Leaves have started turning color outside my 3rd-floor home office window.
With only a few days left before Nov. 5, it's election countdown time. But something really spooky is happening in the presidential campaign, right now, just before Halloween, namely the prospect of Donald Trump becoming president once again. Can lightening strike twice? Can a rare freak accident allowing the total vote loser to actually win election be threatening once again?
Trump's supporters may revel in his wild antics, identifying with his freedom to be outrageous and confrontational--even to make insults and threats--all without apparent negative consequences. Is this the basis of his appeal?
NBC News, Polls show an election that could be the 'closest since Bush v. Gore'
Our country certainly needs to jettison the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote to remain
a real world leader, setting an example of democratic governance for the rest of the world Making
Trump president again even if he gets fewer votes is not "one man, one vote"; it's not democratic.
Salon, Campaign official admits Trump "refusing" interviews because he's "exhausted"
Being Donald Trump must be rather exhausting. At age 78 is Mr. Trump really still up for the job?
(When was he actually ever up for it?) Age is more than just a number, as I am well aware,
After recovering from "exhaustion," Trump has spent much of his rallies bopping to music.
Trump likes red ties; that's been fairly consistent.
Just gathering up Americans' guns and dropping them into the ocean would save so many lives.
Even better would be to shut down gun manufacturing. Would a majority support that? Not yet,
but majority public opinion in the US is trending in that direction
How autonomous should teens be? It depends--there is no blanket answer. Who is responsible if they
shoot someone? If a teen has a baby, who is in charge of her child? Independence should be a gradual
process. More questions than answers.
In the days of Malthus, there may have been too many babies. Now that there are too few, the rights
of the unborn are being reconsidered. Also, the rights of babies already born.
NY Times, Texas Supreme Court Halts Execution in Shaken Baby Case Robert Roberson had been set to be executed for the "Shaken baby" death of his 2-year-old child. But after a bipartisan intervention by Texas lawmakers, the Supreme Court issued a last-minute stay. He may even get a new trial. "Shaken baby" as a cause of a child's death has been discredited.
Of course, along with many others, I oppose the death penalty in all cases.
So close now to our US election, it's unlikely that the staunch official American support for Israel will
waiver, at least not publicly. But let's hope that pressure to reign in Israel's continuing transgressions still occurs behind the scenes and that if Democrats win the presidency again, such pressure will come down hard on
Netanyahu and the Israeli military to halt their vengeful war crimes. Meanwhile innocent people will die.
Halloween is almost here--no more scary surprises, time for a little levity.
And fall has definitely arrived..
A Dominican friend just sent me this photo of bishops in Haiti protesting attacks against
Haitian immigrants in the adjoining Dominican Republic. Haitians are certainly not doing well these days in their own country, especially compared to folks living right across the border in the DR. Haiti now is nothing like the vibrant, artistic country I visited years ago.
Many Haitians traversing Mexico on their way to the US have decided to stay in Mexico and make a life there instead.
Reuters, Cuba's power grid fails, plunging country into darkness
The country's electrical grid keeps failing, something that happened often when I was traveling there
in the 1990's. The Cuban leadership is blaming US sanctions, as before.
Cuba's power grid keeps collapsing. Cubans have dared to bang on pots and pans to signal their displeasure.
Supporters of "reproductive rights" highlight rare cases of severe fetal abnormalities, about which there is little controversy, while the vast majority of abortions do not involve concerns about fetal abnormalities
My son living in W. Va. just sent me some photos of some of my past visits there, enticing me to visit him
again at Thanksgiving.
I've now heard from a long-time friend, Salvador, age 69, who came here years ago from Brazil as a professional soccer player. Over a year ago, while traveling in Vietnam, he met a woman of 45 whom he now wants to marry. But he's been waiting for over a year to bring her here on a fiancée visa. I'll keep you posted about her arrival.
Going in my inbox, I found this old message from Salvador. Sal, who had once been a professional soccer player, had suffered a foot injury. [Note: He speaks Portuguese, not Spanish.]
9/28/2014 Salvador
hello my lovely lady friend life is beautiful I love life and my lovely amiga friend you mrs Barbara. h r u and the children?? im ok about and this year my case foot injury will be over my lawer work on for me but my foot ankle is not the same any more after surgery!!
te amo te quero muicho
beijo
your forever truly amigo
salt
yes I can play lighjt golf hahahah and light duty work!! and my injury lawyer is workink hart in my case
te amoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
sal
=========================================
The following exhibit, opened recently here in DC, is focused on the reign of King Tut. That monarch presided over an expansive kingdom that arose thousands of years ago, one of many sophisticated civilizations that have arisen and fallen long before our own ever came into being.
26 October 6-9 pm! : "A Treasured Evening: Tutankhamun Unveiled":
Discover the magic of Tutankhamun's tomb, guided by leading experts in Egyptology in private tours.
November 2nd 6-9 pm! : "Coming Forth By Day: A Pharaoh's Journey into the Afterlife"
Meercats like to hang out together, just as we humans do. 
A local friend worked with me on projects in Honduras and we once traveled there together. Her name was Eileen Blumenthal, but she moved 10 years ago to be with a daughter in California. Now her 3 daughters have sent me this message about her death at age 95.
We are mourning the loss of our beloved mother Eileen Blumenthal, who died in Ojai yesterday, October 21. She led an extraordinary life and died with intention, choosing to begin her final journey after a peaceful walk along the beach as we pushed her wheelchair. We had some wonderful last days full of love and remembrance and letting go. We will miss her dearly.
She had a wide and loving circle of friends that enriched her life and we know you were among them. Please feel free to share this with anyone else who was a friend of Mom's. May you treasure your memories with her as we will.
I told them: Eileen was a neighbor here on Capitol Hill. I joined her organization and worked with her on projects in Honduras, where we once traveled together. I had been in the Peace Corps there and speak Spanish. I am now 86 and just in June, made a solo humanitarian visit to Honduras, as I have done every year since Peace Corps, but this may have been my last mission as its not getting any easier. When Eileen moved to California, we lost touch over time. She was certainly a remarkable and capable woman who did so much good in the world. As her daughters, you must be proud that she was your mother.
Now another former neighbor, living next door for 30 years, has disappeared and her house now has new owners. I still wonder whatever happened to Maggie (Margaret Hobbs), who apparently left while I was in Honduras and has not responded to me since. Three years ago, Maggie had urged me to cut down the mulberry tree that was attracting raccoons feasting on its berries. They incessantly banged on my windows and any trimmed branches always grew back. Much as I hated to take down a tree, I followed Maggie's advice and did so, The raccoons thankfully then moved on.
A tree cutter went up to cut branches before
taking the tree down.
We bloggers have little control over our postings. Need we apologize for their odd quirks? Since no one is available for blog guidance, except perhaps for fellow bloggers, it means we simply must rely on trial
and error, often mostly error. Posting is free, so really no cause for complaint.
I've been posting since 2009 at the current address and its predecessor https://honduraspeacecorps.blogspot.com/ reaching out to friends and former visitors living all over the world. It's been wonderful to be able to keep in touch with them in real time via this blog and also email during the past decade and more. I well remember the days of air mail letters that might or might not arrive. I'm so glad to have been in regular communication with friends old and new everywhere, some of whom have now passed on. We have all enriched each other's lives.
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