Saudi Arabia & Terror

The country of greatest danger to the US is Saudi Arabia, yet dt did not include this nation in his unconstitutional ban on travel from seven Muslim nations.

See this article in the NY Times in August of 2016:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-islam.html

See also this summary on Saudi Wahhabism:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

Of the seven countries included in dt's travel ban, none has ever had a citizen execute a terror attack against the US.

Sayyid Qutb was the Egyptian thinker behind Islamist extremism taught in some parts of the Muslim world, especially in many schools in Saudi Arabia.  He was born in 1906 and died in 1966.

Here's a book on him:

http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/sayyid-qutb-and-the-origins-of-radical-islamism/

Here's a dissertation on the origins of global jihad:

https://blogs.uoregon.edu/intldept/files/2012/12/INTL-UG-Thesis-Adamson.pdf

Muslims Killed, Mosque Burned

The first deaths in the wake of dt's anti-Muslim presidential rhetoric took place Sunday evening.

Six men at evening worship in a mosque in Montreal were shot and killed, and others were wounded.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/world/canada/quebec-mosque-shooting.html

Meanwhile, a mosque was burned in southeast Texas on Saturday.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/texas-mosque-destroyed-early-morning-blaze-unknown-45111202

Thank goodness, efforts are underway to help members of the mosque rebuild.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/americans-raise-600000-rebuild-burned-texas-mosque-170129205625913.html

But no one can bring back these six men.  Let us pray for their families.

dt bears some responsibility for these deaths and the fire.  

Others pulled the trigger and lit the match, but his words and actions during his first week in office raised fears and angers against Muslims.

May peace return to our hearts and lives. Inshallah!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inshallah

God help us.  

Jesus said, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me."  Matthew 25:40.

Pope Francis said the following in October, 2016--not in regard to the Trump executive order banning refugees and Muslims, but certainly relevant:

http://www.snopes.com/pope-francis-condemn-trump-travel-ban/

Pope Francis condemned President Trump while addressing a crowd of German Catholics and Lutherans [in October 2016]:

“The contradiction of those who want to defend Christianity in the West, and, on the other hand, are against refugees and other religions.”

“This is not something I’ve read in books, but I see in the newspapers and on television every day.”

“The sickness or, you can say the sin, that Jesus condemns most is hypocrisy, which is precisely what is happening when someone claims to be a Christian but does not live according to the teaching of Christ. You cannot be a Christian without living like a Christian,”

“You cannot be a Christian without practicing the Beatitudes. You cannot be a Christian without doing what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25.”

“It’s hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.”

Thanks to my daughter Marie for sending me this quotation.

The Evil Twins

"My two Steves" is what dt calls them.

One is Steve Bannon, former head of Breitbart News, known for its anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic stance.

The other is Stephen Miller, the 31-year-old classmate of my daughter at Santa Monica High School.  He graduated in 2003, went to Duke University, and now is one of dt's inner circle.

"Miller was a major architect of the refugee and visa ban," writes Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times in a report in today's paper.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-immigration-20170129-story.html

It was the two Steves who insisted that the executive order against travelers from seven countries be written and signed without input from the State Department or military leaders.

“Stone-cold crazy,” tweeted Susan Rice, former President Obama’s national security advisor, sarcastically asking, “Who needs military advice or intell to make policy on ISIL, Syria, Afghanistan, DPRK?” using acronyms for Islamic State and North Korea.

Another top Trump aide, Stephen Miller, effectively ran the National Security Council principals meeting Saturday, according to two Trump administration officials, a highly unusual move. Miller was a major architect of the refugee and visa ban.

Miller's power along with Bannon's is evidence of a right-wing coup in the White House.  Trump himself is not as far-right as these guys, yet they are controlling his decisions.

Even as a kid in high school, Stephen Miller was known on campus for his unusual racism against Mexicans and immigrants.  

Three classmates made a six-minute video on him for their film-making class.  My daughter speaks in it, describing Stephen's contempt for the janitors on campus as evil.  

