October 3

 Another sunny day but also the third day of the government shutdown. I have seen some of the "coverage" of the stalemate. And, honestly, I am appalled. The Democrats are in a box only partly of their own making. The Republicans are also to blame for simply deciding that having a simple majority gives they the right to demand that the other side should shut the fuck up and vote for measures they find repugnant. The Democrats have the choice now of either continuing on their course with no assurance of getting anything positive from it or giving up still getting nothing positive and the opprobrium of being spineless. The Republicans urge them to pass the CR and discuss the problem of insurance premiums going stratospheric "later." However, that reminds me of what I thought of Southern segregationists' view of the Supreme Court's ruling to desegregate "with all deliberate speed:" maybe about the time Christ comes again. "Later" will become "never." Several legislators agreed to vote for the Big Evil Bill when Trump and others agreed to include funding for programs they wanted only to find that the Republicans came back before Trump's sharpie signature was dried and passed claw back legislation taking those "gains" away. You can't negotiate with a party who will renege at the first opportunity. The commentators have all mentioned that there is no trust between the parties--for good reason.

To put this situation on a personal plane: I have felt under assault since Trump's first term. I can't call myself a citizen of this country any more. Yes, I can still vote but it feels like that is good only until they Republicans gerrymander our districts out of existence. I don't live in Texas or Missouri or any of the other ruby red states but even here in Indiana where we have no Democratic senators and, I think, only one Representative. But "our" legislature and governor (both Republican) are looking at redrawing the northwest counties to eliminate that one Democratic Rep. I may have only one vote but it feels like that vote is invisible.

As a woman, I am thankful that I am long past reproductive age. Otherwise, I would have to worry about whether I could get the medical care I might need to save my life, much less my sanity or my economic status. An unintended pregnancy or even a much desired one gone wrong could leave my doctor and me without options. You can't really call yourself a citizen if you can't make major decisions for yourself, if the people in power think you aren't capable of making those decisions because you might make a choice they don't agree with. My life as an American woman is being slowly strangled and it angers me mightily. This used to be my country. Once I wore a Navy uniform proudly. But my country has been stolen from me by petty men who complained that THEIR  country had been stollen from them. It feels like my very existence offended them and somehow took something away from them.

OK, I'll get off the soapbox and see what is in my mail feed.

First off is this concerning travel warnings--from foreign governments to their citizens thinking about coming here. Who would have ever thought that European countries or Australia would be on that list? But then I think about the flap we had early in the deportation push when ICE and Border Patrol were detaining people they thought were members of Central and South American gangs based on tattoos. Remember the poor guy who had a Real Madrid (that is a popular soccer teams, for those who don't know) tattoo. I saw an interview on BBC which featured a man who had planned to take his family to Disney World but decided otherwise because one of the "gang" tattoos shown on our government's website looked like one he had which he got to celebrate a family event. It is little wonder that the hospitality industry is hurting.