Arrogance to Suppression

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. I'm beginning to believe it.

Clarence Darrow

Have you noticed the arrogance of the Trump administration? It seems there is no validity to the opinions of those who actually have the experience and expertise to deal with the situations and kinds of problems we are dealing with today. I think it's because Trump can never be wrong. His fragile mental state can't handle criticism or correction. And if he thinks he's always right, he is delusional.

Unfortunately, if his goal is disruption and chaos, it's working.

I Read the News Today

I get a newsletter from the Bulwark. this is what greeted me this morning. "In the news since Friday: Donald Trump is openly floating the possibility of running for a third term. Elon Musk is distributing corrupt prizes for voting in Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. And we’ve learned one of the Venezuelans the administration imprisoned in El Salvador is a legal migrant who was detained purely because an ICE officer thought his tattoos of the words “Mom” and “Dad” looked like gang signs."

"You can’t take a single weekend off with these clowns. Happy Monday."

Buying the Vote

The Wisconsin AG tried to block the attempt to buy votes in Wisconsin. His bid was turned down by the State Supreme Court. According to the AP, the state Supreme Court, which is currently controlled 4-3 by liberal justices, declined to take the case as an original action. The court gave no rationale for its decision.

No Due Process

How many gang members were rounded up and deported? That's unclear. ICE admits that many of the deportees did not have criminal records, but explained they might do something bad later on. ABC news reports, "The admission that many of the men lacked criminal records – and were deported on the assumption that they might be terrorists – comes as top Trump administration officials insist that the men were violent criminals, with President Donald Trump labeling them monsters."

The Constitution Is Inconvenient

And what about the third term? Think about this, most of us thought he would never try to forcefully overthrow the results of an election. A lot of people thought he didn't have a chance to get re- elected. Many think he is bound by the rulings of the courts, or that congress would hold onto its constitutional powers. The party in power wants to dismantle the federal courts and Republicans in congress are encouraging the dismantling of the courts, and the Trump administration is ignoring courts rulings with no consequences.

What To Do

Speak Out!

Being silent means we're willing to let this stand. I take encouragement from many sources, and that includes the Bible. If you're wondering, this comes from the part of the Bible that White Christian Nationalist ignore. This is two of the 4,000 passages that deal with dignity and justice. It's a part of the Bible that the slave holders edited out to prevent slaves from reading passages they deemed dangerous. And yeah, that's part of our history too.

Proverbs 31 verse 8 and verse 9

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

DEIA means hope for a better world

White Washing Words

You're scrubbing words because...why? What's the rationale? Are you afraid the truth will finally be told, that you're afraid of the competition? Underlying your motives are deep seated prejudices, against the disabled, people of color, women, gender identity. Your willingness to tear America apart in the hopes of gaining more power.

Rights advocates say measures Trump is trying to dismantle aimed to uplift marginalized groups and addressed the continued effects of historical and generational inequity.

Trump and his allies defend his actions by saying his orders aim to remove what they call discrimination against other Americans, including white people and men. -reuters

Reuters and NPR both report that among the executive orders issued by Trump is banning rules against discrimination in government contracts. This means the Jim Crow laws eliminated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would return.

DEIA does not exclude you. It includes you. Discrimination against any person or group is illegal, not just against white men. Open your eyes. End the bigotry. You can make the world more like God intended. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, while often promoted in secular contexts, can also be seen as aligning with Christian values, emphasizing the inherent worth and dignity of all people, and calling for justice and reconciliation.
-a variety of online sources

Diversity

"There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted." — Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"

Equity

We all need to work together, because there are no jobs on a dead planet; there is no equity without rights to decent work and social protection, no social justice without a shift in governance and ambition, and, ultimately, no peace for the peoples of the world without the guarantees of sustainability.
Sharan Burrow

Inclusion

It's when we care for each other - choosing inclusion and love over division and hatred - that this great country is at its greatest.
Tulsi Gabbard

Accessibility

If you’re more offended by language than systemic ableism, it’s time to rethink your priorities.

