American nightmare: The aftermath of Election 2024

Did I wake up from a nightmare, or is it really true?  Sadly, it wasn't a bad dream.  It really did happen, and I am truly devastated.  I am still in shock.  The United States of America has elected a vulgar, racist criminal as its president.  America has chosen a misogynist who thinks of women as playthings, a man who has been found liable to sexual abuse, a man who has told women that he will protect them, whether they like it or not.  Yep, you've come a long way, baby!

To be honest, I am heartbroken.  Donald Trump and his MAGA movement are the embodiment of everything I oppose, everything I find repugnant.  Trump supporters say that they vote for him because he's similar to them.  They claim that he speaks to them in the same way they speak to their friends.  Is this true?  Are Americans really so crude and hateful?  Do they lack empathy?  Some do.  However, a great many have been deceived and misinformed.  The American economy is strong.  It is humming along right, thanks to President Joe Biden.  Biden has never received the credit he deserves for that.  He took the mess Trump left him and turned it around.  Yet, many Americans falsely believe that Trump was good for the economy.  They falsely blame Biden for high inflation, which he did not cause, and for which he did everything possible to bring down.  

Thanks to Fox News and right-wing extremists s such as Tucker Carlson, many Americans are convinced that January 6th was just a walk in the park in which no lives were threatened or lost.  They don't see it as a violent attempt to overthrow the 2020 election.  They do not believe that Trump and his followers threatened to hang Vice President Mike Pence.  When asked about Pence, Trump replied, "So what!."  The life of his vice-president, a fellow human being, meant nothing to him.

Donald Trump inherited a good economy from Barack Obama and took credit for it.  Now he will inherit a good economy from Biden and will happily accept responsibility for that, too.  Trump will then impose his ill-advised tariffs, and tax breaks for billionaires such as Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch and Jeff Bezos.  He will eventually ruin the economy.  Sadly, corporate media are controlled by a cabal of billionaires.  They held Kamala Harris to a much higher standard than Donald Trump.  Trump's bizarre behaviour was dismissed as just Trump being Trump, but Americans were told that they didn't know enough about Kamala Harris.  This, despite her many speeches about her family background and her qualifications for the job of president.  She has been a prosecutor, a district attorney for San Francisco, Attorney General of California, a United States senator and vice president of the United States.  

When Donald Trump became president in 2017, he had held no political office.  He was a shady businessman with six bankruptcies under his belt, and a realty show host on NBC.  Trump has always presented himself as a tough guy and he is a quintessential bully.  Underneath his tough guy veneer, he is full of jelly and as soft as a pillow.  Many males support him because they like his macho attitude and his Alpha Male personality.  They are unaware of his insecurity and his incessant need for his ego to be stroked.  Real men are courageous and empathetic.  They are confident and self-assured.  They don't need to put others down in order to raise themselves up.  They are comfortable in their own skin.

Lower income Americans do not realize that in voting for Trump, they have voted against their own interests.  Big Oil, Big Pharma and Big Insurance are thrilled with the return of Trump.  They will make billions of dollars by spewing greenhouse gases, keeping the price of prescription drugs high, and destroying Obamacare.  Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose their health care coverage.  Trump intends to replace Obamacare with a "concept of a plan."

Non-white immigrants and migrants have no place in Trump's America. even if they are legakl citizens  Undocumented immigrants are less than human in Trump's America.  All that ails America is caused by immigrants.  They are "illegal aliens," no better than vermin.  He and JD Vance promise mass deportations.  Doesn't that sound horrifying?  In Trump's America, non-white immigrants are the great scapegoats.  If they work hard, they are taking jobs from "real Americans" (i.e. white), even if they are citizens of the United States.  If they are unemployed, they are lazy.  They are living off welfare.

Make no mistake, the United States will never be the same again.  With Trump at the helm, it will sink into authoritarianism.  He has no guardrails now.  He will only listen to those who tell him what he wants to hear.  This is a profoundly sad day.  I am Canadian, but the effects of this elections will reverberate in my country and throughout the world.  I can't sugarcoat what has happened.  Donald Trump is unstable and he has fascist tendencies.  He is obviously in cognitive decline. 

