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07/08/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

A short interlude

A week from Friday I’ll be at Terminal 2 at Lambert St. Louis airport. That is the hub for my favorite airline, Southwest. I’ve been traveling on the colorful planes for decades and I’ve only had one big disagreement with them. That happened when they arbitrarily stopped flights to Newark, New Jersey. That was my preferred route to visit the Momoh family. Now I have to fly in to La Guardia, about an hour’s ride from Fair Lawn, New Jersey. No one at Southwest called to ask if that move was ok with me. 

Here’s what I love about Southwest. Their customer service is usually very good, their routes mostly go to every place I want to visit, the price is right, there’s no penalty for changing flights, bags fly free, the credit is good for any future flight in the event one has be cancelled. And there’s a Southwest priority credit card that accumulates points generously for future flights. I love that, even though Jackie reminded me that the flights are not really “free” – I have to spend a lot of money to get enough points for a flight. Nevertheless, I have flown many times on points alone.

New Jersey is not my destination this time. I am so excited to be flying to Baltimore to stay with my Hermana, Katie, for a few days. We have been friends since 1982, when she came to work with me on the psych unit at Deaconess Hospital. We both had very young infants at home – children who are now in their 40’s. 

Meeting her was one of those instances where the powers align to bring two people together. I was taking a stained glass class from her then husband. When he found out I was a nurse, he told me about his wife who had just had a baby, and would soon be looking for a job. Her experience in behavioral medicine exactly fit requirements for an empty nursing position on the open psych unit where I worked. We met there for an interview. I spotted this coolly-dressed woman who sauntered down the hall toward the nurses’ station. I think saunter is the right word. When Katie walks she is relaxed, moving with purpose and flair. 

We became neighbors when, after my divorce, I moved one street over from her house in Webster Groves. As nurses, we sometimes worked in the same places, and as I recall, have each helped the other get a job. We shared employment at Deaconess, Saint Anthony’s, and SSM health care. We shared the experience of going through a divorce, while having small children. 

Katie has actually done what I call, “dumping my ass” twice. The first time, she and Kemet moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. That opened up the area for me to visit as often as they would have me. Katie has watched me fall in love with New Mexico as I followed her example of great appreciation for the spiritual beauty of that area. She introduced me to the experience of a sweat lodge on the mesa where they lived. Sweat lodges are a powerful medium for opening a window to the Universe. It’s hard to find the right words to describe what happens in a small, dark, very hot, space, with people sitting around the fire pit. There are no strangers in a sweat lodge, just souls with a chance to unburden the cares of the world.

We have talked about every conceivable subject. We have laughed ourselves silly. We have shared the experience of getting just a little high out in God’s Country. Imagine a sweet house on top of a mesa, with views of surrounding mountains. In that setting we learned a lot about life’s ups and downs. When Kemet died in that beautiful place, things changed for Katie. After a few years on her own on the mesa she decided to move to Baltimore to be close to her son and grandchildren. Hence the second time we parted. One of the first things I learned when I moved to Santa Fe was that Katie was leaving. I remember being devastated at first, until I thought it through and realized just how important it was for her to be near her son and grandbabies.

So, on July 18, I’m going to Maryland to visit a most precious friend and Sister. I came up with the idea one morning when I was thinking how much I miss her presence. She graciously accepted my invitation to myself to visit her. I know without a doubt that we will laugh, talk serious soul-stuff, eat well, and generally love each other’s company. I can’t wait.

07/06/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

It can’t happen here

Last week an atrociously large reconciliation budget was passed by tiny majorities in both houses of congress. It calls for, among many other despicable provisions, a $170 Billion dollar allocation for “immigration enforcement”. 

Forty-six Billion to finish building the wall – remember how unsuccessful that effort was in 47’s first term? Apparently, if you only count new portions, it amounts to 52 miles of new wall, while a lot of money was spent shoring up existing walls and barriers.

Thirty Billion to outfit and hire new ICE personnel, with the goal of making it the single most powerful “law enforcement” group in the United States. It may amount to perhaps an additional 10,000 employees over the next 5 years, with almost 1,000 being added as soon as possible. The money includes signing bonuses to help recruit new people

Here’s the one that worries me the most: forty-five Billion to build additional detention centers in at least 8 states. The goal is to house 116,000 inmates – groups that will include women and children in “family detention centers” like the one I worked at for one week in Dilley, Texas some 10 years ago.

Recently the news featured 47 and his bat-shit crazy “advisor”, Laura Loomis, crowing about the new detention facility in the Florida Everglades. Dubbed, “Alligator Alcatraz”, Loomis wrote on X – alligator lives matter, and mentioned that alligators in the area would have “at least 65 million meals”. The pictures show 47 in his “Gulf of America” cap. The lovely and highly disordered Kristi Noem was also in attendance. 

The facility took a mere eight days to put together. It is surrounded on all sides by the Everglades, an environmentally sensitive area. Imagine over 1,000 detainees and hundreds of employees producing sewage sludge draining into the swamp. 47 praised it highly because it will be patrolled by “alligator cops”. If the alligators can withstand the toxins coming from the camp, that is.

It is very likely that the new camps will be run by for-profit prison management companies. I know of two – the Geo Group and Core Civic. They stand to gain unprecedented profits. And who will be paying for these camps besides the budget money (AKA our tax money) to build and maintain the facilities. And, there will be daily per-person charges for the shoddy care that detainees will receive. It is estimated that the charge per person may average between $100 – $120 per day.

The goal is to house 116,000 detainees every day across the country. At $120 per day, our tax dollars will pay out $14 Million every 24 hour period. I’ll bet the private for profit prison agencies are sipping champagne at every meeting.

I suppose one small consolation is that the camps are not built to include gas chambers or crematorium facilities. I think it is fair to say that the purpose of these camps is to persecute “undesirables” – mainly people of color who are immigrants. Is it possible that we are headed towards the brutal persecution that happened in Nazi Germany?

The Holocaust Encyclopedia starts this way, “The Holocaust was the systematic, state- sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators. The Holocaust was an evolving process that took place throughout Europe between 1933 and 1945…Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews evolved and became increasingly more radical between 1933 and 1945…using deadly living conditions, brutal mistreatment, mass shootings and gassings, and specially designed killing centers.”

It can’t happen here, can it? There is already a genocidal campaign set into motion by defunding USAID overseas. One study projects that up to 14 million deaths could occur by 2030 if the current cuts continue, including 4.5 million children under the age of five. If our government can live on this slippery slope in other countries, who is to say that the detention camps here won’t lead to unnecessary deaths?

I genuinely believe that there are more good people than evil ones, and that we should celebrate good acts and pray for kindness and acceptance among our fellow Americans. But I just can’t shake off these dark thoughts. Some say that what we are going through now is a process that will ultimately lead to the birth of something new and far better than what we have right now. I hope to God they are right.

07/04/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Independence day?

I wonder what to write about this morning as I listen to Sweet Honey in the Rock singing their iconic freedom and justice songs. I have been following them since I first heard them in the 1980’s at Westport Plaza. They had been singing as an African American women’s a cappella group since the early 1970’s. It was an accident that I heard about them on the radio. I rushed to buy a ticket and a friend and I went to hear them. We were blown away by their harmonies, the rhythm of their hands and voices, and the words that emphasize freedom and justice and the troubled landscape of the United States of America. They proved once again my opinion that the human voice is one of the most amazing musical instruments.

“The power of the universe…gave me a song to sing and sent me on my way. I raise my voice for justice, I believe…” is one of my favorites. As they vocalize these words this morning I wonder just how much freedom we can enjoy these days, and how much justice is being perverted before our very eyes.

This is the first Fourth of July in my lifetime that I can remember not feeling free at all. Even as a child living in Mexico City I remember us expats getting together as a pretty big crowd and waving a giant stars and stripes as fireworks lit up the night. The atmosphere was one of celebration of our many freedoms we enjoyed as citizens of the USA.

