Month: September 2026

I enjoy playing American Mahjong every week at the local senior center. It is a mentally challenging game that I thoroughly enjoy. I play with wonderful ladies, and we usually have lighthearted conversations during the few hours we are playing. However, the last two weeks have been a bit different.

Two weeks ago, I found myself playing with three Jewish ladies who had varying thoughts about the fact that Ed Sheeran fired Macklemore at the demand of billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft over Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech during his opening set. One lady was adamant that a concert or athletic event or restaurant was not the appropriate time and place for expressing political views. Her point was that people paid good money to simply enjoy themselves. So, she was against Macklemore. Others were not as disturbed by public protest but didn’t like Kraft’s strong-armed tactics. I eventually weighed in supporting every person’s right to use their platform to educate or express their opinions with audiences when the stakes are so high. I argued that audiences can decide how to respond to those expressed viewpoints. They could boo, applaud, or even leave. But demanding that artists and athletes (who are also human beings) keep silent in the face of injustice and inhumanity goes against my personal values. We agreed to end the conversation at that point.

Then this past week, I shared that the most outrageous thing I heard recently was the man who said California passed a law that babies could be aborted up to four weeks after they were born. They all agreed that that was in fact outrageous, but then one of the women said that there was a state where they passed a law making it legal to abort babies right after they were born. I said I didn’t believe it because that was clearly murder. I challenged her to produce the details for when and where such a law was passed. She couldn’t, but she was certain it was true. She challenged me to do the research and I did. No such law exists in any of the 50 states. At the time of the conversation, I shared my eyewitness account of an OBGYN of 15 years testifying before Congress that if a woman needs an abortion late in pregnancy, then something terribly wrong has happened that endangers the life of mother carrying a fetus that has either died or is no longer viable. The doctor testified that she has never had a late term pregnant woman demand an abortion. She said they work hard to save the lives of premature babies born under duress. She said that it is always a horrifying and tragic rush to save lives when a pregnancy is in distress. Doctors take an oath to do everything they can to save the lives of both mothers and newborns, not take them. With that, the woman at the table asked to change the subject and we all agreed.

I realized when I returned home and told my husband about the conversation, that most people are kind and genuinely care about others. Thankfully, none of the Jewish women were Zionist who disagreed with Macklemore’s message. The woman against late term (or after-birth) abortion wants to save innocent babies just like I do. The problem is that too many of us are either fooled into believing the worst things about each other or we think silence keeps the peace. In my thinking, silence allows the faulty underlying reasoning and thereby the cruelty, injustice, and terror of the helpless to continue.

I realize there are political operatives who are doing everything they can to fuel misinformation about others for political gain. Evil men like Donald Trump knowing spew lies that scapegoat minorities, disparage the reputations of their opposition, provoke unwarranted fears, and dehumanize whole groups of people. They want to stoke outrage in otherwise decent and caring people with outrageous claims like: the 2020 election was stolen, undocumented immigrants are crazed rapists and murders, Haitians are eating the cats and dogs, schools are performing transgender operations, immigrants are stealing jobs and draining our resources, Muslims are terrorists, Democrats are communists, doctors are aborting babies after they are born, women are demanding abortions at nine months pregnant, transgender women present a bathroom danger, Palestinians are animals, black people are unqualified, people who took the COVID-19 vaccine are no longer human, Sharia law is at our door, and the newest ridiculous claim, many pilots and flight attendants are members of the furry community. That last accusation came from Senator Tommy Tuberville on the Senate floor last week and has no purpose other than to stoke moral outrage.

All it generally takes to dispute these many ridiculous claims is common sense. Sadly, most of the claims are being perpetrated by savvy rich white Republicans against Democrats and minorities. They play into pre-existing prejudices and insecurities and the fact that most white people live sheltered lives and have no firsthand knowledge about how others actually live. This separation only makes the lies they hear from conservative media outlets every day seem reasonable. The Republicans hope to win elections by stoking culture wars based on exaggerations and outright lies (in addition to voter suppression) so that they can put forth an agenda that oppresses women and minorities while further empowering white Christian nationalists and enabling their oppressive anti-science agenda. They continue to rely on the gullibility of the uneducated and the silence of the informed. I told my husband that I wasn’t going to stay silent. Too many of us have been silent too long and therein lies the problem.

Let me be clear here. Silence in the face of such a willful misinformation campaign is effectively consent. And I do not consent. Our only hope for a sanity is if the majority of us won’t be silent either. We owe it to ourselves and our country and even to the ignorant among us to speak the truth with love and actual evidence.

I’m compelled to share my thoughts and opinions with my readers each week, mainly because I value being part of the public discourse and writing helps me clarify (and sometimes solidify) my own thinking on certain topics. However, I also want to influence the course of society in a direction that reflects my respect for nature and humanity. That said, I feel I would be falling short of my mission if I didn’t also write to lawmakers who ultimately create the laws from policy platforms that shape our country. So, I have written a letter to my congressional representative, Julia Brownley, and I share it with you hoping you will be inspired to write to your own representatives.

September 20, 2026

Dear Representative Brownley,

I am one of your constituents.  Although lately, under Republican rule, it has felt that we Americans no longer have people in Congress who actually represent them.  For several years, I feel like your voice has been silenced by the majority leader and his refusal to care about the needs of the people you were all sent there to represent.  Instead, the House of Representatives has become nothing more of an observer and rubber stamp for the destruction and corruption of Donald Trump.  I’m voting and hoping that this November successfully ushers in a true House of Representatives who will work on behalf of

the citizens and in keeping with the Constitution and the rule of law.

There are specific things that I petition you to consider taking up should the Democrats become the majority.  First, is reasonable regulation of AI that protects us from the potentially catastrophic harm it can do.  I’ve heard about the mishaps, and I’ve seen the whistleblower warnings and the uncertainty confirmed by executives at these tech companies and I am worried about the future. Like many Americans, I want the potential upside where AI can help cure diseases, discover vaccines, solve climate change, help farmers and help with many other solutions to lingering human problems.  Please create legislation that stops AI companies from allowing computers to impersonate real people, to act as companions and counselors to our youth, to supplant all but the least dangerous jobs, to invade our privacy through surveillance, to prevent hacking, to prevent models from developing biological weapons, and from choosing military targets. The chaos that is about to be released upon the world is frightening and begs for your immediate intervention. 

The second most pressing thing I want a Democrat House to take up is the restoration of the rule of law through accountability.  The level of lawlessness and corruption and self-dealing coming from Trump, his administration and his family is an affront to our national reputation, a drain on our resources, and a threat to our future faith and security in the rule of law.  Lawlessness at the top leads to lawlessness everywhere. 

The third thing I want a Democrat House to do is ensure our civil rights across the nation.  This includes restoring a woman’s right to reproductive healthcare, voting rights, and ensuring ICE no longer acts with brutality while it denies suspected undocumented immigrants their due process.  These detention centers should not be places of torture where human rights are ignored and women are raped. Stop this madness.  This is not who we are as a nation and Congress must act to stop these actions.

And my final petition is to restore public health by creating access to affordable healthcare for every American, providing paid family leave, restoring medical research funding, providing food security, promoting scientific expertise over conspiracies, regulating guns, and ensuring clean air, water, and food throughout the nation. We also need to ensure that people have access to relief from natural disasters.        

Of course there is much more to be done like immigration reform, campaign finance, and age restrictions on Congress and the Supreme Court, but these are my most pressing priorities, and I wanted to express them to you.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Juanita A. Hall

Voting citizen

Speaker Mike Johnson continually professes his Christianity and yet endorses the cruelest and “anti-Jesus” policies that injure people. So, as a Christian, I wrote him a candidly scathing letter urging him to repent and turn from his wickedness. As citizens, we have a Constitutional right to petition our government, and I take that right seriously. Occasionally, I share some of my letters, hoping others will be inspired to write letters, too.

September 12, 2026

Dear House Speaker Mike Johnson,

As a Christian, I will speak to you in a language you should understand.  I ask you to repent and to turn from your wicked ways and to do right by the American people before it is too late. You cannot get to abundant life by hating, lying, killing, stealing and destroying every person with a nationality, gender, or viewpoint different from your own. Where is the love?  Many people now equate Christianity with hate and cruelty. That is your Party’s doing!

It’s frustrating as an American citizen who values our Constitution and the rule of law as well as common decency to see today’s Republican Party abandon everything that is helpful for the citizens and the world.  We deserve better, not less.  I’m also a Christian but I see nothing of the teachings of Christ in your Party, nor in MAGA, nor in you. Jesus said that we will know a tree by the fruit it bears.  I see your fruit and that says everything about you and your Party.  You stare into cameras and lie on behalf of Trump.  Your Party clearly despises the compassion and empathy and free will Jesus stood for. You care nothing about the Constitution. Instead, you endorse personal greed, hate, abuse, and cruelty towards everyone who is not a white male. You allow the most destructive president in the history of our nation to have free reign to harm people and the environment as he enriches himself and his family and friends at our expense.  He is clearly an unhinged bully who plasters his name and ugly image everywhere with impunity. Your Party has abdicated its duty.  You have broken your oath to uphold the Constitution.  

The Republican Party is not concerned with the welfare of the people, but with satisfying the ego and passions of Donald Trump.  And to what end?  The destruction of the nation and its people?  I’m disgusted by your cowardice and/or complicity.  How dare you! 

I need not spell out the lies coming from your Party that disparage democrats, transgender people, immigrants of color, Muslims, feminists, and people of color while protecting pedophiles and the wealthy. But your accusation that the Democrats are communist is a stupid lie and a blatant fear tactic.  Your Party claims to be pro-life, but you care very little about the lives of the living with your policies that allow women to suffer, families to be separated, people to starve, innocents to be gunned down in public, and others to die without access to medical care. Even clean air and water and reliable public health policies are going down the tube.  We can’t trust the food we eat nor any health-related statements coming from this White House. The misinformation and anti-science stance endanger us all.  And worse, you call yourselves trying to engender patriotism. MAGA look like rabid freaks adoring themselves in red, white, and blue outfits. They feed on lies about America and myths about white superiority. They are clearly delusional and are being cut off from their loved ones because of it.

The more you try to erase history or to rewrite it, the more the actual ugly truth is coming out. Didn’t you learn in Sunday school that Jesus says that it is the truth that sets us free?  Or that all things that are hidden will be brought to light?  Isn’t this what the Bible tells us?  The path for America to heal from its past is not to hide it, but to confess and repent of its past wrongdoings and to do better. Working towards appreciating our diversity, aspiring to equity, and moving towards inclusion was a good thing.  But your Party poisons the good with clever misrepresentations and outright lies. You sell being asleep to society’s injustices as a better alternative to being “woke”.  You lie and say that women are callously aborting babies in the ninth month or even after they are born.  Not true.  But one MAGA actually said on camera that California passed a law that babies could be aborted up to 4 weeks after they were born.  That lie came from your side of the isle, and you do nothing to correct the record.  The devil is the father of lies, and your Party has sided with the devil while wearing the mantel of Christianity.  But you are no different than the Taliban. Many of us see you for the hypocrites you have become.   

It’s no wonder you need to suppress the vote to maintain power.  But it isn’t your power yet; it belongs to Trump and you need to continue to enable his self-serving destruction until you can take over. However, power gained through deception, suppression, and coercion only leads to revolution in a nation of people who value democracy and freedom. You think January 6^th was bad.  Once Americans see that you offer nothing more than the Taliban with continued corruption, cruelty, incompetence, and cowardice, I would hate to be you. 

The time to repent and turn from your wicked ways is now.  Don’t wait until patriotic Americans come to take their country back. And if you’re truly a Christian, you believe God will be your judge in the end.  And His Word has already revealed the destiny of liars and those who purposefully harm others. I urge you to repent and do better while you still can.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall   

Voting U.S. citizen

Once again, I exercised my constitutional right to petition our government and wrote to Hakeem Jeffries to express my desires for more fight ahead of the mid-terms and to deliver my wish list for what comes next should the Democrats take control. As always, I share this letter hoping my readers will be inspired to write letters of their own.

September 6, 2026

Dear House Minority Leader Jeffries,

I am in receipt of many requests from the Democrat Party for donations.  I refuse to give a dime to the Party not only because I am still furious over the Party’s refusal to respond (until it was too late) to demands that Joe Biden not run for a second term, but because I am unconvinced that the Party is effectively responding to our current outrages and that it will truly represent the best interest of the people. I hate that my daughter believes that both Parties are utterly corrupt and unworthy of leadership. Given the level of corruption, cruelty, and incompetency under Trump, I argue that this is a false equivalency, but like many Americans she is not paying close attention because she is simply trying to live her life. The Party’s outrage is far too quiet and is NOT meeting the moment.   

It is not that I am sitting on the sidelines with my wallet or my mouth closed.  I talk and write about our situation every day. As a senior citizen with limited funds, I donate to individual Democrat candidates across the country, to multiple activist groups like Indivisible, to several legal organizations that defend our democracy and rights in courts, and to humanitarian organizations.  My total investment in our country is several hundred dollars every month, not millions like the wealthy donors that politicians tend to court for special favors. 

I am an average progressive Democrat.  I listen to a lot of the people around me and I decided to send you a list of post mid-term requests that I feel compelled to share with you. I’m doing what I can to help us win back both the House and the Senate. I’m fearful of all the lies and schemes the Republicans are engaging in to muddy the waters and to prevent people from voting.  It bothers me not to see much push back from the Democrat Party though.  I’m grateful for the court battles but frustrated by your relative silence. Americans like me need to see you fight much harder in the court of public opinion.

My wish list begins with accountability. Should we win, there must be accountability for broken laws and unconstitutional acts perpetrated by this Administration.  We are suffering under the brutality of lawless ICE agents, an unlawful war, unlawful tariffs, an assault on our civil rights, vengeful prosecutions, a rollback in research and education, and a president who is taking bribes, enriching himself through market manipulation, and placing his name and image everywhere. We need to shore up our laws and our justice system to stop the grifting and exploitation of cowards in Congress and to reform this corrupt and activist Supreme Court.

Second, we need to protect abortion rights.  Women are in grave danger because state lawmakers either don’t understand or don’t care that pregnancy is a medical condition that can go very wrong and can endanger the physical and emotional life of a woman. Babies who were deemed unviable are being born simply to die.  The idea of fetal personhood denies women their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are being reduced to “hosts”, not people. It is a religious belief of some, not a medical reality, that life begins at conception. However, in nature less than half of human fertilized eggs result in a person being born. And frankly, it’s cruel to force the birth of a baby whom doctors knew was not viable outside the womb. The decision to have an abortion must be a legal option for women nationwide.  Stop allowing Republicans to lie about women choosing abortions in the ninth month or after birth!  Some folks believe them and your silence confirms this for them.

Third, we absolutely need a single payer healthcare system, a useful immigration system, and regulations for AI and guns.  We need campaign finance reform that removes private money from politics. We need to restore regulations that protect our environment and the restoration of research, education, and public health. We need a simplified and fair tax code wherein everyone pays their fair share.  And please remove that unfair cap on social security deductions from pay checks.   

Of course, there are many other things that need fixing, but these are my top priorities and the priorities I hear from the people around me. My greatest desire is to hear much more fight from the Democrat Party prior to the mid-terms.  And just maybe then, I will send you folks a check.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall