Friday, November 11, 2016

WELCOME TO TRUMPWORLD

I'm already having flashbacks to the Nixon years. Haven't had those for decades. Those original anxieties were bad enough but now I'm thinking that the Trump presidency will be way worse.

Back in the Nixon years, those of us on the left were afraid. I was a union organizer at the time, a very dangerous job, especially for a woman. We had to be very careful because the whole labor movement was under scrutiny, except for the trade unions that supported Nixon and the continuation of the War in Viet Nam. The rest of us had to deal with a National Labor Relations Board that was blatantly anti-union. Scary times for the group I was working for - women in the communications field who had no rights and were kept in lower paying jobs because they were women. We were on the front line of protecting the rights of pregnant women who often lost all promotions for simply going on maternity leave. That was just one part of it. we had to fight to allow women to advance to the higher paying jobs that they were barred from pursuing simply because they were women. Women who took these jobs were called "frame dames" and "switch bitches" among other things. Reproductive rights was a major issue; too many women were harmed and traumatized by back alley abortions and unwanted pregnancies - mainly because proper birth control was difficult to get in those days. Veterans were coming back from Viet Nam damaged and jobless; racism was rampant; health care was out of the question for the poor;  and an enemies list was one of Nixon's hallmarks. we heard a lot about "Law and Order" long before the popular TV series. You did not want to get on the wrong side of  the "pigs" as they were called.  Many were Viet Nam vets still working out their aggressions; beatings were common. His resignation was anti-climatic; the damage had been done. Many of us became cynical.

And then, a few years later, Ronald Reagan was elected and it started all over again. Unions were practically wiped off the map. Regulations and the "trickle down theory" practically wiped out the middle class. By then, I had given up. Burned out, I was able to move to Canada and start the long process of becoming a Landed Immigrant. Best decision I ever made in my life.

Still, I could not abandon my American roots and I became involved in organizing ex-pats like myself in Canada to vote in US Federal elections. Of course, we lost more than we won. Dubya was a simple fool who was controlled by the so-called "military-industrial complex" into waging a lie-based war on the people of Iraq. But, then came Obama and the promise of better. Too bad that he was thwarted at every turn. Still though, things were improving. I was proud of America and its embrace of a Black man with a foreign-sounding name.

And now they have Trump. The Big Birther himself. I am very afraid for America's future. I see most of the gains made disappearing under Trump. His supporters fell for his lies, believing he will bring unskilled jobs back to the rust belt;  activists for human rights will be quieted; free press will be punished; minorities and immigrants will be harassed and the hard fought health care reforms will be undone.

These are not just predictions; these are campaign promises that Trump has vowed to keep. Even the wall between the US and Mexico will be touted as the answer to the "illegals" making their way into the US.

It's all based on hate. And it makes me sick. 

Welcome to Trumpland.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Sharon, I was wondering when you would post about the election. I have been thinking about how devastated you would be. I am Canadian and feel sick about the results as well.
    I worry about trump's impact on our world and the well-being of my grandchildren.

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  2. I am devastated , just like Sharon, the roots of this huge backlash against "Washington Insiders" goes back to the 1960s, the slow war against working class American worker's, who have been shut out of the discussion, the attitude that they, know what's good for the people. Sharon and people of her generation understand what's going on, I was living in the suburb outside of Pittsburgh 1959, viewing that beautiful city at night from Mount Washington the best viewing area around, a rail way just like the one near the falls makes the area accessible for tourists, a brand new Catholic School was being built , the steel had the name Nippon Steel, that blew me away , as down in the valley I could see a Steel Mill, Jones & Laughlin, I wondered how could they buy steel from Japan cheaper and haul it all the way to Pittsburgh. I found the answer late on in life. Toyota , electronics and much more,would soon follow. We will add much more to this discussion in the near future.

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  3. The election of Trump in a large part is the entertainment value of a pompous big mouth in the oval office. Part Howard Stern, part Jerry Springer,(indeed, some reporters desperate to try to figure out how this guy could get away with comments that would sink any other candidate went to Springer for an answer, his reply? "Trump is like the guy that goes up and smacks the side of a TV that isnt working right").Entertainment, be it violence, racism, war, hatred, sexism,...oh wait..that IS the TV that isnt working right. Or is it? Can all be seen every evening on the $hit box, now, its going to be live from the highest office in the land. People voted for this? Change for sure, and why not! Entertainment, not governance, slick product placement, not a wise person now ready to serve the 330 million plus americans for their and the worlds improvement.Gee! Look what the first lady is wearing today! The Repubs must be laughing at what just happened. Comedy AND drama all in the same program. Not only have the chickens come home to roost, it would appear they have taken over the hen house as well.

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  4. Watched the cold opening of SNL and thought it was a perfect choice to have Kate McKinnon (Hillary) play and sing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Two great losses in one week. I invested a lot of time and energy into this presidential campaign as did many others. The only solace I can find is that Hillary had over 2 million more votes than Trump. I'm not one of those calling for an end to the electoral college; too late for that. I am hoping that there are still good investigative reporters out there who will work hard to keep the public informed and hold Trump's feet to the fire when he goes off (which he will given his temperament.)

    Although those of us US citizens living in Canada may feel safe, we do have to be vigilant and supportive of those who may be adversely affected by the Trump regime - especially the real power brokers behind the scenes. Trump is lazy and uninterested in the day-to-day operation of the US. His surrogates will run things while he is off playing president.

    (I had another flashback recently of Nixon's "palace guards" in their special uniforms. Very imperial. They were finally discarded, but their effect was chilling to those of us who truly feared Nixon and his policies.

    It will take a long time for some of us to get over this.

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    1. If the Trumpet got 300,000 more votes than Clinton and still didnt win, they would say "the system is rigged" (yet again). When they win under such a system the silence is deafening. The electoral college system was put into the constitution just to avoid such an inexperienced, overmoneyed wingnut from taking over the presidents job.(read it for yourself). So where are they now?

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  5. Though I am no expert in US politics....I have to wonder how things would have turned out had Bernie Saunders ran against Trump. Many unfortunately voted Trump as they just couldn't vote for Clinton and her many shortcomings. It was a choice of bad or even worse. The Democratic party in their zeal to promote their better connected candidate can take a large share of blame here for the scary ride that will soon take place for the next 4 years. I can only hope for some kind of miracle as it's going to get even more ridiculous soon.

    Meanwhile on this side of the river, we have our own Trump now as CAO of the Region. Only difference is this guy wasn't elected in some widely covered event but comes through the back door in a hastily called shady meeting of the region's power brokers.

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  6. Steve Bannon as trump's strategist, bad move.

    I already feel sick when I hear stories about children in the States being afraid to go to school because they worry their parents won't be there when they get home. I recall as a child being afraid that my parents would die before me, and that wasn't even plausible.

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  7. the region has approved 850,000 for bay beach.....lets hope it's used wisely and doesn't disappear down some(ol boy)rabbit hole as happens in FE with great regularity whenever a large sum of tax payer money shows up

    the ol boys already are lining up for their "share" of these monies for the greater good, gar-n-friggen-teed....watch this closely people who still care

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    1. Yeah. What I found to be extremely ironic is that Sandy Annunziata positioned himself as the advocate for the funding. I have this memory problem - I remember things for a long time and do not forget who was and was not on the side of the people back when we were fighting to save our last good public beachfront property in Crystal Beach from being handed over to a high rise developer. It was Sandy who voted for and supported the Molinaro Project. He was on the inside track of that issue back when he was on Fort Erie Council.

      I too hope that the grant money will be used wisely. I also hope that Donald Trump will be a good and fair president. In other words: probably won't happen.

      Maybe it's just my cynical nature but I've seen it so many times in my seventy+ years. Greed and self-interest trumps everything in the end. Just look at the over a decade-long battle to save that public beachfront land and the lives that were ruined and damaged in the fight. Meanwhile the former mayor-by-five-votes walks off with a nice pension; one of the councillors who worked against the effort to save the land is now a regional councillor; the egomaniac head of the EDTC is still in charge and other sycophants who helped ruin the reputations of Four Councillors are now on council and the people behind the lawsuit against The Four remain unscathed.

      I will not feel comfortable until I see some real progress. My dream has long been for the property to be renamed Rebstock Park and to be designated a Blue Flag destination.

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  8. T have been reading in the Niagara Falls Review about NOTL Town Council, have had offers by their local Chamber of Commerce, that if Council pays them , they will run the Tourism/Commerce on behalf of that Town, I have a bad case of Deja-Vu , that was the same proposal our Town of Fort Erie, was given back when Heinz Hummel, along with the new Alderman (a former vice-president} of the C of C voted to allow the takeover of our Town , we know damn well how that turned out. We now have 3 former Vice-Presidents running {ruining?} our Town. The C of C in the United States now run entire States from the Governor down. Their ideology is not in the interests of their fellow citizens.

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    1. Frankly, I believe the grand experiment in democracy known as the USA will fall, much like other great countries, weighed down by the greed of the ruling class and a fascist dictator.

      The Third Reich was welcomed by a beleaguered German populace that suffered financially after WWI. Hitler rode in on a wave of change and, we know how that turned out. I truly fear for the US under Trump. All those misinformed people pinned their hopes on a con man's promises, most of which have already been back-tracked or abandoned altogether.

      All we can do is hope that Canada does not become like the US in its decent into fascism.

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  9. It is great that finally Bay Beach is getting the right attention with the grant from the region. I recall when Noyse suggested that we apply to this "new funding for water front development" and was told NO, including no support from Annuziata, I was told by a regional councilor at the time that Martin was approached by members of regional council to consider applying for this funding and was told to "mind his own business and stay out of FE politics" I am paraphrasing the words Martin used I understand were not so kind. If only they listened to Noyse and Steckley to not pursue the condo dev'l that Crystal Beach did not want it. The money lost fighting this condo, could have been spent creating the best water front beach with amenities in Canada. I am glad Annuziata changed his mind, but if only he did it 7 years ago and which would have likely saved about 2,000,000 in legal fees and staff time, prevented the bullying and sueing of the 4 councilors who had the fortitude to fight for Bay Beach, and stopped four years when council was disfunctional. Don't forget in the next election in 2018, the part that Annuziata, and Passero played in the whole condo fiasco. Also remember the other "Mayor wantabees" aka Wilson whose side he was on "The condo side". There past actions should not be forgotten or rewarded in the next election.

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    1. Most people wish they would just leave it alone and get on with some other badly needed improvements in town. Maybe take down all that chain link and plant a few shade trees at the most. Now we hear certain "improvements" will take place, and then the sale of the parking area to the north will be worth that much more.If past efforts are any indication, (almost $1000 per yard to "complete" the paved "trail" through Waverly Park) this will be another example of wasted tax money on low end shopping mall style landscaping to some contractor that can justify hundreds of dollars (likely thousands) for a few bushes, poured concrete, and bark chips. It may be a "grant" from the region, but thats still our money. How kind for them to throw us a bone in our time of need. Oh! and it makes the land across the street, land that shouldnt be sold to anyone more "sellable"?? Who is falling for this nonsense?

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  10. It's been 15 years of fighting Town Council to KEEP BAY BEACH LANDS PUBLIC and Pessaro and Annuziatta are now poised to take the credit for the park and Lubberts gets sued by the Molinaros!

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    1. Well, at least Annunziata is a former football star and seems to be a good family man, so there is some decency there. I do wish he had his "come-to-Jesus" moment about Bay Beach a lot sooner - or at least stayed out of the fray. Perhaps time and a wider experience will save him. As for Passero" there is no hope; no hope at all. He is a thoroughly heartless being who thrives on using people and situations to further himself. A total narcissist who is angling to be the next mayor of Fort Erie. He will probably succeed as he is capable of fooling any number of people and he will attend the opening of an envelope if the press is there.

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    2. Madam Editor you're obviously not following the dirt that is going on at the Region and the NPCA.

      ol boy Sandy is right in the thick of it as he sits on the NPCA board and has recently voted for the new CAO of the Region,none other than the old CAO of the NPCA!(can anyone say conflict/nepotism/it smell etc??) during a hastily called, back room style meeting to fill a spot that has sat vacant for months. This happened on Halloween night and shortly before the headline grabbing US election. Everyone was looking the other way when the new CAO, who isn't even remotely qualified(just connected) was brought in the back door. Ol boy Sandy had no problem with this.

      Pissero is slightly easier to see through otherwise they are cut from the same cloth.

      The politics at the region these days smack of the same stench this town endured just a few years ago but that has now been now buried with our new "connected" council....

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    3. I hear that Cindy Forster wants a forensic audit on the NPCA. I was also shocked that they grabbed an "ole boy" for the CAO. BTW, the grant that the region bestowed on Bay Beach actually is a Trillium-funded grant - not directly from region.

      BTW, I hear that a couple of councillors may be responsible for a local co-ordinator losing her job - Bridgeburg BIA Redux.

      Delete

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