 As an adult I have learned that the way our system was set up, freedom is relative. Our history as it is revealed now tells the story of a nation built on the backs of People of Color. In many ways, those same people are still sociologically at risk. Opportunities are much more available to white people like me. 

Maybe you are tired as I am of the awful news coming out of Washington, D.C., these days. This week’s news of the passage of a budget bill that slashes services to millions of people has been a gut punch to me. It’s not just 47’s twisted views either. Congress, made up of 535 “representatives”, showed just how cowed a very small majority has become under the thumb of a man who knows nothing about the lives of real people. His fortune has been handed to him from childhood. Like the Prodigal Son, he has wasted his fortune, and returned to be surrounded by sycophants who assure him that he matters.

I don’t do “helpless” well, and helpless is how I feel. I live in a state where all three of my congress people have completely drunk the Kool-Aid that 47 is serving. Their responses to my letters and calls are filled with praise for 47 and his malevolent policies. 

One of the worst news clips I have seen is senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) who proclaimed that she didn’t like the bill at all, that it would negatively affect many Americans, but that she voted for it anyway. She apparently got some concessions for her state and that’s all that matters to her. Screw the other 49 states and their people.

Despite the circumstances, millions of people will somehow celebrate this Summer holiday with get togethers, parades, and fireworks. I remember when I lived in Webster Groves how the kids and I would go to Moss Field and find the perfect spot to watch fireworks. This, after trying out the rides available at the festival for three whole days. Today I will go to a friend’s house for good company, good food, and the Cardinals/Cubs game this afternoon. I always watch the PBS musical and fireworks spectacular in the evening. But this night I will watch my British crime show instead. 

Our Canadian friend, John, was here recently for a retreat. Of course there was a lot of discussion about our politics. John says the only way we will overcome this mess is to take to the streets en masse. And, to stay informed, and to work like hell for the mid-term elections. I will also pray for my Democratic party, which seems to be floundering. There are some who are speaking out loudly against what is happening  Jasmine Crockett, Jamie Raskin, and Hakim Jeffries come to mind. But they are being held hostage by a handful of Republicans who make up the razor’s edge of majority. My prayer is for the razor not to be responsible for the death of our Democracy – death by a thousand cuts. 

06/30/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Really?

Yesterday’s church service was longer than usual. The youth group put on a little play about the benefits of planting seeds and caring for them as they grow. This took a little longer than expected because, well, the teachers were herding the little cat children just to get them into the sanctuary. It was a sweet presentation and even the littlest ones had a role in the play. Some were quite enthusiastic about saying their lines. Others looked a little scared but did a good job anyway. 

Then there was a sermon and a lot of prayers. When we thought the service was over, a woman was introduced as the moderator for a presentation after church on how plastics get into our environment and our bodies. She spoke eloquently about the film that was going to be shown about a group of middle school kids in Brooklyn, NY, who managed to get Styrofoam out of the New York Public School district. 

But there was more to come. The president of Parkway United Church of Christ’s council came to the pulpit and promised she was the last person who would speak. She said she had an announcement that would affect the church as a whole. 

What came next was a shock to me. She started by summarizing what our church believes in. DEI is a strong part of our belief system. We are an open and affirming congregation, welcoming all to the church. We are engaged in social justice outreach. We support agencies that work with underserved people. We are closely allied with a Jewish Temple and a Muslim worship center. There is a very large pride banner affixed to the front of the building. I wondered where she was going with this information that describes our mission and our actions in the community.

Now, Parkway UCC occupies acres of valuable land in Town and Country, Saint Louis County. This community of over 11,000 people happens to have the highest median income of any city in Missouri with a population over 10,000, and also has one of the highest median incomes in the United States. The demographics are not surprising to me: 77% white, 2.65% Black, 11% Asian (2020 US Census). 

What the speaker said next was what made me sit up. She said our church council reached the conclusion that, because of our beliefs and actions, we are a target for hate crimes. In order to remain a safe place in which to gather and worship, in two weeks there will be new policies in place. The church will be locked for three hours on Sundays during worship and other activities. An off-duty Town and Country police officer will park his clearly marked police vehicle in our lot. That officer will also patrol the grounds and the interior of the church during services.

There is already a provision in place to keep the church locked at all times. Each of us has a 4 digit code that we can use on a keypad at the front door to get into the church building. I get why that’s important for the safety of the building and the people working in it. It never occurred to me that we would need police presence during worship. Am I that naïve? Really? 

I have read about and heard about graffiti and destruction at Jewish temples, vandalism at Muslim mosques, arson and shootings at Christian churches. I lay this at the altar of MAGA, the hateful rhetoric from this administration, 47’s open support of violence and the white Christian nationalist movement. I think there is an arterial flow of hatred against “the other” in our country. Since the separation of church and state is quickly being undermined it shouldn’t surprise me that criminal behavior occurs in sanctuaries. 

What was divulged in church yesterday has stayed with me all yesterday and again this morning. I am grateful that the council is acting to make our worship experience as safe as possible. It just breaks my heart that we’ve come to this.

06/28/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Nothing beats a good laugh

Last night was movie night at Donna’s house. The three of us haven’t been together for several weeks, so it was great to have our dinner and then look for the movie for the night. We settled on a little known offering, Chantilly Bridge. It is a coming of old age movie about a group of women, lifelong friends, who support each other through some tough times. There were some funny lines, but it was mostly a serious show. That’s  how I’ve felt over the last few months – serious and concerned. And yesterday’s Supreme Court vehement support of 47’s rights to trample our Constitution didn’t help my frame of mind. 

After a movie is finished, we usually find something short to watch and end the evening. Last night Donna introduced us to a new comedienne, Urzila Carlson. She was born in South Africa and now lives in New Zealand. She has a very cool accent that only adds to her charm. Anyway, we watched one of her stand-up routines and I laughed until my belly was sore. She did a whole routine on an unplanned lock up during the pandemic. Her mother was visiting at just the wrong time when New Zealand announced what turned out to be a four month lock-up with Mom and Mom’s very annoying old cat, Oscar. I highly recommend spending some time with Urzila.

Laughter is one of the most important things to a good quality of life, in my opinion. I’ve noticed that a big factor among my close friends is that we all have a sturdy sense of humor and don’t hold back when the opportunity for a funny line comes up. I think I learned this from my mother, who had a great, deep laugh. I remember once she was reading the book, “Auntie Mame” and the house was filled with her appreciative guffaws to very funny lines.

Having been a nurse for over half my life, I remember the tragedies and the sorrows that are a part of every nurse’s career. And I also remember how much I laughed with my colleagues. Even in the midst of life and death, the irony, ridiculousness, and surprise that all lead to a good laugh are ever-present. Believe it or not, some of the funniest memories I have are of visits to hospice patients’ homes where laughter was often a stress reliever.

The Mayo Clinic has a long article on the benefits of laughter. It stimulates organs to perform vital functions, activates and calms a stress response, soothes tension in the moment. Long term, laughter is a stimulant for a healthy immune system: “…positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more serious illnesses.” Laughter allows the body to release natural painkilling substances. Mood improves, personal satisfaction increases, stress fades away – who wouldn’t benefit from all of these?

One of my favorite funny women is Kathleen Madigan. She has several stand-up routines on Netflix: “Bothering Jesus”, “Madigan Again” and “Hunting Bigfoot” are my favorites. Word is she’s working on a new routine for 2025 and is bringing it to Saint Louis, her actual home town. Whenever I tell people about her, I have to share some of my favorite bits. A lot of them have to do with her aging parents and the rest of her large Irish Catholic family. 

I accidentally came across Dame Wilburn, another funny lady. She has a great routine on trying to raise chickens in the back yard of her Detroit urban home. It’s only a 10 minute schtick, but worth every minute. She tells about a time she paid a fortune teller a lot of money only to be told that she is cursed. She says she likes to live the kind of life where she doesn’t know what’s coming…so being told she has a massive curse hanging over her head is a little off-putting. Her response? “Great, thank God, I thought it was just me!”