Until now, I believed that the American electorate would always chose hope and optimism. Americans voted for Franklin Roosevelt over Herbert Hoover in the depths of the Great Depression.  FDR's message was that "Happy Days Are Here Again."  In 2024, the stage seemed set for the election of the first female president of the United States.  Kamala Harris ran a great campaign.  She exuded energy.  She had momentum.  She had  a message of hope for the future.  Yet, her vision was rejected for some 1950s vision of the past, when women never worked, white men were in control, and Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Muslims were marginalized.

Now, Americans and people around the world must face the dire consequences of Trump's return to the White House.  He will help his buddy Vladimir Putin take over Ukraine.  Somewhere in the Kremlin, Putin is sipping vodka in celebration, setting the groundwork for invading another country.  As for climate change, which is arguably the most important issue facing humanity, it was hardly mentioned during the 2024 U.S. election campaign.  Trump thinks it's a hoax.  He thinks wind turbines cause cancer.  Meanwhile, Florida has just been ravaged by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene has caused widespread destruction and many fatalities across the Southeastern United States.  Spain has just been hit by devastating floods.  This past summer, beautiful Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada was severely damaged by wildfire.

Kamala Harris will graciously accept the results of this election. On January 20th, there will be a peaceful transfer of power.  Biden and Harris will not claim that this election was rigged.  Today is a dark day, but I will continue to search for reasons to hope.  I still believe that the world can never give up on democracy and freedom.  We can never give up on humanity.  America, it's time for some soul searching and deep reflection.  What kind of a society have you become?

- Joanne

it's Decision Day in the USA

November 5th has finally here.  Election day has finally arrived in America.  It seems as if this campaign has lasted for an eternity.  For me, this day is bittersweet.  As I write this, I truly believe that Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States.  Her campaign has been full of hope and optimism, as compared to the dark, dystopian vision of Donald Trump.  After suffering through a terrible pandemic, Americans are in search of a brighter tomorrow.  They do not need to hear a prospective president insulting women and Puerto Ricans.

What saddens me is that so many Americans, especially men, will cast their vote for a racist, misogynistic wanna be dictator.  The United States would never be the same if  Donald were to end up in the Oval Office.  Trump is a very sick man, physically and mentally.  He should not be running in this election in the first place.  It has become more and more apparent that he has some form of dementia or cognitive decline.  It has already been documented that he slurs his words and can't speak coherently.  

Most Americans are sick and tired of all the chaos, hate, division and rancour surrounding Trump and his supporters.  It's time to move on.  Kamala represents the future.  Donald Trump represents an oppressive past dominated by white males.  As Kamala says, it's time to turn the page.

By the way. I am certain that Kamala will win the popular boat.  The only chance for Trump is the unfair, out-of-date Electoral College system.  The majority of Americans prefer Kamala.  They would like to move forward, not backward to the 1950s.

I  live in Canada.  As a Canadian citizen, I am unable to vote in this election.  However, the whole world has a stake in this election.  If democracy is lost in America, it will be a tragedy.

-- Joanne

The Washington Post and Jeff Bezos should be ashamed

Jeff Bezos

 
"I really disagree. The Post thought, it has a news side and an editorial side. It's one institution. During Watergate — can I go back 50-plus years to talk about? When Carl Bernstein and I wrote stories that were denied, the Washington Post editorial department stood squarely behind us all of the way."

- Bob Woodward on ABC's The View

The Washington Post, the newspaper that uncovered the Watergate scandal, should be ashamed of itself.  It has refused to stand up for democracy.  It has refused to endorse a candidate in the 2024 election.  How disgraceful!  There is a clear choice in this election between a man who will not recognize the peaceful transfer of power, who is a misogynist and racist, and a woman who want to lift everyone up.  Kamala Harris does not consider her political opponents to be enemies.  

The Washington Post has traditionally backed candidates since the 1980s.  However, owner Jeff Bezos declared that the tradition had ended, despite the fact that a written endorsement for Harris had been in the works.  It is estimated that about 200,000 subscribers cancelled their subscription to The Post after Bezos announcement.  Furthermore, three members of the editorial board resigned from their posts in protest.

Frankly, I'm not surprised at Bezos' decision.  He's a billionaire, the founder of Amazon.  Trump is known to be favoured by billionaires.  When he was president, he gifted them with tax breaks.  He will do it again if he should return to the White House.  Let me be clear.  I don't believe that billionaires should be soaked.  I strongly believe, however, that they should pay their fair share.  They control too much of the wealth of America.  Some, like Elon Musk, are greedy Trump supporters.  They want to Medicare and repeal the Affordable Care Act.  They know that Trump will do their bidding.  Trump and his friends do not care about ordinary people who have suffered through a pandemic and are trying to support their families  

The Los Angeles Times and USA Today have also opted not to support Vice President Harris or former President Donald Trump.  Are these publications too cowardly to take a stand?  Are they afraid that if they do not support Trump, he will regard them as "enemies of the people" should he win the election?

- Joanne

Save Etobicoke's Queensway Cineplex Cinemas

As a film fan, I am very distuurbed about the potential closing of the Queensway Cinemas.in south Etobicoke area in the west end of Toronto.  There is a proposal to demolish the Queensway for yet another multi-tower condo complex.  There is no indication that it will be replaced by another movie theatre or entertainment option.  If the Queensway is destroyed by a wrecking ball, Etobicoke will lose another community hangout, a sense of neighbourhood.  If we lose the Queensway, all that will be left is the Kingsway Theatre - one movie theatre to serve all of Etobicoke.  The Kingsway is not large enough to serve this area.  It only has only one theatre and a screening room.  

Without the Queensway, many residents of Etobicoke will stay home and watch films on Netflix, abandoning  a source of contact with others.  Enough is enough!  It's about time that people won a victory over unbridled development.  It's time that a more value was placed on sense of community, rather than profit and greed.  I am sick and tired of the rubber stamping of development over the needs of the community.  People should come first.  We should have some say in what happens to our neighbourhood.

Please sign a petition to save the Queensway Cinemas.  Even if you do not attend films at the Queensway Cinemas,, your name on the petition will help those who do.  You will be making a statement on behalf of those who oppose uncontrolled development.  Click on the link below.  We must stop this before it's too late.

SIGN THE PETITION BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.

Petition · Save Cineplex Cinemas Queensway ( Etobicoke ) from being demolished! - Toronto, Canada · Change.org

- Joanne

What happened to Harold Holt? The Disappearance of an Australian Prime Minister

Let's go Down Under, shall we?  The year is 1967 and Harold Holt is prime minister of Australia.  Let's take a look at his mysterious disappearance.  First, some background.  Holt was a lawyer and politician who served as Australia's 17th PM, and the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.  He became the third Australian prime minister to die in office, following Joseph Lyons in 1939 and John Curtin in 1945.

Harold Edward Holt was born in Stanmore, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, on August 5, 1908.  He was the eldest of the two sons born to Thomas James Holt, a schoolteacher, and his wife, Olive May, née Williams.  Harold's  younger brother, Clifford was born in 1910.  His parents eventually separated, and his mother died in 1925 when Harold was 16.

In 1920, Holt began boarding at Wesley College in Melbourne.  In 1927, he started studying law at the  University of Melbourne, where he lived at Queen's College.  He excelled in sports, especially cricket, and football (soccer)/and he was also active in student activities and debating.  His fine oratory skills and essay writing won him prizes.

In 1930, Holt graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree.  As a young lawyer in Melbourne during the early 1930s, he developed an interest in politics.  He joined the United Australia Party (UAP), the forerunner of the Liberal Party, and was elected to the federal Parliament in 1935 in the secure UAP seat of Fawkner.  Holt was 27 years old when he entered Parliament as its youngest member.  According to the Australian Dictionary of  Biography, the new member for Fawkner "was a dashing figure: of middle height, fit and handsome, with thick black hair swept back, well-tailored clothes, ready smile and a natural charm."

Holt as a young man in the 1930s

In 1939, Holt's mentor, Sir Robert Menzies, became prime minister and Holt was appointed a minister without portfolio.  In 1941, under Prime Minister Menzies, Holt organized the Department of Labour and National Service for wartime mobilization.  However, Menzies' government was defeated that year and the UAP was sent into opposition.  

Holt joined the new Liberal Party upon its creation in 1945.  When the Liberals came into office in 1949, Holt became a senior cabinet minister for the new government.  From 1949 to 1956, he held the important position of Minister for Immigration.  During his tenure as Minister for Immigration, Holt dealt with post-war immigration to Australia.  He relaxed the White Australia policy (based on the  Immigration Restriction Act of 1901) for the first time.

Holt's reforms evened the playing field between Europeans and non-Europeans seeking citizenship, setting a 5-year wait time for both groups.  The criteria for non-European migrants applying for permanent residence.  

From 1949 to 1958, Holt served as Minister of Labour and National Service, where he took care of labour disputes.  In 1956, he was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party.  After the 1956 election, he also became Treasurer.  

Harold Holt was the most experienced cabinet minister in the Australian government, and the heir apparent to Robert Menzies.  Upon Menzies' retirement, Holt was elected unanimously as Liberal Party leader.  On January 26, 1966, Holt succeeded Menzies as prime minister.

Holt's new government continued to tear down the White Australia policy, which restricted immigration based on race, and his government also assumed responsibility for indigenous affairs.  Sadly, Holt never completely dismantled the racist White Australia policy, but his initiatives were absolutely instrumental in bringing about its end, since it was formerly abolished in stages.  Prime Minister Gough Whitlam definitively renounced the policy in 1973, and its last vestiges were finally removed in 1975 when the Racial Discrimination Act was passed.

Harold Holt promoted a stronger relationship with Asia and the Pacific and made several visits to East Asian countries.  As prime minister, Holt developed a close relationship with the United States.  He created controversary by increasing Australian troops in aid of the South Vietnam.  Holt strongly supported American policies in Vietnam, stating that "without the American shield, most of us who live in Asia and the South Pacific would have a continuing sense of insecurity."

Under Holt's leadership, Australia's co-operation with the Americans went beyond support for the Vietnam War.  He approved the construction of several Earth stations to be used by NASA and U.S, intelligence agencies.  According to Tom Frame, Holt's biographer, Australia became "the most substantial centre for American missile and space operation outside the continental United States."

Harold Holt was a personal friend of U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson.  They were the same age (both men having been born in August of 1908.  The two first met in 1942 during World War II, when Johnson served as a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve in Australia and New Zealand.  During a July 1966 White House visit, Holt famously declared that he was "all the way with LBJ," a slogan Johnson used during the 1964 presidential election campaign.  

Holt also sponsored LBJ's October 1966 visit to Australia.  Johnson was the first American president to travel Down Under while in office, but his visit was fraught with tension over the Vietnam War.  Protests took place during several appearances by the U.S. president, including throwing paint at, and lying in front of Johnson's car.

Holt with LBJ in 1966

In the federal election of  November 26, 1966, Harold Holt's Liberal-Country coalition government won an increased majority in the House of Representatives in a landslide victory over the opposition Labor Party.  1966 was a good year for Holt, but things started to go wrong for him personally and politically in 1967, including the death of his brother Cliff and the emergence of Gough Whitlam, a tough challenger, as leader of the opposition.  Gough's Labor Party won by-election victories in July and September.

On Friday, December 15, Holt left the Australian capital of Canberra for a much-needed restful weekend at the holiday home he owned in Portsea, Victoria on Mornington Peninsula, on the outskirts of Melbourne.  His wife, Zara, did not accompany him.  She stayed behind in Canberra.  Holt intended to return on Monday for ministerial changes in the New Year.

On the fateful day of December 17, 1966, Harold Holt decided to go to the local beach.  The Prime Minister had just finalized his last cabinet meeting for the year, and he was was eager to relax and unwind.  So, he headed out to Cheviot Beach near seaside home he owned.

On the afternoon of December 17, Holt  and a group of four other adults arrived at Cheviot Beach.  It was a Sunday afternoon and Christmas celebrations were in full swing.  Holt  and his companions strolled along the Bass Strait, enjoying the sunshine. 

Harold Holt was an outdoorsman and and an enthusiast of water sports.  He enjoyed swimming, spearfishing and snorkeling.  However, the PM wasn't in perfect health as he had undergone shoulder surgery on Friday and had been advised by his doctor to take it easy after the operation.  Disregarding his his doctor's advice, he had played tennis with friends on Saturday.                

Despite the high tide, he was eager for a swim, so he changed into his swim suit, claiming that he knew the beach like the back of his hand.  He then walked into the surf and began swimming away from the beach.  It was a gusty afternoon and Holt disappeared from sight in the rough waters.  Holt's four companions climbed a rocky cliff and search for signs of him, but to no avail.  

When Harold Holt disappeared, Australia launched one of the largest search operations in its history, Two hours after he went missing, dozens of police, search and rescue squads had already converged on Cheviot Beach.  Despite their best efforts, no trace of  Holt's body was ever found, and he was presumed to have drowned.  On December 10, 1967, Governor General Lord Casey terminated Holt's commission as prime minister.  The search exhaustive search was finally called off on January 6th.  All that was left was a pile of Holt's clothes on the sand at Cheviot Beach.   

Search party combing Cheviot Beach

The news of Harold Holt's disappearance and presumed drowning sent shock waves throughout  the Australian nation.  Television and radio broadcasters across the country proclaimed, "It is feared the prime minister has drowned."  The question of security was raised, since Holt's death had occurred just four years after John F, Kennedy's assassination.  It was difficult to believe that the prime minister, who had a sore shoulder, could have acted so foolishly as to enter dangerous waters.

After Holt's death, a number conspiracy theories surfaced.  The lack of a formal inquiry added fuel to the notion that there had been a coverup.  Tom Frame, Holt's biographer,, told CNN that the conspiracy theories "have become so well-known and almost part of Australian folklore on there own."  According to John Warhurst, emeritus professor of politics at the Australian National University, there was wild speculation in the media that Holt had committed suicide.  Some theorized that he was upset over his allegedly rocky marriage or worn out by the rigours of his job.  

Since this was the Cold War era, there was speculation that a foreign power, probably Russia or China, was involved Holt's disappearance.  A book titled The Prime Minister Was A Spy, by British journalist Anthony Grey, was published.  Grey alleged that Holt had been a Chinese spy and that he had evacuated to a Chinese submarine at the completion of his mission.  The book was received with mockery and disdain.  Years later, Zara dismissed the theory saying, "Harry?  Chinese submarine?  He didn't even like Chinese cooking."

Harold Holt's funeral service was held at St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Melbourne.  The service was attended by President Lyndon Johnson, Prince Charles, and U.K. Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and senior representatives of 12 Asian nations.

It wasn't until 2005 that a Victorian coroner opened a formal inquiry into Harold Holt's disappearance.  State Coroner Graeme Johnstone concluded that Harold Holt had drowned at Cheviot Beach and that his remains had been either swept out to sea or taken by sharks.

END NOTES

* On October 8, 1946, Harold Holt married Zara Dickins Fell in her parents' home in Toorak, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.  Holt was first was introduced to Zara in 1926, through a university student she was dating at the time.  Zara and her friend Betty James opened a dress shop called Magg in Melbourne in 1929.  After about a year, Betty left the partnership to get married.  Zara continued alone for another year until, at her mother's insistence, the shop was closed.  

During World War II, Zara worked for her father's food manufacturing business.  In 1949, Zara and Betty resumed their partnership, opening a new shop in Toorak, a suburb.  Two more shops Magg shops were opened and the two women became successful fashion entrepreneurs.  Zara was the head designer, while Betty took care of business matters.

Zara's first husband was Colonel James Fell, with whom she had three children.  She and Fell wed in 1935 and Zara gave birth to three sons, Nicholas in 1937 and twins Sam and Andrew in 1939.  The couple divorced in 1946 and Zara married Harold Holt.  Holt legally adopted Zara's children and gave them his surname.  According to Tom Frame in his book The Life and Death of Harold Holt, Holt was the twins' biological father.

In June of 1968, Zara was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her "devotion to the public interest."  On February 19, 1969, about two years after Holt's drowning, she married Jeff Bate, a farmer and Liberal politician.  Thereafter, she became known as Dame Zara Bate.  After Bate's death, Zara retired to the Gold Coast of Queensland Australia, She died there on June 14, 1989, at the age of 80.

Zara in 1966

* Harold Holt's nickname was "Gunner."  In May of 1940, holt enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and trained as a gunner.

SOURCES: Enccylopaedia Britannica; CNN, "Hoe Australia's PM went swimming 50 years ago and vanished forever," by Ben Westcott, December 17, 2017; ABC News, "Inside the disappearance of Harold Holt- one of the largest search operations in Australian history," by Bridget Judge for RetroFocus, October 31, 2020; Wikipedia; Australian Dictionary of Biography; National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, "Holt Hosts Australia'a First Presidential Visit

- Joanne