SUENOSDEUOMI'S RUMINATIONS AND PERSPECTIVE
Meeting Rattler
Christmas eve, out walking my pups, with camera in hand hunting for pics at sunset, an ominous layer of thick white clouds on the horizon looked promising. At this inopportune moment, a Hispanic guy in a turquoise jacket approached us. Dogs make for great openers. He was polite enough to ask for my permission to pet my pups. They loved the attention, of course. The guy gushed how dogs know people. We talked a bit. I noticed an elaborate tattoo covering his throat. They call him Rattler, likening him to a rattlesnake he confided. Said he is 44 years old, getting up there. Girlfriend threw him out, so he was prowling the streets, on Christmas eve. I inquired about his family. He lost his Dad early and his Mom a bit later to Leukemia. I suggested he go back to his girlfriend and apologize. Never. He would never ever submit.
Incredulous sounding, he kept repeating that his look-alike brother was the one that just got killed right near the plaza. Said his brother got shot just like a dog. I had read the recent headlines. Rattler kept on ranting about street-justice. If cops will not do it, he will. I suggested a 12-step meeting. Yep, he knew about them, had to attend them by order. He then declared his love for Jesus but continued to lament the loss of his brother. In parting, I begged him to talk to his higher power. He had turned already to accost another female pedestrian. I returned home with pictures only in my mind, none in my camera.
Incredulous sounding, he kept repeating that his look-alike brother was the one that just got killed right near the plaza. Said his brother got shot just like a dog. I had read the recent headlines. Rattler kept on ranting about street-justice. If cops will not do it, he will. I suggested a 12-step meeting. Yep, he knew about them, had to attend them by order. He then declared his love for Jesus but continued to lament the loss of his brother. In parting, I begged him to talk to his higher power. He had turned already to accost another female pedestrian. I returned home with pictures only in my mind, none in my camera.
Not A Rock 'n' Rollin Kinda Stone
The restraining, constraining, detaining effects of humans on nature.
Remember,
the patriarchal, linear, oppressive, violent culture is in its last throes!
Old white men now in power will pass on.
Millenials will replace them.
A different generation, a different breed
for whom the self is less defined
gender is a choice along a continuum,
nature is more valued and less opposed
the outlook is more global
no longer us versus them.
In short
there is hope.
Shadow Self
Native American guy accosted me for a hand-out.
When I refused his buddy gave me a hug against my will.
Reeking of alcohol he insisted that he loved me and will always love me.
I am afraid this stranger believed I really needed a hug.
The man was right.
Christmas Decor Española-Style in the Land of Enchantment
Mister Romero's antique Chevy Pick-up Truck
on my street, in my 'hood, in the City Different
decorated by his wife Cynthia
the way it is done for the Christmas parade
in Española, New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.
Sweet surprise of Swiss chocolate Christmas decor,
the kind we would hang on our Christmas tree,
a real tree with real candles
that on occasions would catch fire
so a bucket of water was always on hand.
John Pugh Mural
John Pugh 3D Mural
in back of George R. R. Martin's Jean Cocteau Cinema
(no post-processing, the light was right)
Michael Moore's To-Do Lists
Morning After To-Do List:
1. Take over the Democratic Party and return it to the people. They have failed us miserably.
2. Fire all pundits, predictors, pollsters and anyone else in the media who had a narrative they wouldn't let go of and refused to listen to or acknowledge what was really going on. Those same bloviators will now tell us we must "heal the divide" and "come together." They will pull more hooey like that out of their ass in the days to come. Turn them off.
3. Any Democratic member of Congress who didn't wake up this morning ready to fight, resist and obstruct in the way Republicans did against President Obama every day for eight full years must step out of the way and let those of us who know the score lead the way in stopping the meanness and the madness that's about to begin.
4. Everyone must stop saying they are "stunned" and "shocked". What you mean to say is that you were in a bubble and weren't paying attention to your fellow Americans and their despair. YEARS of being neglected by both parties, the anger and the need for revenge against the system only grew. Along came a TV star they liked whose plan was to destroy both parties and tell them all "You're fired!" Trump's victory is no surprise. He was never a joke. Treating him as one only strengthened him. He is both a creature and a creation of the media and the media will never own that.
5. You must say this sentence to everyone you meet today: "HILLARY CLINTON WON THE POPULAR VOTE!" The MAJORITY of our fellow Americans preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Period. Fact. If you woke up this morning thinking you live in an effed-up country, you don't. The majority of your fellow Americans wanted Hillary, not Trump. The only reason he's president is because of an arcane, insane 18th-century idea called the Electoral College. Until we change that, we'll continue to have presidents we didn't elect and didn't want. You live in a country where a majority of its citizens have said they believe there's climate change, they believe women should be paid the same as men, they want a debt-free college education, they don't want us invading countries, they want a raise in the minimum wage and they want a single-payer true universal health care system. None of that has changed. We live in a country where the majority agree with the "liberal" position. We just lack the liberal leadership to make that happen (see: #1 above).
