It is so strange to return home after a week long trip to a country you barely recognize anymore. Never before have I had to consider which protest group I need to join.
While in Mexico I managed to avoid the news fairly well, with intent. I come back home and learn:
1- the State Dept's senior admin team all resigned. (not a good sign)
2- trump issued a presidential memorandum for the United States to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and agreement. (that just means that those countries will just trade with someone else)
3- he signed a memorandum ordering a federal hiring freeze of civilian employees. The order does not extend to the military. (more military officials -oh joy! Can we say North Korea? or Syria?)
4-he signed a memorandum to allow TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to re-submit its application for a presidential permit to build and operate the Keystone XL Pipeline. (only for it to be built and rupture years down the line causing environmental havoc)
5- he signed a memorandum to advance construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a project the Obama administration’s Army Corps of Engineers halted by not approving an easement needed for the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. (again, future environmental concerns)
6- Created a world where 'alternative facts' exist and are cited.
7- Issued gag orders on science agencies if they report on climate change. Also, they scrubbed all climate change reports off the White House web site. (sigh. I don't even know what to say about this one other than bye-bye freedom of speech...and the planet.)
8- he signed an executive order to propel his big campaign promise of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. (I just returned from Mexico. That wall will just serve to keep Americans out.)
9- he signed an executive order instructing the attorney general's office and the secretary of homeland security to withhold grant money from so-called sanctuary cities, generally regarded as places with policies limiting assistance to federal immigration authorities. (nowhere will escape his reach)
10-A scheduled Jan. 31 meeting between Trump and Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto was canceled. Trump tweeted that if Mexico was unwilling to pay for the wall, then it was better to call off the meeting. (sad.)
11- he signed an executive order Friday night to keep refugees from entering the country for 120 days and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations out for three months. (okay rest of the world....your turn to ban Americans from traveling everywhere!)
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Other world leaders are left to decide whether to stand against the U.S. government or support it, depending on their situation and their relationship to the U.S.
Whether you are for Trump or not shouldn't matter. What we need to do as a nation is work together and come to compromises, not invoke gag orders and install a military regime. If you don't agree with a policy, one shouldn't get fired four hours after disagreeing with a decision but come to the table and have dialog. Sadly, this is not the America I came home to.
I am not going to make a habit of venting about the state of affairs on my 365project. We all have access to the news and no one needs it to be repeated here. I was in the dark for a whole week and I noticed how mentally relaxed I was. I now need to find my place in this new abnormal and still somehow keep my sanity.
Excellent shot and yes, interesting times and personally I feel that quite a few comparisons can be drawn to other reasonably recent historic figures, particular in Europe...and anybody outside of the US that thinks this won't or doesn't affect them is probably in for a shock.
they are building a new hospital here... and always looking for staff... i think it told you this before!
upheavals and darkage policies but at least people get to see the glaringly obvious problems with their so called democracy, maybe will motivate people to stand up and do something about it.
I share your angst! I went to a protest in Philly when the Republican Party had their "retreat"... best sign there was one that said "there's so much wrong it won't fit on this sign". It's such a train wreck. Glad you had a good break, and a reminder of the power of art! 365 can certainly provide a welcome refuge.
@studiouno Right?! Unfortunately, right now, I do not see any light at the end of the tunnel. The whole negative mindset is infiltrating the whole world.
February 8th, 2017
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upheavals and darkage policies but at least people get to see the glaringly obvious problems with their so called democracy, maybe will motivate people to stand up and do something about it.