The Courageous vs. The Cowardly

As much as many of us had hoped for an indictment of twiceimpeached, we didn’t see it happen because most of the Republican senators either had their balls in a vise or couldn’t find their spines. We knew that would happen. We’ve watched it for the last five years. Before I get too far gone into the cowardly acts, let’s focus on the those who rose to courageous status.

First of all, there were ten Republicans in the House who chose to impeach the person leaving the White House, who shall ever after be named (by me) twiceimpeached. They were the courageous in the House and they have also withstood the rancid behavior of those who disagreed with them, from within their party, the idiotic, upset over those who choose to operate with a sense of morality and patriotism (something others could have learned from). So we can applaud: Rep. Liz Cheney of WY, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of OH, Rep. Jamie Herrera-Beutler of WA, Rep. John Katko of NY, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of IL, Rep. Peter Meijer of MI, Rep. Dan Newhouse of WA, Rep. Tom Rice of SC, Rep. Fred Upton of MI, and Rep. David Valadao of CA. These are the courageous in The House and we owe a debt of gratitude for their stance in upholding a standard of decency, justice and their oath of office. 

From the Senate, these seven voted to convict twiceimpeached because it was the right thing to do under the circumstances: Senator Richard Burr from NC, Senator Bill Cassidy from LA, Senator Susan Collins from ME, Senator Lisa Murkowski from AK, Senator Mitt Romney from UT, Senator Ben Sasse from NE, and Senator Pat Toomey from PA. These are the Senators who deserve our thanks for standing up to a party that apparently condones insurrections and seditious traitors. 

One would think, since all have taken an oath to “preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States,” that finding someone guilty of trying to overthrow the government wouldn’t have been that difficult. But apparently, for the 43 who voted to acquit twiceimpeached, their political futures were far more important than upholding their oath of office. As a result of their cowardice, they have not just condoned the seditious act of a government overthrow, but have left the path forward open to a more ardent and dangerous attempt again, not just on the Capitol, but all government institutions. Attacks by domestic terrorists on the physical buildings are one thing, when our democracy is attacked and is now on the stage of mockery and derision for the entire world to see, an attack by foreign terrorists is inevitable. 

I have often encouraged others to only do the right thing and thereby avoiding doing the wrong thing. It would seem that someone should have reminded the cowards of such words. But then again, cowards are only capable of cowardly behavior. They have no spines or moral compasses by which to govern their lives. They are driven by a need to gain and retain power and individual wealth, forgetting they are elected by people who expected them to look out for their best interests. Condoning an insurrectionist and domestic terrorism puts the entire country at risk and when those from outside this country invade us, because we have shown them how, no one will be safe. 

Though I am not a Republican and would under normal circumstances, stand fiercely opposed to most Republicans and their political posturing to ignore the needs of the poor and vulnerable, I choose to stand with these who have determined to stand up, for right, even with all the backlash thrown their way. Cowards are always prone to using bullying tactics and I see the bulk of the Republican party in leadership, both on state and national levels as nothing more than a bunch of bigoted cowards. History will not be kind to them or their descendants and I hope they live a long time to see what their actions produce in this country and the reluctance on the part of other world leaders to pay attention to America as a leading force. 

Hopefully, we will all remember the courage of those who stood for America and our democracy in doing the right thing. Unfortunately, we cannot forget the cowards since we must do all we can to make sure they never succeed in the political arena. Every American must remember 1/6/21 as the most infamous day in the history of the 21st Century, when an American president incited an insurrection against elected leaders of the Executive Branch of government, placing the vice president and speaker of the house in imminent danger. One could assume from what has been revealed, the intent was to remove any possible means that would keep him from declaring martial law and retaining power for himself (and Putin). Call him, not by name, but twiceimpeached, so he will never forget his place in history. 

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How Did We Get Here?

The allegations of sexual assault and subsequent hearings conducted this week have set the entire country on edge and everyone has an opinion about who’s the most credible.

I watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford provide her testimony with tears running down my face because my heart was moved and my mind triggered about the abuse I had also suffered at the hands of despicable human beings. I’ve related my story a number of times so I won’t bother to repeat what’s already been said, but as I listened to Brett Kavanaugh and recognized the lies behind the belligerence, rudeness and total disregard for the positions of the senators, I began thinking, “how did we get here?”

After talking to my husband and remembering the attitude of our society from the beginning of time, I realized that men have never considered women their equal and they have always felt it was their right to treat women anyway they wanted to and the women were supposed to shut up and take it. We’re not going to be silenced and we’re not taking it any more. This upcoming election will be the proof of that.

But just to review–the ugliness of our history–let’s start with the way men didn’t think we couldn’t own a house, have credit cards, have good paying jobs, had sense enough to know how to vote and a couple million other things. Women have been raped for centuries and had no recourse because the men–in law enforcement and in the courts and on juries, didn’t believe them. Getting tired of not being believed, a lot of women simply stopped reporting the assaults. The #MeToo movement–in more recent times–has empowered many people–men and women–to step up and speak out about sexual abuse and bravely named their assailant. And still, not all women are being believed as we saw in the recent testimony from Dr. Ford.

What has fascinated many people is the number of men who have come forward and told their stories about being molested and raped by other men and in some cases–women. Why on earth are we as a society of supposedly civilized human beings still in a place where a person’s body is not respected and some don’t understand that, “no means no.” This only applies to adults who are capable of saying no, but it certainly does not apply to children who are intimidated and bullied into keeping silent. Aren’t we better than this? Is one person’s sexual insecurities worth ruining lives of others?

Rape–is not a sexual act–it is an act of violence, perpetuated against people against their will and usually at the point of a threat. These angry, vicious, insecure people who think their manhood hangs between their legs need serious counseling because raping others, doesn’t make them me–it makes them cowards of the worst degree–especially those who abuse children.

How did we get here? We got here because in this society we have failed to value women and their worth. We got here because there are too many men who have no control over their sexual appetites and their low self-esteem. We got here because there are no laws governing oversight of men’s bodies because the lawmakers are 90% men. We got here because too many women have been taught to be submissive to abusive husbands. We got here because the church leadership has misled their congregants about the bible and the intent of the words contained within. We got here because too many women and men don’t understand how their own bodies function (the science of hormones). We got here because of ignorance and gullibility–the low educated who believed the lies because they don’t know any better. We got here because too many people have been complacent over decades in refusing to exercise their rights as an American citizen. We got here because apathy prevails in a nation where people think they don’t really matter. We got here because the wrong people have been elected and the masses misled into re-electing them. We got here because we failed to teach our male children they do not have a right to put their hands on a female whenever they wanted to do so. We got here because too many women–acting upon their own insecurities in trying to attract or keep men in their lives–have allowed the men to think, we’re all like them. This is simply a partial list of how we got here and now we need to determine how we move forward, eliminating the tragic events that have caused so many to live with anxieties and fears.

We can and we must change our tactics and start believing children and women when they come forth and speak out about sexual abuse and molestation. We must believe and support all who tell their stories and make sure they know–they are valued and worthy of our belief in them and our trust not to judge them wrongly for things they had no control over (and we’ve done that, too).

We can start changing the course of events with the upcoming election on 11/6/18. We can AUTHORIZE AND EMPOWER WOMEN to write legislation that provides more protections and remedies for those who have been assaulted. On a personal note, I’d like to see at least two bills written and made laws: Any time a man is convicted of rape, he should be castrated. Any time a man refuses to pay child support, he should sterilized. If this sounds vindictive and vengeful–you don’t know my story.

As a reminder for some who may have forgotten what I’ve written in the past about my story, I’m including a letter to Brett Kavanaugh and tweeted to most of the GOP senators who seem either not to understand the predicament Dr. Ford described or care.

Sexual assault is not a partisan issue it is a cancer and stain on our society and we must eradicate it. That may only occur with electing the right people, getting rid of the wrong people, and learning to see ourselves as better people.

Women of America–now is the time for us to have a say over what happens to us–our access to appropriate medical care and to the laws of the lands.

This is just the beginning of my journey–I’m on a mission to make life better for all, but especially children and women. Are you with me?

At some point, we have to go beyond #MeToo and ask the question, “who else?”

Would Jesus Sacrifice Lives For Money?

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25: 32-46 NIV

Okay, so which of these statements by Jesus can the pseudo-Christians use to justify their lack of empathy and compassion for the poor and the needy and vulnerable?

Those who care only about money and their donors and how much they might benefit from the “billionaires” like the Koch brothers, have essentially sold their souls to devil with their constituents as the leverage. Would Jesus really sacrifice lives for the sake of receiving money?

With the Graham/Cassidy Bill –designed to deprive over 30M people of healthcare, we see how much the GOP Senators care about money rather than saving lives. This is not the first time the Republican-Right-Wing-Religious hypocrites have shown their true colors and I’m sure it won’t be the last. However, healthcare is a right that should be accessible and available to all, whether they have pre-existing conditions or not; whether we are rich or not. If they truly want to do something about the rise of healthcare, they should start with the Insurance Industry but they won’t do that because most of the GOP are heavily invested in the industry and they’re making money, hand over fist and they’re not about to diminish their income. Again–it’s all about money and not about lives.

I know people who are being treated for cancer, are diabetic, have heart conditions, children born with health challenges and special needs. Cutting $243B dollars out of the budget for healthcare is not a good move for anyone. Rather than move $700B dollars into the military budget–especially since the military pays exorbitant prices for the most basic of needs, they should reduce the military allowance, and put the money where it’s needed the most–education and healthcare–not a border wall.

I’m not the only one speaking out about this horrendous bill, there is much to research and learn.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/graham-cassidy-bill-would-cut-funding-to-34-states-new-report-shows/2017/09/20/48741d92-9d58-11e7-9083-fbfddf6804c2_story.html?utm_term=.95957b90dfc9

http://www.businessinsider.com/graham-cassidy-health-care-obamacare-repeal-bill-funding-issue-2017-9

For those who insist upon believing Republicans care about the poor and needy, they prove they do not know Jesus and will not accept facts in order to make a decision, but will promote false propaganda for the benefit of a few.

We need elected officials who are making decisions for all to care about all.