Reprieve

Coping with the state of the union or lack of is a daily daunting task.  I go through my day with emotional swings that match tweets I read about the state of the union feeling helpless. I resurrected my blog writing weekly political op-eds to at least get a voice.  Since Trump was elected, I’ve done things to make a difference.  I went to the Women’s March in D.C. the day after the inauguration, I’ve organized post card parties sending messages to political officials, made hundreds of calls to politicians.  I’ve gotten on every progressive email list around, joined a Huddle that followed both the Women’s March and Invisible recommendations for actions.  All of these gave me hope at least for a moment but none has given me lasting hope that could possible outlast Trump’s era. I need some reprieve.   

In the beginning of Trump’s presidency, I woke and turned on Morning Joe to get a blow by blow update.  When I shared this with friends there were doing the same thing.  We were watching blow by blow our democracy deteriorates.  This motivated me and some of my friends and occasionally still does today.  Let’s face it there is an issue almost every day to write your legislature about.  Lately I’ve been broadening my news sources turning to Democracy Now, Reuters, and New York Times.

I attended the Women’s March in D.C. coming home with so much hope that was shattered within days. The women who stayed at the house where I got housing came to D.C. from all over the East coast.  Most had never been to a march, written their legislature, or did any kind of political work for progressive change.  What I got out these women’s stories was that they felt strongly about doing something because they couldn’t take the newly elected misogynous Trump and wanted to stand up to him to say no more. 

Some of my friends talked about moving to Canada or some other democratic friendly country during Trump’s campaign.  I shunned this idea and wanted to take up the fight, something I’ve done during the second wave of women’s liberation and the gay rights movement.  Going to Thailand to study Human Rights last year accomplished both getting out of the current state of the union and getting a purpose.  I got a deeper understanding about Human Rights not only in the United States but in world.  When asked why I was there I had a one-word answer, Trump. 

Today my hope for turning around the state of the union comes from news of the Mueller investigation.  At the same time, I explore this little deeper and think your courts are the real governing body of the state of the union.  I was full of hope when Nancy Pelosi  wouldn’t let Trump give his “State of the Union” address before congress while the government was shut down.  It took a woman to stand up to Trump and for the moment he seems to be listening.  I measure progress in moments, in tweets, in sound bits.  Now that Nancy Pelosi is allowing Trump to give his “State of the Union” address I don’t think I can listen to him.  I never can, instead I listen to the commentator’s summary afterwards, read op-eds from liberal press to get the jest. 

As I write this, I realize I’m burned out on Trump because I’m trying everything to fight him.  I need a break.  I’m making plans to walk the Camino de Santiago for some reprieve.  I’m walking for some peace of mind.  It’s in personal contact with people talking to people with compassion that I find my most hopeful moments.  How do get reprieve from the current state of the union.  Do just check out of the news, take action, hope it all goes away soon.  We all ask ourselves when will this be over.  I have no answers, and when you get to the point of no answers it’s a sign of burn out and time to step back to take stock of in this case the state of the union.

Trump's Business Style Leads to Shutdown

It should be no surprise that Trump has found a way not to pay federal employees.  In June 2016 during Trump’s Presidential campaign USA Today came out with an article with the headline; Hundreds Allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills. Today we have confirmation that Trump doesn’t pay his bills and his bills today just happen to be the bills of the federal government.  Thousands of federal employees haven’t been paid now for 29 days and counting.  The impact to their lives and the national economy now and after the federal shutdown is uncertain but it has already started.  The long-term affect is being debated as Mitch McConnel and Trump dig in for the long haul.

Donald Trump often portrayed himself as a savior of the working class who will "protect your job," during his presidential campaign, but a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades.  A large number of these document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits. 

Trump’s companies have been cited for 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage, according to U.S. Department of Labor. Today we can include Trump’s handling of the United States Government to that list.  The government shut down that started on December 22, 2018 right at the holidays robbed over 800,000 federal employees of their holiday celebrations.  After weeks of the shut down we hear reports of federal employees going to food banks to make ends meet after missing two paychecks.  Some Federal agencies are even ordering employees to return to work, without pay.  One might call this slave labor.  Not only are many federal employees working without pay but those that are furloughed from some in FEMA which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, can’t get moonlighting jobs without approval from their supervisors. This kind of policy is controlling not only employees’ resources to make outside money in essence its controlling their life. No private industry could get away with this kind of thing without getting sued.

One has to ask if this shutdown was one of the tactics Trump had in mind in his campaign promise of “Draining the Swamp.”  In Trump’s initial use of the term it referred to making our government honest once again with the promise of ethics and lobbying reforms. Since being elected Trump has rebranded the “swamp” to mean almost anything he objects to including why he has shut down the government.  Mitch McConnel has committed to not bringing any legislation to a vote that Trump will veto bringing a halt to any bipartisan negotiations on ending the shutdown.  Mitch McConnel’s inaction puts all the responsibility on negotiations to a solution to end the shutdown on Democrats and Trump.  The media reports that Mitch McConnel has taken himself out of the foray of negotiations on reelection concerns.  Reelection concerns seem to be both paralyzing government as well as turning government responsibility into one dramatic act after another.  Examples, the government shutdown, Trump’s canceling of Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the middle east, and the constant name calling of reporters.

This current shutdown comes after years of the Republican party’s goals starting with Ronald Regan to “starve the beast” of the federal government to achieve desired policy outcomes. The idea was simple: deprive the government of tax revenue, (which Trump has accomplished) reduce its ability to function, (which Trump has done in more ways than one) and cut spending on as many programs as possible (which Trump has done). The Republican’s mantra “Nothing domestically should be spared: Medicare, Medicaid, social security, housing programs and welfare.”  Trump has accomplished through dramatic actions that decades of Republicans have attempted through polite National politics slowly eroding a government of the people.  Mitch McConnel and other GOP legislators quietly watch from the sidelines satisfied with what Trump has accomplished in his first two years in office.  We the people watch from the sidelines as our democracy declines from leadership that manipulated elections both by gerrymandering and big money.  It’s time to take our country back.

Vashon Celebrates It's LGBTQ

Vashon Heritage Museum will mount a LGBTQ exhibit in June of this year. The title: “In and Out of the Closet: Being LGBTQ on Vashon Island.”  The LGBTQ exhibit marks an historical moment in Vashon’s history and will go beyond a walk through the museum by organizing events celebrating the 2019 LGBTQ Pride, the 50^th celebration of the Stonewall rebellion.

The Vashon Heritage Museum’s vision for the community of Vashon is to engage the people including marginalized groups to tell Vashon’s history.  The current exhibit of Japanese Americans is an outcome of this vision and tells the story of their community on Vashon before, during and after the internments of WWII.  The upcoming LGBTQ exhibit also is an outcome of the Vashon Heritage Museum’s vision.

The LGBTQ exhibit will showcase a significant part of the Vashon community.  The significance of the LGBTQ population on Vashon came to light when the 2000 and 2010 census counted one of the largest LGBTQ populations per capita in the country.  The Museum’s goal for this exhibit is to tell LGBTQ people’s story in Vashon’s history and today.  The Museum has reached out to LGBTQ people whose lives span decades of Vashon history giving valuable input to the exhibit.

Currently this exhibit has raised over $6,000 in grants and has a GoFundMe campaign.  Please consider going to our GoFundMe page and contribute what you can to be a part of this historical event. https://www.gofundme.com/vashon-in-and-out-of-the-closet  GoFundMe funding will be used to develop, design, construct, and install the exhibit at the Vashon Heritage Museum. In addition, if available, funds will help design and print an educational book about the exhibit, support a series of programs during the exhibit, and integrate this special exhibit and its innovations into the Museum's permanent exhibit.

Special events will go on as long as the exhibit is on display throughout the year. Ideas for the events include a panel, films, an interactive dialogue and celebratory dance.  You are all invited to join Vashon Heritage Museum at the grand opening and throughout the rest of year to celebrate with Vashon’s LGBTQ community. We invite you to keep up to date on the progress and happenings of the exhibit by visiting the Vashon Heritage Museum’s website.  https://vashonheritagemuseum.org/?exhibition=lgbtq-vashon