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Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, United States
You can view my original blog (Part 1): http://honduraspeacecorps.blogspot.com

Friday, September 5, 2025

Remembrances, a festival, and more

Sept. 4, my late son Andrew's birthday, has come and gone and I've made it through that anniversary once again. Of course, I will never forget him, but the pain is not as acute now as it once was. We've brought his gravestone with us here to West Va. where I can see it from our screened porch. 

Before my son's death, my blind husband of 24 years had left our family suddenly to go to Las Vegas to divorce me and marry his young office assistant, then with her help he emptied every penny from our bank account. I survived all that as well as my son's death, so now nothing much can phase me any more. My late ex only spoke with me once, some 3 years after his departure, in a surprise phone call asking more about my articles about Cuban refugees then appearing in the local press. That was the only conversation we ever had after his departure. 

Andrew was the son I lost, but I'm so glad that my son Jon named his older son Andrew. 

Grandson Andrew is now a college student in Texas aspiring to become a medical doctor. 



I just received a message from a longtime friend my age living in neighboring Virginia. 

I've lost several contemporaries, so it's always good to hear from those still with us. I don't know

how long I will remain among the living myself. My father died at age 82 and my mother was 92. 

In his recent message, my old friend said, 

This Trump administration just keeps getting worse. Republicans aren’t what they used to be. In fact I don’t even know that they are a political party. They have morphed into something else. You have to believe in them or get out of the way. Soon our dollars will be worthless, it will all be controlled by the Trump Bitcoins. The world we have been so active in all of these years is turned upside down. I wonder if my mother felt like I now do when she was in her 90s?
Oh well!  It is what it is. Mostly, I just pray a lot and take each new day as it comes. 

We have had lovely weather as of late. It is good to get outside a bit and enjoy it while it lasts. Soon the cold weather will be upon us.

I hope you have managed to sell your house. 


"RFK Jr. Says COVID Response Was ‘Worst in the World’ While Trump Was President" https://www.thedailybeast.com//rfk-jr-says-covid-response-was-worst-in-the-world-while-trump-was-president/?via=ios



NBC News, 10 federal judges criticize Supreme Court's handling of Trump cases in rare interviews https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-trump-cases-federal-judges-criticize-rcna221775

These judges, who have all made rulings that the Trump administration doesn't like, have then been subjected to regular harassment and worse by Mr. Trump and his allies. 


Frantic Trump Tries to Kill Vote to Force Open Epstein Files


Is there something in the Epstein files that Trump doesn't want to have released? Much has already 
been made public, except for a small portion which the president still is trying to keep secret. Is it that 
Trump had sex with prostitutes who commented unfavorably on his manhood? (That has been the 
rumor.)


Trump is asking for prompt decisions from the Supreme Court, expecting them all to go his way. 
(If the decisions are not to his liking, he may simply ignore them. After all, wasn't he 
elected to become our king?)  





Wash. Post, Trump administration rescinds protected status for 250,000 Venezuelans

An appeals court has upheld protected status for Venezuelans, so now the Trump administration is appealing to the Supreme Court to allow him to legally deport them. (Trump seems to never want anyone to refer to him as Mr. Nice Guy.) 


Huff Post, Trump Ordered Military To Blow Up Suspected Drug Boat Instead Of Intercepting It, Rubio Says
Isn't there an international court able to prosecute Mr. Trump for crimes against humanity? The vessel that was blown up, apparently in Venezuelan or international waters, may not have been
 carrying any illegal drugs to the US after all. Maybe it held other cargo. Even if it could be proved that it actually was carrying drugs, would that justify killing everyone on board? Now the remains of the boat and its unsuspecting passengers and crew lie at the bottom of the sea.

The Independent

Trump’s approval rating plummets to record second-term low, new poll says

Now just 37 percent of US registered voters approve of the president’s job performance. A much larger number, 55 percent, disapprove (now with more than 3 years still left to go!).


  
Does Mr. Trump look like he's actually enjoying being president? He must realize that voters don't support him any more. 
Wouldn't Trump rather be retired
out on the golf course now, being supported by a generous pension? 

West Virginia has the best kindergarten vaccination rates in the nation. A legal fight backed by RFK Jr. could threaten that |

CNN


                Yes, I'm glad to see West Virginia kindergartners being protected. This already state has too many old 
                people like me, and not nearly enough young people. Many younger folks are moving out-of-state. 
                Coming out of stores and restaurants around here, all I see are gray-haired people my own age. 
 

                    An accident involving a streetcar that overturned left several folks dead in Lisbon. 

A streetcar accident in Lisbon killed at least 17 people, several of them foreigners, including some Americans. I well remember riding on the "funicular" myself on a visit there years ago. Lisbon's historic streets are very narrow and winding, quite charming, but not great for streetcars.
At least 17 dead after Portugal funicular crash | BBC News


Preparations for our big annual October festival here in Berkeley Springs are already underway. I've enjoyed attending the festival, even before moving here. 

