I would watch on MSNBC  (no Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Katy Tur, Kasie Hunt, Chris Hayes but a smidgen of Rachel Maddow).  

• SNL stopped being funny when it hit too near the truth.
  

• I look like a stuffed sausage from all the weight I have gained.  I started walking, but...it has been rainy, cold, the sun is too bright, foxes have been sighted in the area...  
  

•  I have lost almost a year of my life and I'm pissed.  Considering that I have seen more yesterdays than I will see tomorrows, I have every right to be angry. 

• I am exhausted from dissecting my life every night as I toss and  turn with anxiety.  Did I do anything right over the last seven decades?

• One thing that will never change is my support for Hillary Clinton.  I screamed, cried and raged when the 2016 election was stolen from her.  That being said I did not become party to sedition and insurrection after she lost.  I went to the peaceful Women's March in January 2017, but even that became painful when I learned who the organizers were and how they hijacked the march.
  

 ###

 

 Random Thoughts and Observations

 

Are Trumpers still considered conservative?  Definition of conservative by Merriam-Webster:  "...2a : tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions, conservative 

policies  b : marked by moderation or caution a conservative estimate..."

 

So storming the Capitol in an attempted insurrection is a moderate policy that is viewed as conservative?  Were Republicans ever really conservative?

 

HILLARY WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!

 

How many news organizations have asked Hillary supporters for their opinions...?  How many news organizations have asked Trump supporters?  Do you see where I'm going with this?  

 

I have Trumpers in my family.  I love them and will continue to love them, but I am ashamed and discouraged by their actions.  Not talking politics with them means I hold out no hope for them...  Anyone else who is a Trumper, I owe no allegiance and I will never forgive them for giving us the worst four years politically of my life. 

I also carry a huge amount of vitriol toward Bernie Sanders and his Bros. (i.e Susan Sarandon) who helped Trump become elected.  Donna Brazile, Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Perez are also in my reject pile.  In fact, I think the Democrats need to take a long hard look at who they promote and allow affiliation within the party.  I stopped donating to the DNC in 2016.  I donate directly to the candidate.

 

###

 

Henry David Thoreau said it best:  

   

“I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.” 

 

If I have learned anything living through this pandemic, it just may be that in general, I don't like many people.  I get annoyed very easily.  I enjoy my own company.  I miss seeing the special people in my life and I am angry that I have missed so much time with them.

 

So what does "I'm F.I.N.E." mean -- Fked Up, Insecure, Neurotic and Egocentric -- 

I read the entire series to date of Louise Penny's Armand Gamache books while in lock down.  They came highly recommended by my one of my doctors.  I am completely and totally infatuated with Chief Inspector Gamache and everyone in Three Pines even the eccentric poet, Ruth (might like her even more than the rest) whose poetry book has the title I'm F.I.N.E. 💓

### 

 

 

A Blast From the Past -- 2016 New Year's Eve Post

 December 31, 2016

The champagne has been uncorked...not celebrating the end of the year or the beginning of a new year. Celebrating that I lived another year and made it through the worst presidential campaign of my lifetime. I figure I may have two or three (on average) more presidential elections if the "creek don't rise and the Lord is willing"...(or something like that) And then again maybe we won't have any more elections... I have had some bad years -- 2004 was the worst when I lost my son and my sister,  but aside from my grandson graduating from UNCG, this year really sucked!! Not feeling very optimistic about the New Year, but I do love champagne...guess it is time to put on my "big girl panties" and fight like a woman!! 

 

I do wish everyone all the best for a Happy New Year...may all your dreams come true. May your electricity not be hacked by the Russians. May you find affordable health insurance and jobs that put food on the table and a roof over your head. May you always feel good about yourself  holding your head up with confidence and dignity. May you think out of the box, be creative and artistic. May you try to walk in someone else shoes as a way to understand and not judge. May you have the courage of your convictions. May you live and let live.

 

A big thank you to those who found something good, interesting or positive about my posts or ignored them if they didn't suit you. Forgive me, I'm old and tired of hypocrisy, apathy and complacency

.

And as my favorite candidate once said, "Onward and Upward."

 

December 31, 2020

 

Hillary was right about everything!  The pain of her loss is still with me and more than likely will always be hiding in my psyche for the rest of my life.

