It's Time For A Women's March - Again

Photo from private collection of Marilyn Salenger

The day after President Donald Trump's Inauguration, an estimated 200,000 women and supportive men are expected to gather in our nation's Capital for the Women's March on Washington. Their numbers continue to grow as sister marches are being organized in cities across the country and around the world. Mothers, daughters and grandmothers will be marching together, generation to generation, in a solidarity of concern for our futures as women.

We have taken to the streets of our country to protest for equal rights since the early part of the 20th Century. Marches became an integral and critical part of success because they drew attention, and still do. The women pictured above were marching in a Labor Parade as part of the Women's Trade Union League in 1911. They were marching down New York City's Fifth Avenue protesting for higher pay, shorter hours, fire safety, sanitary working conditions and child labor laws. 

Two years later in 1913, thousands of women suffragettes boldly and bravely marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. the day before President Woodrow Wilson's first Inauguration. They were attempting to be heard and seen in front of their biggest audience yet. The women walked "in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society from which women are excluded." Their march had been years in the making, working to encourage women to fight for a right denied them since our founding days. Their historic battle resulted in the 19th Amendment to our Constitution officially granting women the right to vote in 1920.

100 years after those first marches, inequality and sexism remain a part of women's lives. There is nothing right about it. This past election raised its awareness once again and brought us to the first steps of next generation activism.

A divisive presidential campaign provided a basis for the sweeping show of support the Women's March is attracting. The frustration level felt among many women reflects how we were dealt with during the campaign, and how our lives will potentially be affected during a Trump presidency. The march will provide a place to purposefully vent.

What began with a Facebook post the day after the 2016 election now has the potential to become another landmark event for women.  Like those marches that came before, this one is seizing the moment. 

The Women's March formal mission statement includes the following:

“In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.”

Organizers of the march said that their event is not about Trump but rather the inequities his actions represent. But it is about Trump. Women are marching because they instinctively know they have to march. Too many feel their voices went unheard in this past election, and too much of what we care about is at a critical state of disregard.

Trump Style of Governing: How Much Can I Get Away With ?

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA2.0

President-elect Donald Trump is a man showing intent to govern in a way that reflects a desire and nature to try and get away with as much as he can, until he receives insurmountable push back. Trump is approaching his presidency by pushing the boundaries of laws, traditions and norms.

Whether it's dealing with Russia, his tax returns, conflicts of interests, his children’s roles, a lack of complete vetting for cabinet nominees or his use of Twitter, we have a president-elect who remains combative with a clear reluctance to let go of his campaign mode of operation. I won. Therefore I am.

President-elect Trump will either rise to the occasion of assuming the presidential mantle, or he will sink. There seems to be little middle ground for a man who has come up in the world working hard to get his own way, although not always succeeding.

Trump and his team have created a transition period filled with strategic chaos being felt around the world. Surrogates continue to be called upon to explain what Trump really meant to say, after he said it, in case people still had any questions. They do this knowing that a morning tweet by the president-elect could undo anything previously said.

The majority of Americans, according to the latest Pew Research survey, give President-Elect Trump "low marks for how he is handling the transition process." There continues to be "widespread concern" about potential conflicts of interest, and his tax returns remain a bigger issue than he lets on. While Trump still refuses to release the tax returns that would provide a factual accounting of his financial interests, 60% of Americans now believe that he has a responsibility to do so. This runs contrary to the president-elect's repeated comments stating that the only people interested in his tax returns are the news media. He once again attacked reporter's questions on the subject at his news conference on January 11, 2017, dismissing them outright. Both the reporters and their questions. 

The level of Trump's continued anger and disrespect for the news media and most anything he doesn't like that they report, sets a dangerous course going forward. A president doesn't have to agree with all that is written or said about him, but freedom of the press acts as a critical check on our government. It stands as the First Amendment to our Constitution for a reason. Not since Richard Nixon have we seen a man, soon to become president, continually attack the media with such vitriol.

