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Mafia Speak: The necessity for loyalty within Trump’s circle: The fast moving growth of a mafia within the U. S. Government!

Sunday, March 10th, 2019

We complain about the rapid accumulation of 99% of the wealth within the United States economic system being available to only 1% of the population and we talk about Capitalism to Socialism to Fascism, but we don’t get into the particulars of how that is happening.

Clearly, if we did not have a mafia within the U. S. Economic System trying to take over we would not have a billionaire class. We have a very thriving Billionaire Class structure which is growing dramatically fast and dictating who will and who will not join them.

The kind of investment needed to create such a group; the “loyalty” demanded to keep it going and growing; the flagrant violations of the U. S. Constitution to keep the way clear for the mafia structures needed to replace the structures sustaining the U. S. Republi; the pressures to give up the Republic and take instead the structure of the more fascist-authoritarian governmental structures necessary have taken time and several administrations. With the Trump Administration we have finally arrived at that point where it becomes clear that we are barreling ahead into a government which is fast becoming a criminal enterprise headed by a man whose privately owned company could best be described as a RICO organization.

There have been many examples along the way, but the press has either been reluctant to make the call and do the investigative reporting to bring to the public the structures within which they are now living or they do not know and only see such things in the rear view mirror. And that makes sense since the role of the press is to report the news – to report what has happened.

The examples are becoming increasingly ‘in your face’ and they are being immediately ‘normalized’ as just the way we function today.

The latest example was extraordinarily blatant – and that was the sentencing of Manafort. It was an incredible example of “Mafia Speak” – right out front expecting the public and press to gloss over what was done.

A Prelude to the First Mafia Speak: (Setting the stage)

In the context of the original trial, Judge Ellis attacked one of the witnesses – Rick Gates – by testifying instead of maintaining himself as the judge – “…Manafort could not have been paying that much attention to what you (Gates) were doing. If so, he (Manafort) would have known how much money you were stealing from him.” That comment was apparently an attempt to turn the original trial, as much as possible, away from Manafort – to give him some breathing room and allow any juror listening to be persuaded in Manafort’s favor. That said there is Mafia Speak coming.

First Mafia Speak:

  1. The judge said – right before pronouncing the sentence on Paul Manafort – “You are not before this Court for anything having to do with colluding with the Russian government to influence this election.”

That was a very strange comment for a judge to make. Normally, a judge stays within the confines of the hearing in front of him, he does not wander off as Judge T. S. Ellis did to an unrelated and totally out of context comment which he apparently had a specific reason for doing. That reason became clear as the day progressed. Judge Ellis set up what followed and allowed the mafia “Don” to make his point later in the day for the public to be brought along in the way he wanted the public to go. The “Don” said he was “honored” by his people.

Second Mafia Speak:

2. After the hearing and sentencing when Paul Manafort’s attorney, Kevin Downing, went to the microphones outside the courthouse to say a few words to the reporters gathered outside, he said: “There is absolutely no evidence that Paul Manafort was involved with any collusion with any government official from Russia.”

Interesting in his comments, they were also outside of what the hearing was about. In addition, both the judge and attorney, who are professionals in the law and who know there is no legal term such as “collusion” – it is Donald Trump’s favorite way to characterize the special counsel’s investigation – Attorney Downing’s comments as well as Judge Ellis’ comments began to sound like “Mafia Speak” – things said at the direction of the mafia boss ‘ Donald Trump.

Reason for the First and Second “Mafia Speak” comments:

3. To close the circle and bring it around to why the Judge and Attorney made those statements, which stood out because of their inappropriateness and un-attachment to the hearing and sentencing – later in the day, Donald Trump made comments about the hearing and sentencing when Reporters shouted questions to him at the White House.

Donald Trump’s comments were “I just want to tell you that his (Manafort”s) lawyer went out of his way actually to make a statement last night, no collusion”. “The judge, for whatever reason, I was very honored by it, also made the statement that this had nothing to do with collusion with Russia.”

The mafia don then completes the circle by coming out with what was supposed to be the denouement comment – the reason for the first and second “Mafia Speak” comments. The three of them – the Judge, who set the table, the Attorney, who brought the food to the table and Trump who sat down to eat what was being served to him, let his capo’s know they had done a great job by commenting on his feelings of being ‘honored’ by what had just been done for him. And clearly, Trump had paid for the table and its settings; the food on the table and was going to enjoy his meal knowing that mafia type loyalty still existed within his organization and with his ‘people.’ That is what James Comey missed in why Trump was asking for “loyalty” from him. Every mafia boss has to know that kind of loyalty is crucial because of the way they operate and the necessity for cover when the circumstances call for it.

That type of mafia control is spreading within the U. S. Government and will be hard to extinguish even after Trump is gone. That mafia structure became very clear to us as we looked at Wells Fargo and tried to decide if we should get involved with a boycott against them.

This is what is happening to your government, America. This is what has happened and continues to happen in your Court System. This is why McConnell has so much power – he is the one making this scenario possible so members of this mafia can function without too many repercussions until the society is better controlled by their mafia governing structure.

Even the seemingly innocuous language is telling. After the judge and attorney went out on a limb for Trump – he thanks them publicly and in the way of the mafia he was “honored by it.”

And now kiss the ring!

________________________________________

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Or you can send a check to Bettina Network, inc. P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 to support this blog! Please make your check out to “Bettina Network, inc.” since the blog income is not the foundation income.

If you prefer your gift go to the Foundation, make your check payable to Bettina Network Foundation, inc. The money we receive for the Foundation currently is going to support the Wells Fargo Boycott.

_________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

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Tell the Story!

Friday, March 8th, 2019

These are actual instances of how institutional racism and personal bigotry work hand in glove to destroy attempts to change this society from one of White Supremacy and Patriarchy to one which looks beyond physical differences. (I will start – send your stories to share with those who need to understand on a conscious level the structure in which they live, work and in which their children’s character, ethics, morality are being formed. – don’t let me stand out here alone. To talk about these experiences on a personal level takes a lot of humility. The first step to break through the ego and ‘better than’ needs is to allow humility to take hold.)

by: Marceline Donaldson

CHURCH

One of the dominant conveyers of bigotry. What follows is one very small example of how it works!

Currently, we are seeing the demolition of the Black Church. That has been happening for decades. It moved along in earnest when the overall society realized the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was formed, nurtured and carried through successfully because of the Black Church. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black preacher and Church leader with an ancestry filled with black ministers, organists and more.

This story starts in a Black Episcopal Church in Central Square, Massachusetts. A Church that has had its ups and downs and currently is down. What happens?

This is one small incident, but crucial in how the Black Church is being destroyed.

My husband and I served as interim ministers at St. Bartholomews Church in Central Square – Cambridge, MA. – in the mid-1980’s, a Church which is predominantly Jamaican, African American, with a few people from Barbados and Haiti – in other words, all people of color.

When we arrived there were two people licensed by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to serve as Lay Eucharistic Ministers. One was the wife of the last rector.

We worked with several additional parishioners who were interested in serving their Church as Lay Eucharistic Ministers and as required, we sent letters to the Diocese asking that they be licensed. They attended the requisite training offered by the Diocese, were licensed and worked as Lay Eucharistic Ministers with no problems and many ‘thank you’s’.

The following year we added a couple more who also went through training and were licensed. We also encouraged them to get involved with the Diocese – as well as seeking out others in the congregation who were interested in Diocesan work. There were several and we did our share to make the Episcopal Diocese less White and more Diverse.

The Episcopal Diocese had one or two African Americans involved in their work – people they were accustomed to – the people who disproved the rule.

Everything went along fine until the Bishop under whom we made those additions and changes retired and a new bishop was elected. The new bishop was not comfortable with the increased numbers of African Americans having a say in the business of the Diocese and so began the process of elimination. How was that done? – Quietly! Under the radar, so to speak!

We applied for a renewal of the license for the -now – seven Lay Eucharistic Ministers, who had been licensed for a couple years; who had attended all of the training offered, some more than once and who were doing an excellent job. Back came a letter from the Bishop that those licenses could not be renewed because members of St. Bartholomew’s Church had never been licensed as Lay Eucharistic Ministers; the Church had never applied to have anyone so licensed and no one had ever appeared for training. So our request was denied and we were cast as irresponsible or ignorant for attempting to have licenses renewed which had not been issued in the first place.

That is how the constant struggle is set up and the negative stereotype ‘refreshed.’ Take one step forward. Make it a successful step. Others following in your footsteps become a threat and are seen as a ‘horde’. Minorities are put in the position of constantly having to fight against, have to struggle to achieve anything, which is exhausting. Block their path and after a time there are none. The fiction can then be run which goes “we don’t have any because there are none qualified or interested or willing to do the work. One Bishop moves to open doors; another moves to slam them shut.

It is stunning to see the paperwork, which we have kept, which lays out this scenario.

What did we accomplish? Nothing that made permanent change. The destruction of St. Bartholomew’s continued apace. It was time for us to move on and our place in the structure was outlined for us clearly so there could be no misunderstanding.

Time for us to move on meant the next step in the destruction of St. Bartholomew’s – a rector to whom the congregation had to minister instead of being ministered to and a couple steps after that made sure there would be an empty church soon and its small congregation would have to consider a ‘merger’ into a White Congregation – losing their history and identity completely.

We went off to the Bishop’s office to meet and attempt to correct what we thought was a mistake of some kind taking with us the copies of the licenses issued and all supporting paperwork hoping that would clear up any ‘misunderstanding’ or misplaced licenses or other records. It was a meeting that did not go well. It was clear licenses never having been issued was a fiction and one that was thinly veiled. The fiction was maintained even in sight of the licenses signed by the Bishop.. The copies and in two cases the original licenses were characterized as “we don’t know where those came from” and that went on until my well known temper exploded and I wound up accusing the Bishop of racism and outlining how, when, why and what this behavior was meant to create – and that basically was the intentional destruction of a Black Church. All denied with righteous indignation.

The Bishop started the meeting and acknowledged and complimented us on a job well done. He acknowledged the substantial increase in Church attendance over the time we served as Interim, but also said I was not Marceline Donaldson, but Mrs. Bennett and I should act accordingly- which he suggested should be attending Church on Sundays, sitting in the front row so I could be seen ‘appropriately’ as being ‘supportive’ of my husband.

We outlined for the Bishop the circumstances under which we had taken the job. I was in the ordination process at the time and this placement was totally in line with what I was doing in Seminary. I was to do most of the work because my husband had a full time job as a professor at an Episcopal Seminary and he was there to be supportive and the one who was ordained and who could carry out the responsibilities that fall only to the ordained. We also let him know I had never been Mrs. Bennett, would never be Mrs. Bennett and my legal name and the one I used under all circumstances was Marceline Donaldson.

The Bishop responded by saying he was ordaining people who were young, just out of seminary and he preferred to ordain young men because that is really who made the best priests. He added that because we had done such a great job he would use us as Interims in other Churches as needed and if my understanding of my position more closely matched his he thought our work could make a substantial contribution to the Church.

My explosion, which could be heard outside the Bishops office, did not help the situation, but it did make clear to the Bishop that I would not be a part of the picture he drew and that his concept was racist and sexist and we thought the Episcopal Church had and was moving away from that – which was really about sin.

He did agree to renew the licenses and Robert and I went home. We talked about how we were going to withdraw from St. Bartholomew’s and the Episcopal Church. We were clearly only welcome if we could go along with the program of using the reputations and respect we had gained to maintain the Episcopal Church in its current stance with its institutionalized White Supremacy in tact and its Patriarchy moving in such a way to incorporate those who could go along with the program and push out those who wanted the world Jesus promised.

I went back to one of the three places in Scripture which has sustained me:

Ephesians 6:12-18

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

It has always been amazing to me how so many people are able to use the institution in which they serve to maintain themselves as “better than” and their institution serving the needs of White Supremacy and the maintenance of the Patriarchy while doing what they consider the work of that part of the world in which they have chosen to make their lives, raise a family, and thrive without a conscious realization that it is being done at the expense of the lives of others. What we also came to see and understand is that those so mired in the maintenance of the Patriarchy and White Supremacy are also mired so deep in sin that the lives they show to the public and the private life they lead are very different and separate from one another. That private life is generally immoral, full of serious ethical problems with a character that peeps out ever so often showing a very ugly personna.

Why was it necessary to keep the Diocese White, male and begin the destruction of a Church which had a long history in the Diocese as well as its neighborhood? WHY? Because that was the beginning necessity for the conversion of the neighborhood back to a White neighborhood. The era of the move to the suburbs was drawing to a close making necessary the “whitening” of neighborhoods which “darkened” when White Flight started. These movements happen over generations and our conscious awareness of them only happens at their end when their goals are being realized and can no longer happen “under cover.”

In the vineyard of the fallen are my brothers and sisters who want to segregate us by color – by sex – by ethnicity – by sexual orientation – by all kind of other ‘differences’ to shore up their ego and identity so they don’t have to do the work of being.

How long before the eyes of the blind are opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the prisoners set free, those who walk in darkness brought into a great light.

When we shore up those who are keeping us all in bondage to their need for power, money and dominion-over, our lives are in jeopardy and our eternity closed out.

________________________________________

Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

Project 1 – Estate Sales after the Sale

Project 2 – #WellsFargoBoycott

Or you can send a check to Bettina Network, inc. P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 to support this blog! Please make your check out to “Bettina Network, inc.” since the blog income is not the foundation income.

If you prefer your gift go to the Foundation, make your check payable to Bettina Network Foundation, inc. The money we receive for the Foundation currently is going to support the Wells Fargo Boycott.

_________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.co



The End……….

Thursday, February 28th, 2019

by: Marceline Donaldson

If you didn’t get it before, yesterday was the end of Donald Trump.

