Fully Present Post 50

I’m greatly disappointed in the results of the election. Americans knowingly voted for a convicted felon who bullies , lies, cheats, defrauds, and steals. He bankrupted six businesses and cheated consumers, banks, and contractors. He jokes about sexually assaulting women. He insults and threatens those who disagree with him and seeks revenge against those who sought to hold him accountable for his crimes. This is the character of the person about to hold the highest office in our country for a second time and mark my words, nothing good will come from it. The world is dismayed that we elected such a despicable person.

The strange thing is that a number of otherwise decent human beings held their noses and voted for him anyway because the current system isn’t working for them. I’m speaking specifically about older white people and young white males. They understood that unless you were born into wealth or scored “the exceptional person lottery”, it was unlikely that they would reach the apex of success in this country. They were taught to greatly admire the rich and famous. America calls itself the land of opportunity, but really only those born into prominence or the exceptionally talented, intelligent, creative, energetic, and ambitious can become rich, famous, and powerful. The problem is that they were also taught this only applied to white people, specifically white men. They are bothered by the success of “others” and Trump smartly espoused the promise of lower food and gas prices along with safety from criminal migrants and WOKE ideas as a cover story to hide their true motives.

Americans not only idolize the rich, the famous, and the powerful; they aspire to be them! However, most will not become them. Most refuse to acknowledge the fine print of the promise of America. It clearly explains that white people by virtue of their whiteness get a head start. That males by virtue of their maleness get an additional head start. It explains that the wealthy and well-connected live by rules of their own making that will maintain their status and increase their wealth. It explains that women and persons of color will face explicit and unseen obstacles. It explains that only the smartest, the most creative, talented, energetic, and ambitious will be allowed to rise to the top. And only they should be admired.

What we are witnessing today is a rebellion against the system that finally allowed exceptional people of color and women to scale the American ladder based on exceptional merit. The prominence of these folks in the public eye is a concern to some white folks who never thought they would have to compete with so many “others”. The excellence of these newly successful individuals is undeniable, and yet they are not always admired, but often challenged and even threatened at every turn. Unprepared, grossly uneducated, and lacking resilience, average white people see themselves losing ground. These average white people feel left behind despite the head start they were given. They mistakenly believed that their head start was enough to guarantee their middle or upper class status. In their minds they were at least “better than them!” And they were proven wrong! They would never vote for a woman of color no matter her qualifications and no matter the awful alternative.

Of course they are insecure! Of course they need reassurance! But what they really need is for someone to finally tell them the truth that their whiteness does not make the better! In an effort to soothe their fragile white egos and explain their lost ground, Trump and Republicans attributed the success of these exceptional risers to DEI initiatives. It’s sad how easily insecure people choose to believe the lies that make them feel better about themselves. They believed Republicans will lift them up again. And then they voted accordingly. So here we are.

As Trump fills his cabinet with like-minded billionaires who play by different rules to increase their wealth and power at their expense, it will be interesting to see what they offer the insecure and uneducated white folks who put them in power. Who will fill the labor vacancies left by mass deportations? Who will pay for the tariffs? Who will suffer from environmental deregulations, the loss of health insurance, increased maternal deaths, and police brutality? Their hope is that people of color will suffer more than them. And in some cases, they will be right.

However, they fail to realize that they lack the resilience of people of color. They fail to realize that black women walked through the educational doors of opportunity in great numbers. Most of these white forks who voted for Trump lack the exceptional attributes to make them successful in a global economy. Their whiteness will no longer save them because employers will continue to fill positions with educated, creative, and highly skilled folks in order to innovate and to compete with the world. And the folks they hire are not likely to be undereducated insecure white males.

What follows is a draft of the letter I intend to send to Speaker of the House, Mike John, in response to the re-election of Donald Trump and the continued slim majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives and now a slight senate majority. The American voters have spoken, but not by the landslide they need to claim a mandate.

Dear Speaker Mike Johnson,

As a citizen of this beloved country, I feel it is my patriotic duty to write you this letter, imploring you to take your oath to protect and defend our Constitution seriously as well as your pledge of allegiance to the flag of our great country. Since becoming a member of Congress and now Speaker, your allegiance seems to be misplaced.  You seem to have forgotten that our Founders established three co-equal branches of government and explicitly did not want power to reside with one fallible and corruptible human being for good reason.  We do not have a king!!!!  Your allegiance and deference to Donald Trump presents a real danger to this country, to common decency, and to the rule of law.  As Russia celebrates his re-election and his cabinet picks as a road to “dismantle our nation brick by brick”, I cannot help but wonder if there is a plot at work within your Party to not only undermine our Constitution but to destroy the very fabric of our democracy and the institutions, including the press that the citizens rely on to make good decisions.

None of the plans to deport millions of immigrant laborers and to impose tariffs on our closest trading partners make economic sense. The attack on women’s reproductive rights and on the very few transgender individuals among us do not make Constitutional sense. We are a nation that professes liberty and justice for all, but where is the liberty and justice in the policies your Party is putting forth? I don’t believe abortion is murder according to my faith. I am a female without internal conflict, so I don’t understand the transgender experience, but who am I to judge the life and needs of others? I leave these things to God who says He is the judge. In fact, Jesus warned us not to judge others, not to serve money, not to be hypocrites, and not to bear false witness against others. His is the way of love, compassion, and grace. So, what are you doing? And who are you serving? And for what purpose?

I am a Christian.  I follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.  I also believe in the separation of church and state as provided in the Establishment Clause of our Constitution. The push to teach the Bible in public schools is not only a violation of the Constitution but a bad idea in general. Whose version and interpretations will be taught?  Yours?  Mine?  The Catholic’s? The Mormon’s?  The Jehovah Witness’s? The Pentecostal’s?  The Lutheran’s?  There are many Christian denominations.  But the greater point is that there are many other religions practiced by Americans in this country. What about their religious texts? There are many who do not believe in God at all.  They have the right not to believe and to not be indoctrinated. Our Founders fled the kind of religious persecution your Party seeks to inflict upon the people of this nation.  You will be no different than the Taliban. History has shown that state forced religious laws always leads to horrific oppression, a blood bath and wars. It certainly is not how Jesus taught us to live!  I implore Republicans to leave religious teachings to parents and houses of worship. Public school children should only be taught to recognize and respect the diversity of how people view God and how they may or may not practice religion. No one is stopping school children from praying or reading their Bibles or referencing their religious beliefs at school.  Those freedoms are and should remain intact.  

When it comes to lawmaking, I urge you to defer to our Constitution and its stated purpose of government to “establish justice”, “ensure domestic tranquility”, “provide for the common defense”, “promote the general welfare” and to “ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity”.  Anything beyond that is self-serving and contrary to the welfare of this nation and its people.  Your job is not to serve the profit interests of corporations at the expense of citizens. It is also not to force your religious beliefs down our throats!

More importantly, you and members of your Party seem to require a reminder that you were elected to serve the citizens of this nation and not the president.  We expect you to uphold the Constitution, the rule of law, and to work on behalf of the citizens to keep us safe from deadly viruses, environmental pollutants, gun violence, sexual predators, medical malpractice, unsafe infrastructure, suppression of information, and unchecked police brutality. Your laws should be designed to improve lives, not to endanger them or to remove our individual freedom to live our best lives according to our individual religious and moral beliefs.  The citizens of this country rely on you to use the available scientific evidence, technology and expert knowledge to make the best laws in favor of citizens and not just corporations and especially not in the interest of one man or a few billionaires. It is a balancing act that you have been entrusted with and thus far your Party is failing us.

Leaving women like my daughter to miscarry in a parking lot outside the hospital is not providing the best health care available to young women.  Removing gender affirming care from parents who love their transgender child who is suicidal without it, is not the best we can offer.  Rounding up immigrants seeking safety or fleeing poverty is not in the best interest of a nation that has always depended on immigrant labor.  Fix the immigration laws to meet the actual needs of this country.  Fix our medical system to provide affordable world class healthcare.  Make laws that protect our environment from pollutants that cause diseases and destroy our climate.  Ensure a safety net for those in poverty because of physical and mental disability.  Ensure access to a world class education for American children so they can compete in the world.  Ensure that the elderly among us retire with dignity.  Guarantee freedom of the press to provide accurate information, not government propaganda .  And finally, hold the president and the Supreme Court accountable to obey the laws and defend our Constitution.  Your willingness to overlook corruption and excuse despicable behavior is a gross disservice to the youth of this nation. Nothing good will come of it ignoring lawlessness, cruelty, and bullying. As the saying goes, “one rotten apple spoils the barrel.”

Some say that you are a Christian Nationalist who believes in white supremacy and white male domination.  I hope that isn’t true.  Any reasonable person can look around and see that intelligence, talent, creativity, and drive are not limited to white men, but spread broadly across the human race.  We are all precious in the sight of God and I pray that you believe, understand and govern that way. Please do better and do right by the American people.

Sincerely,

Juanita A. Hall

Citizen of the United States 

I’m glad that Trump didn’t win by a popular vote landslide as previously thought, but by a very narrow margin. That means half the country wasn’t deceived, delusional, hateful, or members of a cult. However, he did win and each of us will have to deal with his policies and observe the inevitable corruption, cruelty, incompetence, garishness, and downright lawlessness he will again bring to the office of the presidency. My response is to do what I can to avoid the mental, physical and financial fallout of another Trump term.

Apparently, I’m not the only liberal who has turned away from corporate media. I ceased watching CNN and MSNBC prior to the election because I noticed they were more interested in views for profit than delivering actual news free of bias. Their “both sides” approach using more pundits with opinions than actual news was a turn off. They clearly sought to gain higher ratings above exercising their duty to inform and so they minimized the actual threat Trump posed to our democracy and to marginalized groups. They normalized his dangerous rhetoric and left millions of Americans with the false impression that he would be good for their pocketbooks. It’s no wonder their ratings have tanked post-election. They don’t deserve viewers, and I certainly don’t want to contribute to national news organizations that omit important stories while they spin the news for views. They committed malpractice and now the nation will pay the price. While CNN and MSNBC don’t outright lie like Fox News, they still failed to report what was really happening and to warn of the danger ahead. CNN was more guilty than MSNBC, but I won’t watch either of them. However, I’ll continue to support investigative journalism, keeping my subscription to the New York Times and getting my news from local stations and publicly funded news organizations who are beholden to me, the viewer, and not corporate shareholders.

Limiting my news consumption will be one of the keys to my preserving my mental health. Already, Trump’s ridiculous cabinet pics and his trade war threats with Canada and Mexico are causing anxiety. When I get anxious, I find action to be the best remedy. I ask myself what I can do to protect myself from the root issue that is causing the anxiety. In this case, my anxiety seems from Trump’s cabinet picks and his promise to place tariffs on our trading partners and to deport millions of immigrants who provide needed labor. Both of these policies will raise prices and cause shortages. Of course, my anxiety cannot compare to the families who will be torn apart by his cruel deportations or the small business owners wondering how they will survive the tariffs on goods they import or the poor who will be negativity impacted by higher prices and cuts to public safety net programs they rely on.

For peace of mind, we’ve acted on decisions to protect our finances and physical well-being. We renewed our passports. We moved some investment money to safer havens. We made major purchases for our home (including a generator) and we completed some renovations we wanted. We’ve stocked up on non-perishables and everyday household supplies. We’ve expanded our vegetable garden. We already grow most of our own fruits and vegetables, but we’ll do more. And this Black Friday, I took advantage of the sales and incentives and purchased essential clothing items and gifts for the next two years. I’m grateful that we were able to accomplish all of this without going into debt or compromising our retirement. We have lived well below our means for many years and our priority of consistent hard work, frugal spending in favor of greater savings and investments has paid off and has prepared us for such a time as this.

After Trump takes office, I will be more apt to wear a mask in public. My husband and I have been vaccinated with all the recommended vaccines for seniors. Already, fewer people are being vaccinated against the flu and Covid-19. I suspect things will get much worse as the Trump administration will be far less likely to be concerned with public health and more apt to cover up any outbreaks and threats to public safety. I will continue to get my annual flu shot and Covid-19 booster if it remains available. But wearing a mask in public spaces will definitely become the norm for me. We already have a water filtration system and air purifiers. I suspect the water and air to go unprotected against pollution in the coming years as the Republicans and the Supreme Court remove power from the EPA. Red states will be worse than blue states that tend to care more about climate change and environmental issues.

A new priority will be saving money and supporting certain organizations. Since we’ve purchased pretty much everything in advance, I plan to use those saved future dollars not on goods, but on greater savings for medical bills, ready cash, and to help fund organizations that feed the hungry, provide education scholarships, and defend our civil rights.

And finally, as a black woman, I think most Americans know that I’m probably not a Trump supporter. That automatically makes me a target to MAGA members, some of whom are hateful and a few who are violent and present a real danger to my well-being. I will avoid spaces where they congregate and when I encounter a red MAGA hat, I will avoid that person. Should a Trump cult member attempt to engage me, I will silently and quickly flee the situation. It is not beyond some people to actively seek confrontation and so I will be avoiding those people at every turn. My greatest concern is that bigots and macho men will be emboldened to harm people of color, LGBTQ folks, young women, and religious minorities once Trump takes office. Our collective sense of personal safety and the expectation of respect from others will be greatly diminished for the next several years. This makes me sad and cautious because I know people are going to get hurt.

My goal is to continue being the caring and respectful human I have always been and to treat others with the dignity and respect their humanity deserves. I plan to be a refuge to the fearful and the injured. I will treat others in the way I want to be treated, with kindness and respect without regard for how they voted. For example, yesterday, I encountered a very pregnant white store clerk. I had no idea how she voted, but I wished her a safe and quick delivery and a healthy baby. She thanked me. She may have been a Trump supporter and if she follows any news, she knows I probably voted for Kamala Harris. However, whatever her politics, she cannot escape the fact that I, a black Harris supporter, wished her well. My point is that we must hold fast to our decency when others have chosen indecency.

There is a verse in the Bible that says it is kindness that leads to repentance. And Lord knows, half of this country is in need of repentance.

Be wise, be safe and stock up and strap in for the next several years.

As we come close to the final vote tally in this presidential election, it becomes clear that Trump actually won by a very narrow popular vote count that rivals the Bush v Gore race. It doesn’t discount the fact that nearly half the nation voted for a despicable human being who shows no regard for our Constitution, the rule of law, or the plight of others. Beyond staying out of prison or seeking revenge on those who tried to hold him accountable for his criminal actions, his desire is to dominate and enrich himself by subjugating others and outright fraud is on full display. As a nation, we witnessed his cruelty, his mob-like behavior, his constant lying and childish insults and yet many still voted for him. His recent cabinet picks are just further evidence that his loyalty lies not with improving the country for its citizens, but with obtaining more power through loyal misfits, sycophants, conspiracy theorists, selfish billionaires, and unethical characters. There is plenty of blame to go around for how we got here, but now is the time to build our personal fortresses to protect ourselves from the mayhem that is about to occur. After that, we must decide whether to fight or flee.

I mentioned last week that we must prepare now to protect the reproductive choice and health of the young women in our lives. Red states are not safe for women of childbearing age as OBGYNs either have their hands tied or are fleeing those states. Red states are becoming maternal health care desserts with dire consequences. In addition, more babies are dying shortly after birth and others will have lifelong severe disabilities as a result of their heartbeat policies. Beyond stocking up on contraception, morning after pills, and abortion medication, those of us in states that protect maternal health can open our doors to young family members and friends who need help or a safer place for pregnancy and delivery. Being willing and able to help financially is also an act of empathy and kindness that can save a young woman’s life and future. Of course, women of childbearing age should have a passport in case a nationwide abortion ban goes into effect.

In addition to protecting the reproductive health of the young women in our lives, we must also pay attention to our finances. Retailers like Walmart have already announced that their prices will rise as a result of the impending tariffs. Companies are stocking up on supplies to ward off price increases. Our response has been to make our major purchases now. We did some renovations, purchased a new sofa and a new television. We are stocking up on everyday goods in anticipation of these price increases to stretch our money further. I even expanded our pantry to accommodate many more staples, and I filled shelves to the brim with unperishable items. I moved money to safer havens with easier access in anticipation of a market drop or a need for ready cash without paying additional taxes or penalties. In the new fiscal year, I will do more of the same prior to Trump taking office. Our goal is to avoid paying the consequences for his unpredictable and unwise fiscal policies.

We plan to be thoughtful about where we spend our money. We created a list of Trump-supporting stores that we will not patronize which includes Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Ross, and Chic fil a. We will patronize minority owned businesses and businesses in our small city before going elsewhere. And we will patronize the movie industry, live theater, visual artists, restaurants, and musicians by spending our dollars on creatives who improve our mental health and advocate for humanity. We won’t be buying anything that Elon Musk or Trump sells. In fact, we won’t even listen to their speeches or interviews. They each get on my nerves.

Protecting my peace of mind in the coming years is paramount. I won’t be watching corporate news any longer. I’ll limit my time and my viewing to local and publicly funded news sources. I’ll keep my New York Times subscription because I value investigative journalism. Instead of just stressing out over the impending bad news, I’m planning to carefully pick organizations actively defending our civil rights and advocating for vulnerable people and donate to them. As for social media, I’ve joined the new platform, Bluesky, and I am already enjoying the science, K-pop, gardening, and art content I requested. I’ve unfriended a number of people on Facebook who supported Trump, and I’ll continue to post my thoughts as an outlet, paying no attention to the number of views or likes I get. I won’t argue morality with morons anymore. I understand that Facebook and Instagram limit political content and I imagine it will only get worse with Trump in the White House issuing threats.

I’m planning to do more gardening, expanding my vegetable garden for more organic produce since prices are going to skyrocket when there are too few farm laborers left to harvest crops after Trump’s mass deportations. And who knows what will be in the food after deregulation for profits and there too few food inspectors empowered to inspect the food. There really is cause for concern and it’s distressing when you spend a lot of time thinking about it. My nerves will need far more mental breaks.

I relax when I’m knitting and crocheting, so I’ll do more of that and donate items to our local seniors, shelters, and newborn hospital wards. I plan to read more fiction rather than non-fiction this coming year. I plan to connect with family and friends in more meaningful ways. I pray and meditate during my daily walks, so that will continue. And I’ll keep listening to music while I cook, garden, craft, and do chores. I’ll spend time watching K-pop content on YouTube because their music videos are amazing. I’ll also enjoy K-dramas and a few U.S. dramas as well. I plan to utilize my dozens of cookbooks more often to discover new recipes this year. And of course, I plan to take care of my health by eating well, sleeping well, grooming well, and exercising.

In conclusion, I am basically choosing flight with a small amount of fight. My fight will be in my blog, social media post, donations to frontline organizations, and in letter to lawmakers. But the actual fighting belongs to white folks. They remain the majority who decided this election, and so they must decide among themselves whether this will be an inclusive multicultural democracy or a Taliban-like white-suprematist theocracy. In either case, I will do what I need to do to provide an ark for my family’s safety and well-being.

Half the nation has bought us to this terrifying moment in time. I keep saying to myself that in these troubled times that God will not be mocked and that we will reap what we sow. I recall that Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things the Lord hates. Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil. A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” Trump and those who support him are all these things and they will not achieve the glorious end they’ve imagined for themselves.

On one of my walks this week, an older white gentleman, whom I’ve seen numerous times out walking his three little dogs, shouted to me from across the street how disappointed he was that Kamala Harris lost. At first, I thought it was bold of him to assume I was a Harris supporter, but then anyone who followed the election results knows that 92% of black women voted for her. And we live in a pretty liberal area of California. So, perhaps he wasn’t so bold after all. As soon as I confirmed his assumption, he crossed the street, and we had a lengthy political post-mortem conversation during which I remarked that this is his fight moving forward. I told him that black folks did our job trying to convince Americans to vote for Harris and then we voted for her as evidenced by the fact that she received 92% of the black female vote and 78% of the black male vote. I told him that we aren’t really fighting among ourselves except to convince other black folks to exercise their hard fought right to vote. He shared the ongoing political struggles within his extended family and how frustrating it was. I was sympathetic but encouraged him to continue the fight because the conflict is among white people and Latino people who make up the largest portion of the electorate. The battle is white women against white women and white men against white men. The same for Latinos. I told him the heavy lifting moving forward is on people like him, not people like me. I shared that my plan was to grab my popcorn and watch the shit show commence while supporting civil liberty organizations and protecting my family from harm.

I’m reading about all the black women planning to “mind their own black business” in the coming four years. Like many others, I have “unfriended” those who voted for Trump because I can no longer associate with people who knowingly align themselves with white supremacists, racist, homophobic, xenophobic and sexist people who agree to endanger and destroy the lives of others for cheaper eggs. Their lack of empathy is not worthy of my time and energy. We are not friends, and I also refuse to knowingly patronize businesses who supported Trump. My plan moving forward is to protect my peace of mind by limiting my exposure to the news and to hateful people while also protecting my loved ones against the harmful consequences of this election.

For all those like me who plan to build an ark to weather the impending storm, these are my plans. First and foremost, I want to ensure the reproductive rights and safety of the females in my family who are of childbearing age. For us mothers, grandmothers and aunties, particularly in red states, we can ensure that we have a supply of birth control, morning after pills, abortion pills, or travel funds ready for the young women in our lives. This is about protecting the mental, physical, and financial health as well as preserving the life possibilities of the young women we love and care about. While children are a blessing, I believe the Bible teaches us that life begins when a fetus is capable of breath around 24 weeks. Before that, I believe the fetus is a human body (temple) under construction as in when God formed Adam out of the dusk of the earth. Adam became a living being when God breathed into his nostrils, the “breath of life” (Genesis 2:7).

That said, I realize that nothing will handicap a family’s upward mobility more than an unplanned pregnancy or a planned pregnancy gone terribly wrong. Access to maternal checkups and safe abortion in red states has been drastically reduced and as a result more women are dying from pregnancy and birth complications (especially black women), and more newborns are already dying shortly after birth in red states according to the CDC. Some of these affected women have other children and their care becomes the responsibility of the family or the state. We will also start to see a sharp uptick in babies being born with severe abnormalities and chronic disabilities. These too will place an added layer of mental and financial stress on families for years to come. If the Republicans are successful in banning abortion and contraception nationwide, that supply of reproductive care products will become increasingly important as will the ability to travel outside the country. For now, California is the safest state to be pregnant and give birth. In short, the time is now to stock up and become a resource to female family members.

The ability to travel may not only be needed to address reproductive health concerns. but for the safety and freedom of targeted groups. The second thing we did was renew our passports in case a quick exit becomes necessary. While highly improbable, as in the first Trump administration, white supremacists are likely to become more emboldened. I suspect it will be far worse this time. Black, brown and Asian men and women could easily become targets of Trump and the MAGA movement, not only targeted for deportation but for mass incarceration and violence. Trump is surrounding himself with the likes of Steven Miller, a white suprematists, Steve Bannon, a white nationalist, Elon Musk, a white capitalist from South Africa, and Mike Johnson, a white Christian nationalist, and many others who believe white people are the only true Americans worthy of civil rights. This country can quickly become a dangerous place for all people of color. The same is true for religious minorities and LGBTQ folks. Having an updated passport and emergency funds set aside is a prudent thing to do.

There is much more to consider when preparing to weather the storm of the next four years. I’ll conclude this post with Proverbs 22: 3: ” A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”

Next week I’ll reflect on maintaining mental health and boosting financial well-being in the face of turmoil and uncertainty.

I knew it could happen that Americans would re-elect Trump despite all his moral shortcomings and leadership failures. Even his fascist rhetoric didn’t dissuade enough people from casting their ballot in his favor and against her. Exit polls indicate that the majority actually voted for him because of the economy. But how exactly are his vague policy proposals good for the economy compared to her specific policies? Many said it was their fear of violent immigrants that tipped the scale in his favor when actual violence perpetrated by undocumented immigrants is rare. And some wanted to stop spending money on the war in Ukraine. Despite the actual strength of the economy, the rarity of immigrant violent crime, and the moral and strategic significance of supporting Ukraine, this election highlighted the fact that we have a gullible and uninformed electorate. And that needs to change. But this election also revealed something about the American people, particularly white people and Latinos.

Since all Americans care deeply about the economy and their personal safety, why is it that only black folks voted for Harris in overwhelming numbers? It’s not just because she is black, but because she addressed how she would help the economy, preserve reproductive health and freedom, stem gun violence, and address immigration. Despite that, more than half of white people and Latino men voted for the candidate who offered no solutions that would improve the economy, safeguard young women, or stem gun violence. They voted for the man who killed the comprehensive immigration bill so he could run on chaos at the border. They voted for the man who plans to round up and deport millions of people whom our economy relies on for their manual labor. Imagine how much food prices will rise if half the farm workers are deported because literally half are undocumented. Not to mention the price of gardening, housekeeping, and construction. And every educated person knows that tariffs raise prices for the consumer. So, with the exception of low information voters, I think something else was at play.

I think there are a lot of people in this country who simply couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman of color. Rather than admit to their racism and misogyny, they pointed to the high price of food and housing or their fear of “violent” immigrants. And then there are many others who are extremely uncomfortable with transgender issues and their demands for recognition and inclusion. They’d prefer to stuff these people back in the closet rather than learn to use gender neutral pronouns, build gender neutral public bathrooms, and figure out how to deal with athletic competitions moving forward. They understand nothing about how gender-affirming care is saving lives. And I hope no one actually believed that schools are performing sex change operations or that Harris promotes tax-payer funded sex change operations for prisoners!

To say I am disappointed in our nation because of the outcome of this election is an understatement. The land of the free is less free for women of childbearing age, public health and OBGYN doctors, parents of school age children, and transgender individuals. It is a more dangerous place for pregnant women, OBGYN doctors, undocumented immigrants and naturalized citizens, black males, transgender people, and anyone in public spaces. It’s certainly a more frustrating place for investigative journalists, educators, and scientists. The ability to educate the public on real issues has become close to impossible with the proliferation of corporate media more interested in garnering clicks for money than distributing the factual information that will help us make wise choices. It’s not surprising that some educators have taken to social media to provide medical information, financial tips or history and science lessons. The problem is that none of them are vetted. Helpful but inconvenient content can be minimized by the platform, and conspiracy-laced misinformation can spread without being fact-checked. Salacious lies spread much faster than boring but necessary truths.

In light of the election results, I’ve spent the last three days trying to process what just happened. I’ve posted my frustration on Facebook and Instagram, and I’ve responded to others who are terrified, angry, sad, frustrated, and hopeless. Many feel deeply betrayed while others are gloating in their victory and playing despicable pranks on blacks and female college students. There are some who just want to agree to disagree and remain friends. I’ve avoided the gloaters altogether. But I’ve responded to the deeply disappointed folks by encouraging self-care and trying to restore their fighting spirit. And I’ve also responded to the “we can still be friends” folks with a resounding response that it matters to me why you voted for him. If someone understood that their vote was going to harm others so they can purchase cheaper eggs, then we cannot be friends. In my book, friends must share fundamental values, and I value people over temporary things. I also value having a respectable and competent president who doesn’t spend his time insulting other people and threatening those who oppose him.

In my coming blogs, I plan to share my thoughts about ways to move forward. But for the next week I will continue to sit with my emotions, process them, and begin to develop a way to turn these lemons into lemonade for the people who share my love for humanity. For now, I take comfort in the scripture that says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I can’t wait for this election to be over and for everything settle down. I know it won’t actually be over on election day because all the votes won’t be fully counted. But even if Harris wins (and I predict she will), it won’t be over because Trump has already set the stage to contest the results if he loses. He has Speaker Mike Johnson in his corner along with a bought and paid for Supreme Court. My hope is that Americans deliver the House and Senate to the democrats to effectively shut down their nefarious plan to steal the election if Trump loses.

Even if Harris wins, nearly half the country will feel like the world is coming to an end. They have been convinced that she is “stupid”, without policy plans, is a Marxist or communist, and is dangerous. They have been convinced that the country is falling apart despite all objective indicators that it is not. There is literally a fog of fear, misogyny, bigotry and blind devotion clouding their eyes and brains so that they cannot hear reason or have faith in their own five senses.

Trump supporters are incapable of trusting the economists, business leaders, constitutional law experts, psychologists, scientists, teachers, military generals and even Trump family members who are warning us of his fascism and dangerous plans that will negatively affect the economy, the environment, and vulnerable citizens. Even Elon Musk, the billionaire supporting Trump, has said that his economic plans will cause a lot of financial pain to millions of Americans at first, but that things will eventually get better. What does that mean and how much pain and for what? So, the top 1% can get another tax break and Trump can carry out his bigoted deportations? Unemployment is at a 50-year record low meaning immigrants aren’t stealing jobs but doing jobs we rely on.

Think for a moment about what it will mean to deport millions of people and all the businesses who will be hurting for employees. Think about the loss of customers for businesses and the loss of tax revenues to cities and to Social Security and Medicare that his mass deportation will cause. Think of all the heartache and pain he will inflict on people seeking a better life. His other policies are just as worrisome.

Think of how tariffs raise consumer prices. Mike Johnson has already promised to end the Affordable Care Act with no solid plan waiting to replace it. And Trump has offered no relief to working families, climate change, gun violence, or Social Security. He has offered JFK, Jr. a position in charge of our health when he has no medical or science background. He promises to give police immunity for police brutality and to weaponize the military against citizens he considers to be “the enemy from within”. He expresses his desire to take away the licenses of television networks he doesn’t like. The man who boasted about grabbing women by their genitals claims that “he will protect women, even if they don’t like it.” And just this week, he shared his desire to have Liz Cheney shot by a firing squad.

It has become crystal clear that Trump and his supporters believe that the real Americans are white Christian people who support him and that the rest of us are second class citizens residing in their country. Like he did before, he will work only on behalf of his supporters, not everyone. This is a man ruled by instinct and ego and has no regard for the rule of law nor our Constitution nor factual data. We’ve seen this firsthand, and we’ve been warned by those close to him. A future Trump Administration will be devoid of adults to stop him from following those instincts.

Should Harris win and take office, his supporters are fearful that minorities and liberals might take over and do what exactly? Trump has convinced his followers that only he can save this country from certain destruction of a country filled with black and brown people who are insane rapists and murderers. He’s claims that the entire country will become like Detroit if the Democrats win. That’s a lot to be afraid of if his claims were actually based in reality.

But the reality is very different and even though they are living it, they don’t believe it. Biden won in 2020 and what we’ve experienced is a growing economy, low unemployment, higher wages, new infrastructure projects taking place, savings and investments growing, lower crime rates, the pandemic under control, former students being freed from crippling student debt that structurally resists repayment, and a stronger NATO. Is everything perfect. Of course not! Inflation was high because of the pandemic, but it is back to normal, however that still leaves us with sticker shock. And people are still dying from Fentanyl smuggled in by American citizens, not immigrants. And we’re all upset by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine even though our soldiers aren’t actually fighting in those wars. No one likes seeing innocent people blown up and whole cities destroyed. Undocumented immigrants are still coming but the flow is less since Biden took executive action after Trump destroyed the bi-partisan immigration bill.

There are real problems that need to be dealt with so why fabricate problems? It’s a lie that children are having sex change operations at school, that Haitians are eating pets, that climate change is a hoax, that childless cat ladies are ruining the country, that doctors are killing newborns, that everyone wanted the abortion bans, and that most migrants are insane people here to rape and murder us.

If Trump wins, it will be the beginning of more than just fatigue, but the beginning of serious sorrows for many people. I told my husband yesterday that my biggest fear beyond his election was that Trump would lose the election and after unsuccessfully trying to steal it again, he would immediately announce his candidacy for 2028 to avoid prison. And worse, that we would let him do it.

I discovered I had a small talent for home design and decoration when I was a child playing with my Barbie dolls. Instead of requesting a Barbie Dreamhouse, I decided to use cardboard boxes to create my own one-story home for my Barbie. I had the best time designing the layout, putting it together, decorating each room and furnishing it. My mother recognized my interest and allowed me to decorate my own room, then the family bathroom, and then to provide input into the other rooms. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in business, I went on to earn a two-year interior design certificate and then briefly set up an interior design studio with three other women I met in design school. I didn’t last more than a year after discovering that I loved design and working with contractors, but I disliked the arrogance, stinginess, or fickleness of the clients. I closed my interior design business after a year and decided to utilize my hidden talent at home and on behalf of family and friends for free.

And I have. I decorated each of my homes and every one of them sold in one day. I chose our current home for its perfect layout and its peaceful aura and then proceeded to gut and renovate it. A strange twist of fate allowed me to help design and fully decorate my small office building at the University and to provide design input on the layout and design elements in the new student union building. And then my daughter who trusted me with her homes, asked me to decorate her two office suites. The Woodland Hills office suite became part of the building’s rental brochure.

After living in our current home since 2013 and making several upgrades throughout the years, my husband and I decided to make a few major changes. Because of my design experience, I’ve always acted as my own general contractor, meaning I decide on the scope of the work, select products and vendors, find and hire the right tradesmen, negotiate schedules and prices and oversee the work. It’s helps that I’ve had hands on experience painting and wall papering and that I learned about materials and measuring techniques in school.

At our advanced age, deciding on the scope of the work we wanted to do proved interesting. My priorities came in this order: comfort, added real estate value, easy maintenance, beauty and price. There was a time when beauty came first followed by added real estate value and easy maintenance was last. With these revised priorities, we set a budget of $20,000 and decided on the work we wanted done.

I adore hard surface floors whether wood or natural tiles. However, hard surface floors are hard on older feet, ankles, knees, hips and backs. Our downstairs is all hard surface and I must always wear orthopedic slippers to walk around or pay a painful price. Although I dislike carpet, our stairs and entire upstairs was carpeted for comfort’s sake. This time, my husband insisted on wood floors upstairs and we argued. The compromise was wood hallways and wood in his office. New carpet was installed on the stairs (safer) and it is the same carpet as the bedrooms and my office. We upgraded the baseboards as well and I did the painting myself and my husband installed them (despite my protests because of his back problems.) Saving a mere $200 is not worth the pain he is enduring nor the additional time he is spending on the project. We replaced the upstairs guest bathroom tile with a beautiful (and expensive) porcelain tile from Spain.

In the kitchen, we opted for a beautifully veined white quartz countertop to replace the granite one. We had to purchase a new sink and opted for another stainless steel (sound padded) double sink, slightly larger than our previous sink and decided to reverse the side of our garbage disposal in the process. For fun, we selected a new faucet for its three different stream flow options. And finally, we are utilizing the empty space beneath our staircase for storage, having a decorative and useful shelving unit installed.

Taking on this renovation at this time has served as a much-needed distraction from the stress of this contentious and consequential election. We’ve already cast our ballots and continue to donate to the Harris campaign, but we are staying away from most of the media and concentrating instead of the renovation. Since we aren’t traveling as planned because of Michael’s back issues, we had adequate discretionary funds to redirect to the comfort of the homestead with an eye towards a higher resale value.

The six things I want readers to know about renovations, whether big or small, are: 1) Set your priorities; 2) Build contingency funds into your budget because unexpected expenses are a given; 3) Interview trades people and ask for references and portfolio pictures of their work; 4) Follow your gut feelings about decisions; 5) research care and maintenance details before deciding on a particular material; and 6) be patient and prepare yourself to live in a disaster zone for longer than expected.

Like many Americans, I’ve been disappointed not only by the recent decisions of our current Supreme Court, but because they are being decided by mostly conservative men who lack basic ethical standards. I was disheartened to learn this week that Trump stopped the investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. So, we have two justices who view women as sexual playthings, three judices who lied in their confirmation hearings about Roe v. Wade being settled law, two others who take bribes, and others who repeatedly fail to recuse themselves when they have a clear conflict of interest in a case before the court.

My disappointment became outrage this week and so I sat down to write a letter to Chief Justice Roberts to express my lack of confidence in the highest court in our country because of their blatant lack of ethics and their dangerous recent decisions. I share my angry letter with the hope that my readers will be inspired to write their own letters. While we still have a democracy, our opinions do matter, and this Court needs to hear our collective demand for change.

October 15, 2024

Dear Justice Roberts,

I’m sad to admit that I have lost all respect and confidence in the Supreme Court.  As an African American grandmother, I am aware that the court has had a history of making decisions that adhere to societal prejudices against women and people of color as opposed to the statements on equally found in our Constitution.  At least those past poor decisions were not bought and paid for by billionaires.

I no longer trust this Court’s majority members because three of them lied during their confirmation hearings regarding Roe versus Wade being settled law.  Two of them were accused of sexual misconduct.  I especially cannot trust the rulings of members who take bribes and refuse to recuse themselves when a conflict of interest is evident.  Your majority Court is unethical, immoral, out of touch, and lacks credibility.

I watched in horror when you delayed the ruling on presidential immunity, and I cried when I heard your unbelievable decision. I have always been a law-abiding citizen of this country and have expected that no person is able to break the law without being accountable.  The fact that this Court has granted a president the right to take bribes, kill his enemies, and defraud the American people without consequence under cover of the Office is impossible for me to accept.

I’m not sure where this leaves us as a nation of laws.  I’m not sure that our country is now safe from an unethical and immoral president who is determined to harm fellow citizens for his or her own benefit. 

Your decisions weaken voting rights, women’s rights, and protections of our air and water leaving my grandchildren in danger of living in uninhabitable mayhem, absent the rule of law, vulnerable to senseless maternal death, and powerless to express their will through free and fair elections.  I predict young people will eventually take matters into their own hands and will ignore your rulings and perhaps utilize the assault weapons you allow to express their displeasure more often. This is the country you and your conservative Court have handed us. Do right by us while there is time.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall

Disappointed U.S. Citizen

After weeks of listening to candidate debates, speeches, interviews, and the pros and cons regarding ballot initiatives, this past Friday, my husband and I sat down together at our kitchen table and completed our election ballots. We signed, dated, sealed and deposited them in our local drop box at City Hall. Neither of us entirely trusts the mail these days and we wanted to avoid any possible mail delays or chaos at the polls on election day. I’m thankful to live in a state and county that provides easy access to the ballot for its citizens. Sadly, not every state values the voices of its citizens like California, and so I appreciate the legal warriors challenging new voter suppression rules and highlighting Republican plans to subvert election results. These defenders of democracy deserve our support.

Given our current situation, it is unlikely that we will have a definite winner on election day because many Democrats in particular are electing to vote by mail or drop box this year to avoid long lines and voter intimidation at the polls. I predict that Trump will try to declare victory on election night without the final voting tally and will once again seek to stop counting the ballots collected by mail and drop box. What is clear is that no matter the outcome of this election, a lot of people will be unhappy.

There are many anxious people who view this election as the most consequential election in our lifetime. I admit to being one of those people. There is so much anxiety that folks who would normally refrain from weighing into political theatre have broken their silence for this election. So many famous actors, singers, athletes, comedians and talk show hosts as well as high ranking military officers, old school Republicans, legal experts, and even psychologists have strongly endorsed Harris and warned us against voting for Trump. General Milley, who served in the Trump administration, went so far as to call Trump, “fascist to the core” and the “most dangerous person ever”.

And yet, the presidential election remains uncomfortably close. The reality is that Trump, like Hitler, offers his supporters people to blame for feelings of insecurity (that he manufactured) along with a false hope that he can fix everything by first extricating those bad people from society. Trump demonizes immigrants, democrats, journalists, judges, teachers, scientists, and transgender folks. He has openly promised to round up immigrants whom he believes shouldn’t be here regardless of legal status. He has promised to weaponize the justice department against his political enemies. He has promised police immunity against claims of brutality and the wrongful deaths of citizens. He has promised to shut down media outlets who scrutinize him because he refuses to be fact checked. And he has promised to invoke the military against protesters.

A good number of people approve of his agenda because they blindly accept false MAGA claims that kinship with Putin is to be admired, that public schools are performing sex change operations on children, that Haitians are eating pets, that migrants are stealing black jobs and buying up all the houses, that illegal immigrants are breaking into homes to rape, steal and murder residents, that doctors are killing newborn babies, that professors are indoctrinating students to hate white males, that women aren’t humble enough, that protesting against innocent deaths in Gaza is antisemitic, that tariffs punish our economic competitors, that tax cuts for the wealthy trickle down, that scientists are lying about climate change and poisoning us with vaccines to intentionally harm us, and that democrats control the weather to target Republican districts and then withhold disaster aid from them.

No matter which candidate loses this election, I predict there will be chaos in the streets because everyone truly believes that their candidate is trying to save the country. I plan to stock up on supplies to hunker down for several weeks until the immediate threats of violence have diminished. I predict there will be riots if not outright pockets of civil war. We have far too many impassioned individuals with guns in this country to consider ourselves safe after this highly consequential election. I pray that I am wrong.

If Harris wins, we will have protected our democracy from falling into a Russian style dictatorship where basic freedoms are lost, elections are truly rigged, equality in opportunity is destroyed, and the opposition is either jailed or killed. The dictatorial state will dictate science, history, news stories, pregnancy, education, sexual orientation, and judicial decisions. On the outside things will eventually seem peaceful, but it is a false peace when people are oppressed and lack information, hope, and opportunity. Innovation is stifled and poverty soon follows. This kind of dictatorship only benefits the dictator and the wealthy who remain useful and loyal to the dictator. It’s no surprise that Elon Musk has publicly embraced Trump. If Trump wins, he will be safe. If Trump loses, he will still be safe because our democracy and Constitution will remain intact.

In preparation for the outcome of this election, we have also secured new passports. Wouldn’t it be ironic if U.S. citizens became the newest migrants seeking political asylum, freedom from religious persecution, refuge from a dictator, economic opportunity, and safety in other countries around the world? Sadly, it could happen. And if it does, all those public figures who endorsed Kamala Harris may be among the first to leave. The second will be migrants either voluntarily or by force. Imagine the chaos of that mass exit on food prices and the invisible but necessary labor that will suddenly go undone. The third wave of migrants to leave the country will be people like me and my husband.

I’ve heard supporters of Trump claim that their candidate isn’t really a threat at all because he’s all talk and doesn’t plan to do any of the horrific things he says. They call people foolish for believing that Trump is a threat to democracy and implore us to believe that the true threat are the policies of Biden and Harris that are ruining the country.

The problem is that every metric of country health shows an improvement under the Biden/Harris administration. Crime is down, wages are up, inflation is coming down, the stock market is up, unemployment is down, economic growth is up, interest rates are going down, manufacturing is up, emissions are down, access to opportunities is up, illegal immigration is finally down, NATO membership is up, drug prices are down, and infrastructure improvements are up. On the downside, there are wars in Ukraine and the middle east, but our troops aren’t fighting in them. In an interconnected world, we’re actively trying to preserve democracies and save innocent lives through diplomacy rather than ignoring the fights altogether and handing Ukraine to Putin.

It’s often difficult to know who is telling the truth these days. But taking the presidential candidates at their word is probably the best we can do at this point. So, I’ve voted for the candidate who promises opportunities and says things that lift the nation and its citizens up. Others will choose the candidate who denigrates the nation and half of its people and promises nothing but retribution against his imagined enemies.

Whatever happens in the days following this important election, it is wise to be prepared for the worst and hopeful for the best.