Coming To America.
January 31, 2017 § Leave a comment
I wrote this a while back. My imaginary version of what it was like for my grandfather and grandmother when they arrived at Ellis Island. I’m horrified by the UN American cruel and inhumane actions of our President and his administration. You don’t appreciate what you have until you are faced with losing it.
The day that we arrived we were woken up by a loud commotion on the deck. I quickly dressed and climbed the stairs up to see what was going on. The passengers were facing one direction. They were crying and praying in languages I didn’t understand. We were finally here. I could see it in the near distance — The great lady of the harbor we had heard about. Rose was still sick. I hurried and went to get our things together and help her get dressed. We would be docking soon and I wanted to make sure we had all of our papers in order. When we arrived at Ellis Island we were separated. I never forgot the fear in Rose’s eyes as they took her away. She was put into quarantine and I wouldn’t see her again for 2 days. I now moved through everything quickly and was cleared to leave but had to wait for my wife. I didn’t know what I would do if they sent her back. They fed us and had beds set up in what was called the Great Hall. I became friendly with a guard who helped me get a message to her. On the second day she was released and we purchased our tickets for Pennsylvania where I had a cousin. We boarded the ferry to New Jersey and from there took the train to Harrisburg to start our new life in America.
Ellis Island Ticket
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Truth
January 23, 2017 § 2 Comments
These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase “alternative facts”…
When you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question…
When you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his authoritarian inaugural speech was….
These are not normal times.
The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both parties have never seen anything like this before.
What can we do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation. “A lie, is a lie, is a lie!” And if someone won’t say it, those of us who know that there is such a thing as the truth must do whatever is in our power to diminish the liar’s malignant reach into our society.
There is one group of people who can do a lot – very quickly. And that is Republicans in Congress. Without their support, Donald Trump’s presidency will falter. So here is what I think everyone in the press must do. If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any other GOP elected official, the first question must be “what will you do to combat the lying from the White House?” If they dodge and weave, keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview.
Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question.
Women's Footwear in America 