March 19, 2020

We need a Leader in DC

Open letter to: Congress

I am mad.  Mad.  

Please, please find a better spokespersons for the Covid-19 daily news briefings from the White House (health experts exempted).  This is not a time to beat around the bush.  The President inspires no confidence at all. Today he talked about an entirely different topic, which ,while notable, was out of place.  He calls the virus the "Chinese Virus" as if he has to blame someone for his lot in the world right now.  He touts his greatness at every turn.  He seems bored by the whole ordeal and is more concerned about the stock market and his economic legacy than the people who are facing long term, traumatic deprivation.

He tells states to figure out their own problems and talks in phrases like the whatever it is. . . ". . .  is good, very good."  Or he denies the possibility of an unemployment rate of 20%...making note that "we're not looking into that".

Vice President Pence's every other sentence is followed by praise of the President.  He too offers no guidance or leadership.  

If you study the Second World War, Roosevelt and Churchill retrofitted daily production operations, turning them into planes, bombs, bullets, ships and every other necessity to defeat Hitler.  And by a magnitude that was a miracle.  In March 2020 all we can talk about is how we don't want to "over stock masks and ventilators...because..."what if you buy them and don't use the."  Also, "the tests are coming. The tests are coming."  Where are they?  Money rules our world.  And by that very fact people will die by default.

Is there no one in DC who can truly lead us now?  If not.  Find somebody!  America will survive.  But at what cost.  Governors are stepping up.  Taking charge.  Where are you and your colleagues?

My Vote Counts

On November 3, 2020 I will vote for the Candidates who most exemplify the following:

Accepts All . . . without caveat
Does not belittle or embarrass his/her opponents
Tells us what is possible and what is not . . . tells the truth
Does not employ mudslinging as a campaign strategy
Works to mend fences internationally and at home
Works for All the people, not just those who vote for them
Aknowledges America's part in the mayhem and hate that exists in our world
Rejoins the Climate Pact and takes immediate action
Stops building walls and listens to the displaced . . . without prejudice
Does not blame whole nations for the actions of a few
Will not seek to be King, but to serve all Americans

In other words, I am looking for a man/woman of integrity.  Who listens to all sides, admits when he/she is wrong and does not belittle or dismiss those who disagree or tell the truth.  Who strives to walk in the shoes of all men/women/children when making decisions.  Who understands that it is not us against them, but us with them that will save our world.  And, most of all, who attends to the voices of the young, for they are our future!  They see what we fear to see.  They act while we argue. They will inherit what we leave them.  They expect more. They deserve more!

Below is "who" I  will vote for.  And I will display it proudly!

The Trump Administration on this day . . . February 8, 2020

On February 5, 2020, President Trump was a acquitted of two Articles of Impeachment: #1-Abuse of Power and #2-Obstruction of Justice pertaining to withholding of congressional-approved military aid to the Ukraine in exchange for, (1) investigation of the Bidens and the alleged Ukraine influence in the 2016 elections; and, (2) refusal to release documents germane to the proceedings or to allow subpoenas to be fulfilled.

The President was Impeached by the House of Representatives late in 2019.  An undertaking led by Congressional Democrats.  The recent Senate trial ended without witnesses; and the final vote was along party lines--save GOP Senator. Mitt Romney, who, in a rare act of personal courage, voted to impeach and remove his President from office on Article one: Abuse of Power.


On November 11, 2016 I wrote a Post encouraging our new president to create an inclusive and just administration.  And I wished him the best as he undertook his duties. 

Below is an excerpt from that Post.  In my mind, he has failed us miserably.  If you hold the following as true, what say you now?



"Dear President Trump,

. . . Are you ready to act with restraint, instead of anger?  Are you ready to forego the pithy one-liners and take the time to frame your comments so as to calm and unite?  Now secure in the White House, can you set aside your personal beliefs to attend to another's unlike beliefs in a gesture of compromise?