 

It will be years before we can get back the dream of what this country wanted to be.   I wish Joe Biden and Kamala Harris all the very best for helping to restore our country's values.

 

Hope is my new favorite four letter word!   

 

       

 

 

 

My Conversation With a Trumper

 

 

About ten days ago, my door bell rang.  I was going to ignore it since we have been hunkered down for the last seven months while living in a gated community.  We don't get visitors and we don't visit anyone.  But the door bell rang again very persistently so I knew it was my next door neighbor.  Reluctantly I went to the door, she had her mask on and I said just a minute so I could get my mask.

Instead of calling me, she chose to come to my house to advise us that they would be gone the following week.  Here are some highlights of our conversation:

Me:  I don't like wearing a mask, but I know it is necessary.

Neighbor:  I think it might be a hoax.

Me:  No, it's real.

Neighbor:  Biden is too old to be president.  He has dementia.

Me:  No he doesn't.  He had a stutter as a young boy and sometimes he has to pause...  Seriously, you think he has dementia when there is a person in the WH who cannot complete a sentence and speaks in circles.

Neighbor:  Well, Biden is a sexual predator.  He is always groping people and young children.

Me:  He is not a sexual predator.  He is a compassionate man who hugs people spontaneously.  The only woman who claimed sexual harassment was discredited and the photo of Biden touching a young child's shoulder was his granddaughter at his son's, her father's funeral that the Republican trolls put out.  There are over 30 accusations from women who claim Trump raped or molested them and you think Biden is a predator.  Are you kidding?

Neighbor:  And Harris is a Hoe!

Me:  Well, if Harris a Hoe, I'm a Hoe, all women are Hoes.*  Just because a woman is ambitious does not make them a whore.  Considering the reputation of the man who is the current president and his wife, that is ridiculous. Have you seen the nude photos of Melania?  The difference between Melania and Kamala Harris is night and day.

Neighbor:  And why is it that only Black Lives Matter.  I'm over that.

Me:  Speaking as a mother who lost a child, I believe Black Lives Matter.  My son died and his life did matter, but he didn't die as a result of the color of his skin.  If my son had died because of police brutality, I would be angry as hell.  People of color are not treated fairly and never have been.  African-Americans brought to this country as slaves...  

Would you want to be black?

Neighbor: No.

Me:  I rest my case.    

When I first met this neighbor back in 2006, she was a registered Democrat.  She loved Bill Clinton and wanted Hillary to win the primary in 2008 to become the Democratic candidate.  When Barack Obama won, she changed her affiliation to Independent.  I remember that she was very concerned that if Obama won, there would be rioting in the streets.  She wasn't talking about white people rioting which made me look at her and say, "why in the world would you think that black people would riot if Obama won?"  It made zero sense.  

And there I think is our answer to how people become Trumpers.  Their reality and common sense are somewhere out in an alternative universe.  How did we get so many people with so much overwhelming hate?  I think there are many answers to that question... 

Conclusions:  There is no way to get through to Trumpers.  I'm done!

This is my first post in a very long time.  I was devastated after the 2016 election and as time went on and Trump became worse and worse, I was beginning to feel like a heavy weight was on me.  I had zero, zilch, nada motivation.  Now is not the time to give up, we have to fight for our country.  

Please, please, please VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!  Because it does.  

Please register to vote, get an absentee ballot, find your voting precinct.  Plan how you are going to vote. Donate whatever you can to help Democrats win the Senate!

             VOTE BLUE TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY!    VOTE BIDEN/HARRIS!

Until next time,

Summer Campbell

*When I told my sister about the "hoe" comment, she started singing the old Dr. Pepper jingle, "I'm a pepper, you're a pepper" with "I'm a hoe, you're a hoe.  Everyone's a hoe, hoe!  Granted I could have come back with something better, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances in response to my racist neighbor.  

  

  

   

COMING TO AMERICA

  

 Jakelin Maquin

Seven Years Old

 Felipe Alonzo

Eight Years Old

 
I cannot stop thinking about these two children from Guatemala, seven-year-old Jakelin Caal and eight-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo,  who died in Customs and Border Protection custody.   I am sickened by the horrors of the Trump administration and their cavalier  attitude toward the loss of these children. 