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Going out with a bang

 

Mr. Trump was not seen very much over the Labor Day weekend, though he did go out to pay golf. When he said he was going to make an "exciting announcement" at his press conference on September 2, some predicted (hoped) that he was going to retire from the presidency for health reasons. 

Newsweek, Donald Trump to make televised announcement at White House 

There was much speculation about what Trump was going to say, as he had not been seen in public for several days, except for once briefly out on the golf course. 

Actually, the "exciting announcement" was that the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters will be moved from Colorado Springs, CO, to Huntsville, AL  

So that proved to be quite a letdown. 

All those hoping for Mr. Trump's immediate resignation were disappointed.


Then Defense Secretary Hegseth made another important announcement, which also proved

under whelming.

Pete Hegseth approves 600 military lawyers to be temporary immigration judges | AP https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-immigration-judges-trump-pete-hegseth-b07950833591270b926ad86ede8b961f


One of my blog readers then felt prompted to make the this comment about the Trump presidency:
how much is too much?  overkilling is their strategy for the oligarchical state.  shooting themselves in the foot? 
 going out w/ a bang?   

According to Wikipedia, The phrase "going out with a bang" means to die, end, or finish in a thrilling, forceful, or impressive way. Is that what Donald Trump is trying to do in his last years? 

I certainly would like to see the Trump administration "go out with a bang," even in a dramatic and forceful way, though preferably very soon now rather than later. I hope Republicans will be roundly defeated in the midterms. My vote will add to Democratic numbers here in West Va., a state that helped propel Trump.to victory in the last election. He won 68% of the West Va. vote, including, I am sorry to say, my own son's vote. We never discuss politics between us, but each knows where the other stands. 
My son was born in Colombia and adopted by me from there, but his early origins seem to have little influence on him now.  
 

Wash. Post, Judge rules Trump illegally deployed National Guard to L.A.

Donald Trump doesn't particularly care what a judge actually rules, as he often just ignores such orders, as no judge can make him comply nor is any judge actually going to jail the president. He feels free to act with impunity, to make decisions like a king of old or a dictator, as what can anyone else do about it?

I certainly was sorry to see Harris defeated (but not defeated by much) in our last US election and I heartily salute Mexico's first female president. Bravo to Mexico for leading the way! 





Mexico's first female president Claudia Sheinbaum now celebrates one year in office. She is descended 
from Jewish immigrants to Mexico. As for her immediate family,
she has a daughter and is on her second marriage.


Sept. 4 was my late son Andrew's birthday. 

Here was my son Andrew days before his death. 



It's of some comfort to me that my son Jonathan named his older son Andrew.





Image on the upper right shows me with son Andrew in my book Triumph & Hope.


 I have always been a registered Democrat, but as both a birth and an adoptive mother, I've never 
been a defender of abortion, so am more in line with most West Virginia voters on this issue. Many 
people who know me are surprised that I am more anti- than pro-abortion, as I have a "liberal" position on most other issues. Since I do not consider having an abortion to be a "human right," I find myself more supportive of laws in many Latin American countries that outlaw abortion, but do allow birth control and voluntary sterilization


Sep 16, 2022 · West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has signed an anti- abortion bill into law, banning almost all procedures in the state with immediate effect.




Yard sign in West Virginia is shown here above.



Fetal eyes begin forming 22 days after
conception, as a prominent W Va. highway billboard now reminds us: "My eyes were there 5 weeks
from conception." (I just saw that roadside sign yesterday.)

A fetus is not just an undifferentiated blob of cells,since all the developing parts of a specific human being are already in place, including the gender.

Twenty-two days or 5 weeks from a sexual encounter is when a woman may first wonder
if she might actually be pregnant, well before an abortion or a pregnancy test has even
taken place. Various types of "morning after" pills are available without 
a prescription, indicating that a fair number of women are taking them to prevent a pregnancy 
before knowing whether they might actually become pregnant after all. There are many 
ways a woman can prevent a pregnancy, the most basic being not to engage in sexual
intercourse with a man.Nature has evolved sex to perpetuate the species among humans and other creatures, so if a
woman becomes pregnant after sex, that should not come as a complete surprise.  

                                                            Ten weeks' human fetus.


As stated before, I do not support abortions at any stage, though I might support an 
abortion if the developing fetus is shown to have a serious condition incompatible with life. 

The world and our country actually need to have more babies being born alive, as the US is now 
falling below population replacement and even the 
worldwide birthrate is barely above replacement. People everywhere 
are living longer, often needing younger folks to help care for them. Having a child 
"out of wedlock" has become largely irrelevant in most places. Some countries are even offering
"baby bonuses" to encourage pregnancy, even in women without a regular male partner.

Unmarried women, who once adopted mostly female 
Chinese babies during the "one-child" era, paved the way for single parent adoption. I've known some of those single 
mothers, pioneers in their own right.
 
Planned Parenthood's slogan that abortion is a
 "human right" is now outdated and ignores the evident humanity of a fetus. Fetal life is an essential 
stage we and all other humans necessarily went through. None of us would be here today if our birth 
mother had found our exutence to be an inconvenience and that aborting us (killing us before birth) therefore was her "right." I also oppose the death penalty, even if an individual may have killed someone else. I am not alone in espousing 
these positions. 


AFP
Trump says 11 dead in US strike on drug-carrying boat from Venezuela
Is our country at war against Venezuela?

Judge rules Trump illegally deployed National Guard to L.A.


As already stated, Trump seems to feel free to to ignore laws and even judicial orders, so how will he 
be forced to comply? He is a law unto himself. 


Federal appeals court says Trump unlawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act for deportations | CNN Politics

Trump doesn't care what an appeals court might say..(Laws only work if people acknowledge their legitimacy.)
===============================

Again, lots of trouble here with this posting, so best to post it right now! Does blogspot really care whether we might quit posting here any more? 

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

In the news

 


I'm living now with my son in Berkeley Springs, W Va. The town was known as Bath back when George Washington came here to bathe in its natural hot spring waters, as visitors still do today.




I've enjoyed soaking in the baths myself. 


The Potomac River begins right here.

The Trump administration is going full speed ahead in making decisions harmful to US citizens. Trump has repealed a Biden-era policy that guaranteed a baseline wage for workers on federal contracts, so he's now cutting the federal contractor minimum wage down from $17.75 an hour. However, the move still leaves an Obama-era rule in place that puts the minimum at $13.30 an hour, so it could have been worse. 

While Trump is now reducing the pay of federal contract workers and quickly expelling unauthorized immigrants, he is not stinting on providing moral and economic support for Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu. How has Israel, a nation once enjoying widespread acclaim and even considerable admiration in some quarters, now ended up on the wrong side of history? Donald Trump alone is keeping Israel afloat with US tax dollars while firmly protecting Netanyahu, commonly regarded as a war criminal for authorizing continued attacks on defenseless Palestinian civilians of all ages. It has been speculated that Netanyahu is pummeling Gaza trying to either kill or incentivize the departure of all Palestinians, thus allowing Israel to expand into the territory. 


Israel’s Policies and Actions in Gaza ‘Meet Legal Definition of Genocide,’ Says Association of Scholars



Flotilla leaves Barcelona in attempt to break Israeli blockade of Gaza
But it was forced to turn back due to stormy weather.




                                            Gaza is being totally destroyed by Israeli attacks.





In another part of the world, a devastating earthquake has killed hundreds and injured thousands.

AFP

                   Afghanistan earthquake kills more than 800, flattens villages




AFP

Landslide wipes out Sudan village, killing hundreds


Calamities caused by nature or by humans continue to assault the world.

Plea for help after landslide wipes out Sudan village, kills 1,000 |Reuters https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/plea-help-after-landslide-wipes-out-sudan-village-kills-1000-2025-09-01/

Having been to Sudan, I can envision the landslides that assaulted helpless villagers.

Unfortunately for the whole world and especially for us living here in the USA, Donald Trump is still picking fights with anyone and everyone he can. He has told RFK Jr. to "go wild" on health care. He is trying to deport people as fast as humanly possible, including unaccompanied minors too young to even know what's happening. He envisions killing or driving Palestinians out of Gaza. If a decision or policy is likely to be harmful to people anywhere, Trump appears to be all for it. He seems to enjoy the license to be nasty and cruel without suffering any repercussions himself, getting even for the all slights and insults he has ever endured in his entire life. 


They left Cuba seeking the American Dream. ICE sent them home in shackles | CNN

Even Cuban refugees are not exempt from Trump's efforts to purge the country of folks not born on 
US soil. The only immigrants being protected now are his wife and her family.  


Trump  Withdraws U.S. From World Health Organization And Paris Climate  ACCORDS

AP News,  






Huff Post, Donald Trump exploded at ABC News on Sunday night over contributor and longtime Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. The president demanded Brazile, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, be fired from the network following criticism of him from her on “This Week”.
He also called for another payment from ABC, which last year agreed to a $15 million settlement — to fund his presidential library — over an inaccurate statement made by anchor George Stephanopoulos on air.

And where was Donald Trump on the Labor Day weekend? Out on the golf course, of course. He goes there every chance he gets. We taxpayers are generously supporting Trump's golf habit. Better for him to be out there on the links than mucking around in world affairs.





Trump is denying any and all personal health rumors, saying he's feeling great.
When Trump said he was going to make an "exciting announcement" at his press conference on September 2, many were hoping he was going to announce his resignation, but no, the announcement was that the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters will be moved from Colorado Springs, CO, to Huntsville, AL  So all those hoping for his immediate resignation were disappointed. Trump also defended his tariffs, “If you take away tariffs, we could end up being a third world country,” he warned.. 


                            My daughter in Hawaii sent her photo while she was holding her pet gerbil. 

And what about this little cherub, one of many tykes whose mothers are going out to work? After this 3-year-old's mother got a job, she dropped her small daughter off at group day care, where the child decided that she'd really rather stay home with Mom, just as before.
Now, I'll post this and see how it comes out. Very weird things have been happening with the blog lately.