Feb. 26, 2019

     Well, the meeting in Rome, called by Pope Francis has ended and everyone has gone home. No one really expected and hard decisions to be taken, but the hope is that the bishops will go back to their respective dioceses and set policies in motion that address the problem of the removal of priests or bishops or even Cardinals from ministry who are found guilty of child or sexual abuse. I feel that there should have been, and should always be, lots of lay people present at these meetings (not just clergy) since they are the ones who are the suffering and hurting victims. Decisions are made that affect them without their opportunity to give their input. Bad procedure.

    As for me, I keep on keeping on with 3 services a week at the hospital, the usual Sunday service at Savannah Park, and some odd trips and things here and there. I can feel that my left knee is deteriorating, probably because I don’t lie in bed all day to make sure that it is OK. My knee might be better off but my spirit would suffer terribly, ha. After all, I am a saggitarian, and we love to move, as you know.

    My friend in LA just made the bookings for the trip out west to catch my cousins and friends on that side of America. I can’t wait to get this operation (and the following recuperation period where you learn to exercise and use that new knee, as painful as that may be at the beginning) over with. I get on the plane for the beginning of my home leave on May 31^st (God willing!!!). It is almost exactly 3 months from the date of the operation (March 14^th). Just the right amount of time to allow flying, etc. If all goes well after the operation, the home leave is on go. Pray that all will go well, please.

     Next week , my grand niece, Katrina, who has been volunteering (again) in the biggest slum on the continent of Africa, Kibera in Nairobi, will be stopping here for a few days (in south Africa) before she heads back home to he U.S. I am looking forward to this sooooooo much.

   The next week, a friend from LA, Steve Askin is bringing a group of home schoolers here for a visit and we have planned two days of adventures for them to get a picture of life here in south ‘africa. Their last day here, March 13^th (they continue their adventurous journey on the 14^th) is the day I am supposed to report to the hospital so I will have to say goodbye to them in the morning since we have organized a full day’s activities for them the rest of the day.

     What with Trump holding the rest of the world hostage with his threats to apply or remove sanctions, the violence in Venezuela ( I don’t think I would want any goodies with the stamp…produce of USA on it either, although I don’t support Maduro.  The US has a very bad track record (huge injustices…read “Cry of the People” by Penny Lernoux) in South and Central America…Brexit and how it will affect the EU and the rest of the world’s economies…China militarizing the South China Sea…The right wingers taking over more and more (Germany, France, Holland, Greece, Austria, etc….Our own right wingers in America (Trumps supporters), etc. there is enough to keep us on our toes for the next 200 yrs. I think. Ha.

   From a religious point of view, “whatever you do to one of these, the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.” Makes for religious activists a very busy time. But that holds true for anyone who is serious about making this a better world and eliminating injustice, poverty, racism, patriarchalism, etc.. Lot of work to do. I am not ready to throw in the towel yet, but I have slowed down a lot.

   Hey, I will catch you again before I go back to the hospital. At least , this time, I think I will be able to sit (here at the computer) and catch you up on things.

    We have a president here in SA, Cyril Ramaphosa, who seems promising, but, like Pope Francis, his aim to clean up the corruption threatens the old, entrenched hard liners (young ones too) so he has to be careful not to move too quickly or he will be tossed out. He has his faults, but they are less grievous than any one else around. I am an optimist, but in the long run. When I compare our problems here in Africa with the history of Europe or even America, I say that we are the new kids on the block. Give us a break. You guys in the so-called developed world took centuries to get where you are (and you still have gobs of problems) and we are just starting. Get real. Love and Peace, Cas.

Feb.11, 2019   

     I can’t resist putting this is the blog today. As I see it, the matter of a national emergency is really trumped up (excuse the pun). Also, sending soldiers to deal with migrants is a losing proposition. They are trained to fight and kill if necessary, the armed enemy, not police unarmed persons. They are not trained for that. What are they going to do, shoot to kill?

    The most sane and sensible suggestion, as I see it, is to take the wall proposal, out of the proposal to keep the government open and debate it separately. I don’t think it is fair to hold 800,000 government workers hostage, for the sake of fulfilling one’s stupid (sorry) promise to build a wall that so many have made it clear is not going to be the final protection he promises. It is unbelievable that he should force his own workers to suffer as they have through no pay, no paying bills, mortgage payments, insurance payments, not to mention simple every day needs like food, clothing, doctor’s fees, gasoline, etc. etc. etc.

    But have a look at this and see what you think.

MORNING MESSAGE

Cindy Garcia

Trump Said He Would Protect Families, Then Deported My Husband

A year ago, my husband Jorge was torn from our family and deported to Mexico after living peacefully in the United States for nearly 30 years, working and raising a family with me in suburban Detroit. A year ago, my husband Jorge was torn from our family and deported to Mexico after living peacefully in the United States for nearly 30 years, working and raising a family with me in suburban Detroit. Just a few weeks later, I was invited by my congresswoman to attend President Trump’s State of the Union address and listened carefully to his words as he promised to “protect” Americans from immigrants like my husband. Trump could have offered real solutions that would help struggling families get health care, safe homes, fair wages, and good jobs. Instead, he uses racism and fear to keep people divided and distracted while his billionaire buddies get tax cuts and make bigger profits. He said nothing about the millions of Americans who suffered through the government shutdown when he couldn’t get his way on a wall most Americans don’t want. We’re supposed to be a democracy, but now he’s desperately grabbing power and threatening to declare an illegal and unconstitutional national emergency to force his wall through. Trump’s actions are perfectly clear: He’s not interested in keeping us safe, making families strong, or keeping his promises to Dreamers. He’s only interested in staying in power and lining his friends’ pockets. Well, I’ve got news for him: People aren’t buying these divisive and and hate-filled lies. We know better. We’re demanding solutions that keep families, like mine, together.

New Shutdown Looms Over Immigration Impasse

Talks over border security break down, imperiling effort to prevent shutdown. NYT:“Congressional efforts to reach a border security deal ahead of another government shutdown broke down on Sunday over Democratic demands to limit the detention of undocumented immigrants, as President Trump moved more troops to the border and prepared to rally supporters in Texas on Monday. The 17 House and Senate negotiators had hoped to finalize a border security agreement on Monday, but hours before that deadline, communications had stopped, lawmakers and aides said. Meantime, the Trump administration was moving on its own to fortify the southwestern border with thousands of active-duty military troops. The number of deployed troops on the Mexican border was set to exceed the high of 5,900 reached around the November elections, as about 3,700 active-duty troops were being sent to assist with the Department of Homeland Security’s border patrol efforts. Senior officers are voicing greater worries that the deployed troops are not conducting the training needed for their regular missions, while other military units must now pick up the routine duties on behalf of their deployed colleagues. But efforts to reach a broader, bipartisan deal on border security bogged down, days before much of the government is set to run out of funds at midnight Friday.”

CA To Withdraw National Guard From Border

Gov. Gavin Newsom to pull National Guard from California’s border with Mexico. LA Times:“As a second partial government shutdown looms in Washington over border discussions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday will order the removal of roughly 360 National Guard members from California’s southern boundary with Mexico, repudiating President Trump’s characterization of a recent influx of Central American refugees and migrants as a national security crisis. The announcement comes just one day before the governor delivers his first State of the State address Tuesday, setting the stage for Newsom to counter Trump’s State of the Union address from last week. In released excerpts of his speech, Newsom says he is giving the National Guard a new mission so that troops would not take part in the White House’s ‘political theater’ and instead “refocus on the real threats facing our state.” The governor said he would sign a general order to redeploy the troops to support wildfire prevention efforts and expand operations to counter drugs and cartels across California, with a group of forces trained in spotting narcotics to be stationed at the state’s international points of entry. ‘The Border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis,’ Newsom is expected to say Tuesday, according to prepared remarks provided by the governor’s office. ‘This is our answer to the White House: No more division, xenophobia or nativism.’ Newsom’s move is an escalation of a long-running battle over immigration between California and the federal government, with the state’s Democratic majorities pledging to serve as a buffer to Trump’s hard-line rhetoric and policies.”

Denver Teachers To Strike

Denver teachers plan to go on strike for the first time in 25 years. HuffPost: “Teachers in Colorado’s capital are planning to strike Monday for the first time in 25 years after failed negotiations with the school district over base pay. The teachers union and Denver Public Schools met Saturday in an attempt to reach a new contract after more than a year of negotiations, but both sides left disappointed. The Denver Classroom Teachers Association released a statement after the meeting saying the district’s proposal lacks transparency and ‘pushes for failed incentives for some over meaningful base salary for all.’ ‘We will strike Monday for our students and for our profession, and perhaps then DPS will get the message and return to the bargaining table with a serious proposal aimed at solving the teacher turnover crisis in Denver,’ said Henry Roman, president of the teachers union.”

Trump, Beto Face Off At Border

Trump, Beto to face off Monday in El Paso in dueling rallies near the border. USA Today: “If American politics has turned into a three-ring circus, this city in West Texas will hoist the Big Top on Monday, with President Donald Trump coming to rally for a border wall, Democratic wunderkind Beto O’Rourke leading a protest march and even the Trump Baby blimp putting in an appearance. The Trump rally at the El Paso County Coliseum will come only four days before the possibility of either another government shutdown or a declaration of a national emergency over what the president deems a national-security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. O’Rourke, whose skillful use of social media has made him a national figure and prolific fundraiser, plans to join a one-mile march past Trump’s rally on Monday and speak across the street from the president at about the same time Monday evening. ‘He’s offering us a chance to tell our story and we’re going to take that chance, all of us,’ O’Rourke told the El Paso Times. O’Rourke’s camp described Monday’s protest march as an effort to ‘show the country the reality of the border — a vibrant, safe, bi-national community that proudly celebrates its culture, history, diversity and status as a city of immigrants.’ The president triggered local anger by alleging in his State of the Union address that El Paso “used to have extremely high” crime rate before a border fence was constructed and that the rate of crime dropped substantially after it was completed. The statement quickly prompted blowback from local politicians and law-enforcement figures. Even Mayor Dee Margo, a Republican, insisted that El Paso was “never” among the nation’s most dangerous cities.”

Buttigieg Defends Socialism Debate

Buttigieg: The word ‘socialism’ has lost its meaning. The Hill: “Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg (D) on Sunday dismissed President Trump’s efforts to portray Democratic policy pitches as ‘socialism,’ arguing that the term no longer carries negative connotations. ‘I think he’s clinging to a rhetorical strategy that was very powerful when he was coming of age 50 years ago, but it’s just a little bit different right now,’ Buttigieg, the South Bend, Ind., mayor who has launched an exploratory committee to run for president, said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union.’ ‘Today, I think a word like that is the beginning of a debate, not the end of the debate,’ he added. Trump has in recent weeks attempted to tie Democrats and their more progressive ideas to socialism, and pointed to the state of affairs in Venezuela as a potential consequence. During last week’s State of the Union address, he pledged that ‘America will never be a socialist country.’ Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), two leading voices in the Democratic caucus, both identify as democratic socialists. Buttigieg, who is 37, said someone close to his age is unlikely to reject a policy proposal simply because a critic calls it socialist. ‘If someone my age or younger is weighing a policy idea, and somebody comes along and says, you can’t do that, it’s socialist, I think our answer is going to be, OK, is it a good idea or is it not?’ he said. ‘So, I think the word has mostly lost its meaning,’ Buttigieg added. ‘And it’s certainly lost its ability to be used as a kill switch on debate.'”