While running for a student council position, he had said that students should not have to pick up their own trash on campus.  "That's what the janitors are for," he argued.

Was it just a joke, an attention-getter to win an election?  If so, it was certainly in poor taste.

Stephen's mother would not allow the video to be seen on campus or anywhere else.

On another occasion young Stephen verbally attacked a mother who had been invited to a history classroom to speak about her experiences as an immigrant.

This is the young man who made his way into a Capitol Hill job with Sen. Jeff Sessions, met Stephen Bannon, and was behind the dt executive order to keep out refugees and travelers from seven countries.

dt put him on the National Security Council, though he has no military experience and has never been elected to any office. 

Instead, dt removed the Director of National Intelligence as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--two generals.

See this fact check statement from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/2017/01/30/512489785/fact-check-spin-aside-trumps-national-security-council-has-a-very-big-change

Lies, Lies, & More Lies

"Deception, dissembling, exaggeration--what Fortune magazine called his 'astonishing ability to prevaricate'--has deep roots in Mr. Trump's business career," writes David Barstow on today's New York Times front page.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/politics/donald-trump-truth.html

Read this piece if you read nothing else.

dt speaks about the use of "truthful hyperbole... an innocent form of exaggeration--and a very effective form of promotion," in a book published 30 years ago, The Art of the Deal, according to Barstow.

In fact, dt has never had to pay a price for his lies, notes Barstow.  His lawyers settle lawsuits against him, binding plaintiffs to silence.

His most outrageous lie this week is that 3-5 million votes were cast by illegal immigrants in the 2016 elections.

"Do you think that talking about millions of illegal votes is dangerous to this country without presenting the evidence?" asked David Muir of ABC News.

"No, not at all," dt replied.  "Not at all because many people feel the same way that I do."

Feelings matter--facts don't.

Then he repeated four times "Believe me, those were Hillary votes."

In his world, saying the same thing twice makes it more true--even if it's a lie.  

His outrageous claims this week kept the media so busy fact-checking and debunking that his terrible executive orders slipped by half unnoticed.

Thank you to David Barstow for this excellent analysis, and thank you to the airport demonstrators who flew into action on his ban of Muslims, wading through the barrage of tweets and lies to challenge dt with their feet.

The Wall: Threats and Tariffs

dt exploited racism in his outrageous claims to "build a wall and make Mexicans pay for it."

When President Enrico Pena Nieto said absolutely not, dt fooled only himself in claiming he would still get Mexico to pay somehow.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-trailguide-updates-dispute-over-border-wall-plunges-u-s-1485530233-htmlstory.html

When dt threatened a 20% tariff on all Mexican goods entering the US, Mexico offered to return the favor.

This is all so pointless.

Please get us a president who is a grown up.

Samantha Bee on Women's March

Samantha Bee on the Women's March 

"A bunch of girls hurt Trump's feelings..."

Great comments on the Women's March by Samantha Bee... including a group singing a wonderful new song "I Can't Keep Quiet... A One-Woman Riot."

http://vidyow.com/video/who-march-the-world-girls-full/8cRpigrDb9t

See Full Frontal on Wednesdays at 10:30 pm.

http://samanthabee.com/

El Paso & Ciudad Juarez

"El Paso has seen the consequences of building barriers" headlines the Jan. 26 article.

When 18-foot fences were begun in 2008, Ciudad Juarez "began to wither and die," according to El Paso businessman Carlos Marentes. "...it was like cutting off circulation to America's own limb,"

Thank you to Nigel Duara and the Los Angeles Times for this excellent report on the twin border cities: El Paso in Texas, and Juarez in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-trump-wall-el-paso-20170125-story.html

Crime and drugs grew in Juarez as businesses failed.

Laborers who worked in El Paso could no longer cross from their homes in Juarez.

Many died while attempting to cross in the desert east and west of El Paso.

Washington bureaucrats don't know enough about the border, Marentes continued.

"It's a community you can't separate."

