Author: Reemberto@gmail.com

FIGHTING TRUMP ON HIS OWN TERMS: INSULTS

Oh my. I don’t have it in me to be this mean, this calice, this insulting. It is simply not me. However, when evil lurks I do recognize that fighting back is the call of some. Thus I am repeating this discourse on my blog. I am not endorsing the tactic. Yet I understand it is the only tactic that will get certain people to wake up and realize the severity of the situation. (P.S.: See the extra at end of posting!)

• Lest we forget the horrors: A catalog of Trump’s worst cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes

This America I call home is derailing – so it seems. Anger, disgust, hate, division, and worst everywhere you turn. Even in the smallest of communities – even among families – things simply seem to be getting worse.

Some of us grew up in not the best of times – but not the worst of time either. The Vietnam War, the Nixon debacle, the Oil Crisis, the AIDS epidemic, the Iraq War, a contested presidential election, 9/11, war in Afghanistan, the Great Recession. All these incidents were bad, challenging, and demonstrated clear breaks and distinct opinions in America regarding how to move forward.

And then comes Trump. Chaos in Chief. Incapable of governing. Divisive, insulting, liar. And much more.

Now he wants 4 more years. And his acquaintances of convenience – his improbable web of supporters – are willing to fight tooth and nail to keep him on. Never mind they despise him. Never mind they know he lies. Never mind they suspect him being a useful idiot of Putin. Never mind they are disgusted with his lack of character, demeanor, and personality.

But, he has gotten them what they want. Just to name a few:

• Conservative judges
• Overturning Roe v Wade
• De-regulation – climate change is a hoax
• Law and order policing
• Tax breaks for the wealthy
• Curbing immigration
• Embassy in Jerusalem
• Tightened the grip on Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba
• Tough talk on China
• Distaste for the United Nations
• Hint of voter suppression

And, they know he will get them more of the same in a second Trump term:

• More conservative judges
• Overseeing Roe v Wade dismantling
• More de-regulation – the environment be dammed
• Expand law and order policing
• More tax breaks for the wealthy
• More immigration restrictions
• More support for Israel
• Tighter grip on Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba
• Tougher talk on China
• Dismantle the United Nations
• Aggressive voter suppression

And we who oppose him offer what? What is our language?

• A decent man as president
• A woman vice president
• Stay with Roe v Wade
• Regulate industry to abate climate change
• Re-imagine the police
• A sensible COVID national response
• Healthcare expansion
• Welcome immigrants
• Respect for workers rights
• Have the uber-rich pay their fair share of taxes
• Dialogue and diplomacy with adversaries
• Aspirational international human rights
• Improve the United Nations
• Increase voter participation

The choice can not be clearer.

If we choose Trump we know we’ll be getting a continuation of the undeniable history of the USA being driven by those in power that will do anything to stay in power; a history of systemic, intentional disenfranchisement of those not in power; and,a history of chest pumping, delusional self-righteousness that demeans and belittles others.

If we choose Biden we know we’ll be getting a decent man as President; a ‘tried-and-proven’ politician that has a clear history of working for all who live in the USA; an economy that is even-handed; an administration that will pay attention to those left behind, left out, and hurt by Trump’s first term; a sensible international presence; and an effective Covid response.

A Biden presidency will not be a perfect presidency. There will be squabbles, different opinions, debates, arguments, legislative fights, and unpleasant discourse. And that’s ok. That’s a long way from Trump’s authoritarian barking and lack of civility.

It’s been said by many others in many ways:

• A Trump second term will continue the downward slide of the USA to a culture unbecoming of the aspirations of most who live here – and the aspirations expressed in our founding (if imperfect) documents. A Trump second term will highlight and bring back the USA’s dark history of selfishness instead of moving forward to a future that highlights, affirms, and expands the rich history of the USA as a welcoming place, empathetic neighbors, and aspirational people.

#VoteBidenHarris2020

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This is Trump’s America. He created this mess. And now he is telling us – again – that “Only I can fix it”?

I don’t think so. It’s time to stop this madness.

It is his lack of leadership that has let to 180,000 Covid deaths – and rising.

It is his irresponsible words that have emboldened White Supremacists to violence.

It is his insistence on strong armed presence of unmarked forces at protests that have created a police state mentality.

It is his inability to assist effectively in handling rampant looting that have made the situation worse.

It is his lies and misinformation that have created confusion among many.

It is his disregard for responsible mask wearing and social distance that have led to Covid hot spots.

It is his intentional diminishing of the USPS that will destabilize the elections.

It is his environmental policies that are derogating the environment.

It is his immigration policies that put children in cages.

It is his economic policies that have disproportionately benefited the wealthiest.

It is his foreign policy that has alienated traditional allies and befriended Russia.

It is his administration that is suing to take away coverage for pre-existing condition.

It is his intentional shortchanging of the Census that will lead to massive undercount.

It is his inability to work with Congress that will seriously delay economic relief to help reopen safely.

It is he who has branded “fake news” and used it to discredit all media except those who only praise him.

It is him who has misused Federal funds to enrich himself and misused Federal property – including the White House! – as backdrops for his political gains.

It is many of the people he has chosen to lead his administration that are criminal, some landing in jail.

It is his own family that says some horrible things about him.

It is his indecency, lack of empathy, and total inability to admit he may be wrong that makes him cruel.

It is he who publicly trashes his own niece.

It is he who has to go.

This is Trump’s America. He created this mess. And you expect him to fix it?

#VoteBidenHarris2020

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Yes! Celebrating the Biden/Harris ticket indeed. All around 100% perfecto. Time to get to work to get the vote out. And no time to get complacent, cocky, or over-confident. Lest we forget:

TRUMP’s LOYAL TROOPS

Don’t discount the patchwork of “Always Trumpers”. Here’s the select group of folks that will vote for Trump regardless.

– Regardless of common sense.

– Regardless of logic.

– Regardless of science.

– Regardless of their own self-interest.

Sometimes the same person has many of these qualities. But each quality has its own substantial self-identified contingency that when patched together adds up to a big chunk of voters.

– Ravid anti abortionists

– Second Amendment zealots

– Anti scholar anti socialist

– Vaccine refusers

– Climate change deniers

– Science suspects

– Stock market high investors

– Anti regulation industrialists

– Anti-union common man

– Anti-immigration wall builders

– Anti trade deals business interests

– KKK members and wannabes

– NRA members and wannabes

– Fervent, loud racists

– Closet, quiet racists

– White supremacists

– Fox News fanatics

– Anti feminists

– Rush Limbaugh listeners

– Evangelical (so-called) Christians

– “Thanks for the conservative judges” crowd

– Ivanka lovers

– ? Others

Take nothing for granted. Don’t waste your precious time and energy in trying to convince these Trump Troopers. Spend that precious time and energy in talking up with those you know to vote vote vote – and get others in their circles to vote vote vote. (Remember you gotta be registered. And remember if you are voting by mail each state has their own rules. Don’t cut it close!)

#VoteBidenHarris

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There are many ways to look at life. And there’s always a danger of categorizing things – putting people in boxes – lest we too easily dispel their multi-dimensional potential and limit their capacity. But, with its inherent drawbacks, categorization does facilitate a degree of understanding.

One way to better understand ours – and others’ – politics, faith, and relationships is to understand where folks come from; why they are like they are.

In a previous blog we discussed how oftentimes people’s fountain of information in many ways determines their thinking. On this blog we want to explore how most folks lean either to being conservative or liberal minded. Neither is better or worse. It is a personality trait, not a life determinant. Few people fall exclusively into one or the other camp. But generally, they do follow a certain pattern.

Below there’s a paradigm to hopefully help us better understand, accept, and work with each other. Have some fun with it. Rate yourself from 1 to 10 in each item. Add them up. See how you compare with friends and family. The higher your total, the more conservative leaning you are; the lower your total the more liberal leaning you are.

Here’s the list categorized in the two buckets:

CONSERVATIVE

• Intends to conserve the certain
• Relies on rules and regulations
• Thinks in terms of specifics and points
• Data must be supported by beliefs
• Demands clarity
• Low tolerance for different opinions
• Follows authority without question
• Likes a defined box
• More comfortable with less choices
• Decides
• “I have the answer for you”
• “I am right; you are wrong”
• “You will not convince me”
• Opinions become fact
• Learns from dictates
• Cherishes individual freedoms
• Committed to conserving heritage and tradition
• Insists on theological certitude
• Looks for science to conform to faith
• Faith must be firm and solid
• Dogmatic
• The Rituals rule
• Prefers the Ten Commandments and Revelations

LIBERAL

• Intends to liberally consider options
• Relies on guidance and suggestions
• Thinks in terms of spectrum and continuum
• Beliefs must be supported by data
• Accepts vagueness
• High tolerance for different opinions
• Questions authority not just follows
• Likes being outside the box
• More comfortable with more choices
• Discerns
• “I have questions for you”
• “I am listening; I hear you”
• “I may change my mind”
• Facts are not opinions
• Learns from conversations
• Cherishes social responsibilities
• Committed to questioning heritage and tradition
• Welcomes theological ambiguity
• Looks for faith to conform to science
• Faith can be soft and fluid
• Inter-denominational
• The Spirit rules
• Prefers the Psalms and The Beatitudes

Wherever you rate, we love you 🙂

Comments? Send me an email at Reemberto@Gmail.com

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A month of Facebook postings demonstrates the insanity in which Trump has us living. He’s gotta gotta go.

#VOTE  #VOTEBIDEN

reemberto.net

It’s been almost a month since my last blog posting. And my-o-my how the world has changed!

COVID-19 + Protest = A Cry for Change

These are truly times like no other. We are still in the middle of a mismanaged COVID-19 pandemic. Add to that the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a policeman and you get a cry for change like no other.

It is apparent that a critical mass of people have reached the consensus decision point that something is wrong. Very wrong. The system is broken. The current leadership of the national government is just not working.

It is not just the failure to lead a coherent national response to the COVID-19. It is not just that irresponsible openings are exasperating the situation. It is not just that the number of deaths keep rising. It is the complete and total lack of leadership. It is the inability of that leadership to convey empathy, encourage a united front, speak in a way that brings people across interests together for the common good.

It is not just the rampant killing of Black men by police throughout the country. It is not just the lack of response from the national leader. It is not just the insulting, insensitive Tweets and words. It is the inability of that leadership to convey empathy, encourage a united front, speak in a way that brings people across interests together for the common good.

Michael Moore released a statement regarding how we should not underestimate the Trumpistas enthusiasm and capacity to turn out the vote. Spot on. Trumpistas are a personality cult. And they will definitely come out to vote. The Opposition is not a personality cult. Biden may be the ship captain, but he is not the only reason I am voting Democrat. And that is ok to say. (I personally really like Biden. And, not but, he is not a cultish figure. And that’s ok.) Also: there may be 100,000 Trumpistas in Tulsa today. That number pales in comparison to the number of people the Opposition has brought out to protests. And, these good folks that are protesting are mad. And they (we!) will vote. And, we will bring 20 others with us.

Let the Trumpistas show off their unbending, blind trust of their cultish leader. Their numbers are simply not growing. Let’s us in the Opposition continue our loud, disorganized, cry for change.

And yep: Let’s some of us in the Opposition also continue our sometimes boring, methodological, studious, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, quiet conversations with our cousins, friends, and acquaintances to make sure they vote vote vote… #RESIST

Let’s make sure that through whatever means necessary a cry for change creates a blue wave of voters.

COVID-19 + Protest = A Cry for Change = A Blue Wave of Voters

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Let them fester and drown in their own cesspool of cultish crap

From the “you cannot make this stuff up” department:

According to a Yahoo news poll recently 50% of the people that rely mostly on Fox News for their news believe that Bill Gates is pursuing a Covid-19 vaccine only so the world’s population can be tracked by MicroSoft Corporation.

https://news.yahoo.com/new-yahoo-news-you-gov-poll-shows-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-spreading-on-the-right-may-hamper-vaccine-efforts-152843610.html

Think about it. Let this sink in.

This is not a fringe group. This is not a small segment of Americans. This is a very large number of US citizens, many who vote.

(What is even more insane is that 37% of the people that voted for Hillary Clinton believe this to be true or are not sure. 75% of the Fox News watchers fall into this category.)

These good folks have chosen to not believe science. These good folks have chosen to disregard the advancement in critical thinking and scientific discoveries of the last centuries. Think flat-earthers. Think moon landing deniers. Think witch burnings fanatics. Think gravity doubters.

These good folks have chosen to get the information that molds their beliefs and forms their opinion from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, and a perverse version of Christianity that justifies their bigoted mindsets.

Self-censorship at its very worst.

In most totalitarian governments where State imposed censorship exists people yearn for alternative information sources. In these societies people go out of their way to find fresh source of news. But under the self-censorship of the Cult of Trump  it is a personal choice to believe only a certain fountain of information. Under that self-censorship it is a personal choice to disregard information from any source other than their chosen sources as suspect and untrue. Forget NPR, YahooNews, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the BBC. All suspects; all fake news, these cultish Trumpistas will tell you.

How do you get through to these people? The short answer is you don’t. You let them fester and drown in their own cesspool of cultish crap.

And then you focus on reaching out to the people of good will that are still discerning if they are going to vote and who they are going to vote for.

There are millions of these people of good will that are willing to listen to sensible conversations and reasonable arguments. Reach out to them. And you focus on your friends that are committed to voting, making extra super-duper sure they commit to you personally to go vote no matter what.

If by chance one of these cult members approaches you and engages in an authentic conversation, by all means be there for him or her! Listen carefully and try to understand why they fell into the dilution of their cult. Pray for them if that is your thing to do. Embrace them with a virtual hug in these times of Covid. And empathetically welcome them to a world of diverse opinions where we may disagree greatly and still hold certain truths to be self-evident… And offer them a ride to the polls November 3rd – or offer to take them so they can put their mail-in ballot in the official drop box.

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The craziness continues. No end in sight. Until Nov 3rd.

It has been only four weeks since the last posting and the world has changed so much. Who would have imagined that this pandemic would twist and turn like a slow hurricane that refuses to go away? Who could have guessed the rabid, raging, irrational, partisan response from this Administration? (Well, actually, we all could have probably guessed that.)

Instead of empathetically reaching out to the hurt, Trump has opted to ‘damn the torpedoes’ and irresponsibly focus exclusively on the short-term goals of immediate profit for some – and enhancing his chances for re-election.

Forget earlier guidelines. Forget whatever the scientists say. Forget what hurting America wants to hear. Instead, he has exclusively focused on his on ‘base and his economic cronies. Instead he has – as he always does – deflected deflected deflected, firing anyone who does not think like him, blaming Obama, trashing Biden.

For the historical record, Trump’s Mother’s Day Tweet said it all:  ”HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!” That’s it. Nada mas. No ‘I feel your pain’; no ‘thinking about you’; no ‘we are in this together’. Just a cheap 99 cents card. Awful. This man has no sentiments. No feelings. No empathy.

What this pandemic has brought to light is not only the gross incompetence of Trump, his mismanagement of government, and his inept leadership capacity.

This pandemic has also brought to light a much bigger issue that goes well beyond Trump.

Running the risk of getting overly philosophical/theological, it is high times we decouple the basic human needs for shelter, health, and nutrition from the profit motive.

In my conversation with a trusted scientist that does quite a bit of work in Africa as we speak, she tells me that weeks ago the thought was that this was just another pandemic. The thought was that cholera, malaria, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, war, and natural disasters kill a lot more people than COVID-19 ever will. That line of thinking is changing. Daily. The number of deaths brought by COVID-19 in Africa will be devastating. But – and you have to be careful how you say this – the resiliency of the people in that continent runs deep. COVID-19’s impact will be very different in low resource countries vs the ‘first world’ countries.

In the U.S. the current debate is simple: Are we willing to accept 120,000 deaths a year from COVID-19? After all, we accept a similar number of deaths every year from car accidents, gun shots, and drug overdose. One line of thinking – which is crass, but valid – is that “why should we all suffer when the chances dying from COVID-19 is tiny, particularly if you are part of the vast majority of Americans who is relatively healthy and part of the economic system?” The ‘American Way’ is used to accepting a high degree of poverty among those that “don’t look like the rest of us”. And, accepting high number of deaths in prisons, nursing homes, homeless shelters, meat-packing plants, immigrant camps, and in low income communities of color in high density neighborhoods is “no big deal”. (All quotes in this paragraph come for some of my Facebook ‘friends’. Ugh.)

In our County we have the opportunity to do it differently. And we have the right leadership for  this moment. Glad to be part of this team doing real work at a hyper-local level while the craziness at the national level goes amuck.

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