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And a Reflection on the Decade 2010-2020

As we enter a new decade, and with this BLOG just hitting one million reads, I post my annual Heroes and Zeroes- a tradition since 2013.  This year I have to start with our Number 01! Hero…

HEROES #1 Nancy Pelosi: The East Coast Italian Grandma from Baltimore and Speaker of the House:
Speaker Pelosi is an American Democratic Party politician serving as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since January 2019. She is the first woman in U.S. history to hold this position. First elected to Congress in 1987, Pelosi is the highest-ranking female elected official in United States history and she is our Hero for many a reason and this year particularly for leading and gaveling in so genius a fashion the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump.

ZEROES # 1 Republican Voters:
Back in 2016 I wrote: “I could not help but notice that this year 62,979,879 ZEROES voted for a sick, mentally deficient, hateful, misogynistic, racist, sexual predator, who happens also to be a xenophobic, homophobic, bigot, whose presidential campaign served to facilitate an atmosphere so divisive that Americans now see fit to scream and yell at fellow Americans on airplanes, out of vehicle windows, on subways, all a testament to their fervor for their shared hate against anyone different, to include, people of color, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, gays, lesbians and trans people. The license to hate so openly and overtly duly provided by an illegitimate president elect Donald Trump. #NOTmyPRESIDENT”…..

And so at the top of my list of Zeroes remains the 62,979,879 ZEROES of 2016 who voted – as above!

The LIST:

HEROES 2019 

1.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a leader of extraordinary genius and integrity, who led the United States in the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, to save our democracy and our constitution

2. Adam Schiff, American Democratic politician, who worked for truth, and served his oath to all the people of the United States displaying extraordinary resilience and a command of the political landscape that is bringing justice to one of the most severely concerning American moments – to save our democracy and our constitution. Check out his speeches.

3. The Whistleblower!!!!! We don’t know who you are. We respect your privacy. We the American people owe you and have your back

4. United States women’s national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women’s soccer. The team is the most successful in international women’s soccer, winning four Women’s World Cup and a decade of history making. I am. not naming any individuals – other than to say – thank you for the modeling, the fight for equal pay and the wins

5. Greta Thunberg, Climate and Environment Eco Warrior representing a generation for imperative change

6. Botswana and Angola for decriminalizing homosexuality, yet we must mention that is time to eradicate the homophobia that continues to persecute LGBTQI people in these and other already decriminalized African countries.

7. California Fire Fighters

8.  Elizabeth Banks, film director, producer, write and actor, for her brilliance and moving tribute to women in Charlies Angels, so underserved by the ongoing misogynism of the critics in film circles

9. Jane Fonda for getting arrested 5 times protesting on behalf of the Earth, our lives and the quest for Climate survival

10. Linda Ronstadt, who so sadly lost her voice, yet so brilliantly found it when she called out Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at an event, for enabling Trump

And a special mention for Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) for her fight to stay well and continuing to thrive on the bench at SCOTUS, South African (Springbok) rugby team, and Hong Kong Protesters for not giving up!

ZEROES 2019:

1.  The 2016 Republican Voters. #FUCKtheGOP

2. The Impeached Donald Trump and Melania Trump, their family and friends of supporting gangsters, some of whom are already in prison,  because they have placed the interests of the American people and our security behind that of their alliance to Putin and Russia. They have defecated on our Constitution and risked our Democracy for personal gain. #IMPOTUS

3. Mitch McConnell (Moscow Mitch) and Lindsey Graham, U.S. who have turned their backs on the American people

4. Gaetz Jordan Nunes Collins – etc.. eh- look them up – no more energy on those Republican losers

5. PG&E – Zeroes for the fires and being behind the curve on your duty and responsibility to the people of California – putting corporate greed above safety, innovation and infrastructure

6. National Rifle Association NRA – for continuing to aid and abet the murders of our children

7. Boeing for putting crappy dangerous planes in the air that killed people

8. R. Kelly and the myriad of sexual predators, human traffickers and exploiters of women and kids out there in the world

9. Fox News and their cohort of complicity anti human rights idiotic dangerous hosts from Sean Hannity to Tucker Carlson to Jeanine Perot

10. Corrupt Dictators and human rights abusers – Teodoro Obiang, President of Equatorial Guinea, King Mswati III, King of eSwatini, Omar Al-Bashir, ex-leader of North Sudan, Paul Biya, President of Cameroon, Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, George Weah, President of Liberia

Most Unanswered Question of the year:

1. How is George Conway and KellyAnne Conway still married? Is their whole Schtick a sham? Is KellyAnne the Whistleblower?

The DECADE’S #1
Hero:

Nelson Mandela – continued into this the decade of his death to be the most profound of all heroes  – changing my birth country and the world forever, through his courage, dignity and quest for human rights of all, a noble warrior for peace…

Zero:

Donald J. Trump for the entire Decade! The Biggliest purveyor of hate and bigotry – that is changing the USA and the world – reignites and propels further racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homo/transphobia, Xenophobia in the United States – cages children  – separates families – emboldens the American acceptance of sexual predators by the mere fact that we now have one the White House…