Rescuing Jesus Action Guide

Subscribe to these newsletters from Deborah Jian Lee, author of Rescuing Jesus: How People of Color, Women, and Queer Christians Are Reclaiming Evangelicalism.



The newsletter below for January 2017 is an action guide for things we all can do to protect marginalized groups and stand up for truly Christian values.

From: Deborah Jian Lee gmail.com@mail94.suw17.mcsv.net

> on behalf of Deborah Jian Lee <deborahjlee@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2017 8:01 AM
To: aeggebroten@msn.com
Subject: We must act

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”  - Lilla Watson, activist, academic and artist  Credit: Shepard Fairey This Friday, we will plunge into a new troubling era. Months of shock and dread preceded it, but so did the igniting of a bold, engaged generation.  One consistent question folks keep asking me is this: What can I do?  So much, my loves. The answer is so. damn. much. With that question in mind, I bring you: The Rescuing Jesus Action Guide 2017 We need to participate to protect the vulnerable more than ever. Lives are at stake. Check out the list of ways to learn, act, love, and give going forward. Please share this widely. Sending love and strength to you all.  Learn Articles and seminars that center perspectives of the marginalized - A New Years Resolution: We Cannot Bow Down I The Red Letter Christians - White Supremacy Culture and Dismantling Racism: Workbook for Social Change I Change Work - It's Time to get over Your Feelings and Start taking action for Black Lives I The Cut - Healing from Toxic Whiteness Online Training Program I Everyday Feminism - Unboxing the Mistreatment of Native Americans I Seriously.TV - Changing Evangelical Culture I WBEZ - White Fragility: Why it is so Hard to Talk to White People about Racism I The Good Men Project - Hungry for more? Get an entertaining crash course on all the things by watching these video series: MTV Decoded with Franchesca Ramsey and Seroously.TV with Dylan Marron. Act Ways to get civically engaged Credit: Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images - Know your rights when demonstrating and protesting - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Daily Action: Resisting Extremism in America, One Phone Call at a Time (If you don't want to click the link, just text "Action" to 226-488 and thank me later) - Four concrete acts of resistance delivered to your inbox - How to find a local Women's March near Me - Talking to Kids about Protesting: 5 Things I want my Kids to Know - Social anxiety is not an excuse for inaction - Poetry resists hopelessness, alienation, and cynicism Love Show solidarity for marginalized groups left especially vulnerable - Break bread, be heard, and build bridges - A simple, brilliant rule on how to love those most impacted by grief, even when we ourselves are grieving - "Radical hope is a best option," says Junot Díaz - Chicago folks, get paired with a local Syrian refugee family and help them adjust to life in a new land - 15 Things your city can do right now to End Police Brutality I Mic - Hear Something, Say Something I Code Switch - Fight back I Boston Review  Give Organizations to give to Credit: Ben Garver/Berkshire Eagle via AP - "It's Unprecedented in our History": Trump's election Inspired Millions in Nonprofit Donations I Washington Post - Southern Poverty Law Center - dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society - American Civil Liberties Union - works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the Constitution’s promise of liberty for everyone in our country - Planned Parenthood - women should have the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives - The Trevor Project - crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth - Council on American-Islamic Relations - advocates for justice and mutual understanding Let me know how it goes! Make a commitment to take action on any (and hopefully many) of the above suggestions. Contact me directly to tell me your specific commitments and how engaging has impacted you/your community. Follow news about me on Facebook and Twitter and join the conversation with the #rescuingjesus hashtag. You can order my book, Rescuing Jesus, here. If you like this newsletter, why not share it with a friend? They can subscribe here. Many thanks to all of you for your interest and support. In solidarity, D

How the world views our prez

Great collection of political cartoons on dt from around the world:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2017/01/international-reactions-to-trump-000707?slide=15

Thank you, Politico.

Mary Tyler Moore: First in Feminism

Thank you to Mary Tyler Moore for her courageous life and good humor, and thank you to Dennis McLellan for his tribute to her in today's Los Angeles Times obituary.

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-mary-tyler-moore-20170125-story.html

He traces her rise starting with The Dick Van Dyke show, which I watched with pleasure from 1961 to 1966, unaware that she was opening new territory for women in careers on television.

I didn't see as much of the The Mary Tyler Moore Show because I didn't have a television for many of its years, 1970 to 1977.  Also I was a struggling grad student, so watching tv was mostly off-limits.

I didn't know about her personal tragedies:

• 1969, being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes
• 1978, losing her sister to a drug overdose
• 1980, losing her 24-yr-old son, fatally shot by himself, possibly accidentally
• 1992, losing her brother (a recovering alcoholic) to kidney disease

Raised by an alcoholic mother and distant father, she entered the Betty Ford Center in the mid-1980s for treatment for alcoholism.

All this--and what we remember her for most is her bright smile and spunk.

The "nasty woman" thing

Smiling with the t-shirt on

I opened a late Christmas present from my youngest daughter: a Nasty Woman t-shirt to wear in the women's march on January 21.

Fortunately, she wasn't present.  

The last thing I would ever want is dt's rude, ignorant words spread across my chest.

I had been watching the final debate on October 19 when dt leaned into the microphone and called presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton "such a nasty woman."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/oct/20/donald-trump-calls-hillary-clinton-a-nasty-woman-during-final-debate-video

Clinton was answering a question from Chris Wallace about taxes and how to fund Social Security and Medicare.

Here's the full transcript with all the rude interruptions by dt:
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/full-transcript-third-2016-presidential-debate-230063

Wallace: Secretary Clinton, same question because at this point Social Security and Medicare are going to run out -- the trust funds are going to run out of money. Will you, as president, consider a grand bargain, a deal that includes both tax increases and benefit cuts to try to save both programs?

Clinton: Well, Chris, I am on record as saying we need to put more money into the Social Security Trust fund. That's part of my commitment to raise taxes on the wealthy. My Social Security payroll contribution will go up as will Donald's assuming he can't figure out how to get out of it, but what we want to do is --

Trump: Such a nasty woman.

When she made a dig against him for not paying income taxes, he interrupted her--not to say "I do pay my Social Security tax," but to label her character with the word nasty.

Here's how dictionary.com defines that word:

adjective, nastier, nastiest.

1.

physically filthy; disgustingly unclean:

a nasty pigsty of a room.

2.

offensive to taste or smell; nauseating.

3.

offensive; objectionable:

a nasty habit.

4.

vicious, spiteful, or ugly:

a nasty dog; a nasty rumor.

5.

bad or hard to deal with, encounter, undergo, etc.;dangerous; serious:

a nasty cut; a nasty accident.

6.

very unpleasant or disagreeable:

nasty weather.

7.

morally filthy; obscene; indecent:

a nasty word.

He could have said, "That was an offensive comment about me," or "a vicious comment," "a serious comment," or "a very unpleasant comment."  

Instead, he chose to say that she herself is "a nasty woman"--calling attention to both her gender and her character.  He used gender against her throughout his campaign, raising misogyny to a high art.

Presumably he meant nasty in the sense of definitions 3, 4, 5, or 6: offensive, vicious, hard to deal with, or very unpleasant.

But the word also carries the connotations of  1) "physically filthy; disgustingly unclean," 2) "offensive to taste or smell; nauseating," and 7) "morally filthy; obscene; indecent."  What a powerful, demeaning word.

It's ironic that he is definitely a nasty old man in the sense of "morally filthy; obscene; indecent."  His Access Hollywood conversation and many other things he has said and done prove how nasty he is--yet he used this word against her.  He constantly appealed to poorly educated white males, and it paid off for him.

I realize that millennials have seized the word nasty as a token of pride and have flipped its meaning: "Yes, we are offensive, dangerous and hard for you to deal with. You'd better watch out!"

But I'm not that post-modern.  To me, words have history, connotations, and meanings that are not that easy to turn around.

