Month: May 2025

I’ve long believed that most people act in their own best interest. Even altruistic actions ultimately serve to make us feel better about ourselves. I’m a highly empathetic person and I have deep compassion for the challenges people face. I hate injustice and actively pursue resolution. I am driven to help others, but I acknowledge that I derive great personal satisfaction and even pleasure from alleviating someone else’s pain, bringing justice or joy, or solving a problem. People are helped and I feel fulfilled by being able to help. Thankfully, these pursuits are win-win situations. However, I recognize that not everyone is like me. Some people are only fulfilled by win-lose situations.

For many years, I projected my motivations onto others. As a result, I often excused people who hurt others because I believed the hurt wasn’t intentional. I chose to believe that the perpetrator was trying to fulfil a personal need and the harm to others was collateral damage. Because of this flawed mindset, a therapist once told me that I was far too forgiving. She told me that an adult considers the effect their actions will have on others before acting. She suggested that I needed to do more to hold people accountable for their harmful actions even if I thought that they were not intentionally trying to hurt me or others.

Recently, it was inconceivable to me that the American people would knowingly elevate a person to the office of president who lacked basic empathy and was blatantly cruel to others. I thought we would never elect a person who needed to win and cause others to lose. But they did. It hurts my soul to watch “winners” laugh and applaud at the destruction of people’s lives based on false accusations, bigotry, revenge, or carelessness. I truly believe that such people need psychiatric help if they derive pleasure from sending migrants to a foreign prison based on unproven accusations or applaud the firing of government workers on a whim or accept the separation of children from their undocumented parents or admire the bullying of lawmakers, judges, law firms, universities, journalists and companies into quiet submission. This is not healthy behavior; it is sadistic.

Many say that Trump behaves like a toddler: illogical, prone to tantrums, a short attention span, unpredictable, and seeking his own gratification without regard for others. While that is undeniably accurate, I’ve come to the conclusion that Trump is a sadist. He genuinely takes pleasure in the forced submission and cruelty he inflicts on others. I’ve observed that he tries to mask his pathology through fake charms and storytelling, conning people to believe his cruelty is justified. It’s obvious to reasonable adults that he latches onto and promotes conspiracies and false accusations while claiming to protect Americans from fictional threats. One example is his preposterous accusation that governments emptied their prisons and insane asylums and sent those folks to our country to murder us. Or how about the Haitians who are eating the cats and dogs? Or schools who are performing transgender operations without parental permission? Or the “epidemic” of transgender men in women’s sports? And then there are the journalists who report fake news, liberal judges who are corrupt, and universities who are racists and antisemitic. Without evidence, he claims there is rampant waste, fraud and abuse in government. Traitorous generals who should be hanged. The Biden crime family. And how about the countries around the world who are taking advantage of us?

The list of false accusations and manufactured threats to justify his cruelty grows every day. And some people willingly ignore or approve of his actions until his actions negatively affect them. And they inevitably will because it is his nature to be cruel. However, I think that after meeting Putin and especially Kim Jong Un, Trump has discovered that he can use his cruelty to achieve a seductive end goal: greater personal power and unlimited riches.

I’m beginning to believe that Trump ultimately wants to be like Kim Jong Un, a rich ruler within an isolated country. He wants to revel in the outward accolades and loyalty of the people, especially if it is compulsory because he feeds on the pain of others. Like Kim and Putin, those who object or do not comply to his satisfaction face prison or even death. Trump’s need for inflicting pain is reckless and without any tangible goal in mind beyond feeding his ego and his bank account. He needs the military parade. He needs gold toilets. He needs to see world leaders grovel at his feet. He needs his name and picture plastered everywhere. He needs adoration. He is a sick person. But those who surround him are also sick. Their proximity to power makes them disregard their morals. However, unlike Trump, they have a vision for the country beyond feeding their own egos and bank accounts. And that makes them even more dangerous.

JD Vance, Mike Johnson, Elon Musk, and Marco Rubio may not be sadistic egomaniacs with insatiable greed like Trump, but they have a vision for America that imperials the lives of women and minorities. Trump wants us to be like North Korea while they want us to be more like Afghanistan under the Taliban. They are seeking to create a country where white heterosexual men are in total control and the rest of us fall in line with their viewpoint. In the country they re-create, they control art, education, and science. White men are in charge, men of color are the labor, women are relegated to the home and baby-making, gays are back in the closet, and corporations are subject to government rule. Personal freedoms will be tossed out along with the Constitution. The Congress and the Courts will no longer be co-equal branches of government, but subject to the whims of the executive branch. This will be a police state. These American Taliban are using Trump’s recking ball actions to clear the path for them to take over.

But we can stop them. We have a short window of time to reject both the cruelty and the plan. So far, the Courts are holding up, but judges are under attack. The Republican led Congress has already sworn fealty to Trump because they are either complicit or afraid of him. Using our voices, we must embolden those who are afraid by making them more afraid of us than of Trump. We must never agree in advance to the rollback of our freedoms. The attacks on due process, free speech, and basic rights must be met with resistance. I understand that June 14th, Trump’s birthday and the date of his military parade is also the “No King’s Protest” day. We must participate.

If we do nothing, we will certainly see a very different country moving forward and this will no longer be the land of the free nor the home of the brave. It will be more like North Korea in its isolation from the world and like Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

My mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day sometimes fell on the same day. So, Mother’s Day was always a big celebration of her. And in my opinion, she deserved all the love and accolades and gifts we showered upon her each Mother’s Day. She was a loving, attentive, hardworking and supportive mother who was far better as a single parent than as the wife of my violent, unpredictable alcoholic father. In truth, I loved them both, but I only trusted her.

My mother was born on May 13, 1936. She passed away on an exceptionally beautiful spring day, April 11, 1994, just one month before her 58th birthday. I was providing hospice care at my home, and it was difficult watching her lose her appetite, her strength, her smile, and eventually her battle with breast cancer. She was not ready or willing to die, which was evident in her desire to keep living. In fact, the day she passed, she asked me to take her to Pier One Imports. However, she clearly lacked the strength for a shopping trip, so instead she settled for a wheelchair ride through the neighborhood to enjoy the many beautiful flowers in bloom. We share a love for plants and a green thumb. Soon after the walk, and as predicted at her final doctor’s visit, the cancer reached her heart. The cause of death listed on her death certificate is cardiopulmonary arrest due to metastatic breast cancer. She had been in so much pain that I was hesitant to call the ambulance when she stopped breathing, but I knew she wanted to continue to fight despite the pain. So, I called 911. When they arrived and began working on her, I wondered if she would be angry with me for denying her the relief she was finally given. They revived her and her carried her away in the ambulance. She passed away in route to the hospital. I know this because the ambulance attendee felt compelled to call me that evening to recount how he watched her “decide” to go.

In death as in life, I have enjoyed an exceptional and very close relationship with my mother. Days after she passed, she literally guided me to the unusual hiding place of her Last Will and Testament after I spent hours searching my files for it. In a brief moment of rest, I clearly heard her voice say to me that her Will was upstairs in my master bathroom in the second drawer of my vanity. That seemed both impossible and ridiculous, but her voice was too clear to ignore. So, I trudged up the stairs, went into my bathroom and decided to be methodical and start with the top drawer and work my way down. As soon as my hand touched the top drawer, her voice said to me in her familiar reprimanding tone, “I didn’t say that drawer.” I stopped immediately and obeyed. I opened the second drawer, and stuck to the side of the drawer was her Will.

For several years following her death, I frequently met my mother in dreams so vivid that I became somewhat confused as to whether she was really dead. I felt as though I was living in two alternate universes. The nightly dreams were beginning to mess with my daytime thought processes, and then they suddenly ceased. Now, I am able to welcome the occasional meeting with my mother in my dreams. I miss her physical presence, but I believe her spirit is alive and well and that she is a part of that cloud of witnesses. I talk to her about the important things. I point out the wonderful things. I mention some of my concerns. I don’t know whether or not she can hear me, but I choose to believe she can. I find comfort in that.

In many ways, I carry on my mother’s legacy of nurturing others. We are both highly empathic with generous spirits and so people tend to gravitate to our warm energy. My mother was an extrovert, but I am an introvert, so our expression of care is different. My mother approaches people, but people tend to approach me. Just yesterday, a lady leaving the grocery store stopped and commented to me that my smile brightened up her day. I wasn’t even aware that I was smiling. When I look in the mirror, I often see my mother’s warm smile starring back at me. She named me after herself, so each time someone calls my name, I am reminded of her, and I like it.

So, this past Mother’s Day, like every Mother’s Day since her passing, I spent a good portion of the day remembering her. I recall her humanity, her many accomplishments, wisdom, love, and encouragement as well as her flaws, fears and missteps. She was my biggest cheerleader, and I feel that she continues to be. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You are loved and your physical presence is missed, but your spirit is always welcome to be with me.

The last hundred years has provided unequivocal evidence to everyone in the world that heterosexual white males are not the superior beings many once thought. When given the opportunity, people of color, women, and LGBTQ people have demonstrated the reality that talent, intelligence, ingenuity, strength, courage, and moral decency are not bestowed in greater abundance upon any particular race or sex among people. Biology confirms that beneath the color of our skin, we are in fact one species, making race a purely social construct. And to top it off, biology and neuroscience have shattered the mythical binary of male and female, revealing a sex and gender spectrum that can be seen both in the genetic code, the obstetrician’s observation, and in brain activity. However, these revelations present an existential threat to sub-par heterosexual white males and the weak women who covet their protection.

Many of these people view Donald Trump and his policies as a way to turn back the clock to a time when male whiteness was superior and deserving of the opportunities and privileges afforded only to them. They justified their genocide of native Americans to steal their lands and their enslavement of blacks to steal their freedom, labor, and dignity by believing, despite all evidence, that others were inherently inferior to themselves and therefore slightly less human. The reality is that they had more lethal weapons at their disposal and a propensity to use them.

But over time, through undeniable accomplishments, protests, perseverance, courage, heartache and even bloodshed, the myth of white male superiority crumbled. Everyone could clearly see that capability, creativity and courage are traits spread across humanity irrespective of race, gender, or sexual orientation. For a season, particularly within the U.S., progress toward a more equitable and inclusive country was being made. Our diversity was finally being appreciated for the strength it actually is. Although we were not yet a perfect Union, discrimination laws were overturned, the doors to opportunities were opening, and historic impediments to success were being remedied. For the first time, the historically oppressed with the talent, intelligence, creativity, energy, and ambition could finally climb the ladder of success. And many of them did to the silent chagrin of some less talented, less creative, and less ambitious white folks. For the first time, white male heterosexuals were required to compete for societal positions they once assumed belonged only to them. Envy and insecurity along with the pushback against this progress was inevitable.

I think the tipping point for many white people was not only the accension, but the intelligence, grace, and success of Barack Obama and his family when they occupied the highest seat of power on the planet, the White House. Their core belief in the supremacy of whiteness was not only challenged but threatened. The candidacy of Hillary Clinton after Obama further challenged and threatened the supremacy of their maleness. It shocked the system’s progress when Donald Trump, a clearly inferior candidate in intelligence, creativity, and basic decency was elected. He was a terrible president, but he along with the racist and misogynist in the country refused to give up their dream of reclaiming their domination. It came as no surprise to me that it took another white male in 2020 to defeat Trump. And perhaps 2024 was too soon to expect a white change of heart.

Despite the objective reality that Kamala Harris was smarter, wiser, more experienced, and clearly a better human being, Donald Trump defeated her in 2024. Although there is speculation that he won through voter suppression, lies, and perhaps other election rigging tactics, he is once again the president. It’s regrettable that more eligible voters declined to vote than voted for either candidate. And those who voted for Trump cited the desire for lower prices as a shield from admitting that they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman of color. The depth of the racism and misogyny at work has become evident in the days following the election. Not among the masses, but among the MAGA loyalists who embody about 30% of the American population.

The cruelty and chaos we are experiencing today is their last-ditch effort to turn back the progress we have made toward a more equitable society. They want the good ole days back when white men held all the reins of power and had first dibs on the best opportunities. They covet the jobs that don’t require an education but pay them enough to live. The men want women to return to being subservient to them and for people of color to fear them. They want LGBTQ folks back in the closet. Trump wants to dominate and so do they.

What we are witnessing is what some are calling, “extinction burst”. It’s a temper tantrum that happens when a child realizes he will not get his way. It’s like the child who viciously breaks everything in sight until he wears himself out. Trump and MAGA are those children. We see it in their constant rage against women, against immigrants of color, and against transgender folks. It’s amplified in the ridiculous unconstitutional executive orders and the discriminatory policies being thrust upon us. It’s the bullying, the firings, the book banning, and even the tariffs. It’s their last-ditch effort to force acceptance of their mythical white male supremacy. But we stand tall and simply refuse.

They can burn every history book and confiscate every video and close every museum door, but the truth is here to stay because it lives in the heart of decent people throughout the entire world who aren’t going to bend the knee. We are using our rational adult voices for progress and in defense of our constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are protesting in the streets, taking them to court, and showing up at their town halls. Some are putting their bodies between ICE agents and their would-be victims.

Rational Americans aren’t going to allow these petulant children to remove our due process, our freedom to speak, nor our freedom to assemble. Their temper tantrum is being met by the adults in the room who refuse to relent. And in the end, they will relent.

So, I’m hopeful because I’m convinced that rational citizens, together with the courts and world leaders, will make sure that Trump and his MAGA followers will be denied the white male dominion they seek. I’m just hoping the “extinction burst” ends sooner rather than later because they are breaking a whole lot of stuff and the clean-up isn’t going to be easy.

This past week, the Republican majorities in the House and Senate codified the Trump tariffs, essentially relinquishing their Constitutional duty over trade tariffs to a president who clearly either doesn’t understand tariffs or wants to use tariffs for a nefarious purpose even if they tank our own economy. In fact, on threat of tariffs, the economy shrank by 0.3% for the first time since the pandemic era as companies stockpiled imported goods. The stock market is down, and prices are as high as ever. This isn’t Biden’s economy as Trump gaslights; it’s all him!

Economists, business executives, and political analysists can’t figure out his actual motives for starting this trade war against the world. They repeatedly warn that no one wins a trade war and that farmers, businesses, investors, and consumers all suffer under the weight of tariffs. They also agree that Trump’s disturbing rollout revealed deeply flawed tariff calculations, a lack of understanding about trade deficits, and an ill-conceived presentation that included a country with only penguins as residents.

Trump began his tariff debacle claiming that tariffs were necessary to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country from Mexico and Canada. The truth is American demand for the drug drives “Americans” to traffic the drugs across borders and very little of it is coming from Canada. Then he moved on to his desire to rectify our trade imbalance with other countries because they were “taking advantage of us”. This makes no sense either because less populace and poorer countries will never be able to establish a trade balance with the U.S. because they lack both the demand and the funds to purchase enough goods to create a balance. In fact, we may not even have goods to trade that they need or desire. And now he claims that he wants to bring manufacturing jobs back. The fact is that businesses have come to rely on the less expensive labor found in other countries and they source many of their manufacturing materials from around the globe. An iPhone made in the U.S. would cost about $4,000. Besides that, it would take years and huge capital investments to build manufacturing plants for everything Americans consume if businesses had the faith to even begin such a process. Under scrutiny, none of his stated reasons make much sense.

With this understanding most thinking adults are left scratching their heads. However, it seems to me that ego is at the root of these tariffs. Trump seems to have a deep-seated need to publicly dominate everyone, especially other world leaders, requiring them to “kiss his ass”. Many have noticed that Russia and North Korea were left off his list. Perhaps he kisses Putin’s ass and so admires Kim that he wouldn’t dare tariff either of them? According to Administration reports, many countries are humbly seeking exemptions or manageable concessions to avoid financial disaster. Even U.S. farmers, small businesses, and whole industries are begging for exemptions to avoid going out of business.

But some countries are turning away from the U.S. altogether and establishing alternative trade partnerships. And most notably, China isn’t playing his game. To punish China’s obstinance, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. China went as far as reciprocating with 125%, saying that rate will end imports into China, so they had no need to go any higher. And in a bold move, China has halted shipments to the U.S. and have called upon other countries to stop trading with the U.S. altogether because we are unreliable. Those buying goods directly from China are being slapped with huge tariffs bills from UPS and Fed Ex. Not surprisingly, our ports are reporting a dramatic slowdown of imported goods from China and people are being laid off. The trucking business is also taking a hit, and farmers are in panic mode as trade deals with China for corn and soybeans have been destroyed. I think panic among U.S. consumers will soon follow.

Most of the goods on store shelves come from China. Retailers estimate that shelves will begin to show signs of scarcity in about two weeks. Ahead of tariffs, many retailers, both big and small, stocked up, but the supply on hand will soon be diminished. Some retailers believe they will soon go out of business altogether. Scarcity means higher prices and lost jobs. It’s simple supply and demand. Remember how difficult it was to get toilet paper during the pandemic and how many people were out of work? Do you remember the long food lines?

This past week, Trump advised the American people to understand that they will need to cut back and endure some pain for a while. He told parents that they should only buy two dolls this Christmas instead of the usual thirty and expect to pay more for them. This from the same billionaire class Administration that told us that only fraudulent social security recipients would complain if their monthly check didn’t show up.

So, what do we do? First, we make sure our Republican representatives are more afraid of us than they are of Trump. We protest in the streets, we flood their offices with emails and phone calls, we show up at their offices, and we vote them out of office in 2026. Second, we financially support the many organizations that are bringing lawsuits against this Administration for their tariffs and their lawlessness. Third, we enthusiastically support businesses that openly defy Trump policies and boycott those businesses that cower under threat or openly support the Administration and its policies. And finally, we stock up sooner rather than later on the most necessary goods for the next year.

In previous posts, I shared how we expanded our vegetable garden, did any renovations, secured new cell phones, stocked our pantry and stored basic household necessities ahead of Trump taking office. Well, yesterday, I purchased Christmas toys for my grandsons in anticipation of the shortages. Everything was slightly more expensive, and each toy was made in China except for the Hot Wheels (which were from Canada).

My guess is that the true motive behind these tariffs is to help establish a Trumpian white male dominance across the entire world. It is pure arrogance driven ego. That is the common denominator among Trump, Musk, Vance, Mike Johnson and the Cabinet members (arrogance and big egos). However, at their core they are broken, insecure, empathy-lacking, sociopaths. They are real life evil villains hellbent on shaping and ruling the world.

But perhaps we should all breathe a sigh of relief that the rest of the world sees Trump and his Administration for the corrupt, incompetent, and sloppy group of egomaniacs that they are. Many aren’t buying what they are selling. In fact, the Trumpian candidates in both Canada and Australia lost their elections this week as backlash against Trump. And Americans are slowly waking up to the reality of who this man is. One hundred days in, he is now underwater in every poll on every issue. So, I’m keeping the faith that this kind of evil will once again be defeated by our united resistance. So, resist in every way you can.