The transition period between winning a presidential election and being inaugurated as president of the United States is a time for building an administration who will carry out the new president’s goals. A rollercoaster of ups and downs does not a smooth transition make, and the public appears to be feeling its affects.

The Trump-Schwarzenegger Show

The first month of 2017 opens with a new session of the United States Congress, the inauguration of Donald Trump as our 45th President, and a new season of the show that made Donald Trump famous, “Celebrity Apprentice.” While serving as president, Trump will also serve as the executive producer of the show, currently hosted by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The confluence of politics and show business is now complete.

“Celebrity Apprentice” and its predecessor, “The Apprentice,” provided a national stage for Donald Trump to hone his media skills and become a household name outside New York City. For those who aren't familiar with the program, it highlights competing teams of celebrities (definition loosely defined) who are given tasks to complete. The host, who also serves as chief judge, along with two sidekicks decide which team leader wins money for charity. High-end show business at its most elementary level. 

Today, “Celebrity Apprentice” has set itself up to be a potential cesspool of conflicts without clear boundaries for its former and current hosts. NBC fired Trump from the show in June after what they called his "derogatory statements regarding immigrants." They replaced him with a well-known Austrian born immigrant, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has his own brand of male macho. Behind the scenes wrangling during the campaign put Trump back to work as the program’s executive producer, creating a substantial new revenue stream for Trump to collect while he is president.

Forbes estimates that Trump as exec producer will make about $2 million per episode this season, in addition to royalties. Corporate sponsorships of the program muddies the waters ever further. At this point, Trump's continued involvement with “Celebrity Apprentice,” is ridiculously inappropriate. He doesn’t seem inclined to stop pocketing money earned while on the payroll of a television network with a substantial news division assigned to cover his presidency.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder turned actor and businessman who parlayed it all to become the Republican Governor of California, appears primed to continue the mix of politics and reality television. In October he announced that he would not vote for Donald Trump for president. In his first “Celebrity Apprentice” show on January 2, 2017, Schwarzenegger called out actor and comedian Jon Lovitz for referring to him as “Arnold,” the name known to millions. "In here it's Governor,” Schwarzenegger said while sitting behind the faux boardroom desk. It was slightly bizarre. We now have a second incarnation of the “Celebrity Apprentice” reality show with a host who wants to use his political title in lieu of all others.

Could we say that NBC is providing a vehicle to showcase another potential presidential candidate while enabling the continuation of a new norm?  Arnold Schwarzenegger's bio on his official website reinforces some of that thinking:

“Most notably, Schwarzenegger made California a world leader on renewable energy and combating climate change with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, set a revolutionary political reform agenda, and became the first governor in decades to invest in rebuilding California’s critical infrastructure with his Strategic Growth Plan.”

The current convergence of celebrity and politics has unleashed a new generation of probable. The lines between governing, business and celebrity no longer seem to be clearly drawn. When a reality show star wants to be called by his former title of Governor, but closes his show saying “Hasta la vista baby,” you really do have to wonder.

The Voices and Faces of Aleppo Will Haunt Us

Physicians for Human Rights photo

A young girl whose life of normalcy was destroyed by world events over which she had no control sat in hiding, fearing for her life. There was no Twitter or Facebook to hear her cries. She wrote words in a diary recounting her frightening experiences and struggles to remain hopeful on the edge of terror. Her name was Anne Frank and she lived in Amsterdam, Holland in the 1940s. She and her family remained hidden behind a bookcase wall for two years trying to avoid capture by the Nazis. Anne and the rest of her family were eventually found and thrown in a concentration camp where all but her father died. Their crime was their faith. They were Jewish.

The world waited too long to save the millions who perished in those camps over 70 years ago. The world has repeatedly waited and watched too long as genocide and the mass slaughtering of people has taken place in different parts of the world. Rwanda. Bosnia. Darfur.

