Hello Again, Trump vs. Karma, Carter’s Birthday, World Food Program, Family Visits, Trump’s Taxes, Debates, Supreme Ct., Package Thieves, China’s Failing, DC Statehood, Male Privilege, Born Alive, Chaos

 After travels and a brief illness, I’m back here again, picking up where I’d left off, with quite a lot to say. My initial efforts to get back on line were thwarted when my internet was not connecting. After a couple of hours back and forth on the phone with an agent, seemingly located in another country, I discovered that my connection had dislodged from the wall!

So, apologies for the length of this posting, but a lot has been happening over that time. In this era of reduced personal connections, I’m grateful for this communication platform, even if my readers are few.

My illness, if that’s even the right term, consisted of a sudden, very painful seizure or total cramp of my neck muscles early one morning. I’ve called it “a royal pain in the neck.” I couldn’t move from my bed but my phone was within reach, so I called my son, the closest family member, who drove 2 hours from W Va. and helped set up a video phone consult with a doctor, then picked up my prescriptions, including a steroid and topical cream. Within hours I could raise my head and, by evening, I sat up and even walked to the bathroom. My son spent the night sleeping on my bedroom floor, but by the next evening, was able to return home to his family and I pretty much recovered during the week.

Day-to-day life has never been easy, as my recent illness attests, but since Donald Trump became president and especially since he let the virus run amok, it has gotten that much harder and riskier for us all. So it’s quite fitting that the virus struck home, hitting Trump himself and invading his family and inner circle. Call it poetic justice, Karma, divine wrath, served him right, biting his own tail, what goes around comes around, turnabout is fair play, or whatever else you want to call it, but Mr. Trump sowed the seeds of his own personal disaster. Is this the guy we want to stay in charge of our nation and the world? Whom we would trust to keep us safe? And while he has touted his own Covid treatment, it cost an estimated $100,000, hardly within the means of most Americans. Do you now feel safer in Donald Trump’s America?  

While Trump makes a final full-court press for a second term, a guy who did not get one but who deserved it, in my opinion, was my old friend President Jimmy Carter, who recently celebrated his 96^th birthday.

Glad to see the World Food Program getting its due with the Nobel Prize, since food is so basic to human survival. I have helped distribute WFP supplies in South Sudan and Central America.

Trump’s Covid illness occurred after my visit to my son and his family in W Va. His wife, young son, and stepdaughter had arrived in July from Honolulu, quite a dramatic change for all concerned. They are still adjusting. His wife is a native of the US territory of Micronesia and English is not her first language. She and the children are experiencing small-town rural America for the first time, as well as the change of seasons.

After visiting them, I immediately left for my great-grandson’s 13^th birthday in Fla., where probably the greatest risk was the plane journey itself. 

In both places, I met virus skeptics and Trump supporters, usually the same people. A very sincere lady in Florida told me she just loves Trump “because he really cares about us all, the American people. Why, Joe Biden even tried to abolish social security.” Wherever did she get that notion? A man wearing a ”Make America Great” hat said, “The virus is just fake news.” Some pundits agree that Trump has more support than polls indicate and are predicting another narrow Electoral College win with an even smaller vote total than in 2016. Allowing someone to assume the presidency with a serious vote deficit is a recipe for division. This is democracy?

 I’m being bombarded now by last-minute Republican solicitations. 

“Donald Trump is the best President in the HISTORY of our Nation, and it’s all because of great Patriots like YOU.”  So, give generously!

In another message, Mr. Trump says he has “signed a Trump-Pence Football and I want to give it to YOU. That's right. This is the FIRST-EVER Trump-Pence Football, and I'm reserving it for one lucky Patriot that has gone above and beyond for our movement. Enjoy!”

“When I think of my most valuable supporters, I don’t think of the ones who are necessarily the BIGGEST donors...
I think of the ones who have been there for me since day one. I think of the ones who fought alongside me during the Impeachment WITCH HUNT. I think of the ones who constantly FIGHT BACK against the Fake News media’s LIES. I think of the ones I know I can count on?”

So this is the same guy and his henchmen who want to be in charge of our nation for 4 more years? Yes, because of the skewed Electoral College system, it could happen once again by an even narrower popular vote margin and many more people will suffer next time. Some voters don’t think their vote really matters, but one vote is all anyone has.

Mr. Trump has paid less in income taxes than you or me, so we’ve been footing the bill for his lavish White House stay, high-end medical care, golf outings, trips to Mar-a-Lago, and for Ivanka and Jerrod, and maybe even for his election rallies, which may be billed for reimbursement purposes as “citizen information sessions”? Now, in addition to fear of losing the election, he is also worried about losing his freedom through criminal charges, now making a final full court press against calls to “Lock him up!”

The first presidential “debate” between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was a farce that generated lots of heat and precious little light. Trump, always the showman, did manage to grab the center of attention. He tried relentlessly to shut down Biden, who could barely get a word in edgewise. Once Biden even told Trump to “shut up!” Trump’s and Giuliani’s efforts to label Biden as senile may backfire as folks start noticing Trump’s gaffes and erratic behavior and how well Biden stands up to Trump. Biden stood up masterfully when Trump targeted his son Hunter’s former drug addiction, a very low blow by Trump, but which Biden turned to his advantage. Trump also demeaned Biden by always calling him “Joe.” The Donald was appealing to his base in his debate performance, to true believers who could rise up in his defense if he declares the election results unfair. Probably few minds were changed by the first presidential debate spectacle.

The VP debate was a more sedate affair. Mike Pence is a more normal acting guy than his boss, though very conservative (more sincerely conservative than Trump but without his avid following). He tied himself in knots trying to defend Trump without actually lying. Like Trump, he kept interrupting, talking over both Harris and the female moderator. He pronounced Donald Trump the final winner of their debate. (An errant fly was the real star.)

Changes are promised for the next presidential debate, if any, with the moderator able to turn off a mike if Trump is out-of-order. But will there be another presidential debate? Trump is insisting it be in person. 

Having been an election observer myself in Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, where the outcome was not always gracefully received by the losing incumbent, nonetheless, the loser always reluctantly conceded and did not call upon his followers to rise up to overturn the result.

Probably Vladimir Putin and his Russian underlings are rubbing their hands in satisfaction over their investment in Trump, whom they are able to so easily manipulate and whose presidency has damaged the US image, economy, and citizenry beyond their wildest dreams without a single shot being fired. Trump has offered an amazing gift to Putin. 

It is rather ridiculous that Russia, China, and Cuba have been elected to the UN Human Rights Council.

