Jail for Abortion In El Salvador

AP story in the Los Angeles Times, Aug. 20, 2019

The saddest story in today's LA Times: a young woman served 2 and 1/2 years in prison for having a miscarriage at 32 weeks in El Salvador.  And on Monday she was retried and found not guilty--of abortion.

The AP story is heart-wrenching.

The father of the baby never faced a jury.  He never spent one night in prison.  

Her crime was "failing to protect her fetus."  She did not know she was pregnant.  She went to the latrine outside her home with severe abdominal pains and did not know she had delivered a premature baby.

She had no medical care and no emotional care, either before or after giving birth.  

She didn't have the opportunity to get some form of birth control or to understand the signs of pregnancy. 

Perhaps she didn't seek help because the father was a family member.  Perhaps she didn't go to the hospital afterward because she knew she might be accused of deliberately ending the pregnancy.

This is the status of a poor young woman in Cuidad Delgado, El Salvador.  No one outside her family cared about her until she gave birth prematurely, and then they only cared enough to put her in jail. 

El Salvador--the nation named for the Savior.  

Do you love Israel?

A t-shirt I bought in the West Bank near the Salt Sea (aka Dead Sea)
(was I in Jordan? Palestine? or Israel?)

When I visited Israel in January of this year, I often was asked, "Do you love Israel?"

Shopkeepers in the Jewish quarter of Old Jerusalem, vendors at the Dead Sea, passengers on the bus or metro--everyone posed this question.

Clearly the right answer was "Yes," but I wondered what this declaration of loyalty meant.

Now I know that it has a corollary: If you don't love Israel and don't support the Netanyahu government and all of its policies, you hate Israel.

Anyone who supports Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is considered to "hate Israel."

It's as if a parent were accused of hating a child when he/she punishes bad behavior.  Or as if I were accused of hating a Trump-supporting friend because she/he cheered "Lock her up" or "Send them back."  The parent does not hate the child.  I would not hate the friend, but I would need to make clear that I do not support the choices of that friend.

I love Israel, but I also support the Palestinians in their desire for free movement within Israel and a return to their homes or at least the towns and neighborhoods from which they fled in 1947-48. 

But the president of the US is not capable of understanding this distinction, or worse still, he chooses to erase the difference between concerned love and hate--for his own political advantage. 

Our president successfully pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ban two Muslim members of Congress from visiting Israel.  He tweets and shouts at rallies that Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar "hate Israel."  

He agrees with the far-right wing of Netanyahu's supporters that those who advocate a boycott of Israel are "haters of Israel."  See the reference to Bezalel Smotrich in today's NY Times article titled "Law Invoked Was Passed 2 Years Ago."

Anyone who doesn't support Netanyahu and his oppression of Palestinians hates Israel, according to the US and Israeli far right.  

No, we love Israel and want it to be a better place for all.  We want peace in Israel, and true peace includes justice.

 Netanyahu "bows before a tweet" said Columnist Bari Weiss in today's NY Times

And today Netanyahu reversed his government's decision to ban Representatives Tlaib and Omar--if they sign a statement that they will not promote boycotts while visiting.  

Of course, Representative Tlaib said she could not visit Israel or her 90-year-old grandmother in Palestine under that restriction.  Just to walk down the street of Bethlehem would be a tacit call for boycotts.  Her grandmother, who lives in a Palestinian village near Ramallah, has already faced a "global political storm," according to NY Times reporter Isabel Kershner.

"If You Think Trump Is Helping Israel, You're a Fool" writes columnist Thomas Friedman.  When the current president is ancient history, the Democrats in power will be less likely to give Israel the blind support that dt did. 

A Kalishnikov rifle kills so efficiently

Kalishnikov rifle

Only one thing matters: end universal access to assault rifles.

Stop asking what was his motive?  is he mentally ill?  did he have a record of other crimes? what race is he? was he a white supremacist? why did he drive ten hours from Dallas to El Paso?  why were Walmart shoppers his targets?

Just face one fact: he attacked with a Kalishnikov rifle.  The USA allows any fool to buy fully automatic and semi-automatic assault rifles.  Most other countries don't.

Until we take these weapons of war away from every Tom, Dick, and Harry, more young white males will use them in mass shootings.

It's the third multiple shooting in one week: Gilroy CA, Los Angeles CA, El Paso TX.