I just don't feel comfortable with calling myself a "nasty woman."  

To me, those words will forever call up that moment in the final debate when dt unfairly used them against Hillary Rodham Clinton.  I don't want to wear this imbecile's words on my body.

I was interested to learn later that there had been debate among my three daughters and my husband over whether I would like this gift.

It was John's idea that Marie should give me the shirt--I'm glad it wasn't her idea.

She liked it, however, and planned to wear her own Nasty Woman t-shirt when she marched in Washington, D.C.

But she checked with her sisters, who told her I wouldn't like the shirt.

"It's a stupid shirt," said Roz.  

"It's a cool shirt, but Mom would object to it for several reasons," said Ellen.

Unaware of all this, I held the blue shirt in my hands with the words "Such a nasty woman."  What should I do with it?

Taking the easy (and dishonest) way out, I put it on and asked John to take a photo of me to send to Marie. when I thanked her.

I guess I didn't try hard enough to smile for the photo.  I looked completely miserable in it.

"Keep trying," I said to myself and took a bunch of selfies until I got one that looked genuinely happy with the gift.  I sent it to Marie and thanked her.  I guess she posted it on Facebook, that purveyor of good news only.  

Then I took the shirt off and rolled it up to put in the backpack I planned to wear to the march in Los Angeles.

When the crowds thinned out, I took it out and gave it to a young woman who wasn't wearing a political t-shirt.  Maybe she couldn't afford one.

"Would you like this?" I asked.  "It was a gift, but it doesn't fit me."

She accepted it happily.  

Case closed.

Women's Marches Worldwide

My friend Ann with her daughter Cassie

Ex-hillarating. It was great to be a part of the marches.

Still we'd have given anything to have Hillary Rodham Clinton as our president and not be marching anywhere. 

My friend Ann Wolken and her daughter Cassie marched.

My daughter Marie marched in Washington DC with friends, as did some of her cousins.

My daughter Elle marched in Los Angeles with her friends.

It was 47 degrees at 7:30 when I left the house for the nearest station on the new Metro Expo line.  I crowded into a car with so many others that it seemed no more could get on.

But at every station one or two more squeezed on.  Meanwhile, the temperature inside the train rose.

We were packed so tightly, chest to chest, that there was no room to remove a sweatshirt or jacket.

The woman next to me said, "I think I'm going to faint."

"I feel like fainting too," I said, not thinking it would really happen.  

Then she slumped in place in the crowd and was pulled to a newly emptied seat and given water.

Then I too fainted and was dragged to a seat.  A doctor on board tended both of us.

At the last stop, she and six other women helped me off the train, carrying my sweatshirt and backpack.  They made me lie down on the platform by the wall for half an hour.

Finally they held my arms to walk up the escalator, and I sat outside on the sidewalk for another 20 minutes before joining the throng.

We couldn't get very far.  All the streets near Pershing Square and City Hall were jammed.

I never heard the speeches.  I finally got to the square afterward, later to City Hall. 

But it was all worth it to be part of a mighty protest against the new Groper-in-Chief.

Reports and photos:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/21/world/womens-march-pictures.html?_r=1

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/24/us/politics/washington-chicago-los-angeles-womens-march-from-above.html

http://www.newsweek.com/sister-marches-against-trump-worldwide-545907

Obama Made Us Proud

Thanks to my journalist-in-residence for passing along this compilation of praise for the Obama presidency.

Los Angeles Times: The 44th president was a conscientious and intelligent leader who espoused humane values, inspired millions of Americans and successfully fulfilled some of his most significant promises.

San Francisco Chronicle: This was a presidency that made America proud. That it accomplished only a modest fraction of its aspirations is not a sign of failure, but a reflection of its audacious ambition and a measure of the power of the checks and balances in our system when an opposition party controls one, if not two, of the other branches of government.

by Phil Hands, Wisconsin State Journal

The San Jose Mercury News: We'll grasp the "audacity of hope" that the best of the Obama legacy will endure – and that Donald Trump and the Republican leadership, having won control of the presidency and the Congress, will learn grace in victory. Maybe find their way to that high road. It's not a bad place.