And when demonstrators are tear gassed and attacked with water hoses in Hong Kong and Thailand, I recall the same happening to us as election observers in Chile in 1988. Water force knocked us down as we choked on tear gas fumes.

New Supreme Ct. nominee, Amy Barrett not only talks the talk, but walks the walk, in terms of not opting for abortion in her own life when her professional aspirations might have clashed with motherhood. Not content with producing 5 children, she and her husband adopted 2 more from Haiti, one reportedly with Down Syndrome. All that makes her a role model for working mothers and someone who takes her prolife stance seriously. She is also attractive and speaks clearly, but very, very cautiously. She evaded answers to all crucial questions, only revealing her attitude toward gays by using the out-of-favor term “sexual preference.” Still, it might be hard for Democrats to attack her without seeming petty. She must have a very supportive husband and someone keeping the home fires burning while she pursues her career. Might her public image possibly translate into more support for Trump among working middle class women? Mr, Trump has pleaded with women to like him.

Good news from my contacts in the Peace Corps that in January 2021, “Volunteers will return to the Eastern Caribbean.”

In South Africa, some virus researches are speculating that routine childhood vaccines may offer some protection against Covid, allowing children to be carriers without actually getting sick themselves, an intriguing possibility.

The Taliban seem to taking over Afghanistan, killing civilians at will, including new mothers and infants in hospitals, and rolling back women’s rights. The US has

not had success after all these years and the gains made seem to be eroding after allies have pulled out, probably now leaving Afghanistan to its fate.

A young man with a clipboard rang my doorbell late one evening. Through his mask, he said he was from Amnesty International, an organization I have belonged to for 40 years and for which I’ve served for 16 years as USA volunteer Caribbean coordinator. While I have often participated in fundraising and petition drives for the organization, I’ve never seen someone going door-to-door, especially during a pandemic. I told him through the glass outer door that I was already doing my part for the organization. Later, I regretted my abruptness, wondering if he might have been collecting money for the car needed by our local group’s refugee family? 

Package thieves are certainly out in force all over the country now during the pandemic, following delivery trucks around as packages are being delivered. That’s why I rush to retrieve any packages left out on my front porch. Sometimes I miss, as with a delivery from China that did not notify me in advance, so was stolen. Also with a package of homemade goodies from my daughter, which had been opened on the spot with its contents all scattered, apparently after proving disappointing to the thief.

Spam phone calls are also proliferating, some with dire warnings, all on recorded lines, so real people don’t have to actually make them. No use asking them to stop calling as no one is actually on the other end. I also have been getting letters from folks offering to buy my house for cash. Despite my so-called private number, I got a call from a man who addressed me as “Barbara” and said he really wanted to buy my house. “I’m not interested in selling,” I said and hung up. These people are aggressive and cheeky. If I ever were interested, I’d never sell to such an aggressive, intrusive buyer, but, rather, seek out someone who would appreciate the house and its unique historic features, though I really hope to remain until my death, 2 flights of stairs notwithstanding.  

 DC statehood is finally getting some traction now with a bill introduced in Congress for the very first time. In my travels all around the nation and the world, I’ve encountered few Americans living outside DC who even know we have no voting representation in Congress. We only first got to vote for our mayor after I moved here in 1969.

A maple tree that was as young as I was  when I first moved into my house died, finally removed in a

difficult and delicate operation with neighbors looking on. 

What did Donald Trump mean when he said Covid “affects virtually nobody”? I do agree with him that China could have taken more aggressive steps to rein in the virus early on, as was done with SARS, especially as Covid is so much more contagious. And the “wet” markets that capture and butcher wild animals on the spot, what probably sparked the release of the virus, are still operating in China.

Caucasian males in the aggregate do enjoy special privileges, but blaming them for discrimination against others is not the best way to win their support for more inclusive practices. Trump has certainly tapped into the grievances of men who now consider themselves to be victims of discrimination. When a white man is passed over for promotion in favor of a woman or person of color, he may then feel he’s been discriminated against. Many folks are now economically stressed, regardless of gender.

Whatever was Donald Trump thinking when he dragged out a grim-faced Melania to visit Justice Ginsberg’s casket?  Did he think that would help his image? As would be expected, he was roundly booed. Unlike the Obamas, who often ate out in town and especially Michelle, who shopped locally and visited DC public schools where students I know met her, the Trumps have rarely dared to venture out in public. Donald has mostly only attended White House press briefings and campaign rallies of supporters.

Melania seems to be an increasingly reluctant partner, probably even more so since she got Covid and her son as well. When trotted out for recent public events, her grin looks more like a grimace. However, she is not immune to her husband’s influence, having been recorded saying that children trying to cross the border alone have been coached by their parents to say they’ve been threatened by gangs in their home country. That may happen with a few older kids, especially in cases where the threats are actually true. But in my experience as an interpreter in asylum interviews, this has never seemed to be the case. Asylum officers would probe pretty deeply, trying to find inconsistencies and to rattle the young petitioner. An asylum interview is an adversarial procedure, very stressful for youthful asylum applicants, causing some to break down in tears. Having lived and traveled in their home countries, I’ve not found their stories unbelievable, though, of course, as a neutral interpreter whose own words are being recorded, I’ve never hinted to them about what to say. 

Trump’s “born alive” order is unnecessary because babies born alive are already afforded appropriate care. I may have muddied the waters by previously advocating that abortions for any reason be stopped at 20 weeks instead 24. But I will refrain from any further mention of abortion until after Trump is gone from office, when a more nuanced discussion may be in order. “Choice,” abortion advocates’ watchword, does imply that a woman might actually choose to continue a pregnancy and should therefore be referred to services that might assist her. Perhaps abortion clinics already do that. Unfortunately, this is not the time for in-depth policy debates on this issue, as there can be no reasoned policy discussions while Trump is still in office. Abortions are reported to be actually going down now, perhaps because of fewer couplings during the pandemic, better contraception, and more pregnancies going to term.

Trump conned Miami’s Cuban-American supporters while chasing business opportunities in Cuba. , September 22, 2020

Probably no new postings until after the election, as my vision problems, which I hope to remedy soon, make computer work very difficult.

We do live right now in interesting and unprecedented times, partly due to the antics of Mr. Trump, but also due to other manifestations of the “butterfly effect,” that is, chaos theory, leading to so many unpredicted and unpredictable outcomes. Even though we are all being cooped up at home, we are now witnessing and living through a rollercoaster of events, always surprising, challenging, and never boring. What’s next?

I’m being bombarded now by last-minute Republican solicitations.
“Donald Trump is the best President in the HISTORY of our Nation, and it’s all because of great Patriots like YOU.”  So, give generously!