Two shooters used assault rifles.  They each sought a soft target and killed people randomly.

The cities of El Paso, Texas, in the USA and Juarez, Chihuahua, in Mexico are divided by the Rio Grande and by an international border.

In Juarez, the problem is gangs, but no one can legally buy an assault rifle.

In El Paso and the rest of Texas, any male can buy as many handguns, hunting rifles, fully automatic rifles, and semi-automatic rifles as he likes.

And he can end many lives before the police can stop him.

We must rise up and demand sensible gun reform. 

Step 1: Tell Mitch McConnell to stop blocking a Senate vote on the House bill to enact backgrounds checks.  Then vote him out of the Senate.  Here's what the Giffords Center says:

The House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act more than 100 days ago. But Senator Mitch McConnell is blocking the bill. Stand with Gabby Giffords and demand a vote.

Step 2: Vote out of office any legislator--any city, state, or national leader--who will not ban assault rifles.  Start with Mitch McConnell and the fool in the White House. No more gun-enablers!

Step 3: Donate money to United Against Gun Violence: Brady and Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence.

Step 4: Impoverish the NRA. 

Step 5: Control magazines and bullets.

Soldiers & Suicide

A flag waves over the Pacific shoreline in Malibu, California, expressing someone's patriotism.

It's easy to fly the red, white, and blue, but here's a high cost to serving in the Armed Forces, even if you don't lose your life, an arm, or a leg.

An on-going tragedy is the number of suicides among our military each year as a result of trauma: 325 active-duty persons in 2018.  That doesn't count the veterans who take their own lives.  See this report from the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.

Recruiters don't mention the higher rate of suicide among active-duty and veteran soldiers.

Beach homes in Malibu, California

A recent analysis found a suicide rate among veterans of about 30 per 100,000 population per year, compared with the civilian rate of 14 per 100,000, according to Wikipedia.

"War is not healthy for children and other living things" says the bumper sticker popular during the Vietnam War protest era.

In 2012 alone, an estimated 7,500 former military personnel died by suicide. More active duty veterans, 177, succumbed to suicide that year than were killed in combat.

We need to stop romanticizing combat in film, video games, and political rhetoric.  

Instead, we must care about these men and women who are suffering, being injured in combat or training, and taking their own lives.  We must pray for them and do our best to prevent US military intervention around the world.

A boring and pointless debate

Democracy can be so boring.  It's not sexy like the #metoo movement or outrageous like the daily tweets of the fool in the White House.

I hung on every word of the first two debates last June.  I was getting to know the candidates, and they differentiated themselves significantly.

But on Tuesday night, July 30, after I made a list of the ten speakers, I soon crossed out five of them.  Listening to them was pointless.  None of these five could beat dt.

• Steve Bullock, governor of Montana--obnoxious.
• John Delaney, rich guy and former congressman from Maryland--worse.
• John Hickenlooper, governor of Colorado--not a bad guy but boring.  Possible VP nominee.
• Marianne Williamson of California--author and lecturer, interesting but can't beat dt.
• Tim Ryan, congressman from Ohio--ditto.  At least as a VP nominee he could bring in a key state.

That left me with the two handsome youngish men, Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and Beto O'Rourke of El Paso, Texas.  Again, I like their politics but they don't have a chance of defeating the ass in the White House.

So then I was down to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, along with my favorite, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.  All three are more credible candidates, but IMHO, none of them can beat the clown that many fools will still vote for.

I would vote for any of these ten candidates if he or she is nominated by the Democratic convention next summer in Milwaukee.  But I don't think any one of these three senators can defeat dt.

• Sanders--too old to win the votes of younger people.  
• Warren--too female and too strident to win the middle-of-the-road voters.  I love her for being female and strident and smart and having plans to implement, but as Williamson said, people vote for personalities, not for plans.
• Klobuchar--not enough money at the moment.  She could win Midwestern voters and those voters who are neither strongly to the right nor strongly to the left.  If she had money and more supporters, I think she could give dt a run for his money.  Your average Democrat would support her if nominated.  If, if, if...

As a result, I come to the Wednesday debate with a jaundiced eye.  I'm not sure either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris could defeat dt--and that's what this election is all about, given that the Senate is unlikely to remove this liar and Russia-controlled president from office.

Marianne Williamson made the most important point in Tuesday's debate when she called for reparations to descendants of slaves imported from Africa.  I am glad I witnessed the debate to hear her speak and to hear the others respond. 

Listen to her Prayer of Apology for African-Americans on Youtube.

Yes, today's economic differences between African-Americans and Euro-Americans are rooted in the kidnapping of these people, the enslavement of them to profit from their labor, and the Jim Crow laws that followed the emancipation.  

Monetary reparations have been needed for a long time.  Better late than never.

That's what democracy is all about--listening to a 2 1/2 hour debate to hear one good, concrete idea.

Gun Liberty vs. Assault Rifle Death

The Declaration of Independence:
"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

Thank you, US Constitution, Amendment 2, for the deaths of a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a 22-year-old young man yesterday in Gilroy.

Read the LA Times report today.

California outlaws assault rifles--so this killer bought his semi-automatic weapon in Nevada earlier in July.  The Supreme Court refuses to ban these rifles throughout the USA.

The Gilroy police responded in less than one minute--though they only carried handguns and the killer carried a semi-automatic rifle, illegal in the state of California.  He could have killed many more, but the police killed him within 90 seconds after he began.

The mayor of Gilroy, the sheriff, and others just held a press conference to report on the murders.  The details are heart-breaking.  7,000 people entered the gates, being checked for weapons.  One man cut a hole in a chain-link fence and entered with the assault-style rifle.

California Penal Code §25850 defines what constitutes a loaded weapon.

Semi-automatic firearms that the state has classified as assault weapons; .50 BMG caliber rifles; and large-capacity magazines (magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition) may not be sold in California. The ban on large-capacity magazines was ruled unconstitutional March 29, 2019^[11] but the ruling is on hold while the case is under appeal.^[12] Possession of automatic firearms, and of short-barreled shotguns and rifles, is prohibited without a Dangerous Weapons Permit, that is received from the California Department of Justice pending a good reason for their possession such as: manufacture, repair, collecting in limited cases (pre-1990), movie prop guns or dealing to police/military.

Here's Amendment 2.  May it be repealed or its current interpretation defeated in the Supreme Court.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Three young Americans lost their lives, their liberty, and their pursuit of happiness yesterday evening--thanks to the access of a crazy man to an assault rifle in the state of Nevada and thanks to the National Rifle Association and all those who support continued access to guns and rifles, not by a well-regulated militia, but by any insane fool who decides to buy a gun.

Fight these mass killings! Fight the NRA!  Vote out of office all those who support this wrong interpretation of the Second Amendment--including our fool of a president.

Note: this shooter's grandfather had been a Santa Clara County supervisor, and the shooter himself had connections on his social media to misogynist and racist views.

"Un-American" - Republicans speaking to Mueller

The Mueller Report with tabs to show sections
and ten instances of obstruction

Parts of today's hearings before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee were outrageously rude to former FBI Director Robert Mueller.

They were painful to listen to.

"You compiled  nearly 450 pages of the very worst information you gathered against the target of your investigation, who happens to be the President of the United States," charged Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R) PA.  "You did this knowing that you were not going to recommend charges, and that the report was going to be made public."

Robert Mueller stared at him stoically.  "Not true."

"I find those facts, and this entire process, un-American!" this Guy said, triumphantly, ignoring that Mueller had said the charges were not true.

"Did you know that your report would be made public?" 

"No."

"You published this report, unfairly airing the target's dirty laundry....  You left out evidence favorable to the president...."

Mueller tried to interrupt the speech to say that he had tried to be fair in the evidence he included and the things he did not include.  But the tirade continued, ignoring that Mueller had rejected all Guy's claims.

"You made a decision not to prosecute!"

"No, we made a decision not to decide whether to prosecute or not."

Never mind that Mueller served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.  His report was un-American in the eyes of this Guy.

Never mind that Mueller was appointed to head the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election at age 72, after he had retired.  His report was un-American, says Guy.  

Never mind that Mueller's resume includes being a United States attorney; United States assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division; a homicide prosecutor in Washington, D.C.; acting United States deputy attorney general; and director of the FBI.  His report was un-American in the eyes of this Guy.

This little Guy still thinks he can ignore Mueller's answers and string out a feeble web accusing Mueller's investigation of being un-American--in Guy's attempt to defend the lies and criminal acts of the 45th president.

Never mind that Mueller had poured heart and soul into this work for 22 months.  His work and his report were un-American.

In the eyes of many Trump supporters, doing anything at all against President Trump is to be un-American. 

Every time this Guy made a charge, Mueller denied it.  

One might think that it would be American to serve in the Armed Forces, to accept an assignment from the Acting Attorney General appointed by the president, and to work hard on that assignment.

But any work that exposes flaws in President Trump is un-American in the eyes of these folks.

I faced a charge of "un-American" myself in June when I walked into a gas station in Virginia wearing a button that said "Anyone but Trump in 2020."

"That badge you're wearing is un-American," said a man about fifty years old buying something at the cash register.

So it's un-American to express a choice for the next president?  It's un-American to protest the actions of 45?  Free speech and free voting are un-American?

And it's un-American to select capable prosecutors to investigate the president--never mind that our Constitution sets up guidelines for investigating and impeaching a president who breaks the law.

Watch this despicable speech masquerading as a series of questions.

Then watch Rep. Tom McClintock (R) CA do exactly the same thing--present a speech interrupted by a few questions that he doesn't permit Mueller to answer.  

"I've got limited time," these two representatives and many others stated as their excuse for interrupting Mueller when he attempts to answer a question.

"Having desperately tried and failed to make a legal case against the president, you made a political case instead.  You put it in a paper sack, lit it on fire, dropped it on our porch, rang the doorbell, and ran!" McClintock charged.

"I don't think you will review a report that is as thorough, as fair, as consistent as the report that we have in front of us," replied Mueller.

And the gavel came down to end McClintock's tirade and allow another raving Republican his turn to insult the former director of the FBI and acting US deputy attorney general.

Now that's un-American--insulting another American acting in good faith.

House Wins, POTUS Loses

CNN live coverage of votes on resolution to censure dt

The House of Representatives formally censured the 45th president today!

(Why is this such a big deal?  Why hasn't it been done before?)

I was taking my dog to the vet for a bordetella vaccine and check-up--not really paying much attention to the news.  Though I noticed some kind of news on the television in the lobby, I took out a book to read while waiting for our turn with Dr. Kenneth Jones, the legendary doctor and defender of the animal kingdom.  

What with a male pit bull mix whimpering to say hi to my female corgi, and two other dogs in the lobby, I had a few interruptions.  

"Really, it's all about me," says Stormy on drive to the vet.

During one of the times I looked up, I realized that a live session of  Congress was being shown by CNN with a tally of Republican and Democratic votes.

It hit me: the statement of censure that Nancy Pelosi had promised the House would vote on!

I leapt from my seat to watch the totals change as additional Congressmen and women cast their votes.

Then the yea votes passed 200, and 4 Republicans were included in the count, as well as one independent.

Hooray!  The House finally stood up to Trump with 240 in favor, 187 opposed.  (Why is this one slap on the hand a big deal?)

And then Rep. Al Green of Texas stood up and introduced articles of impeachment against El Presidente.  Thank you!  

Together these signs of backbone give me hope for impeaching this scoundrel.

Rep. John Lewis's speech against racism was so moving:
“I know racism when I see it. I know racism when I feel it. And at the highest levels of government, there is no room for racism,” Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who fought for civil rights in the 1960s, said in the final minutes of the House debate.

Thank you to Speaker Pelosi, all the Democrats, and the four courageous Republicans who went down in history as standing up against a racist tyrant.  And thanks to Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who left the Republican party this month.  Good move, Justin!  To the six Republicans who did not vote, thanks as well.  Continue to question your party's unquestioning loyalty to a liar and racist.

Thanks to The Hill for their report on the Ferocious Four:

The Republicans who voted for the resolution were Reps. Susan Brooks (Ind.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Will Hurd (Texas) and Fred Upton (Mich.). Brooks is slated to retire at the end of her term, while the other three are moderates in competitive districts. 

Madame Speaker, Impeach Now!

Today's New York Times

I'm fed up with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unwillingness to begin impeachment proceedings against the fool trying--but not trying very hard--to act as the 45th President of the United States.

Should he go down in history as a president who was not impeached?  

It's not about whether the Senate will remove him from office.  It's about doing the right thing.

If the House does not impeach Donald Trump, it ignores the 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice in the Mueller report. 

It also ignores Articles I and II of the Constitution that set impeachment as our only recourse for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

If Trump is not impeached, the House is essentially rendering the impeachment clauses null and void.

People care a lot about Amendments 1 and 2 to the Constitution.  Doesn't anyone care about Articles 1 and 2?

Today the NY Times placed "Fanning the Flames, Trump Unleashes a Taunt: 'Go Back" as a large, 3-line head over a news report by Katie Rogers and Nicholas Fandos and a News Analysis by Peter Baker.

Today the LA Times published a front-page report "Trump's tweets criticized as racist" by Laura King at the bottom of the front page, 

Newspapers spend a lot of time deciding what goes on the front page, and where.  The upper-right corner is reserved for the absolute top news, and "below the fold" is where lesser articles belong if they are still worthy of the front page.

I'm grateful that the NY Times played this story as an important milestone in the continuing decline of dt's presidency.  But I understand the LA Times decision to withhold attention from him and his outrageous, give-me-another-headline tweets. 

At this point it's not about whether the Senate will remove him from office.  He must head the list of impeached presidents that now includes Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.  It's unlikely that his own party will force him out, as occurred with Richard Nixon, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Chester Arthur.  

When the Mueller report came out, I stopped pushing for impeachment and posting about Trump in this blog.  I figured it was a done deal.  Wrong.

Come on, Nancy, let's get the impeachment show on the road.  Otherwise the reality-tv president will continue to write the script.

I appreciate your call for a motion to reject his tweets.  But the American people demand impeachment.

Ms. Pelosi said on Monday that the House would move to officially reject President Trump’s xenophobic tweets about members of Congress just hours after the president had warned Democrats against uniting “around the foul language & racist hatred spewed” from the American women whom he recently told to “go back” to their own countries.  [See today's NYT update.]

Yay--representatives are writing this motion as I sit here typing, reports the LA Times: 

As Trump doubles down on racist comments, House to vote on condemning them

See also this great list and analysis of obstruction in the Mueller report done by Quinta Jurecic for the website Lawfare.

And see this interview on Salon with David Priess, author of History's Guide to Removing Unable, Unfit, or Unpopular Chief Executives.

A president who likes to build fear

Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles

Trump just wants to instill fear and garner more media attention, reports the LA Times.  

Only 0.2% of the one million immigrants with deportation orders will be picked up in his much-advertised sweep to begin Sunday--maybe.

https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-planned-immigration-raids-20190711-story.html

Yuk.  He can never get enough attention.

But one needlessly deported family member is too much.

Faithful activists around the country and the world protested the deportations of non-criminals.  

In Los Angeles they gathered at ICE's Metropolitan Detention Center in the downtown area, near Union Station, where the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights had held a rally on June 23 after dt publicly threatened a sweep, which he then postponed.

During the June 23 demonstration, "Detainees could be heard rapping on windows from the building above," reported Jade Hernandez on KABC's Eyewitness News.  

Protesters gathered on a side of the detention center where buses come in and out of the facility. Detainees could be heard rapping on windows from the building above, so protesters chanted their support.

My friend in Michigan attended a rally last night at the Federal Building in Ann Arbor, chanting "Close the camps" and singing "Blowin' in the Wind."  

They also held a candle light march, but Ann Arbor's latitude is 42 degrees north, so at 9:05 pm it still wasn't dark yet.

Thank you to Cindy Carcamo and Andrea Castillo for the LA Times report, which points out that dt used Twitter to threaten a sweep on June 17 and then cancelled it.

Louis DeSipio, a political science professor at UC Irvine, said it’s difficult to know whether the planned raids actually will happen this time. If they don’t, it may backfire on Trump.

“The president is skilled in the art of distraction,” he said. “But there is a cost in that each time he cancels it, he disrupts his relationship with ICE because they have to put a lot of effort into preparing for these things.”

It's also important to note that President Obama deported more immigrants than 45 has done.

Despite his aggressive rhetoric, Trump’s overall removal numbers during his first two years in office pale in comparison with those of the previous administration. Trump’s administration is on track to remove only about 8% more foreigners in fiscal year 2019 than President Obama’s last year in office, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.

During the height of deportations under Obama in 2012, immigration officials removed 409,849 foreigners. By comparison, peak removals under Trump came last year, with 256,085.