Today would have been my mothers 83rd birthday

My mom was born in November of 1933 in Frankfurt Germany. When she was 9 years old Hitler made her and all the children (the future of the 1,000 year Reich) leave the cities so as not to be impacted by Allied bombing. Because of the lack of transportation, she had to walk for miles and miles in the Bavarian Mountain snow. The results of this is that she got frostbite and when she was pregnant with me, the change of hormones caused that frost bite to turn to gangrene and she had to have her left leg amputated with just local anesthetics in order to save my life.

She married an American soldier who was sent to Vietnam in 1961 and was shot soon after that and caused my mom to become a widow at 29 years of age. She later had a stroke at 39 when I was 16 and passed away.

I share this because first of all, I want to honor what she went through and her courage, but also because of the lessons she taught me. I have thought about her often during this election. Growing up she had warned me about how Hitler incrementally rose to power and often when some one was speaking on tv she would point out the dangers of what they were saying. Many of the things she warned me about are some of the same attitudes and sort of statements Mr. Trump has made during this campaign.

She instilled in a great passion for peace and justice and even more importantly the need and duty to take part in the civic conversion of our community

I can only imagine what she went through; being torn from her family at age 9, living half her childhood in a war like state, losing a limb, emigrating to a strange country, becoming a war widow at 29 with a young son to raise by herself. Well done good and faithful servant!!

I wish to honor her memory, courage and spirit by accepting that great right we all have as citizens and getting out to VOTE!!! For Hillary and I ask you to join me!!!

I am depressed

When I came to the US and saw those words on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor..."
my parents has explained to me the thoughts and intentions behind that prose. I grew up off and on between the US and Germany. Much of my youth had my German relatives telling me how lucky I am to live in such a great nation as the US. My mom explained to me the basic human decency and lofty goals of the ingrained culture of the United States.

Yes, there have been other periods of shame in the US, but never have I seen or heard or lived through such a vile campaign as this. How can 35-40% of the US support Trump. I wish those same people would interview survivors of German life during the 30's, I wish they would break bread with those who struggled for civil rights in the 60's and I wish they would immerse themselves in higher minds and goals of many who have shaped this nation.

As a European and having been back there in the past 15 months, so many of our European neighbors have expressed to me how astounded they are that this is one of our nominees. Gone is civility, gone is a certain sense of decency in our political discourse. Gone is an adult discussion of the problems, goals, dreams and potential of our nation. Instead we are left with the tawdry details of a sexual pervert, self aggrandizer, dishonest, belligerent, racist misogynist. God help the USA.

Re: Trump's PTSD Veterans Statement

Fuck you Donald Trump.

My father was born in 1926 and graduated from high school and immediately enlisted for World War II and served in Germany. Having been born and grew up in Manhattan he had a knack for languages and by the time he went to Europe he was fluent in German, French and Polish.

Following his stint in the war he made the military his career and spent the next several years posing as a clerk in an East German hotel and passed on info to the US Military intelligence. He was also sent to Korea and finally to Vietnam early in 1961 when there were just a few military personnel there. Mainly advisors and communications experts of which he was one. He was hit by sniper fire and came home injured with high blood pressure and other wounds.

One of my earliest memories of him was waking at night, in the middle of the night and seeing him pacing around the apartment. He never did sleep much specially at night. Yes he had what we would now recognize as PTSD. He was strong, he was adept and smart, but he was also physically and mentally wounded.

To complete this narrative, one of the most searing memories of him was being awakened late at night and when I got to the living room seeing fireman working on him, and of me being raced to the neighbors as we hurried on the snow slicked sidewalks one week before Christmas of 1964.

My father died that night at 38 years of age from his wounds that he received while serving his nation. I was 7 years old.

My request to you Mr. Trump, a candidate who is crooked, dishonest and self serving. A candidate who is rude, vile and demeaning...when it comes to veteran's issues or of those dealing with veterans families: Not only have you never served, never been effected personally you haven't even paid a dime to help our military so please, STFU!!!

Wow! I was blown away The child who I delivered on the roadside 39 years ago called

I very rarely post non-political stuff, but this blew me away.

During the summer of 1977 I was working on a music tour for a church organization. There were 6 of us traveling together. 3 Guys, 3 women. We had one day off a week and every other day off the guys got the van. This time we were at a church in Evansville IN and decided to go to Memphis on our day off with the van.

Coming back to Evansville about 2 in the morning on a highway close to Owensboro KY a car went whizzing past us. About 10 minutes later we see that same car smoldering on the side of the road. A young man 17, was waving a white towel at us and we stopped. It turned out that his 16 year old s.o's water had broken and they were on their way to the hospital. We took the young woman in our van while he stayed with the car. About 7 minutes later this young boy was born. I was 19 and the oldest of us guys was 21 and we were all very scared. At the hospital we exchanged names and addresses with this young woman and a while later after the tour, I wrote to his mom.

This young man has grown up to work in computers and was on a business trip to Seattle. Because I am easy to find (church stuff and political stuff) he looked me up and called me and we had lunch together.

May not be important to others, but it was such a wonderful thing for me! Made my day and I wanted to share!

A Purple Heart

Donald Trump: go to hell!!!

My father served in World War II, Korea AND Vietnam. In 1964 when the war was was still young in Vietnam my father was shot by a North Vietnamese sniper and died as a result of that shooting. He was awarded a purple heart.

Believe me, I wasn't even the one shot and the pain was enormous. I am what is considered collateral damage, the child of a deceased war veteran.

I was seven when he died 6 days before Christmas of that year.

I was 16 when I got my drivers license with out a father to encourage and help[

I was 17 when I graduated with out a father to watch that happen

I was 22 when I got married with only one parent in attendance

I was 26 when his first grand child was born, one who he would never see.

I was 50 when his first great grand child was born.

All my life as a child I saw others go with their fathers fishing, to ball games, etc and I wondered what that was like!

Donald Trump your grubby small hands shouldn't ever get near a purple heart!

please don't get lost in the cesspool of all the side bullshit

I was a hard core Bernie Sanders supporter, still am. He so much reflects the views I stood for when I ran for US Congress many years ago! That said:

These six words scare the hell out of me: 1) Trump
2) The United States Supreme Court

That alone should send a shudder down your spine.

We can deal with all the other bullshit after the election. We have to win this campaign. Put it aside til December.

I have been a Christian all my life but I woke up this morning

believing in Karma. Here the GOP have put Michelle Obama through hell for 8 years and then of all things they parrot her words at their hatefest. Couldn't have turned out better!

Will Pence hurt or help Trump?

13,000 posts

for my 13,000th I just wanted to say that I am so glad I am a Democrat specially this year and have enjoyed my time at DU both learning, chatting, debating and laughing sometimes. Looking forward to 13,000 more posts

I am so frustrated...Re: gun control

So here we are again! When will we learn? When will we value lives over money?

Just to recap:

First recorded mass shooting was at a school all the way back to 1764 in which 10 people were killed.
Until 1998 there were 7 mass school shootings in the history of the US. Since then, over a 100!

In 1966 Charles Whitman killed 18 from the tower of the University of Texas and we as a nation couldn't believe it. Few of us had ever heard of anything like that happening.

Thirty years ago those going to a McDonald's in California had their lunch upended in a Mass shooting

killing 27 and we held a moment of silence

only to be interrupted by the volley of the rounds of the next major mass shooting: patrons in a cafeteria in Texas were gunned down killing 23

and we had a moment of silence to be awakened again by the mass shooting at Columbine
killing 15

and that familiar pattern emerges and we wring our hands and watch in horror when 32 sons and daughters die as their parents send them off to get a degree at college.

We talk a good talk and let the momentum die as we grieve over what might have been for the 27 little innocents murdered at a grade school in Newtown, CT

and all the tears and vigils did nothing except make us collectively despair!

we shake our heads and mourn over the shooting deaths of 6 children of the Amish peace community of Nickel Mine, PA and we rage...

and once again we stare at the tv, pray, head to vigils in response to the worst mass shooting ever but will this time be the straw that breaks the malaise of the collective body?

We have more guns than people, we have had 988 Mass shootings since Newton, we have the life and promise of 89 people EACH DAY end. 11,200 people are murdered each year and an additional 21,100 die from guns each year

Other civilized nations look at us and wonder...

We have had mass shootings at post offices, grade schools, high schools, colleges, theaters, fast food places, military installations, houses of worship!

What's it gonna take...outrage, activism, perhaps a general strike....most of all we need to be supporting those who are advocating for gun control and remembering to vote out those who accept the NRA bribes!

Now is the time, it was the time years ago, it is past time....yes grieve, keep up with the prayers and vigils but make life politically uncomfortable for those who live at the NRA teat... get this done! GUN CONTROL NOW!!!!