It is said that you do not fail, ever...I say, President Trump, that you are already set to fail unless you create a diverse cabinet and set of advisers--made up of "yay-sayers" and "nay-sayers" of every ethnic, religious and gender background.

If your are sincere in your desire to unite America, you must stand outside Democratic and Republican boundaries and embrace the Whole nation.  Every citizen young and old.  You must take the time to explain to Americans that no single person or group can have it their way all the time; that you will identify and address the country's greatest needs first and foremost, thereby creating a bridge between opposing parties and ideologies.

If those trampled down are not lifted up, you have failed.  If the rich get richer and poor, poorer, you have failed.  If people cannot afford education, healthcare and the basics of daily living and sustenance, you have failed.   If under your guidance the world becomes more volatile, you have failed.  If the misplaced and displaced continue to go homeless and abandoned, you have failed.

To unite, you must invest in the tools of kindness, compassion and forgiveness.  Weapons of mass destruction and precision have no place here. . . .

ADDENDUM: While the Senate vote merely pounds another nail into our critically wounded Democracy, I am most troubled by the millions of Americans who don't seem to care what our president says: that it is okay to molest women, that All Hispanics are potential drug addicts, rapists and murderers.  A man who disparages entire cultures for the actions of the few.  Who abandons allies who gave their lives in the fight against Isis...I speak of the Kurds.  Who believes assassination is acceptable...the outcome of which ends in the loss of over 100 innocent lives.  And worst of all, who uses Executive Power as if he were King!

A man who takes revenge, verbally and otherwise, on those who disagree with him.  A man who pushes us to the edge of world war by touting American might and weaponry.  Who daily disparages someone, somewhere.

Arrogance is not character trait that makes a good leader.  Wealth does not make a good leader.  Lying does not make a good leader.  But this is what we have in the White House, along with attendants who happily perpetuate the same in his name.

Remember, America, that we are not that far from Russia, China, North Korea or the Middle East.  We are not without risk of nuclear disaster on our own soil.  Worst of all, as long as this man is in the White House, nuclear destruction is a real possibility.

In the same vane, Global warming is a living breathing reality.  Greta Thunburg is breath of freshness in the midst of powerful world leaders without backbone to do the right thing.

Because of executive orders, our natural areas and parks are in danger of commercial development which will turn them into high rise motels and parking lots.

The poor grow in numbers.  Health care remains unaffordable.  Low income and part time jobs pay a fraction of the cost of living.  College debt is deplorable.  All of which are a disgrace in a nation that prides itself on the maxim ". . . life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all."

What do you want for your children and grandchildren?  What are you leaving them?  Do you really want them to be like our President?  If you do, I weep for you!  And, I weep for them!

"Why?"

Why are we afraid  . . .

. . . of kindness, trust, honesty and compassion as a way of life--a way of political diplomacy?

Why is . . . 

. . . the Left wrong and the Right, right?  Or visa versa?

Why do . . .

. . . we still believe our leaders will save us?  We must save ourselves.

Greta Thunberg is a beacon of light in a lopsided world.  The thing about billions of people being off kilter is that such a light will scatter to places it might not otherwise reach.  Greta understands that the world will change only if she and we stand up to be counted--not by words alone, but by actions of love, acceptance, non-judgment, peace and the embracing of world citizenship.

The Democrats are risking their political careers to bring to light the clear misdeeds of a President unsuited for office.  If their efforts fall on the deaf ears of their opponents, then millions of voters must take up their work and see it through on election day.

Courage is not easy.  Courage is hard.  No one is perfect, but each of us knows, if only deep within, when a wrong has been done.  A President serves at the behest of the people.  He is not above the people or the law.

If he is...he is a King!  Right  now we are  perilously close to such a state of affairs in Washington, DC.  Many of our elected leaders act as a Whole, not as individuals with a conscience that weighs, without bias, what has been presented.

America will survive as a piece of earth situated in North America.  But will we survive as a living, breathing Democracy where no single person is a law unto themselves?