If you didn’t get that during the Michael Cohen hearing you got it when Trump left Vietnam hours early with no agreement. You had a premonition that something was up; that all was not right with the fascist leaders’ world when the Russian Lavrov showed up in Vietnam on his private plane from Russia the day before Trump arrived. Something he had to say to Kim that he did not want to chance any intelligence group to hear? He did not have his plane land so he could have a cup of Vietnam tea – no matter how good or how nourishing it could be. Something that obvious does not happen without great consternation as its root cause in the circle of eastern european mafioso leadership.

The few pictures which emerged, even with Donald and Kim shown casually walking together said there was tension between Kim and Donald. but was it a lovers’ spat or permanent split? Or did Kim see himself aligned too closely with someone who will soon be out of office in disgrace when Kim was trying so hard to be one of the power elite of the autocratic world. Nothing said we were in Trump’s end-time louder or longer than that “summit”.

The Congressional hearing itself was amazing. The dynamics more so than the words – although the words had a small sway on what you saw.

The Republicans were acting out for all to see exactly what Michael Cohen was describing as to how he got his talking and marching orders from the “Don”. He got them the way the “Don,” as do most, if not all, of the world’s mafia leaders, communicate their orders to their underlings. And – each Congressman, well except maybe one, the renegade Amash – stuck to their talking points each and everyone of them. It was as if they were just learning English and everyone was repeating what the last one said as they grappled with trying to learn proper English grammar.

And then there was the small interlude with Mr. Meadow, the African slave auctioneer, refusing to acknowledge his racism. Emotions ran high at that point, but I was remembering Mr. Meadows and his racism showing during the tenure of President Barack Obama and weren’t there a few other times when his racism so stood out?

Congressman Meadows claimed he could not be racist because he has nieces and nephews of color. That was so funny I couldn’t stop laughing out loud. Racism does cause a blind spot thus the truth of the statement which screams out from the racists’ mouth “some of my best friends are….” Meadows comments reminded me of Donald Trump, who has Jewish grandchildren. In spite of that connection to the Jewish Community, Trump’s anti-Semitism screamed out loud and called for the violence that followed. I am sure you remember Trump’s proclamation that he is not a “Globalist.” -and – How could you forget that those hearing him, followed his proclamation – his call to action by shooting and killing some 11 plus Jews within hours of Trump’s call to arms. He did not say – kill those Jews and do it in a place where it is clearly understood that it is Jews you were after. He did it in the style Michael Cohen described – in his coded speech and his followers heard and took action.

It was a parallel example to Congressman Meadows indignation at being called out as a racist. To have put a young black woman on display – the way slaves are put on display at the auction market – for her price to be his describing her love of Donald Trump, while she stood silently by. Trump could not be racist because she would not work for Donald Trump if he were because her father is from Birmingham, Alabama. With that comment I was rolling on the floor not being able to stop laughing. Thank God for having given me a sense of humor.

Having been raised in that neighborhood I knew and know quite a few blacks who are ‘racist’ because they want too much to be accepted by (whites), to be different from (people of color), to be equal to (whites) they will do and say whatever is necessary and as they become adults, that need and those actions determine their character. They too live out of the character defining need to be “better than” – even those who look like and are colored like their ancestors. It was clear the young black woman being so paraded – with Meadows calling out to everyone the price he paid for her and what she would have to acknowledge in return for having been purchased by his family on that slave auction block – is well on her way to being one of those with such low character traits.

The rest of the Republicans questioning Michael Cohen were blindingly white. They were all so white – even the two women who spoke trying to tear down Michael Cohen – except for one. Congressman Higgins from Louisiana. That is where I was raised and one thing I know just from my upbringing and exposure and neighbors and family is the person with that color under the skin. The color, which you don’t see looking at those with some colored ancestors who have white looking skin, except when the person is seen under the television cameras.

People who look like Higgins with that kind of color showing when under the “klieg lights” were “passé blanc”. And there was this Congressperson Higgins showing that darkness more clearly than the rest, even in his lack of character. That extreme lack comes from the character built on the constant lie the passé blanc lives with in a society which puts you in a box with those of the same color, but then you have hopped out of your box into another with people of another skin color, originally probably to get a better job for your family to be able to eat, live and have better advantages which are given to those in the other box. Those constant lies one has to tell to stay in that ‘white box” gives your character and the character of your children that certain tinge – which those around you know, but you think is well hidden.

Higgins outed himself with his questions about the “boxes” Cohen was looking through in preparation for the hearing. Higgins knew quite well those were the boxes returned to Mr. Cohen after the government raided his home and office and carried them off. He heard Michael Cohen say that, but it was too good to be able to twist that into something negative to Michael Cohen – something Higgins could claim Mr. Cohen “hid” from the government and he demanded with much self-righteous indignation that Mr. Cohen immediately send off to the government agencies from whom he somehow managed to put something over on by his hiding of those boxes.

We tell on ourselves as humans. All you have to do is look and listen. Mr. Higgins was telling on himself as to who he was – a lifetime of such hiding – or a couple generations of hiding, hoping to move far enough away so he is accepted without fear of exposure.

What also stopped me was the way Mr. Cohen described Donald Trump’s “code” way of speaking and then immediately one of the very white Republicans coming behind to question him showing they were totally immersed in that “code” and were speaking and questioning out of the talking points they so received and were parroting.

What an incredible day. And the denouement at the end learning that Kim Jong Un sent Trump packing early without an agreement. Kim is trying to lift himself up into acceptance as equal by the world fascist leadership community and he can’t do that hanging out with someone who is being thrown out of that “strong man”, “macho”, very “fascist” leaning group.

Good bye Donald!!!!!!!!!

French Toast vs. Lost Bread

Monday, February 18th, 2019

by: Marceline Donaldson

As I turn to New Orleans, many things come back into focus. One is the breakfast phenom called “Lost Bread”. It has now probably become national – maybe even further – so I thought I would share two recipes with you which have geographical significance. French Toast I learned in the North – Lost Bread I grew up with in New Orleans. It is amazing how similar they are.

Lost Bread

In a mixing bowl whip together two eggs (organic), one cup organic turbinado sugar, enough organic milk to make a nice dipping sauce – but not too liquid/runny. If you want to use almond milk – coconut milk – or some other kind of liquid, enjoy!

Keep your bread until it is stale. If you don’t have time and/or throw away bread instead of keeping it for such things as Lost Bread or bread pudding, or for making bread crumbs when you have a minute, then put the new bread you want to use in the oven on a very low light – 250 degrees or 300 tops – until it has stiffened. And feel very ashamed if you actually throw away what some consider old stale bread. You could always sprinkle that stale bread with a bit of water, put it in the oven and ‘voila’ – you have freshly baked bread for supper.

Add cinnamon, nutmeg, grated ginger to your taste. Maybe a little organic hazelnut oil – whatever combination of tastes you especially like.

Drown the sliced bread in the sauce above, pick it up with a spatula and let the liquid drip off for a few seconds and then fry it in an iron skillet or grill or griddle until nicely browned on one side and then turn it over to the other side.

Either sprinkle turbinado sugar on the bread when you turn it over or just continue to let the bread fry until done and pour a bit of organic maple syrup over the Lost Bread once you put it on your plate for eating.

FRENCH TOAST

The basic difference between Lost Bread and French Toast is the kind of bread you use and the method of cooking.

For French Toast buy a loaf of organic french bread. For this you can buy the organic bread which is stale and being sold at a substantial discount. French bread is long and thin – Italian bread is sort of the same, but fat in the middle. I think French Bread is best used for this, however, it all comes down to a matter of taste – or culture.

Let the loaf harden if it isn’t already ‘stale and hard’.

Slice the long thin french bread into about 1 1/2 or 2 inch slices. Let the slices soak in the sauce above for a couple minutes until they seem spongy and then fry on an iron grill turning when one side is light brown. This serves up well when cooked on a circular iron grill and served on the same grill.

Once both sides have a bit of color arrange them on an iron grill or griddle and pour more of the sauce on top of the bread so it is soaked. It is also important to use generous amounts of grated organic ginger mixed with the sauce for a really fabulous taste.

Put the french toast, which is nice and shiny with the added sauce on top, in the oven to continue cooking. Make sure you are generous with the sauce because it turns into custard inside the bread with the sugar on top making the bread a bit crispy and crusty on top. This takes only about five minutes. The bread will puff out and become beautiful and very tasty. Don’t let it stay too long. It takes a bit of experimenting to get the hang of exactly when to take this French Toast out of the oven. Each oven takes a different amount of time.

Serve it with a platter of sliced ham and you have a fabulous breakfast.

______________________________________________________


Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

[give_form id=”3763″]

Project 1 – Estate Sales after the Sale

Project 2 – #WellsFargoBoycott

Or you can send a check to Bettina Network, inc. P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 to support this blog! Please make your check out to “Bettina Network, inc.” since the blog income is not the foundation income.

If you prefer your gift go to the Foundation, make your check payable to Bettina Network Foundation, inc. The money we receive for the Foundation currently is going to support the Wells Fargo Boycott.

_________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com




THE WALL: A 1920’s KKK Dream

Friday, February 15th, 2019

That dream, in the 1920’s when the KKK was at its height, was complete with steel slats and it was a very high wall on the Southern border between the U. S. and Mexico.

It looks as though Donald Trump, the illegitimate president of the United States, is doing everything he can to fulfill that dream. Is this his memorial to his father, who was apparently a part of the KKK? https://ahtribune.com/us/2016-election/242-trump-grandfather-pimp-father-kkk.html?fbclid=IwAR073Tg7RDAbs2uIjtiWeDGVC09i5tyRk7BTjBk0LMh_SDjsx6WRpbjWonM

His father’s legacy to Trump was to get him started in the same vein in which he lived his life – by incorporating into his life and work discrimination against African Americans, as in not letting them rent in the buildings father and son built. Trump was started on his racist path early in life and continued on that path throughout his life. As the United States became more diverse, the peoples included in this family’s racism became more diverse and today, apparently includes all of the brown and black peoples of the world.

How fitting that his denouement would be fulfilling the dream of many klansmen of his father’s era by pushing through to build this wall (in their honor?). As you look at the determination and energy and effort Trump has put behind this WALL it had to have a very special meaning to him. All of the trying in todays’ world by many talking heads to make it look as though Trump is working for his base just does not fit.

For his base, he could have moved on and worked for something to give them that was doable. This is a strong emotional commitment which has driven Trump. What could be stronger than doing this for his father? Was the part of the WALL Trump was trying to build to have his father’s name?

AND — a little bonus — because of the timing, Trump could also use this point in time to coverup, distract from, mute and diminish the publicity around the roll-out of Andrew McCabe’s book “The Threat”? Trump’s timing wasn’t perfect but it was close. If McCabe’s book was introduced when it was supposed to be – this weekend on 60 Minutes – without the preview of the 60 Minutes interview with McCabe on the morning and evening Talk/News shows, Trump’s efforts would have perfectly wiped “The Threat” off the news. As it is, he was able to reduce and diminish the coverage of McCabe’s book because of his announcement that he was going to declare a “National Emergency” after he signed the bill. Since most of the newscasters either didn’t know or simply eliminated, for better effect, the fact that this bill has enough votes behind it to make it veto proof, neither the House nor the Senate needed Trump’s signature taking away from him the circus he is creating to throw smoke into all of our faces so we can’t see McCabe and his new book. Is this what is called a ‘two’fer?

FROM TRUMP TO SENATOR LIZ CHENEY

Lying in bed, dozing off I was sharply awakened by this woman doing the most intense racist rant I have seen in a very long time.

Fortunately, I was recording that particular news show so I was able to rewind and watch it from the beginning. I was totally shocked to see that the person giving this racist rant in the most arrogant, smug and self-satisfied way was none other than Senator Liz Cheney – daughter of the ex-Vice President. I kept wondering why she had this super smug demeanor as she ranted on and on after having been asked a question about Donald Trump. Her rant focused on Elizabeth Warren and the fact that Senator Warren publicly acknowledged throughout most of her life, her Native American ancestry. Instead of talking about the courage that took, especially during the time frame in which Senator Warren made her family background public, Senator Cheney was ripping Senator Warren apart. What is there about that which set her off? Should we look into Senator Cheney’s racial background?

When the question about Donald Trump was repeated, Senator Cheney simply continued the most racist monologue against Senator Warren that I have heard in decades. My further shock was that no one called her on it. There should have been outcries from every corner of Congress demanding that she apologize. Not one peep. Today, having heard the backlash against one of the brown women, Ilham Omar, in Congress claiming she made bigoted comments and calling for her to apologize, and at the same time the same people ignoring of Senator Cheney’s comments shows up the claims against others for what they are – political attacks wherever and however you can get them.

I kept thinking I was in a time warp. I didn’t always agree with Senator Cheney, but I had never pictured her just inches away from the likes of the most bigoted of those in public life. One becomes accustomed to people like the Congressman Steve King and just dismisses anything he says. But Senator Cheney, I thought, was better than that. Well – so much for that misperception. Now I understand why Steve King was able to spout his racism and walk away unscathed. He has lots of compatriots who are viciously racist and don’t see anything wrong with Steve King’s racism. He is entitled?

EXECUTIVE TIME a la TRUMP

Maybe most of you don’t remember that far back, to the beginnings of Donald Trump’s illegitimate and illegal presidency, but I do. I remember when he talked about being shocked that the job of the president of the United States was so easy he could do both. He could run the Trump Organization and act as though he was President of the United States.

This was not said by a talking head interpreting Trump’s comments, this was said by Trump himself.

Now we have Trump’s schedule showing massive amounts of “Executive Time”. There have been many talking and poking fun at what that means – watching cable tv seems to be the first comment with the most repeaters, but every time I hear that I remember those comments made by Trump – and I’ve seen that he usually tells on himself and does things up front. Is he running the Trump Organization during his “Executive Time”? Are his comments about the Presidency being a part time job true?

THE NEW WORLD ORDER

I remember where I was when I first heard comments about “The New World Order.” The first time I heard this is was George Bush the Sr. making the comments.

As I look at this ‘Trump/vs the rest of us’ round in this war, it certainly looks like one of the battles trying to bring about that vision of such world governance by the Corporate/Billionaire Group.

