Fully Present Post 50

Saturday morning, I awakened to a message from a dear former colleague responding to one of my posts titled, “Some Reasons to Vote Blue Across the Ballot”. One of the reasons I listed was, “immigration reform and border security”. In her message, she wrote: “This administration has failed in border security! Why let them continue?” My immediate response was to proclaim that they did not fail. And then I proceeded to explain why. We should all know about important issues in preparation to respond to a plethora of questions based on false claims coming our way before this election.

In the next weeks, Republicans will say that Biden, and specifically presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, failed to secure the border. They will lie about her actual role at the border by falsely labeling her “the border czar”. Her actual assignment was to visit countries to determine the reasons for increased migration and to find ways to work with those countries to stem it. That was her assignment, not to visit the border to enforce draconian policies that endanger innocent lives or cause irreparable harm to people fleeing violence and poverty in search of a better life.

Our border patrol already works hard to capture drug and human traffickers and to prevent terrorists and violent criminals from entering the country. As a result of their efforts, there have been no terrorist attacks by a migrant and only two violent murders in a country of over 300 million people. And most drug traffickers are Americans. The facts contradict the fear mongering typical of Republicans and conservative media. And yet, they cite imminent danger as their main reason for using any means necessary to secure the border, including building an expensive wall paid for by our tax dollars, and not by Mexico.

The Biden administration proves to be an ethical and humane administration that refuses to continue or allow acts of cruelty like those under Trump. I recall how the Trump administration kept children in cages and how he purposefully separated parents from their children without keeping records of the children’s location as part of his “zero-tolerance” policy. According to NPR some 5,000 children were separated under Trump and to this day, some families have yet to be reunited. That cruelty was eventually stopped by a U.S. district judge. In 2023, the Biden administration settled a class action lawsuit filed for damages for that horrible act of inhumanity.

The reality is that the pandemic allowed Trump to enact Title 42 COVID restrictions which curtailed migration on the basis of the emergency. Under Title 42, border agents were allowed to immediately deny entry to migrants without giving them a chance to ask for asylum. Title 42 expired and without a pandemic emergency that would keep Title 42 lawful, Biden did not extend it. The previous law, Title 8, went into effect. That restored any migrant’s right to ask for asylum and enter the country until their case could be adjudicated which typically takes years.

In response to the current laws and the crisis at the border, the Biden administration worked with a bi-partisan group of senate members to draft the strictest border laws in decades that would numerically limit the number of migrants granted entry, provide for more border patrol agents, provide more judges to reduce case wait times from years to months. In addition, the bill would make stricter asylum rules, provide better technology to detect drugs among other provisions. Just as the law was about to pass, Donald Trump demanded that Republicans reject the legislation because he wanted to run his campaign on chaos at the border. He said that passing the law would give Biden a “win” and he wanted to claim credit for fixing the border. So, the border security bill failed. This failure lies squarely at the feet of Trump and cowardly Republicans who put loyalty to Trump before the country. And it also exposes their lies about the violent threat migrants actually pose to average Americans.

There are many drivers to our border. First, there is the violence and economic crisis fueled by the U.S. demand for illegal drugs and worsened by the pandemic. Second, there is a demand for cheap exploitable labor in several U.S. industries that require back-breaking work and little education. Third, there are greedy human traffickers who use the constant Republican announcements that our borders are open to convince their victims to spend money and risk their lives to journey here. And finally, there is the promise of a better life whether that means freedom from tyranny, safety from violent drug cartels, or economic prosperity from available jobs. Of course, there are those who seek to enter the country to do us harm, but they are actually a very small minority, and our border patrol rightly concentrate their efforts on preventing those people from entering the country.

Most migrants, whether they entered the country as asylum seekers or illegally, want nothing more than to live peacefully and to earn a living. Very few commit crimes against people or property. They are hard-working people who add more to our economy than they subtract from it. Once they are able to find jobs, they make purchases, pay state and local sales taxes, start businesses, pay income taxes, and they pay into Social Security and Medi-care even though they will never receive benefits from either program. Their cheap labor keeps our prices artificially low. In the mind of Trump, these migrants are doing what he considers to be “black jobs”. He continuously says that migrants are stealing the jobs suitable for black and brown people as though this is a reason to vote for him. His racism and thoughts about the role of black and brown people in this country is evident.

In fact, Trump represents a segment of the Republican Party who are white suprematists and Christian nationalists. We must remind voters that Trump enacted a Muslim ban and openly said he was against immigration to the U.S. of people from “shit hole” countries. He said he prefers people from Norway and Sweden. He repeatedly characterizes migrants as rapists, murderers, and insane people who will “poison the blood” of our nation, a Hitler phase. The anti-affirmative action, anti-CRT, anti-Woke, anti-DEI, anti-public school, and anti-history policies of the Republican Party and particularly of Project 2025 are designed to return black and brown people to historically “black jobs” and to return women to the kitchen and LGBTQ folks to the closet.

Who needs the labor of black and brown immigrants if American women are forced to have lots of babies? Who needs more black and brown immigrants if homegrown black and brown people are forced into the labor-intensive jobs again and public-school graduates fill our military ranks? Who needs immigrants if child labor laws are relaxed, and retirement becomes a luxury reserved for the independently wealthy?

If we are able to elect Kamala Harris and give her a majority in the House and Senate, she has promised to sign the border security bill into law. In addition, she will push to restore and preserve our reproductive freedoms and will protect our freedom to pursue our dreams, to be who we are, and to love whom we love without discrimination. Our job is to know the issues on the table and to dispel the misinformation, misconceptions, and outright lies being spread by Trump, conservative news outlets, and too many supporters of the Republican Party.