And now Syria.

The world once again, including the United States and our allies, appears to be paralyzed as the horror continues. Fear of getting immersed in another war has left the human cries for help unanswered, and the millions who have fled afraid for their future. As President Barack Obama leaves office, the red line he drew for this Syrian war and its use of chemical weapons has been crossed and blown to the wind. Obama threatened force, but chose otherwise. The reluctance to forcefully confront Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers overwhelms.

Aleppo, once Syria's largest city, is now a place of ruins. Children, so many of whom have been orphaned, are trapped in what was once their home along with remnants of scattered families. It is unimaginable not to think back to the Holocaust and its victims. A dictator is once again using his power in an attempt to succeed in the mass destruction of his people

Syrians have been left no option but to seek refuge in foreign lands. Yet their numbers are so great that the countries whose shores initially welcomed them, now feel burdened. As global politics become increasingly involved, their futures continue to be problematic. For Syrian Muslims, the doors are beginning to close.

The role of the United States remains questionable. President-elect Donald Trump assumes office having pledged to ban those of the Muslim faith. His attraction to Russia makes the future of Syria even more ominous, and the lives of millions of refugees more uncertain. 

The cries for help continue. Enough. The slaughter of human beings should not be tolerated. It goes against the very basis of humanity and the need to survive.                                                                                              

Trump's Very Public Blurring

Photo by Gage Skidmore/ CC-SA 2.0

Donald Trump continues what he started in his quest to be president. Angst and anger. As he transitions from chief executive of a private business to the most powerful public job in the world serving as president of the United States, Trump remains caught up in personalities and knee jerk reactions. While the rest of the country is looking for direction and leadership, his constant and very public parade of people in and out of his gilded building in New York City appears to have taken priority over almost all else, except his Twitter account.

Our president-elect has chosen not to accept daily intelligence briefings, taking only three to date, while he continues to talk to leaders from all over the world. If you think about that for more than a minute, you can get a major case of angst.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who served under nine presidents expressed serious concern, saying,

"A president is always looking at a series of threats that may be out there ... Some of them may be credible, some may not be credible. But those threats change on a day-to-day basis with new intelligence, with new sources, with new assets that provide information. Every president I know ... has taken their intelligence daily brief because that sets the agenda for what you have to focus on as president of the United States."

The one thing we now know that we can count on, whose proportionate importance becomes hard to compare, is being able to wake up each morning and read Trump’s thought(s) of the day. Just follow him on Twitter @realDonaldTrump. For anyone who thought he might assume a more presidential and restrained persona after the election, think again. One day he tweets about his disdain for Saturday Night Live spoofs (and he's been a prior guest on the show), the next it's about foreign policy, his hatred of the media (that he works hard to court), the cost of a new Air Force One, or the announcement of a new Cabinet nominee.

It's all running together, and that's a problem. Including the ethical standard Trump's term of office will set. The imperative of doing away with conflicts of interest appears to be viewed by our president-elect as part of that annoying status quo he railed against. But it's extraordinarily important. While federal conflict-of-interest laws appear to exempt the president, there’s a constitutional ban on accepting payments from foreign governments, and there are anti-corruption laws against bribery and fraud. Previous presidents, including Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, legally separated themselves from their businesses.

If you combine Donald Trump's global business entanglements, including financing, with his children's roles in his life both personally and professionally, the potential conflicts of interest are just waiting to happen. All you have to do is look at his new Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. Foreign governments and special interest groups are already reserving their rooms. Trump's daughter, Ivanka, has her own branded spa inside its luxurious space, and she's planning to move to DC along with her husband and close advisor to her father, Jared Kushner. 

Trump supporters don't seem to care. They continue to make excuse after excuse for their man, no matter what he does, generally ending with "Give him a chance." 

Donald Trump is walking a delicate line with the rest of the country. Divisiveness is palpable every minute of every day somewhere in these United States. It's not a healthy way for America to stand tall. 

Reach out to all of us, President-elect Trump. Focus time and energy on leading the way to some form of unity so that more of us can give you a chance.

The Tone for Trump White House Set During Campaign

We are on the precipice of becoming a country of punctuated extremes. This is not just about the rich and the poor. This is about who will stand up for the rights and fight against the wrongs of both extremes and those in the middle. The answer to that question is not a comforting one as President-Elect Donald Trump names appointees with strong histories of racist and misogynistic words and actions. With Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, General Michael Flynn, Mike Pompeo and Senator Jeff Sessions surrounding him, Trump continues to create a solid sense of unease amidst the millions who did not support him. 

But its beginnings were there throughout his campaign.

A look back at an important time in the 2016 campaign, captured by Political & Otherwise and shown below, highlights the period when Donald Trump put his last team of advisors in place. It shows the intent and direction our new President-Elect had in mind all along.  

Trump's Women Problem Revisited /September 8, 2016

Photos by Gage Skidmore: CC BY-SA2.0

The next President of the United States will be elected in two months, and the first female Democratic nominee continues to be hammered by two things. Emails and her gender. At this point I believe Senator Bernie Sanders had it right in the first debate with Hillary Clinton way back in 2015 when he said, "Enough about your damn emails." Clinton has since admitted - and admitted again that she made a mistake and said it won't happen again. Matt Lauer missed that memo when he used about one third of her time at the at the Commander-in-Chief Forum asking her about those emails. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) didn't get the memo either. The Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is calling for another Clinton email investigation. Moving right along, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus took to Twitter during the Forum criticizing Hillary for seeming angry and not smiling enough as she answered questions.

Wait a minute. The female candidate didn't smile enough while talking about national security and our veterans as well as her emails? Thank you Reince for getting to the point. This is the presidential campaign that has made misogyny a household term. 

When does a heated election contest between a man and a woman cross the line and become harassment? Perhaps when the male candidate surrounds himself with new advisers who possess an outright disdain for women that has gotten each of them into serious trouble. If Trump wins the election, these men are sure to play key roles.

Trump's new guiding lights as he fights to win this election are both men who have histories of reported “issues” with women. First up we have the man just thrown out of his last job for sexual harassment, former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. Fifteen days after being successfully sued by Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson, Ailes resigned in disgrace.

The stories recounted by a number of women who also worked at Fox are beyond repulsive as sexual harassment is bound to get. Roger Ailes has been a very powerful man, both in the media and politics, for a long time. Before Fox News, Ailes strategized victories for Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. But he let the power go to his head. Carlson was awarded a settlement of $20 million and an unprecedented apology from Fox. Ailes got a $40 million exit from Fox, and a place of esteem within the Trump campaign helping the candidate prepare for the debates and more. Donald Trump supported his buddy throughout his legal matter, and went so far as to question the veracity of the women accusing Ailes. 

Next up, the man who recently got the job of Trump campaign CEO, Steve Bannon. While far from a household name, Bannon was the Executive Chairman of Breitbart News, a publication well known to the extreme right wing political world. This is a man who has been charged with misdemeanor domestic violence against his now ex-wife and sexual harassment at a previous place of employment. Bloomberg News labeled Steve Bannon the "Most Dangerous Political Operative in America". With a reported strong desire to destroy those on the left and a no holds barred approach to taking opponents down, Trump has brought in another misogynist to work the final stretch of his campaign against Hillary Clinton. Weeks before being named Trump's new campaign CEO, Steve Bannon wrote the following on the Breitbart website:

"Women are -- screwing up the internet for men by invading every space we have online and ruining it with attention-seeking and a needy, demanding, touchy-feely form of modern feminism that quickly comes into conflict with men's natural tendency to be boisterous, confrontational and delightfully autistic."

What a lineup of handpicked top advisers.

Judgement, Donald?

