I wanted to write something positive today but it is very hard to find hopeful news, listening to the news all you hear about is COVID-19 and if you search for trans news all you find is conservatives trying to criminalize us or ban us from medically necessary treatments.
As Trump would say, “Sad, sad…”
In Idaho they passed a bill preventing us from changing our birth certificates. You know at one time it was the Republican states that passed some of the first laws allowing us to change our birth certificates. Back then they recognized the need to get a job or to marry so that we could become productive members of society… now their hate has blinded them.
Over in Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the same camp as Trump and doesn’t like us and Britain is looking to overturn the protections for us. Over across the pond bathrooms, locker rooms, and protecting the “children from being mutilated” are the rallying cries from the right.
To me it seems like as the world focuses on COVID-19 the conservatives are trying to sneak in all their legislation that they know will not pass under normal scrutiny but now is buried to the back page.
The Connecticut Legislature is closed and they are trying to figure out how to hold hearings, committee meetings, and pass bill under the quarantine. Many would say that the closure is great… no new laws, no new taxes but in reality it spells disaster. The budget has to be passed, funds have to be redirected to support public health initiatives to fight COVID-19, relief for the businesses that have been forced closed, and all the little things needed to keep the government running.
The legislative committee that I am on is meeting via conference call and all the training I was to do this spring have been canceled. The Trans Health and Law conference has been canceled for the year. The True Colors conference has been moved to the end of May, and the National Association of Social Workers conference was delayed until late May and those two conference are now in limbo.
One of the problems those cancellations or delays cause is that for social workers they need Continuing Education Credits to maintain their licenses so with conferences being canceled it could create licensing problems for them.
In times of crisis we see what our leaders are made of, how do they handle the crisis? With leadership or passing the buck.
Back when the Blizzard Of 1978 hit governor Ella Grasso stepped up to plate and was seen to take charge of the state in its time of crisis. Trump approval rate was dropping until he started to make daily press conference, people want leadership. In November people will be voting on what they see today.
My predictions:
What makes it manageable is the fact that we are all in this together.
As Trump would say, “Sad, sad…”
In Idaho they passed a bill preventing us from changing our birth certificates. You know at one time it was the Republican states that passed some of the first laws allowing us to change our birth certificates. Back then they recognized the need to get a job or to marry so that we could become productive members of society… now their hate has blinded them.
Over in Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the same camp as Trump and doesn’t like us and Britain is looking to overturn the protections for us. Over across the pond bathrooms, locker rooms, and protecting the “children from being mutilated” are the rallying cries from the right.
To me it seems like as the world focuses on COVID-19 the conservatives are trying to sneak in all their legislation that they know will not pass under normal scrutiny but now is buried to the back page.
The Connecticut Legislature is closed and they are trying to figure out how to hold hearings, committee meetings, and pass bill under the quarantine. Many would say that the closure is great… no new laws, no new taxes but in reality it spells disaster. The budget has to be passed, funds have to be redirected to support public health initiatives to fight COVID-19, relief for the businesses that have been forced closed, and all the little things needed to keep the government running.
The legislative committee that I am on is meeting via conference call and all the training I was to do this spring have been canceled. The Trans Health and Law conference has been canceled for the year. The True Colors conference has been moved to the end of May, and the National Association of Social Workers conference was delayed until late May and those two conference are now in limbo.
One of the problems those cancellations or delays cause is that for social workers they need Continuing Education Credits to maintain their licenses so with conferences being canceled it could create licensing problems for them.
In times of crisis we see what our leaders are made of, how do they handle the crisis? With leadership or passing the buck.
Back when the Blizzard Of 1978 hit governor Ella Grasso stepped up to plate and was seen to take charge of the state in its time of crisis. Trump approval rate was dropping until he started to make daily press conference, people want leadership. In November people will be voting on what they see today.
My predictions:
- By mid or late April we will see how well made out with our efforts to flatten the curve.
- The virus will be with us forever jut like SARS and Ebola, and they will flare up form time to time.
- The stock market will find its bottom in a couple of weeks, right now it is a shock and in a couple of weeks it will become the new normal.
- Governments around the world will try to circumvent their constitutions and impose martial law. Attorney General Barr is asking to permanently detain an individual without trial during emergencies. We are entering a dangerous time for democracies around the world.
What makes it manageable is the fact that we are all in this together.
my life experience has taught me that eventually things find a way to normalize and I see this time as a reset button in history which acts as a bucket of cold water for societies. The stock market parties for the very rich are over and maybe we will find a way to reconnect at the most basic level as human beings again by caring for those most affected by this pandemic. Ultimately, fear and hatred to not win out in the long term...
ReplyDeleteI agree except for the "stock market parties for the very rich are over" many working class people have their retirement accounts (401Ks, IRAs and Roth IRAs) in the stock market, people like me who are watching their retirement saving dwindle to zero.
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