Miami Herald: Obama has done far better than his critics will ever admit, and we as a nation are all the better for it. Thank you, Mr. President. But let us not forget that his very presence in the Oval Office has left this country heartbreakingly divided, a part of his legacy that's not of his making.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: When confronted with big problems, Obama attempted big solutions. He lived out the ideal set by poet Robert Browning, that "a man's reach should exceed his grasp." This was a president who reached high, and Americans can ask no more of their leaders than that.

Obama calls for mutual respect

I thought the Bible would burst into flames when dt laid his hand on it for the inauguration.

It didn't.  

In Jesus' parable of the sower, the slaves want to go and pull the weeds sowed by an enemy, but the master says no: 

"Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 'Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" (Matthew 13:30)

God tolerates the weeds, and so must we for four years or perhaps less.

In his farewell speech to his staff, President Obama said that we must "listen to each other and argue with each other and treat each other with respect."

He modeled this tolerance perfectly during the transition of power from November 9 through January 20.

The United States of America are showing the world what democracy looks like.  We are handing our government over to a pack of fools, racists, and misogynists because they were chosen by a minority of voters but a majority of the Electoral College.  (It's going to be a while before I can treat dt and his cabinet with respect.) 

We are following the rules, not arming ourselves with AK-47s to overthrow the government.

dt did not speak about the need for mutual respect in his inauguration speech.  

He had the temerity to quote Psalm 133:1 "How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!"  --New Revised Standard Version.  He changed "kindred" to "God's people."  Wonder what he means by that.  Are "God's people" Americans, all peoples of the earth, Judeo-Christians, or just Christians?  Are LGBTQA folk God's people?  Are Hillary supporters God's people?  If so, we didn't hear about that in his speech.

Were evangelicals thrilled that he quoted the Bible?  Is that enough for them: a call for unity without any conciliatory words to the supporters of President Obama, who graciously handed over the power to him? His speech called out to his supporters only. 

He called for unity without apologizing to Hillary Rodham Clinton or to all women for calling her "such a nasty woman."  During his campaign he never chided his followers for saying "Hillary is a cunt." 

Has he ever actually read the psalms?  Whose idea was it to read this psalm?

The reading for today in my Al-Anon book, Courage to Change, says, "I have an obligation to extend to others the same respect and courtesy that keep me feeling safe, free from labels, and free to be myself."

Barack Obama understands this and lives up to it, but dt enjoys insulting and labeling others.  At least there were no insults in this speech, other than the insult of omission.

Another book of daily readings, Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie, advises for today "cleaning the slate of the past and entering this [new year] free of resentments."

Yeah, right.  That will be a tough one for me.

Here's his speech with a line-by-line fact check by NPR reporters and editors:

http://www.npr.org/2017/01/20/510629447/watch-live-president-trumps-inauguration-ceremony

"Not a Period but a Comma"

It's raining hard in southern California, all day.  Very unusual but perfect for my mood. Overcast and rainy also in Washington, D.C.

In tears I watched Barack Obama board the helicopter to leave the White House.

Now again in tears watching him and Michelle Obama board the jet at Joint Base Andrews to fly to Palm Springs.  We welcome you both.  California loves you.

It's such a tremendous loss.   It's like a death though gracias a dios he was never assassinated during the past eight years.

His speech before leaving to those who worked with him in the White House was so moving.

"My abiding faith in the American people" was his theme.

You worked "to change the country from the bottom up.  All of you came together... and you decided to believe.  You went into communities and met people who didn't look like you, talk like you, yet once you started talking to each other you found community.

Throughout it was infused with a sense of hope.  It was not blind optimism.  It wasn't naivete.  It wasn't willful ignorance to all the challenges we faced.  It was hope in the face of difficulty, of uncertainty.  You proved the power of hope.

