Community Roundtable

Our national security is in crises-mode.  Everyone needs to be ‘on-guard’.  U.S. troops are in danger wherever they’re deployed; and there are approximately 50,000 troops stationed throughout the Middle East.  Worldwide travelers are vulnerable.  American infrastructure is at risk, and terrorists abound!  A phenomenal blunder of major proportions!  Factions are coalescing throughout Iran, Iraq and among other proxy-actors.  Trump wanted to change the conversation from the impending Impeachment trial and project strength: with his “decisive action to eliminate a top terrorist”.   So, Trump authorized the targeted-killing of Iranian major-general Qasem Soleimani, 1/3/20, in an airstrike near Baghdad international airport.  Iran vowed revenge and dropped several ballistic missiles on two Iraqi bases, housing Iraqi and American troops; no deaths reported.  Pelosi’s House is expected to pass a War Powers Resolution this week to curb this lawless president’s inclinations.   What happened to Trump’s campaign promises: to “Stop Endless Wars” and bring our service-people home?   As predicted, Trump is easily baited into brash, reckless actions.

Trish Forsyth Voss

Birth of a  nation …. breaking away from a monarchy?  America has always experienced periods of intense disagreements, peril and strife, being a young country with hard-won freedoms of and from religion, assembly, speech, and civil rights.  Revolution to Civil War to our current divisions, we struggle to keep and expand our liberties.    Forgetting history, we believe polarization has increased over the past several decades, culminating in having a two-term, African-American president, followed by a societal-backlash of the exact opposite of statesman, Barack Obama.  Left/right, open/closed, progressivism/conservatism, multi-nationalism/isolationism.  An authoritarian wave has spread worldwide.   “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment, hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe.  We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.” (John McCain 2018)

Trish Forsyth Voss

The ‘partisanship over country’ is on the Republican’s side!  No one wants to break rank with their fellows, and they go so far as to attack a whistleblower for reporting  “credible and urgent wrongdoing by the president”, and they collude in attacking the awesome patriots, our great diplomats, who had the courage of their convictions — to come forth and testify of what they know to be true.  Senators Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell have declared that they are NOT impartial jurors, even though they must take an oath to that effect when the impeachment trial begins; they have both stated they intended to make “short work” of the trial, that there’s no way Trump will be removed from office, that they need no further witnesses.  However, public sentiment may now force them to call real witnesses like Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pompeo and John Bolton (who wrote a book criticizing Trump, but doesn’t seem to have the courage to come forth and testify).  Democrats are honoring their oath to uphold the Constitution and our democracy, and save our nation from further ruin!

Trish Forsyth Voss

Attempted robbery or bribery is a punishable crime.  Former governor Rod Blagojevich, (screaming “Witch-hunt”) was impeached, convicted, and removed from office for corruption; he solicited bribes for political appointments (including Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat).   “Trump attempted to pressure a foreign leader to help him smear and destroy both a chief political opponent and that opponent’s political party to benefit himself in a presidential election.  It is an attack on the foundations of our republic, turning diplomacy into a weapon of personal and partisan political power.  The nation’s founders understood, having fought a revolution against monarchy, that no government of the people was invulnerable to such egregious abuses of power; they were particularly concerned, as Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers, that a president through “cabal, intrigue and corruption” might help “foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils”.  In their wisdom, they created a mechanism to halt this disloyal corruption in its tracks: impeachment!”      (quote from Rolling Stone article 10/11/19, by Sean Wilentz)

Trish Forsyth Voss

Yes, it is impeachable, it has been proven, and Trump will be impeached!  The smoking-gun is the July 25th call-memo-transcript, with full back-story provided by the extremely-credible top officials and diplomats in open-hearing testimonies.  Trump solicited foreign interference in our upcoming elections (under Ukrainian duress) against a political rival, for his own personal advantage, which constitutes Bribery/Extortion.  There is an avalanche of evidence in spite of Trump’s insistence on perfect behavior, and his blatant refusal to provide any information subpoenaed by Congress, in addition to ordering the Executive branch NOT to cooperate with a separate but equal branch of government  ….. he has laid the groundwork for the Impeachment Articles: Bribery, Obstruction of Justice, Contempt of Congress, and Betrayal of his Oath of Office (to protect and defend us from powers, foreign and domestic).  America is NOT a monarchy or a dictatorship; the president is NOT above the law.    The Constitution is the supreme law of our land!

Trish Forsyth Voss

The Cause, dearest to my heart, that I donate to most frequently, is the Democrat party and its candidates that run for different offices.  The ‘Democratic Cause’ addresses all the issues and concerns I’m most passionate about, which include a progressive agenda for human civil rights, worker’s rights, expanding opportunities for stability, dignity and wealth for the middle-class and the poor, elderly and disabled, veteran’s rights, a more progressive tax structure to reduce economic inequality, affordable healthcare for all, prioritizing more spending on social services and rebuilding infrastructures and less military spending, compassionate immigration policies, and a Green New Deal, proposing aggressive legislation to address climate change and economic reforms.   I intend to donate to the International Rescue Committee which provides emergency support to migrants trapped at our border, the crises being a human rights crises.  We need a real 21st century Marshall Plan; see Pete Buttigieg for President, Official Campaign Website, to view the comprehensive vision that Pete proposes.

Trish Forsyth Voss

Lots of folks have obviously spent lots of time and effort calculating, weighing options, and endeavoring to come up with the best plans for how Galesburg, District 205 can best serve all its students for the next decade or so.  I can certainly understand why some parents might be upset if their kids have to attend a grade school that’s farther away from their home than a closer school to “balance socioeconomics demographics”, but the monies to fund all aspects of public schools must be taken into account.  Some changes offset other considerations, and some considerations will present difficulties for some students and parents; hopefully there will be an appeal process for those most seriously impacted., and exceptions made possible.   The days of neighborhood schools have gone the way of neighborhood grocers, for many; and change is really difficult for most of us to accept and navigate.  The overall plan seems mainly beneficial.

Trish Forsyth Voss

We should all be proud of the dedicated, nonpartisan, foreign-service officials, who have courageously come forward, testifying to the web of shadow-diplomacy and rogue back-channels that threatened our stated  U.S. foreign policy interests and our national security, as well as Ukraine’s.  Trump’s shake-down scheme ruthlessly sought to demand a ‘favor’ for his own personal gain from Zelensky, while withholding crucial military aid, which he had no legal discretion to withhold. (Over 14,000 Ukrainians have died since March 2014, as Putin wages his hot-war against them.)   Trump was not seeking to root-out corruption, but sought to corrupt the new Ukrainian leader — to deliver dirt on his rivals, while satisfying Putin.  It takes brave whistleblowers and truth-tellers to thwart criminal activities and evil-doers; whistleblowers often hinder crimes from flowering into the full fruition of their poisonous fruits.  Trump, Mulvaney, Volker, Sondland, Giuliani, Lev, Igor, Firtash, and any others who come to light in this sordid scandal will reap what they’ve sown.

Trish Forsyth Voss

Climate change is this generation’s biggest challenge; humanity is consuming natural resources faster than our planet’s ecosystems can regenerate.  Climate is increasingly affected by human activities — driving global warming.  Extreme climate events affect lives directly; it also affects food shortages and migrations of people, which cause malnutrition, misery and even conflict.  “By 2050, the world must feed 9 billion people; yet the demand for food will be 60 percent greater than it is today”, (per World Economic Forum).   With an increased population by 2050, and “an expanding global economy, our energy needs are bound to increase by 40 percent, to power our buildings, homes, meet our needs for cooling, heating, transportation, infrastructure, and a connected lifestyle”, (Global Footprint Network).   We must all re-think the way we live with energy.  We can and must begin immediately to implement a smart, climate-action-plan; we should rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.       We need informed, progressive leaders.  We need a Green-New-Deal.

Trish Forsyth Voss

MSNBC is a reputable news source with a focus on politics; it is straight news reporting, factually-sourced, though left-leaning toward liberal causes.   I watch 5 days a week; my evening favorites: The Rachel Maddow Show, All In with Chris Hayes, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, The 11th Hour with Brian Williams; and afternoons: Deadline White House with Nicolle Wallace & The Beat with Ari Melber.   These news anchors/political commentators are highly-educated, accomplished, authors on serious subjects, and podcasters.   It’s worth paying for!   Top-ten credible news sources per Google: Associated Press, C-SPAN, PBS, The Economist, Reuters, NPR, BBC, New York Times and Wall St. Journal; Snopes is a watchdog, calling out fake news on social media sites.  Fox (& Friends) is the least credible as a so-called news outlet.  It is entertainment programming, a propaganda tool — to manipulate thought, not to report news.  ‘Fox News’ is a brand name; the parent company is Fox Entertainment Group.  Ingest real news!

Trish Forsyth Voss