Community Roundtable

Yes, a most important use of our tax monies, which I don’t see as double-dipping for schools to receive this form of assistance apart from monies accrued for educational expenses.  This is one facet of the new paradigm in learning that we need to embrace, maybe more important than security officers.  If kids could  confidentially “refer” other kids for counseling, that might help solve some problems that students see from their level (of the playing field).  Aside from a “traveling counselor” covering all district schools, I think it’s essential to have one teacher per school with a lighter workload and an open-door policy for kids to pop-in and see them as needed.  My grandson attended Gale Elementary, kindergarten – 4th grade, and I remember social worker, Brian Wright, who now shares his time with King school, as a very positive presence for students who needed an ear, a bit of life-skills advice or pep-talk.  These early affirming experiences do break down the stigma surrounding “life-counseling”, (help us to feel empowered and motivated to seek further Self-care). ***** Added onto my C.R. response:  Keep in mind that in this day of rampant drug abuse (meth, heroine, opioids), many children all over this country have huge emotional problems stemming from neglect and abuse at the hands of substance-abusing parents.  We need to do more… to prevent innocent kids falling through the cracks of our diminishing social nets, taking their own lives, hurting others, falling prey to substance-abuse or possibly becoming the next shooters.  We need to consciously create the new paradigm!  And in that direction, in addition to making more screening and counseling available to people of all ages in our society, we need more Life-skills curriculum from kindergarten on through university to help grow more empowered-feeling, whole adults.

Trish Forsyth Voss

Syria’s civil war, continuing since 2011, is increasingly complicated.  Last week Donald Trump boasted of “withdrawing our small military presence from Syria and quit sinking trillions of dollars into the region”; then the choline gas attack occurred and Trump threatened strikes, even tweeting: “President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad”.   (Remember Trump’s 9/7/13  tweet: “President Obama, please do not attack Syria. There is no upside and tremendous downside”.)   Last Tuesday, a Russian diplomat speaking on Hezb’allah TV said, “Russia will shoot down any U.S. missiles fired at Syria and then attack the source where the missiles were fired!”   If we vacate Syria, we leave the entire region to Assad’s regime and his allies, Russia and Iran, which would seek to fill the vacuum; and Turkey will step-up their attacks on the American-allied Syrian Kurds.  To end our involvement or extend it?  Many are calling for congressional authorization for further military action.

Trish Forsyth Voss

Trump’s “fixer”, Michael Cohen, already admitted to paying Stormy Daniels $130,000 hush-money just before the 2016 election; if paid from campaign finance funds it’s just another crime which eventually will be traced to “Don Trumpino”.   That is the importance of the suit brought against Donald Trump by Michael Avenatti on his client’s behalf.  Her 60-Minutes appearance Sunday evening brought ratings that were only bested by the “Roxanne Reboot” Family Political Slugfest.  Listening to Daniels’s interview with Anderson Cooper, I found her “testimony” regarding the man who threatened her life even more CHILLING than all the other details.  Daniels and McDougal each separately stated that Trump told them ….they “were special” and “reminded him of his daughter”, and offered each an apartment in New York City, which they both supposedly declined.   I doubt very much that Karen McDougal, former Playboy bunny, was “in love with Donald Trump”, but his money was surely very enticing.

Trish Forsyth Voss

If we just look at Galesburg and Knox Co. totals, it certainly appears that Democrats got out to vote, and appears that J. B. Pritzker will probably win the governorship, especially since he is supposedly several times richer than Rauner, who doesn’t have many wins on his record as governor.   Politics is an expensive endeavor and it seems the richest candidate, or whomever can raise the most money, “takes the cake”.  At any rate, many of us Illinoisans are ready for a change.  Maybe Pritzker will spend more time and attention downstate.   Across the nation the trend is that Dems are getting out to vote down Republicans, so I’m down with the predictions for a blue tsunami come November. Since the Register-Mail printed Galesburg and Knox Co. vote totals for 17th Congressional District, State Central Committeeman and Committeewoman candidates, I’m wondering why those and some other positions were not on my Copley township ballot; the back of my ballot was blank.

Trish Forsyth Voss

School administration and the community should treat the planned protests, such as occurred last Wednesday across our nation, with respect and understanding.  Our youth have mobilized nationwide support for real action to be taken NOW.  They have a stated goal and wide consensus, to make not only their schools “safe spaces”, but our communities safer for everyone, by demanding “assault-style” weapons be banned and taken off our streets, that we institute universal background checks, raise the age of gun purchasers to at least 21 years old, and to increase funding and availability for screening, counseling, and treatment for mental illness. Our youth should be able to feel safe as they sit in their classrooms and walk their campuses, and they are not accepting the tired excuses of a society run amok, nor the platitudes of insincere politicians who have been bought out by the NRA.  We need to join their courageous mission!

Trish Forsyth Voss

With this week’s question I have only begun to acquaint myself with the Heart & Soul organization and the Galesburg On Track online site, which I must say has a pleasing graphic which outlines their 4-phase “approach to community engagement, participation and decision making”.   Phase 1 offers the objectives to “spread the word”, and to “listening to what residents care about”.  Many of us care about having a community center restored to us soon.  Also, there should be a way to speed-up tearing down dilapidated buildings; and I would love to see sidewalks restored so that residents don’t have to walk in the streets because the upheaved sidewalks are unsafe.   Why was Galesburg once able to have functional sidewalks?   I invite readers to go online, Google:  Galesburg On Track, which presents a “more inclusive (and convenient) way to engage in community conversations ….. Join the conversation!”   Like their Facebook page.

Trish Forsyth Voss

Extremely concerned, because I follow real news and journalists (MSNBC) who inform the nation of the real facts.  Facts like: seven of our state’s election databases were hacked and our nation was cyber-attacked in 2016.  H.R. McMaster said, “evidence of Russian meddling in 2016 Election is incontrovertible and available in the public domain, and it’s going to be very apparent to everyone”.  On Tuesday, NSA Director Mike Rogers, U.S. Cyber Command, expressed great concern to a congressional panel that his agency “has NOT been directed to forcefully counter Moscow’s cyber intentions, which are to make Western electorates distrust all news outlets and ultimately one another”.   Admiral Rogers, retiring this spring, asserted, “Russians have not paid a price … sufficient to change their behavior”; and advised that the “U.S. faced a failure to shift from the industrial age to the digital age in terms of protecting infrastructure”.   Why is President Trump unwilling to even sanction Russia?

Trish Forsyth Voss

Thoughts and prayers won’t work on the hearts and consciences of lawmakers we sent to Congress to do the will of the majority, not of lobbyists.   WE THE PEOPLE are sickened and OUTRAGED by the senseless killings that continue to occur as a result of corruption and inaction by lawmakers who are failing us.   I SUPPORT THEIR EARLY RETIREMENT!   I SUPPORT AN ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN!  BAN BUMP-STOCKS AND EXTENDED MAGAZINES!  GUN BUY-BACKS!   I SUPPORT STRONGER BACKGROUND CHECKS WITH PUNISHMENT FOR THOSE WHO SELL ARMS TO ‘PERSONS AT RISK OF COMMITTING VIOLENCE ON OTHERS’!   I ADVOCATE VOTING OUT ALL LAWMAKERS WHO TOOK MONEY FROM THE NRA!  The NRA is Public Enemy #1.   YOU can make a difference — VOTE THEM OUT!   Is this MAGA?  (Make America Great Again?) No!   This is a cultural-shift — “We cannot choose to protect ‘gun rights’ above the lives of ‘our’ children!”  Young people are bringing the Revolution; we can join them; DO THE RIGHT THING, turn the tide of — NEVER AGAIN!   *****  (More accessible school and community counseling and raising the legal age for gun purchasers.  If you can’t legally buy a beer, you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun!  No loop-holes!  Don’t believe the Fake News that declares Parkland students as “Crises Actors”; that’s clearly BS!)

Trish Forsyth Voss

It’s all important: Education, taxes, economic expansion, industry and agricultural development, wages, pensions, health-care and social services, law enforcement, tourism, all of it.  Everything is at stake in Illinois and we need to elect a super-intelligent, widely-experienced person who is well-motivated to produce good results for Illinois.  Governor Rauner has made more of a mess than he’s solved.  I suggest that folks who want to know more about the candidates and the most-pressing issues go to:  www.chicagobusiness.com meet the candidates for governor, and listen to the candidates answer the tough questions put to them by Crain’s Chicago Business editorial board.  I learned so much today listening to the questions and answers given, and I’m really impressed with Chris (Christopher G.) Kennedy, son of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy.  He gave brilliant and reasonable-sounding solutions to the entrenched problems that face our state today, and I’m excited to hear more from him.

Trish Forsyth Voss

The significance: it undercuts the trumped-up allegations regarding FISA abuses by the FBI and DOJ.  Trump-TV has created a false narrative that the FISA warrants (to surveil citizen Carter Page, who billed himself as a Kremlin-agent) were issued based on a DNC-funded dossier.  ‘The memo’ tells of a drunken-boast by George Papadopoulos … to an Australian top-diplomat regarding ‘Clinton-dirt’ from Russia, that info passed to our FBI (pre-dossier), who was already surveilling Page.  Trump-TV is declaring that President Trump MUST fire Rosenstein and Mueller immediately; talk about DEEP STATE!   Note: Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C, read some  underlying FISA content and assisted in drafting ‘the mem0’.  On 2/5/18 Gowdy said, “I think the memo has no impact on the investigation and  I support Mueller 100 percent! … Russia tried to interfere with our 2016 election, with or without a dossier!”  Gowdy announced the previous week  … that he would NOT be seeking re-election, and he was stepping down from his House Intelligence Committee position (from which he presided over numerous, fruitless Benghazi investigations of Hillary Clinton).

Trish Forsyth Voss