It's been a long time since I've written a blog entry. In fact, I had trouble remembering how to get into my account.
Today is Independence Day in Havre de Grace. To me, the HdG date is what matters, not the actual 4th of July. I used to love the small-town celebration, a carnival, parade, lots of friends, good food, fireworks. This year the temperature was over 100 degrees and the humidity in the air made it thick enough to suck it up like a straw in a milkshake. I didn't go to the celebration. I can't celebrate my country this year. I can only mourn what I believe to be my witness to the end of the USA as we've known it.
We are facing the possible election of a lying, cheating, racist, incompetent, and convicted felon whose main goal for reelection is to get his revenge on those who have wronged him. Or, those he thinks have wronged him. Or maybe people like me whose friends took me to Mar-A-Lago last year so I could have the pleasure of giving him the one finger salute. Defenders of trump are dismissive of the charges against him because, after all, the Constitution doesn't prevent him from running. Of course it doesn't! Our founding fathers never imagined that such a criminal would even be considered for the most important job in America. I guess they thought the Constitution implied that a convicted felon who participated in the treasonous attempt to overthrow the government of the United States would be stopped by the citizens of this country from running for office. As Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise! Surprise!" To paraphrase Oda Mae Brown from the movie Ghost, "America, you in trouble, girl."
Project 2025 is the platform to revise the government as developed by the conservative Republican group, the Heritage Foundation. Here are the a few key elements of the proposed plan:
a. restructure the federal government so that federal civil service workers will be reclassified as political appointees that will have to be committed to supporting the Nazi - oops, I mean - Republican party
b. extend presidential authority so that the president has complete control over the executive branch. We already know that trump expects, with the Supreme Court's support, to have complete freedom of action to do whatever he wants, when he wants - legal or not. He's calling for presidential immunity, no matter what criminal acts he commits
c. policy changes that include the dismantling of government agencies at his whim
d. include government policies to reflect Christian ideals eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. May I suggest at this point you read Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale , because that's where they're headed with women's rights. Separation of church and state is on the chopping block, as are all the freedoms and rights so many Americans have worked their lives for. I have gay friends in fear of having their marriages annulled. Think it can't happen??? Look at Roe v Wade for a starting reference
e. the establishing of internment camps for illegals also known by the Nazis as concentration camps. Death camps being advocated as necessary in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
As I end this essay, I can hear the fireworks that always mark the magnificent end of the Independence Day celebration. What will I hear next year at this time?