After last night’s laugh fest I felt much better. I know these are serious times and God knows I try to stay current. But doing so takes a toll on my mental wellbeing. That’s why a good laugh is the best way I know to stay sane – well, relatively sane.

06/21/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

The spinning globe

It is early on a sunny Saturday morning and I am at my desk searching for something to write about today. On a corner of my desk is a solar powered world globe that I was gifted when I left Amigos Center, the immigration law office in Florida where I got my “start”. When the sun shines, the little globe goes round and round. I watch it move and remember what a grand experience it was working for Amigos Center.

But in my blog-o-sphere this morning I consider that I may have to take a hiatus from blog-writing if my brain won’t produce topics to explore. I realize that I mostly write about my immigration experiences, my 12 Step life encounters, and the state of current affairs in these United States. Sometimes I just run out of stuff until I start typing, and then my lava lamp brain produces a topic. 

This has been a tough week in my immigration life. I had two citizenship cases that were temporarily denied due to technicalities that the USCIS officers discovered during their questioning of the clients. Both clients were requesting a medical exemption from the civics and English language tests, and both medical exemptions were approved. That is a big first step. But during the interviews, which included interpreters for my clients’ language, the officers both found some things they did not like. Both issues arose from my clients’ poor memory and inability to recall certain facts – the very reasons that we got a medical exemption in the first place. Despite my commentaries to the officers, we now have to wait to find out what the final decision is. With USCIS, this means it will be weeks before I get letters with final decisions.

By the end of the week I felt unusually tired. Part of this is because my son, Ted, is facing a big decision to be made pretty quickly. I can only pray that whatever he decides will be in his best interests. So I have been noodling about him all week. This is a reminder that, no matter how old children become – and both of mine are now in their 40’s – I will not be worry-free as long as I am alive…

Yesterday I got a referral from a domestic violence shelter. The client is a young woman from Morocco who married a US Citizen in good faith. As soon as she got here from her home country the abuse started. It is a typical sad story of a woman forced to be isolated from any community and subject to painful beatings. In this case, the abuser also opened bank accounts and credit cards in her name and has since emptied the accounts and maxed out the cards. He did file the paperwork for her green card. She has what is called a “Conditional Green Card” that will expire in April of next year. In these cases it is necessary to prove to USCIS that the marriage was and is a legitimate one. If approved, then the green card’s conditions are removed and the person becomes a full-fledged green card holder.

In my client’s case there is a major complication. She wants to end the marriage for obvious reasons. Removing conditions on a marriage-based green card becomes a lot more complicated if the client wants to end that marriage. I have had other cases like this one and can report that there is a procedure for proving that the marriage is irretrievably broken because of the abuse that my client has sustained. Her abuser is a very cruel man who beat her, burned her with hot tea, isolated her from any other persons, took all the money she earned, and threatened to murder her. There is no doubt that her life is in danger if she returns to him.

 I listened to her story and tried to find the right words to give her any hope at all. I felt a deep sorrow for her and for the other vulnerable clients that we have in our care. By the time I got home I told Jan that I could not go to movie night at our friend’s house. All I wanted to do was to turn on a Cardinals game and hope that the boys would pull off a win.

They did. It was a good game, a reminder that life as I know and appreciate it is rock steady even if I am a little off kilter for a while.

06/17/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

True Colors

For four years I belonged to a group studying the matter of white privilege. Learning how it affects me and how it has been a part of the tapestry of my life has become an uncomfortable but necessary exercise. In our group we read in-depth books on systemic racism and learned how each one of us white people in the group has benefited from this vicious system.

 I grew up unaware that my white skin opened doors for me that another color might not have been able to open. Also, I believed that I did not have a racist bone in my body. Movies and stories about racism have brought me to tears and made me as angry as a 9 on the Enneagram can get. I feel justified by my anger, yet I willingly accepted the privileges that come with the color of my skin. These privileges include better lending rates, an ample social security benefit due to my career record, better schools where I live, ability to get where I need to go because I can own a car and don’t depend on public transport. These are just a few of the benefits that were structured so that People of Color (POC) would have a harder time qualifying for them. 

The book that taught me the most was “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee. The carefully researched information is incredible. She writes about the Zero Sum principle – the belief that if I get more than you do of the public benefits pie, then there will be less left for you. This is a common belief among groups of white people, and explains why it is so hard to get public dollars flowing in to social service organizations. The truth is that we are among the wealthiest of nations and there is plenty to go around. However, the systemic racism that underpins public policy makes sure that money easily flows up to a small percentage of white people. Money flowing down to the middle class and below is restricted by legislation, public policy, and inefficient infrastructure.

Take Medicaid for example. This public benefit was put in place by President Lyndon Johnson under the umbrella of his “Great Society” programs. It is intended as health insurance for people who fall into the poverty category and cannot afford the insurance rates of private companies.

 In 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that each state could structure its own Medicaid policy. This includes the ability to set an income cap to be eligible for Medicaid. Some states have set ridiculously low caps making it difficult for people to qualify. In one state, the cap is barely above $3,500 per year. That means that anyone making a poverty level wage will earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. When President Obama introduced Medicaid expansion – which is a method to give federal dollars to each state in order to increase the number of enrollees – many states refused to accept this money. As a result, the number of people who could access the Medicaid benefit was severely restricted by the states’ legislative bodies.

Despite these short-sighted policies, people of all economic circumstances do get sick and do need medical care. When there is no health insurance coverage, families are forced to seek their care in emergency rooms – among the most expensive places to provide care. Emergency rooms are prohibited by federal law to refuse care in an emergency, and so the service provided is destined to go unpaid. Rural hospitals have felt the extreme lack of funds and many have had to close, leaving residents with no accessible health care facility. So much of this could be prevented if the Medicaid expansion programs were available and reasonably priced.

I realize that these problems are far more complex than I can cover in a short essay. But I am distressed by the fact that we are among the wealthiest countries in the world yet we have children and families going hungry, or being denied affordable health care, or living on streets and under bridges. Poverty is an equal opportunity condition – people of color, white people, indigenous people all experience the ravages of “not enough”. And our congressional representatives and senators live in a perpetual grid lock of inaction and partisan bickering. Of course, they don’t have to worry about housing, food, or health care. Perhaps that makes it easier to discount the real needs of real people.

All I know to do is to work hard to support candidates that reflect my values. My job is to use my one precious vote to help them get into office. Whenever one of my immigration clients becomes a US Citizen, I encourage them after their oath ceremony to visit the table set up by the League of Women Voters and register to vote. Invariable, the judge administering the oath also urges new citizens to take advantage of this precious benefit. It’s one of the only tools we have to truly work toward loving our neighbors. 

While we are under assault by this new administration, People of Color are the main target. Whether it is through “mass deportation” of Brown and Black people, or defunding of agencies that help POC, the goal is glaringly apparent. Make America White Again might as well be the new official slogan. The level of hatred that spews from the top echelon of the US Government is horrifying. I am almost convinced that, while 47 sleeps during his own pitiful parade, the Stephen Millers of his regime are calling the shots. That should terrify every one of us!

06/15/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

The day after

First of all, Happy Father’s Day to all Dads who take on this responsibility with love and care. In my own little family, the most prominent Dad is Ibrahim Momoh, the father of my two grandsons. He happens to be outside of the country at the moment, and his boys will be missing him on this special day. As their father, he is giving them opportunities to become good citizens of this global village that we call Earth. Under his guidance they are learning the joy of travel, the responsibility of working hard on family projects, the importance of trying new things, and how a grown up man can actually still be a kid himself sometimes.

This morning I’m enjoying the feel good residue of yesterday’s protest. As we stood on the sidewalks of Lindbergh in South County, we were greeted overwhelmingly by passers-by honking non-stop and waving and declaring their approval of our effort to get out the No Kings message. I saw some very clever and funny signs. I saw people of all sizes and ages enacting their right to peaceful protest. And peaceful it was. There were protest marshals in dayglo vests. The most trouble we got into with them was our occasional blocking of the driveway and our enthusiastic presence off the curb and in the actual street. It seemed to me that the spread of people 3-4 lines deep went for almost a mile. 

Our governor had overreacted and called out the National Guard. There were no soldiers near our protest, and no police presence. I did see some mounted police in the coverage of what happened downtown at Kiener Plaza. Down there the news says it was a peaceful gathering of at least a thousand people. I can’t tell how many people were gathered in South County, but the word was that 1,300 people had signed up to attend. I think the number exceeded 1,300 but that is a very unscientific observation. I don’t know how many people turned out in Ballwin, near Ann Wagner’s office. I’m sure Ann was nowhere to be found.

I think about Ted and Sarah, who are making their way back home to LA after a 40^th birthday celebration trip in Ted’s honor. I told them not to hurry because things are hot in their town. Coverage of LA’s protest showed lines of soldiers and mounted police pushing the crowd away from a Federal building. At one point, people were running as troops sent flash-bang devices into their midst. It’s so obvious that 47 is making an example of Los Angeles. It’s not stopping people from turning out to object and protest the ham-handed efforts of “law enforcement” wearing several different uniforms.

This being Sunday, I’m headed to church in a couple of hours. After the service I am scheduled to give a talk on what the Bible says about loving our immigrant neighbors. Since it’s Father’s Day, I don’t know how well attended it will be, but this speaker series usually draws 30 -40 people. In any case, I’m ready with my PowerPoint presentation filled with quotations from the Bible. There are words from Leviticus, Chronicles, Matthew, Ezekiel, Job and Micah. Each quotation describes how we immigrant law practitioners work with our clients. I will tell a few case history stories, carefully protecting any ability to identify the people involved. My experience in speaking to groups is that people react to stories that demonstrate the human face of whatever the topic is. And, I believe that we are a species that relies on stories to pass along our wisdom.

Because my church, Parkway United Church of Christ, is socially engaged and involved in the problems of the wider world, I will ask my audience to write letters to their senators and congress person on behalf of Legal Services Corporation. There is a part of the upcoming Federal budget that calls for the dismantling of my company’s offices across the country. We are a letter-writing people at my church, and I plan to take advantage of that. 

Then I’m headed to Rose’s house to watch a Cardinals game. This is another spiritual experience in my opinion. Amen.

06/12/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

“No fat soldiers”

This is a phrase from 47’s handlers as they set up a photo op with a group of military people at Fort Bragg . I’m pretty sure they were all men, given that women are not fit to serve these days. The instructions also stated that attendees at the event should be soldiers who approved of 47’s administration and policies. In other words, create the perfect environment for a display of loyalty to the commander in chief. I can’t even put those three words in caps… 

“No fat soldiers”. This is the perfect example of my new word, Kayfabe. It means the portrayal of staged events, narratives and characters as real. It’s a term from the world of wrestling which, as we all know, is the only honest sport left. After all, the head of WWE is our secretary of education. I don’t watch commercial wrestling because I have no interest in such a ridiculous undertaking, and because I know that it is all acting and optics.

“No fat soldiers”. Everything about 47 has to do with optics. The ridiculously expensive and destructive military parade to be held the day after tomorrow is all about showing a display of power that is meant to reflect the strength of 47 and his minions. I won’t be watching but I will be in South County at a No Kings protest with a few friends. Got my signs ready and everything. (The organizers of this protest project that more than a thousand people will line Lindbergh’s sidewalks. There are instructions going around as to what to do if there are disruptors or hecklers that approach protesters. There are directions for where to park, how to respect the businesses that face Lindbergh, how to protest peacefully and respectfully, and not block any part of the street.) 

“No fat soldiers”. Back to presidential optics. It seems the lower his approval rating goes the more panicked 47 becomes and the more he needs to throw his weight around. Oh, maybe there should be an executive order titled, “no fat presidents”. Anyway, a Fort Bragg commander said, “This has been a bad week for the Army, for anyone who cares about us being a neutral institution. This was shameful. I don’t expect anything to come of it, but I hope we can learn from it long-term”. The military is to remain non-political, except when 47 needs to create an opportunity to show his macho-ness. 

“No fat soldiers”. In another violation of military regulations, there was a vendor outside the venue selling MAGA merchandise. Honest to God. Inside, soldiers booed and jeered, going along with 47’s highly partisan speech. When questioned about the appropriateness of the event, the Pentagon accused the questioners of “a disgraceful attempt to ruin the lives of young soldiers.” More evidence that the Kool-Aid is flowing freely around 47’s administration.

In other news, yesterday I was at Busch stadium with a friend watching the Blue Jays have their way with the Cardinals. It was a perfect day for baseball except my team didn’t show up. It was good to be in a crowd of people who were not talking politics. For all I know, the nice man seated next to me might have been a MAGA follower, but for a few peaceful hours we were just ordinary people watching our national pastime. That felt good.

06/10/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

What can I do?

Every Monday night at 8 o’clock I am in my seat in front of the television, waiting for Rachel Maddow to start her show. Last night she did not disappoint as she forcefully spoke out against 47’s actions against the state of California. Karen Bass, LA’s Mayor, appeared for a fairly long segment. Mayor Bass believes that her city is being used as an example of the administration’s unnecessary show of force. Neither she nor Governor Newsome asked for the National Guard to be deployed. Now there will be 700 Marines stationed somewhere in the city for some unknown assignment.

There were plenty of clips of young “soldiers” lined up in front of buildings, or slowly marching in a line towards groups of peaceful protesters. I wondered how they felt about their new role of being  lined up against their own people. Their faces wore stony expressions as they gripped their deadly weapons. I wondered if they would shoot their fellow Americans if commanded to do so.

My most memorable part of the show came when there was a clip of 86 year old Representative Maxine Waters imploring a line of soldiers not to shoot their guns into the crowds. “There is no reason for you to do that! Don’t shoot those guns!” Maxine was obviously pissed, and wasn’t having any part of the twisted message that those kids were made to project. Ms. Waters attempted to get into an ICE facility and was denied entry. Congress people are allowed to enter any detention facility without notice or permission. She is now one of many that are being barred from those facilities. Makes me wonder what the officials are trying to hide.

Remember this name: Martir Garcia Lara. He is a 9 year old boy who has attended Torrance Elementary School since the first grade. His school became concerned when he did not appear for school. It turns out that he and his father were arrested after checking in with immigration officials in LA on May 29. Both have been transferred to a jail in Dilley, Texas and are set to be deported to Honduras for reasons unknown.

I have a brief history with that detention center in Dilley, Texas. In 2016 I spent a week there as part of a group of pro bono immigration workers. My job was to help prepare women for their asylum “credible fear” interviews. At the time Dilley’s facility housed a thousand women and children who had been detained after crossing the border. I talked with over two dozen women and heard the stories about why they left home and made a dangerous trek to our border. Their stories reinforced my belief that, “No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark”. (Poet Warsan Shire). That was really the beginning of my voyage into immigration law.

Rachel showed clips of several detained people, whose communities rose up and demanded their release, leaving their detention facilities. One story is of a woman from Kennett, Missouri, who has been a popular waitress at a pancake restaurant in that small community. She is originally from Hong Kong. I don’t know how she ended up in Kennett, but after she was arrested, two community members called Legal Services asking what they could do to help her. There was nothing I could offer to help but I could give some advice. My advice to both callers was to mobilize their community, protest vehemently, contact their representatives, raise money for legal expenses – in short, be as loud as possible. The woman has since been released after being threatened with deportation back to China.

This Saturday, June 14, there are 1,800 protests organized across out country. The purpose is to protest 47’s actions to make himself king of the USA. I saw a clever sign: “No Faux King Way! 86/47”. I will be in Ballwin expressing myself. There also supposed to be a gathering at Kiener Plaza downtown. I hope Saint Louisans come out in force. By the way, what are you doing this Saturday around noon?