the toddlers crying. It's a matter of patience and endurance. The prevailing atmosphere is one of chaos, tension and hope. The frustration is supreme and continuous The US is doing all it can to out endure the refugees seeking asylum. The treatment is brisk and not friendly in any manner. It's almost like a purposeful system of dehumanizing. These are my first impressions at the processing center close to the border.

It is almost better in the camp itself. Yes, there is squalor and constant noise, but for what ever time folks are there, they are making this their temporary home.

Children, of which there is a majority have it the worst. The little ones don't what is going on. Everything they knew, is gone! The older ones, specially the teens know all too well what is happening and many don't have the emotional skills to deal with it.

You actually need a permit to get into the camp (ten miles south east of Tijuana) , but as I watched it is very loosely enforced. There is some Mexican military present but they are not there so much as to regulate the in and out flow or keep order in the camp as to regulate the feeding. Breakfast is at 9 and dinner at 4pm.

There is great need for phone cards, shoes, socks, foot care items, respiratory medication and of course cash.

Makeshift tents litter the concrete of an old abandoned night club. There are four "showers" basically large sinks for those in the camp with out children. There are loosely rigged showers made with pvc pipe for inside the "camp inside the camp" (families with children) there is a pattern in the chaos and those who have been there for awhile seem to get acclimated to the daily ebb and flow of the camps activity.

The brightest spot for me was the ad hoc school. I fell in love with the kids. They tried to teach me some Spanish (probably a few words I shouldn't know) and I taught them some English/American slang. We even sang a round together. They loved that, singing really brought them out of their shell.

The children provide the most humanity in this depressing situation...their penchant for laughter and joy sometimes overflows to even the adults and camp workers. Many still have that gleam of mischief and that they will make the best of what is available..the older ones do know what has been and what the future might hold both good and bad.

It was profoundly humbling to know that in such an extreme situation, there are still commonalities among all people... a chance for a laugh, a smile, a hug and reassurance that this is to be a temporary stage of life.

I left the camp near tears. What have we become as a nation? I felt the guilt of our administration's actions. Where ever I went, I made sure that folks were reassured that the great mass of US holds them no ill will, in fact many are kindred spirits with them in thought, prayer and action!

I left the camp with anger. This doesn't have to be this way. Our country's inhumanity towards others is inexcusable. Both by direct action and even more so IMHO as to the huge sectors of ignorance, prejudice and apathy of the vast majority going about comfortably ion their daily lives.

Finally I left in a sense of awe. I have so much, and these folks so little. Yet in the midst of all the loss and tragedy, unknown and fear...there is hope!!! There is laughter and bonding. There is acceptance of those to come among them to form community. Could I be that open and cheerful in the midst of such a situation? I don't know!

These are just my first impressions. It took me a couple of days just to let my emotions, thoughts and impressions to gel. I do know that my first world problems are miniscule compared to what our brothers and sisters south of the border are facing

Sorry for the long post ...I just had to emote!

From the El Barratel-Mike C

That stain at the very least needs to be beside trump's for all of history;

The Democrat in the House needs to do their job. Let all the dirt on trump and his assholes be dragged out on live tv for all to see.

I don't think that we should weigh in the calculation of how the Senate would vote JMHO

they need to prosecute the past Republican administrations for the crimes they committed,

Carter: Ford for pardoning Nixon also Kissinger for his back handed shit in Vietnam before the 68 election

Clinton: Bush and Barr for the Iran Contragate cover-up

Obama: BushII for war crimes against Iraq etc

If we don't this shit will just get worse and worse

twenty three years ago I got cancer for the second time. The first time I had it, I was insured. At that time, companies could drop you for pre-existing conditions. I was dropped after my first bout. The second time I had cancer, because of the huge cost and burden of having cancer, I kept on filing for bankruptcy, because that automatically stops all collections and garnishments and has the creditor if it is an ongoing bill forced to continue to treat you. Because I broke the rules on the amount of filings you could have, I was ordered by the Federal Court to stop filing. If I did that the world would have come crashing down on me both financially and physically. Because I kept on filing,I was charged with and pled guilty to contempt of Federal Court and Bankruptcy abuse and I received an 18 month federal sentence. Of which I did 13 months and another 2 months in a half way house.

I am not proud of what I did, but it saved me financially and physically. Through the court process, I was able to negotiate 158K of a 168K bill away.

The Manafort sentence pisses me off, because I feel what he did was way worse than I. I was sentenced with in the guidelines, unlike him.

While I am not complaining about the 18 months I got, I am complaining bitterly at the mere 47 months he received.

Seems to me you either pay with time or money. It is my understanding that Manafort has given up a bunch of assets.

Fuck Judge Ellis and fuck the justice system

I know this is not important, specially with all that is wrong with this world but for an hour, Tacoma took time out from the world.

Friday evening this town had a very rare major snowfall of 8 inches. That's more snow than we have had in the past 9 years combined. A resident who lives close to downtown announced a giant snow ball fight for the park the next day, since we were all snow bound and unable to drive.

As I walked the 10 blocks to the parked we encountered lots of people of all ages from tots, to children, grand parents, teenagers, young adults and middle age adults along with tons of furry friends. About 350-400 came out to hurl snow balls, while about 100-150 watched from the sidelines.

For an hour Tacoma forgot about the world and the towns problems and all you could hear was squeals, laughter, shouts, giggles and barks of excitement.

It doesn't seem like it's important, but for a short time we just reveled in what mother nature had given us.

It wound up being covered by several tv stations and papers from all over the US and Europe.

this summer at a refugee camp. I was put on the no fly list by trump and also had my naturalization of citizenship challenged. I won both of those and am free to travel.

I will be leaving in two weeks for NYC, Keflavik Iceland, Oslo Norway, Frankfurt am Main Germany (where I will sing for Christmas midnight Mass) Dubai, Assmara Senafe Eritrea, the Dhalek Islands in the Red Sea, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Abidjan Ivory Coast and Philadelphia. I am singing for national funeral at an Eritrean Orthodox Church and will be touring throughout Eritrea. I need to pinch myself. I am so excited!

What was George Bush's connection to the Kennedy assassination?

I wanted to tell you the story of a woman who was born in Germany in 1933 right after Hitler took power. Her name is Lieselotte (Lilo) Collier. Some of you may have heard her story before, because I have talked about her on here previously. Lilo grew up in Frankfurt Germany, the transportation and banking capitol of that nation. Frankfurt was massively bombed by the allies, first by the British and then the Americans. In 1943 Hitler was beginning to see the hand writing on the wall, as the war effort was not going his way. He had decreed in the summer of 1943 that all children must leave the cities by December. In early November, Lilo was removed from her home. Because there was transportation, she and many others had to walked in a column for miles and miles. Some of that was through the snows of the Bavarian Mountains. They ended their journey at a Roman Catholic orphanage just inside the Austrian border where
she stayed for a year and a half.

Five days after the war was over, the director of the orphanage gathered all the German children together and told them they had to leave and that there was no money left to keep them. They were driven to the Austrian-German border and then left on their own. Once again there was no transportation. Lilo, wandered the German countryside and towns for 10 and a half months. Often sleeping in barns, church door steps, bombed out schools and on occasion in the home of a kind countryman. Many times, because of the destitute condition of the nation and its' people she had rocks, garbage and rotten food thrown at her and even once was shot at. Finally an American military batallion picked her up and brought her to a "staging" orphanage where she remembers lining up for 16 weekends before her parents found her and she was reunited with her family. Because of her trek through the snows of the mountains and her substandard footwear, she got frostbite on her left leg and right foot. When she became pregnant with her first child, that (because of the change in her body) turned to gangrene and she had to have the toes of her right foot amputated and also her left leg right below the knee with just local anesthetic in order to save the fetus' life.

Her little boy remembers growing up seeing the stares at her of others, being teased about that and also her heavy German accent. Lilo was sickly for the rest of her life. She cringed when ever she heard a low flying plane or a close siren and never watched war movies. She had a brain hemorrhage when she was 39 years old and passed away. Her son had already lost his father at 7 to the Vietnam War and was 15 when she died.

That little girl grew up to be my mother and today would have been her 85th birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILO (sorry for the long post)

This past week has been amazing. The Tacoma Education Association representing 2400 teachers, janitors, para, office support etc has been on strike. At odds between the teachers and the Tacoma School District was the fact that long held funds that were supposed to go to salries as a result of the McCleary vs Washington decision was finally settled in May

The Tacoma School District refused to release those funds and wanted to keep it for Administration salaries. The teachers went on strike. In what was becoming the nastiest teacher strike in the nation. it was looki ng to be a long one. The teachers union told the teachers to talk to their creditors etc.

In what was an amazing cave from the District. The strike was resolved after 5 business days and the teachers etc recieved from 14%-19% raises.

What did it? The union orchestrating amazing incredible community support. Bolstering wavering teachers. Having a fantastic rally. Businesses, unions, churches etc lending support (feeding, use of rest rooms, a resting place for the teachers during their pickets)

On Wed. the District tried to entice teachers to come back to the classrom. To work in their classrooms for EXTRA pay beyond what they were getting. Even tho the District cried broke. Only four teachers went it!!!

So the moral of this story is....the union is the working class persons friend! Stay strong and stay united. Don't cave to corporate of administrative bullying!!!