Happy Feet

When we moved to Florida we told ourselves with our 'one and only life' we're going to 'live in the moment' and enjoy it. 

Eckhart Tolle says, if you don't create new experiences or conversations, you'll constantly talk about the past (people or situations).  Our conditioned brain defaults back to old thinking patterns and stories unless we make new observations in the present. Sometimes, all we have in common are those old stories with friends, family, or partners. Do you ever feel stagnant or dull in your spirit? Do you project that on to others? We can easily stay stuck in the past--always trying to recreate the 'good times.' 

There is a whole inner and outer world out there to engage and explore. So, let's SALSA! Eat it or Dance it or both! 

We started taking salsa dance lessons. (Honest, it wasn't my idea; but I think I've dropped enough hints over 30 years, that it telepathically dropped into Rich's subconscious. Although, NOT as dramatic as Ben Stiller's salsa dance moves in Along Came Polly.) 

Rich got us Beginners Salsa Dancing lessons at Simone Salsa in Tampa; a real professional teacher at a real professional dance studio. I was completely impressed. This will force us to get out of our comfort zone and be completely in the present moment! 

Simone is a wonderful teacher. Rich is a drummer with absolutely no sense of dancing rhythm (hard to believe, but it's true.) I've never danced Salsa, so I'm excited to learn from her. We go once a week; but you can go as many times as you like during the week to practice; they just want you to practice and have fun. And on Friday nights, they have open salsa dance night (that's like an extra built-in date night). There will probably be salsa and chips before or afterwards. 

What I like about dancing, besides looking into my hunky husband's eyes, is that it forces us to get into our bodies. We'll both have to notice those judgy thoughts of insecurity and incompetence for a while. Practice. Practice. Practice. I'll be forced to let Rich lead;  he'll be forced to let go and finally shake his hips. But we'll be making new memories and new neural pathways. It will be fun to learn together in the moment. "Life is the Dancer and you are the Dance." Eckhart Tolle. 

  

New Kid On The Block

When I left Chicago after 52 years, I did a goodbye tour. I said goodbye to all my favorite places. I said goodbye to all my favorite friends. My sister-in-law, Patti, and I got together at a bistro; it was my goodbye dinner with her. Over the decades, we spent many lunch and dinners together and marathon phone calls. We grew up together as adults. She knew my good, bad, and ugly and loved me. And vice versa.

One of the last things she said to me after we hugged goodbye, as I was walking to my car, "Good luck making friends." My first thought was I've never had a hard time making friends. I was blessed throughout my lifetime with incredible friends; I considered my sister-in-law one of them. The story I told myself in my head was she was cursing me for leaving. But she wasn't. She knew something I was naive about: as we get older, as our life ebbs and flows, as we move or transition, it's harder and harder to make good friends. My sister-in-law is famous for a few things: her chocolate chip cookies, being direct and being right. She was so right. And it crushed me when I moved to Florida.

My first few years in Vero Beach, I only made a few friends. But they had busy, important lives. They had longer established friendship circles that I didn't fit in with. I felt suffocatingly lonely. When I'd go to a coffee shop I'd look for someone my age (Vero is an older demographic). I'd pray she would look my way so we could make a connection and have a conversation. I was pathetic. Vero Beach was a lovely town, but I just didn't feel like I belonged. I didn't feel known. It was a conservative (religiously and politically) town. But it wasn't for lack of trying. I put myself out there all the time.

Sometimes I wanted to put an ad in the newspaper: Looking for close friends: Must be a compassionate, nice person. Must love and care about your flawed kids, husband, partner, friends. Must not have too much drama in your life. If you do, you must be actively working on your own stuff. I'll work on mine, you work on yours. Must be spiritual but not religious. Must be solution oriented. Must lift up women. Must not be a mean gossiping bitch. If you can't say something to someone else's face, don't tell me about it. If you need support trying to figure out how to resolve a conflict, I'll listen. But then let's move forward. Must have integrity. Must be open to learn and be curious about others and new ideas. Must not monopolize the conversation all the time; we take turns doing that. Must like to read, grow, and be self-reflective (not every day, just in general). If you like the Housewives of Orange County, I'm probably not the person you want to talk about with that; I don't watch soap operas anymore. But do love to binge-watch Netflix. Must return a text message or PMs in an appropriate amount of time (24 hours). If you don't return the text, the story I tell myself is you're not really interested in being friends; I know you have that phone with you 24/7. Speaking of phone, must stay off phone while out to lunch unless you're taking a picture to post on Instagram, or your kids, partner, or your doctor may call. Put the phone away; pretend it's 1980; Otherwise, I'm secretly judging you; I want to be friends with someone my age, not a Millennial. Must always let me drive (I have PTSD from a past accident. You don't want me as a passenger; trust me). Must accept mild germaphobes. And lastly, must be an animal lover. Must allow me to talk about my dog like he was my kid.  

Too much? I heard my sister-in-law in my head, "Good luck making friends." 

Since my vocation is one where I work with clients one-on-one, I don't meet a lot of people at a conventional job. And I don't go to church anymore; for a million reasons; but that's another blog. I don't drink anymore because I'm healing my liver and kidneys (not from drinking, but from too much fat in my diet---cheese particularly); so partying at a bar is out.
I'd go to a yoga studio or Orange Theory but the women were in and out; no real chit chatting. So, my opportunities were limited. While I loved that I moved to Florida, I thought I may have made a terrible mistake leaving the best friends I ever had back home in Chicago.

When we decided to move to Dunedin, I was excited. Everything about this new town seemed intuitively right. I told Rich that my job the first year was to figure out a way to make friends and become a part of the community-become known.

I started with volunteering at the local Dunedin Fine Arts Center. It was a lovely, safe entry into my community. Art people are funky cool and so nice. I got to know some wonderful people and I really enjoyed volunteering for this vibrant art center. And I started taking art classes there. That was nice too; but artists are really focused on their art. I kept waiting for someone to say, "Want to do lunch?" I was playing it safe. Waiting for others to take the lead--trying to figure out my place in this super interesting, established art community.

I had to be more proactive. I turned to Facebook. I 'liked' a few local Dunedin FB groups to see what was happening in the community; seemed like a lot was happening. But there were not real friendship opportunities there. I decided to start my own local Dunedin women's FB group: Dunedin Women's Share & Connect. The share part was online in our group (sharing positive life stuff). The connect part was when we got together off of social media and hung out in person. And since we live in such a polarized country, we could not talk about religion or politics. We had to just meet each other where we were as women; suspend our bias long enough to see someone for who they were as a person. Overnight, our group went from 1 to 25 women. Soon we had 200. And as of last week, we had 300 women in our group.

DWSC was for women who lived in our community, and wanted to make local connections with other women around town. It was like a Meet-Up group within a private Facebook group. So if I wanted to go to a movie or sushi, I'd put out to our DWSC group, "Going to see this movie_______at 6pm on Thursday. Who wants to join me?" If someone wanted to go bike riding or kayaking, they would put out an invitation for a day and time, and women would show up. There were many women in the group who have lived in Dunedin for years. Others, like me, were Newbies; desperate to make friends.

Once a month, I would host a breakfast. 25-30 women would show up. DWSC collects food for the local Dunedin food pantry. They are the most generous women I've ever met. When the holidays came around, many women offered up their homes to join them for a holiday meal. If someone had a birthday, they bravely asked others to join them at a wine bar. There is vulnerability for all of us as we put ourselves out there. The women showed up to cheer and celebrate that person. If there is a parade in town (and there is just about every month), they put it on the group to meet up at the parades. If they want to do a day at the beach, they bring their chairs and sunscreen and relax together.

Not everyone participates or stays in the group; too many rules, too many women, they aren't ready, too many commitments to join in, fearful of women, or don't feel the vibe or have a real need. But each woman who joins, gets to dip their feet in the water to see if the group is for them or not. And they get to make it what they want by creating their own like-minded meet ups within the group. There are a few book clubs within the group. An entrepreneur group for all the DWSC women who have their own businesses. I don't come up with all the meet up ideas; I don't go to all the events or meet ups. It's an organic group that has a life of it's own now.

This was beyond humbling to see our group grow so quickly. And we had our share of growing pains.  I've had to say yes, no, or maybe when issues or problems popped up. Some times an agenda changed. Sometimes someone was mean or gossipy and they had to be removed. Rules had to be put in place; I felt so responsible to protect the women of our large group. That didn't always go over well. This tapped into my deepest fears around women when faced with push back, rejection, and gossip. But I was always met with overwhelming support and understanding behind the scenes too. I knew I wasn't going to make everyone happy as our group grew. I couldn't control what people might be saying about me; that killed me. But I always knew the intention of my heart and why I started the group: I wanted to build a community of women who were supportive, like-minded, fun, fearless, loving, understanding, active, interesting, and kind. Some have left the group; many have stayed. I put 3 new admins in place and updated guidelines to resolve the many questions and problems that pop up and took time away from living life. I don't make leading decisions all by myself anymore; I just give occasional input and vet all the Newbies. I'm grateful to those that have been patient with me through those growing pains.

We just celebrated DWSC 1-year anniversary over the weekend. I'd share some pictures of all our many events: movie nights, parades, beach days, wine nights, vegan lunches, etc. But, "what happens in DWSC stays in DWSC"--especially because women were trying to get jobs or wanted privacy; I have to honor that. I wish I could share their beautiful faces and tell you all the cool stories about their unique lives. But I'd be breaking one of my own rules.

Each woman has a remarkable, thoughtful story; their own version of triumph and even tragedy. It draws us closers in our sharing. We've all moved past: How long have you lived here? and Where did you grow up? Conversations are going deeper as we open ourselves up to vulnerability, caring, and connection. It's fun to run into each other at festivals, parades, art galleries, and the grocery store. Each of us long to belong and feel known on some level in our community. It's been a thrill to grow and learn with them. And I can say, I truly feel known and at home here in Dunedin.

If you ever have to move to a new location. I highly recommend starting a private Facebook group. I think about the quote from Georgia O'Keeffe: Nobody sees a flower--really--it's so small--we haven't time--and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. I think that's really what my sister-in-law meant. xoxo

The Elephant In The Room

Rich bought me this elephant some years ago. We joke that whenever there is something that needs to be discussed, we'll say, "Can we talk about the Elephant in the room?" It's been a lighthearted thing we've mentioned when the conversation turns serious. 

As the 2020 presidential election approaches the Democrats are faced with a dilemma that is rather unique--there is a surplus of qualified candidates. Most of them have glowing credentials as well as a wealth of experience.  But one of them truly stands out – intelligent (Rhodes scholar), articulate, compassionate, deeply spiritual Christ-follower (an active member of the Episcopal Church), military vet (served in Afghanistan), speaks eight languages, plays classical piano, healthy (he is a runner), young (Millennial), and oh, one more thing: he is openly gay—and happily married at that. His name is Pete Buttigieg. 

So here is a good question for American voters: will the fact that someone is gay be enough reason to NOT vote for this outstanding, exceptionally gifted candidate? I know he’s a Democrat; I know Republicans are typically supposed to vote for Republicans because of issues like pro-life, military spending, and unregulated capitalism. But, if all things were equal, could Mayor Pete be considered a viable ‘Presidential’ candidate? I think Christians need to have this conversation. Because one day, they may have a Republican candidate who is openly gay or transgender. The times they are a changing.  

Also, maybe it’s time for a younger voice (Gen Z or Millennial) to be heard. Millennials and Gen Z make up 43% of the population. 

Rich and I come from an evangelical background where a gay lifestyle was clearly unacceptable by the vast majority of the church community back in the day.
That is changing (today slightly over half of evangelicals find it acceptable). But 45% are still against it, or undecided. Also, this is largely a generational issue. Older people find it less acceptable than younger people. But among all generations it is becoming more acceptable in recent years. I’m also curious how many in the church are more accepting of a gay lifestyle and gay marriage, but just keep silent? There is fear of speaking up or speaking out. Maybe you have gay friends and it doesn’t sit well with you anymore to abide by the ‘love the sinner but hate the sin’ dogma. It’s a struggle when your heart is compassionate, and the love that Jesus exhibited was so outrageous and dangerous (meaning he shattered social norms). 

For those who might still be opposed to homosexuality because they feel the Bible prohibits it, here are a few considerations that have changed our own thinking:

1) The word “homosexual” as we understand it today (as a sexual orientation) is not found in the Bible. The same-sex behavior that was prohibited in the Bible was a form of lustful abuse of sexual desire that often involved straight men having sex with young boys, with slaves, or engaging in a homosexual act while participating in pagan orgies, or to humiliate a defeated enemy (another words, it was just uncontrolled, self-centered, gratuitous sex). The Bible really never addresses the question of whether it is morally acceptable for two homosexually oriented individuals who willingly desire to be in a monogamous, loving relationship to be united in marriage.

2) The negative view of homosexuals in biblical times is also a product of a more primitive culture. People in ancient times had a very limited understanding of homosexuality. Just as views regarding women, slavery, and science, were pre-modern and restricted by the historical understanding of that time period. There are only the three passages that mention homosexuality in the New Testament and it is within reason to recognize that they are addressing homosexual behavior in a very limited scope (loveless self-gratification).

3) Love is clearly the overriding principle of all biblical commandments. Jesus made this clear in how he interpreted dietary laws, Sabbath laws, interactions with Gentiles, and even laws regarding adultery. This should be the overriding factor in how we treat the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. Compassion is called for, not legalism.

4) We have many dear friends who are part of the LGBT community and a few things are crystal clear: they did not “choose” their sexual orientation or gender identity (any more than any of us have); they are good and loving people (many with a strong love for God); and they have every right to be the person God made them to be with full acceptance and affirmation. Yet, I see Christians every day doing the opposite in the name of Jesus. 

And might I add (for those Christians who are still convinced that homosexual behavior is wrong under all circumstances) if you voted for or support Donald Trump—a man who has slept with porn stars, Playboy models, and scores of other women; a man who lies, cheats, and bullies others daily; a man who says the most vile and vicious things about others; and a man who claims to be a Christian, but who believes he has no need to be forgiven by God. Then sorry, but you have lost the  moral high ground to say anything about a candidate’s behavior…period. 

I have great concern about what kind of ugliness is going to come out (from the religious right) because Mayor Pete is gay; people are so cruel when they fear others not like themselves; and when they impose religious tenets onto a secular society.

But it is my hope that having a gay man, with the integrity, brilliance, and kindness of Pete Buttigieg will give all Americans the opportunity to recognize that people from the LGBT community are worthy of full honor, respect and acceptance. You may not vote for him; I’m not sure if I’m going to vote for him yet. However, if I vote for him, it won’t be because he is gay; and if I don’t vote for him, it won’t be because he is gay. Either way, it will be because of who is he is as a human being—his capabilities, his character, and his policies. 

"Do you think the country is ready for a gay president?" asked Joy Behar

"Well, there is only one way to find out." Pete Buttigieg 

Homophobia and bigotry and racism are the kind of things all Christians should be standing up against. And if we dare, we should be having conversations about Mayor Pete’s worthiness as a credible presidential candidate regardless of his sexuality.   

In the past our ancestors did not respect women, people of color, Jews, etc., etc., etc. It is time for this generation to abandon heterosexism and judge people by the content of their character, the goodness in their heart, and their concern for others.  It is important for us to recognize that the way we view others who are different from us is strongly affected by bias. We are conditioned to think that our own tribe is superior (our race, our gender, our nationality, our religious tradition, our sexual orientation, etc.). We feel more comfortable when others look like us, talk like us, act like us and see the world the same way we do. Most bias is unconscious—we are completely unaware that our social conditioning has influenced how we view others. Therefore, it is hard for most of us to ever break out of it. One of the few things that can help us overcome bias is when we try to see what we have in common with each other by looking beyond the differences and allowing someone to shatter our stereotypes. For many people, being able to escape their bias occurs because of a close friend, a family member, a coworker, or a neighbor. I hope for thousands of people over the next presidential election cycle it occurs because of a truly honorable and worthy candidate—who just happens to be gay. Thank you Mayor Pete for being a wonderful human being, for having the courage to not let others define you, and for moving us beyond our prejudices as individuals and as a country; I truly will pray for you and your husband during this demanding and often confrontational campaign season. 

Scared Straight

Remember in the 1970s when the Scared Straight documentary came out? They took a bunch of teenage delinquents to Rahway State prison to sit them in a room with dangerous ‘lifer’ convicts. I was mesmerized. These scary looking convicts were up close and personal yelling, screaming, and swearing at these ‘young punks.’ In the hope that they would not end up like them (with no life and no chance of ever getting out of jail) these lifers were attempting to turn around the lawless teenagers. This was on TV; it was terrifying to watch it as a teenager.

I am one of those people who needs to be ‘scared straight’ when it comes to changing the course of my life (health, poor relationships, toxic work situation, etc.). Maybe you’re like me?

We are in trouble, friends & family. Serious trouble. Like, END OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT kind of trouble.

I’m not even trying to be dramatic here. What I’m going to share is a thimble-size amount of information about Global Warming and it’s life-altering affects. If we don’t RADICALLY change all our personal and global lifestyle expectations, and start bringing Global Warming into our daily discourse, our children (especially our grandchildren) may be the last generation to exist. The science is not in our favor, folks.

I’ve had my head in the sand. You have had your head in the sand too. Be honest!

How much time are you investing learning about the consequences of living in a 21^stcentury world with fossil fuel dependency, 2-3 square meals a day of meat & dairy (times 325,000,000 people, times 7.6 billion on the planet)? Have you been bothered by our seas rising in some areas around the world because the artic glaciers are melting at an exponential rate that is unprecedented? Does the dwindling natural water aquifers cross your mind? We are polluting our streams. More than half of them are now unsuitable for aquatic life because we have dead zones in our large and small waterways (including the Gulf of Mexico). And those dead zones are growing each year. Don’t even get me started on deforestation, or plastic that sits in landfills and oceans forever, or how our coral reefs are dying, or the soon to be extinction of bees because of over use of pesticides and herbicides. We are destroying our future.

Are you feeling a little bit bummed yet? Wait, it gets worse.

In 2005, a UN report, 5 years in the making; 300 Scientist contributed to it from around the world; 1,000 scientists reviewed it. It’s called the “Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report.” Summed up, we are ‘tearing the planet apart; we’re tearing the ecosystem apart.’ These changes will be impacting: our ability to provide clean water, and protect ourselves from natural disasters (such as main groves and marsh lands).

James Hensen’s book called, Storms of my Grandchilden: The Coming Catastrpohe is about global warming. The most terrifying thing he wrote was, “As long as there are human civilizations on this planet able to function as a civilization, we will never ever have another ice age on this planet.” We are not going to be cooling off ever again—only getting warmer as a planet.

Let me lay some science on you:

We can only put another 500 gigatons of Co2 into the atmosphere before our planet surpasses the life/eco altering 2-degree mark. So think of it like a BANK SAVING OF 500gt. That’s all we have left in our human account. We have 500gt left to emit before we ruin human’s ability to sustain healthy living. 500gt left that will keep us living safe and not utterly devastate earth’s ecosystem. THAT’S IT. We currently emit about 50gt a year. A YEAR! So if we keep emitting about 50gt a year for about 10 years we can’t reverse it. Let me say that again, so you don’t miss it: we can NOT reverse it. So we only have a few choices: Slow down emissions (cut emissions in half). With that option, maybe we’ll get 20 years. Or we get radical and do ALL WE CAN to switch to a ZERO carbon emission society. If we transition now, we have about 10-20 years depending if we alter our life to sustain the future. Future generations need our compliance now. Here is the SHOCKER: Co2 lifetime up in the atmosphere is 10,000 years. It does NOT recycle or dissolve or dissipate over time (kind of like plastic). It’s not going anywhere. We have lost our ability to be good stewards of our planet. 500gt of Co2 is ALL that we can put into the atmosphere.

This doesn’t even take into account what we put into our oceans, the uncertainty of the speed of glacier melting (to keep our earth cool), the millions of  tons of methane gas the animal agricultural industry is adding to our atmosphere, or our unstable weather patterns that create forest fires that blaze for months. Our children will be affected. Every human on earth will be affected in less than a generation. Land and oceans will forever be altered.

But wait, it gets worse.

Remember when Ralphie in a Christmas Story double dog-dared Flick to put his tongue to the flagpole? Then he threw down the coup de grace of all dares, the triple dog-dare. Flick had no choice in front of God and his peers but to put his tongue to the frozen flagpole, no matter the consequences.

I double dog-dare you to watch this 12- minute link by Rupert Read. I triple dog-dare you to watch his hour-long Cambridge lecture to a small group of brave souls who would listen. Rich and I watched both links by Dr. Rupert Read. We were shocked at how small the crowd was and that only 41,000 people had viewed the video. For crying out loud, Justin Bieber had 3,090,370,652 views on YouTube for his song, Sorry. 

LINKS 12-minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjeLE-ROSOI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0hhPX33mad5_Zzd7LZ2aO72Uya3E4ulhODey-L-1Nq5GHaBQ_VcAx1r-c
1-hour
Shed A Light: Rupert Read – This civilisation is finished: so what is to be done?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzCxFPzdO0Y

If you didn’t watch the links because you’re super busy watching something on TV or scrolling on Facebook, I BEG you, to please stop what you’re doing and watch this now.

This may sound alarmist, but it is not alarmist when the danger is real. If you’re not fearful and scared about Global Warming then you’ve not really been paying attention.

For those of you who live in colder climates, it’s almost the end of winter. I know you’re all tired of it and think it would be great to have burst of Global Warming right about now. I get it. I moved away to a warmer climate because I hated the cold. I never even gave one minute of thought about global warming until I came to Florida. In only 3 years since we’ve moved here, the summers are longer and hotter. The ocean is warmer too. One symptom of human interference to our ecosystem and global warming is red-tide. It’s a toxic algal bloom that caused sea life to die and humans to have an instant respiratory cough. It too difficult to breathe on the shores of the ocean; you have to leave the beach or suffer. Rich and I have seen it and inhaled it when it gets bad.

It’s like knowing in 10 years a major asteroid is going to hit earth. You start preparing NOW. You throw all your resources into things that really matter. You educate people so they can change their expectations and conscious conditioning. Remember, it doesn’t mean the world will end in 10 years if we don’t do anything, it means in 10 years the damage will be irreversible and the life altering natural catastrophes that we have seen multiplying over the last few years will speed up like a runaway train until earth is uninhabitable for our children and grandchildren.

Most days, I’m a pretty optimistic person. I like to keep it positive; I like the energy buzz I feel when I choose a ‘don’t worry, be happy’ mindset. I like to lift up the spirits of other’s around me too. There is so much to dig about our day-to-day lives. The world is so remarkable and beautiful. And people are beautiful.

But we have to set aside those parts of us that want to deny or delay the truth about Global Warming and what is coming in our future.

We need to teach eco truth in the school. We need to have philosophical and intellectual, critical-thinking conversations about this subject.

Mother Nature will be on the ballot in 2020. We have to vote for her. I know, it may go counter-intuitive to every Capitalistic instinct you have. But we won’t have a normal economy at this rate. We have to transform it now. We have to wake up and be scared straight. We need to believe our scientists and ignore our politicians (who are serving the interests of big corporations).

While I may think it would be fantastic for everyone to have health care, a decent working wage, free collage tuition so we can stay competitive around the world, and high-speed rail trains. You may want the Wall or a bigger military. The truth it’s pointless to debating whether to spend billions on Space Force or free healthcare when life on the planet is in peril. Hard stop!

It’s now or never!

Remember the movie Schindler’s List? Remember at the end of the movie when he says goodbye to the Jews he saved? He laments that he could have saved more, that he threw away so much money. He didn’t do enough. He questions his choices (even after doing so much). But the moral implications of not doing his all meant that people would die. He crumples under the weight of his anguish. “Why did I keep this car? 10 people right there. This pin. This is gold; two more people—at least one. I could have saved one more person. And I didn’t.”

Teach your children about Global Warming. Talk about it all the time. In the 1970s, we collectively talked about cleaning up pollution and denuclearization. It changed our world. Inspire your children and grandchildren to dream big dreams to save our planet and reverse the damage the industrial revolution brought about.

Don’t put your head in the sand and think 1) Jesus is going to return. 2) This is not my home; my home is in Heaven. 3) Don’t just pray it away. God has called us to action and solutions, not passivity and waiting for him to do our work. By that logic, why bother to put out a fire? We need to do what we can to stop the destruction. Anything less would be a denial of reality. We have a moral obligation to those we love and our future relatives who will come after us. All great leaders and sacred books inspire us to be stewards of our planet and that of our brothers and sisters.

In our quest to aspire to be the greatest nation in the world, we may have contributed the most to destroying our planet due to our materialistic and relentless want for the unnecessary. Becoming conscious is the only thing that is going to save us. So learn about how to become a conscious American/human and how to do your part to keep the true state of our Union and our Planet in the forefront of our mind before it’s too late.

Did I scare you straight? If not, then you didn’t watch the links or read the books or watch the documentaries. When you do, let’s talk.

I am contributing to global warming every day. You are too. I’m admitting that I have foolishly, ignorantly, and selfishly striving for more, and wanting an easy lifestyle at the expense of my children and grandchildren’s future. So have you. However, I’m committed to figuring out how I can change that. I’m committed to talking about this subject as if my life depended on it (because it does). Why? I believe scientists and philosophers, teachers, artists, and persuasive orators of truth, and dreamers of the future. Mostly, I am listening and observing all that Mother Natures is revealing. She has my complete attention now.

Vote and transform society before it’s too late. Otherwise we’re going to be writing our own grim version of a song called ‘SORRY’ to the last generation. We have to figure out how to come together, mend fences and build bridges or our society will fall due to run away fears and danger that we can’t even comprehend at this moment.   

January 2019

It's been a jam-packed January. 

This blog is a little all over the place. I decided to just log it for posterity.

January 2019: 

I managed to get in a few joyous January walks and bike rides this month (but more on that later). I rode longer than before because we got Buddha a new bike carriage to join us on the Pinellas Trail. It's so fun to have him ride with us (instead of feeling guilty he's home alone). 

This time of year is beautiful here in Florida. I enjoy feeling the cool and warm air mingle during these January days; each day is a surprise-weather wise. This has been my fourth January in Florida. I still can't get over seeing leaves on trees in winter, and birds chirping and playing about, like they are on summer vacation. And I still can't get over walking the beach on a beautiful 65-degree sunny day. 

I took a huge leap to do something that I've felt called to do in the last few years: I'm starting Dr. T. Colin Campbell's online Cornell University course on Plant Based Nutrition. I'm adding plant-based educator to my teaching skills (of yoga therapy and meditation). I know that you can be healthy in your mind or spirit but not your body (and visa versa). I'm also taking a medical immersion in NC in June with the author of the author of “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (and his team). Also his son, Rip Esselstyn (who works with Forks Over Knives, and Engine 2), will be there. This Cornell course and medical immersion is going to push me out of my comfort zone. They both are going to begin to prepare me to teach as a plant-based educator in 2019. 

I pay attention to what shows up in my life (people, the types of conversations that organically happen, where my mind rests when it's not busy or worried). One of the things that comes, up over and over again, is having conversations about health and eating a whole food plant-based diet. People are curious. They find out I'm a vegan and have a bunch of questions; all of the questions are positive. I think for a number of reasons: awareness that our planet and ocean resources are in trouble (partly because of the livestock industry); people are getting older and they are having real health issues that are not going away by the 'moderate' or 'fad' diets they have been eating through the years; people are genuinely worried about how much time they have left and want to know if they can reverse some of the diseases in their bodies. Many of them want to get off their diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol medication. Many of the conversations I have are people curious how to just add more enjoyable plant-based meals to their menus. They wonder if it's possible to really heal their sick bodies. They saw the Forks Over Knives and What The Health documentaries on Netflix and wonder if I can recommend any good books or recipe websites or doctors. I love these conversations. I could talk about the planet, animals, and healing foods all day long. 

What I'm not getting anymore is pushback starting with uninformed questions like 'where do you get your protein?' or know-it-all comments of 'I read an article that said that vegans are not healthy." Those conversations drove us nuts. Nobody questioned us for 50 years when we ate the typical fast-food diet that is completely absent of nutrition, and is a sure prescription for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, and cancer. Now all of a sudden they are worried we're going to have protein deficiency and land in the hospital. 

I am happy that I don't have to have all the answers. My love is simply resourcing people. I'd rather point them in the direction of the top plant-based doctors in the country. They are the experts. I'm not. But I do have a passion for healing our planet, our bodies, being kinder to animals, and eating high vibrational foods that give you energy. And, after two years, I genuinely love eating this way and feel good. That should count for something. 

I've been blessed to be friends with the creator of Brand New Vegan, Chuck Underwood the last few years too. Rich and I would not be where we are in our ability to change our health or sustain our whole food plant-based eating with out BNV. Chuck and I are teaming up to create a remote coaching course for those that are brand new vegans in the BNV Community. If someone is a brand new vegan, they can have some personal support and feedback. This is all in the works and on paper right now. But it gets me excited to get up out of bed to think about how we can help brand new vegans eat healthy, establish a whole plant-based lifestyle....and sustain it. And in my own personal practice, I'm thrilled that a coaching program can support my new clients who also want to eat wiser as well as move and breathe with more ease.

I took my blood sugar this morning. It was mid-70s. This is incredible because I was one point away from being a diabetic two years ago. Getting off meat and dairy and saturated fat is healing my blood glucose receptors to metabolize blood sugar levels. My liver is still healing (probably my pancreas too)...but slowly. But my kidneys are doing great.

Also this January I did something that scared me shitless. I went to a program on snakes. My fear of snakes is legendary.

A friend told me about this snake program in town. At first, I was like, "OH hell no!" It was funny as many of my new friends and I processed our primal fear of snakes on a Facebook post. But for days, I had this little voice inside of me that said, "You should really go to that snake program." That little voice has guided me for years. It also pisses me off because it asks me to do scary things like reach out to people that I've hurt, or give someone another chance because of grace, take a risk and move across the country, and go to a snake program to BEGIN to face my fear.

At first, I thought it would be a Power Point program by the park rangers from the local community. I learned a few days later they would have lives snakes. REAL snakes in the room--like snakes on a plane. I shivered just thinking about it. Okay, they wouldn't be loose, but my irrational fears had already visualized that program going south quickly. I wanted to bail out of going but knew for some reason I needed to be there. The inner Kim that's brave was like, "Suck it up, you're going!" I brought Rich with me to hold my hand, or pick me up if I fainted.

About eight of my new friends also showed up. We didn't all sit together but knew we were there. We smiled at each other. Gave nervous looks before the program started. They all knew I was scared to be there.

The ranger picked the first tied up cotton bag up out of the bin. He pulled out the thick black snake out of the bag It was about 5 feet long. The snake began to slither and curl around the ranger’s arm and hands, and just at that very moment, without me knowing it, my friend, Nancy, came up behind me to be supportive and put both of her hands on my shoulders. I screamed like a teenage girl in a slasher movie and flew out of my chair. I'm not sure, but I think I may have knocked some people out of the way? It happened so fast. Everyone in the room turned around. I was crying and had to be coaxed back to my seat. My friends cried out, "Kim, touch the snake. You gotta touch the snake." I felt like I was 5 years old. But I touched the snake. It was really soft. And dare I say, it was pretty. I was able to regain my composure. More snakes came out of their cotton bags. The rangers walked around the crowded room to let everyone who wanted to, touch the non-venomous snakes. I'd recoil as soon as they got close to me. But miraculously, I found the courage to touch each one. That 'inner intuitive voice' had a plan all along.

I touched 3 snakes. ME! I touched 3 snakes. It was the first time, in my three years living in Florida, that I didn't go to sleep worried about seeing a snake show up in my dreams. Yeah, the phobia was that bad. Baby steps! 

I've since researched online the six venomous snakes in Florida (before this snake talk, I couldn't even watch the Harry Potter snake scene let alone go online to look at venomous snake pictures.) We only have to memorize those six venomous snakes. The others are not too much to worry about--thank God.

When things are not working, it's easy to be negative and feel hopeless. When nothing is going right we wanna reach for the chocolate chip vegan ice cream at 11:45pm. (Not that I have any experience with eating freezer-burn ice cream out of desperation just for that dopamine hit that lasts until 11:46pm with the self-loathing kicking in about 11:47pm).   

Our Government is also not working. The 35-day shutdown is over (for now) but it made a helluva mess. Once again, the political stances put people on polarizing opposite ends of defending a position. It hit me relationally again too. It's hard to listen and understand via social media. It's even harder when you lump people in groups and suspect them of disrespect and wrong thinking just for disagreeing or having an opinion. We have to press-on and seek to heal and learn from one another via dialogue versus one-sided debate. I don't know how much more our country can take? I don't know how much more I can take having relationships that have been so altered because of politics. It crushes me. I may have to just ride out the next two years as if we are in a permanent polar vortex. Maybe in a few years, people will remember that they love each other more then they love being right? Maybe in a few years, people will see where they misspoke and own it? Maybe they will see how they pushed people away? Maybe we will all have learned a thing or two about ourselves? Maybe we'll evolve because we're so sick of the state of our Union and the state of many relationships?

Vertigo it's a real thing. It's random though. It feels like I've been drinking too much wine. Kinda have to ride that out too when it happens. 

Insomnia it's a real thing too. My new record is only 3 hours of sleep a night for no damn good reason  other than it's Thursday.  

My back went out on an off for most of this month. It was so frustrating. I could walk one day, then I'd be horizontal for 3 days. If I rode my bike, I always paid the price. I ignored those signals because I told myself it was worth a little pain in the moment if I could still go for a bike ride. How dumb is that? I had flashbacks to 2005 when I was down for three months and couldn't work. I got to know my chiropractor so well, he asked me to come work for him when I got better. 

I'd try everything at my disposal: ice, yoga therapy, heat, hot baths infused with CBD, slow walks, massage, fascia blaster treatments. I don't know if it was physiological or truly a food miracle, but turmeric capsules a few times a day does wonders for inflammation. Maybe it was just the healing factor of time? I'm hoping it lasts. 

For the first time in 40 years, I hit someone's parked car (pretty good dent, too).  I looked to the right but not to the left. I should have known better. I've never had an accident where I was driving before. I was on the phone. Distracted. It's a cardinal rule of mine not to use the phone while driving---I try hard not to break it. I’m grateful nobody was in the other car. The only thing that really got hurt was my pride. Thankfully, our car insurance covered liability; costs of repair for the other person will be taken care of. We will have to pay $500 out of pocked for our deductible and get our own rental car. 

Also, my 55-year old teeth have a shelf-life.  I have a mouthful of teeth that are cracked; teeth that won't last until I'm 60yrs old. They have finally come to their end. Sensodyne Rapid Relief doesn't work anymore. (BTW-did you know there are over 21 different types of Sensodyne Toothpaste?) I had my first root-canal and crown last year. That cost was $3000. However, it didn't work. So the tooth had to be extracted with a bone graph. That surgery cost $2000. I still have to have the implant put in when the bone heals in five months. The implant will cost $3000. Then, I have to have another new crown with an abutment. That should cost about $1000. So this one damn tooth, is about $8000-9000 dollars. My dentist was kind enough to give me a break on the crown and said he'd whiten my teeth for free because he felt so bad about it. We don't have traditional dental insurance. What we have to pay for dental work keeps me from seeing other doctors to figure out why I have vertigo or Insomnia, or going back to the Chiropractor again. The cost of dental work in America is NOT working. My friend went to Mexico and got a bunch of teeth done for $1500. I could have done the same thing and had a vacation. This is just ONE tooth out of many in my head that has to be replaced. I can't even wrap my brain around the cost of all my future dental work or being toothless at my age.  

The only upside of dental surgery is that I spent a few days on the couch, in my jammies, watching Netflix, and being waited on like the Queen of Sheba by my wonderful husband. Buddha would not leave my side either. I'm blessed. 

January has been noted. Lots of special moments were experienced. The less desirable things that happened are relatively minor in the grand-scheme of life. We are one month into the New Year 2019. I hope better days are ahead for all of us (especially people going through severe hardships). But we don't know what the future holds; it will probably be a mixed bag of both good and difficult. Right now, I'm sitting on the couch. I'm still in my PJ’s. In this moment, my jaw hurts like hell. But my back feels great. Go figure? 

Return to Love

Nowadays, I have to work a little harder to live in the moment. It's been a long year; I'm tired. Between all the school shootings; Trump; protests and marches to bring awareness to important causes that effect human and civil rights; Trump; the Ford & Kavanaugh hearings; Trump; the FL Governor and Senate race; Trump; severe hurricanes and CA fires killing people and decimating towns; Trump; the separating of immigrant children from their parents and putting them in cages at the boarder; Trump; and losing a sweet friend to brain cancer; raging insomnia; and Trump, it was too much to take in emotionally at times. I didn't feel like myself this year. Outwardly and inwardly I felt like I was doggy paddling; just keeping my head above the water. My depression returned after 10 years too. It was unexpected and invasive (and kinda terrifying). Thank goodness I found a neurologist who was able to organically reset a few things in my brain. 

But it's also been a really good year too, in many ways (especially our move to the Gulf Coast). The last year has been a year of exploring our new environment. We still can't get over that we live in Florida after 3 years. No matter how insane things may be, there is the ocean. 

I'm making new like-mined connections and budding friendships (in my new town and online through wonderful FB groups). I always love when dear old friends come to visit: Soul Sister time with Tamara and Jolanda; Romon was here for 2 weeks; the Jones, our awesome IL neighbors for 10 years; and my brother-in-law, Ralph. Kevin was here for a visit too, after a year--and that did my momma-heart good. I've been volunteering at the Fine Arts center in town and taking art classes; as well as volunteering at our local food pantry. Rich and I got to go to NYC for our 30th Wedding Anniversary; it was a wonderful trip. Buddha has made a 180-degree turn in his behavior. He's less reactive and more at ease with him self. This makes our life easier. I got to meet and train with one of my yoga heroes, Leslie Kaminoff. And I'm feeling more and more prepared and ready to open a yoga therapy and meditation office in 2019. 

However, I'm still grateful the year is coming to an end(hurry up, be over). I suppose there are dark, shadow parts of us all that we don't want others to see: our fears, our circular resentments, our anger that life seems out of control, and those damn extra pounds that take so much effort to get off, insecurities that never seem to go away, the judgment that comes when you're just being YOU, conversations that went south that you never want to visit again. Yet, I have just enough optimism. My soul wants to be hopeful. But I'm mentally racing towards the end this year to exchange it for new life surprises. And if Robert Mueller could hurry up too, that would be great. 

When it's been a tough season, there is always a residue of things that happened that need to be spiritually and mentally scrubbed off with a kind of intellectual Brillo pad. This will require some painstaking honesty. Byron Katie calls it The Work. Questioning my thoughts is a discipline:  Is it true? Can I absolutely know it's true? How do I react, what happens, when I believe that thought? Who would I be without the thought? It's mental jujitsu. It's meditation. And it's exhausting to question your thoughts when you're already feeling exhausted living on 4 hours of sleep per night. But it's a necessary practice for me if I don't want to jump off a bridge. 

Maybe you feel this way too occasionally. When I think negative thoughts like I don't feel loved or accepted by others; it will take the wind out of my sails.....for days. When I feel left out or disregarded, judged for being me, I don't know where I fit in? I'm often questioning why I feel more alone then ever before? And these are pretty manageable benign thoughts when my depression is back. However, truth be told, there are darker thoughts.  I get mad that these thoughts even come into my mind. I judge them as an endless pit of pity. They are there to teach me something and wake me up, not bring me down. Yet, if I'm not careful, I can feel strangled by them. "They are just thoughts. They are just thoughts. They are just thoughts. They are just thoughts" I tell myself. 

The other thing I must commit to is a return to Love. Love of myself. You'd think that was easy. I mean, we're all self-centered in one way or another; I have sole possession of the remote control in our house. I know what I like and what I don't like. I know how to go get a much needed massage, or go float in a salt tank for an hour when my mind is fraying. Self care and love of self is a good thing. Self-centeredness is fear-based. 

Part of ending the year well is taking an unfiltered examination of what holds me back without any judgment or expectations attached to it. Returning to LOVE is questioning those misguided thoughts and noticing. Just be still and know. God is love. God is within me. God is in everyone I meet (I'm so glad I haven't met Donald Trump because I have a hard time believing God is in him). Be kind to myself and welcome those thoughts without resistance and question them with curiosity. I may have to do this for another 365 days. It doesn't matter. I'm retraining and resetting my brain. 

On the Gulf Coast, people are vibrant and outside all the time. They're also IN the water or ON the water all the time. I live in a fantastic place. I've been wanting to learn how to paddle board here on the St. Joseph's Sound. It's scary to face my fears of being on the ocean and not just admiring the ocean from the shoreline. What if I fall in the dark water? What's under there? If I quiet my mind, check my irrational thoughts, I recognize the only thing that is under the water is just a lot of wetness.

I honestly can't wait for January 2nd. January 1st nothing is open; it's just a pajama day. January 2nd, I'm like, “game on”, “lets get ready to rumble and DO THIS YEAR!!!!” I don't know if I'll lose weight this year? I don't know if my mind will be less melancholy? I don't know who will walk into my life and inspire me to grow or level up. I don't know if I'll be less of a procrastinator? I'm not making any resolutions. I'm only intuitively acknowledging that LOVE and discipline (in all it's forms) heals. If I can commit to more LOVE in whatever form that takes, everything else will fall into place as it's supposed to. Bring IT. 

And then there are things that are going to happen in 2019 that I can't wait to experience: weddings, another baby girl grandchild we're all waiting to meet, concerts like Andrea Bocelli, visitors to show around town, awesome vegan meals to make, deeper sleep, conversations that will make me laugh until I cry, create more sustainable living, change that is reasonable and interesting enough so life isn't boring, more sunsets, and of course, the Robert Mueller report. 

Why Vote Midterm Elections

Since President Donald Trump says at all his rallies, “pretend I’m on the ballot; these midterm elections are a vote for me”—let’s do that together. Let’s take to heart all that Trump and the GOP have done since taking office and walk down Memory Lane. Below are some things that come to mind; it’s not exhaustive or chronological, and my sources are mentioned at the end. Hold on—it is a crazy and dizzy ride. If this seems long and exhausting it is, this is just the half of it (seriously, only a portion of the crazy). And that’s why we all need to vote.

By not putting Trump in his place: “Now we shall see how many Republicans retain a capacity for embarrassment.” ~George Will  

Donald J. Trump is sworn in as the 45^th POTUS

Sean Spicer publically lies about the size of the inauguration crowd size

Trump fires acting attorney general, Sally Yates

His first year he is at war with members of his own Republican Party

He withdraws from negotiations and pulls out of the US TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) Agreement 

He moves ahead with construction of the Keystone XL & Dakota Access pipeline
General Flynn steps down because he failed to explain his dealings with Russia to VP, Mike Pence

Trump claims millions of illegal immigrants casted fraudulent votes in 2016 elections

Mike Pence starts a commission on ‘massive voter fraud

Government Staff are banned from talking to the press 

Jeff Sessions recuses himself from the investigation into Russian collusion with the Trump campaign

Trump publically claims Former President Barack Obama wire-tapped his phones in Trump Tower before the elections and calls for an investigation into those claims

Senate Intelligence Committee confirms ‘NO indication of surveillance of any kind at Trump Tower”

A new executive order issues a 90-day ban on visas for six, mostly Muslim nations

Republican House releases bill to dismantle Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Trump permits to build TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline

Ivanka Trump becomes an assistant to President Trump in White House

Jared Kushner becomes head of White House Office of American Innovation

Jared Kushner questioned over Trump administration ties with Russia 

Trump walks out of Oval Office without signing executive orders on trade after being questioned by reporters on Michael Flynn

The Muslim Ban

Trump fires James Comey 

James Comey is publicly ridiculed in Tweets by the President 

He constantly calls the Mueller Investigation a Witch Hunt and any reports critical of him is labeled “fake news” and the press is the “enemy of the people”

Steve Bannon is removed from the National Security Council

Trump publicly mocks and vilifies several women in U.S. Leadership roles by saying sexist and mean spirited things (such as):

“I said it the other day, yes, she IS a low-IQ individual, Maxine Waters. I said it the other day. I mean honestly, she’s somewhere in the mid-60’s, I believe that.” 

He said of Stacey Abrams (who holds a law degree from Yale Law School, and was the Democratic leader of the George House of Representatives), “Stacey Abrams is not qualified to be governor of Georgia by any stretch of the imagination. She is not qualified to be governor of Georgia.” 

He calls Elizabeth Warren, “Pocahontas”
and Stormy Daniels, “Horseface”

The lies keep on coming and the GOP do not correct or refute them:
Trump said, “Nancy Pelosi came out in favor of MS-13”

Trump said, "The Democrats want to invite caravan after caravan of illegal aliens into our country. And they want to sign them up for free health care, free welfare, free education, and the right to vote."  

"The Democrat's plan would be just obliterate Medicare and terminate Medicare advantage....seniors who have been paying for this for years (and) will not be taken care of anymore." 

"Every single Democrat in the U.S. Senate has signed up for the open boarders, and it's a bill, it's called 'open boarders bill." 

Trump has engaged in authoritarian behavior that the GOP allows and refuses to challenge:
On Fox & Friends, “You look at the corruption at the top of the FBI, it’s a disgrace,” he said. “And our Justice Department—which I try and stay away from, but at some point I WON’T—our Justice Department should be looking at that kind of stuff, not the nonsense of collusion with Russia.”

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired
Security Clearances were revoked for: CIA Director Michael Haden, Former FBI Director James Come, Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Former FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok, Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, Former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul just to name a few

Former CIA Director John Brennan tore into President Trump for celebrating the firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, saying Trump will be remembered as “a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history”

Hurricane Maria: Trump said after an official report by Harvard Study: 

Says, "3,000 people did not die" in two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. The death toll estimate was done by Democrats." 

Trump ousted National Security Adviser HR McMaster advisor and replaces him with hard liner John Bolton

Trump scraps the Obama-era Iran Nuclear Agreement and re-imposes sanctions on Iran
Revokes guidelines to let Transgender Americans use their bathroom of choice

Ultraconservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh get sworn in as judges of SCOTUS--the latter while under highly credible allegations of sexual assault

Trump consents to missile strikes on Syrian regime

Trump withdraws the Untied States from the Paris Agreement ending a willingness to prevent climate change with the rest of the world 
Trump said, "It used to not be climate change. It used to be global warming. That wasn't working too well, "cause it was getting too cold all over the place." The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive."  

Trump authorizes the ‘mother of all bombs’ (MOAB) targeting IS militants in Afghanistan

Signs legislation allowing states to withhold federal funds to Planned Parenthood

Trump’s Orwellian quote, “Any negative polls are fake news, just like CNN, ABC, NBC, polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting.”

Trump intentionally or naively welcomes Russian relationships without accountability and in spite of the US intelligence community unanimously saying that Russia actively meddled in the 2016 election: Ignoring Putin’s murdering of journalists critical to his regime; lifting sanctions placed on Russia for invading the Ukraine and annexing the Crimean Peninsula; letting Russian diplomats into the Oval Office without any other Americans or White House Officials; having private conversations with Putin at world conferences or Helsinki and then minimizing the context of the conversations and saying, “You know what? Putin’s Fine. He’s Fine. We’re all fine. We’re people.”

Trump continues to cast aspersions and resentments by publicly tearing down the whole system of government by saying, "It's a rigged deal, folks. It's a rigged deal. I used to say it. It's a rigged deal. It's a disgrace. And they are enjoying doing it.”
  
Trump uses ambiguous words and statements:
“They”
“Those People”
 “Many People Say”

Trump stokes lies, division, and threats at rallies:
Trump allows his crowds to be whipped up into a hateful frenzy of chanting, “Lock her up” and “CNN Sucks” without correcting bad behavior. 

Tells the crowd, "Wow, highest Poll Numbers in the history of the Republican Party. That includes Honest Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reagan" ,

At Midterm rallies, Trump often uses his words to politically ‘weaponize’ fear and put terrible images in people’s minds saying, “A vote for Democrats in November is a vote to let MS-14 run wild in our communities. Democrats want anarchy, they really do, and they don’t know who they’re playing with, Folks.” 

The Tiki Torches in Charlottesville came out and he didn’t condemn the Alt-Right responding initially ‘many sides’were responsible to Charlottesville

He’s empowered al-Qaeda in Syria by forging a de facto alliance with Russian and Iran. Making the Islamic Stage much more dangerous.

Trump has continuously undermined the Intelligence Community

He has a binge Tweeting habit and has threatened world leaders putting us in danger. Trump has Tweeted more than 2600 times since Jan 2018

He stood by Roy Moore--an alleged sexual predator for an election in Alabama

For every new regulatory action, Trump has issued 22 deregulatory actions such as Waters of the United States and Clean Power Plan

He has monetized the land and sea, and what lies beneath it (e.g., Keystone pipeline, gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge)

Several of his highest appointees have been charged in related Russian interference with the 2016 US Election and or attempts to coordinate with the Trump campaign: Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, etc.

Trump was intentionally NOT invited to Senator John McCain’s funeral 
He has given tax breaks to help the wealthy: Corporate Taxes lowered from 35% to 21%

Trump doubled-down on his nuclear fixation asserting a tenfold increase in U.S. nuclear arsenal

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ‘reportedly’ called the president a “fucking moron”

Trump name called world leader…….. Kim Jung Un “Little Rocket Man”
Trump often Tweeted and boasted to reporters nuclear escalations such as he’d “rain down Fire & Fury” upon North Korea
There was public talk (or game of chicken with NK) of the so-called “Bloody Nose” attack that would risk the lives of millions of people in the great Seoul Metropolitan Area and cause WWIII

The Doomsday Clock was moved 2 minutes to Midnight in 2017 because of “risks and reckless language in the nuclear realm heat up dangerous situations—especially with North Korea’s nuclear weapon’s program and the United States hyperbolic rhetoric and provocative actions by body sides have increased the possibility of nuclear war by accident or miscalculation.” 

Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

Signed legislation to provide $700 billion in defense spending for 2018 to $716 billion for 2019

Ensured that religious liberties and conscience of Americans are protected and respected by the Federal Government (basically to allow conservative Christians to discriminate against the LGBT Community and those that do not share your religious beliefs)
“The president has made 432 false or misleading claims as of Aug 1^st, 2018. He frequently gets the size of trade deficits wrong or presents the numbers in a misleading fashion.” And the present GOP just allows it to happen. 

Attempted to end birthright citizenship 

States before Midterm elections that he's going to do tax cuts to the Middle Class (when the House & Senate) are not in session. The tax cuts to the Rich didn't help the Middle-Class or Poor. 

Has attempted the construction a Border Wall

Authorizes the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the borders

Authorizes 5000+ U.S. Troops to be a ‘wall’ of soldiers at Southern border 

MAGA Bomber (who is a Trump supporter and attended Trump Rallies) mails or drops off 14 separate bombs to elected US Officials and American citizens who disagree openly with Trump’s actions and behavior--and Trump still refuses to tone down his violent rhetoric

Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh killings: 11 killed, 7 injured by a racist anti-Semite and anti-immigration white male-- and Trump still refuses to tone down his violent rhetoric

The only thing we as Americans can do to stop this insanity is to vote for Democrats who will hold Trump in check, impeach him, and (if we are lucky enough to defy the odds and win the Senate) remove him from office.

The GOP: 

“Every one of them swore an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution, not simply their own careerist comfort. And not a one of them, yet, has been willing to risk comfort, career, or fund-raising to defend the constitutional check-and-balance prerogatives of their legislative branch.” ~James Fallows

The actual destruction of the human race is an enormous evil, but it is still, in itself, only a physical evil. Yet, the free choice of global suicide, made in desperation by the world's leader and ratified by the consent and cooperation of all their citizens, would be a moral evil second only to the crucifixion." ~Thomas Merton

Source:  

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/08/looking-backward/568546/

https://news.sky.com/story/a-list-of-everything-donald-trump-has-done-so-far-as-president-10750006

https://newrepublic.com/article/148142/republican-party-not-trump-real-threat-american-democracy

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38663043

https://thebulletin.org/sites/default/files/2018%20Doomsday%20Clock%20Statement.pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-sad-embarrassing-wreck-of-a-man/2018/07/17/d06de8ea-89e8-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html?utm_term=.612a21147804

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/sep/18/donald-trump/trump-lacks-proof-puerto-rico-hurricane-death-toll/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/06/politics/donald-trump-montana-speech/index.html

https://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/statements/byruling/false/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/08/01/president-trump-has-made-4229-false-or-misleading-claims-in-558-days/?utm_term=.4e05595f182e

https://www.whitehouse.gov  

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fox-news-first-trump-could-revoke-clearances-of-other-ex-obama-officials-soon-hundreds-of-more-omarosa-tapes

https://ips-dc.org

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change/donald-trump-stupid-quotes