Most protesters are peaceful, but a few are not.
Just to get out of the house without risking my
health, I sometimes take a brief walk around the neighborhood, to enjoy seeing and
smelling all the flowers, now blooming bright because of our recent rain.
The Honduran President tests positive for the
Cotonavirus.
Asylum
seekers are now being
required to post high bonds to be released. www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/abuse-power-asylum-seekers-advocates-decry-new-use-high-bond-n1231066
No more refugees
Just got greetings and a photo
from Bhutan from one of my visitors from there l
Mr. Trump
may be unhappy now with his hand-picked, mostly Republican-appointed, Supreme
Court that has ruled against him on gay employment and DACA. Hooray
for Republican appointee Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted with the
majority in both cases.
As the tide seems to be turning against him, Donald
Trump is panicking. He needs others to sing his praises to affirm his
self-worth. True believers, impervious to facts, may still be willing to risk
exposure to the Coronavirus by attending one of his in-person rallies, signing
pledges not to sue if they get sick and agreeing not to wear face masks or keep
distance. It’s rare among public figures to have followers willing to risk their
lives and health to simply be in the presence of their object of adoration. But
the crowd in Oklahoma was much smaller than expected. And Mr. Trump is pretty burned
up about that. Heads will roll!
So to recover his standing with his base, the few
who still support him, Trump is going all-out against immigration, us versus
them, even if it hurts this country overall. Not only are even
high-skilled immigrants unwelcome, but his border wall must be inspected
and highlighted once again.
Having adoring crowds at his rallies--if his
staff can still make them materialize (maybe by paying for instead of charging
admission?)-- that may serve to boost Trump’s fragile self-esteem in the wake
of explosive revelations from John Bolton’s new book, even as the White
House has tried unsuccessfully to block its release. Bolton is a lifelong
Republican and foreign policy hawk whose party loyalty has never been in doubt,
so his revelations are especially damaging to Mr. Trump. Asking foreign leaders
to assist in his reelection, thinking that Finland is part of Russia, and
trying to purchase Greenland, those ideas all exemplify a man whose worldview
has not expanded since fifth grade but who, like a naughty child, erupts in
tantrums whenever he is thwarted.
Self-described “very stable genius”
Donald Trump has stumbled not only on an off-stage ramp, but more crucially in mis-managing
the twin national challenges of the pandemic and citizen unrest. (And do truly smart,
self-confident individuals really feel a need to keep touting their smarts to the
world?) Now his staff and family members must be trying desperately to buoy him
up for the re-election campaign ahead. His rallies are designed to put him a
good mood, but does he really still want this job for which he is so obviously
unsuited? Wouldn’t he rather be retired from office, with a generous pension
and Secret Service protection, out playing golf and appearing at organized rallies
where he can speak freely and everyone will shout his praises? There will
always be some folks willing to attend and even to pay admission.
But, no, the tactic now seems to simply put on
a brave front, doubling down and pretending that all is well! That does seem to
be his advisers’ strategy, pointing out to Trump that he pulled it off before
against all odds and despite a huge deficit in the popular vote. It could
conceivably happen again (can lightning strike twice in the same place?), although
the chances are better if fewer votes are cast and if only the faithful show up
to vote. So Trump’s allies, including Bill Barr, are desperately trying to
reduce the voter rolls and polling sites and also casting doubt on
vote-by-mail, even as the pandemic continues.
And where is Rudi Giuliani these days? His
star seems to have faded. Trump has a knack for discarding advisers. He claims
to always know better anyway, so does he even need advisers?
The spread of this very contagious virus highlights
the clash between the individualistic rights promoted by Trump, not only in
terms of rejecting face masks but also in support of gun rights and of flying
the Confederate flag and protecting Confederate
statues and military base names versus social systems that rely on cooperation and
consensus and reflect the current times.
Donald Trump has lost a lot of credibility with
his constant lies and changes of mind, not to mention his very
thin skin and clumsy attempts at showmanship (honed during The Apprentice?) so
that much of the public no longer trusts him. After being critiqued for picking
up a water glass with 2 hands, he bravely picks one up with just one hand (look
folks!) and throws it dramatically into the crowd. Is that self-parody or what?
Is all this reality or just reality TV? Couldn’t any one of us do better in
the Oval Office?
If Joe Biden ends up winning the
election, he will face an overwhelming task to set things right, to bring our
country and our people back to some semblance of normality, and to restore our
nation to its former place in the world. If Trump should prevail for 4 more
years via another election fluke, we are in for something like a civil war
because all this clowning around and faking it is not funny anymore.
According to still another recent tell-all book
(this administration has spawned a record number), Melania may be a savvier
strategist than her husband after negotiating a better deal for herself and her
son before agreeing to move to DC.
Although I’ve not joined the Black Lives
Matter protesters because my age might make the virus especially lethal for
me, I do sympathize with their cause. And though it was a long time ago, I can still
vividly recall being attacked by teargas and water hoses in Santiago. Chile,
back in 1988 during protests against Augusto Pinochet (this and other
events are recounted in my Confessions book).
Although I have African American family
members, we rarely discuss race or the racial divide, except right
now amid the current strife. We observed Juneteenth, but in a muted fashion
this year because of the pandemic. For some biracial families, conversations
about racial awareness and racial identity may be commonplace, but not so much among
us, as we feel united within our own family with little need for discussion. Our
immediate family not only includes black inheritance, but also Asian, Hispanic,
and Native American, so we are not really just biracial, but multiracial. My Korean
last name, Joe, is a legacy of my 24-year marriage to my late former husband,
Tom Joe.
I’m also bi-cultural and bilingual myself, working part-time for the last 16
years as a Spanish-English interpreter and translator after living in Latin
America. I also served in the Peace Corps 3 ½ years (2000-2003) in Honduras,
and have made annual missions there since 2004. Our family’s unique blend of
ethnicities and experiences is not evident among other families whom I know,
but is our special brand.
I’ve heard from Amazon, where my books
are sold, that an overseas educational charity that I’d designated for side
donations, Pencils of Promise, has now collected substantial donations
and not only for pencils.
Somehow, the message has gotten through to the NY
Times that I know Spanish, so often the Spanish on-line version
appears, with extra articles there from Mexico and Latin America. Also, when I
write a message in Spanish on gmail, Spanish spell-check automatically comes
up. Our private lives are an open book. Of course, posting on this blog does not do much for privacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment