Month: February 2020

Social media is here and we’re not quite sure just how to deal with it. The question of what is appropriate to share is being addressed by parents, spouses, friends and employers. Just this week my own workplace released it’s intended social media policy in a draft of the revised employee handbook. The response sparked disagreement among employees as to what amount of influence an employer should be able to exercise over the social media posts of its employees. Not surprisingly, I’ve had conversations with family members and friends about the prudent personal use of social media.

My husband is not on social media at all. He has never signed up for a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media account and he doesn’t look at mine. He is simply disinterested and doesn’t see any advantages to any of it. He has imposed restrictions on my use of it as a spouse who could be impacted by what I post. I don’t talk about him and I don’t talk about travel until we have returned. And I don’t post any items of value. He is rightly afraid of making us a target. He is an extremely private person who is baffled by why others openly share so much of their private lives with strangers.

I have a different viewpoint. I believe we can learn from others and offer support, congratulations and well wishes to people who have been in our lives. For the most part, I consider myself a Facebook voyeur, silently keeping up with the marriages, jobs, movements and births of former students, friends and colleagues. What I myself post is less about my family’s life and more about life issues. I care about social justice, health, politics, the environment, public safety, diversity, economic mobility, and creating a better world. I see social media as a mobilization tool. So, I use social media to engage around these issues. I appreciate reading the opinions of my Facebook friends on social topics that interest them. Others have a different take on the role of social media.

I had a conversation with a younger colleague this week who admitted that she got most of her news from social media. As a person who is fully aware that there are targeted misinformation campaigns on social media, I cautioned her against using Facebook as a reliable news source. It is not a reliable news source with capital N.O.T. The scary part was that she felt certain that she could distinguish between what was legitimate information and what wasn’t. The reality is that even a professor widely shared a false report to her embarrassment because she was fooled into thinking a news article was factual and it wasn’t.

With technology becoming ever more sophisticated it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction. When bad actors can make it appear that an individual is somewhere he is not or that a candidate is saying something she is not saying, the age of misinformation has reached a new high and social media is where this misinformation is finding its home. So, let the reader or consumer beware. I’ve decided that I will not read news nor share articles on social media, period.

Beyond the evils of misinformation, social media has been linked to the rise in depression among young women in particular. It appears that others are living lives that are enviable. Bullies wreck havoc on the psychological well being of others. The number of likes becomes too important. This is a trap that parents are going to have to figure out. I’m grateful that this wasn’t a huge issue when my kids were growing up. I just cautioned that what they put out there is forever a reflection of them and can enhance or damage their reputation. My grown kids use it, but somewhat sparingly. One uses it for business but stays away from controversial topics.

Social media isn’t going away anytime soon. We will all need to figure out what role, if any, it will have in our lives moving forward. I’ve decided that it is good for some things and not for others, especially reliable news.

I opened my mail-in ballot, otherwise known as an absentee ballot, and realized that I wasn’t ready to choose a presidential candidate. Many whose names appear on the ballot have dropped out, the most popular among them were Andrew Yang, Cory Booker, Deval Patrick and Michael Bennet. Thankfully, they have narrowed the field for me, but I’m still in serious deliberation.

First on my mind is electability over the brutal Trump lying and cheating machine as well as the ability to win in battleground states. Second on my mind is where each candidate stands on the issues. And third are personal traits such as health, intelligence and character. There are two candidates whom I am confident can beat Trump. They are Amy Klobuchar and Michel Bloomberg. Although I would enthusiastically support whomever wins the democratic nomination, if it is not one of these two, I would likely have butterflies in my stomach for months because the other front runners have vulnerabilities that frighten me.

First among the scary candidates to me is Bernie Sanders. I think he is too far left and the label democratic “socialist” will scare away too many voters, especially in battleground states. While I agree with him that income inequality has gotten out of hand, I’m not certain that his solutions are the answer. I agree that the wealthy and corporations should pay more in taxes. I agree that access to healthcare is a human right, however I am skeptical of his Medicare for all solution. I don’t agree that college should be free, but I do believe that those who can pay should pay and that government grants should be far more robust for needy students to the point where they do not have to take out student loans. I agree with eliminating student debt. As for his personal traits, he is smart but he also comes off as short-tempered and impatient with people. He had a heart attack and I’m afraid he might not last. I put Warren in the same category as Bernie except I like her temperament a lot more and I don’t worry about her health as much.

If I believed Americans were ready to accept a gay man married to another man, I would readily vote for Pete Buttigieg. While he is an impressive human being, he would be a lightening rod for religious conservatives and would further divide our country over the issue of sexual orientation. I like where he stands on the issues and I greatly admire his intelligence, health, positive energy and character. I enjoy hearing him articulate his ideas. He would make a great vice president and I hope that whomever the nominee is will select him.

And finally, I have given up on Joe Biden for two reasons. The first is that the Republicans successfully tainted his reputation among too many voters because of his son’s business dealings in Ukraine. Although his dealings were not illegal, they look ugly enough to do real damage to him. Innuendos about Hunter’s business deal won’t disappear if Biden is the nominee. And secondly, Biden isn’t performing well enough on the debate stage or in some of the town halls and he isn’t raising enough money. I’m fine with him on the issues and I’m okay with his character, but he isn’t articulating anything particularly well. I like Joe Biden as a person and I was pushing for him early on, but he really looks old and worn out to me. I see him and feel like he has had the stuffing knocked out of him. He looks like the tenacious fighter who just won’t give up. And I just want him to throw in the towel already.

So, I’ve narrowed my choices to Amy Klobuchar and Mike Bloomberg. I do think Mike would beat Trump by a wider margin than Amy though. His adds are impressive and he has the money to fight hard and smart. I heard that he is hiring two experts: one on how to get under the skin of a narcissist and a comic to weaponize that knowledge. I like both Michael and Amy the issues. However, Mike has character baggage with his push for stop and frisk that was a racial profiling nightmare for black and brown men in New York and across the nation. I have to balance that stop and frisk policy with the acknowledgement that the murder rate dropped by 68% during his administration and many of those lives saved were also black and brown. His age is also an issue for me, although he seems healthy, mentally strong, and energetic.

But Amy hits all the boxes for me. I think she can pull off a win against Trump because she is truthful, likeable, and smart. I like her moderate pragmatic policies. And her character, health, energy and presence are refreshing. I wonder if Mike would be willing to throw some of his 68 billion dollars her way if she wins the nomination and lend out those experts? I also believe that a Bloomberg-Klobuchar would be unstoppable and would place Amy in the position of an eventual presidency.

It sounds like I’ve made my choice on paper. But I’m going to wait until the very last minute to fill out my ballot.

This was an incredibly bad week for our nation as the very fabric of who we have actually become was exposed. This week the rule of law, truth, common decency and even our sense of what is fair, good, and right were literally thrown out like garbage. Justice was not served. Even Christian values were openly mocked by a man who is vindictive, volatile, and vulgar. It was difficult to stomach. But at the same time, his approval ratings reached an all time high of 49%. The decision for Americans in 2020 is about what our values will be moving forward. This is our year to decide who we are and what we care about. My revulsion at what I witnessed this week exposed my values as an American.

First, I recognized just how deeply I care about truth and actual facts. I care about accurate facts and truths because they are the foundation upon which consequential decisions should be made. As a rational human being I rely upon what I believe to be factual and truthful information to inform my responses to issues like climate change, my health, and who I vote for. Having a president who perpetually lies and covers up the truth is dangerous to voters and to policy makers. I watched this president lie about wanting to protect pre-existing conditions in his State of the Union speech when at the same time behind the scenes his administration is in court to get rid of it. He said he would forever protect Social Security and Medicare when the week before he said he was considering cuts. He lied about the Obama economy that created more jobs than his economy. He completely ignores a deficit that has reached 23 trillion dollars because of tax cuts and doesn’t mention cuts in food stamps for the poorest among us. But people, believing these lies and never hearing the truth, will vote for him to their own detriment.

The second thing I recognized is how frightened I am for our nation because of a man who is so vindictive and volatile that those around him have to be extraordinarily courageous to expose his corruption. Senator Mitt Romney bravely held onto his convictions by voting to remove Trump from office this past week. He is now being publicly ridiculed not only by Trump, but by the GOP and their media outlets for trying to hold this president accountable for obvious wrongdoing. Colonel Vinmen who testified under oath about what he heard, and even his brother, were fired. And so was the Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sundland, who also testified as to the corruption he witnessed. The failure of the Senate to conduct a fair trial and to hold Trump accountable for what they know were impeachable offenses is frightening for the rule of law moving forward. They allowed him to take away Congressional oversight of the executive branch of government. That leaves our whole nation vulnerable to the corrupt and self-serving whim of this vulgar man.

And finally, I recognized just how dismayed, deeply disappointed, and even disgusted I am by Americans who continue to support this president in the face of his lies, corruption, brutality, volatility and vulgarity. In 2016, some Americans just wanted to blow things up in Washington and so voted for Trump. Well he did blow things up. Like when he separated children from their parents at the border. Like when he pardoned a war criminal. Like when he abandoned the Iran Nuclear Deal. Like when he awarded Rush Limbaugh, a known and outspoken racist, the Medal of Freedom. Like when he openly mocked Christ’ admonition to love your enemies. Like when he says he has never needed to ask for forgiveness. Like when he threw out regulations to protect our water and air. Like when he hid the scientific evidence about climate change. Like when he started tariff wars? Like when he gave tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations who instead of raising wages, bought back stock and blew up the deficit. Like when he cut food stamps for the poor. Like when he referred to poor nations as “shit hole” countries and added more countries to his banned list this week. Like when he keeps appointing barely qualified federal judges who will make life hell for gays, women, immigrants, and minorities moving forward. Like when he mocks people with disabilities.

Americans of good will must really ask themselves if any of us are better off? Is our nation a better place? Are we kinder to each other or meaner? Does the rule of law matter for government leaders? Has the swamp been drained or are the swamp creatures running wild with impunity? Are there fewer mass shootings or more? Are our climate and environmental issues being addressed or ignored to our peril? Do our children and grandchildren have honorable role models in government? Do more people have access to affordable healthcare or fewer? A few people have a lot more money, but most people in this country have less given inflation because wages are growing far too slowly. A few depraved people feel happy that immigrants, religious minorities, gays, and people of color are being targeted and mistreated. A few angry people just want to stick it to anyone and everyone without thought as to how this man is actually hurting them and the nation. Do we want to continue to wake up to a new disaster every morning because of this president’s volatility? Is the fear of vengeance the way we want our lawmakers make decisions? Is vulgarity the norm we want to embrace as our national character?

The 2020 election will reveal who we truly are as a nation. I’ll be voting for anyone who isn’t a lying, corrupt, and depraved human being. My vote will be against vindictiveness, volatility, and vulgarity. So, that means I will definitely not be voting for Donald J. Trump.

It wasn’t enough that our nation had to mourn the sudden passing of basketball legend Koke Bryant, his 13 year old daughter and seven other parents and children in a tragic helicopter crash last Sunday. We also had to endure the passing of fairness, truth, law and order, and a big piece of what makes our nation great: our Constitution and the safety net of the separation of powers. There must be a price to pay for the cowardly and corrupt Republican senators who worship at the feet of partisan politics rather than protect and defend our Constitution. They betrayed us! They shamefully refused to hold Donald Trump accountable for his corruption, specifically his abuse of power and obstruction of justice. In the past four years these were among a host of other crimes that they let slide. No more! I want my country back. These GOP senators no longer deserve to represent this nation and its citizens. And we don’t have to simply throw up our hands in disgust; we can fight.

I was in conversation with a colleague this week who shared his strategy for fighting in 2020. I had one of those light bulb moments when you realize there is a whole new world of opportunity. He simply said that he was going to financially support democratic candidates running against GOP senators across the country. This was a huge eyeopener for me. That strategy hadn’t even occurred to me. It’s sad, but research clearly shows that in this nation money influences elections. It takes money to run a successful campaign. Our collective donations can make the difference in the outcome of the 2020 campaigns against the cowardly GOP senators who proved themselves unworthy to represent us from states other than our own.

There are 16 GOP senators up for re-election this year. Starting at the top, and the worse offender of all, who admitted that he was in lock step with the White House as Senate Majority Leader to get to a swift acquittal of Trump is Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Other offenders are Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who spews so much nonsense in defense of Trump that he is unredeemable. There is Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Martha McSally of Arizona, David Perdue of Georgia, Jim Risch of Idaho, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cindy Hyde Smith of Mississippi, Steve Daines of Montana, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Tom Tillis of North Carolina, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

In addition to sending funds to their Democrat opponents, if you live one of these states or have friends or family in one, contact those you know and remind them to either register to vote or to check their registration, and to be sure to vote because running against someone with longstanding name recognition is difficult. You can also become a campaign volunteer to canvas, make phone calls, etc. The starting point is to find the name of the GOP senate opponent and provide three good policies they are running on to share with friends and family in that state and on social media.

For example, in Kentucky, Democrat Amy McGrath is running against Mitch McConnell. The two are in a statistical tie right now and money to get her message and name out there in Kentucky will make a huge difference. But so will being able to articulate why she deserves the votes of Kentucky citizens. I would highlight her pro-gun control stance, her fight against climate change stance, and her pro-healthcare stance as reasons to vote for her. I’m donating to her campaign today. And I will donate to Democratic senate races across the nation. I’m going to use my Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote the opponents of every GOP senator who is up for re-election until election day.

That said, we can’t afford to forget to also support the four democrat senators who are up for re-election this year. They also need support. They are Doug Jones of Alabama, Gary Peters of Michigan, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hamshire.

We flipped the House of Representatives in 2018. Now is the time to flip the Senate and to remove the corrupt and cowardly Republicans from our nations capital. They no longer deserve to be there. Of course, it’s a given that Trump has to go, too. Let’s make it a landslide defeat of the corrupt and cowardly in 2020.