Let's try to get this all done by noon today.
-- Michael Moore
Day Two's To-Do List:
1. Must quickly and decisively form an opposition movement, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 1960s. I will do my part to help lead this as I'm sure many others (Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, MoveOn, the hip-hop community, DFA, etc.) will, too. The core of this opposition force will be fueled by young people who, as with Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, don't tolerate b.s. and are relentless in their resistance to authority. They have no interest in compromising with racists and misogynists.
2. Prepare to impeach Trump. Just as the Republicans were already planning to do with President Hillary from Day One, we must organize the apparatus that will bring charges against him when he violates his oath and breaks the law -- and then we must remove him from office.
3. Must commit right now to a vigorous fight (including civil disobedience, if necessary) which will block any and all Donald Trump Supreme Court nominees who do not meet our approval. We demand the Democrats in the Senate aggressively filibuster any nominees who support Citizens United or who oppose the rights of women, immigrants and the poor. This is non-negotiable.
4. Demand the DNC apologize to Bernie Sanders for trying to fix the primaries against him, for spinning the press to ignore his historic campaign, for giving Clinton the questions in advance at the Flint debate, for its latent ageism and anti-Semitism in trying to turn voters against him because of his age or religious beliefs, and for its anti-democracy system of "superdelegates" who are elected by no one. We all know now had Bernie been given a fair shot, he probably would have been the nominee and he -- as the true outsider and "change" candidate --would have inspired and fired up the base and soundly defeated Donald Trump. If no apology is soon forthcoming from the DNC, that's ok -- when we take over the Democratic Party (see yesterday's To-Do List, #1), we will issue the apology in person.
5. Demand that President Obama establish a Special Prosecutor to investigate who and what was behind FBI Director James Comey's illegal interference into the Presidential election 11 days before the vote was held.
6. Begin a national push while it's fresh in everyone's mind for a constitutional amendment to fix our broken electoral system: 1. Eliminate the Electoral College -- popular vote only. 2. Paper ballots only -- no electronic voting. 3. Election Day must be made a holiday for all -- or held on a weekend so more people vote. 4. All citizens, regardless of any run-ins with the criminal "justice" system, must have the right to vote. (In swing states like Florida and Virginia, 30-40% of all Black men are prohibited by law from voting.)
7. Convince President Obama to immediately do what he should have done a year ago: Send in the Army Corps of Engineers to Flint to dig up and replace all the poisoned pipes. NOTHING HAS CHANGED; the water in Flint is still unusable.
Will try to get these done by sundown. More To-Do tomorrow...
--Michael Moore
Michael Moore On MSNBC's Morning Joe's.
1. Take over the Democratic Party and return it to the people. They have failed us miserably.
2. Fire all pundits, predictors, pollsters and anyone else in the media who had a narrative they wouldn't let go of and refused to listen to or acknowledge what was really going on. Those same bloviators will now tell us we must "heal the divide" and "come together." They will pull more hooey like that out of their ass in the days to come. Turn them off.
3. Any Democratic member of Congress who didn't wake up this morning ready to fight, resist and obstruct in the way Republicans did against President Obama every day for eight full years must step out of the way and let those of us who know the score lead the way in stopping the meanness and the madness that's about to begin.
4. Everyone must stop saying they are "stunned" and "shocked". What you mean to say is that you were in a bubble and weren't paying attention to your fellow Americans and their despair. YEARS of being neglected by both parties, the anger and the need for revenge against the system only grew. Along came a TV star they liked whose plan was to destroy both parties and tell them all "You're fired!" Trump's victory is no surprise. He was never a joke. Treating him as one only strengthened him. He is both a creature and a creation of the media and the media will never own that.
5. You must say this sentence to everyone you meet today: "HILLARY CLINTON WON THE POPULAR VOTE!" The MAJORITY of our fellow Americans preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Period. Fact. If you woke up this morning thinking you live in an effed-up country, you don't. The majority of your fellow Americans wanted Hillary, not Trump. The only reason he's president is because of an arcane, insane 18th-century idea called the Electoral College. Until we change that, we'll continue to have presidents we didn't elect and didn't want. You live in a country where a majority of its citizens have said they believe there's climate change, they believe women should be paid the same as men, they want a debt-free college education, they don't want us invading countries, they want a raise in the minimum wage and they want a single-payer true universal health care system. None of that has changed. We live in a country where the majority agree with the "liberal" position. We just lack the liberal leadership to make that happen (see: #1 above).
Let's try to get this all done by noon today.
-- Michael Moore
Day Two's To-Do List:
1. Must quickly and decisively form an opposition movement, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 1960s. I will do my part to help lead this as I'm sure many others (Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, MoveOn, the hip-hop community, DFA, etc.) will, too. The core of this opposition force will be fueled by young people who, as with Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, don't tolerate b.s. and are relentless in their resistance to authority. They have no interest in compromising with racists and misogynists.
