Rita's Spur to Action

This is a recently received letter from a close friend who is a woman of some renown. Everyone’s lives will be affected by Trump if he is elected.

This could happen to you. This could happen to any woman.

Names have been omitted to protect the privacy of the author.

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Dear Family and Friends,

If you know me, then you know that it is rare for me to share personal stories. I don’t even share personal contacts which is why you all are blind copied on this email. However, I am compelled to share this personal experience with you to make an important point (and I believe) for your own benefit. 

Lest anyone think that the standards of a prospective Trump administration “won’t be that bad” or simply won’t have ill effect on you because somehow you will be exempt from the ramifications of his administration’s policies, consider this:

When my partner and I were starting our family we got pregnant with our first child easily and happily. We assumed we would be able to have a second child just as easily. Indeed, two years later we were expecting our second child. However, for reasons unknown, I miscarried in the fifth month. The fetus just quietly and irrevocably died. I knew something was wrong because all of a sudden I did not feel pregnant anymore. However, I was not actively discharging the remains (miscarrying) and once the doctor confirmed the fetus was no longer viable he had to perform an abortion to remove it. 

Fortunately, at the time I had full bodily autonomy. I did not have to carry a dead fetus in me until it made me ill or destroyed my fertility. I was able to get the medical care that I needed when I needed it and on my terms. And I was able to go on and have the little sibling who my first child yearned for, our beautiful, second child.  And my doctors were able to provide the necessary medical care without threat of imprisonment or loss of their medical license.

If the same set of circumstances happened today in 25+ states in the USA, I would not have the human right, the privacy, the bodily autonomy to make the necessary decision to preserve my health and my reproductive rights. Under a Trump administration and Republican Congress, I and all women regardless of socio economic status or age will have no options. We will not have the right to receive the necessary health care. 

To make it simple and clear: imagine a world without my child. If my partner and I were faced with the same circumstances today, living in a state with extreme limitations on abortion access, we would not have been able to obtain the care that allowed us to ultimately have our second child.

Even if you do not particularly care about women’s health care and bodily autonomy for all citizens, a Trump administration will affect each of you in ways that you can not imagine, do not want to believe, or simply think you are an exception to. While Trump may position himself as above the law and an exception to every legal and social norm, he and his “team” do not think you are entitled to the same standing.  

This election is about voting for the rule of law and preserving our democracy, about all citizens having equal rights under the law. It is not only about the price of eggs or gas or housing or tax rates or foreign policy or any other issue that we normally would be debating and voting on. This is about voting in support of our democracy and the rule of law, or not.

Russian thinker Alexander Dugan has claimed that Trump’s win will have incredible global impact. Dugan has made his reputation on a call for an “anti-American revolution” and claims that with Trump’s election, “[Russia] has won. The world will be never ever like before. Globalists have lost their final combat.”

It is Trump’s alliance with Russia’s leader, Putin, that defines his “about-to-be” presidency.

Trump’s election is a win for Putin.

Putin’s support of Trump is furthering his goal to divide Americans.

Heather Cox Richardson reports that “Trump claims to have talked to about seventy world leaders since his reelection but has declined to go through the usual channels of the State Department.”

“This [policy] illustrates his determination to reorganize the federal government around himself rather than its normal operations. [This approach] leaves him—and the United States—vulnerable to misstatements and misunderstandings…”

In an interview, Putin’s presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev said: “To achieve success in the election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations.”‘

It is evident that Trump has obligations to Putin.

Where will that leave America?

It’s difficult to know where the country will be at the end of four years of Trump, and it is even more difficult to know what we the people can do to save our democracy from a would be dictator and his cohort.

The Republican Senate and Congress have to get their act in order, do the jobs that they were elected to do, and stop kissing the ring.

This is the time for Americans to be courageous and to fight in every way possible to preserve our democracy.

Trump’s proposed suspension on H-1B visas is part of his plan to expel immigrants from the United States.

This is probably about as destructive to the survival of America as possible.

The jobs, whether it’s farmers, painters, plumbers, carpenters, doctors, nurses, lawyers, and scientists, all are in short supply in America.

Who will fill these jobs? Trump and his cohorts?

Of course, it can be agreed upon that any illegal immigrant who commits a crime in the United States should be immediately deported. More border control people should be hired and attention should be paid as to who is coming into the country.

However, on the other side of the coin, deporting many people who have lived in the country for most of their lives, worked here, and paid their taxes would cost mega millions and in doing so, would cause the economy of the country to crash.

All stores, restaurants, farms, hospitals, research centers, public transportation, and construction, would come to a halt in America. And, at an unbelievable cost to the United States Treasury.

Where will Trump get this money? He will get it by reducing the health benefits, social security and school support, for starters.

America, you have succeeded in your own self-destruction by the election of a brilliant megalomaniac as President-elect of the United States.

Every American should write immediately to the congress and the senate urging them not to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for head of the Department of Health and Human Services as proposed by President elect Trump.

The various vaccines that have been developed over the last 70 years have saved millions and millions of lives. This man, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., out of total and abysmal ignorance would deprive America and Americans of vital healthcare and even return our water to a non-potable level.

Measles and Polio would again cause millions of deaths. He is unqualified in every conceivable way to head our Department of Health and Human Services.

RFK Jr. and his cohort, President Elect Trump, have no idea of what this world was like before vaccines were developed.

Polio is a communicative disease which leaves people with paralyzed limbs and weakened hearts or dead.

Ignorance is dangerous and these two men are dangerous. RFK Jr. and Trump simply do not know what they are talking about.

America, rise up. Our lives are at stake.

It is utterly inconceivable that the people of the United States of America could have elected Trump as the future President of the United States.

It is not a secret that he has been Putin’s “thing” ever since Deutche Bank, totally funded by Putin, was the only bank in the world that would lend him money. Putin’s aim has been, and continues to be, total destruction of the America and its democracy under which we have lived and thrived for 247 years. He is succeeding with Trump as his ally.

It was also utterly inconceivable that women were not rising up in masses to support Kamala Harris. The election of Trump heralds the destruction of American women’s autonomy over their own bodies.

If American women cannot join together to rise against Trump and his autocracy then American women will have abdicated their gains they have made toward equality in the last 100 years.

The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States (the oldest and most despicable president ever elected) is perhaps one of the most disappointing and saddening moments in the history of this country.

Respect for decency, honesty, and integrity have gone out the window with his election. Women in our society have been making progress towards equality and respect. Respect not just to stay at home as moms and housekeepers and cooks, but respect for their right to enter the workforce on an equal level with men.

Carolyn Agger was the first woman to attend Yale Law School. She was the only woman in her class, and that was in 1935. That was the beginning of the trend for women entering the workforce on equal footing with men, and even today, they are still paid less.

The election of Trump, a misogynist, a man who is disrespectful of women and who has lived his life showing no respect, shows that a vast number of men in the states must be supporting him.

This has to do with the fact that they are unemployed. Disrespect and disregard for women will not salve the ego of a generation of men who have lost their jobs amidst technological development.

Women are multitaskers. They are perfectly capable of running the house, taking care of the children, and getting food on the table, all while satisfying the emotional and physical desires of their husbands. Many of them do all of that while holding successful jobs.

Some men in America recognize and appreciate the women in their lives, others like the newly elected President of the United States, are disrespectful and belittling of women. Trump, decided that he knows better than women, and that he is going to take care of them “whether they like it or not”. His notion of caring for women has been made perfectly clear by his grand first step of overthrowing of Roe v. Wade.

Women should refuse to have sex or children until such time as Mr. Trump decides to respect Women and their ability to make decisions about their own bodies with no ignorant input from him.

Women of America. Hit the Streets and fight for your rights.

There is no better way to say this than this mother did in a letter to her sons:

I raised you to value honesty, fairness, and equality, to respect the law, to seek the truth, to feel empathy towards others, to work hard for your own, your family’s, and your community’s benefit, to distinguish right from wrong and good from bad, to be accountable for your words and deeds, to cherish our freedom and honor our Constitution, and to always hold yourself and others to a high standard in beliefs, words and deeds. Donald Trump does not share any of these values…

He’s transactional with a zero-sum mindset. He embraces what benefits him for as long as necessary to achieve his end. His relentless manipulations include showing a different face at different times to one audience or another, aiming to ingratiate himself by seeming somehow similar, and lying – lying shamelessly.

You must vote.

Go to the polls and vote for Kamala.

Trump is not running for the country, Trump is running to stay out of jail.

A Republican judge pushed his charges and indictments to be dealt with after the election. Theoretically, so as not to look “political.”

The truth of the matter is that if Trump is reelected as President of the United States, he can forgive himself of all charges made against him, regardless of whether they were made while he was President or as a civilian. He will forgive himself for having committed treason against the United States, and having been supported by a treasonous army of supporters who attacked the Capitol in 2021.

He has been indicted four times for: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. If he does not win the Presidency he will still have to appear in court and deal with these indictments.

When in the history of the United States have we ever had a person running to be President who is under indictment for conspiracy against the people of America and the United States government?

You have to vote for Kamala to save the democracy under which we have lived. And get your friends to join you.

This was a blog recently received, written by Richard Haass. You can find his Substack at https://substack.com/home/post/p-150424669?source=queue&autoPlay=false. Seems relevant:

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Opaque (October 25, 2024)

Welcome to Home & Away. There are weeks when everything that needs to be said has pretty much been said, and this feels like one of them. So, we will keep this week’s newsletter short so as not to take too much of anyone’s time. 

The election is just eleven days away depending on whether you insist on counting today and/or Election Day. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that voting ends on the evening of Tuesday, November 5, and that the election is already underway, as some ten percent or so of those who are likely to vote have already done so. That translates into approximately 17 to 21 million out of maybe 160 or at most 170 millionexpected voters, which is on the order of two-thirds of the roughly 245 million eligible voters. 

I will confess that I find it hard to understand why so many who could vote choose not to. I say this even though I am well aware that for some it is less of a choice given that work and a lack of childcare or transportation can get in the way. Voting is after all one of the basic rights of living in a democracy. Plus, this is a particularly significant election given the many consequential issues that will fill the inbox of the 47^th president and the differences—both large and numerous—between the two principal candidates.  

And then there are the polls from virtually every swing state suggesting that the margin of victory for either candidate may well be small, which means that votes in quite a few states could be highly consequential in determining the next occupant of the Oval Office. Not to mention the importance of Senate and House races and whether the next president will have to contend with one or both chambers of Congress in opposition hands. So, I would hope readers of this newsletter will encourage those in their midst to get informed and exercise their precious right. 

Speaking of which, I had several opportunities this week to hear from well-respected pollsters. My takeaway is that over the past few weeks the momentum has shifted slightly toward Trump, both at the national level and in the seven or so swing states. 

I still am not entirely sure as to why. I somehow doubt Trump’s comments on Arnold Palmer have won him the support of those who rooted for the former golfing great or enjoy the drink named for him that mixes lemonade and iced tea in unspecified proportions. Or that fast-food afficionados have embraced Trump in the wake of his turn at McDonald’s. Whatever the cause—whether it reflects a move toward Trump or away from Harris based on issues such as the border, inflation, or for some other reason—the trend appears real, and it does not seem to have been slowed by Trump’s former chief of staff’s charges that the former president is a fascist who expressed admiration for Hitler and his generals.  

Much less clear (and much more important) is where things stand even after this recent trend is acknowledged. Many pundits are claiming the presidential race is too close to call and that the final outcome will be close as well. Maybe, but maybe not. I would argue we do not know that it is close. Either of the two principal candidates could hold a meaningful advantage both nationally and in most or all of the swing states.  

A better description of where things stand is that the race is too opaque to call, a reflection of what Donald Rumsfeld might term known unknowns: difficult-to-reach voters, difficult to measure first time voters, questions over turnout, undecideds, voters refusing to speak truthfully to pollsters, and so on. Polls have historically failed to adequately capture both Trump’s popularity as well as the extent of voter backlash (especially among women) to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. So, for better or worse, it may not be a late night Tuesday. And Election Day may not be followed by days or weeks of uncertainty. Or it might. 

So be ready for any and all scenarios at the presidential level. The same holds for the House of Representatives, which appears to be ever so slightly positioned to turn Democratic but could remain in Republican hands. By contrast, the Senate seems highly likely to turn Republican. All of which is to say we could end up with a somewhat divided government, deeply divided government, or united government if one were to count the Supreme Court as being in Republican hands. 

As for Away, just two things to mention. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the new Gang of Four, the alignment among China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, with the purpose of both supporting one another and challenging the United States and the West. It is getting more serious by the day. The most recent development is the news that North Korea has sent several thousand troops to Russia for use in Ukraine (quite possibly in exchange for Russian help with its missile and nuclear programs) and that Russia has been providing the Iranian-backed Houthis with targeting data for its attacks on Western ships in the Red Sea. And then there is the evidence that several of the four are doing their best primarily through cyber means to influence our elections and politics here more broadly. 

The second item involves the Middle East, where things pretty much stand where they were last week. Israel is pressing ahead militarily in both Gaza and Lebanon despite the worsening humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza; prospects for ceasefires, much less anything more ambitious diplomatically, remain slim despite Secretary of State Blinken’s latest trip to the region. Meanwhile, Israel has yet to carry out any retaliation against Iran, with “yet” being the operative word, as what is at issue is not whether Israel will retaliate, but rather when it will do so, the scale of the attack, and the choice of targets. All of which will probably contribute to the political trend in the United States discussed above, as continued conflict in the Middle East and Europe seems to benefit Donald Trump and cost Kamala Harris. 

Otherwise, and it is a big otherwise, the World Series starts tonight.  Not just any World Series, but one between the two best teams in baseball featuring the two best players. The outcome here is as well opaque, but I am going with my Yankees over the Dodgers in six.   

https://substack.com/home/post/p-150424669?source=queue&autoPlay=false

Our presidential election is right around the corner. This election will affect the entire future of this country.

Were Trump to be reelected as President of the United States, the chances of his survival, either mentally or physically, are slim. Should he not survive if in office, JD Vance, his Vice President, would become President in his place.

Aside from Vance’s shady background, his chosen Vice President seems likely to be Donald Trump Jr.. Just imagine the United States of America in the hands of Donald Trump Jr. – that’s pretty frightening.

You have to remember that Trump, the day that he was elected president, set up the Supreme Court to defend himself if he was ever brought up on charges. That day occurred, and his chosen Supreme Court exonerated him by instituting a new constitutional immunity from criminal liability for presidents’ “official acts,” or anything a president may do using the powers of the office.

Take a deep breath, and think what that could mean if Vance or Donald Trump Jr. were President of the United States.

Tuesday, November 5th may be the most important day in the history of this country – the only day we have to defend ourselves against the dismal possibility facing our nation. It is our one chance, and yet there it is, on a Tuesday, when people are at work and may find it difficult to take time off from their paid jobs to go to the polls.

In other countries in the world – even in France, which is a Catholic country – the elections are held on a Sunday, when most people don’t go to work. It is perfectly obvious that either the election should be held on a Sunday, or better yet, make the election day a national holiday so everybody would be able to go and cast their vote.

This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue, this is a national issue. Both Democrats and Republicans should ban together in the Senate and the Congress to change the national election day, either to make it a national holiday or make it on a Sunday.

This at least is an issue that can bring both parties together to do something constructive for this country, and allow it to function as was intended: for the benefit of all.

That is what it should be, but since it is not, you must make a point to go anyway. Even though it is a work day, make sure you go to the polls and cast your vote.