I suspect most Americans going about their daily lives seldom give much thought to whether they are liberal or conservative. Most people are likely a mixed bag when it comes to social and economic political ideology and if they vote at all, they tend to vote for people they like without regard to how that candidate’s stance on important social and economic issues will affect their lives. In the past, it may not have mattered too much who wins an election. However, this election is much different. We can’t afford to ignore low information nor disengaged citizens. The stakes are way too high. In the coming months, those of us who understand the consequences of this election must do all we can to inform the uninformed and to convince the apathetic among us to vote.

I’m a Christian liberal who spends a lot of time trying to convince others to elect candidates who will help to build the kind of society that I want to live in and a society where “everyone’s” children and grandchildren have the opportunity to thrive. Conservatives want the same thing for themselves and “their posterity”. Our idea of an ideal society differs.

As a liberal, I believe in a strong social safety net that prevents vulnerable people from starving and freezing in the streets. I believe in investing in the underlying welfare of all Americans by providing access to affordable healthcare, adequate education, clean air and water, roads and bridges, public safety, and emergency services. Liberals believe that a strong safety net empowers and enables people to work hard, support themselves, be inventive, pursue opportunities, and contribute their talent without worry and restrictions. Liberals believe that economic and social opportunities reduce crime, particularly crimes for economic gain. Conversely, conservatives believe that private businesses, churches, and individuals with a monetary incentive or an altruistic incentive are best suited to provide most of these services to citizens at market prices. They trust market incentives and religious sermons to ensure public safety against greedy unethical capitalists and petty criminals. In conservative thinking, the impoverished, fortified by religious underpinnings, should depend on the charity of others as opposed to a government safety net or resorting to crime. But just in case, they are willing to incarcerate impoverished law breakers and allow the market to punish unethical clergy and businesses. They envision a society where Americans pay the private sector for healthcare, education, roads and bridges, emergency services, and even those prisons.

These opposing views over human nature and the role of government fuel the fight over tax policies. This is why liberals fight to expand the safety net while conservatives consistently fight against funding food stamps, school lunches, public schools, improving prison conditions, moderating banking costs and debt relief, environmental protections, public health initiatives, and access to affordable healthcare. Conservatives genuinely believe these programs rob Americans of the incentive to work, the opportunity to be charitable, and stifle the competitive market’s ability to make bigger profits. Liberals believe these policies give hope, broaden opportunities, stem crime, and save lives.

Liberals believe that private sector monetary incentives or greed without regulations always lead to the exploitation of the vulnerable, the loss of innocent lives, and environmental hazards. Our country has a history of slavery, child labor, unsafe working conditions, and unfettered pollution that liberals worked to end. However, conservatives want to return to the days of deregulation. They are willing to sacrifice human lives and the environment for short-term profits because they believe poor working conditions, unbreathable air and undrinkable water, as well as low pay will incentivize “the fittest” people to work harder to improve their lives. In the conservative mind, a poor person remains poor because they are too lazy or too stupid to do better, so they rightly deserve their impoverished place in society. They believe that liberals want to rob from the rich to give to the undeserving poor through socially engineered safety nets. They believe some people are inherently better than others and that the better people deserve everything and the poor, nothing.

Liberals see people differently. They believe that every American is inherently equal and should have the freedom to choose how to live their lives without harming others. Liberals believe that children trapped in poverty have limited access to the very bootstraps for “pulling oneself up” that conservatives insist is a virtue lacking among the poor. Not surprisingly, a disproportionate number of the poor are from historically oppressed groups.

Conservatives fought integration, the Civil Rights Movement, and programs like Affirmative Action that opened previously closed doors to women and people of color. And they haven’t changed their tune, now fighting against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Conservatives have dug in their heels against a multicultural society, insisting instead that Christian males and some would add, “white” Christian males are the founders and rightful conquerors of this country and that they are therefore the only ones deserving of freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. They believe they have a mandate to return this country to the time when they made all the rules and held the highest positions. They pretend as if they are the only ones capable of leadership. They seek a return to the times when women, people of color, and LGBTQ people lived as second-class citizens.

Project 2025 is the blueprint made for Trump to follow if given a second term. His public denials are just more lies as proven by British undercover journalists in a taped interview of one of the authors. Project 2025 is designed to take this country to a place where the social safety net no longer exists and where women, non-Christians, and LGBTQ folks are stripped of their basic civil liberties and subjected to male Christian leadership. The idea is for women to be subjected to the men in their lives while stripping them of their reproductive rights and trapping them in marriages. The plight of people of color will be erased from the history books as contributors to the nation and as victims of a racist system that trapped many of them in cycles of poverty. LGBTQ folks will be stripped of their rights and their visibility. And immigration will be limited to white Christians. The disabled will become beggars. Any mention of climate change will be illegal. Liberal opposition will be silenced by the military. And the private sector market economy will be free of regulation to exploit workers and the environment as they take over healthcare, education, prisons, law enforcement, and infrastructure.

Those are the stakes in this election in a nutshell. Make sure your family, neighbors and friends know that sitting this election out can have dire consequences for them and the people they love. We must vote as though our lives depend on it, because it does.

When did we stop expecting sanity and common decency from our candidates, elected officials, and each other? I’m appalled at the things elected officials say in congressional hearings, particularly MAGA Republicans. Some in the media will try to claim that it’s a both sides issue. But I’d argue that they either haven’t been watching the hearings or they are more interested in retaining viewers than acknowledging reality.

Since Republican leaders decided that gaining political power was their top priority, they threw their support behind a loudmouth bully whom they knew was the epitome of everything they once claimed to distain. The insults, the constant lying, the conspiracy theories, the history of fraud, the immorality and even the criminal behavior was not enough to make the majority of them condemn nor reject him. They sold their soul to Trump for the promise of power. So, Trump became the standard bearer for public behavior among MAGA.

And it’s ugly. It’s not just the cult-like worship of Trump or the wrapping of themselves in the American flag, but their entire mean-spirited demeanor. As Trump continues making speeches filled with insults, lies, false promises and threats of violence, his followers emulate him on social media while the news outlets platform him with minimal fact checking as though he is a sane and decent candidate.

I get it, corporate media are in business for the views that bring in revenue. However, beyond that they realize the necessity of protecting their correspondents from violent threats since Trump attacks both outlets and individual journalists whenever he doesn’t like a question or his coverage. But this isn’t normal, and it certainly isn’t the kind of news environment that is healthy for our country. Our information channels are poisoned by a profit motive and cowardice.

Trump is a singular figure who has damaged the sanity and decency of a large segment of the population. The racism, misogyny, and the vitriol towards everyone who isn’t MAGA is not only divisive, but it is destructive to the nation. Families and friendships are being ripped apart along political lines. Sane and decent Republicans have fled the Party and become independents. But other, non-MAGA Republican leaders, remain attached to a movement they may privately loathe, hoping that MAGA is their ticket to continued political power.

The reality is that a nation of people cannot make good decisions for the future when information is corrupted with unchecked lies and tainted by conspiracies. Citizens who cannot trust the news media to deliver accurate information will fall prey to a con man who tells them what they want to hear. And right now, MAGA wants to hear that Trump will return this nation to a time when white Christian men were superior and privileged, where gays and transgender were closeted, where women were second class citizens who had babies and took care of the home, and where people of color knew their place (subservient to them). They prefer to hide history and our human differences in favor of a more comfortable narrative, no matter how inaccurate. They somehow believe a sweet American mythology is an effective route to a unified patriotism. And even more dangerous, they choose to ignore scientific warnings about global warming, pandemics, and environmental issues in favor of familiar comforts and old behaviors. All the while they are fed a steady diet of fear that migrants are invading the country from terrorists’ groups, prisons and insane asylums and that they are lying in wait to murder them in their beds.

Trump, a seasoned con man, has successfully weaponized their fears and offers a false hope of protection and assurances that they won’t need to change because he will magically, if not forcefully, restore their comfort in the world. He promises to deport migrants who he has convinced his followers are crazy criminals out to kill them and to steal “black jobs”. And since Project 2025 has been revealed and has become unpopular, he claims to know nothing about it. The reality is that it was tailored to his next presidency by people in his previous administration along with the Hertiage Foundation. He is lying when he tries to distance himself from it.

Project 2025 is the blueprint for a nation where the basic rights and the social safety net are pulled from beneath the most vulnerable among us. It is a recipe for disaster for anyone who is not wealthy, healthy, male, Christian, and highly ambitious. It is survival of the fittest with an unrealistic belief that the people negatively affected will not rebel. Human history has shown us that revolution is inevitable when people are oppressed and without hope. In other words, the comfort Trump offers MAGA is nothing but an illusion. His motive is to stay out of prison, be adored by his followers, and to line his pockets from the presidency once again by charging us millions for his golf trips and hosting foreign leaders at his hotels. This time the Supreme Court has made it possible for him to take bribes with impunity. And he most certainly will. Only money and adoration feed his insatiable ego.

I’m thankful that President Biden stepped aside just in time to allow Kamala Harris to become the new democratic nominee. She has energized the Party and sane Americans with a forward-looking message of guaranteed freedoms, prosperity, the rule of law, and an appreciation for the strength found in our diversity. I love her mantra, “We’re not going back!” If anyone can bring this nation back to sanity and decency, it is definitely the leadership of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They likely are not perfect people (no one is), but the difference in their character, demeanor, and vision for the future is already evident to the reasonable among us.

So, we must do our part to bring sanity and decency back to the nation. Our duty begins with voting this November. We must support the candidacy of Democrats across the ballot, then make sure we are registered to vote, and then vote blue across the ballot as early as possible. Be aware that MAGA will do everything to suppress the vote and to steal the election, but we must not be deterred from nor denied a fair election outcome. As I said in my last blog post, we must win in overwhelming numbers to silence the election deniers. The sanity and decency of our nation depends on each of us.

The energy and momentum are clearly on the side of the democratic nominee, Kamala Harris. The polls have tightened, and some are now giving Harris a slight edge over Trump. But in this election, a slim win, particularly in battleground states, will not be enough to silence claims of voter fraud and refusals to certify elections. In addition to the presidency, we need to secure majorities in the House and Senate to really secure women’s reproductive rights, voting rights, protections for the environment, enact border security, and mitigate child poverty. In our approach to this election, we must be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves” as Jesus admonished in Matthew 10:16. It starts with sharing information.

A few people are unaware that our presidents are not elected by popular vote. They may see polls that put Kamala Harris ahead and think she will win and so they may decide to stay home, not thinking that we also need the House and the Senate to get things done and that state and local officials matter too. So, we must remind them that staying home must not be an option in any state. We must also remind folks that when it comes to the presidency, winning the most votes does not necessarily result in a win because of the electoral college. As a Californian, it drives me crazy that far less populated states or battleground states actually end up determining the outcomes of our presidential elections. These states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. So, what’s does our wise strategy entail?

First, we, and everyone we know, absolutely must be registered to vote. A simple click on vote.gov will allow any citizen to register or update their registration if there have been changes. Please be aware that there are numerous reports that voters are finding that their registrations have been “magically” cancelled. Everyone should check their voter registration status through the National Association of Secretaries of State website NASS. You’ll click the link to “Voter registration status”.

Our next job is to determine when, where, and how to vote. In red states, urban cities often experience excessively long lines. This is a form of voter suppression. Although unfair, it is wise to determine alternatives to help reduce waiting times. Every state is different when it comes to when and how you can cast your ballot. Some states allow for early voting, drop boxes, and absentee voting. Plan to take advantage of voting in a way to shorten the lines. That same NASS website provides detailed information by state. That said, also make sure the college students living in battleground states have registered to vote absentee if they are going away to college. This ensures that they vote in the county where they live and where they are aware of the candidates and the issues. However, if they are going away to school in a battleground state, it might be more advantageous if they vote in the local election there. The voter registration requirements are on the NASS website and college students should ensure that they have the proper ID handy for that particular state as some states, like Texas, will not accept student IDs.

Having the proper ID ready is the final step in preparation for voting for everyone. States differ in their voter ID requirements and so it is imperative to check the requirements since many state laws have become stricter since the 2020 election. Once again, the NASS website provides state by state information on proper voter ID requirements.

At that site, you will find links to every detail related to voting by state, including information for voting by absentee ballot and how to become a poll worker. In addition, you will be able to find out who your county election officials are so you can contact them regarding any concerns you might have, such as unreasonably long lines, security concerns, or the rumors circulating that he or she might refuse to certify the election if Trump loses.

Beyond voting, we must each consider giving our time, talent, and treasure to the campaign to win this election across the entire ballot. Options include donating to the Harris campaign and to local candidates, especially to candidates in key battleground states for the House and Senate. We can volunteer, we can register voters, we can set out lawn signs, we can wear campaign gear, we can talk to our friends, family members, and neighbors about the issues and candidates we support. We can make social media posts and respond to misinformation. Artists can do art. Singers can sing songs. We can attend rallies. We each have a bit of time, talent and treasure to put to work.

This is going to be an historic election no matter which candidate wins. It is the election that will determine what direction our nation is headed. Are we returning to a past of inequality where wealthy Christian white males make all the rules and Trump lies flood our airways or towards a future where everyone has a seat at the table, and every citizen has the opportunity to succeed. The choice is ours to make, but we must be wise in our preparations for the election, steadfast as we cast our ballots, and resolved to ensure they are counted fairly. Only a decisive win, with undeniably large numbers for Harris, will silence the naysayers and make those who think violence is the answer, think twice.

I went to bed last Saturday night and said a little prayer that President Biden would withdraw his candidacy the next day. I’ve felt in my gut since his dismal debate performance that he could not win and encouraged him through multiple emails to withdraw. Some thought he should stay, but I among many others, pressured him to withdraw.

Then with the shooting, the Republican Convention, and his Covid diagnosis, I felt an announcement on Sunday would be perfect timing because of all the political shows presented that day. And I was right! His withdrawal that day caught all the pundits by surprise, but not me. Those political pundits are wrong about a lot of things these days. They were the ones who never believed that Donald Trump could win the presidency in 2016. I’m tired of the constant speculations and I refuse to give their opinions much weight. I watch the news for facts, not for interpretations and predictions.

I was pleased by Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris and stunned by the rapid endorsements she received from all the other potential candidates. Many, like me, immediately opened my wallet and the funds to fuel her election campaign started pouring in. For the first time in months, I felt like we could really win this election and protect the people we love as well as the earth we live on. This candidacy is about the freedom to live our lives in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. It is about expanding equal justice under the law and equal opportunities to succeed. It is about fairness in the tax code, protecting the environment, access to healthcare, minimizing poverty, and preserving our rights to vote, love, speak, protest, worship, be safe, and to make reproductive decisions that are best for us. The contrast between what Kamala is offering and what Trump is offering is stark.

As Kamala’s campaign has already articulated, Trump wants to take us back to a past where white male privilege blocks equal access to opportunities and rights for women and minorities. “We will not go back” is a fitting slogan for the Harris campaign. Her campaign is highlighting how Project 2025 provides a blueprint to strip away the rights of workers, women, LGBTQ folks, and anyone who would dare protest against the president. Project 2025 codifies a system where heterosexual Christian men call all the shots and the rest of us are simply servants to their laws and dictates for how we should live. It is the opposite of freedom; it is fascism.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of voting Americans who harbor enough fear, hatred, or misinformation regarding issues like the economy, education, abortion, immigration, crime, history, science, transgender people, and religious minorities that they will vote for a person who promises to “Make America Great Again” no matter how flawed the candidate is or how horrific America once was for a good portion of the country who do not look or think like them. They just want to be comfortable. They’re not comfortable with the changing ethnic demographics. They’re not comfortable with the changing power dynamics they see around them. They’re not comfortable with the changing morality. They’re not comfortable with the rapid scientific evidence that challenges many of their religious beliefs. They fear change and hate the people who represent that change.