GOP Congressman, Peter King had this to say:

 "These are the only two children that have died, certainly in recent memory ... considering what does happen in housing projects ... I think ICE has an excellent record."

An excellent record would be no DEATHS, you moron!  So the two children are simply statistics, is that what you are saying Mr. King?  Do you think DHS should be given a pat on the back for only having two children die while the children were in the custody of our country?  The children had names.  They were part of a family whose only crime was bringing their children on a difficult and dangerous journey seeking a better life.  

 Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this:

  "Smugglers, traffickers, and their own parents put these minors at risk by embarking on the dangerous and arduous journey north."

When did we become a country of callous, ignorant, blame pivoting liars?  We are a country of immigrants?  When did we start hating immigrants? 

As a child I remember my paternal grandmother telling me the story of her journey from Scotland to America.  It seems like every time I saw her she would bring up the story of being born on a ship from Scotland.  She had, had a twin who did not survive.  She would continue the story with... even though she was tiny, she was strong enough to grab a $100 bill from another passenger.  How much of this story was a "Paul Bunyan" type of tale, I don't know.  The point is that the journey to a new life in America has always been filled with peril.  They were seeking a new life in a new country.  Are the parents of my grandmother to blame for the death of their child who was born on the ship coming to America?

On the maternal side of my family, my ancestors came to a place that was not yet the United States of America.  My six times great  Grandfather Samuel Morrison emigrated to America in 1740 sailing on the ship; "Sally of Coleraine" Their daughter Anna Morrison; born in Ireland died enroute to America and was buried at sea.   Should they have been blamed for the death of their daughter because they chose a perilous journey across the sea to a new land filled with opportunity?    

There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_162228

There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_162228

There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_162228

"There is no tragedy in life like the death of a child.  Things never get back to the way they were."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
 
This is Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen response:  "...their own parents put these minors at risk by embarking on the dangerous and arduous journey..."
  
It is long overdue for Ms Nielsen to resign!  She needs to be held accountable for their deaths!!

There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_162228

There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_162228

My ancestors came to this country looking for a better life just as these families coming from Central America.  They knew the journey was perilous and fraught with hardship, but with courage and grit, they came and they are still coming. Granted it was a different time and our country was in a different place when my ancestors came to America, but my point is, what happened to our country that we have lost our compassion and decency; that we have created "holding areas" (internment camps) that are unsafe; that those who still see this country as "a shining city on the hill" are hated and treated with contempt; that we turn our backs on those seeking asylum from dictators and dangerous situations.  When did so many of our citizens become so bitter that they find fault with those who demand that these migrants be treated with dignity? When did helping children become a bargaining tool, a trade off for taking care of our Vets and the poor and marginalized already in our country?  If we are the compassionate and caring country that we believe we are, why can't we do both? 

WHAT HAVE WE BECOME?      

 

SURVIVING FLORENCE

After living in a flood zone for over 12 years, my husband and I made the difficult decision to evacuate when faced with the impending arrival of Hurricane Florence.   We had ridden out Irene and Matthew, but the warning for Florence was different.  I could physically feel the fear and my family kept chanting: GO!  Go now!  Leave!  The county had issued a mandatory evacuation which only means that you are on your own if you need help.  

As we prepared to leave, I moved the 15 scrapbooks I had made for my "grand"son for his graduation from college, the three scrapbooks I made of the graduation trips I had given to my two nieces and nephew; photos of my late son, brother and sister to the room over the garage.  I looked around at this room that seemed to be the Museum of my Life:  a wall of my "grand"son's achievements; photos of his high school and college graduation; the painting my niece did of Democrats for Hillary and Obama during the 2008 primary campaign; theatre posters; my award for community service and one for visionary leadership (haha).  It was so emotional  to think that I could lose all this and much, much more.  I didn't care about the furniture or clothes, but this was my life and when you reach a certain age, memories are so vital to who you are and the time you have left in this crazy world.

We locked up the house and left in the wee morning hour of 5:00am headed to safety, my sister's home in Virginia.  For almost a week, we had no idea what we would be returning to.  Then a very kind and good person contacted us to tell us we were one of the lucky homeowners.  For the most part, we had very little damage.  About two feet of flood waters had gotten into the garage, debris covered our yard, deck and porch and our neighborhood looked like a war zone, but we had a house to come home to.

Two things I would like to point out during this period.  I love my sister, but she and her husband are Trumpers so we tried to be good guests, never speaking of politics and never watching cable news (fake news to them).  

So that left me with Facebook which is not the best place to get news, fake or otherwise. And this brings me to my second point. I live in a deep red southern state.  I was warned by friends,  "don't move there."  I left an area that was open minded, diverse and very liberal to a place that lives in the past, still fighting the Civil War (excuse me, they call it the War Between the States).  Give me a break.  But as a teen I had started a love affair with North Carolina, visiting UNC Chapel Hill and a family that I thought was perfect (it wasn't, but I was young and impressionable).  When retirement came, I thought, finally I can make the move to what had become a utopia in my mind.  Like so much in life, be careful what you wish for...  The irony in all this is I moved from a small town in Pennsylvania that was a Republican stronghold, right after my high school graduation back in the sixties.  How Republican was it?  Put a poodle as a candidate for dog catcher with an (R) beside it and it would win, hands down.

My point about getting news from Facebook is most of it is opinion and with my having too much time on my hands, I was overly sensitive about news of the hurricane; the not knowing was making me a wreck.  But the post that almost set my hair on fire was the one about judging those who evacuated and those who stayed.  Someone wrote a rambling dissertation about the ones  who evacuated were being seen as  "entitled."  Oh, dear lord, we are senior citizens that went to stay with family.  Even our dog is a senior dog who was filled with anxiety and I had to clean up after him several times and I began to feel like stinking dead fish after three days.  It had nothing to do with my sister, it is just the way I felt.  I have an aging husband  who is having a difficult  time with his short term memory and critical thinking; we were anxious and nervous; impatient to return to our own beds and life.  Now I am considered "entitled."  My husband is still working at a part-time job to subsidize our social security and a small pension.  STFU!

Those who stayed had no other choice even if it was a mandatory evacuation so don't judge them, but judge the ones who left.  I live in a retirement area where many were too old or too sick to leave.  I heard one story where a man died during the storm and his wife  sat with him for two days before she could be rescued.  Truthful, I don't know. It is quite possible that this story is true.  Several families in this area were rescued from their roof tops.  My only concern about those who stayed was for their safety and the safety of anyone who might have to rescue them should it become necessary.  There was so much more to be worried about; the destruction and devastation was overwhelming but they wanted to preach about judging who left and who didn't.  Why in Heaven's name was it  necessary to draw attention to a short-term problem that was more opinion than fact and only made a horrible situation worse.  Apparently, addressing something that was a molehill and that only causes division by pitting people against one another was worth it.  Guess, they must be taking their cues from the idiot in the White House.

I'll bring this full circle with my opinion about what I have seen and endured as a Yankee living in the south.  No matter how long you live in the south, if you were born above the Mason-Dixon line, you will never really be accepted.  And if you try to fit in, they will take advantage of your naivete; your enthusiasm and will "bless your heart" with every donation you make, but when push comes to shove, instead of supporting you or being a friend, they will throw you out like yesterday's newspaper.  The mentality in this little town is native born vs newcomers.  One of my "grand"son's friend's father called us Yankees.  He was reminded that my husband was born and bred in Virginia.  His reply:  "Anyone from north of North Carolina is a Yankee."  The truth is that the influx of retirees and tourists is what brings the majority of revenue.   The town relies on the retirees and tourists to spend money.  So maybe this is what pisses them off.  There are some natives who have nice chunks of change, but they are a small percentage.  The reality is that there are many living in poverty here.    They really don't want transplants, but they need us for tax revenue and to bring money into the town.  Of course, I am speaking in general terms.  There may be a few who don't feel this way...one or two?

When the media was here covering the flood, people were upset that they were televising the misery of the town.  Someone wrote on Facebook that people should not be taking photos of the flooding and the destruction...to please respect those who have lost so much...  Now there are Facebook posts commenting negatively on how the media is no where to be seen after the initial reporting of the hurricane.  So what exactly do they want.  I'm confused!       

But I digress.  After 11 days of evacuation, we returned home.  Yes, we were lucky, but we did lose a car that we had in our garage. A car that has great sentimental value to me, was totaled from the flood water and pretty much everything that was on the floor of the garage had to be thrown out; a new lawnmower, etc.  Debris from the flood was all over the yard; the siding was covered with dirt, pine needles and leaves: we had a leak from the roof that came through the kitchen. We have had to deal with three different insurance policies.  Here in the lowlands, you have to have hazard, flood plus wind, rain and hail policies so we are dealing with a multitude of people.  Even though, we have very little to complain about, our lives have been thrown into a state of limbo, a little chaos and uncertainty.  I want to help those who so desperately need help, but I have no vehicle during the week and I am concerned about how much money we are going to need to replace what we lost and fix what is broken.  It is going to take a long time to get back to normal.

Now that everyone is in recovery mode, I get updates all day on the cleanup, donations, housing for the homeless, re-openings of businesses, donations that are needed, etc., etc.  Along with these updates, people will make positive and negative comments about anything and everything.  So many people have had to throw out so many things that they cared about.  Curbs are overflowing with furniture, lawnmowers, power washers, clothes, memorabilia, photos.  In some cases, almost the entire house is sitting on the curb to be taken to the dump.  This type of situation brings in the scavengers.  As the scavengers sift through the articles, the owners become furious that strangers are being so callous about their loss.  A young man saw a plastic  tub that we had put out as garbage, he asked my husband if he could have it.  Since it was holding flood ravaged books and other miscellaneous items, my husband had to say no.  If someone wants your "junk"(what you don't want), this is what people should do, ASK!  The other side of this issue is if you don't want it, shouldn't you be somewhat happy that someone else can use it.  A few people have chased the scavengers off with a rifle. By the way, the law says if it is at your curb, it is not stealing if someone takes your garbage/junk.   Just sayin...  

Several people commented on their outrage over these scavengers, one person actually laid the blame on Damn Yankees ~ "it's those Damn Yankees!"  Yeah, well lots of Damn Yankees have been sending donations, lineman and volunteers to help. A truck loaded with donations from Erie, PA (Damn Yankee land) came just a few days ago.  

 Thank you to the Rotary Club for this gracious acknowledgement!     

 A few friends have thought that maybe since we came through this hurricane, it was a sign that we were meant to stay here, a town that was voted "most charming small town in North Carolina."  But as we all know, looks can be deceiving and the charm here is only skin deep.  I stopped wearing my rose colored glasses a long time ago.  If I could, I would move in a heartbeat, but I don't think too many people are going to be interested in buying a house in a flood ravaged area, not for awhile anyway. Living blue in a red area is not fun. 

It felt good to vent.  Cathartic.  Maybe I'm just a little overly sensitive. 

All I can do right now is take live a day at time; try to get back to normal; have a little fun and watch cable news and curse like a truck driver at the idiot in chief and his Rethug goons; hoping that a BLUE TSUNAMI comes in November.  I got through Hurricane Florence, so let the Blue Tsunami hit the voting booth! 

VOTE BLUE!

  

      

              
                                      

        

MEMO TO JOURNALISTS AND MAIN STREAM MEDIA

 Update:  February 22, 2021

If you watched  Chuck Todd on MSNBC, you may have noticed that Steve Scalise who has zero credibility and has shown his true colors too many times was welcomed to voice his opinion.  WHY?  When Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, the media gurus kept telling her and her supporters to MOVE ON.  Why does the media keep giving the far right Trump wackos a platform?

 

I don't need to write a new blog post on this because it is the same ole, same ole garbage being regurgitated.  Below is a headline from the end of December 2020.

 

"Beltway media fears the loss of Trump gravy train..."

The answer, my friend is in the lyrics from Cabaret's Money: 

"Money makes the world go around

The world go around

The world go around"  

***

 Update:  December 30, 2020

                                                    BREAKING NEWS:  TRUMP LOST!   (sarcasm alert)

 

 It is long past time to stop normalizing this man and his administration.  There is nothing normal about him.  Anyone who truly cares about our country will stop making him something he is not.  He is a fundamentally damaged human being.  Not being a psychiatrist, I will leave it at that.  For four years, the media has striven to downplay the words and actions of this DEPLORABLE man and his enablers.   We are in this crisis because of  the media giving him a platform that he in no way deserved.  Democracy is in jeopardy!  One of the first elements that will go if we lose our Democracy will be the free press.  Voice of America has already been taken over by Trump's favorite right wingers...  