Sheri Byrne-Haber

Two warnings about the politics of division, hate, and fascism.

The schools would fail through their silence, the Church through its forgiveness, and the home through the denial and silence of the parents. The new generation has to hear what the older generation refuses to tell it.
(Quoted in the introduction to The Sunflower)

“Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. He means what he says. Whenever you find yourself thinking, or hear others claiming, that he is exaggerating, that is our innate tendency to reach for a rationalization. This will happen often: Humans seem to have evolved to practice denial when confronted publicly with the unacceptable.”—Masha Gessen (New York Times Review of Books, Nov 26, 2016)

That's just rude!

 Rude behavior seems to be on the rise. A survey by Pew sems to confirm the perception. But then, I am part of the cohort that perceives certain acts as rude.

It's Only Words

 

You cannot end racism and gender bias by banning certain words. You'll make it worse. Of course, that may be the +intention. Banning words is denial. It is holding your hands up to your ears and singing, la-la-la-la. 

When bias, bigotry, prejudice, racism, and all the other isms and phobias are directed against people it's a sin. Think about it, Sunday school 101, The Golden Rule. We are to treat everyone with love and respect, no exceptions to the rule.

        A racist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups. An antiracist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial equity between racial groups. By policy, I mean written and unwritten laws, rules, procedures, processes, regulations, and guidelines that govern people. There is no such thing as a nonracist or race-neutral policy. Every policy in every institution in every community in every nation is producing or sustaining either racial inequity or equity between racial groups.

(Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist)

The good news, bias, bigotry, prejudice and racism are learned behaviors. I went to a site called Psych Central to reinforce my assumption that behaviors can be changed. What was it that Red Green said in the Man's Prayer? "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess."
People can change when they're self-aware, receive support, and become intentional about behaving differently. But, change takes time and it may be challenging in some cases. For example, if you live with a mental health condition that involves lifelong symptoms that may impact your attitude, habits, and behaviors. Self awareness means facing and acknowledging the problem instead of denial.

Eliminating The Right To Vote

The SAVE Act

The plan is to keep the poor, people of color, and women from voting.

Millions are about to be disenfranchised from voting. According to the Brennen Center this includes 20 million people who are currently voting legally. Among those being stripped of their rights are married women.

"If it became law, the SAVE Act would require Americans to provide a birth certificate, passport, or other citizenship document to register or re-register to vote. A Brennan Center study previously showed that more than 21 million American citizens do not have easy access to these documents. An extension of our previous analysis shows that most of them are Americans who are actively engaged voters. What’s more, the SAVE Act would impact millions more voters who do have access to citizenship documents but register using popular methods, such as online and mail registration, that would be undermined by the bill."
What Are the Implications?

According to the League of Women Voters,

• "This legislation would drastically change the way all citizens register to vote.

• Every time a person registers to vote or updates their registration (from a move, marriage, etc), they would need to show a passport or birth certificate in person.

However:

• 146 million American citizens do not have a valid passport (for context, 153 million Americans voted in the 2024 presidential election).

• In seven states, less than one-third of citizens have a valid passport.

• Lower income Americans would be dramatically affected: only 1 in 5 Americans with income below $50,000 have a valid passport.

• 83% of women change their last name when they marry: 69 million American women may not have a birth certificate with their legal name on it and would not be able to use their birth certificate to prove citizenship. The SAVE Act does not included proof of name change or marriage certificate as acceptable proof of identity.

• The SAVE Act would make it impossible for a voter to mail in a registration application. And it would eliminate the League's ability to conduct voter registration drives."

The bill is currently being fast tracked by Republicans in Congress. Republicans would have us believe that millions of undocumented immigrants voted in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. They say fraud is rampant. The system is rigged against them. If the system is rigged, why did Trump win again in 2024. Why do Republicans control the House and the Senate.

A study about voting fraud in swing states in 2020 found almost no fraud. According to NPR, after the 2020 election, The Associated Press contacted local election officials in six swing states. In their analysis, they found 475 potential voter fraud cases — which amounts to an extraordinarily small percentage of the more than 25 million ballots that were cast in those six states.

