politics – Page 9 – I'll Call It Like I See It

the more things change, the more things stay the same

So here I am two days past Thanksgiving on Thursday, one day after Black Friday, and I’m having trouble remembering what day of the week today is. Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, November 25th. Small Business Saturday, Jenna Bush Hager’s, Nekki Shutt’s and John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s birthdays (which I find notable), National Cake Day (which I find yummy), National Play Day with Dad, National Parfait Day, National Eat With a Friend Day; and oh yes, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Seriously?

Only two days after being thankful, practicing kindness, warm and fuzzy at home with Pretty, a delicious meal of traditional Thanksgiving goodies delivered to us by our friend Jenn Thursday afternoon, a Gamecock Women’s basketball game Friday afternoon when our team scored 101 points – the fourth game out of five we’ve played this season that hit triple digit scoring. And now National Day slaps me upside the head with the news that Saturday, November 25th. is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. We went from cake to chaos in less than a hot minute, but this story is important on any day. My thanks to the National Day folks for the reminder of the murders of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic and for five facts about violence against women.

“On November 25, 1960, three Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic were assassinated by henchmen of dictator Rafael Trujillo. The sisters, who had been active in movements against the Trujillo regime, were beaten and strangled to death, then placed in a Jeep that was driven off a mountainous road in order to make their deaths appear accidental. In December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The date marks the beginning of 16 days of remembrance and activism, culminating in International Human Rights Day.”

5 FACTS ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

It’s an epidemic. An estimated 35 percent of women worldwide have been physically and/or sexually assaulted by a nonpartner.
It’s up close and personal. Some studies show that up to 70 percent of women have experienced violence from an intimate partner.
It’s spreading. Women and girls account for 71 percent of all human trafficking victims.
The numbers are staggering. More than 1 in 10 females have experienced forced sexual acts in their lives.
Times are changing. At least 140 countries have laws against domestic violence and sexual harassment.

Last night I watched as thirteen women and children were released from captivity by Hamas in Gaza to return to Israel. Their lives, the lives of their families, the women and children of Ukraine, the women and children living in tents along the Mexican border with Texas, starving women and children in Africa, Gaza, and America – these women who struggle for safety, food, shelter, peace for their families – their lives are forever changed by their circumstances that often include violence against them.

The more things change, the more things stay the same. No. In 2024 let’s elect people who will work for peace and protection of the most vulnerable in our population at home and around the world. Ask hard questions of the folks who will be running for office at the local, state and national levels. Make sure the policies they support are the ones you believe are true.

Onward. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

November 25, 2023

Roe, Roe, Roe Your Vote

Thanks for showing up!

We won’t forget who took our rights

Repubs are out of luck

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(shirt by 4winnersSports)

New lyrics to row, row, row your boat are totally mine, but I hope you’ll sing along with me all the way to the ballot box in 2024. Onward.

November 8, 2023

Mr. Speaker

Samuel T. Rayburn (D-TX), the longest serving Speaker of the House of Representatives at 17 years, 53 days (cumulative) said “Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one.”

Since the first American Congress convened on March 4, 1789 the House of Representatives has elected a Speaker 128 times, 118 at the beginning of each of the two-year congressional sessions and ten other times when a vacancy arose due to death, resignation or more recently a motion to vacate the position when Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was “vacated” on October 3, 2023 – the first House Speaker to be removed in the nation’s history. The “vacation” lasted for 22 days of spectacle worthy of Shark Tank episodes as the Republicans searched for a candidate to satisfy their splintered majority caucus, to enable them to reach a consensus that promoted America’s national security as war intensified in the Middle East and Ukraine, domestic terrorism threats by conspiracists on both the left and right multiplied at alarming rates. On October 25th. Mike Johnson (R-LA) received a total of 220 Republican votes to become Speaker of the House, a position critical to national security, a man who is now second in line to the presidency following the vice-president, a man who does not believe Joe Biden was duly elected President.

Mr. Sam, as Speaker Rayburn was known, refused to allow television cameras in the House: “When a man has to run for re-election every two years, the temptation to make headlines is strong enough without giving him a chance to become an actor on television. The normal processes toward good law are not even dramatic, let alone sensational enough to be aired across the land.” I wonder what Mr. Sam would have thought about the images being broadcast not only in the United States but also around the world as the public display of a dysfunctional government dominated the daily news from October 3rd. to the 25th. with three Speaker nominations voted down.

Mike Johnson was relatively unknown on the national stage until he became Speaker of the House where his position as a staunch social conservative with a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and support for stricter abortion laws became more transparent.

“Johnson on Monday unveiled legislation from House Republicans that would provide $14 billion in U.S. military assistance for Israel as it fights its war against Hamas. But the bill is a non-starter for both the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden’s administration because it doesn’t include provisions for other U.S. allies, such as Ukraine.” USA Today, November 2, 2023

Maya Angelou said “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

I’m concerned Mike Johnson is not the carpenter Speaker Rayburn had in mind to rebuild the barn.

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For the children of Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, immigrants along the Texas border – all the children everywhere. Guard, save and protect.

November 2, 2023

a later life revelation: am I a Quaker??

“While there are no set beliefs in Quakerism, you will often see a common group of goals, called testimonies: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship (SPICES).” When I read this on my Google search for information on Quakers, I said to myself Wow, this is what you’ve believed all your life, these are your core values, turns out you’re a Quaker. Oh, gosh. I was a Quaker for almost a hot minute before I looked at the division within the Friends on the issues of homosexuality and abortion. Sigh. Personal deal breakers for me. So much for community and equality, but count me in for simplicity and peace.

And while I’m thinking of peace, I must say I hesitate to write about people, places, or events that have the potential to (1) display my ignorance of the world outside my life with Pretty or (2) unintentionally do more harm than good to the universe or (3) some combination of these. However, the events in Israel over the past two weeks have evoked feelings of outrage eerily similar to the feelings of anger I experience daily with the updates on the continuing suffering of the people of Ukraine for the past twenty months. Whether for two weeks or two years, the clarion call for peace is difficult to ignore.

President Biden addressed the nation this week to reaffirm America’s commitments in Israel and Ukraine, but our assistance is now delayed by our own House divided in the legislative body that is responsible for appropriations – stymied in a quagmire of political posturing for power by people with no moral conscience while a world desperate for responsible leadership waits and hopes.

During the hot minute I thought I was a Quaker I read a famous quote by an even more famous Quaker named William Penn. Last night Pretty reminded me to refrain from my focus on situations beyond my control, and the Penn quote today hammered home Pretty’s philosophy of living in the moment.

“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

It seems to me the issue is not about labels, but the questions remain timely for the ages. Can we be kind, will we do good to our fellow human beings? If not today, when? If not us, who? Live in the moment for sure, leave the past failures with their guilt behind – focus on the present with its opporunities for outrageous acts of kindness, everyday rebellions for building communities where equality and inclusion are the foundations of peace.

Onward.