 

The Trump media hype brought in lots of money.  Can we now move on so we can regain our status in the world and stop being a hideous sensationalizing reality show?  The Trump gravy train needs to end!

"Beltway media fears the loss of Trump gravy train: A response from the resistance" 

 https://www.reclaimthefight.com/

 

Read more »

The Twisted Trump Supporter's View On Immigration

The other day I read a Facebook  post that insisted that it was unfair and offensive to compare the Holocaust and Nazis with the separation of migrant children and their parents.  Below is a response to that post from a woman who also happens to be a middle school teacher.  The thought of her teaching makes me cringe. Like most Facebook posts, it verges on the edge of some facts, but most of it is opinion.  Below is the post that set my hair on fire.  I did a copy and paste for the sake of accuracy and not paraphrasing.  
    
"Our situation is not born of racial hatred. It is born of safety concerns, economic stress, and fear that instead of being a great country that receives and nurtures refugees, we are becoming a struggling country that has become a dumping ground.
They come here of their own volition, knowing that detention centers and jail are possibilities. Some are legitimately escaping catastrophic circumstances. Others are seeking economic gain and are willing to come illegally to do it. The process to assess individuals is slow and agonizing, but our government's responsibility is to its people first.

The habit of sensationalizing and villainizing Trump beyond the often bombastic fuel he provides on a regular basis is just a tactic to make us so emotional we forget to reason through a situation. Illegal immigration and those seeking asylum have reached record numbers.  Instead of hurling insults and engaging in hyperbole, we need to encourage bipartisan efforts to find solutions."

• Did people vote for Trump because of economic hardship concerns?

 "Support for Donald J. Trump in the 2016 election was widely attributed to citizens who were “left behind” economically. These claims were based on the strong cross-sectional relationship between Trump support and lacking a college education. Using a representative panel from 2012 to 2016, I find that change in financial wellbeing had little impact on candidate preference. Instead, changing preferences were related to changes in the party’s positions on issues related to American global dominance and the rise of a majority–minority America: issues that threaten white Americans’ sense of dominant group status. Results highlight the importance of looking beyond theories emphasizing changes in issue salience to better understand the meaning of election outcomes when public preferences and candidates’ positions are changing."   Taken from the report -- Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote.  Diana C. Mutz -- Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania and Annenberg School for Communication, Philadelphia, Pa., April 23, 2018.For the full report:   http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/04/18/1718155115

• Are Trump's supporters racists?

From the same study mentioned above.  University of Pennsylvania political scientist Diana Mutz reports a key group of voters—those who switched parties to vote for Trump—were motivated by the vision of a frightening fall in social status. In short, they feared they were in the process of losing their previously privileged positions.

For more info:  www.psmag.com  April 24, 2018 -- Research Finds That Racism, Sexism, and Status Fears Drove Trump Voters

• Concerned about safety?  From refugees, drug dealers, Isis, human trafficking?  What exactly does that mean and what does it have to do with children being separated from their parents?

"The deportation trend abated towards the latter part of the Obama administration, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announcing efforts to “prioritize convicted criminals and threats to public safety, border security, and national security.” Although 2013 was a record-setting year with 435,498 deportations, 2015 saw the lowest numbers in a decade, according to ICE."  From Snopes.com

US Terrorist Attacks Fast Facts (since 9/11)
From CNN's website, March 1, 2018 --

*November 5, 2009 -- Fort Hood, Texas

July 16, 2015 -- Chattanooga, Tennessee

December 2, 2015 --  San Bernadino, CA

June 12, 2016 -- Orlando, FL

October 31, 2017 -- New York, NY

December 11, 2017 -- New York, NY  

How many of these terrorist attacks were homegrown here in the US?  

Trump painted a dark picture of immigrants, despite the facts.

Alan Gomez, USA TODAY Published 5:37 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2018 | Updated 12:06 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2018

Some information from this article: "All available national crime statistics show immigrants commit fewer crimes, not more, than those born in the U.S. Even opponents of increased immigration lack evidence linking immigrants to higher crime rates."

"Ewing used another approach to look at national immigration trends. From 1990 to 2013, both legal and undocumented immigrants came pouring into the U.S. The percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born increased from 7.1% to 13.1%. Yet over that time, violent crime rates plummeted 48% across the country." In 2014, a team of university professors took a different approach." They examined crime habits of juveniles convicted of felonies in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Their study found that native-born juveniles were more likely to become repeat offenders than immigrant juveniles."

• Fear that our country will become a dumping ground for refugees.  We don't have room. 
  

  America needs another wave of immigration. "This is in part just basic math: We need more young workers to fund the old age of the baby boomers. But there is more to it than that. Immigrants also provide a shot in the arm to American vitality itself. Always have, always will. Immigrants are now twice as likely to start a new business as native-born Americans. Rates of entrepreneurialism are declining among natives but rising among immigrants."  From:  In defense of immigrants: Here’s why America needs them now more than ever, May 17, 2016 by Richard V. Reeves The complete article/opinion can be found at www.Brookings.edu 

• "The process is slow and agonizing."  

  People were turned away at the official designated border crossing so slow and agonizing is really NO ENTRY/NO ACCESS now that Trump's (Sessions) new immigration policy is in effect.  

From The Atlantic, June 18, 2018:
“The [narcos] threatened to kill every last person in our house—even the dog,” says Wayner Berduo, a young Guatemalan asylum seeker at the U.S.-Mexican border, in a new documentary from The Atlantic. Berduo says he lost his left eye and the use of his right arm in a violent attack late last year. Like thousands of Central American families, the Berduos say they’re seeking legal protection in the U.S. because of gang violence at home.

But now, the Trump administration is taking steps to prevent them from finding safety in the U.S. On June 11, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ruled that the U.S. would no longer accept gang violence or domestic abuse as valid reasons for asylum. Meanwhile, citing lack of space, U.S. agents have started to turn back asylum seekers at ports of entry in recent weeks, leaving throngs of hopefuls at bridges all along the border. Critics say “slow-walking” asylum applicants is just one more measure meant to discourage Central Americans from entering the country. 

Repeatedly turned away by U.S. border guards, the Berduo family spent days sleeping on the ground next to the international bridge—trapped in a kind of purgatory that spans the Rio Grande."

• They come here on their own volition knowing they could be put in jail or detention centers. 

 

           

 

 

 

Apparently,  you believe as does Trump that the  immigrants that are coming are murderers, rapists, drug lords, etc., you do concede that some are coming here "legitimately" 

That means they are seeking asylum per the Asylum protocols listed below:  Families are being separated following the Asylum protocols as set forth 8 U.S. Code § 1158 - Asylum "Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title."

Perhaps, you and others should be finding out more about the Central American countries (Guatemala, Honduras, etc) they are fleeing from and the conditions there that would make them journey 2,000 miles to come to our borders.  

While you pivoted and diverted like a true Trumper, you did not address the question of a false equivalency between the separation of children from their undocumented, border crossing parents.  Perhaps, you should pick up some history books on Hitler such as "The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler" by William L. Shirer.  Fascism and Nazis did not happen over night.  It was a methodical step by step process so while we are not committing genocide, fascism is definitely on the rise.  Internment camps for immigrants and we still have not reunited the children with their parents?  Your president actually said there were good Nazis who participated in the Charlottesville, VA protest where a young woman was mowed down by a self-proclaimed white nationalist Nazi.  

If you have been paying attention, you can see that your president is enamored of dictators.  Turn off Fox News and get some perspective. 

• "The habit of sensationalizing and  villainizing Trump. Instead of hurling insults and  engaging in hyperbole, we need to encourage bipartisan efforts to find solutions."

Dear lady, no one has to do any sensationalizing, etc. of Trump, he does such a disgusting and deplorable job of that all on his own.  We have a Liar in Chief.   Have you seen your leaders' tweets?  Not only is he the Liar in Chief, he is the Commander in Chief of Tweeting insults.  Please turn off Fox News so we can have a coherent discussion.    

But the biggest fault in your comment is the sin of omission.  Not once do you show any compassion or empathy toward the children.  You are a teacher, for God's sake, how can you not understand the emotional abuse and the psychological damage that is happening to these children.  Without the parents to oversee their own children, the situation is ripe for pedophiles and physical abuse.  Where is your humanity?

So I will end with this #HillaryWasRight...

About Everything!