In another message, Mr. Trump says he has “signed a Trump-Pence Football and I want to give it to YOU. That's right. This is the FIRST-EVER Trump-Pence Football, and I'm reserving it for one lucky Patriot that has gone above and beyond for our movement. Enjoy!”

“When I think of my most valuable supporters, I don’t think of the ones who are necessarily the BIGGEST donors...
I think of the ones who have been there for me since day one. I think of the ones who fought alongside me during the Impeachment WITCH HUNT. I think of the ones who constantly FIGHT BACK against the Fake News media’s LIES. I think of the ones I know I can count on?”

So this is the same guy and his henchmen who want to be in charge of our nation for 4 more years? Yes, because of the skewed Electoral College system, it could happen once again by an even narrower popular vote margin and many more people will suffer next time. Some voters don’t think their vote really matters, but one vote is all anyone has.

Mr. Trump has paid less in income taxes than you or me, so we’ve been footing the bill for his lavish White House stay, high-end medical care, golf outings, trips to Mar-a-Lago, and for Ivanka and Jerrod, and maybe even for his election rallies, which may be billed for reimbursement purposes as “citizen information sessions”? Now, in addition to fear of losing the election, he is also worried about losing his freedom through criminal charges, now making a final full court press against calls to “Lock him up!”

The first presidential “debate” between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was a farce that generated lots of heat and precious little light. Trump, always the showman, did manage to grab the center of attention. He tried relentlessly to shut down Biden, who could barely get a word in edgewise. Once Biden even told Trump to “shut up!” Trump’s and Giuliani’s efforts to label Biden as senile may backfire as folks start noticing Trump’s gaffes and erratic behavior and how well Biden stands up to Trump. Biden stood up masterfully when Trump targeted his son Hunter’s former drug addiction, a very low blow by Trump, but which Biden turned to his advantage. Trump also demeaned Biden by always calling him “Joe.” The Donald was appealing to his base in his debate performance, to true believers who could rise up in his defense if he declares the election results unfair. Probably few minds were changed by the first presidential debate spectacle.

The VP debate was a more sedate affair. Mike Pence is a more normal acting guy than his boss, though very conservative (more sincerely conservative than Trump but without his avid following). He tied himself in knots trying to defend Trump without actually lying. Like Trump, he kept interrupting, talking over both Harris and the female moderator. He pronounced Donald Trump the final winner of their debate. (An errant fly was the real star.)

Changes are promised for the next presidential debate, if any, with the moderator able to turn off a mike if Trump is out-of-order. But will there be another presidential debate? Trump is insisting it be in person. 

Having been an election observer myself in Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, where the outcome was not always gracefully received by the losing incumbent, nonetheless, the loser always reluctantly conceded and did not call upon his followers to rise up to overturn the result.

Probably Vladimir Putin and his Russian underlings are rubbing their hands in satisfaction over their investment in Trump, whom they are able to so easily manipulate and whose presidency has damaged the US image, economy, and citizenry beyond their wildest dreams without a single shot being fired. Trump has offered an amazing gift to Putin. 

It is rather ridiculous that Russia, China, and Cuba have been elected to the UN Human Rights Council.

And when demonstrators are tear gassed and attacked with water hoses in Hong Kong and Thailand, I recall the same happening to us as election observers in Chile in 1988. Water force knocked us down as we choked on tear gas fumes.

New Supreme Ct. nominee, Amy Barrett not only talks the talk, but walks the walk, in terms of not opting for abortion in her own life when her professional aspirations might have clashed with motherhood. Not content with producing 5 children, she and her husband adopted 2 more from Haiti, one reportedly with Down Syndrome. All that makes her a role model for working mothers and someone who takes her prolife stance seriously. She is also attractive and speaks clearly, but very, very cautiously. She evaded answers to all crucial questions, only revealing her attitude toward gays by using the out-of-favor term “sexual preference.” Still, it might be hard for Democrats to attack her without seeming petty. She must have a very supportive husband and someone keeping the home fires burning while she pursues her career. Might her public image possibly translate into more support for Trump among working middle class women? Mr, Trump has pleaded with women to like him.

Good news from my contacts in the Peace Corps that in January 2021, “Volunteers will return to the Eastern Caribbean.”

In South Africa, some virus researches are speculating that routine childhood vaccines may offer some protection against Covid, allowing children to be carriers without actually getting sick themselves, an intriguing possibility.

The Taliban seem to taking over Afghanistan, killing civilians at will, including new mothers and infants in hospitals, and rolling back women’s rights. The US has

not had success after all these years and the gains made seem to be eroding after allies have pulled out, probably now leaving Afghanistan to its fate.

A young man with a clipboard rang my doorbell late one evening. Through his mask, he said he was from Amnesty International, an organization I have belonged to for 40 years and for which I’ve served for 16 years as USA volunteer Caribbean coordinator. While I have often participated in fundraising and petition drives for the organization, I’ve never seen someone going door-to-door, especially during a pandemic. I told him through the glass outer door that I was already doing my part for the organization. Later, I regretted my abruptness, wondering if he might have been collecting money for the car needed by our local group’s refugee family? 

Package thieves are certainly out in force all over the country now during the pandemic, following delivery trucks around as packages are being delivered. That’s why I rush to retrieve any packages left out on my front porch. Sometimes I miss, as with a delivery from China that did not notify me in advance, so was stolen. Also with a package of homemade goodies from my daughter, which had been opened on the spot with its contents all scattered, apparently after proving disappointing to the thief.

Spam phone calls are also proliferating, some with dire warnings, all on recorded lines, so real people don’t have to actually make them. No use asking them to stop calling as no one is actually on the other end. I also have been getting letters from folks offering to buy my house for cash. Despite my so-called private number, I got a call from a man who addressed me as “Barbara” and said he really wanted to buy my house. “I’m not interested in selling,” I said and hung up. These people are aggressive and cheeky. If I ever were interested, I’d never sell to such an aggressive, intrusive buyer, but, rather, seek out someone who would appreciate the house and its unique historic features, though I really hope to remain until my death, 2 flights of stairs notwithstanding.  

 DC statehood is finally getting some traction now with a bill introduced in Congress for the very first time. In my travels all around the nation and the world, I’ve encountered few Americans living outside DC who even know we have no voting representation in Congress. We only first got to vote for our mayor after I moved here in 1969.

What did Donald Trump mean when he said Covid “affects virtually nobody”? I do agree with him that China could have taken more aggressive steps to rein in the virus early on, as was done with SARS, especially as Covid is so much more contagious. And the “wet” markets that capture and butcher wild animals on the spot, what probably sparked the release of the virus, are still operating in China.

Caucasian males in the aggregate do enjoy special privileges, but blaming them for discrimination against others is not the best way to win their support for more inclusive practices. Trump has certainly tapped into the grievances of men who now consider themselves to be victims of discrimination. When a white man is passed over for promotion in favor of a woman or person of color, he may then feel he’s been discriminated against. Many folks are now economically stressed, regardless of gender.

Whatever was Donald Trump thinking when he dragged out a grim-faced Melania to visit Justice Ginsberg’s casket?  Did he think that would help his image? As would be expected, he was roundly booed. Unlike the Obamas, who often ate out in town and especially Michelle, who shopped locally and visited DC public schools where students I know met her, the Trumps have rarely dared to venture out in public. Donald has mostly only attended White House press briefings and campaign rallies of supporters.

Melania seems to be an increasingly reluctant partner, probably even more so since she got Covid and her son as well. When trotted out for recent public events, her grin looks more like a grimace. However, she is not immune to her husband’s influence, having been recorded saying that children trying to cross the border alone have been coached by their parents to say they’ve been threatened by gangs in their home country. That may happen with a few older kids, especially in cases where the threats are actually true. But in my experience as an interpreter in asylum interviews, this has never seemed to be the case. Asylum officers would probe pretty deeply, trying to find inconsistencies and to rattle the young petitioner. An asylum interview is an adversarial procedure, very stressful for youthful asylum applicants, causing some to break down in tears. Having lived and traveled in their home countries, I’ve not found their stories unbelievable, though, of course, as a neutral interpreter whose own words are being recorded, I’ve never hinted to them about what to say. 

Trump’s “born alive” order is unnecessary because babies born alive are already afforded appropriate care. I may have muddied the waters by previously advocating that abortions for any reason be stopped at 20 weeks instead 24. But I will refrain from any further mention of abortion until after Trump is gone from office, when a more nuanced discussion may be in order. “Choice,” abortion advocates’ watchword, does imply that a woman might actually choose to continue a pregnancy and should therefore be referred to services that might assist her. Perhaps abortion clinics already do that. Unfortunately, this is not the time for in-depth policy debates on this issue, as there can be no reasoned policy discussions while Trump is still in office. Abortions are reported to be actually going down now, perhaps because of fewer couplings during the pandemic, better contraception, and more pregnancies going to term.

Trump conned Miami’s Cuban-American supporters while chasing business opportunities in Cuba. , September 22, 2020

Probably no new postings until after the election, as my vision problems, which I hope to remedy soon, make computer work very difficult. If there are ewpwtitions here, chalk it up to my visiob problems, 

We do live right now in interesting and unprecedented times, partly due to the antics of Mr. Trump, but also due to other manifestations of the “butterfly effect,” that is, chaos theory, leading to so many unpredicted and unpredictable outcomes. Even though we are all being cooped up at home, we are now witnessing and living through a rollercoaster of events, always surprising, challenging, and never boring. What’s next?

Ginsberg, Abortion, Central America, Health Care, Breonna Settlement, Peace Corps, School Days, Gmail, Apologies

A battle royal is underway to replace Justice Ginsberg after her recent death. She tried to hang on beyond the election, but she just couldn’t. Trump and McConnell vow to go ahead, ignoring the precedent Republicans set when Justice Scalia died. While not preventing Republicans from going forward, the unfairness might persuade some principled or vulnerable senators to refrain from voting for Trump’s nominee. That’s all we can hope for now. At least, it might persuade some voters to ditch the Republicans.

No doubt, Biden and Pelosi, whose own personal views may be at odds with Roe, had hoped that abortion would not be a major issue in the upcoming election. But now it will be. I’ve already said that it does not surprise me that the abortion issue (or “abortion rights” issue) remains contentious after all these years, while gay rights and black rights seem to have gained traction in fairly short order. Now even Mormons accept African Americans in their ranks, though not endorsing gay marriage. But abortion still remains controversial. I’ve already said on these pages that the morning-after pill cannot be controlled and will be used with or without legal sanction. Also, abortion in the first trimester, a timeline not always easy to ascertain but representing most abortions, is supported by a bare majority of Americans and is likely to persist. Where there could be some change is after the first trimester, where voters express more ambivalence, especially at later stages. A cut-off of 20 weeks, not the current 24 weeks, would be more acceptable in my view, due to improvements in neonatal care since Roe, allowing the survival of very premature infants. Nor should a fetus at a later stage be aborted—frankly killed—without having some condition preventing its later survival outside the womb. Probably these issues are already being considered in abortion decisions. Another concern is whether a doomed fetus is adequately anesthetized for pain according to its stage of development. The abortion method used in an advanced pregnancy is rarely discussed.

“Pro-choice” in my view should also encompass the choice to continue a pregnancy and to be supported in that. And “prolife” should include elimination of the death penalty, whereas the Trump administration is now resuming federal executions after a long moratorium. And is it prolife to dismiss 200,000 Coronavirus deaths, as Donald Trump has done, saying they’ve been mostly of “old people,” yes, old people like him.  Are these people expendable? And what about those dying in forest fires and floods exacerbated by climate change?

If Trump loses, let’s hope Mitch McConnell goes down as well, though that’s unlikely. Without henchman McConnell, Trump would not be so destructive. The Senate, like the Electoral College, it is not truly representative, since a small population state like Wyoming has two senators, just like California and New York, while in DC we have none. Wyoming voters might say that prevents “coastal elites” from dominating, but it’s not one person, one vote.

If the founding fathers were alive today, would they still support the Electoral College and 2 senators per state? Would they advocate lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court? If they saw what has happened under the Trump presidency, they might recommend some   changes. Significant voting changes have already occurred since their day, including voting rights for citizens of all ethnicities and for women, who now make up at least half the electorate, so the original system is not exactly sacrosanct.

Donald Trump may not be a traditional politician, but he finds ways to make the news cycle all about him. Like a naughty child, he throws tantrums and makes outrageous outbursts. He’s also a showman who enjoys rambling on about whatever comes to mind, just as he did on The Apprentice, provided that there is now an adoring (mask-less) crowd gathered to hear him. In NC after Ginsberg’s death, he boasted that he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize but whined that the “fake news media” had barely mentioned it, whereas, his nemesis Obama was roundly lauded for actually getting the prize. Obviously, unseen malign forces are trying to take Trump down. Later, he speculated that Ginsberg had not actually dictated the deathbed wish attributed to her. We are getting used to his lies, overblown rhetoric, and crazy antics; so with 4 more years, his brand of toxic politics could become normalized. Already, he has imitators around the globe.   

While there is no way that Trump can win the popular vote, we all know that he could win the Electoral College vote once again. And next time around, if he wins, he’s likely to be even worse. As one lady put it, “Every night, I pray the aliens will come to take him back.” The whole world is now holding its collective breath. Mr. Trump has vowed to raise a ruckus if he loses. He doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy being president, but he doesn’t like being labeled a “loser” either. He and his acolytes could become a thorn in the side of a President Biden, though he now vows to retire to the golf course if he loses. Let’s hope he keeps his word.

Bravo to Mike Bloomberg for offering to pay outstanding fines so Florida former felons can vote, this after voters approved their right to vote and then the Republican legislature tacked on a provision that fines must be paid first. The vote in Florida was close last time, as, indeed, it was in most states where Trump prevailed.

My neighborhood Washington, DC, Amnesty Int’l group, 211, is helping a local Afghan refugee family adapt to their new life here. The father has passed the driver’s test, but now needs a car.

As pandemic spreads, the Cuban government moves to silence independent journalists

  September 11, 2020 https://www.yahoo.com/news/pandemic-spreads-cuban-government-moves-110000528.html

"Havana Syndrome" symptoms identified in Canadian tourist who visited Cuba https://news.yahoo.com/havana-syndrome-symptoms-identified-in-canadian-tourist-to-cuba-204030206.html

 

Barbados to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54174794

‘We’re not gonna be manipulated.’ Cracks form in Trump’s Cuban-American base

 September 21, 2020, https://www.yahoo.com/news/not-gonna-manipulated-cracks-form-100000274.html

Haiti moves closer to constitutional referendum, elections. Reuters

https://www.yahoo.com/news/haiti-moves-closer-constitutional-referendum-183102748.html

Harry Truman was not my favorite president because he authorized the atom bombing of a civilian population. Conventional warfare, while not desirable either, would have won the day, given a little more time. Nor were 2 city bombings necessary. What about bombing an uninhabited island, just to show the Japanese military what the bomb could do?

However, Truman does deserve credit for his efforts to enact universal health care coverage, something that physicians defeated as a threat to their income. As a result, we now have an overly costly, complicated, uneven, and administratively top-heavy system that resists reform. If it ever were reformed, many billing clerks and administrators would lose their jobs and probably the pay for healthcare providers would be capped. So now there are many forces with vested interests resisting change, not just doctors as in Truman’s time.

I worked for 16 years for the American Occupational Therapy Association where we continually made the case for more payment for our members’ services. And, indeed, pay for OTs in the US was so much higher than in Canada that Canadian therapists would come here to work for a time and the same was true of other health professionals. Payment to health care providers is higher here because of non-stop lobbying and because fee-for-service is an incentivize for providing more services, though more is not always better in health care. We cannot turn back the clock on reimbursements for health services, but they can be stopped from growing so fast.

Fear of control of earnings was what led physicians to defeat Truman’s plan by calling it “socialized” medicine. “Socialized” anything is undesirable only if citizens have no control, as in authoritarian or communist systems, but patients/clients who are voters could actually have more control than under the present system where doctors and other practitioners decide on their services and charges. Additionally, a government-sponsored health plan could cut down on red tape and administrative costs through consolidation, though those now in administration would lose jobs. And many unnecessary and even risky treatments would probably be eliminated if the financial incentive for providing them were removed.

After seeing how American health care works from the inside, then providing care myself in Honduras as a Peace Corps health volunteer working under very straitened economic circumstances and also later as a medical brigade volunteer, I’m convinced that there are ways to maintain or even improve health outcomes by reforming or replacing the current system. Doctors, nurses, and therapists can still earn more here than in other countries and in most other professions, but without the runaway costs and cost-incentives of the present system--or non-system.

Kaiser Health, to which I belong, provides a model. It costs less than other plans and its services are all conveniently located in one place, with no incentives for providing unnecessary care. Yes, clients/patients must do much of the work on-line, such as in communicating with providers, there is often no choice of providers, and there may be delays. However, genuine medical needs are addressed.  

When a family member is seriously ill, like my daughter and son-in-law recently with Covid, our normal instinct is to rush to their side, the more so for me, having already lost my son and foster son. But, of course, that would be unwise with this pandemic raging, especially since my daughter lives in Hawaii, with its 2-week quarantine on all arrivals. Nor would I want to be exposed to the virus myself. Theirs were just 2 among the many virus cases reported daily in the US and worldwide. Now, I’m glad to say that both are recovering, though taste and smell will take a while to return. Who knows how long their immunity will last? 

                Daughter and husband during my last visit to Honolulu.

The pandemic and lockdown not only present financial and social challenges but also to what we called “purposeful activity” at the OT association. People not only want to be safe and able to put food on the table, but also to feel useful. Some engage in home fix-it tasks, while others go on closet-cleaning sprees. Still others, like me, do on-line volunteer human rights work and write a blog. But I do miss the kids I got to know through being an interpreter for hands-on therapists. I wonder how they are doing now, probably without therapy, and whether they think we have all abandoned them? Some children communicated only with computerized devices.

Some folks in Honduras, including those I’ve met annually at local health centers and medical brigades in my yearly visits, must feel abandoned as well. I have no idea if or when I might go back. And my plan to return sometime for a 6-month stint with Peace Corps Response, a short- term assignment once offered to experienced volunteers, may now never happen, as Peace Corps, like the rest of the world, in on hiatus.

When I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras (2000-2003, first book title above right), not only was I busy daily with health and educational efforts, but everyday tasks in my rural village took time. We bathed by throwing water over our bodies in the open air from a backyard pila, a water collection basin. We washed dishes and clothes with the same bar soap and pila water, hanging the clothes up to dry. We ground corn, made tortillas by hand, and cooked them over a wood stove. Whenever I gave a talk or took folks to a medical brigade, that all required advance planning and effort, so without TV or internet, we were always busy, always feeling engaged in “purposeful activity.”  Now, all volunteers have been brought home. But I do hope the Peace Corps can come back after the virus is tamed, as it’s been a very useful service for all concerned.

I was pleased to get a recent message from Amazon where my books are sold about an overseas educational fund that I‘d designated for charitable donations, together with some other authors.

Dear Barbara Joe, This is your quarterly AmazonSmile donation notification to inform you that Pencils of Promise received a new donation of $41,989.72.

 

Australia, to incentivize charitable giving, has minted some visually distinct “donation dollars.”

I once lived in California, so am no stranger to forest fires, but back in the day, we never saw fires so wide-ranging and destructive as those now ravaging the west. Their smoke has been so abundant that it’s even drifted back to us now in the east, causing overcast skies and irritating our eyes.

Climate change does not exist for Trump’s diehard fans, who act like followers of a guru or a wife who maintains faith in her husband’s fidelity while ignoring telltale signs. These ever-Trumpers are going to cling to the guy no matter what, through fires, floods, and hurricanes. As he’s said, he could shoot someone on Fifth Ave. and they wouldn’t flinch. Mr. Trump accuses Biden voters of “drinking the Kool-Aid,” but that characterization applies more appropriately to his own followers. He discourages face masks and encourages in-person rallies, where some of the faithful have paid with their lives. Some of us had regarded GW Bush under Dick Cheney’s tutelege as perhaps the worst president in our lifetime. As Bush himself has ruefully noted, now he doesn’t seem so bad.

Trump asks for less testing so that stats won’t look so grim and declares that he knows better than the CDC. And now Biden is not only being labeled “sleepy” and a false prophet, but also a pedophile, just like Hillary. Do you believe him? Apparently, some folks do.

The $12 million Breonna Taylor settlement cannot bring her back, but does call attention to disproportionate police action against black people and other minorities. However, something seldom mentioned is that her boyfriend kept a firearm in their home. Apart from the unjustified no-knock warrant, another important factor in her death was the shot he fired hitting a police officer. If he had not fired that shot, no one would have fired back and killed Breonna. Ever since my son Jonathan was wounded by a bedside pistol dropped by another 11-year-old, I’ve questioned whether keeping firearms at home is really protective. So many family members have been accidentally killed as intruders, so many murder-suicides and child accidents have occurred with personal firearms that it’s doubtful that they provide net-protection. But under Trump, that issue is off-limits for statistical analysis. If the Republican Party is truly the party of “life,” gun violence and gun “rights” deserve closer scrutiny.

 A friend working for Arlington, Va., public schools told me  their ingenious and unorthodox system for reaching students at home, even those as young as pre-k and kindergarten. Each child is provided with a tablet to use to check into class daily at a designated time. The teacher greets students via the tablet and leads them in activities. For the youngest kids, that might be listening to a story or singing a song or getting up to do a little dance. A student who wants to say or ask something presses a button, then their face pops up on everyone’s screen with their voice also coming through. Lunch and rest time must be provided by the caregiver at home and it would also seem that someone at home needs to monitor the student’s continued attention. Kids may start regarding school like a video game. This system certainly does not replace in-person learning or live student interactions, but is probably better than nothing.

A Honduran friend who teaches at a public school in Tegucigalpa told me that classes there have been suspended because most families don’t have the means to access remote learning. Many poor families have abandoned the city, since all their work has dried up and they feel safer from the virus in rural areas. They’ve mostly returned to their native villages, crowding in with relatives already living there, all trying to eke out survival from planting crops and tending animals, resulting in a big setback in personal and national development. Additionally, remittances from family members in the US have mostly stopped. The global recession has hit poor people in poor countries hardest.

If you have gmail, you will notice it flagging misspellings, something it also does in Spanish, including when an accent mark is omitted, as often happens when I’m writing in Spanish, as accents require an extra step. Google will also suggest simple message replies in either English or Spanish. There are no secrets on the internet.

Finally, I must apologize for occasional grammatical errors on this blog, which is often written hastily without review. Sometimes I notice minor errors later, but don’t go back to fix them, as the meaning is obvious and we’ve already moved on. Thanks to my faithful readers for your kind indulgence.

Assange, Refugee Family, Remembering 9/11, Fires, Prediction, Abortion “Rights,” Racial and Age Discrimination, Robots

 

I am no great fan of Julian Assange, whom I regard as a self-promoter and publicity hound who damaged our country by revealing too much in the name of freedom of information, though many folks considering themselves progressive do support him. Too much information released into the public sphere in the internet age can have unintended and harmful consequences. Furthermore, I have some sympathy for Assange’s Swedish rape accuser, who has worked quietly on behalf of Cuban dissidents. Assange apparently wore out his welcome at the Ecuadorian embassy. So, you won’t see me out carrying a sign on behalf of Julian Assange or supporting him on-line.

It’s gratifying that my local Washington, DC, Amnesty Int’l group, 211, is helping a local Afghan refugee family adapt to their new life in our area. The father has passed the driver’s test, but now needs a car. I once gave a car I had to a Vietnamese refugee family. So maybe someone out there has a car to donate.

Most people have a soft spot for children, but, as observed before, children do grow up and may become sterling citizens of their nation and the world, but a few have become Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Lizzie Borden, also Donald Trump.

On 9/11, I happened to be at Peace Corps headquarters in Tegucigalpa in a common area, sitting on a couch with fellow volunteers, watching the morning news on TV, something not available to us in our villages. Like many Americans, we were at first puzzled at seeing a plane crashing into one of the twin towers on live TV, then stunned at seeing another plane come crashing in. Soon, our Peace Corps director, over an intercom, ordered us to remain in the capital until further notice, as reported in my Honduras book (top right). If I’d been in my village at the time, it might have taken time for the news to reach me. When I returned later to Washington, DC, on a visit, I was shocked to see the Pentagon, symbol of American military strength, partially demolished.

After earning a BA and an MA from UC, Berkeley, I lived with my late ex-husband in Sacramento, so am familiar with California fires. A friend’s house in the Oakland hills was totally incinerated in a wide-ranging fire. But western fires this year and last are of an unprecedented range, frequency, and duration and the same has happened in Australia. Meanwhile, storms and hurricanes have become more deadly. Arresting climate change has become an emergency and jettisoning fossil fuels is part of that effort.

Bob Woodward’s new book about the Trump presidency, bolstered with taped conversations, just confirms what many of us already knew. We knew Donald Trump was a serial liar, so we paid no attention to his assurances about the virus. But many of his followers who attended his rallies, often without masks, as he himself has modeled and urged, have gotten sick and some, like the hapless Herman Cain, who attended Trump’s Oklahoma rally, have lost their lives. So did Woodward have an obligation to reveal Trump’s prevarications earlier?  

Michael Cohen, former Trump “fixer,” is predicting that if The Donald loses in Nov. he will resign and have Pence pardon him. Actually, that might not be such a bad outcome, giving some satisfaction to both sides. At least, Trump would be gone from public office, though doubtless continuing to aggravate from the sidelines.

As pandemic spreads, the Cuban government moves to silence independent journalists

    September 11, 2020,

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pandemic-spreads-cuban-government-moves-110000528.html

"Havana Syndrome" symptoms identified in Canadian tourist who visited Cuba

https://news.yahoo.com/havana-syndrome-symptoms-identified-in-canadian-tourist-to-cuba-204030206.html

It is well and good to plan ahead and to pursue rational strategies, but we all know that even the best-laid plans can go astray. And we also know, as per chaos theory, that the flap of a butterfly’s wing can trigger a tsunami across the sea. We owe our own personal existence to the chance meeting of a given sperm and ovum. And Donald Trump owes his election victory not to his “very stable genius,” but to quirks in the Electoral College system established by the Founding Fathers centuries ago.

We also now know that the slaughter of a hapless wild animal, perhaps a pangolin, in the Hunan, China, “wet market,” most likely led to the pandemic that has engulfed the entire globe, killed almost 200,000 Americans, and sickened millions more, including my own daughter, and still the virus surge continues. Last time, I inadvertently omitted an email from my daughter living in Honolulu, whose husband is also ill. She finds phone conversations exhausting. “Today will be 1 week & neither of us is feeling any better. These body aches are crippling. It’s been exhausting honestly. We got an oxygen finger reader and our breathing is still good, but I’m weak, dizzy, no sense of taste and no energy. It’s actually pretty awful.”

Here we are together in Hawaii, some years ago, in happier times.

Mr. Trump hs urged voting twice, both by mail and in person, and some folks are now in trouble for actually following his advice. While Donald Trump seems to be unable to speak the truth, two public servants associated with his administration do seem trustworthy, Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the Centers for Disease Control. Though they parse their words carefully to avoid directly contradicting Trump in public, they do tell it like it is and bravo for that. (Now Woodward’s book incudes some less-than-flattering behind the scene’s remarks by Fauci about Mr. Trump.)

Kamala Harris is said to be militantly “pro-abortion rights.” Though advocates stress “rights,” those exercising those rights are actually obtaining abortions, not opting the right to continue their pregnancies, so the net effect is “pro-abortion,” a term avoided by advocates. So far, Harris has not touched on that contentious issue during her campaigning, but it’s likely to be brought up in her debate with Mike Pence.  Readers of this blog are already aware that I’m a militant anti-Trumper, though uneasy about abortion, especially after the first trimester. Whatever he may say publicly, I doubt that Joe Biden is strongly in favor of abortion or “abortion rights.” Other Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, mother of four, probably also have personal misgivings. But this is not the time for Democrats to bring up such a potentially divisive subject. Still, if Biden wins and Harris later expresses her own presidential ambitions, the question will arise again. And she has no children herself.  Unlike gay marriage, which involves consenting adults and has become fairly widely accepted, abortion still remains controversial, even these many years after Roe.    

That a professor at George Washington University here in DC could pass herself off as African American when she had no such heritage is not so surprising. Hers is not the only case. This can happen in this country because being African American or “black” seems based on the “one-drop” rule of the old South. Someone can be “passing” and considered secretly “black” if there is any African heritage in the family tree. That seems to eclipse all their “white” heritage, an absurd idea showing how arbitrary racial categories are. “Race” is culturally defined and variable. In Africa, Barack Obama might not be considered “black.” Can Elizabeth Warren rightfully claim Native American heritage? In my own family, where various so-called ethnicities do come together, we don’t recognize any of them.

Yet, is unfair stereotyping to suspect that most of the many auto breakins in my Capitol Hill neighborhood, a gentrified area abutting a low income one, are committed, not by senior women like myself, but by young black males? A little old white lady might slip cyanide into her abusive husband’s tea, but is not likely to break into a car. Stereotyping can be unfair, but we use it all the time.

Regarding my Capitol Hill neighborhood, I've noticed many changes in more than half a century. Property values and taxes have risen considerably, driving out the mostly African American residents who once prevailed. The last black family around the corner sold out about 2 years ago. My kids attended Brent, the local public school, when they wree a distinct minority. Now Brent is a school favored by white parents.

While on the subject of diversity, let’s promote more age diversity, specifically by including more folks of a certain age in employment, not focusing on their chronological age, provided they want to work and can do the job (fulfilling criteria applied to potential employees of any age)? I am speaking here personally after the pandemic risk has waned. I do consider myself a victim of age discrimination after a complaint made by a single therapist to whom I had been assigned last year at my on-call Spanish interpretation job, where I’d worked successfully for 16 years. While paired with this particular therapist as an interpreter, she became concerned about my safety at a private home whose (legally required) railing for steep exit stars had been broken off. (Another case of chaos theory in action.) She made up a bogus story about “confidential” client complaints, ending all my work for that agency. Another therapist with whom I had been working there successfully at the same time inquired about my absence and was never given an answer. But I did not pursue the matter immediately because I was an independent contractor with uncertain rights and also was preparing for my annual Honduras mission. After that, the pandemic hit. The pandemic has halted all or most in-home therapy, including that performed by the therapist who had cut my career short, poetic justice, but hardly the justice I’d have preferred. I can always switch to on-line translation or telephonic interpretation now during the pandemic, especially to avoid risky public transportation, though in-person interpretation on-site is more satisfying and interesting. I do hope to return to it someday, but not at the agency where a single complaint by a single therapist concerned about a missing stair rail--not about my interpretation skills—derailed my career there. Translation and interpretation were a part-time career I’d first undertaken in my 60’s after returning from Peace Corps, allowing me flexibility to spend time with my late mother and to return annually to Honduras, my former Peace Corps country, to volunteer with medical brigades.

I’ve rarely met another interpreter born into an English-speaking family. Most US-based interpreters of any language, in my experience, are native speakers of that language, with English as their second language, with varying levels of fluency in English. That includes Spanish interpreters as well. I’ve been told that I have no gringo accent in Spanish, so interpretation agencies should be glad to have me on board, a rare American native fluent in both languages.  

More people are now interacting, not so much directly with other humans, but on-line. Going further are robot companions for older people living alone in Japan or those in nursing home here in the US, where, apparently, interacting with robots has shown beneficial effects. There are also life-size sex dolls for lonely single men. All this may save money and avoid messy human aggravations, but surely something is being lost.

 

Labor Day Greetings, Facemasks, Kennedy Defeat, Trump Panicking, Disability, Late-term Abortion, Authoritarian Control, Virus Hits Home, My Son Remembered

Labor Day greetings when many Americans are out of work. 

Wearing a face mask does inhibit breathing, so must make it hard for runners and joggers, who would otherwise let out big breaths. I notice that workmen often wear their face masks down around their necks.

I’d considered it unfortunate when Rep. Joe Kennedy decided to mount a primary challenge against incumbent Democratic Senator Ed Markey, age 74, though in Mass., all lawmakers are likely to be Democrats. Too bad, Kennedy will now have to wait 6 more years until Markey retires, unless Markey. then at age 80. decides to stay on just to make a point. After all, some of us may be old but we’re not dead yet. Kennedy wouldn’t want to try to take on Warren, especially after this defeat. However, Kennedy has now sent out an email thanking his supporters and vowing to fight on.

Did Donald Trump actually “fix it,” as he had promised? Has anything been fixed since he took office? The man seems to be flailing around wildly, trying to land a blow on Biden, but failing so far.  Mr. Bone Spurs is unable to tout his military service or that of any members of his family.

Trump is accusing Biden, before the fact, of ruining the economic recovery when the Obama/Biden years saw steady growth and when the current recession is occurring on Trump’s watch.

“Dwarf pride” advocates are protesting the use of a drug that increases height in children with dwarfism, arguing that theirs is not a condition needing correction. Similar arguments are made for remedies for those born with profound deafness. Either remedial intervention is likely to remove children from the “community” of people with a particular condition, who typically downplay its severity and emphasize their normality. The more that those with dwarfism or deafness are considered “normal” and the more of them are found within the population, the less stigma they will have to endure in addition to the practical effects of their condition, being considered merely, “differently abled.” Folks with evident disabilities strive to avoid shunning and being shut out as “other,” as per Donald Trump, who says he doesn’t want to even see them. Probably he and others like him fear the same fate, so try to distance themselves. 

Sometimes, someone with a deficit in one area is a savant in another, as in music, art, or math, I know personally of such cases.  
For 24 years, I was married to a very accomplished man who was also totally blind  Sightless folks, like others, have organized to tout their normality and also to press for adaptations in the public sphere, such as installing small warning bumps at the edges of subway platforms. But blind advocacy groups also describe blindness as an inconvenience, not a calamity or a condition preventing employability. Indeed, many adaptations both in technology and in the public sphere, such as curb cuts for wheelchairs, have made life for people with disabilities easier and less isolating.

Is the prospect of reducing a disability worth the risk, expense, and discomfort of attempting a medical remedy during childhood? That depends. When kids with dwarfism were subjected to painful bone lengthening immobilization, it might be argued that gaining a couple inches of height was not worth the cost and risk, but now the prospect of merely taking a medication is a much simpler matter. In the case of a child, parents usually decide.

Because of my own connections working as a Spanish interpreter at NIH, I once suggested to a young man with quadriplegia that he participate in experiments there to regain function in an arm and hand, But he was not interested, saying that he was just fine the way he was, with attendants visiting daily and using his mouth for guiding his electric wheelchair, answering the phone, and using a computer.  

With so many folks staying home and ordering items on-line and so many unemployed package thieves around, it’s no wonder that package theft has become an epidemic, at least in my own Capitol Hill neighborhood. Package thieves follow delivery trucks around to snatch packages before anyone can answer the door. Once, my daughter living in another state sent me some homemade goodies, apparently not of interest to a package thief who left the opened package and its contents strewed out on my front porch.   

Have mentioned before my misgivings about support for abortion after the first trimester, especially after 20 weeks, when I have seen born-alive kids at that stage with personality and ability, though needing to catch up after a very premature birth. Since Roe, advances in neonatal care and children’s rehab have come about and meaningful survival at earlier stages is now possible. But I hope this issue is not raised prominently right now, because Democratic candidates will feel obligated to toe the strict abortion party line, whatever their personal beliefs. Getting rid of Trump must be the number one priority, leaving arguments about policy differences and nuances for later.

 Authoritarian governments like those of China and Cuba have a definite advantage in controlling the Coronavirus over countries where “individual rights” allow more easy spread.

(AP) Prominent Lawyer in Haiti Shot and Killed https://www.yahoo.com/news/prominent-lawyer-haiti-shot-killed-174554455.html

Cuba Welcomes First Tourists in Months https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cuba-welcomes-first-tourists-months-022824368.html

Here’s a message that I just got and will pass along. September 4, 2020, by telephone from Cuba, the leader of the Emilia Project for the freedom of Cuba, Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet [whom I have met], is notifying us that Juan Luis Bravo Rodríguez, National Youth Coordinator, for the Union for a Free Cuba Party (PUNCLI) and also a participant in the Emilia Project, was detained and held for several hours, yesterday, September 3, 2020, by the repressive branch of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, also called G2. He was finally released late in the evening after being threatened, suffering insults, and the confiscation of his cellular phone. He was finally released late in the evening.  Not satisfied with that, the repressive political branch of the Ministry of the Interior again took Bravo Rodríguez this morning and, as of this writing, he has disappeared and no one knows where he was taken.  

Hawaii, which had the virus fairly well under control, after almost shutting down the crucial tourist industry and all travel between islands, is now seeing a spike in cases, causing a shake-up and reevaluation.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/hawaii-public-health-shakeup-follows-other-states-amid-coronavirus-pandemic

The pandemic has now hit home. My own younger daughter and her husband living in Honolulu, despite their considerable personal precautions and statewide controls, both have come down with the virus. So far, they are at home, experiencing fever, alterations in taste and smell, fatigue and chest heaviness, and trouble with both sleeping and staying awake. My daughter has posted about it on Facebook, so it’s no secret. Talking on the phone is exhausting for her, but she sent this message:  If either of them should experience long-lasting problems or, worse, premature death, I will fault Donald Trump personally. Illness and death have resulted from his cavalier and callous dismissal of the threat, putting his own reelection and personal fortunes above the well being of American citizens. Is that what we should expect from the leader of our country?

My son’s wife, now staying with two children in his new hometown in W Va., is originally from the US territory of Micronesia in the southwestern Pacific. So far, with strict controls over entry, there are no reported cases there.

On Sept. 4, I observed the birthday of my older son Andrew, who died at age 27 in 1994 after an injury on his job. 

Of course, everyone will die, but it seems that each person should have the chance to live out a normal lifespan and certainly not die before a parent. When I reported here on the death of my long-time friend Wanda, who passed away in August at age 105, I did experience her loss. But it seemed like it was time. After my son died, I still feel his loss now, especially on his birthday, and keep his gravestone in my back yard where I can see it every day. But I no longer suffer from the crippling grief experienced for the first years after his death, compounded by the death of my Cuban foster son. Alex, one year later. I was mainly mourning their own loss of a normal existence, but also feeling that my personal efforts over the years in their growth and independence had been squandered. Joining the Peace Corps in Honduras at age 62 and extending my time there, then returning yearly ever since to volunteer with medical brigades, certainly helped me regain my emotional equilibrium, as per my Honduras book (title above, right).