From the comments I’ve heard – this New World Order seems to be about the Corporate/Billionaire Group ruling everything (and of course, being very patronizing to those not in their Group) and the diminishment of Government by the people, for the people and with the people. The people being those who do the work to maintain, grow and make life easier for that Corporate/Billionaire Group while dedicating their lives to trying to be like them on almost no money and very few assets.

Not like the traditional slavery in this country because slaves were brought in from Africa and they were very dark of skin. The people doing the todays work that would have been done by slaves in that past era includes those we call “white” along with all of the brown and black peoples of the world. And, some of the people in the Corporate/Billionaire Group are brown – haven’t seen any blacks yet, but they will surface.

Are we moving forward as a world where Cyber Warfare takes over and actual hand to hand and gun and other combat using the traditional artifacts of killing being pushed off center stage, being used to distract from the real war. A way to entertain and occupy the workers of the world so they will stop calling for these impossibles where we all benefit and profit?

We are certainly not fighting over Communism. That went out decades ago if it ever existed. What always amazed me about that was the theoretical definition of Communism seemed to be taken straight from the economic system outlined by Jesus in the New Testament and the people most against that economic system were the Evangelical Christians.

And we are definitely not fighting over Socialism – as you can see from this current beginning stage of the election of the next United States president. That word was introduced by Howard Schulz. Isn’t he one of the Billionaire Group? Beginning the anti-Socialist distraction rhetoric?

And, the biggest joke of all is Capitalism, which we claim exists in the United States, but which actually can’t exist anywhere as long as prejudice against groups exists and is a part of the societies in which we function. We can claim some economic system is capitalistic, but in reality we can’t have a capitalistic system as long as we have such strong prejudices in this world. What we have, in the name of capitalism, is a system which allows theft and other such uglies to be made legitimate, normal and actually a good thing in the systems we call Capitalist.

I wish we could clear our eyes to see the world as it is. One of the roles bigotry plays is to cloud the ability of people to see reality. And those who promote bigotry are benefitting mightily from John Q. Public’s mental illness.

Ed. Note: From several members of Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community. Hope you learned something from these thoughts shared.


______________________________________________________


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Or you can send a check to Bettina Network, inc. P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 to support this blog! Please make your check out to “Bettina Network, inc.” since the blog income is not the foundation income.

If you prefer your gift go to the Foundation, make your check payable to Bettina Network Foundation, inc. The money we receive for the Foundation currently is going to support the Wells Fargo Boycott.

_________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com




Come for Tea!

Tuesday, February 12th, 2019

One of the best ways we have discovered to stay healthy and away from those things like colds, the flu and other such diseases and infirmities is through drinking different kinds of tea.

NO – not the tea bags you buy in the store which you bring home and drop into hot, boiling water thinking you have done something great for yourself, but the drink you have thought about, analyzed and see as helping you and giving you lots of enjoyment and nutritional nourishment during the drinking.

We will give you one of our tea recipe’s if you respond and give us one of yours.

BETTINA TEA Number One

For this tea you will need the following:

Organic parsley

Organic ginger root

organic lemon

Fill a pot full of water. Which size pot depends upon how much tea you want to make. This tea gets better with age. Brew it today and let it sit on the stove overnight so you can have more when you re-heat the pot tomorrow.

and for all of you southerners – you will need, in addition, organic turbinado sugar to turn this innocent drink into ‘sweet tea.’

Squeeze a lemon into the pot of water. If the pot is quite large squeeze two or three lemons into the pot.

Chop the lemon, after you have squeezed the juice into the pot of water, rind and all, into small pieces and put this into the pot so the only thing left is the end of the lemon which attached to the tree. It may be perfectly respectable to use this piece of the lemon, but we prefer to throw it away.

Ginger Grater – one of many kinds. The sharper the teeth the better the grater. Steel, ceramic – they all suffice.

Using a ginger grater, grate a fairly large piece of the organic ginger into the pot of now boiling water. Again the size of the ginger root you use depends upon the size of the pot of water and your taste buds.

Pick the parsley leaves off the stems and put a generous hand full of parsley leaves into the still boiling water.

Cover the pot and let it simmer for as long as it takes the parsley leaves to dissolve so when you drink the tea practically every drop has a remembrance of parsley.

For those of you who can’t resist – immediately before serving, put your organic turbinado sugar into the pot and let it simmer about two minutes.

Or, if there are those who don’t want sweet tea and you do, put the sugar in your cup and then pour in this BETTINA TEA Number One.

The taste is fantastic. It relaxes you instantly and just think for a moment about the incredible nutrients sliding down your throat and going into your body to increase your well-being.

Enjoy! And may you live as long as you have something to give or receive.

______________________________________________________


Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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Project 1 – Estate Sales after the Sale

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Or you can send a check to Bettina Network, inc. P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 to support this blog! Please make your check out to “Bettina Network, inc.” since the blog income is not the foundation income.

If you prefer your gift go to the Foundation, make your check payable to Bettina Network Foundation, inc. The money we receive for the Foundation currently is going to support the Wells Fargo Boycott.

_________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com


Elizabeth Warren and Pocahontas!

Friday, February 8th, 2019

by: Marceline Donaldson

It has been a busy day! The writing from a Bettina Network Lifestyle Community Member on Elizabeth Warren has caused a bit of a blowup. So you know I have to chime in. Who would guess that among hard working people; thoughtful people; intellectual people there would be this bit of racism.

Is it racist to dump on Elizabeth Warren for talking about her Native American ancestors and as some are doing, claim that is reason for the Democratic Party to rethink her candidacy for president? “Drop her” is what I have heard from some and looking for justification to back their negativity towards Senator Warren is what I have heard from others.

What is the racial mythology fueling this? The claim that Blacks, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and all those other minorities out there really want to be White. What negates this is a White American acknowledging her Native American ancestors and at a very young age. -That is clear in the past reporting on Michael Jackson. It came out periodically. The claim that Michael Jackson wanted to be ‘white’. He used ‘white’ make-up on his face to cover his blackness, etc. etc. The reality of his life was never acknowledged.

The fact that Michael Jackson had a disease that turns your skin from dark to stark white was never injected into those conversations. Neither was the fact that makeup on the white portions of your face where the pigment has gone away does not take very well so your choice is limited and it must be the white makeup. That was constantly reported, but the facts were skewered to accommodate the mythology of White Supremacy. No matter how great Michael Jackson was – and he was pretty outstanding in his day – what he really wanted was to be white. That is the other side to the rejection of and demand for an apology from Elizabeth Warren for acknowledging her Native American ancestors.

How do I know about this disease? My grandfather had the same disease. His hands were spotted as the darker pigment was moving away and his hands and face and neck were turning white as the disease progressed. Some people live to see themselves turn completely white, some die before that happens. I don’t think it is the disease which causes their death, it doesn’t seem to have any other affect on the body.

That is only one reporting which brought out and emphasized how blacks wanted to be white. There have been more. What does that do? It shores up White Supremacy. Those who are not white want to be. The opposite – those who are seen and accepted as white hide any minorities they may have in their background. “Passing” has always been looked down on, but once you have “passed for white”, married and have children that look white you are sort of safe, just stay put and don’t bring up those minority ancestors.

What Elizabeth Warren has done is turn all of that on its head. She had a life as white – until she started talking about her Native American ancestry. What is that? It is a violation of the contract whites have with each other. If every ‘white’ persons’ minority ancestry was outed we would have chaos in this country there are so many. Slavery wasn’t mostly on plantations, most of slavery happened in one house with one white family living “cheek by jowl” with one black slave family. The result of this produced many white plus children. White Supremacy would be in total confusion and destroyed if history were more accurate. The hold that the need to be better than has on all of us becomes clearer by the decade. The hypocrisy of racism and its ridiculousness is lost on most of us.

One great example of the ridiculousness comes from the life of Senator Strom Thurmond. A son of the south and one who viciously articulated hatred of blacks who should always know and stay in their place. His political career was founded on his racism. Senator Thurmond had a black daughter who he knew, educated, with whom he had a relationship, but everyone conspiratorially around him kept his secret. Thurmond was in the forefront of those Democrats who left the Democratic Party because they saw the possibility of taking control of and changing the Republican Party into a replica of the KKK and other such groups. And as we have seen from this current man who calls himself President of these United States, he was successful.

Our hypocrisy on race is the stuff of legend. So how does White Supremacy and racism remain? It stays put because of the inferiority and arrogance of whites – conservative and liberal – who need to have that feeling of being better than to feel normal.

How does that relate to Senator Warren, her Native American heritage and the societal reaction?

If we are going to maintain White Supremacy we must abide by the rules. A cardinal rule is that one follows the mythology – in this case that blacks and other minorities want to be white. To break that happens when a white person – one who is totally accepted as white – comes out talking about her Native American ancestors – that is the stuff which gets one stoned.

Senator Warren – you are white. Defined as being better than and as a young person just getting started in your career you came out putting “Indian American” on forms that need to be filled out with race on the form. Just look at what you are doing to this society. You have upended and disregarded and violated one of the basic rules that maintains White Supremacy. The mythology which is one of the pillars holding up White Supremacy is that Blacks and other minorities want to be white and here you are coming out to say I am White but I acknowledge and respect my Native American ancestors. Look around Senator Warren, even the Native American leaders can’t handle that. Why not? If basic change happens. If everyone starts coming out and acknowledging and respecting all parts of their heritage just look at what that will mean. Those leaders of minority groups, among others, will be out of work.

Hey, you put out your heritage let me put out mine, which includes Native Americans. But wait – that doesn’t do anything. For one minority to lay claim to their ancestors in another minority group – no sweat. That changes nothing and is barely noticed. Many of my African American friends acknowledge their Native American ancestors and no one notices. The problem comes when you – white female – comes out to dare to acknowledge and respect your Native American heritage, and lordy, to even talk about it in the highest places.

And to all of those claiming you do not belong to any Native American tribe and therefore can’t be Native American, that is mind blowing. Why? Because that is the way Native Americans are annihilated – eliminated – become obsolete . That is something we have been trying to do almost since the Pilgrims landed.

If you are mixed and live as white and the generations pass, your Native American heritage is lost and it is also lost to all of those Native American Tribes. Gradually Native Americans will become extinct as we become a more mixed society. Just think of what that means if only those who are members of a Native American Tribe can call themselves Native Americans. That is a form of genocide.

My great grandfather was Black Feet Indian. He worked for and received a Doctorate of Divinity from Philips University. He was an ordained Episcopal Priest who wound up in New Orleans where he was rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church; head of a school; and did a lot more. His story counts – his life was important – his ancestors deserve a place in history as who they were. He lived in an African American community and was considered African American. He was not a member of a Native American Tribe. If he and his life and his true identity are lost to history and he becomes submerged in other groups histories, Native Americans suffer as their history is degraded. That does not happen to the Irish, the French, the English or to any other group considered white. They accomplish and their progeny do not deny their ancestors because they were not citizens of Ireland or France or etc. It is tragic that we do not live in a time or in a country where your Native American heritage is not denied but celebrated.

We are watching, under Donald Trump, history repeating itself in another century with some changes, but basically the same annihilation of a group of people considered ‘minority’. The brown peoples attempting to come into the United States. Their children are being taken away from them at the gate. Native American children were taken from their parents and who knows what happened to most of them. A generation lost. That part of Native American history can only be reclaimed by those families which integrated and included Native Americans who were ripped from their families and thrown to the wind. That history will be an expansion of Native American history. For a more accurate history we need the stories from those mixed people who talk about their Native American ancestry and who tell the stories from their youth which have been passed down through the family. The Native American stories passed down through minority communities sort of remain. The Native American stories are totally discouraged from being passed down through white communities.

Your history and the history of your Native American ancestors is also a part of Native American history and should be talked about, included and accepted, especially by those Native American Tribes who are what -growing or shrinking?

Our society used to believe – if you had just 1% of minority “blood” you were a minority. That means, if you were mixed with any of the groups of the world that we call “races” and those ‘races’ were white you were considered “white” unless in the mix even as little as 1% was one of the minority ‘races”. Then you were considered a minority and then you, your history, your legacy, your life were thrown on the dump heap.

Some of us have begun to see otherwise. As blacks, latina’s, native americans, philippine’s and more begin to achieve greatness the conversation has turned. The conversation around the “black” golfer , who was number one and couldn’t be unseated, that public conversation went – he is not really black, he has these other ancestors and should not be called black. Isn’t his mother something else? How can he neglect and push aside her contribution to who he is. And she was not white, but enough to help turn the conversation. That gave us enough of a view to the future that we realized racism will continue, but it will be in us in other ways – which are beginning to be newly defined.

Minorities can be raised up into this group which espouses White Supremacy either overtly or covertly if their achievements are so great they question the negative stereotype by which we are raised. But, “whites” must give up, hide and not claim their minority ancestors. That is necessary because if it went in the other direction we would lose this great bonus of White Supremacy and many would have to live out their lives being equal to. What a death sentence to their ego.

So, Senator Warren, do you have the guts to continue respecting, honoring and raising up your Native American ancestors or are you going to be one who apologizes because you slipped and acknowledged the family history with which you were raised. Those Native American Tribesmen get it – or they should. They clearly understand that there are those outside registered tribe members who have Native American ancestors and can freely talk about them. Or do you need to be in lock step with the White Supremacist who are trying desperately to keep their ‘better than’ position by any means necessary?

And all of you Native American Tribes – you demonstrate for other things are you going along with what is happening to Elizabeth Warren? Are you going to stand up for those who acknowledge their Native American ancestors and heritage even if they are not a member of a particular tribe. Is that such a threat to you that you will jump on that White Supremacist band wagon and go along with the program? If you do, it will be to your extreme loss and to the loss of your progeny and to those who went before.

______________________________________________________


Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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Project 1 – Estate Sales after the Sale

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Or you can send a check to Bettina Network, inc. P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 to support this blog!

_________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com


Trump Talk @ Congress Stirs

Wednesday, February 6th, 2019

A Conglomeration of Comments

by: Bettina Network Members

  • I heard and saw Donald Trump’s talk to Congress, the Supreme Court Judges and so many more and couldn’t keep my mind focused. It has strayed whenever anything about Trump surfaces because what I can’t reconcile is TRUMP – PROSTITUTION – STONE!                                    
  • We have just been through a lot with the arrest and indictment of Roger Stone. Most striking to me was the fact that Roger Stone shared an apartment in New York with a woman who was referred to as an ex-madam, who commiserated with Roger Stone because she remembered what it was like to be arrested by the police. And she talked about knowing Donald Trump, who she considered a friend.
  • Given how close Donald Trump and Roger Stone have been over the years Trump could not help but know about this arrangement and knowing Rogers’ friend he would know she was an ex-Madam. I couldn’t help but take the next step to wonder if the compromat Russia has on Trump is his involvement with prostitution. Not the kind of hanging around in a Russian Hotel peeing on the bed with other prostitutes, but the kind of being a mafia Don where prostitution – the kind which is the selling of women’s bodies – is generally always a part of most mafia organizations’ income.
  • I could be wrong about this, but looking at the history and all else it certainly rings true in my mind. et tu?

The Look of Congress during Donald Trump’s Talk!

It was quite something to see the cameras pan across Congress to show us the look of our government when all are gathered together.

I saw one group, interspersed with many Congress people in white – the women of Congress. However, they were all seated on one side with one group – the Democrats. There were also hijabs sprinkled amongst them and colors from white to brown to black. The features of those seated in the Congressional Seats on the Democrat’s side were from Asian to Middle Eastern to African to Northern European. They were the America we mythologize; the America we sing to; the America we strive to be; the democracy we are and our ancestors were trying to build.

On the other side they were all white; almost totally northern european in looks – features – hair – ancestry; and almost totally male. They looked as though they would be at home in a Russian Parliament where the color is white and the gender is male.

Could that be what and why the collusion? the conspiracy? For white males to continue to dominate they must conspire to keep their countries with white males first and everyone else oppressed under them supporting them?

Elizabeth Warren and her Native American Ancestry!

I have been reading the coverage of Elizabeth Warren and her claim of a Native American Ancestry. It reminds me of the coverage of Rachel Dolezal when she clearly made a conscious decision to move from white to black and has lived her life in a black community ever since. The way the media attempted to pull her apart, to denigrate her, to make her the butt of many jokes, it was clear that Ms. Dolezal had touched a nerve.

Elizabeth Warren and her putting out in the public her family stories about being part Native American and not running away from that, but making it very public shows up the mythology of Affirmative Action. Our response to that says we know Affirmative Action did not work, did not give opportunity to minorities except in token ways, was not something we wanted to continue because we wanted the superiority of white and male to continue unabated. Anything that touches our myths attempting to destroy them must be ridiculed and the people who step out with something showing the lie of the myths by which we live must be either destroyed or made to heel.

The latest news story on Elizabeth Warren and her ancestry is about a form she filled in to attend a Texas School and goodness, she put in the place of race “Native American”. We can now all come running to bring up and make our denial of racism very clear. One can hear the jumps for joy and shouts as she is pilloried for doing such. Why pilloried? Because the media and others can claim that she was trying to take advantage of all of the ‘opportunities and goodies’ and advantages over whites which this society supposedly gives to Native Americans.

All of that sounds like a Trumpian – a lie told to hide a very ugly truth or to distract one from seeing something which would be damaging.

I was raised in a neighborhood which was very ‘integrated’. Quite unusual for these United States, but there are pockets of such here and there. In those pockets you will find people from blonde with blue eyes to very dark with kinky, thick hair. How does that happen? Especially since in this ‘integrated’ neighborhood everyone identified as black. You also had Jews in these neighborhoods because until the 1960’s Jews were considered black.

That happened because early on – even through the 1950’s and 1960’s there were many ‘mixed’ marriages. Marriages between African Americans and European Americans. That happened even during the time when that was against the law and you could wind up in jail. Whites who married blacks would quietly move into the black community and they, from that point on, identified as black because their children were to be considered and it was easier on everyone if that happened.

In our small community we knew those who were white, although that was not a topic of polite conversation.

Given the extreme mixing of Blacks, Irish and Native Americans in the deep south, there are many walking around this country with Native American ‘blood’ – or what we should more properly refer to as Native American roots. – hey Boston!! Check your ‘Irish” ancestry lately?

Since Native Americans were on the bottom of the ladder, not many acknowledged their ancestors if they were Native American. Anything but Native American was a step up. In most families, stories about Native American ancestry were ‘hushed up”. In Senator Warrens family, apparently they were told and passed down the generations.

What we have missed in this Elizabeth Warren story – or maybe we have not missed it because we want to have any opportunity to participate in the denial of our history and our bigotry – it took a lot of guts for Senator Warren to acknowledge her Native American roots in an application which she was filing to be able to move ahead. To know from family history that some part of your ancestry was in the Native American community is whispered about in close quarters not spread in public on application forms because the result would be your denial – with the claim of other reasons – or your not being able to move as far ahead as you would like to go because…… What the press and others want to make of this is quite Trumpian. It is an opportunity for them to pass back and forth in the society the lies about race told in their circles.

To take that stand in Texas, all those many years ago, was to put the possibility of your future move up in this society on the chopping block in favor of acknowledging and shouting out to everyone that you indeed walked around in this society carrying your Native American ancestry in the open – letting the sun shine in on it because it is a part of who you are. That is speaking truth and living that truth and making your move in your career taking along your total self. Look at how many people and how much custom and bigotry you aggravate and stir up.

Cudos to Senator Warren. May you live long and prosper and may you always continue to walk in your truth no matter the negative repercussions that might come therefrom. There are many of us who support your strength to be able to publicly and constantly acknowledge a family inheritance that many in this society would hide and run away from. The fact that you were acknowledging that inheritance all those many years ago and continue to do so today speaks to your courage, your truth and your character.

PLEASE do not allow the static you are going to receive constantly make you think, even for a moment, of denying your racial heritage – wear it proudly whether it brings you good or ill. In the end you will be encircled by those who appreciate what you have done because they realize and have lived the oppression even from those who do otherwise and hide their ancestry.

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Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

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Bettina Oracle Speaks

Tuesday, January 29th, 2019

The end of Donald Trump: Illegitimate President of the United States

You folks need to stop bothering me and take care of your business. If you don’t, the next generation will simply have to repeat this scenario which has been repeated for generations without resolving anything. Learn a bit of history, your own history and you will be appalled at what you see – if you have any goodness left in your genes.

You are riddled with liars, murderers covering for each other, persecutions of innocent children, and so much more. The Jews of Hitlers Germany have been replaced by the Children of the United States who are being slaughtered with guns in your streets and in their schools and the Children of Immigrants, who are being put in Concentration Camps and are now being murdered. Those children who have have come to your country – some with their parents, some without – seeking asylum and refuge from so much evil. Their skin is brown and black and your bigotry won’t allow for that. Too many such colors in these United States already.

You need to be full of integrity, good character, working to eliminate poverty, homelessness, BIGOTRY – which is the genesis of all of your society’s ills. You need to stop allowing the likes of Donald Trump who is taking from his evil twins in history and ripping children from their parents; making slaves of those in prison who have suffered under massive incarcerations to do the bidding of the evil institutions in this world of yours and so much more. And no, Trump did not start all of this, but he is the inheritor and chief propagator of the evil coming through today. And to end this, all it takes is moral courage and who amongst you has that? You are all called, but who amongst you answers the call? This is still happening today after thousands of years of such history because only a few answer the call. The rest of you raise up those few and feel that your work is done because of that raising up and acknowledging those heroes. Interestingly, your heroes are never raised up in their own generation. That happens only after they are safely dead.

OK! So you want to know what is happening?

Roger Stone was indicted – did you notice how swift that happened with all of the charges against him not in that court document of indictment? Have you noticed the rumblings of major change? Are you beginning to hear many voices raised to call out the evil? Evil doubles down when those rumblings start.

What do we see: We see Whitaker having stopped the Mueller investigation by declaring to them they will not be allowed any more indictments. Stone is the last and he slipped through by a fluke. No indictments allowed against Donald Trump, against Jr., against Jared Kushner, against Steve Bannon, against Ivanka Trump, against Eric Trump.

Mueller can’t step up to the microphone to tell you this. There are enough bread crumbs along the way, however, for you to see this yourselves.

All of this must be settled and ended before or shortly after Barr takes on the post of Attorney General. He will clear Trump using the foundation set by Whitaker, a man who has been promised much, but who will be dumped on and pushed aside after his work is done – without his promised rewards. If he is lucky, he will leave with a loaf of bread, but no butter. Maybe as he sees his expectations so dashed he will step up to the moral plate and attempt to bring about something else – but he does not look like a soul who is destined to be a great hero.

All bets, in your society, are on the Democrats coming through in 2020 and taking over the government so the United States does not have to step up to the plate and deal with its sins. That is the way taken by lazy souls who want, but don’t want to give or risk. Cover-up is whats going on. Isn’t that what went on with Nixon? And his sins don’t begin to compare to the Trump Family Criminal Enterprise. Didn’t the Trump followers just blatantly take the sanctions from one of the wealthy, prominent Russians in their last days? And who will go against that and set it right? No one, so far.

What always amazes me is the ability of human beings to see themselves as ‘different from’, better than, – Trump may have treated those others badly, but I am going to be treated differently. All of my dreams will be realized because Trump promised me that…………..

And Khashoggi? Does Trump walk away having done a major work in covering up and taking the Saudi prince out of the spotlight? Did that give you a peep under the rug to see who is really working the gears and producing the results? It is definitely not Putin, although all media has anointed him as the one to whom Trump is beholden.

Trump and Putin are beholden to a mafioso who is so big in this world he makes the Italians look like thugs on the street and the Irish not far behind and lets not even begin to talk about the African American and other mafia.

You are going to be witnesses to how the clean-up ends. You can watch it with clear eyes or you can let the mythology replace reality. What mythology? That which was put into place to insure the rich get richer; the evil don’t pay; the thugs realign and move off into the sunset with new partners to get richer in tomorrows world. And the rest of you? Passing your lack of moral courage on to your next generation to preserve them in that struggling middle to upper middle class so they can pass the lack of moral courage you inherited on for many more generations.

So you asked – so I’ve said!

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The Trump Shutdown: OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

We have a man who calls himself President of the United States. He is illegitimate, an extreme bully, has covered up many crimes including a monstrous murder for another country and is totally engaged in treason and the destruction of the United States and yet we have not taken him down. He has delayed his own removal and the indictment of others who aided him by closing down the American Government. He knows his time is short so he has taken this grand action.

What will he do next?

His ex-wife claimed, in her divorce papers, that he kept a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” on his bedside table. With that as his reading material, I would guess his next step is to call for a National Emergency. Isn’t that what Hitler did? Weakened Germany with outlandish actions and as a denouement he called a National Emergency and it was all over until six million Jews and others were killed, Germany was totally destroyed – and unlike Trump, Hitler was not a puppet of a foreign sovereign.

Trump has an attorney who speaks for him on television. Rudi Giuliani. How was this attorney chosen by Trump? Could it be Trump saw the press conference Mr. Giuliani called outside the Mayor’s House in New York City with his then mistress to announce he was going to marry this woman?

Inside Gracie Mansion, Mr. Giuliani’s wife was making breakfast for their son totally unaware of what was going on outside or that there even was a press conference or that her husband was going to divorce her to marry someone else. She learned that when a reporter called to verify the story.

Does that way of operating seem to reflect Trump’s ethics and character? Does that clear up why he chose Giuliani and what he expects from him?

Besides hiring Giuliani, Trump has tried many other ways to shut down the Russian investigation by doing many things – he fired James Comey; he fired Jeff Sessions; he hired Matt Whitaker; he hired William Barr and on and on it has gone – mostly unsuccessful. But his greatest action in attempting to shut down the Russian investigation is this grand Trump government shutdown. Will we allow it to be successful? Or have we had enough!

Trump can console himself with what he has done to the children!

Something like what is and has been happening at the southern border of the U S. has a historical ring to it. Remember when, in these United States, tens of thousands of Native American children were taken forcibly from their homes and sent other places never to see their families again? What was the result? The complete and total oppression of Native Americans. They have not recovered from then to this day. An entire generation was taken from them, forcibly. The overwhelming feelings of helplessness and loss and what losing an entire generation of a nation’s children does to that nation is indescribable. Those children who survived and were not killed, maimed or otherwise destroyed just given a new identity, never recovered. Is that the playbook from which Trump has taken a page to decide what to do about immigration from South America?

Don’t you think we have done enough? Don’t you think it is time to stop pretending to fight the program until the job of total oppression is done and then we can abdicate all responsibility by destroying the final organizer -the doer – the bigot – the neo-Nazi – the Trump? He has no idea what lies in his future. He thinks he is going to be enormously wealthy and live out his life traveling the globe after his removal from office. Can he spell Khashoggi!

Pretend Donald Trump is African American! Now lets replay that reality show again and see what happens?

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Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

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More from Bettina Members

Friday, January 11th, 2019
  1. I must admit when I first read “Thoughts on Color”, I thought it was frivolous and reaching to make a point. How foolish to put racism into the color one chooses to wear or the color of the car one chooses to drive. Then I saw Donald Trump on his trip yesterday to #TheWall. I was struck dumb for a few seconds. If ever I have seen a “dog whistle” there it was. If ever I thought the wall was about other than racism, Trump’s appearance at the wall in his MAGA Cap brought those thoughts crashing down.

The red MAGA cap was gone. In its place was a white MAGA cap. As I researched, that is not the first time the MAGA Cap’s color has changed. I owe an apology to the person who wrote the “Thoughts on Color” article. It is a powerful way to look at many of the things happening in this society. They range from dog whistles on bigotry to bull horns, all camouflaged with the color one uses.

Given the fact that #TheWall goes back to the KKK, White Nationalists, White Supremacists as one of their projects – made of steel – that they did not complete and have tried through others to bring life back to again – a white MAGA hat conveys the message symbolically, the way Trump’s call to Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails was made. That didn’t take a genius to understand, neither does Trump’s white MAGA hat. His arrogance knows no bounds.

It has been clear from day one with Trump that the presidency for him is all about re-aligning the races and bringing us back as close as he can get to slavery. Trump, in the middle of treason with Russia, has to be concerned about the color of people in the U. S.

Russia is a white country – as are the others with which he is trying to align himself. Kim Jung Un may be basking in glory today, but he needs to realize he heads a nation of people of color and his involvement with Russia et al will be as a minority nation.

Trump changed the color of the U. S. cabinet and every place else in his administration he has eliminated, almost entirely, people of color and replaced them with people today we call “white”. Where he has reach and influence, we have moved from the beautiful flower garden of the Obama’s with its many colors and kinds of flowers to the Trump manufactured and very artificial white flower which looks as though it was produced in a factory producing the same product on its assembly lines day after day. A flower that was designed by a robot.

2. This Wall thing is not a dog whistle it is a bull horn. Go back into your history and look at the parallels. There was the Emancipation of slaves under Abraham Lincoln. That was followed by Reconstruction. After Reconstruction came the reaction which saw the KKK grow into an organization which could march down Pennsylvania Avenue in the 1920’s with tens of thousands of people in white sheets and pointed hats declaring white supremacy, making the country miserable and scared. Donald Trump’s father was one of the people in the white sheet with pointed hat walking with that group of klansmen. He was one the police arrested during the “march” which is one reason why we know Trump’s father was involved with the KKK.

One thing the KKK wanted was a wall on the southern border to keep out people of color – only they were called much nastier names by the klan. They wanted #TheWall to be made of steel. When Trump changed from cement to steel, I think you were right in your blog saying that was a clear message to the extreme bigots of this country. Isn’t that why racism has lasted so long? Because it is overtly and coverly supported by people like Trump with a long line of predecessors, many in Congress, who saw an opportunity and a way to gain power with as much cheating and illegalities as they could muster. All they had to do was to rise up on the backs of all of us – white, black, brown, tan, purple, pink. orange.

Today you can’t call someone the N word without getting into trouble, but you can push to build #theWall and you will be doing the same thing with an excuse and defense against people who will call you racist.

You can let the world know sexism is back and stronger than ever by making sure an alleged sexual assaulter winds up on the Supreme Court. You can have pictures go around the world of the U. S. Cabinet being made up of White Males and the Republicans in Congress being the same with only a 1% difference. That sends out a huge, direct message.

That is what #thewall is all about. Trump even changed the color of his MAGA hat, in case his followers didn’t catch on. That was a more specific signal.

The atmosphere in this country has been changing and it has become very tense with white males feeling their “superiority” threatened, as more people of color move into positions where once an unqualified white male would be hired rather than a more qualified person of color.

We had Mexico – where years ago its borders changed so parts of Mexico would become Texas – remember that piece of history?. The Mexicans who had lived for generations in the areas where the borders were redrawn didn’t leave. Their property and goods were taken and they were thrown out on the streets, but they stayed – what choice did they have – and the work then began by the “ruling class” in this country to make sure the ex-Mexicans were pushed as close to the bottom of the ladder as possible and kept there for generations. Got to keep people around to do the “dirty work”. With those “Texas” brown and black people threatening white supremacy, just by their numbers”, something had to be done.

To be sure some things were done even into the time of Hitler’s Germany. The Nazi prisoners of war were brought to Texas for their incarceration while the war was still going on. African American soldiers, on leave or visiting Texas, or working in Texas, were denied entrance into restaurants and other places because of their color supported by the separate and unequal laws. The Nazi prisoners were picked up on Sundays by the locals who took them to dinner at those same restaurants where the German prisoners of war were welcomed in their native language.

Much upheaval happened and the klan, among other groups, grew exponentially. They could never quite keep those ex-Mexicans down – although they made their lives a living hell most of the time. When you are next in Texas, think of this history as you look around at the substantial Mexican culture you see all around. That culture didn’t pop up as Mexicans came into the United States over the past couple generations, that has been there for quite a few years.

And now along comes Trump. In this time after our modern day equivalent of Reconstruction as Trump and his minions do their job of deconstructing and trying to turn as negative as possible the accomplishments of the Obama Administration, they have reached back into the history of one of our most racist times and come up with #theWall. That unfinished piece of White Nationalism, which they were not able to achieve before they were diminished.

Trump has brought back as much bigotry as he could possibly muster and when folks talk about his “base” they never quite talk about what that means. That means, for those of us who are a little obtuse and did not live that history, Trump’s base means the most bigoted people in this society gravitate to him and his administration because it means a little more time hanging onto their claimed white supremacy and a letting loose of their evil to make life as miserable as possible for the people of color amongst us. Let me note here that this also includes some few lost souls who are not white, but are overwhelmingly lazy, jealous, believers in their own inferiority and more. Even the KKK had those people of color, especially of African descent, who attached to their organization.

Amongst the other things he has done, Trump has certainly done an amazing job of bringing back the modern day equivalent to the Supreme Court which kept Plessy v Ferguson around for generations and guarded against anything that looked like it might facilitate a break in the extreme bigotry in which this country has been gripped almost from its beginnings. The Plessy v Ferguson racial apartheid ruling stayed in this country kept there by the U. S. Supreme Court because of the political beliefs of those on the Court for over 50 years. Isn’t that why Conservatives are so adamant about accepting anything Trump does if he appoints the” right people” to the Court? Look at the straight jacket in which the U. S. Supreme Court kept this country because of its own racism and look at how many years and how many attempts were made unsuccessfully to bring about a change. Thurgood Marshall and those who served with him are justifiably celebrated as “heroes”.

To get the Democrats to contribute to #TheWall would be a huge step forward for Trump’s connection to his followers. It would fulfill one of their great needs. That is why his advisers are saying if he caves on this he is finished politically.

Hopefully, something decent gets into his brain which moves him into joining the forces of good instead of the evil to which he has apparently irrevocably attached himself. It has brought him a future, not of hundreds of millions of dollars, but of total disgrace. How much better to stop lying and start living a decent, respectable, God filled life. He certainly isn’t even close to that today. He is moving in the other direction sending his Secretary of State to the Middle East to attempt to dismantle Obama’s foreign policy and turn it into something ugly. What that has actually managed to do is to remind people of Khashoggi and just how low the Trump administration has sunk. His activities in trying to pull down Obama has reminded everyone that Trump’s foreign policy includes condoning and giving cover to murderers who do gruesome things in addition to all of the rest – the adultery, the lying, the cheating, the stealing, the setting up a criminal enterprise in the White House and so much more.

How long is this going on? Will we find relief soon or will this carry on for years to come? Will we be free of bigotry when Trump moves off stage? Or will something or someone else replace him to keep the U S. bigotry within its borders simmering and waiting for another chance to explode? Will the narrative of the United States contain long chapters of the goodness we have wrought and the road we have taken to walk with others to a better life? Or will we forever replicate a government which leads us down the ugly path finally to perdition.

3. Bar (r) the fixer. It is time – actually past the time – for Congress to put on its “big boy pants” and refuse to clear Barr for Attorney General.

As Trump brings ever more disgrace to these United States and moves us back into a morass from which it will take generations to extricate ourselves, we are also seeing and learning about the sins of those who went before and how they are coming home to be repeated.

Barr was a part of the Reagan/Bush disgrace. Some say he was one of the architects who made sure all of the sins of the Reagan and Bush administrations were not revealed to the voting public.

He was a “cover up” artist and he is now being pushed for Attorney General to do the same thing under Trump. Do we see the invisible hand of Bush, Jr. in this? There can be no equivocating as to why Bar (r) the Fixer was nominated. He volunteered for the job of “cover-up artist” and the only thing he will actually do is denigrate the name and reputation of George H. W. Bush. A lot of what happened in the Bush administration as he became president after Reagan has flown under the radar. Bush the Sr. got away with his reputation intact because of the machinations of Barr. With the ascendancy of Barr to Attorney General in this atmosphere and environment, that will no longer be true. Already the stories have started to uncover and dig up what would have been exposed to the Americana voting public and then to the world, but for Barr.

Are we going to allow that to happen again? Thanks to the Bush family we now have a Supreme Court with TWO sexual deviants. One an abuser and one an alleged assaulter. What Bush started Trump is finishing. The alleged sexual assaulter was started on his career which brought him to the Supreme Court by the Bush family. George Sr. and Jr. The alleged sexual abuser was moved into his career as a Supreme Court Justice totally by Bush, Sr. who in the pictures of them together with members of their respective families, Bush Sr. seems very proud to have moved up into society an African American man who could fit into the negative stereotype of African American men and carry that negative stereotype several degrees uglier and further into this society.

Barr brings the Bush family several steps down and negate their reputations. He is the latest star in the – from Bush to Trump saga. It is time for all of this to be acknowledged and stopped. This society has carried a heavy weight for most of its life. It is time for that burden to be lifted, not for more stones to be put on the backs of those carrying this society forward.

It is time for us to move out of the muck, the filth, the dirt we have walked through and take a hot shower to wash off the muck so we can keep on moving forward with respect for ourselves and to gain some of the world’s respect. It is time for us to treat all parts of the world as equals, not as people to whom we respond with noblesse oblige as we have in the past. Trump has been so outrageous and full of evil that he has presented us with an imperative – “shake off the dirt from your feet” and walk into the beautiful sunlight over lush grassy grounds.

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Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

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Donald Trump and Gay Folks!

Monday, December 31st, 2018

A series of articles to look at, give a partial analysis and outline of Trump’s base and what it cam expect of him.  We are starting with that portion of Trump’s base which are those who are very anti-gay, homophobic, are sure gay folks are trying to convert their children, destroy Christianity and the values they claim to hold close to their hearts and so much more.  You know the rhetoric and you know that portions of Trump’s base overlap.  It is very true that those who are homophobic have other bigotries against other groups which overlap, but this article addresses itself to the anti-gay community portion of Trump’s agenda.

Trump has tried to satisfy them by attempting to ban transgender people from serving in the armed forces, throwing out of the armed forces those transgender people already serving and more.

We will not say much about Donald Trump in his teens because those are tender years and can be the background for the direction in which a person travels, but could also be just experimental and a passing phase.

When we get to Donald Trump in his 20’s, however, we see a person beginning to show his values and to set his life’s path.

One of the people Donald Trump met, who became his mentor, was Roy Cohn.  Roy Cohn was a prominent New York attorney with an awesome reputation for bullying.  He was, at the time, a very famous attorney in these United States and not always for the best of reasons.  At the end of his life he was disbarred for many reasons like – particularly reprehensible conduct, and his ethics were called into question and so much more.   Cohn’s clients included several of New York City’s mafia, who he defended along with a large and impressive roster of clients.

Roy Cohn connects – Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, the Rosenbergs, Roger Stone, Joseph McCarthy, and many more.  A surprising confluence of people.

For the purpose of this article, that which is right out there about Roy Cohn is that he was gay and he died of AIDS.  He is the person most responsible for helping Donald Trump move from his father’s businesses in Queens, New York to Manhattan.  In the process Donald Trump and Roy Cohn were extremely close.  If you could not find one you called the other and that person could tell you where to go or call to find the other – they were that close.

They spent evenings together over candlelight dinners at Club 54; once Trump married, Roy Cohn spent many evenings having dinner with the Trumps at their condo in Trump Tower and that in spite of the fact that Roy Cohn did not think Ivana was the person Donald should have married.  

Donald Trump was in the middle of the male gay community which surrounded Roy Cohn.  He was accepted as one of the boys and his relationship with Roy Cohn was common knowledge and also accepted.

Donald Trump was one of Roy Cohn’s most important clients.  If you did anything with Trump that would or could have resulted in a legal battle you had to deal with Roy Cohn, but Trump rarely, if ever, paid Cohn.  And if you went to Trump’s office during that time there would be a large picture of Roy Cohn on his desk.

We could go on for pages about Donald Trump’s relationship with Roy Cohn, but the point of this article is that during that time and for many years after Roy Cohn’s death, Donald Trump was in the middle of a very sophisticated gay group in Manhattan in which he was totally accepted.  According to some he provided an apartment, at Roy Cohn’s request, to one of Cohn’s friends who was dying of AIDS so he could live out his shortened life in relative comfort and Trump did just that – giving up a condo in Trump Tower – for free.

With that background, where does this hatred of people who are gay come from?  Where does this doing whatever he can to limit access to the gay community of the many things previously granted them as equality – like gay marriage?    The question becomes – why does Trump’s background and relationships  show that he would do the exact opposite?  Why did he have a mentor who was very gay and in the middle of a gay community bringing Trump into the middle of that community in a very public way?

At no time has Trump acknowledged that lifestyle, nor has he said anything about that personal history.  He did not come out, for example, to say that “at one time I was very supportive of the gay community, but in xxxx year I discovered my fault and reformed – turned my back on that history and all of the people with whom I had a close association and friendship and now have decided that homophobic is what I really am and have cut off associations and friendships with any and all gay people except those who have recanted, turned their lives around and are now straight.”

From where in his soul does this close association and friendship with many gay males come from – people with whom he had an extremely close relationship – to make him today able to move his campaign to take an active homophobic stance on many issues; to talk about people who are gay in very negative and subhuman terms; to go after those who are transgender to keep them away from serving in the armed forces and in many other ways.

More to the point would be – how and why do the people who really are homophobic and whose agenda is to rid society of everyone who is gay, transgendered, etc.  have simply taken Trump at his word.  Even knowing this background and history, they have never questioned any of this background.  What is going on here that they believe that he, without political campaigns to win,  would continue to act to make sure this gay group of people are clearly oppressed and not equal to the rest of society?

Surely they have had at least a passing thought that when Trump has no more campaigns to win he would then govern in such a way as to bring the gay community into equity with the rest of society and the goals of the homophobic community destroyed and turned against them.

Anything else makes no human sense.  To say God is using Trump makes even less sense because in my many decades of reading scripture God does not involve me and mine in any evil that God moves to eliminate.  God takes the evil hitting me and turns it into good.  God does the work and humanity benefits.  God upheavals and me and mine are playing God as we see fit.  But this part of Trump’s base has many excuses as to why they are supporting Trump because they believe, in the long run he will act in the interest of and promotion into society of their anti-gay, homophobic, anti transgender beliefs and life actions.

We believe that is nonsense and we believe something else is operating here and we believe we know what that is about.

Take a look at Bill Cosby and the evil he inflicted on dozens of women with his corrupt actions.  Look at how many years and how much pain and suffering and hard work it took to expose Bill Cosby and bring him to justice.  Why was that?  Why did so many people for so long support Bill Cosby in spite of what was showing right in their faces up close and personal?

For many, many decades television, books, and much more of media coverage portrayed Bill Cosby as this loving father and great man.  He received all kind of awards – not based on who he was, but based on his media persona – which many believed and would not let go of even in the face of facts which proved otherwise.  It took decades before it began to seep into the world’s conscience that the Bill Cosby on television and all of those Cosby family books and other kinds of media that circulated was created fiction and not the real Bill Cosby.  The real Bill Cosby was the person going to Court who was finally proven to be the sexual predator that he actually was and not the great, kind, with it father he portrayed in many media settings.  The kind of father we all want and many of us don’t have.  It is extremely difficult to give up on that kind of dream.  And the kind of dream Turmp portrayed – great business executive, incredibly successful giving others and maybe one day us the opportunity to follow in his footsteps.  That is like giving up on the lottery for those so addicted.

For many years, Donald Trump has been portrayed on television as this great business mogul with all of the trappings to create a romantic figure to get us to tune in year after year.  We have in mind the man created by good writers, camera people, directors, producers, in books ghost written for him by others.  We have not been able to believe and to take down the man so constructed for us by the media to see the real person who is the real Donald Trump.  The media is now doing its best to show us that person, but many are resisting because Donald Trump is putting himself in front of the public as the created, romanticized person who actually exists only on television and not in real life. 

Don’t you think it is time to look carefully and scrutinize this man the way many had to scrutinize Bill Cosby to see who he actually was and to look away from and put in the fairy tale books the Bill Cosby and Donald Trump created as marketing tools to sell all kinds of products to the average American citizen?

And don’t you think, given those two examples of human beings turned into almost monsters by their media persona and how far we have had to go to expose them as other than that romantic image – that we should give lots of thought to what we create and watch and give credence to in the media because clearly that is now roiling our society by the way it has seeped into our consciousness and affected decisions in real life and in how we make choices for ourselves and others?  

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Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

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Start writing or type / to choose a block


A Trumpian Sonnet

Monday, December 24th, 2018

How have I sold you out?  Let me count the ways –

I sold you out to the depth and breadth and height

my soul could reach striving for and needing great wealth,

control, supremacy over all.

You were the means by which that greatness within the

circle of dictators could be acquired and attained.

My life, from its beginning to its end, has always been about the ideal

situation that would make me better than anyone else ever with

the world acknowledging my greatness.

My reach for the top of power,

money, supremacy of my whiteness

is all that motivates me. 

I have not lost my saints – there were never any there for me by

my life’s choices.

 I wanted to be free to make my own choices

without the handicap of society’s ethics, morals, character which had

constraints that would not allow me the freedom I needed.

My freedom and supremacy uber alles and on my own terms

are beliefs to which I hold and have always lived by.

In my childhood faith I was a god and resented those around

who did not acknowledge such.

In my adulthood, I am god – at the top of the mountain talking only

to a friend who has been there counseling me forever taking his

advice and suggestions.  

He wants world control and asked for my help – which I freely gave.

I didn’t even mind the intense heat and sulfur smell which seemed to

always surround him. 

Through my smiles, tears, through all of my life I have wanted to

be the one he chose – so now I walk into his house with those

like me and we shall, for an eternity, be together.

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Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

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Come to Jesus! But which one?

Friday, December 7th, 2018

Several times a year I face this conversation.  It comes from living in a diverse community with friends, colleagues, family and acquaintances who question Christianity – especially today with Donald Trump being the hero and the one “evangelical christians” glorify – all in the name of Jesus – or are they talking about ‘jesus’.

It came up when Roy Moore from Alabama was running for office and pushing out for all to see, hear and hopefully believe – his evangelical christianity.  He used his form of this ‘christianity’ to claim he could not have done all the things folks claimed he did because he was a Christian.  He believed in Christ.  He loved Jesus – and on and on it goes.  Problem with that was, I was raised a Christian all of my life and I didn’t recognize anything he said or did as being Christian – let lets put him in the ‘christian’ and ‘jesus’ religion.  And so, I dispensed with that problem – yet again.

In the last undecided Congressional race, watching the people involved comment – the Republican chair talking to Chris Hayes on MSNBC  claimed he did not believe Republican Mark Harris would be involved in the voter fraud scandal in North Carolina because he loved Jesus and wouldn’t do anything against that.  Once again – he loved which one – Jesus or ‘jesus’?

It looks very much as though his choice was ‘jesus’.  Jesus got pushed out the door so he couldn’t witness the scandal.  He will be brought back in when all of that voter fraud stuff is over.

In these United States we have two religions which call themselves “Christian” – because they claim to be followers and believers in “Christ.” That has been true for generations – way back to slavery.  How many slave owners went to Church on Sunday and professed Christ and promised to follow Christs’ teachings only to return home and beat their slaves for one reason or another feeling perfectly justified in the doing and seeing no conflict?

I’ve tried to make peace with this by putting the bad guy “evangelical christians” in small letters along with the “jesus” and “christ” they claim.  But that is not quite satisfying.  That still lets me get upset with all of those ‘christians’ professing their ‘jesus’ because it is too close to mine and I have to answer to others who don’t understand the differences.  I have to justify my Christianity too many times because of them.

Having been raised in the A.M.E, the Congregational and Episcopal Churches all at the same time, with a heavy dose of Catholicism having lived in New Orleans and Downtown at that,  I guess some conflict seems normal to me. (The Intellectuals and the Protestants lived Uptown – the Catholics, the artists, a conglomeration of everyone else lived Downtown).

The conflict between these two totally separate religions, which go by the same name, is way beyond normal and they certainly espouse totally opposite beliefs and theologies.

So maybe its time for a name change!

I remember Jimmy Carter’s dilemma when he started his campaign for President of the United States.  It was noted and reported world wide, but after a time left in the dust.

James Carter was a very strong, believing ‘christian’.  It defined his life, his work, his relationships and everything about his life.

Problem with that was the Church he attended and where he taught Sunday School and (I think) served as an usher was very segregated.  That accorded with his then ‘christian’ religion, but not with the public’s thoughts about Christianity when they heard his religious beliefs discussed.   If Blacks came at all to his Church they had to sit in the back row and mostly they clearly understood they were not welcome.

It was quite something in this country when James Carter realized and rejected that ‘christianity’ and left the Church in which he was raised because of its overt racism – common across the country in such ‘christian’ churches.  He left one religion – or religious denomination – for another.  He left ‘christianity’ and became a Christian.

Todays’ “evangelical christians’ are big supporters of Donald Trump – a sexual assaulter by his own admission.  Interesting thing about that – so are many of the leaders of the ‘evangelical christians’.  Some have been called out and their ‘sins’ exposed, but they are back in the fold doing the same things they did to get expelled and they are supported by the people and their money to whom they preach every Sunday.  I could call them out by name, but there is not enough room on this computer to contain all of them.

All through United States history the claims that this is a ‘christian’ country have been made loud and clear and that declaration used to move aside, push out, treat abusively those who are among the “non-believers”, the atheists, those others who ‘jesus’ supposedly called ‘christians’ to convert.  Many if not most of the abusive, hatred, pain, agony and more inflicted on the world has been done in the name of some religion.  Today and yesterday it was done in the name of this ‘christianity’.  White Privilege – White Nationalists – the KKK and all the others live by and proselytize their ‘christianity’ and use it to justify the evil they do and have done.  That ‘christianity’ has maintained such beliefs and actions because it makes the doers feel as though they are on their gods side – on the side which makes them better than everyone else.  And they define their god as one who supports and has defined and brought into being the beliefs they live by – a theology that only satan could love.

And most especially – have you noticed the class distinctions between these two religions?  “Jesus and the Disinherited” runs through from the beginning until now of the Christian religion.  Foul up everything with even the ability and justification to kill and not see that as a moral flaw of your religion runs through the other – with its striving of its members to be better than; more important than; wealthier than.  Isn’t that the theology which allowed Trump to proclaim to the nation that they should support MbS because after all Saudi Arabia brought us wealth in our interactions with them and isn’t that what is most important?  Dismembering a human being is nothing when compared to the acquisition of the kind of wealth the Kingdom could bring to the United States.  A basic belief of this ‘christian’ religion after the one which claims they are ‘better than”.

Don’t you think it is time for a renaming ceremony?  Time to clearly distinguish between these two religions?  My Christianity certainly does not begin to be anything like that of Roy Moore’s. Et tu?

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Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

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Marceline’s Story – continued!

Thursday, December 6th, 2018

Ed. Note:  We invite you to send us your story.  You can send and request that we not put your name as the person in the story.  Having discovered how rich are the lives of those in Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community, it would be great for you to share with the rest of us.

This story was not written by Marceline Donaldson.  It was sent to us by someone who knows her – more having observed her life than someone who was a close friend.  She was not too happy to publish it, but we prevailed so your feedback by sending your stories would be much appreciated.

The “Marceline’s story” she refers to, in case you are confused – because we were – can be found in this blog https://www.bettina-network.com/blog/archives/4804

 

A “Friend’s” Observation of a life full of lessons on oppression and how it affects those who are forced to experience it.

A difficult and awkward title, but its is the best I could do and I am not sure you are going to publish it.  Hope you do.  In this era of Donald Trump and the rise of the racist/sexist groups we need to know what others experience.

I was born and raised in Minneapolis.  Most would consider me fairly wealthy.  Until Marceline came along I really didn’t think much about that.  I suppose I took it for granted that I was supposed to live as I did.

My first conscious experience of race and sex discrimination was when I saw what happened to Marceline when she moved into a house not far from me in Wayzata.  I would see her in Church on Sundays, but didn’t pay much attention.  We didn’t travel in the same circles, but the affect what happened to her had on my life was profound.

I always lived in White communities.  My neighbors and everyone around me were White.  Somehow that didn’t strike me as being racist or racism and certainly not sexism.  I just lived the way I was raised without question.  It was a comfortable life.  My friends were great and people I had known for a lifetime.  And then along comes this woman with small children and the neighborhood went ballistic.

From a very safe distance I watched what happened.  A friend of mine was involved and all were very angry like – ‘who does she think she is; doesn’t she know her place; why did she have to move into our community wasn’t her own good enough for her?”  And then I saw the damage done to her house before she could move in and felt the shock that I knew people who could do such a thing.  It was profound.

That wasn’t the first time this same woman caused a stir.  I heard the stories of what happened before Marceline moved into my neighborhood.  Apparently, she lived in another neighborhood in Wayzata and the man who owned the house was appalled at a black family living in his house.  I don’t know how she moved in without his knowing she was African American, but watching Marceline over the years, today, that doesn’t surprise me one bit.

He bragged about waiting until Marceline left the house with her children and he then went in and ripped the faucets apart all over the house so there would be no water.  I couldn’t imagine coming home with my children and finding the faucets all over my house ripped off and lying around.  It was when I heard that story that I began to realize I lived in a White neighborhood without any of “the others” living around me because people like that horrible man existed.  He and others were people in the society in which I lived who made sure my neighborhood would always be White.  That was an eye opener and I have never been the same.

There was a small buzz at Church that Sunday and when I joined the “buzz” group I discovered what happened after the faucets were removed.  Apparently, Marceline called an attorney and was going to have the home owner arrested for what he did.  He backed down because she was in the process of also calling the media and I don’t think he wanted the publicity.

After that, everyone expected her to leave the neighborhood and move into a black neighborhood where – as the talk went – she would be more ‘comfortable’, but she didn’t do that.  She moved into a more exclusive part of the neighborhood – which means an area where the kind of separatism with which I grew up reigned and the people would do everything they could to fend her off – and they had the power to do it ‘under the table’.

“Her story” picks it up from there, but her life was not easy and with several small children I still don’t know how she survived all of that to still be here and still fighting the battles that we set her up to fight so she and others like her would not move into “our” neighborhoods.

That changed my life.  I was no longer unconscious about the dynamics in my neighborhood.  I haven’t become a civil rights fighter.  In fact I don’t get involved, but I do send money to others who are fighting and keep up with many of the battles going on.

You are probably calling me a coward about now, but that is all I could and can handle and unless lightning strikes I will continue in that vein.  It isn’t much, but it did determine how I raised my children and they are far more active than I am and very much aware of the diversity or lack of it in whatever they do and wherever they live.  I don’t think they realize they owe that to their mother’s experience many decades ago.

If you don’t print this, its alright.  I just wanted you to know a part of how my story and Marceline’s intersected. I wish I could have been more involved, but that is just not who I am.  Mostly, I feel guilty from having watched all of that and did not reach out to help.  That is probably why I decided to write this.   I often think if I had called her to tell her what was going on in the background even that little bit could have helped, but I couldn’t bring myself to do even that.  What I did do was to raise my children in a very different way from how I was raised.  I am amazed I’ve written this and fully intend to send it to you.  Please don’t put my name to anything.

P. S.  I am sending a donation and will continue to send donations because I very much want to see this publication and this business succeed.

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Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

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Time to Celebrate Bettina Network’s Blog – over 3 million visitors!

Wednesday, December 5th, 2018

We hoped we would cross the 3,000,000 reader mark by the end of the year, however, we crossed that mark in November and thanks to all of you who come on a consistent basis to read what we publish.  We also thank you for your contributions, without them we would be nothing.  We even thank those of you who come-  sometimes. And we miss those of you who have not discovered this source of information.

We have published 612 blogs!!

You can subscribe to get the blog sent to your email address.  Currently, we do not have a long list of subscribers so most of those 3 million plus readers come fresh every day.  This year we will work on getting a subscriber list – maybe.  Someone said that was the way to do it – we don’t agree, but we will give it a ‘sort of’ try.

We continue to have a media center as our goal.  We are a new kind of media – community oriented. We are a publishing outlet for our community.

The one thing on which we will not compromise is truth telling. We maintain the same philosophy that we have had from day one.  We are open to those who belong to Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community as their media outlet.  If they have something to share – poetry they can’t or won’t publish elsewhere; new research findings; new ideas; etc. we will publish their contributions.   We include everything – recipe’s, nutrition, fashion, research of all kind, politics, wealth creation, psychology articles, spiritual reflection, articles on sexism, racism, culture and cultural differences, how does culture affect our world, geo-politics, — you name it, we include it if the Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community supports it.

THE GRAND TOTAL _ as of this morning  _3,082,637 visits to

 Bettina Network’s Blog!!!!

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

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Wells Fargo Boycott continued! – #WellsFargo

Monday, December 3rd, 2018

The response has been overwhelming.  Hope you will all continue to work with us to promote and make this a successful action.  Your future and ours depends upon it.  As we receive stories from you, we will publish them in Bettina Network’s Blog.

Your story of your experience is a very strong weapon.  Not only is it your story, but you will find millions have had the same experience.  Sharing lets you know others experience the same thing and it is a pattern and practice of that particular corporation to oppress and rip off its customers.

And don’t forget – close your Wells Fargo banking connection on every level: – close your savings account – cancel your checking account – sell your stock in Wells Fargo – ask corporations to change their transfer agent if it is Wells Fargo connected (the head of Equiniti, the current group which is the transfer agent for many corporations – was formerly the head of Wells Fargo Shareowners Corporation and many of Equinti’s employees were formerly employees of Wells Fargo Shareowners Corporation, clearly this is not a new company, but a new corporate filing to escape the problems created by the old corporation)

If you own stock with Equinity or Wells Fargo Shareowners Corporation as the transfer agent and the corporation won’t change, sell the stock and buy stock with other transfer agents in charge.  Isn’t it amazing how a simple thing like a corporation charged with  bookkeeping can wield such control over the lives of many?

 

TODAY’S STORY

Intimidation is a large weapon in a bank’s arsenal.

Whenever you call a bank which is trying to hide, intimidate, scare, rip you off in some way no matter how small – especially if you are calling about a complaint, the bank employee who has called you or who you have called reads this “notice” to you that “this call is being recorded”.

I had a very negative experience with Wells Fargo about such calls.  They attempt to use those “recordings”  to make claims against me which were not true.  Before that happened to me I had no problems talking to the bank even after they read the “recording announcement”.  Since you have no way to counter the claims the bank can make at subsequent times because they have the only record of your conversation with them you are in a lose, lose situation.  Even if you took careful notes of the conversations you had with the bank, their claim backed up by their recording wins the day.  It is meant to back you off and get you to drop whatever complaint you are making against them no matter how legitimate.

In my case, what they claimed was not true, but they backed up their claim with a recording of a conversation I had with a bank employee.  It was neither a total nor accurate record of the conversation.  I had nothing – they had what was a doctored recording.

What to do?  I went out and bought a simple recording machine which could be plugged into my telephone.  Whenever I have a conversation with a bank during which they announce that they are “recording” the conversation, I let them know that I need just a second to set up my recording and I will be recording my end of the conversation.

The bank employee then ends the conversation because they are not allowed to participate in a conversation where they are recording and you are recording the same conversation.  Only conversations where they have the upper hand because they are recording the conversation are allowed in their universe.

If they have anything to say to me, they can say it in writing.  And, I can respond in writing.  If the bank wants to record the conversation you know there is something going on under the table that honesty has left the room.

_

______Ways to Contact Wells Fargo Bank to let them know you will not do business with them

Corporate Headquarters*

420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, California 94163
United States
Phone: 866-878-5865

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Project 2 – Wells Fargo Boycott

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

It Is Time to Boycott Wells Fargo Bank! – #WellsFargo

Sunday, December 2nd, 2018

Bettina Network Foundation, inc. is calling on everyone to join in and actively participate in this boycott of Wells Fargo Bank.

For a very long time banks have been fundamental in making sure there is none to very little change in this society.  Racism, sexism, homophobia, class discrimination, who owns and keeps the wealth in this country and so much more are determined by your local bank – which is probably no longer local but is the branch or unattended outlet of a major, international banking plus other businesses institution.  And most notably they are majorly responsible  for homelessness.  Not entirely, to be sure, but they do maintain the structure – in tact – no matter how loud or long they protest their innocence.

What do they gain?  One thing is keeping us divided against each other so communication as to what they are doing is knowledge kept and known only to a few.

How is wealth created in these United States?  Through either real estate or stock.  Either through ownership of land – real property – as it increases in value, or through ownership in corporations as they increase in value.

Many people have tried to increase their wealth and have been stymied.  Mostly by the banks – even though we are not ignoring the role of other institutions. Unfortunately, in spite of our great educations, most of us are ignorant of how this happens and therefore it continues.

How has this happened?  Little by little we hope to unfold for you all of it so you can function with a knowledge that makes your actions and your life more productive.

Banks have in the past and still do today majorly maintain segregated neighborhoods through “red lining”.  They are helped in this endeavor by some realtors, but brokers, dealers, realtors can’t take all the credit.  Most of it goes to the banks.

Red lining is an old way of maintaining separation of peoples based on things like color, economic and financial status, etc. which has not gone out of existence.   It has just gone underground and periodically takes on new forms.  Banks do not maintain that separation of peoples only through red lining, they do it through the intentional destruction of neighborhoods targeted for “urban renewal” or for a change of a neighborhoods racial make-up or etc.  There are billions of dollars involved and to be made by those who are a part of such transactions along with the loss of lives, livelihoods and more.

Which bank is the most egregious bank of them all?  WELLS FARGO!

In spite of tens of thousands of dollars having gone into the legal process to get them to change and many other ways which have been tried to approach this problem, Wells Fargo is still ripping off the American public – and probably many overseas as well.  As a result of the legal processes, which they lost, the only change we can see is a new and improved marketing and advertising program which the bank has rolled out instead of making restitution in real ways to those they have hurt.  That marketing and advertising program is nothing more than smoke and mirrors to get you to continue doing business with them so they can continue doing that business as usual.  And lets not talk about fines, etc. imposed on Wells Fargo.  To you and me that is like money to go to the store to buy ice cream or a pizza given their overall finances.

The ugliness, which has hurt so many,  is still enshrined within the bank along with its structures and the people who carry them out.  Most are people who carry out these policies to put food on their tables and to keep a roof over their heads.  Many are people competing to have better food and a more expensive roof over their heads.  It is time to take another look at what you can do and how you – Wells Fargo employees – can contribute to bringing about basic change, accepting your responsibility for being one of those making the lives of others extremely difficult so you and yours can benefit.  There are ways you can help bring about basic change and maintain your job and your increasingly lucrative and going up the ladder of success lifestyle.  You don’t have to concentrate on or be involved in only the one – because you are likely to be one of those against whom you moved to make their lives difficult to impossible.  History shows that is probably going to be the result of your efforts, if you continue on the path you are now taking.

Exposure is one way!  Open the windows, throw open the doors and let fresh air flow through.  Let the general public know what is going on and what we can do to make basic change so we all benefit.

Bettina Network Foundation, inc. is calling one way we can all move towards changing this society for the better:

  1.  If you have a savings account with Wells Fargo – close it.  You can open it with another bank.  And yes,  all banks are complicit, but you have to start someplace.  One bank has to make change and one very large bank with lots of influence and which has been shown to be a bank which destroys lives, property, the quality of lots of peoples way of life and keeps on keeping on going down the wrong street ripping peoples lives apart is a good place to start.

2.  Once you have closed your savings account, let us know and let Wells Fargo know you closed your account and why!

3.  If you have a checking account with Wells Fargo – close it.

4.  And once again, let us know and let Wells Fargo know you closed your checking account and why!

5.  If you own stock in Wells Fargo – sell it.  And let Wells Fargo know you sold your stock in their bank and any subsidiaries you can find – let us know about the subsidiaries and let us and Wells Fargo know you sold your stock and why!

6.  And this is a biggy!  Do you own stock in other publicly traded corporations?  Check out who is the transfer agent responsible for keeping the records for that publicly traded corporation.  If it is Wells Fargo Shareowner Services or EG by Equiniti – demand that the corporation change its transfer agent and hire another totally unconnected to Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, from our experience, did lots to hurt John and Jane Q. Public.  Instead of responding to what they did they simply changed their name, ignored the problems they created and kept on moving ahead.  This is common for many corporations.  It is time for this to stop and you have the power to stop these under handed activities.

A statement taken from Equinity’s marketing materials – “Even though Wells Fargo has sold its transfer agency business, our relationship with Wells Fargo remains strong. We will continue to use banking and brokerage services provided by Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo will continue to use us as its transfer agent.”

Today’s Story is only one, but it begins to unfold why we are promoting and managing this boycott and what we want changed?  Bettina Network Foundation, inc’s goal is to eliminate homelessness.  That is a growth area in this society and the ways it has been attacked have not worked.  It is time to look at the base reasons and eliminate and change them so everyone has food, shelter and work in this very wealthy society.  We do not need to continue on this path of the rich getting richer and the middle class becoming homeless.

TODAY’S STORY!

“We owned Dayton-Hudson stock and we owned Target Corp stock for decades. When
Dayton-Hudson became Target Corp. all of our stock became Target Corp. stock. We kept that stock for decades. When we needed to sell the stock because we needed the money
for business purposes and needed that asset changed to cash quickly – as promised it would be by Target Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commissio – we had to go through Wells Fargo Shareowner Services.

When we contacted Wells Fargo Shareowner Services to ask that they sell the stock – it became a several years consumption of money, time, emotional energy and more.

A transaction that should have taken a few minutes to send a letter with the appropriate form – accurately filled out – and then the next step taken by Wells Fargo Shoreowner Services should have been just four days for the stock to be sold and just a very short time after that for the money to be deposited into my account.  That process  actually took almost three years. Why? We have many theories, but why is irrelevant. What is relevant is
that our money was kept and our access to an asset which the Securities and Exchange Commission supposedly is the watch dog agency to make sure things like this does not happen all were useless in the face of Wells Fargo. Whatever they did was accepted and acceptable and I was put in the position of first a supplicant – please get this done, I need my money;  through to a very angry woman demanding her assets be treated and acted upon per her request.

WHY did I have to go through this? Because the Direct Purchase Plan with Target Corporation gave Wells Fargo Shareowner Services – the transfer agent for Target Corporation – the right to keep the stock certificates of the stock we owned. I was told many stories as to why that was the best thing to do – “when you are ready to sell there is no issue with the stock certificates, they are in the possession of Wells Fargo Shareowner Services or whichever transfer agent Target Corporation was using and the sale of the stock will be stress free for everyone and able to be executed in minutes.”

That was a lie! If, for any reason one of those corporations wants to move against you without showing their hand because you are a political or other kind of nuisance, you have given them the ability to do just that and they will use it – to harass you and make your financial life a shambles at their discretion and Wells Fargo Shareowner Services was the champion at doing that.  Leave your stock certificates for safe keeping with their services and they control your asset and no one is going to come to your rescue.  Attorneys will, costing more than the stock is worth, but no one else moves to help no matter their job description or their mandate.

Target Corporation, in spite of going all the way up the ladder from Customer Service to the “investment” area to the CEO of Target Corporation refused any kind of help.  To them, the responsibility was with Wells Fargo Shareowner Services and they closed off communications of all kind.  Letters went unanswered, pleas went unheeded, the door to the Executive Suite slammed shut.  This was not their problem.  But – said I – this is your stock not Wells Fargo’s stock.  Mean silence prevailed.

It took almost three years of going back and forth with Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Attorney Generals Office and more such institutions. When a lawyer became involved – only then were our wishes heeded.  At that point the asset was gone – attorneys don’t come cheap.  So while their goal was not fulfilled one way, it was indeed fulfilled in another way even more effective because it took my time, the asset and emotional energy to get to that solution.

When we started the process of asking that the Target Stock be sold, Wells Fargo Shareowner Services had just taken over as Target Corporations transfer agent. Today just three plus years later ownership of that Wells Fargo Shareowner Services has been transferred to Equinity. The same people are at the top and all through the ranks so what happened? Did their problems multiply because of the way they did business and the number of people they hurt that the easiest thing for them to do was not to make amends for their sins, but to transfer ownership so they did not have to take responsibility and did not have to correct their wrongs?  Talk to Equiniti and you will be told – sorry that is not our problem, we are not the company with whom you had problems.  Clean – swift – vicious!”

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That is a common way for such corporations to act and it is time for that to stop. If you hurt someone you need to make amends and make those people whole again at the same time changing the processes which caused the problem in the first place.

So we will go back to asking you to check your stock certificates on any stock you own – if the transfer agent is Wells Fargo Shareowner Services or if it is Equiniti, demand that the corporation whose stock you own change their transfer agent or you sell the stock and buy into another corporation which uses another transfer agent and let us and them know what you have done.

We will publish your story with or without your name depending upon your request to us. Why without the name of the person involved? Because retaliation by corporations is common and many have experienced unnecessary hassle and harassment and loss because of corporations trying to silence the public so they can be allowed to continue doing ugly, vile things without taking responsibility and without making those people whole.

Small steps in the right direction have been taken, in the past, by expensive and long lasting law suits from which almost no one benefits.  It is time for that to change!

Your basic responsibility is to the human beings with whom you inhabit this earth, to make it a better – more viable – kinder – gentler – more caring place to live without the ugliness we have all had to endure because of greed, power hunger and other such emotions and character flaws which have pervaded the institutions which are supposed to be there to help us navigate this world in a more flawless manner.

Please pass this along to as many people as you can possibly reach who you think need to read this message and to keep up with this boycott.

What do we need to continue, promote and make this a successful boycott?

Your ideas

Your time and energy to do the work of carrying this forward

Your money to help us meet the costs of such an action

______Ways to Contact Wells Fargo Bank to let them know you will not do business with them

Corporate Headquarters*

420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, California 94163
United States
Phone: 866-878-5865
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Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 

 

MISSISSIPPI BURNING – EVIL STALKS AND WINS!

Wednesday, November 28th, 2018

by: Marceline Donaldson

It gets harder to write these articles.  Once upon a time we wrote about so many wonderful things which helped improve life; made everything brighter, easier, more elegant.  Today, we are so enmeshed in the evil that has become part of the everyday life in these United States that nothing else comes up.  The evil that is loose in the United States of America has wiped out everything else – unless you are a part of bringing the evil empire about.

You can go ahead with other things.  They did so in Hitler’s Germany.  While Jews and those who stood up for goodness, mercy, equality, love, caring, kindness were murdered in the most vicious ways and others were put into a horrendous form of slavery, there were those others out celebrating – living life as though everything was fine; paying attention to those everyday things that make for a life amidst denial.   My question – how can you continue to move ahead taking advantage of what is available to you while ignoring what is happening in your own country, which seems to be steadily on the road to making Hitler’s Germany look like a walk in the park on a sunny day.

In other articles – a few years ago – we predicted Donald Trump’s march taking the United States into Hitler’s Germany and you all let it happen.  Look around at the morass in which you are now living and sinking and doing normal everyday things.  Maybe you need to read or re-read Hannah Arendt’s book – on the banality of evil, the middle classless that supported Hitler and his cohort’s evil which was spewn  around the world.  It is certainly proving true today in the United States.

After tear gassing immigrants, the “president” of the United States went to a rally in Mississippi where many were paid to attend and make like they were just loving Trump and others were there because they actually were loving and cheering on this evil and in that environment Mississippians went on to elect Hyde-Smith as its senator.  This was not simply about a political loss or win – this was about evil winning or losing.  In Mississippi, one more time, evil won.  Evil brought into being the memories of public hangings – of people being dragged behind trucks until dead because they dared to vote.  What is horrendous in all of this for me – the country was Democratic when that happened and the good guys trying to stop all of it were Republicans.  Well, today – look at who is driving the evil.  I left a long life of Republicanism as I experienced that Political Party turning into something that would destroy every good value we hold.  That used to be what we thought of the Democrats when they were in league with the KKK, White Supremacist and every other “movement” where the votes could be had cheap and in bulk.

A man who is a murderer, who backs heads of government who murder their own in gruesome ways for getting out of line, a thief, adultery, sexual assaulter by his own admission and braggadocio, and so much more on that evil side of the ledger, this man arrived and called Mississippians to vote for one of his strong unequivocal followers – one who didn’t deviate one inch from his gospel.  Watching Trump and Hyde-Smith walk down the steps of the airplane which delivered Trump to Mississippi to do his bit to get her into elected government was like watching satan and one of his anointed.

You think that is extreme?  Unbalanced? Mentally off?

What was mentally off was our thinking that the United States was on its way to “becoming” – this “city on a hill” which has been shown to be nothing but Mississippi burning with the smell of sulphur all around.

History says there has been no change.  I registered to vote as a Republican.  I was precinct chair of my area in Wayzata, Minnesota.  I was elected to that position by my friends and neighbors.  Wow! That was special.  Well, one day Ronald Regan declared he was running for president of the United States.  Horror began to strike in me because while he articulated the United States as that city on a hill, he clearly had an extreme racist view and following and program to be elected president using racism, sexism, and as much bigotry as he could summon – albeit in a very elegant way.  How did you know that was about to happen?  How did you know he pre-saged the coming of Donald Trump, who is anything but elegant?  Regan announced his candidacy for president of these United States in Mississippi.  That was more than what we call a “dog whistle” – and the “dogs” came running.

What did I see in Minnesota?  Into the precinct caucus meeting came a slew of Texans.  Being from the south, I recognized that Texas accent all around.  Who were they?  How did they all turn up in my caucus at the same time?  Where did they work?  What brought them to Minnesota?  And what did I experience?  Talk in the caucus meeting was about how shocked they were to see this n—-r woman as precinct chair.  And that was followed by all kinds of racist remarks. Who was in that caucus meeting listening – the very proper, top of society Minnesota citizens.  They didn’t object; defend; become insulted by; insisted the people doing the name calling and ugly very racist rhetoric to stop – they  quietly proposed that we elect someone else, “more appropriate”, as chair.  For the rest of that meeting I was treated as a non-entity.  I was neither seen nor heard.  My personhood was totally denied.  If I had anything to say someone else would start a conversation on another topic and direct it to another person who would respond.  It was beyond dehumanizing.  I should have been amazed to hear the very normal, mundane, quiet way they did that, but by that time I had been a part of so much of that – it seemed normal and it was normal.  It is still normal today.  Many people experience the same thing on a day by day basis without any intervention and it continues until they either leave or accept their non-human status in whichever group they are trying to function.  Their “friends” in the group go along with that kind of treatment, but once outside the group they are “friends” again and acknowledged as fully human and fully a part of that friendship group. Sick!  All of us!

That bothered me, but not as much as you would expect.  I knew I had friends in the area – didn’t we eat together; talk together; enjoy life and shared our children back and forth?  Not really!  My even living in the area was a problem, but not one that came out so that I could see and hear it until the Texans showed up.  I have a history of being that sort of African American woman who is always in the wrong place at the right time.  Look at where I live today and the stories I have to tell about that!

When I bought a home in Wayzata and arrived to take ownership and live in the neighborhood, I found the pond with sculptures outside the house, which was one of its charms, all marked up with graffiti  put there by the children of the neighborhood – the seven, eight, ten year old children – those who were the same age as my children and who would be their classmates in school.  They heard horrible things about this incoming neighbor and felt free and angry enough to resent our appearance in “their” neighborhood and so set about doing whatever they could to destroy the house before we could take it over and live next door.  One of the many deliberate handicaps you must overcome when out of your oppressed group.  These were not “ghetto”, wild, untrained, no manners children.  These were children of the upper classes in that neighborhood and in this country.

Their parents were all sweetness and light and very apologetic.  They had many excuses for what their children had done – none accurate, the story was substantially cleaned up – but they had the children come and clean up their “mess.”  That didn’t do the job – it cost me quite a bit to have professionals come in because the damage was deep – no one offered to pay the bill, they just pretended everything was fine and their children had cleaned up what they destroyed.  I didn’t ever go out that door again nor look at that pond.  I just let it go wild.  I wanted to create great graffiti art all over the house and destroy as much of it as possible and then live quietly in the neighborhood, but that fantasy was always in my head, never intentionally acted out.

Life didn’t get better!  I lived in two worlds, but it wasn’t anything any different from my life before moving into that house in Wayzata.  I was born living in two worlds so I knew how to traverse the terrain – painful, horrendous, confusing terrain, but just by being born that was my lot.

What my neighbors didn’t realize was that all of their talk was brought right back to me, by their friends,  so when I saw them in Church, had dinner in their homes, had many discussions on many levels with them, I also heard what was said when I was not around because being a part of those two worlds meant I was not “walled off” in a black community where what they were saying and doing was as though it happened in a foreign country where me and mine didn’t speak the language.

Why am I going into all of this?  Because I think it is time to tell my story.  It is time to get out of me and into you all of the horror through which I have lived because you wanted to maintain your claimed white supremacy and white privilege.  I want you to know what that has cost me and mine.  We have paid an especially high price because we didn’t stay in our “black neighborhood”, didn’t marry our black brothers and sisters, have lived in a very “diverse” community for a lifetime so I know the ins and outs that have been kept away from that black community – I know why they were kept 20 years into the past so economic parity would not be an issue, which is probably the major reason as to why it has been kept separate.  You can’t take advantage of, oppress, and live such a life if the people you are destroying are aware on an intimate basis of who you are and what you are about.  It has been roughly like going through a very painful operation without anesthesia with no recovery, just more operations.

And no, I don’t hate you, I have too many English, Irish, Scottish, and every other kind of ancestor lumped under the category of “white” to have hatred for you and my Christian upbringing has put this knowledge of sin and forgiveness into my life – but my journalist family background added to that the need to tell the truth, so that is what you will read in these pages of my journey through this very bigoted society.  The kind of society that  elected a racist woman to Congress because she is supported strongly by a man who is not only proven to be racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, thinks immigrants are to be reduced to the exploitation of near slavery and so much more.  This election should be the celebration of a woman elected to Congress where no woman had been elected in the past, but this woman had to pass the extreme racist test to be so elected and the test that she was indeed not an independent woman, but beholden to and under the influence of men and she did.  Mississippi’s victory over the #meToo movement.  #meToo – we elected one woman to Congress – our picture of our incoming class will not be entirely white and male – breaking up the WASP image.  She did her job and recalled that time of life when we had public hangings of African Americans who voted and so much more of that racism in her education, her choices for her family, her everyday life.

Want to know more – stay tuned, if you can take it.  I’ve lost too much to care if you decide to continue retaliating against me and mine.  My losses because of your white privilege have just gone over the top for the millionth time and clearly that will continue into the next generation.  You have no idea how painful it is to know your children will experience some of the pain you did because of this group of white supremacist and their followers and supporters.  To know that all you sacrificed so your children could live in a freer society will not happen because the white supremacist, the neo-Nazi’s and their friends have moved this society back to where those sacrifices have to be made again and by the next generation.  That has been going on too long and you have excused and made room for such people for too long – the fact that you benefitted also makes this evil  unforgivable and that was also taught to me in my Christian upbringing.  You see, I paid attention in Sunday School and I know that forgiveness does not extend to everything and everyone!

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Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד׃‬

Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

My heart cries out to you, O God,

others hear and feel their own – but you, O God, hear the pain on my heart and my life.
By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.
You, O God are omnipotent and gave me life
To you I owe everything.
Where are you now God that those who tried and did take the lives of my ancestors those dark days in Germany
are back today trying to take my life.
My soul screams to you, O God, as do the souls of those who escaped the Holocaust with their lives, but wound up
in a foreign land which rejects us.
How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land
How can we praise you, O God, when we escaped the Concentration Camps – the Pograms – the constant
humiliations –
How can we forget that when we finally broke free from the bondage which demanded and took the lives of those
we love, no country wanted us
We were refugees on a ship in the ocean not able to land because we were repudiated
No one wanted us,
Wealthy nations wanted the wealthy – they passed laws to only allow into their space relatives of those who were rich and who looked like them, talked like them, had the same values including the rejection of those like me – one of your chosen, O God, but to others one who they reject because of my love of God.  They wanted the young, those trained and able to serve their needs. They wanted those who would compromise their God for wealth, power and control.
We had been debased; we had been treated as beasts of burden and slaves
We had with us the elderly, the sick, those emotionally crippled, the destitute, those whose hearts cried because
they were afraid to let out their pain in any other way – the cost of others hearing and seeing their pain was too high.
The countries to whom we made our supplications turned us away and so we floated – with no food, no water, tired and desperate
Those same countries are killing us today and they are killing those who are not us, but who are unlike them
They come out and shoot us as they do animals and birds of prey only they are more careful with those because
they have a monetary value to them – we do not.
Those who arrive on these shores in the condition we were in all those many years ago are treated with the same disdain and rejection.  Has nothing changed?  Have they no shame?  Have they no soul?  Are they so enmeshed in evil they cannot overcome it?
They have not learned, they do not know!
O God you have searched me and you know me
Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men and women who are all around me and all around those you cherish
protect me from men and women of violence who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war everyday.
they make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s
the poison of vipers is on their lips
O Lord, I say to you, You are my God
do not grant the wicked their desires
do not let their plans succeed.
Let the heads of those  who surround me be covered with the troubles their lips  have caused
I know that God secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy
Let justice, O God, roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream
For today is replicated, in my land, the plight of the Jews during Hitler’s day.  But in this day others have been added.  Not just those who sympathize with the Jews, but those whose skin is darker; whose language is different; who are trying to sing Your song in a strange land.

Immigrants looking for a home, in this land,  are characterized as a “Caravan”  looking to attack a nation when in reality they are refugees seeking asylum, a place where they can find food, shelter and a safe place for their children.

In this society can justice be done by the victims of injustice?  That is who we are O God and we are trying to reach out to those who are in the space we occupied just a generation ago.

Is that possible, O God?  Can we continue living in a space also occupied by such pain and evil.

We will use our institutions to bring about justice and our lives to insure that others do not have to walk that Trail of Tears the way we were forced to walk it without food, water or shelter.

If that is possible, we will try, O God, so others will not have to serve and live the horrible life of slaves, who have been consigned to live as beasts of burden.

Thought I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.

you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes.

With your right hand, you save me.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh
when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
though war break out against me even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek God in God’s temple.
Of one thing am I confident –
that I will see the beauty of the Lord in the land of the living!
And in the end:

In memory of:

Maurice Stallard , (69)- Louisville, Kentucky                                                                                                                       Vicki Lee Jones (67) – Louisville, Kentucky

The Lord bless you and keep you

May  God’s face  shine upon you and be gracious unto you

May  God’s face be lifted unto you and give you peace, both now and ever more.

Numbers 6:22-27


Bettina's Lifestyle Commnity!

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Bettina’s Lifestyle Community

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Bettina's Lifestyle Commnity!

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