Michelle and I have been your front men and women.  We have been the face, the voice, but this has never been about us.  It has always been about you: all the amazing things that have happened... our amazing military....

The military is a group of committed patriots willing to sacrifice everything on our behalf.  Democracy is not the buildings.  It's not the monuments.  It's you being willing to work, to listen to each other and argue with each other and treat each other with respect.

This is not a period.  This is a comma in the continuing story of building America."

He listed improving schools, care of veterans, making the planet safe, making sure "that hard-working people have a chance to climb the ladder of opportunity."

"You have done the hard work, most of it without fanfare or thanks.

I can't wait to see what you will do next.

Yes, we did.  Yes, we can.  God bless America."

Trapped Tombstones Bleed

Thanks to John for forwarding this tweet from @PostGraphics at the Washington Post to me.

Nothing more need be said about the tone and theme of this inaugural speech.  

Several commentators, including Pulitzer-Prize winning conservative George Will, have called it the worst inaugural address in history.

Sandy Banks on Trump

"Trump's campaign normalized belligerent intolerance," writes Sandy Banks, former columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

"Obama's presidency normalized inclusiveness."

But "Now our wise and thoughtful commender in chief is handing the country over to a thin-skinned, mean-spirited egomaniac who thinks that lobbing insults is a form of governance," she continues.

Thank you, Sandy, for this excellent op-ed piece in today's LA Times titled "Hope exits, hate enters."

She notices that "millions of others, including me" have been told that "we are the problem, that if America could just keep out, send back, lock up or ignore enough of us problems, the country would be great again."

Yet "Now Obama's opponents are asking that we show our patriotism by supporting Trump's efforts."

Our challenge, as she sees it:

"...we have to acknowledge the haters in our midst--and dilute the newfound confidence they feel."

And we need "to focus on the values that have actually made America great, like courage and compassion."

She is hopeful that this nation's young people have had their wake-up call and will work for fairness and diversity.

Millions of them have indeed awakened, will march tomorrow, and will work toward making this presidency an anomalous event leading to a better future.

616 Women's Marches on Jan 21

616 planned sister marches - courtesy of Google Earth

As of today 616 women's marches are planned nationally and world-wide to defend women, minorities, health care, the environment, etc. from the dt presidency.  Some 1,364,000 "sister marchers" are expected as well as hundreds of thousands in D.C.

Impressive passion and organizing!  

But I'm still feeling tension and sadness as the inauguration of a racist, misogynist, and mentally unbalanced man approaches tomorrow.

It feels like impending doom though President Obama told us in his last press conference, "At my core I think we're going to be okay."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/18/politics/obama-final-news-conference/

Good to know there will be anti-Trump protests on Friday as there have been all week.  Also good to know that 1 in 4 California representatives to the House will boycott the inauguration.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-congress-skip-inauguration-20170115-story.html


My daughter Marie is flying from Oakland to Washington, D.C., to march on Saturday in opposition to this man, along with her friends and two cousins who live and work there.

Even in rural Cortez, Colorado, there will be a march.  My mother's cousin Morrison Brown lives there.  He was so happy to hear that Marie is flying to D.C. to protest the impending presidency.

"Tell Marie that I've never met her, but I want to give her a hug," he said.  His wife Karla Brown will be marching in Cortez.

I will join the demonstration in downtown Los Angeles, as will a number of friends and my daughter Ellen with her friends. 70,000 are expected, and speakers will include Jane Fonda. 

We cannot let this inauguration pass by without widespread protest of this dangerous and illegitimate presidency.

We cannot be like the people of Germany who watched a fascist and racist militarist rise to power without massive protest.

Meet at Pershing Square at 9 am, hear speakers, and march to City Hall.

http://www.msnbc.com/weekends-with-alex-witt/watch/hundreds-of-thousands-expected-at-women-s-march-855395907844

https://www.womensmarch.com/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/read-march-syllabus-contextualize-womens-175033012.html

http://www.dailynews.com/article/20170118/NEWS/170119420

https://womensmarchla.org/