2. Prepare to impeach Trump. Just as the Republicans were already planning to do with President Hillary from Day One, we must organize the apparatus that will bring charges against him when he violates his oath and breaks the law -- and then we must remove him from office.
3. Must commit right now to a vigorous fight (including civil disobedience, if necessary) which will block any and all Donald Trump Supreme Court nominees who do not meet our approval. We demand the Democrats in the Senate aggressively filibuster any nominees who support Citizens United or who oppose the rights of women, immigrants and the poor. This is non-negotiable.
4. Demand the DNC apologize to Bernie Sanders for trying to fix the primaries against him, for spinning the press to ignore his historic campaign, for giving Clinton the questions in advance at the Flint debate, for its latent ageism and anti-Semitism in trying to turn voters against him because of his age or religious beliefs, and for its anti-democracy system of "superdelegates" who are elected by no one. We all know now had Bernie been given a fair shot, he probably would have been the nominee and he -- as the true outsider and "change" candidate --would have inspired and fired up the base and soundly defeated Donald Trump. If no apology is soon forthcoming from the DNC, that's ok -- when we take over the Democratic Party (see yesterday's To-Do List, #1), we will issue the apology in person.
5. Demand that President Obama establish a Special Prosecutor to investigate who and what was behind FBI Director James Comey's illegal interference into the Presidential election 11 days before the vote was held.
6. Begin a national push while it's fresh in everyone's mind for a constitutional amendment to fix our broken electoral system: 1. Eliminate the Electoral College -- popular vote only. 2. Paper ballots only -- no electronic voting. 3. Election Day must be made a holiday for all -- or held on a weekend so more people vote. 4. All citizens, regardless of any run-ins with the criminal "justice" system, must have the right to vote. (In swing states like Florida and Virginia, 30-40% of all Black men are prohibited by law from voting.)
7. Convince President Obama to immediately do what he should have done a year ago: Send in the Army Corps of Engineers to Flint to dig up and replace all the poisoned pipes. NOTHING HAS CHANGED; the water in Flint is still unusable.
Will try to get these done by sundown. More To-Do tomorrow...
--Michael Moore
Michael Moore On MSNBC's Morning Joe's.
2016 Presidential Election
Election Day I woke at 2 am, got up at 4 am and was at my polling station at 6 pm where I served as Election Judge until 8:30 pm. Polls were open from 7 am to 7 pm, 12 hours during which I handed out 250 ballots out of a stack of more than 800. I was the only Independent in a crew of 5 terrific senior ladies. While roughly 50% of voters in Santa Fe voted early, the turn out for such an election of such utmost importance was disappointing to me, not others, but I consider less than 80% voter participation as I believe it has been reported from Denmark and from Venezuela, less than satisfactory. By the end of the day about 10% of ballots were marked invalid, still to be determined by the County Clerk and the Secretary of State, because of creative, improper write-ins. If this were to translate nation-wide, Hillary might have been our President Elect now if voters had not carelessly used their ballots as protest votes that nobody took notice of and nobody cared about! 800,000 ballots were counted in New Mexico by 11.10.2016, about 55% of eligible votes. The silver lining, New Mexicans voted for her and they took back the House of Representatives they had lost for the first time in 40 years to repugnant republican control 2 years ago. For us, this is excellent local news.
The election outcome truly shocked me. I did not think it possible for him, the narcissist, the liar, the groper and the molester, the big mouth with the silly tweets, the grotesque orange maned one with abhorrent involvements in businesses and practices that stiffed his contractors, deprived them of their dues with the skillful, but surely unethical use of repeat bankruptcies, the one that loved to fire people for entertainment, the one that had no inhibitions on walking in on beauty contestants in their varied states of undress, the one that ought to be revolting to anyone with any sense of common decency and humanity.
He won 290, electoral votes, 20 more than the required 270 votes.
She won 60,274,974 of the popular vote, about 300,000 more votes.
His less than 60,000,000 votes make for very low voter approval.
232,556,622 eligible voters
46.9% did not vote
25.6% voted for her
25.5% voted for him
It's the economy, stupid! Trump voters were all too happy to cast all his horrible attributes aside in the hopes of him delivering the goods. Never mind the costs to women he threatened to criminalize for having abortions, to immigrants and their families he threatened to pull apart and cart off as if we were back in the thirties, or to the environment that he will hand deliver to big corporations to exploit with no regard to science and our future. The profit motive will rule. Already stocks have gone up on private prisons, eager for a boom from the holding of those lacking proper documentation.
Turns out even white women, oh the shame, participated in his having beaten her. I am with Barbara Bush in not able to fathom how a woman could ever vote for a prick like him. Yep, we got a white-lash as Van Jones put it. Rachel Maddow already blamed 3. party voters in swing states for his win. I like Cenk's break down, not sure I fully agree, but he does make some good points.
The sure loser is the Democratic Party. Will they learn? We will see soon enough by their pick of their new leader. Will it be Rep. Keith Ellison, pushed by Bernie, or will it be Howard Dean, or Tim Kaine her running mate as suggested by the NY Times? Here is Cenk's take.
How the 99% chose a 1 percenter to represent their needs will remain a mystery despite all the analysis done and yet to come. His voters will no doubt come to a rude awakening, sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, we have got to resist the fascist tendencies, the corporate take-overs and stand up for human rights and against the cruelty and meanness that already reared their ugly heads. Donate to the ACLU, locally SumosUn Pueblo Unido!
Freak-Out!
The unthinkable happened,
the unmentionable got chosen
by not just a handful of deplorables
and a rigged system of electoral votes
not a truly democratic system
and clueless media and their pundits.
Ashamed
to be an American today.
Ashamed
for every woman that cast her vote for him
despite his groping and raping,
despite his outrageous and demeaning remarks to women,
despite instigating a most vile witch hunt on Hillary.
Ashamed
for every aging, white male
educated or not
that cast his vote for him
willfully blind to the awfulness of his character
his associations with the KKK,
Russia's Putin,
and Israel's Prime right wing ass.
Ashamed
for every prior Bernie supporter that cast a vote for Jill or Gary,
unwilling to recognize the true danger of a Drumpf presidency,
therefore willing to endanger
undocumented immigrants,
documented immigrants,
women in need of abortions,
women in need of low-cost health care,
women with looks other than #10,
people with special needs,
Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals, and Queers.
Unreal!
We are outta here.
Sumo Implores YOU to go VOTE - Blue!
With recent polls, Sumo is unsure if it is safe to come out from under the covers.
While I prefer purple, I already voted blue, all the way through.
Sumo implores you to go out & vote early & blue, all the way through!
President Barack Obama - Bill Maher 11.4.2016
Bill Maher got his recent birthday wish, he got his time with President Obama and posed just the right questions.
I especially appreciated the question on our bloated military (600 billion to a trillion) and the reference to Eisenhower's warning in regard to the US military-industrial complex. President Obama, in his eloquent defense, made it sound like the US military is an international force for peace. I am not buying it, and neither is Putin and too many in the Middle East and Africa. President Obama, a-glass-half-full-guy, cautioned Progressives in not fully appreciating the good the US effects around the world, even if imperfect and urged citizens to stay involved and demand change from the grounds up. Problem is we demanded change, we demanded peace, we protested against so many wars yet the ears of the powerful stay purposefully deaf.
Socialism and the issue of what should be free from the for-profit motive for the common good are other relevant topics that did not make it into the election debates but should have. President Obama stressed that we already have systems in place that deserve our support and building on, such as the health care system and I am sure the extracting oil & gas industries among others. I am still with Sanders and abhor the exploitation of our earth and people's basic needs such as health care. Retrain the workers in the extracting industries, don't use them as an excuse. Let's hope that at the very least our prisons-for-profit are on their way out.
President Obama claimed that atheists are not being persecuted, maybe, but we sure are being bombarded with ridiculous religious legislations and have to suffer through repeated, ever lengthening, archaic Christian rituals imposed on us all. Acknowledgment of a steadily growing number of citizens not identifying with a religion is surely welcome on my part and those recovering from Catholicism.
In closing, President Obama showed himself, as usual, to be eloquent, charming and cool, but not necessarily right on the issues.
Another Exquisite Keith Olbermann Rant
A shared German heritage might make me like Olbermann's rants so much. His outrage is so real, so eloquent and so very necessary. My Grandfather in the thirties recognized Hitler as being from the devil. He did not allow his kids, 2 boys and 1 girl to join the Hitler youth groups. Sure enough, each and every one of those kids, including my Mom, joined the German army voluntarily as soon as they were able to! Yep, my Mom was a Nazi, she bought the propaganda hook, line and sinker as Mom having grown up in northern Germany would say. My Mom, bless her heart, unlike so many others shared some of her experiences with me, maybe as early as my having been 10 years old. The horror of listening to those WW II accounts surely contributed to my less than perfect pacifist tendencies and an utter abhorrence of war and violence of all kinds.
So Trump is not fooling me, is not bamboozling me, as our President Obama called it today. The horror of a Drumpf presidency is so unfathomable, I have not been able to even come close to express myself on this, I am in utter disbelief that this can be happening and that this is the country I chose to escape to from the overly conservative, restraining and restrictive culture of my upbringing in Switzerland. So for now, Keith Olberman is the best I can do to join in my outrage at the American political landscape. And yes, as a Bernie-supporter, back to an Independent status, I voted on our first day of early voting and I voted blue, all the way through. I voted for Hillary Clinton for a chance of a progressive future rather than a regressive turning back to those supposed good old great times that mainly served a now dying breed of outdated, patriarchal, white men.
First Lady Michelle Obama Articulates What Had Left Us Speechless
My goodness! You guys are fired up!
Well, let me just say hello everyone. I am so thrilled to be here with you all today in New Hampshire. This is like home to me, and this day — thank you for a beautiful fall day. You just ordered this day up for me, didn't you? It's great to be here.
And, of course, thanks to all of you for taking the time to be here today.Let me start by thanking your fabulous governor, your next U.S. senator, Maggie Hassan. I want to thank her for that lovely introduction. I also want to recognize your Congresswoman Annie McKlane Kuster, who's a dear, dear friend. Your soon-to-be congresswoman once again, Carol Shea Porter — all of whom have been just terrific friends to us. And your Executive Council and candidate for governor, Colin Van Ostern.
Thanks so much. That's very sweet of you. I love you guys too. I can't believe it's just a few weeks before Election Day, as we come together to support the next President and Vice President of the United States, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine! And New Hampshire is going to be important, as always.
So I'm going to get a little serious here, because I think we can all agree that this has been a rough week in an already rough election. This week has been particularly interesting for me personally because it has been a week of profound contrast.See, on Tuesday, at the White House, we celebrated the International Day of the Girl and Let Girls Learn, and it was a wonderful celebration. It was the last event that I'm going to be doing as First Lady for Let Girls Learn. And I had the pleasure of spending hours talking to some of the most amazing young women you will ever meet, young girls here in the U.S. and all around the world. And we talked about their hopes and their dreams. We talked about their aspirations. See, because many of these girls have faced unthinkable obstacles just to attend school, jeopardizing their personal safety, their freedom, risking the rejection of their families and communities.
So I thought it would be important to remind these young women how valuable and precious they are. I wanted them to understand that the measure of any society is how it treats its women and girls. And I told them that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and I told them that they should disregard anyone who demeans or devalues them, and that they should make their voices heard in the world. And I walked away feeling so inspired, just like I'm inspired by all the young people here — and I was so uplifted by these girls. That was Tuesday.
And now, here I am, out on the campaign trail in an election where we have consistently been hearing hurtful, hateful language about women — language that has been painful for so many of us, not just as women, but as parents trying to protect our children and raise them to be caring, respectful adults, and as citizens who think that our nation's leaders should meet basic standards of human decency.
The fact is that in this election, we have a candidate for President of the United States who, over the course of his lifetime and the course of this campaign, has said things about women that are so shocking, so demeaning that I simply will not repeat anything here today. And last week, we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexually assaulting women. And I can't believe that I'm saying that a candidate for President of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women.
And I have to tell you that I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted. So while I'd love nothing more than to pretend like this isn't happening, and to come out here and do my normal campaign speech, it would be dishonest and disingenuous to me to just move on to the next thing like this was all just a bad dream.
This is not something that we can ignore. It's not something we can just sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season. Because this was not just a "lewd conversation." This wasn't just locker-room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior, and actually bragging about kissing and groping women, using language so obscene that many of us were worried about our children hearing it when we turn on the TV.
And to make matters worse, it now seems very clear that this isn't an isolated incident. It's one of countless examples of how he has treated women his whole life. And I have to tell you that I listen to all of this and I feel it so personally, and I'm sure that many of you do too, particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman.
It is cruel. It's frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts. It's like that sick, sinking feeling you get when you're walking down the street minding your own business and some guy yells out vulgar words about your body. Or when you see that guy at work that stands just a little too close, stares a little too long, and makes you feel uncomfortable in your own skin.
We thought all of that was ancient history, didn't we? And so many have worked for so many years to end this kind of violence and abuse and disrespect, but here we are in 2016 and we're hearing these exact same things every day on the campaign trail. We are drowning in it. And all of us are doing what women have always done: We're trying to keep our heads above water, just trying to get through it, trying to pretend like this doesn't really bother us maybe because we think that admitting how much it hurts makes us as women look weak.It's that feeling of terror and violation that too many women have felt when someone has grabbed them, or forced himself on them and they've said no but he didn't listen — something that we know happens on college campuses and countless other places every single day. It reminds us of stories we heard from our mothers and grandmothers about how, back in their day, the boss could say and do whatever he pleased to the women in the office, and even though they worked so hard, jumped over every hurdle to prove themselves, it was never enough.
Maybe we're afraid to be that vulnerable. Maybe we've grown accustomed to swallowing these emotions and staying quiet, because we've seen that people often won't take our word over his. Or maybe we don't want to believe that there are still people out there who think so little of us as women. Too many are treating this as just another day's headline, as if our outrage is overblown or unwarranted, as if this is normal, just politics as usual.
And I know it's a campaign, but this isn't about politics. It's about basic human decency. It's about right and wrong. And we simply cannot endure this, or expose our children to this any longer — not for another minute, and let alone for four years. Now is the time for all of us to stand up and say enough is enough. This has got to stop right now.But, New Hampshire, be clear: This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful. It is intolerable. And it doesn't matter what party you belong to — Democrat, Republican, independent — no woman deserves to be treated this way. None of us deserves this kind of abuse.
Because consider this: If all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think this is doing to our children? What message are our little girls hearing about who they should look like, how they should act? What lessons are they learning about their value as professionals, as human beings, about their dreams and aspirations? And how is this affecting men and boys in this country? Because I can tell you that the men in my life do not talk about women like this. And I know that my family is not unusual. And to dismiss this as everyday locker-room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.
The men that you and I know don't treat women this way. They are loving fathers who are sickened by the thought of their daughters being exposed to this kind of vicious language about women. They are husbands and brothers and sons who don't tolerate women being treated and demeaned and disrespected. And like us, these men are worried about the impact this election is having on our boys who are looking for role models of what it means to be a man.
In fact, someone recently told me a story about their six-year-old son who one day was watching the news — they were watching the news together. And the little boy, out of the blue, said, "I think Hillary Clinton will be President." And his mom said, "Well, why do you say that?" And this little six-year-old said, "Because the other guy called someone a piggy, and," he said, "you cannot be President if you call someone a piggy."
So even a six-year-old knows better. A six-year-old knows that this is not how adults behave. This is not how decent human beings behave. And this is certainly not how someone who wants to be President of the United States behaves.
Because let's be very clear: Strong men — men who are truly role models — don't need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful. People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together. And that is what we need in our next President. We need someone who is a uniting force in this country. We need someone who will heal the wounds that divide us, someone who truly cares about us and our children, someone with strength and compassion to lead this country forward.
And let me tell you, I'm here today because I believe with all of my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that President.
See, we know that Hillary is the right person for the job because we've seen her character and commitment not just in this campaign, but over the course of her entire life. The fact is that Hillary embodies so many of the values that we try so hard to teach our young people. We tell our young people "Work hard in school, get a good education." We encourage them to use that education to help others — which is exactly what Hillary did with her college and law degrees, advocating for kids with disabilities, fighting for children's health care as First Lady, affordable child care in the Senate.
We teach our kids the value of being a team player, which is what Hillary exemplified when she lost the 2008 election and actually agreed to work for her opponent as our Secretary of State — earning sky-high approval ratings serving her country once again.
We also teach our kids that you don't take shortcuts in life, and you strive for meaningful success in whatever job you do. Well, Hillary has been a lawyer, a law professor, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, a U.S. senator, Secretary of State. And she has been successful in every role, gaining more experience and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our lifetime — more than Barack, more than Bill. And, yes, she happens to be a woman.
So in Hillary, we have a candidate who has dedicated her life to public service, someone who has waited her turn and helped out while waiting. She is an outstanding mother. She has raised a phenomenal young woman. She is a loving, loyal wife. She's a devoted daughter who cared for her mother until her final days. And if any of us had raised a daughter like Hillary Clinton, we would be so proud. We would be proud.
And regardless of who her opponent might be, no one could be more qualified for this job than Hillary — no one. And in this election, if we turn away from her, if we just stand by and allow her opponent to be elected, then what are we teaching our children about the values they should hold, about the kind of life they should lead? What are we saying?
In our hearts, we all know that if we let Hillary's opponent win this election, then we are sending a clear message to our kids that everything they're seeing and hearing is perfectly okay. We are validating it. We are endorsing it. We're telling our sons that it's okay to humiliate women. We're telling our daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated. We're telling all our kids that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable in the leader of their country. Is that what we want for our children?
And remember, we won't just be setting a bad example for our kids, but for our entire world. Because for so long, America has been a model for countries across the globe, pushing them to educate their girls, insisting that they give more rights to their women. But if we have a President who routinely degrades women, who brags about sexually assaulting women, then how can we maintain our moral authority in the world? How can we continue to be a beacon of freedom and justice and human dignity?
Well, fortunately, New Hampshire, here's the beauty: We have everything we need to stop this madness. You see, while our mothers and grandmothers were often powerless to change their circumstances, today, we as women have all the power we need to determine the outcome of this election.
We have knowledge. We have a voice. We have a vote. And on November the 8th, we as women, we as Americans, we as decent human beings can come together and declare that enough is enough, and we do not tolerate this kind of behavior in this country.
Remember this: In 2012, women's votes were the difference between Barack winning and losing in key swing states, including right here in New Hampshire. So for anyone who might be thinking that your one vote doesn't really matter, or that one person can't really make a difference, consider this: Back in 2012, Barack won New Hampshire by about 40,000 votes, which sounds like a lot. But when you break that number down, the difference between winning and losing this state was only 66 votes per precinct. Just take that in. If 66 people each precinct had gone the other way, Barack would have lost.
So each of you right here today could help swing an entire precinct and win this election for Hillary just by getting yourselves, your families, and your friends and neighbors out to vote. You can do it right here. But you could also help swing an entire precinct for Hillary's opponent with a protest vote or by staying home out of frustration.
Because here's the truth: Either Hillary Clinton or her opponent will be elected president this year. And if you vote for someone other than Hillary, or if you don't vote at all, then you are helping to elect her opponent. And just think about how you will feel if that happens. Imagine waking up on November the 9th and looking into the eyes of your daughter or son, or looking into your own eyes as you stare into the mirror. Imagine how you'll feel if you stayed home, or if you didn't do everything possible to elect Hillary.
We simply cannot let that happen. We cannot allow ourselves to be so disgusted that we just shut off the TV and walk away. And we can't just sit around wringing our hands. Now, we need to recover from our shock and depression and do what women have always done in this country. We need you to roll up your sleeves. We need to get to work. Because remember this: When they go low, we go ...
AUDIENCE: High!
Yes, we do.
And voting ourselves is a great start, but we also have to step up and start organizing. So we need you to make calls and knock on doors and get folks to the polls on Election Day and sign up to volunteer with one of the Hillary campaign folks who are here today just waiting for you to step up.
And, young people and not-so-young people, get on social media. Share your own story of why this election matters, why it should matter for all people of conscience in this country. There is so much at stake in this election.
See, the choice you make Nov. 8 could determine whether we have a President who treats people with respect — or not. A President who will fight for kids, for good schools, for good jobs for our families — or not. A President who thinks that women deserve the right to make our own choices about our bodies and our health — or not. That's just a little bit of what's at stake.
So we cannot afford to be tired or turned off. And we cannot afford to stay home on Election Day. Because on November the 8th, we have the power to show our children that America's greatness comes from recognizing the innate dignity and worth of all our people. On November the 8th, we can show our children that this country is big enough to have a place for us all — men and women, folks of every background and walk of life — and that each of us is a precious part of this great American story, and we are always stronger together.
On Nov. 8, we can show our children that here in America, we reject hatred and fear and in difficult times, we don't discard our highest ideals. No, we rise up to meet them. We rise up to perfect our union. We rise up to defend our blessings of liberty. We rise up to embody the values of equality and opportunity and sacrifice that have always made this country the greatest nation on Earth.
That is who we are. And don't ever let anyone tell you differently. Hope is important. Hope is important for our young people. And we deserve a President who can see those truths in us — a President who can bring us together and bring out the very best in us. Hillary Clinton will be that President.
So for the next 26 days, we need to do everything we can to help her and Tim Kaine win this election. I know I'm going to be doing it. Are you with me? Are you all with me? You ready to roll up your sleeves? Get to work knocking on doors?
All right, let's get to work. Thank you all. God bless.
This transcript was released by the White House Office of the First Lady
HOMEless
Homeless On A Walker!
1,200 people are currently homeless in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
They sleep in arroyos and parks, they surf on couches,
some occasionally housesit!
some occasionally housesit!
This man took a snooze at the park across from the farmers market.
He used to be my immediate next door neighbor in the eighties.
Worked as a waiter, had a girlfriend, a great smile and a glimmer in his eyes.
The twinkles in his eyes have been disappearing.
Life on the streets is tough.
He probably helped a farmer set up in the early morning
then headed over to the park to relieve his hurting back.
On disability, not yet old, I have seen him push a walker of late.
He looks so miserable and so vulnerable.
Occasionally he has thrown some tantrums,
kicked some cans or bottles, muttered and cursed.
He rejects the institutional help available to him.
Homelessness on a walker does take it to another level yet.
HOMEless with Walker!
1,200 people are currently homeless in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
They sleep in arroyos and parks, they surf on couches,
some occasionally housesit!
some occasionally housesit!
This man took a snooze at the park across from the farmers market.
He used to be my immediate next door neighbor in the eighties.
Worked as a waiter, had a girlfriend, a great smile and a glimmer in his eyes.
The twinkles in his eyes have been disappearing.
Life on the streets is tough.
He probably helped a farmer set up in the early morning
then headed over to the park to relieve his hurting back.
On disability, not yet old, I have seen him push a walker of late.
He looks so miserable and so vulnerable.
Occasionally he has thrown some tantrums,
kicked some cans or bottles, muttered and cursed.
He rejects the institutional help available to him.
Homelessness on a walker does take it to another level yet.
RAGE
I discovered this pretty painted pebble among several others
yesterday on top of a big rock in the middle of our river
along which I was walking my pups.
After admiring, then inspecting, weighing and holding each and every pebble,
I chose this particularly pleasingly round and rather surprisingly heavy one,
despite, or maybe because of the unpleasant feeling state it evokes.
Does rage go with age?
Seems like the older I get the more enraged I feel.
Trump's serial sexual abuse of women revealed only this afternoon, is only the very tip of the iceberg. "Trump's basket of deplorables" not having yet renounced their indecent, braggadocious, obnoxious, outrageous and terribly dangerous nominee, no doubt, sits right below that tip, and amidst all those that cried out for Pence to have won the VP debate, what a joke. No, what a shock that so much of mainstream media along with so many Americans will choose style over substance, in regard to politics, not hairstyles!
I am outraged!
So for now, I am holding my rage, weighing it, exploring it, looking at it and most importantly not prematurely dismissing, much less avoiding this rather challenging emotion. I have been tempted for this whole past year to rage against this narcissist emboldened to run for our highest office. I held back because "when they go low, we go high." I held back because the mere mention of the name seems to fuel this insanity. I held back in disbelief of what was unfolding. Giving rage it's rightful place is a challenge, I believe not just for me. Eventually, I hope to place this emotion too at the feet of the Buddha, at the feet of pure awareness, where this too shall pass, with a laugh.
In The Land Of Enchantment
Up above 8,000 feet, we meandered in a wondrous, magical forest.
We chose the path less travelled and managed to avoid those hoards of aspen viewers
that are currently roaming the mountain, mainly on well-worn paths, more like highways,
that afford better views, but lack the quiet and peace of our preferred trails.
Onward and toward - the light.
Nature's awesome twists and turns in a melange of aspen leaves turned golden
against a deep blue sky of a high desert mountain.
Returning to our starting point, the parking/picnic area, Sumo fell into despair,
sat on the table and started to shiver and shake in a desperate plea for pity.
Nope, Sumo was not ready to climb back into our VW vanagon and leave.
Sumo would not budge!
So off we did go on another round, only the two of us.
While Isabella was pacified with some treats inside the van,
she really should not move too much so as not to aggravate her hip,
Sumo got more chances to leave his marks.
Good Morning To The Birthday-Boy!
Good morning Sumo Birthday-Boy!
Sumo lives for the chance to chase some furry critters. It's in his genes.
I let him off lead illegally once in a while because I know he will respond to my recall. He needs to run off some steam, some of the times more than others, but today he deserves it simply for the fact that he was born. We all were born to follow our own inclinations, our own noses, and to listen to the demands of our own organisms. Pet live is not always the most accommodating to such self-determination. So for now, I gotta get ready to take him up the mountain where he can be off lead chasing probably chipmunks, rather than black bears, I hope!
Sumo, Still Ten Years Old
Sumo only hours away from his 11th birthday.
A ride with my buddy on my Buddy, my scooter, up the mountain where the aspens have turned to gold,
followed by chicken, lots of chicken, ought to be in the cards for us for tomorrow.
Found!
Finally, I buried this sculpted mischievous head of clay in a crevice at a playground yesterday, the morning kids had a special invite for supervised sand play. Last year I had found two such heads in the gutter outside our clay & pottery studio. I imagined I had saved a lost work of art from an oncoming rain storm, hah, they had been placed there on purpose to be found by kids. Those heads had already gone through the fire and become impervious to moisture. Of course, I had recognized the artist right away. I had watched a slight man diligently at work outside the studio on fascinating whole figurines of clay, so I would pause, maybe chat, then move on to walk my dogs. I love how the pottery studio in its peaceful setting along our railyard tracks seems to always bustle with creative energy and since their renovation affords us now an interesting view on working artisans and their creations through huge glass windows. The artist, a proud father, explained that he and his daughter, a grown, very talented woman, created a head each, then placed them in the gutter on purpose to be found they had hoped by kids. The kind man insisted I keep those tiny busts.
Well, all along I had this idea of placing those heads for kids younger than myself to find, while I might lure nearby to capture their expressions. So, yesterday finally, I buried those heads in some sand between rocks in hopes they would bring some unexpected excitement. Now hanging around to watch was another matter, there are only so many hours in the day, sad to say. By the evening no more heads were to be discovered.
Till Eulenspiegel?
Pretty - Ugly
"You don't have to be pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend, spouse, partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to your mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ' female'."
- Diana Vreeland, writer and editor for Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, both magazines I rarely ever cared to lay my eyes upon.
A startling quote to me, I have never heard it put quite this way. Current culture puts an inordinate amount of emphasis on looks, be that in regard to women, nowadays even men, products or produce. I discovered the quote on facebook under which a lengthy discussion ensued about the use of make-up or not. This clearly is not the issue, the point is women should no longer feel compelled to have to spend inordinate amounts of energy and time into prettifying themselves. It should be a matter of choice.
In my career as a professional massage therapist at various spas, I had several clients confess to me their disappointment in not having gotten one of the prettier 'masseuses' - followed by gratitude for provenance that had brought us together and gave them exactly what they needed! This is because I did not touch them skin deep only, but I managed to connect to deeper aspects of themselves. Emotions, sensations to full-fledged memories those men had no idea existed within them, but I welcomed all of those often neglected aspects of being human. They left often feeling relieved, relaxed, profoundly moved, and grateful. To those clients, I suddenly looked beautiful and given a chance they would request my expertise again and again.
This is still the week of the Donald having been accused once again of another attack on a woman, this time of fat shaming by one of his beauty queens. He has fired back with ludicrous early morning tweets for us to go and check out some porn sites! Overweight, white, male, slob's demands on a latina woman to work out just will not fly, certainly not with millennials, the latin population or women in general. Wide girthed, patriarchal, white males such as Trump, Guliani, and Gingrich, that treated their wives horribly, coming to Trump's defense and attacking Hillary for her husband's indiscretions will surely not fly either. How ludicrous can this election season still get?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)