A Painful Loss for Women

Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA2.0

Every segment of our society who wanted to see Hillary Clinton win the White House is dealing with shock, pain and fear while trying to absorb our new reality. As a woman who watched the one woman we thought could break the barrier to holding the highest elected office in our country lose this election, I can say the pain is deep. Yes, Hillary, it does hurt. Why did I get choked up in the middle of an unrelated phone conversation the day after the election? Because the loss created a deep visceral pain for many of us women, the kind that comes from seeing a genuine beacon of hope for a more equal society abruptly crushed.

We are on the precipice of becoming a country of punctuated extremes. This is not just about the rich and the poor. This is about who will stand up for the rights and fight against the wrongs of both extremes and those in the middle. The answer to that question is not a comforting one now.

As millions of women in this country continue to face the daily inequities of being a woman in the workforce, the realization that our country was close to electing its first woman president became highly symbolic. And highly charged.

We have waited since our country's founding days to have a woman serve as president of the United States. I don't know how it would feel if there had been multiple female presidents preceding Clinton's stunning loss. But there never has been a woman who held the job, and never is a big word. Never means you're blocked from achieving goals and dreams because of your gender. Never sends a strong signal to women of all generations that the door remains closed. Never is the antithesis of what we want.

Hillary's final words closing out her role in the 2016 election spoke to the reality of today:

"Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will — and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams." 

It was hearing her say, "someday" that struck a powerful cord. Someday sounds ominously far away. Especially when so many of us thought someday would be today.

The Games of Politics and Baseball

It's easy not to be upbeat about this election. There are some who say it's downright hard. But we all have to find a way to cope. The timing of this year’s World Series was perfect. The Chicago Cubs vs. the Cleveland Indians brought me back to my midwestern roots even though I was sitting blocks away from Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m a former Chicago area kid and former White Sox fan, but I watched the last game of the World Series cheering for the Cubs. It was an incredibly exciting game - and admittedly it felt really good to be excited and distracted from all political. As I checked in on Twitter during the game to give a shoutout to my hometown team, I realized I wasn't the only one looking for “the pause that refreshes. It was amazing to see all the politicos cheering for baseball, and not candidates. A true momentary relief. 

My initial World Series tweet was posted with a comment about my growing up days, adding "tnite my heart is with those #Cubs! So proud." The first person to ‘Like’ that tweet was Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (someone I don't know personally). Right after that, another columnist was asked via tweet if there were any new polls. The answer was perfect. "Rasmussen has the Indians up by 3." Rasmussen is a respected political polling organization who doesn't take sporting bets. Then someone else chimed in, "Most Americans want neither of these teams to lose." It got to the point where I just had to laugh at it all, and decided to ask, "Politics vs. baseball. What's the best game?" Hmmm.  

And that's what it came down to as the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, and the 2016 Presidential Campaign moved to its final days. Who’s on first became history.

It's a bizarrely uneven matchup of the two main candidates on the ballot. In one corner we have Donald Trump who, it could be said, is on the FBI protected list. Nobody is hacking his corporate or political staff emails. Lawsuits against him abound. No Trump tax returns have surfaced to find that elusive factual documentation of anything. And he maintains an abysmal record when dealing with women and minorities. Donald Trump's baggage is unique to a man with no political history, but a lot of questionable business history.

There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton has baggage. The political world has been her fishbowl for more than thirty years. She's had her successes and her failures. Yet the amount of almost too well orchestrated dumping and piling on her right now is bad. Between WikiLeaks hacking into the Democratic National Committee files, then into Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's emails, and a FBI Director who seems prone to favoring political winds that blow from Republican ranks, It's rather miraculous that she's still walking and talking and flying all over the country. Imagine if all this hacking and dumping had taken place against Donald Trump.

Don’t underestimate the power of each individual vote on November 8th.

Join me @MarilynSalenger live on Twitter election night November 8, 2016.   

Hillary and Michelle - The Real Power Couple

North Carolina

Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama's first joint campaign rally made history while creating a scenario unlike anything seen before. The significance of the current first lady campaigning for a former first lady who is running to become president of the United States was unprecedented. Their appearance together wasn't simply about star power, it was woman power.

Both Clinton and Obama know this is a critical election in which women will play a pivotal role. There was no great fanfare preceding the event, but a reported 10,000 people gathered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to hear the two women. Clinton and Obama made their case by building bridges of commonality between themselves and their audience. Side by side they spoke passionately about issues of concern to women who are students, women who work outside the home, and women who work at home.

Clinton’s opponent was addressed. Without name. "When you've raised children in the White House you're reminded of the impact you have," said Obama, "because you think of the millions of children watching us." 

Candidate Clinton, who also raised her daughter in the White House, added, "Dignity and respect for women and girls is also on the ballot in this election, and I want to thank our first lady for her eloquent, powerful defense of that basic value."

The first lady softly said to her partner on stage, "Thank you for that." The simple and complex power of these two women is as remarkable as the times that set that stage. They showed gratitude and respect for each other, and to those who came to hear and see them. This is what women role models at the highest level can look and sound like.

"When they go low, we go high," said Obama. It’s the best campaign slogan yet. Despite her protestations to the contrary, maybe the time has come for its author to put politics in her future, not just in her past. 

"First Ladies. We rock" 

Author once again duly noted.

Trump Borders on Disqualification

Las Vegas Debate

It's almost over. Some questioned why they should have watched the third debate after all that went down in the last, but its importance cannot be underestimated. The debate provided us with a final view of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump side by side, physically, emotionally and intellectually. In the end, we saw Trump come out as a man with more regard for himself than the basis of our democracy. With Clinton now in the lead, he refused to say he'd accept the election results.

After all these months, it's hard not to believe that Trump has viewed becoming president as just another notch on his belt. He has done the real estate business. Tried the tie, wine and steak businesses for diversion. Why not go for the highest office in our country which brings along with it the most esteemed title? 

Donald Trump never expected to win the primary elections. He was admittedly surprised with his success as he noted in his Republican Convention acceptance speech:

"Who would have believed that when we started this journey on June 16th last year, and I say we because we are a team, would have received almost 14 million votes ... Who would have believed this? Who would have believed this?"

His surprise should have been our major clue to all that has gone on since he first announced his candidacy. It becomes clearer that Trump's grand plan has, in all likelihood, been to make a run for the presidency, see how it goes and go from there. He never put together a real campaign staff, fundraising apparatus or ground game that is necessary to win a national election. His campaign has run on few specifics and a lot of Trump personality. 

The Republican nominee has simply winged much of this campaign, winning the hopes of many and losing the minds of many more. In retrospect as well as today, too little has been about making things better for anyone or for our country. It has been about making things better for himself. That's been Trump’s pattern throughout his business career. Remember this is the Donald Trump who declared business bankruptcy four times while walking away with millions for himself and thousands of lost jobs for others. But always figures out a way to say he was the winner.

At this point with polls showing an overwhelming Clinton victory, Trump won't view his loss in the same way as any other Presidential candidate did who came up short in the final tally. No matter what, he’ll see the real victor in this campaign as himself. You can almost smell those words now. 

Losing is not part of Donald Trump's vocabulary. That's one of the main reasons he could go where no other presidential candidate has ever gone, Including Al Gore. In the 2000 presidential election. Gore waited for the votes to be counted against George Bush before challenging the results, Trump is calling the results of the 2016 election into question before it’s even taken place. With total disregard for the ramifications of his words, he shot an arrow into the bedrock of our democracy. "I'll keep you in suspense" was said almost flippantly at the end of the debate.

Less than 24 hours after the debate, Trump told an audience that he would accept the election results ... if he won. Playing games with the peaceful transition of power as the election nears is dangerous business. Beyond anything globally imaginable. It borders on the disqualification of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee.