I can't believe it! (a short post)

 

I can't believe it.  The Orange Snowflake has taken Venezuela's dictator into American custody without legal authority. Only congress can authorize America to go to war against another country, but the snowflake has usurped congress's authority and has said that the constitution doesn't apply to him.  This reminds me of Germany's aggression towards its neighboring states prior to the beginning of WW2 in 1939. The big question is: What Comes Next?

Sadly, if congress wants to take back its powers, it will need to remove the current speaker of the house. The man has no problem genuflecting at the altar of the snowflake, and has never resisted anything demanded by the snowflake.  I doubt this will happen, as many in the GOP are afraid of what the snowflake can do.  Instead, many in the GOP are retiring from Congress, leaving it up to the remaining party to find candidates who can win.  Only one problem - the party's reputation is so bad, that even hard-core GOP voters may vote against the party to stop the snowflake - if meaningful elections are held later this year.

Sadly, we haven't yet seen enough people in the GOP willing to challenge the snowflake. As a result, he keeps taking the powers that the constitution prohibits him from having. As this happens, we're seeing an erosion of our civil and human rights happen in real time.  For example, many naturalized citizens now carry their passports with them at all times, hoping that proof of citizenship will keep them from being incarcerated in an ICE raid.  Unfortunately, US citizens are being gathered up in these raids, and have been deported "by mistake."

(Passport Photo Example - Not the one I hope to have.)

Hopefully, the paperwork for my foreign birth registry will be processed before things in the US get too bad for me.  Then, I will apply for (and get) my second passport and be able to exit the US if/when needed.  These are scary times, and I'm afraid of what will happen here in the next year or two.  So, if you don't live here, don't come here until things change.

And now back to my regularly scheduled ranting and raging

 

As much as I am an out and about transgender person, I can go back to stealth mode if I need to do so.  Yet, I am upset because the Orange Snowflake won't be happy until the last one of us is gone from "HIS" America.

I try to keep my calm, as to give into anger, as it will distract me from staying calm in the face of danger. For example, I could rage at the world and accomplish nothing.  Or, I can do things such as participating in protest marches, notifying people when I see ICE come into my neighborhood, and do other non-violent things to foul up the snowflake's evil plans.  I choose resistance in the same way as followers of Martin Luther King Jr. did.  His henchmen are most afraid of being seen for what they are: Malignant Bullies who want to turn America into Nazi Germany.  (When was the last time you saw the snowflake cast a good light on anyone not an Aryan male?  Never.)

Tonight, I had a conversation with TCL.  When I said that I'm going for second citizenship (and associated passport) as a way to have an exit route if things go sour in the USA.  I said that if I am forced to leave the USA, I'll marry RQS and take her with me.  I'd be poor, but I'd be free.  TCL thinks that I'd be able to take my money with me.  I reminded her of the early days of the Nazi regime: They allowed Jews to leave, but they didn't allow the Jews to take their money with them as they left.  It's amazing that a woman with a history degree didn't know about that.  I guess that our collective memory about the Nazi era has faded too much for most Americans to recognize the scope and severity of today's dangers.

It's amazing that the mainstream news media isn't covering the violence being used by the snowflake's henchmen to terrorize people.  But then, these are people who thrive on "access" and are afraid to cooperate with each other to take down a threat to their industry.  The Fourth Estate was neutered by the Nazis, why doesn't it see that the same tactics are being used against it in America 90 years later?  Luckily, we still have independent news reporting on the internet, something which they don't yet know how to control.  (Russia and China have developed effective controls on their independent reporters, yet there are still some leaks - all wrapped in metaphors and coded language.  For example, don't talk about "Winnie the Pooh" in China, as that will get you in trouble for its connection to Chairman Xi.)  

Why am I still in America?  I still have hope that the authoritarian tide can be held back.  Yet, it feels more and more like a losing task every day, as people are giving up hope.  When/if I do, I'll be gone.

Paperwork - I'll probably need to get more official copies

 

As my readers know, I've been preparing to file the paperwork to get a second passport.  It's nice to know that because of my genealogical heritage, I qualify for a citizenship via birthright.  If I recall correctly, even the Nazis didn't stop Jews with foreign passports from returning to their homelands.  They simply wanted Nazi held territory "Judenfrei." 

Even though we haven't had any official pogroms yet, the USA has killed people simply because of their ethnicity.  (Just ask any African-American or Native American/Indian about how their ancestors were killed by "White" Americans.)  Given this administration in power, I don't trust that it will be stopped before they put transgender people in prison camps - we're already seeing people deported to Salvadoran prisons without due process.  

With these considerations before me, I will file my citizenship (overseas birth) registration, and hope to have my second citizenship before year end.  But this is not the only paperwork I have to take care of.  Right now, I must deal with unclaimed funds for both my parents' estates. Since I don't have originals of either death certificate, I'm planning on sending photocopies, as New York isn't asking for official copies of these documents.  (This is where I may need to take the time to get official copies of these documents.)  Unfortunately, I have no idea of how much my brother and I will receive, as New York doesn't list the amount to be claimed on their site.  And this is not the last bit of paperwork to be filed.  I have to find several savings bonds bought by my late wife and then file for their redemption.  Once this is done, the important paperwork that needs to be done will be done.

Thankfully, I have my friend Maria that I can ask to notarize documents for me.  If I can, I'll finally get to introduce RQS to Maria when RQS is next here.   But that will be on a busy weekend, as Vicki, RQS and I will be going to the Flax Barn Sale for some discount shopping.  I'll bet that by then, I'll have even more paperwork to deal with.

   

As I write this, a sad day.

 

As much as some people are happy to see this day, smart people also have a bit of sadness too.  Our former president has been indicted on 34 counts in New York State.  We have never seen anything like this before, and it will be a precedent no matter what results from the trial.

People who know me know that I despise our former president for how he divided this country and for how he normalized extremist nuts.  Even worse, he created a situation where professional politicians are afraid of his supporters - something reminiscent of 1930's Germany.  And yet, our republic has survived - so far.

Trump's lawyers have characterized this indictment as a political action, claiming that the ex-president's opponents are using the courts to harm him.  I find this amazing, as Trump is known for using the courts to get his way with others.  He claims that he is a political victim.  But he brought it on himself.  He pissed off too many people, and is now finding that Karma is a bitch.

I, for one, am upset that the trial will not take place until 2024, and that he will not be under any gag order to keep from aggravating the public in a way that would allow for a fair trial by a jury of his peers. I am also upset that there is no way to accelerate this case, so that it will not affect next year's election season.  I will be upset if this case creates a possible constitutional crisis, if Trump is elected but the trial is still taking place.  As they say, "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied" and Trump continues his tactic of trying to run out the clock.

It's a sad time for America, as we can no longer automatically hold our presidents in high esteem anymore.  This indictment shows us that our leaders are only human and must be held accountable for their actions when called for.  In short, it's time for America to grow up and realize that we are no longer the special "Beacon on the Hill" that we once thought this nation to be.

Politics - Another word for many flesh eating insects

 

Lately, there have been a lot of storm clouds in the sky for us transgender folk.  Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the lunatic right is well on the way to eliminating same sex marriage, as well as the ability of transgender people to get both appropriate medical treatment and to have their gender recognized by law.

Many of us will always stand out as transgender, and that might not be a bad thing in "normal" times.  But in these times, we might be safer if we could live in the closet and quietly work to subvert the power of America's right wing.  This is far from an ideal situation, as we should not have to go into hiding to survive.

I am reminded of Central Europe in the early 1930's.  Germany quickly went from a democratic nation with religious freedom to an authoritarian nation with no religious freedom.  The nation was ruled by a man with a personality cult - something we have been temporarily able to stop for a while.  But we are not out of the woods.  The party that Trump led still wants power for the sake of power.  It has no real governing philosophy.

Right now, I am totally disgusted by the GOP, as they have let political cockroaches take hold of the party.  And, like cockroaches, they are hard to keep at bay.  I only wish we had the political bug spray needed to rid the GOP of this cancer that could kill democracy in our nation.