When the occupation of Minneapolis started nearly three weeks ago, I decided not to post about the situation, as everyone who reads this blog knows where I stand vis a vis Trump and his nightmare of an administration.

When Renee Good was murdered by an out of control ICE agent, with little regard for freedom and democracy, not to mention common decency, I again opted not to comment, even though it looks likely that her killer will not be punished or held to account in anyway.

I feel, however, that I must speak out about the brutal murder of Alex Pretti, a VA ICU nurse, who died while trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground by a mob of masked and armed ICE agents. These hooligans then turned on Pretti, wrestled him to the ground and shot him in cold blood. He had a gun, and a permit to carry it, but he never once threatened to use it. From the videos that I have seen it appears that Pretti was executed.

Lydia Polgreen of the NYT has called it an “extrajudicial execution by security forces. This is where we are: armed agents of the state killing civilians with an apparent belief in their total impunity.”

Yesterday, after Alex Pretti’s death, the son of a man Pretti had cared for at the VA hospital published a video of Pretti speaking at his father’s deathbed. “Today we remember that freedom is not free,” Pretti said. “We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom. So in this moment, we remember and give thanks for their dedication and selfless service to our nation in the cause of our freedom. In this solemn hour, we [give] them our honor, and our gratitude.”

I am grateful that the people of Minneapolis are out in the streets protesting this occupation, even in subzero weather. I am heartened that other smaller demonstrations throughout the country are happening as well. We can not let this violence become normal, and the Trump administration needs to be held accountable. I don’t think that it is trite or hackneyed to compare what’s happening in American cities like Minneapolis to Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Yesterday, the White House posted a new version of the January 6th Insurrection, a complete rewrite of history. In this new version, the insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 were patriots, and “President Trump took decisive action to pardon January 6 defendants who were unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples. They were not protected by the leaders who failed them.” 

In the election of November 2024, Donald Trump won the presidency and the Republicans captured both the House of Representatives and the Senate. They have the power to pass and enact new laws and to undo and repeal old laws and regulations; they do not, however, have the right to rewrite history, nor do they have the right to sacrifice and destroy our democracy.

After nearly a year of sending masked and armed troops into the peaceable streets of American cities, this administration now thinks that it can unilaterally undo 80 years of rules based peace and kidnap and extract a president of another independent nation. Without a doubt, Nicolas Maduro is an awful man who has killed many thousands of his own citizens and ruled Venezuela as a ruthless dictator, but there are international rules and organizations that are designed to deal with such actors. The Trump Administration did not seek allies to deal with this man in a lawful way, but instead decided to seize the moment in an incredible “macho” use of American armed forces. Clearly, this was not about narco drug trafficking but all about OIL. God knows we need to be pumping and burning ever more oil, pushing our climate ever closer to a complete collapse

America is now in the hands of a billionaire’s cabal which is content to allow Trump to do whatever he wants as long as they are unfettered in their pursuit to make themselves even more rich and powerful, while average Americans find the American dream slipping through their fingers.

I hope and pray that the foundations of our American Democracy are strong enough to resist and turn back this evil tide. America’s midterm elections are set to occur in a little more than 300 days from now–will they? I believe that this our only hope.

Yesterday, the Trump administration illegally invaded Venezuela and extracted the president of the country, Nicola Maduro, without consulting Congress, a clear violation of the War Powers Act.

This preemptive strike is no different than Putin’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine; we have lost the moral high ground. It has so far proven to be very difficult to convince Putin to withdraw from Ukraine and treat for peace to end this nearly four year war. The U.S. now certainly has no moral persuasion to try to convince Russia to do so. What will we do when Xi launches an attack on Taiwan?

ThIs administration is filled with sycophants, and the spectacle of watching Rubio and Hegseth praise the “dear leader” for his courage and vision in attacking Venezuela was nauseating, to say the least. The Supreme Court has given Trump a “get out of jail free card” but his henchmen will not enjoy such treatment.

We continue to treat our allies and friends worse than our enemies. At a press conference following the invasion and extraction, Trump warned Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro that he has to “watch his ass.” He continue by saying “Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about,” and he further warned that “something will have to be done about Mexico.” “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”

While Trump has the time and energy to launch a self-aggrandizing war, he continues to ignore affordability and inflation, the release of the Epstein files, and rising health care costs. I fear the Republican dominated Congress will do nothing to rebuke Trump, but we can only hope that the American people will. Meanwhile, our world is becoming dangerous every day.

Earlier today, President Trump posted on his social media the following:

“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace.”

This man is supposed to be the President of all of the people of the United States. One might hope that he, like most of his predecessors, might feel the need to act like a Comforter in Chief instead of a crazed and angry man, always intent on saying the absolute worst thing possible about people he dislikes, even when confronted by a tragic death.

I have struggled with this posting for a couple of weeks now, and I am still not totally comfortable with it. Our country is so divided, and I know that some readers don’t always agree with me. That’s totally OK, but I feel the need to share my concerns about our country and our democracy.

Donald Trump won the presidential election in November 2024; most commentators says that the number one reason people voted for him was their concern about the economy. Although he only won by a small plurality, he and his administration have often claimed to have a mandate, and he has certainly sought to govern as if he did, overturning norms and frequently ignoring the courts when they tell him he is acting illegally.

The president manages to dominate the news; I was just looking at the NYT online on my phone. As I scrolled through the top 15 headlines, he was mentioned in 12 of them and seldom in a good light: tariffs, ICE raids, Ukraine, and the economy just to name a few.

My biggest concern is what I see as an assault on our democratic norms. The president has sent national guard troops and ICE agents to Democrat run cities all around the country, supposedly to maintain peace and roundup so called “illegal” criminal immigrants. Never mind that most of these cities having falling crime rates and moreover have not asked for any assistance to maintain law and order or restore peace. Recently two national guard soldiers were shot in Washington, DC, and one of them, a 20 year old young woman died from her injuries. Trump has blamed the “crazy left” for these deaths., but he is wrong.

I am deeply sorrow for this woman’s death, but she would not have been shot and died had Trump not illegally chosen to occupy the streets of our nation’s capital. Just a few days before this incidence, a federal judge had declared that the president’s use of masked and armed ICE agents and national guard troops was unlawful; a fact that the president and his administration have chosen to ignore.

The week before Thanksgiving, the Trump Administration presented a 28 point peace plan to Ukraine, which was clearly authored by Putin and the Russian Government. Among the many problems this peace plan contains is a proposal to give away one fifth of Ukraine’s territory to the Russian aggressor. The plan would also force Ukraine to reduce its army and prohibit the country from joining NATO and the EU.

Our Secretary of State seems not have known anything about this proposal and worked with European leaders to improve the proposal. I recently read that Ukraine, with the support of Europe, has rejected the proposal. While the world dithers, though, Russia continues to wage their horrible and illegal war on Ukraine. Every Ukrainian daily lives under the threat of a Russian attack, and thousands of civilians, including many children have died unnecessarily. Ukraine’s freedom is our freedom; we need to do everything possible to maintain their freedom.

Just a few days ago, the Trump Administration released the revised National Security Strategy, which is mandated by Congress. It looks like America and Europe and as well as other allies are going their separate ways. This administration would have us abandon NATO and other security pacts around the world as we pursue an America First strategy. Why are we doing a complete votte-face or about face after we have enjoyed 80 years of peace? How can anyone believe that a world dominated by a few superpowers, abetted by bad actors like Iran and North Korea, can possibly be the correct path?

Now it looks like our current, totally inept Secretary of Defense thinks that engaging in war crimes is a good policy. Despite what the President says, we are not at war with Venezuela. Congress has not authorized a war. Narco-traffickers are not terrorists and trying to smuggle illegal drugs like cocaine and fentanyl into our country is not an act of war, as reprehensible as it is. We do not have the legal right or authority to willy-nilly shoot boats out of the water in the Caribbean or kill shipwrecked survivors after we have blown up their boat. These people are not a threat to the United States. This is a a desperate attempt to distract us from a failing presidency.

It looks like Congress might be beginning to push back on the illegal acts of this administration. I surely hope so. The Supreme Court is completely owned by Trump and his cronies, but most of the lower court judges continue to be willing to tell the President he is wrong, even if he and his henchmen decide not to abide by their rulings.

Finally, how are you feeling about the economy? If you make more than $200,000 a year and are enjoying the exhilarating stock market ride, probably pretty good. If, on the other hand, you depend on Medicaid or SNAP you are most likely feeling uneasy and wondering how you are going to feed your family or pay for your medicines. Most recipients of Medicaid or SNAP are working full time or taking care of children or a sick or aged parent. Finding a place to live is becoming increasing difficult as well. And lest we forget, Trump and his family have increased their wealth this year by FIVE BILLION DOLLARS!

PS: Just as I was getting ready to post this, I heard the news that the US had seized a Venezuelan oil tanker…can a full blown war be far away?

From this week on, the White House will no longer be the People’s House. It’s now Trump’s Palace, complete with a Ball Room that will be twice the size of the White House itself. The following two photos from the New York Times, provide a good perspective of what’s happening.

Even though the project has not been approved, demolition of the East Wing of the White House began, even though the president said that any construction for the Ballroom would not affect the East Wing and there would be no demolition.

Department of the Treasury employees, who work next door to the White House and have a clear picture of what’s happening there, were forbidden from sharing any photos of the destruction. A strange reaction from an Administration that says it is proud of this project.

Do you think that Trump will pay for this desecration with the $230 million he is claiming that the Justice Department owes him for indicting him for stealing and hiding top secret documents?

While this is going on, millions of Federal workers are either furloughed or being made to work without pay. In addition, millions of lower income folks will be seeing their health insurance costs more than double or lose it all together. Meanwhile we are engaged in an illegal undeclared war in the Caribbean, while the feckless Congress continues to do nothing about any of this.

It was a glorious day to be an American; Sue and I joined thousands of others patriots here in Denver yesterday. We were united in our love of our country and concern that the democracy we as Americans have longed cherished is under threat.

Fortunately, anger, though, was not the primary emotion–I think you would have to describe the feeling of the crowd as one of joy at being alive and being able to voice our dissent.

We gathered at the Capitol Building in the center of Denver; Sue and I arrived there just before 12:00. There were already a lot of people about, but by the time that the march stepped off at 1:00, there were some 25 to 30 thousand people, according to the police who are used to counting such crowds.

We marched down 15th street, which runs right in front of Brooks, our condo building. When we finally got to Brooks, after a few rest stops, we stood and cheered on as the demonstrators streamed on by. The last of whom passed by about 2:45. The end of the march seemed as excited and exhilarated as those who led off the march.

There was a lot of whimsy and playfulness among the crowd. Throughout the day we marveled at the cleverness of the posters and the hilarity of the costumes and slogans.

We loved the clever posters and the costumes. We were pretty tired by the time we got back home, but what a wonderful and exhilarating day!

Sue and I are hoping to make it to the No Kings rally here in Denver, this Saturday, October 18th. How about you?

Every day brings fresh reminders of why this is necessary.

Armed and masked paramilitary troops are patrolling our cities–indiscriminately arresting men, women, and children, be they citizens or not, but almost certainly being people of color. But be assured, it won’t stop with them, it will soon be anyone who disagrees with them. Just look at Jim Comey and Letitia James. All of our civil liberties are at stake.

Transforming the Justice Department to his own private law firm to protect Trump and his cronies and weaponizing it to prosecute his so called enemies.

This administration is waging war on science and health; people will die needlessly from preventable diseases. Children especially are at risk; come on folks; protect your babies!

Trump and his henchmen are eviscerating our Federal Civil Service for no reason except it threatens to thwart his plans to destroy American Democracy. I was a career civil servant; the vast majority of people I worked with were conscientious and hardworking, and believed that they were working for the good of the American people. We all depend on the civli service to protect our clean air and water; provide housing assistance; protect our public health; manage Medicare and Medicaid; collect taxes fairly, and do thousands of other things that make our society just, healthy and fair.

Our National Parks don’t have the staff to serve the millions of people who visit them every year or, more importantly, to take care of these national treasures. Our national monuments and forests are being auctioned off to the highest bidders.

How much longer can the overworked and understaffed air traffic controllers work before our skies become unsafe?

We all depend on the National Weather Service–so many of us are just one weather disaster away from ruin. When that disaster strikes, FEMA will no longer be there to help, so why are we cutting these vital services while our environment becomes more unstable and unpredictable?

Handing our energy future over to the Chinese; now that’s smart. Green energy is not a scam, but vital to the survival of our planet. Denying that climate change and global warming are happening while giving the fossil fuel industry carte blanche is duplicitous madness and will harm us and our children and grandchildren.

Graft, dishonesty and lying are emblematic of this White House. This president is enriching his family to the tune of billions of dollars while stealing from the American public. Giving tax breaks to the very rich while making medical insurance unaffordable once again for millions of Americans is wrongheaded.

Attacking the finest system of higher education in the world while willy nilly canceling essential scientific and medical research funding makes no sense. This weakens our universities and colleges and threatens the future of all Americans. Turning away the finest minds from around the world, only forces them into the arms of our enemies.

Cozying up to dictators and strong men, like Vladimir Putin and Victor Orban is anathema to our American ethos. Brokering a peace deal in Gaza, while leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Russia’s ongoing unjust war doesn’t make any sense. Ukraine is literally fighting for our freedom, not just theirs. Stiff arming our allies and coddling our opponents is undoing the alliances that have protected this world for the last eighty years.

Imposing illegal and foolish tariffs on a whim, saddling the average American with unwarranted taxes and weakening our economy is undermining our future.

Finally and most egregiously, this president is ignoring all democratic norms and trying to impose an Imperial Presidency. His lackeys in Congress and the Supreme Court do nothing to stop him and seem to support all of his unjust and illegal power grabs. The Founding Fathers created a system of checks and balances, but they are no longer working.

If we don’t stop Trump now, our American Democracy is in peril.

Margaret Renkl is one of my favorite writers. She lives in Nashville, TN and often writes about her hometown in both observations about what’s happening in her backyard as well as local and state politics. I am most familiar with her opinion pieces that appear regularly in the New York Times, but I have just started listening to an audio recording of her book, A Crowd of Crows, which has been described as “a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year.” I highly recommend the book and following her in the NYT as well.

Today’s opinion piece, entitled “How to Count Butterflies” describes in Renkl’s gentle prose her joy in walking in her fall garden and seeing the butterflies who are to be found feasting upon the various native plants she has carefully chosen to propagate to encourage butterflies and other beneficial insects to stay and hopefully reproduce.

Most of us can recognize monarch feasting on native milkweed as seen in the photo below.

Butterflies, like so much of our native insects, are in a precipitous decline, due to lose of habitat and global warming. I am a terrible observer of what’s going on about me, but even I can remember times past when there were a lot more insects and butterflies buzzing or flitting around us, but Renkl, a careful observer and documentarian, is a much more reliant narrator.

She closed today’s piece with the following: “Like so much of the still-living world, the butterflies in my pollinator garden are a reminder of what I most need to remember. That we must find some way to keep faith in the future. That we must find some way to save them.” And I might add, ourselves.

We can’t give up hope, but we must do all that we can to save and protect our natural world.