States have systems to prevent someone from voting illegally

Why is there so little voter fraud? The report from NPR says it is because of guardrails put up by the states.

Lastly, states have a series of mechanisms to help weed out people who are ineligible to vote before they could cast a ballot.

States, by law, are required to routinely remove ineligible or deceased voters from their rolls. And there are tools like the Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC, that help states share voter data.

The SAVE act is overreach based on faulty  (When I say faulty, I'm understating the motivation) reasoning in an effort to keep people who might not vote Republican from the polls.

You can do something now. you may phone the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Leave a message with your representative. Don't wait for anybody else. Let them know what you're thinking.

Is It Something I Said?

Certain words will get your life's work banned

Researchers, scientist, sociologist, universities, medical research centers, government agencies, and non-profits are all getting their funding pulled because they are running afoul of the administration's  anti-woke, anti-DEI campaign. Certain words and phrases raise flags, alarms among the elites that run Trump World.

Get Rhythm 

I like this song. It didn't happen right away. The accordion was kind off putting but it grew on me. When I finally saw the video it all fell into place, and I liked it even more. With each view of the video, more and more was revealed. I like the diversity, equality and inclusion it represents. There's also a sense of belonging and the discovery of common ground. And today, mentioning this might get any of us into trouble. I'm not even sure it's okay to share the video.

There are certain thoughts and ideas that will get you flagged and threatened in America today.

Banned Words

Yes, it is absurd, but it's also dangerous. This is what authoritarian governments do. They narrow ideology to a specific way of thinking while demonizing freedom of thought and freedom of expression. Anybody who is determined not to be part of their norm is isolated and made irrelevant, even forced into extinction.

Our country is founded on God given rights. What does that mean? The Supreme Court says, The Founders believed that God-given rights precede human law, and they designed their government to secure those rights. The Bible teaches that man has freedom of speech because God did not give the civil government jurisdiction over the mind of man. The Declaration of Independence emphasizes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is based on the idea that these are rights given by God. The Constitution's First Amendment grants your rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

What we are getting instead is Fascism

The characteristics in common among fascists include extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: “people’s community”), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation. (Britannica)

Cutting Medicaid?

 It's a terrible idea. 

Medicaid is being targeted because, well gee, we can't afford it with all those tax cuts. 

Ten Things to Know About Medicaid

Over 80 million Americans depend on Medicaid. A majority of the recipients of the aid go to children, the disabled and the elderly. But hey, the wealthy will be able to keep up with the Russian oligarchs.

BTW around 77 percent of Americans have a positive view of the Medicaid program. Cuts will be like hitting the hornet's nest with a stick.

This is from Kaiser Family Foundation

Percent who say they have very or somewhat favorable views of each of the following:

Total

77%

Party ID

Democrats 87%

Independents 81%

Republicans 63%

Race/Ethnicity

Black        86%

Hispanic  85%

White       73%

2024 vote choice

Harris voters   89%

Trump voters  62%

Household income

Less than $40,000   82%

$40,000-$89,999     81%

$90,000 or more      70%

Here's an idea. How about finding ways to tamp down fraud? A little more oversight and enforcement might work.  Punishing the recipients is wrong headed, Just follow the money.

Fraud against Medicaid is mostly committed by providers – to crack down on fraud, Congress and the Administration should follow the money. There are no reliable estimates of the amount of fraud against Medicaid, but there is one data source that provides visibility into who the bad actors are. Every year, DOJ and HHS-OIG publish a report on their efforts to hold to account bad actors in Medicare, Medicaid, and other Federal health care programs. The December 2024 report lists examples of the different kinds of fraud against Medicaid (and Medicare) that the agencies have identified and prosecuted.  Among those convicted are ambulance service providers, durable medical equipment suppliers, diagnostic labs, nursing homes, pain clinics, pharmacies, physical therapists, physicians, and substance use treatment providers.  No beneficiaries are in the listing. (Georgetown University McCourt School)