Trump supporters want to believe that climate change is a hoax. They want to believe that pregnancy is easy and complication free. They want to believe that there are only two genders. They want to believe that the Bible can replace scientific knowledge. They want to believe that they can pray the gay away. They want to believe that we were founded as a Christian nation. They want to believe that men are smarter, stronger, and superior to women. They want to believe that men are protectors and defenders of women. They want to believe that whiteness is superior and qualified to lead. They want to believe that guns protect them. They want to believe that the wealthy will take care of the poor.

This November will determine the trajectory of our nation. Will we continue to move toward a multicultural society where every American enjoys equal rights under the law, where a safety net exists for the most vulnerable, where we work to mitigate climate change, and where everyone enjoys expanding economic and social opportunities? Or will we create a “Christian” patriarchal system ruled by heterosexual Christian males, Old-Testament based lawmaking, and a denial of environmental dangers? The choice is ours and the responsibility to secure the future we desire lies squarely on our shoulders.

Our first responsibility is to register to vote, making sure to have state issued ID, and then to vote. But because the stakes are higher than ever, we should do more than this. Our second job is to educate the people around us about the stakes involved in this election, whether through art, music, social media posts, or casual conversation. Too many are unaware of the threat because they are busy living their lives. Know the facts and have your talking points ready to share at every opportunity. Third, we should donate to the campaigns of candidates standing up for our freedoms. Fourth, we should volunteer to register voters, work for campaigns, or serve as poll workers. I personally think it’s imperative to insist that our local governments provide poll security this year, especially in red states. If folks can vote early, use a drop box or vote by mail, they should definitely do so.

And finally, we must fight on behalf of our fellow citizens who are subjected to long voting lines. It is unfair voter suppression for people in poor neighborhoods to be forced to wait hours to vote while affluent voters can walk right in to cast their votes. Personally, I have never waited more than 15 minutes to vote because I live in an affluent area. Until the 2020 election, I thought this was true across the nation. I was disturbed to learn that people in urban areas waited as long as 11 hours to cast their ballots. Of course, we will never know how many people simply gave up because they couldn’t wait that long. The Republican led states are notorious for limiting drop boxes, voting by mail, and not accepting student IDs. It is up to us to address this issue now. This is a civil rights issue, and we should contact the NAACP and the Department of Justice to raise the issue and demand that they make this right.

Yesterday, Trump promised his Christian supporters that this would be the last election they will need to vote in should he win because they will fix things to make it so. Believe him! As I write this post, the polls indicate that this will be a close election. I acknowledge that we may or may not agree with all of Kamala’s policies, but the alternative is a loss of our basic freedoms and exposure of the most vulnerable among us to hardship. So, it is time for all hands-on deck to ensure an equitable and livable future for us and our loved ones.

If Biden remains in the race, the likelihood that Trump will win is high. It’s not that Americans think Biden is a bad person; it’s that they can’t stand to see a frail looking, slow talking, inarticulate old man leading them and representing them on the world stage. They prefer the signs of vitality, even if the other person is a deeply flawed, bombastic, lying, felon. Too many Americans mistakenly think this is a competition between two old white men, when in fact it is a fight for how this country will treat its citizens moving forward.

I’ve spent many nights lying awake thinking about what it will mean to have our basic rights stripped away. I’ve visited China and Cuba where people are unwilling to answer simple questions for fear of being prosecuted by their government. They fear making any waves and encourage the silence of their family and friends. They steer clear of controversy and perform fake loyalty as a survival mechanism. Even my international students from China were careful of their words and actions because other Chinese students might report them to Chinese authorities. A wrong word or participation in a protest can land them in prison or dead. People in authoritarian countries go along quietly in order to survive until life becomes unbearable. Only then are there protests where protestors willingly sacrifice their lives to make a point. Even then, things don’t necessarily change.

This will be our future under Project 2025 when our government will silence protests using the police and military and the president can order the imprisonment or murder of his political enemies with immunity according to the recent ruling of the Supreme Court. A country where the president has full authority to weaponize the justice department to prosecute those who oppose him. Sounds like Russia or Iran or China because it is exactly like those countries.

Project 2025 calls for only loyalists to retain or assume roles in the administration of our civil service jobs. We’ve seen in authoritarian governments how incompetence, bribery and all manner of corruption are built into such a system. When loyalty is valued over expertise and experience, the entire country suffers, and true talent either leaves the country seeking freedom or is wasted. Historically, our country benefited from the mass exodus of talent from authoritarian governments. Perhaps the world will benefit from an exodus of doctors, teachers, scientists, journalists, scholars, and artists from the former U.S.

Project 2025 calls for the removal of the separation of church and state and the installation of a white nationalist “Christian” state where Muslims are banned, undocumented immigrants are rounded up, pornography is illegal, no fault divorce leaves people trapped in abusive marriages, the wealthy pay less in taxes, environmental science is silenced, monitoring and regulations for public health disappear, history and science are rewritten, gays and transgender lose their rights, overtime pay is discarded, and women no longer have control over their reproductive decisions. The wealthy are given the keys to become even wealthier, welding more power and influence than ever while the poor, women, and minorities will be their footstool, devoid of basic rights and threatened into submission. The gays and transgender will be made invisible like in Russia where Putin claims with confidence that there are no gay people. In Uganda, they simply kill them. Imagine returning to the days when most people have to depend on the charity and good will of the very wealthy for survival? Or the days when women had to depend on men for everything? This is Project 2025.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to respond if this election is lost to those who favor a new authoritarian government under Trump that is styled according to Project 2025. And I’ve only come up with a few first steps. First, we’ve secured updated passports in case fleeing the country is the best option and we’ve talked about which countries might welcome us. Second, we’ve made sure we have access to liquid funds in case banks are undermined. Third, we’ve stockpiled masks since this will be a government devoid of public health scientists and regulations and a willingness to lie should Covid mutate into a more deadly form, or some new pandemics visit us. Forth, we have both a water and air filtration system. Fifth, we will limit our purchases of goods and services to necessities, and curtail entertainment outside the house, keeping to ourselves. Sixth, we will end all use of social media and turn off all tracking and update privacy settings on our phone. Seventh, we will get a VPN for our computer search engine and watch news reports from outside the country. Eighth, we will get a backup generator for emergency power. And finally, we will increase our efforts to grow our own produce to be completely self-sufficient.

No matter who wins, I suspect there will be violence in the streets and a wise person will not be in those streets unless they are willing to physically fight. We are too old for that. So, we will remain home, supporting the freedom fighters as best we can. I also expect that we are going to experience the exponential rise in homegrown terrorism and cyberattacks from opposing sides, seeking to undermine the next administration and to wreak havoc on the nation. In fact, this past week, the gay furries successfully hacked The Heritage Foundation computer network. Opposition groups are already making their presence and their agenda known to the public. There will be more of that on both sides.

It is difficult to fantom that this is where we are. But here we are, literally sleep-walking into authoritarianism unless something changes very quickly. The biggest change needs to be awareness of Project 2025 among voting citizens. For starters, I don’t think enough people realize just how bad things will be for everyone if our government starts rounding up 15 million undocumented people who are working throughout this country. Not only will it cause personal heartaches and chaos, but with unemployment already low, who do they think will assume the many important jobs undocumented people are currently doing? Be prepared to pay higher prices for just about everything and to see a huge amount of goods and services disappear. And as they fire experienced civil servants and experts, be prepared for a slow and incompetent civil service across all sectors of society.

Many people behind Project 2025 and a few of those who support it have a vision of humanity wherein they believe it is God’s natural order to favor white heterosexual males above everyone else. Others believe it is just Christian males, apart from skin color, who should be on top. Most others who support Project 2025 view it as a means to either remain on top or to stifle competition for power and economic success. These people have convinced themselves that the rest of humanity should exist to revere and to serve them. And they plan to assert their authority as they once did, with violence. It is our collective decision to either stop them, run from them, or submit to them. It will take an even greater amount of resolve and force to stop them, but the alternative looks too horrific to accept.

I wrote another letter to Speaker Johnson. This time I challenged him as one Christian to another on his plans to help fundamentally reshape the country into a Taliban-like theocracy. I believe we must do everything in our power to stop Project 2025 from becoming our reality. I choose persuasion; others may choose protest. But we must all do something because pundits are saying that the attempted assassination of Trump at his Pennsylvania rally yesterday makes him far more likely to win the election because of the sympathy vote and the vote of those who are enamored by his defiant strong man response.

Dear Speaker Johnson,

I have been a born-again Christian since February 14, 1971.  I spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday School and another 5 years working with youth in my church.  My professional career was spent working at a Lutheran private college where I was a professor in the graduate school of education and a campus administrator.

I write to you today as a patriotic voting citizen who cares deeply about the Constitution of our country and the attention that must continue to be paid to the establishment clause that ensures every American of their freedom of religion and an assurance that the state will not impose a specific religion upon them.

That said, I’m appalled by the Republican move and the conversative court’s movement toward theocracy.  In particular, I oppose Project 2025 and it’s revolution and endorsement of violence to accomplish it’s authoritarian goals.  There is nothing “Christlike” about this plan. I am shocked by state laws that now impose the teaching of the Bible and the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools.  Not only are these mandates clear violations of establishment clause, but they are an affront to Christianity itself. 

As a follower of Christ, I must question the theology and even the wisdom of imposing the Old Testament laws of an angry God upon the people of this nation. Conservative claims that this is a “Christian” nation is a rewriting of history and worse, it is a contradiction to the types of laws you and your party seek to impose.

The lies, political tricks, and even threats of violence your party employs to gain power are typical of sinners, not saints.  Jesus told us that we will know a tree by its fruit.  Greed for money and power make up the root and trunk of your conservative tree. Nothing good will come from it.  Your party has embraced Trump, a tree that has produced nothing but rotten fruit. The fruit of your laws will produce more deaths by gunfire, environmental pollution that will destroy life on the planet, a rollback of access to healthcare, expanded hunger, more maternal deaths, rampant bullying, and legal discrimination of minorities. I see no compassion, but only exclusion and misery for people who are not white, heterosexual males.

Conservatives ban books that help children to understand and accept the reality that human beings are diverse and that we can live together in peace.  These are anti-bullying books.  In addition, conservatives seek to hide our nation’s history of exploitation, violence, discrimination, and genocide.  Instead of healing the wounds of the past, you seek to bury the truth when Jesus tells us that it is the truth that sets us free.  Repentance, redemption, and restoration come with the truth, not with denying past wrongs.

The reality is that no one can groom a person to be something they are not. You cannot groom a child to be another gender or a homosexual.  You can only make them feel safe or not to reveal their true selves.  You cannot force people through laws, intimidation, and violence to accept your view of Christianity either.  History has shown that it doesn’t work.  The truth of human nature and science will always rise from the ashes. 

I grow weary of watching Republicans engaging in fear-mongering and outright lying.  I’ve heard Trump and other Republicans repeatedly lie that democrats approve of aborting viable babies at eight or nine months gestation and even after birth.  Is it that the Ten Commandments are for thee but not for me with you guys?  “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”.  Remember that one? Let’s not even talk about how many commandments Trump has violated in his personal life. Jesus warned you that the love of money is the root of all evil, but you all aren’t paying any attention to that in your embrace of his lawlessness and evil.

 Jesus preached and led the way in taking care of the hungry, the sick, the outcast, the children and welcoming the immigrant.  He didn’t condemn sinners, but rather encouraged repentance. It appears to me that the laws the democrats propose are more in alignment with the care for others that Jesus stood for and taught his disciples while the Republicans are stuck in the condemnation and lack of compassion of the Old Testament God.  Evangelical Christians these days are characterized by their hate, not love.  Jesus had compassion for the outsiders in society and included them, never condemning or ostracizing them. I note that he never mentioned gays even though they were certainly present.  He never mentioned abortion even though abortion has been part of the human saga.  I must note that according to the Bible itself, this body is just a tent formed in the womb and becomes a living soul when it is capable of breath. So many fertilized eggs are naturally miscarried before viability, so why would anyone believe these “human bodies under construction” are more valuable than the living and breathing women who are nourishing them through their own bodily sacrifice and peril?  And I’ve never seen a living human being capable of being frozen indefinitely and then coming back to life to continue  developing.  This body is simply a tent that temporarily houses a breathing, thinking, and ambitious human soul. 

Being a mother of three, I endured the months of sickness, the backpains, and the pain and risks of childbirth along with the scars that remained afterwards.  I required major surgery following the birth of my third child. Pregnancy and childbirth is risky business and we have the maternal mortality rates to prove it.  My point is that Republicans forcing women to risk their lives and endure the hardships of pregnancy and childbirth against their freewill is cruelty at its worse. Not every woman has the physical nor mental capacity to endure a pregnancy.

With this letter, I am hoping to appeal to your sense of right and wrong, good and evil.  Project 2025 is evil. It moves people away from the love of Jesus and the salvation He offers and not towards it.  It has no foundation in the Gospel or teachings of Jesus and seeks to undermine the constitutional freedoms citizens of this country enjoy and thrive under. Under Project 2025, we will be worse than North Korea, China, Russia and Cuba.  The people there are not free and soon Americans will have less freedom than the citizens of those countries and that is a tragedy. Our innovation will be stifled.  Our pursuit of happiness in life on our own terms will no longer be an option.  Our economy will crash.  Oppressed people are not happy and thriving people; they are hopeless and stop innovating. Our lives will be no different from the Afghan people under the Taliban.   

At least China and much of the world aren’t denying science and are paying attention to climate change.  If Project 2025 is implemented, I believe China will soon lead the world and perhaps that will in fact turn out to be what saves the planet and humanity itself from destruction.  No one will enjoy freedom, but at least the planet will be here until the next generation of people, “yearning to breathe free”, mount their own revolution.  Or maybe Jesus will return and save us from ourselves.    

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall, concerned citizen

Like many Americans, I am both frustrated and furious with the recent decisions handed down by the Supreme Court. I decided it was time they heard how I felt about their decisions and about the obvious corruption among some of the conservative members, so I wrote to them. I share my letter with the hope to inspire to join the chorus of citizens who are making their frustration known.

Dear Supreme Court,

I have completely lost confidence in your judgment.  You have members who lack basic ethics.  You have members who take bribes, lied to get on the court, fail to recuse themselves, and have an agenda that goes against our Constitution and the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens.  You have broken this nation by granting criminal immunity to the Office of the Presidency when no other president in our history needed nor requested such a thing until Donald Trump who is probably guilty of many crimes against us, notwithstanding lying about a stolen election and trying to overturn the results to remain in office.  He’s taken money from foreign governments, stolen classified documents, and personally profited from his position as president.  We can’t trust a Republican Senate to hold him accountable because they too are afraid of him and his cult supporters who are armed and ready to kill on his behalf.  The threats of violence are rampant, and you empower it all with your decisions.

I have lost confidence in the rule of law and no longer believe we are a nation of reasonable laws.  You made corporations people and we’ve seen how horribly that has played out.  You made guns readily available and now we can’t go to the grocery store, church, school or a movie theater without fear of being gunned down.  You’ve taken away a woman’s right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy that could kill her, or a dying fetus, or even one that was unplanned.  Women will die and lives will be ruined and countless unwanted babies will be doomed to poverty and child abuse. Your decision robs women of their right to life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness in favor of a fetus that has no ability to exist on its own. You’ve taken away the power of expert government agencies to regulate greedy corporations who would readily pollute our air, food, and water for profit.  You’ve further opened the door to planetary disaster.  I pity my children and grandchildren who will live with the consequences of your actions.

You lack credibility and I have no idea which Americans will choose to abide by your unreasonable rulings moving forward.  In my eyes, you are completely illegitimate.  You have invited anarchy.  No reasonable person believes that a corrupt court should have the authority to make decisions that significantly affect their lives and well-being in so many negative ways.  I know I don’t.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall, Citizen of the United States

As a voting citizen, I felt obligated to watch the entire presidential debate on June 27th between President Biden and former President Trump. I pulled out my yellow pad and sat in my office glued to the television, prepared to see the energetic Biden I observed at the State of the Union. Within seconds, it was evident that he was going to present a view of himself that dismantled any hopes I had that he was up for the task, not only of debating, but of successfully running for office again.

His voice was slow, raspy, and quiet. His demeanor was low key and lethargic. He moved and presented himself as a feeble old man. His answers were slow, sometimes to the point and other times, rambling and incoherent. He was unable to effectively counter all the lies and rewriting of history Trump threw at him. At one point, he simply says that everything Trump just said was a lie. He didn’t adequately defend his record, his decisions, nor present his accomplishment in a way that inspired confidence.

Although Biden was clearly a better president and is a more likable human being than Trump, he looked too old and feeble to continue on as president for four more years. It was painful to watch his obvious decline in mental acuity and mobility. But it was also a wakeup call to the Democrat leadership, which I pray they will act upon this time.

Biden needs to step aside and allow another person to assume the presidential candidacy before it is too late. Following the debate, I emailed my request directly to the White House, imploring President Biden to step aside for the good of the nation. I emailed the Democratic National Committee and requested that they convince Biden to step aside and find another candidate to run. I emailed Senator Chuck Schummer and my governor, Galvin Newsome, and requested the same.

Overall, I think Biden has done a good job as president and I commended his record in my emails. However, there is no getting beyond the perception that he presents himself as old and feeble on the world stage and that his inability to effectively communicate his ideas, stay on topic, or issue rebuttals with energy and conviction will lead to his defeat this November.

Everyone says that the choice is Biden’s to make. But that does not mean that as many of us as possible should remain silent and not try to pressure him to do what we are convinced is best for the country and the world. Our silence is our consent, so I hope many people around him and others across the country are encouraging him to step away.

I question why he would remain in the race. How much is ego? How much is hubris? How much is personal ambition? How much is delusional thinking? I don’t know. But I’m praying that enough of us speaking out can break through to him and convince him to take a bow for the wins of the past four years and pass the torch. He has left the country better than he found it. It would be a tragedy to hand over the country to Trump, White Christian Nationalists and their Project 2025 plans and the Federalist Society. We need a strong leader to counteract the damage they have already done and the theocratic plans they have for our collective future.

Of course, if after all efforts fail and Biden chooses to continue running, I will vote for him. I take comfort in the fact that he is surrounded by competent cabinet members, career administrators and staff. I’ve watched many of them testify before congress and the senate on multiple occasions and they exude integrity, confidence, and competence in their administrative areas. None of them shrink before the MAGA Republican nonsense their representatives throw at them. The opposite is true of the previous Trump administration where they were either silent, lying, or frustrated with Trump’s incompetence, law-breaking, and lying that they resigned, were fired, or helped him at the cost of their professional and personal reputations. The Republican lead Senate failed to convict him twice and that is shameful. And now the judicial system replete with just enough MAGA judges are failing us with unfounded delays.

No matter who the democratic candidate turns out to be, I will vote for him or her. I am actively joining the chorus of democrats encouraging Biden to step aside. But if he doesn’t, I will vote for him without reservation because the other choice is completely unacceptable. Trump and the current Republican Party is a threat to our country, the world economy, humanity itself, the rule of law, and the environment. I just wish more Americans were paying close enough attention to see this.

Since retirement, I have sought to rid myself of a lifetime of collecting stuff. I was never a spend thrift, spending money without purpose on expensive toys. I preferred watching money grow through savings and investments. I preferred the satisfaction of donating money to good causes. And I preferred spending money on education and travel. That isn’t to say that I didn’t spend money on things someone convinced me that I needed. I did.

Because I enjoyed dressing up for work, creating and maintaining a comfortable and beautifully decorated home, gardening, and cooking and entertaining, I accumulated a lot of items to help me achieve these lifestyle choices. But now I’ve slowed my roll. I don’t have anywhere to wear all these clothes, shoes, coats, handbags, scarfs, and jewelry. I no longer cook and entertain on the scale I once did. And I’m not so keen on redecorating for every season as I once was. In the past, I was fond of having an occasional garage sale, but those days are over. Now, I’ve taken to donating a lot of items, passing some on to the kids, and I’m writing down the instructions for an estate sale in my will. The point is that you can’t take any of this stuff with you and while you’re here, it all becomes a mental burden to look at while it collects dust.

It’s hard for younger people to grasp this. I had a heated conversation with a family member about the danger of spending every available dollar on expensive toys, foregoing savings and investments. I realize that people have different mindsets when it comes to owning things. In my opinion, that family member has an unhealthy attachment to his stuff because it interferes with his mental and financial stability. Despite the overwhelming credit interest and maintenance cost associated with his expensive toys, my son in law can’t imagine selling any of his items. In the past, I made the mistake of paying off their creditors when I saw interest rates to the tune of 25 -29%, only to have them turn around and purchase more stuff on credit because that money was freed up for new monthly payments. I learned my lesson to never do that again.

We live in a nation where most people don’t have $400 set aside for an emergency. I think we have created an unhealthy relationship with the accumulation of things. No item should be paid for multiple times because of credit interest. My credit card pays me, not the other way around! There are a couple of rules I learned in my thirties that have served me well. First is that immediate gratification and impulse buying lead to financial debt. The second rule is that things do not make me happy. While certain things have utility, I keep them around, but after that, I get rid of them because I find that clutter is a mental weight.

The problem is that everywhere we go, everywhere we look, someone is trying to sell us some item that is guaranteed to make us better or happier. It’s usually a lie. What I’ve discovered through the years is that there is greater happiness in breaking free of the clutter from useless items and even greater satisfaction in donating to good causes. However, the greatest satisfaction comes from watching my savings and investments grow with every dollar I do not spend on frivolous items. This practice has provided my current financial security and future benefits for my grandchildren. Some call it building “generational wealth” and you can’t do that by spending every dollar you make.